Chapter 136: Defensive Trap
The Pistons attacked at this time.

The indestructible Hamilton can still run. Fortunately, the Knicks only played man-to-man defense for one quarter before switching to zone defense, otherwise the madman would have been outrun by him.

He ran from the left wing through the restricted area to the right elbow area on the right wing. Clifford Robinson made a screen and got a small open space. At this time, Billups passed the ball to him.

He Zhongqiu still left Ben Wallace open for a distance. When the ball handler was at the top of the arc, he was one step below the free throw line. When Hamilton passed from behind him, he targeted the masked man.

When Billups passed the ball, he rushed over and made a backup defense.

Now his help defense is only level 61, which has just reached the professional level. It is not good at all, at most passing. But Thibodeau urged him to expand the defensive area and help out in time, so his help defense is very decisive.

Hamilton jumped up and shot immediately after receiving the ball. Before he jumped up and shot the ball, He Zhongqiu flew up from two meters away.

"Wolverine?"

His heart skipped a beat, but he still completed the attack firmly.

"Take it!"

He Zhongqiu flew high into the sky, stretched out his right paw and grabbed the ball directly.

"Oh!"

There was an exclamation at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"He jumped at least seventy centimeters," Barkley said in surprise.

"The game is almost over, and he can still jump so fast?" Kenny Smith said in surprise.

"The first round ended early, giving him a lot of time to rest, and his physical fitness should have recovered well," said Larry Bird.

The Knicks attacked, Alan Houston held the ball on the right wing and shot with the help of a pick-and-roll.

"Bang!"

It was too short, the basketball bounced back and was caught by Big Ben.

"Oh, the king of mid-range shots missed two shots at the crucial moment. Where did his touch just now go?" Zhang Heli was so depressed and regretful that he almost slammed the table.

The Pistons launched a fast break, Billups rushed to the top of the arc, and suddenly passed the ball to the masked man Hamilton who was following up on the left wing.

Hamilton received the ball and rushed into the three-point line, then suddenly stopped and jumped to shoot. The madman chasing him rushed over without stopping.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and two points were made.

"Oh, 85:87, the Pistons are leading." Zhang Heli sighed.

"There are still 66 seconds left, there is still time." Sun Zhenping said.

Xu Jicheng said: "We have to give the ball to Zhongqiu to play, let him get into the basket and play against Ben Wallace. He is confident."

Knicks offense.

"Wolverine, go in and take your place."

Tang Cheney became a little anxious and shouted loudly on the sidelines.

"Hey?"

Rick Carlisle yelled loudly and then made a tactical gesture.

The next moment, when He Zhongqiu squeezed one step into the paint area, the Pistons' zone defense formation began to shrink.

"Oh no, the defense is shrinking..." Zhang Heli exclaimed.

The ball was in the hands of the madman on the left wing. Seeing that the Pistons' defense was shrinking, he was afraid that Wolverine would be double-teamed after receiving the ball if he passed it, so he didn't dare to pass it.

As for himself, he had two meters of space because Prince tightened his defense.

The next moment, he bent his knees and jumped up.

Prince, who was two meters away, was well prepared. His defensive posture was to lure the madman into attacking, so the moment the madman bent his knees, he immediately pounced on him and jumped up after one step.

"damn it!"

Now that he had jumped up, there was no turning back, the madman could only force his move.

"Madman's three-pointer?" Barkley shouted.

"Bang!"

At the moment of shooting, the madman raised the shooting angle, and the ball flew over Prince's fingertips and hit the basket along an arc.

"It's too short!" Zhang Heli shouted.

"Snapped!"

At the critical moment, Ben Wallace held off He Zhongqiu behind him and grabbed the key backcourt rebound.

At the same critical moment, the inexperienced He Zhongqiu made a mistake.

During the transition from offense to defense, he did not counterattack on the spot to stop the Pistons' fast pass, but immediately started to return to defense and ran to the backcourt.

The next moment, Big Ben made a quick pass to Prince, and Prince passed the ball to Billups in the middle, and the Pistons' fast break began.

