NBA peak Jordan template

Chapter 98 I really don't want to strike iron!
The first round of offense in the fourth quarter belongs to the Lakers. This time the offense is very important. If they continue to fight, the Lakers are likely to be overtaken by the Celtics in the next round.

In the third quarter of the game, the Celtics adopted a zone defense tactic against Zheng Long, and the effect-judging from Zheng Long's iron strikes in the third quarter, it seemed to be quite effective.

Of course, Zheng Long would not quibble that it was all because of the bad hand feel.

Compared with other teams encountered this season, the Celtics' defensive system did not make Zheng Long's shots so comfortable.

They switch defenses very quickly on the outside, and Horford's defense on the inside is also very good.

So at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Celtics are going to continue to take this set of defensive measures against Zheng Long.

At this time, in their free time, the head coaches of some other teams who were watching the live broadcast of the game had a question mark in their minds. Did Stevenson really find a way to limit Zheng Long?

As we all know, Zheng Long, who is in the critical scoring period of the team, is the scariest.

A few days ago, an analysis post of the data king popped up on the fan website. When the team was facing backwardness or being tied, Zheng Long's next shot was 85%.

The more critical the team's situation, the higher the shooting percentage of Zheng Long.

He's a real player with a big heart.

Is a natural key killer!
The data emperor bragged about Zheng Long in the post, and the post received a lot of visits, making it one of the most popular data posts after Zheng Long's 82 points.

When Zheng Long passed the halftime dribble, many Celtics fans present suddenly remembered the data analysis post they had seen before.

The heart shrank suddenly.

Celtics fans can only pray in silence.

I've been working hard for the entire third quarter, so it doesn't make sense to suddenly become a sharpshooter, right?
On the court, Zheng Long really failed to become a sharpshooter. Zheng Long didn't find a chance to make a shot from the outside line. The Celtics had a lot of restrictions on outside shots. Bradley raised his hand to confront Zheng Long. , forcing Zheng Long to break through.

And Thomas Jr. was watching from the sidelines, looking for an opportunity to play tricks.

Accurate shooting at critical moments?
I won't let you vote!
Zheng Long: "."

Don't let me vote, don't let me vote!

Zheng Long dribbled a fake move, and after a beautiful bow tricked Bradley's center of gravity, he went inside.

Since the feel is not good, then bring the basketball to the place closest to the basket.

Zheng Long broke through!
Faced with Zheng Long's breakthrough, the Celtics team quickly shrunk their defense, and Horford guarded the basket. This set of defensive transitions was specially designed by the Celtics for James.

Now, they moved out to deal directly with Zheng Long.

This means that in the mind of young marshal Stevenson, Zheng Long's breakthrough is at the same level as James'!

Facing Al Horford, who defended the Greek giant Antetokounmpo into the younger brother of Antetokounmpo in the playoffs, Zheng Long did not dare to underestimate him.

As a third pick in 2007, Horford became an All-Star in his home team, the Eagles. He is both offensive and defensive. Although he is only 2 meters tall, he can play like a fish in water in the paint and guard one side, relying on his excellent defensive IQ.

Facing such a defensive champion, of course, the highest courtesy must be given!
The Celtics' contraction was timely, but Horford went too deep into the basket, which gave Zheng Long room to accelerate. After Zheng Long stepped into the penalty area, he chose to directly lift off!
Come on, Horford!

Do you want to get dunked or watch me smash a basketball into the hoop?

Zheng Long stuffed the test paper into Horford's mouth, and Horford didn't hesitate at all. Seeing Zheng Long take off, he jumped likewise!

As the Celtics' inside defensive gate in the East, Horford has faced Howard, Antetokounmpo, James, Zhuang Shen... and other behemoths that ravaged the inside this season.

Horford was never afraid!

Are you still afraid of a defender?
When Horford took off, he raised his arms, and at the same time, shot towards the basketball in Zheng Long's hand in the air.

The hat is here!

No, this kid is still in the air? !
Just when Horford thought his block was inevitable, he found that Zheng Long, who jumped from a long distance, had reached a terrifying commanding height!
Don't talk about blocking!
Can't hit the ball at all!

In the face of absolute talent, no matter how high the defensive IQ is, it becomes a joke.

