wjnovel Chapter 475 First win of the season!
Chapter 475 First win of the season!
Knight's ball.
Instead of assuming the same position as before, O'Neal ignored Mike Brown's angrily shouting from the sidelines and took the initiative to raise the ball to a high position.
What a bullshit coach, there is nothing he can do! Why are you commanding me? I know more than you!
"Jason!" O'Neal's eyes were full of anxiety and anger at this time, and he shouted to Kidd for the ball.
Frankly speaking, Kidd does not agree with O'Neal's move.
It is true that Mike Brown was unable to come up with a response to the Sonics' rotational defense, but it does not mean that he was completely wrong.
The Cavaliers' advantage is inside, but if O'Neal is raised to a high position, it would be equivalent to giving up his own advantage and using his own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strengths. Not to mention that O'Neal is being targeted on the outside by a defender of Sakuragi Hanamichi's historical level. No matter how difficult it is to score, even if you do score, it will not be of any benefit to the team's overall strategy.
But the problem is, Kidd can also see that O'Neal has already taken the initiative and is in extreme anger. After all, he has just been grabbed two rebounds by Sakuragi Hanamichi. If he is not allowed to vent, this giant beast will go berserk. , then it will be even less conducive to the team's desire to stabilize its position.
Besides, this guy who weighs more than 300 pounds has already raised himself to the high position. If you don't want the Cavaliers to have an empty basket, the basket is already empty. If you don't want to give up the advantage, the guy above will take the initiative to give it away. Even if you don't pass it to him It doesn't change that.
While considering the rationality of this goal, we must also consider the unity atmosphere within the team and the longer-term harmony in the locker room. After all, this season is still very long.
Kidd had no choice but to pass the ball to O'Neal, but the next second...
Sakuragi Hanamichi's death coil was instantly entangled. The aggressive defense made O'Neal immediately feel the threat of being intercepted. He was forced to turn around to protect the ball. With the help of his huge body and strength, O'Neal let Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't reach his arms.
Good defense? It's very good. Not only is this guy good at defense, but he's also very powerful. It's not that easy to force his way into the paint against this guy.
You can't get rid of him, and you don't even dare to make any other unnecessary movements easily, so there is only one move left, hit from behind!
Due to the gap in strength between each other and their understanding of back-hitting, O'Neal is confident enough that no one on this planet can stop his back-hitting!
He was near the free throw line, and it was only a matter of three or four steps to squeeze in with his back against the guy, force it on!
O'Neal lowered his center of gravity slightly and suddenly exerted force from his shoulders. His 147 kilogram body and historical level of strength forced Sakuragi Hanamichi to take a step back.
One bump is half a step, three steps is enough, six bumps!
O'Neal was thinking this, and when he was about to pursue the victory and continue to exert force, he heard the teammates next to him shout: "Shaq, be careful!"
O'Neal immediately instinctively realized that someone was coming.
Lin Dong?
Although his focus is on Sakuragi Hanamichi behind him, he is an experienced veteran after all, and O'Neal still has a full understanding of the general situation on the court.
Lin Dong was in the right half area just now!
He subconsciously turned his head and glanced to the right, only to see Lin Dong running towards the backcourt.
What...are you running for?
O'Neill was stunned, and a big hand had already cut from the other direction.
Snapped!
In just a moment, the basketball has changed hands.
O'Neal's hands were empty and he was shocked. He turned his head and looked behind him, but only saw the jersey number of "Old Man".
No. 20, Gary Payton!
He is the only point guard in history who has won DPOY, and he is also the super steal leader who has contributed 10 steals in a single game!
Gary Payton is just old and can't keep up with his physical fitness, strength, and speed, but it doesn't mean that his defensive awareness has also deteriorated.
O'Neal's intention of playing behind the ball had already been seen through by Gary Payton. Almost as soon as Kidd passed the ball, he had already taken turns to help defend, and while Sakuragi Hanamichi drew 95% of O'Neal's attention, There is even Lin Dong who occupies the remaining 5% of O'Neal's attention. If this historical defensive point guard cannot steal the ball from O'Neal, his life will be in vain.
Gary Payton's perfect steal, coupled with Lin Dong who seemed to have the ability to predict and start running in advance, made the Sonics' counterattack as fast as lightning.
