NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

After receiving the ball, Stoudemire did not back down to guard Boozer. He was well aware of his advantages, so he quickly turned to face the basket, took the ball with both hands, and adopted a crossover step stance. After noticing that Boozer was lowering his center of gravity to defend his drive, Stoudemire immediately got up and shot.

"Shh!"

With his center of gravity lowered and his focus on defending the breakthrough, how could Boozer possibly keep up with Stoudemire's direct pull-up jumper? Given Stoudemire's speed and height, even if Boozer could react in time, it would be difficult for him to cause any interference.

Not to mention that Boozer couldn't react at all. All he could do was stretch out his hand symbolically, and that was all he could do. Naturally, he could only watch Stoudemire shoot the ball into the basket.

"Coach, what do we do?" Stevens asked Lin Tian after seeing Stoudemire score a quick pull-up jumper.

"There's nothing we can do." Lin Tian remained relaxed. "Didn't I just say that this was all within our expectations? It's just that they missed two pick-and-rolls. Our problem now is that it's a little difficult to widen the gap to more than 10 points."

"But maintaining the lead and keeping the game even is perfectly fine! So there's no need to rush, let's wait and see!"

"Don't forget, if he hadn't gotten injured, Derrick would have been a contender for this year's MVP! He could handle it! He knows how to play in this situation."

Before Lin Tian could finish speaking, Rose had already driven to the frontcourt. He called for a screen again and then suddenly accelerated.

Stoudemire was almost blown past by Rose in one step, completely unable to stop his breakthrough. Okur had no choice but to leave Yao Ming alone and collapse the paint to block Rose's breakthrough.

But just as Okur collapsed, Rose's pass flew towards the three-point line.

If you dare to release it, I dare to spread it!

After receiving the ball, Yao Ming made a slight adjustment and then pulled up and shot directly from beyond the three-point line!
In terms of confidence and decisiveness, this veteran who has played in the NBA for 10 years is certainly no less than anyone else.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Yao Ming hit his first three-pointer of the night!
"Look, another 9 points!" Lin Tian said to Stevens, "As for Amaretto, didn't we just set up a double team against him?"

But this time, Lin Tian miscalculated once again.

During the timeout, Don Nelson clearly made some careful adjustments. He changed his playing style again, this time not with Stoudemire going one-on-one, but suddenly switched back to the Fers pick-and-roll from the first quarter!

The Bobcats were somewhat unprepared; their ingrained thinking led them to believe that Felton would pass the ball to Stoudemire for a one-on-one matchup.

This lack of preparation allowed Felton to bypass the defense and throw the ball directly into the sky!

Once Stoudemire gets going, the Bobcats can't stop him!
This guy leaped high into the air, caught the basketball with one hand in mid-air, and then slammed it into the hoop!

"boom!"

Stoudemire, who had been performing mediocrely for the first ten minutes of the game, suddenly started firing!

"Things have changed really fast." Lin Tian scratched his head, realizing he had underestimated his former teacher.

Old Nelson only suffered a small setback in the first quarter, but he was able to get back on his feet so quickly in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Knicks' defense was completely unable to stop the Bobcats, especially Rose, because of Stoudemire's defensive weakness and Yao Ming's huge spacing ability on the perimeter.

Their defense was breached; they couldn't stop Rose, which meant they couldn't stop any of the Bobcats' subsequent offensive strategies.

If one point is completely destroyed, no matter how hard the other points try, it will be difficult to make up for the huge gap created by that one point.

If Rose hadn't worked hard and effectively on his mid-range shot during the offseason, transforming himself into a skilled pick-and-roll mid-range jumper, the Knicks would still have had ways to stop his drives to the basket.

Just back up and crouch under the basket!
But now, Rose's mid-range jump shot is incredibly accurate, making it extremely difficult to contain him!

Led by Rose, the Bobcats launched numerous attacks, trying to extend their lead to more than 10 points. They made many efforts, but they were always just a little short.

Because the Knicks' offense is also incredibly fast!
They opened up completely in this section as well!
Or rather, certain points have been completely opened up.

Because Felton was still restricted by Lin Tian's strategy, he was always uncomfortable and found it difficult to organize the team's offense. This meant that the Knicks could only rely on the simplest one-on-one to score and change the game.

But in the first half, both Stoudemire and Wallace were in perfect offensive form!

Stoudemire's repeated mid-range pull-up jumpers or his acceleration drives into the paint to force his way to the basket, along with Wallace's back-to-the-basket floaters and hard drives to the rim, all had a very good effect in the first half!

Although Lin Tian had devised a strategy to have the players double-team Stoudemire, Stoudemire's attacks were too fast and too decisive!
Once this guy got the ball, he didn't bother to test or observe it. He either threw it right away or faked a shot and then dribbled down the court to attack the basket.

