Chapter 1185 1184. The Indifferent Eagles
Kwame Brown passed the ball over Foster's head.
The Hawks attacked first, and the scene immediately erupted in cheers.
The fans wanted to give their players motivation, and they needed the Hawks to win the game.
Liu Mang received the ball and passed it to McGrady. McGrady was very active today. The moment Kwame Brown passed the ball, he was already running down the court. Liu Mang's pass was timely and in place. McGrady just reached the right side of the three-point line when Liu Mang's ball arrived.
The Hawks' opponents were very troubled by Liu Mang because he was accurate in shooting and passing. Although the tandem offense could barely be considered first-class, his accurate shooting could attract double-teaming, and his accurate passing could send the ball to an open teammate in the first place. His ability to make assists could be considered one of the strongest players in the league.
The Pacers were prepared for this, and were ready to block the Hawks' fast break from the jump ball. Anthony Johnson appeared in front of McGrady at the first time.
Anthony Johnson was very active in defense. At the age of 32, he had the best performance of his career, averaging 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals in 22 minutes per game. In the middle of the season, he got a 4-year, 11 million contract extension from the Pacers, which was basically his last contract in his career.
Anthony Johnson used his best pressure defense and tricks, and despite the height difference of 10 cm, he didn't give McGrady a chance to jump and shoot.
McGrady was a little uncomfortable with Anthony Johnson's tricks, so he didn't force it. McGrady knew he couldn't waste time today.
McGrady dribbled towards the top line and waited for Liu Mang to run over, then passed the ball to Liu Mang.
Liu Mang received the ball and made a move to break through. Artest was ready to shrink and help McGrady break through. Seeing Liu Mang accelerate after receiving the ball near the three-point line, he immediately stuck back to Liu Mang.
Not only Artest, but also Anthony Johnson's attention was attracted by Liu Mang. The Pacers' defensive strategy was to block Liu Mang or McGrady with the forward and guard lines, and cut off the connection between the two as much as possible while double-teaming them, and send them to the inside to double-team the center.
Just when Anthony Johnson turned his head to look at Liu Mang, McGrady, who was originally facing the basket sideways and facing Liu Mang and Artest, suddenly turned 270 degrees to the left, bypassed Anthony Johnson and cut to the inside, catching the Pacers off guard. Liu Mang received the ball and rushed into the three-point line in two steps. Just when he was about to dribble the ball down, he immediately changed the dribble to pass the ball, and hung the ball to the right side of the free throw line, leading the team with the ball!
When McGrady turned to the right side of the free throw line, he just received the ball and dribbled one step towards the basket.
Just when Foster was ready to block McGrady and other outsiders from attacking together, McGrady slowed down, giving Artest the opportunity to quickly shrink in and block McGrady's route to the left. Anthony Johnson was very active. After being wiped, he was not discouraged. He chased after McGrady to interfere with his quick stop jump shot. Foster stood under the basket, and the three of them formed a siege.
McGrady slowed down and waited for the opponent to double-team him. He jumped one step into the three-second zone and threw the ball behind his head facing the basket!
Liu Mang ran to the right side of the top arc at this time, received McGrady's pass and shot a three-pointer!
"Ding... Sharpshooter level 5 triggered..."
"Ding... Catch and shoot master level 5 triggered..."
Fast and accurate!
Liu Mang caught the ball and shot a three-pointer!
"Fuck!"
Liu Mang roared in his heart. Today was the same as the day before yesterday. His three-point touch was very good. He hit a three-pointer in the first attack!
Liu Mang predicted McGrady's route very well, and McGrady also predicted Liu Mang's movement choice very well!
This is called tacit understanding!
Liu Mang scored another three-pointer at the beginning!
But this time is different from the last time. After the last goal, the Maimang combination was thinking about how to play the next round, but this time, after Liu Mang scored, the Maimang combination took the lead in counterattack, and did not even clap to celebrate.
There is nothing to celebrate! The ball should be shot in.
Tinsley pushed forward to the frontcourt, and the Pacers started the offense clearly, and passed the ball to O'Neal in the low post!
After the Auburn Hills game, O'Neal's defense declined more, and the offense was still very strong. He played beautiful data in the first game of the playoffs.
But this time the Hawks switched defense!
Kwame Brown and Rasheed Wallace switched defense, Kwame Brown defended O'Neal, and Rasheed Wallace did not suffer any loss in the basket and Foster.
The Hawks have done targeted research. Rasheed Wallace really can't defend O'Neal's footsteps, but Kwame Brown can. He doesn't suffer any loss in confrontation, and Kwame Brown doesn't suffer any loss in footsteps!
Rasheed Wallace's defense is full of small moves, while Kwame Brown is even more fierce!
O'Neal played well in the last one-on-one duel and was very confident today, but Kwame Brown reached out from behind and took the ball away from his assistant who turned around!
Rasheed Wallace was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and he grabbed the ball that Kwame Brown had slapped from O'Neal into the reasonable collision zone! After O'Neal lost the ball, he wanted to steal it back, but Rasheed Wallace held the ball with both hands and stretched out to the baseline, using his butt to block O'Neal from grabbing the ball.
Liu Mang came in to respond, O'Neal quickly retreated, Rasheed Wallace passed the ball to Liu Mang, and Liu Mang quickly advanced across half court before the eight-second violation. The Pacers took advantage of O'Neal's steal to block Rasheed Wallace's first pass to the guard, and retreated quickly.
