Chapter 224 Insanity
At 1:, the G match of the finals officially began.

He Zhongqiu and O'Neal jump ball and the Knicks attack.

Mutombo came to the restricted area and was blocked outside the reasonable collision zone by the postman. He moved to the right side of the basket.

He Zhongqiu first came to the low post on the left wing, and after other teammates were in position, he suddenly moved up and ran to the left elbow area.

"Shit, that's a damn mid-range shot!"

When O'Neal, who was preparing to defend, saw this, he cursed in his heart, but he had to move his elephant legs and follow him out because Wolverine didn't dare to take the mid-range shot.

At this moment, on the left wing, Nash got rid of Payton with the help of Battier's pick-and-roll, then changed direction and attacked Devin George, broke into the left wing, and broke through the penalty area from under O'Neal.

The Lakers played man-to-man. O'Neal didn't like defense. He didn't want to waste energy on defense and was too lazy to help defend. Anyway, there was a postman under the basket. If he helped defend, Nash would definitely pass the ball to Wolverine.

The Postman took a step forward to provide defense, and Nash immediately jumped up and threw a high pass.

The basketball flew over the postman and the basket and was caught by Mutombo on the right side of the basket. The old man jumped a second time and put the ball into the basket.

"Beautiful breakthrough tactic!"

Zhang Heli exclaimed: "Zhongqiu's evacuation tactics pulled O'Neal out. Otherwise, it would be useless for him to pile up in the penalty area with the Mailman and Nash to break in."

0:2, Lakers attack.

The Knicks played a three-two zone defense, with Wells guarding the middle, Battier guarding the right wing against Kobe, and Nash guarding the left wing against Devin George.

"No, Wolverine caught up with O'Neal, and he didn't defend the Mailman? This is different from the regular season." Yang Jian said in surprise.

"That's fine. He guards the basket against the Sharks. The Mailman is not aggressive now, so Mutombo can just defend casually." Xu Jicheng said.

Zhang Heli smiled and said, "Aren't we expecting them to play against each other?"

Payton held the ball near the top of the arc. According to the rule of double-teaming the ball handler, either Nash or Battier should come to help defend, but neither of them did. Wells was still the only one defending.

This was Rick Carlisle’s idea, based on Payton’s offense.

Payton averaged 14.6 points per game in the regular season this season, making him the Lakers' third scoring point, which is not bad. His shooting percentage is 47.1%, which is much higher than Kobe and only one percentage point lower than the Mailman.

But 55% of Payton's offense took place in the restricted area, which was a dribbling and breaking through offensive method.

However, his mid-range and long-range shooting is not stable, with a mid-range two-point shooting percentage of 36.9%, a long two-point shooting percentage of 34.8%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 33.3%. The combined offensive percentage accounts for 44%.

But after the defense was strengthened in the playoffs, the shooting percentage in the first three rounds of the series dropped sharply.

The hit rate of close two-pointers, which was over 30% in the regular season, dropped to only 20%, mid-range two-pointers to only 19%, long two-pointers to only 25%, and three-pointers to only %.

In other words, Payton's personal offensive threat is mainly breakthroughs in the restricted area.

The threat outside the restricted area is not great, Wells can do it alone, there is no need for double-teaming. If he breaks in, Mutombo and Wolverine are waiting for Payton inside.

There is no need for Wells to defend Payton alone, he just needs to limit his breakthroughs, focus on defending his passes, and then defend his mid-range and long-range shots.

The Knicks' main defense on the outside is naturally Kobe, and the main assisting defense task on the outside is on Wells. Battier mainly defends Kobe and he assists in defense.

When Payton saw that there was no double-team, he decided to break through.

Wells didn't play close to the defense. Playing close to the defense is to defend against shots, but to defend against breakthroughs you have to leave room for maneuver.

As Payton broke through with the ball, Wells stepped back to defend, then turned around and got close to Payton, forcing him to dribble with his left hand.

He Zhongqiu on the left side of the basket pushed hard against O'Neal, and did not come up to double-team him. He just watched Payton force his way into the restricted area.

The defensive tactics Rick Carlisle gave him were that when facing Payton's breakthrough, as long as Wells was still next to Payton, there was no need to assist in defense, and just let Payton shoot.

Anyway, never give O'Neal any chance.

Payton's offense definitely can't defeat the Knicks, but O'Neal can.

Payton saw that he couldn't attract the Wolverines' defense and had no chance to pass the ball to O'Neal.

It was impossible to pass the ball to Kobe as he was on the right wing with Wells blocking his right side. Devin George's attack on the left wing was also unreliable.

Therefore, he could only force a jump with Wells close to him, and his right hand was blocked, so he could only throw the ball with his left hand.

At this time, He Zhongqiu suddenly moved sideways, stood up to block the shot, and together with Wells, affected Payton's shot.

