Chapter 143: Breasts
In the afternoon, the Knicks trained for an hour at the training base.

That is to say, we just moved around together, shot some basketballs to get a feel for it, and jogged a bit. There was no tactical planning, and no confrontation.

When He Zhongqiu's car arrived at the gate of the training base, he saw some reporters, including a few Korean reporters. He recognized them at a glance with his small eyes, and rushed up immediately when he saw his car coming.

But he didn't even stop, he stepped on the accelerator and rushed into the gate, scaring several Korean reporters so much that they screamed and hid aside.

After parking the car, he did not go to the training hall, but went to find Scott Layden first.

"Wolverine, sit down. Mickey, get him a cup of coffee."

Seeing him coming, Leiden quickly got up from the big chair, and the two of them sat on the long sofa against the wall.

"Mr. Leiden, have you read the news in the Korea Daily?" he said.

"I've seen it. Many American media outlets have reprinted it. Wolverine, what do you mean?"

Layden had actually talked to Mike Johnson on the phone and knew what He Zhongqiu meant.

"I don't want to see Korean reporters entering our training base and Madison Square Garden," he said seriously.

Without any consideration, Leiden nodded and said, "There is no problem with that."

"Thank you!"

The management’s attitude was very good and He Zhongqiu went to training happily.

As soon as he arrived at the training hall, he saw Alan Hughes shooting and shouted in surprise, "Hey, Alan, are you ready to play?"

Alan Houston stopped shooting, turned around, and said with a firm face: "I can, Wolverine, let's fight together tonight."

He Zhongqiu lamented, "It's over. I need to have at least an 80% hit rate tonight to hold you back."

Alan Houston's eyes almost popped out. "You son of a bitch, what kind of bullshit is that? Are you saying I'm inefficient? Damn it, I'm playing with an injury, shouldn't you be excited?"

"Ha ha!"

Everyone else burst into laughter, especially the madman, who fell to the floor with laughter.

"Speaking of shooting percentage, Latrell, it seems like you're always lower than me," Alan Houston said suddenly.

"Uh."

The madman's laughter suddenly stopped. He got up, grabbed a ball from the floor and threw it at He Zhongqiu, cursing, "Damn Wolverine, what do you mean?"

"Haha!" The others continued to laugh.

After the joke, He Zhongqiu asked about Alan Houston's knee injury.

You can play now, the edema is gone, although there is still a little discomfort, but there are few players in the NBA who are not injured, and fighting with injuries is the norm.

Alan Houston's return has given the Knicks more confidence.

Although it is a back-to-back game, the Pistons also have the home-court advantage, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

After the training camp, the team held a tactical meeting.

Don Cheney and the coaching staff worked out the tactics for Game 4. They decided to use inside-outside coordination tactics, similar to the OK combination.

But the Knicks don't have players on the outside who can break through and play one-on-one like Kobe, nor do they have players who can attract double-teams like Kobe, so the outside players need open space to shoot, and how to connect and cooperate between the inside and outside requires targeted tactical settings.

The coaching staff thinks that He Zhongqiu’s current physical reserves are not very abundant, so the offense can be reduced in the first three quarters or the first half.

However, He Zhongqiu needs to get into the basket more often to attract the Pistons to double-team and create open space on the outside.

At the same time, he should try to position himself directly in front of the basket so that he can take both wings into consideration and avoid any visual blind spots.

The ball is passed in first, and then passed out after the Pistons double-team.

When the ball is passed in, other positions on the outside also need to coordinate their movements to attract the Pistons' outside defense.

After dinner at the base, the Knicks bus drove to the city and arrived at Madison Square Garden at 6:30.

The game starts at eight o'clock. Once we arrive at the locker room, mahjong is put on the table as usual. Everyone takes turns. Each person can only play for about ten minutes at most. Those who don't have a turn have to change clothes first.

Yang Xue had already won enough to buy a fully paid four-bedroom apartment, so she was embarrassed to win more, so she just stood by and gave them instructions, teaching them how to play cards.

"Coach Yang, what does it mean to keep an eye on the team above, block the team below, and keep an eye on the opponent?" asked the madman.

