NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

On the Bobcats' side, they still mainly focus on their pick-and-roll, with Rose as the offensive core, having him, Yao Ming, and Boozer take turns running pick-and-rolls, and then developing various other follow-up plays and tactics with the pick-and-roll as the core of their tactics.

On the Celtics' side, Duncan and Parker were the core players. The two would either run pick-and-rolls or spread out to one side for local 2-on-2 situations. Then Allen would look for opportunities to cut to the basket, and Jackson would spread out to the other side, ready to receive the ball and engage in one-on-one battles.

Howard, at least in the first quarter, completely relinquished his tactical role, playing no differently than a blue-collar worker. On offense, his tasks were to set screens, roll to the basket, receive the ball and explode, and then stand at the free-throw line.

Throughout the first quarter, Howard went to the free-throw line 8 times and made 4 of them, a perfect 50% shooting percentage.

But he failed to make even a single shot; his stats clearly show 0-0 and 8-4.

The Bobcats' defense against him was clear and concise.

It means if you attack, I'll foul you; if you don't attack, nobody will pay any attention to you.

Of course, eight free throws also meant that the Bobcats committed at least four fouls against him. The Bobcats controlled this quite well; throughout the first quarter, no one of them had two fouls, and the number of fouls was fairly even, leaving no potential problems.

In the first quarter, apart from Howard, neither team was particularly efficient, but they were both average, scoring around 20 points. The Celtics held a temporary advantage.

22: 24.

They entered the second quarter leading the Bobcats by 2 points.

Howard was quite excited at the start of the second quarter.

As Rivers promised him before the game, Duncan would rest during this phase, and it would be his turn to take the lead!

He was finally able to return to the low position he loved so dearly.

Lin Tian could completely understand Howard's almost pathological love for low-post isolation plays.

Simps will ignore the people who are truly suitable for them and desperately try to lick the boots of the men/women they can't have, right?

Same properties!

Therefore, when Yao Ming needed to rest, Lin Tian once again picked up Thomas, who had made a great contribution in the previous game.

"Just one task: before you leave the field, I need Howard to have zero goals from open play! I don't care about anything else, any questions?"

"Leave it to me, coach!" The biggest selling point of players like Thomas, besides being physically strong, is that he is obedient.

He knows his role in the team and why he plays. He is very clear about his position and the playing style that suits him.

In this respect, he is no worse than Howard.

"Hey you, I remember you blocked Tim's crucial shot in the final moments of the last game?" Howard, seeing that he was being matched up against Thomas, wasn't afraid at all and blurted out, "Did that play give you a huge boost of confidence?"

"So confident you think you can stop me? Huh? Tonight, I'm avenging Tim! You absolutely can't stop me!"

Howard was very excited at this moment; he had even started to fantasize.

Duncan was defended by Thomas in the last game, which led to the team's loss. Tonight, I'll take care of this guy, Towns, and prove that I'm better than Duncan!

Logic!
"First, I managed to stop Tim for one possession in the game before last. You idiot who can't even count that," Thomas said coldly. "Second, I don't need to stop you. Absolutely not."

Thomas's words gave Howard, who had just gotten hold of the basketball, a rather ominous feeling, but he quickly banished that bad feeling from his mind and decided to beat this bastard up first to get a feel for things!
Howard grabbed the basketball, backed down against Thomas for a moment, then suddenly turned around and headed towards the baseline. He then jumped up with a small, aggressive step, followed by a half-turn, and finally stood up for a side hook.

"This guy's singles is really something." Lin Tian pursed his lips and sighed helplessly: "This is the most uncreative, simplistic, mechanical, and predictable singles I've ever seen in my life."

Howard's entire set of movements could actually be described as smooth and seamless.

But his movements were purely for the sake of making movements; they were mechanical and completely inflexible.

His probing attacks before the fight were completely useless; he didn't follow up on his next move based on his senses behind him.

