Chapter 119 Talent is crushed

0:4, Knicks leading, Hornets attacking.

David Wesley slowly advanced to the top of the arc with the ball, then leaned over and dribbled to prepare for a breakthrough.

Defender Howard Ellis immediately leaned down and took small steps back.

Just when he was half a step to the top of the arc, David Wesley suddenly took the ball and shot a three-pointer.

"Oh, that's so quick!" Zhang Heli exclaimed.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and a three-pointer was made.

"Be careful, David West is the Hornets' third scoring point, and his three-point shooting percentage in the regular season is as high as 42.4% this season." Xu Jicheng said as he flipped through the information.

Zhang Heli said: "David Wesley is called Mickey Mouse, and his specialties are defense and outside shooting."

3:4, Knicks attack.

The madman was unwilling to lose, so he quickly rushed to the left three-point line with the ball. Without waiting for the inside line to get into position, he made an unreasonable three-pointer facing Mashburn's defense.

"Can the chasing ball go in?" Zhang Heli shouted.

"Bang!"

"Ouch, I missed the target."

Of the four inside players on both sides, He Zhongqiu rushed in first. The basketball hit the rim and bounced back. He jumped up, grabbed the ball with one hand and then slammed it down.

"boom!"

"Oh ho!"

As the extremely powerful sound of the rim rang out, cheers from the Knicks home court rang out again.

"Beautiful! He Zhongqiu made a successful tip-in. He is so fast." Sun Zhenping shouted excitedly.

"His explosive power is too strong and his starting speed is very fast. In a short-distance sprint like this, he is not inferior to a small forward and some guards with average speed and explosive power." Zhang Heli said with a smile.

"If the running distance is a little longer, the speed advantage of a short person will be brought into play." Xu Jicheng said.

"Yes, yes." Zhang Heli nodded.

"He will be 33 next season. He will definitely not be able to match the future Wolverine. Trade him now while he can still play."

Layden was sitting on the sidelines. When he saw the madman miss the shot, he felt that he was not as useful as in previous years. His knee injury was quite serious and his physical condition had declined. He couldn't help but have some thoughts.

3:6, Hornets attack.

David Wesley took the ball to the top of the arc. This time, Ellis did not defend against the breakthrough, but defended against the shot, and went straight up to press.

The Knicks played a three-two zone defense, hoping to use pressing to create opportunities for double-teaming for their players, and the madman on the left wing had already pounced over.

But the 86-kg Wesley made a strong breakthrough, directly knocked away the 80-kg Ellis, broke through, and broke in from the top of the right arc.

Kurt Thomas, who was on the right waist, immediately made up for the defense and formed a pincer attack with Ellis.

At this time, PJ Brown, who had accurate mid-range shots, pulled to the right corner, immediately creating a large open space.

"Whoosh!"

David Wesley passed the ball, PJ Brown received the ball in one step in the right corner and shot calmly.

At this moment, neither Kurt Thomas, Alan Houston in the right wing three-point line, nor He Zhongqiu who returned to the basket had a chance to make up for the defense.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and the two-point shot was made.

"The Knicks' perimeter defense is too bad." Dream shook his head.

Xiaofan said: "If I coach the Hornets, I will strengthen the outside breakthrough, and I can draw fouls when I get in. Wolverine has a lot of fouls. If I beat him, the Hornets will win.

They can't get in. The Hornets have two point guards outside who can pass the ball very well, and the Knicks' perimeter defense is still unstoppable."

"It's a good thing you're not the head coach of the Hornets," Michael Breen said with a smile.

5:6, Knicks attack.

He Zhongqiu was asking for the ball in the low post on the left wing.

"Zhongqiu didn't go directly to the basket tonight. Is this the coach's tactical arrangement?" Zhang Heli asked with some confusion.

Sun Zhenping analyzed: "It may be due to physical considerations. If they can hold on in the first half, they can save their energy for the second half or the most crucial final quarter."

Xu Jicheng said: "The tactical arrangement should not be so absolute. If we can go in, we must go in."

"Yes." Zhang Heli nodded.

At this time the ball was passed down, He Zhongqiu suddenly took a step up and jumped to catch the ball, and when he landed at the left waist position, he had already finished facing the basket.

