Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 130 Daddy Teaches You How to Play Pick and Roll

The current situation of the Heat is not good.

他们之前在12月的时候赢下了16场比赛中的15场，之后进入1月又把这个数字变成了22场中的21场。

However, they then suffered a four-game losing streak and lost five of the next six games.

Stan was praised as a god by the fans at that time because 5 out of the 4 opponents the Heat lost were playoff teams.

The Heat are strong when facing weak opponents and weak when facing strong opponents. They do not behave like a championship team at all.

However, the Heat rebounded and won eight straight games, including 12 of 11.

This time, 11 of the 6 opponents they won were playoff teams.

And then recently, they just ended their longest 5-game losing streak of the season and then had a 3-game winning streak.

What you can see from these data is that this Heat team is not weak, but its biggest problem is instability.

There will be a time when you feel like they have gotten along well, but there will be a time when you feel like nothing has changed.

However, in terms of record, the Heat are still the better team than the Grizzlies. They are ranked second in the Eastern Conference and are on a winning streak.

It is now the end of the season and fans' attention to the regular season is declining, so the second match between the two sides has become the focus of the league's publicity.

The Heat suffered a losing start in the regular season. Can they avenge themselves in this game?
Or can the Grizzlies complete a double kill against the Heat and become the first team in the league to sweep the Big Three in the regular season?

This time the Heat and the Grizzlies will face off in Memphis.

The day before leaving for Memphis, James was sunbathing at home when Rich Paul came to his house.

James' team is huge, but the core team actually only has four people. In addition to himself, the remaining three are [shadow of management] Randy Mims, [team think tank] Maverick Carter, and [marketing director] Rich Paul who joined later. They are collectively known as the "Four Horsemen."

In 2006, they founded a marketing company called LRMR, which was made up of their initials.

Seeing Paul coming, James sat up and looked at him and the bag of white powder in his hand.

He looked confused.

"King, this is something new." Paul said and sat next to James. James liked people around him to call him King.

He then introduced what he had in his hand. It was certainly not flour, but a new type of medicine he got from a pharmaceutical company.

It can achieve similar effects to stimulants, but because it is a new drug, the ingredients are different and it will not be detected.

James did not seem very surprised. The pharmaceutical industry in the United States is well developed, and it cannot be said that drugs are commonplace in the sports world, but they are rampant.

Of course, the NBA also has drug testing, but as long as it is not detected, it is not considered a banned drug.

Otherwise, how do you think they got so many cheekbones? Why do many NBA players become old men after retiring?

In January this year, Ross almost got into big trouble because he told the truth about drugs.

"If not taking medication is 1, and taking all medication is 10, then the current number of medications taken in the NBA is 7."

These were Ross's original words, but later he was forced to refute the rumor under pressure, saying that he had been misled, and the incident was settled.

"What about the side effects?" James took the thing and smelled it.

Any drug has side effects, especially a new one.

"Based on all the information currently available, it does not have any major side effects on black people, but the frequency of use should not be too high."

"Black people?" No, your medicine is also racially discriminatory?

"It's like this. They tested the drug on black people, but their service targets were mainly swimming teams. As a result, the white people's faces turned purple eggplants after using it, so this aspect of the drug is still being improved."

Why are black people testing drugs?

Do you know why black people in the United States are reluctant to get vaccinated? It is because the United States likes to use black people as guinea pigs.

But black people’s complexions are dark, so you can’t see it.

The new drug cannot be detected, has no obvious side effects on black people, and does not need to be taken for a long time. Just think of it as taking Viagra, just to be brave for one night.

Paul also knows that this game is very important to James, especially now that Hansen also plays the three position.

In the opening game, Hansen embarrassed James in one of the few matchups. This was a direct matchup...

"Do not."

But James put down the new drug.

"The new drug is too risky." Who knows if the side effects have not yet appeared.

Moreover, he has enough confidence.

Although the Heat's record has been up and down, his condition is getting better and better.

So far this season, his average of 26.7 points per game is the lowest in recent years, but his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage are both career highs.

The low scoring is due to the decrease in ball possession, but his efficiency is improving.

He is confident that he will not be as embarrassed as before when facing Hansen, and the Heat has now adjusted the starting lineup, letting veteran Ilgauska start, and he can completely use pick-and-roll to play against Hansen.

