At this time, in a large conference room at the headquarters of the Houston Mosaic team, all the Mosaic team players and coaching staff were present, and they organized to watch the game.
"What do you think?"
Head coach Tomjanovich heard this and turned around to ask others.
"Old K is very cunning, I think it is possible. He does seem to be a little faster, but still slower than me." Dameng said.
Others also agreed, but Barkley remained silent.
"Charles, you know Lao K best, what do you think?" Tomjanovich asked.
Barkley looked solemn and said: "Compared with last season, his athletic quality has improved significantly. He can jump higher and faster, run faster, and his body's flexibility is also better. The most incredible thing is
What’s interesting is that this was accomplished while he was gaining weight, do you think it’s amazing?”
Dameng frowned and said: "This should be his own potential. I heard that he did not receive the most professional strength training before, and now that he can make up for it, he should be able to achieve such an effect.
But no matter how great his potential is, as he continues to gain weight, his athletic qualities should be almost reaching their limits."
Barkley nodded and said: "I think so too. But I am not very familiar with the current old K. In the four regular season games this season, he did not show such athletic qualities, nor did he show stronger defense than last season.
Ability, we will face a stronger old K in the Western Conference Finals."
There was a ruthless look in Dameng's eyes, and he said firmly: "No matter how much progress he makes, his assist defense can at most be improved to a higher level, but that level of assist defense ability is not enough to withstand my and your low-post attacks. Xi
Determined, we must win, and we will win for sure.”
Barkley also nodded. He is confident about defeating the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Even if Old K makes some progress and has some difficulties, the final winner will still be them.
But no one thought that the Suns could not beat the Nuggets, not even ESPN, which looked down on the Suns.
In fact, the current media has basically scheduled the two teams to face each other in the Western Conference Finals, that is, the Suns and Mosaics.
America West Arena, the game continues.
In the 4th minute of the second quarter, at 30:33, the Nuggets pulled back 3 points and were still 3 points behind. Wang Tiejun took the field again.
Sun attack.
He was in the low post on the left wing asking for the ball. Mutombo didn't dare to move forward anymore. He still defended and still gave him some space, but the space was not as big as in the first quarter.
At the same time, the Nuggets' defense immediately began to shrink a little towards the paint area. There is no doubt that Mutombo cannot guard him alone. This is a posture to double-team the basket.
The ball was passed down and when it was flying in the air, the Nuggets' defense instantly accelerated and contracted.
On the left wing, small forward Reggie Williams turned around and took a step. As soon as he stretched out his arm, his hand almost touched Wang Tiejun.
"Crack!"
He grabbed the ball with his right hand and threw it outward. The ball flew straight to Robert Horry on the three-point line.
"Distribution of the ball, so fast!"
Luo Lin shouted in the ESPN live broadcast booth.
Horry caught the ball and there was no defender within three steps of him. He took a step inward with the ball, jumped up, and shot a two-pointer from far away.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the two-pointer hit.
"call!"
Amid the cheers of the fans, Horry breathed a sigh of relief.
There is a lot of pressure. He feels that there is more pressure in the Suns than in the Mosaics. Dameng sometimes scolds him, but Lao K will not scold him, but after Dameng scolds him, he will pass the ball to him, but
Old K won't, he will just ignore him.
If his shooting wasn't better than Ceballos, this starting position wouldn't have been given to him.
This season he practiced shooting more, but what made him cry was that not only did his shooting percentage not improve, but it also dropped by two percentage points from last season's 47.4%. Is he one of those who reached his peak when he debuted?
The three-point shooting percentage has improved a lot, but it is only 33%, which cannot meet the team's requirements, which makes him a little frustrated.
Fortunately, his mental quality is good and he hit the ball. I hope Old K will give him the ball tonight.
Next, Wang Tiejun took on the responsibility of the low post pillar. The ball was given to him first, and he attracted double teams, and then distributed it to teammates who were open.
"Nine points and three assists in a single quarter. The Nuggets' low-post double-teaming tactic failed." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"The Suns led by 11 points at halftime, so there should be no problem this time." Su Qun said with a smile.
At this time, the capital, the men's basketball training base, was organizing to watch the game.
