basketball hero

Chapter 864 The Small Ball Era
There are a few familiar figures sitting on the sidelines of the Air Canada Center arena. They come here to watch the game almost every year at this time.These oriental faces make it easy for people to think that they have something to do with Ying Xiong or Jeremy Lin.

These people are Sun Jing, Shao Ziqiang and Li Jianwu.Of course, Li Jianwu helped arrange for Sun Jing and the others to come to Toronto to watch the finals.As Ying Xiong's Chinese manager, he was naturally the one to do such small things, and over the years, his reliability in handling things has been quite good, and he has won Ying Xiong's trust.

Jeremy Lin picks and rolls with Ibaka at the top of the arc, and then divides the latter with a strong breakthrough with the ball.

The Warriors use delays instead of switches when targeting the top of the arc and center pick-and-rolls.

Ibaka received the ball from the 3-point line, faced Pachulia, made a feint and the opponent missed the bait, and gave it to DeRozan on the left.

DeRozan singled out Klay Thompson with the ball, changed direction and walked to the bottom line, turned around and shot a jumper-hit!
"DeMar hit the ball at the start, and he's in good shape!" Mike Breen said with a smile.

"DeMar's offensive ability with the ball is still very good. The opponent defends single-handedly without flanking or letting go. It is more comfortable to play him this way." Jeff Van Gundy explained.

Stephen Curry dribbles slowly across half court.

Draymond Green came up to pick and roll, Curry passed the ball to Green, and then ran without the ball.

The Warriors had a lot of off-ball screens, Curry got to the bottom line, and Green's ball came along.

Curry shot a 3-pointer-also hit!
The Warriors led 3:2 in the opening game!

"Draymond's organizational skills are awesome. The shooting opportunity of this ball is fleeting, but he can catch it!" Mike Breen said.

"At the beginning Steve helped him up and let David play as a substitute. How many people objected at the time and laughed at him for suffering the consequences, but now, Draymond uses his comprehensiveness on both offense and defense to shut up those who were not optimistic about him at the beginning. ’” Jeff Van Gundy said.

Jeremy Lin came over with a dribble, and Ying Xiong cut out from the left wing to catch the ball.

It was Kevin Durant of the Warriors who defended Yingxiong.

Kevin Durant joined the Warriors against the pressure of public opinion last summer for the championship.And if he wants to win the championship, he must pass the dynasty team Toronto Raptors.

Ying Xiong chose to pick and roll with Ibaka. At the moment when Pachulia came over and was delayed, he suddenly changed direction after lowering his center of gravity, and directly threw the opponent away, holding the ball and killing.

Klay Thompson let go of DeRozan and helped defend to the basket.Originally, this work should be done by Green, but Patterson's 3-pointer threat is too great, and in comparison, DeRozan's 3-pointer can be let go.

Clay assisted the defense to the basket. Facing the menacing Ying Xiong, he was not afraid, standing on the edge of the penalty area and preparing to block the shot.

Ying Xiong went to the basket, facing Clay, without slowing down, just jumped up with one foot, pulled it up, swung it round with one hand, and smashed through the opponent!

All the fans at the scene gasped. The game had just begun, so how could there be such a violent scene so soon.

Clay took off vertically, stretched his hands, and tried to block the opponent as much as possible.But the talent gap between him and the opponent is too big, and the jumping height of the two is not in the same order of magnitude at all.

Ying Xiong smashed the ball into the basket through Clay!
"Bang - that's brutal!" screamed Mike Breen.

The passion of the fans at the scene was instantly ignited. Everyone shouted "MVP" and "Hero" and cheered heartily.

"Golden State Warriors' positions 1-4 are all switching defenses, but Zaza at position 5 will choose to delay because of his foot movement. But Ying is so easy to defend, the result is that the delay did not succeed, and Kai Wen blocked it!" Jeff Van Gundy said.

Curry dribbled the ball halfway, Durant asked for the ball, and he passed it.

Durant held the ball at the top of the arc on the left wing, facing the defense of the corresponding hero, and Zaza picked and rolled.

The Raptors switched defenses, and Durant singled out his old teammate Ibaka.

Durant changed direction and moved his right hand ahead of time, and when he was one step to the right of the free throw line, he suddenly pulled it up—shot—and shot out of the frame!

Ying Xiong received the rebound and advanced with the ball himself.In the frontcourt, he passed the ball with one hand, looking for the fast-down DeRozan, and was predicted by Green with one hand, destroying the ball.

"Serge and Kevin are still familiar with each other and know his offensive methods." Mike Breen said with a smile.

"Kevin plays Serge in a misplacement, and there is not much advantage in misplacement. Serge is also a tall and long-armed player. He moves fast and has excellent defensive awareness. He is similar in size to Kevin, so he is not easy to play!" Jeff Van Gundy said.

Raptors frontcourt sideline serve.

Jeremy Lin received the ball, held the ball to the top of the arc, used the pick-and-roll, broke through, and was forced to stop by Green and then sent Patterson outside.

The Warriors' rotation was fast, and Patterson didn't get an open shot, and the ball went to Ibaka at the top of the arc.

Ibaka hit a 3 - but no!
Green closed the board and pushed forward by himself.

Playing 3 in the frontcourt, he split the ball to Clay who followed up, and the latter caught the ball and chased him for a 3-point shot-none!

Ying Xiong received another offensive rebound, held the ball but counterattacked, and also scored a chasing 3-pointer-no!
The rebound was caught by Zaza, and Patterson made a foul!
"Jeff, this offensive and defensive speed was unimaginable 10 years ago! This is the finals, not the preseason!" Mike Breen said with a smile.

"It must be admitted that times have changed. In the past, there were no insiders who were responsible for opening the space, and power forwards were responsible for advancing and counterattacking. But now, this situation has become more and more common." Jeff Van Gundy said.

"Yeah, on Toronto's side, Patrick is responsible for shooting 3-pointers to open up space, while on Golden State's side, Draymond is responsible for grabbing backboards and pushing counterattacks." Mike Breen said.

For the Warriors, Curry continued to block and cooperate with Green, but the Raptors switched defenses in a timely manner. They would rather give you the chance of Green's misalignment and not let Curry have an open 3-pointer.

The Warriors' pass-and-cut system couldn't work easily, and the ball was in Durant's hands again.

Durant and Green picked and rolled this time, and the opponent still chose to switch defenses.

Durant forced Patterson, and after changing direction and breaking through, he stopped and shot with one hand-yes!
The Warriors lead by 1 point!
"The Golden State Warriors adjusted quickly. Obviously, Patrick's single-defense ability is not as good as Serge's. Since the opponent chooses to switch defenses, it is natural to choose a relatively weaker defense. Last year's Warriors did not have Kevin Du Rant is strong in singles with the ball, so once Stephen and Clay are held down by the opponent, it will be very difficult for this team to win." Jeff Van Gundy said.

"Toronto switched defenses at all five positions, forcing Golden State to single out!" Mike Breen said.

"Well, judging from past experience, only switching defenses and forcing Stephens to single-handedly is the most effective way to restrict them. Steve's pass control system is based on Stephen and Kleiner's rare 3-point shooting in history In terms of ability. The most effective defensive method to limit off-ball screens and 3-point shooting is to switch defenses. And have you noticed that Toronto uses Draymond and Zaza to attack from the outside, and they use as many as possible The defense is focused on the three in the backcourt!" Jeff Van Gundy said.

(End of this chapter)