full court guidance

Chapter 18 The current number of favorites is 46. Is sports too small?

Sacramento is the capital of California, but it is a small city. The Kings have performed very well in recent years and have always been at the forefront of the league.

Their peak season was in the 01-02 season. That year was the closest they came to a championship. They reached the Western Conference Finals and played an extremely intense series with the Lakers.

At that time, the Lakers were at the final peak of the OK combination. Even after Kobe retired, in an interview, he once said personally that during his three consecutive championships, the most difficult opponent was the King, who often fought against each other. What's going on, it's more than 20 points behind, and finally able to reach the finals, even Kobe himself doesn't know what's going on.

what's going on?

The Western Conference Finals that year were full of controversy. There were many controversial penalties in the crucial sixth game. The Lakers fell behind in the last quarter. As a result, the Lakers scored 17 free throws in a single quarter!The Lakers scored 40 free throws in the game!
Many fans believe that in the era when almost all teams emphasized defense, the Kings raised the banner of offense and achieved fruitful results, but the king's star position was too bad, so the league chose the Lakers.

Leaving aside whether the league operated in secret, the Kings' strength did reach its peak that year. The power forward Chris Webber at the time was recognized as the most gorgeous power forward in the league. Duncan and Garnett shoulder to shoulder.

The Kings also have Mike Bibby, a white devil who can shoot and pass well, Doug Christie, a wing defensive master, Peja Stojakovic, a three-point shooter, and Divac, a legendary player who changed Kobe Bryant.

It is such a group of players whose strength is greater than their fame that wrote the most legendary season of the Kings.

Now that two years have passed, Doug Christie and Divac have both left the Kings, but the Kings supplemented the old cat Mobley, and Brad Miller, who is still stronger than Divac, the Princeton system has not been affected much. Influence.

The Princeton system emphasizes the sharing of the ball. Every player will actively cut and run in search of better shots. The basketball is constantly passed among the players. Once the offensive is played, it is like mercury pouring down.

Before the start of the game, players from both sides are warming up, and the TNT live room has already started warming up.

Kenny Smith is more optimistic about the victory of the Kings. He said: "Believe me, even if Peja Stojakovic can't play today, the strength of the Kings is definitely higher than that of the Rockets. Yao Ming has gradually shown his inner strength." Dominance, but his dominance is not enough, and his athletic ability is not strong. When facing a team like the Kings that emphasizes sharing the ball, his defensive efficiency will be greatly reduced. Defensively based Rockets, once they lose their defensive strengths, they lose the whole game, but overall, I think it's going to be a high-scoring, high-quality game."

Charles Barkley believes that the Rockets have a slight advantage in terms of strength, and his reasons are also very good: "It is true that Yao is very dominant inside, and his lack of athletic ability is his biggest shortcoming. Brad Miller can pull out and shoot. It will indeed affect Yao Ming's defense. But don't forget that the Rockets are not Yao Ming's team alone. They also have two-time scoring champion Tracy McGrady. As the team's perimeter core, Tracy McGrady will definitely be able to carry the offense The big banner, and they also have basketball scientists who are beyond imagination. Let’s not talk about his achievements outside the court. His three-pointers alone are enough for the Kings. After explaining the Rockets game, I went back and studied the video carefully, and found that being late really changed my shooting posture. His shooting speed is currently the fastest player in the league! Reggie Miller is not worth mentioning in front of him. With his containment, the Rockets' offensive firepower has been greatly improved. I think the Rockets have a small advantage and can win the game."

Steve Kerr was a sharp shooter in his player days. He knew the specialness of being late, and said: "Yes, I also think that the Rockets will win in the end, but the difference is that I think these two goals The team still has a slight advantage in the king's strength, but the king's problem is their rotation lineup. At present, they only rotate eight people in most games, which will greatly affect the physical strength of the players. And late is indeed a very special player , also as a three-point shooter, I think he is definitely the strongest shooter in the history of the league in terms of the level he has shown so far. Any team that dares to ignore him will be sanctioned by his three-pointers .”

Kenny Smith immediately retorted: "No, no, no, I think there are too few late games. He has been in a hot state recently. This is the reason why he is currently scoring very efficiently and his three-point shooting rate is unusual. Wait until he plays the game More, I think his three-point shooting rate will definitely drop. There has never been anyone in the league who can shoot more than 50% of the three-pointers. Those who can reach 45% are rare. I think as other players The team attaches great importance to him, he will no longer be able to easily get open three-pointers, and his shooting percentage will drop rapidly."

