The Trojans were able to lead by two points and have the ball at the beginning because the opponent's starting point guard Martin Cleaves failed to make two open three-pointers.
But Martin Cleaves is the opponent's top three-point shooter. He shot 39.9% from three-point range this season and averaged 2.3 three-pointers per game, which is close to half of the opponent's team's three-pointers. Henry Bibby did not expect him to take any chances. Has been unable to make a shot.
Moreover, the opponent failed to score two three-pointers and was still only two points behind.
terrible!
Before the opponent could throw away, Henry Bibby took the initiative to make adjustments.
In the past three days, he reviewed the Spartans' five games in the Crazy Three countless times and found that no team could stop this opponent.
Those teams have tried everything, but the results...
Therefore, Henry Bibby is ready to find another way!
After he made the arrangements, the five starting players all felt huge pressure.
Although I am prepared when preparing for war, I really have to be so defensive...
Seeing Li Ao eager to try, the four teammates gritted their teeth and went for it!
After the timeout, neither team made any substitutions.
The Trojans attack and drive downfield.
Li Ao stood one step outside the free throw line waiting to start tactical coordination.
Morris Peterson shouted trash talk excitedly: "Winning the championship while stepping on you is really the happiest thing this year."
Li Ao didn't even look at the other person, and responded casually: "There is everything in the dream."
With this contemptuous tone, Morris Peterson gritted his teeth and pressed towards Li Ao... "Vaco!"
When he pressed forward, the bastard raised his elbow, and his belly hit the opponent's elbow!
After his elbow was 'bumped', Li Ao immediately started running, and Granville had already begun to break through.
Li Ao went around the baseline, used Charles's cover to run out from the right side of the three-second zone, and received the ball. AJ Granger and Maurice Peterson both rushed towards him.
Without stopping the ball, Li Ao passed the ball to Charles. Charles jumped from the basket and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand.
The score is 14 to 10, and the Trojans lead by 4 points!
Tom Izzo scolded Maurice Peterson directly from the sidelines.
Maurice Peterson was yelled red in the face. He was impulsive just now and lost his mind after being fooled by the opponent's little move. But in fact, when he found out that he and the center were actually flanking an off-ball player, he had already reacted. , originally he wanted to pay Li Ao back.
Coming to the frontcourt, Maurice Peterson tried to calm down and attack well.
He saw Charlie Bell gesturing to play for him!
The boss was yelled at, and his teammates had to help him regain his place.
Charlie Bell singled past Trey Pagnier and went left to break into the three-point line.
Li Ao shrank from the left sideline, and Morris Peterson moved from the middle of the sideline to the bottom corner. He seized the opportunity and cut into the bottom line... The shrinking Li Ao did not go to the basket, but retreated to the baseline in several consecutive steps, blocking Morris Peterson. !
Look at the obviously stronger Maurice Peterson being blocked!
Charlie Bell suddenly stopped the ball from close range. He was ready to attract the defense and then score the ball to the baseline, but Maurice Peterson was blocked.
And Charles moved into position, covering his shooting space!
Granville went around to connect with Martin Cleaves; the White Mamba moved one step inside the right side of the three-second zone, blocking the space for Charlie Bell to pass to the weak side; AJ Granger looked at the basket. Three seconds into the attack and if you still haven't caught the ball, you can only pull to the right baseline. Going up is a dead end, and the White Mamba is there...
Charlie Bell had no choice but to use an anti-aircraft gun to avoid Charles' block.
But the ball thrown high came down and only touched the neck of the basket. White Mamba moved in to block AJ Granger who ran in reverse, protecting the defensive rebound!
Seeing Charles pass the ball to Granville, Tom Izzo on the sidelines twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered: "That's really bold!"
But he was surprised.
Just like Henry Bibby's solemn expression on the opposite side did not relax.
If the NCAA's defensive concept doesn't work, then don't use the NCAA's defense, use the NBA's defense!
As a former professional player who has played in the NBA for more than ten years, he has always been flexible in his thinking.
But guarding one round does not mean that you can guard it all the time.
On the contrary, the loopholes in this defense are very, very big...
On the field, the Trojans went on offense.
The three-person team continued to cooperate in a small area. This time Trepagnier took the initiative and circled the top arc.
Li Ao and Bai Mamba continued to cover without the ball at a 45-degree angle. This time, Maurice Peterson and Andre Hutson quickly switched defenses. When they lifted up from the 45-degree angle on the right, they followed Tre Pagani. Charlie Bell, who moved one step inside the top arc, quickly intercepted the White Mamba's receiving line, but Granville's ball direction was from the top arc!
