Chapter 215: Raise an army for a thousand days and deploy it for a moment

6:8, Pistons attack.

This time, He Zhongqiu still left Rasheed Wallace two or three meters away.

This distance is quite large, it’s two full steps.

But actually it’s not that big, just one step plus the length of your arm will be enough to reach it.

The reason why he dared to release so much was because of his reaction speed and the quickness of his first step.

"Damn it, is this a defensive trap that Wolverine set for me?"

Billups was feeling very complicated. There was such a big open space and he wanted to pass the ball, but he had just made a mistake. What if he made another mistake?
At this time, Hamilton ran from the right wing to the penalty area and ran to the left wing.

At the same time, Bonzi Wells in the right elbow area had already rushed one step away from Billups, and a double-team was about to take shape.

"Whoosh!"

Billups held up Nash, who was pressing closely, with his left arm, pulled up the ball with his right hand, and passed it to Rasheed Wallace with one hand.

There was no way. The Pistons' offense was like that. Facing double-teaming, he didn't have the ability to force an attack, and neither did anyone else.

"Squeak!"

With two steps, He Zhongqiu returned to defend in front of Roaring Tianzun.

His hands were like eagle claws, and his continuous fierce steals forced Rasheed Wallace to turn sideways to protect the ball.

He moved closer, forcing Rashid to turn around and protect the ball.

Rasheed Wallace has a very beautiful turnaround jump shot, but after being confronted by He Zhongqiu, the confrontation started immediately. He couldn't even stand and couldn't perform any technical moves at all.

His strength is actually very strong. Even compared with Duncan, he is stronger, not weaker. But compared with He Zhongqiu, he is not on the same level. The tonnage alone differs by 12 kilograms.

Billups quickly ran to the right wing and clapped his hands for the ball.

But Wells also caught up with Billups, and seeing that Wolverine was close to him, he immediately turned around and pounced on Rasheed Wallace.

Rasheed Wallace, who was trapped like a dumpling, held the ball tightly with both hands and almost squatted on the ground with grievance, but he still couldn't escape He Zhongqiu's claws.

"give it to me."

Before the referee blew the whistle, He Zhongqiu exerted his strength to snatch the ball and gave it to Wells.

You stupid referee, can’t you call the whistle for a tackle?

Roaring Tianzun, whose ball was snatched away again, wanted to roar at the referee, but he didn't dare to roar in front of Wolverine. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

ABC has the broadcasting rights for this series, but it is co-broadcasted with ESPN, using ESPN's commentators.

In the commentary booth, Michael Brin laughed and said, "Roaring Lord is in big trouble today, haha!"

Bill Walton laughed and said, "No matter who the troublemaker is in the league, he will behave himself when he meets Wolverine."

"Ha ha……"

Michael Bubby and Tom Howard laughed together.

This time the Pistons returned to defense very quickly. When Wells dribbled the ball from the left wing to the penalty area, Hamilton had already returned to the penalty area.

But Hamilton couldn't stop Wells' attack. The 95-kg Wells directly knocked away the 84-kg masked man, then made a layup and scored a goal.

At 6:10, the Pistons attacked and Larry Brown called another timeout.

"Pick and roll, Chauncey, use your brain, have you forgotten your own offense? Don't just stand there and pass the ball, play the pick and roll tactics, okay?"

Larry Brown had a very good attitude towards Iverson, but he got very angry when facing Billups and started to attack with all his might.

He didn't dare to roar at Rasheed Wallace. Roaring Lord might be in a bad mood right now. If he was roared back, he would lose face.

"Richard, do you understand how to commit a foul? Don't just stand there. You are not as big as him."

After criticizing Billups, he started criticizing Hamilton, and after a crazy outburst, his saliva was flying everywhere.

The timeout ends and the Pistons attack.

This time, Billups really didn't dare to pass the ball to Rasheed Wallace. If the Wolverine snatched the ball again, the Roaring Lord would probably be so depressed that he would give up on himself.

He made a tactical gesture, letting Rasheed Wallace go to the low post and play low-post offense, suppressing the Wolverines' defense in the low post.

Just like that, Rasheed Wallace took up position in the low post on the right wing.

But He Zhongqiu did not adopt a top defense, but let Rasheed Wallace enter the penalty area, and he still guarded the right waist position.

This is the defensive tactic discussed by Rick Carlisle and Thibodeau. When Mutombo is on the court, his defensive strength should be utilized as much as possible.

With Mutombo's current condition and rim protection ability, it is not impossible for him to defend two Ben Wallaces under the basket.

With his speed of movement, he can return to the basket in time from the right waist position, which is only two steps away.

Hamilton ran to the left wing, had no chance, and ran back to the right wing from the outside.

At this time, Wells was double-teaming Billups at the top of the arc. He finally ran out of space and immediately asked for the ball.

Unfortunately, Billups had no chance to pass the ball after being trapped. He could only retreat and then move to the right wing with the ball, seeking a pick-and-roll with Hamilton.

Nash and Wells quickly caught up, but Billups still found an opportunity. After the pick-and-roll, he got rid of Wells, then knocked Nash away and dribbled across the three-point line.

