Woody started the game 3-for-3 from the field.
TNT's Kenny Smith was frightened. Barkley reached out and rubbed his eyes, thinking that he hadn't woken up or that he had seen it wrong. This was not the Heat's No. 95. This was the Heat... No, neither was the Heat. Which striker can have such shooting ability!
The cheers at the scene came one after another!
The climax caused by Woody's third mid-range shot was no less powerful than the shot he just "forcibly confiscated" from Artest in the air.
Because this represents Woody's growth!
With Woody's ability, if he can develop a stable mid-range, his offensive presence will inevitably reach a higher level.
Forget about them, even Pat Riley, who was in the general manager's office at the moment, couldn't help but smile.
Whether he can develop stable shooting is actually one of the many risks in choosing Woody.
It's one thing to have great potential, but it's another thing to be able to realize your potential!
Just these three shots, to be honest, even if they lose this game tonight, Pat Riley will be very satisfied with Woody.
Rick Carlisle called a timeout.
Artest looked depressed when he left the game.
Originally, before the game started, he really didn't take Woody seriously.
He has watched Woody's past games and summarized them into one characteristic:
Just a "rough guy" who relies on his physical fitness to play basketball!
For such a guy, Artest has absolute confidence to guard him or even "zero seal" him.
Unexpectedly, when the game started, he was caught off guard by Woody.
It was a constant embarrassment for several rounds.
He glanced at the reporters on the sidelines.
A completely dark place.
If this continues tonight, even if he wins this game, he will become a laughing stock.
no!
This can't go on!
You have to concentrate completely!
Rick Carlisle was about to adjust his tactics, but before he could speak, Artest interrupted: "Rick, believe me, I can definitely guard this rookie!"
In fact, Carlisle has no intention of changing his defensive arrangement for Woody.
He believed in Artest's abilities. Even if Woody's mid-range shot at the start of the game was a bit ridiculous tonight, he still believed in Artest.
Even those "super giant" level wing players had no luck facing Artest. He didn't believe that Woody could really suppress Artest for the entire game.
However, Artest gave him a chance to PUA, not to tell Artest how much he trusted him: "Man, I absolutely believe in you. In my heart, you have always been You are the best defender in the league and no one can replace you!"
No one likes to hear this, and "The Beast" is no exception.
Look at Artest's soft expression and his more determined eyes after Rick Carlisle said these words!
He's obviously more sympathetic to Rick Carlisle, and not just tonight.
This is also the reason why Carlisle said these things.
As a "foreign monk", he was equivalent to "passively" squeezing out the "Smiling Assassin" and just took the position of head coach of the Pacers.
Thomas has a great impact on the players on this team.
O'Neal Jr. even considered him his "reborn parent" and "adopted father".
Because it was Thomas' trust that O'Neal Jr., who had been on the bench for the Trail Blazers for several years, suddenly became the league's top power forward with the Pacers.
To eliminate Thomas' influence on this team bit by bit, Rick Carlisle must make his attitude clear:
Thomas and I are the same, I absolutely trust your abilities!
So much so that sometimes, even if he is a little impatient, he will insist on letting the Pacers players solve the problems on the field themselves.
However, this time his judgment on Artest was not for this reason, but for his absolute confidence in Artest's defensive ability.
In the first round when the game restarted, Artest also showed his ability to put Rick Carlisle at ease defensively.
Odom came up to cover twice, but he couldn't let Woody get rid of Artest.
Obviously, Artest at this moment has fully demonstrated his abilities.
Woody was unable to get around the opportunity to catch the ball. Wade simply forced a break through Tinsley and used his height advantage to "high-fly" under the basket. However, Foster predicted well and stayed close to him all the way, straightening Arm, completed the interference.
"Bang!"
The ball bounced out of the frame.
O'Neal Jr. gradually gained experience against Odom, firmly blocking the position under the basket and squeezing Odom behind him.
Odom saw that he could not stop O'Neal. When he was about to take off, he secretly tugged on his clothes and quickly let go.
The process was extremely short, but O'Neal's movements obviously stalled.
