Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 88
November 1999, 11, Seattle, Key Arena.

After the warm-up, head coach Paul Westphal is making the final tactical arrangements.

"This Pacers team is strong, and they've improved a lot defensively and offensively since Bird took over as head coach.

Today's game may be difficult, we must be mentally prepared for a tough battle.

We are now No. [-] in the West and No. [-] in the league, but have you all seen what the media is saying?

They are discussing this year's championship, the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers, the Spurs and the Lakers.

But, without us! "

……

That's right, it was another gimmick made by ESPN. They conducted a survey about the ownership of this season's championship.

In this survey, four teams are considered the most likely to win the championship.

These four teams are the Pacers and Knicks in the East, and the Lakers and Spurs in the West.

But for the Sonics, which currently ranks first in the record list, they have been ignored by them.

There was even a reporter from ESPN who threatened that the Sonics' record was only due to good luck, and they would be beaten helplessly when they met a strong team.

This pissed off the Sonics players.

Not just the players, even Paul Westphal, who has always been gentle, was very upset at this time.

"Those bastard reporters, they know how to play basketball with a hammer!"

"That's right, they know a ball, we want to tell everyone who is number one in the league!"

"First the Pacers, then the Lakers, it's time for them to understand who is the boss."

……

Seeing the high morale of a player, Paul Westphal is also very satisfied and confident.

Indeed, in terms of hard power, the Sonics don't look so dazzling, but who can tell?

The Spurs' championship lineup last year is not necessarily better than them, and they have every chance.

In addition to morale, the tactical arrangement that should be carried out is also indispensable. Paul Westphal has made careful preparations.

"By the way, Wang, you have to be careful with that guy!"

Before the game, Gary Payton did not forget to pull Wang Hao to remind him to be careful of his opponents in the game.

Besides Reggie Miller, who else can play against Wang Hao?
The play styles of the two are actually somewhat similar, but Reggie Miller is the core play style, while Wang Hao is better at defense.

Reggie Miller wasn't known for his defense when he was younger, let alone now that he's older.

"Reggie Miller? I know, in fact, I have specially studied him to play, I am very familiar with him!"

"That's not what I'm talking about. This guy is not a good guy. He likes to talk trash. Don't be irritated by him."

Hearing this, Wang Hao was dumbfounded, and looked at Gary Payton in disbelief, are you serious?
It may be that you will suffer a disadvantage when you first enter the league. Are you embarrassed to accuse others of talking trash?
Seeing Wang Hao's questioning eyes, Gary Payton immediately recalled it, and said with some embarrassment.

"You know my trash talk is actually a tactic!"

Co-authored, this tactic is only allowed to be used by you, and no one else is allowed to use it?

However, Wang Hao doesn't have a good impression of trash talk, mainly because most trash talk can't get on the table.

Those like Reggie Miller are okay, but they just talk badly, like Garnett, they are just not on the stage.

If you really want to talk trash, you have to look at the big bird. Their trash talk is no longer trash talk, but has reached a new level, pretentious talk!

He's more interested in Bird than Reggie Miller.

It's a pity that there is no trash talking function in the learning system, otherwise I have to learn from Larry Bird.

"Di!"

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially began.

For the Sonics, it is still a regular lineup, with Gary Payton and Brent Barry partnering in the backcourt.

The center is Wen Baker, and the forward partners are Wang Hao and Horace Grant.

As for the Indiana Pacers, the starting core is naturally the two forwards and guards, Reggie Miller and Jaylen Rose.

The starter is the assist king Mark Jackson, and the inside is partnered by Rick Schmitz and Dale Davis.

Here I have to talk about Rick Schmitz, a Dutch big center with a height of 224 cm.

This person's body shape is somewhat similar to Yao Ming's, but the difference is that this person's attendance rate is very high.

Throughout his career, except after he turned 30, he missed part of the game due to injuries.

In addition, throughout his career, his attendance rate is very high, basically more than 70 games.

why?Because he didn't gain excess weight.

After Yao Ming entered the NBA, his weight increased from 130 kg to over 150 kg.

This weight has brought him more inside dominance, as well as injuries.

Closer to home, as soon as the game started, the Sonics quickly took control of the situation, and the Pacers were not in a good state.

In the case of winning the jump ball, he made a mistake as soon as he came up, and Mark Jackson's pass was intercepted by Gary Payton.

Facing the tall Rick Schmitz, Wen Baker retreated to the middle distance and hit a jumper.

Looking back, Jaylen Rose missed a breakthrough layup, but was returned by Brent Barry with a three-pointer.

Just after 3 minutes and 16 seconds, the SuperSonics have already led 8:2, and the point difference is rapidly widening.

Because this is the fourth game of the Pacers' five consecutive road trips, they are already very tired.

Moreover, the average age of the Pacers' starters is even considered to be among the top in the league.

Except for Jaylen Rose, who is in his prime, among the other four, the youngest Dale Davis is also 31 years old.

For such a team, in the continuous away trip, the biggest challenge is not the opponent, but the physical fitness.

Seeing that the point difference is being widened, Reggie Miller is obviously a little anxious, he is not a person who obeys the old.

He doesn't bother to say that he can't beat his opponent, and then attribute the reason to physical fitness and age.

I saw him running relentlessly, covering various pick-and-rolls with his teammates, and then running back and forth non-stop.

Unfortunately, facing Wang Hao, he was still somewhat powerless.

It seemed that no matter how he ran or what position he used, the guy behind him could always keep up.

It's very simple. After all, Wang Hao also eats this bowl of rice, so he is naturally very familiar with running positions.

What's more, boxing is afraid of being young, and Reggie Miller is already old now, so there is no shifting speed and sudden stop and start back then.

Moreover, the rest of the Pacers are in mediocre form today, so Wang Hao doesn't need to be distracted to defend, but keeps an eye on Reggie Miller.

"Oh, damn it, boy, do you have to follow me to eat exhaust gas?"

"Little rookie, can you still keep up? Be careful that you will lie on the ground and not be able to move."

"Hey rookie, need me to slow down?"

……

After all, he is someone who has been tortured by Gary Payton. To Wang Hao, this level of trash talk is really nothing.

"Hey, Reggie, I think you should at least score a goal before you say that."

(End of this chapter)