Chapter 63 Being knocked down
"Hakim, be careful of K's hook shot near the basket. At the same time, when you are defending from the side, be careful of him moving towards the basket. Also, be careful to defend the basket on the weak side and try not to let K get any chances under the basket."
On the Mosaic bench, head coach Tomjanovich said: "From the first five minutes, at least half of the Suns' offensive tactics were launched from the low post, and K became one of the axes of their offensive tactics.
He took 4 shots, and 5 of the team's 10 shots were initiated by him. Although he is just a rookie, you have to be careful of him. His tactical position in the Suns is not much worse than Barkley. "
"This should be the change brought about by the absence of Lightning Kevin Johnson. He was the leader of the Suns, and they no longer have their outside core." Dream said.
Tomjanovich nodded, then shook his head and said, "Although Lightning is sitting on the bench, Barkley has replaced him as the core player on the outside, and Barkley's core player on the inside has been replaced by Old K. This is the change for the Suns tonight."
Da Meng nodded and murmured, "Inside core, damn Chinese rookie, I will teach you a lesson."
The Suns were also making tactical arrangements on the bench.
"Be careful of their three-point shots from outside. They've already made two."
Paul Westphal was a little annoyed. Horry and Kenny Smith each made a three-pointer. Fortunately, Crazy Max was stunned by a slap from Old K, otherwise he might have been thrown in more three-pointers.
He warned: "From now on, you must work hard on perimeter defense and don't let the opponent get rid of you easily."
He turned to Barkley and said, "Charles, go to K's side and use your one-on-one ability to attract a double team. See if you can get Dream to double-team you. If they don't double-team you, just beat them."
"clear."
Barkley nodded. As long as Dream double-teamed him, K could go to the basket, which would be the best scoring opportunity. Apart from Dream, no one on the Mosaic team could defend K at the basket because they were not tall enough.
The game started, the Suns attacked, Barkley suddenly pulled to the left wing, got the ball, hit Otis Thorpe and made a shot.
Looking back, the crazy Max who had been confused for half the quarter seemed to have come to his senses. He ran to ask for the ball and shot a three-pointer, but unfortunately he missed.
Wang Tiejun protected the backcourt rebound and the Suns attacked.
This time, Barkley tried to hit Otis Thorpe again, but this time he missed and the rebound was grabbed by Dream.
In the next few rounds, Barkley controlled the Suns' offense, making 3 of 5 shots in total, beating Thorpe with a success rate of 60%.
In the 9th minute, at 19:17, the Suns were on the scoreboard and an official timeout was called, with both teams replacing their substitutes.
Wang Tiejun also left the field and was replaced by Oliver Miller.
Dan Marley stayed on the field to lead the bench lineup.
"boom!"
He missed the first shot.
“Swish!”
Looking back, Crazy Max made a mid-range shot to tie the score.
“Swish!”
The Suns were on offense, Dan Maalley was running outside, suddenly cut inside, received the ball and made a three-step layup, hitting a shot.
Thirty seconds later, he got the ball outside the three-point line, was fouled when he shot, and made three free throws.
Twenty-seven seconds later, Mosaic's attack failed, the Suns attacked, Dan Maalley shot again, but this time he also missed.
Next, Max made a three-pointer.
Looking back, at the end of the first quarter, the Suns made a fast break, and Dan Maalley made a quick stop and jump shot outside the three-point line, making a buzzer-beating three-plus-one and making the free throw.
In three minutes, one of the most outstanding shooters in the 1990s and even in the history of the league, Ray Allen showed his power, making 2 of 4 shots, including one three-pointer, and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 9 points. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 30:22, and the Suns led by 8 points away from home.
"Thunder God is really strong!"
Kevin Johnson's face was full of admiration.
As a white man, he couldn't help but admire Dan Maalley's strong scoring ability.
Behind in the score, Mosaic sent out its entire main lineup at the beginning of the second quarter.
On the Suns side, Dan Malibu is resting and Danny Ainge is on the court, and the rest of the main players remain unchanged.
The Suns' offense still focused on Barkley.
He went straight to the left wing to get the ball and backed up Otis Thorpe.
This time, Mosaic arranged a double-team, but it was not Dream in the low post, but Crazy Max who was facing Danny Ainge one step inside the left wing three-point line.
