Arenas was shaking with rage.
This is what he used to mock his opponent since his sophomore year in high school when he met an opponent wearing No. 0 jersey and defeated him!
After arriving at the NCAA, he still retained it.
A while ago, he played the Bruins, a team that rejected him, and there was also a player wearing No. 0 jersey on the opposite side. He scored 18 points that night and helped the Wildcats win, and he used this sentence to mock the opponent.
This time, he was actually ridiculed by his opponent with this sentence!
But he was really beaten. In these few rounds, the opponent did better than him, with 4 points, plus a successful inside pass, but he only made 1 of 2...
At the end of the long timeout, both teams made personnel adjustments.
The Trojans replaced Charles with Brusenthal.
Li Ao came to the court and looked at the opposing lineup, Arenas, Rick Anderson, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, and Woods.
Rick Anderson, with a comprehensive evaluation of 73, ranked 67th among high school students in the United States in 1998. He is 189 centimeters tall. He is good at long-range shooting and defense. He is terrible with the ball. He averaged 11 minutes per game and scored 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Rick Anderson's information immediately popped up in Li Ao's mind.
But replacing this person would obviously not be used to defend against him, so...
No, no, are you going to use that guy to defend him?
What an honor!
The game continues with the Wildcats on offense.
Arenas catches the ball and attacks.
Li Ao devoted himself to defense. The opponent did not need Michael Wright, nor did he need a point guard who was excellent in isolation. He sacrificed offense to improve defense. The reason why he dared to do this was because Arenas scored 13 points on 6 of 9 shots tonight. Brutal performance.
Arenas came to the top arc, faced Li Ao, and went into cursing mode, just like when he humiliated Ruben Douglas.
But Li Ao just looked at Arenas with the eyes of a wise man.
Just a few words over and over again.
When Shelby Jordan heard Arenas's trash talk, he really wanted to give Arenas some help, the kind of help that didn't require him to say thank you.
Arenas failed to anger Li Ao, but instead made himself angry.
He swore he had to kill this nasty guy tonight!
breakthrough!
Arenas passed Li Ao without much effort, and Li Ao chased behind Arenas to interfere with the emergency stop jumper.
Arenas did not perform an emergency stop and step back. The opponent's non-oppressive defense made him feel awkward. He rushed inside and tried to attack the frame.
Li Ao chased Arenas closely, blocking the space for Arenas to make an emergency stop. Arenas was forced to reach the bottom line on the right side of the three-second zone!
Arenas was surprised. The defensive patience of No. 0 on the opposite side was so good!
Granville shrank in place in time, Arenas was forced to stop the ball and find a connection point, but Woods, the best connection point, was stuck behind Brusenthal.
Woods, who is 216 centimeters and 111 kilograms, is really not as good as Brusenthal, who is 206 centimeters and 109 kilograms, in terms of confrontation.
Although Woods moves quickly, has outstanding height and wingspan, and has a good sense of blocking shots, when encountering a thick opponent, he becomes a pure blue-collar player, with only pie-taking and pick-and-roll on the offensive end.
Li Ao covered Arenas and did not make any extra moves. Granville reached for the ball.
Arenas watched as he either made a mistake or was forced to get blocked. The savior is here! He quickly leaned forward and threw the ball towards the center.
Richard Jefferson cut in from the middle, jumped high to catch the ball, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand!
This cut was so sharp that White Mamba couldn't pull him away in time.
It is indeed the strongest team in the division for more than ten years. It is not that easy to kill them with one shot.
Li Ao picked up the ball and shouted to his teammates: "Don't be anxious, let's play slowly, we are in the lead."
Bai Mamba is good at mediating internal conflicts, communicating with teammates, and encouraging his teammates. Li Ao takes over this task.
At this time, someone like this came out and spoke, and the impatient mood of the teammates calmed down a lot.
Granville advanced to the frontcourt and the pressure increased suddenly!
The opponent's overall offense dropped, but Rick Anderson and Richard Jefferson came up and the defense was full!
The lineup facing them is the Wildcats' best defensive lineup that was analyzed during the Trojans' preparation for the game.
Fortunately, White Mamba has scored 9 points since the start of the game. He has single-handedly restrained the opponent's defense, preventing the opponent's zone defense from opening up.
Li Ao had no chance to attack inside. Rick Anderson went to guard Shelby Jordan, and the man chasing Li Ao was Richard Jefferson who had just completed a dunk!
