Soul of the Golden State

Chapter 82 Live Teaching
To say that Li Weisi's defense was different from the first half, there seemed to be some subtle changes.

In the second half, whenever Li Weisi held the ball, Johnson put it up desperately, even if Li Weisi broke through, he still did the same.

I would rather let Li Weisi break into the three-point line and shoot two points, and never let Li Weisi shoot three-pointers, although according to mathematical theory, there is no problem with this defense.

But if you put this defensive choice in the basketball world of the 80s, it is absolutely unimaginable.

Who would put the opponent close to the basket to make a mid-range shot for a three-pointer with an uncertain shooting percentage?

But such things are happening.

Johnson closely followed Li Weisi and choked his three-pointer. In the penalty area, the twin towers of McHale and the old chief guarded to prevent Li Weisi from breaking into the penalty area for a layup. The weak defensive area of ​​the Walters unconsciously drove Li Weisi here.

This familiar scene reminds people of the magic ball theory 30 years later, and the reason is precisely because of Li Weisi's terrifying projection ability at this time.

Under such a defense, Li Weisi's shooting rate has dropped significantly, especially in the statistics. It has dropped from close to 80% to 60%. Well, it is indeed an obvious drop.

Although the Celtics caught up to the score, they were always short of breath, unable to overtake the score and completely reverse the situation.

Both sides you score, I score, you hit the iron, I also hit the iron, in short, no one can separate the other until it enters the substitute time again.

The first to be replaced this time was Li Weisi.

Of course, Nelson's idea was not wrong. He replaced Li Weisi, retained his strength, and stayed at the critical moment of the fourth quarter to exert strength. After all, the Celtics are not the kind of people who can be killed with a single stick and let the game enter garbage time in advance. The team, from the very beginning, they were ready for the long game.

It's just that when Li Weisi was replaced, the situation changed suddenly. Without Li Weisi's strong involvement, the defensive pressure on the Warriors' other positions increased sharply. As a result, the Warriors suddenly experienced a scoring shortage. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Celtics scored 2 points in a row, not only overtaking the score, but also showing a faint momentum of pulling away.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Nelson quickly called a timeout.

Just a timeout can't solve the team's offensive problem. Due to Li Weisi's outstanding performance, the team is more or less dependent on Li Weisi at this time. Once Li Weisi goes down, they will not be able to play.

At this time, Nelson's courage was on the contrary. He withstood the huge pressure and did not send Li Weisi to the court at this time. Instead, he told Malone, Smith and Mullin: "Fight for offensive rebounds!"

That's right, since the hit rate cannot be guaranteed at this time, then use the Warriors' inside fighting strength, shoot more and grab more, even if you can't make it, you can't let the opponent fight back.

At this time, there are still 2 minutes before the end of the third quarter, and whether they can bite the score is all in one fell swoop.

The main players of the two teams, their playing time in this game has increased compared with the usual time. Even Li Weisi, who strictly followed the rules, actually played more than the usual average playing time.

This inevitably reduces the playing time of the substitutes. Most of the time, the main players of both sides are gnashing their teeth and fighting.

One is the exhausted teacher who came from afar, and the other is the "elderly" combination of veterans. In terms of physical fitness alone, the two sides are really evenly matched.

Bird again put the ball into the interior, handed over to the hands of McHale.

McHale has scored 15 points in this game, and Smith behind him can't defend against McHale's low singles. If it weren't for Malone's defense from time to time, McHale's score would probably be even higher.

This time was no exception. McHale took a quick dribble after receiving the ball. However, with just this step, Malone quickly came to McHale's side, ready to double-team him.

Malone's sudden arrival was indeed beyond McHale's expectations. He was going to dribble twice, adjust his rhythm, and then turn around. Facing Malone's double-team, he had to collect the ball in advance.

But McHale's mind also turned extremely fast. After receiving the ball, he quickly turned to the middle, avoided Malone's defense, and shot against Smith.

Although Smith is strong, but his height is only 203cm, McHale can turn around and shoot calmly, but even so, McHale still didn't take off the first time.

When he raised the ball above his head, Smith flew up. It has to be said that Smith was already a little nervous at this time.

Naturally, McHale would not give up this good opportunity. He took the initiative to lean up and hit the falling Smith. Then, relying on his excellent waist and abdomen strength, he jumped up and threw the ball.

After knowing that he was cheated, Smith put his whole body down on McHale's body when he fell, and made a foul if he wanted to, so as to prevent two plus one.

However, McHale, whose body was deformed, still used his super long arm like a bamboo pole to hook hard, and the basketball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket. Although Smith tried to avoid it again and again, it was still two plus one.

To make matters worse, it was Smith's fifth foul.

No way, Nelson could only replace him, and with a slap in his heart, he sent Rodman on the field.

"Dennis, you go!"

Rodman, who was sitting on the bench, heard Nelson's words, and immediately jumped out of the seat like a spring. He thought that he might not play in the second half, but he didn't expect the opportunity to come like this.

The excited Rodman wanted to run up immediately, but Nelson grabbed him and told him, "Dennis, I don't want you to do anything else. First, keep harassing McHale, but control your fouls. Give me at least 8 minutes; second, assist Malone and protect the rebound!"

"Don't worry, coach! Just leave it to me!" Rodman assured Nelson with confidence, and then ran onto the court in three steps.

Although Rodman also had some playing time in the previous games, most of them happened in garbage time. It was the first time that he was sent to the court at such an important moment like today.

"Come on, Dennis!" Suddenly, Frank's voice came from the bench.

Rodman turned around and gave Frank a thumbs up, and then showed a smile with eight teeth visible.

It's just that Rodman, who had just played, hadn't recovered from his excitement, and was educated by the old-fashioned Bird, teaching this young man a lesson.

The reason was that McHale missed a free throw, and the two sides fought for rebounds in the paint.

Although Malone got stuck on one side, the rebound flew to Rodman and Bird beside him. How could Rodman miss it.

Immediately prepared to take off to receive the rebound, while taking off, he felt Bird squeezed towards him, so he reached out to intercept.

But when he reached out, he accidentally hit Bird on the jaw, and Bird fell to the ground with his very exaggerated acting skills.

This led to Rodman accepting the basketball, but at the same time he also received the referee's whistle.

Rodman rebounded and fouled, the number of free throws was up, and Bird got two free throws.

Seeing Bird's smile after standing up, Rodman held the basketball, and only one sentence remained in his heart: MMP!

(End of this chapter)