Barkley immediately passed the ball to Danny Ainge, who did not hesitate and made a three-point jump shot before Crazy Max returned to defense.
Unfortunately, with a bang, the ball missed the target and went a little too far. It hit the basket and bounced to the right side of the basket, where it was grabbed by Horry.
Looking back, Dameng bypassed Wang Tiejun and entered the basket. The latter tried his best to defend but failed to stop the former from catching the ball. Fortunately, he blocked in front in time and prevented Dameng from getting up.
“Be careful!”
Facing off against Dream at the basket, he concentrated all his attention and kept shouting in his heart, reminding himself not to move around and be careful not to be shaken.
However, as Da Meng's dreamlike steps unfolded, swaying left, right, and left again, he was still involuntarily shaken.
"boom!"
A dunk turned the Compaq Center into a boiling ocean.
“Fuck!”
After cursing harshly, the only thing that could comfort Lao Wang was that he was not knocked down and his ankle did not need to be sewn by a tailor.
"Boy, you really are a wooden stake, and this is just the beginning of your nightmare." Here comes Da Meng's trash talk.
"Softie Dream."
What a disgusting wooden stake! I wish you will never win a championship in your life, Lao Wang gritted his teeth and sprayed back.
What a wimp, Dream is the most annoying. Dream was so angry that it was the first time he saw a rookie who was so disrespectful to his seniors. Damn Chinese coolie, I hope you can be a basketball leader for the rest of your life. You will always be a pervert and sooner or later you will have to go back to prison to pick up soap for the rest of your life.
On the offensive end, the angry comrade Lao Wang aggressively pushed for position under the basket. Dream went around and was pushed out by him.
This time, he was careful not to push with his hands, so as to avoid being pushed away by the slippery Da Meng. Instead, he opened his arms and used his back to push.
Even when Knight just lobbed the ball in, he suddenly leaned back with force, and actually used the Iron Mountain Backbone when trying to position himself.
This time, Dameng's center of gravity was moved by him.
At this moment, the ball arrived, he jumped up, grabbed the basketball with both hands, twisted his waist and hit his arms, and with a bang, the basket rack suddenly sank down.
"Yeah!" There was a cheer from the Suns bench and people waving white towels.
"Well done!" Barkley and other players on the field cheered.
"Damn, maybe we should double-team this monster under the basket!" The scene was silent, with only the commentator's annoyed voice.
"Softie Meng, you can only watch me dunk like a fool." Lao Wang excitedly spat trash talk.
"Wait, kid." Da Meng gritted his teeth.
Looking back, Da Meng turned left and right, bypassed Lao Wang, and entered the paint area again.
Fortunately, Wang Tiejun had given up the idea of not letting Dameng enter the paint area. He was ready to retreat and retreated half a beat in advance, blocking Dameng again.
At this time, the ball came in. After Dream received the ball, he suddenly swung left and right, forcing Lao Wang to retreat instinctively, but at this moment, he made a step-back jump shot which he was best at.
"Damn soft-ass dream!"
Comrade Lao Wang sat down on the floor and started cursing angrily.
“Swish!”
Dream made a jump shot close to the basket and scored.
"yeah!"
The fans in the stadium cheered continuously.
"Beautiful, guard-like technical moves, Hakim used his most classic swing fake + step-back jump shot to perfectly tease the Chinese, he knocked down the Chinese coolie..."
the on-site commentator roared excitedly.
"Damn coolie, what are you doing sitting on the floor? Are you wiping the sweat off your butt?" After succeeding, Dameng looked at Lao Wang in surprise and said.
"I can only use my butt to wipe the sweat off your face. It's disgusting." With the help of Barkley, Lao Wang climbed up and retorted angrily.
"Old K, if he shakes you again, you should actively use confrontation to interrupt his rhythm. Don't follow his rhythm. In the low post, no one can keep up with his pace."
Barkley pulled Lao Wang away and ran to the front court, whispering to him.
"Take the initiative to interrupt his rhythm by confrontation?" Lao Wang thought about it and nodded .
Barkley added: "When he enters the paint area, you must also confront him. Don't let him move freely. Appropriate pulling is allowed. Don't forget your ability to confront. That is your most powerful ability."
"I understand." Wang Tiejun said quickly.
