Chapter 414: 412
Al Harrington, you said that he is a dubious type of player, I'm a little sorry for his style of play that is more outside than many shooting guards.
Generally speaking, power forwards who play guards are difficult to defend. Al Harrington averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds per game as a substitute this year and became one of the favorites for the best sixth man.
The opponent defended Al Harrington from the inside, and Al Harrington and Tinsley played a pick-and-roll to shoot a three-pointer. Step back and shoot with height and a very high release point.
Often Al Harrington can support the Pacers' fragile bench, at least not in the second team and being abused by the opponent. It is true that their starters except Tinsley, who is still in the second year of his rookie contract, Brad- Miller, Reggie Miller, and Jermaine O'Neal are all players with big contracts. After Artest's summer contract expires, he can't keep it without seven or eight million. The Pacers have no room. The second is to avoid the luxury tax.
The luxury tax is usually 114% of the salary cap. If a team’s salary exceeds the luxury tax threshold, not only will it be fined, but the player’s salary must also be calculated according to the part of the team that exceeds the luxury tax threshold. A percentage of the salary is temporarily reduced and a part of the salary is sent to a third-party escrow agency.
If the player changes to a team whose salary is less than the threshold of the luxury tax next season, the full amount will be reissued. If the team continues to pay the luxury tax, the part of the player’s entrusted salary will be paid 10% less. In the third year, if the team is still paying the luxury tax, 65% of the salary deducted last season will be deducted. For more than three consecutive years, the temporarily deducted salary of the previous year will be lost. .
So in addition to the championship team, generally speaking, even if they get a big contract, players don't want to go to a team with average strength and paying luxury tax year after year.
On the one hand, the Pacers' salary has already exceeded the salary cap, and it is difficult to introduce high-quality role players. with.
When the combination of the two was blocked by Liu Mang's weird defensive tactics, the Pacers' second lineup collapsed!
The Eagles don't play their cards according to routine! Pacers players said they have never seen this kind of defense!
The position is still very clear these days, except for the old Nelson freak, no other team will play like the Eagles!
In the second half of the first quarter, except for Al Harrington's two three-pointers and Brad Miller's mid-range shot from the baseline, the Pacers' scoring stagnated!
The Eagles played a wave of 20 to 8!
34 to 22, the Eagles scored an exaggerated 34 points in the first quarter and took a 12-point lead.
Pacers fans feel that this is incredible. They are obviously the fiercest team in the Eastern Conference this year. How come the Eagles have become more aggressive and defensive?
After the start of the second quarter, the two teams replaced the main players.
The main reason why Isaiah Thomas is the head coach is that, apart from the fact that he often conflicts with the players and affects the morale of the team, he is also easy to panic.
No, they should have continued to rotate at the beginning of the second quarter. Reggie Miller, Brad Miller, and Tinsley rested first, and sent a pure defensive lineup to bite the opponent. The meat machine lineup consumes the opponent's physical energy. On the offensive end, Artest gouges hard and Al Harrington throws around.
This is the normal way the Pacers usually play when the score is anxious and leading.
But when he saw the score difference of more than ten points, Isaiah Thomas ignored Tinsley and Brad Miller who played the first quarter, regardless of Reggie Miller's 37-year-old "old age", and O'Neal's knee If there is a problem, send the starting five directly.
Reggie Miller's physical fitness is generally used in three time periods: the opening, the end of the second quarter, and the fourth quarter. The sudden start of the second quarter came up. He ran for more than half of the first quarter. The physical energy consumed by the quarter has not yet recovered. !
After the start of the second quarter, the Eagles’ style of play became simpler. Liu Mang and Jason Terry took turns bullying their opponents, rushing when they held them. Jason Terry still has a bit of humanity. He played calmly today, breaking through and scoring. Mainly.
Liu Mang started to commit fouls in a frenzied way.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Eagles beat up indiscriminately, and the point difference reached more than 20 points in two or three.
At the end of the half, the Pacers finally relied on Reggie Miller to force a three-pointer.
But at this time the score was still 67 to 46! The Hawks still lead by 21 points
On the last attack, with 21 seconds left, it was the Eagles attacking again. Liu Mang dribbled the ball like a juggler from beyond the three-point line. Ferocious!
Tinsley wanted to cry so much, what about the good pass? Why did you catch me, a player of the same class, as a bully? What did the coach think, change to a defensive substitute!