"Bang!"

The basketball hit the rim and was caught by He Zhongqiu.

"Wells played good defense, blocking the passing angles of Payton, Kobe on the right wing and the Mailman," said Kenny Smith.

Barkley said: "Payton averaged 8.4 points and 37% shooting in the first round, 9 points and 33.9% shooting in the second round, and 9 points and 41.5 shooting in the Western Conference Finals."

At this point, he shouted to the court: "Hey, Glove, I advise you not to take too many shots and focus on organizing the pass."

"Ha ha……"

Countless Knicks fans burst into laughter.

“Huh!”

At this time, Phil Jackson was already standing on the sidelines. He put his little fingers into his mouth and blew hard.

The Lakers fans on the field immediately looked over.

He shouted at the postman, "Carl, follow me out."

The postman nodded. He was asked to defend Wolverine. O'Neal was too heavy. If he followed him out, he would not be able to be defended back.

However, his mobility is not as good as before.

The old knee injury not only made him lose his speed, but also his ability to fight, and his mid-range shots became unstable.

He Zhongqiu did not fall directly outside the restricted area, but went down to the low post first and then pulled up, this time to the high post, to set a screen for Nash.

The postman ran down and up again, feeling that Wolverine was doing it on purpose to consume his energy and severely injured knee.

Nash took advantage of He Zhongqiu's pick-and-roll to get rid of Payton and broke down from the left side.

The Postman didn't dare to switch defense, for fear of giving the Wolverines a chance to play against Payton in the high post.

Payton did not choose to switch defense and chased after Nash. As long as the big shark under the basket blocked it, he could double-team Nash under the basket.

But at this moment, He Zhongqiu moved.

He quickly turned left, bypassed the postman, and rushed into the penalty area from the right.

The postman was too old and couldn't keep up with his pace. He reached out and pulled his jersey. He reached down with one arm to open it and pressed the postman down.

O'Neal just took a step out of the reasonable collision zone and stood on the left front side of the basket, blocking Nash. At this time, Nash flicked the ball casually and it flew towards He Zhongqiu.

After receiving the ball, He Zhongqiu took a step forward and flew to the front right side of the basket.

O'Neal was powerless and could only watch.

"boom!"

"Oh ho!"

The extremely powerful sound of the basket bursting was heard, and the entire Madison Square Garden was boiling.

"Beautiful! Another wonderful tactical cooperation." Kenny Smith praised.

"After the high-post pick-and-roll tactic, Nash made a sudden pass and Wolverine followed suit. The offense was very smooth." Barkley laughed.

Dream said: "The Postman can't defend Wolverine. Wolverine's turning and running are very fast. This is an away game, and he doesn't dare to pull anyone."

Kenny Smith turned around to look at David Stern who was applauding, and said with a smile, "If we use a foul move to pull Wolverine in Wolverine's home court, it will definitely be called." There was one thing he didn't say. Last year and this year's All-Star Game had skyrocketing ratings because of Wolverine's martial arts performances. Now Wolverine is the apple of David Stern's eye, and I'm afraid that even LeBron James, who has not appeared in a century, cannot compare to him.

Barkley said: "Wolverine feels more agile now, and his turning movements are very fast. Is this the application of the Chaos God Step?"

"That's a crazy use of steps." Dameng complained.

"Ha ha!"

Barkley and Kenny Smith burst into laughter, and so did the Knicks fans in the stadium.

He Zhongqiu glanced at Dameng. This was just the beginning. The ultimate move was still to come. I haven’t even used the crazy-making steps yet, okay?

Phil Jackson was standing on the court. The offense and defense just now made him realize one thing: neither O'Neal nor the Mailman had the same mobility as Wolverine.

If the Wolverines continue to play like this, the Lakers' interior defense will be very passive.

“Huh!”

He blew the hooligan whistle again, and then shouted to the court: "Zone defense."

O'Neal and others immediately understood that various tactics for various situations had already been practiced.

Phil Jackson is going to change from man-to-man defense to three-two zone defense to weaken the Knicks' outside ball-carrying breakthroughs and jump shots.

0:4, Lakers attack.

Payton tried to break through from the top of the arc again, and Wells immediately retreated and tried to stick to his right side again.

This is to defend against breakthroughs rather than shots, and consciously block his connection with the right wing, preventing him from passing the ball to Kobe, so that his breakthrough and point tactics can only pass the ball to Devin George on the left wing.

By reading the Knicks' defensive tactics, he thoroughly understood the Knicks' defensive tactical intention, which was to reduce Kobe's opportunities to receive the ball.

Next, he made a sudden stop and pulled back to the top of the arc.

Wells was caught off guard and was shaken back. He got a small open space and immediately took a three-pointer.

