From today on is the king

Chapter 208 207. The most difficult rhythm competition

"System, look at Billups' ability value."

"Ding... Chauncey Billups, ability value 71, three-pointer 73, mid-range shot 67, layup 71, speed 86, strength 82...Discovered totem skills: perseverance. Traits: wandering."

"Yizhong: Many years of wandering life have made him develop a tenacious quality. No matter what crisis arises, he will not give up in the face of any powerful opponent. His tough character makes him have the ability to control the field like a coach. The calm and calm ability to control the field can resist all strong opponents, and the feel of the game is greatly improved at critical moments."

"Displacement: good at spotting loopholes on the field, often making different ball-handling behaviors than coaches and leading stars want, but his own ability is not outstanding. His excellent field-control ability makes every team want him, but he has to give up because it is difficult to control. If there is no suitable team, he will eventually be traded and his career will be displaced."

Billups actually has the field control ability that can compete with Garnett's double buff!
Although the overall attributes are not high, maybe he hasn't reached the peak yet, and he will be prompted directly during the peak period, but even if the current Billups is placed in the hands of the three old monsters Popovich, Pat Riley, and Larry Bird, good guy...can he control Iverson?

But for Billups now, Liu Mang is not false, especially Billups' calm field control ability is offset by Garnett's aggressive and expensive indiscriminate attack buff.

That is to fight for strength!

Liu Mang also has an ability value of 70 to trigger the bench gangsters, which is about the same as Billups. Moreover, Billups' personal offensive ability is indeed still in a normal state, and Liu Mang's pressure is much less.

It's not just Liu Mang. When the Timberwolves' ball-handling player became Billups, everyone in the Eagles felt less pressure, and their fighting spirit suddenly recovered.

Billups has a strong body. He may not have explosive power, but he is strong. He pressed on Liu Mang and wanted to use his body to push forward.

Liu Mang, on the other hand, retreated directly, but refused to make any physical contact.

Who doesn't know your unbeatable name?

Before he developed a decent shot in the summer of 03, Billups was good at scoring fouls. In the 02-03 Eastern Conference finals, the Nets swept the Pistons 4-0. Billups became Kidd's defensive master. In four games, Billups was defended by Kidd with a shooting percentage of 20.00%. In the fourth game, Billups was directly defended to 8 of 1 in the half. .

Don't follow the rules!This is the first time that Billups has encountered someone who is so decisive in his defensive choices. At least he has to see if his opponent's shots are accurate today!

Billups backed out of the three-point line, and if he was open to shoot, his free throw line distance and three-pointers were the most accurate. At this time, Liu Mang immediately posted back.

Billups advances, Liu Mang retreats, Billups retreats, Liu Mang sticks close, Billups really doesn't know how to play this ball!
The positions of his teammates were also different from what he thought. None of Garnett, Szczerbiak, and Joe Smith was under the basket, and they stood still at their respective shooting spots.

And Raheem, Ratliff, and Muhammad huddled on the edge of the three-second zone and were ready to grab rebounds. They were not afraid of the Timberwolves' frontcourt three-shooter who had been beeping in the first half of the quarter.

At this time, Garnett saw that the time was good, and he reached out for the ball and wanted to make a breakthrough, but Billups felt that he should make an outside shot at this time to let the opponent's defense expand.

Billups is the kind who does it on his own. What he needs is a team that trusts him completely. This time, his forward pressing action tricked Liu Mang into taking a step back, then retracted his feet, and shot a three-pointer!
Great selection, but no entry!
When Liu Mang saw the arc of Billups' shot, he knew that the ball was crooked!Rush straight to the field!Sure enough, Muhammad grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately made a long pass.

After rushing to the opponent's basket, Liu Mang suddenly found that Garnett had already caught up!

The long-legged monster!
Billups also returned to the defense quickly, following behind Garnett, Liu Mang returned the top arc, even if Garnett was shaken away at this time, Billups followed behind.

Jason Terry, who followed up, finally got a perfect shot and hit a three-pointer!
15 to 9!The Eagles opened the point difference to more than 5 points!
"This rookie! It's more troublesome than that bastard Kobe said!" Garnett seemed to have a hot temper, but in fact he was extremely calm inside. Everything was done just to annoy his opponent. In fact, it was extremely difficult to see him actually fighting with his opponent!Every time he provoked the opponent to make a move, and provoked the opponent to be sent off by the referee.

