God's hand behind the scenes

Chapter 331 The Role of Stars

In the second quarter, the two sides changed the rotation lineup at the same time, wait...something strange got mixed in...Wilkens unexpectedly continued to put Carter on the court and let McGrady rest on the sidelines.His idea is very simple. Carter basically didn't perform well in the first quarter, and his shooting percentage was a mess. Let him get his touch back.

After seeing Carter continue to appear on the court, Brown asked Lynch to match up very calmly, and at the same time instructed Arenas and Reed, two scoring madmen, to attack desperately.In addition, he also sent Okur as the fourth position to cooperate with Mutombo to create a no-fly zone under the basket, and also increase the firepower of outside shooting for the team. To some extent, the offense of this lineup is even worse. More than a starter.

Lynch's defensive ability is obviously not comparable to that of Bell, and although Carter is not as tall as he is, his flexibility has made Lynch suffer.Relying on his superhuman athletic ability, Carter finally found an opportunity in the 76ers' defensive system, breaking through and scoring consecutive layups. Mutombo, whose strength has declined significantly, obviously couldn't stop him from constantly attacking the basket.

But the Raptors have been unable to narrow the point difference. The reason is very simple. The Raptors' bench lineup has average defensive ability. Now they are facing the wonderful backcourt combination of Reed and Arenas. It is normal to be blown up. matter.Although Arenas is a pure scorer at heart, he still obediently gave the ball to Reed or Okur when there was no offensive opportunity, and let these two guys shoot three-pointers. At that time, Chang Wei repeatedly warned him about the precautions.

In fact, the division of labor for the 76ers is relatively clear, especially with the current lineup.Lynch is responsible for full-time defense on the perimeter, while Arenas and Reed tend to attack, and the two make a sudden shot, which is completely seamless from a technical point of view.The same is true inside. Although both Mutombo and Okur will contribute to rebounding, Mutombo is more responsible for protecting the basket, and Okur acts as an outside scorer, which is Lewis in the starting lineup. Location.

These three scorers can be said to be newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers. Under the weak defense of the Raptors, they are like indiscriminate bombardment. Carter is struggling to support himself, which seems very reluctant.Wilkens felt a big headache. Last season, the 76ers' bench lineup had more than enough defense but not enough offense. I didn't expect it to become so violent this season, and it is obvious that the three rookies are carrying the main beam. This makes the old coach My heart is even more unbalanced: Why can't we choose such a powerful rookie?

But at this time, it is useless to complain about others. Wilkens had to put the starting lineup on the field in advance. It happened that Olajuwon could match up with Mutombo. Both of them are representatives of aging and frailty. , It can be regarded as fighting against old opponents for many years. If they continue to lead, maybe Olajuwon will not have the same pressure against Dalembert.

It's a pity that Wilkens' calculation was wrong at the beginning. Mutombo is not as old as Olajuwon, and he still retains at least [-] to [-]% of his peak strength. It can be regarded as a exchange, and it is absolutely impossible for Olajuwon to rely on his dream footsteps to bully Mutombo at the basket. The latter's game experience is not for nothing.

In fact, Wilkens lost the first move, because he had to use his starter to match the opponent's substitute, which means that the overall strength of the Raptors is below the 76ers.But Wilkens still didn't give up, because he had the two aces of McGrady and Carter in his hands. For a star, as long as a flash, he can instantly change the trend of the game and even decide the outcome.

McGrady, who reappeared, did not disappoint the coach. He scored 7 points in a row and helped the Raptors narrow the point difference to 8 points, which greatly boosted the morale of the team.Under the leadership of McGrady, the Raptors' offense began to recover, which immediately made the 76ers feel a lot of pressure, but as the defending champions, they were only slightly surprised, and then regained their game rhythm, step by step according to the situation on the court. The situational running tactics did not allow the opponent to further narrow the point difference.

But McGrady is indeed a phenomenal player, even if he is still very young and has not reached the maturity of his career.Bell was beaten up in front of him, something he hadn't tried since facing Kobe in last season's Finals, and McGrady let him relive his feeling of powerlessness, which made him feel very disappointed.

Fortunately, the 76ers can still maintain their offensive ability, and the point difference between the two sides has always hovered between 5 and 6 points.During this period, Lewis performed well. After Brown replaced Reed with Snow, he and Iverson were the only full-time scorers in the starting lineup. Iverson was hindered in the paint. , he must seize the opportunity to hit the shot.

Lewis's touch in this game is not bad. Although many people think that he is the least useful part of the 76ers' starting lineup, he can also contribute to the team as long as he gets the opportunity.In the 18 minutes he has played, Lewis made 5 of 3 three-pointers and scored 12 points, second only to Iverson and Reed, and he has completed his task.

However, the Raptors did not fall behind too much at the end of halftime. McGrady hit two consecutive three-pointers in the last 30 seconds, including a three-pointer at the buzzer, so the Raptors were only 60 behind 62-2. point.This result made Wilkens look a little better, and it also made him more determined to use McGrady as the cornerstone of the team.

Brown wasn't too disappointed, after all, it was just the score in the first half, and there were 24 minutes in the second half for him to calmly arrange tactics.In Brown's view, although the Raptors are now the third highest in the East, they should not be their team's opponents, especially the bench depth of the two sides is completely incomparable, and he doesn't know why the Raptors didn't work hard on the bench.

He didn't even think about it, how many head coaches like him can influence the team's signings in the league?What's more, there is Chang Wei in his coaching staff. If Chang Wei didn't rely on his own ability to frequently help the team win potential new stars, the 76ers' bench lineup might not be much better than the Raptors, right?Just look at the rookies they chose in their previous lives. Maybe only Dalembert is a good player, and the others?forget it!
(End of this chapter)