God's hand behind the scenes

Chapter 81 Fatal Strike

North Carolina actually likes to play on the ground, and their starting lineup for this game is very suitable for playing slowly at halftime.However, Villanova brought the rhythm of the game soaring. Often one side just scored a goal, and two or three seconds later, the other side had already pushed the ball across the center line. The two big men Okuraja and Heywood had to be angry Panting and running back and forth.

Originally, they still had a height advantage in the interior. Although they lacked offensive means, at least they were better than Villanova in terms of rebounding.However, the meaningless running back and forth greatly consumed their physical energy, and soon the pocket inside line composed of Brand and Battier regained a firm foothold under the basket, and the disadvantage of rebounding gradually recovered.

Smith couldn't sit still anymore. He walked around the sidelines like an ant on a hot pot. His tie that was ripped into a mess showed that he was not at peace.The only thing he can count on now is the breakthrough of Carter and Jamison. It would be great if he can split the ball at the right time, so that at least the team's offensive firepower can be maintained.

But before North Carolina's striker twin stars showed their power, Villanova had already made changes. Their new offensive routine was exactly the same as North Carolina's, which was a pick-and-roll, but if you look closely, you will find that there are big differences between the two sides.

Tracy McGrady holds the ball at the top of the arc, and will perform pick-and-rolls with Battier and Brand successively, so that in the end, the one who switches on him will become the tall but clumsy Heywood.And Battier and Brand are both inside and outside players. McGrady can choose a lot of passing spots. Brown and Celestand even ambushed in the two bottom corners, waiting to catch the ball and shoot a three-pointer. .

But obviously McGrady didn't intend to split the ball. First, he originally planned to compete with Carter. Second, Haywood's defense was almost like air in front of him. Since he was sure to send the ball to the basket, he didn't need to pass. For teammates, this is also his privilege on the field, he can decide his own tactics according to the situation on the field.

At the beginning, Rappers did not give McGrady this power, after all, he was really speechless in terms of offensive selection.However, after Chang Wei's hell-style training, McGrady's ability to read the opponent's defensive system has been greatly improved, and his performance on the court has become more and more sophisticated. Only then did Rappers entrust his on-the-spot decision-making ability to him. superior.

There is no doubt about McGrady's scoring methods. Although he and Heywood are both freshmen, there is a big gap between the two in terms of talent and strength.Moreover, Haywood's experience is not rich enough, and he likes to reach out to interfere, which gave McGrady a chance to make a foul.In two consecutive rounds, McGrady used feints to cause Haywood's fouls. Once he scored 2+1, and once he got two free throws, which instantly increased Heywood's personal fouls to three times.

The rules of the NCAA are very different from those of the NBA. The upper limit of personal fouls in a single game is an obvious example.It takes six fouls in the NBA to be sent off, but five in the NCAA.Now the first half has not yet finished, Haywood has three fouls, which means he can only sit on the bench before the start of the second half.

Smith was also angry and anxious. Before he could react, Haywood fouled McGrady twice in a row. This undoubtedly bankrupted his big lineup. After all, there are many forward players in the team, but the big inside There are not many, and when Haywood leaves the field, the team can only return to the original traditional lineup, which is obviously unable to fight against Villanova.

But now everyone knows that Haywood is the weakness of North Carolina's interior defense. Everyone is trying to match up with him when they get the ball, in order to make another foul.Not only McGrady, who was eager to try, but Battier, who was covering for him, also changed his previous style of pulling the outside to shoot three-pointers, and actively rushed to the inside. , it is not difficult to cause Heywood to foul directly on the offense and defense of the inside line with his ability.

In desperation, Smith could only replace Heywood, who replaced him with the original starting shooting guard Coulthard, which also meant that North Carolina returned to the original lineup.In fact, this lineup looks more suitable for Villanova than the previous big man lineup. At least except for Okuraja, the other four can keep up with Villanova's speed.

But Smith's face is still ugly. If the regular lineup is useful, he would have replaced Coulthard.It seems that Shamond, Coulthard, Carter and Jamison can keep up with the opponent's rhythm, but in fact Carter VS McGrady is already at a disadvantage. As for Okuraja, he is not even Brad's opponent. As long as the opponent switches to For singles tactics, North Carolina is about to stop.

Everyone encounters Murphy's Law in their lives, and Smith is no exception. One of Murphy's Laws is that if you worry about something happening, it is more likely to happen.When he saw Rappers walked to the sidelines and made a simple gesture to McGrady, he had a faint sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, Villanova's players did not adopt the pick-and-roll tactics they had been using before in the next offensive round. Brand went straight to the North Carolina basket to get stuck, and raised his right hand to signal McGrady to pass the ball to him.Okuraja kept pushing him hard from behind, but Brand never moved.

Seeing this scene, Chang Wei felt very relieved, of course it was his credit.Throughout the season, Chang Wei has been helping Brand improve his movement speed, and at the same time strengthen the latter's strength. Such unreasonable things can only be done by him who has a system.Therefore, in this game, Brand can not only catch up with his teammates as the center of the small-ball lineup, but also be able to get stuck in the basket and ask for the ball to play singles. Such a trait will undoubtedly greatly improve his draft pick.

McGrady didn't hesitate. After all, Brand's position is really good, only one turn away from the basket.McGrady dodged Carter's big hand and directly hoisted the ball into the inside. Brand leaned back while catching the ball. Okuraja behind him felt an irresistible force rushing towards him, and he was knocked to the ground. Back again and again.

Brand caught a glimpse of Okuraja staggering back from the corner of his eye. He turned around and smashed the ball into the basket hard.Although no foul was caused by the opponent, it improved the morale of the team, and the point difference between the two sides widened to double digits. His domineering appearance in front of Okuraja also murdered many reporters on the sidelines.

The players on the Villanova bench also waved the towel and cheered for Brand's dunk.Although they may not have much playing time in this game, they all know that the team is very close to victory.

(End of this chapter)