From today on is the king

Chapter 1397 1396. Misunderstanding
The inside rotation of Garnett, Ben Wallace, and Big Z, the defense is so strong that it can stand up and assist in defense.

For the Eagles, Kwame Brown and Marion's inside combination, plus Liu Mang's help defense, Battier on the outside, Tracy McGrady, Rondo, and Granger who play the Bulls' defense seriously, the defense is also very coquettish.

Marion, on the defensive end, is indeed two grades behind Garnett, but his ability to switch defenses is better. He can defend against power forwards and switch to the point guard position. He has better swing ability on the defensive end, and his effect is not as strong as Garnett's.

As the game progressed, the two teams became more and more familiar with each other's offensive tactics, and the defense became more and more disciplined... which made the game... more and more ugly.

In the Eastern Conference, apart from the bottom-ranked tanks and playoff teams with poor offense and defense, the Bulls' game can be said to be the ugliest. Iron-blooded is iron-blooded. If it weren't for Garnett's many fans, the Bulls would probably become a team that David Stern hated just like the Pistons in the original time and space.

Even playing against the Eagles was so ugly, one can imagine how ugly the Bulls' iron-blooded style of play is usually.

The score also continued to drop, because Liu Mang, his teammates, and the coaching staff were all prepared to defend against the Bulls in this game. They studied for a long time and were very active. In addition, the Bulls attacked outside, and the inside line was blocked by Liu Mang, Marion, Kwame Brown and others, which really prevented the Bulls.

The Bulls were also well prepared to defend the Eagles.

At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles were 17 to 15, leading the Bulls by two points...

There was no big change in the second quarter. Jason Terry was replaced from the 8th minute of the first quarter to the 10th minute of the second quarter. He only made two shots and scored 5 points...

刘莽上半场11投4中，只拿到11分5板1助攻3盖帽，老鹰队半场只拿到36分。

The Bulls only scored 37 points in the half, and the highest scorer was Chris Duhon, who came off the bench, with 10 points in the half.

But in the second quarter, the Bulls clearly had the upper hand. After all, the Eagles only played like this occasionally, and the Bulls were the number one defensive team in the new century that restricted their opponents to less than 85 points per game.

In the second quarter, the Bulls scored 22 to 19 in a single quarter, overtaking by one point and entering the intermission.

……

Impeccable!

The Eagles' defense today can be said to have performed exceptionally well, and there is nothing wrong with it on the defensive end.

As for the offensive end... Coach Kruger can only wait if he can't make a shot, and wait for his own players to make the ball.

The Eagles made 41 of 16 shots in the first half, mainly because they missed goals.

When he came back from the intermission, coach Kruger did not continue to send Rondo up. Although he went up, the defense became better, but the offensive end...under the defense of the two teams, Rondo's offensive end seemed worse.

The Eagles sent Blake, Liu Mang, Battier, David Lee, Kwame Brown in the rotation.

For the Bulls, Garnett stayed on the court, Chris Duhon and Sefrosa, who performed well in the first half, stayed on the court, the center position was replaced by Big Z, and the small forward was replaced by the veteran Adrian Griffin.

In the third quarter, the Hawks made the first attack, but Battier missed a three-pointer from the corner.

When it comes to the offense of the Bulls, Liu Mang, Battier, and Kwame Brown are there. Facing the offense of the Bulls with a rotation lineup, the defense is still very strong.

Shane Battier's single defense, Liu Mang's assist defense, and Kwame Brown's defense at the basket have done a good job.

As soon as Garnett came up in the third quarter, when he couldn't play offensive running tactics, he chose to ask for the ball and singled out David Lee, but he missed a turnaround jumper. Kwame Brown overwhelmed Big Z and grabbed a defensive rebound.

Liu Mang received the ball from Kwame Brown and immediately gave it to Blake. After Liu Mang ran to the frontcourt, he went to the high post on the left side of the free throw line and asked for the ball from Sefrosa.

Du Hong saw Liu Mang going to the high position and backed up, and unconsciously started to take a step back, ready to help defend. Garnett, who was near the left baseline, also tended to move to the high position to help defend.

Generally speaking, when a backup point guard encounters a star player asking for the ball, he will definitely pass it on immediately.