The Cavaliers gave up chasing. Lin Dong received Payton's long pass, jumped high one step beyond the free throw line, and hit a tomahawk dunk.
boom!
34:14, SuperSonics lead by 20 points!
20 points seemed like a watershed, and also seemed like a death signal. In an instant, the Cavaliers players who were angry, anxious, and impatient just now suddenly fell into silence.
Mike Brown on the sidelines fell back to the bench, with a look of emptiness and confusion in his eyes.
The fans at the scene were going crazy.
This is a knight, a knight of the Big Four!
As early as the offseason, this Cavaliers was touted by various media and fans and became the biggest dark horse vowing to intercept the SuperSonics this season.
Whether you look at the paper strength or the expectations of fans across the United States, or even look at the historical grudges between the two teams, look at the determination of all the Cavaliers players to surpass the Sonics, etc.
No matter how optimistic the SuperSonics' commentators and fans are, their biggest expectation is that after the hard-fought battle between the two teams, the SuperSonics can rely on Lin Dong's personal ability to get a slight advantage at the critical moment.
But the score was 34:14 in the first quarter, a huge difference of 20 points.
This, this... this is simply jaw-dropping and unacceptable.
Phil Knight in the VIP room had a dark face the whole time, obviously he wanted to go supersonic...
In Phil Knight's blueprint, he hopes the Cavaliers lose this game.
Because he has not completely given up on Lin Dong. What he wants is to use the threats of the Cavaliers and Lakers to give the SuperSonics and Lin Dong a sense that Nike is the master behind everything before the contract between the two parties expires in December. If you want results and historical status, you must listen to me, and use this to completely tame Lin Dong's fierce horse.
After all, no matter what, Lin Dong is still Nike's biggest endorsement pillar and cash cow.
Therefore, he is actually happy to see the Cavaliers lose this game, but he must play anxiously and create enough threats for the SuperSonics.
Otherwise, how can we create a sense of crisis for Lin Dong? How about demonstrating Nike's control over the league? Let alone how to tame Lin Dong?
So he clearly saw many problems with the Cavaliers, but when he helped the Cavaliers build the team, Phil Knight did not mention these problems in several meetings with the young female boss.
To put it bluntly, Laura Ballmer is just a pawn being used by him. While he is controlling Lin Dong, he is also controlling the Cavaliers.
If Lin Dong had been tamed by him in December, he would never remind Laura of these problems with the Cavaliers, and would even help the Sonics win the championship.
After all, after defeating the Big Four Lakers and Cavaliers, the SuperSonics championship will have more gold and value, and Lin Dong's personal reputation will be pushed higher. All of Phil Knight's actions this offseason are not It will all be in vain. By then, maybe Lin Dong can really replace Jordan and become Nike's real pillar in the global market.
Fans all over the United States...the direction of public opinion and hostility towards Asians was originally brought about by Nike through the media, and it can naturally be brought back. There are many methods, but for the capital that controls public opinion, it is the least worth mentioning. little things.
But if Lin Dong was not tamed in December, still put on airs and was disobedient, and still wanted to take the initiative in negotiations and ask for some short-term contract, then Phil Knight would further help the Cavaliers and Lakers to improve them. lineup to completely defeat the SuperSonics and knock Lin Dong off his horse!
Anyway, Nike will not suffer any loss, and of these two answers and two outcomes, Phil Knight is more inclined to the former - that is, under the condition that Lin Dong is obedient enough, he will help the SuperSonics build a four-consecutive championship dynasty. , pushing Lin Dong to the top completely! This is the most convenient and smoothest way to maximize Nike's interests.
But now... nothing goes according to his script, which makes Phil Knight very unhappy.
A bunch of useless things! What kind of bullshit are you beating! Give back the Big Four and the Four Ducks!
He couldn't help cursing secretly in his mind, and looked at Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, who fell on the bench on the sidelines, with eyes full of disdain and anger.
At this time, Mike Brown seemed to finally realize his responsibility amidst the cheers for the Sonics.
What the team needs at this time is morale, not a similarly confused head coach.
He gathered his strength and stood up again.
There is no way, but morale must be improved.
"Cheer up!" Mike Brown yelled on the sidelines: "Don't worry about losing points, just hold them back, they won't last long!"
