Wayne understood the outbreak: O'Neal and Harden were on the verge of a fight, staging a gorgeous power forward confrontation on the offensive end.
The actual outbreak: O'Neal and Harden refused to give in to each other on the defensive end. The fans saw tough physical confrontation and scenes of people falling to the ground, but they didn't see a goal for a long time.
Carlisle and Philip Saunders absolutely love this game, and the strong defense they want is filled on every inch of the basketball court.
On the court, O'Neal turned around and broke through Harden, then raised the ball and made a layup.
Normally, O'Neal can use this move to get rid of most opponents. But today, Harden was just as mobile as O'Neal.
The two tall players confronted each other in the air, and finally O'Neal's layup bounced out of the basket.
"Still no, Jermaine has made 0 of 3 shots, and he has not been able to effectively open up the situation." Behind the commentary desk, ESPN celebrity Mike Breen sighed.
It's really painful to watch a basketball game when no one scores.
After Harden grabbed the rebound, Garnett quickly advanced. At this time, Garnett was still the all-around forward who could dribble from the backcourt and complete the offense by himself.
But when Garnett broke into the restricted area and prepared to layup, O'Neal attacked from behind. Although he failed to block the shot, he still interfered with Garnett's layup and made it bounce out of the basket.
"Well done Jermaine, keep watching him!" Carlisle clapped his hands excitedly, he was enjoying it.
Wayne was stunned. Xiao Jin, what makes you so excited?
We haven’t scored a goal in a long time, coach... So as long as we prevent the opponent from scoring, it doesn’t matter whether we score or not, right?
This is really a competition of who scores fewer goals.
Garnett and O'Neal glared at each other and started talking trash.
The two sides seemed to be in fierce competition, but when you look at the data table: O'Neal 0 points, Harden 0 points.
It’s quite a show!
"In today's game, O'Neal and Garnett just couldn't score. Now is the time to substitute Wade and let him shoot." Coach Zhang was unhappy. Carlisle didn't understand basketball!
Will it be replaced by Wayne? Replace Wayne!
Wayne is also waiting for Carlisle's call at any time, but he doesn't seem to want to make a substitution now.
The game had only been going on for three minutes. In this era, not scoring in three minutes was the norm.
Finally, both Harden and O'Neal decided to take a break.
If they continue to play like this, with both offense and defense putting all their efforts into each other, they may be defeated before the half.
Therefore, Gangtai took on the responsibility of attacking.
While holding the ball, he kept muttering: "You are so bad at everything. You are bad at everything. You don't even have a killer move. You are such a loser!"
Gangtai had wanted to argue with Xiao Ao for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Ao also defended Harden today, he would not have endured it.
Let me show you, kid, what a true core player on the court is.
What is a team leader? You have to shoulder the responsibility to be called a leader.
Let me show you how!
Gangtai started with the ball, facing the interference of the Timberwolves' white forward Wally Szczerbiak, and made a mid-range jump shot... but missed!
"Uh... foul, didn't you see it's a foul? What did you call, it's such an obvious foul!" After Gangtai missed the shot, he turned around very skillfully and raised his hands to the referee.
Xiao Ao ran past Gangtai with a look of disdain on his face. He really wanted to remind him: "Szczerbiak didn't even touch your hair."
The enthusiasm of Indiana fans was obviously affected, and the Batman masks in the stands could hardly be waved.
At this time, the Timberwolves were attacking, and Harden also gave up the shooting right like O'Neal did.
Madman Sprewell held the ball, faced the martial saint Jackson, and broke into the penalty area with the help of Olowokandi's cover.
Jeff Foster switched defense immediately, but his pace was too slow. Even though Sprewell was 34 years old, Foster still couldn't keep up with him.
Where's O'Neal? He's been pulled into the mid-range by KG.
Just like that, the 34-year-old madman ended the attack with his signature two-handed dunk.
6 to 2, the Timberwolves took the biggest lead of the game!
"What the hell..." The most embarrassed person at this moment was Artest. He was also the boss and gave up the ball, but the madman helped the team break the deadlock but he didn't. This was very embarrassing.
Finally, Carlisle couldn't sit still anymore and called a halt to the game.
It wasn't until the cheerleaders came on stage that the fans regained some energy.
"Good defense, keep it up! Wade, you replace Jeff next. On the defensive end, help defend the basket more."
Carlisle during this period was worthy of being called a defensive maniac. The team only scored 2 points after playing for such a long time, but his purpose of replacing Wayne was still to defend.
It's crazy.
Carlisle must have been upset by the madman's goal just now, so he needed Wayne, a faster inside player, to curb the Timberwolves' style of play.
"etc……"
Wayne suddenly raised his head and swallowed.
O'Neal will definitely continue to defend Harden later, so on the defensive end, doesn't that mean I have to... play the center position temporarily?
