One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty. He Is Enjoying the Game!
Thinking too much is a problem encountered by the Western team on the defensive end, and it is also a problem for the Eastern team.
The defenders on both sides are worried that the other side will play out the team cooperation. In the end, the defense of both sides has problems.
The Western team attaches great importance to the mid-range. As long as the Eastern team does not play singles in the mid-range, the three-point line and the basket become one-on-one defense.
The Eastern team pays more attention to guarding the three-point line and the basket. They don't want the Western team to score easily outside the three-point line and the basket, but relatively speaking, the mid-range defense is not so good.
The score difference hovered around ten points for a long time. What broke the deadlock was an unexpected situation. Several years have passed. Because he was overshadowed by his contemporary Sun Ce, many people still thought that Rose was the physical fitness outside player who had a poor shooting back then.
But now Rose is already a pretty good ball-holding three-point shooter with a 37% three-point shooting rate and an average of 1.8 three-pointers per game.
He certainly can't be compared with Sun Ce and Curry, but compared to Evans, who has a 36% three-point shooting rate and an average of 1.5 three-pointers per game this year, he is already stronger!
It's just that many people still think that Evans has better skills, and they don't notice that Evans has reached the peak of his career and his highest level has almost been determined, while Rose is still transforming.
At 4 minutes and 39 seconds in the third quarter, relying on Rose's two consecutive open three-pointers, the Eastern team caught up with the score in one fell swoop, 107 to 113, and the difference was only 6 points!
The Western team called a timeout and changed players!
In the past period of time, the Western team's offense was actually very good, scoring 16 points. Durant, Aldridge and Sun Ce's mid-range shots were very lethal, and the defense was actually good. At one point, the opponent only scored 14 points, but Rose's two unexpected three-pointers happened to be during this period. Sun Ce's layup was crooked, and the Eastern team narrowed the 12-point difference to 6 points in an instant.
However, during this small half of the game time, Sun Ce discovered a problem, the opponent's defensive tendency.
He felt that Rose also discovered that their defense efficiency improved by defending the mid-range, so he shot two three-pointers in a row.
However, in comparison, Sun Ce felt that Rose's three-pointer...actually, there was no need to pay too much attention to it! Rose has the ability to shoot from a distance, but his three-pointer level is just like that, and the Western team cannot lose their composure because of this.
Of course, if Rose keeps making three-pointers, then Sun Ce will admit it.
The key is that the Western team must make good use of the Eastern team's defensive tendency!
Sun Ce analyzed his ideas to his teammates and coach Hollins,
and got approval. Coach Hollins replaced Klay Thompson with Kobe and James with Duncan, and sent out a combination of Sun Ce, Kobe, Durant, Duncan, and Aldridge.
The characteristics of this combination are very unified-everyone can play singles in the mid-range or catch and shoot!
The degree of surprise that Rose made two three-pointers brought to the Western team stars was far less than the surprise that Sun Ce's calm analysis just now brought to them.
In such a high-intensity duel, Sun Ce can still maintain such a calm mind, which is really surprising!
They felt the difference between Sun Ce and others.
In such a game, the weakest players on both sides are perfect catchers and shooters like Korver. The two teams are strong, and both sides want to win and play very hard. For players other than Sun Ce, such a game is equivalent to a battle of honor and a battle of dignity between All-Star players.
However, if they regard this game as a battle of honor and dignity, Sun Ce gives them a very special feeling - this guy is enjoying the game!
This is exactly the case. Sun Ce is enjoying this feeling that he can't experience 100% at ordinary times - every rotating teammate is an All-Star and even many are superstars!
With such a group of teammates, Sun Ce is enjoying the game more!
He really wants to win three consecutive AMVPs, and even sells favors. He is ready to help Durant get the AMVP in the future, and help James and Kobe get the AMVP.
However, relatively speaking, Sun Ce enjoys working with such teammates more, and his idea gradually becomes "win first and talk later".
He is also eager to win the game, and also regards this game as a battle of honor and dignity, but the most fundamental difference is that he enjoys it very much and has a clear mind.
…
After the timeout, the East team continued to play the pick-and-roll combination of Rose and Griffin, Horford and Evans also continued to play, and Hayward became the small forward. Korver's physical strength was a problem. He only maintained high-efficiency running and catching the ball and shooting for about 30 minutes in a game. When the opponent was all All-Star players and encountered Klay Thompson's defense, this time was greatly reduced.
There was no way. As the head coach of the Hawks, Budenholzer knew that Korver under his command was indeed not an All-Star player. Other All-Stars played very easily in such a game, while Korver was like an alpaca entering a flock of sheep, which seemed out of place. Fortunately, his characteristics were very versatile. He was a pure running and catching the ball shooter, so he could play his ability normally.
