From South China Tiger to NBA King

On December 12th, the Celtics will once again embark on an away journey. They will leave Boston for a full 5 days. The next time they come back, it will be mid-season.

In 12 days, they will play 6 games. This journey will definitely be a huge test for whether the Celtics' winning streak can continue.

On December 12, the Celtics played against the 5ers away from home, another game that was broadcast live across the United States.

The league's arrangement is also a gimmick. The current 76ers are considered to be the only team in the Eastern Conference that hopes to challenge the Celtics' dominance.

This lineup can be called strong based only on the cards. The management has carried out drastic trades and reconstruction. Not only did they select the No. 1 pick Simmons and No. 3 pick Embiid, but they also traded for Harris and the Timberwolves who performed well with the Clippers last season. Butler had conflicts with teammates.

Embiid has completed his evolution this season. His per game average has evolved from 22.9 points and 11 rebounds per game last season to 28.1 points and 13.8 rebounds per game this season, which is an absolute All-Star starting level.

Although Butler's scoring dropped from the Timberwolves' average of 21 points per game to 19.6 points per game, it was not that his ability declined, but that he took on more defensive tasks in the first three quarters and withstood the defensive burden of the Timberwolves' front line.

Not only that, he was also responsible for the important task of scoring at critical moments.

Judging from the performance, the most important figure of this 76 team is Embiid, but at the critical moment, the ball is basically in Butler's hands. The final result of the anxious game depends largely on Butler's performance. How about that.

Although this team's lineup is not as disappointing as the four-star Warriors, it can definitely stir up trouble in the East.

When the players came out to warm up, Zhang Weiping introduced:

"Embid is currently the most popular young man outside Jianghu. His 28.1 points per game is the highest scorer among young people under the age of 25 outside Jianghu. His average of 13.8 points per game is the league's rebounding leader so far."

Yu Jia said: "Yes, their performance will largely determine the victory of this game, but the 76ers are not without advantages, compared to the Celtics who lack a leader. The integrity of their lineup is very high. With all four stars on the court, the lineup on paper is better than the Celtics."

Zhang Weiping smiled and said: "For the fans, this is definitely a good thing. If it is the Celtics with Leonard on the court, the current 76ers are definitely not their opponents, but facing the Celtics led by Jianghu's single core The Celtics, I think they have a great chance, which means Jianghu must play seriously, otherwise the winning streak may end."

Yu Jia laughed and said: "So Jiang Hu's debut time today is about the same, but I don't know what kind of performance he can perform."

President Adam Silver is also watching the game on TV, hoping that the 76ers can end the Celtics' winning streak.

At this moment, he is conflicted. Embiid is a rising star that the league is ready to promote. The talented center from Cameroon, Africa, can easily attract black fans.

But at this moment, Xiao Hua is a little worried, fearing that arranging a nationally broadcast game will be counterproductive. Not only will it not improve Embiid's popularity, it will also expose his shortcomings.

Many viewers are waiting to see Jianghu put up super statistics. Someone can compete with him and score better. However, Xiao Hua has a hunch that Embiid will not be able to perform well today.

Because he is facing Gasol, a defensive expert, and he generally does not perform very well when facing such a tall and strong center.

Celtics starting lineup: Alexander, Jaylen Brown, Jiang Hu, Horford, Marc Gasol.

Alexander's outstanding performance in the previous period allowed Alexander to gain the trust of Stevens, so since the last game, his position has been in the starting lineup, while Jianghu has returned to his most familiar small forward position.

76ers starting lineup: Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid.

Embiid won the jump ball and the game was on.

Simmons dribbled to the frontcourt, and then gave it to Embiid who was asking for the ball in the low post.

Embiid had no intention of playing a pick-and-roll with his teammates. He waved the other players away and held the ball in the middle to hit Gasol alone.

Embiid's choice is seen by many fans as a brave man who dares to challenge super defenders.

His idol is Kobe Bryant. The first time he played basketball in his career was in the finals of the Yellow-Green War. He greatly admired Kobe's one-on-one style of play.

However, Embiid's style of play is considered wrong by Jianghu. It cannot drive his teammates and also gives most of the opponents a chance to rest.

Kobe can play like this because he has the best one-on-one ability in NBA history, and he also has excellent passing ability.

Embiid is not good. His one-on-one ability is not as good as Kobe's. Jianghu feels that if others don't help defend, he may not be able to defeat Gasol.

So this time Jiang Hu just stood aside and watched the fun with his hands on his hips as if nothing happened.

Embiid continued to cross steps to test, and Gasol lowered his center of gravity to keep his distance without any sway.

