Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

"Give me!"

Pierce asked for the ball from the high post, preparing for a singles.

But Granger stood firm and followed his opponent closely, leaving no room for Pierce to take action.

"snort!"

Pierce got tired of being pestered and just forced a jumper.

"clang!"

The basketball bounced out of the frame, and West was about to protect the backboard, but Wilcox suddenly jumped up, grabbed the backboard off West's head, and scored a tip-in.

"26-36."

Collison advanced with the ball and passed the ball to Hansbrough in the high post.

Hansbrough was about to take a shot, but Garnett rushed forward with the wind. His hand softened and the basketball immediately missed.

"snort."

Garnett stopped in front of Hansbrough, smiled disdainfully, and turned to grab the rebound.

Seeing Garnett's mocking smile, Hansbrough became angry. When Pietrus got the rebound, he turned around and attacked, and immediately went up and fouled.

"Dudu!"

The referee didn't intend to coddle him and blew the whistle directly.

Since the Pacers' foul count was up, Pietrus went directly to the free throw line.

Vogel quickly replaced Hansbrough, who had an obviously explosive mentality. Considering Hibbert's physical problems and Vogel's intention to punish him, he finally replaced him with Armanderson.

With 3 minutes left in the second quarter, Pietrus made one of two free throws.

"26-37."

Seeing Pietrus's free throw widening the point difference, the Pacers fans on the sidelines were immediately unhappy.

"The Celtics have rested three players, plus Jeff Green has been reimbursed, so why are we still lagging behind?"

"Yes, yes, Wilcox and Pietrus played very well, we can't even guard a substitute?"

"Not to mention anything else, the Celtics, who rested three main players, are in full bloom. With a full lineup, they can only rely on 5 points in a single quarter, and they replaced him?!"

When we fall behind, the fans can no longer suppress their doubts.

Fortunately, when Amandasen came on the court, he caused a foul on Pierce inside and went to the free throw line.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Two free throws were made, and the point difference returned to 9 points again.

Pietrus hit the ball from the outside, and after West got the rebound, he decisively found Collison from the outside.

Having seen through their opponent's old arms and legs, the Pacers decisively started a fast break.

"Give me!"

George rushed the fastest, reached for the ball, received the ball and shot directly.

When Pietrus saw his opponent holding the ball, he immediately jumped up to interfere.

"clang."

The basketball jumped out of the hoop.

But George quickly came to the basket, got the offensive rebound, and then turned around and scored a tip-in.

"30-37."

Just when the Pacers wanted to chase points, Pierce and Pietrus took shots one after another and scored 5 points in a row. However, the Pacers made consecutive mistakes. Only George made foul shots and scored 2 points.

"34-42."

David West hit a jumper at the buzzer, preventing the half-time point difference from remaining in double digits.

"The Celtics are really tough."

Seeing that the Pacers were still 8 points behind at halftime, Pacers fans had to admit that their opponent was a tough opponent.

"To be honest, the starting performance was not good. Why didn't Vogel let the substitutes give it a try?"

Huang Mao turned around and asked his partner who obviously knew more about football.

The companion sneered.

"If the substitute is better than the starter, then he is not called a substitute."

Huang Mao still didn't give up and continued to ask:

"But the starting performance is really not good now. Can't the coach replace two substitutes who are playing well?"

The companion was stunned for a moment and said uncertainly:

"According to theory, it is feasible. But..."

It depends on the coach whether he dares to make substitutions.

During halftime, Vogel was speaking in the locker room:

"You have to do a good job of defense and don't make up for it randomly..."

Obviously, as a coach who emphasizes defense, the Pacers' defensive performance in the first half did not satisfy Vogel.

Moreover, for a team that is lagging behind, it is also the right choice to try its best to defend and wait for the recovery of the hand to try to chase points.

Assistant coach Brian Shaw looked at the halftime data record in his hand and fell into deep thought.

From the fans' point of view, if they don't play well, wouldn't it be enough to replace them with players who play well?

But the coach cannot look at the problem this way. One of the main limiting reasons is that the ball rights are limited.

Everyone is willing to watch the All-Stars. Everyone has the ability to attack independently, but a basketball game is not a game in Ping An County. It really can’t be all about the main attack. There must be choices.

Collison is responsible for organizing the offense, Granger is the main attacker, and West and Hibbert on the inside must not only ensure rebounds, but also share part of the offensive pressure. The same is true for George, who must guard against the opponent's outside and also share the offensive pressure.

Qi Tian scored 5 points?

Collison had 6 points, George had 6 points and 5 rebounds, Granger had 9 points, West had 4 points and 5 rebounds, and Hibbert had 2 points and 6 rebounds. Who can he replace?

"Not to mention,"

Brian Shaw sighed and gave up trying to push Qi Tian into the starting lineup.

"The opponent, the Celtics, is not a weak team. Seeing a newcomer in your team will only make Pierce target him indefinitely. Qi still needs to practice if he wants to be in the starting lineup."

Vogel has made targeted arrangements. With Rondo absent, Pierce took on the important task of organizing the offense and scored 6 assists in the half. Additional resources need to be devoted to defense.

"If necessary, double-team me."

Granger nodded, and after the break, he and his teammates left the locker room.

Watching Granger leave, Vogel sighed secretly.

In terms of offensive skills and defensive ability, he has confidence in Granger. He believes that Granger can at least be on par with Pierce. The last game where he almost matched up with Pierce proved Granger's strength.

However, everything has a butt. When Rondo and Allen are absent, Pierce can show off his offensive ability and his natural big-hearted scoring methods, which is difficult for Granger to match, and it is also what makes him become the league's first-class forward.

shackles.

Scorers and defensive champions above the same level are actually far from being able to lead the team to victory. On the contrary, the ability to organize offense is the minimum guarantee for a team.

"Fortunately, our defenders' ability to organize offense is still online."

Vogel comforted himself,

"All in all, the second half is also very difficult. I hope the players can withstand it."

Brian Shaw turned to look at the head coach and asked:

"The rest of the Celtics have already opened up. What if Pierce strengthens his independent offense in the second half?"

Vogel shook his head and replied:

"Let's take advantage of it. We are already lagging behind. The only way is to defend well."

"As for the attack..."

Vogel couldn't help but sigh.

If a defensive coach also knows how to attack, he is an all-around coach. Why should he use defense as a selling point?

Brian Xiao opened his mouth but did not speak.

If he was asked to take charge of the offense at this time, what would the head coach think? What would the president think?

"Let's talk about it when we have a chance."

Brian Shaw was determined.