Chapter 319: New Jersey's nightmare shot

The Celtics faced two problems in the first half. One was a foul problem. Tonight, the referee's whistle was obviously biased towards the Nets, but there was no trace of it. Pen~qu~ge.iquge.nfo This made the fierce and savage Celtics players a little uncomfortable in the first two games. Arenas and Garnett both stopped due to two early fouls. Leon Had to replace Strickland and Anderson in advance.
However, the two are obviously lame on offensive end, and the second problem the Celtics face tonight is that the outside shot feels average. When the team can't use breakthroughs and second offensive points, the Nets are obviously on the defensive end. Steady their feet, they still have a hard perimeter defensive shell.
In the absence of a sharp knife, the Celtics would not be so easy to break through this shell by shooting. In the first half, the Celtics made only 3 of 11 three-pointers, but even then Under the circumstances, the Celtics still led by 2 points to end the first half, which is enough to see the gap between the overall strength of the two sides.
During the intermission, Leon first emphasized the need to adjust his mentality when the referee's penalty is unfavorable, shift the team's offensive focus, reduce physical contact on the offensive end, slow down the offensive rhythm, and increase the offensive success rate.
"The test we have to face is that regardless of the time and place, people and people may not be on our side, but we still have to win the game. It is not that we have not won in New Jersey, so we must have sufficient confidence. At the same time, be cautious and careful. It is also necessary. You are not allowed to make some mistakes again. Since the referees do not welcome us, then we have to let them have no handles to catch, slow down the pace, and increase the success rate. Even if we did not perform well in the first half, we were still ahead. Party."
After that, Leon gave the players a few tactics that might play a role in the second half, and several changes with flexion tactics as the core. This is also the first time since the start of the playoffs that Leon has given players a tactical explanation in the game.
The Nets' defensive focus is concentrated on the three positions of point guard, power forward, and shooting guard. They have strong mobility, rotations and fills are quite agile and fast. Of course, Kidd still suffers from injuries and still loses a lot of skill. , The first two games gave Arenas a lot of loopholes. In this game, Kidd clearly adjusted his state. In New Jersey, he got better rest and recuperation. His state was much better than the previous two games. With proper protection from the referee, the Nets played quite well on the outside defense tonight.
One of the weaknesses of the Nets' defense is that they have never had a strong low post defender, which is why they have always been ugly in the face of the Western power. Leon can choose to let Garnett take it hard, and Pj-Brown rushes to grab offensive rebounds to attack this weakness of the Nets. It's just that Garnett's powerful ability in the low post does not make Leon completely relieved, and grabbing offensive rebounds is not a long-term solution.
The second option is to use Pierce, the offensive kaleidoscope, to play in the low post and play a war of attrition with the Nets. According to the comparison of the strength of the two sides, the odds of winning the Nets are still very large. The Nets' defense in the low post has always been unsatisfactory, and regardless of Jefferson or Rogers, there is no way to contain Pierce's offense.
The third option is to regain the overall offense and use transmission and distribution of the ball to open up space. The inside defense of the Nets is relatively weak, and the level of defense is single. As long as the Celtics can combine both inside and outside and conduct a quick overall offense, it is only a matter of time before the Nets collapse.
Leon finally chose the third option, not only because it can destroy the Nets to the greatest extent, but also because the Celtics have already played a half-series of talented basketball. It's time to take care of it and play seriously. Team basketball has come towards a higher goal and a stronger opponent.
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Fifteen minutes later, the third quarter began. The first five minutes of the two sides played calmly, back and forth. The Celtics have been a lot more cautious offensively, slowing down the rhythm, and constantly shifting and channeling the ball, but their shooting feel is still not recovered, and they have not made a few opportunities. The Nets, with the help of the strength of the home court, and Kidd gave an exciting speech in the locker room during the intermission, urging the team to regain the initiative in the series in New Jersey.
The morale of the Nets was thus greatly boosted. They played 100% of their combat effectiveness in the third quarter. They not only surpassed the score in one fell swoop, but also always maintained a lead of about three points, and there is a tendency to lead all the way and even expand their advantage.
