roccoschili Chapter 315 The playoffs start
Chapter 315 The playoffs start
Chapter 315 The playoffs start
On April 4, the NBA20-2001 season playoffs officially started.
On the first day of the game, four games started.
The Sonics played against the Jazz, the Spurs played against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Nets played against the Pacers, and the Pistons played against the Raptors.
It's just that the playoffs are about to start, but the media's attention is a little different.
The gossip news about Wang Hao has spread very violently these days.
First, the news that he appeared with Ambrosio two days ago was reported by many gossip media.
Immediately afterwards, news of breaking up with his ex-girlfriend was everywhere.
That's right, he broke up with his Hollywood girlfriend, because they needed publicity and gossip.
For this kind of thing, Wang Hao naturally disagreed, and simply broke up.
As for after the breakup, when they were a guest in Los Angeles, there was another two-day, one-night battle.
Then there is no way to say.
Originally, I just planned to make it clear in person, but as I kept talking, it turned into a sleep.
Hey, there's no way, it's all because of the damn charm.
Wang Hao is also very helpless, he didn't take the initiative, as a big man, it is really difficult for him to sit still.
The result is embarrassing now, and there are a lot of scandals.
Thanks to the underdeveloped information, at least domestically, it is not so easy to understand the situation abroad.
Otherwise, there will definitely be another phone call at home.
In order to explain to his current girlfriend, Wang Hao really spent a lot of effort.
It's giving gifts, it's sweet talk, and in the end, it even has to be practiced.
I have to say that a supermodel is a supermodel, with such a figure and fighting power!
No wonder Xiao Lizi has been staring at the supermodel. I have to say, this guy really has taste.
You know, as a big Hollywood star, which one of the Hollywood actresses he works with is not beautiful?
However, Xiao Lizi is clear that a Hollywood actress is at most just a little more attractive.
However, compared with those supermodels, it was a complete failure!
If you want good looks and a good figure, you need a good looking figure, and the fighting power is extremely fierce, which is very suitable for Wang Hao!
Wang Hao worked hard for three days and two nights before sleeping on Ambrosio and not letting her go away.
The so-called scandal is just a small episode.
NBA stars, who hasn't made a fuss about it yet, someone like Wang Hao is already considered one of the NBA's top five youngsters.
Similar to Iverson who likes to party, a madman who likes racing cars, and Howard who likes to save women who have lost their way.
There is never a shortage of weirdos in the NBA!
Closer to home, on April 4, all eyes in Seattle were on the Key Arena.
This is not a high-end arena, but today, it has ushered in all the eyes of Seattle.
True, the NBA isn't exactly the favorite in Seattle.
Here, there are baseball teams that Seattleites prefer, and football teams that Seattleites prefer.
However, the number of basketball fans is definitely not small, and even in the bottom, the base is even larger.
It's just that, in the past few years, the Supersonic's performance has gradually declined, from the original finals team to outside the playoffs.
Under such circumstances, the enthusiasm of the fans will naturally gradually dissipate.
However, at this time, the mighty Sonics are back, and they have won the regular season for two consecutive years, which has already explained the problem.
Of course, they are still a championship away from reaching their peak.
And this season is undoubtedly the best opportunity, the Jazz will be their first opponent.
"Di!"
With the referee's whistle, the Sonics officially started their first game in this year's playoffs.
Let me talk about the Jazz's starting lineup first, which is still the same old style.
The starting center is Geron Collins, the power forward is still Karl Malone, and Kirilenko serves as the small forward.
John Stockton and Brian Russell are backcourt partners.
I have to say that as a veteran coach, Jerry Sloan is really rigid enough.
Karl Malone is a power forward, so he clings to the power forward position and doesn't let him move a little bit.
Obviously on the bench, there is Marshall, who is faster and has a larger defensive range, but he just doesn't use it.
Of course, this is a good thing for the Supersonic.
In the jump ball stage, PJ Brown took the lead and grabbed the first chance for the Sonics to attack.
In the opening stage, the Sonics have long had a tactical arrangement, which is to focus on Gary Payton.
To put it bluntly, it was bullying the old guy John Stockton.
Speaking of John Stockton, don't look at this family, it looks gentle and quiet. In fact, the starting point is also very dark.
When defending, all kinds of small moves emerge in endlessly, otherwise, if the body is not dominant, it is impossible to be selected to the best defensive team many times.
