Chapter 134: Talent Crush
At this time, the Knicks advanced to the frontcourt, and He Zhongqiu once again had a strong confrontation with Big Ben in the low post on the left wing, and then once again squeezed in a step and stood outside the reasonable collision zone.

Although this was not Ben Wallace's first game against the Wolverines, Pistons fans were still surprised and disappointed to see Ben Wallace, who is known for his strength, being pushed back again.

Barkley yelled, "Oh, this is Wolverine, he must have grown up eating canned spinach, haha!
Now it should be said that Wolverine is the strongest man in the alliance. Who of you two agrees and who disagrees?"

Kenny Smith laughed and nodded. Larry Bird, who had a grudge against He Zhongqiu, also smiled but did not comment.

Unfortunately, He Zhongqiu succeeded in positioning himself this time but failed to catch the ball.

Prince defended Shandon Anderson, Hamilton defended Alan Houston, and Billups faced veteran Charlie Ward. His strong defense prevented Ward from passing the ball.

Charlie Ward passed the ball to Shandon Anderson on the left wing. Facing Prince who was taller than him, Anderson did not pass the ball immediately. When he found the opportunity, three seconds were up and He Zhongqiu had been forced to leave the position he wanted to reach.

In the low post on the left wing, outside the left sideline of the paint area, He Zhongqiu was trying to position himself again. Before he could squeeze in, Shandon Anderson had already passed the ball.

"Ben, hold him!"

Pistons coach Rick Carlisle yelled.

The next moment, just as Big Ben was trying to defend, He Zhongqiu suddenly turned around and slipped to the bottom.

But Big Ben had already anticipated this move, because he knew very well that the Wolverines had no offensive skills in the near two-point area, and they had to get close to the basket to be safe, and slipping to the bottom was the most likely method.

He immediately moved sideways, grabbed He Zhongqiu's jersey with his left hand to slow him down, and pressed his right elbow into He Zhongqiu's abdomen, pushing him towards the baseline.

This defense immediately interrupted He Zhongqiu's rhythm of cutting in with the ball. The rhythm of his feet and hands was disrupted, and the ball lost control and ran out of the baseline.

"Di!"

The referee blew the whistle, and the offense and defense changed.

"Oh, Mid-Autumn Festival made a mistake." Zhang Heli sighed.

"The Knicks must introduce a point guard with good passing ability. The first time he positioned himself, he was already close to the basket. He could have turned around and attacked the basket, but the pass didn't go in." Xu Jicheng said.

Sun Zhenping said: "Nets' Kidd is definitely out of the question, the Knicks don't have bargaining chips. I think Mavericks' Nash is quite suitable, he can pass the ball, can shoot three-pointers, and his bargaining chips should not be as high as Kidd's."

"He has no defense and is too weak, but he is really good at passing. If he is traded, other positions must have strong defense to fill in for him," said Zhang Heli.

Xu Jicheng said: "Kurt Thomas can still be used, and with Zhongqiu's athletic ability, once his assist and backup defense abilities improve, the defensive area can definitely be expanded to the three-point line."

15:17, Pistons attack.

"Bang!"

Hamilton missed the mid-range shot, He Zhongqiu grabbed the backcourt rebound and the Knicks attacked.

"The Masked Man made three of his first three shots, but missed the last three. His touch is also declining. Of course, Alan Houston's defense is still okay." Barkley shouted.

When He Zhongqiu reached the low position on the left wing, Charlie Ward immediately pulled to the left wing.

Shandon Anderson took two steps over in time to set a screen. He used the wall to get rid of Billups, then changed direction downward and crossed the three-point line between Prince and Billups.

At this time, He Zhongqiu had already squeezed one step into the paint area. He immediately pulled up the ball, swung his right hand, and passed it straight in.

With his back against Big Ben, He Zhongqiu received the ball with both hands, leaned back a bit, and then suddenly turned around with his left foot as the axis. He stepped his right foot on the line of the 70-degree reasonable collision zone on the left front side of the basket, and then forced his body forward.

Ben Wallace was defending passively and was leaned on again. He was a beat slow to react and was out of position when he turned around.

When he wanted to jump up to block the shot, he saw He Zhongqiu was already in the sky, at a height that was beyond his reach.

At this moment, He Zhongqiu's desire to perform exploded. He made a one-handed big loop with his right hand holding the ball, and then chopped it towards the basket.

"boom!"

The next moment, there was an extremely loud sound of the basket exploding.

The Palace of Auburn Hills, which housed 22,000 people, suddenly fell silent, and the constant buzzing noise suddenly disappeared.

"Very good!"

The next moment, Barkley’s excited roar rolled through the speakers over the arena: “One-handed big loop slam dunk! Wolverine dunked over Big Ben with a fancy slam dunk.