"Defense! Go back to defense!" Thibodeau shouted anxiously.

"brush!"

Hamilton hit another mid-range shot from the left wing.

"85:89, four points behind. Oh, the Pistons' defense is so good that even a rookie can defend against a madman." Zhang Heli sighed.

The Knicks served the ball and called a timeout.

But this timeout was of no use. After the game started, the Pistons suddenly played a full-court press. Alan Houston, who received the ball, was double-teamed. The Pistons stole the ball and then counterattacked successfully.

85:91, the Knicks were unable to turn the tables and lost Game 1.

孙真平说道：“中秋全场35分钟，15投10中，7罚6中，得到26分11篮板2助攻2抢断4盖帽4失误4犯规的数据。

Statistically speaking, he crushed his opponent Ben Wallace.

华莱士打了43分钟，出手相当少，5投2中，吃了中秋一帽，得到4分14篮板3助攻2抢断2盖帽1失误2犯规。

He stole the ball from Zhongqiu twice, and half of Zhongqiu's four turnovers were caused by him, of course, under double-teaming."

Xu Jicheng said: "Zhongqiu's personal data is beyond reproach, and his performance in the first ten minutes of the final quarter was also very strong. Unfortunately, the Knicks could not hold on in the last two minutes and missed consecutive shots from the outside."

Zhang Heli sighed, "It's really a pity. The game was tied, but in the last two minutes... If we can win Game 1 away from home, there will be hope for this series."

Sun Zhenping said: "This shows that Zhongqiu's strength still needs to be improved. He does not have the strength to dominate the game at the critical moment."

Zhang Heli nodded and said, "Indeed, he failed to stand up at the critical moment, but he is only in his rookie season after all, and he is already good enough."

At this time, He Zhongqiu brought Yang Xue to the CCTV commentary seat, and a group of Chinese reporters including Zhou Biao and Lin Cheng also came over.

Yang Xue still acted with Zhang Heli and the others. This time they rented two nine-seater commercial vehicles together so they didn't have to wait for a taxi.

It was still 80 kilometers back to the city and at least two hours to get to the hotel. Zhang Heli and his team were not planning to attend the post-match press conference. After chatting with He Zhongqiu for two or three minutes, they left the scene with Yang Xue.

"Hey, Wolverine, wanna talk?"

Barkley extended his hand to He Zhongqiu as he passed by.

He Zhongqiu reached out and touched him, then smiled and said, "Old Pig, what do you want to talk about?"

"What old pig?" Barkley didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Ha ha……"

Kenny Smith laughed, and Larry Bird also laughed.

Barkley smiled and said, "Wolverine, your stats today are really good, but you didn't play well in the middle two quarters."

"Well, their double-team defense is very effective. It is the most powerful defensive system I have ever encountered." He Zhongqiu nodded.

Barkley said: "But they double-teamed you in the final quarter, and you played well."

"When I get close to the basket, it becomes exponentially more difficult for them to defend me," He said.

However, due to my physical condition, it is impossible for me to attack the basket every time.

In addition, Ben Wallace's defense often prevents me from getting close to the basket. He is the DPOY this season."

Barkley and the other two nodded. If O'Neal had unlimited physical strength, he would have dominated the league since his debut.

Back in the locker room, the game between the Spurs and the Lakers had ended, and the home team won.

Thibodeau said: "The Lakers rotated eight players, and the three substitutes only scored 4 points, but the OK combination scored a total of 61 points and finally lost by 5 points, which was as regrettable as it was for us." "Coach, where is Duncan?" He Zhongqiu asked.

“22投10中，45.5%的命中率，14罚8中，28分8篮板7助攻3盖帽。”锡伯杜说道。

"O'Neal's defensive performance is pretty good!" he said.

Thibodeau said: "With a guy as big as the Shaq, it was difficult for Duncan to get close to the basket, and most of his shots were close to the basket and hit the backboard.

His career two-point shooting percentage is only 45%. His performance tonight was actually OK, but he didn’t attack the basket enough.”