Liu Mang was not in a hurry after passing half court. He waited for his teammates to get into position before accelerating to the three-point line. The Hawks immediately launched offensive tactics. Rasheed Wallace came out to help Liu Mang block Artest, and Liu Mang broke through the pick-and-roll!
The Pacers were well prepared for defense. After winning the previous game, they were very active in this defense. O'Neal quickly came up to block Liu Mang.
But Liu Mang was too fast. Although O'Neal was active and had good prediction, he was still accelerated by Liu Mang. After Liu Mang triggered the pick-and-roll master, his speed soared to make O'Neal desperate!
Liu Mang entered the free throw line. At this time, McGrady tacitly cut into the three-second zone and brought Anthony Johnson to a position where he could defend Liu Mang. Anthony Johnson came up to double-team Liu Mang as expected by the McGrady-Man combination. Liu Mang passed the ball to McGrady who rushed to the right side of the three-second zone. McGrady received the ball and entered Foster's defensive range. McGrady did not have a street ball. He patted the ball with the back of his hand. The ball flew from Foster's crotch who crossed to the right side of the three-second zone and bounced on the floor.
Kwame Brown received the bounced ball and scored two points with a two-handed street ball!
Smooth cooperation!
Especially McGrady's last pass, which was like a stroke of genius. If he received the ball and then passed it, it would give Foster the opportunity to turn around and block Kwame Brown, preventing Kwame Brown from being chased back to the inside by O'Neal. From Liu Mang's pass to McGrady's assist pass, the Hawks had little room for cooperation, but McGrady's pass was not expected by the Pacers. It can almost be seen as Liu Mang passing it and Kwame Brown directly street balled it.
The fans at the scene and the fans in front of the TV did not react at the first time. They only saw Liu Mang pass it out, and somehow it reached Kwame Brown behind Foster. After watching the slow-motion replay, they began to exclaim.
McGrady's pass is getting more and more imaginative! He often makes such a name!
However, this time the fans felt the different face of the Hawks. In addition to playing against those strong opponents in the regular season this season, they have never shown their concentration on such a team with a winning rate of less than 50%!
McGrady made such a beautiful pass, but the Hawks players did not celebrate. After Kwame Brown made a layup, he immediately pointed at Liu Mang and asked him to retreat. Anthony Johnson was about to leave, so Liu Mang immediately blocked him. McGrady and Kwame Brown also quickly sprinted across the court and returned to the half court, not giving the Pacers, who had a faster lineup on the outside, a chance to counterattack, even if there was only a little chance!
O'Neal rushed in to pick up the ball and wanted to serve a fast break, but unfortunately he failed to do so. In the last game, he played this kind of cross-half-court serve with Anthony Johnson twice.
O'Neal served the ball to Tinsley, who pushed forward to the front court.
O'Neal, who plays well, is one of the best power forwards in the East. O'Neal plays well and analyzes his opponent well now. He knows that he will suffer a lot if he wants to play one-on-one against Kwame Brown. The opponent's size and physical fitness are better than his, and his one-on-one defense is quite good.
O'Neal did not continue to ask for the ball in the low post, but pulled away to the left mid-range, using his mid-range shot to contain the defense under the basket, leaving his physical strength on the defensive end, returning to the style of play of Thunder-Strike Miller in his penultimate season.
When Tinsley saw O'Neal's style of play, he immediately knew what to do, letting Anthony Johnson and Artest open up space, and he wanted to break through!
Although it was very painful for Tinsley, the Liu Mang he faced was already the worst perimeter defender of the Hawks in people's eyes.
Liu Mang defended in front of Tinsley, watching Tinsley's streetball moves, and was not shaken.
Players who play streetball have a characteristic, that is, their physical fitness is not that good, just like Tinsley.
In the past, Liu Mang would want to attack because of Tinsley's fake moves. He was passed several times in the last game. This time, Liu Mang stood still. He was confident that when Tinsley really broke through, even if he lost a little position, he could keep up!
Tinsley dribbled for a few seconds, but he felt a little dizzy. Why didn't the opponent move?
Tinsley had never encountered such a defender! No matter what he did, Liu Mang just crouched and watched. Except when he moved sideways, Liu Mang moved sideways. At other times, Liu Mang just watched and never made any effort to defend.
This defense is not normal!
Tinsley showed off his fancy passes by himself for a long time. With 7 seconds left, he could only force a breakthrough. Liu Mang used a faster movement to press forward, only losing half a body position, and used his arm span to tightly press Tinsley's shooting line.
Tinsley felt like he was covered by a net above him. As long as he shot...even as long as he grabbed the ball, he might be shot by Liu Mang. Moreover, he only had a half-body advantage and could not directly break into the three-second zone. He was forced to the right baseline by Liu Mang!
Tinsley had no choice but to throw the ball to Artest. Artest missed the three-pointer under McGrady's defense!
The defense is targeted, active, organized, and not in a hurry...
On the offensive end, they play steadily and not recklessly. Liu Mang and McGrady cooperate with each other, either organizing the offense or scoring by themselves, focusing on stability.
The Hawks showed a completely different momentum today, which made the Pacers a little flustered.
After the Hawks got serious and stopped playing blindly, the feeling of playing was completely different!