Chapter 932 931.18 Consecutive Wins (Please Vote)
After the intermission, Jason Terry of the Hawks was replaced, Liu Mang and McGrady went to rest, and Persson, Iguodala, Josh Smith, and Mourning came on the court.
Iverson, a freak of steel, was not far behind in the score, so he naturally had to fight to the end. He took the 2.01-meter-tall shooting guard John Samuels, Josh Childress, Webber, and the Haitian Dalembert to the court.
When Iverson came on the court, he saw that the Hawks had five players on and five off! My goodness, two rookies, two old men, and a waver. Iverson was not happy to begin with, and now he is even more unhappy.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Iverson received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt. The 76ers are better at positional warfare, mainly because of Webber.
The 76ers' offense was initiated by Iverson's breakthrough. Iverson looked at the rookie Iguodala who was defending him, and didn't take him seriously at all, and broke through quickly!
It didn't matter whether he took it seriously or not. Iguodala couldn't keep up anyway. Iverson moved sideways to the left, broke through from the right, and rushed to the right side of the free throw line in two steps. Just when he was about to find Webber or Childress, he found that there were a lot of people in the middle and under the basket!
Webber and Childress were blocked at the free throw line. The four players of the Hawks were in the three-second zone. Iguodala also stepped on the sideline of the three-second zone, which means that all five players of the Hawks were crowded in the three-second zone!
Webber and Childress were blocked at the free throw line. Iverson was one step inside the right side of the free throw line. Only Samuels was in the bottom corner on the left side of the basket, but Iverson didn't dare to pass! This kind of large-scale transfer with a lot of people in the middle was too dangerous. He didn't expect the Hawks to block the basket like this. Dalembert was almost unable to get out of the three-second zone, and it didn't make any sense for him to get out. He would be useless if he left the three-second zone.
Childress reacted quickly and retreated to the top arc immediately. Iverson immediately passed the ball to him. When Childress received the ball, no one from the Hawks defended him. Only Persson went to block Samuels in the bottom corner.
Childress hesitated. He hadn't shot a three-pointer today, but he was wide open. He hesitated and threw it...
"Bang..."
Iguodala used his teammates to block his opponent and jumped high to grab the defensive rebound.
When the Hawks attacked, Jason Terry started to score singles. The 76ers did a good job of team zone double-teaming. A group of players with high basketball IQ did a good job in this aspect, but in one-on-one defense, except for Dalembert, the best was Iverson...
When Jason Terry got angry, Kobe, Artest and other defensive masters of the best defensive lineup couldn't defend him, let alone Iverson.
Jason Terry didn't have to consider team offense like Liu Mang and McGrady. Except for double-teaming, he didn't have to worry about anything else, just shooting.
The 18-game winning streak has plenty of motivation. Jason Terry had a good touch today, maintaining a mid-range and long-range shooting rate of about 40%.
On the defensive end, the Hawks blocked the 76ers' basket, mainly defending Iverson and Webber's high-post support. Childress ran to that side, and Josh Smith, Person, and Jason Terry blocked that side. Iguodala mainly defended Iverson's mid-range shots and cut off Iverson and Samuels' outside passes. If Iverson wanted to go to the basket, Mourning was waiting there. There were a lot of people under the basket, so they were not afraid that Iverson would pass to Dalembert.
Iverson and Childress did get a lot of three-point opportunities, but they couldn't make them!
Iverson, who had no choice, began to break through and make a quick stop jump shot.
If the 76ers' head coach Jim O'Brien was black, he would definitely have a black question mark face - is there such a defense?
This is clearly gambling!
Just as the 76ers coach thought, Coach Kruger and Liu Mang were going to take a gamble, betting that the 76ers' three-pointer would turn the Rockets into a seven-game series.
The key is that the 76ers only shot two three-pointers in the first quarter, and although one was made, except for Iverson's missed shot and Rodney Rogers' shot, the 76ers did not shoot a three-pointer in the first quarter.
Even if a team has strong three-point shooting ability, it will be difficult to find the touch quickly after only two three-pointers in a whole quarter!
Moreover, the 76ers started the game mainly by attacking the inside line, and encountered many defensive confrontations, so it was difficult to find the touch of three-pointers quickly!
