Build a Dream Dynasty

On January 8, the Nets ushered in a challenge from the Western powerhouse Utah Jazz at home. The current record of the two teams is still one game ahead of the Utah Jazz, but the situation is completely different. In the excellent environment of the Eastern Conference, although the Nets are in the second half of the playoffs, they are ahead of the ninth Pacers in the Eastern Conference. With four wins, the advantage is obvious, while the Utah Jazz in the West can only barely finish ninth in the West, one game away from the Trail Blazers who are eighth in the West.

The Utah Jazz, which had no pressure in the playoffs in previous years, has declined significantly this year. The primary reason is the change of the team's inside core. After Carlos Boozer chose to go to Chicago, the Utah Jazz took in the Timberwolves' high-quality insider Al Jefferson as a replacement. The big AJ has excellent low-post offensive ability and has a stable half-block basket, which seems to be enough to complement the Jazz. The inside line of the team, however, is completely different when used. Big AJ's slow footwork can't hit the pick-and-roll at all, and his lack of tacit understanding with Deron Williams also makes it impossible for the two to work together. And his defense without caring about his head has become a drag on the Jazz. Boozer is not good at defense, but at least he is stuck and unambiguous. But what about AJ, he is probably one of the few players in Sloan who can't teach defense well.

Even so, the Jazz still has Deron Williams, Kirilenko, Millsap, and the rookie Hayward who Sloan personally selected and cultivated. ? It can only be said that everything is not that simple. Big AJ's incompatibility with the pick-and-roll tactics and his personal threat on the offensive end forced Sloan to modify his offensive tactics and reduce the use of pick-and-rolls. More individual singles, wantonly use the front of the body to swing past the opponent to score, the moves are more dazzling, and the personal data is also better, but these are not only for the team's offense, but also for your own health. no good.

In the warm-up before the start of the game, Jazz rookie Gordon Hayward walked over to the Nets' bench and hugged Stevens. Hayward's life in the Jazz this year can only be said to be quite satisfactory. Jerry Sloan is notorious for his strictness. Even if Hayward is a progressive player, he will inevitably be scolded bloody. Still not high, even though the Jazz lost Matthews, Brewer, and Korver successively in the summer, they still didn’t give their No. 9 pick too many opportunities, which also made Hayward miss his college time , and envied George of the Nets to shine in his mentor's tactics.

After finishing the final tactical arrangement, players from both sides appeared on the field. The Nets will continue to use the starting lineup that has been used the most since the season, while the Jazz will use Deron Williams, Lagabel as the back line, Kirilenko and Millsap as the striker, and the inside Still Al Jefferson.

The game officially started. Lopez won the jump ball with Jefferson. Bledsoe took the ball halfway and handed it to George. Kirilenko immediately covered it.

Tall and long arms, flexible movement, and excellent awareness of filling positions, Kirilenko used to be a pawn with extremely obvious tactical effects on the defensive end, but that was once. The current Kirilenko, although his physical strength and defensive awareness is still excellent, but his defensive pace can no longer keep up with the fast-moving outside scorer. If Kirilenko is in the Nets, Stevens may be more willing to let him serve as the power forward position, rather than forcing him on the small forward.

And the Jazz's own defensive system, the most taboo is the mid-range master. They can limit James, Wade and other breakthrough players very well, which is why the stadium with the lowest winning percentage in James' career is the Jazz's home energy solution center. But Kobe, Anthony, Durant, and even Arenas earlier, were often able to play the Jazz all over the outside. Of course, George at this stage cannot compare to the destructive power of these guys, but he has played hard in the past few games. After killing Kirilenko with a pick-and-roll by Anderson, Millsap has no time to defend , George made a steady mid-range shot and scored two points for the Nets.

Back on the defensive end, Jefferson and Millsap's two chunky insiders made Lopez uncomfortable. Although Jefferson is cheating on the defensive end, his low-post offensive skills are not a big problem in the league's top three. Lopez's own defense is also quite satisfactory, and it is quite difficult to defend.

On the offensive end, the Nets took advantage of Jefferson and Millsap's inability to defend against pick-and-rolls and chased after them. Back to the Jazz, the two skilled offensive insiders also made Lopez exhausted. Deron restrained his desire to perform in the first quarter and concentrated on sorting out the offense of the Jazz team. After Jefferson, the insider, played well on the offensive end, he finally worked hard on the defensive end.

Seeing the team being slowly suppressed by the Jazz, fortunately, Korver stood up at this time. Bell hit a three-pointer in two consecutive offenses without losing his position, fixing the score between the two sides at 24:25, with the Jazz leading by one point.

In the first quarter of the game, Deron Williams put more personal energy into organizing the team. After suppressing the whole quarter, he fired one after another at the beginning of the second quarter, hitting Jeremy Lin twice in a row. Breakthrough score.

Possessing the strongest physical body of a point guard and no shortcomings in personal offensive skills, Deron Williams is indeed a very good player. To be honest, if it weren't for the turmoil caused by Delong's arrogance, Jiang Mingliang would be even more interested in him than Anthony.

However, a strong body is not only Deron's advantage, but also his loophole. Dragging such a huge body to do technical movements, the load must be very high. When Deron's physical strength fluctuated but he trusted his offense more, it was time for the Nets to counterattack. Relying on active running and fast passing, the pace of the game suddenly accelerated. With a wave of 11:3 spurts, the Nets overtook the score in one fell swoop.

With 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the second quarter, the Jazz called a timeout again, and Sloan directly asked Deron to rest off the court, so that the Jazz lost the strongest scoring point from the outside, and the veteran point guard Earl- Watson played. In addition, Gordon Hayward replaced Kirilenko. Unlike other small forwards, Gordon Hayward has a very high tactical quality and good organizational skills. He will partner Watson , On the court, he actually played the role of a point guard.

Watching his former favorite play the Jazz's offense again, Stevens couldn't help but feel sorry for him. More or less, Hayward was somewhat buried in the Jazz.

"Paul, when Hayward is on the outside, you can strengthen the defense against Jefferson on the inside. His three-pointers are not stable." During the timeout, Stevens put his arms around George's head and said face-to-face. .

No one knows this self-cultivated disciple better than Stevens. Stevens knows the pros and cons of Hayward all too well!