As a vacation player of the Grizzlies, the league's historical defensive team, Gasol once won the best defensive player. His defensive awareness is super amazing. Few people in the same position can get rid of him with fake moves. If you hit him, you have to face him. Score a strong shot against the defense.

Embiid tried to change the direction of the ball by himself, but he couldn't get rid of it. He took the next step from the free throw line and chose to make an emergency stop jumper, which missed due to the interference of Gasol.

Horford grabbed the rebound and passed it to Alexander to launch a counterattack. Jianghu quickly came down the left side.

Alexander easily advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Yang Jianghu. Jianghu caught the ball and threw it one meter away from the left three-point line without any fake moves.

Butler made a sudden stop while retreating and then stepped forward, only to reach out to slightly interfere. Jiang Hu's first shot was a little stronger, and the ball bounced out of the frame.

But the attack was not over yet. Jaylen Brown grabbed the offensive rebound and beat Redick to score in the second attack.

Celtics 2-0-76ers.

Yu Jia said: "Good shot. In recent games, the Celtics often see this kind of scene when they play fast breaks. One defender rushes in front, one rushes for shots, and the other rushes for offensive rebounds."

Zhang Weiping said: "This move is very powerful. Jaylen Brown and Redick compete for rebounds. The height advantage is too obvious. Although Simmons is tall, his rebounding ability can only be regarded as average."

Although Simmons is 2 meters tall, he has basically played as a guard holding the ball since he was a child. Rebounding is obviously not his strong point, and blocking shots is not his strong point. Once the opponent takes a shot from close range, he can only jump up as much as possible. interference.

The 76ers attacked, Simmons dribbled the ball to the breakthrough, encountered Horford's blockage, and passed the ball to Butler on the outside.

Butler wanted to take a shot, but Embiid reached out for the ball again, but he had no choice but to pass the ball.

Embiid wanted to return the favor, cross-stepping and dribbling to test and then shot a mid-range jumper. Gasol stepped forward again and jumped to interfere, and the ball bounced out of the frame.

Alexander grabbed the backcourt rebound and passed it to Jianghu, who advanced to the three-point line with the ball and passed it to Jaylen Brown who ran into the penalty area.

Jaylen Brown leaned against Redick and took the ball and turned to the right to take a shot. Redick was so crowded that he didn't jump up. Then he ended the attack with a very easy layup.

Celtics 4-0 Seventy Sixers.

As the only weak link in the 76ers' starting lineup, Redick can basically only defend the face frame and not the back. As a full-time shooter, his body is too weak to suffer in confrontation, and he can only rely on gambling to steal on the defensive end.

The 76ers attacked, Simmons dribbled the ball across half court, and Alexander chose to take two steps to defend, but Simmons had no intention of taking a long shot.

He directly looked for Embiid to cover and break through.

He quickly changed direction and went to the right. Horford changed his defense and broke through the route. Alexander came from one side to pursue the defense and formed a double team, freeing up Harris in the middle. Simmons chose to pass the ball, Harris missed the three-pointer with an open jumper, and Jaylen Brown grabbed the backcourt rebound and passed it to Jianghu.

Jianghu advanced quickly, and Butler retreated to the main defense. Just after midfield, Jianghu changed direction from the left to the center. Butler moved laterally and hit Horford who was covering the screen and was passed.

Jiang Hu dribbled the ball in the middle and made a sudden stop for a three-point jump shot. Harris retreated to the three-point line to defend the basket, and stood there watching his shot without any interference. This time Jianghu seized the opportunity and hit a three-pointer.

Celtics 7-0 Seventy Sixers.

Zhang Weiping sighed: "The 76ers' lineup looks good, but their defense is really bad. Coach Brown actually let Jiang Hu shoot at will and chose not to double-team."

Yu Jia laughed and said: "Coach Brown thinks Butler can defend Jianghu alone, but he is obviously overly worried. Jianghu is five centimeters taller than Butler, and his wingspan is 20cm longer. Even their jumping heights are different." Very far."

Zhang Weiping said: "With the 76 team's defensive intensity, it won't take long for the score to open."

For the 76ers, Jianghu has never been regarded as a threat.

Because he knows that Gasol seems to have a natural restraint towards Embiid, just like Yao Ming towards Howard and Howard towards Jokic.

Jianghu would not let the score open easily, and the defensive end began to draw water.

Butler's long-range shot was also inaccurate, so he let Butler go some distance. When Simmons broke through, Jianghu Gang double-teamed him, safely blocking the breakthrough route.

