Chapter 90 Let’s charge!
When Zhang Hao made the mid-range shot, there were 58 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Heat team was playing impatiently and their defense was very rough. Although the Nets' defense was not as good as the opponent, they could still be rough.
Neither team scored in the final 58 seconds.
After the first quarter, the Nets led the Heat by 8 points, 21 to 13!
Zhang Hao played the entire first quarter, scoring 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in a single quarter!
His post-up play impressed everyone who saw it, but he actually only scored two points.
But this does not affect the threat he poses.
Sitting back on the bench, Zhang Hao felt that he had already put what he knew to good use.
But those few rounds of back-to-back attacks were not really tiring, and this tactic is indeed very useful.
"But it's only for that guy. If you replace him with someone more experienced, it might not be so effective. You can use him more when playing on the outside... Who should the center look for learning opportunities? This is equivalent to 90 days of life!"
Sitting on the bench to rest, Zhang Hao couldn't help but think about who to learn from.
"Even if I find someone, they may not teach me. It's useless to just shake my tiger body and show off my domineering aura..."
To focus on the court, he was substituted out for rest.
Although I feel I can still play, the game is still long and I have to learn to manage my energy well.
The combination of Charles, Vaughn Fleming, Almon Gilliam, Jason Williams and P.J. Brown started in the second quarter.
The Heat sent out a combination of Kevin Jumber, Rex Chapman, Pete Meyers, Kurt Thomas and Kevin Willis.
After the start of the second quarter, Zhang Hao obviously discovered a problem - the Heat's rotation lineup was not stronger than that of the Nets!
A more accurate feeling is that with Charles coming on in the second quarter with plenty of energy, and Almon Gilliam playing the entire first quarter but with fewer singles and less consumption, the Heat's rotation lineup is worse than that of the Nets!
Comparing the rotation lineup of the Trail Blazers, who had a similar record in the Western Conference, and thinking of the six main players of the Hornets in the preseason and the other players besides Boggs who was ruled out... Zhang Hao's eyes lit up!
“We seem to have a big gap in strength against the Bulls, Pacers, Magic and Cavaliers, four teams that have a high probability of getting at least 50 wins, but we do have a chance against these teams in the bottom half of the playoffs.
This is thanks to the future draft talent, who sent many stars to the West from 1991 to 1993..."
Zhang Hao's teammates on the court clearly took the initiative after Alonzo Mourning and Owens went to rest. Although the opponent kept two starters, Rex Chapman and Kevin Willis, the Heat failed to take the lead in the first quarter. It can be seen that the Heat's mentality was about to collapse in the last two minutes of the first quarter. During the timeout just now, the opponent's fortune teller kept chattering. The Heat regained discipline on the defensive end, but the Heat had no advantage in lineup and the morale of the Nets was higher.
Charles came on the court and Jason Williams' pick-and-roll ability came into play, creating a good opportunity for Almon Gilliam to get to the basket.
Without Alonzo Mourning, Almon Gilliam is back in action.
Although the Nets failed to widen the gap, the Heat also had no chance to narrow it.
"We have 54 games against Eastern Conference teams in a season. From this perspective, apart from the top five teams, as long as the main players of other Eastern Conference playoff teams can survive the stage, we have a chance to win..."
Zhang Hao was in a good mood, but he knew that he couldn't be careless or impatient. The players on the field were not in a hurry either, so they just waited.
At 6 minutes and 33 seconds into the second quarter, the Nets made the score 32 to 21, and made an 11 to 8 run to extend their lead to 11 points. The Heat then replaced Mourning and Coles.
But the Nets did not replace the starters when they rotated. Instead, they replaced them with Jason Williams and Robert Wardan in the interior. Jason Williams went up to ensure rebounds, and Robert Wardan... went to fight with Mourning. This muscular man worth 230,000 US dollars finally found his place.
If there was no lead, Randy Whitman, who was determined to win, would not have replaced Robert Wardan, but the team already had an 11-point lead, so he might as well use up some of Mourning's strength first to create opportunities for the main players.
The defensive effect was... average. Mourning played alone 4 times in 3 minutes, made 2 of 3 shots, got two free throws, made both of them, and scored 6 points. The Heat made a 9 to 5 wave in these 3 minutes. This time it was the Nets' turn to call a timeout!
37 to 30, the lead is still 7 points.
With 2 minutes and 27 seconds left in the second quarter, Randy Whitman, who was nearly two meters tall, waved his hand and the combination of Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Vaughn Fleming, Zhang Hao and PJ Brown came on the court!
The Heat sent out a starting lineup of Coles, Rex Chapman, Owens, Kevin Willis and Mourning.
