pinnacle of basketball

Chapter 592 Safety Difference

It was too easy for the Nets to attack the inside. Gaia and Claude completely "opened" the basket in order to "protect" themselves, but they gave in to any Nets players who challenged the inside.

The result was that the Nets extended their lead to double digits with 59:48 at halftime.

The performance of Gaia and Claude made Wade a little ashamed, and the corner of his mouth twitched awkwardly, "You two, I asked you to take off the defense appropriately, not to make you fully defend."

The two scratched their heads in embarrassment. Although the double-digit point difference is a bit big, the good news is that the two successfully passed the most difficult period in the second quarter. The team's tactics and personnel arrangements were not greatly affected. In the second half, they can still play according to the play style set in advance by the Heat.

In the second half, the Heat replaced the entire main lineup at the beginning of the game. Mu Chenfeng and Barrett, who performed poorly in the first half, returned to the court after a period of adjustments, and it worked.

The Nets naturally wanted to keep their lead, so after Barrett scored a goal, Chris immediately fought back from the outside, and it was a three-pointer in return.

Since Kidd became the head coach of the Nets, Chris’ desire to attack has plummeted, because his main task is to sort out the team’s offense, so he has to sacrifice a certain number of shots. Compared with last season, Chris’s average shot per game has dropped from 15.3 to 11.2 this season, at least 4 fewer shots per game. It’s no wonder that his scoring data will decline so much.

Just because he doesn't shoot doesn't mean he's not aggressive. Chris has always been an excellent scorer in the league. As long as he wants to, scoring will come naturally.

However, he sacrificed his data for the team, especially after Kaos joined, his number of shots dropped to single digits for the first time, which was the first time in his career that the average number of shots was less than 10 times.

Occasionally, Chris still has amazing scoring performances, such as 52 points in the first round of the playoffs, but that is only occasionally.

Chris' statistics in the playoffs are luxurious. Although he scored only 15.9 points, he averaged 13 assists per game and contributed about 8 rebounds per game, which is really strong.

In the first confrontation between the two teams, Chris also surrendered a quasi-triple-double of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. His offense and passing are extremely threatening, but he obviously prefers to create opportunities for his teammates.

Today, Chris's desire to attack was obviously stronger than in the first game. He had already scored 12 points in the halftime. During the time when Mu Chenfeng and Barrett were off the field, his touch has always been good.

Barrett and others originally wanted to restrict him after returning to the court, but who knew that Chris played even crazier, hitting two consecutive three-pointers from the outside, and the point difference was further widened.

"Our goal is 20 points." Chris said to his teammates, because in his opinion, 20 points is a relatively safe point difference. The Heat's offensive firepower is very strong, especially in the fourth quarter when their opponent's physical fitness declines. The chasing momentum is particularly fast. In order to prevent the team from "rolling over" in the fourth quarter, Chris requires his teammates to open the point difference to 20 points.

The gap of 20 points is indeed relatively safe. A team can only score around 30 points in a quarter, and the gap of 20 points can be said to be a huge gap. It is almost impossible to bridge it.

There have been some examples in the league of winning from a big deficit. The closest and most famous one is the "black 3 minutes" between the Heat and the Bulls in the playoffs. In Game 2011 of the 5 playoffs, the Heat trailed the Bulls by 3 points with 53 minutes and 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Just when everyone thought the Bulls were about to take away the victory, the Heat launched a Jedi counterattack under the leadership of James and Wade, reversed the game in the last 3 minutes, and won. G5, also won the series that year.

However, such a reversal is only an accidental situation in the NBA. 99% of the teams are difficult to comeback when they trail by 20 points in the last quarter. If they do, it can only be a miracle.

Chris knows how difficult it is to turn over 20 points, so he asks his teammates to further expand the point difference.

The Nets' desire to attack shocked the Heat, and the defense was a little scattered. On the other hand, the Nets felt hot, and with the last attack in the third quarter, they successfully opened the point difference to 20 points.

"Exactly 20 points." Robinson, who hit a key goal, took credit for Chris.

Chris also nodded in satisfaction. Obviously, this is a satisfactory point difference. They just need not to make too many mistakes in the fourth quarter, and they can rely on delaying time to win.

"The last section consumes time."

The Nets' offensive tactics in the last quarter were very simple, consuming, delaying, and playing every offensive round as much as possible. Without the support of the number of offensive rounds, it is impossible for the Heat to recover 20 points.

This is a safe margin.

The Heat's preparation area was very quiet, and everyone was quietly listening to Rondo's tactical arrangements.

"20 points is not an impossible task." Rondo kept motivating the players, "As long as you don't give up, there will be miracles."

Wasn't the Heat the last team that created a "miracle"?
The players of the Nets have fully implemented Coach Kidd's "tactics". Although delaying time is not a tactic worth advocating, many fans will even complain about it as "negative game" and "contrary to the spirit of sportsmanship", but it is indeed a means of winning.

The Nets took 20 seconds to make a shot in their first offensive round, and they didn't have any decent coordination or movement. They were just delaying time, and they didn't care whether the final goal was scored or not.

"They want to waste time and reduce our offensive rounds." Mu Chenfeng saw through the opponent's intention.

After Barrett grabbed the offensive rebound, he was ready to break fast to score.

"If you want to break fast, there is no way." Before Barrett started, the opponent's player posted up.

Man-to-man defense, the Nets not only have to delay time on the offensive end, but also squeeze the Heat's offensive time as much as possible on the defensive end.

"Damn it." Barrett was forced to stop the ball.

Mu Chenfeng ran back and received a pass from Barrett, which broke the opponent's full-court marking. However, the opponent's goal had already been achieved, and it took the Heat just 7 seconds to pass halftime.

(End of this chapter)