The game continued, and the West team attacked first.
Without hesitation, the West team strengthened the mid-range attack. The method of strengthening was very simple. Durant started the mid-range singles!
Durant received the ball, dribbled a few times, and shot a fadeaway shot against Hayward!
Simple and crude, this is Sun Ce's advice to Coach Hollins. These mid-range masters should just start, taking turns to play singles in the mid-range!
Indeed, Sun Ce's response this time was unexpected by the Eastern team. In the second half of the third quarter, the Western team started a crazy mid-range attack. If they were double-teamed, they would pass the ball. If they were not double-teamed, Sun Ce, Kobe, Durant, and Aldridge would play singles in the mid-range.
When the three outside players were very close in the mid-range and had no chance to shoot, then a better opportunity came. The inside players were very conscious of pulling apart. Whoever held the ball in the three outside players would rush to the basket, directly attack the basket or pass the ball to the two inside players who were pulled out and no one cared about them. These two people were also mid-range shooting masters!
This simplest offense, launched by mid-range singles, is the most effective. The head coach of the Eastern team did not expect that the Western team would suddenly stop playing cooperation and start playing stars. The defense he arranged still focused on three-pointers and the basket. He is one of the most cooperative head coaches in the NBA. He knows that if he plays cooperation, three-pointers and the basket are the most opportunities. He has people under him who can defend three-pointers and the basket very well, but the Western team launched an attack from the mid-range, which is impossible to defend at all!
The authentic inside twin towers of Duncan and Aldridge played, which in turn greatly restricted the Eastern team's basket offense. With Duncan, Sun Ce went to the outside to defend Rose, and defended pick-and-roll with Duncan, which was very effective.
The most critical point is Durant's restriction on Evans, the second ball-holding point of the Eastern team. Durant won a small victory over Evans against Durant, and his size has a huge advantage.
It is impossible to completely restrict him, but it has played a more or less restrictive role. Under this situation, the Western team has a clear initiative in this half of the quarter.
The East team persisted in playing a double-kill offense for a quarter, and gained some advantages in the first half, but in the second half, the West team regained the advantage.
28 to 21, during this period, the West team again widened the gap by 7 points. After three quarters, the West team led the East team by 13 points with 141 to 128 and entered the intermission!
During this period, the biggest difference between the two teams was free throws!
In the last 7 minutes of the third quarter, the East team only had 3 free throws, while the West team had 11 free throws, 9 of which were made!
When facing a center like Duncan who rarely fouls on the defensive end, it is difficult for the East team to get a foul under the basket even if they are all All-Stars, and it is even more difficult to cause a foul with a three-pointer.
On the other hand, the West team has a much higher probability of making a foul when launching an attack from mid-range. The biggest advantage of the West team, which has many players with strong mid-range offensive ability, is reflected here!
…
In the third quarter, the West team scored 44 points, and Sun Ce scored 14 points. After three quarters, his data increased to 43 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals.
Almost a triple-double!
However, he was not the one with the highest assists. He only had 3 assists in the third quarter. Although James only played for more than 4 minutes in the third quarter, he got two assists during this period, 12 assists!
The current score difference is not big, 13 points difference, the East team still has a chance to turn the game around, and there is a great possibility of a comeback. Kobe and Duncan need to rest, so James has to play and maintain defense with Sun Ce. If James plays well in the last quarter, when the West team can score more than 40 points in almost every quarter, Magic Johnson's single-game assist record in the All-Star Game is likely to be gone!
And Coach Hollins's arrangement is also made around James's breakthrough points!
With James as the core, Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Love...
Coach Hollins predicted that the opponent might strengthen mid-range defense and might play the Spurs system again to enhance offense, so their Western team also needs to change, from launching mid-range strong attacks to a style of play dominated by James's breakthroughs.
Generally speaking, the side with an advantage will not actively change its style of play, and it should be the disadvantaged side that seeks to adapt, but this is the All-Star Game, the opponent is strong, and Coach Hollins chose to take the initiative.
Coach Hollins is the kind of person who dares to think and do. In such a game, he felt sorry for himself if he didn't show a good operation.
Originally, this impulse could be suppressed, but he had been partnered with a certain player who did not want to reveal his name for too long, and he had been suppressed for too long in the regular season and playoffs. He had to be calm in those games, otherwise he would be led to a more distorted style by that guy.
In such a game, Coach Hollins's impulse could not be suppressed!
On the other side, Paul, who was about to play, looked at the five Western Conference All-Stars gathered together to discuss the details. He wanted to win! Last summer, he became the worst superstar. He lost the finals and Chandler ran away. They suddenly went from being the biggest favorite to win in the East to an ordinary first-class team. He wanted to prove himself in such a rare All-Star game!