He didn't take off sufficiently and watched Woody complete the "overtake" from beside him, protecting the rebound.
He turned and complained to the referee.
But the referee's eyes have long been attracted by Woody and Artest.
The moment Woody grabbed the rebound, Artest went up like a plagued bull. Woody almost lost his position because of the attack, so he had to dribble the ball first. But this was the "appetizer". After forcing Woody to "move in place", he still pushed hard against Woody, constantly destroying Woody's center of gravity when dribbling, making it impossible for him to use his strength to escape.
Woody sensed his little move and gave him an elbow unceremoniously, but Artest showed his experience and used his elbow to block it. Seeing this, Woody half-turned around, changed his hand, and continued to push hard.
When Artest saw this, his temper also rose, and he took the initiative to exert force.
The smell of gunpowder filled the surroundings of the two people.
It also successfully attracted the referee's attention.
Little O'Neal, who originally wanted to complain, looked at the posture of these two people and silently turned off the mic. If the standards of these two people's actions were AV, then the entanglement between him and Odom just now wouldn't even be considered a Category III movie.
Also complaining about a hammer.
Woody ultimately protected the ball.
Turning his head to look, Artest's eyes were full of unwillingness.
In his opinion, Woody was just a little away from making a dribbling error.
Then be more fierce!
That’s what he thought, and that’s what he did!
Then the intensity of his confrontation escalated again. Just looking at his desperate posture, it was hard to imagine that this was a regular season game.
Barkley looked at his appearance and commented vividly: "Artest's look makes me feel like he wants to swallow Woody up!"
What he didn't know was that he spoke Artest's heart.
Although the "Beast" wanted to play more fiercely, he really never thought about playing this game as a playoff game.
But his appropriately improved defensive intensity was unable to completely crush Woody every time. ——Woody did not score during this period, but in Artest's view, the so-called crushing the opponent does not depend on whether the opponent scored. What needs to be more noted is whether he dared to resist!
Woody did not score during this period, but his counterattack momentum became more and more fierce!
The confrontation between the two men continued to escalate.
How big is the scale?
One minute before both teams replaced the starting players in the first quarter, every confrontation between the two of them, the referees were so nervous that they did not dare to speak out. They watched their arms and elbows flying around, ready to blow the whistle at any time.
Their scale is already on the verge of challenging the whistle.
If it were a little bigger, the referees would have to blow the whistle.
Even if the penalties are whistled according to playoff standards...
Damn guy!
At the last 1 minute and 34 seconds of the first quarter, Artest was replaced by Rick Carlisle. As he walked off the court, the audience booed and he cursed in his heart.
The Chinese rookie was unexpectedly tenacious, which made him feel embarrassed.
Woody sat down on the bench and gasped for air.
Artest's confrontation was too fierce, and the result of his resistance was...
tired!
too tired!
He had only played one quarter, and the intensity of the confrontation made him feel that it was almost the same as before after three quarters.
Is this the league's top wing?
I'm really still far behind!
This can also be seen from the data. After making 3 of 3 shots in the beginning, Woody only hit 1 goal in the next 3 shots, resulting in 2 free throws. However, due to the intensity of the confrontation, he completely missed the free throw. No touch, all penalties were missed.
Only got 2 points...
Woody didn't know if he could hold on for a whole show at this scale, but he was certain of one thing:
Even if he doesn't consider winning or losing, I'm afraid he won't get 20 points in this game!
Now looking back and analyzing the situation in the first quarter, it seems that it may be a better choice for him not to anger Artest and turn a deaf ear to his trash talk and provocations.
However, you might get a few more points that way.
but……
You might not be able to sleep if you hide under the covers at night!
Woody could die standing up, but he couldn't live a cowardly life.
Especially when he stood on this court and suffered from "star disease", he considered himself to be the absolute protagonist.
so……
No matter whether you can win against your opponent or not, you cannot lose the momentum!
The main theme is "If you want to fight, I will fight, whoever is a coward will be the grandson!"
When playing basketball, isn’t it just a matter of playing hard?
