Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 374 Christmas Battle

Chapter 374 Christmas Battle

In December, after losing the first game of the month, the Sonics ushered in another wave of winning streak.

Seeing that it will be late December, the Supersonics began preparations.

what to prepare?Of course it's the Christmas War!

This year, the NBA has only arranged three games in the Christmas game, and each game is full of attention.

The first is naturally the SuperSonics against the Nets.

After last year's final, the first encounter between the two teams in the new season is naturally the most concerned by the media.

Especially this season, the Nets' lineup has been significantly improved.

In the East, the record of the Nets can be described as the best. Now it depends on the challenge to the West.

The second game is the Lakers against the Kings.

As the top two in the Western Conference, although the two teams do not have the grievances and entanglements of the original time and space, there is no arrogance battle.

It's just that both teams are very promising, whoever is qualified to challenge the Supersonics.

In the end, the Magic played against the Pistons.

There is actually no gimmick between the Magic and the Pistons, at most it is McGrady's offense and the Nets' defense.

Needless to say, McGrady has performed quite well this season, temporarily ranking first in the league in points per game.

Coupled with its extremely elegant style of play, it naturally attracted a lot of attention and fans.

This season's All-Star voting, McGrady's votes have far exceeded Jordan.

It is precisely because of his sudden emergence that it is difficult for Jordan to get an All-Star starter.

How popular is Iverson in the American basketball world?

But this season, McGrady's popularity even surpassed Iverson's, as can be seen in the All-Star voting.

June 12, New Jersey, Continental Arena.

In this family reunion Christmas, the Sonics had to go from west to east.

Speaking of time, the complaints inside the Sonics are quite big.

Well, in fact, for the Christmas game, the fans may like it, and the league is also very happy.

If you want to say that you are unhappy, it must be the players.

This is equivalent to being in China, who will be happy if you are asked to work overtime during the Chinese New Year without overtime pay?

Especially the Sonics, they have participated in the Christmas game for several years in a row.

In this case, it would be hell to be happy.

It can be said that from before the start of the game, the Sonics team was a little absent-minded.

Especially the main players of several teams.

On the contrary, Wang Hao and Wang Zhizhi didn't think there was any problem, after all, they didn't have the habit of celebrating Christmas.

Sure enough, as soon as the game started, the Supersonics were stunned and completely caught off guard.

At the beginning of the game, the Sonics made consecutive mistakes, allowing the Nets to seize the opportunity to fight back.

Moreover, the lineup of this game is also more suitable for counterattacks.

In addition to Kidd and Kenyon Martin, as well as Corey Kiddles, there are new adjustments.

The first is naturally the big center Mutombo.

It's a pity that after Mutombo joined the Nets, it was very unfortunate that he suffered injuries.

Moreover, the injury is still very serious, requiring surgery, and it is still uncertain whether he can return to the playoffs.

This time it made the Nets miserable.

Keith Van Horn may not be very good, but in any case, he can always provide some firepower for the Nets.

But now, the main player who came back from the trade was injured.

Yuan Shikong, and it was precisely because of Mutombo's injury that they had nothing to do with Duncan in the finals.

In the finals, Duncan's crazy data of 24+17+5 simply killed the inside of the Nets.

It's not that Mutombo's presence on the court can solve Duncan.

It's just that if he can appear in the starting lineup healthy, Duncan will definitely not play so easily.

As the four-time best defensive player in NBA history, O'Neal can't do anything, but he can still limit Duncan.

And once Duncan's data and efficiency decline, the outcome of that round of finals is really hard to say.

After all, in this season, David Robinson is old, and Tony Parker is still immature.

As for Ginobili, he is even a rookie.

Why is Duncan a cow?Even known as the number one power forward in history?

Because he truly achieved a single-core team to win the championship.

Just imagine, if he doesn't play so comfortably, the Nets don't really have no chance.

After all, in this round of the series, the Spurs only won the game with a score of 4:2.

Closer to home, continue to talk about the game.

Due to consecutive mistakes, the Sonics fell behind by a score of 2:0 within 8 minutes of the opening.

Wang Hao had no choice but to continue to execute the tactics. He was a little worried that his teammates would be disappointed.

