The Whip of the God of Basketball

It was not in vain that the Celtics came to New York for training two days in advance. Leon made arrangements one by one for the many characteristics of the Nets. Kidd, Martin, Kittles, Jefferson, Collins, Randy Rogers, Louis Harris... Leon conducted a detailed analysis of every Nets player, from the main player to the substitute. Work with the players to discuss how to limit their opponents during the game. In the training facility in New York, the players are less disturbed by the media, and they check into the hotel early to start adapting to away life in New Jersey.

In comparison, although Scott's preparations were sufficient, they were still too insignificant compared to Leon. He just watched the video with the players and practiced some targeted tactics in training. There is no preparation as detailed as Leon's in every aspect, and only a brain like Leon can withstand such a high load to divide and refine the game.

The only regret for Leon is that the NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven series. No matter how well-prepared he is, he can only prepare for one or two games. Afterwards, his opponents will definitely take countermeasures. At that time, we can only adapt to circumstances. If the NBA is a series that determines the outcome, Leon is absolutely sure to go to the end.

Now, the situation on the court is still favorable to the Celtics. Leon knows that the Nets will definitely let Kidd give up on defense. If Reid holds the ball, Kidd will guard Reid. If Ali The Nas organization will continue to let Kidd face Arenas. Kidd's height and strength determine that positions one to three in the backcourt are within his defensive range.

This is also a very difficult aspect to deal with. If possible, Kidd will even defend Paul Pierce to contain the Celtics' leading outside scoring point.

After the timeout, as expected by Leon, the Nets changed from man-to-man to partial rotation defense, mainly targeting Arenas and Reid to ensure that Kidd can be in a better offensive and defensive position. on, so as not to be led astray by Arenas. The two sides began to engage in a tug-of-war. The Nets' offense was as viper-like as ever. Most of the time, it was slow and slow, but once there was a fast break opportunity, it was as fast as lightning.

The Celtics, on the contrary, have been trying to maintain a fast attack. The slow-paced tactics of desperate defense in the first two rounds disappeared. The second fast attack they have practiced for two whole seasons is constantly impacting the Nets' defense.

Obviously, Leon hopes to drive up the rhythm of the game. Facing the 76ers and Pistons, Leon is confident that he can suppress the opponent very stably with his defense. However, the Nets' defense is better than the Celtics. The Celtics must play Only with your advantage on the offensive end can you gain the upper hand.

But Kidd is worthy of being a rhythm master. No matter how the Celtics try to speed up, Kidd always maintains a reasonable distribution of the ball on the offensive end. He is like a voltage regulator, stabilizing the Nets' offensive current, making the Nets Being able to hold on to the Celtics in terms of score. The only thing that makes Leon feel lucky is that Kidd didn't feel good about his offense tonight. He failed to make three attempts from beyond the three-point line. He made 2 of 9 shots in the entire first half. Kidd's unstable shooting may be the reason. The only weakness.

The battle between the two sides ended at 44:41 at halftime, with the Celtics leading by 3 points entering the intermission. Leon didn't make too many tactical adjustments in the second quarter. He just asked the players to play as fast as possible according to the regular play style. Michael Reed was in surprisingly good shape tonight. In addition to the three three-pointers in the opening game, he made 4 of 6 two-pointers and scored an astonishing 17 points in the half, creating his own playoff career. Halftime scoring record.

But the Celtics' inside performance was poor, and Antoine Walker continued to be bullied by Kenyon Martin. Martin was even able to hit consecutive mid-range shots on the offensive end, which made Leon furious at Walker during the halftime break.

"You just let him score on your head in the way you are good at? His shooting posture is as ugly as a dung beetle rubbing a dung ball and pushing it out, and you just watched him push the dung ball into our basket. ? How can you allow him to shit and pee on your head again and again!" Leon yelled at Walker unceremoniously, partly because he was angry at Walker's sluggish performance when facing the Nets and Martin, and partly because Because he knows that Antoine Walker's performance will be the key to whether the Celtics can get past the Nets.