If you don’t have any skills, why don’t you still play ball?
After a short break, Woody continued to confront Artest in the second quarter.
His worries are not unnecessary at all.
After making 3 of 3 shots in the first quarter, he only scored 2 points. In the second quarter, under Artest's various tough confrontations, he only got 3 shots in total before hitting 1 of them. Got 2 points, but made 1 free throw, but only got 3 points.
After scoring the 8 points in the first quarter, they totaled 11 points in the first half, shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 1-for-4 from the free throw line.
The shooting efficiency seems to be okay, but if you analyze the game in fragments, you will find that only 2 of the next 6 shots were made.
For ordinary players, these are unqualified data, but for a "pie-eating" player like Woody, it is even more unqualified.
In the second half, his physical energy was further depleted. I'm afraid it will be more difficult for Woody to get a shot...
These 20 points...
I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it!
At this time, Woody finally understood why the system gave out 30,000 achievement points as a reward.
This is clearly "stimulating consumption"!
Commonly known as "cutting leeks"!
Are you afraid that my 19,000 achievement points will grow hairy in the corner?
But Woody can only complain like this.
For this task, he basically planned to give up.
At the end of the first half, the Heat temporarily led 41 to 39 by 2 points.
The team has hope of winning!
If we can win this game, it will be of great help to the Heat's morale.
In December, their schedule is very difficult!
Before the game, the entire Heat team's atmosphere on the training ground was hoping for a "good start."
Woody didn't want to ruin the atmosphere within the team.
I don’t want to be a puppet of the system either.
In order to complete the task, I had to earn 20 points regardless of the situation.
You know, he just said on his "first night" that he doesn't care about statistics.
This is his persona.
As a rookie, it is very troublesome for your character to collapse!
The most important thing is that he enjoys the confrontation with Artest. This is the highest level competition in the Eastern Conference. Playing well in such games will help him grow better.
Secondly, Artest's entanglement ability is very strong.
Even if Woody wants to score 20 points by taking more shots, it may be very difficult!
Artest didn't give him a chance to catch the ball.
Another one, how can there be so many open opportunities?
If you are facing Artest with the ball, it will be even more "a sheep in a tiger's mouth"!
"Man, if we keep this momentum going in the second half, as long as we can continue to ensure our rebounds, then we still have a great chance of winning this game!"
Stan Van Gundy was satisfied with Woody's performance in the first half.
The three mid-range shots in the main opening were really awesome. Even if the subsequent scoring efficiency plummeted, he didn't criticize him too much. After all, we are facing Artest!
What's more, Artest restricted him.
But Woody and Odom also restricted Artest!
In the first half, Artest only hit 3 goals in 9 shots.
The shooting percentage was 33.3%, 10% lower than usual!
Including 1 of 3 free throws, he only scored 7 points.
Artest averaged 19 points per game this season and is the Pacers' second-leading scorer, second only to O'Neal who averaged 20.5 points per game. His offensive end was unable to open up the situation, which was why the Pacers fell behind in the first half. one of the important reasons.
Another reason is rebounding.
O'Neal's offense actually relies on "offensive rebounds". He averages 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
But in this game against the Heat, he didn't get a single rebound in the first half.
Woody, with the help of Odom and Grant, has grabbed 11 rebounds.
10 of them were backcourt rebounds.
Protected the restricted area very well.
Limiting O'Neal's "second attack" methods.
And don't forget, the Heat's "anti-counterattack" is also based on protecting rebounds.
For Woody's performance in the first half, Stan Van Gundy can definitely give him 82 points, and he will send the rest to Woody via text message in the form of "666".
It's really wonderful.
11 rebounds…
Only then did Woody notice that his rebound count had reached double figures.
He only cares about his unsatisfactory performance on the offensive end.
If you think about it, he did grab a lot of rebounds in the first half. But Woody didn't expect that he had grabbed 11 rebounds.
Wait a minute!
11 rebounds!
Woody vaguely felt that he had caught something brilliant.
Looking at my data again, 11 points and 11 rebounds...
Um?
