NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

After Josh dribbled the ball up the court, he didn't look for Parker. Instead, he waited for everyone to be in position before passing the ball to Duncan again! In both possessions, he passed the ball to Duncan first and then spoke, which shows that Duncan is the absolute core of the Celtics right now!

He is both the Celtics' primary offensive weapon and their only reliable pivot.

He had to take on the work of both Yao Ming and Pau Gasol by himself.

Of course, Duncan is a versatile talent; he can do many things. But when it comes to specialization in any particular area, he certainly doesn't match those true experts.

For example, when he attacks the basket, his success rate and consistency are definitely not as good as those of Yao Ming or Shaquille O'Neal.

When playing as a pivot, his vision was slightly inferior to that of Gasol and Webber.

My buddy can do everything, and he's not just good at everything to a 60-point level, he's good at everything to an 85-point level!

More importantly, you're asking Yao Ming in his prime to be the team's second-best player? Well, okay, he'll definitely accept.

Again.

More importantly, you want Shaquille O'Neal in his prime to be the team's second option? He definitely wouldn't agree! He would definitely want to move to another team.

You want Webber in his prime to play center and go toe-to-toe with the opponent's big center?

Back then, Webber left the Warriors precisely because he didn't want to play center, right?
There are countless other similar examples.

Most of the top stars in the league have tempers and bottom lines. They are willing to sacrifice some things, but only to a limited extent, because they are used to being the core of the team, to saving the team, and to helping the team improve and become stronger.

Asking them to play support is like killing them.

Lin Tian, ​​among others, is very selfless, but that's based on his supreme position within the team and the league, where his word is law. If he were really asked to play purely a support role, Lin Tian would flip the table and refuse to do it in a heartbeat.

I can do without it, but you can't refuse to give it to me!

But what about Duncan?

This guy is really willing to sacrifice, and even enjoys it.

Not let him be the primary scorer? Fine!

Let him do the dirty and hard work? Sure!

Cover, support, screen, wall? All of these are possible!

Even now that Howard has gradually matured and started to need space for post-up play, Duncan is still willing to make way, standing in the mid-range to give Howard space under the basket so he can attack.

He's willing to do anything the team asks him to do that's in the team's best interest; he's an incredibly pure team-oriented basketball player.

In NBA history, there has never been another player with Duncan's level of skill who was also so selfless.

It's not that liking to pass the ball equates to selflessness; Duncan's selflessness was multifaceted.

For example, in this play, after Duncan got the ball, he noticed that Howard was also asking for the ball on the other side, so he immediately threw the ball to the top of the arc. After Parker got the ball at the top of the arc, he understood what Duncan meant and slammed the ball towards the inside, passing it to Howard.

Howard backed down Okur and probed Okur's defensive position several times before suddenly making a somewhat awkward turn, even staggering a bit afterward. However, he quickly regained his balance and turned to face the basket.

Then this guy jumped up directly, ignoring that Okur hadn't been shaken off at all, and slammed his hands fiercely towards the basket!

"boom!"

After a loud bang, Howard slammed the ball in and scored 2 more points for the team!
What can I say about this goal?

This perfectly demonstrates Howard's one-on-one ability!
His footwork is simple, monotonous, lacks variety and is not refined enough. All his techniques need improvement. Apart from dunking, his other scoring methods are not worth mentioning.

But his physical abilities are truly unparalleled; he's an absolute monster!

He didn't even manage to shake off Okur on that play; his spin move almost made him lose his own balance.

Even under these circumstances, he was still able to complete a dunk over someone, which shows just how incredible his physical abilities are!

And just now, during the Celtics' defense, Howard was still watching Okur when Lin Tian broke through, but in the blink of an eye, Howard had already arrived to help defend and almost blocked the shot under the basket.

This guy's physical abilities are truly terrifying!

"It's okay, Mehmet. If he plays like that again, just carry him off the court and send him to the free-throw line. Anyway, his free throws aren't as accurate as your three-pointers." Lin Tian patted Okur to comfort him. "Try to recall what Tang told us, and recall the game footage we watched."

"This guy can't even make a proper layup, let alone dunk. As long as you push him out of the three-second zone and get into position, his other abilities are negligible!"

