After the timeout, the Raptors replaced the macho Artest and replaced him with swingman Maurice Peterson, who is 201cm tall and weighs 100kg.
This is to add a stable three-point shooting point and open up more space on the offensive end. And on the defensive end, coach Wilkens arranged for Peterson to defend Yang Jian.
Vince Carter's shortcomings were completely exposed when facing Yang Jian. The coach decisively changed the defense, allowing Carter to focus more on the offensive end.
He also arranged for Snow to accelerate the rhythm of offense and defense transitions and the SuperSonics' fast break. In positional battles, Carter did not rely on screens and directly held the ball in the mid-range and low post for singles.
This is learning from Kobe Bryant's style of play in the Western Conference Finals. The teams in the previous rounds tried many methods, but finally found that they could only play this way when facing Yang Jian.
Carter's mid-to-long-range jump shot is not better than Kobe's, and his two-point jumper is not as good as Kobe's. He does not have a good pick-and-roll effect with his teammates, and his teammates' body is not good enough to block people.
The Sonics also made a change, with Cuttino Mobley replacing Stephen Jackson.
George Karl sent Mobley instead of Bowen in order to consume Carter's energy. Mobley would use an off-ball style, constantly running around to find opportunities to catch and shoot and make layups.
Artest happens to be resting, so the physical confrontation at position 3 doesn't need to be particularly tough. It doesn't matter that Mobley is shorter, as he has an advantage in speed.
The game continued, and after the Raptors picked up the pace, the offense finally started.
The Raptors' breakout in the east is directly related to their use of swingman formations and strong overall mobility.
Snow is a point guard who can launch fast breaks and can play fast or slow. His style of play is similar to Yang Jian and Payton, but his physical fitness is not good enough, which affects his upper limit.
Snow now looks like a weakened version of Billups, integrating offense and defense with high efficiency. When he was with the Sonics, he worked hard on rapid advancement and passing on the move, and he could also send long passes directly from the backcourt.
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But as soon as they started running, the Raptors' defensive formation became even more chaotic. The players still couldn't guard Yang Jian, and fell into the offensive rhythm that the Sonics liked.
In positional battles, Yang Jian attracted double-teams and passed the ball, and in counterattacks, he could hold on to Carter. In order to prevent Yang Jian from breaking through, Carter paid the price of two fouls. This was of no use. Yang Jian's free throws were extremely accurate, and the opponent
If you want to commit a foul, you have to do it early.
The SuperSonics ended the first quarter with a 17-point lead 38-21, beating the Raptors.
Yang Jian made 8 of 10 shots, 3 of 4 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
Carter was beaten badly in one quarter, making 2 of 7 shots, 0 of 1 three-pointers, and only had 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist without any free throws.
Yang Jian was dazzling on the court, excelling at both ends of the court. Carter didn't look like a star at all, and seemed unqualified to be a role player.
In the second quarter, both Yang Jian and Carter continued to play as substitutes. The difference was that Yang Jian could play as a point guard, while Carter could only play shooting guard and small forward.
Yang Jian is better at driving his teammates, and the Sonics continue to expand their advantage. Carter can only play singles by himself, and his teammates watch from the sidelines when holding the ball.
Veteran Dell Curry played a role. When he and Yang Jian were on the weak side, it was more difficult for the Raptors players to double-team. Facing the double-teaming of Yang Jian, Curry took advantage of the opportunity to distribute the ball. Curry hit three three-pointers.
All of Curry's abilities are very ordinary. He only relies on his specialty of accurate shooting to be reused. Moreover, Yang Jian mainly defends Carter. Curry only needs to defend the backup point guard Alvin Williams, who is 196cm tall, which is not difficult.
On the Raptors side, Carter was guarded and relied mainly on Artest to score. Mobley was obviously at a disadvantage, and Artest was able to rely on him to force a layup, which was considered a unique trick of his.
Artest gradually began to emerge. His skills, shooting accuracy, speed and bounce were average, but he was tough enough. He was not afraid of anyone, which was an important factor in becoming a star.
Both teams deployed swingmen. The Raptors players' shooting percentage dropped when they were defended, while the SuperSonics showed more success and couldn't play at all.
