NBA Please Answer 2007

Chapter 226 Defensive Dominance

The Magic attacked, the Warriors used a zone defense, Li Zhi was at the top of the arc, Jackson was on the left, and Nick Young was on the right.Howard went to the outside to cover, Lewis threw Milicic out of position and faced O'Neal, changed direction and broke through to the basket, and forced the ball in.

2:2.
Li Zhi dribbled the ball to the frontcourt to let his teammates run. The two insiders pulled out, gave up the low attack, and went to the free throw line to cover for Li Zhi. Li Zhi broke through from outside the three-point line.

The Magic's zone defense has two relatively large spaces at 45 degrees on both sides of the free throw line. Once the Warriors are in the center to support, not only can they shoot, but they can also activate the team's air-cut offense and outside offense. The former Warriors' Dream Chaser Green often stood in this position.

The Warriors discovered two weaknesses of the Magic. Howard habitually indented inside when defending pick-and-rolls, and did not protect the free throw line enough.

On the pick-and-roll, Jackson gets down the baseline and then runs out the other side.After Li Zhi attracted Howard's defense on the right side, he handed the basketball to Nick Young on the outside. Milicic and Nick Young formed a wall in the high position, giving Jackson a chance to run back.Several people from the Magic concentrated on the inside line, and the outside line was empty.

Nick Young passed the ball to Jackson, made an open three-pointer and scored. 5:2.
Nelson looked at the Warriors' offense and nodded. The Warriors had too many offensive points and the Magic couldn't defend against them.If it is a high screen, the Magic's shrinking defense becomes its own containment.If the Warriors resolutely play outside today, the game will be won.

The Magic attacked, and the Warriors continued to defend 23 zones, mainly defending the outside line, and the formation was very outside.Howard asks for the ball in the post and Turkoglu lobs it to him.Howard hit O'Neal in the low post, and the Warriors were not double-teamed.

Howard quickly turned around and hooked from the middle, jumping very high, and the opportunity had already come out, but he didn't feel good, and bounced out of the basket.O'Neal didn't even jump, he just prevented Howard from squeezing into the penalty area, and let Howard play by himself after getting stuck.

O'Neal turned around and took the rebound and handed it to Li Zhi.The Warriors made a quick break, and Li Zhi passed the ball to Nick Young.Nick Young received the ball in the frontcourt, and Alston gambled to steal it. Nick Young passed it with one step and dunked in the middle of the road.

7:2.
Magic attack, after a few passes, Turkoglu met Jackson in the middle, missed the jumper, the rebound was taken by Milicic, and the Warriors made a fast break!
Li Zhi dribbled the ball solo for a one-stop layup.

9:2
The Warriors fans stood up and applauded. It was too shocking. In the first 2 minutes, the Warriors had already tortured the Magic to death.The Magic immediately requested a timeout.

Barkley said: "Turkoglu has beaten some people with his height, but he really can't take advantage of the Warriors. As long as Nick Young is not misplaced, Turkoglu has no good chance at all."

Kenny Smith said: "Mr. Turkoglu is the fourth quarter, and he hits the iron every day in the first quarter."

Barkley complained: "Don't talk about Mr. Fourth Quarter, I feel wronged by those who didn't guard him in the fourth quarter. It's not that others couldn't guard him, but this guy moved too slowly. Others jumped up to block the shot, but this guy didn't move."

Kenny Smith said with a smile: "This is actually Turkoglu's advantage, isn't it? He has a high basketball IQ, which makes him overwhelm the opponent?" Barkley's mouth is too poisonous. He knows that Turkoglu will jump out of the contract this year, and he said that. It is simply a grudge against him.

After a timeout, the Magic attacked, and the Magic made a turnover when they came up.Li Zhi intercepted Turkoglu's pass and assisted Jackson again for a layup.

11:2.
Li Zhi's hands were hot, and now he entered a strange state, his brain was extremely clear, as if he could see Turkoglu's passing line clearly, and the Magic's offensive tactics would always automatically appear in his eyes.

"Ding, congratulations to the host, trigger a ball into the soul mission, mission requirement: 10 steals, mission reward: unknown, mission punishment: unknown."

Li Zhi's mind was cleared when he stopped at the system's prompt. These days, he found that the rewards for the hidden tasks he triggered would be very generous, such as the reward for upgrading a skill that he got last time.

10 steals?It doesn't seem to be very difficult, it has been done twice now.

The Magic were attacking, and Alston used the screen to make a good defense. When he met Milicic, he irrationally chose to throw.Although he escaped the defense, the ball went wide.

If it is a fixed-point shooting, Alston can at least have a shooting rate of more than 40%, but now he is trying a drop shot with a low shooting rate.

