Chapter 546 [Alliance suppression, one win and one loss]
People have discovered a magical thing. In back-to-back games this season, Yang Jian performed even more bravely.
Other Sonics players will be less physically fit when playing back-to-back games. At this time, it is reasonable for Yang Jian, as the core, to take more shots. He dares to take responsibility and performs well.
Yang Jian will increase his possession of the ball in back-to-back games, and the ball will pass through his hands in almost every round. Coach George Karl knows that Yang Jian's physical strength is amazing and will not deliberately reduce his playing time and arrange for others to play more.
On the 24th, the SuperSonics played back-to-back away games against the Spurs, losing 95-99, ending their winning streak.
Yang Jian made 14 of 24 shots, 4 of 10 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 36 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
He performed well but lost because his teammates performed terribly. Only three people on the SuperSonics team scored in double figures. Payton had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists, and Osella Harrington had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Moreover, Harrington's shooting percentage was still very low, shooting 5 of 14 for 35.7% and no free throws.
In the locker room after the game, Yang Jian couldn't help but say a few words to Harrington. Yang Jian was doing this for Harrington's benefit. He only relies on his body to play, and he will only be a role player for the rest of his life.
The Spurs' interior players are very good at defending in the low post. Harrington was still attacking with the ball in the low post, just to make himself uncomfortable. The result was certainly not good. He suffered three big blocks and almost missed all the interference shots. He scored
Three of the five goals were for cake and one was for an offensive rebound and a tip-in.
Harrington wanted to develop a post-up game in the direction of Barkley, but the route was wrong. Barkley played like that because he entered the league in an era when everyone was playing post-up. If Barkley entered the league as a rookie now, he would definitely have to practice
Focus on face-to-face offense, and accurate shooting is king.
The Spurs' twin towers overwhelmed the SuperSonics' interior and scored 59 points together.
Tim Duncan made 8 of 16 shots, 6 of 6 free throws, and scored 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 assists. David Robinson made 10 of 14 shots, 9 of 14 free throws, and scored 29 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
"The Admiral"'s muscular body makes it easy for people to think that he is a powerful center. In fact, he is more inclined to be a light and agile inside, very fast and comprehensive in skills. This style is the style of Ben Wallace and Bush
Ladd Miller is annoying, they are better at defending in the penalty area.
If the opponent's inside players keep attacking the basket with their backs, the Sonics' two young inside players will perform very well. But Robinson and Duncan will pull out to cover their outside teammates, and they will also make alley cuts from the baseline and the middle.
The ball hits the basket.
As soon as the big man rushes up, Ben Wallace is overwhelmed. He is too short and it is difficult to prevent opponents from shooting in the penalty area. Miller cannot play for too long and is prone to making mistakes due to lack of experience. Schrempf and Stephen Jackson serve as No. 4
The position will be a defensive weakness, and it is impossible to withstand Duncan's low attack.
Therefore, George Karl let Harrington play for a long time. At least he has a height of 206cm and a weight of 110kg. As a result, his performance on both ends of the offense and defense was not very good, and he could not seize the opportunity to prove himself.
Yang Jian praised the Spurs' two stars after the game, and was even more convinced that it would be difficult to beat the Spurs in the playoffs. The Spurs' inside advantage is too great, and it is different from the Lakers. The Lakers only have O'Neal, and their opponents are in the low post.
You can double-team him. If you double-team the Spurs' twin towers, they can play beautiful inside-passing and inside-out coordination.
Usually one of Duncan and Robinson is in the high post and the other is in the low post. No matter which one of them attracts a double-team, the other will immediately cut through and hit the basket after receiving the ball.
The Spurs outside players are also very determined in their shots, and they are not afraid of missing shots. The two big men will fight for offensive rebounds. The Spurs also have an advantage in rebounding. Only Ben Wallace in the SuperSonics is good at rebounding, and Miller still needs to practice.
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If Anthony Mason Jr. is not seriously injured and reimbursed, it will definitely be a headache for the Spurs. When Mason was in the SuperSonics, there were two strong black men who could resist people and grab rebounds. It was difficult for the Spurs' twin towers to take advantage of rebounding. It was obvious last season
No match for the Sonics.
The Sonics' weakness inside is just a weakness. Another weakness is that except for Yang Jian, Payton, and Schrempf, the performance of others on the offensive end is very unstable.