He is still confident in making open three-pointers, after all, his three-point shooting percentage was 33.3% in the regular season.

Although there is only 25% chance in the playoffs, that is because the defense is too intense. There is no defensive problem for open three-pointers.

"brush!"

The next moment, the basketball went through the net and water splashed everywhere.

"Oh, beautiful! Gary Payton faked a breakthrough and made a three-pointer." Barkley shouted excitedly.

Rick Carlisle remained expressionless and gestured towards the court, indicating that everything would remain the same and that the established tactics would be implemented firmly.

"Boy, your defense is like a weakling. Do you want me to teach you how to defend?"

On the court, Gary Payton, who had scored, proudly trash-talked Wells.

He Zhongqiu ran up and shouted, "Glove, you only care about your own shots and don't pass the ball to your boss? By the way, is your boss O'Neal or Kobe?"

"Ha ha!"

Wells immediately burst into laughter.

"you?"

Payton gritted his teeth.

He Zhongqiu entered the low post on the left wing, and Karl Malone followed him. He asked for the position and the ball in the low post on the left wing, and the Postman defended him.

Nash moved to the left wing, used Battier's screen to get rid of Payton, and then quickly passed the ball in a straight line.

When He Zhongqiu received the ball, he heard the sound of sneakers rubbing against each other behind him, and someone came to double-team him from the baseline.

The friction sound of sneakers was very frequent, so it shouldn't be O'Neal. O'Neal was only two meters away from him and could be double-teamed in two steps. It was most likely Kobe on the weak side.

The next moment, he turned around and dribbled through.

The postman reacted quickly, and immediately moved upwards a small half step and stuck to He Zhongqiu's left side, and the confrontation began immediately.

Because the low-post double-team tactic is fixed, he blocks the upper side, O'Neal under the basket blocks the lower side, or the person on the weak side comes from the baseline to assist in defense. This allocation of fixed defensive positions can enable a faster defensive response.

The moment the confrontation began, He Zhongqiu's center of gravity was shifted.

Under the Chaos God Step, his reaction was very fast. He immediately braked with his right foot, then turned around to protect the ball, and suddenly half-turned again with his back against the postman and made a feint.

The next moment, he turned left again, received the ball, took a step forward, and dunked.

The postman was already stopped in his tracks by his half-turn feint and couldn't keep up with the rhythm.

Kobe was even closer to the baseline, with a mailman between them, so the double-team was not in place.

"Crack, click, click..."

After the baseline, all the reporters in the media seats began to press the shutter buttons frantically.

"asshole!"

We agreed that three people would double-team me, so why am I the only one left now?

O'Neal under the basket had to jump to block the shot, otherwise it would be a blocking foul.

But he was absolutely unwilling to be dunked over, even though he had been dunked over by He Zhongqiu before, he was unwilling to be dunked over again. Even if he had to commit a foul, he would still pull He Zhongqiu down.

Unfortunately, with a tonnage of 160 kilograms, he could no longer jump, and He Zhongqiu's height in the air was far higher than his.

The next moment, He Zhongqiu swooped down from above.

"damn it!"

As soon as O'Neal's hands touched He Zhongqiu's body, before he could pull down with force, they were knocked away by the huge impact force.

He Zhongqiu's terrifying explosive power erupted in an instant. He chopped down wildly with his right arm holding the ball, and with extremely ferocious momentum, he chopped the basket hard like an axe.

The beast-like slashing dunk gave all the fans a strong visual impact and made their adrenaline surge wildly.

This dunk made them feel what power and the beast style of play are.

"boom!"

The next moment, the sound of the exploding basket hit everyone’s diaphragms in the form of a shock wave, shaking their hearts and spirits.

"Oh ho!"

As O'Neal stumbled back and nearly got knocked over, Madison Square Garden erupted in loud cheers and shouts.

"Wolverine? Dunk! Wolverine dunks over Shark head-on! He dominated his opponent in this offense and defense." Barkley shouted excitedly.

"Wolverine's dunks give people a sense of power. When you see his dunks, you can immediately feel the power of a ferocious beast." Kenny Smith exclaimed.

"I don't know why his strength and explosiveness are so strong? He doesn't have exaggerated muscles." Da Meng sighed.

Phil Jackson was still standing on the sidelines, and he felt a lot of pressure.

Is the Shark really old?
Seeing O'Neal being dunked on by Wolverine, he couldn't help but come up with this idea.

Then he had another idea. If the Knicks had agreed to trade O'Neal with Wolverine, what about the Lakers now?

Thinking of this, he quickly shook his head and threw the idea away.

Let alone anything else, just talk about Kobe, he can't tolerate Wolverine's domineering presence. If Wolverine came to the Lakers, Kobe would definitely ask for a trade.

(End of this chapter)