This... It's not enough for me to jump back and forth between the third and fourth positions, but you also want to put me in front of the muscular center?
You signed three players under one contract.
Carlisle, you are ruthless, cruel and unreasonable!
“Beep~~”
The buzzer sounded and Wayne stepped onto the court. Olowokandi, the No. 1 pick in 1998, looked at the thin Wayne and smiled sweeter than sugar.
Now he really turned into a sugar man.
I, the No. 1 pick in 1998, a super genius, Olajuwon II, will crush a weakling like you to death!
I may not be able to beat others, but if I beat a skinny power forward who is at most 2.08 meters tall and weighs less than 100 kilograms, it's still going to be a dunk for Buddy on your head.
Wayne felt a little nauseous when he saw Olowokandi's obscene smile.
I don't know what dirty things that guy is thinking.
Olowokandi is very happy now, but Philip Saunders is a little worried.
It’s really infuriating to say that Olowokandi actually secretly went to a nightclub to have fun yesterday.
During training this morning, Sanders smelled a strong odor of alcohol on him. Seeing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Olowokandi admitted that he had sneaked out of the hotel yesterday.
When he was a student, Olowokandi was a good kid who was praised by everyone. He was humble and hardworking.
At that time, the prince had specially investigated Olowokandi's personality, family background, hobbies, academic performance, etc., and the results were perfect.
But people change. After entering the NBA, Sugarman immediately became impetuous and irritable. When he was with the Clippers, he publicly insulted fans in front of reporters.
After joining the Timberwolves, he collected VIP cards for all nightclubs in Minneapolis.
But Sanders could never have expected that he would be able to find a place to play in the cornfield of Indianapolis!
Sanders had no idea how sober Olowokandi was now.
Although he has a weight advantage, basketball is not just a game based on weight.
Sanders just hoped that Wayne would be intimidated by Olowokandi's physique.
The game started and the Pacers attacked first.
Garnett still stayed beside O'Neal, even though Sanders emphasized that he should always keep an eye on the No. 99 rookie.
But at present, Garnett's primary target is still O'Neal.
Wayne stood outside the three-point line and pulled the sugar man out.
However, this did not make O'Neal's offense much easier, because today, the Timberwolves relied purely on Harden's one-on-one defense to limit O'Neal.
Sugarman didn't actually help Harden much in the interior.
Stephen Jackson wanted to break through, but the madman's resistance was also strong.
Gangtai was clamped by Szczerbiak and didn't get any chance.
Although Szczerbiak is a white pitcher, his defense is actually not bad.
Finally, Wayne went up and set up a screen for his good brother Artest.
After the screen, Wayne immediately went down.
Wayne's start was very sudden, and he left the sugar man behind him almost in an instant.
Artest was not selfish this time. He made a ground pass and sent the ball to Wayne who cut into the basket from the middle.
"Wayne walked to the basket and Olowokandi was chasing him from behind. Can this ball go in?" Coach Zhang clenched his fists excitedly.
Wayne rushed to the basket and raised the basketball. Sure enough, Olowokandi flew over from behind.
But...the chase that Sugar Man imagined did not happen, because Wayne just made a fake move under the basket!
"Damn kid!" Sugar Man yelled and flew out of the baseline, becoming Wayne's background.
After shaking off Sugar Man, Wayne calmly jumped up from the spot and shot with both hands.
As soon as he came on, Wayne performed a beast dunk!
"Good shot, hahahaha , Olowokandi thought too simply of Wei. Wei was faking it from head to toe!"
Coach Zhang laughed for the first time today.
Wayne's dunk was indeed very tough, and it instantly revived the atmosphere on the scene.
After landing, Wayne did not forget to roar.
Although Wayne is not a particularly crazy person off the court, his emotions are sometimes difficult to control on the court.
Chris Paul was watching TV, and for some reason, he remembered the days when Wayne rode on his lap and dunked on him...
How could my youth be invaded by such a bastard?
"Oh." Philip Saunders shook his head. Fortunately, he had no expectations of Olowokandi.
So, it’s not really a disappointment.
But Sugar Man has high expectations for himself!
He originally wanted to bully the weak opponent, but ended up getting penalized. How could he feel good about that?
After that, Olowokandi actively positioned himself in the low post, determined to attack Wayne.
Wayne was standing behind Sugar Man, not being honest either, and ready to raise his elbow at any time.
Of course, the "alien" Cassell didn't pay any attention to Olowokandi at all, his first pass target was still Hardt.
But damn, O'Neal pressed Harden so hard that the ball couldn't be passed to him at all.
How about... giving it a try?
Just give it a try!
Cassell made up his mind and passed the ball to Olowokandi.
"Yo, Olowokandi is going to play against Wayne one-on-one."
Wayne was not afraid. He stuck to the opponent tightly and even used one foot to press against the sugar man's lower body to prevent him from exerting force comfortably.
