NBA Dynasty Sniper

Chapter 244 One to One
The Pacers had the No. [-] record in the Eastern Conference this season, but were eliminated by the Bulls in the second round. Reggie Miller was simmering with anger in his stomach. When he saw this report, he immediately went into a rage and dropped the fishing rod on his back. pole.

"I never envied Michael Jordan. I didn't envy him before, and I don't envy him even more now. His era has passed, and now he is just a guy who cuddles together. He just wants to show his presence in the new era."

Facing the media, he spoke in a very disdainful divine language.

After mocking Jordan, he fired at Zhao Dong again: "As for that guy in New York, he is just a guy who is good at violence, I don't bother to comment."

At this point, the reporter reminded: "Reggie, don't you say a few words about Rodman?"

"Who is he?" Reggie Miller said disdainfully.

"Sooner or later I'm going to be blown to death by them."

In the villa, Zhao Dong threw down the New York Times in his hand, and said to Lindsay: "In order to win, can I still use my strength? Is it fake to be Jordan and Ewing? In the end, my legs almost cramp."

"Let's take a jumper off the court, don't rush in again, be careful of injury, you also fell several times last night." Lindsay laughed.

"I wanted to beat Ewing and Rodman down, but unfortunately they were too sneaky and didn't take it hard." Zhao Dong said.

"What is the strength of the Bulls? Are they sure of winning?" Lindsay asked.

"Of course there is, but it definitely can't be fought like this one. It's too strenuous."

Zhao Dong thought for a while and said, "I'd better go to the low post and try. They can only use Ewing to defend me, and directly blow him up on both ends of the offense and defense."

Continue to rest in the morning. At noon, Zhao Dong rushed to the team's training base to participate in the tactical meeting, and there will be training sessions in the afternoon.

When he arrived at the training base, his car was blocked by media reporters.

"Feilong, do you have anything to say about Reggie Miller's words? He said you were a violent person, and he dismissed you."

a reporter asked loudly.

"Big-mouthed Reggie Miller? Hehe, a soft guy who only knows how to shoot jump shots. I don't want to judge him." Zhao Dong laughed.

At the same time, in the hotel, Jordan was found by reporters.

"Reggie Miller? How dare he say that about me?"

Like an emperor who was provoked by his subjects, Jordan said furiously: "We just eliminated the Pacers four to one. It seems that we need to sweep the Pacers next year to make him shut up."

At the tactical meeting, Zhao Dong mentioned his suggestion of playing low post. Old Nelson also realized that without low post offense, there would be no containment from the outside line. This is also the reason why the efficiency of the outside line in G1 was so poor, because the inside line could not attract the Bulls at all. team's defense, so he agreed.

After training in the afternoon, we organized an intra-team training match to practice tactics.

It is mainly Zhao Dong's low-post tactics, and the supporting tactics of outside running positions and so on.

Old Nelson had a talk with Larry Johnson, planning to let him play more in the substitute lineup in the G2 game. Apart from Zhao Dong, the Knicks only have his low offensive ability, so he is also the focus of the training game.

"Ouch!"

Larry Johnson and Danny Fortson scrambled for a rebound before the former was knocked to the ground and couldn't get up.

"Damn it, Danny, can't you move a little less?" Larry Johnson cursed while hugging his left ankle.

Frustrated, Fortson said, "I've got it under control."

"Larry, what's the matter?" Zhao Dong asked.

"I'm afraid it won't work, the joints hurt." Larry Johnson said dejectedly.

Zhao Dong shook his head helplessly, stepped aside, and let the team doctor handle it.

Larry Johnson averaged 15 points per game, the third scoring point in the team, and a very important point in the bench lineup. If Zhao Dong is not counted, he is the first scoring point inside. Losing him is still very serious, which further weakens the Knicks. Sri Lanka's inside offensive ability.

The team doctor checked it, shook his head and said, "I have a sprain, so I probably won't be able to participate in tomorrow's game."

Soon, an ice bucket was brought in, and Larry Johnson began soaking his feet to keep his joints from swelling.

"Don't get hurt again." Old Nelson muttered.

