Super Evolution of Basketball

Chapter 241 My God, Your Name Is Too Long
Every Christmas, the NBA will arrange several heavyweight games for fans to feast their eyes on. These games are called Christmas games.

Since the 40s, the NBA has had a tradition of launching heavyweight games on Christmas Eve. This kind of business thinking seemed quite advanced at the time.

After the popularity of TV broadcasts, watching the wonderful NBA live broadcast on Christmas Eve has become a tradition for Americans. The league often arranges some gimmicks and topical rivalry fights, such as this year's Cavaliers vs. Warriors, Spurs vs. Rockets, Thunder vs. Pacers, Raptors vs. Heat.

If the time goes back a few years, there must be the Lakers against the Celtics. Unfortunately, the time is gone, and the yellow-green battle that year is gone.

As the leading big city in the United States, Los Angeles is definitely full of festive atmosphere, and the shadow of Christmas is everywhere.

Two days before Christmas Eve, the Lakers played their last game before the holiday, playing against the Milwaukee Bucks at home.
The Bucks are currently ranked No. 12 in the East with a poor record.

This is a youth team led by Jason Kidd. At present, six players in the team have scored in double figures. It seems that a hundred flowers are blooming, but in fact the core is not outstanding. Judging from the games in the past two months, Middleton and Antetokounmpo still lack leadership qualities.

In this game, Yuan Qingshan was more concerned about the head coach on the opposite side. When he saw Kidd at the Staples Center, he suddenly felt weird. After all, he was equipped with Jason Kidd's card now. What is this now? The real and fake Kidd meet?

Of course, Kidd didn't know about the super evolution system at all. Before the game started, he politely greeted Scott and the Lakers players.

Middleton, the core player of the Bucks, looked a little introverted. After entering the field, he began to practice shooting. On the contrary, the tall and big Antetokounmpo was very enthusiastic and ran over to greet Towns and Yuan Qingshan.

"I heard that you have established a contact group for young people." Antetokounmpo cut to the point.

Towns nodded: "Yes, but that is the chat group for the 2015 rookies."

When Antetokounmpo heard that it was inconvenient for him to join, his regret was beyond words.

Unexpectedly, Whiteside interjected: "Strictly speaking, there are other people. For example, I am not a rookie in 2015. I am in 2010."

Only then did Towns remember that there was still this problem, patted Antetokounmpo on the shoulder and said: "If you are willing to join, come to our locker room to discuss in detail after the game, hahaha."

Antetokounmpo was very happy: "Okay, I heard it from Lyles of the Jazz. He said that there are always some news and jokes in the group."

Antetokounmpo is a Greek and has been wandering in the Greek Second Division and the Spanish League before entering the NBA.

After coming to the Bucks, his performance was mediocre in the first few seasons, and he didn't have much popularity. Of course, he didn't have too many friends in the league. When he heard that the young people of each team were in a very interesting group, he naturally yearned for it.

Yuan Qingshan said with a smile: "After you joined the chat group, you have a request. You must change your name. Your name is too long."

"Hahaha!" Several people laughed at the same time.

"You can call me Giannis, or just call me the Greek monster!" Giannis shook his head, proud that the media called him "the monster."

Whiteside turned behind Antetokounmpo and stretched out his index finger to point to the letters printed on his back: "Antetokou..., so many letters, you can't write them on your jersey. God, I can't count them. You just call Antetokounmpo!"

The crowd burst into laughter again, and a few sensitive reporters hurriedly pointed their cameras at this place.

Brother Antetokounmpo quickly covered his mouth with the skirt of his shirt and whispered: "It's time to leave, it's time to leave, don't be photographed by the reporter that we chatted too much before the game, we are opponents on the court!"

Seeing his nervous look, Yuan Qingshan couldn't help laughing, and led Downs and Whiteside back to his field to continue warming up.

The Lakers-Bucks game didn't have any hot spots, and naturally it couldn't be broadcast live across the United States.

The two teams are in different divisions, and there is no problem of being stuck in the playoffs, so the overall play is relatively easy. Coach Scott replaced Channing Frye and Jason Smith in the second half of the first quarter, wanting to test the quality of the two.

Jason Smith did a good job on the defensive end, giving Monroe a big block and grabbing a key offensive rebound.

Channing Frye performed very well on the offensive end. He cooperated with Yuan Qingshan in two pick-and-rolls at the top of the arc, using his height to score two consecutive three-pointers, and directly stopped Coach Kidd.

In the second quarter, Scott allowed Towns and Frye to cooperate. Both of them had range, which opened up the Bucks' defense and gave Yuan Qingshan ample breakthrough space.

Jerry Bayless in position [-] on the opposite side is too slow. Yuan Qingshan can often pass him with only one acceleration. As long as he passes the free throw line, Monroe is the only defender left for the Bucks. Yuan Qingshan hits two "two plus one" steadily.

Seeing that the score was about to open, Coach Kidd changed the lineup from pick-and-roll cover to pass-and-cut offense.

Jabari Parker and Antetokounmpo were completely liberated on the offensive end. The two played against the inside combination of Towns and Frye with ease. As long as Towns pounced on someone to defend, the ball would be handed over to the other.

With the outstanding performance of Gemini, the Bucks led by 8 points at halftime.

In the second half, they changed sides and fought again. Scott didn't dare to overdo it, and the starting lineup came on the stage.

However, Jabari Parker and Antetokounmpo have already cultivated their touch, and the two hit [-]% of the shots. In the third quarter, they took advantage of Artest's slow footsteps and played a pass, which made the Lakers lose their temper.

The Lakers can only let Yuan Qingshan continue to chase Monroe, hoping to beat Monroe down. Without the threat of Monroe, they can replace Channing Frye to chase points.

Kidd was very smart. He saw through Scott's intentions in a few rounds, replaced Monroe and played at critical moments, and replaced Plumlee as a substitute insider.

Plumlee moved slower than Monroe, but he was also stronger than Monroe. If Yuan Qingshan wanted to find fouls from him, he would have to pay more.

In order to protect the players, Scott naturally changed his tactics and Channing Frye played.

Tactics mainly attack point guards, power forwards and centers, which is somewhat similar to Coach Adelman's Princeton system.

Unlike what Adelman is good at, the Lakers rely more on the three-pointers of Frye and Yuan Qingshan, and Towns is more involved in defense.

In the third quarter, Yuan Qingshan's "three-point master" was fully fired. He shot 6 three-pointers in a row, hit 4 of them, and scored 12 points in a single quarter. At the same time, he was exhausted physically and was directly replaced by Scott to rest.

Frye took advantage of Plumlee's weakness of not being able to defend beyond the three-point line, and also fired frequently from the outside, scoring 4 of 2 and scoring 6 points.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were only 3 points behind.

(End of this chapter)