Chapter 209: Consider the next round

Paul Pierce has deliberately preserved his energy since March. During that time, he was often criticized by the media, believing that he was not vigorous in playing basketball, and he was judged to be too lingering because of the incident of police interrogation after the bar. In the nightclub. This emotion has been accumulated and brewing into the playoffs, even in the first half of the first game, Pierce did not really launch firepower, and watched Allen Iverson keep scoring points.
In the third quarter, he finally no longer needs to hide anything. In this season’s MVP selection, Pierce reached third place in the current ranking. His competitive state and skills have entered the peak period, and Leon retains him. Absolute trust.
After completing a breakthrough dunk after the start of the second half, Pierce succeeded in the next two offenses, a back-to-back jumper, and a quick counter-attack after catching the ball. He scored 7 points in a row. The 76ers were beaten up all of a sudden. They seemed to be stuck in the slow and exhausting play style of the Celtics in the first half, facing Pierce's whirlwind attack, completely unresponsive.
In two minutes, Larry Brown called a timeout. The Celtics' explosive home court he expected did not appear in the first quarter, but appeared in the terrible third quarter, which is comparable to that in the first half. The situation is much scarier.
Leon and Pierce who came off the field high-five, watching Pierce score consecutively, Leon also breathed a sigh of relief. For the coach, no matter how perfect the strategy is, if there is no player to execute it, or the player can't throw the ball into the basket, everything is in vain.
Leon can see that Pierce is in a very good state, not inferior to Allen Iverson. Neither Van Horn nor Aaron McGee is an obstacle to Pierce's progress. What Leon needs to worry about now is what cards Larry Brown has to deal with Pierce. Leon still has a lot of cards in his hand, but he wants to play Pierce this game.
Because as the team’s number one star, you must play in good condition at the beginning of the playoffs. This is the basis for the team’s victory. If a team’s star can’t give full play to their energy, it will only rely on other players to work hard. It is impossible to win the series.
After the timeout, Leon did not change his tactical arrangement and continued to focus his firepower on Pierce. Of course, Brown made adjustments. He decided to let Kenny Thomas go one-on-one against Pierce, and then let Van Horn match Walker, risking Van Horn’s crippling by Walker, and at the same time let Van Horn. Go to help defend Pierce.
Brown’s defensive system is very distinctive. It is a typical block in the middle, and then the bottom line. This method is also used by other teams, but it is rarely used as strictly as Larry Brown. In the end, he even used a ruler to tell the players how to stand during training. So in the face of Pierce's outbreak, Kenny Thomas began to force Pierce to the bottom line. As long as Pierce had the intention of taking the middle, Van Horn would come to help defend.
But the problem is that Van Horn is not the Hill back then. Although Hill is technically rough and a pure coolie power forward, she defends aggressively and fiercely, while Van Horn has a good sense, but is as soft as noodles when assisting.
Pierce didn't dare to face the double-team, he would choose to take a step back, and then accelerate from the center. In the past, the 76ers had Dikembe Mutombo on the inside, and he was a huge obstacle for any attacker at 7-2. And now the 76ers' inside line is Coleman, and when Pierce went into the basketball, Coleman's foot was just off the ground.
This kind of scene appeared three times in a row. After Larry Brown adjusted his defensive strategy, Pierce actually scored three consecutive points in the middle, one breakthrough, one emergency stop jumper and one foul, which made Larry Brown hold his glasses and shake his head. .
There is no doubt that this 76ers are no longer the 76ers of 2001, and they can no longer play that kind of defense. Of course, their offense is more talented. Larry Brown is not in a hurry to replace Van Horn, because Van Horn can also contribute to the team on the offensive end. His fixed three-pointers and low-post attack are against Kyle. The special person is still a threat. Because the Celtics' defense is very simple, it's one-on-one.
Such a simple defensive system is not strong but tough. In the first half, the Celtics relied on strong willpower to play a strong defense under Leon's encouragement. In the second half, once the offense blossomed, the defense The end inevitably slackened.
At this time, the effect of desperate defense in the first half appeared. Even if the Celtics' defensive intensity declined, the 76ers other than Iverson still did not find an offensive feeling.