Trey Paganier caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...hit!
17 to 10!
The Trojans' lead extends to 7 points!
In transition between offense and defense, the Spartans continued to play star tactics, breaking out, passing and cutting.
The one who broke through this time was Martin Cleaves. His athletic ability was not as good as that of Charlie Bell, and his breakthrough was not sharp, but he had an excellent sense of rhythm and easily deceived Granville into gambling.
Martin Cleaves took a step inside the free throw line and was blocked by the White Mamba. He passed the ball to the right side and Glanville and Trey Pagnier sandwiched Andre Hutson who had just received the ball.
Andre Hutson could only hold the ball up and didn't dare to put it down. Charlie Bell shouted "Pasmi" on the right sideline. Andre Hutson quickly turned around and saw his teammates. , passed to the right corner, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
But after Charlie Bell received the ball, he didn't shoot in the open position and broke through along the baseline.
Charles blocked it, White Mamba and Andre Hutson fought hand-to-hand, Granville returned to the high position to go around Martin Cleaves, and Charlie Bell could only face the attack and take off to make a mid-range shot..." Bang"...
The three outsiders of the Spartans immediately retreated to prevent the Trojans from counterattacking.
Granville received the ball and saw that the three opponents had retreated to the center circle. He did not counterattack and continued to stay in position and play as a team.
Unfortunately, Li Ao's mid-range catch-and-shoot jumper failed this time, and the Trojans failed to continue to widen the point difference.
Martin Cleaves took the defensive rebound and advanced on his own, his steps slower than usual and his brows furrowed.
Tom Izzo on the sidelines saw Love slowing down his pace and knew there was no need to remind him.
Martin Cliffs has already seen that the opponent's defense is not a zone defense, but a regional attack!
It seems that the two are very similar. Just like many people think that the 76ers play a zone defense. In fact, under the coaching of Larry Brown, the 76ers do not play a zone defense, but a regional attack.
But the difference is actually not small. Zone defense is more process-oriented, while regional flanking focuses on results. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Martin Cleves is about to graduate from college. He is expected to be in the first round and has already started preparing for the professional player stage in advance, so he can tell after playing two rounds.
Unlike zone defense, the purpose of a zone attack is not to defend everything, but to have a specific target.
The target on the opposite side is obvious, block their Spartans' sudden breakthrough and cut in from the wings to cooperate!
He quickly recalled the opponent's defense in the two rounds and discovered a huge loophole in the opponent's three-pointer from the bottom corner.
Whether it's Maurice Peterson or Charlie Bell, no one cares in the corner.
And as far as the defensive position of the opponent's players is concerned, it's not that they are not guarded because they don't have the wing three-point ability, but that there is no one to guard them in that position.
However, this should also be within the defensive tactical design of the opponent's area flanking attack. Among their 7 main players, only two have the ability to stabilize the wing three-pointer.
In fact, Maurice Peterson and Charlie Bell can also shoot three-pointers, but they are all three-pointers in the top arc area, and the three-point shooting rate from the wings is very poor.
Like just now, Charlie Bell didn't dare to shoot when the bottom corner was empty.
The best way Martin Cliffs thought of to solve the problem was to continue to contain him on the wings and let his outside teammates break through in his direction.
But Charlie Bell has been mainly attacking for a long time, and he needs to slow down and play without the ball...
Martin Cleaves pressed an 8-second violation to advance across the center line. When he reached the top arc, he had already thought of a way to deal with it.
Facing Granville's defense, he started dribbling quickly, exactly like the breakthrough in the previous round.
But Granville didn't gamble to steal this time. He tried and couldn't steal it.
Martin Cliffs leaned over and sprinted. Granville quickly took a step away, but Martin Cliffs did not break out. Instead, he took a step forward and shot a three-pointer...hit!
As Henry Bibby worried, after hitting two irons in a row, Martin Cleaves' hand did not continue to feel cold. Instead, he found his shooting feeling through hitting the iron.
13 to 17, the Spartans narrowed the point difference to 4 points!
Amid the cheers and boos of tens of thousands of fans at the scene, Martin Cleaves quickly retreated on defense.
To deal with area flanking attacks, the method can be very simple - just hit it alone!
In last year's playoffs, the 76ers were beaten to death by the trio of Jaylen Rose, Mark Jackson, and Rick Schmitz. As long as they didn't cooperate, they would attack in the area with the goal of limiting scorers without the ball. It’s useless!