Tinsley originally felt that he had improved this year, especially when he abused the Eagles once before. That time he played quite coquettishly, scoring 22 points and 14 assists, but this time he was beaten to tears by Liu Mang!
Liu Mang saw that there were only eight seconds left, and he was about to make a move!
Liu Mang jumped lightly on the ground with both feet, and Tinsley quickly stepped back a few steps, but Liu Mang didn't move! Just jumped on the spot, Tinsley rushed back again, Liu Mang smashed the ball to the ground...
here we go again!
Liu Mang's crotch piercing is extraordinary! The ball passed between Tinsley's wide-open legs, and Tinsley only felt cold in his chest, and then he knew that he was being played again... Watching Liu Mang pass by him, Tinsley Li Hao misses her mother...
Liu Mang passed by Tinsley to receive the ball and continued to break through. Raheem clung to Artest who was about to step forward to defend. O'Neal was pulled to the middle distance by Boozer, who was rotated up. Only Brad Miller!
Ratliff watched Liu Mang rush in, and hurried away!
The former rookie is coming!
Just when the Eagles players were looking forward to it, and the Pacers fans at the scene were all desperate, they expressed their interest in what Liu Mang, a former rookie who didn't dunk or dunked, would do next. Seeing Brad Miller's weird defensive action at the basket, Liu Mang slammed on the brakes within the free throw line!
The moment Liu Mang stopped, Brad Miller fell backwards as if hit by an invisible truck. Not only that, he slipped out of the bottom line and almost hit his head The sponge on the basket is on.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The Eagles players, Pacers players, and fans at the scene were silent, and Liu Mang was also stunned for a moment, cooperating with the action just now, did he want to do this?
This performance is so sad!
The other players of the Pacers were stunned. Seeing that no one stepped forward to defend Liu Mang within the three-second zone, Liu Mang said that he would cheer for him with a dunk. Brad Miller, who fell to the ground and refused to get up, said "three grams of oil"...
This time the future king's actor is ashamed!
The fans at the scene continued to be silent, and the Pacers players also continued to be silent. Do you want to step forward and pull your teammates up?
If you want to dive, you should see clearly! You fall down before they hit you!
Brad Miller wanted to find a hole to get in, too embarrassing!
He didn't expect Liu Mang to find out that he wanted to kick the ground and fall backwards!
In fact, Liu Mang didn't think that the opponent's stepping action was to flop at the beginning, and he thought that the opponent was stepping on his own!
Although there is an injury potion, the ghost knows that there will be multiple injuries if the foot is stepped on. Liu Mang made a sudden stop at that time and almost overturned himself. Didn't expect the other party's action to be a flop?
Brother!
Poor acting! How about learning more from South American players?
Normally, with a tough guy like Artest and a veteran like Reggie Miller, even if they trail by 20 points at halftime, even if the coach is really hot, they will choose to fight in the second half, at least not so badly. .
But Brad Miller's crappy performance this time took away the motivation that the Pacers originally planned to mobilize their emotions during the halftime break and fight in the second half!
The game completely lost its suspense! After the start of the second half, the Eagles started a massacre!
After three quarters, the Eagles led the Pacers by 33 points 103 to 70!
The final quarter of the game entered garbage time.
Liu Mang was sitting on the sidelines. While Raheem and Artest had no time to score, today he scored 35 points and 4 assists, and made 7 three-pointers, which is more than the Pacers. Al Harrington, who had the most, was almost twice as high. Al Harrington scored 4 three-pointers, Reggie Miller scored 3 three-pointers, and both of them took a rest.
Looking at the starters on the Pacers' bench, even if Artest hasn't reached his peak, these five players are still the absolute main force in most teams! Looking at the lineup alone, it can attack and defend, and there is Mr. Key, even if the substitute is almost there, there is still Al Harrington.
Liu Mang felt that this was 100% the problem of the head coach!
Not only Liu Mang thinks so, but also the fans at the scene. The layman can see that the head coach only needs one or two tactics, and the substitutions are so unorganized. Although he has been in the playoffs for the past two years, but The Pacers' lineup and talent are in the East, so they can lead the team to the playoffs by themselves!
In the last quarter, the fans started shouting:
"Isaiah-Fire"
"Isaiah-Fire"
"..."
At first it was just one or two fans, and it slowly spread, and finally every time a Pacers player got the ball, the fans on the scene started chanting fire Isaiah Thomas!
