NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The first time, the second time.

Chapter 213 We need to sweep

American Airlines Center.

For this historic arena, the Miami Heat has not brought good news to home fans for a long time since the beginning of the new century.

And the victory in the first round against the Nets in the seventh game is a very good signal.

But before the Heat fans can immerse themselves in the afterglow of the celebration, the two consecutive defeats in New York quickly came back to their ears.

Although the Heat defeated the Nets and did not go out in the first round, it was a new breakthrough in the playoffs in recent times, but this was not the initial expectation of Miami fans after all.

After Randy Finley signed Wade, the Marquette superstar, their expectations for the home team have changed. They are no longer satisfied with the playoffs, but hope to move to a higher level.

Even if they can’t win the championship trophy in one year, in the eyes of Heat fans, the road to the Eastern Conference Finals is not out of reach.

So before the start of this game, Van Gundy was very cautious in his pre-match speech.

Before the start of this home defense battle, it can be said that Van Gundy was tortured to the point of eating and drinking. When he thought of the Knicks getting the match point away from home, the new Heat coach wanted to find a hole to bury himself.

Perhaps affected by the long journey, the Knicks did not play well at the beginning, making 3 of 10 three-pointers. When he saw the Knicks’ opening offense, Van Gundy was relieved.

But when he saw the performance of the Heat, his face collapsed instantly.

The Heat, who adjusted their starting lineup in this game, obviously did better in rebounding than in the previous two games, but they suddenly started to slow down in shooting and tactical execution.

Wade made 1 of 5 shots in the first quarter, and Odom made 1 of 4 shots. The two barely scored 5 points in nearly 10 shots in the first quarter.

With the main players offline, fortunately, the rest of the Heat starters stood up. Starting guards Eddie Jones and Caron Butler contributed 6 points and 5 points respectively, helping the Heat to hold on to the score in the first quarter.

21:18!

Seeing the big score in the technical statistics, Van Gundy explained the precautions for the next game to Wade and Odom.

In the first quarter, the two were so inefficient that they could still hold on to the score. He believed that as long as one of them could get back in shape in the next game, there was still hope to defend the home court.

Sure enough!

At the beginning of the second quarter, D’Antoni replaced the second lineup with 2 main players + 3 rotations.

This change also gave Van Gundy an opportunity to keep all the starting lineups and start the scoring mode while Wang Song was resting off the court.

Wade stood out at this stage, scoring 10 points in the second quarter and successfully helping the Heat to overtake by 1 point at the end of the half.

Back to the locker room.

The locker room in Miami away is a bit small, not as grand as the Madison Garden.

D’Antoni frowned at the cramped away locker room. He planned to boost the team’s morale during the halftime break:

“Guys, we haven’t swept our opponents since entering the playoffs. I don’t want the team to be labeled the so-called G3 curse by the outside world. Come on, let’s go all out in the second half and reward our long journey with a hearty victory!”

If the Knicks still had a reason to give the Celtics a chance in the last round, then in the semifinals, Kurt Thomas, whose suspension is about to be lifted, is no longer a reason for the Knicks to give up the game tactically.

Facing this Heat team, they must show the aggressiveness of the first team in the East, and also to preserve enough physical reserves to deal with the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the other side.

Heat locker room.

When he learned that the rhythm of the game was gradually in the hands of the Heat, Van Gundy was excited.

He clapped his hands hard in the locker room to boost morale, hoping that the Heat could continue to maintain it in the second half until they won the game.

Halftime break is over.

At the beginning of the second half, both the Heat and the Knicks adjusted their lineups.

The Heat’s lineup was directly replaced by a large number of changes. Wade and Odom traveled at different times, and the Heat’s connection was completely handed over to this No. 3 rookie. Eddie Jones, who helped the Heat hold the score in the first quarter, was also replaced by Haslem and Alston.

Overall, the average height of the Heat has dropped a lot.

On the other side.

D’Antoni also made adjustments to the lineup. Nash and Wang Song stayed on the court, and the other three

The starter was replaced.

As soon as the second half of the game started, Van Gundy found something wrong.

After the Knicks concentrated the ball, the offensive firepower was not affected by the absence of the three starters.

Wang Song and Nash blew the horn of attack in succession on the inside and outside lines.

Alston, who originally defended Nash, was only 188 cm tall. In addition to his speed being able to barely keep up with Nash, his defensive efficiency was not high, especially after the tall center screened and rolled, his small body was directly cut off.

D’Antoni was forced to let Wade, who was originally invested in the offensive end, return to defense and guard Nash one-on-one.

But the Heat’s weaknesses are far more than the outside line. Haslem, who was substituted in the inside No. 4 position, has been helping Grant defend Wang Song. Although he is better than Odom in terms of toughness, the 10-centimeter height difference is really enough for Wang Song to ignore the defense and play high.

This Heat’s spiritual totem, in addition to expressing his toughness with a positive attitude and considerable actions, did not play a practical role on the defensive end.

Especially on the offensive end, Haslem, who has always relied on mid-range and offensive rebounds, was completely disconnected on the offensive end when he could not grab any offensive rebounds.

When the game was hit by a small climax of 7:0 just after 2 minutes, Van Gundy stopped the game in time to make substitutions.

The Heat really needs a spiritual totem like Haslem, no doubt.

But the situation on the field is also very clear. The Heat needs their spiritual totem to sit on the sidelines and shake the towel, and replace them with more combat-ready players to fight against the Knicks.

When Van Gundy thought that there was a problem with the rotation lineup and changed the lineup on the field in time, the situation of the game did not change much.

Although the shouts of the home fans at the American Airlines Center are a constant source of power for the Heat, they did not cause much resistance to their opponents.

The Knicks, who changed their style of play, became completely unstoppable!

Since the three-point accuracy was not high and they could not adapt to the American Airlines Center, the Knicks began to focus their offense on the restricted area, creating points by constantly cutting in, setting screens, and single-handedly attacking in the low post.

As for the defense, they directly adjusted to a zone defense, so that Wang Song had one foot fixed in the three-second zone.

The Heat, who originally had limited three-point accuracy, saw their hit rate plummet even when they returned to their home court to face a high-intensity Knicks team, not to mention the psychological pressure of falling behind.

Wade, a rookie who had just entered the league, had not yet grown into a superstar who could fully withstand pressure.

At the end of the game, the Knicks won Game 3 with a score of 103:92 through the second half!

(End of this chapter)