Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 156 Big Victory!Confused Karl: You agreed to attack and fight, but you secretly strengthened your defense?

Seeing that the team had difficulty scoring, George Karl only allowed Anthony to rest for 2 minutes before replacing him.

Facts have proved that the brainless use of stars in the playoffs is indeed effective. After Anthony came on the court, he hit two jumpers in a row, helping the Nuggets barely stabilize the situation.

His breakthrough speed is not fast, but he is full of fake moves, one-handed attack and three threats to the famous shock alliance, one-on-one is really difficult to defend.

Lu Yong did not arrange to double-team Anthony in this quarter. When he was on the court with JR-Smith and Kleiza at the same time, the Nuggets' outside offense was very strong.If he attracts double-teams, it is an opportunity to distribute the ball to his teammates. Once the Nuggets role players throw away, the chances of winning the game are even greater.

The adjustment Lu Yong made was a substitution. PJ-Tucker came on and replaced Teletovic.

The fans at the scene were a little surprised. They didn't expect the Sonics, who have always relied on offense to win, to make their debut in this round of the series. This substitution exceeded their expectations.

Director Zhang of CCTV5 was also very surprised: "Shuai Lu unexpectedly sent PJ Tucker on the stage. You must know that Tucker has almost no chance to perform in the first round of the series. At this time, the pressure is very high. It seems that Lu Yong intends to let Tucker play against him. Anthony. Anthony is in good shape right now, I don’t know if Tucker, who was ordered in danger, can guard against him.”

Yu Jia said with a smile: "Taker is a very passionate player. He didn't play much this season, but he was very efficient. He made more than 40% of his three-pointers. Effect. Although his lateral movement speed is not as good as Anthony, but the close entanglement can still cause trouble for "Melon", which is a targeted substitution.

Director Zhang nodded: "The most indispensable thing in the NBA is talent. Almost every draft conference has a group of talented players who enter the league. Players like Tucker who rely on hard work are very defensive. Maybe they can really limit Anthony."

If the Nuggets were in the starting lineup, Lu Yong would directly arrange players to defend the zone, but the Nuggets' current lineup is not suitable for flanking, the zone defense is full of flaws, and no man-to-man effect is good.

Tucker playing against Anthony can make him play more uncomfortable, so that he won't score like cutting melons and vegetables.

No one in the Supersonics is more suitable for defending Anthony than Tucker. During the team training, he was as close as a dog's skin plaster and even Durant had a headache, not to mention Anthony, who is only 2 meters tall.

After Tucker took the main defense, Anthony had a harder time making breakthroughs and jump shots than before. Tucker was stronger and more passionate. As long as Anthony couldn't pass the first step, he could only struggle.

Anthony is not good at playing off the ball. Even if he is uncomfortable with Tucker, he can only play singles with the ball and bite the bullet.

Lu Yong is very aware of Anthony's playing style, so he is relieved to let Tucker lead the defense, and is not worried about his speed.Anthony is good at jump shots and breakthroughs after three threats. Let him play pick-and-roll or off the ball, but the efficiency is not high. He is a standard singles star.

In the next round, Anthony held the ball and made three threats, walked left to break through the stuck position, leaned against Tucker with his body, turned to the baseline and missed a jumper.

Tucker was very focused, did not lose his defensive position, took off with all his strength and interfered with Anthony's shooting, and the rebound was grabbed by Gasol Jr.

The Supersonic attack, "Martial Saint" Jackson broke through to attract the help defense and distributed the ball to Gary Neal who was ambushing on the outside.

Neal made a three-pointer at the top of the arc and made a steady shot.

The Nuggets attacked, Anthony singled out Tucker with the ball, and the corner jumper still missed the basket under interference.

Gasol grabbed the backcourt rebound and looked at the frontcourt, and immediately hit the ball to fight back.

Jackson's counterattack was fast. He passed Kleiza and took three steps to catch the ball. He rushed up and scored a one-handed dunk.

In the next few rounds, Anthony's offensive efficiency dropped significantly. He only made 4 of 1 shots on Tucker's head. Obviously, he has not adapted to the high-intensity defense.

George Karl stood on the sidelines with a dazed expression on his face, and agreed to an offensive battle, but you secretly strengthened your defense?
Lu Yong's emphasis on offense does not mean that he completely ignores defense. It is difficult for the SuperSonics to become a team with both offense and defense, but the defensive efficiency is also in the middle of the league, not bad yet.

