one-handed ball

Chapter 356 First Battle

Since Randolph came to Memphis two years ago, he seems to have realized everything. He not only trains hard, but also plays games with due diligence.This year, the Grizzlies were able to fight their way out of the west surrounded by wolves and tigers, beating the Suns and other teams to become the eighth team to enter the playoffs, thanks to Randolph.

In addition to Randolph, I have to mention another "black and white two bears" proposed by the Grizzlies-Marc Gasol.What started as an addition to his brother Pau Gasol's transfer to the Lakers has now become the representative of the league's new generation of defensive centers.It is worth mentioning that this junior Zheng Ke, who was born in the 07 draft, has a much lower pick than Zheng Ke.

What makes Memphis fans have the greatest hope is that these two inside combinations are not inferior to the Timberwolves in their eyes.

So one of the biggest highlights given by ESPN in this game is whether the Grizzlies can completely suppress the inside as they did in the regular season victory!
When Zheng Ke made his final appearance, the audience gave out the most enthusiastic cheers.

Under the spotlight, Zheng Ke smiled and waved to the surrounding fans generously.Accompanied by his actions, the roar of "MVP, MVP" came one after another, and the atmosphere reached a peak.

"Hmph! Slut!" Tony Allen said disdainfully, rolling his eyes. He couldn't bear the sight of these so-called superstars playing handsome like this.

"Hey, he has this kind of strength, wait a while and defend, don't be blown away by him!" Beside him was Sam Young, the small forward who started the game for the Grizzlies today.As a replacement for the injured Rudy Gay, Sam Young also has extraordinary impact with his excellent physical fitness.

The Grizzlies are a team made up of young people. What did they say to each other? Sam Young's words to increase the morale of the enemy and destroy his own prestige were heard by Tony Allen, but he was not annoyed.Instead, he pushed Sam Young lightly, and cursed: "Go to hell, this is your defender, damn it, now you are talking sarcasticly by the side."

"Okay, stop fighting, you can play!"

When the two were arguing, the Grizzlies coach Hollins kicked the other and "kicked" the two of them onto the basketball court.
field -

The starting five tigers of both sides have already arranged their equipment. Zheng Ke walked among the five, like a bandit leader, walked to the middle circle, and then walked to the side of the staring Grizzlies first. , took the lead and stretched out his arm, obviously to carry out the handshake ceremony before the game, but it gave people a lot of pressure.

Only then did the Grizzlies react, and stretched out their arms one after another.

After dawdling for a while, the referee walked onto the field. The three of them first exchanged opinions with the staff on the technical table, then got the game ball, checked it, and went to their work places respectively.

The referee walked onto the field and said loudly, "Hey, boys, the game is about to start, according to your position on the field, immediately stand at the designated place!"

"Okay, sir!" The poor-mouthed Jordan stood next to the referee, and immediately extended a standard military salute.

This is the first time for Jordan to participate in the playoffs as a starting player. To be honest, he must be a little hairy in his heart.And Thibodeau clearly told him before the game that this game is no better than the regular season. If he does not perform well, he will replace the substitute Pekovic or Anderson as soon as possible.

That's why this guy's movements are a little uncontrollable, commonly known as "overexcited".

After he stood on the middle circle, Gasol Jr. of the Grizzlies also stood up.Seeing this white-skinned guy with a big beard, Jordan gave him a vicious look, expressing his aura.Gasol Jr. is completely true. This guy is different from his brother. He is completely a stubble.

The two are facing each other, and the same is true for the other players of the Grizzlies and the Timberwolves players who are facing each other. Before the fight started, the smell of gunpowder was already everywhere.

Zheng Ke looked depressedly at Tony Allen, who was half a head shorter than him. Before the fight started, the guy had already reached his waist and pinched his waist faintly.

"duo~~"

The whistle sounded and the basketball was thrown straight into the air.

"Drink!" Little Jordan yelled, the opening jump ball is his specialty, knowing that Gasol is a well-known floor player in the league, his confidence is greatly boosted, waiting for the basketball to fly to the highest altitude, he jumped up , Like a spring on the leg, it horribly surpasses Gasol's half arm.

"Retreat!"

The result of the Grizzlies team was not unexpected, and their reaction was extremely quick. The players led by Tony Allen returned to their own half in an instant, and then stood up according to the formation.

Billups patted the basketball a few times, then made two deft crotch dribbles, switched to the left hand, and advanced through half court.

The Grizzlies' defense was extremely tight. When Billups advanced one step beyond the three-point line, Conley was already standing on the three-point line, with his long arms spread out, and his defensive posture was like a textbook.