"Hook shot? His hook shot isn't as accurate as mine with my foot. Shooting? Let him shoot all he wants. If he misses, you can even retrieve the ball for him. Face-up drive, layup, bank shot, you can let him do whatever he wants."

"As long as I can get him out of the three-second zone, right Lin!" Okur calmed down by now and didn't stay upset about being dunked on for too long.

This was also thanks to Lin Tian and the others.

Who can blame them when the Knicks have players like Stoudemire, Smith, Anthony, Ariza, Nate, Lin Tian, ​​and even Brown, who doesn't get much playing time, all of whom are incredibly athletic and athletic?
During training, these guys are incredibly energetic; they'll grab you and dunk whenever they get the chance.

Poor Okur, with his mediocre physical attributes and only able to play center, gets dunked on average 2-3 times in every training session.

From initial annoyance and helplessness, to later getting used to it and indifferent, and finally to feeling unsatisfied if you didn't get two points deducted in every training session, it was like not training at all.

Okur's improvement in dealing with being dunked on is truly astounding.

So even though Howard humiliated him, this guy acted like nothing happened.

Of course, besides the fact that he usually gets fined a lot, so getting fined once doesn't matter to him, it's also because Oku trusts Lin Tian!
He believed that his boss would definitely find a way to get justice for him!

If things go quickly, the next round might just be your chance!

In the next possession, Lin Tian still didn't pass the ball. Instead, he dribbled for a while and then made another personal breakthrough, charging into the paint.

This time, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that another green number 12 player was rushing towards him. Needless to say, it was Howard who had timed it perfectly and was going to sneak up on him again!

Lin Tian, ​​of course, didn't take Howard's sneak attack and defensive assistance seriously.

Your first attack came suddenly, and I, Lord Lin, was able to perfectly dodge it.

This time, I, Lord Lin, am fully prepared. I spotted you long ago. Are you chasing after me?
Daydreaming!

After Howard had moved away from Okur, Lin Tian suddenly made a behind-the-back pass without looking, and the ball was suddenly thrown back into Okur's hands!
"Shoot, Mehmet!" Lin Tian shouted, then rushed into the paint, looking for a chance to grab a rebound to prevent Okur from missing the shot.

But Lin Tian was clearly overthinking it.

Okur's shot was not a miss at all.

The basketball didn't even fly towards the basket.

Howard is insane!

One second this guy was moving towards Lin Tian to chase and defend him, and the next second when Lin Tian passed the ball, he had already turned around and sprinted towards Okur!
Just as Okur grabbed the basketball and was about to shoot, Howard was already in position!
He leaped high without hesitation and slapped the ball towards the midfield.

"Snapped!"

With a muffled thud, the basketball was slapped directly beyond the three-point line. The closest defender was Artest, who had just been circling around Anthony on the wing. Artest was incredibly experienced. He casually elbowed Anthony, causing the guy to freeze and unable to accelerate immediately.

Artest naturally seized the opportunity to sprint towards the basketball, and once he got the ball, he didn't hesitate to dribble and rush towards the frontcourt.

However, his speed is neither fast nor aesthetically pleasing, and when he dribbles, he always looks like he's about to stumble and fall at any moment.

Anthony also managed to catch up with Artest when he drove into the three-point line.

However, Artest was not afraid at all. With a swing of his elbow and a push of his shoulder, he quickly knocked Anthony off balance and forced him to give up his defensive position.

Artest seized the opportunity and successfully made a layup with a rather awkward posture!

Ugly, but useful!
This round also clearly demonstrates the difference between Artest and Anthony.

In this round, Anthony looked like he was being completely overwhelmed and bullied by Artest, and was forced to push aside, watching helplessly as Artest scored a layup.

But in reality, the difference in their physical qualities and strength is certainly not that great.

The main difference lies in experience and playing style. While Anthony plays aggressively and fiercely, he still subconsciously retains a bit of a student-like feel to his game.

He does have a lot of little tricks, but he doesn't do them all the time. He doesn't just throw things at people or hit them with a punch while playing basketball.

His underhanded tactics were aimed at profiting himself.

As for old scoundrels like Artest and Lin Tian, ​​their little tricks are often just for a bit of fun.

Hitting or pinching you won't make me score or get a rebound, but it will make me feel good.

Under the influence of this mentality and playing style, players like Lin Tian and Artest are like thorns all over their bodies, weapons from head to toe, always ready to strike you down.