He pushed Magloire with his left elbow, suddenly jumped up again, and threw the basketball towards the backboard with his right hand like a bomb.

"Hit the bank and shoot." Zhang Heli shouted loudly.

"Oh!"

The basketball hit the upper left corner of the white basket and bounced through the net.

"Beautiful! This rebound has a good rhythm. Zhongqiu made three of three shots and got 6 points." Sun Zhenping said happily.

Xu Jicheng smiled and said, "His free throws are also shot with a bomb, and his bank shots are also shot with a bomb, a shooting technique that has been passed down from generation to generation."

Zhang Heli said with a smile: "After the All-Star Game, Zhongqiu obviously increased his bank shots, but his efficiency in close range shots was not high.

If his offensive skills were better, his hit rate on shots close to two points would definitely be over 40%, whether facing the basket or with his back to the basket.

In fact, with his shooting speed, as long as it is well connected with the offensive technique, it is difficult for defenders to defend against him, and the hit rate will be even higher. "

5:8, Hornets attack.

Baron Davis took the ball two steps outside the three-point line on the right wing, and Alan Houston was two meters away.

Ellis at the top of the arc did not come over to double-team, but had already moved to the top of the right arc. As long as he broke through inward, he would definitely be double-teamed.

At this time, he started to break through with the ball, breaking through from the outside, and after two steps, he reached a position close to the sideline and the three-point line.

This breakthrough direction can avoid being pinched by Ellis in the middle.

Among point guards, he is 191 cm tall and weighs 95 kg. He has both height and strength advantages, and his speed is also first-class. At the age of 24, he is in his prime, and his breakthroughs are very sharp.

In terms of skills, he is good at dribbling and controlling the ball, as well as high-speed cutting during breakthroughs and quick stop jump shots.

When he broke through to the three-point line, Alan Houston did not block in front of him in time and only defended his left side. His speed had already increased, and he accelerated in the third step and broke through.

"The mid-range jumper was broken through!" Dream shouted.

After breaking through the three-point line, he changed direction inward in the fourth step. Byron Davis brazenly pressed Alan Houston behind him, and then strode towards the paint area with the ball.

On the right waist, Kurt Thomas took a step outward and made a blocking move.

Byron Davis suddenly changed direction downward, broke through another person, and entered the paint area along the baseline.

Under the basket, He Zhongqiu leaned forward slightly, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, staring at Byron Davis, and his powerful aura enveloped the opponent.

"squeak!"

One step away from He Zhongqiu, Byron Davis, who had just taken a step forward, suddenly stopped and made a jump shot.

"Fuck it, why don't you come over here!"

The rhythm of the quick stop jump shot was too fast and the arc of the shot was too high. Even though He Zhongqiu reacted quickly and blocked the shot a beat late, the ball still slipped over his palm and he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and two points were made.

"Oh, that's amazing. He broke through the entire Knicks' defense by himself." Zhang Heli exclaimed.

"He is really good at breaking through and shooting. I feel that Byron Davis is better than the mid-range shooting king. The mid-range shooting king is not good at breaking through." Xu Jicheng said.

Zhang Heli smiled and said, "But the mid-range shooting king has a higher accuracy. Baron Davis's breakthrough is indeed powerful, and he is also good at pull-up jump shots, but his accuracy is average. Unless he is in great form, I don't think he can kill people with his shots."

Sun Zhenping flipped through the data sheet and said, "His shooting percentage this season is only 41.6%, 35-pointers 44.5%, and mid-range shooting king is 39.6% and %."

7:8, Knicks attack.

He Zhongqiu has already shot three times, Kuang Ren also succeeded once, and Alan Houston has not shot yet. During the downfield training and just warm-up, he felt that his condition was still good, so he shot this time.

He carried the ball to the right wing, made a gesture to Kurt Thomas, then suddenly pulled to the right sideline and quickly moved to the three-point line near the sideline, where he could prevent the double-teaming of David Wesley in the high position.

At this time, the Hornets' overall defensive formation should shift to the right wing, and David Wesley in the high position should also move to the right wing to double-team the ball handler.

But Alan Houston's right pull was so quick that the Hornets were unable to react immediately and were a beat slow.

At this time, Kurt Thomas suddenly ran up and made a screen for Alan Houston. Houston broke through the wall, took a step forward to the three-point line, changed direction to avoid P.J. Brown who was switching defense, took another step forward, and completed a quick stop jump shot before Byron Davis caught up.