Even if you know when someone shoots and when they make a shot, if they let you miss the ball, how do you do it?

Horford missed Zheng Long, but Zheng Long pressed Horford's shoulder with one arm, and smashed the basketball into Horford's head with one hand.

Bang! ! !
After Horford and Zheng Long collided passionately, he only heard a loud noise in his ears. After the basketball passed through the basket, it hit the floor hard.

boom! ! !
"Oh My Goooooooooood!"

"I'm coming!"

"Zheng Long seems to be venting his anger about the bad feeling in the third quarter!"

"He dunked Horford!!!"

"Helped the Lakers take the lead again."

The on-site commentary shouted directly, and the fans in the TD Garden Arena watched the replay in disbelief.

Their most reliable inside pillar, Horford.

It was actually eaten alive by Zheng Long in such a violent way!

After a successful dunk, Zheng Long let go and fell down. After colliding with Zheng Long, Horford staggered back a few steps and sat down on the ground with a lost expression.

Every active defender is prepared to be dunked, but Horford still has some unacceptable differences in size and height in a short period of time.

And the "softness" that the face hit at the last moment of defense also gave Horford and Xiaolong a close contact.

Great gift crab!
He almost stepped over his head!
Thomas Jr. ran to Horford at the first time and held his teammate's hand. This scene seemed a bit funny. The height difference of nearly 30 centimeters was like a child holding an adult.

"Beautiful job Al, your defense is already very good."

Thomas Jr. always regards himself as the leader of the team, so at this moment, he spoke to comfort Horford.

Normally, Horford would not say anything.

But the feeling of being "ridden on the face with a bird" is very uncomfortable, which made Horford very angry, and couldn't help choking Thomas Jr.: "Damn, if you can do a good job of defending the outside, can he rush in so easily? ?”

After saying this, Horford regretted it.

When people are emotionally unstable, they always speak the truth.

But sometimes the truth cannot be said.

Thomas Jr.'s smile froze on his face, he picked up the basketball and threw it into Horford's hands, "serve the ball."

Horford silently passed the ball to Thomas Jr.

As if nothing had happened, Thomas Jr. dribbled to the frontcourt. Then he chose a shot with the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll at a position one and a half meters away from the three-point line.

This is not a reasonable shot. Although Thomas Jr. can shoot three-pointers, such long-range three-pointers are very rare.

Because Thomas Jr. was choked to the heart by Horford.

He's kind of losing his mind.

But, the ball went in!

Cheers!

The Celtics withstood the pressure and still took the lead.

Celtics 73 to 72 Lakers.

When Horford saw Thomas Jr.'s goal, he felt very uncomfortable. It was like a slap, directly slapped on his face.

With Thomas Jr.'s height, he still jumped up and slapped him.

This goal is like Thomas Jr.'s declaration. Although I really can't defend well, I can attack and score goals!
Horford should think about what he can do. The best response, of course, is to defend Zheng Long's next breakthrough.

And Zheng Long really chose to break through again. Horford learned his lesson this time. The moment Zheng Long made a breakthrough, he chose to stick his body in front of Jokic and restrict Zheng Long from entering the inside line. operating space.

This time, Zheng Long did not choose to take off and dunk, but took the basketball in his hand, swung it to the left, to the right, and changed his stride to the Eurostep!
Zheng Long's change of rhythm stunned the Celtic players who had shrunk their defense. The audience only saw the home team players looking left and right in the penalty area, shaking their heads in unison.

Then, Zheng Long seized the opportunity the moment Horford raised his hand and sent the basketball from Horford's armpit to Jokic.

The little fat man made an easy hit at the basket!
Celtics 73:74 Lakers, leading alternately!
"A brilliant pass from Zheng Long!"

"Zheng Long has brought us another surprise. Before this, I have never seen him use the Eurostep."

"But his Eurostep is so smooth!"

"The Lakers successfully overtook the score!"

In Zheng Long's original skill column, the European step is indeed not one of the main offensive methods. In the 90s, a group of European players who liked to use the European step appeared in the league.

But it was not popular at that time, and quite a few NBA stars didn't bother to learn and use it.

Especially for an American classical shooting guard like Jordan, when the Eurostep became popular, Jordan's own skills were already sufficient and accomplished, so why do he need to practice the Eurostep?