"It seems that the players' hand feel has not been very good. Do you want Paul to attack?" Carlisle, who was sitting next to Leon, saw the situation on the field getting more and more unfavorable against the Celtics and couldn't help but said to Leon.
"No, bear with me. You must trust your players and their performance. Once you have formulated your tactical strategy, don't change it easily." Leon rejected Carlisle's suggestion and insisted on his current play.
In the 9th minute of the third quarter, with Kidd's offensive assist Jefferson's layup, the Nets opened the point difference to 6 points for the first time, 72:66, and Leon called for 20 seconds. Short pause.
During the timeout, Leon did not make any tactical adjustments. Instead, he told the players to stick to the current style of play. If you don't feel good about shooting, just shoot until you feel good. At the same time, he also made substitution adjustments, replacing Brown with Wang Zhizhi to broaden the team's offensive level.
When Wang Zhizhi took off his sportswear and stood on the floor of the Continental Airlines Arena, the sound of the entire arena dropped by several decibels. Even the Nets players can't help but look sideways at the Celtics bench. The Chinese player at the end of the Celtics bench has left memorable scars in the hearts of Nets players and fans.
"Are you king? We won't fall under the same tricks in a row." Frank watched Leon put on Wang Zhizhi, thinking that he would not make the mistake of Scott again, and let role players like Wang Zhizhi cause it on the outside. Huge damage.
Sure enough, once Wang Zhizhi receives the ball in the offense, the Nets will immediately have outside players step forward to interfere. If they do not receive the ball, the opposing players will not easily release Wang Zhizhi. For two or three rounds in a row, Wang Zhizhi did not have any outstanding performance on the offensive end, but just followed the pass and ran.
Seeing that the Nets became more and more confident on the defensive end, as well as on the offensive end, when they started to gradually open the score, Wang Zhizhi took the ball at the top of the arc in a counterattack, which instantly attracted the attention of Martin and Kidd. Power, Wang Zhizhi made a quick left-pointer, and Reid from beyond the three-point line hit the ball and hit it.
A crucial three-pointer, this was the first three-pointer made by the Celtics in the second half.
"Okay, the situation is opened." Leon is also very nervous off the court, he has been waiting for the arrival of the Celtics three-pointers.
When Kevin Garnett interrupted Martin's pass on defense, the Celtics launched a counterattack again. This time it was Wang Zhizhi. He held the ball at the top of the arc, which was incomprehensible to the Nets defenders. The counterattack position-in the end can not go up to defend!
This time the Nets chose Collins to pounce on defense, but Wang Zhizhi passed the ball to Pierce who cut inside. Where Martin could stop Pierce alone, Pierce directly forced a layup.
With less than 30 seconds left before the end of the third quarter, the Celtics chased by five points.
When Kittles broke through and missed a jumper, the hearts of the fans in the entire Continental Airlines Arena became awkward. The leading 8 points had already turned into 3 in an instant, and now, the Celtics are about to launch a fatal The fast break.
Kevin Garnett took the lead ~EbookFREE.me~ and smashed into the penalty area early and stretched out his arms to summon Arenas' pass.
Arenas made a long sling in the rapid advance and passed the ball into Garnett's hands. Only Martin and Collins followed very closely, and the two of them pressed Tarzan from behind, directly pressing Garnett and couldn't get up.
At this time, Garnett saw Wang Zhizhi standing outside the three-point line with his knees slightly bent and his hands facing forward. No one was defending him at this time.
Garnett made a powerful long pass with both hands, and the ball flew accurately between Wang Zhizhi's hands. Wang Zhizhi received the ball, aimed slowly, raised his hand, and shot the basket.
The longest nightmare shooting position of New Jersey fans has been strengthened in their minds tonight.
"Swipe!" The ball scored and the Celtics tied the score at the end of the third quarter. And it looks like they have found an offensive feel.
After the goal, Wang Zhizhi smiled and high-five his teammates, still looking very shy.
However, his mentality has become stronger and stronger, thanks to his training in New Jersey. (To be continued.)