Woody reacted. 20 points and 10 rebounds are considered "20 plus 10". So, 10 points and 20 rebounds are also considered "20 plus 10"?
He also specially opened the system panel and took another look at the mission requirements. After confirming that it only said "20 plus 10" and not 20 points and 10 rebounds, he rejected the idea of giving up the mission instantly.
After working with Odom in the first half, he felt that his rebounds tonight set a career record, and it shouldn't be a problem to get 20 rebounds in a single game for the first time in his rookie season.
Anyway, if Woody's calculation is correct and he maintains his efficiency in the first half, he can grab 22 rebounds in the game.
More importantly, Stan Van Gundy's requirement for him is to protect the rebounds.
It turns out that this is the correct way to open a task?
Woody suddenly felt that he had misjudged the system.
Obviously the system is telling him in this way that the Heat want to win this game and he should do this.
This system...
He's quite a nice person!
Not only did he give him achievement points, but he also wanted to help him win this difficult battle!
System: Stop me now, you will burn my CPU again!
The probability of completing the task suddenly increased, and Woody felt very excited.
Now he has no desire to score.
Of course, in order to firmly bind Artest's attention to himself, Woody's running position on the offensive end can be described by a certain brand's advertising slogan: never stop.
Moreover, Woody, who is no longer worried about whether he can take action or not, is very free and easy now.
Even if he doesn't catch the ball for the entire 24 seconds, it doesn't matter.
His strategy on the offensive end focuses on attracting and containing, and then after his teammates take action, he can predict the trajectory of the basketball and complete the rebound.
Artest also discovered this after following him for a few rounds.
But there's really nothing he can do against Woody.
Just say you don't want to run with him. Woody's three consecutive field goals in the beginning are still vivid in your mind.
But if you run with him...
He is 13kg heavier than Woody. With such non-stop running, his physical energy consumption must be faster than Woody's.
What's even more annoying is that he has no impact on Woody at all when it comes to rebounding.
His advantage against Woody is strength and matchup, that is, confrontation ability.
But rushing for rebounds mainly depends on the judgment of rebounds, mobility, explosiveness and jumping.
In these four aspects, compared with Woody, he is almost the difference between "second-rate" and "top".
This is the difficulty for O'Neal Jr., Odom can interfere with his take-off very well, but Artest can't stop Woody from rushing to the basket immediately.
It’s still those three mid-range shots!
So critical!
Halfway through the third quarter, Woody's rebound count quickly increased to 15. Rick Carlisle couldn't help but think of the image of Woody spreading his hands and shrugging at him.
At the same time, he kind of misses Brad Miller, who left this summer.
The 2.11-meter-tall "Big White Bear" averages 8.3 rebounds per game.
Foster came on the bench for Miller last season.
Compared to Miller, Foster's rebounding ability is weaker, averaging only 7 rebounds per game.
More importantly, after Miller left, Foster did not have a qualified substitute.
He can't always be on the court to share the pressure for O'Neal.
Especially tonight when O'Neal Jr. was severely restricted and another person was needed to step up and protect the rebounds, it was even more obvious that the Pacers lacked the strength to protect rebounds inside.
Well, the aspect that Foster cannot replace is not just rebounding.
Miller's departure took away part of the Pacers' interior passing support capabilities.
Tinsley is not a traditional number one position and does not have the ability to organize and connect.
Last season, the Pacers' organizational connection mainly relied on O'Neal and Miller.
This is the style of team that Rick Carlisle likes.
Not just as a blue-collar rebounder, or as a finisher on the offensive end. Rick Carlisle likes to use inside players as support points.
This is one of the things the Pacers management values about him.
I thought that with his training, O'Neal Jr. could go further and make up for the coping ability that Miller left.
As a result, it seems now that even if the Pacers' offense is indeed smoother, having two inside players who can support it is indeed stronger than having only one inside support point.
The Heat can protect the rebounds, and for this team, there is a basis for launching "anti-counterattack tactics."
Coupled with Woody's containment of Artest, the Pacers lacked a "defensive arrow" on the outside.