After the timeout, the Nets had the ball in the frontcourt. After receiving the serve, Kenny Anderson decisively passed the ball to Edwards facing the defense of Coles. Anyway, whoever Rex Chapman was defending would play one-on-one, and the others would stand and receive the ball.
This style of play is not very efficient, but it works!
When Edwards broke within the free throw line, Kevin Willis blocked him and cut off Edwards' space to pass the ball to the left baseline, but Zhang Hao cut into the basket as soon as possible and Edwards passed the ball in time.
Zhang Hao, who cut into the inside, was afraid to shoot when he encountered Mourning's help defense, but PJ Brown followed Mourning into the three-second zone. Zhang Hao received the ball and threw it directly to the right side of the basket... PJ Brown made an alley-oop slam dunk to score two points!
After Zhang Hao came on the court, the Nets' inside space became more open!
To play purely on defense, you really need a good enough defensive lineup to guarantee your strength. Moreover, even the future 04 Pistons had a bumpy regular season. The Heat are obviously much worse than that Pistons!
39 to 30, the score difference has reached 9 points again!
When it was the Heat's turn to attack, Mourning faced the double-team of Zhang Hao and P.J. Brown and created space to shoot, but his strength was unstable and the ball hit the front of the basket!
The 4-on-1 defense obviously cannot be used for a long time. It is just to catch the opponent by surprise, so Robert Wardan was used to fight regardless of the foul.
It works!
When playing against a strong defensive team, it is important to take the initiative, and the advantage will snowball!
Although Kevin Willis helped the Heat avoid the embarrassment of being backed up by someone from the free throw line, the Nets once again took the initiative.
At the end of the first half, in the last two and a half minutes, the Nets responded to the Heat with a 9-3 run and went into the halftime break with a 13-point lead over the Heat, 46-33!
Back in the locker room, Randy Whitman was conflicted.
Should we pursue the victory with one push, or should we proceed step by step and slowly consume the opponent's energy?
Both playing styles have their own advantages. As a chief assistant coach who has just started coaching for more than a year, he actually still has a young heart, but his goal is to become a calm coach, and he has always been strict with himself in this way.
After his teammates went to the bathroom, had snacks, etc. and all returned to the locker room, Randy Whitman made a decision.
After hearing the strategy for the third quarter arranged by Randy Whitman, Zhang Hao also felt that there were risks, but it was too favorable for him to perform!
…
The half-time break ended and players from both teams returned to the field.
The third quarter is about to begin, and the starting lineups of both teams for the second half are on the court.
The Heat sent out a lineup of Coles, Keith Askins, Owens, Kurt Thomas and Mourning.
The Nets sent out a lineup of Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Vaughn Fleming, Zhang Hao and PJ Brown.
Randy Whitman's rotation is not rigid, he will use whoever performs better in the game.
The second half started with the Heat attacking first.
Mourning received the ball and shot high to attract a double team, then passed the ball to Kurt Thomas. Kurt Thomas seized the opportunity and made a mid-range shot!
35 to 46, the Heat players quickly retreated.
It was obvious that Riley thought carefully about how to deal with the double-teaming of two athletic players of the Nets during the halftime break. He replaced Kevin Willis with Kurt Thomas so that there would be someone to receive the shot when Mourning was ready to pass the ball.
The Heat also rekindled their fighting spirit and defended patiently and attentively.
When it was the Nets' turn to attack, they saw that the opponent's power forward was Kurt Thomas, so the Nets players moved to the frontcourt, ready to let Zhang Hao continue to post up... but they discovered that the opponent's player defending Zhang Hao had become Alonso!
This is a back-to-back attack? Looking at Mourning next to him and feeling the strong confrontation, Zhang Hao decisively started to move.
Intentionally, Zhang Hao did not run at the fastest speed to allow Mourning to catch up.
Kenny Anderson pushed forward and found the opportunity, changed direction and accelerated, and broke through Coles to the basket!
Coles' defense was indeed good. Although he failed to stop Kenny Anderson from breaking through, he followed closely and did not give Kenny Thomas any chance to make mid-range shots.
Kurt Thomas under the basket seized the opportunity to move out, cutting off the passing route between Kenny Anderson and PJ Brown, trying to trap Kenny Anderson outside the three-second zone.
Kenny Anderson jumped into the three-second zone with a nimble step before two people formed a double-team, stood up, and made a layup...and it went in easily!
Without Alonzo Mourning at the basket and Kevin Willis gone, Kenny Anderson played very comfortably.
The Heat's lineup arrangement has good defensive mobility, but it is not suitable against the Nets.