Sugar Man didn't think much about it. After catching the ball, he pushed back hard.
“Bang!”
After a muffled sound, the sugar man looked down.
Only half a step forward?
At this point, the sugar man, who had not yet sobered up, was unable to exert his full strength.
Moreover, Wayne, equipped with the "Tough Defense" badge, brought more pressure to Sugar Man in the confrontation than he imagined.
If Olowokandi was in good shape, he wouldn't be in such a mess, after all, he has the weight advantage.
The key point is that he drank too much last night, and his legs are still a little weak now.
The sugar man pushed forward another step in disbelief, but the effect was still not obvious.
There was no other choice, he could only turn around and hook the shot.
Then, Wayne used the chain effect of "tough defense" + "zone deterrence".
The basket made a crisp sound and Olowokandi's hook shot bounced out of the basket.
His basic skills were not solid, and he rushed into the NBA after only playing formal basketball for three years.
After entering the NBA, he didn't work hard, which resulted in extremely slow progress.
So until now, my basic skills are not very good.
Therefore, let alone Olajuwon being the second, the Sugar Man's skills in the low post may be only slightly better than those of blue-collar inside players.
Although he is a center who mainly attacks under the basket, his shooting percentage has been hovering between 42% and 43% for many years. It is not difficult to imagine his offensive level.
"Defended it, Xiao Wei is using his small strength to fight against a big one today!"
After Wayne blocked Olowokandi's hook shot, he jumped up and grabbed the rebound.
But after grabbing the rebound and before he could stand firmly on the ground, Wayne was hit hard by someone from behind.
The impact was so great that it pushed Wayne directly out of the baseline and almost fell into the press area.
"Fuck, who the hell is so disgusting!" Wayne stabilized his balance and turned around, just in time to see Harden standing behind him, raising his hands innocently.
It looks like it's him?
Hardt finally took action against me?
Are you so anxious about being beaten?
"Fuck you, what do you mean?" Wayne didn't care whether Harden was the MVP or not. The main thing was that he couldn't be bullied like this.
If you say that the two of them have been holding a grudge against each other for a long time, it is understandable that he was pushed.
Damn it, you come here to bully people for no reason, you are just looking for trouble.
What? You look down on Ma Long's big elbow? You look down on my body of steel?
I just won't accept this softness!
So Wayne took the basketball and threw it directly to Harden.
Hardt reacted quickly enough and slapped the flying basketball away with one hand.
But after he opened the basketball, Wayne took two big steps forward and walked in front of Harden.
Harden was a little confused. He actually wanted to steal the ball from Wayne, but he deliberately bumped into him while grabbing it, thinking of teaching the rookie a lesson, and then pretending to say "Welcome to the NBA" to let this rookie see the world.
Harden likes to do similar actions on the court, coupled with endless trash talk, to create an image that he is not easy to mess with.
And most rookies really fall for this.
But he didn't expect Wayne to be so real and pick up the ball and throw it at him!
Seeing this, Artest was the first to rush up, O'Neal was also arguing with Harden on the side, and Stephen Jackson was yelling and preparing to give a warning kick.
If Anthony Johnson hadn't been holding him back, the sole of the shoe, which was over forty yards long, would have flown right into Hardt's face.
"Uh..." Hardt looked at the people around him who were all wearing Pacers jerseys. Although he still looked fierce on the surface,...
He still took a step back silently.
"What's wrong? I just failed to steal the ball. What's wrong, rookie? Are you scared? Are you anxious? This is the physical confrontation in the NBA. If you don't think you can do it, go back to your mother!" Harden pointed at Wayne fiercely and cursed him while backing away, taking a step back for every word he said. He was so tough.
Finally, the referee and other members of the Timberwolves arrived, and Harden breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why the hell did you come just now!" Looking at the four guys opposite who were ready to kill people at any time, Yingte wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Almost, almost.
To be honest, when those four men surrounded Hardt, he was a little panicked.
Because those four are the ones who really dare to fight!
"Fuck, it's all for nothing. Don't say so much to him next time, just elbow him on the head! I hate guys like these who make noises the most." Artest shook his head and walked away as if he was very disappointed.
"Wayne, are you okay?" Jackson retracted his flying kick and patted Wayne.
"Don't care about him, you played well just now, keep working hard." O'Neal, who has always advocated not to be impulsive, actually walked to Wayne's side at the first opportunity without hesitation.
Wayne looked at these three people, and for some reason, he suddenly felt that... these gangsters seemed pretty good?
Look at this, this is what a good teammate is!
In the end, the referee gave Garnett a technical foul and only gave Wayne a verbal warning, and the matter ended there.
However, the tension that has been heightened will not dissipate so easily.
The way Madman and Olowokandi looked at the Pacers players had completely changed.
This incident of cursing and retreating has once again escalated the confrontation.
The game between the Timberwolves and the Pacers will be more intense.