One Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty-Two. Genius Kidd!

Sun Ce, who played the entire first quarter, was replaced at the beginning of the second quarter.

A 15-point lead in a single quarter was too smooth, so smooth that Sun Ce felt incredible.

But during the intermission, Sun Ce did not see the opponent being defeated. Instead, the Pelicans players who were about to play, led by veteran John Salmons, shouted in unison to encourage each other.

"What other strategies can the opponent have?"

Sun Ce looked at the back line of Irving and Rivers who rotated in the second quarter, and the front court was Luke Babbitt, Ryan Anderson, Valanciunas... On his side, Livingston, Klay Thompson, Pierce, Yi Jianlian, Gobert, what possibility can the opponent struggle?

If the two teams scored similarly, the Pelicans might create a leading advantage, but the score difference was so large, and their Grizzlies were a team that was very good at playing with the wind. Although they gradually showed signs of playing with the wind, they could win 75 games... The characteristics of playing with the wind might be the best in the league!

The Grizzlies have Klay Thompson and Aldridge in their lineup. Even if the opponent has Irving and Valanciunas, they will not fall behind. As for role players, the Grizzlies must be better. What else can the Pelicans do?

Just when Sun Ce became curious and couldn't help thinking, analyzing and thinking from the perspective of the Pelicans, the second quarter of the game had already begun.

People often have visual blind spots, but in fact, a person often ignores some things, not visual blind spots, but attention blind spots.

In the first quarter, the Grizzlies used a triangle offense against the Pelicans at the beginning, and it was a super offense after Paul George inspired his teammates' strong desire to win. In 5 minutes and 32 seconds, they scored 18 points. This is not a run-and-gun, but a positional attack! At the same time, the Pelicans were defended to only 10 points in 5 minutes and 32 seconds. For the mediocre defensive inside combination of Randolph and Aldridge, it is already the best defense.

In the second half, the Pelicans only scored 3 points in 6 minutes and 28 seconds. As the game went on, the Grizzlies played with excitement, whether it was the full starting lineup of the triangle offense or the defensive dominant lineup. Although the level did not decline due to the excitement, they did not care about who was on the other side.

Let alone the players on the court, the coaching staff, the bench players, the fans at the scene, and even the fans in front of the TV did not notice it.

The opponent's main point guard in the second half of the first quarter was Norris Cole, and the inside line was rotated by Asik, Lopez Jr., and Ryan Anderson.

Kidd could guess with his toes that the Grizzlies wanted to defeat their Pelicans in one fell swoop. He could not change the strength gap between the two teams, nor could he change the idea of ​​his own players wanting to do their best to win, but he could control the rotation!

With a core like Irving, although the Pelicans are not as strong as the Grizzlies, everyone will choose to fight. From this aspect, Irving has a unique personality charm, which has become a point that Kidd can use.

So it seems that the Pelicans went all out in the first quarter, but it was under Kidd's control. In the second quarter, when the Grizzlies' overall defense began to decline, Irving and Valanciunas began to counterattack with two shooters and a counterattack attacker!

On the other hand, what kind of emotions would the Grizzlies have when they crushed the opponent in the first quarter and only scored 3 points in half a quarter?

Confidence in their own strength soared! More comfortable performance! More trust in each other! And... despise the opponent!

The first three, if placed in normal circumstances, are naturally no problem, but in this case, the latter will be magnified to a greater extent.

Despising the opponent will turn the soaring confidence into overconfidence or even complacency, more comfortable performance,

will evolve into arbitrary and not paying attention to details, and trust in each other will rely on the team's superstar more than it should.

When Irving and Valanciunas led a striker and two shooters to counterattack, nibble at the point difference, and slowly catch up with the score, the Grizzlies seemed to be unaware of it. Even the Grizzlies' players watching the game on the sidelines didn't see anything wrong, because they played very confidently and cooperated well, but sometimes they took the passing and shooting for granted, and the biggest flaw, which was the problem on the defensive end, really no one was alert.

Including Sun Ce on the sidelines, he also thought so. He really couldn't analyze what the opponent had to come back. Although the opponent was nibbling at the point difference, on the defensive end of the opponent's lineup, only Valanciunas and Rivers were above the standard. The other three, Irving was at most not a black hole, and Babbitt and Ryan Anderson were both dragging their feet. So although the Pelicans' offense suddenly became fierce, they were only catching up slowly, and could not completely catch up. ,

Until 5 minutes and 11 seconds into the second quarter, when the Pelicans chased the score to 30-41, the Pelicans called a timeout in advance and the situation began to change.

The Pelicans replaced Irving, Eric Gordon, Luke Babbitt, Anthony Davis, and Ryan Anderson.