As for the area to flank the ball-carrying player, the ball-carrying player is extremely happy and can create open shooting opportunities for his teammates without any effort.
After retreating from defense, Martin Cleaves gave some instructions to his teammates. The teammates accepted the captain's arrangement without any questions.
They have been working together for at least three years. Martin Cliffs has a lot of autonomy in directing on the court, with the guidance of the head coach and the approval of his teammates.
When it came to the Trojans' offense, the initial stage of best physical strength and strongest firepower was over. This time, White Mamba's one-step two-point shot inside the top arc failed to score.
When the Spartans were on offense, Andre Hutson hit the White Mamba with a back-up shot from close range, turned around, and hit a push-throw shot while leaning forward.
15 to 17, the point difference narrowed to two points!
Fortunately, Trey Pagnier stepped up, singled out Charlie Bell from the wing, broke through to the left sideline of the three-second zone and hit a pull-up jumper to help the Trojans stabilize the situation.
However, the personal abilities of the Spartans' top five starters are each stronger than the last!
Except for AJ Granger, the other four are all top players.
And AJ Granger is also a quasi-big guy with a comprehensive evaluation of 84.
In the next few minutes, the Spartans played against the Trojans, whose offensive firepower began to decline!
At 10 minutes and 39 seconds, Charlie Bell broke through and hit a pull-up jumper from close range. The Spartans tied the score at 24-24!
When the Trojans attacked, Granville broke through and returned the opponent with a small throw.
Looking back, Martin Cleaves received a single from Andre Hutson on the baseline and hit a mid-range shot.
The score was tied again by the Spartans, 26-26, and the Trojans called a timeout!
Although Henry Bibby thought that the opponent would soon find a way to break their targeted zone defense, he did not expect to be seen through by the opponent in two rounds. This ability to read the defense reminded him of that kid.
But the kid from their team is more powerful.
Henry Bibby originally planned to call a timeout two or three minutes ago for the first wave of rotations. At that time, the lead was already precarious, and the opponent might overtake the score in one or two rounds.
But at that important stage, Li Ao took the initiative to ask for the ball. Of course, he was cooperating. He used the screen to make an emergency stop. After receiving the ball, he quickly turned around and took off the ball. He beat Andre Hutson, who was changing defense, with a rhythm difference, and his shot was not interfered with. , hit the mid-range shot.
After hitting a goal to increase the threat, Li Ao has been moving quickly around the pile to contain the defense, helping Granville better deliver shells to other teammates and seize the situation.
Although the score was only 9-16 after 17-10, the score remained tight. They did not make substitutions on their side, and they did not dare to make substitutions on the other side.
Henry Bibby's opening goal that he thought was going to fail - to consume the energy of the opponent's top five starters - was actually achieved at a disadvantage!
In addition to offense, Li Ao also contributed a lot on the defensive end. He twice interfered with Maurice Peterson's singles and prevented the opponent's singles from the wing from going up.
But everything is difficult at the beginning, and it is also difficult in the middle!
Henry Bibby sent out a combination of Nate Hale, Trey Paganier, Shelby Jordan, White Mamba, and Brusenthal.
As the team's strongest player, White Mamba will definitely have to play a particularly long time tonight.
However, on the offensive end, White Mamba can only stand on both wings as a containment point and continue to run as before. Not to mention whether the shooting stability can be maintained, there will inevitably be physical problems in the second half.
In addition to worrying about offensive firepower, Henry Bibby saw the opponent send Martin Cleaves, Jason Richardson, Maurice Peterson, Arushian Anagonye, AJ Grant Jay's combination is also full of worries about defense.
Although freshman Jason Richardson hasn't hit his mark yet, his talent for three-pointers has been revealed, and he is good at shooting from the wing!
Compared with Henry Bibby who was full of worries, Li Ao, who was replaced, sat calmly on the bench, adjusted his breathing and had a good rest.
He has tried his best, and in the next rotation stage, he will continue to believe in his teammates.
He knows exactly what he should do. At this stage, all he has to do is take a good rest so that he can continue to help his teammates and make good use of their teammates' help when he comes back on the court.
He believes in his teammates! He firmly believes that they are stronger than their opponents!
No, Trey Paganier and Shelby Jordan played beautifully on both ends of the offense and defense, going 4-0!
Watching Shelby Jordan imitate his defense, the corners of Li Ao's mouth turned up.
Finally, it’s this guy’s turn to imitate him!
There will be more updates tomorrow, 1,200 monthly tickets are available, thank you friends for your support! Thanks!
(End of chapter)