Director of the Basketball Department Liu Yumin is also here. She is a senior and is very familiar with the members of the national team. She has high prestige in the national team and is also very capable personally.
For example, Hu Weidong and Liu Yudong were brought into the national team by her last year. Many young members, including Hu Weidong, call her Mama Liu.
She also had a headache about Wang Tiejun's problem.
It's not that I don't want to call Wang Tiejun in, but the constraints from the sports department to the local sports bureau are too great.
The Capital Sports Bureau alone is clearly opposed to it. The apparent reason is to oppose the recruitment of someone who has been in prison, but the real reason is very simple. With Wang Tiejun coming in, Shan Tao's main position will definitely be gone. This involves
Benefits of local sports bureaus.
There are many other reasons. For example, the current men's basketball team is very strong and can be called a golden generation. It has no rivals in Asia. Many people think that there is no need to recruit a problematic person like Wang Tiejun.
Even the Heb Sports Bureau, for some reason, did not support her idea.
So during this period, she tried to solve the problem of Wang Tiejun's case through the higher-ups, but was delayed indefinitely.
One thing is certain, Wang Tiejun will definitely have no chance at this year's World Championships.
She also learned about Wang Tiejun's current attitude towards joining the national team through Zhang Lili. He would not join the national team until the case was overturned. Moreover, Wang Tiejun had never contacted her on his own initiative or asked Zhang Lili to contact her. This was enough to explain.
Problem.
Now it is no longer a question of whether the national team wants him or not, but that he is not willing at all.
The last time Zheng Haixia wanted to have an operation in the United States, she reported it, but Si Li did not approve it. The few dollars Si Li received from the Sports Commission were not enough, so he only approved the operation in China. Originally, she wanted to be reasonable.
She exchanged some U.S. dollars from Wang Tiejun to help Zheng Haixia go to the United States for surgery, but with the current attitude, it was not easy for her to operate.
Precisely because Wang Tiejun has been unable to enter the national team, the men's and women's basketball players are now too embarrassed to go to other people's training halls.
Originally, she had an idea to find a way to get some funds from the above, and then ask Wang Tiejun to exchange some US dollars and get a set of training equipment that he used. Unfortunately, this idea also came to nothing.
America West Arena, final, 96:108, the Suns won the G1 game at home by 12 points.
The Nuggets of Black 7 were behind for the whole game and never took the lead. It can be said that they lost clearly and had no chance of winning.
The key point is that Wang Tiejun cannot be guarded against.
Mutombo's one-on-one defense cannot prevent his offense.
He was double-teamed and couldn't prevent his passing ball.
In addition, the Suns' outside touch was pretty good tonight. Horry made 2 of 4 three-pointers and performed at a superb level. Wang Tiejun sent out 9 assists in the game.
In 40 minutes, he made 8 of 13 shots, a shooting percentage of 61.5%, and 5 of 9 free throws. He scored 21 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. He had a near triple-double.
The Suns had six players in double figures. Kevin Johnson scored 18 points, 11 assists and 3 steals, and his performance was equally impressive.
Mutombo's defense was really good, and he sent out 4 big blocks in the game. In the end, he blocked Wang Tiejun once, but he was blocked by Lao Wang twice. His shots were too slow, and his offensive weaknesses were undoubtedly exposed.
After the game, Wang Tiejun was interviewed by an ESPN reporter on the sidelines.
"Old K, the Bulls just finished the game, beating the Pacers by 27 points, and Jordan scored 33 points. What do you think about this?" the reporter asked.
"I'm very surprised, why are you asking me this question? This is not the Bulls' press conference, nor is it the finals." Lao Wang asked doubtfully.
The reporter smiled awkwardly and asked: "So for the Suns' second-round series, how many games is your goal?"
Lao Wang replied: "In a best-of-seven set format, I think we need to play at least four games."
"Pfft!"
Some people watching the excitement burst into laughter.
The ESPN reporter who was interviewing rolled his eyes and said to himself, Old K, can't you be more open-minded?
"Old K, congratulations on winning the G1 game." He said with a smile on his face.
"Thank you. Goodbye." Lao Wang smiled.
