field coach

Chapter 144

Last week, DeWeese averaged 21 points, 11.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Although the data was much lower than when he won the player of the week in the first week, as the season progressed, the physical reserves of the players declined, and the data shrank to varying degrees.

And the Magic's three-game winning streak in away games also allowed him to add a lot of points.

O'Neal's data this week is 27 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. It stands to reason that he performed better than DeWeese, but I don't know why he still gave the best player to DeWeese in the end.

DeWeese, who wanted to collect a wave of good-looking statistics with all his heart, looked at his opponent in the next match, and his heart was half cold in an instant.

Looking at the name of the Knicks, he knew that he was destined not to be the protagonist in the next game. . .

There is no way, even Davis has to obediently give way to the confrontation between the two strongest centers in the East.

The last time the Knicks played against the Magic, the Magic were in the flu phase of a large number of downsizing, and the outbreak of Starks also successfully allowed the Knicks to win the game.

This time, it's not that simple.

The fully loaded Magic team quietly waited for the arrival of the Knicks at home with the momentum of a winning streak.

"Knicks starting lineup: center: Patrick Ewing, power forward: Charles Oakley, small forward: Anthony Bonner, shooting guard: Greg Anthony, point guard: John Starks."

"Magic starting lineup: center: Shaquille O'Neal, power forward: Dennis Rodman, small forward: Latrell Sprewell, shooting guard: Nick Anderson, point guard: Michael DeWeese."

The commentator introduced the starting lineups of the two teams off the court, and the referee on the court was ready to jump the ball.

O'Neal relied on his agility that did not match his body to overwhelm Ewing, who was not very agile, and won the ball.

Speaking of which, O'Neal seems to have only lost one or two jump balls this season. Basically, the Magic defaulted to owning the ball for the first time.

Davis got the ball, and Starks leaned over immediately.

Unhurriedly pulled the ball and turned around, wiped Starks coolly, and then Davis handed the ball to O'Neal who was already in position at the top of the arc.

Ewing has been in the league for the ninth year, and he is about to turn 32 this season. He can still average 24.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game this season. He struggled to stand behind O'Neal.

O'Neal started to hit Ewing with his back. After two steps in, he turned around and hooked, and opened the scoring for the Magic cleanly.

Ewing ran to the front court with a blank face, got the ball at a position similar to O'Neal, and then turned around and scored two points with a jumper.

The game in the first quarter was flat but full of ups and downs. Davis played a supporting role honestly and did not steal O'Neal's scene, watching him and Ewing's fierce collision in the paint.

Facts have proved that although Ewing ranks last among the four major centers, he still has two talents. Not to mention anything else, when Davis saw Ewing's data at that time, he found that Ewing's data is a very perfect template for a center.

It can be said that Ewing is the most standard inside traditional center. He has strength, footsteps, and a single-handed shot.

Not to mention anything else, match him with Duncan, do you think Ewing can win two championships?
At the end of the first quarter, the Magic and the Knicks tied at 25. O'Neal scored 12 points and Ewing scored 10 points.

In the second quarter, the two teams unanimously replaced their main centers to give them a rest.

The Magic naturally replaced O'Neal with confidence, but Pat Riley's operation is open to question.

Davis took three shooters and a rebounding leader to play running and bombing on the court. The Knicks, who couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all, lacked Ewing, the most important defensive fulcrum, and seemed a little overwhelmed.

Just 3 minutes later, the point difference was pulled to 6 points.

In desperation, Pat Riley put Ewing back on the field.

Knowing that Ewing was going to play, D'Antoni was not in a hurry to replace O'Neal, holding a six-point lead, he decided to change his thinking and experiment with whether a small lineup would be useful against a top center like Ewing.

As a result, Rodman was also replaced, Horry played, and Mason topped the center position.

When defending, Ewing looked at his former teammate who had already pulled beyond the three-point line, hesitant.

He didn't want to leave the penalty area, but Mason had to guard against his outside ability.

After hesitating for a while, Ewing still decided to expand the defensive area, but just when he was about to run outside, Davis charged Starks head-on and directly entered the penalty area.

Ewing hurried back to the basket to protect the basket, but Davis threw the ball to the outside without even looking at it.

Mason received the ball very comfortably, and Charles Smith on the wing quickly defended, but Mason took the ball back calmly.

Horry was unguarded and easily hit a three-pointer.

"John, defend harder, don't let him break through easily." Pat Riley shouted from the sidelines.

Starks can't tell the pain. If he had such a good defense, I wouldn't let him pass. Although I defended Jordan, he also beat him up, okay?
This kid in front of him is the one who exploded with Jordan!
But the troubles are the troubles. The general training method of Pat Riley's army still made Starks strengthen his marking on Davis.

The specific performance is that he took the initiative to increase the physical contact with Davis.

However, DeWeese is not afraid of physical confrontation at all. His current weight has reached 98 kg, and he is still very sure of dealing with a small defender like Starks.

On the next attack, Davis directly asked for the ball in the low post. The Magic played an inside-out tactic, and Ewing was pulled out of the penalty area.

Mason passed the ball to DeWeese, who pouted his ass and arched back.

After arching twice, Davis shook his shoulders left and right, then took off, turned around, and threw the ball very stretchedly.

Starks jumped up, only to find that his fingertips were still some distance from the ball in Davis' hands.

"Shua!" The sound of the ball passing the net was so crisp.

At that moment, Magic No. 1 seemed to overlap with the figure of another person.

Pat Riley watched this scene off the court, and suddenly remembered the red No. 23 who kept them out of the finals for two consecutive years.

"His skill is similar to that of Jordan."

The assistant coach next to him nodded. Indeed, DeWeese, who is very similar to Jordan in terms of body, does very similar movements, even the shooting movements are almost exactly the same.

(End of this chapter)