But Blake didn't...he calmly looked at the opponent's position, and took advantage of Liu Mang's back movement to attract the opponent's defensive attention, "Lightning Step" started!
Blake goes straight to the hoop and makes a one-step toss from the free throw line...

hit!

Blake, who has no breakthrough ability, used his "slow" breakthrough pace to score two points.

The Bulls did not expect Blake to attack by himself. Whether it was in the Wizards, the Bucks, or the Hawks now, Blake’s scoring is mainly open shots, with almost no breakthroughs, so the Bulls did not pay attention to him. They were all on guard against Kwame Brown’s cut, David Lee might go to Liu Mang’s high pick-and-roll, and Battier’s corner three-pointer. Blake’s breakthrough score was beyond the Bulls’ expectations!

38 to 37, relying on Blake's sudden breakthrough throw, the Eagles went ahead by one point.

This ball... the overtake is second, there is still half the game, and now the overtake by one point does not mean that they can end the game with a one-point lead.

But this ball gave Liu Mang a lot of inspiration!
The human brain has a habit of thinking deeply about things that have been done successfully. For things that cannot be solved, they will be put behind things that are easier to solve.

The last time the Eagles played against the Bulls, they were broken into the Bulls' rhythm, but this time, it was the Eagles who took the initiative to enter the Bulls' rhythm and grind their defense against the Bulls.

Obviously, it was an unwise choice to play defense with the Bulls, and they were gradually suppressed by the Bulls in the second quarter.

Regardless of whether it is Liu Mang or the Eagles coaching staff, after seeing the effect of the defensive end, it is the defensive end that is adjusted. It is really difficult to improve the offensive end in terms of tactics, and can only start with personal ability, so Liu Mang is preparing to use mid-range singles in the third quarter to create opportunities for himself or his teammates.

But in this way, it's no different from the first half. It's because the offensive end can't run, can't play team tactics, and can only grind positional warfare.

However, Blake made a quick shot suddenly, which made Liu Mang feel something different!

This is what Rondo can't give, experience and big heart!
Facing the defense of the Bulls, Rondo didn't dare to shoot, but Blake dared to throw, just like the one in Liu Mang's memory who played the title of "The Flash" against the league's first shooting guard!
When it came time for the Bulls to attack, the big Z held high and made David Lee fouled and went to the free throw line.

Both free throws were scored, and the Bulls overtook the score 39 to 38.

When Big Z made a free throw, Liu Mang immediately asked for the ball from Kwame Brown under the basket.

Kwame Brown quickly backed out and sent the ball to Liu Mang. Liu Mang received the ball at the three-point line and quickly moved towards the frontcourt.

Except for Big Z, the Bulls retreated quickly. When Liu Mang came to the frontcourt, Garnett, Duhon, and Sefolosha were already in place. Sefolosha blocked Liu Mang's way into the three-point line.

At this time, Du Hong and Garnett had already held their positions. Liu Mang's movements changed from fast to slow, and he took the steps of human creeping essence. Garnett avoided being fouled by Liu Mang and concentrated on judging the moment when Liu Mang made a real shot, but Du Hong was a little impatient and jumped up to block the shot!
After Liu Mang took the first step, just as he was about to change direction for the second step, he saw Du Hong jumping up and rubbing against it decisively...

"Ding... Master Pengci is triggered at level 5, and the chance of the host making a foul and the referee whistles a shooting foul has increased significantly..."

"Beep..."

The referee's whistle came together with the system prompt. The referee hesitated whether it was a common foul or a shooting foul. Liu Mang made the foul action temporarily, and there was no clear shooting action in his hand.

But in the end, two free throws were given.

"That's it!" Liu Mang realized that he had fallen into a misunderstanding before!
Liu Mang tried many methods to restrict Garnett, many of which failed, such as fouling. After Garnett was prepared, it was not easy to foul him.

From a technical point of view, Liu Mang feels that Garnett is indeed a very unique talent in NBA history.

Going to Biao team defense with Garnett...Prince couldn't do it before, let alone now.

It's better to stick to your normal style of play. Of course, you have to do your best on the defensive end, but on the offensive end, there is no need to grind the opponent's position.

