basketball court controller

Chapter 170 Defensive Problems

Some people are happy and some are sad. Competitive sports are like this. There can only be one winner.

This is also the charm of competitive sports, which makes countless outstanding athletes scramble to climb the highest mountain.

While the Warriors were partying to win the Western Conference title, everyone on the Lakers was lost.

Although their head coach Phil Jackson took all the responsibility for the loss in front of the media, the various media discussions about their players will not disappear because of this.

Kobe was criticized for his immaturity and unreasonable choice of playing. Shaquille O’Neal, a dominant center, was even considered not to have the appearance of a champion. Before, there was Jordan, there was Olajuwon, and now there are other players rising. He is always a tragedy. the one.

Not long after the game ended, the Lakers were heard of infighting again. Kobe and O'Neal got into a quarrel and almost fought. The reason was that Kobe blamed O'Neal for not practicing his free throws after the loss. Mars hits Earth.

Among the many voices, the voices accusing the shark-killing tactics of being ugly have not attracted much attention for the time being. Now everyone is concerned about the final ownership of the championship.

The Eastern Conference finals were as fierce as the Eastern Conference semifinals. After the Bucks got the match point, the 76ers tied the score to 3:3, another tie-break.

The Warriors can adjust their physical condition and wait for the final opponent. To be honest, it is hard to say that Iverson and the "Three Musketeers" are more powerful, but they hope to meet the Bucks.

Although the Bucks have many attackers, they have the ability to limit each of them. The 76ers mainly rely on Iverson in their offense, but even Zhang Chen is difficult to limit.

But Zhang Chen understood that according to the historical trajectory, the 76ers would be standing in front of them.

No surprises, this season's regular playoffs, Iverson, who is the top scorer, scored 44+7+6 and led the 76ers to the finals.

Then, the Warriors' journey to the finals will start in Philadelphia. They have not had home court advantage since the first game of the playoffs, but this does not hinder their determination to win the game.

Even if the current media is hyping it up, if he can win the championship in the Warriors and achieve three consecutive personal championships, Zhang Chen's status in the NBA will reach a new height. Yes, there is still no change.

If you want to be successful, you cannot be influenced by the outside world.

"Larry, how do you feel?" The Warriors are going to Philadelphia tomorrow, and the Warriors are doing simple training. Zhang Chen is most concerned about the state of Larry Hughes.

The team confirmed that it was Larry Hughes who defended the opponent's general Allen Iverson. They used to be teammates. Larry Hughes should be familiar with Iverson, and the Warriors have the closest style of play. Iverson is also himself. Since Iverson's pace is too fast, the Warriors' simulated confrontation training will not be very effective. The most important thing is the feeling of Larry Hughes himself.

"I feel good physically now, and I will definitely do my best in the game."

"Why do you feel that you are a little unconfident? Tell me if you have difficulties. The team is a whole. If there are any problems, everyone can discuss and solve them. It would be bad if they are affected during the game."

Larry Hughes said with some embarrassment: "Actually, when I was in Philadelphia, I often defended him against him in the team. It was difficult... To be honest, I don't know how well I can defend. The defense is also not up to par."

Zhang Chen knew that the Lakers' defense change still had an impact on his self-confidence, so he casually put his arms around Larry Hughes' shoulders, "Why are you so coy, your defense and offense are very helpful to the team , Without your performance, the Warriors would not have made it this far..."

"Let us do our best together to win the final victory."

NBA championship, this is the desire of every player who plays in the league. Speaking of this, Larry Hughes is also a little excited, his eyes light up. He never thought that he would have the opportunity to go to the stage of the finals so soon , "Well, I will definitely do my best."

It has the same meaning as what he said before, but the difference in tone represents a difference in determination. Looking at the momentum of his teammates, Zhang Chen laughed. He attaches great importance to this finals. He hopes to win the game. Now The Warriors are also capable of winning games.

The 76ers, the team that has received the most honors this season, Iverson and Mutombo are known as the most contradictory combination in the league, and they are not opponents that can be easily defeated.

However, due to the situation in the league where the west is strong and the east is weak, the teams in the east are not favored.

It’s just that the most representative teams in the West are the Lakers and Spurs. As for the Warriors, their evaluation is not low. Before the playoffs, they, the 76ers, the Bucks, and the Kings were considered to be the second-tier strong teams. Now When they meet, it can be regarded as a collision of the same level.

Ironically, the Lakers and Spurs, who are considered the strongest, have already fallen, and the outcome of the playoffs really cannot be determined by analysis.