At halftime, the SuperSonics led 77 to 45 by 32 points, and the raptors players had no temper at all.
When Carter returned to the locker room, he was gnashing his teeth and furious, and his chin was about to become astonishing...
Zhang Lili said: "In the last round of the series, everyone said that Yang Jian restrained O'Neal and the Sonics restrained the Lakers. A group of swingmen must ensure mobility to defend against the Sonics' attack. The Raptors are a group of swingmen and they still can't defend against it.
, the offense is not as good as the Lakers."
Sun Zhengping laughed and said: "Yang Jian not only restrained O'Neal, he restrained everyone. O'Neal can at least score points. The three inside players who are the main rotation of the Raptors have no advantage against the SuperSonics."
Zhang Lili said: "I think the Raptors are at a disadvantage inside. Miller, Lewis, and Danny Ferry have more tactical roles. The Raptors' inside players can't shoot three-pointers."
Yang Jian continued to play in the second half and was the most eye-catching player on both offense and defense.
Not only can he score, but he also helps defend very well three times.
The first time Antonio Davis played a pick-and-roll in the middle and cut to catch the ball for a one-handed dunk. Yang Jian made a timely defense to the basket, leaped high and accurately blocked the star center.
The Raptors' second 24-second attack time was almost up. Yang Jian let Carter go to double-team Artest. Artest was already preparing to shoot, but when his teammates were open, he passed the ball to Carter from the outside. The result
The latter had no time to take action and was called a 24-second offensive violation.
Center Keon Clark, who came on as a substitute for the third time, caught the ball in the pick-and-roll and hit the basket from the center. Yang Jian made a defense and moved half a step forward of the reasonable collision zone. He was knocked to the ground and caused a collision with the ball.
people.
At this time, everyone recognized that Yang Jian was a defensive expert, and he seemed to be a better defender than Payton. Payton could not be strong enough to block the center or cause the center to hit someone with the ball, that would be too dangerous.
On the offensive end, Yang Jian and Brad Miller played pick-and-rolls again and again to look for mismatched breakthrough opportunities. During the counterattack, they mainly forced breakthroughs. European steps, jump steps, long-step turns, elegant pulls... Yang Jian's skills were as smooth as water.
Enjoy silky smoothness.
Carter was about to lose his temper and looked like a hungry guy in need of a Snickers bar.
With 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Carter received his fifth foul and was replaced by Peterson.
Peterson was only in his rookie season, so he was a bit overwhelmed and unable to cope with Yang Jian. Wilkens's arrangement was purely to catch a duck, and it was not that he made a mistake in substitution, but that it would be the same with anyone he substituted.
In this quarter, combo guard Alvin Williams also defended Yang Jian, which was even more difficult for a while. He weighed only 84 kilograms, and his physical confrontation was crushed.
Yang Jian played 36 minutes in three quarters, making 18 of 25 shots, 6 of 10 three-pointers, 10 of 10 free throws, scoring 52 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Carter took a break and Yang Jian did not take a break, allowing his score to exceed 50 points. If he scored 48 points and then took a break, the fans would feel that something was missing.
Yang Jian has done this kind of thing before and has read many comments on the Internet. When the SuperSonics lead a big score and the star gets off work in the third quarter, the fans will not praise Yang Jian for being a gentleman to save face for his opponent, nor will they blame him for spending garbage time
Brush the data, just want to watch him continue to perform.
Who stipulates that stars cannot continue to play if they are too far ahead? Strictly speaking, the entire second half today was garbage time.
Carter played 33 minutes, making 5 of 21 shots, 1 of 6 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
His performance cannot be said to be poor, he is completely an undercover agent.
Zhang Lili commented: "Carter deserves praise for leading the team to the finals in the third season of his career, but he is obviously inexperienced and was a little overwhelmed by the defense against Yang Jian, who has entered the finals five times in six years."
Sun Zhengping sighed: "It's a pity that Yang Jian stopped playing in the final quarter. If he continued to play, I estimate that he could set a new scoring record in a single game in the finals."
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "This record was already his in the 1998 Finals. It doesn't matter if it doesn't break. To break the record, he had a better chance in last year's Finals. He made all the shots and didn't miss in the final quarter."