Both sides played one round each in the opening round. To say that they were lagging behind, the Heat were not lagging behind either. After all, the Bullets only scored one mid-range shot.
But Ben's statistics are very good. He has already recorded 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
Tim Hardaway took control of the ball and reached the frontcourt. Mourning opened his hand to ask for the ball, obviously trying to find a spot for a single.
When Weber saw this posture, he immediately prepared for Chemonen's receiving route. After Lin Yu saw it, he quickly reminded Weber loudly to keep an eye on PJ Brown.
If it were a normal game, Lin Yu would definitely not block Weber's chipping plan.
But now Ben is in a state where his shot-blocking attribute is at full value. Mourning wants the ball to hit Ben in isolation, which is what he wants.
Hardaway successfully lobbed the ball into Mourning's hands, and Ben pushed his chest against Mourning, preventing him from turning over and dunking.
After suffering the loss in the last round, Mourning was much more cautious this time. He did not dunk rashly, but hit the ball with his back, trying to carve out a space for himself.
However, he is not Ao Pang, his strength is not as good as Da Ben's, and his tonnage is not much stronger than Da Ben's. There is no way he can withstand Da Ben.
Seeing that he was about to commit a three-second offensive violation, Mourning suddenly leaned against Big Ben, and then used the power of the rebound to take a step back and shoot a jumper.
Lin Yu was dumbfounded. In his mind, Mourning was a rough guy. He didn't expect that Mourning could actually perform the trick of stepping back and making a mid-range shot under the basket. It felt like Zhang Fei's embroidery was inconsistent.
Fortunately, Mourning's take-off height was not high. I wonder if it triggered the "Rugged Appearance" effect.
Ben chased after him and stretched his arms to block the shot.
"boom!"
Mourning's mid-range shot hit the backboard and missed, and the backboard was collected by Weber who came over.
Lin Yu didn't care about the rebound. What he cared about was whether Ben had blocked Mourning's shot just now. After the basketball flew out of Mourning's hands, it seemed that it was touched by Ben's fingertips, and the trajectory changed slightly.
The definition of a block is to change the trajectory of the ball during its rising stage so that it misses, so even if it is just touched by the fingertips, it is considered a block.
Lin Yu hurriedly looked at the technical statisticians at the technical desk. At present, there were no advanced electronic recording instruments. They all relied on manual paper and pen records. The staff made two consecutive strokes on the technical statistics board, which made Lin Yu feel at ease. Incessantly.
One should be Webber's rebound, and the other should be Ben's block.
After Weber collected the rebound, the Bullets started to attack. Speedy once again played a two-man game with Legler in the frontcourt. This time, Legler made a three-pointer and hit it accurately.
In the face of low-intensity defense, Legler's lethality is extremely amazing. With super high three-point attributes, just throwing in a few three-pointers can help the team establish a huge advantage.
Mourning still continued to ask for the ball. He was already on top and wanted to hit the big Ben no matter what.
Ben Ben failed to block Mourning's shot this time, but Mourning also didn't score, and the rebound was protected by PJ Brown.
Turning around, Legler made another three-pointer after a pick-and-roll and hit again.
The score difference between the two sides has reached 8:0. Even the most loyal Bullets fans never expected that the Heat, ranked second in the Eastern Conference, could be beaten like this by them.
"Dudududu!"
Riley looked livid and called a long pause.
Even if he knew that the two three-pointers made by the leg brother were pure luck, Riley did not dare to take risks, because no one knew whether the leg brother would have several more three-pointers in the future.
He replaced Danilovic and replaced him with defensive expert Keith Askins on the bench. Fans who are familiar with the Heat team must be familiar with this name. The Heat later received three Askins participated in the entire championship as an assistant coach and has been playing for the Heat for nearly 40 years.
When Lin Yu saw Riley calling a timeout, he immediately replaced his leg brother and replaced him with Jaylen Rose. He knew very well that Riley would definitely start to increase the intensity of defense in the backcourt.
The leg guy can only catch him off guard. The real tough battle still has to come from Jaylen Rose.
The game continued. I don’t know whether he realized that it was difficult for him to score big points, or he was beaten by Riley during the timeout. After Mourning returned to the court, the offensive end gradually moved outward and began to hit mid-range shots.
This is not a good sign. If Mourning keeps shooting outside tonight, how can he get a quadruple-double?
Lin Yu didn't care about his demeanor, he stood up and shouted towards the field.
"Ben, good job, you have driven him out of the penalty area."
"You have proven that he is your defeat. After tonight, the news that you defeated Mourning will make the headlines!"
"You have turned Mourning into a shooting guard who can only shoot."
"Keep guarding the basket and don't worry about Mourning. He's not worth chasing and defending!"
Lin Yu's words were absolutely heartbreaking, and Mourning was not deaf. He heard every word clearly and almost fainted on the court with his eyes blackened.
During the timeout just now, Riley did tell him to pull him out to play. He missed three consecutive shots in the opening game and felt the pressure from Ben at the basket.
That's why Mourning started hitting mid-range shots.
But after being so stimulated by Lin Yu, he forgot everything and plunged into the inside line with red eyes.
He doesn't think about anything about Riley's instructions, winning, or forging. He just wants to make a big splash.