After asking three questions, the interview ended. He didn't have a good impression of ESPN, a TV station that was obsessed with Jordan, so he turned around and left.
Seeing Lao Wang leaving without hesitation, the reporter wanted to throw the microphone in his hand and cursed in his heart. Am I interviewing a lonely person?
Back in the locker room, the atmosphere was good. He chatted with his teammates for a while, then soaked in the medicine bucket. By the time he came out of the bucket, it was almost time for the post-game press conference.
"Old K, from the regular season to the first and second rounds this season, you have had a big change from last season, that is, you spend a lot of time supporting and distributing the ball, and the number of assists has increased significantly. Does this mean that you are moving towards being all-round?
direction of development?" asked a reporter at the press conference.
He didn’t think much and immediately said: “Compared with last season, my first change is my tactical position. More often the ball will get to me first, so when someone double-teams me, it is very easy to distribute the ball.
It's a natural change, but it's also a necessary choice. After all, I can't force a shot every time I'm double-teamed. That's the stupidest thing to do."
"Old K, how sure are you of making it to the Western Conference Finals now?" the next reporter asked.
"Thank you to the Sonics, they have chosen a good opponent for us. We are not the Sonics, and there is no way the Nuggets can hack us." He said with a smile.
"Ha ha……"
There was a lot of knowing laughter at the scene.
"Old K, do you think the most likely opponent in the Western Conference Finals is the Mosaics?" the next reporter asked.
"Of course, other than them, I don't think the Spurs can beat them," he said.
"So if you and the Mosaics meet in the Western Conference Finals, what do you think is the chance of reaching the finals?" the reporter asked.
He said without hesitation: "We were behind 1-3 in the regular season, but in the playoffs, I think there is a 50% chance."
"50%?" There was a burst of discussion at the scene. It seemed that most reporters did not agree with his probability prediction.
"Do you really think there is a 50% chance of defeating the Mosaic team?" the reporter asked again.
"Of course." He said.
"Is there any reason to support your result? Everyone knows that in the playoffs, you pay more attention to defense, and your defense is exactly your weakness. I think the Suns will be more at a disadvantage when they meet in the Western Conference Finals." The reporter asked again.
road.
"More disadvantage? One to three in the regular season. Do you think Mosaic has the strength to sweep us in the Western Conference Finals? This is really unbelievable to me. You are so crazy!" Lao Wang said in a mocking tone.
The reporter quickly explained: "I'm not saying a sweep, but I'm saying the Mosaic team's advantage will be greater than in the regular season."
"Words are just rhetoric, let's let the facts speak for themselves." Lao Wang ended the question.
On the 9th, there is no game.
In the morning, Mutombo accepted an interview with reporters and expressed his anger: "Everyone thinks that we are destined to be eliminated. You are even discussing the Western Conference Finals between the Suns and Mosaic, but we don't think that is the case.
result……"
It's just that his words did not trigger any public opinion. Not many media think that the Nuggets will continue to cheat. The Suns are indeed not the SuperSonics. Wang Tiejun's low-post offense is an ability that the SuperSonics do not have, and it is not that easy to cheat.
The Suns' second round of G2 is on May 11. The schedule is not as intensive as last season and there is plenty of rest time.
On the 10th, the Suns arranged training in the afternoon.
That night, the remaining two groups of second-round teams started their G1 battle. In the end, the Knicks defeated the Hawks and Mosaic defeated the Spurs.
On the 11th, match day, two G2 matches between the East and the West started at the same time.
"Crack!"
As Mutombo made another big shot, the ball flew into the sky, and then the whistle sounded, ending the first half.
This was his fifth big shot. Wang had one, Kevin Johnson had two, and AC Green had one. The last one in the first half was given to Ceballos who went in for a dunk.
At halftime, at 44:41, the Suns were 3 points behind at home, and the players went back to the locker room to rest.
Zhang Lili sighed at this time: "Ceballos is considered brave and dares to fight in. No one else dares to go in."
"Today Mutombo is in good form again. This is a crazy rhythm. Yesterday he complained to the media, and today he broke out. It seems that he is really angry." Su Qun said.
