Suns: Wang Tiejun, AC Green, Horry, Dan Malley, Kevin Johnson
ESPN live broadcast, Winston Rollin said: "The Nuggets have a strong interior defense, and Mutombo has shown stronger defensive ability in the playoffs. I even think he will be the best in the next second round. Exploded greater ability to protect the rim. Although the Suns are very strong, the Nuggets do not have no chance to continue to create miracles."
Carter Oldman nodded and said: "Kevin Johnson made a lot of breakthroughs, and Old K also attacked in the low post. Mutombo did have many opportunities to make big blocks.
In the last two games of the first round, Mutombo had 8 big blocks in each game. The blocks made the SuperSonics afraid to rush in, and even Rainman Kemp did not dare to rush in and dunk. It can be said that the Nuggets can complete it. Hei Qi, he takes the lead."
In the CCTV live broadcast booth, Zhang Lili analyzed: "Be careful when playing against the Nuggets. Mutombo's ability to block shots at the basket is too strong."
Su Qun asked: "Coach Zhang, what do you think the Suns' chances of winning this second-round series are?"
Zhang Lili said: "The opportunity is still great. The Suns are not the SuperSonics. The SuperSonics play too evenly. There are no superstar-level offensive points. You will get one block when you go in, and he will get one block after five games. Tombo gave away 23 big shots.
The Suns have a strong offensive point in the Iron Army. Even if Mutombo's defense is strong, he cannot completely prevent the Iron Army.
As long as the Tiejun contain Mutombo here, they will have the opportunity to rush in and fight from the outside."
Su Qun said with a smile: "In the three first-round series, Lao K averaged 35 minutes, 28 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 3.1 blocks, 1.5 turnovers and 3.5 fouls. He is even stronger in the playoffs. I believe he will win in the second round." better."
Zhang Liji smiled and said: "His playing time has been controlled from the regular season to the first round of the playoffs. I believe that the physical problems that occurred last season will not become a problem that limits his performance in the next series."
The two of them were talking and started playing.
The home team came out later, and there was a roar like a roaring tsunami.
At this time, the domestic capital, Fengshen Street, has become a large construction site.
Eight months have passed. Half of the buildings facing the street have been built. They are all five floors and are being renovated. The vacant area has been leveled.
Many people have arrived at the Iron Army Training Center since early in the morning. This situation has been like this since the start of the NBA playoffs a week ago.
Wang Tiejun's parents were also taken over by Daya, who also moved the big TV at home and installed it in the basketball hall.
The national men's and women's basketball teams came here for a while at first, but after Wang Tiejun returned to the United States, they didn't come much. They are going to compete in the World Championships this year, and the training tasks are heavy, and the time is tight, and there is no time.
The ones who came were mainly people from Nortel. After the first round started, Yu Feihong led a large group of people from Beiying to come here every day. The TV here is big and watching the game is more enjoyable.
Under the influence of her and Huang Sanshi, more and more people in Nortel like basketball. It seems that a trend has formed in the school. If you don't talk about the NBA in your free time, you can't keep up with the fashion.
Many students from her own class came, and many students from other classes also came.
Not only the 94-level students, but also Jin Qiao, Chen Yihan, Jiang Qinqin, Fu Dalong, etc. all came over.
Altogether, there were hundreds of people of all sizes, and the basketball court was packed to the brim.
Liu Sister and Wang Aiguo also liked the large number of people, firstly because it was brought by Yu Feihong, and secondly because they were used to it in the countryside, and everyone gathered together whenever they had nothing to do, and it was lively.
"Brother Fei, won't Old K rebuild this training gym?" Huang Sanshi asked before the game started.
"Let's build it, but it shouldn't be in the plan this year. He will have to train here when he comes back in a while," Yu Feihong said.
Huang Sanshi paused and couldn't help but ask: "Are you and him talking at all?"
Yu Feihong's psychological quality was extremely strong. Feng Danyun glanced at Xiao Huang lightly and said: "What are you gossiping about? Have I asked about you and your female student? He and I are friends, so let's leave it like that.
,Good."
"..." Xiao Huang misfired.
At half past eight, the game officially started.
"victory!"
Before going on the court, all the Suns players gathered together and shouted slogans.
"Victory! Victory..."
All the home fans cheered, and the momentum of the home court began to rise.
In the jump ball session, Lao Wang took the lead in taking the ball away, and the Suns attacked.
"I always feel like Lao K dances a little faster than before, but it's not obvious." Su Qun said with a smile.
