Chapter 457 Can't block the pick-and-roll? I'll do it!
Chapter 457 Can’t even block the pick-and-roll? I’ll do it!
"Is it him?"
Riley looked at Wang Feng with careful eyes.
From the outside, he looks pretty good, at least he looks quite strong.
But you can't play basketball well just by having a body.
Riley did not have any verbal communication with Wang Feng, or in other words, Wang Feng was not qualified enough.
Teams in the league may produce a large number of players with ten-day short-term contracts every day, but more than 99% of these players will quietly leave the team after ten days, and very few can stay.
As the head coach, Riley has a lot of work to do and will not devote too much time and experience to Wang Feng.
Including now that he comes to the training hall to see Wang Feng, it is just in passing.
"Pat Riley was very energetic when he was young..."
While Riley looked at Wang Feng, Wang Feng also looked at Riley and thought silently in his heart.
The Riley he had seen was already serving as the general manager of the Heat. At that time, he was already in his seventies and very old. Although he was still the same cold-blooded and ruthless old fox who could fight for the team for many years without mercy.
Wade forced him to leave, but at least he didn't look as sharp as he did when he was young.
From 1994 to 1995, Riley was just fifty years old and at the peak of his career as a head coach.
It's just that Pat Riley and Wang Feng are not too cold either.
As a head coach, Riley is too strong.
Unfortunately, Wang Feng is also a player with a relatively strong personality. At least in his opinion, the compatibility between himself and Riley may not be particularly good.
I don’t know if Riley will choose to leave the team after coaching this season to coach the Miami Heat, as he originally did in history.
Although Jeff Van Gundy, who replaced Riley, is worse than Riley in terms of coaching level, he is still considered one of the famous coaches in the league. More importantly, Van Gundy's temper is much better than Riley's.
…
The team's daily training officially began when Riley arrived at the training hall.
All Knicks players are already in place, a total of 14 people including the team boss and the famous gorilla Patrick Ewing.
If Wang Feng is included, there are 15 people.
Under the arrangement of the assistant coach, the players were divided into several groups and conducted daily training in different aspects.
Some perform physical training on running back and forth, some perform shooting training, and some perform pick-and-roll, screen, pass, and cut coordination training on the court.
Wang Feng, a rookie who had just arrived, was assigned to the pick-and-roll training group, and he also played the role of defending and being picked-and-rolled.
The team's main point guard, John Starks, stood outside the three-point line with the ball. Looking at the strange guy in front of him, Wang Feng's yellow complexion was really eye-catching on the training ground. Stakes had at least a six-year career.
Tuckers has never seen an Asian face in the NBA.
Inside, 2.08 meter power forward Charles Smith pulled out to provide a pick-and-roll screen for Starks.
Starks hit the ground and changed hands, following Smith's pick-and-roll screen and going down to the basket.
"This guy didn't seem to have a pleasant chat with Charles (Oakley) just now, but no matter what, he will leave the team in a few days anyway."
With this in mind, Starks prepared to end the attack with a throw.
But the next second, his expression was slightly startled.
Because a figure had already stood in front of him, it was the Asian player.
Starks: "???"
The throwing motion had already been formed, and it was too late for him to take back the basketball. The basketball came out of his hand, and Wang Feng grabbed the ball after he shot it.
"What's going on?"
The assistant coach on the side was stunned, and then he couldn't help but look at Charles Smith who was in the pick-and-roll. "Be serious, the head coach is watching. Didn't he even block the pick-and-roll?"
Smith looked innocent.
I blocked it, and I think I blocked it pretty well.
But Wang Feng's speed in bypassing the pick-and-roll just now was indeed very fast. Anyone's immediate reaction was that the quality of the pick-and-roll was not good enough, which was why he bypassed it so easily.
Let’s do it again. This time, Charles Smith learned a lesson and was extremely serious during the pick-and-roll.
Not to mention him, Starks' breakthrough speed subconsciously accelerated by two points.
However……
Looking at Wang Feng who appeared in front of him at the right time and broke through Lu Jin, Starks was a little confused.
"What the hell is this?"
"What a nimble step?"
