The Whip of the God of Basketball

Leon trusted Pierce very much, but not blindly. In the second quarter, he decided to hand over the offensive dominance to Truth, but that didn't mean completely letting Pierce go alone. He had already prepared a tactical system for Pierce to support him.

Before the start of the series, many people predicted that the duel between Ron Artest and Paul Pierce would have an important impact on the trend of this series. Indeed, Pierce has outstanding tonnage and strength, but lacks speed. As a small forward, it is indeed difficult to encounter a backcourt defender with Artest's strength, speed, and skills. It can be seen from several contests between the two sides in the regular season that Pierce often faltered when facing Artest.

However, basketball is not one-on-one. If two players can decide the fate of the game due to one-on-one, then the existence of coaches and teammates will be meaningless.

Back on the court, the Celtics, who were lagging behind, didn't look impatient. Kevin Garnett clapped vigorously to encourage his teammates and cheered everyone together. The audience also continued to cheer for the Celtics.

"The game has restarted. I don't know what changes this timeout will bring to the Celtics... It seems that the game is going to fall into the Pacers' defensive whirlpool." Stockton said about the current situation of the Celtics He also expressed some worries. When playing against a defensive team, he is most afraid of being dragged into the quagmire.

"Yes, the Celtics must make some achievements on offense. They have always had superb offensive tactics and outstanding personal talents. If these two points can be combined well, I think the situation will be very different." Er said, thinking of his experience with the Celtics.

The Celtics sent a sideline ball, and Bell stood outside the sideline with the ball. Garnett provided a screen for Arenas near the 45-degree three-point line on the left, and then Arenas ran to the right corner to ambush. Bell Passed the ball to Garnett, stood at the 45-degree three-point line, and Garnett dribbled the ball laterally outside the three-point line.

Before serving, Pierce stood under the basket. P.J. Brown stepped forward to set a screen for Pierce. Pierce made a big hook move from the three-second zone to outside the three-point line, just as he ran to the right. When outside the three-point line, Garnett passed the ball.

At this time, Artest faced a problem with Pierce, because he was out of the best defensive distance due to P.J. Brown's solid screen. At the same time, Brown had cut inside to the basket, and Pierce could easily lob the ball to Brown.

Seeing Pierce making a lob, Artest hesitated for a moment and then pounced on Pierce.

Sure enough, Pierce's pass was a fake move, but Artest rushed too hard and couldn't stop the car. Pierce held the ball and passed Artest in a different direction, and went directly to the basket, facing O'Neal and O'Neal. With Foster's two men on defense, Pierce, who was full of strength, used a two-handed dunk to announce that he was now taking over the game!

"Foul, the referee called a foul, Foster's thugs, a beautiful dunk 2+1, this tactic is quite beautiful, reminds me of the Detroit Pistons in 1989." Stockton is well-informed, he sees The Celtics used the hook tactic invented by Chuck Daly for this sideline ball tactic. This is a tactic that Daly likes very much at critical moments.

The basis for this tactic is that every player on the team has a relatively strong offensive ability and can create offensive space through simple screens and stretches; and the core of this tactic is that through two parallel screens, to tear apart the opponent's defense. Pierce's hook movement is the key to the tactic, and how he handles the ball is also the decisive factor in whether the tactic can ultimately be effective.

Leon watched Pierce hit the extra free throw, and his slightly disturbed mentality suddenly calmed down. He bit his finger, sat back on the bench, and began to watch the game quietly.

Next, the Pacers' attack failed. Artest tried to fight back from outside the three-point line, but his three-pointer was too powerful and hit the neck of the basket. Garnett easily collected the rebound. But Arenas did not rush to launch a quick counterattack, but slowly controlled the speed. It seemed that the Celtics were going to launch a positional attack.

Arenas observed the situation on the court. Arenas has never been a commander on the court, but he can judge what kind of tactics the team will play next through the movements of his teammates. He is the one who really makes the decision. Actually it was Pierce and Garnett.

At this time, both Pierce and Garnett rarely squeezed into the left low post. Garnett was in front, Pierce hid behind Garnett, and Artest tried to tangle with Pierce in this narrow space.

Arenas quickly understood that this was going to be a 52-53 tactic. He decisively held the ball and dribbled on the right side. Then he saw Brown setting a screen for Bell at the top of the high arc, and then Bell went straight into the three-second zone. Arenas passed the ball to Bell with a through ball. If it was Reid, he would have a chance to directly attack the basket with this ball, but Bell obviously couldn't rely on Jackson's defense, but his goal was not to attack directly.

Bell dribbled the ball in a circle in the three-second zone and passed the ball back to Brown at the top of the arc in the middle. At this time, Pierce had relied on the help of Garnett's small movements in the melee to get rid of Artest's entanglement and ran to the left. Outside the side three-point line, and then walk toward the top of the arc.

Brown has two options, one is to pass inside to Garnett, and the other is to pass outside to Pierce. O'Neal Jr. got stuck in the paint with Caganette, but Pierce got rid of it. Brown immediately passed the ball to Pierce, and at the same time stepped forward to cover and block Artest who was following him.

At this time, Foster had to give up Brown to help defend Pierce. How could a center guard Pierce from outside the three-point line? Pierce made a beautiful dribble under his hips, using the time difference to shake Foster's center of gravity, and then retreated. Hit a 20-foot mid-range jumper.

"Another goal from Pierce...the score has been evened, Pierce scored 5 points in a row."

"Pierce's offensive skills are unparalleled. Although he is not fast enough, he is full of fake moves. You never know how he will hit the next ball." Cole couldn't help but praise.

Of course, this is by no means solely due to Pierce's personal ability, but the Celtics' team tactics provided Pierce with an excellent opportunity.

This opportunity was far from over. Immediately afterwards, the Pacers tried to force the inside. Jermaine O'Neal beat Garnett one-on-one. As a result, Garnett was firmly contained in the low post. O'Neal had to use a skill that he was not very good at. The offense ended with a fadeaway jumper, but the ball missed and the rebound was also obtained by Brown.

The Celtics counterattacked again. This time they no longer used any special tactics, but returned to their accustomed second fast attack. Arenas passed half court quickly, and Garnett dropped to catch the ball at the top of the key. Pierce rushed to the right baseline and leaned on Stephen Jackson! Obviously, the Pacers lost their position during the retreat, and Artest had to follow Bell, which created a small mismatch.

Pierce singled out Stephen Jackson in the low post.

"You're the one I'm hitting, eat shit, boy!" As soon as Pierce received the ball, he began to bombard Jackson. A few minutes ago, Jackson was still affecting the game situation. Now Pierce is going to tell him who is the truth in North Shore Garden. .

"Pierce was in isolation, he withstood Jackson, made a fake pass, pushed away Jackson, and stepped back for a fadeaway jumper! The ball went in!"

Pierce used a pass fake to shake off Tinsley's double-team, then leaned back, using his strength and inertia to knock Jackson away, and then used this little gap to find room for a step back. , step back and lean back, although it is far from as graceful as Michael Jordan, but as long as the ball can go in, who will care so much?

The Celtics went ahead and the North Shore Garden exploded with decibels. Pierce made a silent gesture towards the audience, then he clenched his fist and roared.

"This is Boston truth, Paul Pierce." Steve Kerr couldn't help but say.