Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 329: The Strongest 175 on Earth, but Not as Good as the Strongest Pick and Roll

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Celtics: Thomas, Bradley, Durant, Towns, Horford
Cavaliers: Irving, Hansen, Tucker, TT, Jokic
The starting players of both teams came on the court, and Hansen directly faced Durant on the defensive end.

"Do you want one? I can give you one." Hansen chatted with Durant like an old friend. This was not the first time Durant attended his championship ring award ceremony.

"I'll get it myself!" Durant glared at Han Sen fiercely.

"I believe you." Han Sen's next answer surprised Durant.

Durant did not choose to join the Warriors in the summer, and Hansen was impressed by him.

Who can not admire a man who fights to the end?
Towns jumped to win the ball for the Celtics, Thomas dribbled the ball across half court, and both Towns and Horford pulled up to the high post to set up a pick-and-roll wall.

Thomas chose to follow Horford's screen. At the same time, Towns cut directly to the basket, and Durant also moved from the 45° angle to the bottom corner on the weak side.

The Celtics showed a three-dimensional offense at the beginning, which came from their head coach Stevens.

Stevens is an NCAA coach. He is only 40 years old this year, but he has a very high tactical level. During his NCAA period, he led the little-known Butler University with only students to the NCAA Madness Finals twice.

Horford's pick-and-roll completely blocked Irving, and Thomas took advantage of the pick-and-roll to directly shoot a three-pointer from the outside!
The three-pointer was so decisive that Jokic had no time to react.

Fortunately, the game had just started and his hands were not warm yet, so the basketball hit the front edge and bounced out.

However, Towns grabbed the frontcourt rebound, leaned on TT for a while, then turned around and made a hook shot!

He hit the ball very hard, not at all like the "soft candy" that Han Sen knew.

The Celtics are really good at developing players.

The Celtics took the lead, and the Cavaliers opened up space and allowed Irving to play one-on-one against Thomas.

The best breakthrough point against this Celtics team is Thomas.

Irving chose to play a post-up game.

Because of Nike's attention, Irving was very busy running around this past summer, but he did not give up on improving his basketball skills. He developed his post-up ability in the summer, and now is a good time to test the waters with Thomas.

Horford tried to assist in defense at this time.

But at this time, Thomas' choice was unexpected.

He turned around and yelled back at Horford: "I can handle him!"

This statement was quite confident, and of course it made Irving feel offended.

He passed the ball to Thomas with his back to the basket and then turned around and made a jump shot.

Thomas is much stronger than he looks, and he did not lose his defensive position due to Irving's confrontation, but his height is too disadvantageous.

If Irving chooses to break through head-on, he has a chance to defend it with confrontation and pressing, but facing a back-to-back attack he can only jump symbolically.

However, Irving missed the shot after he shook off the defense.

The shooting touch on both sides was a bit cold in the opening period.

Horford blocked Jokic and Towns grabbed the defensive rebound.

Towns passed the ball to Thomas, and the Celtics directly launched a defensive counterattack.

Thomas was so fast that Irving was almost snatched away by him in an instant.

However, Irving was also chasing him relentlessly from behind.

The two of them rushed to the backcourt one after the other.

Isaiah Thomas made a layup and Irving jumped up to try to block the shot, but Isaiah Thomas dodged with a pull-up shot in the air. Irving's block hit Isaiah Thomas' hand, and Isaiah Thomas still scored the ball even though he lost his balance in the air.

After Thomas completed the shot, he fell to the ground. When he looked back and saw the ball go in, he sat on the ground and roared excitedly.

There was a commotion in the place.

Normally, Irving would beat others like this, but in front of the shorter and more flexible Isaiah Thomas, the roles were reversed.

However, the fact that Thomas was able to score the goal even though he lost his balance also demonstrated his excellent competitive state.

Thomas Jr. made the free throw and the Celtics got off to a perfect start.

Irving played against Thomas again, but this time he gave up the post-up play and instead made a head-on breakthrough.

But Thomas showed extremely strong fighting spirit in the game, and his sticky defense prevented Irving from breaking through.

Just when Irving forced a breakthrough, Thomas seized the opportunity and directly stole the ball from Irving!
Irving reached back to steal the ball and was called for a foul by the referee.

