The Whip of the God of Basketball

In the first half, the Celtics faced two problems. One was the foul problem. The referee's whistle tonight was obviously biased towards the Nets, but it was deflected without leaving any trace. This made the Celtics players, who played fiercely and brutally in the first two games, a little uncomfortable. Arenas and Garnett both came off the court due to two fouls early, and Leon had to replace Stricker in advance. Lang and Anderson.

However, the two men are obviously lame on the offensive end, and the second problem the Celtics face tonight is that their shooting touch from the outside is average. When the team cannot use breakthroughs and secondary offenses to score, the Nets are obviously weak on the defensive end. Having stabilized their position, they still have a hard outer defensive shell.

In the absence of a sharp knife, it is not that easy for the Celtics to use shooting to break through this shell. In the first half, the Celtics only made 3 of 11 three-pointers. But even so Despite this situation, the Celtics still led by 2 points at the end of the first half, which is enough to show the gap in the overall strength of the two sides.

During the halftime break, Leon first emphasized the need to adjust the mentality when the referee's penalty is unfavorable, shift the team's offensive focus, reduce physical contact on the offensive end, slow down the offensive rhythm, and improve the offensive success rate.

"The test we have to face is that the right time, place and people may not be on our side, but we still have to win the game. It's not like we haven't won in New Jersey, so we have to have enough confidence. At the same time, be cautious and cautious It is also necessary. You are not allowed to make some mistakes again. Since the referees do not welcome us, then we must give them nothing to grasp, slow down the pace, and improve the success rate. Even if our performance in the first half was not satisfactory, we are still in the lead side."

After speaking, Leon arranged for the players several tactics that might be effective in the second half, several variations with the twisting tactics as the core. This is also the first time since the start of the playoffs that Leon has assigned tactical instructions to the players during the game.

The Nets' defensive focus is concentrated on the three positions of point guard, power forward and shooting guard. They have strong mobility and are quite agile and fast in rotation and replacement. Of course, Kidd is still suffering from injuries and his skills have declined a lot. , the first two games gave Arenas a lot of loopholes. Kidd obviously adjusted his condition in this game. He got better rest and recuperation in New Jersey. His condition was much better than the previous two games. With the referee's proper protection, the Nets' defensive performance on the outside was quite good tonight.

One of the weaknesses of the Nets' defense is that they have never had a strong low-post defender, which is why their record has always been ugly when facing the Western Conference's powers. Leon can choose to let Garnett take a hard hit and PJ Brown attack this weakness of the Nets by rushing for offensive rebounds. It's just that Garnett's powerful ability in the low post does not reassure Leon, and grabbing offensive rebounds is not a long-term solution.

The second option is to use Pierce's offensive kaleidoscope to act as a pivot in the low post and engage in a war of attrition with the Nets. Based on the comparison of the strengths of the two sides, the chance of defeating the Nets is still very high. The Nets' defense in the low post has always been unsatisfactory, and neither Jefferson nor Rogers could contain Pierce's offense.

The third option is to regain the overall offense and use conduction and distribution of the ball to open up space. The Nets' internal defense is relatively weak and their defense level is single. As long as the Celtics can combine inside and outside and conduct a rapid overall offense, the Nets' collapse is only a matter of time.

Leon finally chose the third option, not only because it could destroy the Nets to the greatest extent, but also because the Celtics had played talented basketball for a series and a half, and it was time to calm down and play seriously. Team basketball is moving towards higher goals and stronger opponents.

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Fifteen minutes later, the third quarter started. The two sides played calmly for the first five minutes, with back and forth. The Celtics were much more cautious in their offense, slowing down the pace and constantly transferring and directing the ball. However, they still had not found their shooting sense and failed to score several opportunities. As for the Nets, with the help of their home court and Kidd's exciting speech in the locker room during halftime, the team is trying to regain the initiative in the series in New Jersey.

The morale of the Nets was greatly boosted. They showed 100% combat effectiveness in the third quarter. Not only did they overtake the score in one fell swoop, but they also maintained a lead of about three points. There was a strong tendency to lead all the way or even expand their advantage.

