Basketball's most talented forward is on the left

On February 18, in the first round after the All-Star Game, the Knicks played away against the Atlanta Hawks, who were ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. In this game, if Zuo Li can continue his good form before the All-Star Game and score more than 40 points,

If he scores, Zuo Li will break Chamberlain's record of 40 in 14 consecutive games and exclusively occupy the first place in history.

Before the game, Zuo Li naturally made no secret of his ambition to break the record. For the first time in a long time, Zuo Li even took the initiative to shout at his opponents before the game.

Just when the reporters were excited, thinking that they would see a passionate collision in the first game after the All-Star Game, there was no reaction from the Hawks.

Even before the game, a reporter took the initiative to stir up trouble and deliberately exaggerated Zuo Li's remarks when interviewing Eagles core Joe Johnson. Joe Johnson had no special reaction...

"What? Zuo Li looks down on us? Stop it, buddy, we just came back from being teammates in Los Angeles. That guy is a good guy, and we get along very well. I know him, and there is no way he would say such a thing."

Another All-Star Horford said: "I have seen the interview. Zuo Li just said that he wanted to break through himself and break the record. To be honest, if it were me and Chamberlain's record was placed in front of me, I would not be able to bear it.

Come on, stop making trouble, guys."

Even the Eagles head coach said: "We will prepare for this game carefully and strive for victory, and we will go all out against Zuoli, but only on the field. We have no problems off the field."

From top to bottom, there is a peaceful scene.

The reporters were all confused. What kind of situation is this? Just leave it to me. Hello everyone? Have you ever thought about how we reporters feel?

A senior reporter even scolded her behind her back: "Shit! I don't want such a good hype opportunity!"

The attitude of the Eagles made Zuo Li feel a little embarrassed, but thinking about it, he really didn't say anything outrageous. He just happened to meet the Eagles this time. He would say the same thing when meeting other teams.

After all, he really came here to break the record.

However, this Hawks has indeed always been a low-key team. In the past few years from 2008-11, fans all knew that the top powers in the Eastern Conference were the Cavaliers, Celtics, Magic, and then the Heat, which formed the Big Three.

Few people remember that the Hawks were also a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference during this period.

The main reason is that this eagle is too low-key from top to bottom.

Even though everyone looks tall and thick, in fact, this Eagles team, from leader Joe Johnson, to Josh Smith, to Horford, all have low-key, humble, indifferent and solitary characters.

This also leads to the fact that even though they are strong, have good statistics, and are even frequent All-Star players, when it comes to undervalued players, their names will always be mentioned, especially Joe Johnson and Horford.

Can you believe that in addition to singles, Joe Johnson is also a cold-faced killer at the last moment.

According to statistics, Jordan made a total of 9 buzzer-beating shots in all the games he participated in, making him the veritable first person in history. He was closely followed by Kobe, who made 8 buzzer-beating shots, and also made 9 buzzer-beating shots.

Joe Johnson with 8 buzzer-beaters.

Jordan and Kobe's critical ball abilities are well known to the world, but besides die-hard fans, how many people know about Joe Johnson?

Another trivia fact, if you include the quasi-kills that determine the outcome of the game, Joe Johnson is even more terrifying. He hit a total of 15 times in his entire career. Especially in the 12-13 season, Joe Johnson hit 4 buzzers.

He hit two shots to tie the score at the last moment. The most terrifying thing is that Joe Johnson’s shot at the last critical moment of the season had a shooting percentage of 87.5%.

However, these data still did not restore Joe Johnson's reputation. Apart from singles, it seems that Joe Johnson did not leave any other impression on the fans.

In the same way, Horford is the same. His humility and low-key make many people ignore his strength. In fact, apart from his static talent, Horford is good at both offense and defense. Especially in defense, he is definitely underestimated.

With the core like this, the Eagles have naturally become a strong but not well-known team.

In Zuo Li's heart, it may be this low-key humility that influenced the Eagles to go further.

From 2008 to 2015, the Hawks have actually been a powerful force in the Eastern Conference. Especially in 2014-15, they even reached the first place in the Eastern Conference. In the regular season, they even defeated the Cavaliers led by James Lao 2.0.

Rubbing on the ground.

However, as soon as the playoffs came, they were beaten violently. Repeated playoff losses also led to the Hawks slowly disbanding, twice!

In fact, the Hawks lineup has always been good, especially later, with Horford, Millsap Twin Towers, outsiders Korver and Teague, there was no solution in the regular season, but in a place like the playoffs where they are building momentum, they can't do anything.

So sometimes people criticize players like Artest and Beverley, but in the playoffs, such players really work.

Later generations of the Hawks may have had enough low-key buffs and chose the high-profile and arrogant Trae Young. That Hawks didn't look very good, but they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, which was shocking.

Okay, let’s get back to the main story.

Although the Eagles were humble and low-key before the game, they didn't hold back at all during the game.

Horford followed Zuo Li throughout the game, and the Hawks also tried their best to block Zuo Li's breakthrough. They even started foul tactics in the second half to try to stop Zuo Li's scoring momentum.

However, their defensive tactics obviously need to be updated, because Zuo Li did not break through or attack in this game, but kept going to the low post, completely destroying the Eagles' defensive system in a way that no one thought of.

In the first attack, Horford held Zuo Li on the right side, and Josh Smith came to attack, but Zuo Li shook his shoulders and turned around and made a fadeaway jumper and scored the ball!

Horford was dumbfounded. He knew that Zuo Li could shoot a fadeaway jumper, but the fact that the first ball came directly still shocked him.

Moreover, this shoulder shake, this step, is this really not Kobe playing basketball?

Then in the first quarter, Zuo Li used the same method to score five goals and two more hitters, scoring 14 points in a single quarter.

Horford is paralyzed. A 2.18-meter Kobe is playing backwards in front of you. How can you defend against this!

Josh Smith, who came to cover for defense, also stretched his arm, as if he wanted to see how long his arm would be to block Zuo Li's shot...

"Oh ho ho, Zuo Li really learned how to shoot the fadeaway jumper. This is really incredible. Although the shooting rate is much worse than his breakthrough, the 48% shooting rate is enough to further increase his threat." Kenny Smith

said.

Barkley shook his head and sighed: "There is no way to defend against it. How can you defend against it? You need a 3-meter arm. This is impossible."

As the commentators lamented, Zuo Li scored 28 points in the half with a 52% shooting rate. Only then did the Hawks have to use foul tactics to try to lock Zuo Li's shots.

But 8 of 10 free throws in the second half still allowed Zuo Li to score 40 points with 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter!

At this moment, Zuo Li finally broke through the limit, surpassed Chamberlain, and monopolized the throne of No. 1 in history.

The Knicks also won the game 110-87, instantly winning their first win since the All-Star Game.