After that, Manu Ginobili carried forward the European step in the NBA. Wade and Harden successively used their own unique European step to break through and kill the Quartet.

Today, the European step technology has been widely recognized and used by NBA players.

Zheng Long is also practicing and playing.

The skills are not overwhelming.

With Jordan's basketball IQ and physical coordination, after spending an afternoon on the training ground of the Lakers' own arena, Zheng Long easily mastered this basketball skill.

But today.

It was indeed Zheng Long's first use.

Although at the last moment, the layup was replaced by a pass, but the effect seemed to be good.

The Celtics' defense was torn apart by Zheng Long again.

And Horford was "played" by Zheng Long again, and the "forbidden zone" became "into the zone".

In the next offensive round, Thomas Jr. failed to continue his magical touch and hit the iron with a mid-range shot, giving the Lakers a chance to counterattack.

After Zheng Long took off the rebound, he made a fast break alone. This time he chose to pass Horford in a disguised form, and then made a light layup and hit the rebound.

Celtics 73:76 Lakers!

Three offensive rounds in a row.

Zheng Longdu successfully scored under Horford's nose.

Seeing that the situation on the court was not quite right, Celtics coach Stevenson urgently called a timeout and made tactical arrangements and adjustments.

Zheng Long can no longer be allowed to rush inside!
"He didn't feel good about shooting from the outside today, so he chose to break through and try to force him to choose a long-range shot from the outside!"

"How to force it?"

"Give him a certain shooting distance, and seduce him to shoot!"

Yes, the Celtics have adopted a very bold tactic, even a bit similar to "dropping the shot", they want to drop Zheng Long.

Is Stevenson stupid?Obviously not stupid, but he is extremely smart.

He could see farther than everyone else in the arena. If Zheng Long continued to protrude like this, the team would be able to raise the white flag and surrender in less than half a quarter.

But the current "drop-and-shoot" tactic is a helpless move. We can only bet that Zheng Long still feels bad in the fourth quarter, and the team will have a chance to win.

It's a big gamble!
It is not easy to make this decision in a short period of time, and perhaps the remaining 29 coaches in the league dare not do so.

Put in Zheng Long?What a joke!
But Stevenson dares!
When Zheng Long returned to the court, he clearly felt that the Celtics' defensive strength on the outside line had dropped. They no longer chose to press themselves, but opened up a certain space to block their breakthrough.

To vote or not to vote?
When a mid-range pick-and-roll opportunity appeared in front of Zheng Long.

Without hesitation, Zheng Long pulled out his hand on the spot!
At this moment, Zheng Long wanted what Kobe said.

"Even if I miss 100 shots in a row, I still have the confidence to make my 101st shot!"

Bang!
Iron!

At this moment, Zheng Long regretted it very much, why did he suddenly think that Tie Ke really went against evil today.

I really don't want to strike iron!
The Celtics successfully protected the rebound and launched a counter fast break. Like a green lightning, Thomas Jr. went to the basket and successfully helped the Celtics recover two points!
Celtics 75:76 Lakers!

On the sidelines, there was a slight smile on the corner of Stevenson's mouth, and he really won the bet!
Zheng Long, who averaged nearly 60.00% field goal percentage this season, scored 40 points in the first half, and his field goal percentage in the second half has reached 17.00%!

Walton called a timeout.

The situation on the court is not right, I have to talk to Zheng Long.

"What's going on today, Long, why are you so tough?"

Zheng Long gritted his teeth and promised Wharton. In fact, he set a flag for himself, "Next time, next time I will definitely invest in it!"

"How about we make more breakthroughs?"

"No, for the next game, I will only choose jump shots."

Zheng Long is indeed on fire.

Spreading out his hands, flames ignited in his eyes.

Whatever the hell it was, it was a curse, or there was a problem with the hoop at the TD North Shore Garden Arena, today I must win the game with a jump shot.

Can't get in?
Then I will vote until I get in!

I don't accept it!

Zheng Long was not the kind of person who would choose to reconcile with himself.

There is no settlement.

Only die to the end!

At this time, in the Celtics rest area, the players were even laughing softly.

"It seems that he scored 82 points in the last game and used up all his luck!"

They don't know yet.

Next, they will welcome Zheng Long, who is the most emotional this season.

(End of this chapter)