"It seems that the players' touch has not been very good. Should we let Paul attack?" Carlisle, who was sitting next to Leon, saw that the situation on the court was getting more and more unfavorable to the Celtics and couldn't help but said to Leon.

"No, be patient a little longer. You must believe in your players and their performance. Once the tactical strategy is formulated, don't change it easily." Leon rejected Carlisle's suggestion and insisted on the current style of play.

The game progressed to the 9th minute of the third quarter. As Kidd assisted Jefferson in the offense for a layup, the Nets opened the point difference to 6 points for the first time, 72:66. Leon called a 20-second A short pause.

During the timeout, Leon did not make any tactical adjustments. Instead, he told the players to stick to the current style of play. If you don't feel good shooting, keep shooting until you feel good. At the same time, he also made substitution adjustments, replacing Brown with Wang Zhizhi to broaden the team's offensive level.

When Wang Zhizhi took off his sportswear and stood on the floor of the Continental Arena, the sound in the entire arena dropped several dozen decibels in an instant. Even the Nets players couldn't help but glance at the Celtics bench. This Chinese player at the end of the Celtics bench has left unforgettable scars in the hearts of Nets players and fans.

"Are you going to be king? We won't fall to the same little trick in a row." Frank watched Leon replace Wang Zhizhi, thinking that he would not make the same mistake as Scott again and let a role player like Wang Zhizhi cause damage on the outside. Huge damage.

Sure enough, when Wang Zhizhi catches the ball during the offense, outside players on the Nets side will immediately step forward to interfere. If he does not catch the ball, the opposing players will not easily let Wang Zhizhi pass. For two or three rounds in a row, Wang Zhizhi didn't have any outstanding performance on the offensive end. He just followed the pass and ran.

Seeing that the Nets were becoming more and more confident on the defensive end, and also impressive on the offensive end, when they began to gradually open up the score, during a counterattack, Wang Zhizhi picked up the ball at the top of the key, instantly attracting the defensive attention of Martin and Kidd. With great force, Wang Zhizhi made a quick left-hand shot, and Reid from outside the three-point line caught the ball and shot, making a hit.

A crucial three-pointer, the first three-pointer the Celtics made in the second half.

"Okay, the situation is open." Leon was also very nervous off the court. He had been waiting for the Celtics' three-pointer to arrive.

When Kevin Garnett intercepted Martin's pass on defense, the Celtics launched a counterattack again. This time it was Wang Zhizhi again. He held the ball at the top of the key, which was a puzzle for the Nets defenders. The counterattack position - whether to defend or not!

This time the Nets chose Collins to rush to defend. As a result, Wang Zhizhi passed the ball to Pierce who cut inside. Martin could not stop Pierce alone, and Pierce directly forced a layup.

With less than thirty seconds left before the end of the third quarter, the Celtics chased five points in a row.

When Kittles missed an emergency stop jumper after breaking through, the hearts of fans throughout the Continental Airlines Arena were clenched. The 8-point lead had turned into 3 points in an instant, and now, the Celtics were about to launch a fatal It's fast break.

Kevin Garnett took the lead, reaching the penalty area early and stretching his long arms to summon Arenas' pass.

Arenas made a long lob during the rapid advance and passed the ball to Garnett's hands. Only Martin and Collins followed very closely. The two of them pressed down from behind, and Garnett was unable to force himself up.

At this time, Garnett saw Wang Zhizhi standing outside the three-point line, with his knees slightly bent and his hands facing forward. No one was guarding him at this time.

Garnett made a powerful long pass with both hands, and the ball accurately flew between Wang Zhizhi's hands. Wang Zhizhi caught the ball, took aim slowly, raised his hands, and shot the basket.

The most nightmare shooting posture that New Jersey fans have had for a long time was once again intensified in their minds tonight.

"Brush!" The ball went in, and the Celtics equalized the score at the end of the third quarter. And it looks like they've found their groove offensively.

After scoring the goal, Wang Zhizhi smiled and high-fived his teammates, still looking shy.

But his psychology has become stronger and stronger, thanks to the training in New Jersey.