The Whip of the God of Basketball

After less than a week of rest, Michael Reid felt that he was a little out of tune with the game, at least he struggled a little in the first quarter. And Fox Leon knew that it wasn't that Reed had degenerated in such a short period of time, but because he was going to face Ray Allen tonight.

In the first quarter, Ray Allen scored 13 points alone, more than half of the Bucks' team. Reed was responsible for marking Allen one-on-one, but the effect was very bad. Reid's defensive strengths lie in his strong body, confrontational contact defense and precise defensive positioning, while his weaknesses are defensive footwork and some hand movements. And Ray Allen is a brilliant defender who is very good at getting rid of. His off-the-ball running, cutting-in route selection after receiving the ball, and his ability to combine shots and bursts are all top in the league. strenuous.

"How do you feel? Are you struggling? Your defensive steps need to be strengthened." Leon sat next to Reed and said to him. Leon is a coach who likes to chat with players off the court. No matter what the situation on the court is, he will take time to chat with the players on the bench instead of just standing on the sidelines and staring at the game. That's what Dick Hart taught him, that a coach has to constantly communicate with players, especially those who can make a difference on the court.

Regarding Leon's outspokenness, Reed lowered his head and wiped his sweat without speaking, obviously he felt a little frustrated. Since about last year, many media fans have begun to compare Reed with Ray Allen, and of course the conclusion is that Reed and Ray Allen are still far apart. Reed is not a talkative person, he never argues in the media, and rarely gives interviews after the game, but he is a very strong guy, he cares about these comments, so every time he played against the Bucks , he will secretly compete with Ray Allen, and must strive to perform better.

In the last game in Milwaukee, he didn't have a chance to play. The Celtics' back line was shot through by Ray Allen. This time he came back and wanted to contain Ray's performance. Unexpectedly, the result of his full defense was himself. Received a foul and was scored 13 points by the opponent.

"If Ray Allen can be guarded by you one-on-one, then he is not Ray Allen. You should know that many times there is no way to completely lock a person, but the same you can make the opponent unstoppable." Can't lock you up. If he gets 20 points, then you get 30 points. If he gets 30 points, you get 35 points. This will also make the team win. Think about how the offensive end feels, adjust, what we need is Your score. And if you can put pressure on Ray Allen on the offensive end, it will also make him have enough energy to attack.” Leon is like a mentor, teaching Reid earnestly, but Leon’s There is a limit to teaching, he will not stare at Reid's endless preaching, and at this time the situation on the field has changed.

PJ-Brown reappeared in the second quarter. After being refrigerated by Leon for half a quarter in the first quarter, Brown, who returned to the court, seemed to be a full-bodied off-road vehicle, playing as hard as his first appearance in the NBA. On the defensive end, he sent two consecutive blocks and blocked Tim Thomas. At the same time, on the back line, Leon sent the seasoned and prudent Cole. He and Walker completed two beautiful pick-and-roll cooperation. Coach George Karl called a timeout.

Leon punched Brown on his strong pecs as he stepped off the court, then patted his arm and said nothing. Brown didn't speak either, but instead of frowning as in the first quarter, he grinned and sat down on the bench.

"Get ready to play Michael, I hope you calm down, do your own thing, don't be depressed, don't be impetuous. As a shooter, you must always keep a calm head." During the timeout, the only adjustment Leon made was to put on Michael Reed, because he had a premonition that George Karl should send Ray Allen to play again, and he didn't want Reed to watch Ray Allen show off on the court.

However, the adjustment made by George Karl was not just the replacement of Ray Allen. This experienced old coach saw that the opponent played at home for some reason, and PJ Brown on the opposite side seemed to be playing. He was like chicken blood making waves inside, so he knew he had to do something.

After the timeout ended, the players from both sides returned to the court. At this time, Leon also got up from the bench and stood on the sidelines. He knew that the game would slowly enter the stage of fighting wits and courage. Pay close attention to the situation on the field. He found that the main change in the Bucks' offense is that Toni Kukoc began to become the main offensive point. The Bulls' super sixth man in the third consecutive period still has a strong comprehensive ability. And his 6-foot-11 height really has a big advantage. He catches the ball with his back at 45 degrees on the right side and 18 feet from the basket, and then turns around and walks the baseline to force Paul Pierce. Pierce is not out of position. Xia forced a mid-range jumper from the bottom line, narrowing the point difference to 10 points.

The Celtics' defensive system is like this, one-on-one, less rotation, each sweeps the door, and occasionally deploys defensive traps. The only trap is PJ-Brown, which is also what Leon and Dick Hart repeated in the summer. After pondering, a set of defensive strategies and rules were formulated according to the characteristics of the players and the team's development strategy of "attack first and then defend". The advantage is that the defense is very tough, and it is rare for a wave of opponents to completely break through the attack. The disadvantage is that it is easy to be killed by a single player.

And George Karl's team has many singles masters, and the offense is open and free, so the Celtics often suffer against the Bucks. It is only tonight that the Celtics' offense is obviously better, so they maintain the lead.