Yang Xue said: "Playing mahjong is just like playing ball. You also need tactics. Watching the player above, blocking the player below, and keeping an eye on the opponent is equivalent to tactics.

What this means is that you have to observe the cards played by the other three players and understand their card patterns. Only then can you look at the player above you, the player below you, and the opponent.

This is like reading the opponent's tactics when playing basketball, do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand."

"Coach Yang, now I understand what you said."

A group of people nodded excitedly.

In the visiting team's locker room, Ben Wallace is changing his clothes.

There are some bruises on the body, but the body is too dark to be clear without a careful look.

He has applied ice packs and soaked in ice buckets several times since last night, but the bruises still haven't gone away.

The doctor said that this was not a simple trauma, but a muscle fascia injury, which would not heal in a short time and would require slow recovery.

Western medicine didn't have much medicine for traumatic injuries, so the team doctor prescribed some vitamins and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as some painkillers. The pain was gone after taking them, but the swelling didn't go away.

Especially the claw mark on the left chest. It was swollen yesterday and it is even more swollen today. It is higher than the right chest and it hurts when touched.

Billups stared at Ben Wallace's left breast and said with a strange look on his face, "Ben, your breast was almost burst by him."

"What milk? These are breasts." Ben Wallace suddenly roared.

Billups and the others were startled, and then they all burst into laughter. It wasn't that they wanted to laugh, but they simply couldn't control it.

"asshole!"

Ben Wallace was so angry that his breasts hurt. No, his chest hurt.

After laughing, Billups warned seriously: "Ben, this is their home court, don't make big moves. Have you forgotten how he tore the wardrobe with his bare hands at the All-Star Game? He grabbed your breasts, no, it was your breasts, you should use kung fu."

"I know."

Ben Wallace aired.

At this time, several Korean reporters were panicking because they could not enter Madison Square Garden and all Korean interview permits were revoked.

Even the arena and the Knicks did not give any reason, they just told them that from now on, all media reporters from South Korea would not be able to obtain interview permits.

"Damn Korea Daily, you must have angered Wolverine."

"Impossible, Wolverine must be one of us Koreans."

"Xiba, now we can't get in, you should be responsible."

A group of Koreans blocked the entrance and started arguing, then were quickly driven away by several security guards.

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Detroit Pistons: Ben Wallace, Clifford Robinson, Michael Curry, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups
Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
Zhang Heli said happily: "The return of the CIC king is great news. With the home court advantage, we should have a chance to win this back-to-back game."

Xu Jicheng said: "I called Zhongqiu this afternoon and talked for a while. He said he was in good physical condition."

Sun Zhenping said: "Okay means not very good, but okay."

"Ha ha!"

After saying this, he couldn't help laughing.

Zhang Heli smiled and said, "I'm definitely not very energetic anymore. My physical energy doesn't recover as fast as before, and my body gets tired easily."

Next to him, in the TNT commentary booth, Barkley said: "There are three games tonight. In addition to our game, there are also the Nets vs. the Digital Team and the Mavericks vs. the Kings. Let's see which of these three games has better ratings."

"I think our game ratings will be better," Kenny Smith said.

"Iverson's ratings are always good, and so are the Kings' games," said Larry Bird.

"But we're in New York and look at all those Hollywood stars sitting courtside, they can get us better ratings," Kenny Smith insisted.

Larry Bird chuckled and said, "But the other two games were more exciting. Their offense was better."

"But we have Wolverine, and his dunks are the guarantee of ratings." Kenny Smith still insisted.

Barkley was watching the show, but felt that if he didn't participate, he would have no sense of existence, so he interrupted:

"Okay, guys, listen to me, I think there's something wrong with the league's schedule, you know what it is?

Why is it that the Knicks and Pistons have a back-to-back series, the Mavericks and Kings have a back-to-back next game, but the other two groups don’t? I don’t think it’s fair.”

Kenny Smith said: "The league has announced that the playoff schedule is arranged by Vice President Adam Silver."

"Oh, was it arranged by Vice President Adam Silver? That's okay, just pretend I never said anything." Barkley said hurriedly.

"Ha ha!"

"Hehe!" The other two laughed.