Anthony is too clean; he's unlikely to use physicality or dirty tricks to bully his opponents unless he's certain he'll benefit from the attack.

That's why he was pushed away by Artest twice in one round.

They really suffered a lot of bad consequences.

"The Celtics' defense is truly terrifying! Just looking at their twin towers, in terms of defensive ability alone, I think they could even compete for the best in history!" After Howard's block and Artest's fast break, Kenny immediately gave the Celtics a particularly high evaluation.

"One of them is solid and consistent, known for never losing his position, while the other is energetic and physically gifted, omnipresent on the court," Barkley added. "One excels at one-on-one defense against big men, while the other is adept at helping out and covering wherever he goes."

"These two are not just top-notch defenders, they also have top-notch chemistry! In this respect, only the Pistons' duo of Wallace could compare to them! But the problem is, one of the Wallaces was particularly short, and the other had average physical attributes."

"From this perspective, Duncan and Howard are simply upgraded versions of the Twin Wallaces!"

"Let's see how the Knicks respond," Miller said. "Let's see how they change the game and break down the Celtics' tight defense!"

"At least with Howard, a monster with explosive help defense and a willingness to do the work, many of the Knicks' open shot opportunities might not be open at all. They will be covered by help defense, and they will have to be wary of Howard's help defense and block when they shoot."

How to break the Celtics' defensive system and their highly layered defense?

Lin Da Guanren said: No rush, let's wait and see.

These days, is there anyone who can completely stop our attack?
impossible!
In this play, Lin Tian decisively called Stoudemire to run a pick-and-roll with him. He then used the screen to quickly break through, and after attracting Duncan's help defense, he suddenly passed the ball behind his back to Stoudemire in the mid-range.

After Stoudemire received the ball, he pulled up to shoot, but Artest suddenly appeared in front of him and reached out to interfere with Stoudemire's shot.

Left with no other option, Stoudemire immediately bent down to place the ball and charged straight into the paint!

Stoudemire's speed was definitely fast enough; his top-notch physical abilities allowed him to easily bypass Artest, who was closely guarding him.

But clearly, the Celtics weren't afraid of Stoudemire's dribbling, because as soon as he drove into the paint, Duncan left Lin Tian behind and charged towards Stoudemire.

If Stoudemire has the ability to facilitate and pass, he can pass the ball to Lin Tian, ​​who is cutting to the perimeter to receive the ball, or to Anthony, who is open and has been left out by Artest.

But he didn't! His passing ability and playing habits prevented him from passing the ball out immediately at that moment.

He took another step towards Duncan, then forcefully raised the ball and jumped, intending to shoot a layup over Duncan.

"Boom!"

Unfortunately, after Duncan raised his hands to interfere, Stoudemire's layup bounced off the rim. Duncan turned around to protect the rebound, and then, after the Knicks players retreated, he passed the ball to Parker, and the Celtics continued their attack!
This time, the Celtics' offense passed the ball to Josh, who was matched up against Wallace. Josh's ball handling ability was incredibly fast. He dribbled between his legs repeatedly to find his rhythm, and then suddenly accelerated to break through to the inside.

But he only took one step before taking off and launching a mid-range pull-up jump shot.

"Shh!"

After the crisp sound, Howard's one-on-one shot also went in!
This play was just like Artest's fast break dunk in the last play.

Ugly, but useful.

The only difference is that in the last round, Artest played badly, but in this round, Howard is ugly!
In fact, almost all of the Celtics' most important players are in this situation.

Duncan's low-post isolation plays, Artest's ball-handling penetration, and Ginobili's shooting form are collectively known as the "Three Ugly Men of Boston"!

In addition, Josh and Howard are both ugly.

And then there's Ginobili's embarrassingly receding hairline.

Looking at the whole team, only Parker possesses the unique characteristic of being both good-looking and having a great playing style.

But even though the whole team is either ugly in appearance, ugly in playing, or ugly in all of them, these tricks of theirs are really effective and really amazing!

This is also the biggest reason why they have been able to achieve 60+ wins for several consecutive seasons.

They have no absolute strengths, but they are stable and composed. Whether on offense or defense, the team operates like a machine.

Reasonable!

