After a short inter-quarter break, in the second quarter, Van Gundy, who thought he had mastered the Wizards' routines and was about to sound the counterattack horn, was confused again.
At this time in 2001, eight- to nine-man rotations were the norm for most NBA teams, but in tonight's opener, only in the second quarter, the Wizards already had as many as 11 players in the game. Completed the appearance.
In the second quarter of the game, the Wizards' lineup was guided by Haywood, Thomas, Jefferson, Crawford and Lue.
Because the defensive capabilities of the two defenders in this second lineup were weak, Wang Shuo used the twin tower combination of Haywood and Thomas on the inside.
Although these two people do not have the ability to attack independently, they can help defend and have very good frame protection abilities.
After D'Antoni's guidance in the summer league, Crawford had already converted to the "Xiaji Bazao". The Knicks' backup shooting guard Shanton Anderson was unable to catch Crawford's routines and was beaten twice by him in succession. Attack round.
However, compared to the defense that has been completely beaten tonight, the Knicks' most troublesome thing for fans is their offense.
In order to chase points, both Houston and Sprewell were left on the field by Van Gundy.
But this pair, which should have a good chemical reaction inside and outside, in Van Gundy's offensive system, gives people a feeling of being too powerful no matter how they play.
Crawford's registered height this season is 196 centimeters and his registered weight is 91 kilograms.
But in fact, whether it is height or weight, Crawford's registration data has a certain degree of moisture.
Therefore, if Van Gundy designs more singles tactics for Houston at the beginning of the second quarter, the Knicks may really be able to recover some points while the Wizards are rotating their personnel.
However, what Wang Shuo and the three "Mikes" were most worried about did not happen.
Because tonight's game process once again proved how hard Van Gundy's mind can turn.
In Van Gundy's view, since you have replaced Artest and Jackson on your side, I should fight against your striker.
But how did Van Gundy know...
Jefferson is not a boss that Sprewell can do whatever he wants.
Jefferson, who is 201 centimeters tall, already weighs about 100 kilograms after gaining muscle in the summer.
This kind of rookie who has spent two more years in college has this advantage. Compared with many future rookies who choose to join the NBA at the age of 19, they are not only physically ready to join the NBA, but also technically complete. The degree is also higher.
The success rate of Sprewell's attack on Jefferson at the beginning of the second quarter was so low that Wang Shuo on the sidelines even doubted his life.
Because he knew that both his teammates inside were strong men, Jefferson, who was willing to shoot but not shoot, did not give the "madman" a chance to find his touch on the outside.
And what about Sprewell?
In Wang Shuo's opinion, if this guy could even out his talent with some IQ, he wouldn't have lost such a good physical talent in vain.
In Wang Shuo's previous life, Sprewell, who would play well with the Timberwolves in the future, originally received a three-year contract extension from the Timberwolves with a total value of 21 million after the expiration of his contract.
But what is unbelievable is that this guy actually rejected the Timberwolves on the grounds that "10 million is not enough to support his family."
You know, Sprewell was already 34 years old at the time.
At the beginning of the 21st century, NBA sports medicine was not as developed as it would be in the future.
Therefore, the contract offered by the Timberwolves to Sprewell is completely a premium contract.
So the question is, after Sprewell rejected the Timberwolves' contract extension, what was his ending?
the answer is......
Nobody cares!
In an interview, Sprewell told reporters that if he did not have a satisfactory contract, he would rather stay at home. He never expected that in the end he would actually make his prophecy come true.
Because the general managers of other NBA teams are not stupid, how could anyone offer him a big contract with an annual salary of more than 10 million?
Not to mention his own personality problems, in terms of the NBA's salary cap at the time, how many 34-year-old veterans can get a multi-million-level contract?
In the first half of the second quarter, Alan Houston was in full decline. Even though he had been running ineffectively on the court, he had not caught the ball a few times.
Sprewell, on the other hand, demonstrated his kingly style as the "Iron King of New York" with his outstanding performance of hitting five irons in a row.
