At this time, the score between the two sides was 37 to 39, and the 76ers temporarily led by 2 points due to their substitute advantage.
After the timeout, the Wizards sent the ball forward. As soon as Li Kaiming came up, he discovered that the opponent's defense had increased its intensity.
Brand, who is in his 30s, was willing to lower his face to prevent him from catching the ball, and there were several people watching him. I am afraid that as soon as he gets the ball, several people will double-team him at the same time.
76ers head coach Doug Collins' idea is very simple. First, I won't let you catch the ball. After receiving the ball, I will force you to throw the ball. If you pass the ball well, then I will surround you with three people so that you can't pass the ball at all. ball path.
Hinrich found that Li Kaiming had no chance to catch the ball, so he had to stop this attack. Li Kaiming was not idle either, using his restraint to draw Brand far away, preventing the latter from getting close to the basket.
Hinrich used the cover of Blach to break through and shoot from mid-range, but missed. The rebound was taken by 76ers center Hawes and then given to Wall.
Li Kaiming quickly returned to defense. He knew Wall's fast break speed. He was probably the only one in the entire Wizards team who could keep up.
When Wall saw that Li Kaiming returned to the three-point line, he immediately gave up the idea of going for a layup. Wall had already learned how fast Li Kaiming was during the previous joint trial, so he would not do this. It's a self-inflicted act, but he dribbles the ball in a circle inside the three-point line and then comes out the other side.
The rest of the Wizards also quickly got into position. The 76ers' positional battle offense was still based on pick-and-rolls and no-ball cuts, supplemented by star singles.
Wall broke through halfway through the screen, and then passed the ball to Jrue Holiday who came in through an air cut. The latter wanted to go for a layup but was interfered by Li Kaiming, and then hurriedly passed the ball to Hawes at the basket.
Hawes got the ball back, but at this time, Bratsch, who was guarding the pick-and-roll, had already returned to defense. Hawes missed the ball under the basket, and the rebound was collected by Li Kaiming who came later.
The moment he got the rebound, Brand stuck to him. The 76ers were frantic. As long as Li Kaiming got the ball, he would stick to it, no matter where he was.
Li Kaiming passed the ball to Hinrich, and then physically confronted Brand. The two entangled in the frontcourt. Without the ball, Li Kaiming was still the biggest target of the 76ers' defense.
Of course, the rest of the Wizards' starting lineup is not a freeloader. When the 76ers devote most of their energy to dealing with Li Kaiming, the rest will have the opportunity to collect data.
The first person to get the opportunity was Nick Young. The 76ers used a quick double-team strategy to force the ball out of Li Kaiming. There were mainly three players. One was Brand, the power forward who faced Li Kaiming. The second one had excellent defense awareness and good physical fitness. , the fast-moving forward Iguodala, and the last one is Jrue Holiday, the best defensive player on the 76ers' back line.
Although Holiday has only been in the league for a year, he has already shown excellent defensive potential. He can deal with various defenders, has excellent defensive awareness and strong physical confrontation.
The defensive lineup composed of these three players will probably give even the league's perimeter offensive masters a headache.
And Li Kaiming couldn't find a way to crack it for a while because of the targeted defense of these three people.
The main reason is that Iguodala and Holiday's defense speed is too fast. Maybe he can pass the ball to an open teammate before the double team comes, but these two can also return to their defensive positions in an instant. Nick Young still has some strong shooting ability, and El Thornton's open three-pointers are unreliable. Instead of counting on him to score the ball against Iguodala, it is better to count on Li Kaiming to throw a super shot against these three defenders. Far three points.
In desperation, Li Kaiming had to switch to off-ball play, which is what Doug Collins is happy to see.
As long as Li Kaiming doesn't hold the ball, his data will not be much better!
Collins has a deep understanding of this. There are many players in the league who seem to be omnipotent on the offensive end, but as long as they are unable to get the ball, half of their abilities will be wasted.
In his eyes, Li Kaiming was naturally of the same type.
It's not that this type of player isn't great, it's just that this type of player is easier to restrict than those with better off-the-ball skills.
Li Kaiming couldn't catch the ball, so Hinrich took on his original task.
Li Kaiming, on the other hand, is like a jerk, running around, providing a cover for his teammates from time to time, and then running back or jumping out.
Now, the rest of the 76ers are relieved. Only Brand, who defends Li Kaiming, has achieved success!
Li Kaiming's dirty work also brought hope to the team. Nick Young finally got a chance through Li Kaiming's off-ball screen, because both Brand and Jrue Holiday went to defend Li Kaiming.
Hinrich hit the ball to Nick Young, who picked up the ball and threw it, and then hit a two-pointer!
39 flat!
The 76ers attacked, but their no-ball cuts failed to find an opportunity. In desperation, Wall chose to force Hinrich. Although the experienced Hinrich was half a body passed by Wall, he kept giving the latter Physical confrontation caused Wall to lose his biggest advantage, which was speed, when he challenged Hinrich in the penalty area.
Wall finally ended the offense with a turn-over jumper, a beautiful strike, and Li Kaiming collected the rebound and handed it to Hinrich.
In these two rounds, his playing style was exactly that of a classical power forward, defending, protecting the frame, and protecting rebounds. On the offensive end, he screens, moves down the line, and does all the dirty work.
The reason why Doug Collins thinks that Li Kaiming will not adapt to playing without the ball is because he feels that a proud man like Li Kaiming who has long been accustomed to playing with the ball will not bend down to do the dirty work. .
But what he didn't understand was that Li Kaiming had started his career doing dirty work since he started with the Tigers. Maybe everything else Li Kaiming said in front of reporters might be false, but there was only one sentence: "I will do anything to win." "it is true.
When the boss of the team, even though he is temporary, can put down his body to cover, block, and grab rebounds for the role players, the morale bonus to a team is infinite.
Li Kaiming still helped his teammates cover and block people, and then took Brand for a walk in various ways. The pick-and-roll cooperation between Hinrich and Brac created opportunities. Hawes was beaten several times by Brac using his speed advantage. This time I was a little worried, so I let Hinrich go and returned to the penalty area to guard Brac.
Faced with this level of vacancy, Hinrich made a direct throw!
41 to 39!
Doug Collins put his hand on his chin and fell into thought. Although the Wizards were only leading by 2 points, why did he have a bad feeling...
In the next few minutes, Collins finally understood the source of the uneasiness, which was that the other members of the Wizards did not seem to be timid because Li Kaiming was being held down. Instead, they became more and more excited as they played...
The consequence of this is that when the midfield whistle sounded, the Wizards once again opened the point difference to 4 points, becoming 46 to 42!
In these minutes, Li Kaiming didn't score a point, but he grabbed 5 rebounds, including an offensive rebound.
The rest of the Wizards were on full fire, Nick Young scored 4 points, Hinrich scored 2 points and 3 assists...
Sanders, who was sitting next to the Wizards bench, kept nodding his head when he saw Li Kaiming's performance!
He has seen many high-ranking rookies. Most high-ranking rookies and even some star players will not take the initiative to adjust when faced with difficulties. If they are not in good condition, they can create opportunities for their teammates. Why must they take the first step? Opposite Tiegan? Could it be that you have to prove that you are a man in the competition?
Sanders doesn't think so. In his basketball philosophy, only men who do whatever it takes to win are men. Maybe I will praise you for a difficult goal on the surface.
But in my heart, I will call you a fool because you don't see teammates with better opportunities!
Basketball is a competition of physical fitness, but also a competition of brains!
