Chapter 269 Anyone who is fouled by me must kneel before me and beg me not to die
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, just after seeing off Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Guoli, Huang Xiaoming called and asked Yang Xue to have dinner with him to reminisce about the past.

It was past five o'clock, and it was time for dinner. Yang Xue packed up and rushed to the restaurant where they had agreed to meet. When she arrived at the private room, she saw Deng Chao was also there.

"Senior, long time no see. Hello, Deng Chao." Yang Xue greeted with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Yang."

Deng Chao quickly stood up and greeted her. He was not familiar with Yang Xue and had never even met her before, so he was somewhat reserved.

"Yang Xue, Deng Chao also wants to meet you, so he came here together."

Huang Xiaoming was not as reserved as Deng Chao, but he also explained with some caution.

"Senior, Deng Chao, please just call me by my name." Yang Xue said.

After sitting down, Huang Xiaoming called the waiter to order food.

Yang Xue was very busy and had developed a habit of not talking nonsense. After the waiter left, she got straight to the point and asked, "Senior, Deng Chao, are you looking for me?"

Huang Xiaoming smiled and said, "No, no, we were just catching up."

Later, when the three of them were having dinner, Huang and Deng really didn't talk about anything, and they even rarely talked about things in the circle. Instead, they talked about celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Yang Xue was a little confused, but she also knew a little bit about her senior Huang Xiaoming. He was a very smooth person. This dinner date should be to strengthen the relationship and lay a foundation for the future.

She actually guessed it right. This was exactly what Huang Xiaoming was thinking.

In Huang Xiaoming's opinion, Huayi has not collapsed yet. Back then, the king came back from the United States with $100,000 to start a business. He was able to build up the Huayi of today. He is very capable and will not lose so easily.

Of course the main reason is that his contract has not ended yet and he can't leave even if he wants to, so there is nothing he can do now.

But on Yang Xue's side, he also needs to visit her in advance to strengthen the relationship.

Deng Chao had similar ideas as him. He called himself a super fan of He Zhongqiu and never mentioned He Zhongqiu during the meal.

……

On the 12th, the Knicks defeated the Nuggets at home.

With 17 wins and 3 losses, the record once again ranked first in the league. The Supersonics just lost to the Green Team on the 11th, with 17 wins and 4 losses.

On the evening of the 14th, the Knicks came to the Nets' home court.

"Hey, Wolverine."

In the player tunnel, after Kidd and He Zhongqiu greeted each other, they looked at Nash with envy.

If his wife hadn't forced him to stay with the Nets, he would definitely have a championship ring now, whether he joined the Spurs or the Knicks.

"Ugh!"

He felt like his life was over, he had no hope of winning a championship, and he was also branded as a domestic violence perpetrator.

The current Nets are no longer the Nets of previous seasons. They currently have a record of only 7 wins and 13 losses, a winning rate of 35%, and are not even in the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks easily defeated the Nets, achieving an 18-3 record and continuing to rank first in the league.

On the 15th, the Knicks faced the Pistons at home back to back.

The Pistons have been eliminated by the Knicks in the series for two consecutive seasons. Both the management and the players are very eager to get revenge and defeat the Knicks this season.

The Dream Team 6 led by head coach Larry Brown was eliminated by the Chinese team led by He Zhongqiu in the Olympics, so he wanted to defeat the Knicks even more.

But the Pistons' record is not good now because the league's illegal hand-to-hand defense rules have greatly reduced the Pistons' outside defense against breakthrough players.

The Pistons are still adjusting to this rule, and the league has given them a season to do so, rather than trying to wipe out a defensive team like the Pistons.

However, after a long period of running-in, the Pistons' five-horse teamwork is much better than in the previous two seasons. If that rule had not been introduced, the team's overall strength would definitely be stronger than last season.

But Larry Brown believes that this Knicks team has weaknesses, namely the power forward and center positions, and the Pistons are not without a chance.

The Postman is old, and now his only ability left is rebounding. His offense is barely 10+, and his defensive strength and movement speed are far less than before.

Whether it is Rasheed Wallace or Ben Wallace, they can take advantage when facing the Postman.