The blue-faced Big Bird beside the player tunnel also wanted to do the same, but the Assassin was his friend in the 1980s, and he had a very close relationship, and there is really no good coach for him to bring in. Originally, he wanted to bring the Heat His assistant coach Stan Van Gundy came here, but Pat Riley, who was heartbroken last season but still failed to perform badly, learned from the pain and felt that he was not suitable for badly, because he was not thorough, so he asked his disciples to step up.
Of course, Stan Van Gundy wanted to hang out with his mentor more, and he was an iron lover, so he refused Big Bird to stay with the Heat as the head coach and led the Heat to a path of complete failure.
Although Isaiah Thomas is poor, he can still teach Artest and O'Neal to defend. Big Bird can only continue to endure.
In the end, the Eagles slaughtered the Pacers by 129 to 91, 38 points, and won four consecutive victories!
...
...
After the Eagles traded, they won four consecutive victories. Basketball fans other than Eagles fans shouted "Wolf!"
With 9 wins and 18 losses, the Eagles' winning percentage has reached one-third, surpassing the Heat and Raptors who are aiming to be bad.
The management of the Raptors and the Heat shouted "Long live the Eagles", and they are finally one step closer to the bottom one in the Eastern Conference.
Because the Raptors predicted that Carter would not come back until mid-January, and because LeBron James announced at the end of his senior year that he would skip college and enter the NBA when he graduated from high school, the Raptors decisively chose to play poorly. No, what are they busy with, why not choose James to come back and reorganize the Double Stars!
Letting McGrady go now the Raptors regret it so much that they want to jump off the building, choose a player who looks similar to McGrady in high school, and start over.
It's just that the Cavaliers are firmly at the bottom of the list. They didn't expect the Eagles to come to grab their jobs.
To say that before the Hawks get back on track, it is not the Hawks fans who are most looking forward to the Hawks' recovery, but the Heat and the Raptors...
On the second day after beating the Pacers, the Eagles went to the Imperial Capital with high morale, and after arriving in the Imperial Capital, they challenged the Wizards in back-to-back away games.
The Wizards played well this year, temporarily beating the Hornets and ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference.
In the summer, because Mr. Joe didn't have a high draft pick, his mind was very clear. First, he traded Hamilton to get the former Pistons star Stackhouse. He had a second scoring point with the ball, and then he got a mid-level contract. Defensive champion Larry Hughes has a defensive gate again. He used the 11th overall pick in the first round to select inside defensive expert Jared Jeffries. Lost attention and no opportunities for offensive development, but he started to defend, and his single-defense ability began to show. He averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds per game, and his interior defense became a bit powerful.
And Jordan started to play off the bench occasionally this year! The key is that he has fully adapted to the NBA this year, and he has maintained a good use of his body. He has not rested for two months, and the injury prevention is very good. The Wizards have the ability to hit the playoffs.
but……
When they saw that the Hawks, which were more powerful than their own team, were attacking the Hornets, Bucks, and Pacers in a murderous manner, Mr. Qiao really wanted to hold Liu Mang down and tell Liu Mang to calm down.
But I can't hold it down!
Although Jordan is healthier this year than last year, he is one year older, his strength has declined a bit, and his average score will drop to 20 points per game. Every time Starkhaas sees Liu Mang, he gets red-eyed and starts to play again. Jordan couldn't hold it down or pull it back.
The main reason is that although the Wizards are much stronger than last year, the Eagles are stronger!
In the last game of 2002, the Eagles beat the Wizards 107 to 85 and won five consecutive victories.
After the match, Liu Mang went to Mr. Qiao to talk about the past, but Mr. Qiao turned around and walked to the locker room, ignoring him.
Liu Mang yelled loudly at Jordan: "Stingy."
Qiao Dan was so angry that he left the scene faster, this stinky disciple, he forgot his master after learning kung fu! Can you save some face? Actually abused for more than 20 points!
Liu Mang looked at Jordan, who peed just like Kobe after the loss, and felt that Kobe was indeed the guy most like Jordan, with similar personalities.
Liu Mang turned around and was about to leave when he saw a big man who was still being booed by Wizards fans as he walked towards the player tunnel.
"Hi, Kwame." Liu Mang greeted.
Kwame Brown didn't expect Liu Mang to call him, and his mouth slipped a bit: "Ha...Hello, Ace."
Looking at Kwame Brown who has no confidence at all, Liu Mang showed a weird smile when Kwame Brown was creepy...