Moreover, the 76ers are the third worst in the league in three-point shooting this season, and the Bobcats and Hornets are better than them in three-point shooting…
Halfway through the first quarter, when he found that the 76ers could play such a good cooperation inside the three-point line, Coach Kruger began to have an idea, to let them play smoothly inside the three-point line, to make them believe that they can compete with the Hawks, to reduce their outside shots to the freezing point, and even to reduce their mid-range and long-range shots, to let them attack the basket more and accept more physical confrontation… and then block the inside line at once!
Now it seems that the tactics are successful!
The Hawks coaching staff spent so much effort to deal with the 76ers, a team with a huge difference in strength, mainly because they might meet them in the first round of the playoffs, so they want to know as much as possible about their strengths in order to deal with them in the playoffs.
Coach Kruger dared to use a "research" mentality to deal with the 76ers, showing his confidence and arrogance as a champion coach!
18 consecutive wins can't stop the Hawks' arrogance, they are confident that they are the strongest!
Although Iverson is very good and has a good combination with Webber, the role players are so bad. In fact, the 76ers rely on the offensive threat brought by Iverson and Webber to help their teammates score, and help a group of teammates who are good at cutting to score from the baseline and the middle on both sides, but there are not many three-point shooters. Even in the early 21st century when three-pointers were not emphasized, the two champion teams, the Spurs and the Lakers, had many role players who were very accurate in three-pointers. The original Pistons had Billups, a very good three-pointer, and Rasheed Wallace and Prince, two three-point shooters with a hit rate of 34% and 35%.
But the 76ers did not have that. After the 76ers' only firepower on the outside was targeted, as long as the inside was blocked, the 76ers would have a hard time.
In the second half of the second quarter, Iverson and Webber figured it out. They wanted to beat the Hawks by teamwork. Even if the opponent's two generals Rasheed Wallace and Prince were absent and the defense was seriously declining, they were still better than their role player lineup! The two began to play singles tactics.
After Iverson and Webber played two consecutive singles, the Hawks immediately replaced Liu Mang and McGrady.
Compared with the duo, Liu Mang and McGrady's partnership is obviously stronger! And compared to Iverson who just learned to partner with Webber, Liu Mang and McGrady have been running in for more than half a season, and now they are the best guard line combination in the league.
After Liu Mang and McGrady came on, using McGrady's breakthrough pass, Liu Mang's pick-and-roll, and Korver's excellent touch today, the 76ers blocked Liu Mang and McGrady with a zone double-team, but they couldn't defend Korver, and even Mourning in the interior and Josh Smith who cut in the air got a chance to shoot.
Unknowingly, Iverson started fighting a trapped beast again, and could only be forced to cut points, but at least this time he was not alone, and Webber, who was 32 years old but had a stronger low-post lethality after gaining weight, started a trapped beast fight.
On the Hawks side, Jason Terry was mainly using singles tactics. When Jason Terry left, Liu Mang and McGrady came up and mainly used running, passing and cutting.
Iverson's strong scoring ability was demonstrated again. After the third quarter, the Hawks scored 89 to 73 and led by 16 points. Iverson scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. He played 12 to 5 against the Hawks and narrowed the gap to 9 points, which scared the Hawks.
Iverson played the first three quarters and was still able to play like that in the fourth quarter! This physical fitness is really admirable!
However, Liu Mang and Jason Terry fired continuously and returned a 13 to 6, which widened the gap by 16 points again.
Iverson scored 26 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists in the first three quarters, 16 points and 3 assists in the fourth quarter, and Webber also scored 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The two scored 70 points together, which was a very outstanding performance.
But Liu Mang of the Hawks scored 16 points in the first quarter, and then scored eight or nine points in each of the next three quarters, scoring 41 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. McGrady scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists, Jason Terry scored 11 points and 3 assists, Kwame Brown scored 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Korver was the most critical outside lineman today. He scored 6 three-pointers in a single game, setting a new personal career high, and scored 23 points in the whole game!
Relying on the performance of five players scoring in double digits, the Hawks maintained their lead until the end, defeating the 76ers 118-104 with a difference of 14 points, winning 18 consecutive victories!
…
…
“Ding… The second stage of the King’s Landing has triggered the task: The Overlord has reached the task completion requirements. The task reward will be calculated based on the final winning streak, which is the winning streak multiplied by 1000 superstar value. Winning the championship is the proof of a superstar, and two consecutive championships are the beginning of a dynasty. The second stage of the King’s Landing task: The prologue of the dynasty has been opened.”
