Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

Seeing Qi Tian fouling his opponent and knocking down the Raptors' starting power forward, the Raptors had no choice but to call a timeout.

When everyone gathered, assistant coach Brian Shaw spoke first:

"In the next game, give priority to attacking the opponent's inside line!"

The Pacers originally had an advantage over their opponents inside with West and Hibbert, but Hibbert was affected by his physical strength and needed to strictly control his playing time, so he could only rely on West for inside offense and defense.

At present, the Raptors are lacking inside players, so this is an excellent opportunity to expand their inside advantage.

West nodded obediently, and Vogel lowered his head and drew them a tactic of George's attack on the inside.

"Darren (Colison), you and Seven work together to create space on the outside."

Brian Xiao nodded at Qi Tian and said to him:

"Also remember to give Paul (George) more pick-and-rolls to draw out his defensive matchup."

The assistant coach was obviously worried about him when he said this. George's touch responded, and he was about to refute, but did not speak.

The best way to counterattack is to defeat your opponent head-on.

He secretly made up his mind.

"54-44."

Raptors head coach Casey looked at the score and hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to arrange it.

The game has now reached the last 4 minutes of the third quarter. Bargnani has been replaced and is currently sitting off the court to rest.

If all the main players are used inside, physical problems will affect the Raptors in the fourth quarter, and they will easily be taken away by their opponents.

He gritted his teeth and could only make a desperate move, trusting the players who were still on the court.

Casey looked around and said to Ed Davis and Magloire who came on the bench:

"The opponent will definitely focus on attacking inside. You must defend well and protect the rebounds."

He also made predictions about his opponent's next move.

"West has a strong inside scoring ability and can double-team when necessary."

He turned to look at James Johnson and DeRozan on the front line and ordered:

"The Pacers' outside shooting is not very good. When you are defending, you should also prioritize defending the opponent's breakthrough. If necessary, help double-team the opponent inside."

In the playoffs last season, when the Pacers faced the Bulls' defense, the team's three-point shooting percentage was almost less than 30%. Currently, Granger, the only three-pointer who is relatively stable, sat off the court and did not appear.

Casey's decision came naturally.

The assistant coach was checking for gaps and giving guidance to James Johnson:

"Prioritize blocking George's start so that he can't get rid of you with speed."

Obviously, George's breakthrough mode has been seen through by his opponents.

"Dudu!"

The timeout ended, the two teams returned to the field at the same time, and the Raptors fired a baseline kick.

Collison suffered the opponent's loss and chased after Bayless who was advancing with the ball. When he saw his opponent passing the half court, he immediately blocked his opponent and did not give him a chance to accelerate.

George followed DeRozan, Qi Tian and West, and Pendegraaf kept up with his opponents one by one.

"Give me!"

DeRozan, as the only core player on the court, reaches out to pass the ball and prepares to beat his opponent in singles.

George did not dare to be careless and immediately stepped forward to defend closely.

DeRozan retreated slightly to create some distance, then faced George and changed direction for a layup.

George fell into his opponent's rhythm, saw DeRozan take action, and immediately jumped to block the shot.

The two fought against each other in the air, and DeRozan used his super core strength to firmly guarantee his shooting gesture.

"Dangdang, swish!"

The basketball bounced twice and finally fell in.

"54-46."

Although this move looked unremarkable, it was very difficult. Even Granger, who was resting on the sidelines, nodded slightly in approval.

"As expected of the Raptors' newest player, his offense is very sharp."

But Granger is not worried about facing DeRozan's younger brother.

Defense is inherently a thankless job, dirty and tiring, and can easily become a backdrop.

Although George has many innate advantages on defense, experience is also an essential part of defense.

In Granger's view, DeRozan may not perform much better when guarding George than George when guarding DeRozan.

Turning his head, Collison handed the ball to West under the basket, and several people pulled away, allowing him to play in low singles.

As expected, Ed Davis found it difficult to compete with West, and West was also keenly aware of the opponent's center's intention to double-team, and quickly turned around to deceive the opponent and score a layup with an underhand shot.

The Pacers focused on attacking inside and succeeded frequently. Although DeRozan scored consecutively, it was difficult to narrow the score.

"59-49."

Seeing that there were only 2 minutes left in the third quarter, Casey had no choice but to replace DeRozan and use a full substitute lineup.

Fortunately, Vogel also replaced Collison and West with Hill and Hibbert, leaving George alone to focus on the offense.

Ed Davis turned his head to Barbosa on the outside. Barbosa flew into the sky and made a sudden jump shot.

Vogel frowned. He valued defense the most. Now that he saw Qi Tian's defensive disadvantage, he immediately had the urge to make substitutions.

Brian Xiao, who was next to him, saw his intention to replace Qi Tian and quickly comforted him:

"There are only 2 minutes left, let Stephenson rest first."

These words were very sinister, and indeed reminded Vogel of last season's past incident of Stephenson insulting the staff in the locker room and violating team rules, so he gave up the idea of ​​substitution.

Brian Shaw quickly turned his head to look at the field and muttered in his heart:

Qi ah Qi, for your sake, I would rather be a villain to stop Stephenson from playing. Don’t betray my trust.

The coaching staff must have a good relationship with the players on the team, not to mention the head assistant like Brian Shaw who is only one step away from the head coach.

Vogel signed a three-year contract with the Pacers this summer and does not have to worry about being fired in the short term.

Fortunately, Brian Shaw is not in a hurry. Granger has a good relationship with the head coach, so he will train new people. When George Qitian and others grow up, if Vogel does not comply with the management's wishes, he will no longer serve as the coach.

Head coach, if Brian Shaw has a good relationship with the new guy, he will have a chance.

"Be prepared for a rainy day and be prepared for any eventuality."

Brian Shaw cast a trusting look at George and Qi Tian on the court, and he will wait for their growth with peace of mind.

George holds the ball high and prepares to attack.

Collison and Qi Tian followed tactics and ran to the bottom corners on both sides, while Hibbert and Hansbrough under the basket contained the opponent's inside line.

When James Johnson saw George dribbling, he immediately went up to fight for the ball. Although he failed to grab the ball, he forced George to stop as he speeded up and wanted to break through.

“It’s so difficult!”

Facing a defender whose body size was not inferior to his own, George gritted his teeth.

"Looks like I have to use speed to get past him!"

George suddenly exerted force and broke through to the right. Then he suddenly dribbled in a different direction, just shook James Johnson away, and then made a layup!

Under the basket, Magloire saw George coming and immediately came up to him.

After the two collided in the air, George's layup hand pattern was immediately destroyed and the basketball jumped out of the frame.

"clang!"

Ed Davis, who was under the basket, suddenly jumped up and knocked the basketball from Hibbert's hand away from the two of them.

"Oops!"

Seeing the basketball flying towards Russell Butler, everyone in the Pacers immediately felt bad.