"Misfortunes never come singly!" Zhao Dong heard it, and answered casually.

Fortunately, there were no more problems in the next training match.

But what happened this time made Neil Grant think about getting rid of Danny Fortson.

Fortson still has a lot of fouls now, which affects his playing time, averaging only about 24 minutes per game.

Although it seems that he has grabbed a lot of rebounds, on the whole, the contribution value of deduction of the foul sent by the ball is not high, which can be called tasteless.

Big Ben and Fortson, he is more optimistic about Big Ben now.

That night, the G2 game of the Western Conference Finals started. The Jazz played bravely in black and white, won consecutive victories at home, and gained a big advantage.

But in this game, the Lakers only lost 3 points, and the stalemate came to the end to decide the winner.

After losing this game, the postman who scored 30+ was even happier. After the game, facing the media, he shouted excitedly: "Finals, here we come!"

The media also made speculations about the Western Conference Finals, and it is generally believed that the Lakers will be eliminated.

The next day, on the 22nd, the Eastern Conference Finals G2 battle started.

In this game, Zhao Dong really returned to the low post. He beat Ewing on both ends of the offense and defense, but the Knicks lost the game.

94:90, lost by 4 points.

In the first quarter, Zhao Dong went all out to attack and defended against Ewing's 5-for-1 shooting. The Knicks led by 9 points. If Jordan hadn't fired all his firepower, they would have almost blown up the Bulls in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, Danny Fortson was stimulated by Rodman's trash talk, made repeated fouls, swallowed a technical foul, and sent a lot of ball possessions. The team was affected and was pulled back by 7 points.

In the third quarter, Fortson was completely irritated by Rodman in the 4th minute. He boxed the latter in the face and was sent off directly.

But Fordson's end, in fact, has little impact on the Knicks. Big Ben, Zhao Dong, and Oakley teamed up to still have an advantage in rebounding, and the inside defense has not weakened.

The reason why the Knicks lost was on the outside.

The outside line, whether it is defense or offense, has lost.

In G1, Zhao Dong single-handedly defended against Jordan and failed to defend, but in that game, the Bulls' offense was not concentrated in the hands of Jordan alone.

In the G2 game, because Zhao Dong defended against Ewing, and the inside line prevented the impact of the Bulls' outside line on the paint area, the Bulls were forced to concentrate their shots in Jordan's hands, and the Knicks' outside line couldn't defend against Jordan. , the old Jordan scored 50+, and Cole played brilliantly in the final quarter, making three consecutive three-pointers, the outside line was blown up, and finally lost the game.

The battle between the two teams became a one-to-one tie, followed by the Bulls' three home games.

After this game, the New York media began to bombard Nelson, thinking that he was not as good as last season's rookie Van Gundy.

The New York Times: "Although Van Gundy is good, he has a principle that he can hand over all offenses to the dragons to solve, and even hand over the field command to the dragons, so he won a championship.

The old Nelson would not, he insisted that the inefficient offense from the outside could not be given up, so he lost the G2 game. "

New York Sports News: "Last night, the Flying Dragons were equally efficient. They made 25 of 18 shots, 72% from the field, and scored 41 points with penalties. However, the old Nelson gave too many offensive opportunities from the outside.

Although the outside offensive efficiency of the G2 game has improved a lot compared to the G1 game, reaching a hit rate of 41%, it is far inferior to the efficiency of the flying dragon, which is the most important reason for losing the game. "

New York Business Journal: "The most important reason for the loss is that the old Nelson put the dragon in a low position, which made the dragon lose his most terrifying impact."

Zhao Dong also has his own thoughts about the loss of the game.

The analysis of the New York media is of course nonsense. There is no outside attack at all. If the outside attack is not open, don't all the Bulls players have to pounce on him?
The real reason for the failure was fouls, turnovers and free throws, as well as the absence of Larry Johnson, resulting in insufficient offensive firepower from the bench.

There were too many fouls and turnovers, which wasted the advantage in rebounding. Then, in terms of free throws, the Knicks missed overall last night. They made 29 of 18 free throws, just [-]% of their shots.