Just two minutes into the game, Irving received his second foul.

Malone had no choice but to replace him with Deron.

Irving looked a little annoyed when he left the court. When Jones Jr. handed him the towel, he didn't wipe the sweat off his face. Instead, he covered his knees with it and shook his head while looking at the court.

The Celtics still have the ball in the hands of Thomas.

From the opening few rounds, it can be seen that the role Durant plays in the Celtics is the same as that in his "history" with the Warriors.

Stevens did not create a new tactical system because of his joining, but instead used him as a supplement to the original tactical system.

This is not because Stevenson does not respect Durant, but for a player like Thomas, if you let him start but don't give him the ball, his role on the court will be less than that of a 3D player.

The person defending Thomas at this time is Hansen.

When Deron was on the Lakers, he was blown away by Irving on the defensive end, so asking him to defend the faster Isaiah Thomas was a waste of time.

Han Sen was also concentrating.

He knows Irving's defense, which has improved to above the league average last season, but it can be seen in the previous rounds that he was basically giving up when facing Thomas.

As Hansen knew, this season was Isaiah Thomas' peak season, and he was one of the top five MVP players in history.

His defense is negligible, so he relies entirely on his offensive performance. You can imagine how difficult he will be to deal with.

Thomas' reaction after seeing Hansen was very James-like, and he directly called for a pick-and-roll with Horford.

Hansen quickly slid sideways, but was still blocked by Horford.

Horford has a very famous nickname among fans, called "the ball-blind identifier."

As the name suggests, fans who only look at the statistics will feel that this guy's career peak is only 18 plus 8, and he is not worthy of the All-Star title.

But everyone who has watched the game knows how much influence Horford has on the game.

Things like blocking Jokic before to create an opportunity for Towns to grab a defensive rebound, and the successful delay of Hansen during the pick-and-roll now, these are things that will not be reflected in the data.

Thomas quickly passed Jokic, who was completely at a loss when facing such a short player.

However, Hansen caught up with Thomas from behind, and Jokic reacted quickly and switched back to Horford, who had three-point range and shot outside after the pick-and-roll.

Towns also had three-point shooting range and pulled TT to the bottom corner, leaving the basket empty.

Thomas made a very smart move at this time. He kept his hips facing Hansen, which made it impossible for Hansen to get in front of him from behind.

After reaching the basket, he first used his hips to challenge Hansen, and then quickly jumped in the opposite direction for a layup. Hansen's jump shot was not as fast as his shooting speed, and Thomas successfully scored the ball.

After scoring the goal, Thomas folded his arms and roared.

This ball caused another commotion at the scene.

Thomas Jr. scored consecutively against the Cavaliers' dual cores, and his performance was amazing.

Because it was the night of the championship ring awards, TNT's Big Three also came to the scene to commentate.

"He is the strongest 1 meters tall man on this planet!"

Barkley exclaimed at this point.

Just like Iverson dribbled past Jordan, Thomas dodged Hansen's block and scored, which will also become a famous scene in his career.

And Barkley's words were not just boasting.

There have been many short players in the NBA, the more famous ones include "Little Potato" Webber, "Bug" Bogues, "Slam Dunk King" Nate Robinson, Boykins, etc., but none of them can achieve what Thomas has achieved today.

As the 60th pick in the draft, Thomas started in the NBA in his first year, averaged 20+ points per game in his third season, and became an All-Star player last season.

The fact that a veteran powerhouse like the Celtics built their team around him speaks volumes about his personal abilities.

His height is the only shortcoming; his other talents are first-rate.

Hansen then patted Thomas on the buttocks to show his respect for him.

The strongest 175cm player on earth, he has certainly heard the story of Thomas, but he appreciates more the fighting spirit that Thomas showed after the opening of the game.

Some people are only 1 meters tall, but they feel like giants on the court, while some people will still feel like a dwarf even if they grow to 75 meters.

In the Cavaliers' offense, Deron sat back and played against Thomas, and this time the Celtics could only assist in defense.

Deron relies on his body size to suppress Paul when he eats and sleeps, and Thomas can't withstand it.

Deron also chose the right time to pass the ball.

