NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The Lakers are both a spear and a shield.

Pre-game interview.

When asked if this game might be the key to victory, the Zen Master said bluntly in front of the camera:

“The New York Knicks are a young team. They have performed very well this season. All this is thanks to the fact that they traded for Steve Nash, a very talented guard. Of course, the Knicks can go so far because of the rookie they selected. Wang Song is the most promising and combat-ready big man rookie in the past five years!”

“If the Lakers want to win this game, they must focus on that guy, even if the Lakers are defending him with Shaq.”

There is no so-called pre-game shouting and no scattered harsh words. This is the Zen Master. The plain interview before the game allows the media to grasp the key points of the whole game.

However, the media guessed other meanings from the Zen Master’s words. As the Lakers coach, the Zen Master rarely proposed a defender that Shaq must pay attention to.

Although the Zen Master is known for his caution, this signal also revealed that in the Zen Master’s mind, the Knicks rookie is an inside player that the Sharks value.

The value of the Zen Master’s comments made Wang Song’s status rise sharply. The media did not miss this opportunity to fan the flames and slightly processed the Zen Master’s words to the visiting team.

When D’Antoni received this information, he was stunned for a while, and then he slowly spoke after a while: “As Mr. Phil said, the difficulty of the Knicks’ game also lies in the competition in the inside. It does seem a bit whimsical to compare a rookie with Shaq, but I want to say that Mr. Phil did not overestimate the guy who is valued by everyone in the Knicks!”

D’Antoni, as always, never hesitates to praise.

However, what was a little unexpected to him was that the Zen Master would pay enough attention to an inside rookie. You know, from Jordan to Kobe, this old man used these outside players to gamble on the future of the team.

···

“CCTV-5, CCTV-5, welcome to the live broadcast room to watch today’s game!”

“I believe that many fans have been waiting for this game for a long time after the All-Star voting. It is a game about the competition between the top teams in the East and the West. In a sense, the results of the two top teams will directly affect the outside world’s judgment of the strength of the two divisions.”

“Okay, both sides start!”

“The starting lineup of the Lakers is: Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Devin George, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, which can be called an All-Star luxury lineup!”

“The starting lineup of the Knicks is Steve Nash, Alan Houston, Shandon Anderson, Kurt Thomas, Wang Song! The 21-game winning streak record holder, his strength should not be underestimated!”

···

With the excited voice of Coach Zhang, the game started to jump ball.

Wang Song and O’Neal stood in the midfield!

O’Neal put on a grinning look, trying to put some psychological pressure on the opponent before taking off.

But the opponent was like a fish that had been killed for 30 years in RT-Mart, and his face remained calm.

It would be a lie to say that he was not nervous. Facing such a historical center, he was inevitably a little nervous.

If there is Joe, choose Joe, if there is no Joe, choose Shaq!

This saying that has been circulating among the people for a long time is enough to prove the dominance of Shaq.

He is still the terrifying existence who averaged 35 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in the finals when he created the Lakers dynasty.

Although this is O’Neal’s 11th year, and there is a trend of decline, for the entire NBA, his position as center is still unsuccessful and leading.

Wang Song did not underestimate his opponent!

When the referee threw the ball into the air, he jumped with all his strength.

The two jumped at almost the same time, and the height of the bounce was similar, but compared with O’Neal in his prime, Wang Song has an incomparable advantage.

That is, he is a lightweight center!

In the case of unequal weight, even if O’Neal’s lower limb strength is BT enough, he cannot reverse the fact that his bounce speed is not as fast as Wang Song.

The Knicks get the first attack.

Facing the defense of “Glove” Gary Payton, Nash’s offense is very cautious.

Put away the previous aggressive mentality of throwing to the basket to get assists, and organize the positional battle in an orderly manner.

As the brain of the Knicks, Nash knows very well that the strength of the current Lakers is not the so-called system or offense.

It’s their defense

!

Among the five starters, except for Devin George who has never been selected for the first team of defense, the other four are all well-known defensive players.

So a cautious start is the best choice for the Knicks.

With the help of Kurt’s screen, Houston came out and received a pass from Nash to make a three-pointer.

But Kobe was very tight in defense without the ball. This All-Star starter who was selected for the first team of defense for N consecutive times bit on the court like a mamba snake, tightly wrapped around the opponent.

Houston, who missed the opportunity, could only pass back to Nash, who completed the layup.

But unfortunately, the Knicks did not hit the opening this time.

O’Neal protected the defensive rebound and threw it to Payton in the half court. Payton then passed it to Kobe who was already in position on the wing, and Houston’s signature fadeaway hit the post.

0:2!

“You say this ball is reasonable, but it’s not very reasonable. You say it’s unreasonable, but he scored again!”

Coach Zhang is the guest commentator of CCTV-5 today. As a fan of Wang Song and Kobe, he is in a complicated mood today.

In the past, his commentary was: This ball is given to Kobe, and the turnaround jump shot is reasonable.

But now sitting in the studio, he is a little confused.

He is no longer looking forward to Kobe’s goal as before, and his commentary angle has become more objective.

His partner today is Sun Zhengping, a pure Knicks fan, to be precise, a Wang Song fan.

Looking at Coach Zhang, whose language system is disordered, he can’t help but smile bitterly. If Coach Zhang is still too biased in this game, he will inevitably be criticized after the game.

As a partner, he still hopes that Coach Zhang can comment on today’s game from a relatively objective and fair perspective, yes, that is, to be fair on the side of the Knicks.

The game on the court.

The weakness of the Knicks has become inevitable.

On the one hand, the fans of Staples Center cannot be ignored in the away game.

The cheers and boos on the scene made the Lakers more courageous. After Kobe scored 2 points, they played a small climax of 7:2, forcing D’Antoni to take the lead in calling the first timeout of the game.

The fans in the text live broadcast room were also discussing.

——【Alas, brothers, I feel that the Knicks are really hanging in this game today! 】

——【As long as Wang Song is transferred to the outside line, the ball will be thrown to the basket. O’Neal will end with a dunk. There is no solution! 】

——【The defense is really good! It is worthy of being a dynasty team. Both the spear and the shield are gathered on the body. 】

——【If nothing else, I just want to see the result of the head-on confrontation between O’Neal and Wang Song in the next game. 】

(End of this chapter)