Therefore, whether the 76ers or the Warriors are stronger or weaker, I really don't know if I haven't played.

The 76ers belong to the type of offensive and defensive balance, but their balance is not the balance of team strength, but the balance pulled by individual ability, the most obvious is the offensive aspect, which is forced by Iverson, the outside killer. Their defense is not bad, but because of the existence of the best defensive player Dikembe Mutombo, it is now a restricted area, but compared to when Zhang Chen was in the Heat, Mourning and P-J-Brown are still slightly Difference.

The Warriors can also be considered to have a balanced offense and defense. Similarly, their balance is not really balanced. Both offense and defense are stronger on the outside. In the tiebreaker against the Spurs, their oppressive defense on the outside was exclaimed. Of course, this is just a sigh, not that their perimeter defense has really reached that height.

Due to the characteristics of the two teams, the best way to deal with the 76ers is to limit Iverson, and the best way to deal with the Warriors is to limit Zhang Chen.

It’s just that in the previous games, almost no team has completely achieved this. Both teams have lost the game. Relatively speaking, there are more templates for beating the 76ers and less templates for beating the Warriors, but the way to beat them cannot be guaranteed. What an effect.

Players like Zhang Chen and Iverson can definitely change the outcome of a game if they play well.

On June 6th, the first game of the finals kicked off at the First League Center Arena.

The 76ers put the best sixth man of the season, Aaron McGee, into the starting lineup due to injuries, so their starting five became Eric Snow, Allen Iverson, Aaron - McGee, Tyrone Hill, Dikembe Mutombo.

Warriors are Mookie - Blaylock, Larry - Hughes, Zhang Chen, Antawn - Jamison and Eric - Dampier.

Larry Hughes marked the opponent's absolute core Allen Iverson according to the predetermined plan, and Zhang Chen dealt with Aaron McGee. Iverson showed his regular season MVP skill at the beginning of the game, and Larry- Hughes is really difficult to limit him, which has become the epitome of this game.

In the first game of the finals, because of Iverson's outstanding performance, the Warriors suffered a 95:100 defeat.

Zhang Chen scored 46 points, which is not much worse than Iverson's 48 points, but Jamison and Larry Hughes played a little abnormally, especially Larry Hughes, who consumed too much energy on the defensive end , He is used to breaking through when attacking, but he can't hit the basket where Mutombo sits.

"The 76ers played very well, they were very passionate, Iverson played well, but our desire to win is stronger, and we will win the next game."

"Switching like last series, no, no, Larry played very well... I can't give an exact answer, the tactical arrangement is a secret. It depends on the arrangement of the team."

When interviewed after the game, Zhang Chen did not show any frustration. Jamison and Larry Hughes were a little out of order in the finals, but he believed that the two had already adapted to the atmosphere of the finals after this game. .

But it was a lie to say that he was not worried. After returning to the hotel, he immediately found the head coach Dave Cowens to discuss tactics. Iverson’s offensive power is too strong. If he can’t be restrained, the championship is likely to be lost. will pass them by.

In the second day of training, the Warriors began to practice new defensive tactics.

Larry Hughes was rather frustrated, "Zhang, I screwed up again. I don't have a problem with whether we need to switch defenses. I can accept whatever."

Zhang Chen smiled kindly and said: "Nonsense, you defended well, but you are a little nervous, and the opponent is too strong, I believe you can do better in the next match."

He discussed with the head coach for a long time. Coach Dave Cowens proposed that he and Larry Hughes switch defenses, but he rejected it. Even if he came to defend Iverson, it might not be better than Larry Hughes. How much better Hughes does will affect his offense.

When he was in the Heat, the reason why he could limit Iverson to a certain extent, in addition to his own defensive skills, and more importantly, Mourning can help him defend inside, he can wholeheartedly defend the opponent's shots, don't need to care about Iverson Sen broke through.

Now the Warriors are not without strong defense. When Dampier is injured, their backup center Foyle can average 3 blocks per game when starting. This season, Foyle's average block per game is 2.7. Absolutely Help defense master.

But Foyle is small, not tall, and his single-defense ability is much worse than that of Dampier. This is why he can only play as a substitute. In addition, his offense is weak, and he is not as easy to use as Mark Jackson.

Although Mutombo is a defensive center, it is still very easy to score 20+ when encountering defensive players who are weaker than him in strength and height, so they will lose more than they gain.

However, the Warriors still have a way, which is to let Zhang Chen and Jamison switch positions when defending. What to do, they have to test it in training.

(End of this chapter)