Simmons passed the ball to Redick, who ran out with the help of a screen, and the latter made a three-pointer from the open space on the right side.

Celtics 7 to 3.

Jianghu didn't want to guard people so that they wouldn't score, as long as they could win.

Guarding against Simmons' breakthrough does not look like a particularly excessive paddling behavior. It can be understood as guarding against the core and freeing up others.

The Celtics attacked, Jianghu ran up the line from the right corner, and relied on Gasol's screen to receive the pass at 70 degrees on the right side.

He immediately changed direction to the middle and entered the three-point line without making a fake move, and passed Butler who was chasing him in one step.

Simmons' defense blocked Jianghu's way. He used a European step to step first with his right foot and then his left foot to open up space with Simmons, and passed a high ball to Gasol who was cutting through the air.

Gasol jumped up and scored with his right hand, making it 9-3 for the Celtics.

Redick didn't dare to jump when he was covering the basket. If he jumped, he would be blocked and dunked. No one in the world knew the significance of his presence on the 76ers' defensive end.

The 76ers attacked, and Embiid was double-teamed again in the low post. He passed the ball to Butler, who made a three-pointer from the exact same position as Redick just now.

Celtics 9 to 6.

Most fans couldn't tell that Mingtang was not guarded, but the coach and teammates knew the truth.

They had all seen how strong Jianghu's defense was during training, and it was impossible for them to make such a low-level mistake.

Stevens was not angry. He was willing to help Jiang Hu obtain better data. He knew that Jiang Hu was measured and would not go too far.

This is also an important reason why Jianghu likes Stevens more and more. He understands people and the world.

In the first quarter, despite struggling defensively, the Celtics still led 35-28.

恩比德太铁了，他甚至铁的不像一个内线，5投0中，罚球2中1，得到1分6篮板2助攻2失误。

Gasol only played 8 minutes but scored the most points. He made 6 of 5 shots and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 12 points and 2 assists. He basically only used a small hook, but it was more effective than all Embiid's moves. .

Gasol did an especially good job in eradicating Kata.

Jianghu scored 7 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, and then scored a mid-range shot and a misplaced breakthrough dunk.

Embiid is very depressed, and the media likes to compare him with Jiang Hu, because both of them are one of the more outstanding young people.

The person he most wants to challenge in this game is Jiang Hu, not Gasol. But the two of them are not in the same position. Jianghu did not guard him, nor did he talk to him before the game, as if he had no interest in talking to him.

Gasol kept making small moves towards her, and completely ignored his thoughts, like a robot that only knew how to defend, which made him even more upset.

The 76ers' top scorer was center Boban Manojanvich who came off the bench with 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Boban is 221cm tall and has a wingspan of 235cm. Although he moves slowly, his finishing ability at the basket is excellent and he likes to play high. After Gasol came off the court, Baynes came on as the substitute center, who was a whole lot better than Boban. Being 15cm shorter, Boban almost had to get whatever he wanted.

Boban's super performance is mainly because Baynes is too short, which is naturally a mismatch.

In the second quarter, both sides sent substitutes. Jianghu rested off the court. Alexander, Horford, and Jaylen Brown continued to fight on the court. Coupled with the two major shooters Morris Jr. and Green, the team's lineup and shooting skills were very reasonable. powerful.

After the Celtics changed their lineup, Morris Jr. only did fixed-point shooting and support work, reducing the number of singles he played.

Alexander and Horford are more threatening when playing pick-and-rolls. They can find misplaced breakthrough opportunities and make layups or assist teammates.

Although Boban can score, his movement speed is very slow, ridiculously slow. Facing a small defender like Alexander, as long as the defense is not changed in time, he will be passed by in one step.

Simmons' substitute McConnell is a player who likes gambling steals, lacks the ability to follow defense, and is not fast enough to bypass screens and pursue defenses.

The 76ers' lineup has obvious flaws. There is no truly strong point guard, and the tactics are not detailed enough. The entire team gives the impression that the players are fighting independently and the cooperation is quite simple.

76ers head coach Brett Brown is also not good at improvising.

When the 76ers were in trouble, he was a qualified coach, but when they wanted to realize their talents, Brown's talents seemed a bit rushed.

In 5 minutes, the score difference widened to 19 points.

The Celtics hit a 13-1 spurt.

When Jianghu came on the scene in the second quarter, Alexander, who had already played for 15 minutes, went to rest. Jianghu took over the position of point guard and led the team's offense.

This time he faced off against Simmons on both offense and defense. On the first possession of Jianghu, he passed Simmons and rushed into the basket for a dunk.

Celtics 50 to 29 Sixers.

(End of this chapter)