Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 223 Defense Wins the Championship

Gasol Jr. jumped past Bosh and the Grizzlies took the lead in attacking.

The Grizzlies started the game by playing high-low post, letting Randolph play in the low post against Bosh.

Bosh's low-post defensive ability improved after gaining weight, but Randolph still hit the bank with a hook shot after running over him and turning around continuously.

From the end of the Western Conference Finals to now, the Grizzlies have had about four or five days of rest.

But what can be clearly felt is that the Grizzlies' game tension is still there.

Thanks to the Warriors for that defeat against the Grizzlies, which was more useful than any pre-game mobilization.

Han Sen did not participate in the first attack. After retreating, he focused all his attention on staring at Wade.

The seven-game battle between the Pacers and the Heat not only severely consumed the Heat's energy, but also provided Hansen with game references.

Wade's form was sluggish after his comeback. On the one hand, his legs and feet were not very flexible after he just came back from injury, but on the other hand, the Pacers' acquisition of Tony Allen greatly restricted his breakthroughs.

Wade's breakthroughs failed to attract help defense, and the Heat's system did not function smoothly, which led to the stalemate in the first six games.

As for G7, which changed the situation, after watching the video, it was discovered that it was more of Spoelstra's tactical adjustments.

Spoelstra made a targeted foul on Hibbert at the beginning of the game. After Hibbert went down, he also replaced Perkins with Haslem, and then let Wade go to the low post to play against Allen.

Allen's difficulty defending Wade in the low post was confirmed when the Grizzlies played against the Heat.

Because the Heat also have super shooters like Durant and Ray Allen, it was difficult for the Pacers to double-team Wade in the low post, which led to their collapse by Wade.

The reason why Spoelstra made the adjustment so late was probably because Wade's physical condition did not allow it before.

But even if Wade's physical condition allows it now, it is not realistic for him to play against Hansen in the low post.

So as long as Hansen can limit Wade, the Grizzlies can do what the Pacers can do.

Wade's first breakthrough attempt failed to get past Hansen, so he immediately called on Bosh to come out for a pick-and-roll.

Han Sen chose to go around.

There was a small detail at this time. Bosh tried to hang Hansen with his body, but failed.

When Wade was about to stop and shoot, Hansen had already bypassed the pick-and-roll and pounced on him again.

Bosh's first pick-and-roll ended in failure.

He then launched a second wave.

This time, Hansen observed Wade's breakthrough direction and chose to slide sideways.

When Wade changed direction, Han Sen blocked his breakthrough route again.

Han Sen was now like a nail nailed to Wade.

There was a commotion at the scene.

Wade also realized Hansen's defensive focus tonight.

The conversation between the two before the game was just a greeting and a way of testing each other's opinion. Now it seems that nothing Han Sen said was true.

The offensive time was already halfway through, and Wade did not choose to force a shot, but instead handed it over to Chalmers, switching from the strong side to the weak side to let Durant play an off-ball tactic.

Durant used Perkins' screen to run the pindown tactic, but Conley kept putting pressure on the ball when Chalmers passed the ball, and the quality of his pass was not very good.

By the time Durant received the ball, Gay had already bypassed Perkins and reached him.

And just after Perkins launched his second pick-and-roll attempt, the Grizzlies directly let Perkins double-team Durant.

There was not much time left for the attack, and Durant could only turn around and lean back to force a shot against the defense.

This ball was too difficult, especially with Gasol Jr. jumping up to interfere, and Durant's final shot hit the rim and bounced out.

Perkins made a smart choice at this time and rushed to the basket in advance.

Randolph also returned to the basket at this time. After seeing Perkins, he turned his back to the basket to block the opponent.

Bosh came over to grab the rebound, but Hansen blocked his way, and Randolph finally protected the defensive rebound.

In the first defensive round of the game, the intensity shown by the Grizzlies gave the Heat a little shock.

They had just fought a seven-game battle with the Pacers, and now they found themselves in a more intense game.

When Randolph played Bosh in the low post again, the Heat began to shrink.

The Grizzlies also began to operate their offensive system.

Although the Heat's defensive rotation was still fast, it was not the previous small lineup after all. Conley seized the opportunity to fake a shot to get past Durant, and then passed the ball to Gay.

Gay had a good chance and shot decisively, but unfortunately the ball went a little off the rim and bounced out.

The rebound was secured by Perkins.

Wade continued to hold the ball in the frontcourt. This time he did not call for Bosh's pick-and-roll. Instead, he took a direct step and then made a big change of direction to increase the distance between him and Hansen before making a layup.

His current thoughts coincided with Han Sen's opening thoughts.

