Chapter 79: Sticky Defense
"I was careless!"
Perhaps it was the 20+10 data he scored against Dream that changed his mentality. He felt that a super center was just like that. Although he said that he was prepared to be beaten by Robinson, he was not mentally prepared.
But in just a few minutes, he was severely taught a lesson by David Robinson. Now he understood that a super center is a super center. The other person's talent , skills, and experience far surpassed his. He only had a low-post back-to-the-basket, while the other person had all kinds of short-range and mid-range weapons in his arsenal. With such a big gap, he didn't have the right mentality, so he deserved to be beaten to death.
This is what happened to Hakeem Olajuwon against him. He lost his mindset and was careless. Although he scored 33 points on him, he also let him score 20+10.
When he came on the court again, it was the 9th minute of the second quarter, and he sat on the bench for 13 minutes.
This is also what head coach Paul Westphal did on purpose, allowing him to calm down and think about how to play against these super centers.
Robinson came on in the fourth minute of the second quarter, and the two faced off again as the Suns attacked.
At this time, the score was 46:52 and the Suns were still trailing by 6 points away from home.
Given that the Suns are superior to the Spurs in strength, this would have been impossible, and Barkley is no pushover.
But David Robinson exploded today, scoring 13 points in eight minutes in the first quarter and another 5 points in five minutes in the second quarter, a total of 18 points. He was very efficient, with a hit rate of 65%, far higher than his usual performance.
In addition, the Suns were missing their outside core point guard Kevin Johnson, which weakened their strength significantly, leading to their lag.
Coming to the left wing low post, he stepped one foot outside the paint sideline, blocked David Robinson with his left arm, and opened his right hand to ask for the ball.
David Robinson knew that he was not as strong as Wang Tiejun, so he certainly wouldn't defend him. He quickly dodged and tried to defend around him.
Wang Tiejun suddenly had an idea. He turned around and slipped around David Robinson who was circling in front of him. As he rushed into the paint area, he raised his left hand and shook it towards Danny Ainge at the top of the arc.
"Oops!"
David Robinson successfully got around the defense, but when he saw there was no one behind him, he knew the ball was over.
The experienced Danny Ainge saw the opportunity when Wang Tiejun turned and slipped to the bottom, and passed the ball to the basket.
Facing a jumping dunk by a big center weighing more than 120 kilograms, Spurs power forward Sean Elliott, who was returning to the basket on the right wing, didn't dare to go up and seek death. He stopped on the right side of the basket with an emergency stop and watched Wang Tiejun catch the ball in the air and slam it down.
"boom!"
The next moment, the Spurs' basket was smashed.
"Oh, damn, K and Danny Ainge completed an alley-oop! We are still missing a power forward who can do the rough work. He needs to have the strength and tonnage to handle K."
The on-site commentator said frustratedly.
"Back to defense! Back to defense!"
On the sidelines, assistant coach Lewis shouted loudly.
Wang Tiejun did not celebrate and quickly ran to the backcourt.
However, the Spurs did not play fast breaks. Although David Robinson is fast, his physical strength is limited. It is impossible for him to play fast breaks every time, which would quickly drag him down.
But this is the deterrent power of being a super center. Even if I don’t play fast break, you have to return to defense quickly, otherwise you will probably get beaten.
Robinson was going to bully the weak team tonight. He came to the low post on the left wing and immediately asked for the position and the ball.
"Admiral, beat that rookie!" the commentator shouted.
"boom!"
His signature move, a tentative jump shot, this time Robinson missed it.
But it wasn't that Wang Tiejun defended him, but a problem of feel and probability.
Now even if Lao Wang’s defensive ability is upgraded to level 80, he is still unable to defend against a super center.
Two rounds later, he got another chance on offense.
Danny Ainge made a pull-up gesture and he immediately took up position in the low post on the left wing.
David Robinson was beaten by him when he cut inside when he was going around just now. This time he didn't go around anymore. He defended from behind. When the ball came down, he immediately started to play with his back.
One lean, two lean, he stood in the paint area.
Robinson was fully prepared. When his center of gravity was moved by Erkaokao, he pulled Wang Tiejun's left arm with his lower hand, used the force to restore his center of gravity faster, then clamped Wang Tiejun's left arm tightly with his arm, and pulled the latter with all his strength.