Zhang Lili recalled the recent situation and said: "It is possible that after more than a year of the most professional training, his physical potential has been tapped, and it is entirely possible and normal for his athletic quality to improve. After all, he is only 21 years old.
Not even that, now is the last age group to start strength training, it’s not too late.”
At this time, Wang Tiejun came to the low post and squeezed directly towards the basket.
Mutombo's tonnage is 118 kilograms, which is 8 kilograms lighter than him, and his absolute strength is smaller than him, so he did not carry out a hard top, but defended in front, which did not give him an opportunity to easily catch the ball under the basket.
Mutombo is also very confident that even if Lao K catches the ball under the basket, with his ability to protect the basket under the basket, Lao K will suffer a lot. In the regular seasons of these two seasons,
He also blocked Lao K several times.
He and the Nuggets coaching staff have studied Old K's style of play, especially the weird power-playing technique.
In fact, not only him, which team and inside players in the league have not been studied?
The result of their research is that they cannot defend Old K personally, or even close to him. They need to leave a certain amount of space to avoid being knocked away or even knocked over by Old K.
This kind of relaxed defense cannot completely prevent Old K. His hook shots and throws are very fast.
But Lao K is not the kind of person with strong offensive ability who can completely prevent death. Through such defense, it only needs to reduce his offensive efficiency.
Now, although Mutombo moved forward, he did not wrap around Lao Wang, leaving him a certain amount of space.
Kevin Johnson saw Lao Wang reaching the basket and immediately hoisted the ball in.
Needless to say, his passing skills are among the best in the league. After reaching the top of this lob, it seemed that it immediately lost its momentum and immediately fell downwards. The landing point was near the basket. Mutombo was in the front position.
It is very difficult to steal the ball.
Because the defender left a certain amount of space, Lao Wang couldn't use Tieshan to rely on him. In other words, he couldn't sweep away the defensive force under the basket before he caught the ball.
He jumped up and grabbed the falling ball with both hands.
Almost at the same time, Mutombo also jumped up, with the purpose of preventing Old K from dunking and playing an alley-oop over his head.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang grabbed the ball with both hands. At this time, he saw a big hand of the defender blocking the ball. If he chose to dunk the ball, he would be blocked.
The next moment, he landed on the ground, and with one step, the iron mountain suddenly erupted.
"not good!"
Mutombo's landing time was a little slower, but with this little time, he had no time to move.
"Bang!"
With great force, he was knocked away a step as soon as his feet touched the ground. When he tried to step forward again, his opponent had already jumped up.
Lao Wang's Iron Mountain strike does not rely on great strength, because it does not need to be very big, it just needs to knock the opponent away.
As his playing experience becomes more and more abundant, his use and control of power are getting better and better, and the number of full-out blows that waste physical energy is becoming less and less.
"yeah!"
At this moment, even before Wang Tiejun had finished, the scene burst into loud cheers and countless pairs of arms were swaying.
"Bang!"
Smashing the basket with one hand, he answered the cheers given to him by the home fans with a clean one-handed dunk.
The Nuggets coach is Dan Issel, who, like Westphal, is a second-year head coach.
I used to be an NBA power forward and have good qualifications as a player. I have won a championship, an All-Star MVP, a scoring champion once, an All-NBA First Team selection once, and four All-NBA Second Teams. This honor is better than three.
The big super center is pretty good, at least not bad.
He believed in Mutombo's defensive ability. Although he was beaten once this time, he didn't show any sign. He was very calm. He had just completed Black Seven and he was confident to complete it again. The Suns were not invincible. As long as they defended
If you live in Lao K, you don't have to worry about other people.
Nuggets offense.
On the right wing, point guard Lauf broke through and made a quick stop jumper.
Under the basket, Mutombo judged that the ball was a little short and would rebound, so he quickly moved towards the landing point.
"Why is he so fast?"
But at this moment, a person moved first, hitting him first and getting him stuck behind.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang moved from the basket to the front right side of the basket, protecting the rebound.
At this time, Lightning Kevin Johnson was making a pass, so he quickly threw it over. The former caught the ball and made a pass, but the Nuggets couldn't catch up and successfully completed the layup.
0:4, Nuggets attack.
On the right wing, shooting guard Stich attacked with the ball, broke through Dan Marley, and made a mid-range jump shot outside the paint area. The shot was almost blocked by AC Green in the low post. He adjusted the height of the shot in the air, and the ball flew towards the basket.
