Watching McGrady push forward, the rest of the Magic team pulled away.

Liu Mang couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his palms on his shorts.

Liu Mang would only be in this situation when facing Tracy McGrady, the angry old Jordan, Carter, Kobe, Iverson... and others.

Looking at Maddie's lazy and confused eyes, Liu Mang felt that he was indeed full of murderous intent!

This guy is serious!

After the game started, Liu Mang's worries and doubts were gone. Why did he think so much? Just attack and put the ball into the basket, and defend McGrady!

Of course, just guarding Tracy McGrady made Liu Mang's palms sweat.

McGrady advanced beyond the three-point line and saw Liu Mang coming up on defense. He couldn't help but smile. It was the best feeling to face off against the opponent's best player.

In McGrady's eyes, Liu Mang is the best player of the Hawks. It is true that Liu Mang is not as powerful as the other two eagles who have begun to spread their wings, but when those two guys led the team by themselves, it's not like McGrady has never seen the Eagles.

The team's transformation was due to Liu Mang's arrival.

McGrady squinted his eyes and bent over to dribble while thinking about how to attack well. Seeing that Liu Mang was very active but didn't dare to stick too close, McGrady quickly made a choice, and the ball bounced to the highest point before hitting it with his left hand.

At one point, McGrady accurately grabbed the ball with his right hand midway through the ball's bounce, pulled it up suddenly, and shot a three-pointer!

Digging!

Liu Mang rushed forward, but it was of no use. McGrady had already thrown the three-pointer away. It was so flat that there was almost no arc! He plunged into the basket!

McGrady continued his touch at the end of the first quarter and hit a pull-up three-pointer!

What is dry pulling?

This is dry pulling!

Although Liu Mang has the skill of the king of pull-ups, he only uses that effect, and he cannot really pull-up like McGrady.

It’s too fast and hard to react!

The transition from dribbling to taking off to shooting is completely different from the rhythm of ordinary players. Of course, this is McGrady's own rhythm. Others are not used to it, but he has long been accustomed to it.

That weird rhythm of grabbing the ball and shooting it as soon as it bounces off the ground before it bounces while dribbling is a particularly powerful move in tennis that McGrady saw when he was into tennis as a child.

It is also difficult to find inspiration for a return shot. This kind of return shot is called a half volley.

That is to say, when the opponent's ball is not well controlled, it happens to be very close to the receiving player, and when the receiving player reacts quickly enough and has sufficient strength, the opponent's ball just hits the ground.

Hit the ball back as soon as it bounces. The ball will hit back faster and it will be harder for the opponent to defend against it.

When other players shoot after dribbling, even if they want to speed up the rhythm, they just hit the ball harder to make the ball bounce back faster, but McGrady is different because the opponent can clearly see if he hits the ball harder, whether it is changing direction or not.

When you pull up to shoot, the opponent can tell that you are going to make a change. Although they may not be able to tell what the final change will be, if the defensive prediction is good enough and they understand your playing style well enough, it will definitely have a big impact.

Probability can make a correct prediction.

But Tracy McGrady is different. He found the weird rhythm from tennis, and just shoots the ball normally, but catches the ball in advance, and produces the same or even better effect without hitting the ball hard to give the opponent a chance to judge.

This weird rhythm was used by Tracy McGrady in his dry pull. This is what makes his dry pull unique.

Others' pull-up can only be called a three-pointer after dribbling, but McGrady's pull-up is called a pull-up.

stressed!

When Tracy McGrady reached his original peak, the pressure on Liu Mang was too great!

It's the feeling that McGrady's fans miss the most. Liu Mang feels that McGrady can use one word to describe how he plays now - as he pleases!

In transition, the Eagles attack.

Liu Mang advanced with the ball.

The problem on the offensive end is not big. Although McGrady's defense is good, it is not at the defensive first team level. It is between excellent and the best defensive second team. It is not enough to support the defensive system, and it is basically impossible to enter the best defensive team.

, the Magic asked him to do too many things, and he couldn't maintain such defense all the time.

Liu Mang and Boozer's pick-and-roll easily tore apart the Magic's defense. Tracy McGrady and De Klerk blocked Liu Mang. Liu Mang passed the ball to the pick-and-roll and then cut from the left to Bu one step inside the left free throw line.

In Zell's hands, Steven Hunter went to cover Boozer. Boozer passed the second pass to Muhammad under the basket. Muhammad caught the ball and dunked with both hands and scored two points.

It is not difficult to score, especially the second team of the Eagles, which is much faster than the pace and easier to score, mainly on defense!

After the Eagles scored, they retreated quickly. Watching McGrady advance, Liu Mang once again defended. No matter if McGrady broke through this time, it was better to let McGrady break through and get two points than three points, and he could double-team inside.

, Liu Mang didn’t believe that McGrady’s teammates could score even without the ball.

Double-teaming defense is a gamble.

Facing a superstar of this level, the only option is to gamble.

Seeing that McGrady was about to reach the three-point line, Liu Mang stepped out of the three-point line and prepared to defend McGrady.

But when McGrady was one step away from the three-point line, he directly grabbed the ball and took off!

Depend on!

Liu Mang couldn't care less, so he rushed forward and knocked McGrady over! Then he hugged McGrady, who fell backward, and was carried by the inertia for several steps. He hugged the opponent tightly to prevent him from falling to the ground.

