against the front

Chapter 277 The Last Attempt
"What should I do? What should I do? Is there no other way?"

When the main players of both sides re-appeared in the second half of the second quarter, Celtics coach Doug Rivers began to draw circles back and forth on the sidelines, because Doug Rivers It is obvious that it is impossible for the Celtics to win today's game.

Although Doc Rivers has made the Big Three lazy since the opening game of the regular season, no matter how much they paddle, there is no way to change the reality that they are nearly 35-year-old guys. It's a hurdle they can't get around no matter what.

Speaking of a very embarrassing reality, in all the games of the playoffs, the Celtics failed to establish an absolute lead after the end of the three quarters. As long as the team is against the trend, the Celtics have absolutely no chance of a comeback.

Take the Eastern Conference Finals against the Magic as an example. In the six-game series, the Celtics did not score more than 20 points in any game in the fourth quarter. It's very easy, but everyone who has watched the game knows that in at least three of the Celtics' four victories, the Celtics were almost overturned by the Magic in the fourth quarter. Going to victory is a true portrayal of the Celtics.

Therefore, even though the game is not over halfway, Doc Rivers, as the head coach of the Celtics, has no confidence in his heart, because in the ongoing game, the Celtics are both offensive and defensive. In an unfavorable situation, in this case, as long as the game is dragged into the fourth quarter, the Celtics have absolutely no hope of winning.

So if in the second half of the second quarter and in the third quarter, Doug Rivers still can't find a way to reverse the situation on the court and establish an advantage, then according to the Celtics' entry into the playoffs After the performance, they can only disarm and surrender.

On the offensive end, Doc Rivers didn't have a good response to the Kings' defensive strategy of letting go of Rajon Rondo, because the Celtics' center Perkins is just a blue-collar player. Going to the free throw line to attack, the King may even let Perkins go, so the King's strategy for dealing with Tony Allen being emptied cannot be copied to the Celtics.

On the defensive end, since the start of the game, Doc Rivers has repeatedly tried several defensive strategies, but none of them can limit the King's offense and limit the King's combination of internal and external tactics.

Combining internal and external tactics is an ancient, "backward" tactic, but in this era, combining internal and external tactics is a tactic that is more difficult to deal with than triangle offense and run-and-bomb, because it wants to limit the combination of internal and external tactics , there must be a super insider, or a few high-quality insiders, either to win by quality or by quantity. However, in the current NBA, high-quality insiders are already rare animals, let alone super insiders.

Although in the first game of the finals, both sides are still in the stage of testing each other, but Doc Rivers is now facing the end of failure before he has tested the king's details, and this situation is undoubtedly is frustrating.

"Kevin, wait for you to go to the fifth position. In today's game, whether we can win or not depends on you."

When Yan Hua fouled Perkins again on offense and walked to the free throw line, Doug Rivers called Garnett to his side, taught him the opportunity, and replaced Davis with Davis. After leaving Perkins, Garnett was ready to go to the fifth position and made a final attempt.

After being asked by the head coach to go to the fifth position, despite the reluctance written on Garnett's face, Garnett nodded firmly at Doc Rivers, then turned and walked onto the court , Although Garnett often played at the fifth position after coming to the Celtics, but in his bones, Garnett was not willing to play at the fifth position.

However, Garnett also knows very well that when Doc Rivers asked him to go to the fifth position, it must be when the team was facing desperation and needed to make sacrifices. Garnett was not afraid of sacrifices, otherwise he would not leave the Timberwolves , Give up the status of the team leader, and the dignity of a superstar, and come to the Celtics to team up with Pierce and Ray Allen. Statistics, money, reputation, for the championship, Garnett can sacrifice all of these.

After Garnett turned around to play, Perkins, who was standing on the edge of the paint area waiting for Yan Hua's free throw, went straight to the bench on the sidelines after receiving the instruction to make a substitution, and sat down on the bench with a blank expression. seat on the table.

Although he has already left the field, Perkins is still full of his weird performance in today's game. As a blue-collar, a meat shield insider, Perkins is not a center who likes to jump, and he has excellent defensive awareness , seldom shakes, not easy to take off, is the biggest characteristic of Perkins on the defensive end, but in today's game, when the defense is tight, Perkins always has a kind of want to jump up, slap The urge to blow the basketball in Yan Hua's hand away.

In the first half of the first quarter, Perkins could rely on his own self-control to suppress the urge to jump up and block Yan Hua, but as the game progressed, Perkins found that he The urge to jump up in my heart became stronger and stronger, and I also had signs of being unable to control my body. The longer it took, the more difficult it was to control.

Finally, at the end of the first quarter, the impulse in Perkins' heart that had been suppressed for a long time broke out completely. After several consecutive attacks, Perkins was jumped up by Yan Huahuang, causing him to lose his position Yes, it was like this in the two rounds just now. Yan Hua held the ball with his back and swayed left and right. Hua scored 2+1.

So sitting on the bench, Perkins, who had calmed down, thought about why he had such a reaction in those few rounds every second.Why did he repeatedly warn himself not to take off, don't take off, but he finally jumped up, Perkins was a little suspicious, whether it was him who was playing on the field just now.

Back on the court, Yan Hua, who had been stared at by Perkins, made a steady free throw amidst the cheers of the audience. After Yan Hua made the free throw, the difference between the two sides has reached 8 points Now, if the Celtics can't stop the momentum in front of them, let alone the fourth quarter, they may not even be able to persist in the third quarter.