This time, Lao Wang did not let Mutombo have a chance to enter the basket. He was careless last time, and this time he directly blocked his opponent behind him.
"Bang!"
At this time, the basketball hit the basket and rebounded. Although Mutombo was stuck outside, Nuggets power forward Ellis rushed in to grab the offensive rebound, but he was not high enough and was caught by Lao Wang.
"The Nuggets are still very active in fighting for offensive rebounds." Rollin said in the ESPN commentary box.
Oldman nodded and said: "Lafonso Ellis and Lao K are rookies of one year, the fifth pick in the first round, the pick is very high, he can play at the third and fourth positions, the Nuggets have great expectations for him
Gao started 82 games in his rookie season, averaging 33.5 minutes per game.
His offense is good and he can stretch out. 43% of his offense is in the paint, and the rest is outside. His rebounding is also good, averaging 9.1 per game in his rookie season and 8.6 this season, accounting for 32% of offensive rebounds.
Last season this figure was 36%, which is a slight decrease."
Sun attack.
Kevin Johnson broke through and went to the basket for a throw, but he got a sap and was slapped by Mutombo.
Fortunately, with luck, the ball fell to AC Green on the right wing and was snatched by him.
Green forced a shot over Rafonso Ellis for nearly two points and missed. Mutombo grabbed the backcourt rebound.
"Both of these were unreasonable strong attacks. Tiejun already had a vacant position just now." Zhang Lili said with some displeasure.
"Yes, it's unreasonable. I should give it to Lao K. He's completely empty." Su Qun nodded quickly.
In the live broadcast team of CCTV, Lao Zhang is a guest employee and gets paid, but there is no establishment at CCTV. However, he is completely a basketball major and is familiar with the NBA, so this team is completely centered on him and is in charge of him.
Moreover, he is so familiar with Lao Wang that the team's expenses in the United States are now paid by him in exchange for US dollars from Lao Wang. It is said that CCTV is ready to give him a formal establishment.
The Nuggets attack, small forward Reggie Williams singles out Horry. He was the fourth pick in the first round of 1987. He is a forward and guard swingman. He is 201 centimeters tall and weighs less than 90 kilograms. He is fast and explosive.
Robert Horry is 206 centimeters and 100 kilograms. Although he has a height advantage, his flexibility and speed are far behind. At this point, Reggie Williams has a mismatch advantage of using the small one to beat the big one.
On the left wing three-point line, in a tentative step, Williams passed Horry in one step, took the ball into the wing, and headed straight for the paint area.
Wang Tiejun moved to the left midfielder position in the paint area. As Williams approached, he immediately retreated to defend.
He had to retreat because Mutombo had already taken the opportunity to move towards the basket. If he stayed at the waist to intercept Williams, the opponent could penetrate his defense with just one pass.
At this time, Williams made an emergency stop at the waist for a jump shot, and the ball flew toward the basket.
"call!"
Lao Wang just retreated to the basket and took a step forward, but missed by a little and blocked the air.
But Williams was startled. It was really just a little bit off, just one or two centimeters. If his shooting speed was a little slower, the ball might be caught directly. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to hit it so deep next time.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the two-pointer hit.
"What a pity!" Su Qun sighed.
"It's a pity that such a ball cannot be defended in one go, but through this defense, the opponent will not dare to penetrate so deep next time. Tiejun's defense this time has achieved its goal." Zhang Li said with a smile.
"The speed at which Lao K jumped out just now was indeed much faster than before." Su Qun said with a smile.
"In this situation before, if he was under the basket, he usually wouldn't make it up," Zhang Li said with a smile.
2:4, Suns attack.
From the low post on the left wing, Lao Wang wanted the ball, but Mutombo still moved forward.
"ball!"
He presses his left elbow against his opponent and raises his right hand high, signaling the arc to hang his back hand.
At the top of the arc, Kevin John's sharp eyes noticed a tactical gesture on Lao Wang's right hand, and he immediately understood it.
At this time, he suddenly had bad luck and was pulled to the left wing.
At this moment, Wang Tiejun, who was in the low post, suddenly turned around and cut into the paint along the baseline.
The next moment, he pushed inward with one hand and Kevin Johnson passed the ball in.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang stepped into the paint area, caught the ball, and then exploded.
"Bang!"
He opened his hand to hold a bow and performed a chop with one hand, and the whole audience burst into cheers.
"yeah!"
