Chapter 310: Terrible challenger

At the end of February, Larry Brown could feel that the Detroit Pistons were on a very right path. Since that important transaction before the end of the trading period, the Pistons of Rasheed Wallace have ushered in, and finally have the last piece of puzzle to become a super team, a perfect puzzle.
Rasheed Wallace, the power forward from Portland, has always been under the top four forwards, but in Brown's mind, he is the best candidate for his team. Offensively, he doesn't need the ball, he can be inside and out, and he has the skill of a backward shot. In defense, one-on-one single defense is one of the best in the league. It is hard and tangled, with enough height, wingspan, and strength to defend against almost all insiders in the league.
His weakness is that the offensive end is not focused enough, the desire to score is not strong, the defense ability is average, and the backcourt ability is average, but these weaknesses can be well compensated in the Pistons. On the offensive end, he does not need to take on the task of scoring, and he does not need to be hard at critical moments. On the defensive end, he and another Wallace are seamlessly docked. Wallace's strong defense ability and super backcourt rebounding ability Can fill up the vacancy of Rashid.
It's a perfect reinforcement, a perfect transaction. Of course, in Brown's view, the only imperfection is that the Boston Celtics got a future draft pick in this trade from the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks really did a good job this season. Stephen Jackson couldn't compete with the Pacers. After the trade, Wallace was traded to the Pistons. Then he gave the Celtics a draft pick, which can be said to have made the Eastern Conference. Of the three super strong teams.
Brown doesn't know what the Celtics need to do with the draft picks. He only knows that whether he and the Detroiters can achieve a breakthrough this season depends on whether they can pass the Bostonians. History is always surprisingly similar. The Pistons who wanted to rise in the late 1980s faced the same problem. They had to cross the Celtics. The difference is that the Pistons and the Celtics are now on the same starting line.
Starting in March, Brown has paid close attention to adjusting the new lineup and new tactics. He first stabilized the starting lineup, Ben Wallace, Rashid Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton , This will be Larry Brown's unstoppable starting five.
In terms of tactics, his first focus is on offense, so that Rasheed Wallace's offensive ability can help the team as soon as possible. Then in March, Larry Brown began to release the defensive energy of the Pistons to the extreme.
On March 4, against the Portland Trail Blazers, 83:68, won away; on March 6, still away, Denver Nuggets, 97:66, successfully strangling, on March 7, away back to back against the Seattle SuperSonics , 86:65, strangling again; on March 10, they returned to the home court, 98:65, four consecutive games to contain the opponent's score below 70 points, the league was shocked for a time.
Four days later, still at the Palace of Auburn Hills, 87:69, the Detroit Pistons used a steel-like defense to disable the 76ers without Allen Iverson. None of the 76ers' first five players could score more than 10 points. .
Their record of continuously suppressing opponents below 70 points ended in New Jersey. On March 18th, New Jersey defeated the Nets. At the end of the game, there was no suspense, but the Nets still did not give up but chose to continue the offense because they had already scored 69. Minute! At the last moment, the Nets relied on forced fouls to stand on the free throw line and hit two free throws, allowing the Pistons to continuously suppress the opponent's record of 70 points or less.
Even so, the performance of the Detroit Pistons on the defensive end is still shocking, and Larry Brown finally feels that the ultimate defense he has pursued for 20 years has finally arrived.
He still remembers that when he was just coaching, he still liked wearing colorful plaid suits, and liked changing offensive tactics. Over time, he began to pursue "playing in the right way", although he never won a championship in the league. , But he still persisted. In 2001, he entered the Finals with the 76ers who played the right way and a casual self Iverson, and was torn apart with dignity by the fierce Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, he felt that he was approaching again, even closer than the one in 2001, and the one that stood in front of him was replaced by another giant, the Boston Celtics.
The Pistons ended their March schedule with a record of 14 wins and 11 wins. After the trade, their speed of rise attracted the attention of the league, so the game against the Indiana Pacers on April 4 became the focus of the United States. Only defensive teams in the same district will have their last fight before the playoffs. The two teams are currently ranked 2nd and 3rd in the East.
And according to the current situation, this will also be the final ranking after the regular season. They will most likely meet in the tragic springboard battle of the Eastern Conference semifinals, so Larry Brown and the Pistons both attach great importance to this game. .
Since suppressing the opponent below 70 points in five consecutive games, the Pistons no longer pursue the ultimate goal of depressing the opponent's score, so the points lost have increased. But on the night of April 4, in Auburn Hills, they will not be merciful.
The game was really tragic~EbookFREE.me~ The scene was ugly. The final score of the two teams did not exceed 140 points. Stephen Jackson was sent off for two technical fouls and Rashid Wallace twice. Technical foul was sent off, Jermaine O'Neal left the field for six fouls, Tayshaun Pulis fouled five, and Ben Wallace fouled five.
This ugly defensive battle ended with the Pistons 77:63. They once again suppressed the opponent's score below 70 points. Only Ron Artest scored more than 10 points for the Pacers. The Pacers all The team's shooting percentage is only 30%.
A Larry Brown-style victory, a Detroit Pistons-style victory, but after the game, Larry Brown appeared quite low-key and calm, he said in an interview after the game: "The real challenge is far from coming. , We still have the playoffs and stronger opponents."
Larry Brown’s caution is justified, because two weeks later, at the end of the season, the Detroit Pistons will head to Boston to challenge the Celtics, the king of the East. Brown knows that this will be the best chance and the last chance to check the quality of the team during the regular season. Confidence will be built in this game.
On the other hand, Fox-Leon is also wondering how to dispel the arrogant Detroit people who think they can fight the Celtics. (To be continued.)