Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 207 A Good Center Is Different

The arrival of Camby undoubtedly boosted the morale of the Blazers. Although everyone didn’t talk about it before, they did feel the embarrassment of the damaged inside strength during the game, especially when the team’s only frame-protecting center was all injured. Afterwards, the opponent's assaulters simply took whatever they wanted.Uncle Huo is really hardworking, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't change his height of 2.06 meters and his age of 34. Occasionally one or two games is okay, but it must be too much for him to fight in the interior every game.

Now with Camby, the team undoubtedly erected an inside barrier, and Aldridge can also spare more energy to score.Although he has great respect for Uncle Huo, it is undeniable that when he and Uncle Huo start together, he must always pay attention to assisting and making up defenses, and he must also fight for rebounds.Uh... well, it's like rebounding is his job, but Aldridge has never been a strong rebounder, above average at best, and has never averaged more than 8 rebounds per game in a single season before.Now partnering with Camby on the inside, he is the happiest player on the team.

After defeating the Clippers, the Blazers still have two home games against the Celtics and the Jazz, both of which are teams with excellent insiders.Although Garnett of the Celtics is no longer the demeanor of the Timberwolves, he is definitely a powerful insider who integrates offense and defense and has his own tactical system, and has been hailed as one of the most powerful forwards in history; Boozer of the Jazz Although the pick is very low, his shooting skills and low-post singles are very powerful. The combination of him and Deron Williams has been called a new generation of "Utah Shuangsha", which can be compared with Malone + Stowe Keton on a par.Not to mention that both teams have assaulters who can go straight to the basket. If there is no Camby, Uncle Huo and Aldridge alone will definitely be unstoppable.

No way, in order to defend his home court, McMillan put Camby in the starting lineup after a mere day of joint practice.He knows that this is a bit of a rush, but now it is February, and there are only more than 20 games left before the end of the regular season. If the new players want to integrate into the team as soon as possible and contribute, the only choice is to use the game as a substitute.As a veteran, Camby has no objection to the coach's arrangement. He is very clear why the Blazers traded him with two important substitutes (one of them is a long-term starter). This is obviously because of his inner defense He also needs to strive for a better ranking for the team in the playoffs as soon as possible, so it makes sense to appear immediately.

But facing the Celtics led by the Big Three, Camby still showed an unaccustomed side. When defending inside, he often emptied the opponent's air-cutting players, and even collided with Aldridge when grabbing rebounds. Together.But McMillan still gritted his teeth and let him stay on the court as long as possible, especially with the other starting players. You need to do some pick-and-roll and second offense, and the main energy is still on the defensive end. In other words, it will not take long to adapt to the tactical system.

Even so, the Blazers still had to swallow the bitter fruit of the loss. This game also made them fall to fifth in the Western Conference, and there is only a gap of 1.5 wins from the sixth.Although Pierce, the Celtics' team scoring leader, did not perform well, scoring only 9 points, 1 assist and 1 steal, Garnett scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. Allen scored 14 points on 9-of-21 shooting, along with 3 rebounds and 5 assists.In the face of Garnett, Camby only got 2 points and 7 rebounds, and was almost blown out. This made him feel very sorry for the trust of the coach in him.

However, McMillan did not give up. He firmly believed that this was a normal running-in period. Camby's role in the team was unparalleled, so he insisted on letting Camby continue to start the next game against the Jazz.The Jazz's starting insiders are Millsap and Boozer. Strictly speaking, they are also a pair of power forwards like Aldridge + Uncle Huo before, but the characteristics of Millsap and Boozer that can be inside and outside make many The insiders who are taller than them are a big headache.The same goes for Camby, what he hates the most is this kind of inside line with range, but for the Blazers, he only needs to protect the basket.

Sure enough, at the beginning of the game, Boozer and Millsap pulled up to the high attack. Their shooting touch is also quite good, using mid-range jumpers to score consecutive points.But it was Roy who took over the game from the Trail Blazers, and Ye Feng also played off the ball very cooperatively.In fact, although Aldridge welcomes Camby's joining the most, but in terms of the player who cooperates best with Camby in the whole team, it must be Ye Feng.In order to allow Camby to fully integrate into the team, Ye Feng went to chat with Camby whenever he had something to do, and learned a lot of little habits that Camby is familiar with, so that the cooperation will be much smoother.

Because of the transition to off-ball play, Ye Feng often let Camby pull up to the high position to create a wall for himself, and then he can throw off the defender and attack the inside.Ye Feng must admit that Camby's screen is very good. Although he is not the kind of big and strong inside player, the angle of screen he chooses is very good. Players marking Ye Feng, such as Kirilenko, must circle around You can continue to follow up and defend in the past, and you can't squeeze if you squeeze.In addition, Ye Feng had already adapted to Kirilenko's defense in the previous few matches against the Jazz, so he was completely at home in this game.

After a tough overtime, the Blazers beat the Jazz 100-96. Roy contributed 18 points and 13 assists, and Ye Feng scored a game-high 32 points and 8 rebounds.As for Camby, although he only scored 6 points in the game, he made enough contributions where the Blazers needed him most-he grabbed 18 rebounds, including an amazing 8 offensive rebounds, and also By the way, 4 caps were sent out.Although Boozer scored a large double-double of 22 points and 23 rebounds, he was completely unable to do anything to Camby inside. Half of Camby's 4 blocks were given to him.

This is the benefit of having an excellent center, and I have to admire the vision of the Blazers management.What the team needs now is not scoring inside. Aldridge is enough for this. Rebounds and blocks are what the team urgently needs, and Camby has proved that he is the best in these two statistics. With Camby, the Blazers have more confidence, and temporarily dilute their worries about the wave of injuries.

(End of this chapter)