The referee was frightened by Liu Mang's actions and almost gave him a flagrant foul. Fortunately, although Liu Mang made a huge foul, he gave McGrady good protection, knocking McGrady over but still protecting him.

This is considered a game foul and does not go beyond the scope of the game.

McGrady was also frightened. His eldest cousin was almost killed by a criminal and his talent was stifled. McGrady had a shadow in his heart. When he saw Liu Mang rushing up and knocking him over, McGrady was so frightened that his head

There was a blank, but apart from the pain of being hit in the stomach and chest by Liu Mang's arm, the imagined pain of his back falling to the floor did not come. McGrady opened his eyes and saw Liu Mang's hand trying to drag him down.

Despite his weight of nearly 100 kilograms, he also had a ferocious expression on his face.

Although his chest hurt and his little heart was still beating violently, and he was in shock, Maddie looked at Liu Mang's expression and couldn't help but want to laugh!

This kid is so evil that he can't even be evil!

Not to mention, Liu Mang's rough but careful actions to protect his opponents not only did not make McGrady angry, but the strong fighting spirit and basketball spirit of protecting his opponents made McGrady appreciate Liu Mang even more.

There was nothing Liu Mang could do about it. Tracy McGrady was at the peak of the Magic and had no answers! It was common to miss five or six shots in a row.

Liu Mang can't let McGrady's three-point touch continue, otherwise he will be as miserable as rookie James, who was hit by McGrady and scored 8 three-pointers in a row.

McGrady's three-pointers have been a headache for opponents this season. This year, his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 38%, averaging 2.6 shots per game, and he even goes out of his way to score several in a row from time to time.

This is McGrady's first year in his prime. Opponents don't have many ways to limit McGrady's pull-up three-pointers. There will be no defense against McGrady's pull-up three-pointers until next season. At that time, McGrady's helpers are even worse.

They are also severely restricted. This season has been the worst for McGrady.

However, Liu Mang knew that McGrady's shortcoming in pull-up three-pointers was that McGrady needed a rhythm, a rhythm of consecutive hits. In this rhythm, it is normal for McGrady to score five or six three-pointers in a row, but when this rhythm is broken, McGrady may

I can't even make a three-pointer next time!

Therefore, when Liu Mang saw that McGrady was about to pull up for the fifth time in a row starting from the last minute of the first quarter, he directly went up and knocked McGrady over with an elbow.

Without thinking, he just hit him and couldn't help but protect McGrady.

The weight of 956 kilograms and the inertia brought by his own weight of 889 kilograms. It took a lot of effort for Liu Mang to stop the car. He wanted to ask McGrady if something was wrong, but he saw McGrady actually smiling.

!

Depend on!

Liu Mang also wanted to help McGrady up, so he released his hands and let McGrady fall to the floor, then turned his head back to the three-point line and waited for McGrady to make a free throw.

McGrady didn't expect that Liu Mang actually let go of him and fell to the ground. It didn't hurt at all, but McGrady felt so embarrassed!

The fans at the scene couldn't help laughing when they saw Liu Mang's childish behavior.

Fans speculated that McGrady must have said something that made Liu Mang throw him to the ground childishly, but McGrady lying on the floor was so innocent. He didn't say anything or did anything, and he was the one who was pushed down.

This little hooligan pushed himself and threw him to the ground. Is there any justice in it?

Liu Mang's big move just now really shocked the fans. Fortunately, Liu Mang protected McGrady from behind.

Originally, the Magic players were about to rush forward when they saw Liu Mang's big move. The Eagles players were also frightened. Everyone could see that Liu Mang was aiming the ball at someone.

But before the Magic players could get angry or the Hawks players could prepare to prevent a fight or something, they saw Liu Mang protecting McGrady. After two or three seconds of not knowing what happened, Liu Mang childishly threw McGrady to the ground.

When the Magic players saw that nothing was going on, they ignored Liu Mang. De Klerk and Whitney came over to help McGrady up. McGrady waved his hand and lay on the ground unable to get up. Please take it slow first.

The Magic team doctor ran over to check McGrady while Rivers was yelling. McGrady indicated that he was fine. Except for the pain in his stomach and chest from Liu Mang's arm, nothing else happened. It was just too embarrassing to be thrown on the floor.

I can't get up because my stomach hurts and I find it difficult to speak.

After confirming that McGrady was okay, the referee urged McGrady to get up and shoot free throws.

Liu Mang fouled Tracy McGrady on a three-point shot.

If this foul is placed a few years later, especially more than ten years later, even if the opponent is protected, it will definitely be a flagrant foul. But now, since it is protected, the referee will give a common foul. If it is not

McGrady has already made a shooting move, and probably hasn't even made a free throw.

Rivers was very dissatisfied with the penalty and yelled at the referee, but the referee ignored it and signaled McGrady to take a free throw.

McGrady was used to these big defensive moves. He took his teammates' hands and stood up, walking to the free throw line.

There are influences from all aspects. My stomach still hurts after being beaten, I was made to laugh and cry because of Liu Mang's behavior and I couldn't concentrate for a while. I was already in a rhythm but was broken by a violent foul. All of them affected McGrady's shooting.

One of the factors was that McGrady made all his first two free throws when he stepped to the free throw line.

Tracy McGrady's free throw shooting is really average. In his best season, it was only 76%. In most seasons, it was just over 70%. When he even had a free throw shooting rate of more than 60%, he told others not to wear 23 in the future.
To be continued...