An on-site commentator roared excitedly: "Very beautiful internal and external coordination, the lightning is still powerful, and Lao K's cutting is extremely fast.
At the same time, his dunking action is also very explosive, not at all like the explosive power of a powerful and heavy center, he has changed too much."
"Yes, Old K has become faster. His cutting speed did not allow Mutombo to react at all, and he has also become more explosive." Another commentator also said excitedly.
Mutombo was amazed in his heart. Old K's cutting action just now was completely beyond his understanding of Old K, and caught him off guard.
"Lao Mu, you seem to be unable to guard against me." Lao Wang started talking trash and gave his opponent a short name.
"Old wood?"
Mutombo muttered something in his mouth but did not object.
His name is dozens of characters long, and the surnames of his ancestors are all in his name. Some people call him this, some call him that, and the name is Lao K.
But he was not convinced that he couldn't defend himself. Although his face showed no expression and he was still honest, he decided in his heart that he wanted to give Old K a good look. A bloody look on his face was the best answer.
However, he miscalculated. In the following games, Lao Wang rarely went directly to the basket. In most cases, he took positions on both wings in the low post, and then left him behind to cut inside.
His movement speed was not enough and he obviously couldn't keep up with Lao Wang. After being beaten twice by Lao Wang, he had no choice but to change his tactics. He no longer moved forward, but instead defended against breakthroughs rather than shots.
His top defense has one thing in common with his forward defense, which is to leave a certain amount of space to prevent Lao Wang from having a chance to hit him.
However, Lao Wang is not only capable of strong attacks at the basket, but also has hooks and throws near the basket. When he leaves a certain amount of space, it is almost open. He was hit three times in a row and hit two.
.
He wanted to block Lao Wang, but his movement speed was not enough. His blocking area was more under the basket, and his blocking ability in this close area was obviously not enough.
Now Lao Wang's bullet speed has also increased, and he can jump faster than Mutombo. When the opponent gives him a certain amount of space, he wants to block him. With his shot height and shot speed, he is even the leader in blocks.
It's also very difficult.
In the 10th minute of the first quarter, Wang Tiejun made 6 of 8 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, and scored 14 points and 4 rebounds. His offensive efficiency was very high and he was replaced.
With this efficiency, it can be concluded that he has defeated Mutombo. Mutombo only gave Kevin Johnson one big shot in the first quarter and did not hit him.
At this time, at 18:25, the Suns led by 7 points at home.
A few minutes later, at the end of the first quarter, at 23:29, the Suns led by 6 points.
"If they can't guard against Old K, the chance of the Nuggets winning this series is very small. Then I judge that the Nuggets will double-team Old K next and compete with Old K's ability to distribute the ball and the Suns' accurate shooting from the outside.
It's over." Luo Lin analyzed in the ESPN commentary box.
"Old K averaged 4.7 assists per game in the regular season and 4.2 assists per game in the first round. The Nuggets can only bet on the Suns' outside touch failure," Oldman said with a smile.
At this time, Luo Lin smiled and said: "By the way, man, Lao K has always been dissatisfied with our predictions of winning chances, so do you think the Suns have a chance to reach the finals?"
"Um……"
Oldman hesitated for a moment and said: "Actually, I have always considered this issue, but to disappoint Old K, I have the same view. It is difficult for the Suns to beat Mosaic. The Suns only won one of the four regular season games. , this is enough to explain the problem."
Luo Lin suddenly looked serious and said: "But the first quarter just told me that things may not be that easy."
"What do you mean?" Oldman asked immediately.
Luo Lin said: "Didn't you notice that in the first round, Old K's performance was not obvious, but in the first quarter just now, Old K showed faster movement speed."
Oldman nodded and said: "Yes, I also noticed that he has become faster. But this is normal, he is very young, not an old guy."
Luo Lin said: "This kind of progress definitely did not happen within a day or two, and it was not shown before. This shows that Lao K has been holding back. Why?"
"For the playoffs?" Oldman said.
Nodding, Luo Lin said: "To be precise, it is for the Mosaic team. He now needs to use the second round series to prepare, improve his condition, and have a final run-in with his teammates, and then compete with the Mosaic team in the Western Conference Finals Bundle."
"That's how it should be."
Oldman nodded, but then said: "But even if he is faster, I'm afraid it won't change anything. There is a gap in overall strength."
Luo Lin nodded and said: "There is progress after all. At least his assist defense speed will be faster. Doesn't he lack assist defense?"