He Zhongqiu took out the prepared bread and ate a few of it. If he didn’t replenish his energy now, he would wake up hungry tomorrow morning.

An hour later, a press conference was held.

Press Hall No. 1 is where the Pistons hold their press conference.

"Ben, you won G1, but it's obvious that you need help defense against Wolverine, is that right?" asked a reporter from ABC.

Ben Wallace thought for a moment and nodded sincerely: "We did double-team him. He is growing very fast and is very threatening under the basket."

"Do you think we can still limit him in the next series?"

Ben Wallace nodded immediately and said, "There is no doubt about that. Although he has great talent, he is just a rookie after all. We have a lot of experience in dealing with super centers, so dealing with a rookie in the series will not be a problem."

In the adjacent Press Hall No. 2, the Knicks press conference was also taking place.

"Wolverine, you crushed Ben Wallace in terms of statistics, but lost the game. Why do you think you lost?" asked an ESPN reporter.

"How shameless of them to double-team the rookie."

He Zhongqiu expressed his dissatisfaction and taunted: "For the sake of victory, they have no bottom line. I really can't imagine what they will do next."

"Ha ha……"

The reporters below were immediately delighted.

"Wolverine, do you think the Knicks have a chance of advancing?" the next reporter asked.

"Why not?"

After asking a question in return, He Zhongqiu said, "We just lost slightly. We couldn't hold on at the last moment. We might have won in the end."

After attending the post-game press conference, it was almost one o'clock in the morning when the Knicks left the Palace of Auburn Hills, and it was almost three o'clock when they arrived at the hotel.

When I woke up, it was already noon on May 5th, almost twelve o'clock, just right for lunch time.

There is nothing great to see in Detroit. The city is declining, with fewer and fewer white people and more and more black people. The streets are full of unemployed people.

There was no training scheduled for the afternoon, so he called Yang Xue over, booked a business room, and invited a group of teammates to play mahjong together.

That night, the Nets won two games at home against the Digital Team, while the Mavericks pulled one game back at home and tied the Kings 1-1.

"110:132, the Mavericks' offensive firepower is too strong!" Alan Houston exclaimed after the game.

"Who is No. 31 on this Mavericks team?"

He Zhongqiu was very impressed with the No. 31 player because he came off the bench and launched an unreasonable bombardment, making 19 of 14 shots, scoring 36 points, and grabbing 6 rebounds. He was the main contributor to the Mavericks' victory over the Kings.

"Nick Van Exel, an All-Star point guard with an annual salary of tens of millions." said the madman.

"Letting such a person play as a substitute? The Kings are so damn extravagant! I wish we could be so extravagant someday." He Zhongqiu sighed.

"How extravagant do you want to be?" the madman asked curiously.

"We just want you and Alan to be substitutes. Isn't that luxurious enough? With two All-Stars with annual salary of tens of millions sitting on the bench, who is more luxurious than us Knicks?" He Zhongqiu said with a smile.

"Ha ha……"

When the madman and the king of CITIC's old faces turned black, a group of people in the business room burst into laughter.

……

May 5th is the day of Game 8 between the Knicks and the Pistons.

In this game, the Pistons continued to double-team He Zhongqiu, and the double-teaming was even more severe, as if they treated him as the core of the Knicks.

Ben Wallace tried his best, even using his elbows, to prevent He Zhongqiu from entering the paint area easily. Every time he tried to get into position, he had to expend a lot of physical energy.

In this kind of exhausting situation, He Zhongqiu was able to hold on at the beginning and persisted for three quarters, but his physical strength ran out in the last quarter.

Ben Wallace not only has amazing strength, but also has even more amazing physical fitness. He played the entire game until the last minute, and was still full of energy and played defense to the fullest.

It can be said that he used his physical strength to defeat He Zhongqiu.

At the same time, the Pistons' outside line also cut off the connection between He Zhongqiu and the ball handler, making it impossible for him to receive the ball under the basket, and the offensive efficiency was not high enough.
贺中秋打了41分钟，前三节8投4中，末节4投1中，总共12投5中，8罚5中，拿到了15分10篮板1助攻2盖帽5失误4犯规的数据。

In addition to 5 turnovers, he was called for 4 traveling violations and 4 of his 1 fouls was an offensive foul.