In such a short time, he still had time to play tricks, haha, he made Big Ben a background board..."

Larry Bird couldn't help but shake his head and admire: "As long as he gets close to the basket, Wolverine's talent is enough to crush Ben Wallace."

At this time, he thought of Wang, who was recommended to him by Wolverine's agent, Mr. Xia Song, a center who lacked confrontation but had very good skills.

Such a person is destined to be a substitute.

And he could trade a Wolverine whose basketball skills were improving rapidly for the entire Pacers.

Far away in Yanjing, at the national team basketball training base of Huaqing University, a group of national men's basketball team members and coaches were watching the game.

The members of this men's basketball team include Yao Min, Wang Zhizhi, Battelle, Jiao Jian, Du Feng, Zhu Fangyu, Zhang Jinsong, Li Nan, Sun Jun, Fan Bin, Liu Wei and Guo Shiqiang.

He Zhongqiu is not among them because he is not playing in the Asian Championships.

"Wow!"

"WC!"

"He Zhongqiu, this is too fierce!"

Seeing He Zhongqiu's fancy dunk, a group of men's basketball team members exclaimed in amazement.

The current head coach is still Jiang Xinquan. We have already negotiated with Del Harris and he can only come to coach during the playoffs.

At this time he said: "Dayao, He Zhongqiu is here, I'm afraid you have to give him the basket."

"No problem, I can pull him out to play. His rebounding is better than mine now, and his offense under the basket is also better." Yao Ming nodded.

Jiang Xinquan nodded, but felt a little worried.

Last time, regarding the issue of He Zhongqiu joining the national team but only playing in the Olympics and World Championships, both the Center and the General Administration consulted his opinion.

Because of the previous example of Dazhi, his attitude at that time was as cautious as that of the General Administration and the Center. However, after learning about He Zhongqiu's strengths, he felt that He Zhongqiu should be allowed to join the national team.

He was just worried about He Zhongqiu's personality and how he dealt with people. He destroyed an entire team by himself. What would happen if he had a conflict and started fighting with his teammates in the national team?

"Dayao, you have a lot of contact with him, what is his real personality like?" he asked worriedly.

Other coaches and men's basketball team members also looked over, they were also concerned about this issue.

Dayao thought for a moment and said, "You probably know that he used to be in society, has gangster habits, is very generous, and is a bit strong and domineering, but he is definitely not a bad person."

At this point, he smiled and said, "Coach Jiang, I know what you're worried about. There's no need to worry because he never fought with his teammates in the Knicks. The wardrobe ripping incident was just a threat, not a real fight."

"That's good."

Jiang Xinquan and his colleagues all breathed a sigh of relief.

At the Palace of Auburn Hills, Billups missed a three-pointer, and Ben Wallace grabbed the offensive rebound with his strong rebounding ability.

"Damn it, you can't bully my rebounding skills, right? Believe it or not, I will practice rebounding during this offseason, and I will steal your rebounding title next season?"

The backcourt rebound was lost, He Zhongqiu was furious, and he moved his feet and got behind Daben.

After playing for such a long time, Big Ben has not taken a shot yet. Now he is at the edge of the legal collision zone. He cannot miss this good opportunity. He quickly turns left, steps to the right side of the basket, and jumps for a layup.

"I won't kill you if I don't have the hat!"

He Zhongqiu leaped forward and stretched out his claws. With a sound of "snatch", his left hand very accurately nailed the basketball that Da Ben had just shot onto the backboard.

"Haha, big hat trick!" Zhang Heli shouted excitedly.

"It's no wonder that Zhongqiu is a man who practiced Eagle Claw Kung Fu. Others block shots with slaps, but he grabs with his claws, and he always hits the target accurately." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.

"That's why he has a lot of blocks." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.

In the transition from offense to defense, the Knicks did not have a fast break. He Zhongqiu walked slowly to the top of the arc. When passing by Billups, he suddenly stopped, stood on his right side, and made a pick-and-roll.

Charlie Ward, who had the ball, reacted quickly and immediately broke through, rushing in from behind He Zhongqiu and going straight to the basket.

After opening it, He Zhongqiu immediately turned around and went down.

"Hey!"

Ben Wallace guarded the basket like a black iron tower, looking at Charlie Ward who was coming at him with the momentum of a tiger. He roared loudly, and his whole body aura was extremely intimidating.

Feeling Ben Wallace's powerful and terrifying momentum, Charlie Ward pulled to the left and turned around to pass the ball back without waiting to reach him.

After receiving the ball, He Zhongqiu immediately held the ball high in his left hand, took a step forward, and burst out with all his strength, spreading his wings and soaring into the sky like an eagle.

