Chapter 947 946. The Birth of Garbage Brothers! (The Third Update, Still a 5,000-Word Chapter~)
The Wizards fell into a vicious circle. Arenas' singles efficiency was indeed good. Although his efficiency was a bit lower in the last 5 minutes, 3 of 7 shots, he still scored 8 points. Together with 4 of 6 shots in the first half, a total of 7 of 13 shots, a hit rate of more than 50%, while the rest of the Wizards only made 3 of 9 shots, a hit rate of 33%. Arenas scored 18 points in 13 shots, while the others only scored 8 points in 9 shots. The Wizards played correctly, and Arenas was also strong, but not strong enough.
But the more this happened, the more Eddie Jordan, who preferred the triangle offense, wanted Arenas to play singles.
The Wizards have the lowest turnover rate in the league, averaging 13.8 turnovers per game this season, far lower than the league average of 15.4 turnovers, because other teams have started to speed up, and the Spurs have improved their speed to a certain extent in the regular season, only the Wizards insist on playing the triangle offense. The so-called triangle offense of the Wizards is a simple style of play in which whoever has the opportunity to play singles with the three strong points, and pass the ball when they are double-teamed, just like the Lakers during the three consecutive championships, and they are the team with the lowest turnover rate in the league.
This trick is very effective in most of the Wizards' games in the regular season. Arenas is good at mid-range and long-range shots, Jamison is all-around inside and outside, and even three-pointers are first-class, Larry Hughes has a breakthrough, and the three are in good health at this stage. They once played fifth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, but were surpassed by the Bulls who exerted their strength in the middle and the 76ers and Magic who exerted their strength in the late stage.
But the more this happens, the colder the touch of other Wizards players becomes.
But the Wizards have no choice. Two of their three players are relatively easy to defend. Larry Hughes does not have a mid-range and long-range shot, Jamison's style is soft, and only Arenas can be tough.
Eddie Jordan continued to arrange singles tactics for Arenas. In order to avoid Dantonio Daniels from dragging down the defense, Eddie Jordan changed the lineup. Arenas played shooting guard, Larry Hughes played small forward, sophomore Steve Blake played point guard, Jamison and Haywood continued to play.
In the playoffs, as Iguodala had thought before, the main players had to play for a long time.
Arenas was a little timid when he heard that he would be the main scorer.
People with fragile hearts usually think more.
Liu Mang just wanted to take advantage of Arenas' weakness, as well as the characteristics of his own three-man team with two ball-holding singles players on the outside and Iguodala holding the ball to organize the offense but not reassuring, to target Arenas' singles and stimulate Arenas to continue singles. He didn't think that deeply.
But Arenas thought too much. He thought everything was Liu Mang's conspiracy!
He even thought that this game was Liu Mang's conspiracy from the beginning!
Arenas began to completely deny his excellent performance in the first quarter. He ignored why the coach kept asking him to play one-on-one, his teammates were willing to open up space for him to play one-on-one, and Larry Hughes didn't yell at him for the ball like usual.
He was already the only strong point of the Wizards against the Hawks.
Arenas didn't think too much during the game, he just did it, but during the intermission, he began to doubt himself, mainly because he was suppressed so badly by Liu Mang before. He felt that he had 7 of 13 shots in the first quarter, and scored 18 points in a single quarter with the top hit rate of more than 50% from the outside. He himself was skeptical.
He felt that Liu Mang was deliberately playing with him.
He saw Liu Mang easily get 13 points with 6 of 9 shots, and led the team to a steady lead.
Mainly because he saw that five minutes after the first quarter, Liu Mang and Jason Terry used his style of play and scored 13 points in 5 minutes. He felt that Liu Mang was playing with him.
This feeling was like a seed that took root and sprouted quickly, reminding Arenas of the fear of being dominated by Liu Mang in the regular season of the four years since he entered the NBA...
The confidence that dropped after the excitement was even lower than the original low confidence, and even reached the point of confidence collapse...
...
...
After the intermission, the Hawks took a 6-point lead, and it was a steady lead. Although Iguodala was also beaten by Arenas, allowing Arenas to score 8 points in 5 minutes, which made Coach Kruger depressed and wanted to beat Liu Mang, but Liu Mang and Jason Terry deliberately stimulated Arenas to shoot. Both of them had stronger firepower than Arenas, and they steadily took a 6-point lead. Everything was fine.
In the second quarter, Liu Mang and Jason Terry continued to play, and Iguodala was replaced. Just feel the playoffs. There is no chance to play until garbage time. Prince and Muhammad and Mourning's substitute inside combination played.