上半场安东尼打了21分钟，15投6中，三分球2中0，罚球4中4，得到16分4篮板1助攻。

On the Supersonic side, Durant made 12 of 7 shots, 2 of 1 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The data is slightly better than Anthony.

Tucker, who came off the bench, not only completed the defensive task, but also made a three-pointer on the offensive end, with 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block in a single quarter. The typical effect is greater than the data.

"Martial Saints" Jackson and Neil also performed well in the first half, 61 to 46, and the Sonics led by 15 points.

If it weren't for JR-Smith's explosion in the second quarter, the Nuggets would only lose more.

In the second half, George Karl arranged a screen for Anthony to get rid of the defense. He found that Tucker was not fast, and he was a little clumsy when defending the small forward around the screen.

Lu Yong sat on the sidelines thoughtfully, carefully observing the trend of the game.

Two minutes later, Lu Yong took the initiative to call a timeout and replaced the big center Joakim Noah, allowing Landry to play as a center to improve his mobility.The other four are "Martial Saints" Jackson, Durant, Tucker, and Szczerbiak, a five-forward lineup that is said to be a small lineup but not short at all.

The shortest player in this lineup is Tucker, and the other four are all over 2 meters tall. The defensive end can change defenses infinitely for pick-and-rolls and screens, so don't worry about the Nuggets relying on pick-and-rolls to launch offenses.

None of these five players will become a defensive loophole, because the Nuggets center "Birdman" Anderson is only 2 meters, and he is not good at attacking.

Power forward Kenyon Martin is 2 meters tall. As long as he can't run along the pick-and-roll, he is half useless.

The Supersonic five-forward lineup can unscrupulously interfere with Anthony's jumper, no matter who is facing him, he can defend it, so that Anthony will collapse.

Anthony couldn't break through and rush in, so he could only float outside and shoot. The efficiency of strong shots against the defense was not high, and scoring was not as easy as in the first half.

The Supersonics played very steadily in this quarter. In the last 3 minutes, they directly defeated the Nuggets with an 8-0 climax. The lead expanded to 26 points, and the main players clocked out of get off work in three quarters.

Anthony's 21 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists are good, but his shooting percentage is less than 40%. Tonight, he witnessed the horror of the supersonic talent monsters.

In the last quarter, the Sonics replaced the full bench lineup for training, Dragic, Neal, Batum, Landry, and Gasol Jr.

When a team can field such a lineup in garbage time, Lu Yong really doesn't know how the Nuggets should respond.

Barkley sighed: "The Sonics played so well in this game. Not only did they continue the team's previous offensive firepower, but their defensive strength has also improved a lot. The defense against Anthony was very successful. After this game, there should be no fans. If you question the Supersonics again, it’s not that they don’t know how to defend, they just use offense to solve the problem, and the Supersonics don’t need to devote their energy to the defensive end.”

Kenny Smith laughed: "Fans always say that Nuggets coach George Karl is a lunatic, but I think Lu Shuai is more like him. He can not only cultivate Durant, Taylor Tovic, and Neal. Players can also cultivate defensive champions like Noah and Tucker, and they know their style and positioning like the back of their hands, which is incredible."

The Sonics played an atypical game in the first game of the semifinals. The defense was good, coupled with the already strong offensive firepower, it directly gave the Nuggets a big defeat.

At the end, 114 to 89, the Sonics got off to a good start with 25 points.

Five members of the team scored in double figures. Durant scored 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He only played 30 minutes and was very efficient.Jackson, Szczerbiak, and Neal all scored 15+.

安东尼末节登场打了4分多钟被换下，出战36分钟，24投9中，三分球5中1，罚球6中5，得到24分7篮板3助攻1抢断，命中率只有37.5%。

At the press conference, George Karl was not too frustrated, but the gap in strength between the two teams still gave him a headache.

He couldn't think of a way to beat the Sonics, so he could only tell the media that the team would adjust its strategy in the next game and talk about the scene.

In fact, George Karl didn't know how to adjust at all. In the face of absolute strength, even he, the old coach who was about to become the coach of Qiansheng, couldn't do anything.

Anthony's main focus in the interview was hard-talking, saying: "The loss of a game is nothing. The series has just begun. I firmly believe that the team will find a way to win."

(End of this chapter)