Pat Riley's goal is not to strengthen defense, but to strengthen offense!
When the Heat attacked, Kurt Thomas made another mid-range shot after receiving !
This did not affect the Nets' style of play. Zhang Hao and PJ Brown still chose to try their best to consume Mourning on the defensive end. On the offensive end, Zhang Hao continued to lead Mourning, and Kenny Anderson and Edwards on the outside would play one-on-one if they encountered Rex Chapman's defense.
After a few rounds, the Heat not only failed to narrow the gap, but the Nets also opened up a three-point gap, because Kenny Anderson made a single shot from outside the three-point line! 58 to 42, the gap was opened to 16 points!
When the Heat attacked, Rex Chapman made a three-pointer after receiving the ball. Mourning tried his best to score from the inside and it finally worked.
It was the Nets' turn to attack again. Mourning chose to squat under the basket. He stepped out to defend Zhang Hao, and indeed directly blocked Zhang Hao's back-to-the-basket move, but gave the opponent a good opportunity to break into the basket.
Kurt Thomas is really unstoppable! He needs to gain more weight and more game experience.
Kurt Thomas, who had just performed well on the offensive end and got 4 points and 1 assist, returned to the power forward position to defend Zhang Hao, and then he wanted to curse!
"Can you come up with something new? Why are you still using the same old trick?"
Zhang Hao saw that it was Kurt Thomas defending him, and immediately went to the free throw line on the left side of the three-second zone to get into position.
Why not just go directly to the basket and back up?
How can you play if you are double-teamed by Mourning after receiving the ball? At this distance, there is enough space and a good field of vision, so it is more advantageous to pass the ball!
Perhaps the Heat wanted to see if Zhang Hao still had the touch for his first shot in the second half, so they did not double-team him, and Zhang Hao made a turnaround jump shot from close range on the left side of the three-second zone!
"The King of Turnaround Jump Shot (Bronze)" is triggered again!
Zhang Hao also discovered that it might be because the action was more complete, the probability of triggering the "King of Turnaround Jump Shot" with a back-to-the-basket turnaround jump shot was higher than the turnaround jump shot after catching the ball!
This means that the turnaround jump shot after catching the ball needs to be further improved.
Zhang Hao was not satisfied with himself even after scoring the goal. The Heat had not been playing well since the second half of the first quarter until now, and now his mentality is about to explode!
When the Heat attacked, Mourning was double-teamed again when he touched the ball. He got angry and did not pass the ball again. Instead, he lowered his shoulder and knocked P.J. Brown away and dunked...
The referee blew the whistle continuously and made a boxing motion - he hit the opponent with the ball!
The shoulder-dropping action was too obvious, and the ball had to be called even though it was the Heat's home court.
When it was the Nets' turn to attack, Zhang Hao continued to play while sitting. The rhythm seemed even slower than that of the Heat. Mourning seized the opportunity to make up for the opponent. This time he did not double-team in advance, but wanted to block Zhang Hao's shot.
Zhang Hao raised the arc of his shot...but it still didn't go in. PJ Brown made a tip-in before Kurt Thomas got into position!
60 to 45, the difference is 15 points!
The Heat called a timeout!
After the timeout, both teams made adjustments.
When things are in a favorable situation, the thinking is always clearer. Randy Whitman had a clear goal and followed the plan made at halftime, sending out a combination of Kenny Anderson, Charles, Zhang Hao, Jason Williams and PJ Brown.
For the Heat, Pat Riley replaced Rex Chapman with Keith Askins, whose positive impact in the past few minutes was far less than his negative impact; and replaced Kurt Thomas with Kevin Willis.
Strengthen the defensive coverage of the restricted area and mid-range defense.
This resulted in a sudden drop in the Heat's offensive level!
Coles' mid-range pull-up jump shot after a solo breakthrough missed the defense of P.J. Brown, but it was Mourning who made a tough tip-in.
After Mourning put the ball in, Jason Williams immediately picked up the ball and passed it out.
Mo Ning tried to stop Zhang Hao as soon as possible, but Zhang Hao was about to fall!
Mourning began to chase hard...but couldn't catch up!
Not only could he not catch up, but Keith Askins, who had retreated first and rushed to the center line first, turned around and saw that Zhang Hao was rapidly closing the distance between them!
Keith Askins hurriedly ran back at full speed. With such a big distance advantage, he was not overtaken by Zhang Hao. But after retreating to the basket, he saw Zhang Hao receiving a long pass at the free throw line and rushing in with one step to jump. Keith Askins looked up and his eyes went dark...
"Who am I? Where am I? Why am I standing here?"