"Everyone, not just Antoine, use your brains and work hard. I want to tell you that our true strength has not been revealed yet. In the first half, we were just running at a constant speed with them. Attack, attack, and attack again. I don’t know if you have found the feeling of offense and shooting. We need rhythm and reaction speed in high-intensity confrontation! Friends will deceive you, enemies will deceive you, politicians will deceive you, and so will you. Will deceive you, but basketball will not deceive you. Then, we have to make some adjustments on the defensive end, coupled with our offensive feeling, we have to give our opponents a heavy blow in the third quarter!" Leon said and knocked. Tactical whiteboard and start preparing for the second half.

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The third quarter is a crucial section, and it is also the section that Leon likes to make a fuss about most. A game is like a drama. The first two quarters are the foreshadowing, and the last two quarters gradually lead to the climax. For Leon's game climax, the first and second quarters were too early, the fourth quarter was too late, and only the third quarter was just right. Many times in the first two quarters, the Celtics will be inextricable from each other, and then in the third quarter, the Celtics will suddenly exert their strength and take away the opponent with a wave of attacks.

This is the characteristic of Fox-Leon. After adapting and stalemate in two quarters, he gave the opponent a fatal attack in the third quarter and left deep wounds, and then spent the entire fourth quarter watching the opponent bleed to death. . Just like the wolves in the wilderness, after running for a long time, they launch a sudden attack, causing the wounded prey to bleed and flee. The wolves only need to follow steadily behind, waiting for the prey to fall.

But the New Jersey Nets are undoubtedly strong prey, and a careless wolf pack will be defeated.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Leon sat back on the bench. In the first half, like Scott, he stood and directed the entire game. Whenever he had a plan in mind, he would sit down and quietly look at the plan. of expansion.

At the beginning of the second half, the Nets launched an attack. Kidd noticed the Celtics' changes on the defensive end just after dribbling the ball halfway through the half, and they began to defend the zone.

The NBA began to allow zone defense this season, but it has not been used on a large scale in games. In many cases, it is only used by teams as a means of adjustment. The one-on-one defensive model is still the mainstream in the entire NBA. Leon's Celtics are one of the few teams that has a deep understanding of zone defense. This is naturally due to Dick Hart. This defensive master is proficient in various defensive tactics. With him, there is no need to worry about the Celtics. technical problem.

During the two days in New York, what the Celtics practiced most in the rented arena was not three-pointers, no-ball simulation training, or cooperation in quick counterattacks, but zone defense.

"3-2 zone defense..." Byron Scott also saw Fox Leon's intentions off the court, but he couldn't help but feel a little disdainful, thinking: "Do you just want to use this kind of defensive tactics to contain us? ?”

Scott's disdain is justified. This is not the first time they have faced a 3-2 zone defense, because theoretically, the Nets will indeed be more afraid of such a defense. First of all, the focus of the 3-2 zone defense is to pinch the outside line at 45 degrees, and place the bottom corner and bottom edge. It has a good effect on dealing with insiders who have no shooting ability and outsiders who are not aggressive. In this regard, the layup does meet the requirements.

But this is only theoretical. In fact, from the regular season to the playoffs, any team that intends to use a 3-2 zone defense to limit the Nets has learned a lesson. First of all, Kidd's transfer of the ball is too fast. Even if his teammates do not run out of tactics, he can still see the ball in his hand. The quick transfer of the ball is enough to throw the formation of a team that is not skilled in zone defense into chaos.

Secondly, the Nets' three-point shooting is not good enough, but their tall outside players give the team a good offensive rebounding ability. The 3-2 zone defense is not suitable for protecting backcourt rebounds. Many times, one Excellent defense will end up being wasted because of the loss of a rebound.

Scott was not optimistic about the Celtics' 3-2 zone defense strategy, but when Kidd passed the ball to Kittles and started to run around, Walker, who was supposed to be one of the inside-2s, suddenly On the other hand, there was a change of position with Paul Pierce. Walker stood between Kidd and Kittles. Kidd had already reached the right corner. This is their common tactical start, but Walker's The move made Kittles lose the distance to pass the ball!

This moment of hesitation destroyed the Nets' offensive movement. In the end, Kittles had to pass to Jefferson. Jefferson forced a shot and missed. Brown struggled to get the rebound. At this time, the three people on the outside started at the same time. A third-line fast break. Antoine Walker took the lead, received Arenas' ground-breaking pass, and succeeded in licking the basket with a beautiful step over Kittles' head, kicking off the third quarter.