Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 10 Fighting wits and courage
Did the small ball era lead to the extinction of the inside behemoth, or did the decline of the inside lead to the advent of the small ball era?

There are not too many people who have watched Chamberlain play, but there are definitely many people who have watched O'Neal's performance. I believe that all fans know his power well.

At this time, the Mavericks are below Bradley, and there is no player who can stop O'Neal's easy scoring. When the opponent has a center who can eat his own pancakes, with a shooting rate close to 65% It's hard for your team to win when you have 30 points and 15 rebounds.

The Mavericks' second away game in Los Angeles did not cause too much trouble for the Lakers.O'Neal scored 37 points and 22 rebounds. Bradley and Calvin Booth both left the field with six fouls before the end of the third quarter. Nowitzki and Finley felt cold. Combined, they made only 6 of 33 shots, and the fourth quarter completely turned into garbage time.The Lakers made another victory 10-98.

"Mark, did you see that? I'm only 2 games away from winning, and you don't have much time left to brush your teeth!" After the game, Jim continued to shout to Cuban.

It is not terrible to fall behind 0 to 2. What is terrible is that there is no chance of winning at all in the two games.

Old Nelson is worthy of the name of a mad scientist. Seeing that Bradley and Booth were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of O'Neill, they could only let their opponents squash and round them. Wang Zhizhi from China was used at the end of the bench.

Many players can show gorgeous and comprehensive offensive methods in low-level leagues.But after entering the NBA, because the ability has not reached the core level of the team, but the core style of play is needed, its positioning will be extremely awkward. If it is a role player, its defensive ability, willingness to do dirty work, take over The ability to shoot 3-pointers is not up to standard.

Wang Zhizhi was in such a situation.Nowitzki, who has overlapping positions and a similar style of play in the team, but is younger and more powerful, leaves little room for him to play.He had barely played in the games before the playoffs, and suddenly in the third game of the Western Conference semifinals, he came on as a substitute for Bradley within 5 minutes of the first quarter.

"The Mavericks replaced Sean Bradley with Wang from China. In addition to the regular season games, he only played 9 times on behalf of the Mavericks. Can we place our hopes on him?" said the sideline commentary. I also have reservations about this strange move.

However, after all, Wang Zhizhi is also a person who has seen big scenes in the national team. In the Olympic Games, he became famous in the first battle when he dunked Admiral David Robinson with one hand.

As soon as he received the ball for the first time on the field, Big Zhi made his signature continuous shaking layup, and some gorgeous footsteps shook the opposing Holly dizzy, which attracted cheers from the home fans.

In the next round, Nowitzki and Big Zhi both stretched to the outside, and Juwan Howard sank to the low post to play Fox successfully.

As for the defense, since O'Neal cannot be guarded anyway, then the offense will make up for it. The Mavericks have a lot of space on the court. Nash, Finley, Nowitzki, and Big Zhi all have three-pointers, and Howard's half-stop. It's a good game.

Nowitzki feels hot, because O'Neal often stays at the basket and doesn't come out, giving him a lot of easy shots. As long as he cross-screens with Howard or Big Zhi, the Lakers' defensive players will fall into a situation of focusing on one thing and losing the other. Whenever there is an opportunity, Nash's pass will fly like a precise guidance.

In the first half of the game, the two sides played a rare high score in this year's playoffs. The Mavericks temporarily led 67 to 64. Among them, Nowitzki made 6 of 4 three-pointers and scored 20 points and 3 rebounds. Nash contributed 11 points 8 assists, and as a surprise player, Big Zhi scored 7 points, 2 rebounds, and made a three-pointer.

For the Lakers, O'Neal still scored 23 points and 8 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds. Kobe scored 19 points and 5 assists. Veteran Dennis Scott came off the bench and scored 3 points with 3 9 points , while Hawley and Fox did not perform well. The two made 7 of 0 three-pointers. Half of O'Neal's offensive rebounds should be attributed to these two brothers.

"Brad, if there is a team, its lineup is five swingmen of about 5 meters, with unlimited defense, and oppressive defensive ability against small guards, and the offensive end, each has the ability to handle the ball and shoot. How should we deal with it?” Now Jim, who has become the public enemy of Dallas fans, did not go to the American Airlines Center to watch the game, but invited Stevens to his home to watch the live broadcast together.

"I think I understand what you mean. On the offensive end, whether a team like this is looking for a small player on the opposite side to play big, or stretching to find a slow-moving inside player on the opposite side to play big, it is a dislocation attack. , the success rate will be relatively high, and the defensive end can force the opponent's ball-handling player to make a mistake through an extremely oppressive defense, try to prevent the opponent from passing the ball to the inside, and once the ball enters the inside, it is convenient to use the fast defense characteristics to double-team to maximize the lack of inside height.”

At this time, Stevens is like a blank slate. He has not formed a mindset and can accept various basketball concepts.Jim gradually instilled his own knowledge into him, and believed that with Stevens' understanding of basketball, he could quickly digest this knowledge and form his own theory.

"Just like the current Mavericks, they put five players with shooting ability, minimize Shaq's ability to protect the frame, and seize the weaknesses that Shaq can't defend on the defensive end to attack and attack. How should we deal with it? Replace Shaq?"

Stevens pondered for a long time.

"Keep Shaq on the floor."

"reason?"

"First, Shaq is the team's number one star. If we replace him at this time, it will affect the mood of the team. Second, the closer to the basket, the higher the shooting percentage."

"Hahahaha, your confidence in Shaq is really high. I hope he doesn't let us down. Cuban has been holding back for a week. Look at him happy, as if they can win this game." The live broadcast just cut to Cuban celebrating wildly after the Mavericks scored.

The Zen master made adjustments, O'Neal was still under the basket, but Holly was determined not to switch defenses when facing the screen, sticking to Nowitzki, and letting Howard and Big Zhi go. On the outside, the faster-footed Kobe defended Nash, while the experienced Harper defended Finley.

On the offensive end, any player on the Mavericks can do nothing to crush O'Neal.

"Let's see if it's your role players' accurate shots, or Shaq's dunks that increase his points?"

(End of this chapter)