NBA: I am the card dealer

And this is indeed the case.

Next, the offensive rhythm of both sides was very fierce, and they fought back and forth, having a lot of fun.

The Pacers hardly set up any defense, and just followed the set defensive strategy to try to delay the opponent and make some interference under the basket.

On the Nets side, Anunoby and Xue Liancheng are still defending seriously. Although Carroll's defense is not very active, his defensive skills are still there and he can still play some defensive role on the court.

But Sabonis Jr. and Crabbe are really not very good at defense, so their defensive loopholes are actually quite big.

In addition, every player in the Pacers' lineup can attack and shoot three-pointers very well.

In this way, the two sides scored a super high score of 42:39 in the first quarter, and the two sides scored a total of 81 points. It was not an exaggeration to say that the offensive battle was a success.

Breen: "The Pacers' offense is so fierce!"

Mark Jackson: "That's true. Whether it's defensive counterattacks or fast breaks, they are excellent. Russell + Oladipo are a very fast backcourt duo, which can always have a huge impact on the Nets. In addition, they are very accurate in three-pointers, which gives them a lot of space in the interior, and Oladipo's breakthroughs are more smooth."

After all, as a famous coach in the past, Mark Jackson saw through the Pacers' offensive system at a glance.

The first is the fast defensive counterattack. Russell, Oladipo, and Thaddeus Young had a strong impact, which put a lot of defensive pressure on the Nets.

Secondly, they are very accurate and good at shooting three-pointers, which can not only create space for the team inside, but also bring another wave of pressure to the Nets' perimeter defense.

With sufficient space in the interior, Oladipo's breakthrough can tear apart the Nets' defense and create better shooting space on the outside.

This chain of events formed a positive feedback loop, making their attack extremely fierce.

of course.

This moneyball style of play has both advantages and disadvantages.

Once their overall three-point shooting touch is not very good, their offense will face the serious consequence of being unsustainable or even stalled.

After all, if you miss a three-pointer, the opponent will definitely shrink the space, and your breakthrough will become difficult. If you can't create a good shooting space by breaking through, then shooting three-pointers from the outside will become even more of a problem.

This creates a negative feedback loop that gets worse and worse.

but.

Given the offensive capabilities of the Pacers' lineup, it is unlikely that they will collectively stall.

After all, Oladipo, Russell, and Bogdanovic are indeed very strong in personal offensive abilities. Even if they are not good at three-point shooting, they can put the ball into the basket in other ways.

Jeff Van Gundy chimed in: "But their strategy of attacking and defending is not going to go far in the playoffs."

As a well-known defensive master, he has always been a great advocate of defense. It is not surprising that he is now criticizing the Pacers' style of play.

Breen: "Their first task is to return to the playoffs. As for how far they go in the playoffs, that should not be something they should consider at this stage."

Mark Jackson nodded in agreement: "Yes! No matter what, they can only talk about how to go further in the playoffs after they make it to the playoffs."

And the game continues.

In the second quarter, the offensive firepower of both sides declined a bit.

But it can also achieve a high score of 30:29.

in this way.

At the end of the first half, the Nets were trailing the Pacers by 68 points at 72:4.

The score difference was not big, but Xue Liancheng felt that the game was difficult.

Because the opponent's three-point firepower is too strong, three-pointers suddenly start raining down. Sometimes you can't even predict it, and you can only activate the 100% hit skill as a response. The purpose is naturally to boost morale.

The teammates were also relatively competitive and continued the attack.

They encountered this situation in the middle of the second quarter.

With Bogdanovic's three-pointer, the score difference reached 11 points at one point. Seeing that the team was about to be defeated, Xue Liancheng quickly activated his % hit rate skill and forced the team to survive.

The offense then became smooth again and the score difference gradually narrowed, eventually settling at 4 points at halftime.

You know, generally speaking, he would save his 100% hit rate skills for the last quarter and use them at the most critical moment. But now he used it in the second quarter, which rarely happens.