The madman and the mid-range shooting king scored 17 points and 18 points respectively. Their performance was not bad, but they were unable to defend against the Pistons' outside attack.

In the end, the Knicks lost 83:99, suffering two consecutive away defeats.

Billups scored 20 points, Hamilton scored 22 points, Prince scored 13 points, Clifford Robinson scored 12 points, and substitute forward Williams scored 11 points. Five players on the Pistons scored in double digits, two of whom scored 5+ points.

After the game, Sun Zhenping said: "The home team called a few more fouls. Considering the defensive intensity of Ben against Chung-Chiu, at least five more fouls could have been called on him."

Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "If it was at home, Ben would have been sent off long ago. This is also the Pistons' home court."

Sun Zhenping said helplessly: "Yes, it's their home court."

Zhang Heli has watched too many NBA games for more than a decade. He said: "This is the home and away advantage, which is very obvious. It is not targeted at anyone. When playing at home during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are also some home whistles that can be blown or not.

In the four regular season games between the Knicks and the Pistons this season, the Knicks won two and lost two. The wins were all at home, and the away games were all lost. This is the effect of home advantage, which is very obvious. "

Back in the locker room, after two consecutive losses, and this one was even more devastating than G1, everyone was in a bad mood, and He Zhongqiu was too lazy to ask about the result of the other game.

However, Thibodeau still mentioned it, saying: "Lakers, like us, lost two consecutive away games, 95:114, which is worse than our loss.

Six Spurs players scored in double figures, similar to the Pistons tonight. Their offense was everywhere and hard to defend. Even Bowen scored 27 points.

After taking a shower, He Zhongqiu and Alan Houston attended the press conference, but the madman did not come.

"Coach Don Cheney, the Knicks have lost two consecutive away games. Do you have any thoughts about this series?" asked a reporter from the Detroit Daily Worker.

Don Cheney did not hesitate and said immediately: "We will not lose confidence. Failure is only temporary. Who can guarantee that we will always win?"

"So when you return to your home court, what tactics can guarantee victory?" the reporter continued to ask.

"I can't tell you that. The tactics are confidential," said Don Cheney.

"An idiotic question."

He Zhongqiu looked at the reporter and cursed in Mandarin.

"Wolverine……"

When the reporter saw He Zhongqiu speaking, he wanted to ask him something, but the host signaled the staff to come forward and take away his microphone.

The next reporter was from ABC, and he asked, "Wolverine, your performance in the two games in the second round was obviously not as good as in the first round. Do you think you need to make any adjustments for the next series?"

He Zhongqiu was stunned. Are you crazy? This is the question I should answer. This is the head coach's question.

The reporter saw He Zhongqiu's performance and felt that there was something wrong with his own problem. He quickly added: "I mean, what adjustments will you make personally to ensure that you are in better condition?"

"Sorry, this is confidential." He Zhongqiu replied seriously.

"..."

The reporter was stunned and said, "What a secret! Do you think I can write an article to discredit you?"
"Ha ha……"

Many reporters at the scene laughed.

He Zhongqiu then said: "I think there is nothing wrong with my condition. They kept double-teaming me and prevented me from receiving the ball under the basket. In this situation, it is difficult for me to play good data with my current ability.

I had several turnovers and violations tonight, all of which were caused by being double-teamed when I was holding the ball far away from the basket.

I don’t know how to solve the problem. Sometimes the position is very good, but the ball can’t be passed to me. Sometimes the position is not good, but I can catch the ball. ”

"Defense trap?"

Tang Cheney, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but feel doubt and shock when he heard this.

The Wolverines did have some of this happening tonight. Could it be that the Pistons’ defense is so strong…

Let Wolverine catch the ball in an awkward position and then double-team him?

And once Wolverine gets a good position in the low post, should he lock down the ball handler so that Wolverine can't catch the ball?
(End of this chapter)