It can be seen that the supersonic players are obviously not focused enough.

Moreover, the point difference is too far behind, and it will be even more difficult when chasing points later.

Therefore, Wang Hao decisively decided to come by himself.

Wang Hao held the ball in the middle distance, and standing behind him was Richard Jefferson, the strongest rookie of the Nets.

The second-year Jefferson is already the team's absolute starter, and his performance this year is also very good.

This season, he averaged 15+5 per game.

Today, he is not a three-point shooter later, but a comprehensive player with excellent athletic ability.

Of course, the reason why he was able to improve so quickly had to be said that his luck was not bad.

Being able to become teammates with such a passing event as Kidd in his rookie season is very important for him to integrate into the team.

In the rookie season, he also reached the finals with the team, which greatly improved his self-confidence.

For those players who have just entered the NBA and are not so dazzling, self-confidence is very important.

Once you lose your confidence, no matter how strong your talent is, it is useless.

This time, Wang Hao did not choose to play with his back, but played face-to-face singles at a mid-range position.

This is a new technique developed by Wang Hao during the offseason.

In the mid-range position, in addition to post-up singles, face-up singles are also very important.

Only super players, no super skills.

Let’s just talk about post-up singles, and the opponent arranges a defensive player who is taller and stronger than you, which makes people uncomfortable invisibly.

Last season, if he was facing stronger and taller players, Wang Hao was not willing to drop down.

In the face of taller players, you should stand upright.

In fact, last season, Wang Hao did just that, but his skills were still a bit weak.

During the offseason, he also deliberately trained skills in this area, and now he is more comprehensive.

Facing Jefferson, Wang Hao chose to face up.

After all, he was a young man. Seeing Wang Hao face to face with him, Jefferson didn't panic at all.

He even dared to attack directly, wanting to find a chance to cut the ball directly.

Wang Hao didn't delay, after observing the defense for a while, he broke through decisively, and it was the bottom line.

Jefferson didn't dare to be careless, he reacted immediately, even he was already thinking about how to use his physical advantage.

Just when he was thinking about how to squeeze Wang Hao out of the bottom line without fouling.

Wang Hao, who had just taken a step, suddenly turned his back.

Thanks to the young man, with enough explosive power and sufficient reaction, Jefferson quickly retracted the center and moved towards the upper line.

However, this action, he discovered again.

After confronting him for a while, Wang Hao decisively joined the ball and turned around again thinking about the bottom line.

At the same time, Wang Hao has already jumped high, leaning back in mid-air, and throwing the ball steadily.

Jefferson reacted quickly and blocked the shot immediately.

It's a pity that it was still a step late, and this was a fadeaway shot, so it was already very difficult to block the shot.

The basketball draws an extremely beautiful arc, falls steadily into the basket, and enters the net hollowly.

8:2

Jefferson was a little helpless, but he also understood that this was a reasonable thing.

As a good perimeter player in the current NBA, it is not so easy to be defended.

The game continued, the Nets' offense.

Kidd is still organizing in series, and I haven't seen him holding the ball for too long, but he can always find opportunities.

Kenyon Martin made an air cut, received a pass from Kidd, and succeeded in attacking.

On the Supersonic side, Wang Hao asked for the ball from the middle distance and wanted to hit another one, but was double-teamed by Kidd immediately.

That's right, he was not given a chance to make a shot at all, and he was double-teamed the moment he got the ball.

Wang Hao quickly handed the ball to Gary Payton, and Gary Payton tried to break through before passing the ball to Lewis.

It's a pity that Lewis missed a mid-range shot.

2:10

Falling behind at the start, Paul Westphal was also helpless.

Assistant coach Field said: "Paul, it seems that everyone is not in a good state."

The head coach said helplessly: "This is the East Coast. Even after the game, we won't be able to enjoy Christmas."

This has been said very clearly, there is no way to go home after the game and spend Christmas with the family.

This must be very unpleasant for the players.

In this case, the state will naturally not be very good, which is why the current situation is here.

"Perhaps we can try others."

Field gave his own suggestions, in fact, suggestions for the main lineup.

Why is there slack?

To put it bluntly, since winning the championship this year, the Supersonic players, especially the main players, have become a little more motivated.