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "He and Tie Jun are two types of centers, weak in offense and strong in defense. If he and Tie Jun are on the same team, their combination will be stronger than the combination of Dameng and Barkley."
Su Qun smacked his lips, shook his head and smiled: "I think it is best for Old K to cooperate with a power forward like Barkley who can spread the distance. One inside and one outside, and Barkley is good at offense and defense, which is the best match for Old K."
"That's true." Zhang Li said with a smile.
In the ESPN live broadcast booth, commentator Winston Rollin said: "Old K didn't take many shots in the first half. He mainly split the ball during double-teaming, but his outside teammates didn't feel very good. Horry made 1 of 4 shots.
Dan Marley made 2 of 6 shots and wasted a lot of opportunities.
So the Suns stepped up their breakthroughs, but unfortunately Mutombo's defense was too strong, which completely ruined the Suns' breakthrough tactics."
Oldman said: "Old K made 4 of 6 shots in the first half, took a block from Mutombo, made 1 of 3 free throws, and scored 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 1 foul. The offensive efficiency was still the same.
Not bad, but the ball distribution effect was not good. I only got one assist in 10 times and made two turnovers."
…
"Old K, you will attack hard in the second half, and I will arrange for Dan Malley and Danny Ainge to open up the defenders for you." Once back in the locker room, the serious-looking head coach Westphal said.
Although the Nuggets' regular season record is not great, they are a strong team that has defeated the SuperSonics, and he does not dare to be careless.
The Nuggets were able to accomplish Black Seven's feat by relying on interior defense. Mutombo made 8 blocks in the last two games of the first round, 16 blocks in two games, and the SuperSonics didn't dare to go in if they blocked it.
, and the Suns were the same tonight, they were too blocked to go in.
However, he didn't panic too much. Regarding today's tactical arrangement, he deliberately asked Old K to strengthen his distribution support in the first half to allow the outside to be active.
By only playing active on the outside, Old K can save his physical energy, explode in the second half, and even defeat the opponent in the third quarter.
Unexpectedly, I couldn't survive from the outside today, so I had to let Old K attack hard, trying to use his strong attack to break the opponent's inside defense.
Fifteen minutes later, the third quarter started, and the first goal was the Nuggets' attack.
Small forward Reggie Williams moved without the ball on the left wing, using small to hit big. He dropped Horry and quickly cut inside. After receiving the ball at the left elbow, he entered the paint area and went straight to the basket.
Lao Wang returned to the basket and deliberately slowed down the rhythm. After Williams took off, he jumped up from the left side.
Although his playing speed is not as fast as his opponent's, he has an absolute height advantage and can completely keep up with Williams' rhythm.
"Crack!"
Blocking the shot from the side, he scored his second big shot of the day.
"Beautiful! Old K's defense exploded and the Nuggets were defeated." Su Qun shouted happily.
Zhang Lili laughed and said: "Every time his defense explodes, the Suns will definitely win."
AC Green, who returned to defense, got the ball and passed it to Lao Wang, and the Suns counterattacked.
Kevin Johnson went down as fast as he could, received a direct pass from Lao Wang, and succeeded in a layup.
44:43, Nuggets attack.
On the left wing, Williams once again used small to hit big, holding the ball past Horry and making a pull-up jumper.
"Bang!"
The Suns didn't feel good today, but the Nuggets didn't feel that good either. The ball missed and Wang Tiejun protected the rebound.
"Lao K's 9th rebound." Su Qun smiled.
"If it weren't for his strong rebounding today, the Suns would have lost even more." Zhang Li said with a smile.
The Nuggets quickly returned to defense, but the fast break failed. The Suns advanced steadily and began a positional battle.
In the low post on the left wing, outside the left sideline of the paint area, Lao Wang wanted the ball.
Mutombo defended and allowed a little space, which was a small half-step distance, to prevent Old K from easily shooting for nearly two points. In the second quarter, he blocked a front hook shot from Old K. But the overall defensive strategy
, it is better to defend against penetrations rather than shots, and mainly defend against Old K’s basket attack.
The Nuggets' perimeter and weak side began to shrink, and the double-teaming tactics were ready to go.
"Crack!"
After catching the ball with his right hand, Lao Wang turned around instantly.