If it were Duncan, he would have immediately turned and driven towards the baseline to the basket after sensing that Thomas was positioned slightly above the baseline, instead of forcing himself to walk towards the baseline.

A good singles player thinks about the moves while performing them, emphasizing adaptability and following their instincts.

A singles player without talent plans their moves before the fight even begins, and then, regardless of anything else, just goes ahead and plays the way they want.

Howard clearly belongs to the latter category, but he possesses top-tier physical attributes and beast-like destructive power in the league. Therefore, most of the time, he is hopeless and disadvantageous against opponents whose physical attributes are overwhelming to him.

But when facing a true master, he really doesn't perform well.

For example, in this play, Thomas is definitely not a top-tier defender; at most, he's just average thanks to his physique.

Even so, Howard was basically unable to beat him.

After failing to push Thomas away in a contest, Howard, who hadn't even managed to get into the paint, disregarded everything and pulled up, forcibly hooking his far right hand.

A hook shot from that distance is something that no one in the world, except Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, can consistently make, let alone a rough guy like Dwight Howard.

With a muffled "thud," the basketball bounced off the rim. Thomas didn't even have time to foul Howard before he grabbed the rebound and completed the defense.

The game continues!

The Bobcats were still primarily using the Odom-Lin duo. Odom dribbled the ball up the court and immediately pulled Lin into a 4-1 reverse pick-and-roll. This kind of play, where a smaller player sets a screen for a bigger player, is extremely rare in the entire league.

Even in the NBA more than 10 years later, only a fat guy and his little brother, the Mouth Mamba, could pull off this move smoothly.

But Odom wasn't really an inside player; his ball-handling skills were probably better than most perimeter players.

For example, in this play, after a pick-and-roll with Jeremy Lin, he faced Ginobili, who was a head shorter than him, and used two consecutive crossover dribbles plus a wide double crossover in front of his body, accelerating directly past Ginobili.

Then, taking advantage of his strength, he raised the ball high with one hand, and with his signature "fireball" move, he forced his way to the basket against Howard and scored a layup off the backboard, helping the team score another 2 points.

Odom was ecstatic after scoring the goal and immediately did a cosplay, imitating Carter by twirling his hands by his ears and pretending to ride his little motorcycle.

Howard was extremely unhappy about being humiliated in front of everyone.

On offense, he once again fiercely reached out for the ball, determined to get it back!
Facing Thomas's defensive positioning, which was still somewhat biased towards the top of the court and blocking the middle, Howard chose to turn and dribble past him towards the baseline this time.

That turn was incredibly smooth; if someone didn't know Howard, they would definitely think he was a technically gifted center.

Unfortunately for him, Lin Tian realized that this guy had 'pre-planned' his move again, having already decided to turn towards the baseline before the fight even started!
If Thomas had chosen the right spot, he might have been able to draw a foul on Howard directly.

Unfortunately, Thomas chose the wrong position, so Howard's turn was quick and effective, bringing him directly to a parallel position with Thomas. With his physical abilities, Howard naturally jumped up and slammed the basketball towards the basket with one hand.

In any other game, Howard would most likely have slammed the ball into the rim with both hands, adding 2 points for the team and saving face for himself.

But who is he facing?
Thomas, who had long been influenced by Lin Tian, ​​was prepared to be ejected from the court after committing 6 fouls in 5 minutes!

A dunk?

Go ahead and pick at the feathers!
"Snapped!"

Another crisp sound rang out. Thomas's giant hand didn't touch the basketball at all; it slapped Howard's arm once again.

Despite Howard's innate superhuman strength and beastly nature, he was still flesh and blood.

Thomas slapped the ball with all his might, and Howard really couldn't hold onto it. The ball flew out again, and he went back to the free-throw line!

"Come at me and let's fight face to face!"

"You can't even make free throws, how dare you say that?"

"If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one without breaking the rules!"

"I still have 5 fouls left, let's talk after I've committed them." "Softie! Coward! Trash! A coward who won't face you head-on!"

