Chapter 594 [Meet the Spurs and fight to the death]
On January 3, 2000, the SuperSonics easily defeated the Rockets 113-86 in an away game.
Guard Vernon Maxwell had another amazing performance. He made 1 of 11 shots, 1 of 7 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws in 31 minutes. He scored 5 points and 5 assists.
This person is really terrible. His shooting percentage in the early 30s is unstable. He occasionally shoots over 60% in a single game, and sometimes his shooting percentage is less than 10% in the whole game, with an average shooting percentage of 33%.
Similarly, the shots are all from blind spots. Compared with Maxwell, Iverson's shooting percentage is considered "good". If Maxwell is given an average of 20 shots per game, the basket will be smashed by him.
If Mobley, the sixth man of the Sonics, misses his shot, coach George Karl can send veteran Dell Curry to serve as an outside shooting point. If Brad Miller misses, he can send veteran Terry Mills to stand in.
Pull the bottom corners apart.
The Sonics' substitutes are mainly weak in defense and can play a tactical role on the offensive end to cooperate with Yang Jian. The Rockets are not good, and Maxwell does not play, and the substitutes on the outside cannot hold the ball and score (hit) and attack (iron) points.
In the eyes of the audience, he is just a tough guy. No one can be stronger than him. I don't know why, but the Rockets coaching staff doesn't think so.
Wang Zhizhi's performance has not been good recently. He can only attack, but his defense is terrible. He only grabbed 3.5 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game, which is heartbreaking. In the NBA, he obviously suffers from physical confrontation, and it is difficult to solve.
He also couldn't grab many rebounds in the international arena. He is obviously not good at this.
Fortunately, the Rockets are very suitable for him. The main role of the current inside players is to open the pick-and-roll attack. In addition to Wang Zhizhi and Danny Ferry, there is also a 208cm power forward Matt Bullard who is also good at catching and shooting.
On January 5, the SuperSonics faced the Spurs at home, which was the focus of live broadcast across the United States.
This is the first time the two teams have met this season. SuperSonics fans have been waiting for this day for too long and want to see the SuperSonics take revenge.
The Spurs currently have 21 wins and 11 losses, trailing the SuperSonics, Lakers, and Trail Blazers, and only ranking fourth in the Western Conference. They are only half a game ahead of the Jazz, whose lineup is seriously aging, and have not shown any of the style of the defending champion.
The Spurs' poor performance in the regular season gave SuperSonics fans even more reason to ridicule them.
The Spurs' lineup has not changed much from last season, with the addition of guard Terry Burt and power forward Samaki Walker. The record is much weaker than last season. Fans believe that this happened because the Spurs did not win the championship at all.
With his strength, he was crowned the champion last season.
In fact, the reason why the Spurs performed poorly is because Sean Elliott, the team's third in command, has been absent for a long time.
After winning the championship, Elliott's kidney disease worsened to the point where he needed a transplant. In August, he was replaced with a kidney donated by his brother. He has been recuperating since the surgery, and his comeback time is yet to be determined. After this kind of surgery, even if Elliott
Even if I come back, it is impossible to return to the previous state.
Last season, Elliott played all 50 regular season games and 17 playoff games, averaging 33.8 minutes per game. He made great contributions to the Spurs' championship, but also paid a heavy price.
In the locker room, Yang Jian received a rare morale boost.
He has a deep grudge against the Spurs and usually lets his teammates relax and play casually, except today.
"Everyone must know how we were eliminated by the Spurs last season. I won't say any more nonsense. This season we must sweep the Spurs. Everyone must concentrate on the tactics we usually practice. Today we will beat the Spurs by more than 30 points.
"
Yang Jian could accept the result of being eliminated, but he was extremely disgusted with the way he was eliminated. At that time, he swore that he would beat the Spurs to death again when he encountered them.
This season, he wants to use the game results to let everyone understand how the Spurs won the championship. He wants the fans to believe that even if they did not win the championship last season, the trophy should belong to the SuperSonics.
Yang Jian has already said hello to George Karl, and today he will take more action and spend more time.