He Zhongqiu made timely defensive moves, took two steps out from the right waist position, blocked Billups, and grabbed the opponent's basketball with his big hands.

Billups felt like a tiger pounced on him. Its fierce and ferocious momentum forced him to stop and jump in a hurry to shoot, but he only jumped a foot high.

"Take it!"

He Zhongqiu then jumped up and blocked the ball with both hands.

"Oh ho!"

Madison Square Garden erupted in cheers.

"Great! It's not difficult for Zhongqiu to block a shot from an outside player." Zhang Heli said excitedly.

The Pistons quickly returned to defense, showing top-notch defense, but still couldn't stop the Knicks' fast break.

The reason is very simple. He Zhongqiu completed the block near the three-point line. His position was at least five meters ahead of the two Wallaces in the low post and his speed was faster. When he rushed to the front free throw line, the two Wallaces had just crossed the center line.

"ball!"

Seeing the Wolverine rushing to the free throw line, Nash shouted, passed the ball to the penalty area, and then retreated to the backcourt.

He Zhongqiu jumped up, caught the ball with both hands in the air, grabbed the ball with his right hand while gliding forward, made a big loop, and then slashed towards the basket.

Hamilton, who was chasing on the left side, tilted his head back to "appreciate" Wolverine's windmill dunk, feeling helpless.

"Crack, click, click..."

The media reporters behind the baseline kept pressing the shutter buttons.

"boom!"

"Oh oh oh……"

The cheers and shouts that had not yet died down in Madison Square Garden rose again.

"Alley-oop, windmill dunk, beautiful!" Yang Jian shouted excitedly.

"Zhongqiu can keep up with the speed of the guards. The Pistons' outside players have no way to defend them and can only watch." Zhang Heli said with a smile.

"Blast the piston!"

He Zhongqiu was so excited that he yelled at his teammates who rushed up to celebrate.

"Blast the piston!"

Wells roared excitedly, and the other three were not far behind.

"Blow up the Pistons!" Knicks fans behind the baseline shouted one after another, and the shouts spread wider and wider, sweeping across the entire stadium. The unified and mighty shouts shook the earth.

"It's great, the Knicks' momentum is rising." Xu Jicheng said excitedly.

"Fuck! Damn it..."

The depressed Larry Brown roared and roared, but even he could not hear his own voice. The momentum and presence of the visiting team were suppressed by the shouts of the home fans.

Unlike Larry Brown, after clapping his hands in celebration, Rick Carlisle leisurely put his hands in his pockets with a confident smile on his face.

"Crack, click, click..."

Some reporters noticed the condition of the two and took a lot of photos of them.

6:12, Pistons attack.

Larry Brown saw Wolverine standing at the right waist again, ready to help defend the perimeter at any time, and the two Wallaces under the basket against Mutombo alone, the advantage was in my hands, he immediately pointed to the basket and yelled to the court: "Go in."

Billups was very obedient and lobbed the ball in before the three seconds of offense ended.

When Rick Carlisle saw this, the smile on his face suddenly widened.

As the ball slid down, He Zhongqiu took two steps back to the basket and jumped at the same time as Rasheed Wallace.

Rasheed Wallace's jumping ability is far inferior to He Zhongqiu's.

"Snapped!"

He Zhongqiu grabbed the ball with one hand and completed an aerial interception.

"Beautiful! The third steal, Zhongqiu passed the ball! Nash... received it..." Zhang Heli shouted excitedly.

Larry Brown was so angry that his face turned black, while Rick Carlisle's face was almost broken by laughter.

Billups was not as fast as Nash, but he still did not give up and kept chasing behind him all the way to the penalty area.

Nash felt the defensive pressure from behind and did not rush to make a layup. Instead, he spun under the basket and threw the ball casually.

"boom!"

Wells, who was following behind, caught the ball, jumped up, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.

Larry Brown was so frustrated that he wanted to curse someone, but since he was the one directing the offense this time, he could only bury his frustration inside, his face turning black.

"6:14, the Knicks lead by 8 points." Xu Jicheng said.

Yang Jian said excitedly: "The Pistons made consecutive mistakes on the offensive end. Thanks to Wolverine's continuous steals and blocks, the Knicks completely suppressed the Pistons' offense on the defensive end."

"If they keep playing like this, the Pistons are sure to lose," said Michael Brin in the commentary booth nearby.

"Coach Larry Brown called the third timeout," Bill Walton said.

Tom Howard said: "The Pistons' problem now is not only a defensive problem, but also an offensive problem.

The Wolverines played very well defensively today, which is a problem that Larry Brown cannot solve. The Pistons don't have a superstar, and no one can play a good offense against the Wolverines' defensive state."

Bill Walton said: "Yes, the problem with the Pistons on the offensive end is that they don't have a strong offensive star.

Once the opponent plays good defense, the Pistons' offense will be muted, and then they can only rely on defense to win the game, that is, to make the opponent score lower than themselves. "

Michael Breen said: "In terms of perimeter defense, the Knicks are not as good as the Pistons, but in terms of interior defense, when Mutombo is on the court, the Knicks are not weaker than the Pistons.