Immediate results!Liu Mang had an immediate effect when he came up, which made Garnett think of a legendary sixth man of the Celtics——Bill Wharton!

The historical geographer who can open up the situation for the team when he comes up.

The Timberwolves attacked, Billups advanced, and Garnett once again came to the three-point line to ask for the ball.

Garnett couldn't understand one thing. When Billups led the second team alone, he was pretty good. He was quite accurate when he was about to shoot the ball, but when the two of them played together on the court, they felt uncomfortable.

Billups' stability and Garnett's aggressiveness don't go together at all!

Garnett held the ball, and the others stagnated again. Billups couldn't play without the ball in his hand, and the others didn't have the ability to attack independently. Because Garnett's outside shooting performance was not so good in the first half, Muhammad shrank in. Garnett chose to force again!

Muhammad retreated continuously and defended the basket with Ratliff. Garnett rushed to the free throw line and wanted to stop for a jumper. Raheem flew over to block the shot!Muhammad moved to the passing route of Garnett and Szczerbiak in due course. Garnett could only pass to Joe Smith, and Joe Smith made a mid-range shot!
Still miss!

"Back to defense!"

Garnett let out a loud roar, and the Timberwolves' defense efficiency improved significantly. Raheem grabbed the rebound and threw it to Liu Mang. When Liu Mang pushed forward to counterattack, the opponent had already retreated back simultaneously.

Drop position?Hit the link?

Liu Mang made a decision in an instant and moved forward quickly!
After Level [-] of Ball Control Master, Liu Mang felt that the speed of advancement was a little faster, closer to his speed when running without the ball. The Eagles as a whole played according to Liu Mang's rhythm, and Jason Terry followed suit.

Liu Mang rushed to the frontcourt, Billups came up to block Liu Mang, Liu Mang dribbled the ball across his crotch, Billups was swayed away, Liu Mang rushed inside, and turned his head to look at Jason Terry.

This glance deceived Garnett, who was supposed to help defend, especially when Liu Mang ran past the free throw line on the right side of the basket and jumped up to collect the ball. Garnett ran to the top arc to prevent Jason Terry from receiving the ball.

With Joe Smith at the basket and Billups behind him, Garnett is still very confident in the defense of Billups and Joe Smith in terms of Liu Mang's layup ability.

At this moment, Liu Mang threw the ball collected by his right hand towards the basket!

At this time, Liu Mang's right leg was still moving forward. This basically did not conform to ergonomic shooting movements, and the Timberwolves never expected it!

"Boom... Shua"

Liu Mang hit the board with a close-range throw!
"Huh...it's dangerous."

Liu Mang felt that this ball was a bit lucky. Although he had the skills and the movements were smooth, the accuracy still needed training. He didn't really want to hit the board just now... But this gave him a direction. Generally speaking, the hit rate of practicing layups is relatively higher than that of direct layups!
The Timberwolves called a timeout!

The wrinkles on Coach Flip Saunders' face are almost chrysanthemums.

The whole team feels really bad today!

In other words, since January, the Timberwolves have been in a mediocre state. Looking at the record alone, they are almost the same as the Supersonics. The key is that they directly lost to the Supersonics.

Coach Sanders is a good coach. He is very good at cultivating rookies and using instant combat power. Garnett was trained by him. The future Pistons will reach the Eastern Conference Finals for six consecutive years.

The current lineup of the Timberwolves is indeed unsatisfactory. Szczerbiak can't dribble and run in the second position, and he doesn't have enough impact in the third position. It can be seen from the fact that his average score of 5 or [-] points per game is only [-] points and a few free throws. Billups' free throws are close to [-].

Szczerbiak is basically the role of receiving Garnett's double-teamed pass and shooting. Of course, his shooting percentage close to 180 clubs is perfect except for free throws. He needs to do more, such as strong play to open the situation... He can't even play strong with Jason Terry.

And Joe Smith, Coach Saunders doesn't understand the management's thinking, just because of this guy, the 5-year draft pick is gone?
No inside singles, poor rebounding. As a center, he averaged only 30 rebounds in nearly 6 minutes per game. He didn't even get stuck, and he didn't pass the ball. The highest number of assists in a year was 1.6.Only the defense is okay, but it is equivalent to a weakened version of Garnett, who is good at supplementary defense rather than defense at the basket.