But it's still the same sentence, the old guy is 40 years old.
Regarding the Supersonic's style of play, the Jazz obviously had expected it a long time ago. After all, it is a long-established opponent for the playoffs, so it is natural to study it in advance.
For the Sonics, the focus of research is naturally the two cores of Wang Hao and Gary Payton.
How to limit Wang Hao and Gary Payton is the key to defeating the Supersonic, and it is the key of the key.
The Jazz obviously made arrangements. Knowing that Stockton can't guard Gary Payton, they will naturally not be indifferent.
Sure enough, Geron Collins on the same side immediately assisted in the defense and did not give a single chance at all.
Gary Payton was not in a hurry to attack, and returned the ball to PJ Brown first.
PJ Brown standing in the high position is actually no offensive threat, all he has to do is transfer the ball out.
To put it bluntly, it is to Wang Hao, or Gary Payton.
For this kind of thing, PJ Brown is already very familiar with it, and took advantage of the opportunity to complete a hand-to-hand pick-and-roll pass with Wang Hao.
Kirilenko, who was following Wang Hao, got rid of it directly. Seeing that Wang Hao was about to hit the inside line, Geron Collins and Karl Malone immediately shrank.
If only one person returns to defend Wang Hao, it is likely that he will not be able to defend.
Naturally, Wang Hao wouldn't rush forward all at once, with a sweep of his eyes, he was already observing the situation on the field.
If Jaron Collins and Karl Malone's defense is slow, then he will naturally not be polite.
It's just that, this time, both of them recovered quickly, and Wang Hao chose to pass the ball.
On the other side of the baseline, Rashard Lewis is ready.
The moment he saw Wang Hao passing the ball, Karl Malone stopped quickly, and then rushed to the outside line.
It's a pity that it's too late!
When Rashard Lewis threw the ball steadily, he arrived a little belatedly.
"Shh!"
Lewis is in good condition. He hit a three-pointer with his first shot today.
Karl Malone looked at the dropped basketball and shook his head helplessly.
If it was placed 7 years ago, he would definitely be able to defend this ball, but now, he can't!
There is no way to do this, after all, time is a butcher's knife!
Kirilenko is also a little helpless, because at least half of the responsibility for the loss of points this time lies with him.
It was he who let Wang Hao break through, which made his teammates have to defend, and then gave him a chance to pass the ball.
However, there was no way around it. Defending Wang Hao was never an easy task.
None of the 28 teams in the NBA has done it, so it is naturally impossible for him to do it.
AK47's defense is indeed very good, but don't forget that Kirilenko has just entered the league.
In other words, he is still very immature now.
What's more, even Kirilenko at his peak was just defending for a while.
His defense is very targeted, that is, he is sensitive to blocking shots, and his time judgment is very good.
Coupled with his height of 206 cm, this gives him a great height advantage at the small forward position.
However, one thing is inevitable, and that is speed.
If the height is too high, the center of gravity cannot be lowered, and it will definitely have an impact when changing directions.
Even if it is James, his speed is fast enough, but it is more of a straight-line impact speed.
If you want him to change directions at a high frequency and fast pace like Iverson and his position, he will definitely not be able to do it.
The same is true for Wang Hao, constantly changing directions, stopping and starting quickly, coupled with pick-and-rolls, it is easy to get rid of Kirilenko's entanglement.
To put it bluntly, Jerry Sloan arranged for Kirilenko to defend Wang Hao, but in fact he didn't want Wang Hao to play low singles.
He was betting on Wang Hao's outside touch.
It's just that it's unknown how Wang Hao feels today, but the others seem to feel pretty good.
Looking back, the Jazz's offense.
John Stockton dribbled the ball halfway, and just outside the three-point line, Karl Malone was already leaning on PJ Brown for a position.
It has to be said that facing Karl Malone's body and big elbows, PJ Brown can't win at all.
However, just as John Stockton was about to pass the ball, Wang Hao was eager to try and intercept it.
That's right, he already double-teamed in advance.
In the past two years, this was a proper illegal defense, but it doesn't count now.
It can be said that the Sonics are definitely one of the fastest teams in the NBA to adapt to double-team defense.
Stockton didn't dare to pass the ball at all, and quickly asked Brian Russell to go away, taking Wang Hao away.
