Chapter 148 Treatment of the Great Shark
Barkley threw the starting lineup aside and said to the postman: "Carl, I'm curious, why did you agree to be a guest?"

The postman sneered disdainfully. He knew Barkley didn't like him because he had elbowed Barkley and even seriously injured Barkley, causing a torn thigh muscle and forcing him to sit out dozens of games, but so what?

"Charles, I came here because I like New York," he said in a flat tone.

"Carl, I heard that you rejected the Jazz's contract extension. Do you want to... leave or retire?" Barkley asked.

"Charles, you're getting off topic."

The postman avoided the question and reminded: "This is not my interview, it's Game 6 between the Knicks and the Pistons."

Barkley laughed and nodded, "Yes, then I want to know, Carl, do you think the Knicks have a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals tonight?"

The postman thought for a moment and said, “The Pistons have Billups and Hamilton on offense, and these are two scoring points that Nice cannot defend.

The Knicks also have Wolverine, and judging from the entire series, the Pistons were unable to defend him, at least in Madison Square Garden.

The Wolverines averaged 32 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals and 4.5 blocks in two home games, and Ben Wallace was powerless to stop him.

At the same time, the Knicks have the mid-range shooting king and the madman on the outside. These two scoring points are somewhat unstable under the Pistons' defense, but averaging 15+ points per game is stable.

All in all, as the current score shows, I think the Knicks are stronger and they have a better chance of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tonight is the Knicks' home game, so I don't think the Knicks want the series to go into a seventh game, and they will definitely try to get rid of the Pistons tonight."

Kenny Smith said at this time: "I also agree with the postman's opinion. The Pistons lost Game 5 because they were unable to enter the restricted area or even get close to the restricted area to shoot under the protection of Wolverine.

Once the Wolverines affect the Pistons' low-post offense on the defensive end, the Pistons have to rely entirely on outside shooting to score, and their offensive efficiency is obviously not as good as the Knicks with the Wolverines. "

Barkley nodded in agreement and said, “Wolverine’s performance in the two series was really eye-catching, and he played at a superstar level in the playoffs.

This also shows that it is the right choice for the fans for him to start as the Eastern Conference All-Star center and let Ben Wallace be his substitute. "

Kenny Smith laughed secretly. After being scared by Wolverine once, has this flying pig become accustomed to being licked?

Hearing the conversation between the two, the postman's heart suddenly moved. The East is weak and the West is strong, but he seems to have overlooked the Knicks?
The Knicks' lineup is actually not bad. There are three All-Stars among the main players. In the first two seasons, the center was just too weak. He had neither defense nor offense, and even no rebounds, so they either disappeared in the first round or did not make the playoffs.

But now we have the Wolverines, so not only did they make it to the playoffs as fourth in the Eastern Conference, they also eliminated the Hornets 4-1 and advanced to the second round, and then beat the Pistons, who were first in the Eastern Conference, in the second round to get the match point.

For myself, can I consider the Knicks?
When he thought about it, he felt a little embarrassed. Although his relationship with Wolverine was not bad, it was still embarrassing to cling to a rookie. It would be better for him to cling to the OK Group.

At this time, the starting lineup came on the field.

The visiting team went first, followed by the home team. He Zhongqiu was the first player of the home team to appear and received cheers from the whole stadium.

"Wow, so many acquaintances?"

After he fist-bumped with his substitute teammates and the management and coaching staff, a group of familiar faces stood up from the front row to greet him.

Spike Lee, Julia Roberts, Stallone, Johnson, Bruce Willis, Lundgren, and Anne Hathaway who hasn’t been seen in a while.

"Annie, why are you running out instead of staying at home to recuperate? I'm still waiting to reconcile with you." He whispered while hugging Heather.

Anne Hathaway pushed He Zhongqiu away, glared at him fiercely, and whispered through gritted teeth, "Get lost! Don't even think about touching me again in this life. I want to live a few more years. You damn tiller, go eat yourself."

"Look at what you said. That's not what you said when you were having fun." He Zhongqiu laughed.

"Ahem, please be aware of the impact in public places." Roberts, who was waiting to greet He Zhongqiu, reminded.

"Hey, Julia, I'm going to Hollywood to film a movie soon. You must remember to visit me on set, but remember not to bring your husband."

He Zhongqiu leaned over and gave Roberts an intimate hug, which almost made her breathless.

"You're such a bastard!"

Roberts, who was taken advantage of and seduced, cursed with laughter.

He Zhongqiu turned around and said to Anne Hathaway, "Annie, I bought you a ginseng. It's almost here."

"Thank you." Hathaway nodded.

He said a little embarrassedly: "Actually, you have kidney problems to begin with. Don't blame me. I've never encountered a situation like yours before."

"Humph!"

Hathaway turned her head away angrily. This time she was ill, she would have to rest for at least a year, and her acting career would definitely come to a halt. Damn Wolverine!
After He Zhongqiu and Stallone greeted them, they saw a bald man who looked familiar. They had seen him on the Spring Festival Gala. They were surprised and said, "Oh, isn't this Mr. Guo Da? Why are you in New York?"

"Who is Guo Da?"

