From South China Tiger to NBA King

The Nuggets' offense was not in vain, and they immediately responded on the outside.

Murray played a pick-and-roll with Beasley on the outside, attracting Leonard to switch defenses and Jianghu pursuit, and then passed the ball to the center.

Jokic caught the ball and saw that no one was looking after him. Horford was still waiting at the free throw line. He took a shot directly and hit an open three-point jumper.

Celtics 23-14 Nuggets.

Jokic has a very soft touch and has been able to maintain a stable mid-range shooting percentage of around 45% since entering the league.

He doesn't take many three-pointers, and occasionally takes one or two shots when he is open, and his stability is not strong enough. However, he will be stronger if he works hard to increase the range of three-pointers.

The Celtics attacked, Leonard slipped from the left baseline to the right and Jianghu played a pick-and-roll with Horford in the middle.

This offensive routine is almost impossible to crack. It switches between pick-and-roll offense and triangle offense at any time.If you want to defend well, it mainly depends on the player's personal defensive ability.

Jianghu saw the opportunity and passed the ball to Leonard who ran to the right corner. This time Craig came out to defend and lowered his center of gravity. He had been passed by Jianghu many times and was afraid of being passed by Leonard again. Lose.

However, after Leonard caught the ball, he only made a fake shot, which attracted all the attention and quickly threw the ball back to Jianghu.

Jiang Hu caught the ball and immediately shot a jump shot. Murray was half a beat too slow to react and could only reach out to interfere.

The slight interference was useless, Jianghu hit someone again and hit a three-pointer.

Celtics 26-14 Nuggets.

After scoring the goal, Jiang Hu made a gliding gesture, which once again aroused wild cheers from the audience.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone's eyelids jumped when he saw it, and he wanted to call a timeout.Today, the Nuggets players were not bad on the offensive end, but the score was still behind. The Celtics players were ridiculously accurate in their shots.

Just over halfway through the first quarter, the Celtics scored 26 points. Except for Hayward, almost all the starters scored.

The shooting percentage of the Nuggets players began to decline. Jokic turned around and missed Baynes with a hook in the low post. Jianghu picked up a backcourt rebound.

When the Celtics attacked, Hayward took his first shot and singled out Temelsap in a misplaced position on the right side, turning around and missing the shot.

Facing Millsap, Hayward has a speed advantage, and there is a chance for calm singles after his teammates pull away.It is absolutely impossible for the Nuggets to double-team him, especially when Jianghu is standing in the corner and on his side. They can't leave the fourth leader of the team that is double-teamed by Jianghu, right?
However, Hayward kept running back and didn't catch the ball much, so it's understandable that he felt cold.

There is nothing that can be done about it. Jiang Hu, Leonard, and Jaylen Brown are all forwards. They all need the right to take action. Jiang Hu and Leonard are destined to be the core. Jaylen Brown will also be an important part of the Celtics' forward line in the future. figure.

Hayward's position is very awkward. Not playing for a season has put him in a state of being neither good nor low. Going up, he can't compare with Jiang Hu and Leonard. Going down, Jaylen Brown also has the potential to surpass him.

He has already submitted a trade request to the management and wants to go to a team that needs him more.

Angie also agreed with his idea and promised to trade him to a suitable team before the end of the season. He needs to actively show his recovered body and release a positive attitude on the court.

The Nuggets attacked, Millsap caught the ball after playing a pick-and-roll, but failed to make a mid-range shot from the high post.

Leonard made a mistake when he grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to launch a counterattack. The ball was passed a bit too big and Jianghu missed it and hit the sideline.

During the dead ball, Coach Stevens replaced Leonard and replaced him with Rozier.The two play styles are very different, but if they just catch and shoot, Rozier can also take on this task.

Leonard went down to rest for a while and could come out with the substitutes in the second quarter.

After Rozier came on the court, it was still difficult for the Nuggets to double-team because he would not deliberately run to Rozier's side to catch the ball and launch an attack.

The Nuggets attack, Jamal Murray relies on Jokic's off-ball screen to run, catch the ball and shoot.

Jianghu's pursuit was in place and he did not take off with all his strength. In order to prevent other changes, Murray forced a shot against Jianghu and hit a three-pointer.

"Brush~"

Basketball hit.

Celtics 26-17 Nuggets.

Director Zhang commented: "No. 27 Jamal Murray has improved this season. He has no stage fright when facing Jianghu's defense. He shoots very resolutely and has the shadow of a star player."