Li Ao's speed is pretty good for a forward, but Richard Jefferson's speed is comparable to a speedy defender!
Although Li Ao has the strength advantage, Richard Jefferson's defense is completely different from Arenas. He is active in defense and not afraid of confrontation.
Seeing this, Granville chose to attack with a breakthrough.
Li Ao had been paying attention to Granville's actions and immediately cut from the baseline to the inside. He could not get rid of Richard Jefferson, but he still went all the way to the basket, then turned 90 degrees and ran to the high post.
Arenas' defense was like toilet paper, broken by a poke. Granville easily broke into the inside and encountered a supplementary defense from Richard Jefferson on the right side of the three-second zone.
Granville distributed the ball, and Li Ao ran from the basket to one step beyond the free throw line to receive the ball. Arenas chased the ball and rushed in front of Li Ao, rushing to interfere.
Li Ao ignored Arenas' defense, raised the ball, and took a mid-range shot...
It feels good, it’s in!
After landing, Li Ao said loudly: "No wonder you scored so many points. It turns out that it is so easy to make a mid-range shot."
As a surly 17-year-old teenager, Arenas couldn't stand the excitement and shouted to his teammates: "Give me the ball! I'm going to kick that bitch's balls out!"
Li Ao, who was retreating, paid attention to Arenas's emotional changes. When he saw that the opponent was starting to yell at his teammates, he quickly called his teammates together to say a few words.
The defense adjusts on the spot, and the Trojans usually have the power of Shelby Jordan or Charles.
This was the first time Li Ao did this, but his teammates all chose to execute it, and the team's cohesion was reflected at this moment.
Arenas advanced to the frontcourt, waited for his teammates to get into position, and directly charged Li Ao, who was interfering with shooting.
Without choosing another offensive method, Arenas rushed to the free throw line, stopped suddenly, stepped back, and took a long two-point shot... As soon as he jumped up and raised the ball, his pupils dilated instantly!
How could this guy jump in place?
He saw Li Ao appearing in front of him!
Although the difference in jumping is huge, the difference in height and wingspan between the two is even greater!
Although Arenas was surprised, he did not stop his body movements. He leaned back to avoid Li Ao's block and threw the ball. The ball would fly above Li Ao's fingers.
However, the block was avoided and the ball missed the frame.
Three no-sticks!
The rest of the Trojans gathered in a circle in the middle, giving no chance to Richard Jefferson and Woods to rush for the ball. Shelby Jordan protected the rebound.
Shelby Jordan got the rebound and directly swore: "His gambling defense actually worked!"
The other three were equally surprised.
This defensive end's prediction talent is also great!
His teammates thought this was a risk, but Li Ao was actually quite confident.
Based on his understanding of Arenas and his judgment after tonight's personal matchup, he felt that most likely Arenas would respond with a pull-up jumper regardless.
After he was passed just now, the defense did not pursue it with all its strength. He did not care about Arenas breaking into the inside. He had already ordered his teammates in advance to block Arenas' breakthrough in the middle, and waited for Arenas to perform an emergency stop and retreat. , he can press on immediately.
He has always felt that in addition to ability, defense also relies on brains.
Sometimes the ideas you come up with in your head sound outrageous, but the opponent's style of play is really that outrageous.
When the Trojans attacked, Granville did not continue to break through. To slow down, he lobbed the ball to Brusenthal from close range, who faced Woods in singles.
Using his skillful singles steps, Brusenthal stepped forward to connect with his back, turned around and threw from the baseline... but was interfered by Woods.
The ball hit the inside of the basket and bounced out, and Woods protected the defensive rebound.
Although Woods' offense was ruined by the Trojans' strong inside line, his defense was still among the top in the university.
Another opportunity to widen the point difference to more than 5 points was lost. Li Ao felt regretful. When he turned around and retreated from the baseline, he heard Root Olson shouting from the sidelines: "Rick, you are setting the pace, Gilbert." You should take a break first."
Pretending not to hear, Li Ao quickly ran back to the backcourt.
He did not make adjustments immediately. After Rick Anderson advanced to the frontcourt and ignored Arenas's repeated requests for the ball, he lifted the ball from the wing to the top arc and signaled Granville to go to the wing.
"I'm guarding him? Are you kidding me?"
Granville pupil earthquake.
You want me to die?
Li Ao responded without looking back: "Just go around and go around."
Seeing Arenas running towards the flank, Granville gritted his teeth and chased after him.
