against the front

Chapter 278 First Victory
"Kevin is really old!"

When Kevin Garnett, who was pushed to the fifth position by Doug Rivers and had high hopes, had no way to take Yan Hua on both ends of the offense and defense, he watched the halftime end of the game with his head down. Kevin Garnett, who walked off the court with his head, and Jeff Van Gundy, who was on the sidelines, also sighed long.

When Jeff Van Gundy coached the Houston Rockets, he often played against Garnett’s Timberwolves. Although the Timberwolves had difficulty making it to the playoffs at the time, this did not hinder Jeff Van Gundy’s appreciation of Kevin Garnett. , and Garnett at that time was tough, fearless, and high-spirited. He was one of the best insiders in the league at that time, but now, Garnett can no longer be as omnipotent on the court as he was then.

In today's game, when Garnett was facing Yan Hua, he was like an old lion king who was getting old, retreating steadily under the challenge of Yan Hua, the new lion king.

41 to 55, at the end of halftime, the Celtics in the away game were already 14 points behind the Kings, and under the situation where both offensive and defensive ends were frustrated, such a point difference was against the Celtics. Speaking of it, it is almost a point difference that cannot be recovered.

"Perhaps after the start of the second half, the Celtics will find a way to deal with the Kings, but in today's game, if the Celtics want to win, it is indeed not easy."

Due to physical constraints, in all games in the playoffs this season, the performance and state of the Celtics in the first half of the game are much stronger than in the second half. Therefore, when the physical fitness and state are in the The Celtics at their best, not only failed to suppress the Kings in the first half and established a lead, but also fell behind to the Kings by 14 points. Before the start of the finals, they were not very optimistic about the Celtics. The current Bill Walton has become more and more bad-mouthing the Celtics.

However, Bill Walton does not want the Celtics to give up and let the game enter garbage time in the third quarter. After all, this is the finals that the whole world is watching. The ratings of this game did not meet expectations, and I am afraid that a lot of viewers will be lost in the following games. After all, no one is willing to watch a series where the ending can be guessed before it even starts!
In addition to ratings factors, Bill Walton also hopes that Celtics head coach Doug Rivers can take this opportunity to try various lineups and tactics in the second half. Anyway, there is a high probability of losing. Now, instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching the loss, it is better to take the opportunity to adjust the lineup on the court and try various tactical changes, so as to find a way to deal with the king, so as to make a comeback in the next game.

Of course, for the latter point, Doug Rivers will do the same without Bill Walton reminding him, because the finals have a special format, which is different from the 2-2- With a 1-1-1 schedule, the finals are currently implementing a 2-3-2 schedule, and under this schedule, the team with home court advantage does not take advantage of the schedule.

Because even if they win two games at home first and turn the big score into 2-0, the next three away games will be a trip to hell and disaster mileage for them, because the most critical first game of the whole series The five games, that is, the battle of Tianwangshan, are played at the home court of the team that does not have home court advantage. Generally speaking, the probability of winning the final victory of the series for the team that wins the battle of Tianwangshan is . Much bigger, the Heat in the past few years, after losing two away games in Dallas, returned to the home court to pull three games in a row, and finally reversed the Mavericks, had the last laugh, in the glorious history of the Celtics, He also reversed the Lakers when they were behind 2-0 in the finals.

Under this kind of schedule, once the team with a poor record in the regular season wins a game in the first two away games by chance, they can use the next three home games to take advantage of the trend to attack the overall team. The championship, this situation often occurs in the history of the finals, so even if you lose the first game of the finals, it will have no impact on Doug Rivers and the team. For Doug Rivers, the most important thing in this game is to find a strategy to limit the King's offense and break the King's defense.

So after the start of the second half of the game, the Celtics sent a three-inner lineup composed of Perkins, Davis, and Garnett. They wanted to experiment with the Mavericks and Lakers. old tactics.

After the Celtics' three inside lineup debuted, the situation on the court has indeed undergone some subtle changes. Rondo and Pierce are separated on both sides of the free throw line, Garnett is located below the free throw line, Perkins and Davis It is separated on the left and right sides of the basket. This is neither a 2-3 position nor a 3-2 defensive position. After the start of the second half of the game, it received a very good defensive effect, relying on the three insiders With the lineup and this special defensive position, the Celtics ensured that they could form a three-man double-team against Yan Hua anytime, anywhere, and at the same time completely restricted Tony Allen's breakthrough.

Although the Celtics' three-inner lineup can well limit Yan Hua's performance and at the same time weaken the King's breakthrough to the greatest extent, this defensive method, which is somewhat similar to the two-three defense position, has a very The obvious disadvantage is that he is more afraid of players with good outside shots.

And the Kings happen to be a team with a very good three-point ability. Except for Yan Hua and Tony Allen, the other three main players, Ibaka, Kevin Martin, and John Salmons, all Has a very good three-point shot.

Therefore, although Doc Rivers' change of lineup has limited Yan Hua's raging inside, but this defensive strategy has made the King's perimeter start to have fun. In the third quarter, the King's entire team He made 13 of 6 three-pointers. Doug Rivers, who was standing on the sidelines, scratched his head, pressed the gourd and raised the scoop. He was talking about the current Celtics.

In the second half of the game, Doug Rivers tried several tactics and routines successively, but the final results were not ideal. Either he pressed the gourd to float the scoop, or the effect was very little. At the end of the game, the Kings at home defeated the Celtics 104-87 and won the first victory in the finals. It was also the first victory in the finals after the Kings moved to Sacramento.

(End of this chapter)