Mutombo reacted quickly and immediately took a step back diagonally.
But at this moment, Lao Wang turned from up to down and slipped to the bottom.
Now Mutombo couldn't react. His mobility was not as good as that of Lao Wang. He couldn't keep up with the rhythm and was shaken.
To say that his strongest defensive area is not the edge of the paint area, but the basket.
Because the weakness of his lack of mobility can be minimized under the basket, and the attacker's mobility advantage has no room to be used under the basket unless he has the dreamy footsteps of a big dream.
On the weak side, Nuggets power forward Rafonso Ellis quickly returned to the basket to defend.
As the No. 5 pick in the first round of the same year as Lao Wang, his status and popularity in the league are far less than Lao Wang. At this moment, stimulated by adrenaline, he wanted to prove his existence and jumped up.
I want to hat one.
However, he was still sensible and did not block the shot from the front, but from the wing.
"Bang!"
Lao Wang turned around, dribbled the ball once, grabbed the ball and flew into the basket.
"Bang!"
The sound of the basket exploding sounded, and the referee's whistle also sounded.
Laphonso Ellis's thug fouled and received an additional penalty.
"brush!"
Wang Tiejun made a penalty hit.
At 44:46, the Suns overtook the score.
But then Nuggets shooting guard Stich hit a two-pointer to tie the score.
In the low post on the left wing, Lao Wang once again wanted the ball.
On the right wing, AC Green and Danny Ainge are both on the three-point line, with the former at the right bottom corner and the latter at 45 degrees from the right wing three-point line.
At 45 degrees from the three-point line on the left wing, it was Dan Marley. He got a pass from Kevin Johnson, and Nuggets shooting guard Stitch didn't dare to let it go.
The fake shot was passed, the ball was passed, Lao Wang received the ball, and immediately started to play Mutombo alone.
"Are the Nuggets going to double-team?" Luo Lin asked loudly in the ESPN live broadcast booth.
"Double-teamed!" his partner Oldman shouted back.
When the ball was passed to Lao Wang, the Nuggets immediately started double-teaming him very quickly.
Obviously, Nuggets coach Dan Issel knows that Mutombo cannot guard Old K alone and must double-team. Moreover, the Suns' outside touch was very poor in the first half. How long will it take not to double-team him at this time?
However, it was not the left wing that was double-teamed, but the right wing. Power forward Rafonso Ellis quickly implemented weak-side help defense, while small forward Reggie Williams did the same.
"Three-person double team, be careful!" Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
"Bang!"
Swinging up and down, Lao Wang started to slide to the bottom while dribbling.
Muttobom was a beat slower, but his position was further inside. He turned around and stuck to the upper side of Lao Wang, entangled the defense in a death style, and pushed downwards at the same time.
"Bang!"
But at this moment, Lao Wang stuck to the baseline and passed the ball to the ground. The basketball flew to AC Green in the right bottom corner.
Laphonso Ellis hurriedly turned back to defend, but it was already too late. Green caught the ball and took a shot. When he rushed back, he was one step behind.
"Bang!"
The basketball hit the basket and bounced high.
"Oh, why didn't you hit it?"
Zhang Lili, who was staring at the screen, suddenly sighed loudly.
"Compensation deduction?"
At this time, Su Qun shouted loudly, and the next moment, Zhang Lili said excitedly: "Yes, Wang Tiejun completed the make-up dunk. He completed a make-up dunk on Mutombo's head."
The Nuggets attack, Mutombo gets the ball in the low post on the left wing, receives the ball, turns and hooks.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang saw the opportunity and completed the grab at the moment when his opponent turned around and took off. Then he jumped up, caught up with his opponent at a faster speed, and slapped the ball to seal the goal.
Arriving in the frontcourt, he dropped low and Wang Tiejun suddenly turned around and cut into the paint.
It's just that Kevin Johnson's pass was half a beat slow. When the ball was passed, the Nuggets' defense had quickly shrunk, and Mutombo also followed up with the basket.
"It's a pity that the pass was a little slow." Zhang Liyi sighed as he paused.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang caught the ball and was surrounded by three people under the basket.