Players from streetball have a special habit of showing off their skills. It is true that they pretend to score goals, but this kind of showing skills often have a low hit rate.On the street court, facing some non-professional players, the two players have a level difference in their skills. Of course, this kind of operation is very cool, which is also the reason for Alstom's title of "Streetball King".

But in the NBA, this is obviously not a good choice. Even a player with poor defense is not comparable to amateur players.

To put it bluntly, Alstom is abusive in the street court, and pulling Nick Young to the street court may be even better than Alstom, because this guy is also a master in pretending!

The rebound was caught by Li Zhi who went inside and took the ball to the frontcourt. The Magic started a zone defense.

O'Neal pulled out to cover, Li Zhi broke through and approached Howard, seeing that the European step was about to start, Turkoglu double-teamed up from behind, Li Zhi made a false pass, hit the ground with his left hand and passed the ball to O'Neal behind him, the latter rushed into the inside and dunked Turkoglu and Howard.

13:2, the score stretched to more than 10 points.

Magic players are under great psychological pressure, and the cheers of Warriors fans are an annoyance to them.

Lewis met Li Zhi in a misplaced position, and wanted to break through after a tentative step. Li Zhi posted it up and sold Lewis a loophole.Lewis took the bait, holding the ball and rushing in from Li Zhi's right hand.

One step, two steps, Lewis was about to distance himself from Li Zhi, Li Zhi caught up with one step, and dropped the basketball from Lewis's hand from the back.

"Fast attack!" Li Zhi gave an order, and Jackson and Nick Young immediately reacted and ran forward.

Alston and Courtney Lee chased them, and Li Zhi threw off Turkoglu, who was too slow to catch up with Li Zhi even though he tried his best.Courtney Lee came to interfere, Li Zhi threw the basketball into the air, and Nick Young jumped up from the free throw line to dunk. 15:2
"Hohoho~ Dunk, another dunk, today is a dunk feast for the Warriors!"

DJ roared loudly, and the Warriors stopped the Magic again. Van Gundy, who was always short-tempered, spit and cursed at the Magic starter.

After he finished scolding, the Magic players didn't say anything. They were disappointed with their performance just now. They allowed their opponents to play a dominant offense. In the first 3 minutes, the opponents led by 13 points. Is there any hope?
Van Gundy was bitter in his heart. What the fans saw was the Warriors' offense and eye-catching, but he could see that it was the Warriors' defense.The Warriors' defense is too strong, Li Zhi on the outside, O'Neal on the inside, two defensive cores, the Magic's offense inside and outside is not smooth.

The most important thing is - Li Zhi.Van Gundy looked at the nonchalant Chinese on the Warriors' bench, full of this kind of thought: If he is on our team, I can win too!

Barkley witnessed the whole process of Li Zhi in the first 3 minutes, and he also felt incredible.

"Three steals in 3 minutes. George is creating a miracle. He has seen through the Magic's offense. He has dominated the game with defense. Who is the best defensive player this year?"

Kenny Smith said awkwardly beside him: "It's Howard..."

Barkley didn't seem to have heard Kenny Smith's words, and said excitedly: "Okay, no matter who it is, that is a wrong decision. Let's see, among NBA players, who else is better at defense than that Chinese man?"

Kenny Smith scolded Barkley in his heart, and then said kindly: "Yes, George's defense is indeed at the forefront of the NBA, but who is the strongest is a bit exaggerated. Battier, Howard, Garnett, and Artest are all top defenders."

Barkley said: "No, that's all in the past. I only believe what I see. George is now the strongest defense in the league."

Kenny Smith said "crying and laughing": "That's just luck. George's defense is strong, but he didn't grab the point of dominating the finals."

The timeout ended and Li Zhi played again.Turkoglu saw Li Zhi as if he was looking at a monster, and he was like a nightmare, seeing through all Turkoglu's attacks.

The Warriors made adjustments, Li Zhi did not continue to defend Turkoglu, Nick Young was off the field, and Barnes was replaced, and the Warriors' outside defense became stronger.Li Zhi defended JJ Redick.

The Magic replaced Alston, who performed poorly at the start, and replaced him with shooter Redick. Although Redick performed poorly in the first few games, he can still open up space for the Magic.

JJ Redick was in a nervous mood. He only hit one three-pointer in the first three games. It wasn't that he had a low shooting percentage, but that he didn't have the right to shoot.

In fact, he has a good touch every season. As long as someone is willing to pass the ball to him, he has great confidence in throwing the ball.But no, he's partnered in the backcourt with Nelson, a guy with no passing keys.

Another reason is that Van Gundy didn't give him a few minutes to play. JJ Redick has the potential of a sharpshooter. It is impossible for any shooter to feel hot as soon as he comes on the court. It always takes one or two shots to find the feel.But when Van Gundy saw him miss a shot or two, he would immediately replace him.Redick hates Van Gundy now, and now he has the opportunity, he must seize it.

(End of this chapter)