The Grizzlies replaced Livingston, Carter, Paul George, Randolph, and Larry Sanders.

Normally speaking, Randolph, who scored 11 points in the first half of the quarter tonight, is paired with Livingston, who performed well in the first half of the second quarter, Paul George ensures perimeter defense, and Larry Sanders assists in defense. The defense of Randolph and Randolph in the basket is a first-class and close to the top defensive combination. The Pelicans did not send Lopez Jr., a big center with sharp pick-and-roll cutting ability and sufficient strength, or Valanciuna. With Si, a new-generation first-class center who is excellent in low-post singles and good in mid-range shooting, it will be difficult for the Pelicans to find a point of reversal.

However, in the first half of the second quarter, Babbitt and Ryan Anderson had already shot away!

With Irving and Anthony Davis' pick-and-rolls, coupled with Eric Gordon's singles, plus Babbitt and Ryan Anderson's long-range shots, the Pelicans exploded on the offensive end!

After the official timeout, the Pelicans went on a 14-6 run, chasing the score to 44-47 in one fell swoop! And this only took more than 3 minutes!

Seeing that the point difference was caught within 5 points in one fell swoop, with only a 3-point lead, the Grizzlies woke up and quickly called a timeout!

Sun Ce stood up in shock when the opponent scored two three-pointers in a row to turn the 9-point difference into 3 points!

This scene left a deep impression on him, as he was chased for points by the opponent in five ups and five downs!

The five Grizzlies left on the court at the end of the first quarter were Sun, Tony Allen, Paul George, Larry Sanders, and Gobert. At the beginning of the second quarter, they were Livingston, The combination of Klay Thompson, Pierce, Yi Jianlian, and Aldridge is just five up and five down!

There are 2 minutes and 4 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Pelicans are about to tie the score! Just one three-pointer away!

Coach Hollins quickly replaced Sun Ce and Klay Thompson, and added Paul George, Larry Sanders, and Randolph to play in the final moments of the first half.

At this time, the Pelicans showed off the vitality of the young players. The two young superstars, Irving and Anthony Davis, shined with dazzling light. After the Splash Brothers came on the court, they overwhelmed The two went on a 12-8 run in less than three minutes of the second quarter. After halftime, the Pelicans led the Grizzlies by 1 point, 56-55, entering the intermission!

With a score of 43 to 27 in a single quarter, the Pelicans played a quarter that amazed the spectators and terrified the opponents!

43 points in a single quarter. The Pelicans' score is not the most exaggerated in NBA playoff history. In 1962, the Lakers scored 51 points in a single quarter when they played the Pistons. There is still a long way to go. .

However, when the opponent was the Grizzlies, the Pelicans' performance seemed terrifying!

In this quarter, the Pelicans had Irving and Ryan Anderson scoring in double figures! Among them, Ryan Anderson scored 15 points in a single quarter! It has surpassed Randolph's 14 points, which was the Grizzlies' highest half-time score!

…

How could the Grizzlies not know what was going on?

Got cheated!

While Sun Ce was still in the game, he understood what the opponent had done, and figured out that it was definitely the trick of the opponent's shady head coach Kidd!

Back in the locker room, Sun Ce asked his assistant for the detailed appearance schedule of the opponent's players. This was made by coach Hollins who temporarily asked the team's assistant to record data in the last two minutes of the first half. It was supposed to be the game. The information after the end, but now Sun Ce wants to read it.

Sure enough, in the first quarter, the Pelicans almost did not send Rivers, a substitute combo guard who has strong offensive ability and is not afraid of strong opponents, and the two major shooters Babbitt and Ryan Anderson did not play in the first quarter. Even Eric Gordon didn't play long.

However, his attention has been on Irving and Ryan Anderson. Irving played the entire first quarter, and Anthony Davis played 6 and a half minutes in the first quarter and was replaced... The rotation of these two people is very reasonable, it is the Pelicans. The team usually plays their rotation, and they are so far ahead, how can they pay attention to so many details. For example, in the second half of the second quarter, after Irving encountered fierce defense and did not play well, Kidd directly let Norris come on as a substitute. -Cole took control and didn't play well anyway.

The more you lead and the greater your advantage, the more so!

In the second quarter, we used Irving's unbreakable heart, Rivers' energy to not be afraid of being behind by a big score, Valanciunas' composure, and the two strongest pitchers in the team to try to counterattack!

It was a gamble, but Kidd won the bet!

No other head coach would choose to use this trick. Even if they played similar games, most of the time it would be a mistake. For example, the Grizzlies were originally leading by more than 20 points in time and space and were overturned by the Clippers...

But Kidd is different. He likes gambling and is willing to gamble. No one will blame them if they lose anyway. If they win, even if it is only one game, he can show his ability!