As soon as the basketball gets into his hands, he will definitely be able to shoot within 2 seconds!

If his style of play isn't very successful or the opponent's defense is incredibly solid and they're well-prepared, then it's just suicidal, reckless, and impulsive play.

But Stoudemire's shooting touch was truly explosive tonight, with almost every mid-range shot going in.

At the same time, his speed in attacking the basket was too fast, and with Okur lurking outside the three-point line, Yao Ming dared not be too aggressive and could only keep a close eye on Okur near the three-point line to prevent him from suddenly launching a shot to score.

Throughout the first half, Stoudemire and Wallace accounted for nearly 70% of the team's points, contributing a combined 40 points, while the Knicks as a whole only scored 56 points.

For the Bobcats, Rose also had a stellar performance tonight, racking up an impressive 22 points and 5 assists in the first half, while the team continued to dominate the Knicks.

They scored 63 points in the first half and still have an 8-point lead!

This 8-point advantage was actually built up by the lead that Crawford had accumulated after the Bobcats scored on him early in the first quarter.

From a coach's perspective, Lin Tian and Don Nelson were evenly matched in the first half, with Lin Tian holding a slight advantage at most.

He secured that small lead for the team by suddenly double-teaming Crawford at the end of the first quarter.

That's how it is between top coaches. If you're not careful or your reaction is a little slow, your opponent will seize the opportunity to widen the score gap!
Now, we'll have to see if these two will come up with anything new to compete in the second half!

On the Bobcats' side, Lin Tian didn't know if old man Nelson had any secret tricks up his sleeve, but he decided to take the initiative again!

"Zone defense!" Lin Tian suggested this change during halftime: "If they want to go one-on-one, we'll use zone defense to limit them! We'll prevent them from having a comfortable one-on-one opportunity!"

"Yao, Carlos, and Gordon, the three of you, pay attention to communicating with the players on the perimeter and the angles of your help defense. I want all of them to face double teams whenever they enter the three-point line!"

"I'm going to make it incredibly difficult for them to score one-on-one inside the three-point line!"

"Yao, I need you to guard the paint. Don't worry about Okur, your guys will take care of him!"

"If they want to pass to Okur, that includes all the Knicks players standing on the perimeter. Whoever receives the ball, I want you to maintain your footwork and speed! I want you to ensure you have absolute motivation!"

"Remember, the most important thing about zone defense is never the moment you hold back, but the moment you let loose! Only by showing your resilience and flexibility on the defensive end can we win the game tonight!"

"No, it's not just about winning the game; we also need to decide the winner in the third quarter!"

"If you want to get off work early tonight, if you want to get some rest, then unleash all your energy in the third quarter and kill them!"

"Don't hold back your energy! After tonight, we'll have plenty of time to rest! Drag them all down! Beat them to a pulp!"

"understand!"

"As for the offense," Lin Tian paused, looking at Ross, and said, "Derrick, in the second half, that fat Felton will definitely put in every effort against you. He'll want to get revenge; he played terribly in the first half!"

"Old Nelson will definitely give him a good dose of chicken soup."

"Are you confident? Confident enough to keep improving your game intensity and then tell Felton: No matter how much you struggle, I'm ten times better than you, I can crush you, right?"

“Of course!” Ross’s eyes lit up. “I won’t give him any chances or excuses! I’ll let him know that there’s only one reason Charlotte let him go.”

"He's too weak!" "Great! That's it! That's the attitude and spirit!" Lin Tian clapped his hands with a smile and said, "Now, let's show them how powerful we are! Let them know how big the gap is between us!"

"Yes! Kill them!"

The Lynx players had already taken the initiative in the first half, and now their confidence was even greater. They waved their arms and roared at Lin Tian, ​​confident that they would continue to dominate in the second half!
On the Knicks' side, Don Nelson sat on his bench, calmly taking a large gulp of beer before looking at his players and saying, "They're definitely going to change in the second half! They'll be more aggressive and more frantic than in the first half!"

"They definitely want to widen the gap in the third quarter. Knowing Lin as I do, he's probably already booking a private room at the bar after the game tonight. That's the kind of guy he is, isn't he?"

Surrounding Old Nelson were Lin Tian's old teammates, including Stoudemire and Okur, who all chuckled mischievously. They knew Lin Tian all too well, so they all knew that Old Nelson was right! Lin Tian was indeed the kind of person who would do such a thing.

"So, if we win tonight, I'll go find Lin after the game and ask him which bar he booked. If they're in a bad mood after losing, we can go cheer them up so they don't break their promise, right?"

"Of course!"