During the opening game, there was too much pressure from public opinion, and he didn't go around it. Who said that playing pick-and-roll is cowardly?
Pick and roll is the greatest invention of basketball!
Jerry Sloan became famous in the league with his pick-and-roll, and the Jazz's pick-and-roll helped them reach the finals several times.

What's more, the Heat also signed Mike Bibby. Before this season, Bibby averaged 4.6 three-pointers per game with the Hawks and had a 44.1% three-point shooting percentage. This is a level higher than both Arroyo and Chalmers. The Heat's offensive space is also incomparable to the beginning of the season.

Therefore, there is no need for new drugs or anything like that.

Seeing James being so decisive, Paul immediately put the medicine away.

"I didn't think it through. The Kings can easily win the game without any new drugs."

He is very good at observing people's words and expressions. Although he was the last one to join the Four Horsemen, he was the one who rose in status the fastest.

Of course he didn't throw the medicine into the trash can. After all, no one knows what will happen in the future.

……

On March 3, the game between the Heat and the Grizzlies kicked off at the FedEx Center.

The stadium, which can accommodate 19,000 people, was packed.

Even without the league's promotion, Memphis fans are very enthusiastic about playing against the Heat.

After all, they are the first team to defeat the Heat's top three, commonly known as "the first to try something new."

No, to be more precise, it was the first team to beat the Heat into garbage time.

And that was on the road. Now that we are back at home, the fans must treat us with courtesy.

During the pre-match warm-up, there were split shots of Hansen and James.

Theoretically, Wade is the boss of the Heat, but there is no way, this is the "treatment".

Wade, Bosh and others are just the basics, the Heat's ceiling still depends on James.

Unlike the opening game, there was no communication between the two players before the game, but the same thing was that both of them looked eager to try.

James obviously wanted to save face through this game, while Hansen wanted to know how strong the [Classical Master] could be after reaching the bottleneck.

After the warm-up, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Heat: Bibby, Wade, James, Bosh, Ilgauskas

Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Hansen, Randolph, Gasol Ilgauskas jumped to get the ball, and the Heat attacked first.

This time James did not hold the ball at the beginning, and Wade of the Heat launched a low-post single in the three-second zone.

Allen's low-post defensive ability is average, and he tried to put pressure on Wade by cutting the ball, but Wade instead took advantage of the situation and made a turnaround jump shot at the free throw line.

Wade's low-post one-on-one ability is seriously underestimated. It's just that he is not a shooting guard of sufficient size, and many times he is at a disadvantage in height and has a hard time playing against opponents. But as for Allen, his height is at the same level as his.

Randolph received the ball in the low post and backed up Ilgauskas, but was quickly helped.

With Allen starting, the Grizzlies' offensive space on the field will inevitably become smaller.

Randolph was double-teamed and finally chose to turn towards the baseline, but his shot went wide.

Ilgauskas protected the defensive rebound, and the Heat launched a defensive counterattack. Wade threw the ball into the air during a fast break, and James followed up with an alley-oop dunk, performing the "James-Wade connection."

There was a commotion in the place.

4:0.

Unlike the opening game, this time it was the Heat who took the initiative at the start.

The main reason for this change comes from the changes in the lineups of both sides.

The Heat's starting lineup has better spacing, while the Grizzlies' offensive spacing has worsened.

Moreover, the Heat's fast break ability has been greatly improved after the running-in. If the Grizzlies cannot guarantee the success rate of their offense, the twin towers can only run back and forth on the court.

Hansen then had a few words with Conley and asked him to feed the ball to Randolph.

After reaching the frontcourt, he signaled Tony Allen to come over and set a pick-and-roll for him.

Allen was a little confused, but he believed that Han Sen had a reason for doing this.

The Grizzlies continued to launch low-post tactics. At the same time, Hansen on the weak side also began to play off-ball screen with Allen.

Randolph was still double-teamed in the low post, and Hansen's outside shot distracted the Heat's defense. At this time, Allen successfully cut into the basket.

After seeing this, Randolph passed the ball to Allen, who received the ball and made a quick layup to score.

Although he can't shoot and basically can't hold the ball, he can still make a layup after cutting.

Of course, what is more important is that once the weak side starts moving, no matter how fast the Heat's defensive rotation is, they will not be able to double-team without missing anyone.

