I'm not really a brutalist striker

Chapter 178 178. Although the situation on the field seems unfavorable, in fact, it is really unfavorable...

Knicks center Dikembe Mutombo won the first wave of offensive ball after the opening with a light jump.

Rasheed Wallace has good jumping ability and wingspan, but according to the requirements of the coaching staff, the Eagles gave up the jump ball tactically today, so Wallace simply didn't take off.

Stephen Marbury took the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Alan Houston, the "king of mid-range shots" on the right side. Jackson stepped forward to defend himself one step away from the three-point line, and did not give Houston any easy shots. Opportunity.

This season, Alan Houston averaged 18.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, shooting 43.5% from the field, 43.1% from three-pointers, and 91.3% from free throws, ranking fifth in the league.

The mid-range shot is Alan Houston's offensive killer. The reason why Mike Woodson asked Jackson to match him is to limit Houston's shooting.

Houston squeezed Jackson with his back twice but failed to squeeze away, full of surprise in his heart.His physical core strength is very good, otherwise he would not be able to deliver a true shooting percentage of 53.9% while relying mainly on shooting.

It's a pity that Stephen Jackson's physical condition is definitely the best among the swingmen. Both speed and height are very balanced. Except for the occasional brain failure, Jackson has all the conditions to become a star player.

Alan Houston was born at the University of Tennessee. He has played in the league for 11 seasons. His shooting skills and foul-making ability are very sophisticated, and his basic skills are definitely strong enough.His biggest advantage is creating dislocations. He can pass the inside with speed and shoot with the ball in rhythm. Few people can completely lock Alan Houston.

His official height is 1.9 meters eight, and his weight is 91 kilograms. This season's weight has reached 95 kilograms.However, Stephen Jackson's lower body strength is very good, and his waist and horse are integrated, so it is not so easy to be squeezed away.

Jackson also has the defensive skills taught by Suter. While trying to lower the center of gravity of the body as much as possible, he raises his elbows to support the opponent's midfielder.This can make it difficult for the opponent to exert force, and you can get more opportunities to respond.

Alan Houston forcibly turned to the left and failed to get rid of the defense, and finally chose a fadeaway jumper near the free throw line.Jackson took off at the right time to block the shot, which seriously interfered with the shot, and the rebound was picked off by Suter, who had an amazing bounce speed.

In the Eagles battle, Suter first went to the left to pick and roll with Nash in the high position, observed the position on the field after an air cut, and then used the cover to instantly run back up the line.Rasheed Wallace blocked Thomas with an off-ball screen, and the opportunity came out in an instant.

This set of tactics is played very skillfully by the Eagles players. They have to run many times in each game. It is almost transparent in the eyes of opponents, but it can always produce unexpected results in actual combat.

After receiving the ball, Suter can get a singles opportunity to create a dislocation even if he doesn't shoot directly, which can be said to be tried and tested.Such a simple tactic will be used with other teams, but it is difficult to be as powerful as the Eagles, because not every player in charge of running is named Souter.

Kurt-Thomas' proud and stout body will become a weakness when defending against Suter's off-ball movement, and it is easy to be blocked by off-ball screens.After Souter got rid of it, he received a pass from Steve Nash at 55 degrees on the right side, and made a mid-range jumper in one go.

Ever since he got the Golden Rooster Independence equipped with Nuo Tianwang, Suter likes to use the backward movement when shooting, because it is not only difficult to be blocked by the opponent, but also can increase the shooting efficiency.

From receiving the ball to shooting, Suter didn't even take a second, and his speed was absolutely top in the league.Kurt Thomas was blocked, and the 36-year-old Uncle Mu didn't react in time enough to switch to Suter in the first place.

With no defense in front of him, Suter shot as easily as training, and watched the ball hollow into the net, "shua", 2:0.

Suter yelled while pulling his jersey, trying to make himself look more ferocious.

The Knicks attack, Marbury and Mutombo play a pick-and-roll in the middle, attracting Nash to chase after the defense and then pass the ball to Mutombo who cut in the middle.

The latter took advantage of his height of [-] meters to hit high, and entered the penalty area three steps slower and missed a shot with both hands.Rasheed Wallace struggled to get stuck, and Suter jumped out from the side to protect the backcourt rebound.

Although the two are much shorter than Mutombo, their reaction speed and cooperation have the upper hand.

Dikembe Mutombo gave him the nickname "African Mountain", and he was a very famous defensive center in the 90s.In the highest season, he averaged 4.5 blocks per game. He was elected as the block leader three times in his career, became the best defensive player four times, and was selected to the best defensive team six times.The No. 55 jersey in the parallel world was retired by both the Nuggets and the Eagles at the same time, enjoying the highest courtesy.

