Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 14 14. Strong dialogue: the strength of the top team!

On November 11, the Timberwolves, who have just ended their 20-game winning streak, will face the strongest challenge of the season.

Because the Timberwolves will be a guest in Miami in this game and challenge the mighty Heat away.

The Heat this season is definitely one of the league's biggest favorites to win the championship. Even in terms of overall strength, the Heat's odds of winning the championship are even higher than the Timberwolves, the league's number one.

The Heat acquired the "former league No. 1" Shaquille O'Neal through a trade during the offseason.

This deal also allowed the Heat to rise directly from a playoff team to a championship team, and before the season started, the Heat were considered a catastrophe for the Pistons' way to defend their title this season.

Although O'Neal is 32 years old this year, his responsiveness and physical fitness have declined compared to the previous two seasons.

但截止到目前，奥尼尔在场均登场34分钟的情况下，依然可以轰出22.9分10.4篮板2.8助攻以及2.6次封盖。

And the shooting rate remained at 60%. Without being double-teamed by the enemy inside, O'Neal's penalty area completion rate reached 78.6%, continuing to rank first in the league.

It can be seen from the data that although O'Neal is no longer young and his statistics are also in decline, but for now, O'Neal is still the most dominant center in the league, and there is no need to add one after that. .

In addition, the second-year rookie Wade also performed well, averaging 24.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. It doesn't look like a rookie at all, but rather like the star of the Heat.

In fact, although O'Neal is the boss in name after he came to the Heat, it can still be seen from the average shots per game and tactical status that the relationship between Wade and O'Neal is more like a joint relationship.

Even though this is only Wade's second season in the league, Wade's outstanding personal ability has completely conquered the fans and the Heat's management, making this Heat seem to have unlimited possibilities to win the championship.

The only bad thing is that the Jagged Pistons are currently at their peak, and the inside line consisting of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and McDyess is even more uncomfortable for O'Neal.

Although Big Ben can't completely limit O'Neal's offensive efficiency in one-on-one, but combined with the iron-blooded defense of this Pistons, it is indeed very difficult for O'Neal to wreak havoc in the penalty area.

Therefore, as far as the current pattern of the Eastern Conference is concerned, whoever can have the last laugh between the Heat and the Pistons will be the most likely to step into the finals.

In other words, whoever can defeat each other will already hold the championship trophy with half of one hand.

In terms of other people, the Heat also have many outstanding role players such as Damon Jones, Eddie Jones, Rasol Butler, and Haslem.

Among these people, except for Haslem, everyone else has one thing in common, that is, excellent three-point ability.

On the outside, you only need to wait for Wade and O'Neal to score the ball, and then raise your hand to make the damn three-pointer.

It can be said that this is exactly the Heat's team play this season, that is, O'Neal and Wade both play hard inside and the other breaks inside.

Once you encounter a double-team, give the ball to the outside shooter as soon as possible.

Although this style of play sounds very simple, when Wade and O'Neal have sufficient dominance, this tactic is the most unsolvable style of play.

It is worth mentioning that Damon Jones shot 43% from beyond the three-point line, and the other two were also above 38%.

This hit rate is enough to allow O'Neal and Wade to play stronger without worrying about the opponent's double-teaming. Anyway, the outside shooters will become the strongest backing behind the two.

The most important thing is that the head coach of the Heat this season is called Stan Van Gundy, a typical coach who is best at using stars to play one star.

When Stan Van Gundy met Shaq O'Neal, Luke didn't have to think about this scene at all, because Luke knew exactly what Van Gundy would do.

"Carl, your troublemaker is coming in this game. There is no way. Although Shaq is no longer young, I am afraid that apart from you, the rest of the team will have no way to defend."

"You have played against Shaq for so many years, I believe you are very clear about his dominance."

"But don't worry, I'll let Kevin help you defend. Anyway, with Udonis' mid-range shot, he can't dominate the game." Patting Karl Malone on the shoulder, Luke felt that Karl Malone, who is already in his 40s, should go to the top It is indeed a bit cruel to defend against O'Neill.

But for Luke, this is really a helpless move, because apart from Karl Malone, whether it is Divac or Eddie Griffin, both of them can only be beaten by O'Neal with one hand.

Regarding this matter, the 270-pound "sugar man" can play a role, but the key "sugar man" cannot defend O'Neal throughout the game.

So Luke can only let Karl Malone and Olowokandi use the wheel of battle to consume O'Neal's physical energy as much as possible.

There is no way, before the "shark" really gets old, the wheel battle is always the safest method.

"Don't worry, although I am a few years older than Shaq, if he wants to dunk on my head, then I will definitely explode his balls!" Karl Malone smiled lightly and teased in a half-joking tone. His teammates from last season.

Before the start of the game, Malone and O'Neal hugged each other on the sidelines, and the two talked with smiles on their faces.

Although Malone has only cooperated with O'Neal for one season, the relationship between the two is very harmonious, not at all like the conflict between O'Neal and Kobe.

The most important thing is that Malone and O'Neal have fought too many games in their careers, and the two no longer need to exchange pleasantries. As long as the game is not anxious to the last moment, then I believe Malone is still willing to take back his iron elbow.

As the game is about to start, the two sides announced the starting lineup respectively.

Heat: Damon Jones, Wade, Eddie Jones, Haslem, and "Shark" O'Neal.

Timberwolves: Cassel, Madman, Szczerbiak, Garnett, and Malone.

As soon as they came up, the Heat, who took the lead in jumping to the ball, seemed very excited. I don't know if it was because they were playing at home and playing first in the league. Anyway, Wade's desire to attack was very strong from the very beginning.

Since the Timberwolves' starting No. [-] player is "Madman" Sprewell, Wade took the lead in attacking the Heat after the opening, and began to break through at the point where the madman's defensive ability is average.

And Stan Van Gundy also made a good adjustment in this game, that is, Haslem, who had been playing pick-and-roll with Wade in the high position, became Damon Jones in this game.

Even though Damon Jones' pick-and-roll quality is definitely not as good as Haslem and O'Neal, in this way, the Heat can try to avoid Garnett, a strong defensive point, and make Wade's breakthrough route more flexible.

Coupled with Damon Jones' excellent shooting ability, Szczerbiak did not dare to lean back when defending pick-and-rolls. Otherwise, Damon Jones, who made 43% of his three-pointers, would definitely make the Timberwolves pay the price.

Relying on Wade's outstanding personal ability at this point, "Madman" was completely defenseless in the first two offensive rounds, and was passed by Wade twice in a row, completing an excellent offensive finish.

In terms of breakthrough speed, even if two madmen are tied together, they can't compare with Wade, who has just entered the league.

The main reason is that Garnett has been pinned down by Haslem to the other side, forming a counterpoint to Wade's breakthrough route. This position makes it difficult for Garnett to help defend Wade's breakthrough route in the first place. superior.

After all, it is impossible for Garnett to give up the defender completely, and then run from the left side of the court to the right side, specifically to flank Wade, which looks really stupid.

Looking at the Heat's offensive methods on the court, Luke standing off the court couldn't help frowning, because through these two offensive rounds, Luke has already felt some trouble.

Strictly speaking, this is also the first time Luke feels tricky after taking over the Timberwolves coach.

It wasn't until this time that Luke saw the combat effectiveness that the league's top teams could display.

But after frowning, a smile appeared on Luke's face inexplicably, because the more difficult it was, the more excited Luke was.

Even Luke couldn't help but want to give Wade a good "disgusting" and tell this young man with puffy cheeks what is sinister and what is real trouble!

(End of this chapter)