“The prologue of the dynasty: The second stage of the King’s Landing task, the host needs to lead the team to win two consecutive championships and win the finals MVP twice in a row. Task reward: 1 advanced power fruit.”
After defeating the 76ers and winning 18 consecutive games, Liu Mang finally heard the prompt that the second stage of the King’s Landing task was opened.
The Hawks’ 18 consecutive wins caused a sensation, but this was not an important thing for Liu Mang. People now may think that 18 consecutive wins are “championship winning streak”, but it will not be in the future. Fans are relatively superstitious about “authoritative data”, but it is only relative. When the authority is broken, they will immediately abandon it.
Although 18 consecutive wins or even longer is an honor, for Liu Mang now, one more consecutive win is just 1,000 more superstar points.
The important thing is the task of "Prologue to the Dynasty".
It happens that he needs to improve his strength again!
His current strength is enough for him to maintain enough confrontation with the point guard, as well as some aerial operations and footwork changes after reaching the basket, but it is time for him to improve his strength again.
Whether it is Kobe or Jordan, their strength is among the best in the same position. What makes them stronger than Ray Allen is their singles. Ray Allen has good core strength and excellent fadeaway, but his single fadeaway jump shot is much worse than Kobe and Jordan.
Nash is similar to Ray Allen. He has good core strength but poor overall strength. It's not that he doesn't like scoring. He has good shooting ability, but his singles effect is not as strong as Kobe and Jordan. He can only pass the ball and maintain the threat of passing to score better. As for the assist king... Nash said: Who doesn't like scoring? It's just that I can help the team win more by getting 15 assists than by getting 30 or 40 points.
Liu Mang needs to improve his core strength, and of course he also wants to improve his overall strength. The strength rating of 81 is still too low, and he didn't have the upper hand against Iverson.
Abdominal strength is useful for pull-ups and back-ups, but it has little to do with confrontation. Liu Mang is limited by his height and weight, and his overall strength cannot be improved too much by muscle gain, otherwise it will lead to a decrease in speed and flexibility. Kobe is the best example. This season, Kobe didn't even play the performance of the second defense, although he played harder than before.
The advanced strength fruit came at the right time!
Liu Mang looked at the task description of the prologue of the dynasty.
"You need to lead the team to win two consecutive championships... System boss, does this mean that you must win two consecutive championships this season?"
"Ding... Mission: The beginning of a dynasty, you only need to complete two consecutive championships, and there are no other restrictions, including not limited to the two consecutive championships after this defense."
"Sure enough, there is no restriction or penalty for mission failure, that is, if you don't win two consecutive championships before retirement, you can't start a dynasty. Winning a championship establishes the status of a superstar, and then it's time to pursue your own dynasty..."
Although the mission does not require winning two consecutive championships this season, why wait until later if you can win two consecutive championships this season?
The mission does not require it, and Liu Mang wants to do it himself, these two things do not conflict.
Make yourself stronger, let young teammates make faster progress, and let the first and second year players have better performance. Liu Mang feels that as the boss of the team, this is his responsibility!
Just like giving Korver a lot of opportunities recently, although Korver has wasted opportunities many times before, and often missed open shots because of nervousness or impatience, the Hawks coaching staff was forced to quickly sign Persson, a steady veteran, back to hold the team.
But this time Korver seized the opportunity. With a good start, it will be easier in the future.
Then there are Josh Smith, Calderon, Iguodala, and even Varejao. These teammates may play a role at the critical moment. Let these young teammates improve their strength, which will be very helpful for Liu Mang to win the championship in the future.
When leaving the court just now, Liu Mang saw that Iverson left without paying attention to anyone again after losing the game. Liu Mang saw it in the first half. Iverson also wanted to use himself to make his teammates better, but his teammates were just so talented, that is, their combat effectiveness was not good, and they could only rely on the two core players to win. But teammates like Iverson have played for a long time, and he is still working hard, which touched Liu Mang a lot.
18 consecutive wins are in hand. Next, it is time for the team to train young players, select better young players to enter the playoffs, and let the main players rest. For Liu Mang, it is also time to make a final impact on scoring and train his running ability.
The sprint for two consecutive championships has begun from this moment!
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