Barkley said: "Come on, don't tell me you haven't watched the video of him in the last few games. It's not a soft-footed shrimp to be late. He has made many three-pointers against people, and I have done it. Statistics, even with defensive interference, his three-point shooting percentage is still super high, exceeding 50%. I think his current shooting percentage is a reflection of his strength. After all, he may be one of the smartest people in the world , How can we guys with brains full of muscles understand his thoughts."

Now that it was mentioned that Late is one of the smartest people in the world, everyone naturally turned the topic to the scientific achievements of Late who was on the sidelines.

This time, the three spoke in unison, and they all expressed that they felt a little unbelievable.

After chatting for a while, a few commercials were inserted. At [-]:[-] pm local time, the Rockets' home game against the Sacramento Kings officially started.

The Kings started with center Brad Miller, power forward Chris Webber, small forward Matt Barnes, shooting guard Cutino Mobley, and point guard White Devil Mike Bibby.

The Rockets started with center Yao Ming, power forward Juwan Howard, small forward McGrady, shooting guard David Wesley, and point guard Bob Sura.

McGrady is a well-known swingman in the league. He was also the main shooting guard when he was in the Magic, but after joining the Rockets, his position was basically fixed at the small forward position.

In fact, besides him, the Rockets currently have no substitute small forwards to take.

With the whistle of the referee, Yao Ming succeeded in jumping the ball, and the ball was handed over to McGrady for control. The Rockets focused on Yao Ming at the beginning of the game. When the ball was passed to the inside, Yao Ming showed flexible steps and faked to avoid Brad Miller's defense. , hit the hook at the basket.

Looking back, the old cat Mobley responded with a two-pointer.

Mobley was a second-round pick in 98. He almost got the best sixth man in his sophomore year, when he ranked second among all players.

In the Rockets' deal to acquire Tracy McGrady, Mobley was packaged and traded to the Magic, and was traded to the Kings shortly thereafter.

In the Kings, his performance is actually not bad. He averaged 44% from the field and 42.4% from beyond the three-point line. He averaged nearly 18 points per game, which is a very important scoring point for the Kings.

The Rockets insisted on playing Yao Ming. The Kings did not have Christie as an outside defensive gate, and the restrictions on McGrady were much less. McGrady broke through and passed the ball to Yao Ming, and Yao Ming easily hit 2 points.

But in this game, Yao Ming's state was not very good. With the next few attacks, the two sides gradually opened up the score.

With 3:58 left in the first quarter, Yao Ming, who was in poor form, was replaced by Mutombo. McGrady led the team with a single core to challenge the Kings, who were still all five starters.

Yao Ming was sweating profusely, covered his head with a towel, and sat down next to late.

Now that he has signed a contract late, although the contract amount is not large, but with his performance after playing, he is now one of the big men in the team that cannot be ignored.

Late was admiring the game on the field, touched Yao Ming, and asked, "Are you still using that learning machine?"

The two spoke in Chinese, and there was no need to worry about others understanding. Yao Ming asked and responded angrily: "Yes, I have been using it for a while, but I always feel that my body can't keep up with the speed of my brain. I have already thought about what to do. Offensive, the body just doesn't listen."

"Didn't I remind you a long time ago? That thing can only improve your mental attributes, and physical exercise cannot be ignored. At present, your consciousness has surpassed the technology your body has mastered, which has greatly affected your state. I suggest that you should disable the learning machine for a period of time."

Yao Ming salivated and asked with a smile: "You are a scientist, don't you have any way to solve this situation?"

Lately shook his head with a black face: "There are some things that others can't help you. Everything is too late. You should stop the learning machine for a while, and the data I have collected is relatively small. Now you use that thing, it's not good for your The improvement is not as big as expected."

Yao Ming looked resentful, but finally agreed.

While the two were talking, the first quarter was over.

McGrady's single-core team led the team well, unexpectedly tying the score. After the first quarter, the two sides tied at 28.

Coming back after the break, the second quarter just started, and Chris Webber hit a two-pointer on the King's first attack.

Then, taking advantage of Mobley's foul, David Wesley was replaced late.

Van Gundy is cautious in employing people, but his late performance has conquered him. He has been able to steadily get 20 minutes of playing time in the first few games of his career. This is something that many first-round picks would not envy.

(End of this chapter)