In the player tunnel, Ben Wallace said angrily: "Wolverine, you've gone too far by using Kung Fu to hurt people on the court."

"I didn't realize you were so good at talking nonsense." He Zhongqiu said.

"You can elbow me, but you can't kung fu-claw me," said Ben Wallace.

"You don't have to grab your breasts. I can grab your balls." He Zhongqiu said, trying not to laugh.

"You dare?" Ben Wallace's face changed drastically.

Alan Houston and the other three didn't want to laugh out loud, so they tried hard to hold their laughter back in their throats. It was really uncomfortable and their faces turned red.

He Zhongqiu thought about it and felt that this kind of thing really couldn't be done, so he nodded and said, "OK, neither you nor I want to lose, I can stop grabbing your breasts, and we can play ball like the postman and I did."

Ben Wallace nodded. In the game between The Postman and Wolverine, he was elbowed in the face and had dozens of stitches. But that was nothing. He was not afraid. As long as they didn't grab his breasts, no, his chest. Damn Billups!
"It's the breasts," he emphasized at last.

"Ha ha!"

The four crazy guys finally couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into laughter.

"asshole!"

Ben Wallace couldn't do anything about the madmen, so he could only turn around and glare at Billups.

Billups and the other three were so embarrassed that their faces turned red, but they didn't dare to laugh. They felt extremely uncomfortable and their bodies were shaking like sieves.

At eight o'clock, the G4 battle begins.

After the jump ball, the Knicks attacked.

"The Pistons' defense, a three-two zone, still focuses on defending outside shots." Zhang Heli said quickly.

"In fact, Zhongqiu is more threatening in the low post, but the Pistons don't dare to use a 2-1-2 zone defense," said Xu Jicheng.

Sun Zhenping said: "Today, Billups guarded the free throw line, Michael Curry guarded the left wing line, and Hamilton guarded the right wing line."

He Zhongqiu tried to enter the paint area from the low left wing, but was blocked and went upwards. Ben Wallace quickly moved sideways upwards.

But He Zhongqiu took the initiative first and was still half a step faster. He forced his way into the paint area, then changed direction towards the basket and got to the front of the basket in two steps, half a step outside the reasonable collision zone and two meters away from the basket.

Outside of the arc, Ellis didn't get close to the top of the arc.

He was two meters away from the three-point line. Once Billups tried to steal the ball, he would immediately retreat and leave, not giving Billups any chance to press him, nor giving the Pistons' wing defenders any chance to double-team him. He was completely focused on passing the ball to He Zhongqiu.

The madman on the left wing, Alan Houston on the right wing, and Kurt Thomas in the right corner did not move towards the penalty area, but just stretched out on the three-point line and kept moving on the three-point line.

This made the Pistons very annoyed, because four of them had shooting ability, and three of them could shoot three-pointers. When they were fully stretched out and He Zhongqiu stood in front of the basket, the other four Pistons did not dare to shrink too much.

In this way, when He Zhongqiu blocked Ben Wallace, he got the opportunity to play singles.

The next moment, Ellis lobbed the ball in front of the basket.

After he lobbed the ball, Billups, who was in a high position, turned around and rushed towards the penalty area.

There was no double-teaming at the other three positions, only the top of the arc was open.

Hamilton on the right wing immediately took a step toward the top of the arc, and once He Zhongqiu passed the ball back to the top of the arc, he would immediately defend the top of the arc.

Clifford Robinson moved up a step and prepared to make up for the defense, filling the space left by Hamilton.

At this moment, Alan Houston on the right wing three-point line suddenly cut inside, forcing Clifford Robinson to pounce on him.

In this way, Kurt Thomas was left with a wide open space in the right corner, a space that could not be filled in a short period of time.

As the basketball slid down, Ben Wallace tried his best to defend, trying to push Wolverine's center of gravity and affect his reception of the ball.

He Zhongqiu did not try to hold on, but suddenly jumped forward to catch the ball.

The next moment after catching the ball, his right hand swung towards the right corner, and the ball changed direction and flew towards the right corner in an instant.

"Snapped!"

