Pierce is a trustworthy scorer, especially since the beginning of this season, he has experienced a full summer, and he has reached a peak in both physical and mental state. Leon knows that this excellent small forward will enter the peak period of his career starting this year, and this period will last for about five to six years. And it is from this year that his six-year contract of 79 million US dollars will take effect. Not surprisingly, he will dedicate the best years of his career to the Celtics.

After the attack on the bar in 2000, an inexplicable sense of trust was established between Pierce and Leon, which is difficult to generate between general coaches and players. Leon was able to take the position smoothly, except for the operation of Auerbach , and ultimately the support of Pierce. Since the beginning of this year, Pierce has started to catch up with Walker in various statistics, especially after Walker's shot was suppressed by Leon, in terms of points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and even turnovers, Pierce began to be more like a ball team leader. You know, the boss on the team rarely shows off in the first quarter, unless it is like the playoffs where he is gnashing his teeth and trying to eliminate his opponent.

Pierce played nine minutes in the first quarter, and then sat down to rest. He only took two shots in the first quarter, hit a mid-range shot, and failed a three-point attempt. In addition, his main task was to attract the Mavericks' defense. Create opportunities for teammates.

"Strengthen your offense, Pierce, use your scoring to drive your teammates. The Mavericks' small forward position is a loophole, put some pressure on them, use our flash cuts more, remember, flash cuts!" The second quarter game About to start, Leon is making the final arrangements.

At this time, the Celtics' lineup was Pierce, Anderson, Batty, Cole and Reid. Arenas was replaced by Leon. At this time, there was a lineup completely designed and prepared for Pierce. As a center, Dee has mid-range shooting ability and can give way to Pierce in the low post. As a left-hander, Reed and Pierce can be said to complement each other. Anderson's moving speed and defensive vitality can properly make up for Pierce's slow lateral movement in defense. Cole's long-range shooting ability, not taking up shots and being good at moving the ball are a good match for Pierce.

The Mavericks don't have a candidate who can restrain Pierce. Najera is a power forward and is obviously more suitable to deal with Walker. Finley appears more at the shooting guard position, and his weight is much smaller than Pierce, and he will have a hard time dealing with truth. Therefore, the old Nelson can only continue to send Walter Williams, the 32-year-old veteran, at least he will not suffer from Pierce in terms of height, weight, and experience.

But Walter Williams is not good at defense. He has always been a shooter in the league. His three-point shooting rate once approached 40%. The shooting ability at the position has been terrible, and the arrival of Williams makes up for it. Obviously, the Mavericks can't target Pierce in the lineup. Leon's judgment is quite accurate. The second quarter is the time for Pierce to show his skills.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Mavericks made a mistake. Avery Johnson tried to use the screen of Bradley and Williams from the right to wander into the Celtics penalty area like Nash, and then looked for opportunities. This trick worked multiple times in the first quarter. But the problem is that Nowitzki was on the court in the first quarter. His huge shooting threat at the free throw line prevented the Celtics from shrinking. Nowitzki is sitting and resting off the court. Pierce and Anderson did not hesitate Close the door, together with Kerr to encircle Avery Johnson who entered the restricted area.

Johnson was forced to the baseline, and he didn't have time to swim out of the encirclement in time, and the referee's whistle didn't sound, but he had an idea with experience, and the moment his body was about to be pushed out of the sideline, he smashed the ball towards Anderson's leg past.

"Catch-the-ball! (Catch the ball!)" Leon yelled at Anderson at the moment Johnson smashed the ball. When changing the line, he caught the ball back with his arm. Fortunately, the angle of Johnson's ball was not good. It hit the corner between Anderson's calf and instep. The ball bounced upwards. With Leon's reminder, Anderson reacted quickly to get the money back. The knee bounced up and down, and Leon couldn't catch it by himself.

After getting the ball, Anderson quickly handed the ball to Steve Kerr, and the Celtics' second fast attack began again. Kerr began to dribble and advance quickly. In the Celtics' offense, he rarely saw long passes across the court or half court. The point guard always quickly crossed the half court while observing his teammates' running positions. After the teammates quickly settled down , Taking advantage of the opponent's defense not taking shape, complete the offense in 5 to 6 seconds. The success rate of the first fast break is definitely lower than that of the second fast break, but it is higher than that of the positional attack. At the same time, the turnover rate is small, and the launch probability is much higher than that of the first fast break.

And just when Cole was advancing, Avery Johnson was chasing Cole while running with question marks in his mind. How did the head coach of the Celtics know that he was going to hit Anderson with the ball and let Where did Anderson catch the ball? This confusion has not been resolved until Avery Johnson became a coach.

At the same time, the Celtics' flash cut tactics have begun to create offensive opportunities for Pierce within three seconds.

Kerr pushed to the right of the three-point line, Reid continued to ambush outside his familiar right three-point line, and Tony Batty came near the top of the arc, only this time his position was deeper than usual. As a rule, Anderson will stand near the left baseline to the ribs, and Pierce will be near the left three-point line. Together, the two form a small triangle with Batty. But this time, Pierce shifted his position to the bottom corner of the left three-point line, and Anderson came outside the left three-point line. The two exchanged positions and formed a big triangle.