As the No. 1 center outside the four major centers in the league, in the eyes of traditional centers like Mourning, he always floats outside and shoots, which is a cowardly performance of his opponents at the basket. Mourning has his own pride, and he does not allow himself to be timid. , especially when facing an unknown person like Da Ben!
As Mourning returned to the penalty area, the basket once again became a melee battlefield.
"Snapped!"
Not long after, there was another crisp sound, and Ben got another block.
Riley's face turned livid and he quickly called another timeout.
This time Lin Yu could even hear the quarrel coming from the direction of the Heat bench. It was obviously Riley and Mourning who had quarreled.
Riley wanted Mourning to fight while floating. Mourning would definitely be embarrassed, so of course he wouldn't agree. He usually treats Riley with absolute respect, but this time he disobeyed Riley for his own dignity.
Lin Yu suddenly felt a little sorry for Mourning. This guy is really a respectable tough guy, with the body of Karl Malone, but he never does such dirty and hurtful actions.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Ben faced Malone tonight and was blocked so many times, Malone would have elbowed Ben countless times.
This apology to Mourning was fleeting. In order to retaliate against Pat Riley and Ben's quadruple-double, Lin Yu could only sacrifice Mourning.
The brief pause ended quickly.
The Heat didn't make any lineup changes and just played like this for a few minutes.
By the middle of the first quarter, Ben had already recorded 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks, which was even more efficient than Lin Yu expected.
Four blocks have been obtained. As long as there are no accidents, such as Mourning suddenly getting injured or an angry Riley putting Mourning on the bench, Ben will have no problem with double figures in blocks in this game.
Lin Yu began to focus on other statistics. There was no problem with double figures in rebounds. Assists were a problem, and scoring was a big problem.
In this half of the quarter, Ben didn't make a single shot.
It's not that he doesn't want to take action, but that he doesn't have any chance to take action. Mourning is watching eagerly from the side, and there is a high probability that the big shot will be blocked.
Ben's offensive ability under the basket is extremely weak. The main reason is his extremely short height. In addition, his jumping ability is not outstanding. Even if height and jumping account for the same amount, Ben will not average only 5.7 points per game in his career.
Facing those thin centers, Ben can still rely on his crushing power to squeeze out enough space for him to dunk, and he can score some points, but facing a DPOY-level powerful center like Mourning, it is not an exaggeration at all. It is said that in a head-on confrontation, if Ben can hit once in five shots, it is considered a good thing.
If Ben has some mid-range shooting ability, it doesn't have to be too much, just a little is enough. Lin Yu won't have such a headache. As long as he shoots a lot, no matter how poor his hit rate is, it won't be a problem to score ten points.
However, Ben doesn't have any mid-range shooting ability at all. If he had a mid-range shot, he wouldn't be that bad at free throws.
So far this season, counting the games before Lin Yu came, Ben has played about 25 games, with a free throw rate of 30% (real data)!
That's right, it's really 30%, an outrageous free throw shooting rate that normal fans can only dream of.
How outrageous is this data? The outrageousness is about the same as a shooting guard averaging 15% from the field. It is the kind of data that makes people think it is fabricated at first glance.
Compared with him, O'Pang's poor free throw shooting is enough to be called a miracle.
Fortunately, Ben rarely touches the ball, so he only averages 1.1 free throws per game, which will not have a big impact on the overall situation.
Just when Lin Yu was worried about how to let Ben score, Weber scored another mid-range shot. The score between the two sides had reached 21:10, and the point difference officially exceeded ten points.
Riley winked at Askins on the court, and Lin Yu happened to see it.
Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. Isn't this old boy Riley going to do some dirty tricks?
In the Heat's next round, PJ Brown missed a shot and Ben got another defensive rebound.
Just when Ben had collected the rebound, Askins quickly rushed up and slapped Ben on the arm.
For the thick-skinned Ben, this kind of force was no different than a mosquito bite. Then the referee's whistle sounded. This was the Heat's fifth foul in total, and Ben was sent to the free throw line.
"boom!"
"boom!"
Two hits in a row, Ben missed both free throws.
A smile showed on Riley's face that his plan had succeeded. The originally angry and livid face disappeared, replaced by the posture of a well-known commander who was strategizing.
Now that he has broken up with the Bullets, even if he doesn't put the Bullets in his eyes at all, he is still worried about capsizing in the gutter, so he must study the Bullets' lineup.
His research really gave him something to learn. Ben's dazzling free throw shooting rate made him a treasure. If he didn't use the shark-cutting tactic, he would be sorry for Ben.
The shark-cutting tactic targets Shark O'Neal, but it does not mean that it can only cut O'Neal. Any player with a low free throw shooting rate is within the range of cutting.
Even the future point guard Boston Song Xiaobao Rondo will still be cut because of his poor free throw shooting.
The worse the free throw, the better the cut.
Lin Yu's eyes were dull at first, and then he became ecstatic. One second he was worrying about how to let Big Ben score points, and the next second Pat Riley came to send warmth!
What happened to the big free throw difference? As long as you make enough free throws, you can still score in double figures!
Although Ben frequently goes to the free throw line, which will greatly reduce the Bullets' offensive efficiency, the Bullets are in excellent form tonight, and Lin Yu is not worried about the team losing at all.