Kurt Thomas received the ball in one step in the right corner. The nearest defender was Clifford Robinson, three meters away. He jumped up calmly.

"brush!"

The next moment, water splashed.

"Clap clap clap!"

Madison Square Garden also broke out in applause.

"Beautiful! Kurt Thomas hit a long two-pointer, and the assist goes to Wolverine." Barkley shouted loudly.

Larry Bird said: "This should be a targeted tactical arrangement. The Knicks knew that the Pistons would double-team Wolverine when he entered the basket.

So we used the empty space at the top of the arc to attract Hamilton, and then Alan Houston took the opportunity to cut inside to create a threat, forcing Robinson to make up for the defense, so that Kurt Thomas's large empty space was formed. "

Kenny Smith nodded and said, "As long as the Wolverines can pass the ball to the wide open space in time, this offensive tactic will be successful."

"Bang!"

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

He Zhongqiu repeated his old trick, entered the paint area again, and got into position in front of the basket again.

The same tactic was used again. When Alan Houston cut inside, Billups, who was rushing towards He Zhongqiu, suddenly stopped and turned around, returning to defend the top of the arc.

At the same time, Clifford Robinson returned to defend Kurt Thomas, and Hamilton, who was defending the top of the arc, turned his head downward and pounced on Alan Houston.

At this moment, the double-teaming and backup defense at three positions of the Pistons seemed to have never happened.

In front of the basket, He Zhongqiu withstood Ben Wallace's full defense and caught the basketball with both hands.

At this time, Hamilton caught up with Alan Houston, but did not stop. Instead, he continued to accelerate and rush forward.

It only took him 0.3 seconds and two steps to complete the double-teaming of He Zhongqiu.

"Pinch attack!"

Zhang Heli shouted loudly.

At this time, He Zhongqiu was preparing to pass the ball according to the established tactics, and missed the opportunity to attack immediately after receiving the ball.

But when he was about to pass the ball, he didn't see an open space.

According to the offensive tactics formulated by the coaching staff, his first pass target at this time was Kurt Thomas.

Not there.

The second passing position is Alan Houston, but Hamilton is between him and Alan Houston, should he pass the ball?
Ellis, in the third passing position, also had none.

Because his tactical ability is not good enough and barely reaches the professional level, if there are several small spaces at the same time and the Pistons have arranged a defensive trap, there is a high probability that there will be a pass error or the ball will die in his hands.

So the coaching staff set a passing priority, with Kurt Thomas, who had the most accurate mid-range shooting, as the first priority, followed by the mid-range shooting king, and finally Ellis.

Such a tactical arrangement cannot guarantee that the pass will not fall into a defensive trap, but it can ensure that the ball is released as quickly as possible.

He had very good vision and saw the situation immediately.

But just as he was preparing to attack himself, Hamilton had already pounced on him and completed the double-team.

The next moment, he calmly lobbed the ball over Hamilton's head to Alan Houston.

Hamilton jumped up hastily to intercept, but his height was not enough.

Alan Houston received the ball in the right elbow area. Billups, who had just returned to the high position, had already rushed over to him. He immediately took a jump shot.

Billups took off from one step away and blocked the shot from the wing.

"Small open space!" Barkley roared.

"brush!"

Water splashed inside the Pistons' basket again.

"Clap clap clap!"

Madison Square Garden burst into applause again.

Amidst the huge cheers and applause, Larry Bird said loudly: "The Knicks made 2 of 2 shots from the outside, which will make it more difficult for the Pistons to defend."

Kenny Smith said: "Yes, if the Wolverines send direct assists again, the Knicks will play desperate cooperation inside and outside, and the Pistons' defense will be in a dilemma. They will no longer be able to carry out strong double-teaming on the outside or inside."

Barkley nodded and said: "From the start, the Knicks are in better shape than the Pistons. This is their home court and they have more than 20,000 fans cheering them on.

But what amazed me was that Wolverine entered the basket twice and succeeded, and then attracted the double-team of the Pistons, and sent out two direct assists. His state tonight is what really amazed me. "

"You can tell he really wants to win," Kenny Smith said.

"Wanting to win like Michael and Kobe did? That's a terrible paranoia," Barkley said thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)