This is the defensive method he came up with after studying Wang Tiejun's fighting skills. It is wrapped around Lao K like taffy. It is a bit low-level, but highly practical. It just doesn't fit his previous temperament.
He didn't use this kind of defense before, but after suffering a few losses, he didn't care about it anymore. After all, losing the game was more embarrassing. It was a complete loss of face to be scored 20+10 by a rookie in the matchup.
His strength was just a little bit short to begin with, and now with this kind of persistent defense, Wang Tiejun's center of gravity couldn't be supported and he was pulled by him. He couldn't , and he blocked this round of leaning.
Wang Tiejun almost lost the ball, but he quickly regained control and managed to stand up and make a hook shot, but he was too hasty and missed the target. Robinson turned around and grabbed the rebound.
"Return to defense!"
Assistant coach Lewis shouted loudly.
“Is this guy’s defense better than Dream?”
Wang Tiejun, who quickly returned to defense, once again realized the intensity of confrontation in the NBA. Just now, Robinson clamped his arm with his arm and then pulled it hard. This action is definitely a foul in China, but here he didn't even get a whistle.
This was the first time he had seen such defense. He had watched a lot of game videos during this period, but he had never seen such a persistent defense.
But in fact, David Robinson had no choice. Without this defensive method, he could not withstand Wang Tiejun's attack. It was also the first time for him to defend in this way. It could disrupt Wang Tiejun's attack rhythm, and the effect was very good.
To be honest, he hated this kind of defense because it made him act like a shrew, clinging and pestering, without any elegance, and completely unable to show his talent.
In the single defense situation, Wang Tiejun's low-post back-to-the-basket shot was blocked. This situation is rare, and it is his strongest skill, so even if he is facing a super center, he still feels depressed.
"I have to continue to gain weight. My tonnage is not enough to withstand the pull of these guys. From now on, I will make it impossible for them to pull me, drag me, or bite me. I want to become a real giant in the paint area." He said to himself.
However, he still had a concern: how much tonnage his mobility and agility could support? He didn't know at the moment.
He didn't want to be a guy like Oliver Miller, who was so big that he could hardly run.
This time the Spurs shot from the outside and missed a three-pointer. Wang Tiejun protected the backcourt rebound and the Suns attacked.
He was in the low post on the left wing again, and this time he wanted the ball again.
Danny Ainge was about to throw one himself, but when he saw the rookie asking for the ball, he knew the rookie was playing , so he passed it in.
"Snapped!"
Wang Tiejun carried Robinson with his left hand and caught the ball with his right hand.
Robinson originally wanted to go around and disrupt Wang Tiejun's rhythm, but was blocked by the latter's left hand and could not get to the front, so he could only defend from behind.
“Bang!”
As he leaned forward, Robinson's center of gravity loosened.
However, the cunning admiral took the initiative to seek confrontation at this time, entangled his arms with Wang Tiejun's arms, and began to use a pulling defense again.
But Wang Tiejun, who was prepared, immediately made the second move.
“Bang!”
Robinson's center of gravity moved, but because their arms were entangled, he immediately moved forward again, preventing Wang Tiejun from taking the opportunity to stand in the paint area.
In other words, with the two forces supporting him, Wang Tiejun failed to get in and his back attack failed.
But at this moment, after the second lean, Wang Tiejun immediately jumped sideways and shot near the basket.
Because his arms were tangled, he couldn't jump very high, just a little over a foot. His body was not straight in the air and was a little crooked, but his arms span was long enough to still give him enough shooting height to exceed Robinson's defensive height.
With a hook of his wrist and a slight pull of his four fingers forward, the basketball flew over the tip of Robinson's left palm towards the basket.
At this time, the drawback of Robinson's entanglement defense appeared, because he took the initiative to entangle Wang Tiejun with his arms and actively confront him, and there was no way he could jump up immediately.
The attacking side was taking the initiative, while the defending side was reacting passively. He could not predict the time when Wang Tiejun would shoot, and he could not jump in time, so he could only watch the ball fly over his palm.
“Swish!”
The basketball went into the basket and scored two points.
"ha!"
Lao Wang shouted excitedly, then hurried back to defense.