The offensive and defensive transition, Garnett, who was pushed to the center position, stopped near the free throw line after arriving in the frontcourt. He had no intention of going deep into the low post to find offensive opportunities. Rajon Rondo, who was emptied by the Kings, handed over the basketball directly to Garnett, and at the same time handed over all the tasks of organization and support to Garnett.

As a power forward who averaged 6 assists per game in his peak season and averaged 20+10+5 per game for six consecutive seasons in his career, Garnett's coping ability is absolutely nothing to say, but as he grows older and in After coming to the Celtics, Garnett is no longer the core of the team's offense, so in recent seasons, Garnett's assists have also begun to plummet.

However, although the data has declined very seriously, Garnett's coping ability has not been lost. After being pushed to the fifth position by Doug Rivers and becoming the core of the team's offense, Garnett did not need the head coach to order. Just know what to do.

After Garnett changed to the fifth position, when the king continued to let Rajon Rondo go, the Celtics could use the king's strategy. Of course, the Celtics' current offensive strategy is the same as the king's. The strategy of pulling Yan Hua out and letting Tony Allen break through is still slightly different. Although Yan Hua was also pulled out after Ganetra reached the high position, with Yan Hua's defensive ability, the king is There is no need to double-team Garnett, so it is obviously unrealistic for Rajon Rondo to break through with the ball.

Therefore, handing the basketball to Garnett near the free throw line, letting Rondo cut inside to look for opportunities, and disrupt the King's defense, has become the only feasible strategy at present. Although Rondo's mid-range and long-range shots are not good, But Rondo's shooting percentage at the basket and within three meters of the basket is extremely high. Lang Zhongfeng and C Duo's nicknames are not for nothing.

Rondo, who had no ball in his hands and was unguarded, cut towards the basket while Garnett, who was holding the ball near the free throw line, also began to try to play Yan Hua face-to-face to attract the King's defensive attention.

If Garnett is at his peak, he will definitely try to overpower Yan Hua at this time, but Garnett, who is already very old, is very aware of his current ability and physical condition, so even though Garnett The special body is slightly arched, facing Yan Hua and slapping the basketball, looking like he is about to start a breakthrough at any time, or jump up and shoot suddenly, but from the beginning to the end, Garnett's offense with the ball is just a cover, only the head is not normal Only people who are here will single out Yan Hua in this way.

If you dare to shoot a jumper in front of Yan Hua, then be prepared to be blocked by Yan Hua. The height and wingspan of the center, and the speed of the outside line are not just kidding with you.

Seeing that Rajon Rondo was about to cut to the basket, Garnett suddenly flicked, and then made a very coquettish ground pass, stuffing the basketball directly into the basket.

However, Rondo, who received a pass from Garnett, found that besides Kevin Martin, there was a black long straight, and the two people completely blocked his shooting space, one left and one right, helplessly. Under Rondo, he had to pass the basketball to Davis, who was closest to him, while he continued to run and continue to look for opportunities.

As an orthodox No. [-], Davis is in a slightly better situation than Perkins. Davis has mid-range shooting ability, but in order to ensure the success rate, Davis, who received a pass from Rondo, He didn't jump up and make a shot in a hurry, but adjusted it calmly. After all, defending Davis Serge Ibaka, after rushing to defend Rondo, he hasn't recovered yet. Davis has enough time to adjust himself and take a shot.

"Glenn, be careful!" Davis, who had just adjusted his body posture, jumped slightly, and was about to throw the basketball in his hand, vaguely heard someone calling himself behind him.

And Davis, who had already jumped into the air, felt a heavy blow to his wrist after the shout, and then there was no more.

Davis, who almost lost his balance, looked at the basketball that had been thrown out of his hand in a daze after falling from the air. At this moment, Davis's mind was blank, although Davis did not Seeing who the person was just now, he didn't know the whole process of the matter, but Davis already understood what happened just now in his heart.

Immediately amid the cheers of the audience, Davis saw Yan Hua on his side, waving his fists, responding to the cheering and shouting Kings fans.

"I've been blocked! I've been blocked!" Looking at the basketball that had rolled out of the baseline, Davis clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, but while being extremely angry, Davis's But he was very helpless in his heart, because Davis knew very well how difficult it was for him to regain his position on Yan Hua.

"Promise me, whenever you shoot, be careful behind you." Standing not far away, Yan Hua looked at Davis clenched his fists furiously, and couldn't help but He joked a few words. Sometimes, the pressure and lethality caused by trash talk to the opponent is no less than a key shot. Of course, the trash talk that spouts must be able to be collected. It also has to be possible.

"Excellent supplementary defense and blocked shots!" On the sidelines, Bill Wharton and Jeff Van Gundy, who witnessed the whole process of Davis being blocked by Yan Hua, also spoke highly of Yan Hua's defense during this time. The performance was praised again and again.

In the defense just now, when Serge Ibaka went to cooperate with Kevin Martin to defend Rajon Rondo who cut to the basket, and Rondo attracted the Kings defense and passed the basketball to the basket. After getting Davis, Bill Walton and Jeff Van Gundy thought that Ibaka would not be able to take it back, and Davis would successfully complete the attack, but unexpectedly, he had already reached the free throw line. Yan Hua defended the back just right. Not only did he defend the back, but he also successfully blocked Davis' shot.

Although this is just an ordinary block, it can be expected that after this block, Davis will definitely be more cautious and even indecisive in the following games. For the Walters, the more unfavorable it is.

(End of this chapter)