"This boy has something special!"
This time the assistant coach on the sidelines and other players in the same group could see clearly.
There is no problem with Smith's pick-and-roll, and it is definitely qualified. Starks's speed is also very fast. The problem lies with Wang Feng. His movements around the pick-and-roll are too fast, and he is clean and neat without any sloppiness.
This allowed him to regain his defensive position before Starks broke through the basket.
This is a good prospect who is very good at defending pick-and-rolls!
Of course they don't know about the pick-and-roll dodger badge, and even at this time, the developers of NBA2K are still in school.
The official first NBA2K series game was officially released in November 1999, which is still five years away.
Moreover, the published 2K games are no different from Mosaic games. The playing experience is definitely not good, and it is firmly outclassed by EA's NBAlive.
Wang Feng's pick-and-roll dodger badge is the top purple Hall of Fame level, which allows Wang Feng to have amazing awareness and agility around the pick-and-roll when facing defensive pick-and-rolls.
Not to mention Charles Smith, who is not very qualified as an inside player and weighs only 104 kilograms. Even some heavier centers with larger bodies are difficult to effectively block Wang Feng.
If Wang Feng wants to have the badge of pick-and-roll dodger under the basket, he must at least double screen in the pick-and-roll.
"A very good angle, your defensive ability is very good."
Although the assistant coach didn't know this, Wang Feng's performance successfully won his praise.
"Hey, what are you doing? Can't you understand the pick-and-roll?"
Oakley, who saw this scene not far away, felt a little unhappy.
Oakley and Smith are both named Charles, but their personalities and playing styles are completely different. Oakley is shorter than Smith, but his confrontation ability is far better than Smith. As a blue-collar player, pick-and-roll coverage is also his specialty.
As he said that, Oakley had already walked over, pushed Smith away and said.
"I'll do it!"
Charles Smith's status in the team is actually not low. As the third overall pick in the first round of 1988, Smith was also trained as a core player in the Clippers.
In both the 89-90 and 90-91 seasons, Smith averaged 20+8 points per game, and even now, he is the third leading scorer in the Knicks, second only to Ewing and Star.
Just kes.
But even he didn't want to provoke the villain Oakley, and he could also see that Oakley was targeting Wang Feng, not him, so he stepped aside without saying anything.
"You found me so quickly?"
Wang Feng looked at Oakley and thought to himself. "Just stay in place and wait for others to step on the stepping stone. I have to jump a few times..."
Starks glanced at the assistant coach.
They all knew what Oakley was thinking. In his opinion, Oakley was a bit too much.
Although Wang Feng looks a bit arrogant, he is a newbie here and he provokes others as soon as he comes up. Any player with a little bit of enthusiasm would not be outdone and fight back.
However, the assistant coach did not notice this. He was not on the court before and did not see the conflict between Wang Feng and Oakley. At this time, he thought that Oakley was dissatisfied with Smith's pick-and-roll screen and wanted to give some demonstrations.
So he nodded and said to several people on the field: "Do it again."
Several people returned to their positions, Starks held the ball from the outside, and Oakley pulled out from the inside to screen him.
Arriving in front of Wang Feng, Oakley held his hands in front of him. The muscles in his arms were all tense. It looked like he had exerted enough strength. He might have secretly exerted force when the two collided.
Using pick-and-roll as an excuse to hit the opponent's defensive player with a dirty hand was a compulsory course for blue-collar insiders in the 1990s.
Because the NBA rules in the 1990s are very different from those in the future, the intensity of the whistles is different, and the concepts of rules for defensive fouls, cylinder violations, etc. have also changed slightly.
One of the more typical ones is the Hand Check rule.
To describe it simply, when facing a player holding the ball, the defensive player can put his hands on the offensive player.
I believe that many children who play basketball have more or less encountered some players who like to put their hands up when defending, and give you a chokehold when you break through with the ball. This kind of defense is now
A proper defensive foul will be called once.
Although the league in the 1990s had not yet reached the exaggerated level of chokeholds and no foul calls, the existence of this rule made the inside line completely like a meat grinder. Incompetent outside players could not even think of reaching the inside line.