The entire offense was very fast-paced, giving the Hornets no chance to double-team. Their defensive reaction was slow, and when the overall defensive formation just moved to the right wing, the offensive coordination between Kurt Thomas and Alan Houston had already begun.

"brush!"

The water splashed and hit a two-point shot. "Beautiful tactical coordination!"

Michael Breen exclaimed loudly and said, "The Knicks' offense actually started when Alan Houston made a tactical gesture to Kurt Thomas."

Dream nodded and said, "Alan Houston's right pull was the key, which bought at least one to two seconds for his tactical coordination with Kurt Thomas."

"7:10, both teams played well offensively today."

Xiao Fan went on to say: “But this also shows that both sides’ defense is not in place and they need to make adjustments in tactics or defensive psychology.

Whoever can start playing defensively first, I think will have the upper hand in tonight’s game.”

"Defend! Defend! Defend!"

On the sidelines, Paul Silas was yelling at the players: "What were you thinking just now? You stood there and watched them attack. Where was your defense? Do you think you are watching a Hollywood blockbuster? You fools!"

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!"

Seeing the Hornets coach's frustrated look, a group of Hollywood stars laughed.

The Hornets attack.

Mashburn got the ball in the left elbow area by running. At this time, the double-team of Howard Ellis, the main point guard in the high post, had not yet reached him. He backed up the madman, shook his shoulders, and then suddenly turned around and shot a jump shot.

The pace was so fast that the madman couldn't react quickly enough on defense, and the basketball had already flown towards the basket.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and two points were made.

"Defense..."

Now it was Thibodeau's turn to yell.

As a master defensive coach, the Knicks' defensive level plummeted after Ewing left, which made him feel unfulfilled and he was usually very strict.

Unfortunately, defense is more about attitude. Otherwise, even if the players are talented but unwilling to defend, there is nothing he can do.

Moreover, Alan Houston and Sprewell are getting older, their injuries are getting more and more serious, and they are less and less willing to invest on the defensive end.

"He is worthy of being the most powerful small forward today. As the leader of the Hornets, Mashburn is the team's leading scorer. His shoulder-shaking, turn-around jump shot learned from Michael Jordan is amazing." Zhang Heli praised.

"Coach Zhang, is he the strongest offensive small forward now?" Sun Zhenping asked in surprise.

Zhang Heli nodded and said: "In terms of offensive firepower, this season is the fifth season in his career where he averages 20+ points per game, and his career average points per game has also reached 19 points.

He is 30 years old and in his prime, he is the only answer for the small forward position in terms of firepower. "

Xu Jicheng pulled out Mashburn's stat sheet and said, "He's really strong. He averaged 20+ points per game in both the Mavericks and the current Hornets. The only seasons he didn't average that were in the Heat."

Zhang Heli explained: "During the Heat's several seasons, it wasn't that he wasn't strong enough, his injury had healed by then, but he didn't receive enough attention, and his shooting rights were restricted by Pat Riley, so he couldn't play 20+ data.

In those seasons, the Heat had Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning, and he was only the team's third offensive option.

McCann, a famous basketball commentator of FOX and one of the candidates for the NBA MVP, selected Mashburn as the top ten active small forwards in the league in March this year.

At 9:10, the Knicks attacked, and the Hornets' defensive enthusiasm was obviously improved a lot.

"Bang!"

Byron Davis intensified the pressure and faced David Wesley's double-team. Alan Houston forced a shot before the double-team reached him, but missed.

"Go away!"

Under the basket, He Zhongqiu used his absolute strength advantage to squeeze past Magloire in front of him, and then used his jumping advantage to grab the offensive rebound over PJ Brown's head.

"rebound!"

Paul Silas yelled in anger.

"it is good!"

Zhang Heli shouted excitedly.

He Zhongqiu fell to the ground and was double-teamed from the front and back by two opponents. Mashburn also rushed over from the left wing and was soon double-teamed by three opponents.

At this time, he calmly stepped back, with his right foot out of the reasonable collision area, and suddenly jumped back diagonally two meters in front of the basket. While half lying in the air, he threw the ball towards the backboard with his right hand holding the ball.