Reggie Miller's thin frame has become a breakthrough point for the Heat.
After several "defensive counterattacks", the Pacers had already returned to defense, but the Heat still caught Reggie Miller and completed a "forced fast break".
At the end of the third quarter, the Heat led 66 to 60, with the point difference reaching more than 6 points.
Wade was the Heat's top scorer in the third quarter, with 10 points.
The direct beneficiaries of "anti-counterattack tactics" and Woody's containment of Artest.
Woody made 1 of 2 shots. He completely gave up on the offensive end and turned on the defensive end, grabbing 6 rebounds in a single quarter. Especially when Foster was resting off the court and only O'Neal was on the court. He even grabbed 3 rebounds in a row, including 2 offensive rebounds.
One of the goals he completed was a "second attack" under the basket.
The data came to 13 points and 17 rebounds.
There are only 3 rebounds left to complete the "20 plus 10" task.
Rick Carlisle adjusted his strategy in the fourth quarter and continued to put Al Harrington on the bench.
This is a player who is more "offensive than defensive" and prefers singles, which is incompatible with the entire Pacers system. Therefore, Rick Carlisle taught him according to his aptitude and placed him in the position of "sixth man of the team".
This is indeed a great choice!
Not only did Ellington become the team's third leading scorer, the Pacers' firepower became even more fierce.
The team also had an extra strong period in the game.
The Pacers have expanded their score advantage in the past, often during the bench rotation stage.
Tonight is an exception...
Wade and Caron Butler's scoring ability is only better than Harrington.
But Rick Carlisle had no choice.
Tonight, O'Neal was really overwhelmed on both offense and defense.
On the rebounding side, he needs to deal with Woody and Odom.
On the offensive end, Artest's performance struggled, making him the team's only option every time the team needed to score.
Tremendous stress.
O'Neal's statistics so far are very good. He has already scored 19 points and 9 rebounds. The fourth quarter has just begun. In this game, he will not have much problem scoring "20 plus 10" that exceeds his season average.
But just to this extent, it’s still not enough.
The effect of putting Rick Carlisle on Harrington was immediate. Harrington came up and hit the shot.
But in the next round, Odom faced his defense and also scored with a mid-range shot, completing the response.
Um……
After taking down Foster, O'Neal was moved to the fifth position.
With Artest being restrained by Woody, the Pacers' wings are equivalent to Harrington and Reggie Miller.
As for this line of defense, I can’t say it doesn’t exist, I can only say it can’t be seen.
The Pacers basically have to give back as many points as they score with Harrington.
The Pacers actually rely on defense to win.
Otherwise, this guy is incompatible with the Pacers' starting lineup!
At 4 minutes and 35 seconds in the fourth quarter, Rick Carlisle saw that the point difference could not be narrowed, so he changed his tactics again and put Harrington off the court again.
In an attempt to pressure the Heat's newcomers by increasing their defensive intensity.
The effect is still obvious.
But the Pacers can defend the Heat, and the Heat can also defend the Pacers.
No matter how hard Stan Van Gundy doesn't know how to adapt, if you look at the Pacers' data sheet at this moment, you can tell who is on C of this team tonight.
O'Neal Jr. has become the Heat's focus.
"It's done!"
Woody's rebounding became easier during this period. At 6 minutes and 13 seconds of the fourth quarter, he officially grabbed his 20th rebound of the night.
"20 plus 10" achieved!
Reggie Miller hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the last 5 minutes, narrowing the point difference to 3 points.
Almost became a "key hero".
His performance from beyond the three-point line in this game was not ideal.
The Heat's inside defense is too fast, and there are no obvious loopholes in the entire outside defense:
Wade, Jones and Woody all have good defensive awareness.
The 38-year-old Reggie Miller averages only 10 points per game this season. His role is to contain firepower from the outside.
If he cannot play his role in this aspect, then he will basically be invisible on the offensive end!
But this three-pointer proved his role.
He is still the "bullet" that stabilizes the team's morale at the most critical moment.
But after hitting this three-pointer, his next shot failed to continue.
