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No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 875 - 374. Arrogant and unruly bad kid_2
Chapter 875: 374. Arrogant and unruly bad kid_2
In fact, these two players would have an easier time playing against Mike Miller, but they actively chose to play against Zhang Yang. This is one of the Hawks team’s strategies; during regular time, when they need to play star basketball, they pick Zhang Yang to play against, to reverse the consumption.
However, the Hawks played well in these three possessions, but the Bobcats played even better!
Okafor made a close-range face-up layup;
Zhang Yang grabbed the defensive rebound after Horford’s missed shot and launched a fast break using a trailing three-pointer threat to drive inside, scoring a 2+1 on Joe Johnson who had retreated to the basket;
Zhang Yang received the ball on the wing, drove in, and then passed back to the high post, where Brad Miller made a jump shot from the free-throw line.
After Brad Miller’s mid-range shot, the Bobcats caused the Hawks team to call a timeout!
...
With 3 minutes and 38 seconds left, the Hawks scored 8 points, not too bad, this ratio, over a quarter, they could get around twenty-seven or twenty-eight points.
But the opponent bombarded them with 17 points!
Pierce returned to the bench and was stunned when he saw the score on the big screen.
This was the first encounter between the Hawks and the Bobcats after the All-Star weekend, and they had a direct taste of the fierce firepower that the media had praised as the ’New Era Offensive Basketball’ during the Bobcats’ 9-game winning streak!
At this moment, an emotionless voice reached Pierce’s ear: "Paul, don’t think too much about defense, just follow the plan, focus on the key points."
Pierce snapped back to reality, looked at Bibby, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed.
Starting the game with such a defense was indeed his fault. In the first possession, upon witnessing Zhang Yang’s on-the-spot ’double insurance tactic,’ he also ’adapted on the spot,’ instructing Horford to switch defense with him, which resulted in Pachulia being posterized by Zhang Yang.
The defense became increasingly chaotic in the following possessions, all starting from that one. fгeewebnovёl.com
Their predetermined defensive strategy was to keep Zhang Yang outside the free-throw distance, to chase and defend against the three-pointer, making Zhang Yang attempt long two-point shots as much as possible, and mainly prevent him from getting inside; with their big forwards sold off, their interior defense was very weak, akin to Zhang Yang’s backyard.
This type of defensive strategy would inevitably cause bigger defensive problems in other areas, but at least it could keep Zhang Yang in the relatively least accurate shooting area, which was the best they could do, not like the once brainless double-teaming of the Hawks.
They had Mike Woodson, a top-notch defensive assistant coach, yet their defensive performance was among the worst in the league this season, allowing an average of 103.9 points per game, the eighth highest in the league.
Originally, it was supposed to be lower, with an average of 101 points allowed per game in the early part of the season.
In the 56 games after the big trade, the average points allowed rose to 105.2, worse than the Phoenix Suns’ 105 average, ranking fifth worst in the league, better only than the Warriors, Nuggets, SuperSonics Team, and Knicks.
Yet in these 56 games, the Hawks averaged 106.7 points, ranking sixth in the league, only trailing behind the Warriors’ 112, Nuggets’ 110, Phoenix Suns’ 109.9, Bobcats’ 109.7, and Wizards’ 107.1.
Because the Hawks had given up on defense this season.
Unlike the Bobcats, who lacked time and energy to delve into defense, constantly emphasizing man-to-man and double-teaming, while the players also had independent defensive adjustments; although their average loss of 103.4 points per game wasn’t much better than the Hawks, they averaged 110.1 points in the first 80 regular season games, jumping to second in the league, even if they slacking the last two games, they still averaged 109.7 points.
The Hawks truly abandoned defense.
Initially, after the trade was completed, Woodson tried to balance offense and defense, but ended up neglecting both because he didn’t understand offense, and they hadn’t properly defended in years, with most players lacking good defensive habits.
Plus, there was a lack of personnel.
After the trade, the management demanded results, so Woodson, after attempting once, chose to give up defense for the season, allowing the players to focus entirely on offense, ceding control to the players, mainly giving power to the White Devil, Bibby.
Perhaps due to genetics, Bibby had a natural coaching talent. He had never taken on a ’coaching’ role, but given the team’s coaching staff’s state, he had to handle things himself, and on his first try organizing this aspect, he actually made the team’s offense systematic.
It also had to do with their simple playstyle — centering all offense around the three perimeter stars, resorting to star isolation in case of doubt.
They abandoned defense, but every game needed a defensive target; initially chosen randomly, it gradually became clear after the All-Star weekend — fully limiting the opponent’s primary scorer.
As for leaving other scorers better shooting opportunities... it didn’t matter! They had three stars; who were they afraid of scoring against?
Yet Pierce’s ’autonomous adaptation’ tonight not only failed to achieve the defensive effect he wanted but didn’t even meet the basic goal, allowing Zhang Yang to score 5 points and get 2 assists in just 3 and a half minutes, letting the Bobcats take off with 17 points to start.
After entering the timeout and seeing the score, he knew it was his problem... but the White Devil was so blunt and gave no face!
Still, amid his furor and embarrassment, Pierce also felt a sense of comfort — finally having someone to command him firmly again!
In the first nine years of Pierce’s career, he had encountered two big brothers, and his two ’highlight seasons’ were played under their guidance.
Of course, this ’highlight’ couldn’t compare to the likes of Kidd, Iverson, and Kobe who reached the finals or even won championships, but it wasn’t bad.
The first big brother was Kenny Anderson, who was with the Celtics team when Pierce joined the NBA, accompanied him as he grew, and in the 01-02 season helped him deliver his career-defining season — a regular season record of 49 wins and 33 losses, third in the East, making it to the East Final in the playoffs where they lost to the Brooklyn Nets 2-4 in the sixth game.
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