Granville was very nervous and sweating profusely.
The opponent is taller, stronger than him, and can shoot mid-range and long-range accurately... How can he defend such an opponent without the ball?
He wanted to pull Li Ao's ear and point it at the hole and say: What magical tricks can you teach me to use to defend against it?
Then, a few seconds passed...
Granville: (｡ŏ_ŏ)
Why doesn't this guy move?
Why just stand still?
Am I on guard?
Move! Otherwise, it would appear that my question just now was stupid.
On the other side, Rick Anderson regretted it.
What can you do if you do this?
How could he be so blinded by lard that he listened to the head coach?
How nice to pass it to Arenas.
He just couldn't stand the way Arenas forced Ruben Douglas to transfer, but it wasn't that he didn't recognize Arenas's strength.
Arenas never imagined that the person who had the highest opinion of him in this matter was actually the No. 0 player on the opposite side who he wanted to bite to death.
Rick Anderson saw that it was easier for Arenas to pass Li Ao than to drink water, but when he broke through, he was stuck to death! Forced to stop at the top right corner of the free throw line!
Thanks to Luke Walton's response, he was able to send the ball out dangerously.
Luke Walton supports the ball, distributes the ball, distributes the ball, the ball... support your sister!
His current thoughts are the same as Granville's.
That bastard should move at least!
Arenas' movement without the ball is very poor, which is to put it mildly.
To put it bluntly, Arenas has no ability to move without the ball.
There is no other reason. He has been the core ball-handler since he played in the Southern California Youth Amateur League in junior high school. When he got tired, he would stand aside and take shots.
Luke Walton was forced to face Shelby Jordan in a singles and broke through the emergency stop. It did not play the role of the emergency stop at all. The one who pulled up the shot and "bang" was the iron.
Li Ao took it back...the ball was taken by Brusenthal, who turned around angrily and ran towards the frontcourt.
Rebounds, if this continues, I will be overtaken by steals.
When the Trojans attacked, Brusenthal scored the ball in a single. Li Ao received the ball from the left side of the three-second zone and passed it to Granville. Granville passed the ball again. White Mamba caught the ball and shot... Unfortunately, this time White Mamba is also strong.
Rick Anderson grabbed the defensive rebound and threw it to Arenas like a hot potato.
Arenas gave Rick Anderson a contemptuous look and advanced to the frontcourt.
Li Ao, who retreated, saw this scene and switched defenses with Granville again. He was sure that Arenas would not give the ball to Rick Anderson to launch an attack, so he rushed into the round and Rick Anderson refused to give the ball to him. Arenas.
Arenas played Li Ao in singles. He did not break through directly, but quickly pulled horizontally.
Li Ao was forced to move sideways with all his strength to interfere with Arenas' shooting. Arenas seized the opportunity, stopped suddenly, took a long step back to the previous position, took off, and shot a three-pointer...
This rhythm is what Arenas likes!
However, it is ironclad!
After Arenas paused a round of singles, he felt tired from playing singles for several minutes, and his incredible state suddenly disappeared!
When it came to the Trojans' offense, Granville's breakaway throw was solid.
After a period of highlight moments, both teams started to get tougher!
The reason the Trojans are strong is because the Wildcats put on their best defensive lineup.
The reason why the Wildcats are strong...Arenas' condition was ruined by Li Ao!
After another iron, Arenas finally made a shot.
The Trojans only relied on Shelby Jordan's tip-in to cause a foul and made two free throws. The score between the two teams reached 28-24, and the Trojans still only had a 4-point lead.
The iron will spread. When the Wildcats attacked, Luke Walton made an open three-pointer. Li Ao finally grabbed the rebound and shot the ball toward the top arc before Richard Jefferson.
Granville receives the ball and counterattacks!
Arenas tried his best to catch up but couldn't catch up. He gave up after chasing the three-point line and watched Granville trot into the paint and hit a layup.
30 to 24, the Trojans' lead finally expanded to 6 points, and the Wildcats called a timeout!
After being anxious for so long, they finally had a fairly clear lead. The fans cheered endlessly after entering the timeout.
That’s right, we’ve played for 15 minutes, and the score is only 30 to 24…
You know, after 9 minutes of playing, the score was already 24-20.
The fans thought it was an offensive battle, but who knew that it turned into a defensive battle!
This change... the fans unanimously focused their attention on the two-meter tall man with a puppy face...