The same is true for him himself. He made all 1 free throws in the G13 game, but only 2 of the 9 free throws in the G5 game, which is not standard.

As long as a few more free throws were made last night, this game can be won.

Another problem is passing the ball.

Nelson Sr. stressed to him the importance of passing in double-teams, and he did so last night, taking fewer shots in double-teams but losing the game.

This is not only the coach's problem, but also his problem. The problem of organizing teammates' offense and his own offense has not achieved the best balance.

Billups also has this problem now, and he didn't expect to have such a problem himself.

I remember the last time Lindsay talked with him about whether he had the opportunity to average a triple-double in the regular season. His attitude was not reluctance. If you can play by yourself, you should do it yourself.

But last night, he didn't deal with this problem well. When he was double-teamed, he passed some balls that he could play by himself according to the coach's request.

At noon on the 23rd, the Knicks and Bulls arrived in Chicago one after another.

Rest in the afternoon, and in the evening, the Knicks held a tactical meeting at the hotel.

Old Nelson and the coaching staff had discussed for a long time beforehand and came up with some plans, but Zhao Dong's cooperation was still needed.

In the last game, Zhao Dong was in the low position, and his efficiency was similar to that of G1, but his lethality was less.

Because in the G1 game, he mostly hit the basket directly, and in the G2 game, although he was in the low post, he hit the basket less often, and many of them were low-post jump shots, so the lethality was less.

But this is normal, because without such a long impact distance, his impact power is not enough.

Once he hits the basket in the low position, without a strong impact as a support, and there is not enough space in the low position, he can easily fall into double-teaming.

Even O'Neill's terrifying paint-zone creatures usually rely on hooks and small throws to resolve battles, and Zhao Dong's height is no exception.

If you go to the basket every time to make a strong kill, in the double-team, that kind of physical consumption will be greater than directly hitting the paint from the outside.

Old Nelson said: "For the Flying Dragon game, I am going to let you switch from inside to outside, and strengthen the changes in offensive tactics to make it more difficult for the Bulls to defend."

Zhao Dong said that there is no problem. He plays low post and outside line with the same high efficiency, but each has its own characteristics and advantages.

The outside impact is strong, the lethality is greater, and the organization plays better.

The low damage is slightly smaller and the organizational ability is limited, but it can compress the opponent's defense line and create more opportunities for the outside line. At the same time, it can also avoid the restrictions of the Dragon Law.
Old Nelson said again: "Ewing and Rodman dare not defend your outside attack, and Jordan can't defend against your first step. The advantage is too great. You must make good use of it to kill them. In the G3 game, I You are allowed to take unlimited shots, whether to pass or play by yourself, you can decide for yourself."

"Okay, I understand." Zhao Dong nodded.

"Defensive end..."

The old Nelson continued: "This time we are on the defensive end, the Dragons are facing Ewing, and John Starks is facing Jordan."

When it comes to defense, Van Gundy said at this time: "Feilong, don't look at Ewing being limited by you in the G2 game, he only scored 13 points, but he still has fuel in the tank, so we must guard him strictly.

In addition, you must also strictly guard against the Bulls' outside breakthroughs. You must try to reduce their success rate as much as possible, try to use your mobility to cover more defensive areas, and suppress their outside lines. "

"I understand." Zhao Dong said.

Van Gundy added another sentence and said: "I have observed that Ewing's state is not as good as in the G1 game, and his movement is slower. After all, his knee is no longer good. No matter how hard he stays in the regular season, he won't last long. time."

Speaking of this, he said to Da Ben: "Ben, you must guard the basket well this time, and when grabbing rebounds with Rodman, you must pay attention to the position. In addition, don't be affected by his small moves and trash talk. Once you get pissed off by him, he's far ahead of you in the league, and the penalty will be very bad for you."

"Understood, coach." Big Ben nodded quickly.

At this time, Old Neil looked at Danny Fortson again, and said: "Danny, you must control your fouls. You not only made five fouls in G2, but also made four turnovers. The few balls you grabbed are all gone. Sent it out, it's too bad."

"I remember." Fortson said dejectedly.

Old Nelson shook his head, trained for a season, and even asked Feilong to be a training partner himself, but Fortson's performance in the playoffs was still not good enough, which made him very disappointed.