When it comes to defending point guard Nash, Larry Brown particularly hates the illegal hand-use rule, because this rule makes it more difficult for the Pistons to defend Nash.

Hamilton + Billups + Prince, the three perimeter defensive stalwarts have better cooperation. If there were no such rule, there would be a good chance that Nash's breakthrough would be completely blocked this season.

As long as Nash is restricted and Wolverine can do nothing alone, the Pistons have a very good chance of winning the series.

At eight o'clock, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Detroit Pistons: Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Prince, Hamilton, Billups

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Karl Malone, Shane Battier, Josh Howard, Nash
ESPN broadcast this game live. Bill Walton said: "The Pistons are currently 10 wins and 10 losses, ninth in the Eastern Conference, not in the top eight, and are still adapting to the rules. I am more optimistic about the Knicks in this game."

Michael Brin laughed and said, "The illegal hand defense rule is particularly unfriendly to a team like the Pistons, haha!"

In the player tunnel, Rasheed Wallace was extremely depressed when he saw He Zhongqiu.

He remembered very clearly how Wolverine had used his experience as a prison guard to scare the pioneers so much that they dared not even breathe in his presence.

But now he realized that not only had Wolverine never been a prison guard, but he was also a person disciplined by prison guards, just like them.

"Shet!"

But now facing Wolverine, he could only curse in his heart and dared not say a word.

"What's the matter, Rashid? Do you have any grievances against me? Who are you showing your stern face to?" He Zhongqiu came over and said.

Rasheed Wallace hesitated and said, "No, the record is not good right now, and I am in a bad mood."

"You have no hope. You may not even make it to the playoffs. Just wait to be traded." He Zhongqiu advised kindly.

Ben Wallace grunted angrily: "Wolverine, stop attacking us."

"As an opponent, it is my responsibility to strike you down and cause trouble for you!" He Zhongqiu said seriously.

Da Ben and the others all looked unhappy. He Zhongqiu immediately consoled them:

"Michael often boasted to me that he was suppressed by the Pistons in the East and couldn't make it, but in the end he defeated the Pistons with his own efforts and achieved the first three consecutive championships.

Everyone, you have always been the big villain of the alliance, and you will continue to be the big villain in the future. The fate of the big villain is to be killed by the protagonist, to serve as the stepping stone for the protagonist, and to achieve the glory of the protagonist.

So, gentlemen, I believe you will adapt to the role of villain and you should accept your fate. "

"Ha ha!"

"hey-hey!"

The Postman, Josh Howard and others couldn't help laughing.

Ben Wallace and the other five looked at each other in bewilderment, and were very angry. Why were they the villains?

The game starts at half past eight.

He Zhongqiu and Ben Wallace jump ball and the Knicks attack.

He Zhongqiu and the Postman moved left and right, pulling both Wallaces out of the restricted area.

The Pistons played man-to-man tactics, with Rasheed Wallace guarding He Zhongqiu and Ben Wallace guarding the Mailman.

"The restricted area is empty, break through from the outside." Bill Walton said immediately.

The Postman moved one step inside the three-point line on the right wing and set a screen for Nash, who broke through from the outside using the wall.

Prince in the high position certainly could not defend Nash in time, so Ben Wallace immediately switched to defend Nash.

This is also the strength of the Pistons' defense. Each of the five Pistons can defend almost several positions.

Ben Wallace can switch to guard, Billups can even switch to center, and the same is true for the others. Their switching ability is the best in the league.

This means that no matter who appears in an open position, the nearby defenders can provide backup defense, and the effect will not be bad.

Just as Nash broke through the wall, He Zhongqiu, who came out from the left wing, started cutting to the basket.

At this time, he and Rasheed Wallace were competing in speed.

As for speed, he has never lost to any inside player.

Rasheed Wallace weighs only 230 pounds, 104 kilograms, and is very fast, but it depends on who he is compared with. Compared with He Zhongqiu, he is not as good.

The first step that He Zhongqiu took when he cut inside was to tie with Rasheed Wallace. When Roaring Tianzun turned around to defend, he completely surpassed him in the second step.

The next moment, Nash passed the ball to Ben Wallace, and He Zhongqiu cut into the left waist position and then took off.

