basketball player

Chapter 662 Chapter 660: King of the North

In the past two years, Siakam has played off the bench most of the time, and he has become the most important part of the Pacers' rotation.

As a rookie at the end of the first round, his greatest success is to gain a firm foothold in the NBA.After all, let alone the last rookie in the first round, there are many lottery rookies who can't gain a foothold in the NBA every year.

But Henson's expectations for Siakam are more than that. He believes that the No. 43 from Cameroon has greater potential to be tapped.

During the preseason training camp this summer, Siakam's defense, offense with the ball, long-range three-point shooting and other skills have improved a lot compared to last season.

Although his stats this season still seem tepid, it's because he didn't get much time and shots in the Pacers.But now, Antetokounmpo was unexpectedly unable to play, and Henson gave the opportunity to Siakam.

The game against the Raptors can't just forget it.

"The Raptors started the game, still the same. Van Vleet and Kyle Lowry formed a dual point guard lineup, OG Anunobi and Ibaka guarded the inside. At the third position, it was Leonard, the strong point of the Raptors. On the Pacers side, Coach Henson replaced Antetokounmpo with Siakam, and the rest remained unchanged. It seems that there is no way to compromise."

Kevin Harlan shook his head. He knew Siakam was a good guy, but he certainly couldn't compare with Antetokounmpo.

Therefore, in the case of losing such an important combat power as Antetokounmpo, Kevin Harlan is still not optimistic that the Pacers can win the game.Even though, Henson Joe can always turn decay into magic.

The referee signaled the players on both sides to get ready, and Henson frowned from the very beginning today.Letting Siakam start is Henson's first decision to make up for Antetokounmpo's absence. I hope his strategy can really play the role of an All-Star player.

At the beginning of the game, Ibaka naturally took the basketball from Lopez.Although the Congolese has suffered serious injuries, his athletic ability is still better than that of Lopez.

Van Fleet advanced with the ball, this guy known as "Van Jordan" is the small guard that the Raptors are now focusing on training.

Although Van Vleet used to be just a marginal man, and his height of 1 meters made him look like an ordinary person.But his performance this season is indeed gratifying. He has become one of the best role players in the league.

The Raptors outscore opponents by 100 points per 14.7 possessions when VanVleet is on the floor, the best net rating of any player in the league.So far throughout the season, Van Vleet's cumulative plus-minus has also reached +370 points, ranking 9th in the league.In front of him are all superstars like Curry, Harden, and Embiid.

Henson admitted that Van Vleet's high-level statistics are amazing, but that doesn't mean he'll be able to achieve that efficiency against the Pacers.

For Van Vleet, Henson's arrangement for Brogdon is just one, confrontation!
Brogdon has an advantage over Van Vleet in height and wingspan, and it is not difficult to defend.In order to solve the problem of Van Vleet being ineffective after being clamped by tall defenders, Raptors coach Nick Nurse will choose a dual point guard lineup.

As a result, Van Vleet handed the ball to Kyle Lowry, a long-established guard in Toronto in the north.

But well. Raptors coach Nick Nurse has always been a rookie coach.That's right, he once had coaching experience in college and Europe, and also served as an offensive coach for the Raptors for several years.But coaching an NBA-caliber team is a completely different thing than coaching any other team.

How many famous European coaches have fallen into the sand after coming to the NBA, all of which illustrate the particularity of the NBA.

In order to organize the offense, Nas sent Lowry and Van Vleet's dual point guard lineup. The shortcomings of this lineup are very obvious.Because Lowry, like Van Fleet, is only 1 meters tall.In this way, the Raptors' back line is a bit short.

Therefore, under the defense of Oladipo, Lowry still has no way to organize the offense well.However, Lowry was always calmer than Van Vleet, and finally sent the ball to Leonard who ran out of the gap.

Facing Leonard is Paul George. The two can be said to be the foundation of Henson's early foothold in the league.Facing George's follow-up defense, Leonard has no fear at all, and shoots as soon as he catches the ball!

Now, Leonard's shots from beyond the three-point line are becoming more and more decisive.In the case of averaging 5 three-pointers per game, he can still stabilize his three-pointers at 37.1%.Therefore, the three-pointer is no longer Leonard's weakness.

George didn't expect the other party to be so decisive, so the interference was a little slower.However, this gap is more than enough for an athlete of Leonard's level!

The flight arc of the basketball is very beautiful, and it falls directly into the net.People say that people with too big hands can't practice shooting, but Leonard told the world with practical actions.As long as you work hard, there is nothing you can't do well.

Although he only played a total of 9 games last year, and had a very unpleasant fight with the Spurs.But Leonard is Leonard, and he didn't abolish himself because of this.

"I hit a three-pointer at the beginning of the game. I think Leonard will definitely score a lot of points today. After all, the Pacers' basket is not guarded by Antetokounmpo." Kevin Harlan can already imagine Leonard's exaggerated scoring data after the game.

"Stinky boy!" Henson cursed secretly from the sidelines. The current Leonard is probably more accurate than he who had the badge bonus before!

Then, change to the Pacers to attack.Although during the Pacers period, Leonard and Paul George had a very good personal relationship.But now on the basketball court, Leonard still has a serious "paralyzed face" to George.

His personality is the same as that of Henson, he will not release water or let down his guard just because you are a friend.Quite the opposite, the more friends you have, the more Leonard wants to give it his all, which is how he respects friends.

Brogdon handed the ball to George after halftime. George just got the basketball when Leonard posted it.

During the team training before, George's biggest headache was facing Leonard.After Leonard moved to the West, the two rarely met.

But I didn't expect that they would become direct competitors now.

George gestured for Lopez to step forward and cover.With the cover, George accelerated the breakthrough.

Leonard did not circle back, but squeezed forward.He knows very well that George is also the kind of player who can shoot and end the offense with just a little space.

George's favorite mid-range shot after borrowing a screen is to use the gaps that appear when the opponent defends the pick-and-roll to score.

However, Leonard's defense has no gaps, and he stays in front of George at all times.

Seeing that he couldn't get rid of this expressionless former teammate, George decided to continue to make a breakthrough.

But just as George accelerated, Leonard seized the opportunity to stretch out his big hand, and cut it with a precise "one cut"!
This season, George's dribbling level is already very high, but due to his high center of gravity, he is naturally not as good as a defender in terms of basketball protection.

Leonard often plays a good show of stealing point guards. Now, how difficult is it to steal a forward who is 2 meters tall?
In this way, the basketball in George's hand was suddenly cut off by Leonard.And because of Leonard's huge palm, he can control the basketball by the way after cutting it off!

In an instant, the offensive and defensive transition was formed.Leonard single-handedly rushed to the front with the ball, and no one could catch up with him.If the "Greek monster" is present at this time, maybe there is still hope.

But it's a pity that the kid is lying on the hospital bed with liquid.

One step inside the free throw line, Leonard jumped up suddenly.In the air, he tried his best to stretch his body.Then, with his long arms, he raised the basketball, which was too small for him, and poured it into the frame!
The ball scored and landed, and Leonard screamed into the stands.

Well, he is much more passionate now than he was with the Pacers and Spurs.Because he knows very well that he is the king of the north here!King, you must have some king's domineering spirit!
Watching Leonard's performance on the court, Henson felt pressured.That brat won't let himself pass the test easily.

(End of this chapter)