This shows a problem. The Pacers' offense is very fierce, while the abilities of other Nets players seem to be a little behind and their offensive sustainability is not that good.

In the third quarter, this disadvantage became even more obvious.

Sabonis Jr. still couldn't change his foul habit and committed two consecutive fouls.

Anunoby's mistakes also came out.

Carroll and Crabbe's three-pointers suddenly became ineffective.

Xue Liancheng had no choice but to take up the banner of attack again.

Although the Pacers' overall defensive situation was very bad, they were very fierce when defending Xue Liancheng. As long as you got the ball and broke through, they would definitely double-team you, and they executed it very resolutely.

This put Xue Liancheng under tremendous offensive pressure, and he had to use a 100% hit rate skill to barely maintain the score.

Brin said: "The current situation of the Nets is not optimistic!"

Mark Jackson analyzed: "This is normal. In their starting lineup, only Xue Liancheng has the ability to hold the ball and tear the defense apart. The others, Carroll, Crabbe, and Anunoby, can only eat the cake. The other offensive initiator, Sabonis, is too immature. He can't support the Nets' offensive system. This has caused their problem of lack of successors. Once the shooting is inaccurate, the entire offensive pressure will be placed on Xue Liancheng alone."

Jeff Van Gundy added: "What's worse is that Sabonis Jr. failed to control his fouls. Once he left the court, the Nets lost another receiving and organizing point. In this case, they need to use Dinwiddie or Powell, but the situation of these two is also very bad. The former's shooting is unstable, and the latter is willful. Their coming up not only did not improve the Nets' overall performance, but it decreased it."

Breen: "Is it possible to have Lonjo Jefferson come in and play with three forwards and two guards?"

Jeff Van Gundy shook his head repeatedly: "In this case, your entire basket will be empty, and your rebounds will not be guaranteed at all, so Lopez still has to step up, even if it is just to protect the rim and block the position."

Mark Jackson: "The Nets have a lot of problems right now, but I think they are on the right track."

Brin: "How?"

Mark Jackson: "First of all, the Nets' starting lineup is relatively reasonable. Xue Liancheng is the offensive driver and the absolute offensive core. He can take on the responsibility of a leader, while Carroll and Crabbe can effectively open up space. Anunoby is the spearhead of the offense. He does a very good job in fast breaks and cuts. The most important thing is that his impact is very strong. Sabonis is another driver of this tactical system. Their biggest problem at the moment is that Sabonis and Anunoby are not mature enough and always make some small mistakes, but it doesn't matter. As long as we train them, I believe the Nets will have a bright future."

Jeff Van Gundy was surprised: "Are you so optimistic about these two?"

I won’t talk about Sabonis Jr., after all, his performance during his time with the Magic and the Heat was generally disappointing, and these things are most intuitively reflected in the data.

As an inside player, you only have a 40% shooting percentage. Isn't this more than just terrible?

This shows that your ability to compete is really appalling. And now, in less than three quarters and only 18 minutes of playing time, you have committed four fouls. What's going on?

Even if you have the ability, you still have to go on stage to show it!

The situation now is that you can't even play.

And Anunoby is just a rookie and this is only his first game.

Now Mark Jackson has given such a high evaluation to Anunoby, which is simply unbelievable.

Mark Jackson smiled and said, "Whether you admit it or not, Sabonis's vision and passing skills are definitely the best among big men. Just based on this, I firmly believe that he can gain a foothold in the league. In fact, his advantages are not limited to this. He has a soft touch, excellent low-post footwork, and outstanding sense of positioning and rebounding. As long as such an inside player adapts to the intensity of the confrontation, he should be able to grow. The most important thing is that he and Xue Liancheng can complement each other. The effect of his cooperation and connection with Xue Liancheng is definitely not something other players can achieve."

Although Sabonis is thin now, his height and physique give him good ball-holding conditions, and his vision is wide enough and his passing is very accurate.

When cooperating with Xue Liancheng, he can often tear through the opponent's defense in an instant.

For example, in a simple pick-and-roll in the high position, Sabonis Jr. only needs to block it with his body, then receive the ball and immediately pass it back to Xue Liancheng, who can then rush directly into the penalty area.

