The Way of the Center

Chapter 47: : Tug of war

   The gap of twelve points is not too much, but it is definitely not a lot. UCLA fans revel in joy in the stands. They firmly believe that no matter how dark the horse is, it will never pass the UCLA level.

   "In the second half, we will play zone defense!" Ricard drew on the whiteboard in the locker room for a minute before finally speaking.

   "Zone defense?" Like Anjie singles in the first half, the Tornado team hasn't played zone defense this entire season. The players looked at each other. They only practiced zone defense during training. Is it all right now to use it in actual combat?

   is not only NCAA, even in NBA games, zone defense has been rarely used by coaches. First, because the current NBA league emphasizes personal ability and fast pace, zone defense runs counter to this concept. The second is that the NBA's three-point line is relatively far away, so the area of ​​the area defense expands, resulting in increased defense difficulty.

   Although it has been used less in the NBA, it is not unsuccessful. The most recent is the 2-2-1 defense used by the Spurs in the finals in 2007. Popovich used this trick to make LeBron James very uncomfortable.

   Ricard knows that zone defense requires a high degree of tacit understanding of a team, and zone defense will greatly reduce the rhythm of a team. But these also happened to be the playing style of the Tornado team, so he decided to give it a try.

   "No matter how they pick and roll and break through, I want you to stick to your own area! 2-3 zone defense!" Ricard patted the whiteboard vigorously.

   Against opponents like UCLA, conventional tactics won't work. Now Ricard can only take risks and play something different. In the first half, Anjie's singles tactics allowed him to solve the offensive problem, and now he has to use zone defense to bet on defense.

   Since it was a zone defense, An Jie didn't have to follow Love to run around. His only task now is to defend the basket, which is more conducive to the performance of Anjie, who has a strong defensive desire today.

  The offense is temporarily unable to show integrity, so Ricard will use zone defense to bring integrity to the defense.

   At the beginning of the second half, everyone from the Tornado team faithfully implemented Ricard's tactics and didn't even release a smoke bomb to UCLA.

   "The Tornado defense...Did Coach Ricard set up a zone defense?" This is the second time Philips was surprised by the Tornado's strategy today.

  Ben Holland also did not expect the Tornadoes to make changes in defense now. The tactical arrangement depends on the players playing a few rounds.

   Westbrook hasn't seen this change yet, he is still waiting for his teammates to run out of the gap through an off-the-ball pick and roll. However, a few seconds passed, and he didn't even see an empty seat!

   Westbrook took a few steps back, preparing to break through.

   A few simple changes in the hips, Westbrook rushed in under Mike Taylor. The difference in physical fitness between the two is too great, and Mike Taylor is powerless.

   successfully broke through, the Tornado team played a relatively large defense on the mid-range, which is also one of the shortcomings of the zone defense. Although it was put a little larger, it was not completely empty. Westbrook still gave up the idea of ​​a sudden stop jumper. He was still a little worried about Anjie's large defensive range.

   Love ran towards the bottom line, Westbrook controlled the ball and waited for An Jie to withdraw from the penalty area, but An Jie just watched Love run away without any intention of following defense.

   "What's the matter?" Westbrook was ready to pass the ball. When he looked up to find someone, he realized that Love did not get an open shot. The defender became Anthony Ben.

   "Zone defense!?" As a point guard, Westbrook's tactical training is still very good. But his reaction was still a little slower, and Westbrook was already in a deep trap at this moment.

   There was Anjie's defense in front, Westbrook didn't dare to mess around, he passed the ball out again, ready to reorganize the attack. But UCLA conducted several handballs and couldn't find a gap. The players of the Tornado team are tacitly defensive. Everyone can't make a mistake in their positions, and there will be no situations where two people defend one at the same time and miss the other.

   Seeing that the offensive time is getting less and less, Westbrook has to attack reluctantly. In the end, under the interference of Cruze's hard work, Westbrook's mid- and long-range shots still deviated from the basket.

   Love is a player with a strong rebounding talent. It is commonplace for him to cut large double-doubles. However, Love, who is now floating beyond the three-point line, can't teleport to the penalty area to compete with An Jie for rebounds even if he is talented.

   An Jie, who has been cruising around the three-second zone, got stuck early, and he didn't give UCLA a second chance to attack.

   Love, who has three fouls on his back, is afraid to make any major moves on the defensive end. He is afraid that once the Chinese takes the opportunity, his foul number will only continue to rise. As long as there is nothing wrong with the fight, the person who flops will not find a chance.

   But basketball is a sport that fights fiercely. There is no such thing as a completely clean basketball.

   Love was fearful at first, so An Jie's offense was easier. Change defense? No one at UCLA can put the inside line that Love can't prevent. Double team? That hit George Ricard's arms. Ben Holland decided to just spend time with the Cyclone team, to see if Love was expelled first, or An Jie got tired first.

   But when Anjie committed Love's fourth foul, Ben Holland's heart was a little shaken. If Love leaves the field full of fouls, UCLA's offensive firepower will also be greatly reduced.

"Coach Ben Holland had to replace Kevin Love. He was so uncomfortable when he was defensive today!" The commentator didn't know, Love was very calm, but once An Jie found out there was something. If you take advantage of the rules, you will never let go.

   "That **** liar!" After the game, Kevin Love pointed at An Jie on the court and yelled at him, and An Jie took the free throw on the court like a okay person.

"Okay, okay, I know, I changed you to send you up at a critical moment." Ben Holland has never seen Love make such a big fire, what did the Chinese do to him? what?

Westbrook’s breakthroughs hit the wall frequently. He can pass Mike Taylor cleanly in various ways, but whenever he breaks in, Anjie will always wait for him inside~www.NovelMTL. com~ Except for two mid-range jumpers, Westbrook did nothing in the second half.

   UCLA’s offense is in a quagmire, but without Love’s defense, the Tornado team’s offense is getting better and better. An Jie didn't have any obstacles on the inside, so he fisted.

   But this situation only lasted for a few minutes, and the powerful UCLA would not simply be defeated by the defense. Westbrook was the first to disagree.

   Collison and Barmott both became overly cautious after hitting the wall, but Westbrook continued to challenge the Tornado team's defense.

   He tried several times to break into the penalty area to face An Jie, once blocked, twice directly succeeded, and once committed An Jie's defensive foul. This efficiency has given Westbrook a boost in confidence.

   Watching the passage of time every minute, the Tornado still failed to equalize the score. Ricard did not expect that this point guard would be so tenacious.

   Westbrook was not reconciled at first, and he was hidden behind O.J. Mayo and Derek Rose. He feels that he is no worse than those two awe-inspiring guys, but because he has a few good teammates around him, Westbrook will often be ignored by people. Today, he wants to let experts across the United States know the name Russell Westbrook!

   Two strong and powerful guys are planning to lead their team to victory. The two sides are incompatible with each other, and the only way is to use all the solutions to knock down each other.

   The stubborn Westbrook gritted his teeth, and An Jie, who was declining, took a few breaths. Unless one of them falls, the two of them will not stop ~www.NovelMTL.com~ Book friends are welcome to visit and read. The latest, fastest and hottest serial works are all on ~www.NovelMTL.com~Mobile Users please go to read.

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