"boom!"

The sound of the explosive basket rang out
"Oh ho!"

The cheers of 20,000 people in Madison Square Garden also rang out.

"Beautiful! An alley-oop slam dunk from the connection between Wolverine and Nash." Bill Walton shouted excitedly.

"The cooperation between these two core players has become more and more tacit," said Michael Brin.

On the sidelines, just the first poor defense caused Larry Brown to roar.

He shouted angrily, "Lock the passing angle between him and Wolverine. Lock it with all your strength. Do you hear me? Lock it with all your strength!"

The Pistons attack. Hamilton runs out of position to catch the ball and shoots, but misses. The Mailman grabs the backcourt rebound and the Knicks attack.

This time, Nash changed his offensive tactics.

He came to the top of the key and Josh Howard ran to the right wing.

The Pistons still used a three-two zone defense, with Prince guarding the high position and Billups, who was guarding the right wing, immediately moved to the top of the arc, ready to double-team Nash.

The Postman then went up to set a screen for Nash, while He Zhongqiu went to the basket to take position.

Rasheed Wallace couldn't stand it at all, and He Zhongqiu quickly got to the basket.

When the postman ran up, Nash suddenly lobbed the ball towards the basket.

"boom!"

The next moment, He Zhongqiu was hanging on the Pistons' basket again.

"This is a beautiful combination! Although the Postman made a pick-and-roll, it was obvious that his pick-and-roll tactic was just a smokescreen." Bill Walton said.

The Pistons were attacking at this time and Larry Brown called a timeout.

Michael Breen analyzed: "Yes, he pulled Ben Wallace out from under the basket, and Wolverine got a one-on-one opportunity under the basket."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "So this tactical cooperation is actually the cooperation between Nash and Wolverine, and the Mailman is just a tactical assistant."

Michael Breen said: “But his mid-range shot still cannot be ignored. Ben Wallace dared not let him go high and could only follow him out.

Once Ben Wallace was taken out by the Mailman, the two Wallaces had no way to work together, which was also the main reason for the Pistons' defeat in the last Eastern Conference Finals.

In the last Eastern Conference Finals, it was Wolverine who pulled out and prevented the two Wallaces from joining forces. Now both Wolverine and Mailman can leave the basket empty, and the Knicks' tactics for this pair of inside players are more flexible than last season."

Bill Walton said: "So on defense, the Pistons are still quite passive. I don't think Larry Brown has any good ideas on how to defend the cooperation between Wolverine and Nash, the core inside and outside players."

Michael Breen said: "From my perspective, it's just one of those two guys, and the Pistons don't have the ability to defend both at the same time.

In fact, even with a double-team, the Pistons couldn't defend against the Wolverines.

He is not the Big Shaq. He can shoot from all positions, and double-teaming him is ten times more difficult than double-teaming the Big Shaq.

So my suggestion is that the Pistons should switch to a zone defense instead of man-to-man defense. It seems better to use a zone defense to lock down Nash."

Bill Walton shook his head and said: "Nash is not easy to defend either. He is very good at breaking through, passing, and personal offense.

Simply put, he is top-notch in every aspect, including shooting and passing. It is difficult to lock him down, even for the Pistons.

What’s more, there are now rules against illegal hand defense, which restricts perimeter defense. If you use your hands, you may be called off, making it even more difficult to lock down Nash.”

On the Pistons bench, Larry Brown changed the defensive tactics from man-to-man defense to zone defense.

"Rashid, you defend Wolverine alone."

"Everyone else, set up layers of defense and lock down Nash for me."

"The first line of defense should step up their confrontation. Even if they can't use their hands, they can step up their physical confrontation and use their bodies to block his breakthrough."

Next, Nash faced the tightest defense.

However, it was of no use.

When the defensive force was concentrated on Nash, He Zhongqiu would repeatedly enter the basket to take position. Nash didn't even need to break through, he just had to throw the ball into the basket.

Although He Zhongqiu might be double-teamed under the basket when passing the ball like this, there will be more one-on-one situations.

His offensive ability under the basket is so strong and his pace is so fast that before the Pistons' double-team arrived, he had already beaten Rasheed Wallace.

