basketball pope

Chapter 134 [The key to winning]

Yang Rui dispatched the experienced Detrev, the veteran is more stable at critical moments and will not make low-level mistakes.The audience only played 20 minutes, and his physical fitness was also guaranteed.

Detrev was responsible for making key shots in the 1996 finals and had a big heart; in Game 75 of the finals, the SuperSonics lost 87 to 23. He scored 5 points, 2 rebounds and [-] assists, almost leading the team to a comeback.

Yang Rui also sent John Wallace, who only played 4 minutes in the fourth quarter, with McGrady, Carter and Billups on the outside.

Yang Rui arranged to say: "John, you are the key to winning, and your opponent is likely to be Oakley, you are faster than him, and you must be firm in counterattack. Tracy, you are defending at the bottom line, pay attention to the retreat after protection. Rebounding the game, using your height and jumping power to counterattack with one pass and three-man fast break. On the defensive end, when you encounter a pick-and-roll, pay attention to switching defenses. The positional battle is opened, and Tracy is holding the ball in the middle."

John Wallace was a little confused.

Haven't used me all the time, and now say I'm the key to winning?
This is Yang Rui's genius. If there is no advantage in using John all the time, the defensive end may also become a loophole.

At the end of the day, if Van Gundy sent a veteran who played for a long time, John's advantage was too great.He is full of stamina, holding back a lot of energy, how can a veteran keep up with him when he rushes up?

Yang Rui intends to take advantage of this. The defensive end does not need John to protect the backcourt rebounds, and McGrady is a guest power forward.With his excellent physical condition, McGrady does not lose a lot of insiders in rebounding efficiency.

The game continued, and Yang Rui guessed Van Gundy's selection, and sent Ward, Sprewell, Bowen, Oakley, and Ewing to the lineup.

To strengthen the defense, Van Gundy benched Houston.But Ben Wallace is more athletic than Oakley, blocks better shots, and can switch pick-and-rolls better, but Van Gundy doesn't. He believes in veterans more at critical moments.

What he ignored was that Ewing was running out of stamina. He was selected to the Second Team of the All-Defensive Team last season, and he was very hydrated.

The Raptors got the ball, Billups brought it to the frontcourt and passed it to McGrady, and the players pulled away.

Yang Rui let McGrady attack because Carter's ability to move without the ball is slightly better, and the three-pointer is more accurate.

McGrady took the ball in the middle. Facing Sprewell's pull-up was an opportunity. He didn't do it. When Detrev pulled the pick-and-roll outside the three-point line, he took the ball and got rid of it. Ewing passed.

Bowen was taken to the side by Carter and could not help defend. The "madman" chased and defended. Ewing retreated to the basket. McGrady immediately attracted the attention of the two. He jumped up near the penalty area and passed the ball back to the middle.

Detrev shot 41.5% from 87-point range last season, mainly from the middle.He barely made any adjustments to catch the ball, jumped up gently, gently moved the ball to the basket with his fingers, and hollowed into the net! 87 to [-].

In the Knicks positional battle, the Raptors shrank their formation, and Detrev defended Ewing.

Today, O'Neal Jr. and Bowen Bai took turns entanglement, which consumed a lot of Ewing's physical strength. When the star needed to stand up to score points, Ewing was already bored and chose to pass the ball to Sprewell.

The first step of "Mad Man" was nothing compared to McGrady. He missed a pull-up jumper without completely getting rid of McGrady.

The rebound was grabbed by Carter, and he threw it to the front court with one step on the ground. John Wallace played his specialty, sprinted to get rid of Oakley, caught the ball near the free throw line, and took advantage of the trend to score a layup. 89 to 87.

On the Raptors' bench, Yang Rui stood up with the substitutes to cheer for the players, and Van Gundy frowned and asked for a timeout.

Zhang Lili praised: "John Wallace didn't play for a long time today. His impact at the critical moment played a role, and the veteran's three-pointer was also critical. The Raptors scored 5 points in a row after the timeout. Yang Rui was on the spot. Resilience is amazing, the pressure is on the Knicks."

Sun Zhengping said with a smile: "The Knicks lineup is much better than the Raptors, but the score is behind. Van Gundy is really not Yang Rui's master."

Regardless of whether the final game was won or lost, Van Gundy lost, and bystanders felt that his coaching level was not as good as Yang Rui's.

This is indeed the case. Van Gundy replaced Bowen, replaced Houston, and replaced Oakley with Larry Johnson, increasing interior mobility and attacking power, regardless of defense.

The most tired Ewing is still on the court.The offensive tactics arranged by Van Gundy are what Yang Rui left behind. Ewing screened from the side, Houston received the ball and shot, and the other three all pulled out of the three-point line to attract defense, and the person in the middle was Sprewell.

The Raptors also made substitutions, and O'Neal Jr. replaced Detrev. At this time, the team must ensure the speed of switching defenses and guard the basket.Little O'Neal is fast, has strong explosiveness, better frame protection, and can also prevent him from going out, which is something veterans can't do.

Yang Rui didn't use the tactical board and said loudly: "Bold fast break, use your speed advantage, we can win this game!"

At the beginning of the game, O'Neal Jr. switched defenses very timely after Houston moved. Houston failed to get a direct shot and moved two steps to pass to Ewing.

Ewing got the chance to single out Carter, and in the first quarter, he might have sat down to the basket with his back.Now Ewing is tired and has no strength in the next set. He chose to turn around and make a jumper, but failed to swing away, and missed the basket under Carter's interference.

Shooting in front of Carter is never a good idea, even if Ewing is a 214CM center he can still interfere and almost block the ball.When Carter is on the body side, the wingspan is 218CM, the in-situ bounce is 91CM, and the run-up bounce is 110CM.

The rebound was grabbed by McGrady on the right side, and he immediately looked for his teammates.

Usually the point guard who leads the team at this time will choose to press the rhythm and hit the success rate. The Raptors are four people rushing forward together, and even O'Neal Jr. has a fast break.

McGrady gave Billups, and the latter gave Carter in the middle, forming a dislocation.

Carter passed Ewing one step after catching the ball, and the "gorilla" didn't even hold him. Carter jumped three steps in the middle, leaning forward, shrugging his calves back, and smashing the ball with both hands. 91 to 87.

Sun Zhengping exclaimed, "Carter jumped too high, he looked like he was flying."

Zhang Lili said: "The Knicks have to make substitutions. Ewing is completely unable to keep up when the opponent counterattacks. A player like Carter is fast among guards. His performance is worthy of the nickname Yang Rui gave him."

Sun Zhengping sighed: "The Raptors have distinct characteristics. The magic weapon for winning is the talent of the players. Van Gundy has not made any substitutions."

Van Gundy hesitated on the sidelines. Ewing won the MVP last season, which made him superstitious about this person's ability. He didn't think that Ben Wallace or Oakley could replace him. Without Ewing, the quality of screening would be much poorer.

But if you can't defend against it, what's the point of attacking?

The Knicks attacked a little bit in a hurry. Houston ran the ball and grabbed a three-pointer. Under the interference of O'Neal Jr., Medica grabbed the rebound with Johnson and hit the ground and passed the ball to the right.

As soon as Johnson grabbed the offensive rebound, he was free. John Wallace received a pass from McGrady, dislocated and forced the basket under Sprewell's defense, causing a foul.

John made two free throws, 93-87.

The home team was beaten 9-0 with 31.1 seconds left, and Van Gundy finally called a timeout.

(End of this chapter)