LeBron and others recovered slightly from the loss just now.
Yes, the Sonics have an unsolvable five-and-four defense, an unsolvable perimeter vacancy, and an unsolvable Lin Dong... But they also have a physical crisis!
Don't give up, just persevere to the end, and as long as they wait until their physical problems arise, the balance of victory will eventually tilt back towards the Cavaliers!
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Kidd clapped his hands, condensing the morale that was starting to scatter on the court: "Don't be anxious, hit one first! Mike is right, in such a high-intensity offensive and defensive confrontation, Lin Dong, as the core of both ends, cannot last long! Wait until he gets tired, wait until he slows down, and the Sonics' rotational defense will collapse!"
"come on!"
Relying on this belief, the Cavaliers seemed to regain two points of morale, and then...
Knight's ball.
Pavlovic seized this open opportunity and hit a 3-pointer.
34:17, which can be regarded as a life extension for the Cavaliers.
Turning around on the defensive end, the Cavaliers finally adjusted their strategy a little this time. Chandler's outside touch was too hot. If he was allowed to shoot again, he would be killed. The Cavaliers did not dare to let it go again. Pavlovic gave up. Godala turned to block Chandler, and the ball came to Iguodala.
The same open three-pointer, and Iguodala, who had been cool for a long time, missed from the outside, and the Cavaliers suddenly seemed to see hope of recovering the score.
But O'Neal once again stretched his hips on the backboard. He was a little scared by Sakuragi Hanamichi's millimeter-level "stool withdrawal". This time he did not actively seek confrontation when fighting for position, but gave up his best strength. After the rebounding method, how can he be Sakuragi Hanamichi's opponent?
The consequence of standing still and not daring to exert force is to be eaten by Sakuragi's various tricks.
With an easy pass, Sakuragi grabbed the rebound and passed it to Iguodala. Wade made up the defense, and Iguodala immediately passed the ball to Lin Dong.
Facing LeBron's one-on-one defense, Lin Dong made a change and stepped back to hit a mid-range shot steadily.
At 36:17, the point difference was reopened to 19 points.
The Cavaliers had the ball, and Pavlovic scored a 3-pointer. O'Neal got angry and Sakuragi got the rebound at the same time. This time, he was lucky. The basketball bounced in the direction of O'Neal, and the Sharks took the rebound.
Faced with Chandler joining in and Sakuragi's attack, not only Pavlovich on the left, but also LeBron on the right was free.
The ball came to LeBron's hands and he pulled up from beyond the three-point line.
LeBron's three-point shooting percentage last season was still very high, but it's a pity... He was struggling with Lin Dong throughout the whole game. He didn't touch the ball much on the offensive end, and his hand felt cold.
Basketball strikes again, and this time O'Neal doesn't have the same luck as before. Sakuragi jumps to the backboard, the SuperSonics organize a fast break, and Lin Dong hits Wade's defense with a pull bar.
38:17, the score difference is 21, which continues to expand.
The pressure came to the Cavaliers again. Kidd could see that the pressure on Pavlovich was too much, so instead of passing it to him, he asked him to raise it for a pick-and-roll.
It's a pity that facing the defense of Payton and Iguodala, it is too difficult for Pavlovic to pick and roll, not to mention that he is not very good at it.
The opportunity failed to come out, but instead Pavlovic's big open space was wasted. The two sides struggled with the defense for a long time. In the end, Kidd had no choice but to take a 3-point shot against Payton's defense from the outside, but he made a three-pointer. Nonstick.
24 seconds violation, exchange of ball rights.
The Cavaliers continued to choose to let go of Iguodala, who just missed a 3-pointer. But after all, he was a man who shot 40%+ last season. His hand just wasn't open, and there was no shooting at all with the SuperSonics leading by a large margin. pressure.
Iguodala took the ball without hesitation and scored a 3-pointer at the buzzer before the final whistle of the first quarter. At 41:17, the point difference had reached an astonishing 24 points.
——Hold on! Hold on! They've been playing like this for a whole quarter, it can't go on forever!
——On the offensive end, Lin Dong has to face the attack from LeBron and Wade, and on the defensive end, he has to join the rotation core to check for leaks and fill in the gaps at any time. His running volume is even much greater than Sakuragi Hanamichi. How long can he run? ?