Billups, who switched defense to the right side, secretly pulled He Zhongqiu's jersey, but the force was not enough to stop He Zhongqiu from taking off.

"dare!"

Ben Wallace had a fierce look on his face, and he jumped up with all his strength, raising his hands high to block the shot. But the next moment, he found that the entire sky was covered in shadows, and Wolverine was more than a head taller than him, and he was crushed in the air.

"Woooooooo..."

After reaching the highest point in the air, He Zhongqiu dived down, and Barkley in the commentary booth excitedly began to simulate the sound of a bombing alarm.

"boom!"

The next moment, He Zhongqiu slashed down with his left hand, and as the basketball was smashed into the basket, his five fingers tightly grasped the basket like steel hooks, and then he swung his body forward, knocking over Ben Wallace under him.

"Oh!"

The next moment, Ben Wallace's back hit the floor, and He Zhongqiu's feet swept past his face with the sound of wind.

"Oh ho!"

At the Palace of Auburn Hills, the screams of countless Pistons fans swept through the stadium like a hurricane, and then fell into silence.

"Oh, another dunk. This time it's a real front dunk."

Larry Bird also got excited and shouted: "I said that as long as he is under the basket, Wolverine can crush Ben Wallace with his talent, no matter how good his defense is."

"It has nothing to do with technology. This is the crushing of talent! The crushing of absolute talent! The crushing of violence!" Kenny Smith said excitedly.

At the CCTV commentary booth nearby, Zhang Heli and the other two were not so overt in their praise of He Zhongqiu. They certainly could not bring themselves to mention the overwhelming talent he possessed.

"Great! No matter how strong Ben Wallace's defense is, he is still a blue-collar center with limited talent, so he was repeatedly dunked over by the extremely talented Zhongqiu." Zhang Heli said excitedly.

"Yes, this is also the reason why Zhongqiu became the starting center of the Eastern Conference All-Star Game and Ben Wallace could only be a substitute." Xu Jicheng said.

Sun Zhenping continued, "Zhongqiu completed that amazing dunk from the free throw line when he played against Ben Wallace for the first time. What does this mean?"

"What does it mean?" they asked.

Sun Zhenping said: "It means that Ben Wallace couldn't defend Zhongqiu at all, which allowed Zhongqiu to find such a good dunk opportunity, right?"

At this point, he said to the camera: "Director, please play that incredible slam dunk back a few times so that everyone can recall it."

With two minutes left in the first quarter, 22:20, the Knicks were leading by two points. The Pistons called a timeout after serving the ball. After the timeout, He Zhongqiu, Alan Houston and Kurt Thomas did not go up again.

The Pistons also replaced a large number of their main players with substitutes.

After the first quarter, the score was 26:25, and the Knicks only led by 1 point away from home.

“中秋首节5投4中，没有罚球，得到8分3篮板1助攻1盖帽1失误1犯规的数据。”张合理说道。

"The defense of both sides seemed to be ineffective in the first quarter," said Xu Jicheng.

Sun Zhenping nodded and said, "The Pistons never double-teamed Zhongqiu in the first quarter. Let's see what their defensive tactics will be next. I think the Pistons' defense will get stronger next time."

Zhang Heli said worriedly: "The Pistons' defense is the best in the league, with an average of only 87.7 points per game. They are the only team in the league that loses less than 90 points. Once their defense is strengthened, the Knicks' outside offense may have problems.

Don’t think that the Knicks won two games against the Pistons in the regular season. That was the regular season, and the defensive intensity is not comparable to the playoffs.”

"Coach Zhang, when do you think the Pistons will be able to get stronger?" Xu Jicheng asked.

Zhang Heli said: "It may not happen in the second quarter, the main players of both sides will take a rest at this time, it should be in the second half.

A person's physical strength is limited. The Pistons can only play their strongest defense in the first half of the game. Let's see if the Knicks can handle it."

The second quarter started quickly. Both sides rotated with half main players and half substitutes. The offensive efficiency was not high. After the second quarter, the score was 42:44. The Knicks only scored 16 points in this quarter and fell behind by two points.

He Zhongqiu played 10 minutes in the first quarter, 8 minutes in the second quarter, and rested for 6 minutes at halftime.

In the second quarter, he was still matched up against Big Ben, but the Pistons played a zone defense, and once he received the ball, he would be immediately double-teamed.

At the same time, he blocked the outside line and his passing route, preventing him from getting the pass. Even if he got into position in the low post, it would be a waste of energy.

他8分钟之内3投1中，2罚2中，得到了4分2篮板1助攻1抢断3失误，抢断了大本一次。

"The Pistons didn't play with all their main players, and the zone defense caused Zhongqiu to make two turnovers, plus one in the first quarter and three turnovers in the first half. What will happen if they play a zone defense with all their main players in the second half?" Zhang Heli said worriedly.

