Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

Vogel finally listened to Bird's suggestion, discussed the team's offense with the assistant coaches, and arranged for players to conduct tactical training.

However, time did not give them much leeway. Just one day later, they would face the challenge of the Mavericks at home.

"But playing against the Mavericks is not bad, but it is our opportunity!"

Although Brian Shaw didn't know what made Vogel listen to his advice, he still spoke freely and said,

"After all, without Nowitzki, the Mavericks' strength will inevitably be affected."

Nowitzki had twice drained knee fluid before the start of the game, but the root cause could not be cured. Finally, he decided to have knee surgery to eliminate knee swelling and pain. He was destined to miss the Mavericks' first 13 games after at least 6 weeks of rest.

"Not to mention that the Mavericks' strength has dropped significantly. They are not a tough team now."

Dan Bok also talked about the Mavericks' disadvantages.

After winning the championship, the Mavericks did not retain their main lineup, but allowed them to leave, so that now only Nowitzki and the 34-year-old Marion are left in the championship lineup.

"We can take the opportunity to test whether the offense the team has established is effective."

Vogel nodded and agreed to the assistant coaches' proposal.

After all, he has accepted the fact that he has no accomplishments in offensive tactics, and now he is invincible.

The day when the Pacers played the Mavericks was also the day when Collison and Dengta Jones returned to the Pacers' home court. They were packaged and traded for Mahinmi in the summer.

It can be said that Collison's departure has entered a countdown after Hill's arrival. Vogel needs a point guard with strong independent offensive ability. Collison can't do it. Then after Hill renews his contract in the summer, things will change.

No more suspense.

Fortunately, after Collison was sent to the Mavericks, he was successfully promoted to the starting lineup. The team's coach Carlisle is also a well-known coach who understands people well and takes care of others. There is no deep gap between the players on the team, so the scene is pretty good.

Qi Tian and his teammates walked over and chatted with Collison for a while, then returned to their own half to warm up and wait for the start of the game.

"Listen, the attack must be based on our previous training!"

Vogel rarely made arrangements for the attack. With the courage of both George and Qi Tian, ​​they dared to give in to who would be the main attacker. It would be impossible if he didn't make arrangements.

"Defensively, focus on their outside lines. Leave Kaman to Hibbert West to defend inside. Don't give them a chance on the outside!"

Seeing the referee's signal, he let the starting five come on.

The Mavericks started with Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, OJ Mayo and Collison;

The Pacers are still Hibbert, West, George, Qitian and Hill.

Fans are the cutest group. When they came to the Bankers Life Arena, they had already forgotten the defeats in the previous games and cheered for the players on the field.

"The cavalry team, charge!"

"George, charge!"

The referee signaled the players from both sides to jump the ball in the middle circle, and then blew the whistle to start the game.

"Dudududu!"

Without Chandler, Hibbert was certainly not afraid of Kaman on the opposite side and jumped directly to grab the ball.

Hill caught the ball in the backcourt, moved it to the frontcourt and handed it to West in the low post.

"careful!"

Brand quickly surrounded him to defend, but West was not in a hurry. He separated Brand's stealing hand and waited for his teammates to move.

"This is……"

Pacers fans were surprised to see that the inside line, which was originally the end point, began to serve as the offensive axis, holding the ball and playing in isolation.

Hill, Qi Tian and George on the outside were running quickly on the outside looking for opportunities.

Seeing the players' tactical execution, Brian Shaw couldn't help but nodded slightly.

This is exactly the offensive tactic he proposed to the head coach, a simplified version of the triangle offense.

Phil Jackson, the meritorious coach of the Lakers, is the master of the triangle offensive tactic. Jordan's six championships with the Bulls and five championships with Kobe Bryant were both won under his coaching. Brian Shaw has been an assistant coach for so many years, so he has naturally learned a little bit about it.

It's just that the Pacers don't have the most important part of the triangle tactic - a super scorer who can play one-on-one, so Brian Shaw added a backline passing link just in case.

Passing the ball in one ring increases the risk of being intercepted, but it's better than nothing.

All in all, the current Pacers have changed from the original one of who gets the ball and who attacks, to a direction where there are some routines and whoever has the best opportunity takes the shot. As for the specific distribution of ball rights, it still needs to be adjusted and tested over time.

West did not wait for his teammates to get a chance, and quickly turned around and succeeded in a single, giving the team the lead.

"0-2."

Without Nowitzki, OJ Mayo has become the core of the team. When he wants the ball in the high post, he must prepare for singles.

But George didn't agree and directly stole the opponent from the side and rushed towards the opponent's half.

"Paul!"

Seeing George holding the ball on a fast break, the fans on the sidelines immediately cheered him loudly.

OJ Mayo quickly returned to defense. Although he couldn't keep up with the point guard as a defender, luckily George was not faster than the point guard, so Mayo actually caught up with George and interfered with his opponent's layup.

"clang!"

The basketball jumped out of the frame, was caught by Brand who followed up, and passed back to Mayo.

Mayo had just reached the top of the key and was about to attack when Qi Tian jumped out and stole him again!

"seven!"

Pacers fans rejoiced.

"Nitrogen Tomb!"

Mayo could only rush back again. He repeated his old tricks and actually blocked Qi Tian's fast break layup.

"Hiss~"

Two consecutive steals, two consecutive fast breaks, this sit-up-like attack made the Pacers fans gasp.

The coaching staff on the sidelines looked at each other and couldn't help but shake their heads.

It seems that team basketball, where multiple people hold the ball and attack, is not very suitable for the current Pacers.

"Let's leave it to the point guard first."

Brian Shaw checked and filled in the gaps in his notebook and wrote down the key points.

Brand once again grabbed a rebound, but Collison, who was attacking with the ball, failed to hit a three-pointer from the outside.

"Ha ha!"

George got the rebound first, turned around and laughed at Qi Tian for a while, then dribbled and prepared to break through.

But Marion saw the opportunity and stepped forward to press, which actually caused George's mistake and the basketball flew out of the baseline.

"Hahaha!"

Qi Tian ignored George's gloomy face and mocked him mercilessly.

"Nitrogen Tomb!"

George lost face and directly regained the field on the defensive end to defend Marion's offense.

West got the rebound, and the Pacers passed the ball many times. Hibbert received the ball under the basket. He kept the assistant's instructions in mind and found George who was cutting through the air. He assisted George for a layup.

"0-4."

Vogel finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that although the team's offense was unskilled, it was still proceeding normally.