Chapter 153 NBA Block King

In the evening, the Continental Airlines Arena was already packed.

Although it is close to New York, there are few stars coming here to watch the game, which shows that the Nets' home court is not very attractive, and the ticket price is only a quarter of that of the Knicks' home court.

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

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
Brooklyn Nets: Jason Collins, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Corey Kidds, Jason Kidd.

The Eastern Conference Finals will be broadcast live across the United States by ESPN, with commentators Michael Breen, Tom Howard and Jeff Van Gundy.

After the live broadcast began, Breen first gave an opening speech, then took a look at the starting lineup and said: "Looking at the regular season records of both teams, the Nets have an absolute advantage.

Of the three wins, two were big wins. The one the Knicks won was a small win.”

Xiao Fan said: "In the last regular season game between the two sides, Kidd sent out 16 assists, and he mainly assisted Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson.

The two scored 39 points and 25 points respectively, with shooting percentages of 72.7% and 73.3% respectively.

In that game, the Knicks were blocked from the outside, and although the Wolverines had an advantage under the basket, they had no chance to play, and only got 14 points and 10 rebounds. "

Tom Howard said: "That game fully demonstrated the Nets' advantages over the Knicks in two aspects: one is defense, and the other is assist ability."

Xiao Fan said: "The Wolverines still have an advantage under the basket. Mutombo only played for 3 minutes in the second round. His injury can't hold up. He will definitely not play in the Eastern Conference Finals."

"It's useless to just have an advantage under the basket. The Nets have the ability to block on the outside," Breen said.

Xiao Fan nodded helplessly, and Brin continued: "From the analysis of major media, they are optimistic that the Nets will advance to the finals and win the series with a large advantage.

Let me give you some prediction data about the Eastern Conference Finals. For example, according to our ESPN TV station, the Nets' chance of advancing is as high as 66%, while the Knicks' chance of advancing is only 34%, only half of the Nets'.

For example, TNT, FOX, and CBS, their forecast data is similar to ours at ESPN."

Xiao Fan said: "According to the comments of major media, the highlight of this round of the Eastern Conference Finals is not the outcome of the series, but whether the Wolverines can play the same outstanding performance as in the first two rounds."

Michael Breen nodded and said, “Of all the players on both sides, the most popular one is naturally Wolverine, and his performance in the first two rounds was indeed impressive.

We thought during the regular season that if we had a top-notch defensive center, we could limit his performance.

But that person definitely won't be DPOY winner Ben Wallace, because he has been beaten by Wolverine.

He even admitted that Wolverine will become the next super center. "

Xiao Fan laughed and said, "Although Ben Wallace's strength is not as good as Wolverine's, it is enough. His defensive skills and experience are also enough, but he is too short and suffers too much in terms of height.

And in terms of movement speed, especially short-distance movement, I mean in the three-second zone, he is at a disadvantage compared to Wolverine.

We can see that when Wolverine changed the way he positioned himself in the paint and entered the restricted area in a more flexible way, Ben Wallace had difficulty keeping up with his rhythm. ”

Tom Howard said: "Actually, Ben Wallace is not slow, he is not tall, so his speed is relatively fast.

But his explosiveness is not as good as Wolverine, so his first step is not as good as Wolverine. When Wolverine enters the penalty area, his first step can make Ben Wallace unable to keep up with the rhythm. "

Michael Breen said: "If Wolverine develops his skills in the future, it will be easier for him to beat Ben Wallace."

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

He Zhongqiu and Jason Collins jump ball and the Knicks attack.

The two have the same weight, but he is one centimeter taller and has advantages in arm span, jumping ability and reaction speed.

"Man-to-man defense."

When the Nets retreated, Xu Jicheng immediately said.

Zhang Heli analyzed: "Each of them is good at defense, and the Knicks' ability to break through with the ball is limited, so there is no need to play a zone defense."

"Then how do we prevent the Mid-Autumn Festival?" asked Sun Zhenping.

At this time, He Zhongqiu came to the low position on the left wing, ready to enter the penalty area.