The Wizards replaced Steve Blake, Arenas, Larry Hughes, Jamison, and Haywood, the three core players on the perimeter and the main center, to continue playing the second quarter.
Seeing the lineup that the Hawks replaced, Eddie Jordan felt that he could try to catch up with the score during this period, as the opponent only had two starters.
Liu Mang came on the court and saw the white point guard in the opponent's lineup. He was very impressed! The Flash Steve Blake is exciting to play as the first point guard!
"Steve Blake, ability rating 68, offense 67, defense 70, three-pointer 84, mid-range shot 62, layup 78, speed 87, strength 81... Characteristics: Catalyst."
"Catalyst: Steve Blake is a tough point guard that all coaches love. His every move on the court is full of tough temperament. He never fears a fight and can always boost the morale of his teammates."
After looking at Blake's ability evaluation, it's really...hard to describe in one word. He is a standard white point guard with average speed, strong strength, and good three-pointers.
The key to this guy being able to fight for so many years is the characteristic "catalyst" that was digitized by the system for him to see!
Fortunately, the first shooting guard on his side was resting on the sidelines, otherwise what would he have done if he had been beaten up by the Flash.
Joking in his mind, Liu Mang saw that Arenas had already passed halftime and followed Arenas to defend.
It was quite fun to play against Arenas today, but now it’s time to start rough defense. Coach Kruger finally didn’t play any aggressive tactics just now and directly told him to defend Arenas as rough as Iguodala. .
Liu Mang's current defensive ability is much better than that of Iguodala, especially for someone with such skill, he will definitely not be beaten twice 2+1 in 5 minutes like Iguodala.
But to Liu Mang's expectation, Arenas did not go up to catch the ball. When he saw Liu Mang guarding him again, he actually pulled away to a 45-degree angle to wait for the ball!
Damn it! Liu Mang followed Arenas to a 45-degree angle in confusion. This guy was accurate from three-point range. He had a 36% three-point shooting rate on a strong shot and averaged 2.6 three-pointers per game. The ball shooter is very scary, just like Jason Terry rarely shoots open but is still very good at opening up the space.
Not only Liu Mang thought it was a ghost, but Blake also thought it was a ghost. The promised task was to dribble the ball past half court and hand it to the boss to open up space? Why did the boss go to open up space?
Blake is characterized by fast passing and accurate three-pointers. Although he is white, he dares to confront. He has an extremely stubborn personality and is a standard tough guy player, but he attacks in singles from the top of the arc... He is only a second-year second-round pick!
Larry Hughes was ready to make an air cut to contain the defense, and Jamison also stretched out to the bottom corner. Neither of them expected this scene.
Blake saw his teammates pulling away. Although he thought it was a ghost, he didn't give up. Taking advantage of his height, weight, strength and other advantages when facing Jason Terry, he directly chose to charge forward!
Jason Terry didn't expect this scene to happen. He was squeezed away by Blake and rushed inside!
"The Flash" breaks through!
Blake burst into the three-second zone, and Mourning came up to defend. Blake released the ball very quickly. When Mourning defended it, the ball in Blake's hand was gone. Mourning quickly turned around to block the shot, and Haywood After receiving the ball, he quickly raised his head and threw it high. Mourning was out of reach, and Haywood hit the throw.
When Arenas stopped catching the ball, Eddie Jordan jumped up on the sidelines, but he didn't expect Blake to make such a good judgment and break the ball to help the team score two points!
Jason Terry has always been the defensive weakness of the Eagles, but he usually defends the opponent's off-ball shooters. God knows the opponent actually plays like this!
This time it was the Eagles' turn to be surprised by the opponent's "tactics". This move was played in seconds!
The live TV camera showed Coach Kruger. Usually it was this coach who used this kind of strange trick, but this time it was the other side's turn.
Coach Kruger was also surprised by Eddie Jordan's tactics. Didn't the opponent insist on playing a triangle offense?
Liu Mang felt like he had seen a ghost. He just recalled that the Flash played the first shooting guard. Co-author Jason Terry seemed to be the first shooting guard in this "Flash"?
Think about the players participating in the playoffs this year. Except for Ginobili, who is better than Jason Terry, who seems to be a pure shooting guard, Jason Terry is really the number one shooting guard!
What a scary guy!
But the more important thing is the offense. Mourning said that he was too anxious to defend, picked up the ball and sent it to Liu Mang.