To put it nicely, it is heart spirit, but to put it badly, it is good at temper.

Of course, it's just a championship, and it's still a championship with the team. This situation is quite normal.

Why is it difficult for the NBA to have consecutive championships, and only three consecutive championships can be called a dynasty?

The difficulties are beyond imagination.

Difficulties in strength are foreseeable, and more unforeseen are actually changes in players' mentality.

Mosaic can complete two consecutive championships because of a championship heart, but some teams lose the championship because of this.

Field's idea is also very simple, that is, to let the substitute players who are more eager to perform play.

比赛进行到6分38秒的时候，场上的比分是8：22，超音速已经落后14分。

Paul Westphal really couldn't bear it any longer, so he simply changed players. Except for Wang Hao, the remaining four players were all changed.

When returning to the game again, everyone also discovered the difference of the Supersonic.

Earl Watson, Wang Hao, Quentin Richardson, Reggie Simmons, and Wang Zhizhi.

To be honest, in the past games of the Sonics, this lineup is really uncommon.

No way, it's hard for these people to play together, unless it's the garbage time of the game.

In more cases, it should be some of them playing with the main lineup.

On paper, the strength of the Supersonic has declined, but in fact, everyone's enthusiasm is higher.

The Supersonic offense, this time Wang Hao did not ask for the ball inside, but held the ball outside the three-point line.

Facing the Nets' zone defense, Wang Hao decisively asked Wang Zhizhi to pick and roll.

Defending Wang Zhizhi was Jason Collison, a white big center who was about the same size as Wang Zhizhi.

His speed is very slow, so when defending, he did not grab it, but chose to retreat.

Wang Hao had expected this, so he asked Wang Zhizhi to pick and roll.

Sure enough, after the pick-and-roll, Wang Zhizhi walked out decisively, but Jason Collison didn't have the intention to defend at all.

Wang Hao easily flicked the ball with one hand, and directly gave the ball to Wang Zhizhi.

"brush!"

11:22

The Nets' offensive round, this time, Kidd gave the ball to Kenyon Martin very steadily.

It was also helpless to give the ball to Kenyon Martin when he did not find a good opportunity.

After all, there are really not many people in the entire Nets team who can serve as a starting point for offense.

After Kenyon Martin got the ball, he still chose to break through the frame.

However, just as he took a step, he suddenly collided with the defender, preventing him from colliding with him.

Reggie Simmons is not tall enough, but his body is really not bad.

In addition to rebounding, after half a season of polishing, his one-on-one defense has also made great progress.

Again, compared to an offense that requires absolute talent, defense can make up for one's weakness with hard work.

As long as you are willing to run actively and not afraid of physical confrontation, the defensive effect will not be too bad.

Kenyon Martin failed to knock Reggie Simmons away, but staggered himself.

Thanks to his quick reaction, he turned his back in time, protected the ball, and didn't lose it.

Outside, Kidd had signaled for the ball.

It's not that he wants to play singles, but seeing that Kenyon Martin's chances are no longer good, he wants to reorganize the offense.

In other words, meet Kenyon Martin.

It's a pity that Kenyon Martin didn't see it at all, or he might have seen it and turned a blind eye.

Ever since, he chose a jumper with a back turn.

To be honest, as far as the shooting difficulty of this ball is concerned, it is really no worse than Wang Hao's fallback just now.

As you can imagine, the basketball bounced out of the frame.

Wang Zhizhi protected the rebound and found Wang Hao immediately. Wang Hao naturally accelerated immediately.

It's just that, before he could fully increase his speed, Kidd was already entangled.

Kidd didn't even think about actually stopping Wang Hao, or stealing the basketball, he was purely for interference.

Sure enough, Wang Hao didn't pass the ball quickly, and with just such an interference, the Nets quickly returned to defense.

Failed to make a fast break, Wang Hao was not in a hurry, and continued to fall into the positional battle.

Wang Hao was still preparing to continue the pick-and-roll with Wang Zhizhi, but at this moment, Reggie Simmons suddenly ran back.

Kenyon Martin obviously didn't react, and Jason Collison has been called out inside.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Wang Hao immediately threw the ball towards the basket.

(End of this chapter)