As the name suggests, his height of [-] meters is indeed like a mountain in the restricted area.The key point is that his lateral movement speed far exceeds that of a player of this height. Except for some weakness in strength, Mutombo at his peak has almost no flaws on the defensive end.

What is this concept?In the future, there will be only one player in the NBA who is taller than [-] meters and has excellent lateral speed, and that is the three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert.

Both of them are the kind of defensive wizards with height and long arms, quick lateral movement, and a weight fluctuating around 110 kilograms.It's hard to say which of Gobert and Mutombo has the better defensive ability. After all, one of them is in the era of small balls and the other is in the era of giants. The defensive rhythms they face are completely different, and it would be unfair to put them together. .

In the era of small balls, the most important tests for center forwards are speed and reaction. In the era of giants, the most important tests for center forwards are single-handed defense and strength.Therefore, the "African Mountain" Mutombo is unfortunate, because he met the pinnacle O'Neal who swept all the centers in the league, and was once beaten to collapse by his opponent in the finals of the 00-01 season.

This season, the Knicks have high hopes for Mutombo's signing, hoping that Uncle Mu can support the Knicks' defense of the penalty area.As a result, the elderly Mutombo only averaged 5.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in the regular season.

Fortunately, Dikembe Mutombo, who entered the playoffs, ushered in an explosion. He played a good personal performance in the first round of the series, limiting the efficiency of the "Brutalist No. [-]" Kenyon Martin to extremely low.Otherwise, it would not be easy for the Knicks to upset and eliminate the Nets.

However, it is not difficult to prevent Mutombo's offense, just need to block the position to keep him away from the basket.Uncle Mu's offensive methods are relatively simple, and he has no shooting range. He has never been an outstanding offensive insider in his career, and the average number of shots per game is less than 8 times.

In the Eagles battle, Sutera held the ball beyond the three-point line. This time Thomas chased desperately behind him, bypassing the screen and followed closely behind, leaving no room for Suter to make an easy shot.

Suter raised the ball with both hands and feigned it, and Kurt Thomas raised his toes along the shooting motion.Suter held the ball in his left hand and made a breakthrough in the opposite direction. He stopped and shot a jumper one step away from the three-point line. 4:0.

"Roar!"

Su Te clenched his fists and let out a roar, even the saliva on the braces began to draw.That look looked very iron-blooded, and those who didn't know thought Suter had just completed a windmill dunk.

His current mid-range shooting percentage is very stable, and he has even been able to achieve the same offensive efficiency in actual games and training games.In addition to the help of badges and equipment, all of this is also inseparable from Suter's private sweat.

This time Mutombo reached out to interfere with the defense, but it didn't help.Suter's explosive speed was so fast that Uncle Mu had no time to react. He could only watch Suter make a jump shot from the mid-range position with his own eyes.

In the opening two rounds, Suter felt that the two-tower lineup sent by the Knicks was purely funny.The two didn't cooperate at all on the defensive end, and they were easily thrown away when facing off-ball screens.

They are only good at defending the penalty area, and the defensive effect outside the penalty area is indeed relatively average.

Perhaps this has something to do with Kurt Thomas seldom starting games this season, and he is not used to being on the court with Mutombo at the same time, but in any case, Suter has not felt any offensive pressure so far.

The Knicks attacked, and both insiders pulled out to provide off-ball screens for their teammates. Wallace and Nash double-teamed Marbury, who was holding the ball and broke through, and emptied center Mutombo.

Mutombo received a pass from the left side, but he didn't dare to make a shot when there was an open opportunity. He took the ball and rushed to the basket and was blocked by Wallace who returned to the defense.Mutombo, who felt that he was underestimated, did not pass the ball, but chose to take the ball hard, holding it high and drawing a defensive foul by Rasheed Wallace.

Mutombo was sent to the free throw line, aimed at the basket very seriously, and finally helped the Knicks win the first point of the game with the efficiency of two free throws, 4:1.

Mutombo's free throw technique is not too bad, as high as 72.4% last season, but only 65.7% this season.

The Eagles' offense is still a commonly used anti-running tactic, trying to create a comfortable singles space for Suter.When going around the screen, Thomas pushed directly in order not to follow Diusut, but the sideline referee did not whistle and acquiesced to Thomas' action.

Suter took the ball to the left and changed direction to break through, attracting Shandon Anderson to help defend, and he passed the ball to Jackson in the gap.In this way, Jackson does not need to cut to the basket to challenge Mutombo's defensive height, and directly hits the board at a 45-degree mid-range on the right. 6:1.

The Knicks were attacking, and this time the star Marbury finally stopped passing the ball. Seeing his teammates' hand-handicapped operations, Marbury directly chose to force Nash this time.