Although this opening game is a schedule carefully designed by the NBA for Jordan's comeback, Wang Shuo feels that the Wizards' luck is not generally good.
Although Van Gundy doesn't know how to adapt on the spot, Wang Shuo believes that the Wizards may not be able to play as calmly as they did tonight when they play against each other next time.
In this game, the Wizards were able to completely suppress the Knicks on the scene. In addition to Wang Shuo's precise grasp of the team's lineup and proper tactical adjustments, the main reason was that the Wizards, whose style had changed drastically, caught the Knicks off guard.
In the second quarter, with 7 minutes left, Wang Shuo said to Jordan: "Do you mind playing this game a little longer?"
Since in the first quarter of the game, Wang Shuo had already issued a "dead order" to Jordan, asking him to take more shots, Jordan knew very well that the new order given by Wang Shuo now clearly meant that he should ignore the order in the opening game. Go ahead and brush the data.
hateful!
A mere rookie coach dared to "order" Michael Jordan?
"You know, coach, I have always been known for obeying the team's orders, so no matter how long you ask me to play, I will be fine." Jordan said to Wang Shuo "well-behaved and docile".
Wang Shuo nodded with great satisfaction.
In his opinion, the overall situation of this game has been decided. After all, the team coached by Van Gundy has always been known for being easily overturned when it is ahead, but unable to overturn after being led.
Therefore, Wang Shuo does not intend to dampen the fans' interest, but intends to let Boss Qiao enjoy himself in the opening game.
It’s just that maybe it’s because I’ve been sitting in the audience for so long…
In the middle of the second quarter, after returning to the court, Jordan missed four consecutive shots.
Good guy, it’s true that he invited his fan brother Kobe to the god-pleasing event.
In order to prevent Jordan from being criticized after the game, his scoring in the opening game was based on a lot of shots. Seeing this, Wang Shuo decisively re-sent Gasol to help Boss Joe evacuate inside.
As a result, Houston, who had not been seen for a while, was in a miserable state.
Because despite his lack of presence in this quarter, he has been doing high-intensity return running training on the court.
Therefore, when Jordan returns to the low post, how can Houston, which has not even rested for a minute in this game, still have the energy to defend Jordan?
With Houston almost defenseless, Jordan made gains in the next two offensive rounds.
That's the benefit of a team having more rotation players available.
With a more reasonable rotation arrangement, the Wizards' defense tonight can not only maintain high intensity, but on the offensive end, they can always find the opponent's weaknesses.
Of course, this can't be blamed on the fact that the current coach likes to fuck the players to death.
after all......
As far as the salary space of this club is concerned, without looking at it from a God's perspective, most teams' substitutes are really crooked.
In addition, before the salary of the middle and lower-level players in the NBA skyrockets, current role players cannot spend high prices in the summer to hire specialized trainers to help them improve like future role players.
You know, in the 1990s, many stars even went to boss Joe's training camp every summer.
Therefore, due to many objective reasons, it is basically impossible to find a second team in the NBA that can carry out a wide range of personnel rotations in games like the Wizards.
In the second quarter of the game, Boss Qiao, who returned, felt average. He relied on free throws to break the 20-point mark before the end of the first half.
No problem, the referee tonight really didn't dare not give Boss Qiao a whistle.
On the one hand, it's because Madison Square Garden has long become Jordan's personal venue.
On the other hand, it's because Jordan wants to whistle, but he will never kneel down or spread his hands for you.
"Is this your first day of enforcing the law today? Didn't you see that his hands are already on my neck? Do you have to let him kill me before your whistle will sound?"
After excluding most of the swear words, the above is the roar that Boss Joe gave to the referee when he encountered an unfair penalty.
Yes, you read that right.
As the league's top card, the only GOAT, the God of Basketball, if Jordan wants to whistle, does he need to do something so fancy? Can't we just slap the referee in the face and be done with it?
A truly strong person never bothers to win sympathy by resorting to misfortune.
Whether it is the Michael Jordan at this moment or the Michael Jordan in Wang Shuo's memory.
