The Whip of the God of Basketball

In the minds of O'Brien and Vogel, Michael Reid was still the silent guard who lurked in the corner to shoot three-pointers two years ago and then tried his best to block the opponent on defense. After all, in the team framework designed by Fox-Leon, Reed is indeed the role that is not easy to shine. He acts as a puller and feint in offense, does the dirty work in defense and guards against arrows, and Ali is confident and wild in offense. Compared with Nurse or team boss Kaleidoscope Pierce, Reed is too low-key and inconspicuous.

Although Reid had several explosive three-point performances during the regular season, other teams also had such a genius and experienced explosive shooting in certain games, so Reid's performance still did not attract people's attention. In fact, since Siegfried served as the Celtics' shooting coach, Michael Reid has never stopped honing his shooting skills.

This season, Reid can obviously feel that his shooting is more arbitrary, especially long-distance three-pointers, which can greatly reduce the interference caused by the opponent's defense. This is inseparable from Siegfried's diverse training methods and Reed's arduous practice.

Although the shooting percentage in the regular season was not obvious, in the high-intensity games of the playoffs, the effects of years of efficient training began to show. In the first two rounds of games, Reid's scoring average was not high. , but the shooting percentage is quite amazing. It's just that the opponents in the first two rounds were not strong enough, and Reed did not have many opportunities to perform, and did not attract the attention of O'Brien and Vogel.

The Pacers mainly focused on the three sharp knives of Garnett, Pierce and Arenas. Especially after Reid came off the bench in the first half and had no effect, Vogel even believed that Reid was not worth investing in. Too much defensive energy, I hope Stephen Jackson will focus more on Pierce.

As a result, Reid used his knife-like three-pointer to make the Pacers feel the sting of being hit in the heart.

After requesting a timeout, O'Brien rearranged the team's defense. He asked the players to pay more attention to outside defense, especially to follow Reid closely and not give him a chance to catch the ball.

As for the Celtics, Leon knew that the Pacers would strengthen their defense on the outside, but still asked the players to increase their outside firepower.

"I think the opponent will definitely strengthen their defense on the outside, but this does not mean that we have to change our offensive strategy, pass, shoot, pass, shoot, without stopping your offense. Remember, there is no way to avoid it. To substantively solve the problem, in the third quarter, the task I give you is to defeat them with long-range shots from the outside! There is no excuse, no retreat, and no second option, just to defeat them!" Leon said in a rare move Give the team tactical orders during the timeout.

Leon has always been good at making tactical changes and adjustments, avoiding the real and exploiting the weak, attacking the enemy unprepared, and conducting beautiful targeted battles.

But in tonight's battle, Leon was like a stubborn general, insisting on attacking the opponent's strongest fortress. Because he knows that as long as the fortress is removed, the next game will be smooth sailing, and if the fortress is bypassed, the Pacers' confidence will still exist even if they win.

The Pacers' strongest fortress is the one-on-one defense on the outside that they rely on for survival. In such a defense, it is difficult for three-pointers, an offensive method that relies on open space and conduction, to be fully utilized.

Leon is going to let the Pacers players understand today, and let Larry Bird understand how fruitful the results of his systematic shooting training for the team have been over the past three years.

………………

When the game restarted, when the score fell behind, the Pacers' offense was obviously sluggish. Under the pressure of the score difference, the players often lost their touch. At this time, superstars needed to step up or make a fuss in the paint.

Jermaine O'Neal once again shouldered the heavy burden. He caught the ball in the low post on the left and beat Garnett alone. He turned inside and hit a jumper, a very difficult goal.

"Jermaine O'Neal's jump shot was a very crucial goal. It stabilized the Pacers' situation and further narrowed the score. You can imagine how much pressure it would have on the Pacers if the goal was not scored."

But as soon as Stockton finished speaking, the Celtics had already pushed forward to attack half-time. Arenas faced Tinsley with a fake move and a crossover, putting Tinsley aside, then stepped back and retreated. Take a step outside the three-point line and shoot directly from the three-point line.

"Bold shot...the ball went in..."

Stockton couldn't imagine that Arenas would take a shot directly from this position in such a way. What was even more unimaginable was that the ball actually went in. After scoring, Arenas raised his arms high and then trotted back to the defense. halftime.

"Gilbert has always had the ability to enter his shooting range as soon as he passes half-time. It's just that their coach has been controlling him. It seems that Leon has let go of the restrictions on him." Cole understands it quite well. Arenas' ability, when he was Arenas' substitute, he watched Arenas train three-pointers like a madman.

This goal undoubtedly dampened the morale of the Pacers. They wanted to regain some disadvantage outside the three-point line. As a result, Stephen Jackson missed a three-pointer. Kevin Garnett withstood two Pacers insiders alone. Pierce Grabbing backcourt rebounds - Pierce has completely become a feint point and internal human shield in this lineup. This is also Leon's improvement to this lineup, which directly led to the Pacers' defense being at a loss.

Before O'Brien or Vogel discovered this problem, the Pacers had no way to contain the Celtics' offense. Of course, what supported the Celtics' offense was their fiery touch.

The Celtics launched a counterattack. This time Arenas chose to break through from the front. Tinsley Handcheck grasped the direction of Arenas' breakthrough and was not passed. However, Reid came around from the inside and used the help at 45 degrees. There was a small chance on Garnett's screen, and Arenas passed the ball to Reid.

Reed catches the ball, jumps up and shoots quickly, all in one go. He barely has time to look at the basket and everything relies on the feeling in his hands.

The ball goes hollow into the net.

"Incredible three-pointer..." Stockton didn't know what to say.

But it was not over yet. The Pacers worked hard in the offense. Foster got the offensive rebound, and Artest rushed inside to draw a foul and made one of two free throws to score a point.

Looking back, Garnett started to organize the offense. He held the ball in the high post. The Celtics ran a break-zone attack routine. Reid cut inside and Pierce came over to block. The two quickly made a cross exchange. , Reed suddenly crossed into the three-second zone, and Pierce ran back to the 45-degree three-point line.

Garnett passed the ball to Pierce, which was a good three-point opportunity. However, Artest and Jackson both came over to defend, and the inside also came over to defend. Suddenly, Reid, who crossed into the three-second zone, ran back to the three-point line in the bottom corner. Pierce passed the ball to Reid, and Reid caught the ball and shot another three-pointer.

Reed didn't even have to look at the trajectory of the ball and whether it went into the basket. After it landed, he just ran back because his hands told him that the ball would not fall anywhere else.

"Whoa!" The ball hit the net again.

North Shore Garden went crazy, and the Pacers players felt like they were a small boat in a storm, swaying and unable to hold on.

When the wind is gentle and the sun is shining, the sea is calm and beautiful, just like your own bathing pool; but once a storm arises, huge waves will destroy everything, destroy confidence, and destroy faith.

The Pacers are a tough team, but in the face of such a situation, no matter how tough the players are, they will ask themselves from the bottom of their hearts: Are we and our opponents a team on the same level? After all, it looked like the Celtics still weren't pulling out all the stops.

At this time, the leading Celtics called a timeout. They had opened the point difference to 13 points, but Leon decided to make a substitution.

He replaced Pierce with PJ Brown, then replaced Arenas with Laga Bell, and the death defensive lineup finally appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you want to win, you must win clearly and neatly. If you want to die, you must let your opponent die happily.