When dealing with Ben Wallace, he first tried to squeeze in, but later he ran out of energy and changed to a flexible way of moving around.

He still enters the paint that way now, and it's Thibodeau's call.

Thibodeau's consideration is that his physical strength in the Eastern Conference Finals series will definitely be worse than in the second round, so he must save his energy.

At the same time, the coaching staff took into account that the outside line might be blocked, and he would not be able to receive the ball inside, wasting his energy in vain, so they did not ask him to enter the penalty area more often, but let him pull out and wait for the opportunity to cut in.

After two consecutive counter-runs, he got to the position in the reasonable collision zone on the left front side of the basket, but Jason Collins was trapped outside by him.

Unfortunately, Kidd locked down Howard Ellis, and the ball was not passed in time, so he had to leave the paint area first.

Ellis moved to the right wing, set a pick-and-roll with Alan Houston, then moved sideways to shoot a three-pointer.

However, Kidd relied on his stronger confrontation ability to force Alan Houston out of the way, broke the pick-and-roll, and almost blocked the ball from the wing.

The shooting action was seriously deformed, and the ball missed all three shots and went directly out of the baseline.

Offense and defense trade, the Nets attack.

Although Jason Collins was the 01th pick in the first round of 8, he does not have much strength. This season, he averaged 24 points and 5.7 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game. He has some mid-range shooting ability, but his shooting percentage is low, and 65% of his shots are in the restricted area.

Kenyon Martin, the No. 00 pick in 67, lacks outside shooting ability and has low mid-range shooting efficiency. % of his offense occurs in the restricted area.

Moreover, the hit rate of nearly two-point attacks was less than 41%, and % of the attacks occurred under the basket, mostly ending with dunks.

In other words, the Nets' two inside players' main offensive areas are in the restricted area, and they are not threatening if they are pulled out.

After Jason Collins reached the low post, he was defended by Kurt Thomas, and He Zhongqiu followed up with Kenyon Martin.

"Switch defense, Zhongqiu will defend Kenyon Martin." Zhang Heli said.

"The Knicks also play man-to-man." Xu Jicheng said.

Sun Zhenping said: "The Nets' scoring is very even. No one scored 20+ in the regular season, but five scored 10+. There is no super scorer or someone who is very strong in breakthroughs, so man-to-man defense is just right."

He Zhongqiu defended at the right waist position, and Kenyon Martin moved to the right wing, two steps away from the right waist position.

Kidd passed the ball to Kenyon Martin. When Martin received the ball, He Zhongqiu was already one step away and he immediately made a jump shot.

"Snapped!"

He Zhongqiu immediately took a step forward and jumped nearly seventy centimeters high, and with an eagle claw hand, he grabbed the basketball directly.

"Wolverine is the guy with the most blocks in the league today, and even in the history of the league," said Michael Breen.

The NBA does have a lot of statistics. After looking through the data, Xiao Fan said: "In the last 0.8 games of the regular season, the Wolverines averaged blocks per game, which means that one out of every three blocks was a block."

Tom Howard praised: "He didn't block the shot or fan the ball, but grabbed it like an eagle's claw. That's the Chinese Kung Fu he practiced."

Michael Breen said: "He can tear a wardrobe apart with his bare hands. Look at the ball he holds in his hands. It's very deformed. His finger strength is terrifying."

Xiao Fan laughed and said, "Speaking of finger strength, Michael Jordan was once proud of his one-handed catch in front of Kobe, and then Kobe added a new training item to his training schedule, finger strength training."

"Haha." The three of them laughed.

"Bang!"

Alan Houston missed a mid-range shot, and He Zhongqiu grabbed the offensive rebound over Kenyon Martin's head.

“Beep!”

After He Zhongqiu landed, he was double-teamed under the basket by Jerrin Collins. He forced himself to stand up and was hit on the hand by Kenyon Martin and Collins. The referee's whistle sounded.

Michael Breen said: "To Collins, a hand foul, two free throws."