Liu Mang said it was okay and pushed forward slowly. This lineup is slow and waits for teammates to get into position. In the playoffs, unless the game is one-sided at the beginning or encounters a deadlock, the Eagles will play less fast breaks.
Liu Mang dribbled past the midline and saw Arenas guarding Prince. Larry Hughes was guarding Jason Terry. Blake was waiting for him at the top of the arc. Liu Mang immediately headed to the right. Accelerate from the front and try to break through directly from the right.
Blake moved actively to the left. Liu Mang reached outside the three-point line, and Blake had already blocked him.
The Flash is awesome!
Before Liu Mang made contact with Blake, he kicked his right foot and swatted the ball to the left. He changed direction drastically, returned to the top arc, and made a strong breakthrough from the center!
When he reaches the free throw line, he will continue to take off and make mid-range shots, preparing to continue to stimulate Arenas in singles and continue to exhaust the touch of the rest of the Wizards until they are gone.
This is Liu Mang's strategy.
However, as soon as he grabbed the ball and jumped up, he was pulled directly from behind!
Blake chose to foul rather than let Liu Mang shoot directly!
Liu Mang was pulled to the ground. This time it hurt Liu Mang so much that his shoulder landed directly on the ground!
"Boss of the system, use the injury potion superstar value at will!"
Liu Mang roared in his heart, immediately got up and walked towards Blake. The two were about the same height. Liu Mang pressed his forehead to Blake's, resisting the urge to hit him directly.
When he got up, the characteristic "cold-blooded" had been triggered, and he immediately understood what Blake wanted to do. Blake wanted to make a "contribution" and redeem his pair!
Blake was held by Liu Mang with his forehead. Without any fear, Blake pushed back towards Liu Mang with all his strength.
"Oh!" Liu Mang didn't expect that the other party would dare to come back, I will!
Blake was not to be outdone and pushed back at Liu Mang. Both of them had a strength of 81 and were evenly matched. Liu Mang was so angry now, why didn't he learn the Iron Head Skill! Otherwise, he would have smashed this guy's head!
Liu Mang had a strange way of thinking. After cold-bloodedly suppressing his urge to hit someone, he thought of this.
The fans at the scene were stunned. They were booing and thought they were going to see a fierce fight. The Heat players who were watching the Hawks game in front of the TV were so excited that they jumped up. Who knew that the scene became a little... beautiful...
The referee Ou rushed up and wanted to cry. Why was it their turn to referee the Hawks game? Did they do something wrong in their previous life?
But when he rushed in front of the two, he saw that they were just butting heads, not talking trash, and they both had desperate expressions on their faces, but they were just butting heads...
The referee was also stunned for two seconds before separating the two. Liu Mang and Blake looked at each other and saw the meaning of "you have it" and "you are pretty good" in each other's eyes. They separated and did not continue to conflict.
The players didn't expect the result to be like this. The Wizards were ready to break up the fight, and the Hawks were ready to fight. God knows the result would be like this.
The referee warned the two and didn't give them a technical foul. It's the playoffs. Since there was no real conflict, it's normal to have bigger movements and stronger confrontation.
Liu Mang's posture of going up to hit someone should be called a technical foul, which offsets it.
Liu Mang walked to the free throw line and checked the system after receiving the ball.
"Shoulder muscle contusion, consuming 4 primary injury potions, 2000 superstar points, cured."
It's really expensive! That bastard, he was really cruel! Fortunately, I was clear-headed and held back.
Liu Mang took a deep breath and threw the ball out at the urging of the referee.
He made the first free throw, and the second free throw also went in, making both free throws.
34 to 28, the Hawks still led by 6 points.
Attack and defense changed, the Wizards attacked, and Liu Mang saw Arenas receiving the serve and advancing!
Weird! Where is that tough second-year player?
Liu Mang looked and saw that he was on the sidelines! The one who came on was... Liu Mang looked at the court and saw that there was another one... Who was this?
"Ding... Michael Ruffin, 28 years old, No. 32 rookie in 1999, ability rating 59, averaging 1.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in his career so far, positioning: blue-collar forward swingman."
"..."
When Liu Mang was shooting free throws, the Wizards made a substitution. Eddie Jordan replaced Blake, fearing that something might happen, so Blake came up and played for a round...
Most coaches would like players like Blake, but Eddie Jordan thought that Blake was a troublemaker. He always played like he was fighting hard with the opponent and often caused conflicts, but he didn't know that Blake was the best morale catalyst.