The so-called flash cut means that the player in the third position can use the fastest speed to cut into a relatively deep position to launch an attack, because the player in the third position has both height, strength and flexibility, like a samurai sword of suitable length. It requires complex coordination and continuous ball guidance, but it can cut into the opponent's hinterland powerfully in a simple two-second coordination, and can catch the ball and launch an attack.

The Mavericks were obviously unprepared for such a tactical coordination. They had just settled down, and Cole had passed the ball to Anderson. After a broken screen, he moved to the right basket. After Cole arrived at the left basket, he made a cross-change screen with Pierce, and then ran outside the left three-point line.

Only two seconds later, Anderson passed the ball back to Cole. At this time, Cole has two options. Shoot directly from outside the point line, or put the ball directly to Pierce, because Pierce has cut near the three-second zone under the basket on the left side of the Mavericks. left side rib.

Cole's pass was very timely. After Pierce got the ball, he didn't even need to adjust his dribble. He turned inside and pushed Williams away with his elbow. two points. Williams was so pressed by Pierce that he couldn't jump up at all. After the ball was scored, he held the ball and yelled at the referee. He thought that Pierce had made a foul by pressing the ball.

But the referee doesn't care, it's a good shot, Pierce's movements are very good, concealed and practical, already has the demeanor of an old ball.

"Strengthen the close-fitting, close-fitting defense! Also, run, you must run!" The old Nelson on the sidelines was no longer as calm as he was in the first quarter, and he also began to enter the state and roar at the players. Obviously, the offensive state of the Mavericks players is not satisfactory to Nelson. The unfavorable opening of the first quarter and the targeting of Nash still hit the Mavericks who rely on high rhythm. Now the two offensive cores are resting off the court, and the substitute must play be more energetic.

But more than vitality, Anderson is as good as anyone. Johnson quickly advanced, and then suddenly passed the ball to Bradley who inserted from the middle. Although the speed of the big bamboo pole is slow, the strides are big, and he reaches the basket in three or two steps. After catching the ball, he takes two steps and one step. He wants to dunk the ball with one hand!

But Anderson followed closely, jumped high, and slapped the ball in Bradley's hand out of the baseline with a slap from behind! After landing, Anderson made the shape of a flying bird with his hands, and the North Shore Garden seemed to be the return of a big bird.

With the opportunity of a dead ball, Nelson replaced Bradley and replaced Nowitzki again. It seemed that Nelson also needed the Germans to hold the lineup to prevent the team from being opened by the Celtics in the second quarter.

And Leon also made a substitution, and Wang Zhizhi was replaced again! Replaced Anderson who just sent a big cap! Anderson himself was also a little puzzled. He looked up at the big screen, enjoyed the slow motion of himself blocking the shot just now, and reluctantly returned to the bench.

"Good job, Chris, but you still have some problems..." After Anderson came off the court, Leon seized the opportunity of the ten-second pause in the game and began to whisper, while Anderson sat on the bench and listened to Leon's lectures like a schoolboy. .

Wang Zhizhi's appearance made Nowitzki a little upset, wondering if the coach of the Celtics wanted to use Wang Zhizhi to target himself? As a former teammate, he knows Wang Zhizhi well. It is impossible for him to defend himself, but he does have a good shot.

The Mavericks still had the ball. Avery Johnson received the ball on the left. Nowitzki came to the familiar top of the arc to take the ball and made a pass. Johnson received Nowitzki's support pass from the right. With a breakthrough on the road, Cole was caught cleanly, and Wang Zhizhi couldn't effectively stop Johnson's breakthrough, so he could only foul and send Johnson to the free throw line.

"Bad substitution, if it was Anderson, he would contribute another wonderful block." Tolbert commented on Leon's substitution.

Johnson made two free throws, 31:30, the two teams still bite tightly.

Cole continued to advance quickly to the right side, exactly the same as the previous tactic, but this time the Mavericks had enough time to get ready for the defensive position. Pierce's cut was obviously not as sharp as before, and the position was not as deep. After receiving a pass from Cole, he couldn't get up and shoot a jumper.

However, any tactic has a backhand, and the flash cut tactic is no exception. One of the key backhands is that after Cole passes the ball, the player in position 5 comes over to cover with a single block, and Cole reaches the top of the arc. distance.

Sure enough, after rehearsing countless tactics, Wang Zhizhi came over to cover for Cole, Cole moved near the top of the arc, Pierce quickly passed the ball back to Cole, at this time Bunowitzki let go of Wang Zhizhi, Cole rushed over, and Cole's long-range shots were very deadly.

However, Nowitzki may have forgotten that Wang Zhizhi also has long-range shooting ability. This is why Leon replaced Wang Zhizhi. He is a center who can shoot three-pointers!

In the standard flash cut tactic, there is no coordination of the first position passing back to the center to shoot a three-pointer. Instead, the center covers and then rushes to the basket. However, the tactics are rigid, and the players and the game are flexible.

Cole decisively passed the ball to Wang Zhizhi. Wang Zhizhi caught the ball at 45 degrees to the left for a three-pointer, and made a wide-open three-pointer!

"Bang! Wang Zhizhi's three! See no Tom! That's why he was replaced! Do you know what I see through your ears, Tom? I see the light!" Wharton saw the three Roared excitedly after scoring.

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