the great gatsby

Chapter 124 The Perfect Executioner!
The Magic have been strong in recent years, but Gatsby has no fear, because there are flaws in this Magic team.

Stan Van Gundy followed Pat Riley's defensive philosophy of the year: press to the death, shrink the space, and press the press.

This kind of defense is very strong. If it is some opponents with poor shooting, facing such a defensive strategy, it is very likely to kneel!
But facing a team with three-point accuracy, Riley's defensive system has a loophole:
——In 1994, the New York Knicks coached by Pat Riley were defeated by the Houston Rockets 4:3. That Knicks had gorillas Ewing, Oakley, Starks, Charles Smith, Harper, Mason and others strong team.

The Knicks, built by Pat Riley, had the toughest defense in the league, but they were beaten against the Rockets.

The reason is that the Rockets not only have the super center Olajuwon, but the key is that the Rockets have three-point shooters such as Robert Hawley, Kenny Smith and Sam Russell.

With these three shooters, the Rockets' space was stretched open, and Olajuwon was able to use his dreamy footsteps to win seven games with Jwing.

——Then the Miami Heat faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Big Three gathered on the Heat and became so aggressive that they almost became the public enemy of the league. However, when they met the Mavericks shooters led by Nowitzki in the finals, the Heat's tactics forced the ball carrier from the outside. It was deciphered and achieved the great reputation of King Nuotian.

The Magic seem to be strong, but their inside defense relies too much on Howard. Even Lewis, the nominal power forward, is actually not very useful. Lewis not only cannot restrain the center in the low post, but also the opposing power forward. Strikers can't defend one-on-one.

The weakness of the Magic's inside line shows Howard's strength even more. He is alone in supporting the Magic's inside defense.

For Gatsby, it doesn't matter how great Howard is, all he has to do is to magnify the flaws of the Magic!

Isn't your World of Warcraft invincible under the basket?

—Then please come outside!

Aren't you good at grabbing boards and blocking shots under the basket?
——Please come outside!
Gatsby dribbled the ball past half-court, waved David Lee up to the three-point line and started the pick-and-roll in two steps. Howard was a bit on edge, should he go up or not?
Don't go, Gatsby just voted, go, or get passed, or the inside line is empty, what should I do?
Gatsby saw Howard's hesitation, so he pulled up and shot a three-pointer, and the three-pointer was returned!

Gatsby's second three!
The score is 8:6!

Howard looked at Stan Van Gundy at a loss to see what the coach had planned. Van Gundy frowned. Facing a ball-holding three-point shooter like Gatsby, it was really difficult for the Magic to make a choice.

But Van Gundy is a famous coach after all, and he quickly made a choice-the big delay!
The Magic has no way to limit the Knicks on defense, but on the offensive side, Howard has no way to limit the Knicks. Howard catches the ball in the low post, and the Knicks can only attack in the low post. Howard gives the ball to Lewis who is emptied for a three-pointer. Lewis A three-point shot hit!

The score is 8:9!

Gatsby is a very pragmatic person. Since there is no way to limit his high pick-and-roll Magic, he will keep playing until the Magic take the initiative to make changes.

This time the Magic did make a change. David Lee went up for the pick-and-roll, and Howard went straight to Gatsby. David Lee, who was running down, faced Lewis who was coming to help defend, and raised Lewis with a feint, turned around and gently put the ball into the frame.

The score is 10:9!

Van Gundy frowned. Gatsby played four rounds of high pick-and-rolls in a row. The Magic didn't defend any of them. They sent two three-pointers and two assists. This was Gatsby's high pick-and-roll tactics. drill!

Compared with Van Gundy's distress, D'Antoni was elated. It was normal for him to be unable to guard Howard. D'Antoni did not expect David Lee to limit Howard. If David Lee could limit Howard, then he would be the top insider in the league.

——That's right, because David Lee's offense is already very good. If you add defensive ability, there should be no problem at the top.

What makes him happy is Gatsby's radiance. When it comes to who is the most promiscuous coach in the league, Nelson claims to be second. I'm afraid no one dares to claim that... No, I, D'Antoni, don't accept it!

D'Antoni's coaching style can be glimpsed with some keywords or tags:
--speed;

- short rotation;

——V word drop;
- pick-and-roll burst;
——Space attack;

- believers in dynamic offense;

- Unlimited trust in a single ball holder;

See, Gatsby's offensive combing faithfully executed D'Antoni's space-based offense, pick-and-roll breakthroughs, and his infinite trust in a single ball holder. A super ball handler who fully executes his tactical philosophy!
He sat on the seat with a smile, folded his arms, and leaned on the chair relaxedly. If he didn't look at the scoreboard, he would have thought that the Knicks had already led by 20 points.

The game between the Magic and the Knicks turned into a head-to-head battle.

The Knicks couldn't limit Howard's turbulence in the paint, so they were flanked, which caused the Magic's outside shooters to be activated and open wide;

The Magic can't limit Gatsby and David Lee's high-post pick-and-rolls, so they can only let Gatsby shoot or send assists, and they will bloom in full bloom.

After halftime, the score between the two sides reached 68:65, which is not a low score at this time.

The reason why the Magic can't do anything about Gatsby's high pick-and-roll is that Gatsby's unparalleled three-point shooting skills and the league's 2004-05 season announced a defensive rule prohibiting handchecks.

What is handcheck?
As the name implies, it is to use hand contact to judge the offensive player's movement position and attack direction through hand contact.

How important is no handcheck to the advent of the small ball era?

If you are a book friend who has played on the court, you must know that when dribbling and breaking through, if the defender puts his hands on your waist, it will be difficult for you to start quickly. When going around the pick-and-roll, the defender can still use The hand jams you and slows down your speed. In this way, it is difficult to break through the center forward who is on defense.

This is why it was difficult to play small balls before the 2004-05 season. The key to small ball tactics is to attack and defend quickly and space. Without the possibility of starting speed, small balls have no room to survive.

This is why Gatsby played a high pick-and-roll back and forth for the Magic but couldn't find a good solution.

(End of this chapter)