Jeff Van Gundy said: "The Nets also switched defenses, with the inside big man Kenyon Martin defending the Wolverines, and they hoped to limit the Wolverines' offense under the basket.

But Martin's weight is only 109 kg, and his confrontation is far inferior to that of Wolverine. He was squeezed out and lost the backcourt rebound. "

Tom Howard said: "There is no score yet, both sides should focus on defense and see when the offense will open up." He Zhongqiu stood on the free throw line and shot the free throw with one hand on his waist.

Xiao Fan said: "His technique for hitting the bank and free throws is the same, his wrist is not soft, and he uses the shoulder and the whole arm to throw.

This shooting method reduces the use of the wrist and seems to be able to avoid the factor of poor touch to a certain extent. "

"Inside players, especially those with great strength, have very thick wrists, which have lost their flexibility and have poor touch," said Tom Howard.

"Look at Wolverine's wrists, they should be thicker than O'Neal's wrists, so he can tear the wardrobe apart with his bare hands," said Michael Breen.

At this time, He Zhongqiu made both free throws, 2:0, the Nets attacked.

At the top of the arc, Kidd played one-on-one against Ellis, faked a shot and then broke through, took a step to the top of the arc and then made a quick stop and jump shot.

He Zhongqiu rushed out from the free throw line to defend, but he was fooled. Kidd faked a shot and passed the ball to the basket.

"boom!"

When He Zhongqiu landed and turned around, Kenyon Martin was already hanging above his basket.

Zhang Heli said: "This is the difference between Kidd and Billups. He has a very strong overall view and can see the open space at a glance. He is better at handling the ball and can do whatever he wants."

"He has very strong insight and a comprehensive vision, and his passes are very agile, making it difficult to judge his intentions," said Xu Jicheng.

孙真平翻着资料说道：“活塞和篮网本赛季两场常规赛，比卢普斯的数据是场均15分3助攻0.5抢断，基德是21分10助攻4抢断，差距是很大的。”

Zhang Heli said: "The gap in honors is very large. Billups has not been selected to the All-NBA Team or the All-Defensive Team once, while Kidd has been selected to the All-NBA First Team four times, the All-Defensive First Team three times and the All-Defensive Second Team twice. Their strengths are not on the same level."

2:2, Knicks attack.

The Madman passed the ball on the left wing and singled out sophomore Richard Jefferson.

Jefferson's defensive efficiency this season is 100, surpassing everyone on the Knicks.

The madman rushed left and right with the ball, but Jefferson moved faster and had longer arms, and he almost stole the ball during a forced tackle.

"Hey, give me the ball."

He Zhongqiu entered the penalty area again, but the time was up and the madman's ball didn't come in, so he had to come out again and waved for the ball in the low position on the left wing.

The madman's task today was actually to break through with the ball and connect with He Zhongqiu inside and outside. Seeing this, he quickly lobbed the ball in.

Kenyon Martin immediately implemented weak-side help defense from the low post on the right wing, and quietly appeared behind He Zhongqiu along the baseline.

"Snapped!"

Just as Wolverine caught the ball, he immediately slapped it, hitting his right hand.

Unfortunately, after He Zhongqiu received the ball, he clasped the ball with both hands, but the ball did not move at all after he slapped it.

The next moment, he suddenly turned upwards, carrying Jason Collins with his left hand, dribbled into the penalty area, and after two steps, he was in front of the basket, his body suddenly jumped up, and he made a fierce somersault slam dunk.

"boom!"

"Oh ho!"

The powerful shot made the Knicks cheer immediately.

"Beautiful! Turning around and dunking from the left wing in the low post."

Zhang Heli said excitedly: "In one season, Zhongqiu has mastered his dribbling skills. He is relatively good in the interior. His ability to integrate with the ball is not bad. He is first-rate in the interior.

Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "When he first entered the league, he couldn't play this kind of offense. He was prone to mistakes and losing the ball when dribbling."

Sun Zhenping said: "After he practiced dribbling, he became threatening outside the basket. Although his two-point shooting percentage is average, he can drive into the basket with the ball. In addition, with his athleticism, it is difficult for a single defender to prevent his dunks."