The destructive power is so huge that you have no time to defend yourself.

Or you have no way to defend it at all.

And the Nets created many shooting opportunities in this way.

So Mark Jackson was not wrong when he said that the two complement each other well. It might even be an understatement. They should be a perfect match in terms of size.

Just like when he partnered with Gasol Jr. during the Heat days, it is a very effective offensive method.

Jeff Van Gundy shook his head but agreed: "Sabonis is a real gem to have around, but his confrontation is still seriously lacking and his foul troubles have not been solved."

Mark Jackson: "So I said that training him now is a very wise choice. I have to say that Atkinson is really courageous. He dared to let Sabonis start in the first game of the season. Such decisiveness is really extraordinary."

Brin: "What about Anunoby?"

Mark Jackson: "He's just another Vonleh."

Feng Lai has really proved his worth by Xue Liancheng's side in the past two years. He is an all-rounder in offense and defense, can attack the basket, cut to the basket, shoot three-pointers, and do everything from assisting to defending. He is very valuable, and the value of his 3D attributes is getting higher and higher.

The most important thing is that his physique allows him to fight in the interior, and he can also rush to the basket and crush you directly, and his running speed is not bad.

Such a player is really excellent.

Brin: “Hmm?”

Mark Jackson: "Even brighter than Vonleh's prospect."

Brin: “No way?”

It’s no wonder that he was surprised. After all, Feng Lai was the hero of two championships!

It is an indispensable part of Xue Liancheng's road to winning the championship.

And Anunoby, a rookie, can actually be on par with Vonleh?

Isn’t this a bit too arbitrary?

Mark Jackson said bluntly: "Anunoby's three-pointers are more stable, and he shoots quite a lot. His outside threat should be greater than Vonleh, and this is just one of the reasons. Secondly, Anunoby's speed, bounce, bounce speed and wingspan are also better than Vonleh, which gives him enough capital to defend. His defensive focus and stability are also better than Vonleh. In the future, he is very likely to lead the defense of the opponent's four positions, which is not easy. There are not many players in the league who can do this, but Vonleh can't. Third, Anunoby's coordination is better. His bounce and bounce speed can help him have better air retention ability, which is extremely helpful for his improvement at the end. Especially when attacking the basket, he is more confident than Vonleh, and the advantage of coordination will allow Anunoby to try holding the ball in the future. If he really does it, he can impact the All-Stars."

Brin was surprised: "All-Star?"

A rookie who had only played one game... No, not even one game, actually had a chance to make the All-Stars?

Isn't this too exaggerated?

Do you really think that All-Stars are cheap?

Mark Jackson didn't finish his words: "The most important thing is that Anunoby can magnify all his advantages next to Xue Liancheng, such as fast breaks to the basket, layups, and three-pointers. Xue Liancheng needs such a player as a teammate. His passing and fast break abilities can definitely help Anunoby."

Brin smiled and said, "That's a little bit true, but his passing vision and ability to attack with the ball are really disappointing. You don't even have the ability to hold the ball and break double teams. It's not easy to become an All-Star just by catching dribbles."

Obviously.

He didn't quite believe it.

The most important thing is that you can't see the whole picture of a player by playing less than one game. Even after playing one season, you can't make a final judgment about a rookie. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many high-draft busts.

The only thing Anunoby is showing now is his immaturity. He has accumulated 3 fouls and 3 turnovers so far.

And it was a very nonsensical foul mistake.

Mark Jackson was very calm: "Then we will wait and see."

Jeff Van Gundy next to him smiled and said, "This kid does have great potential. As for how high he will grow in the future, it is still hard to say at the moment. After all, his playing style has not yet taken shape. The positioning and ball possession given to him by the team will also affect his growth. Now, what he needs to do most is to be the terminator next to Xue Liancheng."

This discussion may seem incredible to fans.

But if Xue Liancheng heard it, he would definitely look at Mark Jackson with new eyes.

What a discerning eye!