Since Han Sen was defending him with all his strength at the beginning, it would be a good idea to use up Han Sen's energy.

After all, although the other players on the Grizzlies are not bad, there is no way they can beat the Heat without Hansen.

But at the moment Wade shot, a figure jumped up from beside him, slapped the still-rising basketball, and sent the ball flying out of the court.

There was an uproar at the scene.

Watching the ball being fanned away in front of his eyes, Wade was full of disbelief, because he was sure that he had just created the shooting space.

When he turned around and saw that the person who blocked him was Han Sen, he was extremely surprised.

He had clearly gotten rid of Han Sen!

However, Han Sen's next move was even more unexpected.

After completing the block, Hansen celebrated by shaking his finger towards the audience.

A game is about momentum, which is very necessary when playing away from home and even more necessary when the weak team is playing against a stronger team.

When the Grizzlies played against the Spurs, Hansen's 1 points in Game 20 allowed the Grizzlies to gain momentum at the beginning of the series.

However, as Han Sen was shaking, he immediately received a warning whistle from the referee.

In the beginning, the NBA banned players from wagging their fingers because it was too provocative to their opponents.

But in 2007, the league relaxed this action, and as long as the finger is not shaken at the players, it will not be called a technical foul.

But in fact, just like what happened to Han Sen just now, there may not be a technical foul, but a warning whistle is inevitable.

This is the flexibility of the referee. One of the important responsibilities of the referee on the field is to prevent conflicts on the field.

Of course, there is one exception to this move, Mutombo, who pioneered this move.

Mutombo was called for technical fouls several times for this move at the beginning, but after the rules were changed in 2007, as long as he didn't shake it at anyone, the referees would acquiesce to his move.

Because this action has become a personal label for him, there will be no conflicts in the game due to his action.

Han Sen retracted his fingers, but his desired goal had been achieved.

The Grizzlies' defense was at full strength, and Bosh's low-post single shot went out of the frame with the help of Gasol Jr., and the Heat's offense was still unsuccessful.

Looking back, Randolph was assisted by Durant when he turned around in a low-post single play.

Durant had a good grasp of the timing of his assist defense on this ball, but Randolph was also very focused and passed the ball to Gay during the double-team.

Gay seized the opportunity this time and made a three-pointer.

Spoelstra stood up and walked to the sidelines, making tactical gestures to Chalmers. The Heat went to the frontcourt to adjust their tactics, and Durant used Bosh's pick-and-roll to run the pindown tactic.

Randolph's pick-and-roll defense has always been a weak link for the Grizzlies.

If the Grizzlies don't make a substitution, Durant can shoot after catching the ball after the pick-and-roll. If the Grizzlies make a substitution, both Bosh and Durant will have opportunities for mismatched one-on-ones.

Hansen likes to watch videos, but Spoelstra is a video analyst and he obviously did sufficient research on the Grizzlies before the game.

"Switch!" With Randolph's shout, the Grizzlies chose to switch defense.

The Heat's subsequent tactics also followed suit.

Bosh pushed Gay towards the basket, and Durant also leaned against Randolph to ask for the ball with his back.

Chalmers observed for a while, and after seeing that Bosh had already pressed Gay to the three-second zone, he immediately lobbed the ball in.

However, the ball did not reach Bosh, because Gasol Jr. saw the opportunity to assist in defense and directly hit the ball back.

In this round, the Heat's lack of organizational ability was exposed.

Perkins poses no offensive threat, so Gasol can let him go to assist in defense. Players with good organizational skills will choose to give the ball to Durant after reading the defense.

The ball was controlled by Conley. When Conley turned around to make a fast break, Qian Moss rushed forward to stop him from advancing.

But Conley just dribbled the ball and then threw it forward.

Han Sen had already rushed out of the three-point line.

The Heat's lineup configuration is here. It is unrealistic to rely on defense alone to prevent them from scoring. You must not miss the opportunity to launch a defensive counterattack.

After receiving the ball, Hansen ran down quickly. When he saw Wade chasing him closely, he slowed down to give Wade a physical confrontation when he reached the free throw line. Then he took a step and jumped to slam the ball into the basket with both hands.

The moment the ball was smashed in, Sacre automatically catapulted to the sidelines and waved his towel.

The scene fell into chaos.

7 is better than 0!

This start was completely different from what they expected.

The Heat's lineup is stronger than the Grizzlies', and they are in good shape after just finishing a game. In theory, they should be the ones to quickly establish an advantage at the start.

But obviously, everyone underestimated the Grizzlies' defensive strength.

