The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 196 Inspection of Lineup

The start of the game against the Pistons was a bit unexpected. James had no problem stealing Monroe at the beginning, and Drummond had no problem grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring at the beginning, but then Bosh made Drummond foul twice. It was a bit of a surprise.

This unexpected surprise was achieved in the first 2 minutes. Although the Heat considered making a foul to get the Pistons inside, but considering that the two big and tall players have the ability to block shots, it was too dangerous to rush in and did not plan to implement it.

Unexpectedly, the real giant was so powerful this time, and Drummond, the biggest threat to rebounding, went down to rest all at once.

Well, the Heat are still at a disadvantage in rebounding, Monroe can also grab, and the inside offense is good.

But it's much easier to deal with only one than two big men.

The big deal is flanking, even if the Pistons have some chances outside, they will admit it.

After all, the Pistons' three-pointers are really average. After all, the Pistons' outside line can't prevent James and Wade.

And after Drummond went down, the Heat's matchup became clear.

The Pistons also made adjustments, replacing Stuckey and Kyle Singler, and Zhang Xiaotian's player became Singler.

This is a good thing for him, otherwise he will be very difficult to deal with Josh Smith or Monroe.

Restricting a player like Singler who rarely creates opportunities on his own is his forte.

And James is also very good at dealing with Josh Smith, who likes waves.

In this way, the only threats to the Pistons are Monroe and Jennings.

As for Drummond, this game was a bit unfavorable. In the second quarter, he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored 2 points, and then he was called a foul again.

In fact, this situation is not normal, and the Heat don't want it.

Only one Monroe Pistons can't fight the Heat, even if Monroe got a double-double in halftime.

The Big Three of the Heat played well in the first half, leading the Pistons by 6 points.

But they know that the real test is when both opponents are on the court.

In the second half, Drummond finally got rid of the foul problem and came on the court, and he had consecutive offensive rebounds. Things like rebounding are also talented, and Drummond is a very talented type.

The Heat's strategy is to shrink the defense and speed up the defensive rotation.

It can allow the opponent to have more opportunities to attack from the outside, but it is not allowed to be open.

To be honest, the Heat's defense is still very good, although there are some flaws inside.

Greg Oden's performance was not amazing, but it still made the head coach nod.

There are rebounds, points, and steals in a short period of time, which is enough for a role player.

Now the team is also praying that this buddy will not continue to be injured. The Heat really lack inside role players.

In the third quarter, the Heat tried several methods to deal with the big man, and they still gained some results, but they were caught up a little bit in terms of score, mainly because of the rebounds.

With two big men standing in the penalty area, it is very difficult for the Heat to protect the rebound.

But the opponent couldn't score, so they still took the lead.

In the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian, whose playing time was slightly reduced compared to the previous game, played again.

Although Spoelstra didn't understand the principle, he also understood that Zhang Xiaotian would act like he had been injected with chicken blood in the final quarter, so the team was also relieved to let James rest at this time.

What Zhang Xiaotian has to face is Kyle Singler. This buddy's defensive awareness is still good, but his physical fitness is not strong enough.

He was able to restrict Zhang Xiaotian before, but now it is not enough.

Zhang Xiaotian drew a foul as soon as he entered the field in the fourth quarter, and then hit a mid-range shot in front of Singler.

At this time, the Pistons had only Monroe on the court.

His rebounding ability is not as good as Drummond's, and the tall man consumes a lot of energy in the last quarter, and he made a mistake when he was flanked by the Heat.

In 3 minutes, Wade and Zhang Xiaotian teamed up to extend the score advantage to 10 points.

The Pistons quickly replaced Jennings, and Jennings' breakthrough did bring some trouble to the Heat.

But it's only second, Jennings this type, the Heat are not afraid at all.

The Pistons quickly replaced Drummond again, and Drummond could indeed pose a threat inside.

The threat of one big man and two big men is different, but at this time the Heat have already led by double digits, and the Pistons are playing inside, and the Heat can't defend against them.

After Ray Allen and Zhang Xiaotian hit a three-pointer each, the Pistons had to replace Monroe, leaving only one big man in the Heat's lineup.

At this time, half of the fourth quarter was over, and James, who was rested and energetic, returned.

Not to mention the offense, after James came back, the Heat's defense can be said to have improved several notches.

As an all-round fighter, Josh Smith was really suppressed by James everywhere.

Josh Smith missed a three-pointer on the outside. After being counterattacked by the Heat, the Heat's lead has come to 15 points.

The point is, the time is less than 3 minutes.

The Heat have stabilized again this time. Their feeling is that the twin towers of the Pistons are still a little weaker, and they don't know if they can be used as a reference for the playoffs.

If they knew what they were thinking, the Pistons would probably bleed.

However, the Pistons themselves are not satisfied with the current lineup. There are two insiders averaging double-doubles per game and they are still mixed like this, it shouldn't be.

If it weren't for these two still receiving rookie salaries, the Pistons would definitely have to seek a deal.

As for the rehearsal opportunities that the Heat want, there are still some. They will go to an away game against the Clippers in the next game. The Clippers have an enhanced version of the Pistons Twin Towers, Griffin and Jordan.

Now the team's injury situation has improved, and the training is also very vigorous.

Everyone has become accustomed to Zhang Xiaotian's performance.

What happened in reality will not feel weird. In fact, compared to last season, Zhang Xiaotian feels much less fluctuating.

He himself is very satisfied with his current state, and it feels good to go home and make video calls with his wife after training.

He still doesn't have much sense of identity with nightclub culture.

Everyone has different circles, but it is quite pleasant to cooperate on the court.

On February 2, the team flew to Los Angeles.

The Clippers' signings last summer were very targeted. Shooters like JJ Redick and Jared Dudley are very suitable for matching Sao Paulo and Griffin.

The Clippers' record this season is also good, but it is still worse than the Spurs and Thunder. If you want to enter the top four in the Western Conference, you need the Rockets and Trail Blazers to agree.

They also encountered the problem of personnel injuries. For example, Paul and JJ Redick could not play this time.

Compared with the first-tier strong teams that have gone through various tests in the playoffs, the Clippers still have some gaps, but it's hard to say where the gap is. They still have ambitions.

(End of this chapter)