basketball scientist

Chapter 405 The Heat exceed expectations (please subscribe, please support)

Author: Fan Xian Xiao Xianxian

Chapter 405 The Heat exceed expectations (please subscribe, please support)

On December 24, New York City, Madison Square Garden, was buzzing with people.

The home game between the Knicks and the Heat attracted the attention of fans around the world. This was a direct dialogue between the best players of the 2003 Platinum Generation. Before the start of the season, the two teams were also considered the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

Although after the start of the game, the Knicks had a record of 23 wins and 1 loss, proving that they are the "super" in the "one super, many strong" pattern, the Heat's record of 16 wins and 7 losses is really not bad. And

The team has recently achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, and its ranking has risen to third in the Eastern Conference. Coupled with Wade's recent "explosion", the media has said that the Heat can compete with the Knicks.

Both sides have continued their regular starting lineups. The Knicks have Curry, Matthews, James, West and Horford, while the Heat have Gibson, Wade, Mike Miller, Haslem and Bosh.

Horford and Bosh came to near the midline. Tonight's referee came to the two of them. With a serious and upright look on his face, he motioned for the two to stand, then threw the ball into the air and blew the whistle.

Snapped!

Bosh took the lead and passed the ball to Wade. Curry stood next to Wade and looked at the ball going straight to Wade. Curry started quickly, but still failed because Wade's reaction speed was not as fast as Wade's.

Not slower than him.

The Heat grabbed the ball for the first offense. Curry's attempt to steal the ball failed and he quickly returned to defense.

Wade came to the left with the ball, and Matthews took a step to get closer to Wade, and at the same time opened his arms to prevent Wade from breaking through.

However, Wade did not struggle with Matthews. When he saw Bosh leaning on Horford and reaching for the ball inside, he immediately lobbed the ball in.

Horford was holding up Bosh. Although he was not as tall as Bosh and his movements were not as fast as Bosh, his lower body strength and core strength were not compromised. After Bosh bumped into him twice, he was unable to open up the space and directly turned over and took off for a shot.

Horford tried his best to jump to interfere, but it had no effect. The basketball passed his fingers and flew directly to the basket.

"Whoa!" The Dragon King's jump shot is very accurate, and there is no need to sacrifice for his teammates. Bosh can still consistently deliver a double-double of 22+11 this season.

James dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. He did not hand over the ball at the beginning like in previous games and use running tactics to let his teammates pass the ball and warm up his hands. Instead, he waved directly to West, who immediately

Go up to the top of the key and provide him with a screen.

Seeing James initiate the pick-and-roll with West, Haslem did not follow to the outside line, but stayed one step inside the free throw line, allowing James to take a long two-point shot.

But Haslem chose to "prevent breakthroughs and not shots", which does not mean that James can only choose mid-range shots. James, who got a step of space, completely increased his speed, and the left side of his body collided with Haslem.

He directly pushed Haslem into a stagger, then stepped out with his right foot, flicked his left arm, successfully broke through Haslem's defense, went to the basket, and completed the dunk against Bosh's defense.

At the beginning, he completed a domineering dunk. James used the "Eye of Death" and looked at Bosh quietly for three seconds before turning back to defend.

Back on the offensive end, the Heat remained calm. Wade was not in a hurry to respond to James. Although facing Matthews, his breakthrough can be described as "getting what he wants", but in the case of being flanked, Wade was still calm.

Choosing to distribute the ball to Mike Miller in the bottom corner, the latter passed it to Gibson on the wing, and Gibson hit an open three-pointer.

Excluding the Curry bug, Gibson is the point guard with the highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. He shot 39.7% last season and increased his shooting percentage to 40.5% this season. With him on the outside

By containing the defense, Wade has much less pressure to break through.

However, except for three-pointers, some other aspects of his abilities are not outstanding. Facing Curry's singles, he defended very hard, but he was still helpless. Curry used continuous fake moves to shake him away and made free throws.

Stopped suddenly near the line, took off and hit the target. (4:5)

When the Heat attacked, Bosh moved to the corner and made a fake shot that shook Horford. He quickly took the ball to the basket and forced a layup, causing a foul on James who was assisting in defense.

There is no need to gain weight for James to occupy the center position, and the teammates around him are well-positioned. Bosh can fully demonstrate his top-notch singles skills. His movement speed and range are at the small forward level, and he has a five-position arm.

It's very easy to score without being double-teamed.

After making two free throws, Bosh also wanted to pose towards James and retaliate with a pretense. Unexpectedly, the Knicks were very offensive. Horford fired immediately. Several players rushed to the Heat half like a tide, and the Heat

Although the defense was quick enough, it was very chaotic, and the defense was completely torn apart. After James received the ball, he rushed to the basket non-stop, attracting Haslem's interception, and quickly divided the ball without looking back.

It was given to Curry in the left corner. Curry caught the ball and shot it. He turned around and celebrated without waiting for the ball to hit the net. The pressure was even harder than that of Arenas back then.

Wade wanted to play fast, but since the Knicks "stole" the Heat, he certainly knew to prevent his opponents from imitating the same pattern and retreating quickly. The Flash did not believe in evil, and used one against three to interfere with Horford's interference.