In the regular season, the Grizzlies played at 90% on defense, and in the finals this number had risen to 120%!

Just like when they played against the Warriors, Hansen took the lead in biting the ball, which greatly increased the defensive enthusiasm of his teammates.

Joerger also excitedly stretched out his hand and clenched his fist on the sidelines.

When arranging tactics before the game, his original plan was to have Conley defend Wade, relieve Hansen of the defensive pressure, and allow him to go all out on the offensive end like he did against the Spurs.

After all, the Heat's overall strength is stronger than the Grizzlies. Only when Hansen is at full power will the Grizzlies have a chance.

However, after learning about this strategy, Hansen put forward his own idea that the Heat's strength lies in offense.

If the Grizzlies compete on offense, it will be difficult for them to win. The best proof of this is that he scored 61 points in the Christmas game.

The only way the Grizzlies can win is by playing defense, the kind where everyone gives their all.

Jorgel finally agreed with Hansen's idea, but he didn't have much confidence.

After all, this Heat team's offense is ranked among the best in history, and it is not easy to defend them.

Especially after Wade got into shape, the Pacers were blown away by them.

As it turns out, with the Grizzlies' excellent defensive resources, they can really do it!

The pressure is now on the Heat.

The Grizzlies were in good offensive form at the start, but if they hadn't been able to respond on the offensive end, tonight's game would have been over early.

Durant now leaned against Gay and started asking for the ball.

Since the tactics don't work, we can only rely on one-on-one combat to solve the problem.

This is also the reason why the Heat's record this season is so much better than last season.

They have two super singles spots, and when one doesn't work, the other can quickly step up.

It's rare to come across a team that has both top-notch defenders on the front line.

The Pacers are an exception, but they are the only Pacers. The current Grizzlies do not have that kind of defensive resources.

But just as Durant received the ball, the Grizzlies double-teamed him.

Durant is very strong in one-on-one play, but he has no coordination ability, and double-teaming is the most effective way for him.

Previously, it was Gasol Jr. who was responsible for the double-team, but this time it was Conley who took over, and the Grizzlies' defensive rotation also started at the same time.

Hansen was defending Chalmers, and Gay opened his arms to block Durant's pass to the weak side.

If it was just a simple double-team, then Durant could just pass the ball to Chalmers in the open space even if he didn't have the ability to assist.

But after the defensive rotation starts, just like Qian Moss's pass before, you need to read the defense and determine who is the teammate with the best chance.

But whether it is Qian Moss or Durant, their ability in this regard is obviously not enough.

Especially since Durant is still being double-teamed, he has to protect the ball in addition to observing his teammates, so his only options are to give up singles or use his personal ability to solve the problem.

Durant chose the latter. He turned around and broke through to the baseline, then stopped and faded away.

The technical move on this ball was beautiful, but because it was a hard solution, it failed to get rid of Guy.

Gay's bounce and wingspan put great pressure on Durant when he shot on defense.

Durant's shot finally hit the front of the basket, and the Heat still failed to break the scoring drought!
Gasol Jr. protected the defensive rebound and the Grizzlies made another fast break. This time Wade followed Hansen, who passed the ball to Conley who was following up, and Conley made a side layup and hit the rebound.

Spoelstra called a timeout directly.

The scene was already in a state of agitation.

9 is better than 0!

An opening that no one could have imagined was now placed in front of everyone.

The Grizzlies' bench was in an uproar.

Joerger excitedly high-fived each of his players who were leaving the field.

This has not only been achieved, but has completely exceeded strategic expectations.

This perfect start not only seized the momentum at the start of the game, but also built up confidence among the players and even coaches.

The best team in the league?
The one who fights is the strongest!
"Before tonight, the outside world was discussing who is the strongest team in the league, but what I want to say now is that the Grizzlies are the best defensive team in the league!" This opening excited even Kenny Smith, the most emotionally stable commentator.

As the starting point guard for the Rockets' two consecutive championships, he knows the phrase "defense wins championships" better than anyone.

Offense depends on stars and tactics, but defense relies on teamwork.

A good defensive team not only needs excellent individual defenders, but also defensive cooperation.

Every player needs to do his or her defensive task well, actively steal the ball, assist in defense, rotate positions, and communicate, which requires great tacit understanding and trust.

Although whoever scores more points wins the game, scoring is often unstable, while defense is relatively stable.

"So are we going to broadcast it live?" Barkley looked at O'Neal and began to imagine the scene of O'Neal drinking bath water.

"The good news is that I'm not the worst person because KD can't get the bath water he wants." O'Neal's mentality is quite optimistic this time.

(End of this chapter)