basketball player

Chapter 272 270: Midfield Adjustment

The record of the Dallas Mavericks this season is not good. So far, they have 5 wins and 4 losses. This is actually what most people expected.

While Darren Collison and OJ Mayo are solid guards, these two new additions haven't reached the level where the Mavericks can fly.

But today, the Mavericks showed a strong desire to win.Perhaps it was Carlisle who conveyed his desire to win to every player, making the already high morale of the Mavericks even more powerful.

Mayo's nine games after coming to Dallas are still remarkable, averaging 21.3 points per game. You must know that Mayo's best rookie season averaged only 18.5 points per game.

This "rookie is the pinnacle" small guard seems to be reborn in Dallas, and today's performance is also very good.

The frequent pick-and-rolls of Mayo, Nowitzki and Kaman made the Pacers hard to defend.His aggressive drive caused a lot of fouls, and Mayo's points were always able to assist Dirk's shots.

Darren Collison's performance is also worthy of recognition. The former UCLA's top point guard has repeatedly made blunders, and the back line formed by him and Mayo has brought great trouble to the Pacers.

The game went on for 5 minutes, and the Pacers still didn't have any substantial advantage.Henson, who was watching the game on TV in the locker room, curled his lips. In fact, what the Pacers did not do well was not defense, but offense!

This time, Darren Collison made a solid shot. After all, Chris Paul's defensive skills are there, and Collison can't play too easily.

Horford took off the rebound and prepared to make a quick counterattack with a long pass from the backcourt!Once again, however, the Mavericks were very aggressive in getting set up.Nowitzki yelled and shouted on the court, directing his teammates to stand.With the German leading the floor, the Mavericks defense can hardly go wrong!
"Damn it, we are forced to fall into positional warfare." Vogel looked a little aggrieved.

"It doesn't matter, we can also fight positional warfare." Stevens observed the situation carefully, eager to find the loopholes in the opponent's defense in the positional attack.

The core of a quick counterattack is to hit the opponent with a weak foothold and attack in advance before the opponent's defense spreads out.But the Mavericks obviously came prepared today. They immediately formed a zone defense. Everyone defended their own area first, so as not to let the Pacers' running pull the defense line.After the speed is suppressed, it turns to man-to-man intensity.In this way, the Mavericks' defense will not be self-disturbed, and naturally it will not allow the Pacers to find an opportunity to easily counterattack.

The quick counterattack was an unstable foothold, so Carlisle made every retreat of the Mavericks extremely stable!

Forced to fall into positional warfare, is the Mavericks' positional defense strong?Strong, under Carlisle's system, although the Mavericks' positional defense is not impregnable, it will never be easily broken.

Paul's several passes coupled with the flexible screens of his teammates often always allow the Pacers to find opportunities.This time was no exception. In the end, Danny Green ended the offense with a mid-range shot after a chance without the ball.

Then, the score was tied again, and the two sides continued to entangle!

This is Carlisle's strategy, and it is also the biggest problem for the Pacers now!It's not that the Pacers can't score, but they can't open the score!Carlisle contained the Pacers' quick counterattack, which was equivalent to containing an important link for the Pacers to open the score.

An anxious game is not good for the Pacers.After all, at critical moments, the Pacers coach can't direct the game.

"Old gangster!" Henson cursed secretly in the locker room. Carlisle really wanted to "take advantage of the fire" and the robbery won!

At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers trailed the Mavericks by 24 point 25 to 1. The quick counterattack was suppressed. Coupled with the fiery touch of Mayo and Collison, the Mavericks suppressed the Pacers for a full 12 minutes!

In the second quarter, the Mavericks' defensive strength was further enhanced, and the physical confrontation ratio became more intense.Dirk Nowitzki also began to show off, winning consecutive low singles against West.

Stevens also tried to use Horford and West to attack the Mavericks inside, but Kaman and Dirk's defense did not make this move work.Just as Henson worried, Stevens sometimes employs too conservatively, and Vogel is not an offensive coach.

In the end, the Mavericks ended the first half with a 7-point advantage.At this time, Carlisle was a little worried.

Because, the Pacers players are going back to the locker room.And in the locker room, Henson Joe must have held back a lot of words to tell the players.
※※※

One minute before the start of the third quarter, Stevens and Vogel just walked out of the player channel.The two looked solemn, and Stevens held a small note in his hand.

"The Pacers are in big trouble. I don't know what Henson Joe arranged during the intermission. But just 15 minutes of speech time is not enough for him to fully control the game." Reggie Miller, who commented on the game, curled his lips. Carlisle's tactics against the Pacers were very well arranged.If the situation in the second half of the game continues like this, it will be difficult for the Pacers to achieve an offensive climax through positional offense.

"Coach Stevens has a small note in his hand. We all know that many coaches have the habit of carrying tactical notes with them, and Carlisle is the same. I just don't know what is written on the note in Coach Stevens' hand." Beside Miller, Kevin Harlan touched his chin curiously.

In fact, there wasn't a single play on Stevens' slip, just a bunch of names.After a discussion at halftime, Henson gave Stevens a bunch of names and let him play with peace of mind.

Stevens looked at the note after returning to the bench, and then at Vogel, "Can Henson's strategy work? It's too risky!"

Vogel tilted his head, "Unless we have a better choice, Brad."

Soon, the electronic buzzer sounded, which represented the official start of the third quarter.With a big wave of his hand, Stevens decided to line up the troops according to the plan given by Henson.At least, you have to try it!
So, people were surprised to find that the Pacers put on an unconventional lineup.Paul and Ray Allen partnered in the back line, George and Leonard partnered in the forward line, and Yi Jianlian became the starting center in the second half of the game!
"Eh!?" Reggie Miller was stunned. Is this strange substitution made by Henson or by Stevens?
Watching this lineup play in the locker room, Henson smiled instead.For the rest, that is Stevens' strong point!

Stevens is conservative, which means that his employment is relatively conservative and traditional.But in terms of tactical arrangement ability and tactical reserves, Henson thinks he is not as good as Stevens.

After a brief discussion just now, Henson decided to play a small lineup, and it was still a small lineup with shooting ability.

Don't the Mavericks like to use the zone defense to finish first?What is the defense most afraid of?Afraid of projection!As long as five points can be shot, the Mavericks will not be able to stabilize the line of defense even if they join the defense first.

And because Yi Jianlian needs to play center, Leonard, a defensive champion, must bear more defensive pressure.This is why Green, who has better shooting ability, is not allowed to play.

Horford can also shoot and run and jump. He is undoubtedly much better than Yi Jianlian.But Henson believes it would be more useful to let Horford play without Chris Kaman.

So, now there is such a "wonderful" lineup on the field.However, due to the limited intermission time, Henson did not have extra time to arrange tactics in detail after confirming the configuration of the small lineup.Therefore, all Henson can do is to write the rotation list to Stevens.

As for the tactics. As long as you give Stevens the right players, Henson believes that tactical problems can't trouble the guy.After all, strictly speaking, Stevens is Henson's leader.

"This...what's going on?" Carlisle was a little puzzled watching Paul control the ball and advance.

After a halftime break, the Pacers seemed elusive again
(End of this chapter)