The difference of 3 points is not big, but with the loss of time, no matter how small the difference is, it can become fatal.
In the last 2 minutes, Artest looked anxious at the 2-point difference.
Facing Odom, he chose to force a breakthrough by himself, but was double-teamed by Woody in time.
The two reached out in tacit understanding, forcing Artest to protect the ball in his hands. Just as he was about to shout "timeout," Woody's hand got involved. By the time Artest found out, Woody's hand was even on the ball.
It's going to be a scrum...
Seeing that he was about to make a mistake at a critical moment, Artest suddenly burst out with force, grabbed the ball and threw it hard. At the same time, he used his arm to press Woody, trying to control the ball through brute force. Grab it back.
But Woody also thought so. The two of them used force almost at the same time, pressing their shoulders towards each other at the same time. Like two bulls going up against each other.
Artest felt this resistance, and his already irritable heart became even more impatient.
The various emotions caused by Woody's embarrassment tonight, and the frustration of being unable to suppress Woody after the game. Instead, because he never stopped running, he had to devote himself to it and was unable to help his teammates like he used to. .
As his emotions became uncontrollable, his actions became more dangerous.
More force was thrown out of him, and with a force from his waist, he actually planned to throw Woody's whole body out.
But at the moment when he exerted his strength, Woody suddenly "removed the stool". He couldn't hold it any longer. His strength was indeed not as good as Artest's. But when he loosened his hands, Artest suddenly exerted his strength. The man fell backwards involuntarily, his body completely losing balance. When he fell to the ground, the ball flew towards the audience with his raised hand.
The recoil is huge...
Artest fell to the ground and rolled several times.
This scene directly shocked the entire arena audience into silence, and then...
Bursting with laughter!
No way, this is too funny!
Everyone on the Pacers rushed to help Artest, who was rolling on the ground for two and a half times.
After finally stopping, Artest got up and immediately rushed towards Woody.
Without watching the replay, he knew how "clown" he had just been.
The sense of humiliation made him instinctively want to punch Woody.
No one dares to stop the Pacers.
However, the Heat players on the court immediately formed a circle around Woody, and even Woody's teammates off the court rushed to protect Woody.
The person standing in the front is Wade.
It's just that he misjudged Artest's strength and was pushed aside.
His eyes were confused, and even his cheeks showed confusion.
But the next second Artest "cleared" the first "obstacle", he felt a huge force rushing towards his chest. Before his body could exert any force, he was pushed to the ground again.
What he met was a pair of cold eyes.
The one who takes action...
It's Woody!
Pushing Artest down, Woody looked down at Artest who was sitting on the ground, his expression gradually becoming fierce.
broken!
Seeing Woody standing on the "front line", Stan Van Gundy was no longer calm.
He immediately wanted to rush towards the court and kept urging the referee next to him to rush up and stop him.
But before he could rush over with the referee who was leaning on him, an unexpected scene happened on the field:
Artest, who was overthrown, met Woody's eyes. He did not become angrier and charge forward again. Instead, he shrank back obediently like a grinning dog that pretended to be vicious after being slapped unexpectedly.
he……
Return!
this……
Not only the Heat are confused!
Even Artest's own teammates were confused.
Not only were the Pacers confused, Woody was also confused.
no……
That’s it!
Will you give up after just one push?
Woody really didn't expect that Artest turned out to be a "barking dog"?
No wonder Ben Wallace looks down on him.
The referee also stopped at this time and gave both sides thirty boards. Both Woody and Artest received technical fouls.
Just as boos were about to erupt from the scene, the referee seemed to remember that this was the home court of the Heat. At the same time, it was Artest who made the first move, so he added another technical foul to Artest.
After two consecutive technical fouls, Artest was ejected!
Heat fans at the scene booed loudly when he left the court.
A mineral water bottle flew past him and almost hit him.
You can see how angry Miamians are!
As soon as he left the game, the Pacers were completely at a disadvantage.
In the last two minutes, the Heat pulled the point difference back to 7 points, defeated the Pacers 88-81, and won their first victory in December with difficulty.
(End of chapter)