Even when he was about to be beaten to death by the Pistons players, he would never ask the referee for a free throw in that "sympathetic" way.
After halftime, the Washington Wizards, playing away games, led 62-47.
In the second half of the second quarter, the Knicks relied on Kurt Thomas's stable performance at the mid-range shooting end to maintain a certain level of suspense in the game.
In order to preserve Jordan's physical fitness, in the second half of the second quarter, when the Knicks applied for a timeout, Wang Shuo decisively pulled Jordan aside and gave him the death order to paddle whenever he could on defense.
Originally, given Jordan's character, he wanted to refuse this rude request.
But no matter what...
At the moment, time is like a heavy shackle, clinging tightly to his knees.
“Forget it about a game like today.
I've said it before, I can accept you asking my teammates to help me cover when I'm defending, but I really can't accept this kind of game attitude of using your eyes to defend. "After pondering for a long time, Jordan expressed his stance to Wang Shuo.
"Don't worry, Michael. I'm just trying to preserve your physical strength. When the critical battle comes, even if you don't want to defend, I will whip you with a whip." Wang Shuo patted Jordan on the back and said.
After the intermission, in the second half, the two teams changed sides and fought again.
During the halftime break, Van Gundy, who had more time to think, finally remembered that in addition to his "son" Sprewell, the Knicks also had Houston to rely on on the outside.
On TNT TV, Barkley, who had been holding back for a whole game, roared excitedly after hitting two consecutive three-pointers for the Knicks in Houston: "The Knicks have already sounded the clarion call to counterattack!"
When there is no hope, there will always be a glimmer of hope. This is also a major characteristic of the team coached by Van Gundy.
In his previous life, Wang Shuo was tortured by such competitions.
However, soon after receiving two consecutive blows to the chest from his old comrade Jordan, Houston lost his accuracy in shooting.
Tonight, the Knicks have been unable to crack the Wizards' calling tactics.
Seeing this on the sidelines, D'Antoni asked Wang Shuo curiously: "How would you break this roll call tactic of yours if it were you?"
Hearing this, Wang Shuo said bluntly: "As long as there are top wings, this naming tactic is not difficult to break."
On the sidelines, Brown echoed: "You mean, through teammates constantly changing positions to help defend, we can break this roll call tactic?"
Wang Shuo nodded and said: "This is the only way to solve it."
Wang Shuo did not lie to Brown and D'Antoni.
Because in the future, after countless lessons of blood and tears, if the star player of your own team is the team's defensive shortcoming, then when your opponent calls him out, unless you have teammates who can help defend, otherwise , you can only expect your star player to perform exceptionally well on the defensive end and defend the opponent alone.
Moreover, this naming tactic is not unique to other teams in the future to target Stephen Curry or consume LeBron James.
In fact, Jerry Sloan, the pick-and-roll master, made Dayao suffer from this tactic as early as the first decade of the 21st century.
Because there was no top power forward around Dayao who could help him complete the defense, so in that series with the Jazz, Boozer in the Jazz team had a chance to shine.
And the interesting thing is...
Whether it's Yao in Wang Shuo's memory or Houston at this moment, their coach is Jeff Van Gundy.
Pick and roll.
But it's never just about holding the ball and picking and rolling.
If the off-ball pick-and-roll is done well, it can also make one's own offense much easier.
And this is the biggest difference between Wang Shuo's triangle offense and "Zen Master".
On the court, when engaging in an off-ball pick-and-roll with his teammates, Boss Qiao played a counter-trick. After squeezing in, he immediately withdrew.
Originally, Sprewell on the other side was ready to flank Jordan with Houston and block the passing route, but with Jordan's withdrawal, both he and Houston were exposed by Boss Joe.
Outside the three-point line, Jordan decided to reward himself with a three-pointer. After getting the ball, he raised the knife and scored his 27th point of the game.
Is it necessary to score 30+ points in the first game of comeback?
On TNT TV, Smith deliberately asked Barkley with a curious look: "Who was the last player to score more than 30 points in the NBA at the age of 38?"
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