Then he was directly caught by James' help defense.

While Wade fell to the ground and didn't have time to get up, James launched a fast break again, while Horford lingered in the backcourt, blocking Wade and interfering with his speed to return to defense.

This move was a bit rogue. The Knicks went 4-on-4 in the frontcourt and quickly created an opening. West found a good opportunity and made a steady hit from mid-range. (9:7)

The round changed, the Heat attacked, and also beat Bosh. This time, James' help defense was used by Bosh. The Dragon King distributed the ball to Mike Miller who was cutting through the air, and the latter easily scored a layup.

Since the beginning of the season, the Knicks have certainly been the strongest offensive team in the league, but the Heat, with two stars in Wade and Bosh, are actually a defensive team. However, facing the Knicks, "

The Heat tried their best to resist the "combination of internal and external, row upon row" offensive routine. In the next round of defense, James' domineering breakthrough caused Haslem to foul.

"..." After raising his hands, the team spirit of the Heat squatted on the ground, breathing heavily. In this wave of extremely fast-paced transitions, he tried his best to keep up with every wave of offense and defense, and it was inevitable that he would be a little confused.

Hard work.

The Knicks have been preparing for the Christmas Day game for a long time, and the players were obviously in high spirits after the start. But even so, the Heat almost managed to explode each other on the offensive end, maintained their formation on the defensive end, and were not broken up by the Knicks. Just relying on this alone

, this team is much stronger than the opponents the Knicks have faced before.

As the physical strength and touch of the players on both sides declined, Wade began to step up and lead the Heat's offense. This was the Heat's "strategy" for this game. After the opening, Bosh led his teammates to compete with the Knicks, and then waited until the second half.

In the middle of one quarter, Wade started to exert force again!

To Ke Yan's surprise, Wade's condition was adjusted very well. Facing the "draft net" laid by the Knicks in the paint, he was still able to find every opportunity to make a thunderous noise! ​​He played the entire first quarter, shooting 7 of 9 from the field and three-pointers.

He made 1 of 2 point shots and 2 of 2 free throws. He almost hit 100 shots and scored 17 points. He led the Heat to an 8-point lead over the Knicks at 37:29 and entered the intersection break.

"Continue to maintain this defensive posture and don't be intimidated by Wade! I allow Wade to take away the victory, but I do not allow the defensive formation to be scattered and the opponent to shoot away from the outside!" Ke Yan emphasized during the break.

If Ke Yan was not 100% aware of the power of the Heat before the game, then after the first quarter, Ke Yan's subconscious had raised the threat level of the Heat to the same level as the Lakers, even

Even higher. Just because James didn’t join the Heat doesn’t mean that the team lost one of the league’s best players out of thin air. Both Wade and Bosh are in better shape than in their previous lives, and this team is indeed playing better.

That’s reasonable!

At the beginning of the second quarter, Ke Yan rarely arranged for Curry to appear at the beginning of the second quarter, leading Korver, Casspi, Landry, and Mozgov to play; on the Heat's side, Wade and Bosh both came off the court to rest.

, Duhon, Weaver, James Jones, Quinn Cook, and Joel Anthony came on the stage to help the team through this more difficult period.

With an 8-point lead, the Heat had the confidence to rest their main players. However, at the beginning of the second quarter, Curry took advantage of Landry's pick-and-roll, broke into the free throw line, and used his smart dribbling to play.

Joel Anthony's defense and close-range throws helped the team narrow the point difference.

Looking back, the Heat gambled on a wave of Weaver's singles. The latter used his strength to break through Korver and forced a layup against Landry's defense, causing the opponent to foul.

Weaver, nicknamed "Weaver King" by Chinese fans, once performed brilliantly with the Rockets. He also plays a typical "sixth man" style of play. He just "does it" when he gets the ball. You almost don't expect him to pass the ball.

Weaver made two free throws to help the team respond.

The Knicks' offense is still initiated by Curry. Facing Duhon, Curry used continuous changes in rhythm to complete the breakthrough, attracting defensive points and passing the ball to Korver on the flank. Korver first flew over.

Cook then attracted James Jones to cover the defense and then moved to the corner. Casspi hit a three-pointer without being defended. (34:39)

When the Heat attacked, the Knicks released Joel Anthony and used more heads to create high-intensity pressure, causing Duhon to make a pass error. Cassby intercepted the ball and passed it to Curry who was crossing over. At the same time, he stopped to block Wei who was chasing after him.

Then, all of Madison cheered for Curry's dunk.

"..." Spoelstra on the sidelines scratched his ears, seeming to notice something.

Sure enough, the offense and defense in the next round was almost a copy of the previous round. The Knicks pressed on, completely ignoring Joel Anthony outside the three-second zone. Weaver reluctantly took a shot under the high defensive intensity and was blocked by Landry.

!

The Knicks once again launched a quick counterattack, and Curry assisted Landry to complete the follow-up dunk. (38:39)

In two and a half minutes, the Knicks worked hard to narrow the point difference to 1 point, and had already seized Joel Anthony's lifeline.

The Heat are in trouble!

(End of chapter)