However, the Postman did not play for long. Like Mutombo last season, he was only scheduled to play for twenty minutes to keep him healthy.

After he left the court, rookie Varejao's ability was much worse.

Varejao is not very useful on the offensive end. He has no mid-range shot and cannot leave the basket empty. His main task is on the defensive end.

Fortunately, his defensive attitude is very good, and like Josh Howard, Rick Carlisle also gave him a lot of playing time.

Things got better for the Pistons after Varejao came on the court.

But the overall situation was still controlled by the Knicks, because the Pistons could not defend He Zhongqiu or lock down Nash.

In this game, although the Knicks played back-to-back games, they still defeated the Pistons 79:101, a 22-point victory.

贺中秋19投16中，命中率高达84.2%，14罚11中，轰下了43分13篮板，送出2次抢断和3次盖帽。

After the game, Larry Brown was very depressed.

He sees no hope of beating the Knicks. If he fails to beat the Knicks this season, it will be even harder for the Pistons to beat them after the illegal hand-to-hand defense rules are strictly enforced next season.

At the post-match press conference, he complained to the media in frustration: "I don't know why the league would come up with this rule against the Pistons. This rule is simply going to destroy the Pistons and our hard work.

It's not easy to build a championship-caliber team, and this Pistons team took us years of hard work, and it's just not fair."

A New York reporter couldn't help but remind him: "Coach Brown, this Pistons team was actually built by Coach Rick Carlisle."

"Ha ha……"

Everyone in the news hall burst into laughter.

Larry Brown's old face was so dark that he couldn't even wear his glasses.

The Knicks have 19 wins and 3 losses, while the SuperSonics have 18 wins and 4 losses. The Knicks have one more win and loss, maintaining their first place in the league.

On the afternoon of the 17th, in Philadelphia, the home stadium of the 76ers, the Knicks were conducting a one-hour training session.

"Boss..."

Rookie Valanciunas mustered up the courage to approach He Zhongqiu.

"explain."

He Zhongqiu said this while practicing low-post back-to-the-basket shooting.

"I want to learn techniques from you," said Varejao.

He Zhongqiu stopped and asked, "What technology do you want to learn? I'll make it clear, I'm not that skilled in all technologies.

You have to pick something I can do. If you pick something I can't do, I will think you are provoking me and I will beat you up. "

"Haha..." The others burst into laughter after hearing this.

Vallejo also laughed and said, "Boss, I don't have much talent in offense. I want to learn defensive techniques."

"Defense?"

He Zhongqiu glanced at the panel.

Single defense of 94, well, close to the top, this is something that I am capable of teaching.

The assisting and back-up defense are all at level 84, just second-rate. This cannot be taught, lest we be laughed at.

Block level 93, first-rate, this can also be taught.

Steal, this is only level 70 and cannot be taught.

"Rookie, which defensive technique do you want to learn?" he asked with a warning look.

Valanciunas was also a little nervous, and said anxiously: "Foul."

"what?"

He Zhongqiu was stunned.

"Ha ha……"

The others were silent for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.

Josh Howard warned loudly: "Rookie, you are provoking the boss."

"NO, I didn't." Vallejo said hurriedly.

"Anderson, are you saying that Wolverine is good at faking falls?" Witherspoon said with a smirk.

"Boss, I didn't." Vallejo looked at He Zhongqiu with a wronged look on his face.

Surprisingly, He Zhongqiu just laughed and didn't seem angry at all.

He really wasn't angry, because the technique of faking a fall was what he was good at and it was the skill he used to make a living.

"Rookie, you really know your stuff."

He patted Vallejo’s shoulder approvingly and nodded, “Okay, Comrade Andre Vallejo, I will teach you the technique of drawing a foul.

Let me tell you, this is a unique skill. Back then, nine out of ten people who were hit by me, no, those who were fouled by me, were so scared that they knelt in front of me and begged me not to die.

I tell you again, there are many people who were fouled by me, and they may not know the truth to this day. "

"what?"

Varejao was confused. Is Wolverine's foul-drawing technique so magical?
(End of this chapter)