"A noob about to be reversed 1:3."

At this moment, Thomas seemed to be possessed by Lin Tian, ​​his face expressionless, not even glancing at Howard, every hair on his body speaking of his disdain and contempt.

Needless to say, this was another instance of Lin Tian giving him special instruction, teaching him the essentials of Lin-style trash talk.

Howard was indeed furious, and his first free throw was incredibly hard, hitting the backboard directly and barely making contact with the rim.

"Dwight, calm down! Calm down! He's deliberately trying to provoke you!" Fortunately, at this moment, the usually taciturn Duncan finally stood up and shouted from the bench, "Take a deep breath, stay calm, and make the free throws, then they won't be able to do anything to you!"

"FUXX! It's easy to say, but my free throw percentage is less than 7%."

Howard muttered something, but ultimately didn't push himself too hard. Instead, during his second free throw, he took several deep breaths, steadied himself, and dribbled the ball repeatedly until the referee was about to urge him to take the shot or he would commit a violation. Only then did Howard release the ball.

"Shh!"

This time, the basketball didn't miss, but it also didn't go in.

He went too far. Howard wanted to go lighter on this shot, but he clearly went too far. The ball just grazed the net and went out of bounds.

In the second quarter, Howard missed one shot and two free throws.

He has only made 4 of 10 free throws tonight.

And this is clearly just the beginning.

What did that sentence say?

NBA-level players, even those known for their poor free throw shooting like Howard and O'Neal, are quite accurate in training, achieving a 7-8% or even 85% free throw percentage.

It's just that the competition was too intense, my muscles were too tense, and my mindset changed, so I became inaccurate.

But O'Neal has a big heart. This fat guy is never nervous. Even when many people advised him to practice free throws, he would say, "I just need to make the free throws in the fourth round."

Well, it turns out that most of the time, he really does make his free throws in the fourth quarter!

In this world, thanks to Lin Tian's provocation and repeated defeats, O'Neal's career free throw percentage was already quite high, averaging 64%, and in several seasons he could even be considered a competent free throw shooter.

In the fourth quarter, his free throw percentage rose even higher, reaching 76% in his two best seasons and a remarkable 69% throughout his career!

The bigger the scene, the more excited and stronger this fat guy becomes.

But Howard is clearly the opposite.

His free throw percentage wasn't actually that bad to begin with, so he shouldn't have been targeted like that. But the bigger the game got, the more insecure he became, and the more he missed, the less confident he became.

Vicious circle.

Shaquille O'Neal's confidence stemmed from a deep-seated sense of pride and self-confidence.

Howard's confidence stems from his talkativeness and loud voice; he's brimming with confidence when things are going well, but when things are going badly, he's truly unreliable.

For example, on this night, under Thomas's almost suicidal defensive style, Howard did indeed draw four fouls from Thomas in just 4 minutes and 50 seconds, knocking the guy off the court.

He also earned 8 free throws in less than 5 minutes.

But the result...

8 of 2 free throws!
Including the first quarter, he has only made 6 of 16 free throws so far, which is less accurate than most players on the court.

It was Howard's consecutive missed free throws during this period that put the Celtics in a predicament of falling behind.

He made 2 of 8 free throws, which means the Celtics only scored on 1 of 4 possessions, both of which were clear-cut chances to get to the basket but failed to score. This will have a huge impact on the Celtics' morale and offensive system.

At the very least, they hesitated much more when lobbing the ball to Howard inside compared to the previous games.

What if he gets fouled after he gets the ball? What if he misses the foul penalty?
The Celtics' offense came to a complete standstill.

While the Bobcats' offense wasn't exactly smooth either, and their shooting percentage wasn't particularly high, they were definitely much more decisive and resolute than the Celtics.

30: 27!

The Bobcats outscored the Celtics by 5 points during this period, thanks to Howard's consecutive missed shots.