Leon watched the 76ers' shooting percentage slowly pick up in the second half, while the Celtics scored soaring all the way under Pierce's leadership and returned to the bench from the sidelines. He subconsciously digs out his left pocket, and finally empties it, only to remember that he didn't put a cigar in it, and he didn't plan to smoke a cigar here. He took out his right pocket again, took out a small tactical piece of paper, and wrote down the hit rate of both sides at this time with a pen.
Without asking the technical statistician, Leon himself can count the percentage of both sides hit by his memory. The Celtics have reached 49.7, while the 76ers have fallen to 44.5, but the 76ers still have some advantages in offensive rebounds. , They relied on offensive rebounds several times to continue their lives. Allen Iverson's form is still very good, but compared with the first half is falling, his number of irons is increasing.
"They still haven't improved much compared to the past..." Leon looked at the data and thought. Compared to 2001, the 76ers have not completed the transition. Although they have purchased new offensive players on the offensive end, whether it is Van Horn or Coleman, the two former champions and second place players are both on the offensive end. Very talented. But their tactics are still what they did in 2001, and the people who can play that in 01 are no longer there.
This is Larry Brown. He doesn’t care about the team he takes over. What are the characteristics of his players? He wants to build this group of players into his ideal team. If anyone is not suitable, please leave. .
For the famous coach of Larry Brown, Leon also took time to get to know him. He knew that this coach started to coach professional basketball in the 70s and was elected the best coach three times in the ABA. At that time, his style was like ABA. The ball is the same as the three-pointer, wearing a variety of fancy suits on the sidelines, leading the team also playing gorgeous offensive tactics.
But in the 1980s, he left the professional basketball circle and returned to college basketball, won two NCAA championships, and then came to the NBA, his style changed drastically. Begin to wear the same gray suit and round-frame glasses, playing the same defensive tactics, and bring those teams without too high talent to new heights.
Leon is very strange. What has happened in 10 years has caused such drastic changes to Larry Brown, and what kind of influence has been exerted on his basketball philosophy after 10 years of college coaching experience. Of course, as an opponent on the court now, he has no way of understanding these things. He only knows that the current Philadelphia 76ers can't beat the Celtics.
The impression of fans and the media is always illusory, judging and predicting the strength of the two teams from some paper things. Only the real players and coaches, in this arena, face to face with opponents, can they fight against each other. Have a deep understanding of the situation. Although Leon is far less experienced than Larry Brown, Leon has an extremely keen sense of the game.
In the second half of the game all the way to the end of the fourth quarter, the Celtics have led the 76ers by 13 points, which is not a big score, but Leon knows that the 76ers can no longer stand up in this game. Only Paul Pierce broke out and beat the 76ers to the ground with 17 points in a single quarter, while Walker and Michael Reid just played normally and the score on the court was very low. The Celtics were only 77:64. Lead.
Iverson’s shooting percentage dropped all the way, and the others were unable to start the game. In the second half of the fourth quarter, when Reed and Arenas each hit three-pointers in the counterattack, the Celtics would The point difference opened to 19 points, the game completely lost suspense.
101:79, UU reading www.uukanshu.com In the end, the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers by 22 points at home. The Boston fans had a comfortable night. The 76ers were originally favored by the media and fans. There is no resistance in front of the Celtics. Iverson once again became a lonely hero. He scored 35 points in a single game, but he still couldn't drive his poor teammates.
In the next few days, the Celtics had another victory at home and away. Except for the third game in Philadelphia, the 76ers who came to the edge of the cliff with the home advantage struggled to win the next stop. Now Kyle The special person easily led by 3:1 in the first round. In the fourth game, they beat their opponents with 99:81 and 18 points advantage in Philadelphia. For a time, the Celtics' winning odds soared.
Even Leon himself did not expect that the Celtics, who had gone through a month of rest and recuperation, would burst into such a strong fighting force in the playoffs. After the fourth game, Leon even had news after the game. Said to reporters at the press conference: I am already considering the next opponent.
At the same time, on another battlefield, the Orlando Magic unexpectedly led the Detroit Pistons 3-1. The magic star Tracy McGrady said the same thing as Leon, and he is also considering his next opponent. .
I just don't know if these two people who consider each other can meet in the next round. (To be continued.)