His passing vision is still there, but with six arms surrounding him, there is no passing line.
"Bang! Bang!"
After a series of blows from left and right, Laphonso Ellis and Reggie Williams were knocked over almost at the same time, without any resistance.
The next moment, Tieshan relied on fighting and broke out again.
"Bang!"
Mutombo groaned and also fell to the basket.
"boom!"
The entire American West Arena exploded instantly and turned into an erupting volcano.
"Bang!"
With three quick hits, Wang Tiejun cleared all the defensive power under the basket and ended the attack with a one-handed dunk.
"Hoo ho..."
The continuous explosions in an instant also made him gasp for breath.
The on-site commentator frantically shouted at the top of his lungs: "The penalty area sweeper, he's here, he's sweeping our opponents..."
Two minutes later, almost the same situation happened again. Wang Tiejun once again used a powerful attack under the basket to explode the opponent's basket.
This time, Nuggets power forward Rafonso Ellis couldn't stand up. He sprained his ankle after being knocked away.
Ellis' injury was a big loss for the Nuggets, who were forced to replace Russell with a prepared human shield.
This meat shield was something the Nuggets managed to grab from a minor leaguer. Russell, who had no chance to play in the league, relied on his size to get an annual salary of 2.5 million for two years with the Nuggets.
Some lottery picks are even higher.
Dan Issel adopted a mosaic defensive strategy, using a human shield to hold back Wang Tiejun and letting Mutombo help defend on the weak side.
But Wang Tiejun immediately proved with his performance that this was a stupid decision.
"Cut in, dunk? Beautiful! The tonnage of the human shield Laser is as high as 135 kilograms, but his mobility is so poor that he can't keep up with the Tiejun's movements at all, and Mutombo's mobility can't keep up either. In the Suns
With the team's spread-out tactics, it was too late for him to help defend on the weak side." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"The transmission is also beautiful!" Su Qun said excitedly.
Just now, Wang Tiejun turned around in the low post on the left wing and cut inside. Lasr, the human shield, couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all. And Mutombo, who was on the weak side, didn't move fast enough when he was pulled out.
There is no way to get back on defense.
After playing a few balls like this, the Nuggets called a timeout.
At the ESPN live broadcast, Luo Lin shook his head and said: "Because of the emergence of O'Neal and Old K, the price of meat in the league has soared.
Lasr, who came from the CBA, has no ability to play in the NBA and is not even qualified for a minimum salary contract, but he got a big contract with the Nuggets.
What I want to say is that to defend heavy behemoths like Old K and O’Neal, not just a human shield is effective, nor is tonnage enough.”
Oldman nodded and said: "I can understand their choice, because a human shield with tonnage, movement speed and sensitivity is not a human shield, but a lottery pick. If it is better, then
They are the next O'Neal and Old K."
"Haha..." Luo Lin laughed.
Oldman smiled and said: "So, if you want to limit behemoths like O'Neal and Old K, there may be no way to really defend them. Are human shields really useful? Can they really be defended by a human shield?
So I think we can only strengthen our offense to offset their scoring. This is the way to deal with them.
O'Neal and Old K are both strong in offense and weak in defense. On the offensive end, they find two space-based insiders, pull them out, and rush in from the outside to play."
"Like a bull?" Luo Lin said suddenly.
Oldman was startled and nodded quickly: "The Bulls' Clifford Robinson does meet my description. I think he can indeed deal with giants like Old K and O'Neal. Moreover, he has defeated Old K and O'Neal in the regular season.
It happened more than once, and O'Neal couldn't guard him."
At the end of the timeout, Dan Iser broke the pot and removed the human shield he spent a lot of money on, allowing Mutombo to face Wang Tiejun again, with substitute power forward Bissendler at the fourth position.
This is a role player, there is a gap in strength with AC Green, and he cannot help the Nuggets.
However, the Nuggets are a team based on defense, and they did not relax their defense and still implemented strict double-teaming at the basket.
It's a pity that after Wang Tiejun's athletic quality improved, his ability to attack the basket was further enhanced, and all kinds of rough fouls could not stop him from scoring.
In the end, the Suns won the G2 game, 88:98, winning by 10 points.