Conley is also a rookie in 07. Since entering the league, he has improved year by year. Now he is an excellent player in the league's No. 38 position.On offense, Conley has a stable outside line. Since entering the league, his three-point shooting percentage has been around [-]%. On defense, Conley is good at steals. , my heart will be a little hairy.

But Billups is not an ordinary point guard, he is one of the most stable point guards in the league, and the Timberwolves don't need Billups to break through to tear out the loopholes. In Conley's eyes, he passed to the left position calmly.

There, it was Afflalo who came out to catch the ball, and then Afflalo caught the ball and lobbed it to Zheng Ke, who was low on the left.

"Oh, it's low? Tony, how do you defend?" Zheng Ke grabbed the basketball, and then he didn't care whether Tony Allen could hear him or not, and started with a series of trash talk.

Thibodeau has already prepared before the game, dealing with various situations of the Grizzlies.

One of them is that if Tony Allen of the Grizzlies comes to defend Zheng Ke, then Zheng Ke's low-post tactics will be the main focus, and Zheng Ke will force Tony Allen in the low position.After all, Zheng Ke has the advantage in terms of strength, height, and weight of the two, and the low-post tactics just restrained them.

Therefore, after the Timberwolves players looked at each other, they opened up the space and handed over the low post to Zheng Ke.

"Damn, the reaction is so fast!" Grizzlies coach Hollins swears.

Zheng Ke held the basketball with his right hand and leaned against Tony Allen on his back, feeling pain in his waist.And Tony Allen's defensive posture is very clever, close to Zheng Ke, his body is slightly tilted, and he is at the critical point where the referee can call a foul or not.The line referee hesitated for a second, thinking that the game had just started, so he stopped blowing.

"boom!"

Zheng Ke suddenly exerted strength, and his strong back muscles leaned against Tony Allen's chest.After the collision, Tony Allen let out a muffled grunt. His body leaning forward was like a spring, and he couldn't stop leaning back. His feet landed on the ground like someone had been hit with a sledgehammer. , take a small step back.

Immediately, Tony Allen, who took a step back, entangled unrelentingly, and he clenched his teeth, as if there was no pain.

Although Zheng Ke didn't have eyes in the back of his head, he felt that he couldn't completely knock Tony Allen away.But it didn't matter anymore, with the help of the small strength of the rebound, he drew a circle with his right foot as the axis, and then leaned back lightly.

"Hmph!" Tony Allen's eyes flashed fiercely, he took a big step forward, and then secretly put his foot on the spot where Zheng Ke landed - as an NBA player, he still has some estimates for this.

Although Zheng Ke looked at the basket, the corners of his eyes were always closed to Tony Allen's movements. Seeing this kid kicking so hard, he didn't panic, but he was always distracted and cared about the situation under his feet.

"Bang" the basketball bounced, and Zheng Ke's footsteps deviated slightly, avoiding Tony Allen's black feet, and the landing posture looked a little weird.

"Damn!" Zheng Ke's face darkened, Tony Allen was really dark enough.It's not the first time he's seen this kind of thing like black feet, but it's usually when people are beaten to the point that they can't help it, and then some people will become angry and do this. How can anyone come up and amplify their moves?
Zheng Ke missed his first shot and the rebound was taken by Randolph.

Seeing Zheng Ke's shot, many Timberwolves fans thought the goal was about to be scored, but they didn't expect Zheng Ke to go out of the box. They cheered, although they rang again, but it was much smaller.

Randolph handed the ball to Conley, who was outstretched to catch the ball, and the two ran downfield together.

The Timberwolves' fast break is fast, and the speed of retreating defense is also one of the few in the league. When the Grizzlies came over, they had already set up a two-three defense formation.Why is it two or three defenses?Because the Grizzlies are some of the worst perimeter teams in the league, this lineup can block breakthroughs and strengthen the Timberwolves' defensive connection between the interior and exterior, so that Zheng Ke, who has the fastest defense speed, can support the interior at any time.

The Grizzlies also know that many teams in the league will play zone defense when they meet them, but who makes them bad for three-pointers?
This time, after the pick-and-roll, Conley gave the ball to Tony Allen. Allen missed the shot and handed the ball to Sam Young in the corner.

Defending Randolph is Love, who is similar in height to him. Love is also good in strength and has a very stable foot.In the few years since he entered the league, he has practiced a good skill in defending with a meat shield, but his skill in assisting defense is very poor, so it gives the impression that he is poor in defense, but in fact, his one-on-one low-post defense is not bad.

At least Randolph tried to turn around and couldn't get past Love.

After the two entangled for a few seconds, Randolph's shoulders suddenly sank, and after bumping into Love, he took a big step outside, and then raised his hand to hit a long-distance two-pointer with a slight backward!
(End of this chapter)