"We can swipe his card! Swipe his card until it's maxed out!"

"Anyway, this guy has plenty of money!"

……

"So, in order to max out his card," Old Nelson said with a smile, looking at his players, "we need to be more aggressive in the second half!"

“Raymond, you can’t keep getting beaten like this in the second half. Seriously, don’t you have any pride? You were abandoned by Charlotte, replaced by Derrick, and your response is… wait a minute, let me see.”

“4投1中，4分3助攻2失误？这就是你的回应？说真的，你今天35投5中我都不会怪你，我会觉得你是个男人，但是4分3助攻实在是太好笑了！”

"You won't let me down, right Raymond? You'll definitely be able to play to your strengths in the second half, won't you?"

"I won't let you down, coach!" Felton's face was extremely gloomy. Being scolded like that by the coach was unbearable for his pride. He would definitely not let Rose continue to dominate him like this in the second half!

He will definitely be more decisive and fierce!
"Very good, then in the second half, everyone give Raymond all the support he deserves! We can bring out our secret weapon, the high double screen!"

“Raymond, in my team, only one person has ever enjoyed this treatment regularly before!”

“Lin! Only Lin? I’ll have him run the high post double screen play! All the other guards under me, all of them! I mean all of them, including Oscar Robertson, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin.”

“I never allowed them to use this tactic! Because I think it’s a waste of resources to make someone use a tactic that involves the whole team if they are not good enough.”

"But now, I want you to play like this. I want you to use this move to regain your rhythm!"

Do you understand what I mean?

"I can do it, Coach!"

Old Nelson's combination of praise and encouragement effectively boosted Felton's confidence.

The coach has already elevated himself to this level; if he still can't beat Rose, Felton will probably never be able to face Don Nelson again.

What a shame!

After boosting the morale of the team's key players, Old Nelson checked his watch and then gave the order!
All the players stood up at the same time, shouted their slogans, and then turned and walked out of the locker room.

The battle continues in the second half!

At the start of the game, Rose dribbled to the frontcourt once again, and then set a pick-and-roll with Boozer.

This time, the Knicks' defensive intensity was noticeably higher. Felton desperately squeezed through the screen and continued to stick close to Rose, preventing him from easily making a breakthrough.

Don Nelson's encouragement during the halftime game clearly paid off, as Felton was incredibly enthusiastic and fervent. Judging from his expression, he clearly wished he could take off his clothes and have a real fight with Rose!
Rose was prepared for Felton's sudden increase in intensity and immediately spotted the Knicks' defensive weaknesses.

It's still Stoudemire!

This guy was clearly confused again!
He wanted to double-team Rose, but hesitated, feeling he should continue guarding Boozer to prevent Boozer from being left out.

Actually, at this point, either choice by Stoudemire would have been fine; both would have made sense.

But he chose neither of them; between these two seemingly correct options, he hesitated.

Yes or No.

He chose "or".

Boozer gained a lot of space, and Rose didn't disappoint his partner. With a behind-the-back pass, the basketball went straight to Boozer's hands. Boozer took the ball and immediately pulled up for a mid-range jump shot.

"Shh!"

After the crisp sound, his signature jump shot was successful once again.

"I can't bear to look." Old Nelson tilted his head back and closed his eyes helplessly.

That damn Stoudemire is really giving old Nelson a headache.

He simply can't learn how to defend.

The more talented he is on offense, the more his talent on defense is neglected.

Ironically, this guy is actually willing to defend himself and also willing to learn.

This is what frustrates Nelson the most.

Felton worked so hard, yet he still made such an obvious and huge mistake, ruining all of Felton's efforts.

Helpless.

At the same time, after this goal, the gap between the two sides once again reached double digits! The Bobcats continued to control the initiative in the game.

Fortunately, Stoudemire's offense is actually quite good; the worse he is on defense, the better he is on offense.

During the Knicks' offense, Felton didn't rush to use his 'double screen' privilege and didn't call for any screens.

He still wants to give it a try!

But Felton frowned as soon as he arrived in the attacking third.

He was a seasoned veteran, and he could easily spot the Bobcats' defense.

Not only did I notice it, but when he played for the Bobcats, Larry Brown often had them play like that.

Joint defense!

A 2-3 zone defense was set up in front of Felton.

Although Don Nelson didn't plan anything and didn't anticipate the Bobcats setting up a zone defense at the start of the second half, nor did he devise any strategies for dealing with such a defense, Felton did have a good idea of ​​how to break it. After all, he's a top-tier guard in the league, and he can handle this kind of situation.

The so-called three tricks to break a zone defense: three-point shooting, free throw line support, and drive and pass.

Felton wasn't afraid of the Bobcats' zone defense at all! (End of Chapter)