When it was the turn of the Celtics to attack, after two rounds, the adjustment of the Bucks' defensive end was also revealed. Tony Kukoc and Jason Caffey, Caffey played small forward in defense, Kukoc played power forward, and the two were switched on offense. The center position was handed over to Anthony Mason, and Karl asked him to deal with PJ Brown.

Mason became famous in the New York Knicks in the 1990s. He was a member of Pat Riley's muscular team. Later, he developed support and assist abilities in the Hornets. The Bucks originally wanted to fight the Three Musketeers in the 2002 season. Unexpectedly, there were problems within the Bucks. The team's record plummeted and they failed to make the playoffs. He also entered the countdown to his career.

But when Mason met PJ-Brown, the two insiders who had experienced the iron-blooded era of the 90s quickly became entangled like wrestling. The first two rounds were okay, the two sides were just physically confrontational, but in the sixth minute of the second quarter, when PJ-Brown made a single block screen for Pierce, Mason pushed Brown hard to follow Pierce, and Brown wrapped his arms around Mason's to prevent him from going.

Seeing that Pierce made a layup with a beautiful shoulder swing and cross step with his right hand, Mason threw off Brown's arm, and then slammed his chest into PJ Brown, not at all afraid of this center who was half a head taller than himself. In terms of seniority, Mason can be regarded as Brown's predecessor. At his peak, he dared to defend against Olajuwon, let alone Brown.

And Brown is not easy to bully, he once again showed his glaring King Kong face, and pushed back with his chest. The two topped it off near the free throw line like cattle. The two of them are very smart. At the end of the day, they just don't move their arms or hands. After all, the one who strikes first will be sent off. The referee had already noticed that the two guys were a little angry. Seeing that they were on the top, they immediately blew their whistle and stepped forward to stop them.

The players on both sides and the referee had a lot of trouble before they managed to pull the two apart. At the end of the scolding, Mason started to touch Brown's nose, and Brown pushed and pulled him away. Pierce is coming. Fortunately, Walker hugged Brown's waist and pulled him away, so that he didn't let him rush up and wrestle with Mason.

A little episode made the North Shore Garden Arena lively. After all, fans paid to come in to watch the excitement. Since entering the 21st century, the league has paid more and more attention to the image of the stadium, and there have been fewer and fewer violent incidents. This kind of strong confrontation is also gradually eliminated. But as the "old and young" who grew up in that period, Brown and Mason still retain the character of that period, and they are extremely brave on the court and are not afraid of confrontation.

The ball can be lost, but the person cannot be lost.

In the end, Brown and Mason each received a technical foul and each hit 50 boards. But then, it seemed that Mason didn't restrain himself because of the technical foul. This cunning old oilman kept making trouble for Brown on the defensive end.

Leon saw that George Karl sent Mason up to deal with Brown. Their real power forward Tim Thomas was beaten by Brown so much that his mother didn't know him, so he asked Mason to deal with Brown. After all, as long as Brown can't play well Good or sitting off the court, the Bucks' offense will have an advantage. Although Chris Anderson drove the team's emotions in the first quarter, both Carl and Leon knew that such a drive could only be effective for a short time and could not last for a whole game.

Sure enough, only two minutes later, on the way back to the defense again, Mason grabbed Brown who was about to come down the sideline, causing Brown to stumble and fall, and Mason also took advantage of the trend and crushed Brown. body. This time, Brown was so angry that he didn't even stand up, and started to grab Mason's clothes while lying down. Mason obviously has more experience in fighting. He used his body position to press down on Brown, and put his arm on Brown's arm, just to prevent Brown from getting up.

The fans in the circle stood up, and the referee rushed forward to separate the two, but there was one person who was faster, Fox Leon. Because the place where the two fell to the ground was close to the Celtics coach's bench, Leon could no longer stand Mason's continuous provocation and arrogant actions of pressing Brown. He ran to the two in three steps at a time. , grabbed Mason's thigh-thick arm, stared at Mason and said, "Move your ass away."

Mason didn't expect the opponent's coach to rush up like this. He was a little dazed. Brown turned over and pushed Mason away. At this time, the players and coaches of both sides had already rushed up. Cowens grabbed Lai from behind. Ang, the referee also separated the two sides, and the scene was chaotic.

Mason wanted to step forward and scold Leon, but when he met Leon's knife-like gaze, he couldn't speak for a while, and he even ignored Brown's glaring eyes. He also saw the faint scars on Leon's face, and remembered the recent news about him, as well as Malik Siri who had his jaw knocked off—he was standing behind Leon and holding Leon's arm, Mason Zizi didn't have the spirit of provocation, and returned to the bench under the pull of his teammates.

The chaos was finally under control, the referee started to get angry, directly sent Mason and Brown off the field, and then gave Leon a technical foul, Ray Allen executed a technical foul free throw, and after the hit, the point difference between the two sides was narrowed. 6 points.