Jason Statham asked, confused.

"Ha ha……"

He Zhongqiu smiled and said, "Baldy, you must be Guo Da's lost brother."

Statham said unhappily, "Don't give me random nicknames."

"Aren't you filming 'Collateral' with Tom Cruise?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"I'm just a cameo, and the filming has already been completed."

Statham explained, and then smiled and said, "Wolverine, Wu's skills are good. Although not as good as JetLi, he is also very good. The director and Tom Cruise are also very satisfied with him."

"His drama hasn't been filmed yet?" He Zhongqiu nodded and asked.

"Not yet, we'll shoot his next week," Statham said.

"Hey, Michael, we defeated the Pistons tonight, shall we play a few rounds tomorrow?" He Zhongqiu said after seeing Jordan.

"Let me put it this way. I just made an appointment with Miss Yang Xue." Jordan nodded.

"OK."

He Zhongqiu nodded.

When he saw Kidd, he was surprised and said, "Hey, Mr. San Shuang, are you here to investigate the military situation?"

"Yes."

Kidd did not deny that this was his purpose. Even a blind man would know that, so there was no need to deny it.

He Zhongqiu came to Yang Xue again and said a few words, then went to warm up.

Scarlett Johansson was ignored once again and she hated it so much that she twisted her hands, but she could do nothing about it. She vowed to make a name for herself in Hollywood and then give the damn Wolverine a surprise.

……

The game starts at half past eight.

After the jump ball, the Knicks attacked.

He Zhongqiu entered the frontcourt and approached the paint area from the free throw line, but found that in addition to Big Ben, there was another person beside him, Clifford Robinson.

"WC, double-team me in advance?" He was shocked.

"Double-team in advance?"

Barkley's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Double-team in advance?"

Zhang Heli lost his voice.

"Double-team in advance?"

Jordan's eyes flashed with surprise.

"Double-team in advance?"

Countless fans at the scene and in front of the TV, as well as many NBA players watching the game, all widened their eyes at this moment.

"Is the Piston crazy?"

At this time in Los Angeles, in O'Neal's mansion, he said dissatisfiedly.

Shani, who married O'Neal just last year, said, "What about the early double team?"

O'Neill hurriedly explained: "Shaunie, this is my treatment. That rookie is not qualified to enjoy such treatment."

"I guess he doesn't want it either?" said Shani.

"No, that rookie is very proud and vain. He must be crazy for such treatment." O'Neal shouted. At this time in Madison Square Garden, Ben Wallace was in the paint, preventing He Zhongqiu from entering the paint area, and Clifford Robinson went around to block his angle to receive the ball.

Kurt Thomas, who was left open, immediately pulled to the right corner to ask for the ball, as he had a wide open space.

The right wing was defended by Hamilton, and Alan Houston was on the right wing three-point line, standing between Thomas and Houston.

Billups was in the high post, guarding point guard Howard Ellis.

His defensive strategy was to stay forward, standing in front of Ellis on the right, cutting off the passing route between Ellis and the right wing, especially with Kurt Thomas.

Ellis can be allowed to take a jump shot or break through. Ellis doesn't have much strength. His outside jump shot has no lethality. He can't score many points over Billups. If he breaks through, there are Ben Wallace and Robinson in there.

The reason why Rick Carlisle dared to double-team He Zhongqiu in advance was that he trusted the defense of Billups and Hamilton. The two of them had to defend three players from the Knicks.

Michael Curry was on the right wing, defensively mad.

His defensive strategy is line defense, which is to cut off the passing route between the madman and the top of the arc.

The madman can also be allowed to cut inside, and once he receives the pass, he can also be allowed to break through with the ball. Anyway, the two inside players are in the low post, and the madman, like Ellis, cannot gain any advantage by breaking through.

Howard Ellis dribbled backwards continuously under the pressure of Billups, looking a little embarrassed. He quickly turned around to protect the ball, then passed the ball to Alan Houston.

Alan Houston took a step back to receive the ball. As soon as he got the ball, before he could turn around, he was blocked by Hamilton from behind.

At this time, Billups quickly launched a double-team attack and rushed to the right wing.

Then Michael Curry on the left wing also rushed to the top of the arc to provide backup defense.

Seeing Billups rushing towards him, Alan Houston had no choice but to pass the ball.

The pass couldn't be passed to the open space below by Kurt Thomas because his back was facing downwards, so the only way was to pass back to Ellis.

"Snapped!"

Veteran Michael Curry popped up from behind Ellis and stole the ball.

"Oh, we have to pay attention to the opponent's backup defense!" Zhang Heli sighed.

During the transition from offense to defense, the Pistons launched a fast break with a defensive counterattack.

Michael Curry, who was advancing with the ball, stopped at the top of the arc, and Ellis also stopped at the high post.

Billups stopped at the left three-point line, and Hamilton quickly cut to the basket from the left wing.

One defending two, Alan Houston, who was chasing, chose to follow Hamilton.

At this time, Michael Curry passed the ball to Billups, who made an open jump shot.

Kurt Thomas caught up from behind, but was still a beat too slow and failed to stop Billups' shot.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and a three-pointer was made.