At this time, his shooting position was almost four meters outside the basket, close to the free throw line, and he was not sure.

"Oh!"

The ball hit the white basket, bounced back, hit the basket with a clang, and bounced out.

"Oh, I missed." Zhang Heli sighed.

On the left and right sides of the basket, PJ Brown and Magloire jumped at the same time and grabbed the basketball.

Mashburn and Kurt Thomas were both outside, but had no chance to grab the rebound.

Unfortunately, they touched the ball at the same time and poked it high into the air again.

This gave He Zhongqiu an opportunity. He knew that the chances of hitting the board were slim, so he pounced back immediately after landing and caught up just in time.

He jumped almost at the same time as PJ Brown and Magloire, but he jumped at least a foot higher, and with his arm span, he jumped nearly two feet higher.

PJ Brown and Magloire watched with some despair as the ball was caught by the Wolverines.

On the sidelines, Hornets coach Paul Serra saw this scene, but he was not angry, but shook his head helplessly, because it was not that the players did not try hard to fight for rebounds, but that their talents were crushed.

The next moment, He Zhongqiu in the air held the ball with his right arm and chopped it down like an axe.

"boom!"

"Oh ho!"

The sound of the basket exploding was heard, and the cheers from Madison Square Garden spread out like exploding TNT.

"awesome!"

Michael Breen screamed excitedly: "Wolverine missed the rebound on the second attack, but he didn't stop the attack, and then he completed a powerful tip-in, dunking over PJ Brown and Magloire in one fell swoop."

"5 out of 4 shots, I'm in really good shape today!" Sun Zhenping said happily.

Zhang Heli smiled and said, "There were five attacks. The first one was a dunk with the ball, the second one and the last two were tip-ins, one failed, two were successful, and the third one was a close-range shot.

In the five offensive attempts, there was not a single defensive attack under the basket. What does this mean? "

"Coach Zhang, what does this mean?" Sun Zhenping asked cooperatively.

Zhang Heli said: "In the G1 game, Zhongqiu was repeatedly double-teamed under the basket, which shows that he has changed his playing style. He no longer focuses on attacking under the basket, but instead strengthens his efforts in grabbing offensive rebounds and secondary offense, while also increasing close-range offense."

Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "Yes, this will reduce the chances of him being double-teamed under the basket."

Zhang Heli continued, "With his natural strength, he can indeed stand and shoot under the basket, but when he is double-teamed, the success rate of his strong shot will be affected.

In fact, with his athleticism, I think he will have an advantage if he plays on the move.”

"Why?" Sun Zhenping asked again.

Zhang Heli smiled and said: "Because of his athleticism, very few inside players, especially very few centers, can keep up with him.

Using speed to defeat slowness, without that kind of intense confrontation, can not only save physical energy, but also reduce the body's consumption and the possibility of injury.

However, his offensive skills have not yet been developed, so there is no way to fully utilize his athletic advantages.

I think he needs to wait another two years until his skills are developed. I think he can be comparable to David Robinson on the offensive end."

9:12, Hornets attack.

Mashburn received the ball on the left wing again and attacked at a fast pace. He completed a shoulder-shaking turnaround jump shot before Ellis' double-team arrived.

"Bang!"

It's a pity that he learned Jordan's skills, but he didn't have Jordan's accuracy, so the shot missed.

He Zhongqiu blocked Magloire, Kurt Thomas came in and grabbed the backcourt rebound, and the Knicks attacked.

After his teammates grabbed the rebound, He Zhongqiu immediately rushed down the middle, with Magloire, P.J. Brown and Kurt Thomas all falling behind.

In front of He Zhongqiu, there were only a few outside players from both teams, such as Alan Houston, who was running fast from the outside.

Ellis took the ball and advanced in the middle, and he also fell behind He Zhongqiu.

While controlling the ball, he kept an eye on He Zhongqiu's quick run and prepared to pass the ball.

Unfortunately, due to his lack of ability, he was inevitably distracted. At this moment, David Wesley took advantage of his unpreparedness and stole the ball, knocking it away.

"Ouch!"

Bang! Zhang Heli slammed the table in anxiety.

PJ Brown behind picked up the ball, immediately switched offense and defense, cooperated with Magloire, and hit a shot over Kurt Thomas' head.

11:12, Knicks attack.

(End of this chapter)