Yu Jia said: "But he definitely can't guard against Jiang Hu. He is small and not fast. It will be too difficult to chase and defend."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Hu quickly ran to catch the ball.He didn't even think about saving energy, he planned to run the entire game non-stop and directly enter the intensity of the playoffs.

In the past, he might have considered holding back on hitting during the regular season, but after Leonard came, he no longer had this idea.

What physical strength is allocated?When he got tired, he went to the bottom corner to smoke. Anyway, there was another superstar leading the team, so he was panicking.

Jianghu finally understands why James always likes to form teams with other stars. It is indeed relaxing to play with capable people.

And he also has the ability to be "injury immune". He was not injured last season. In the finals, he was fine if he met the Warriors who are famous for their "confrontation intensity". At most, it would be painful if he fell.

Jiang Hu received the ball in the right corner and chose to feint this time.He just made a shot from this position. Murray didn't dare not guard the shot and chased it with his left arm raised.

As soon as Jiang Hu saw his center of gravity, he judged that he could break through and changed to the left to pass.

Murray had had enough of this man who could clearly knock him out but had to use speed to outpace him. This was simply an insult.

So he reached out and tried to catch up with Jianghu with small moves. However, this was the Celtics' home court and the referee called him a foul without hesitation.

Murray knew he was in the wrong and did not show his hand.

Rozier was responsible for the throw-in, and Jianghu relied on the screen to catch the ball. This time, Murray was even more unable to foul.If he commits one offense, it's okay, but if he commits two offenses, he has to leave the game and rest.

Jianghu took the ball and broke through from the right, dribbling towards Jokic's position, looking at the distance and pulling the ball, taking a small step to the right with his right foot and a big step to the left with his left foot.

This is Ginobili's classic move, the European step, also called the snake step.

Jokic took a European step fake move, and his center of gravity shifted slightly and he couldn't keep up.Jiang Hu jumped up with his left foot, pulled the lever in the air to avoid Murray's pursuit and block from behind, and jumped to the left side of the basket with a backhand layup with his right hand. The ball hit the board and went into the basket.

Celtics 28-17 Nuggets.

Murray gritted his teeth in hatred, but was helpless and felt a deep sense of powerlessness.Zhang Weiping said: "Jiang Hu has already scored 14 points, 6 shots, 6 of [-]. It is always easy for him to score in double figures in a single quarter."

Yu Jia said: "If everything goes well, this season may be the season for Jianghu to reach No. 1 in the league."

Director Zhang smiled: "Actually, Jianghu was already No. 1 in the league in terms of performance last season, but no one is willing to admit that a rookie from Asia became the strongest player in the NBA in his rookie season."

When the Nuggets attacked, Murray caught the ball one meter outside the three-point line under the cover of his teammates. Jianghu defended the ball but failed to prevent the shot.He has the impression that Murray has not been selected to the All-Star once, but he is not a player who is good at shooting long three-pointers.

Super long three-pointers have always been the patent of Lillard and Curry. James also has a certain level in this aspect, while others have a worse impression on Jianghu.

When Jiang Hu was thinking about it, without saying a word, Murray pulled up the left three-point line one meter away and shot. Jiang Hu stepped forward to interfere, and the ball actually went in.

Celtics 28-20 Nuggets.

The reason why Murray dared to take action like this is because Michael Malone encouraged Murray to play like this. If outside players dare not take action when facing Jiang Hu and Leonard, the Nuggets will not be able to win.If you want to win, you must not lose in terms of momentum.

This idea is very correct, and only this way of training can create players who can truly fight tough battles.

In the Celtics' positional battle, Jianghu took the ball from the outside. This time there was no feint, and he also shot a three-pointer from one meter outside the three-point line.

Murray was a little slow in rushing forward to block the shot, but this time it had an interference effect, and Jianghu's shot missed.

This was the first ball Jianghu missed, and the rebound was grabbed by Jokic.

Jokic passed a long pass to Murray who was about to leave. Jianghu retreated very quickly and Murray had no chance to take action.

The Nuggets fell into a positional battle. After playing a pick-and-roll, Murray went to the right and passed the ball to Beasley in the middle.The latter feinted to break through the frame and passed to Jokic from the left to the basket.

Jokic caught the ball and leaned against Baynes, turned around in the middle, made a feint shot, and then turned around and hit a hook.

Celtics 28-22 Nuggets.