——We wait until Lin Donglei and the SuperSonics give up their rotation defense. Then the initiative will be in our hands!
——Forget about Lin Dong, how long can that old guy Payton run? That guy only averaged 15 minutes per game last season, and their bench is shallower than ours!
——It’s only 24 points, we can definitely get it back!
The Cavaliers were cheering crazily on the sidelines, and it seemed that only this belief was left to support them.
In the second quarter, when they saw the SuperSonics once again resorting to defensive rotations as soon as they came on the court, the Cavaliers' players had automatically developed a mentality of 'defend, let's see how long you can defend'.
Unfortunately……
48:24, 56:28, 61:31…
The Sonics' defensive intensity has not diminished at all, but their offense is still impressive.
Even if there are occasional misses from the outside, Sakuragi Hanamichi and O'Neal can win about 60% of the rebounds in the competition for rebounds at the basket. This allows the Sonics to get more secondary offensive opportunities and further curbs the Cavaliers' poor performance. attack.
In the first 5 minutes of the second quarter, the score difference had reached an astonishing 30 points, and by the end of the first half.
74:38, the point difference has reached 36 points.
The Cavaliers, who were touted as one of the strongest teams in history before the game, were actually led by the SuperSonics by 36 points at halftime!
Phil Knight stood up and walked out of the VIP room, really too lazy to watch anymore.
Countless fans across the United States were sitting in front of the TV, and countless of them were so angry that they cursed, were speechless, and turned off the TV.
The four giants of the Cavaliers were already breathing heavily.
I thought that the SuperSonics' defensive rotation could only play one quarter, and then I thought they could play one and a half quarters at most, but now they have played the entire first half...don't those guys know they are tired? Their movement is much greater than that of the Cavaliers!
When are you tired? When will the supersonic speed slow down?
Let's not talk about Payton. Although he only averaged 15 minutes of playing time per game last season, he can still play for 30 minutes when it is really needed in key games.
More importantly, in the Sonics' current new rotation system, Payton's task is actually not heavy. When it comes to outside, how tiring can it be to defend one with Iguodala against Kidd? He's not really needed on the offensive end, and it's not like he really has any major physical problems. He's tired...
The key is still Lin Dong and Sakuragi Hanamichi.
The latter's physical strength has been proven for three seasons. Let him focus on defense. That guy can run for three quarters with high intensity, and it is not impossible to run for the whole game with all his strength.
As for the former, although his physical strength feels bottomless, he is still able to handle both offense and defense, so he must be the first to fall.
The Supersonics are at the end of their game, Lin Dong is about to die! Look, in the second half, the Sonics will no longer use rotation defense, they are not robots!
But.
In the third quarter, when Kidd held the ball, he immediately encountered Payton and Iguodala's continued double blockade. When Wade was once again guarded by Lin Dong to keep up...
The Cavaliers players were shattered at this moment.
Didn't it mean that this guy could only play one session like this? But now that the first half has been played, the second half will come again? !
And looking at that smiling face, is this guy really not tired? !
MD, if you are not tired, I am!
Collapse, despair, unable to find any way to deal with it, not to mention the slightest hope of chasing points.
When Chandler once again easily hit an open three-pointer, 77:38, widening the point difference to a full 39 points, even exceeding the Cavaliers' total score, this invincible Big Four super battleship finally collapsed in an instant. .
The intensity is gone, the confidence is gone.
In the desperation of Wade and LeBron, Lin Dong broke through their defenses and slammed the basketball over O'Neal's head.
beep!
"Knight substitution!"
After five ups and five downs, the collapsed Cavaliers gave up the game directly.
It's impossible to play anymore. With such a point difference, even if the Sonics come on the bench, the Cavaliers can't catch up. If this continues, I'm afraid it won't just be a loss, but a heartbreak!
——Supersonic! Supersonic! Supersonic!
--Forest! Forest! Forest! Forest!
——Sakura Sakuragi! King of rebounds King of rebounds!
The cheers and hustle and bustle of the entire stadium were also accompanied by the shock and silence of fans across the United States.
At 133:89, the SuperSonics won their first win of the season with a huge margin of 44 points!