Create damage.
This is also the reason why defenders in this era prefer to use long two-pointers from mid-to-long distance to finish.
Many fans in the future always feel that the shooting percentage of previous stars is so bad. A shooting rate of more than 40% is very high, and it is completely incomparable with future guards who often shoot more than 50%. This kind of comparison must be compared with the times.
Factors such as background and rules should also be taken into consideration.
Hand check is just a microcosm of the iron-blooded defense in this era. Similar ruthless defenses can be found everywhere. Just like Oakley now, Wang Feng can see the opponent's intention at a glance.
This guy wanted to secretly exert force at the moment when the pick-and-roll was formed, and use the force to knock himself to the ground.
Wang Feng has even thought about the other party's subsequent lines.
"Rookie, welcome to the NBA!"
But... Wang Feng would not give him this chance.
The moment the two were about to come into contact, Wang Feng suddenly made a disguise and almost brushed Oakley over.
Oakley, who was full of strength, was dodged and his feet were unsteady, so he couldn't help but stumble forward.
At the same time, Wang Feng had already avoided Oakley's pick-and-roll and blocked Starks again.
"..."
Now, everyone was shocked.
Wang Feng's ability to defend against pick-and-rolls is a bit weird.
Among the Knicks, the one who plays pick-and-rolls most frequently and with the highest quality is Oakley.
Although Ewing has a larger physique than Oakley, as the core of the team's interior offense, he does not provide many pick-and-roll screens for his teammates.
Wang Feng can easily bypass Oakley's pick-and-roll, an ability that few people in the league can achieve.
"Wha...what?"
Oakley looked back at Wang Feng in astonishment, his eyes widening.
Before he could react, how did Wang Feng get around him just now? Isn't this kid too slippery? He moved so fast!
"Do it again!"
Oakley's voice was a bit loud, and the players training in other areas around him all looked over.
"Whatever, as long as you are willing, I will accompany you at any time." Wang Feng said lightly.
The assistant coach frowned. Even though he was slow, he realized something was wrong.
He was about to say something to stop, but before he could say anything, a hand stretched out from the side and interrupted him.
The assistant coach turned around and saw head coach Pat Riley with a very interested expression on his face.
The three men returned to their positions, and Oakley stepped forward to pick and roll again.
This time, Oakley, who was already angry, was not polite at all. He did all the dirty work on the court. Not only did half of his body use the momentum to press on Wang Feng, but one leg even blocked Wang Feng's path.
, if Wang Feng is too obsessed with the speed and efficiency of the pick-and-roll, he will definitely be tripped up directly.
These actions can be called screen fouls even on the NBA court, but not all fouls in the NBA can trigger a whistle, let alone in daily training.
"Hey, rookie, let's see what you do this time!"
Oakley sneered inwardly.
In his expectation, as long as there was physical contact between the two, Wang Feng would definitely be suppressed unilaterally with his powerful strength.
However, with this thought in his mind, Oakley suddenly felt a huge force coming towards him, causing his lower body to become unstable, and he subconsciously adjusted his steps and position before he stood firm.
Oakley's idea is correct. When facing a player who is good at guarding the pick-and-roll, using his body strength to put pressure on the opponent can entangle the opponent very well and prevent him from immediately bypassing the pick-and-roll screen.
But the question is, is Wang Feng’s strength weak? Not weak at all!
Limited by his weight, Wang Feng's strength can only be enhanced to 88, but 88's strength is already at the top level in the league.
As a blue-collar insider, Oakley's strength is certainly greater than that of Wang Feng. Oakley's strength during his peak period with the Bulls should have been above 95. This is why he, who is only 2.03 meters tall, can gain a foothold in the paint.
But even so, Oakley's strength could not completely crush Wang Feng, not to mention that he still opened his legs to block Wang Feng from going around the pick-and-roll route, which was not a good position to exert force. In addition, Wang Feng still had the advantage of speed and jumping.
Explosive power waxes and wanes, and it is natural for Wang Feng to win in the strength competition.
This scene was seen by everyone who paid attention to the contest between the two on the field.