Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

The second quarter was naturally a duel between the substitutes, with Hill, Stephenson, Qi Tian, ​​Hansbrough and Amandasson joining forces.

The Knicks fielded a four-year-old combination of Mike Bibby, Novak, Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Jeffries.

"Back four again?"

Hansbrough had a smile on his face.

It's hard not to laugh when your opponent changes from a big guy over 2 meters tall to a short guy under 2 meters tall.

Qi Tian looked at Mike Woodson, who was obviously a new coach, and wondered if this coach continued to grow wildly, would he be a pioneer in the small ball era?

Obviously there are Jeffries, who is 211 centimeters tall, and Harrelson, who is 208 centimeters tall, in the team, but this coach just split them up, leaving only one to play inside on the court. What a strange idea.

Mike Bibby advanced with the ball and reached the top of the key.

It was already ten years ago that he was able to call the shots during the King's period, and now he is already a 34-year-old veteran.

Yes, given enough time, he may still have the ability to score a dozen or even 20 points, but which team would place all its hopes on a veteran who has been in the league for 14 years and count on him to drive forward?

Bibby passed the ball to Shumpert on the right, and Qi Tian followed the defense closely, interfering with the opponent's jump shot.

"seven!"

The Pacers quickly switched offense. Qi Tian received a pass from Hill and decisively handed it to Hansbrough who followed up.

But facing J.R. Smith's defense, Hansbrough missed the jump shot he was aiming for.

Fortunately, Amandasson grabbed the rebound and turned around and handed it to Qi Tian in the high post. Qi Tian received the ball and shot a jumper directly.

"Whoosh!"

Basketball hollow hit.

"33-37."

"Nice!"

People on the bench waved towels and cheered for Qi Tian.

Shumpert passed the ball to Mike Bibby at the top of the key.

Bibby looked at George Hill in front of him. His opponent obviously looked down upon him and actually gave up two steps.

He took a deep breath, collected the ball, jumped up, and threw the basketball from the highest point.

"Whoosh!"

The basketball went hollow into the net, and the Knicks got closer to the score.

"36-37."

Bibby's performance did not end there. He broke through with the ball and assisted Jeffries in the basket to make a layup, leading the score.

"clang!"

Hansbrough hit a jump shot, Bibby rushed to the basket to get a defensive rebound, broke through quickly, and found Jeffries who followed up. Jeffries made a layup, causing Stephenson to foul.

Jeffries made two free throws, the Knicks' morale was boosted, and Novak fired from the outside, widening the point difference in one fell swoop.

"43-37."

"Apply for substitution!"

The opponent went ahead with a 10-2 run, and Vogel quickly requested a substitution, replacing West and Collison.

"Is this some check mark?"

The appearance of Collison and West did not solve the urgent problem. The Pacers, who received consecutive offensive rebounds but could not make up for it, made a mistake and gave the ball to their opponent.

Shumpert's shot from the outside caused a three-point foul on Qi Tian, ​​and he directly got three free throw opportunities!

"I'm confused, can the Knicks defeat us?"

The opponent's flurry reminded Pacers fans of yesterday's game. The opponent obviously did nothing and scored easily. The Pacers wanted to chase points, but they continued to score.

Assistant coach Brian Shaw on the sidelines looked at the inside players and said nothing.

Of course he sees the team's problems.

The main reason why the substitutes couldn't beat their opponents was the Pacers' inside problems.

The Knicks changed to a small lineup with one player and four players. The inside line is an obvious weakness, but neither Amandasson nor Hansbrough are scoring players, so it is difficult to punish opponents;

George Hill and Qi Tian on the outside were entangled by the opponent's defender when attacking, and it was difficult to get rid of the defender through pick-and-roll.

"On the bench, we still need a player who can score without distinction."

he sighed.

The Pacers can rely on defense and Hibbert West in the starting lineup to deal with opponents, but the substitutes cannot, because no team's substitutes can maintain the same defensive intensity as the starters.

Therefore, a sixth man who mainly scores, players like Ginobili, Terry and Crawford, are extremely important.

West attracted the defense inside and turned to Qi Tian in the high post. Qi Tian made an emergency jumper and hit it again.

"44-39."

When the time came to the last 6 and a half minutes of the second quarter, the Pacers still failed to catch up with the score.

Woodson and Vogel applied for substitutions at the same time and gradually replaced some of the main players.

Qi Tian was also intercepted by George, and he decisively committed a foul to prevent his opponent from being replaced after a fast break.

"coach?"

Qi Tian took the towel and Gatorade handed over by the staff. After thanking him, he turned to assistant coach Brian Shaw.

"What's wrong?"

Brian Shaw withdrew his eyes from observing the main players and turned to look at Qi Tian.

This responsibility of answering questions for rookies is what he should bear.

"Have you noticed that the offense is not smooth enough when we are on the court?"

Qi Tian hesitated for a moment and exposed his shortcomings.

"Is it me who makes the team's offense so obscure?"

"Of course not."

Brian Shaw didn't expect Qi Tianhui to think about these things about the team's tactics, but he still explained to him,

"Do you know what the difference is between a starter and a substitute?"

"This, do you still need to ask?"

Qi Tian was a little confused. How many years had he played in the game? Of course he knew the answer.

"The starters are the players who appear first, and the substitutes are the players who come out during the rotation."

Brian Shaw nodded and said bluntly:

"That's right. Can I think that only strong players can be in the starting lineup, while weak players can only be on the bench?"

"About that?"

Qi Tian suddenly lost his ability. Who among us is the one who asked the question?

Soon, Brian Shaw gave the answer:

"That's why the starters are required to be all-rounded, and as substitutes, we have to make choices."

These words instantly awakened Qi Tian.

Yes, when it comes to substitutes, there must be choices.

There are many reasons why substitute players cannot be promoted to the starting lineup: hardware, software, offense, defense, and even physical strength.

Since the substitute players are definitely not as good as the starters, they must make use of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses in order to continue to survive in the league.

Brian Shaw's voice seemed to come from outside:

"If you want to be promoted to the starting lineup, your current playing style is very suitable;"

"But if you want to help the team on the bench, you have to make a choice, give up defense and only focus on offense."

"Abandon defense?"

Qitian's doubts flashed through his mind and he soon got the answer.

In a matchup between players with similar physical qualities, defense depends more on defensive attitude, but offense is not that simple.

If you are willing to defend, you can contribute a good defense;

But offense depends on the talent of the players.

While he was thinking about it, the first half of the game was over, and the Knicks led the way 60-51, ending the first half with a 9-point advantage.