Considering the pace, efficiency, and form of both teams in this series, winning by 5 points in less than 5 minutes is quite a good offensive surge!
Only then did Rivers finally glance at the time and make a substitution!

Just like Howard's isolation plays, Rivers' substitutions were equally inflexible, relying mainly on a timed substitution strategy.

This isn't Rivers' fault, since no one on the team could offer him advice.

Who made Thibodeau the team's most important, most relied-upon, and most crucial assistant?

You asked how Sibodu arranged his troops and how he used his personnel?

The founder of 'Plantation Basketball' will only give you one answer.

"What kind of substitution? This key player has only played 45 minutes today, let him play for another 3 minutes, why would you substitute him?"

In short, for Rivers, who has no one to rely on, the best option is to proceed steadily according to the plan and make substitutions when the time comes. This kind of conventional rotation will not cause any problems most of the time.

After all, the Celtics are strong and have a solid foundation. Even if Lin Tianjia's little angel were to become the head coach, they could still win 50 games.

However, in a series, especially in such a high-level matchup, against a top coach like Lin Tian who employs unpredictable tactics, Rivers' substitutions could be a disadvantage.

For example, when Rivers quickly substituted Duncan and Jackson, along with Parker, Ginobili, and Howard who were already on the court, to use their theoretically strongest offensive lineup, Lin Tian had already guessed what he was going to do and directly brought out a completely new lineup to deal with it.

Yao Ming, Lamar Odom, Steve Fields, Jeremy Lin, Derrick Rose!
Fields, who grabbed consecutive rebounds in the final moments of the last game, returned to the court. With the addition of two point guards and Odom, a versatile player who is known as a power forward but plays like a small forward, the Bobcats suddenly came up with a lineup that resembled one big man and four small men against the twin towers!

"What is Lin doing? Three backcourt players who are less than two meters tall, aren't they afraid that the Celtics will destroy their rebounds?" Miller couldn't help but question as he looked at the lineup that Lin Tian suddenly brought onto the court.

Meanwhile, Jackson, who was standing next to him, had already received the data and read it aloud: "This lineup is appearing on the court for the first time this season! Before tonight, these five players had never played together!"

"Of course, this is because Fields was not even in the rotation before, and his playing time was very limited. But even if you remove Fields and only look at the other four, the time these four played together in the regular season and playoffs this year was still pitifully short!"

"Lin has started using his favorite surprise tactic again! No! If it was a surprise tactic in the previous matches, tonight Lin has pulled out a completely unexpected formation! Will his change work this time?"

Miller said, "This looks like a small lineup that focuses on speed and transition. Jeremy, Rose, and Odom can all carry the ball and pass it to the basket. Their counter-attack speed will definitely be very fast!"

"Also, although it looks like a big team with four smaller players, Odom and Yao are both strong rebounders. In addition, Fields, a rebounding expert who showed his high basketball IQ in the last game, might be a little lacking in height and defense under the basket."

"But their rebounding ability is definitely not weak!"

Jackson slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed excitedly, "I think I know what Lin means, and how he's going to play!"

"Without being at a disadvantage in the paint, grab as many rebounds as possible to deny the Celtics second-chance opportunities. At the same time, take advantage of Tony Allen's absence and the relatively weak defensive capabilities of Parker and Ginobili on the perimeter, push the pace aggressively, and engage in transition offense against the Celtics!"

"I think you've talked a lot of nonsense." Miller rolled his eyes and said, "This lineup, it's obviously designed for both rebounding and fast breaks, right? Otherwise, why play two point guards? Just take turns dribbling!"

"But to be honest, Lin's 'wanting both' lineup might end up with no rebounds, no defense under the basket, and no fast breaks! So whether it will succeed is hard to say, at least I can hardly predict it."

"The key player is Odom! If this guy can step up, grab a few rebounds, defend against a few post-up plays, and get the ball out in time after grabbing a rebound, then this Bobcats lineup will work!"

"Let's see if Odom is an angel or a devil tonight!" (End of Chapter)