Indeed, with the Bulls' defense, the Eagles play fast, and the success rate of the offense may not be much higher, but the efficiency of grinding the ground...is just as poor. In this case, it is better to choose the offensive style that their own team is better at.

At least you can't be controlled by the bulls everywhere, and you can't be led by the nose by them!
Before Liu Mang made a free throw, he called his teammates together, gave some instructions, and then walked to the free throw line. He made two free throws, 40 to 39, and the Eagles went ahead by 1 point again.

Liu Mang didn't know whether his idea was correct or not, but he had to try, otherwise facing the Bulls' defense, it would be like entering a dead end, so he had to try.

After Liu Mang made tactical adjustments, the Bulls felt that the Eagles' style of play had changed significantly.

If the Bulls made a shot from mid-to-long range, Liu Mang would immediately counterattack. Kwame Brown and David Lee would fight for the defensive rebound.

Of course, the Bulls were not that easy to deal with. Liu Mang didn't directly score many points by counterattacking, and his scoring efficiency did not improve qualitatively compared to the first half.

but……

At least, the Eagles' offense is following the rhythm they are used to!
If the Eagles were honest and honest, the Bulls would be able to defend easily, but Liu Mang rushed up like this regardless, not to mention the Bulls, Liu Mang himself didn't know what attacking choice he would make until the moment of the final shot, all relying on his on-the-spot reaction.

Not to mention anything else, Liu Mang made a few blind moves like this, and the game looked much better from the scene.

After Blake may have subconsciously made a breakthrough layup, the Eagles made quite positive changes. Coach Kruger also understood this after seeing Liu Mang's counterattack and speeding up brought some different feelings. Afterwards, Rondo, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Terry, who played in rotation, all focused on defending and launching counterattacks.

Although the Bulls' defense was strong, the Eagles' offense was still very average. Liu Mang scored 11 points in the third quarter, while the Eagles only scored 23 points in a single quarter. At the end of the third quarter, they tied with the Bulls at 59. But at the very least... Liu Mang ran and played, threw more throws and counterattacked, and slowly felt better!

……

The game has entered an uncontrollable situation!
Garnett feels the game is out of control!

They did make the Eagles score only 59 points in three quarters, and they defended very well, but from the third quarter, I don’t know when the third quarter started, Garnett felt that he had lost control of the game, and he didn’t have the feeling of being in control in the first half today and when he played against the Eagles last time.

22分8板2助攻4盖帽1抢断。

Liu Mang’s statistics in the three quarters looked impressive, but the Bulls actually defended well. Liu Mang scored 22 points and took a total of 21 shots. He only made 21 of 7 shots. They restricted Liu Mang’s three-pointers very well.

But... Even if the Bulls defended so well, restraining Liu Mang and the rest of the Eagles to only score 37 points in three quarters, the Bulls did not have the feeling of being sure of victory as before.

……

Back from the intermission, the atmosphere of both teams was tense.

It was the critical fourth quarter, the two teams scored equal, and returned to the same starting line, and the final duel was about to begin.

For the Eagles, Liu Mang, Jason Terry, McGrady, Marion, and Kwame Brown played the strongest lineup.

For the Bulls, Hinrich and Luol Deng are back. Nocioni is indeed not as talented as Sefolosha. In the crucial fourth quarter, rookie Sefolosha got a chance to play, and the inside changed back to the super inside defensive combination of Garnett and Ben Wallace.

Liu Mang watched as Hinrich pushed forward, and wiped the sweat from his palms on his trouser legs.

For this sake, if you can't win the last quarter, it will definitely hurt the team's morale very much, but if you win, then you will have stronger confidence when you meet the Bulls in the future!

Quite a feeling of fighting against the water.

Liu Mang glanced behind him from time to time, and sure enough, Garnett had already moved over when Hinrich was approaching the three-point line. There was no need for Hinrich to pick and roll, and Garnett took the initiative to block it.

Liu Mang is ready to switch defenses around Garnett, and Marion is ready to switch defenses against Hinrich's pick-and-roll breakthrough...

Who knew that Hinrich used Liu Mang and Garnett as "gun mounts", and when the pick-and-roll got a step inside the three-point line, he threw it away!

Hinrich hit a long two-pointer, Stockton-style pick-and-roll attack!

(End of this chapter)