Relying on Mutombo's off-ball screen, Marbury did not go straight to the basket after the lateral move, but made a three-pointer from outside the right three-point line. "Shua", 6:4.

Rasheed Wallace didn't help out, Mike Woodson arranged for him to mainly defend near the penalty area, and the outside help defense should not chase too deep.After all, the opponent's two insiders have obvious height advantages. If Wallace and Suter both help defend, it will be difficult to defend the penalty area.

In this day and age, almost all coaches like to arrange for players to hit the ball to the basket, even better than the "thousand wins coach" Wilkens is no exception.Woodson must arrange the defense near the penalty area, even if the Knicks hit a few three-pointers.

In the Eagles battle, Suter changed his running route, first pretending to move beyond the left three-point line, but in the middle of the run, he suddenly turned around and slipped to the bottom line, relying on speed and flexibility to get rid of Kurt Thomas' personal defense behind him .

Not long after the game, Thomas felt uncomfortable. His speed is not too slow among the inside players, but today he was thrown by Suter several times in a row. Whether it was changing direction or turning around, Thomas couldn't keep up. his speed.

Seeing Souter "whoosh" from his side, he hurriedly turned to chase, but was blocked by Rasheed Wallace who was behind him without the ball.With the addition of Stephen Jackson, two players stood directly on the strong side to get rid of the defense for Suter. Suter got through the gap between the two, and Rasheed Wallace immediately moved laterally to block the chasing route. Jackson staged a wave of "closed doors."

Nash scored the ball to the bottom corner, Suter caught the ball and threw it, Mutombo didn't switch out, and was standing in the penalty area and staring.

In this offensive round, he shot easily again. When Kurt Thomas, who was blocked twice in a row, chased him out, he only had time to stretch out his hand, which did not interfere with Suter's three-point shot. "Shua", 9:4.

Suter's performance made Kurt Thomas feel jealous when he saw it. He was obviously not drafted high, but he was able to get strong support from the team in his rookie season.

And judging from the offensive focus of this game, the entire Eagles are building offensive tactics around Souter alone.In other words, the other four players on the Hawks field are all serving him.Whether it's passing or covering, Suter is the most shining presence on the field.

This huge status contrast made Kurt Thomas, who had long been dissatisfied with star star Stephon Marbury, eat a ton of lemons.This is the first time I feel that people are really incomparable, this damn talent gap!
Knicks coach Wilkens did not ask for a timeout. He sat off the court with his arms crossed and his chest looked very calm.

Outsiders would never have guessed that the stable man in front of him was panicking at the moment. It wasn't that Wilkens didn't want to suspend the game, but that after the suspension, he didn't know how to adjust his defense at all.

Cheering for the players?Scold the players severely?Maybe there will be some effect, but Wilkens doesn't want his exasperated side to be recorded by the media, especially when his opponent is his old club, the Atlanta Hawks.

The score can fall behind, but elegance never goes out of style.

As one of the few "thousand-win coaches" in NBA history, Wilkens has played too many tough battles and headwind games in his coaching career.

Although the situation on the field seems to be unfavorable to the Knicks, in fact, it is really unfavorable to the Knicks...

Wilkens' coaching ability can only be regarded as mediocre, and his ability to become the respected Qiansheng coach is largely due to the bonus of the first batch of coaches in the league.

His tactical thinking and selection of personnel are relatively fixed, and he hardly reacts on the spot.Now that he is getting older, Wilkens is even more unwilling to let go of his own tactical theory. He never learns new tactics. Instead, he learned the set of pretend-force moves from "Zen Master" Jackson.

He performed very well as a player. Only the last season of his 15-year career did not average double figures in points per game.In his peak season, he averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists per game, and his glory as a player also promoted his opportunities in the coaching field.

What really made him one of the top ten coaches in the NBA was leading the American Dream Team to win the Atlanta Olympic Championship in 1996.It sounds like there is no difficulty, but it was from that year that Wilkens completely established his status as one of the top ten basketball coaches.

And then... this guy became a very bad basketball coach. In the later part of his career, after the Eagles and the Raptors, and the Raptors and the Knicks, he had the second highest salary of an active coach. do it!

In addition to pretending to be forceful, it is pretending to be forceful, regardless of winning or losing the game for the sake of face.

In addition to the frontal pick-and-roll, his main tactic is that the players open up free singles.It was enough to meet a few good stars in that barbaric era, but as the rhythm of basketball developed faster and faster, and the tactical tricks became more and more, Suter felt that this guy is now eating his laurels.

In addition to his personal prestige, which can indeed deter his players, Wilkens' current coaching ability may not be able to suppress rookie head coach Mike Woodson, even if the salary difference between the two is ten times .

(End of this chapter)