Sun Zhenping said: "The Pistons' zone defense against Chung-Autumn was very targeted. Whether it was facing the basket or back-to-the-basket, the double-team always came from behind, which was quite troublesome."

"So their defense is the best in the league, which is not comparable to the Hornets' defense. I am really worried that the Knicks will fall under their defense." Xu Jicheng said.

Fifteen minutes later, the third quarter began.

In this quarter, the Pistons' main players still did not play in full and were still rotating, and their defense was not at full strength, but the intensity exceeded that of the first half.

"You can see that Rick Carlisle was very calm in his command, allowing several main players to get some rest time," Barkley said.

"Comparing the bench lineups of the Knicks and the Pistons, they're similar," said Kenny Smith.

Larry Bird said: "In the first quarter, Don Cheney tried to take the initiative by making the first substitution, but Rick Carlisle did not fall for it and did not run with the Knicks' rhythm."

Barkley said: "The Hornets' defense is good, but not as good as the Pistons. What is the Pistons' defense strong in? The strength lies in the system.

Rick Carlisle has built a complete defensive system in the Pistons. The help and support defense at each position are very fast and do not give the opponent any chance. Their defense suffocates the opponent.

Facing such a defense, the Wolverines seemed a little uncomfortable. Only three minutes into the quarter, he had already made his fourth turnover. "

He Zhongqiu is indeed not very adaptable to the Pistons' zone defense.

The Hornets' double-team defense made him uncomfortable, but Magloire couldn't deal with him. Even if he was double-teamed, he could still complete the attack.

But Ben Wallace is not Magloire. His defense always allows the Pistons to double-team him and complete the task smoothly.

He made 1 of 0 shots and made one turnover in the third quarter. The team only scored two points in these three minutes and was already behind by 7 points.

In the 4th minute of the third quarter, Don Cheney called the first timeout of the quarter. The score was 44:51.

After the timeout, He Zhongqiu did not play again. Ewing sat next to him and helped him with analysis.

"Wolverine, under the double-team of the Pistons, you only have a chance to complete the attack if you are close to the basket. When you are away from the basket, your offensive rhythm is too slow and you will definitely be double-teamed. That's how mistakes are made."

“I know, but a lot of times I squeeze in and the ball doesn’t come in.”

"Of course I know this, but that's an outside problem. I'm only talking about your problem now."

"OK."

"If you receive the ball far from the basket, you must pay attention to the running position of your teammates. At this time, your first task is not to attack, but to pass the ball.

Sometimes when you are there, your teammates pass the ball to you, not necessarily for you to attack, but to use you as a ball transit station, so that the Pistons' defense will be transferred to you, so that other positions can get open space.

And this is when you pass the ball.”

"I understand."

He Zhongqiu nodded, thinking that it was ultimately due to his lack of tactical ability and experience.

"Also, when you are posting up, your position should take care of both wings at the same time, so that the opponent cannot double-team you from behind without you knowing it. The offensive tempo must be fast so that the opponent's double-team cannot be completed smoothly."

"OK."

He Zhongqiu feels that he cannot speed up the offensive tempo now because his low-post offensive technique is too poor and the offensive tempo cannot be fast.

But if he forces himself to speed up the pace, his shooting percentage will definitely not look good.

"When you're facing the basket, you have to attack at a fast pace, otherwise the Pistons will continue to double-team you from behind."

"Patrick, I can't go any faster now." He said with a headache.

“I know, so you have to be clear that when the opponent attacks you from behind, your teammates behind you must have space.

At this time, you can judge by the footsteps behind you where your opponent is and where your teammates are, and then you can pass the ball. "

He Zhongqiu’s eyes lit up. This was experience!

But he understood that it was easier said than done.

The opponent's double-teaming speed was very fast, and it was only one or two steps away in an instant. He had to make a judgment and complete the pass in such a short time, which was not something he could do just by listening to Ewing's words.

Ewing reminded: "Rookie, have you forgotten what tactics are? Have you forgotten the tactical moves in the team training?"

The super center still overestimated He Zhongqiu's tactical ability. In his opinion, He Zhongqiu had only been exposed to those things for four or five months that he had already fully mastered in high school and college.

He Zhongqiu suddenly realized, but he knew that this could not be achieved in a short time. After all, it was still a matter of tactical ability and competition experience, which needed to be accumulated game by game and season by season.

But Ewing's guidance is useful. It can make his direction clearer, and then he can play according to what Ewing said.

Ewing finally said: "There is another weakness in their defensive system, that is, the defense of the fourth position Clifford is average, especially his assist defense ability and speed are not enough. I hope you can take advantage of this weakness and play your own offense."

(End of this chapter)