NBA: I just want to play soy sauce, you let me win the championship

Chapter 100 Killing Attack

The Kings lost their first game, causing an uproar in Sacramento.

Before the game, everyone was very satisfied that the opponent in the semifinals was the Mavericks.

In everyone's opinion, playing the Mavericks may be easier than playing the Timberwolves.

Everyone is similar, they are all attacking teams, the Kings are not afraid of going against any team, and there are two defensive champions in their team, no matter how they compare, they are much better than the Mavericks.

But I never expected that the things that are sure to happen will change.

The first variable is that Najera, the second-round pick in the second grade, stuck to Stojakovic like a candy, causing the team's second scorer to fail to score in double figures in the first game.

The second variable is Michael Finley. In the first round of the battle, Finley performed quite well and had no bright spots. Unexpectedly, he exploded in the first game, and his defensive champion Christie did not limit the opponent.

In fact, from the perspective of the Kings coaching staff, there is a third variable, which is that the Mavericks' shooting percentage is surprisingly high.

Of course, you can take this as an accident. After all, who doesn't eat dumplings, and whose team hasn't encountered a game where the team's shooting percentage is extremely high.

But now in the playoffs, in the series, no mistakes are allowed.

What if the high shooting percentage of the Mavericks is not accidental, but a tactical effect?
The coaching staff of the Kings worked overtime the night after the game to study the offensive tactics of the Mavericks. This research really allowed them to discover the secret of the Mavericks' high shooting percentage.

The Mavericks' high shooting percentage is inseparable from the Kings' defensive strategy.

When defending against pick-and-rolls and screens, most of the Kings players adopt a bypass strategy.

This strategy cannot be said to be bad, it can only be said to be quite satisfactory.

But the bad thing is that Nash and Finley, who led the pick-and-roll of the Mavericks, have extremely strong shooting ability. They seized the defensive gap bypassed by the defenders and shot decisively, which achieved excellent results.

Now that you have discovered a problem, start solving it.

Stojakovic's shooting problem is easy to solve, that is, to arrange more screens for him, so that he can get better shooting opportunities. As for the effect, it can only be verified in the game.

As for the problem on the defensive end, it is necessary to adjust the way of breaking the pick-and-roll screen, changing "bypass" to "squeeze", or "snatch", that is, the defensive player quickly sticks to the player holding the ball before the screen comes, " Squeeze through" screens to make sure the defender is on the same side as the ball handler, so the ball handler can't take advantage of the shot.

This is undoubtedly the most effective way to defend the pitcher's pick-and-roll, but it requires a lot of defensive players.

The second day of the Kings' joint practice, they were practicing the "squeeze" tactic.

And the third day is the second game of this round of the series, and the two games are only one day apart.

The series is like this, I make a move, you take the move to resolve, if you can't resolve it, then you will beat me with the same move repeatedly until you are eliminated
But if you can resolve my moves, then everyone will continue to come up with new tactics in the next game and return to the same starting line to compete.

Kind of like a turn-based game.

On May 5, at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, the rematch between the Kings and the Mavericks is about to begin.

Lu Yuanzhi finally took off that damn suit, changed into sportswear, and warmed up on the sidelines.

The game started soon, and the Mavericks still had their old lineup, LaFrentz, Nowitzki, Najera, Finley and Nash.

Although the Kings lost the last game, the coaching staff believes that the biggest problem is the wrong strategy in guarding the pick-and-roll, which has little to do with the players' defensive abilities.

After a day and a half of extra training, the Kings are very confident and will give the Mavericks a good look in this game!
Therefore, the starting lineup of the Kings has not changed, it is still Divac, Webber, Stojakovic, Christie and Bibby.

Divac successfully jumped the ball again and gave the ball to Bibby.

This time there was a change in the first attack, which was initiated by Bibby.

After the last game, the coaching staff of the Kings keenly found that the Mavericks' defense against Nash was insufficient, and Nash's own defense was relatively poor, which was suitable for Bibby to break through from this weak point.

Sure enough, Bibby used Divac's pick-and-roll to easily get rid of Nash and score a jumper.

Back on the defensive end, all the kings cheered up, and it was time to test the effect of the day-long targeted training.

The Mavericks pushed the ball into the frontcourt from Nash, and Nowitzki pulled it out to cover him.

In all fairness, Nowitzki's screen effect is mediocre, and his movements are clean, and he will not secretly use force to interfere with Bibby's pursuit when the defensive player squeezes past.

Bibby easily squeezed through Nowitzki's screen, and Nash didn't get a chance to take action.

"1 KILL!"

Off the court, Lu Yuanzhi on the bench cheered with his teammates.

This is a small game they played before. If a defensive player successfully defends a pick-and-roll, it is called a "Kill"!
Nash passed the ball to Nowitzki, pretended to fail in tactics, and wanted to change tactics, but suddenly ran back, went to Nowitzki again, and made a "hand-to-hand" cooperation.

The handoff is a variant of the screen, and the defender tends to relax after watching the ball-handling guard pass the ball after the next pick-and-roll.

If the guard runs back at this time and finds the big man holding the ball to cooperate hand-in-hand, and the big man then uses his body to fend off the defender, the guard will easily get an open shot.

The later Golden State Warriors liked to play this tactic very much. When you thought Curry failed to find a cover and relaxed his vigilance, he would turn around and pass the ball, or cut to the basket without the ball to complete the offense.

But Bibby had been reminded by the coaching staff a long time ago, and he was not careless at this time. He continued to follow Nash, squeezed through the screen, and destroyed the hand-to-hand cooperation between Nash and Nowitzki.

"2 Kills!"

Lu Yuanzhi and the substitute players continued to cheer on the bench, which was also an encouragement to his teammates on the court.

On the offensive end, the players play offense, shoot into the basket, and get good feedback. What about the defensive end?
If you keep guarding and get scored by the opponent in the end, it will definitely affect the enthusiasm of defense.

Therefore, the Kings players invented this "Kill" (killing the offense) game. The defensive players can receive positive feedback in stages to increase the players' defensive enthusiasm.

They are all a group of players who are strong in offense and weak in defense, but they actually have a lot of fun playing this defensive game.

The two tactics failed, and there was not much offensive time left for the Mavericks.

Nowitzki couldn't call for tactics again. He could only start dribbling from the high post, force himself against Weber's defense, and make a sudden jump shot. The basketball missed the basket.

Successful defense!
That's a good sign!

　100 chapters, cheer yourself up!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)