Thibodeau then said to Don Cheney, "Don, let's call a timeout?"

Don Cheney was a little confused, and Thibodeau quickly said: "We didn't expect them to use early double-teaming. The players have no way to deal with it. We must call a timeout to solve the problem."

"OK."

Don Cheney immediately made a timeout gesture towards the court, and the madman who had just received the ball immediately made a timeout gesture.

"It was called a timeout, very timely."

Nodding, Barkley quickly explained: "Unexpectedly, the Pistons double-teamed Wolverine in advance and excluded him from the Knicks' offensive system.

At the same time, the Pistons successfully blocked the Knicks' outside offense with their excellent defense, even blocking the ball transfer and taking the opportunity to steal the ball."

Kenny Smith said: "With three guards on four in other positions, the Pistons' outside line must cut off the passing routes between the ball handler and Kurt Thomas, playing with fewer players against more. This is still a challenge."

Barkley said: "The Pistons are still based on defense. They are the strongest defensive team in the league, and I approve of their defensive tactics.

Removing the Wolverines from the Knicks' offensive system can first eliminate the quality of the Knicks' low-post offense.

Second, it can prevent the Knicks from breaking through from the outside, but of course they don’t have much breakthrough ability.

Third, it can ensure the quality of defensive rebounds, which is very important. It can prevent the Knicks from having a second chance and further lock down the Wolverines’ offensive firepower.”

The Postman then said: "The reason why the Knicks won Game 5 was mainly due to the Wolverines' defense, so I think in tonight's game, even if the Pistons can lock down the Knicks' offense on the defensive end, they may still face the Wolverines' defense."

Kenny Smith immediately said, "I'm afraid it's unlikely. I mean, Wolverine played exceptionally well last time. It's impossible for him to average 9 blocks and 4 steals per game."

"I thought so, too," Barkley said.

Zhang Heli, who was on the CCTV commentary booth nearby, said: "To crack the Pistons' early double-teaming tactics, we can speed up and play a mobile game instead of a positional battle with them."

"Coach Zhang, what do you mean?" Sun Zhenping asked cooperatively.

Zhang Heli said: "Clifford Robinson's speed is not fast, Ben Wallace's speed is OK, but definitely not as fast as Zhongqiu.

As long as the Knicks speed up the tempo during the transition between offense and defense, they can not only break the opponent's double-team tactics to a certain extent, but also form an advantage of outnumbering the opponent."

"That's right. It's impossible to double-team in advance in a mobile war. The Pistons didn't even have time to establish their defensive formation." Xu Jicheng said.

At this time, Don Cheney was arranging offensive tactics on the Knicks bench.

To be honest, his ability was average, he didn't have any suitable tactics, and he was a little confused.

The Knicks don't have Shaquille O'Neal, and he can't understand why the Pistons want to double-team Wolverine in advance. Are they crazy?

"In a pick-and-roll, Wolverine comes out to set up a wall, then goes down to the basket, and the others can use the screen to quickly shoot."

"Also, you can shoot at the free throw line. You can shoot boldly there, and your teammates will help you contain the defender."

"Kurt, don't just stand in the corner, come out and set a screen, don't let our ball get stuck in one spot."

"If you take a shot from the outside, you have to get to the basket right away and get the offensive rebound."

"If the Wolverines catch the ball in the high post, you have to cut to the basket immediately to share the defensive pressure with him. They can't leave you open at the basket."

"Latrell, you need to cut inside on the left wing and take the initiative to get out of the receiving position. Don't let Michael Curry cut off your receiving angle."

"Same as Kurt's, if the Wolverine has a shot in the high post, you need to cut to the basket and take one of the double-teams away from him."

After a few hurried instructions, the break was over and the game resumed.

Entering the frontcourt, He Zhongqiu once again faced an early double-team.

This time, instead of going to the low post, he ended up at the free throw line.

Two-team one, Ben Wallace was still at the bottom and Clifford Robinson was still going around the front. They did not relax the double-team just because He Zhongqiu was not positioning himself in the low post.

At this time, Ellis, who was holding the ball, was approaching the top of the arc. He Zhongqiu immediately took a step forward and stood on the left side of Billups.

Clifford Robinson, who was in front, immediately followed, while Ben Wallace below immediately returned to defend the basket.

At the top of the arc, Ellis immediately dribbled sideways, but he did not break through with the ball. Instead, he immediately jumped and shot a three-pointer from the top of the right arc.

Billups was already a step slower after bypassing He Zhongqiu, and Clifford Robinson's movement speed was not fast enough. He was two steps slow in switching defense and failed to stop Ellis' shot.

"Open three-pointer?" Barkley shouted.

"Good opportunity, can we make it?" Zhang Heli shouted at the same time.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and a three-pointer was made.

"Oh!"

"Clap clap clap..."

The whole audience cheered and gave Ellis a warm round of applause.

"Beautiful! As long as he can make a shot from the outside, I wonder if the Pistons dare to continue to double-team Zhongqiu in advance?" Xu Jicheng shouted excitedly.

"It may continue. After all, they have suffered enough from Zhongqiu in this series." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)