Chapter 65 Big Dream Wants a Truce
In the 12th minute of the second quarter, he got the ball again in the low post on the left wing and started to back down Dream.
“Bang!”
When they were completely close to each other, he paused with his feet, twisted his waist, combined the six forces into one, and activated the Iron Mountain Backward Technique. The sudden force of the attack made Dameng's upper body tremble and his center of gravity tilt backward.
The next moment, he used the reaction force of the hit to jump sideways on one foot, raised his right arm, hooked his right hand, and the ball flew towards the basket.
This leveraged action is a technical link after system optimization, similar to the leveraged action of an outside player when he turns around and shoots a fadeaway jump shot in a back-to-the-basket game.
It allows him to have an outward amplitude when he jumps, which can allow him to create distance from the defender to a certain extent, further break down the opponent's defense, and thus improve his hit rate.
"Oops!"
Da Meng only had time to stretch out his hand, but he didn't touch Wang Tiejun who had already used the force to pull away a little. Moreover, his center of gravity was shaken, so he couldn't jump up to defend in time.
"boom!"
The ball hit the basket and went in.
54:51, the Suns lead by 3 points.
Mosaic served the ball, and two seconds later, the half was over.
Wang Tiejun played the entire second quarter and 21 minutes in the first half, making 6 of 11 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, and scoring 13 points and 5 rebounds.
I took a lot of shots tonight, and missed several hook shots. Under the defense of Dream Team, my shooting percentage near the basket was not very high.
However, he believes that Dream committed fouls several times, but the referee did not blow the whistle. Perhaps that kind of confrontation should be within the scope permitted by the rules. He has not been in the league for too long, and his grasp of confrontation is not very accurate, which is why he commits more fouls.
Dream made 8 of 13 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, and got 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Barkley made 7 of 12 shots and 3 of 3 free throws in the first half, scoring 17 points and 5 rebounds, and his performance was no worse than that of Dream.
Back in the locker room, Paul Westphal summarized the situation in the first half and said, "The situation is still good. We are not at a disadvantage in the interior offense. You know, we are facing the super center Dream. Charles and K performed well.
In the second half, in the third quarter, Lao K, I want you to continue to consume the energy of Dream. After his efficiency drops, we will completely eliminate the Mosaic team in the final quarter. "
"clear."
Lao Wang nodded happily.
Today, when playing against Hakeem O'Neal, his performance was much better than the last time he played against O'Neal. At least he scored 13 points in the first half.
Facing O'Neal, he was beaten on both offense and defense and had no power to fight back. Apart from using confrontation to consume the opponent, he did not make any contribution and his statistics were pitifully poor. But when playing against Dream, he had some power to fight back.
And the key is that his physical condition has improved a lot. Several of his attacks today were hook shots at the edge of the paint area.
He took a beef burger from the closet and started to replenish his calories.
"Old K, how much do you weigh now?" asked Aaron Nelson, the head trainer and one of the core members of the medical team.
"Just a little bit short of 123 kilograms." Old Wang said vaguely while chewing.
"You've lost fat and gained muscle, so your body fat percentage should have decreased. No wonder you're getting stronger and stronger. But your mobility doesn't seem to have decreased," Barkley said.
"Well, my body fat has dropped a little, but I probably can't drop any more in the future. I'm very good at fighting, and I can't do without meat. My mobility definitely can't drop either. If it drops any more, I'll really become a wooden stake." Lao Wang said with a grin.
"Ha ha……"
What he said was so funny that the whole locker room burst into laughter.
Colangelo stood at the door, looking at the locker room with a smile, thinking about the future of the Suns.
Barkley is 30 years old this year. Although he is still at his peak, he will inevitably go downhill later. Moreover, the Suns are not his home team, so he will not be the future of the Suns, but only a bargaining chip for the Suns in future transactions.
Kevin Johnson, the leader and core of the Suns, is only 27 years old this year, but his condition this season has obviously declined and is not as good as in previous seasons. Therefore, he will not be the future of the Suns. He can only be a locker room leader and assist the next core to take over.
Dan Maalley is just a shooter, he has no strength and leadership ability, so he cannot become the future of the Suns.
Others do not have the qualifications or ability.
Then in the absence of a better choice, there is only one person who is suitable, has the potential and qualifications to become the future of the Suns.
Old K, the Suns are his home team. This young Chinese man he picked up from Chinatown is grateful to him and the Suns. He has potential and good combat effectiveness. The key is that he performed well in the matchup with Dream today. He also has certain leadership skills, which made him see the future of the Suns.
However, the only two things that confuse him now are: first, whether Lao K can grow up, and second, Lao K’s Chinese identity.
Let’s not talk about whether he can grow up. Can the league, the media, and the Suns fans accept a Chinese person becoming the core and boss of the Suns?
"It would be better if Old K immigrated." He thought of talking to Wang Tiejun.
However, he did not hold out much hope because he had never heard Lao K talk about immigration issues during this period of time, which showed that he had never thought about immigration at all.
In the home team's locker room, head coach Rudy Tomjanovich bent over in front of Dream and whispered, "Hakeem, are you still fit?"
Da Meng was still panting slightly, and said, "That kid's ability to fight is really strong. In today's half-court match, he played like a normal team in the whole game. And..."
He rolled up his jersey , and saw a large area of bruises on his chest, especially on his left chest. That was the result of his capillaries being ruptured in a fierce confrontation.
"I tried my best to avoid strong confrontations with him, but sometimes I couldn't avoid it. His low-post back-to-the-basket shots were really strong! Now I know why O'Neal had to rest for a game after playing against him. He is really an animal. I'm afraid I will have to rest for the next game as well." Dream said.
Tomjanovich was extremely shocked. Among the three super centers, Dream was famous for his confrontation ability. He was superior to the other two because of this ability, and his achievements in hard honors surpassed the two. He didn't expect to suffer a loss at the hands of a rookie tonight.
He shook his head and said, "You play half of the third quarter, rest in the second half, and I'll rely on you to carry the team in the final quarter."
Da Meng nodded, stopped talking, took a banana from the closet and started to replenish calories.
At the beginning of the second half, in the third quarter, the two sides continued to fight.
The two teams were in a stalemate in the first half. After the dream started in the second half, Mosaic immediately started sending people to double-team Wang Tiejun to prevent him from entering the basket.
This affected his performance. Now his ability in facing double-teaming is still a little lacking. He made a mistake, had the ball stolen, and missed two hook shots.
However, this allowed Barkley to let go and score frequently. There was nothing Mosaic could do. They were caught between a rock and a hard place and did not dare to let Wang Tiejun enter the basket, as that would cause more damage. So they could only continue to double-team Wang Tiejun.
After the third quarter, the Suns led by 8 points, 81:73.
Wang Tiejun played for 33 minutes, made 7 of 14 shots, 2 of 4 free throws, and scored 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Under the strong defense of Dream Team, he started to take a lot of shots in close range, so his efficiency was far lower than before.
Dream played for 27 minutes, made 3 of 5 shots in the first half of the third quarter, 11 of 16 shots in total, 4 of 6 free throws, and scored 26 points and 9 rebounds.