It wasn't until this side of the half, only Stockton and Karl Malone were left, that he passed the ball inside.
It's just that Gary Payton was not polite, he didn't give Karl Malone a single chance at all, and immediately double-teamed.
Karl Malone didn't dare to be careless, so he could only return the ball to Stockton. Stockton has a big open space.
When playing before, Karl Malone was often double-teamed, and he knew how to face this situation.
It's just that, at the moment Stockton received the ball, Michael Reed had already rotated in place.
It has to be said that Stockton is Stockton, one of the best offensive organizers in the NBA.
He had already seen Michael Reid's supplementary defense, so he didn't stop the ball at all after receiving the ball. When he jumped up, he had already passed the ball to Kirilenko.
It's just that Kirilenko stood outside the three-point line, obviously hesitating, and didn't make a direct shot.
He averaged only one three-pointer per game, and his shooting percentage was just over 1%.
It can be said that his three-pointers are basically forced to shoot helplessly.
If there is still a chance, he will definitely not vote.
Sure enough, he didn't make a shot, but when Brian Russell came up, he also made a hand-to-hand pick-and-roll pass.
It's similar to the Supersonic's tactics just now, the only difference is that the players are different.
Bryan Russell is not Wang Hao. Wang Hao doesn't need to grab the defensive position on the line at all, and he doesn't need to worry about giving him a chance to shoot a three-pointer.
Wang Hao bypassed Kirilenko directly from the outside. At this moment, Brian Russell had a chance to shoot a three-pointer.
It's a pity that he didn't do this. After all, not everyone is Wang Hao, and he really dares to throw it when he has the opportunity.
Seeing that there were only 8 seconds left in the attack time, Brian Russell didn't dare to delay any longer.
If he passes the ball again at this time, it will be impossible to play, so he decided to take responsibility himself.
Facing Wang Hao, he chose to break through.
However, Brian Russell also knows that it is obviously unrealistic to break through Wang Hao just by speed.
So, he directly leaned his body against his opponent, pushed Wang Hao and broke through inside.
It's just that Wang Hao's confrontation is not bad.
It is said that people are old, horses are slippery, and rabbits are hard to catch when they are old. This is really true.
Brian Russell's shoulders sank slightly, and he exerted a sudden force to push Wang Hao away.
To be honest, this is a shoulder sinking action, a very suspicious foul action.
It's just that Brian Russell is very experienced, and he has grasped that speed, which is not very obvious.
It really gave him room to shoot, he didn't dare to be careless, and immediately stopped the ball and shot.
However, just as he was about to pick it up, a palm suddenly stretched out.
Neither fast nor slow, the timing was just right.
"Snapped!"
With a slap firmly on the basketball, Brian Russell screamed subconsciously.
It's a pity that the referee didn't respond. He stood outside the baseline and could see everything clearly.
This is a combination of golfers and players, and Wang Hao's chipping is very accurate.
Brian Russell was ready to take off and shoot, and even jumped up at this time, there was no way to grab the basketball again.
At this time, Wang Hao had already picked up the basketball for the first time, and immediately launched a counterattack.
Brian Russell was unable to return to defense at the first time because of being intercepted.
In addition, Jaron Collins and Karl Malone, as two insiders, reacted a little slower.
More importantly, both of them are too slow, and PJ Brown is a little faster than both of them.
Only John Stockton and Kirilenko really returned to their own half.
The two were on the left and the right, still thinking about how to defend themselves.
But when they looked up, the two of them were almost dumbfounded for just a moment, and the four big men rushed up suddenly.
4 against 2, how to prevent this?
At this time, according to the choice of other teams, it is natural to attack the basket as much as possible, which is more sure.
Stockton and Kirilenko also think so, the two shrink the inside line, maybe they can put it down?
But, this is supersonic speed!
Wang Hao went straight to the basket, and after attracting the Jazz's defense, he decisively chose to split the ball.
At this time, Michael Reed, who ran to the bottom line, was obviously prepared, adjusted his rhythm after receiving the ball, and then shot.
"Shh!"
By the time Jaron Collins and Karl Malone arrived and were about to grab a rebound, the basketball had already been hit steadily.
The two big players were also a little speechless. After running like this desperately, they all ran in vain.
Not to mention it, but also a waste of energy.
6:0
At the beginning of the game, the Sonics had an advantage on both offense and defense.
(End of this chapter)