Zhang Weiping said:

"Jokic can play with his dream moves. Although he is not as fast as Olajuwon, it is more than enough for the centers in the league now."

"And today both teams have very high shooting percentages. It would be nice to keep attacking each other."

Yu Jia said: "The Celtics still have weaknesses. The inside line is their weakness. Jianghu and Leonard can lock down most of the forwards, but they don't have any good solutions for players like Jokic. Baynes' defensive ability is still a level below Jiang Hu and Leonard."

Zhang Weiping laughed and said: "Baines' salary is right here, 500 million US dollars a year. If he can guard Jokic, his annual salary will not be this number."

At this time, Jianghu got the ball on the right baseline again.

Murray judged that Jianghu would break through with the ball, and this time his judgment was correct and blocked his breakthrough route.

Jianghu relied on Murray to firmly protect the basketball with his back, watching his teammates' movements with the corner of his eye.

Jiang Hu is strong in all aspects. Some details will be ignored by fans. Regardless of whether he faces players taller or smaller than himself, he can calmly control the basketball without making mistakes. This is a very important ability. Without this ability He can't be a core player holding the ball.

Leonard's ball handling is not bad either, but he is not as comfortable as Jiang Hu, so he cannot be used as the founder of the offensive body, but can only be used as a more important component of the system.

At this time, Horford gave Jaylen Brown an off-ball screen, and Jaylen Brown cut in from the right side.

Jianghu saw the opportunity and passed a ground-breaking pass to Brown. Jaylen Brown passed Beasley and took three steps for a layup. Unfortunately, he was blocked by Jokic who was on defense.

Before Jokic even had time to celebrate after landing, the basketball was picked up by Jiang Hu.Not only is he faster than Murray, he's also faster, and he has the best hands in steals.

After taking the ball, he took a step into the basket, attracted Jokic's attention and distributed the ball to the left corner. Horford was empty again.Millsap had good defensive awareness and immediately rotated the defense towards the bottom corner. Horford did not force the shot and distributed the ball 70 degrees to the left side.

Rozier, who came off the bench, caught the ball and shot a three-pointer from a wide open space.

Celtics 31-22 Nuggets.

The star's containment power cannot be reflected by statistics. It is not Jianghu who scores and assists, but he is the starting point of the offense and sends the key pass.When he was at the basket, he attracted three defenders to surround him, and his opponents regarded him as the biggest threat.

As long as he can pass it out, it is the greatest punishment to the opponent.

In the first quarter, the two sides fought fiercely, with the Celtics leading 42 to 34 by 8 points.

The Nuggets have never been able to defend against the Sonics' offense. As the core of the team, Jianghu moves the ball very well. There are opportunities everywhere. Jokic also plays well, but he is obviously limited by his size and cannot sustain for a long time. The overall deterrence ability of the ball is still somewhat worse than that of Jianghu.

In the first quarter, Jianghu made full use of the defensive pressure brought by its outstanding performance and converted these pressures into easy scoring opportunities for teammates, scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists in a single quarter.

This is a terrifying statistic. 18 points in a single quarter is no longer simple, not to mention 8 assists, which means that at least 34 points were directly scored or assisted by him.

It will be easy for him to reach double figures in assists today, and he may even set a new personal assist record. Each team's defense against Jianghu in the first quarter was not successful enough, because the experience of defending him last season was useless.

Opponents can appreciate one thing better than fans, that is, Jianghu has become stronger than last season.In the past, he was just a super scorer, relying on his personal ability and talent to score, but now he has a more thorough understanding of tactics.

In the second quarter, both sides sent substitutes to come on, and the Celtics suddenly looked like a different team from the first quarter, unable to play a smooth offense.

Leonard is very good at singles, but rarely attracts double teams to lead the team.

Because the opponent knows that unless he shoots a very high shooting percentage, it will be difficult for him to kill the game on his own.

Jianghu is different. Everyone knows that if you let Jianghu play alone, you will pay a terrible price, because this is the only man in history who has scored 70+ points twice in the playoffs.

Two minutes into the second quarter, Stevens made a substitution.

First of all, he wanted to train SGA and give the newcomers playing time.However, SGA's game experience is still a bit immature. Not only did it fail to break through, it also made two passing errors.

The Nuggets seized the opportunity, and substitute guard Gary Harris hit two consecutive three-pointers to chase the point difference to 3 points.

(End of this chapter)