If you want to beat the Spurs, the most important thing is the personal ability of the stars. The Spurs clearly have an advantage inside, and the defensive strategy is generally to strictly prevent the penalty area to reduce the opponent's scoring efficiency, and force the opponent to use mid-to-long-range shots to complete the offense.
Yang Jian has rich experience against the Spurs and will make them miserable.
The players came out on time to warm up. The Spurs players were booed by the fans and have become the public enemies of Seattle.
CCTV5 commentator Zhang Lijia said: "The Spurs are one of the most unpopular teams in Seattle. They eliminated the SuperSonics here last season. It is obviously the home of the SuperSonics, but the whistle was biased towards the Spurs. The fans were so angry that they couldn't wait to
Rush down into the stands and hit the referee."
SuperSonics players and coaches cannot question referees during interviews, otherwise they will be fined. Chinese TV commentators can say whatever they want, as long as they do not use swear words during the live broadcast. No matter how lenient NBA officials are, they cannot control China.
Come.
Sun Zhengping said: "In the sixth game of the playoffs, Yang Jian scored 50 and led the team to the tiebreaker. The Spurs couldn't guard him at all. I think he has no reason to be polite to the Spurs today, and he is likely to score a high score."
point."
Zhang Lili said: "It depends on how the Spurs defend him. If he keeps double-teaming, he will definitely choose to pass the ball. Teammates must strive for success today and don't hold back."
Sun Zhengping said: "The young players of the SuperSonics have performed better than last season. Several veterans have not played much this season. Lewis starts every game. He has now succeeded Schrempf and is also a big small forward."
Zhang Liji said: "Lewis has great potential. He is only 20 years old this year and is a key target for training. If he can reach Schrempf's level back then, he will be Yang Jian's best helper in the future."
After the warm-up, Spurs coach Popovich called shooting guard Jaren Jackson to his side and told him: "You must be quick to pursue the defense and try to get close to him to find physical confrontation. You follow Yang so that he cannot catch the ball and immediately take action."
Only when you break through can others complete the double-teaming. If you really can't handle it anymore, pull him in or stretch out your legs to trip him."
If you can't guard, just pull people and stretch your legs, and if you can't cover, just step on the feet. Last season, Popovich asked the players to do this to Yang Jian. Yang Jian did step on the opponent's feet, but it was okay, because he has good shooting habits and always
Put your feet on the ground.
In a parallel world, the star who performed best against the Spurs was Kobe. Kobe was used to landing on both feet after a jump shot, otherwise he would have finished early. Bowen would stretch his feet below to catch him in almost every round. Yang Jian practiced like this from the beginning.
Developed good habits.
Popovich will assign special tasks to the players. The Spurs are one of the dirtiest teams in the league. And Popovich has always said, "I can destroy others, but others cannot destroy me."
After Pachulia stepped on Leonard in the 2017 playoffs, Popovich strongly condemned Pachulia. He even used words such as "murderer" and "go to jail" to criticize Pachulia. ria.
However, the Spurs have done the same thing countless times. Bruce Bowen is famous for stepping on his feet in the Spurs. The most classic scene is when Carter got completely angry after being stepped on many times and chased Bowen on the court.
Popovich commented on his disciples: "I think it is common for players to get injured in games. It is common for players to get injured when they step on someone else's foot. Not long ago, Jefferson stepped on O'Neal's foot, and Josh Howard stepped on Pete. Ruth sprained his ankle. Why didn't the league warn O'Neal and Pietrus, but kept chasing Bowen on our team? Is Bowen supposed to be the scapegoat? Is Bowen really more harmful than others? The frequency is high?”
Now Bowen has never backed up anyone else while playing in the SuperSonics. Without Bowen in the Spurs, Popovich can still train others.
But without Stephen Jackson and Ginobili, who can Popovich find as a replacement?
No matter how bad the coach is, he is no match for Yang Jian. Yang Jian can quietly dismantle the Spurs' lineup, and his opponents don't even know that he has been dismantled.