When Blake and Liu Mang clashed just now, the Wizards were united all of a sudden and were ready to fight and take sides, but who knew that Blake was immediately replaced, and the morale was not raised before it was dissipated by Eddie Jordan.
Arenas pushed forward and saw Liu Mang's expressionless face because he heard Michael Ruffin's data and ability. He thought Liu Mang was angry!
If Blake continued to be on the court, Arenas might be motivated, but Blake has not yet motivated him. Now Arenas saw Liu Mang's expressionless face and secretly hated Blake for being nosy! Not only did he almost cause a fight, but he also angered this guy.
Eddie Jordan arranged a singles tactic. No one came to support Arenas. Larry Hughes was preparing for an open cut with Jason Terry. Ruffin and Haywood were under the basket, and Jamison opened up space in the left corner.
Arenas thought of the last time Liu Mang beat him so "angry", that is, Liu Mang played with the same style as him and performed better than him, that is, the time when Liu Mang used Arenas' peak star card.
Arenas had no fighting spirit and directly forced a three-pointer.
Liu Mang didn't react this time, but Arenas lost confidence and hit the basket with his three-point shot.
Mourning got stuck in position and Muhammad took the defensive rebound.
It was the Hawks' turn to attack again. Blake was replaced after defending for only one round. Arenas had to defend one of Liu Mang and Jason Terry again. Larry Hughes chose to defend Jason Terry who was advancing with the ball. Liu Mang took the ball and played alone. Arenas' defensive enthusiasm dropped significantly and was passed by Liu Mang in one step. Liu Mang saw Arenas' mysterious sudden eye defense and didn't chase him. He would not be sandwiched from front and back. He rushed directly to the basket, took three slow steps and suddenly got up, easily shook off Haywood's defense and made a layup.
The game suddenly became one-sided! The Wizards didn't score in the next four attacks and fell into a scoring drought for nearly two and a half minutes!
How can they play without confidence? Arenas, who had the highest efficiency and the highest score in the first quarter except Liu Mang, suddenly collapsed in the second quarter! 0-for-5 consecutive shots, the hit rate suddenly dropped from 54% to 39%! From the most efficient player on the perimeter to a super inefficient player.
Liu Mang and Jason Terry played one-on-one when they met Arenas. In two and a half minutes, including Liu Mang's free throws, Liu Mang scored 8 points in a row, and Jason Terry got it, and played a 12-2 wave!
In the third and a half minutes of the second quarter, the Hawks suddenly led by 16 points! Three and a half minutes, 12-2!
44-28, everything changed too quickly!
The Hawks didn't expect that they would lead so much all of a sudden.
After falling behind so much, the Wizards started to panic. The other two of the Three Musketeers would play whoever got the ball. Arenas didn't even take the ball and played. It was useless to play, and he kept missing. The Hawks replaced McGrady and Rasheed Wallace at the right time. McGrady defended Jamison on the outside, Rasheed Wallace defended inside, and Prince and Mourning defended Larry Hughes' breakthrough.
By the end of the first half, the Hawks were already 65 to 43, leading by 22 points!
Even the Hawks didn't expect this. Why did the Wizards collapse so suddenly?
From the first quarter, it seemed that the Wizards didn't have such a big disadvantage by relying on Arenas' singles, but Arenas suddenly stopped playing and couldn't make any shots when he had the chance!
The Wizards then collapsed directly, losing 16 points in a single quarter!
The Hawks only scored 33 points in the second quarter normally, while the Wizards only scored 17 points in the second quarter!
The second half directly turned into garbage time. Jason Terry went up to support the team, and took Persson, Iguodala, Muhammad, Kwame Brown, Mourning, Korver and others to play.
Liu Mang scored 24 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in the first half, and McGrady scored 13 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds in the first half, and then clocked out!
In the end, relying on Jason Terry's 38 points in a single game, the Hawks defeated the Wizards 110 to 91!
When Liu Mang saw Arenas in the first quarter, he thought the Wizards would explode today, at least to put some pressure on them. After all, the mission was written there. It is not so easy to rule the basketball world in the capital of the United States. Even if it is simple, you have to work hard!
But in the last two quarters, Liu Mang saw Arenas' sleepwalking look, and suddenly thought of the King of the North...
The mysterious collapse of the Wizards was mainly due to Arenas. After the game, not only Arenas was criticized, but Larry Hughes was also implicated.
After the first game, ESPN gave Arenas and Larry Hughes the nickname "Trash Brothers"!