The Cavaliers' continuous pass from the outside affected the Celtics' defensive rotation. After playing together for two seasons, they already had excellent team tacit understanding.

When the ball finally reached Jokic at the top of the arc, the Celtics' defense could no longer keep up.

Just as Hansen had judged before, the Celtics' defensive system was still a little immature compared to the Warriors.

And with defensive loopholes like Thomas on the court, the defense can easily fall into a passive position.

Jokic took a three-point shot, but just when everyone thought he was going to shoot, after raising the ball to the highest point, he actually threw a high-speed through ball towards the basket!

Han Sen jumped up and dunked the ball, performing a windmill dunk.

The scene was instantly filled with the cheers of fans.

Hansen's dunk was brilliant, and Jokic's pass was also brilliant.

After seeing this, Ma Long couldn't help but stand up and applaud.

He has been increasing Jokic's tactical status since training camp, and it turned out that the decision was quite correct.

Jokic has excellent passing ability, which can make the Cavaliers' offense simpler and more difficult to defend.

Thomas continued to hold the ball and screen with Horford, but this time Hansen chose to defend him.

Thomas' choice was still very decisive, he took advantage of the pick-and-roll to directly shoot a three-pointer.

Speed ​​is his greatest advantage, and decisive acceleration is the basis for him to become the strongest 175 on the planet.

But just as he made the move, he saw Han Sen jumping up to block him.

The key to the puppy-dog gait is that the small steps allow the defender to get around the pick-and-roll faster.

Thomas was forced to pull up in the air to dodge, and although he managed to dodge it, the original opportunity turned into a difficult shot, and the ball was obviously off target in the end.

Jokic protected the defensive rebound under the basket.

However, the Celtics retreated quickly and the Cavaliers did not have a chance to directly launch a fast break.

Deron advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, and Hansen reached out to pass the ball.

For most teams, the preseason is a stage for honing tactics and lineups.

But for a team like the Cavaliers that is on the rise and is the defending champion in the Eastern Conference, the same is true for the regular season.

The Cavaliers' ultimate opponent is the Warriors, and to defeat this "Universe Warriors" team, they must become stronger.

Hansen calls for Jokic's pick-and-roll.

The pick-and-roll is the simplest and most complex tactic. It is simple in that almost every team uses it, but it is complex in that there are many details required to fully demonstrate its effectiveness.

When Hansen played for the Grizzlies, his "poison pick-and-roll" with Randolph once gave opponents a lot of headaches.

Jokic has greater potential than Randolph because his basketball IQ and ball-handling abilities are both top-notch.

Of course, it is only potential now, and it needs to be realized through actual combat.

Jokic's pick-and-roll successfully hooked Bradley, which was his biggest improvement compared to last season.

Although this made his speed slower than before, it was enough to force the Celtics to switch defense.

If the ball handler is James, they can still circumvent the defense, but Hansen's shooting threat is too strong.

This is equivalent to forming two dislocations at once.

Horford lunged forward, but Hansen passed the ball to Jokic who was in a good cutting position.

Since the goal is to realize Jokic's potential, it is natural to give Jokic more opportunities.

Bradley tried to interfere with Jokic from below, but the height difference between the two was too great, and that kind of interference was just like tickling.

Towns was forced to come over to help defend.

Jokic waited for a moment, waiting for Towns to defend in front of him, and then made a light pass to Towns' waist.

TT on the other side of the basket caught the cake that was fed to his mouth, took a step forward and violently shot the ball into the rim with both hands.

There was another round of cheers from the audience.

"What an incredible offense!" Barkley also exclaimed in the commentary booth.

The Cavaliers' coordination over the past two possessions has been completely different from last season.

The one-star-four-shooting style of play is generally quite monotonous. Although it is unsolvable when your core is strong enough, it is rather monotonous in terms of viewing.

But the Cavaliers' coordination in the past two rounds was completely pleasing to the eye.

Of course, laymen watch the excitement while experts see the details. What Barkley said was incredible was that the two players who initiated the pick-and-roll for the Cavaliers possessed top-level ball-handling abilities, which is extremely rare in NBA history.

No, there isn't any at all. This is the strongest pick-and-roll!
(End of this chapter)