"Kevin, Chauncey, slow down your speed, Mark, replace Joe, pay attention to the position, Anthony and Wally, you must be decisive in catching and shooting, don't hesitate just because you can't make a shot, and shoot quickly if you have a chance!" Coach Sanders can only do this, and a smart woman can't cook without rice!Although there will be one less Pistons in the future, there are still four at least. If you can't defend well, you can balance offense and defense. The Timberwolves are really useless!There are only three ball-holding points, and one is still discussing retirement with the management.

I can only slow down!Although Garnett's fast-paced offensive and defensive conversion ability will be lost due to this, the Eagles cannot be allowed to run. The Eagles' cavalry tactics have made all opponents in the league feel the rise of a new force.

For the Eagles, coach Kruger is getting more and more experienced now, and he knows that the opponent should slow down. If possible, he would like to slow down the pace and catch the opponent by surprise, but Ratliff should rest, and the team does not have any other big centers with the ability to defend the basket, so there is no way to play as they want.

Sometimes it's really not all the coach's problem, it's just that the team lineup is not enough, otherwise it can go further.

After returning from the timeout, the two teams began to compete in rhythm.

The Hawks replaced Ratliff with Newbell.

The Timberwolves sent Billups, Peeler, Szczerbiak, Garnett, and Mark Jackson.

The Eagles wanted to speed up, but the Timberwolves pressed the rhythm and fell into a state of anxiety.

Both teams played resolutely. The Timberwolves shot resolutely and retreated resolutely.

Mark Jackson, a 1997-meter big center, is tall, but has good physical fitness. He was a second-round rookie in 2000 and entered the NBA in [-]. He was at his peak with fast speed and good positioning. He was mainly tough, not as soft as Joe Smith.

The success rate of the two teams in the first quarter was not high. The Timberwolves shot decisively from the outside but the shooting rate was not good.

After the first quarter, the Eagles led 23 to 15 by 8 points.

Throughout the first half, the two teams competed for rhythm, and at the same time, there was still an aura competition within the Timberwolves' own team, so the Eagles maintained their advantage until the end of the first half.

Sometimes it is enough for a team to have one player who can control the rhythm. If there are two or more, if it is not a good fit, such as Billups plus Ben Wallace, or James plus Wade, Rondo plus Garnett, Nash plus Stoudemire, then it is similar to Nash plus Howard.

After halftime, the Eagles led 44 to 38 by 6 points.

……

……

The head coaches of both teams are having headaches, and the players are also having headaches.

On the Timberwolves side, the opponent insisted on speeding up, and they themselves had to slow down.

For the Eagles, the opponent slowed down very much, and they had to speed up on their own side.

This kind of rhythm competition consumes a lot of physical energy for the players, compared to running up and fighting, or simply landing on the ground, because the rhythms on the offensive and defensive ends are completely different.

The Timberwolves play very slowly on offense, and they have to run again when defending. The Eagles have to grind with each other when defending, and then immediately switch offense and defense.

After halftime, I was more tired than usual after three quarters!

The coach is still just a headache. How to solve the problem that he can't open the point difference and is caught by the opponent, or the opponent can't open the point difference. He seems to have a chance but can't catch up.

The players are even more miserable. The coach just moves his mouth, and he has to fight with his life.

This is an opponent of comparable strength, and the fight is very tiring!

Finally, the coaches of both teams figured it out.

Isn't it just a regular season, just play according to your own style!

Coach Sanders made a decision here, and he also saw that Billups and Garnett didn't get along very well. Although they both accommodated each other on the court, it hurt the team even more.

"Kevin, you take control, Chauncey, you rest first." Yes, Coach Sanders made a big move!Garnett playing point guard!

Billups felt a crit!Shouldn't this anxious situation be that the main players went up to fight together, but they were put on the bench by themselves, a feeling that I have often felt for many years came again...

……

For the Eagles, compared to coach Sanders' choice problem, coach Kruger's problem is actually relatively easy, which is nothing more than the choice of landing position and playing fast break.

The fact that Ratliff can only play 289 minutes a game is the key, and nothing else matters.

"Ace, we want to play position, you go up and play the pick-and-roll! Of course, you think it's okay if you want to play a counterattack." Coach Kruger made a simple decision after he figured it out.

Liu Mang looked at the increasingly unscrupulous coach and nodded heavily.

(End of this chapter)