Speaking of the latter part of the regular season, Fortson has gotten better, but I didn't expect that now in the Eastern Conference finals, he will start to germinate again. Maybe it's the reason for the more intense competition.As long as Fortson performed better last night, the game will not be lost.

After playing two games, he already knows how good he is against the Bulls. Ewing broke out in one game, and he rested last night. The Bulls' strength is not worthy of the title of Super Bull. The Knicks have no hope of reaching the finals. Small.

After the tactical meeting, I went back to the room and watched the G3 game between the Jazz and the Lakers.

In this game, the Jazz played away and finally showed signs of fatigue and were defeated by the Lakers.

When it was almost 11 o'clock, Zhao Dong turned off the lights and went to bed, and then he was always disturbed, and he still didn't fall asleep at one o'clock.

"Snatch snatch..."

Then there was another knock on the door.

"Oh, it's the fifth time, it's over!"

It was Hu Weidong who slept with Zhao Dong, and said angrily at this moment.

"Special!"

Zhao Dong called Grant again and asked him to come over and drive away.

This is the fifth time within two hours that a recruiter girl has come to their door. Not only they, but others have also been harassed. If it wasn't for the Bulls fans colluding with the hotel to arrange it, Zhao Dong would never believe it.

Not long after, Grant with a tired face led two staff members to drive away the girl, and then said to Zhao Dong and the others:
"From now on, I will lead people to guard here, you can rest assured to sleep."

But the sleep clock had already been affected, and Zhao Dong fell asleep in a daze at some unknown time.

"Damn bull!"

Grant led two staff members to drink coffee in the corridor, cursing the bull and yawning.

His current energy is not only focused on the playoffs, but also on the formation of the lineup for next season.

The agents of several people on the team have contacted him, and they want to leave next season. Some are free to leave after the end of the contract, and some hope to leave in a trade.

This is also a common problem of championship teams. People whose contracts have ended hope to go to another team to get a better contract, and people who want to trade and leave hope to find more opportunities in other teams.

One of his goals now is the Bulls.

The Bulls' internal discord and the entire league know that Ewing was traded this season, and Rodman is all veterans. This lineup will not last long. With Jerry Krause's character and ability, the end of the season After that, it is very likely that this team will be dismantled.

His plan is to trade McGrady with Danny Fortson.

Rodman is old, the Bulls must hope to find the next big bug, and Fortson has such potential, this is a good opportunity.

Of course, it would be even better if Kidd could be obtained, but there should be little chance.

When Zhao Dong woke up, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.

Although I slept for several hours, I still yawned after getting up.

The same goes for the other players. During breakfast, they all lost energy and yawned one after another.

The coaching staff discussed it and canceled the afternoon training, allowing the players to continue to rest.

This undoubtedly disrupted the Knicks' work and rest time and training plan, and their mentality was also affected.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, after dinner, the team arrived at the United Center arena.

No fans entered the stadium for the time being, so Nelson led the team to the stadium, and took the time to warm up and recover.

In this game, he had some bad feelings.

"Bang bang bang..."

Sure enough, the players kept shooting and hitting the basket.

It was almost seven o'clock, and when he returned to the locker room, Old Nelson said, "Listen everyone, you have to get close to the basket tonight, don't shoot outside, understand?"

"Understood." Everyone replied.

At this time several media were allowed to enter the interview.

"Zhao Dong, how sure are you of winning G3?" Zhang Lili asked.

"100%."

Zhao Dong replied with a strange expression, without blinking an eye.

"Ha ha……"

The other reporters laughed.

Zhang Lili also shook his head helplessly and laughed. He did ask a nonsense question, because Zhao Dong never had an official answer to such a question.

At 07:30, the fans entered the field.

Lindsay and the Knicks' wives also began to enter the field, including Dayao and Barkley.

At eight o'clock, the first announcement will be made.

Knicks: Ben Wallace, Oakley, Alan Houston, Zhao Dong, John Starks.

Bulls: Ewing, Rodman, McGrady, Jordan, Kidd.

(End of this chapter)