Zhang Heli said: "From the matchups in the regular season, only Garnett and Duncan, who are as tall, wide and heavy as Zhongqiu, have top defensive skills and experience, and good movement pace, in order to limit Zhongqiu in single defense."

"Bang!"

Corey Kidders singled out Alan Houston on the right wing and missed a three-pointer.

He Zhongqiu grabbed the backcourt rebound, 4:2, the Knicks attacked.

Zhang Heli said: "Kidels was the No. 96 pick in the first round of the golden generation in 8. Kobe, O'Neal, Nash, and Big Z were all behind him.

His performance was average, which would have been fine in other years, but compared to the quality of the draft that year, his ranking was a bit low.”

Ellis reached the top of the arc with the ball. He was very afraid of Kidd. This fear even made him afraid to make any moves.

At this time, the madman retreated to the left wing to ask for the ball, and he quickly passed the ball.

"Snapped!"

At this moment, Kidd quickly stepped forward and completed the steal.

"Oh, the intention of this pass is too obvious, isn't it?" Xu Jicheng shook his head and sighed.

The Nets launched a counterattack, which is what Kidd is best at. His ability to organize fast breaks is unparalleled in the world.

He didn't advance fast with the ball, but lagged behind.
In front of him, Richard Jefferson on the left, Kenyon Martin in the middle, and Corey Kidders on the right were flying at the same speed.

When he was two steps outside the arc, Jefferson quickly cut in from the left elbow and was one step ahead of the madman.

At this moment, he suddenly pulled up the ball, swung it with one hand, and the ball flew straight past Ellis' head, leaving Ellis unable to react.

"boom!"

The next moment, Jefferson received the ball, jumped up, and slammed the ball into the basket.

He Zhongqiu tried his best to defend, but he was defending from a low position, which was five or six meters away, so he failed to catch up.

The following game gradually fell into the rhythm controlled by Kidd.

The Nets blocked the Knicks' perimeter through strong defense, especially not allowing them to pass the ball to He Zhongqiu.

Don Cheney had no idea what to do but let He Zhongqiu take position under the basket and lob the ball directly from the outside.

The Nets immediately changed their defensive style, using Jason Collins to defend He Zhongqiu alone and letting Kenyon Martin assist on the weak side.

Collins' one-on-one defense is far inferior to Ben Wallace's, but Kenyon Martin's assist defense is far stronger than Clifford Robinson's.

He felt that he had an easier time facing Ben Wallace and Clifford Robinson than facing Collins and Kenyon Martin.

After one game, He Zhongqiu made 5 turnovers under the basket, not counting the mistakes made by the passer.

上场一共打了33分钟，末节只打了3分钟就被换下了场，13投8中，8罚6中，勉强拿下了22分13篮板的数据。

However, his contribution on the defensive end was still good, allowing Collins to make 5 of 1 shots, Kenyon Martin to make 13 of 5 shots, and delivering 5 blocks and steals.

In the end, the Knicks lost 86 points away from home, 105:19.

Mid-range shooting king Alan Houston made 24 of 8 shots under the defense of Corey Kiddes and the help of Kidd, with a hit rate of only 33.3% and no free throws.

The madman was even worse. He was defended by Jefferson and Kidd and made only 14 of 4 shots, with a hit rate of only 28.6%. Including free throws, he only scored 11 points.

Howard Ellis had the worst performance, making 9 of 0 shots, getting 0 points and 3 assists, being shut out by Kidd, and having 6 turnovers, 3 steals by Kidd, and 3 pass errors.

Jason Kidd scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists over Ellis and was selected as the best player of the game.

After the press conference, the Knicks returned to New York in embarrassment overnight.

The media did not blame the Knicks for their crushing defeat because they had long believed that the Knicks could not beat the Nets.

Moreover, the fact that this Knicks team can make it to the Eastern Conference Finals has already been considered by the media as an above-average performance.

Most media still recognized He Zhongqiu's performance and believed he was the best player of the Knicks.

(End of this chapter)