The new players perform well when things go well, but when things go wrong, they may sleepwalk throughout the game. And except for Stephen Jackson, who just joined the team, and Rashard Lewis, who has little playing time, everyone else's physical strength has dropped significantly.
If players don't rest well, they will definitely be in poor condition. When playing against a weak team, George Karl uses rotation in the formation, which can help the players reasonably allocate their physical strength. When fighting in a tough battle, too many rotations are not enough, so stars must be brought in.
On the 26th, the SuperSonics returned to their home court to face the Spurs again.
This time, the SuperSonics won 97 to 85.
George Karl adjusted his tactics and stopped insisting on fast breaks. He stabilized the rhythm and settled into positional battles. The players opened up to create singles opportunities for Yang Jian.
This adjustment made the Spurs very uncomfortable. The physical strength of the players in the position battle was slow, and the Sonics also reduced their mistakes. In the last game they lost, the Sonics made 19 turnovers, and Yang Jian also made 3 turnovers.
The quality of the Spurs' return defense is very high, and the speed of the two towers is not slow. The Spurs usually only have one big man in the low post when attacking. Four people can guarantee the return defense, which will not allow the Sonics to easily get the opportunity to play more fast breaks and play less.
The SuperSonics rookies are relatively rough at playing and lack experience. When rushing to pass the ball to find the star during the fast break, they are prone to making mistakes. When they slow down and get into position, the rookies' passing accuracy is much higher. They can just wait for the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot.
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The disadvantage of playing this way is that it is difficult for role players to score, and Yang Jian's positional battle can still ensure scoring efficiency. The Bulls used this method before, with the ball on the offensive end concentrated on the star, and the others worked hard to defend, with a clear division of labor.
Yang Jian made 12 of 20 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 32 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Payton made 9 of 20 shots, 4 of 7 three-pointers, 1 of 1 free throws, and scored 23
Points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
The two of them basically passed the ball to each other, and they cooperated tacitly to win the game.
The substitute small forward, veteran Dale Ellis, also performed well. He came off the bench for 20 minutes, made 5 of 8 shots, 3 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 13 points.
When Ellis came on the court, he stood in the left corner waiting for an opportunity. He assumed the task of Sam Perkins in previous seasons, and he did a good job of shooting more accurately than Perkins.
Brad Miller and Schrempf are also more suitable for positional warfare, as their speed cannot make fast breaks.
Another important factor in the Spurs' loss is David Robinson's inaccurate shooting. Once he misses the mid-range shot, the Twin Towers will be more embarrassed. All four insiders of the two teams gathered near the penalty area to fight hand-to-hand, and the Twin Towers' shooting percentage will not be
Very high.
Yang Jian firmly believes that the SuperSonics still have the strength to win the championship this season. However, he also discovered the league's intention to suppress him. Opponents are making more and more small moves when defending him. In physical confrontations, the referee generally does not call the ball.
In the two games, Yang Jian only got four free throws against the Spurs. Outside players can slow down his breakthrough speed and help inside players cover up defense, so he also suffered a few big blocks.
Other Sonics players don't take many free throws. Currently, their record ranks first in the league, and their average number of free throws per game ranks seventh from the bottom in the league.
The league can no longer tolerate the dominance of the Sonics. In order to make the championship more suspenseful and the game more competitive, president David Stern began to make it more difficult for the Sonics to defend their title.
It’s just that Allen Iverson and Karl Malone took more free throws than Yang Jian, Bucks power forward Sharif Abdul-Rahim and Nuggets forward Van Horn actually averaged more free throws per game than him.
What's going on?
Faced with this situation, there is nothing Yang Jian can do about cheating. The media will not report the news about his lack of free throws and speak out for the Sonics' situation. Only the fans can find out by themselves. After all, Yang Jian is not an emperor, and he is not powerful enough to hire and control.
The media controls public opinion.
All he can do is use the troops to block the water and cover the ground. What he is a little unhappy about is that the original plan was to hit an average of 40 per game, but there were not enough free throws, which would make it more difficult for him to score high scores.
He plans to reduce breakthroughs in positional battles and focus on shooting. Breakthroughs are still necessary during counterattacks. He has a way to make his opponents unable to hold back.