The Pistons still have a chance. After Mutombo leaves the court, the Knicks' interior defense will drop one or even two levels."

On the Pistons bench, Larry Brown was also looking forward to the Knicks replacing Mutombo.

He believes that as long as Mutombo goes down, the Wolverines will have to be closer to the basket on defense, reducing their outside defense, and then the Pistons will have space to attack.

He has studied Mutombo's playing time, which generally only takes five minutes per quarter and 20 minutes per game. After the All-Star Game, his playing time is further reduced by one third.

He believes that given the intensity of the playoffs, Mutombo's playing time will not exceed twenty minutes.

The first round has now been played for more than four minutes, which means that after this timeout, Mutombo will most likely not play again.

Based on this speculation, he made corresponding tactical arrangements.

"What the hell is Rick Carlisle doing?"

However, after the timeout, he saw Mutombo walking onto the court again.

Rick Carlisle didn't do anything tricky. Mutombo has been holding back in the regular season and the first two rounds of the series. Now it's time for him to exert his strength.

It takes a thousand days to train soldiers and only a moment to use them. If Mutombo doesn't make an effort at this critical moment, he will not be able to do it.

They beat the Pistons and made it to the finals. As long as the head coach gave him a chance to play, he would play even if he broke his legs.

Next, Mutombo continued to sit under the basket, and He Zhongqiu continued to be responsible for sweeping the outside.

This kind of defense forced the Pistons to only shoot jump shots from the outside and rely on their touch.

At the beginning of the game, Billups and Prince each made a three-pointer, but this touch was only short-lived and was not maintained afterwards.

With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Pistons' offense still hadn't started. At 10:22, the Knicks led by 12 points.

The Pistons' Big Five, Billups, scored 7 points against Nash, Prince made a three-pointer, and only made 9 shots in 4 minutes.

Yang Jian said excitedly: “Wolverine put a lot of energy into the defensive end, but also played very well on the offensive end.

He made 6 of 5 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 12 points, including two fast break dunks, one dunk at the basket, one close shot off the backboard, and 2 of 1 mid-range shots off the backboard.

He also had 3 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block, and 2 assists, an all-around super offensive and defensive performance.”

Zhang Heli said: "Mutombo only scored two points, but got three rebounds, one of which was an offensive rebound, and one blocked shot.

Although the statistics are not very good, it is his deterrence under the basket that allows the Knicks to effectively keep the Pistons' offense out of the restricted area. "

Xu Jicheng laughed and said: "The Knicks can defend against the Pistons' restricted area attack, but the Pistons can't defend against the Knicks' restricted area attack."

Zhang Heli said: "The Pistons' defense was not good today, mainly for three reasons. First, they could not limit Zhongqiu's offense.

Second, the Knicks' defense was very good, and the Pistons failed to defend against the Knicks' fast break, resulting in a lot of points lost in this area.

Third, the defense on Nash was not good. Their double-teaming did not lock down Nash's dribbling breakthrough. Nash was in very good shape tonight."

Xu Jicheng said: "Zhongqiu never entered the basket tonight. In the four positional attacks, he either shot from mid-range or close range, or cut in for a dunk. He didn't give the two Wallaces a chance to double-team him."

Yang Jian continued, "The Pistons didn't double-team in advance, so when Zhongqiu received the ball far away from the basket, Ben Wallace had no way to assist in the double-team in time."

"So next, the Pistons may adopt a double-team tactic against Zhongqiu in advance," Zhang Heli said.

After the official timeout, the Knicks sent out Harrington and Doleac, with Josh Howard as the small forward, Alan Houston as the shooting guard, and Charlie Ward as the point guard, with five players on and five off.

On the Pistons side, Ben Wallace continued to play, along with Mehmet Okur, Collis Williams, Hamilton, and Michael James.

"In terms of bench lineup, the Knicks should be stronger than the Pistons," said Michael Breen.

"Josh Howard averages 23 minutes per game, 1 steal and 0.8 blocks per game, and his defense is good," said Tom Howard.

"Charlie Ward also played 23 minutes as a substitute and had 1.3 steals. The two of them filled in the gaps for the mid-range shooting king, who can now exert his strength on the offensive end." Bill Walton said.

In the last three minutes, the Pistons failed to achieve their goal of catching up.

The Pistons' half-main and half-substitute lineup has worse offensive ability than the main lineup, and the same goes for defense. They have no ability to suppress the Knicks' substitute lineup.

At the end of the first quarter, with the score at 14:28, the mid-range shooting king scored four points in a row, and the Knicks widened the gap and led by as many as 14 points, exactly double the lead.

In the second quarter, the two teams continued to rotate.

He Zhongqiu and Doriac cooperated, plus Josh Howard, Alan Houston, and Charlie Ward.

This arrangement is made because the lead is large, so as to give Nash and Mutombo more rest time and make lineup adjustments based on the situation.

The Pistons sent out all their main players, hoping to catch up with the score.

(End of this chapter)