The most distinctive feature of this team is its strategic approach!
At the same time, thanks to the powerful defensive abilities of their twin towers in the paint and the 'beast' Artest, they are able to establish themselves on defense, making the entire interior of the three-point line impenetrable!

For the remainder of the first quarter, the game fell into the Celtics' rhythm.

Their twin towers complement each other perfectly, allowing them to control the entire area inside the three-point line.

Artest can make opposing star forwards look like they're in a daze, severely impacting their physical condition and performance. While Parker and Josh aren't known for their defense, they're not defensive black holes either.

Thanks to the top-notch defense of the front three, although the two of them are slightly weaker defensively, they have the ability and methods to force the opponent's ball carrier into the defensive trap of the front three and hand them over to their teammates who are better at defense.

On the offensive end, although the Celtics added Artest, a player who was outside the system, their offensive system did not become worse or come to a standstill as a result.

On the contrary, the addition of Artest, an unpredictable player, to an otherwise perfectly reasonable offensive system has given them a completely new and unpredictable style of play.

With Artest around, regardless of whether he's reliable or not, whenever the Celtics' offensive tactics are shut down and they can't execute them at all, and their offense becomes incredibly stagnant, Artest always manages to step up and change the course of the game in his own way.

It's fair to say that the Celtics are now at the top level in the league in both offense and defense. If it weren't for the Knicks, they might have already established a dynasty!
The rest of the first quarter tonight was also in the Celtics' rhythm. Their defense made it very difficult for Stoudemire, Okur, Anthony and others to play, while Lin Tian had a way to break through their defense and could easily break through their first line of defense.

But when he drew a double team and passed the ball out, the Celtics' rotation speed was too fast, and their defensive system was too good, always able to cover the exposed gaps in time. So Lin Tian's teammates found it difficult to attack directly after receiving the ball and could only dribble and force their way through again.

However, this meant that the opening Lin Tian had painstakingly created for his teammates was gone.

We missed a crucial opportunity.

So for the remainder of the first quarter, before the Knicks could adapt to the Celtics' defensive system, they were outmatched by the Celtics, constantly trailing and struggling to catch up!
The Knicks couldn't execute fast breaks, and apart from Lin Tian's isolation scoring, the rest of the team could only score sporadically in a few flashes of brilliance.

However, with this kind of play, apart from Lin Tian, ​​the efficiency of everyone else was unstable, and none of them could effectively and consistently attack the Celtics' defense.

"That was great defense!" Barkley exclaimed. "I really didn't expect the Celtics to come up with such a powerful defensive strategy in the Eastern Conference Finals. They completely shut down the Knicks, at least in the first quarter!"

“We can’t break through!” Kenny pondered. “The Knicks are in a bit of danger. They need to adapt to the Celtics’ defensive system as soon as possible, otherwise they will have a very difficult time throughout the series and may even lose.”

"The Knicks have been playing too smoothly! Not to mention their dominant regular season, during the playoffs, apart from a slight problem in Game 4 against the Cavaliers, they have won almost every other game with ease."

"But tonight, they faced a challenge; they met their strongest opponent yet!"

"Let's see how they get out of this predicament, or rather, how they manage to get out of this predicament!"

"More importantly, the first quarter of this game actually exposed another problem of the Knicks, one that had been hidden from view because of their almost perfect record."

Kenny continued his analysis: "The player who organizes the offense and distributes the ball!"

"They definitely have Lin. Lin's individual ball-handling offense, his vision during offense, his passing technique and ability are all at the top level in history. With him, the Knicks will be fine in 99% of the games."

"But now they've met the Celtics, a top-tier defensive team that can truly counter their offensive system, so their problems have been exposed."

"Apart from Lin, who is the best passer, the rest of their team are not good at passing! Everyone else is a pure one-on-one player or a finisher."

"In those possessions just now, at least two-thirds of the time, if Stoudemire and Anthony had just passed the ball around again, the Knicks would have had huge open looks."

"But they can't spread it, whether it's due to habit or ability, they just can't spread it, they are the pure end."

"They were spoiled by Lin. They don't need to master these skills to dominate normally, but they lost their way when faced with a defense of the Celtics' caliber."

"The Knicks, lacking a second pass option, have had their Achilles' heel exploited by the Celtics! Now, we'll see how they break this deadlock." (End of Chapter)