The Whip of the God of Basketball

Pierce's rampage in the second quarter gave O'Brien a headache. He originally thought that Artest and Stephen Jackson were enough to deal with his former disciples. Unexpectedly, Pierce was not only more proficient in offensive skills, but also had experience, feeling and on-court experience. Tactical literacy has also been significantly improved. Obviously, Pierce is not fighting alone. The whole team is creating good scoring opportunities for him, so that Artest's strong defense can't find a target, and Stephen Jackson is no match for Pierce in one-on-one.

When Pierce hit a mid-range hit again, O'Brien called a timeout. No matter whether there was a way to contain Pierce, at least he had to stop Pierce's offensive rhythm, otherwise the point difference would only widen.

O'Brien knows that the Pacers are not an offensive team. Their foundation is defense. Only by limiting the Celtics' offense can they have a chance to win. But from the current point of view, only a small part of the Celtics' arsenal has been exposed, and O'Brien feels that he is in trouble. During timeouts, he constantly emphasized the need to increase defensive intensity and did not hesitate to use fouls to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm.

"We allowed our opponents to score too many points. Defense is our foundation and the basis of our victory. I don't want us to forget this here and focus on attacking our opponents. Of course I have to play smart on the offensive end. A little bit, improve the success rate, play more inside, but defense, I still have to emphasize, focus on defense. Foul if necessary, don't begrudge your fouls."

In the 20-second pause, O'Brien didn't have time to set up any tactics. He just wanted to remind the players to refocus. He knew that once he got confused on the ancient parquet floor of the Boston Garden Arena, he would soon be lost. Will be swallowed up by the green frenzy. After all, the Celtics opposite had part of his efforts.

"I think Fox should have some backup, and the third quarter is the key to deciding the outcome." Returning to the bench after the timeout, O'Brien heard Vogel say to himself next to him.

O'Brien nodded. He knew that Vogel had always had a keen sense of smell. Last summer, Larry Bird invited him to coach the Pacers, and O'Brien insisted that Vogel be his assistant coach. The reason is that Vogel not only has a diligent work attitude, but also has a very clear and clear work idea. As a head coach, he very much needs such assistants by his side. As early as the Celtics, O'Brien realized Got to this point.

Now, the Pacers' defense is basically created by Vogel. He focuses on one-on-one defense based on the characteristics of the Pacers' players. He had already implemented this trick with the Celtics, but when he arrived with the Pacers, he further developed this defense, because most of the Pacers' players are strong and have strong individual defense capabilities. Vogel believes that if the purpose of offense is to integrate players, then the purpose of defense is to isolate and separate opponents.

Therefore, Vogel emphasizes focusing on his defender and the details in defense. Assisting defense, rotation, and supplementary defense are not common in the Pacers' defense. Everyone performs their own defensive duties. This is Vogel's Defensive style.

Sure enough, after the game restarted, the Pacers stabilized their position and O'Brien replaced Miller. Although Miller did not score, he attracted Bell's defense and gave Artest a one-on-one opportunity. , succeeded in eating Pierce alone in the low post, breaking the team's scoring drought.

Next, the Celtics always maintained a lead of about 5 points. Pierce sheathed his sword and stopped attacking. At the same time, Leon also replaced Reid again and shifted the focus of the offense to the inside, adding Brown and Garnett's shot brought the two sides into a stalemate.

At the end of the second quarter, the two sides battled to a score of 51:47, with the Celtics leading by 4 points entering the second half. This score can be said to be neither high nor low. The Pacers showed a lot of energy, but the Celtics looked like they had a lot more under the water.

Larry Bird left his seat during the halftime break and returned to the Pacers locker room. He seemed satisfied with the team's performance, and the Pacers players experienced a battle in the first half. , also seems to feel that the Celtics are not as scary as imagined.

"The third quarter will be the key. The Celtics are best at defeating their opponents in the third quarter. So we must be careful and not relax in any way. As long as we can withstand the pressure in the third quarter, we can even give our opponents a fatal blow." Counterattack, then the balance of the game will tip to us. Continue to stick to our defensive strategy, keep an eye on the person in front of you, and don’t break away easily." Vogel held the tactical manual in his hand and said to all the players.

Vogel is not only an assistant coach in the Pacers, he also plays the role of communicating with players and providing psychological counseling to young people. This is also his consistent role positioning, a good guy, a coach who can get along with the players. This is exactly the role O'Brien played in the Celtics back then. Now he has given this job to Vogel, and he will be a black face to control the Pacers' restless boys.

Sometimes O'Brien is grateful to Fox Leon in his heart. If it weren't for his old punch in Conseco Arena that made the entire Pacers team dizzy, these young people would not know how high and low the sky is. , I don’t know what trouble will happen in the future. Now, with this win, when facing the Celtics, everyone will grit their teeth and play hard to defeat their opponents.

Bird also encouraged the players in the locker room. He said: "I have played here for more than ten years and won three championships. I think it is time for Boston to give back to me. I don't want money or fame. , I just want the Pacers to win here."

Bird's words suddenly relaxed the atmosphere in the locker room. Artest shouted "The Pacers must win." Jermaine O'Neal stood up and raised his right arm in the center of the locker room. Everyone gathered around O'Neal raised his hands to symbolize the unity of the team and vowed to win the first game.

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On the other hand, the Boston Celtics rested, Leon put away his tactical book and returned to the court with the players.

"It seems that the morale of the Pacers players is very high." Carlisle looked at the Pacers players who were already standing on the court and said. As a person who has been in the NBA for decades, he can tell the momentum of a team at a glance. . The Pacers' players are obviously very motivated. Being 4 points behind in the first half did not discourage them. On the contrary, this has exceeded many people's expectations, because quite a few people thought that facing the Celtics, the Pacers had a problem in the first half. May crash.

Now, not only did they not collapse, they also played inextricably, and the second half will be the moment that determines the outcome.

Leon sat on the bench. At this moment, he wanted to smoke a cigar. He said: "Death is sometimes not terrible. What is terrible is knowing when you will die, and then counting down the waiting for death in fear. I Knowing what Vogel and O'Brien were thinking, they thought they had figured out our situation and were going to hold on in the third quarter..."

Leon knew the thoughts of Vogel and O'Brien clearly, and after 24 minutes of the first half, Leon still adhered to his established policy. He wanted to let O'Brien and Vogel Understand, the real strength is that you know that I am going to kill you here, but you still can't stop me.

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