Allen excitedly high-fived Han Sen as he retreated. Han Sen's move was truly [Han Sen's guess].

When the offense and defense switched, Wade still played one-on-one in the low post. Seeing this, Hansen also started "chatting" with James.

"How come the King from Cleveland really became Pippen when he arrived in Miami? He couldn't even touch the ball?"

Han Sen summed up his previous experience of trash-talking Kobe and showed his trump card right from the start.

James' face...the black man couldn't see the change in his expression, but what he could see was that James got harder, and his fists got harder.

I thought Han Sen's trash talk in the opening game was hurtful enough, but I didn't expect it was just a warm-up!

As he was speaking, Wade quickly turned toward the baseline and made a fade away shot.

Allen defended this ball more tightly than before, but it still didn't work. If he really let him play like this, he could really beat Allen.

In the Grizzlies' frontcourt, Hansen continued to play pick-and-roll with Allen.

In fact, there is another important reason why he asked Allen for pick-and-roll, which is to switch James to his front.

That's right, although he played the power forward position, the Heat used Wade to defend him.

This time Wade followed Allen, and Randolph passed the ball to Hansen on the outside.

James was obviously slow in switching defense.

Or maybe, he was thinking Wade would go around Allen.

Han Sen received the ball and shot a three-pointer.

After scoring the goal, Hansen did not look at James, but turned around and spread his hands to face Spoelstra on the sidelines:
"Don't you guys usually practice switching defense tactics?"

James was not far away at this time. His mood was exactly the same as Kobe's before. He really wanted to tear Han Sen's cute mouth apart.

But it was obvious that he couldn't do that, and Han Sen certainly wouldn't stop there.

After all, Han Sen knew very well that the high and mighty Chosen One would not bother to exchange trash talk with ordinary people like them.

In the Heat's offensive round, Wade continued to play one-on-one in the low post. Hansen moved inward this time. When Wade turned his head to observe, Allen directly made a steal.

Just like what Hansen felt during their training, Allen's defensive focus is very high. He may not be able to defend you, but as long as you relax a little, he will seize the opportunity.

The Grizzlies made a fast break, and Hansen's fast break layup caused James to hit his hand.

"They all say DW is 'Jordan, 5 centimeters shorter,' but I want to say, you are the real Pippen because you are as tall as him."

Han Sen also seized the opportunity to continue attacking James.

Hansen made both free throws and scored 5 points in a row, and the Grizzlies took the lead 7-6.

On the next possession, James reached for the ball from the three-point line.

After the ball came and the others moved away, he made a pick-and-roll gesture to Bosh without waiting for Hansen to speak.

He was not completely irritated by Han Sen, but he felt that Han Sen would keep a close eye on him on defense tonight, just like when the substitute played with him in the opening game, so he could not escape the fact that he would single out Han Sen.

So instead of waiting until you have to fight, it is better to fight now.

Of course, there is another point, which Spoelstra mentioned during the pre-match planning, which is the Grizzlies' defensive weakness.

Randolph is very ineffective in defending pick-and-rolls.

Bosh's pick-and-roll was solid, and Hansen took a little time to get around it, which gave James a split second opportunity to shoot from mid-range.

As expected, James did not choose to shoot, but instead used this opportunity to accelerate and rushed to the inside with the ball.

His steps were full of energy, but unfortunately, even though he started quickly and with enough momentum, Randolph still stood between him and the basket like a wall.

James hit the wall, but the referee didn't blow the whistle.

The round ended with James losing his balance and making a slightly funny back-toss, with the basketball almost not even hitting the rim.

Han Sen was chasing after him, and the scene before him made him laugh.

James's means of finishing after a breakthrough are really limited. If he had a lob shot, it wouldn't be such a serious flaw. No wonder he could even turn Hibbert into a "black Yao Ming."

Randolph protected the defensive rebound.

When they advanced to the frontcourt, Hansen waved to Conley and asked for the ball.

Randolph played in the low post twice tonight, and the Heat double-teamed him both times. It can be seen that the focus of Spoelstra's defense before the game was on the inside.

At this time, he needs to mobilize the defense on the outside.

After he caught the ball, he looked at James with a smile and said, "Come on, Dad will teach you how to play pick-and-roll!"

After saying that, he made a pick-and-roll tactical gesture to Gasol Jr.

(End of this chapter)