Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

Stephenson's judgment on his own was not inaccurate. Although he hit the iron with a three-point shot from the outside, when Thornton of the Kings was attacking with the ball, Stephenson relied on his speed that was not inferior to that of his opponent and was 3 centimeters and 10 kilograms higher.

Engage your opponent tightly.

The moment Thornton was about to break through, Stephenson made a quick move and completed the steal.

The Pacers returned to their most familiar and comfortable rhythm, and their defensive intensity increased sharply, preventing Thomas Robinson and Brooks from attacking continuously.

With Hill and George's free throws, the Pacers once again consolidated their advantage.

"79-83."

"this……"

Seeing that the team had the upper hand, the chief assistant coach Brian Xiao frowned slightly and began to think about where this strange yet familiar feeling came from.

Finally, the sound of Stephenson missing a three-pointer and Cousins ​​missing a jumper woke up the assistant coach.

Isn't this exactly the Pacers of last season, or in other words, the Pacers with Granger?

Rely on your own defense to force the opponent's offense to the same level as your own, and then use your rich blacksmithing experience to defeat your opponent.

Brooks's strike gave him a clear answer:

Yes, that's it.

Returning to the previous stage of defensive victory, the Pacers took advantage of it. Stephenson and West scored consecutively, extending the lead to 6 points.

"81-87."

"I'm back, I can feel that everything is back!"

Some sentimental Pacers fans have already burst into tears. Isn't this what the Pacers they are most familiar with after supporting them for several years?

Uh...huh?

Many fans noticed something was wrong and turned to look at Qi Tian who was sitting on the bench.

Then, when there were seven, why couldn't the team be as good as it is now?

Or is it Qi Tian's existence that makes the Pacers' defense no longer what it used to be? Doesn't this mean that Qi Tian is outside the team and is a cancer?

"A multiple-choice question about offense and defense?"

Brian Shaw soon learned why:

After losing Granger, the team's lineup is going through the pain of change.

It is true that Stephenson's offensive shooting is unstable, he is not good with the ball, he cannot organize, and his offense is far inferior to Qi Tian, ​​but he has one advantage, that is, his defense is the same as George's, Rodman-style hard work.

The two forwards and defenders, Stephenson and George, are considered high-end versions of George and Granger. The team can restore 70% to 80% of the strength of last season's main lineup, and the offensive and defensive tactics do not need to be changed too much. Of course, a few people on the court will

It feels familiar and comfortable.

After all, the complete version of the lineup has been running together for a season, and it ranked among the top three in the conference last season.

In the Pacers' main lineup last season, all five players had above-average defensive abilities, but their offensive tactics were monotonous, so they could only push for defensive counterattacks, or let Granger think of a way;

Now that Granger is injured, George can serve as a substitute at small forward. Qi Tian, ​​who plays shooting guard, has a more stable scoring ability than George before.

At this time, it became a problem for the team to choose between Qi Tian, ​​who needs more ball rights and tactical focus, and Stephenson, who initially possesses George's defensive ability.

Choosing Qitian will require some modifications to tactics and fluctuations in performance, and the future is unknown;

When choosing Stephenson, the lower limit and upper limit are clear. The lowest limit will not be lower than the playoffs, and the upper limit will naturally not be higher than last season.

"How will the head coach choose?"

Brian Shaw stole a glance at Vogel, who was watching the game, and speculated on the coach's thoughts.

What did Vogel think? He didn't think about it at all, because the situation on the field had already affected his heart.

Stephenson performed well and he was not in a hurry to make substitutions.

After Thornton hit his second three-pointer of the fourth quarter, he was a little anxious.

Hibbert made a jump shot, Evans hit the basket and caused a foul, and went to the free throw line. Vogel decisively requested a substitution and sent Qi Tian up.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"86-87."

"Evans! Evans!"

Kings fans cheered wildly for Evans who made two free throws.

Most of today's Kings fans are focused on waiting for Cousins ​​to grow into the strongest center of the new generation of O'Neal. A small number of them still believe that Evans can grow into a player comparable to Robertson just like he did when he was a rookie.

Historical stars like Jordan and James.

After all, his average of 20+5+5 per game as a rookie was amazing enough.

In the last three minutes, West scored inside to help the team expand its advantage.

"86-89."

"Strengthen your defense!"

With the lead in hand, the Pacers head coach chose to use last season's trump card tactics to win and shouted to the players,

"Don't give them a chance to make a move!"

Hill and Qi Tian kept an eye on Brooks and Thornton, and Evans naturally left George to attack with the ball.

Thornton still wanted to catch the ball, but was blocked by Qi Tian's close body, so he could only run to the bottom corner.

"Looks like I'm the only one here!"

Evans controls the ball at the top of the arc and beats his opponent in singles.

But his height, weight and speed, which he is proud of at the back, can only be defeated when he encounters George who is better than him.

"clang!"

Evans forced a jumper and George turned around and collected the basketball.

"Quick attack!"

"Defend!"

After 46 minutes of fighting, the two teams immediately knew their opponents' plans, and several players from the outside rushed towards the Kings half court.

"At this time..."

As soon as the thought of being cool popped up in George's mind, he couldn't suppress it. He stopped, suddenly collected the ball, and shot a three-point jumper in front of Evans.

Chasing three points!

"clang!"

Pacers fans felt their temples pounding, and a burst of blood was about to burst out.

"You dare to shoot this, don't you know your hit rate?"

George has already made 2 of 6 shots from beyond the three-point line today. I don’t see the confidence that he dares to confidently make three-pointers.

Fortunately, George made up for it on the defensive end and stole the ball from Brooks, but Hill's jump shot also ended in a blacksmith.

As the game approached the last minute, Evans found Hayes under the basket and assisted his teammates to score.

Qi Tian also assisted West in return.

"88-91."

The Kings called a timeout, and in the last 55 seconds, they had to make one or two successful attacks to ensure victory, or at worst, overtime.

"Stabilize the defense and improve the success rate on offense."

No matter how flexible Vogel is usually, he has become conservative now. He said to several people on the outside,

"Try to find insiders as much as possible. Our insiders have an advantage."

"clear!"

Everyone in the Pacers nodded in unison and returned to the court.

The game continued, Evans quickly dribbled through and found Cousins ​​​​under the basket. Cousins ​​​​feinted twice and passed directly to his outside teammates.

The Kings guard met Qi Tian directly after receiving the ball and took a long three-point shot!

"Whoosh!"

"91-91."

Or Marcus Thornton!

A three-pointer in the last 48 seconds helped the team equalize the score, and then the two sides fought one after another and entered overtime.

"Thorton!"

"Thorton!"

Kings fans shouted the name of the man who scored 23 points and cheered him.