I’m Really Playing Basketball

On January 30, 2004, at the Bradley Arena in Milwaukee, Chen Xiao once again returned to the place where his basketball dream started.

On the Cavaliers' bench, Chen Xiao was smiling and chatting with Marquette University head coach Tom Crean, assistant coach Tim Buckley, and his junior brother Steve Novak behind him.

After Chen Xiao and Wade left Marquette University in a group of "three eagles and two claws", Marquette University once again entered a dormant period.

The record so far this season is mediocre. Under the leadership of former teammates Novak and Scott Merritt, the record this season is only 12 wins and 5 losses.

Marquette University did not make itself attractive to attract top talents because of the championship that Chen Xiao and the others won.

Without geniuses, there is no way for a team like Duke of North Carolina to have an outstanding record every year. After the glory, they can only lie dormant and wait.

Fortunately, Marquette University had just reached the top of the NCAA in 2002, so the fans' eager expectations for the team's success were not so high.

Moreover, because Chen Xiao, Wade, and Ron Howard have performed really well after they arrived in the NBA.

So many fans of Marquette University have now turned into double fans of the NCAA and NBA.

Marquette University is mediocre in the NCAA, and there is nothing to watch, but Chen Xiao, Wade and Ron Howard have a lot to watch in the NBA.

Therefore, Chen Xiao, Wade and Luo Ge, the three of them have always maintained a very high influence in Milwaukee.

If Marquette University were a team like Duke North Carolina, Chen Xiao and Wade Rogo would definitely not have the influence they have in Milwaukee now.

The question of store size and customer size has always been changing.

No kidding, for Milwaukee and Marquette University, Chen Xiao is the biggest customer, and this store in Marquette University will be honored if Chen Xiao is attached to it.

Therefore, I must always want to keep a'customer' like Chen Xiao in my shop, and let him increase the influence of my shop.

After all, before Chen Xiao and Wade Ron Howard appeared, the biggest NBA star that Marquette University ever produced was Doc Rivers.

While Chen Xiao was chatting with acquaintances from Marquette University, on the court, the Bucks' head player Ray Allen stood in the center circle and imitated Chen Xiao's "God's Eye Circle Shot" in the center circle. Test firing.

After Chen Xiao's God's Eye circle shot became popular in the United States, Ray Allenki would try the same every time at home.

The efficiency is definitely not as high as Chen Xiao.

But for the fans of Milwaukee and Marquette University, although they can't see Chen Xiao every day, it's good to see Ray Allen every day.

Boom!

Chen Xiao, who was chatting with acquaintances at Marquette University, heard a sudden explosion-like sound at the scene. He looked towards the court and saw that Ray Allen hit a mid-range shot.

Chen Xiao was looking at Ray Allen on the court, and Ray Allen was also looking at Chen Xiao. In those small eyes, Chen Xiao clearly saw that he meant to challenge.

The relationship between Chen Xiao and Ray Allen is complicated.

Before participating in the draft, Ray Allen was one of his templates, and his draft ceiling was the beggar version of Ray Allen, Hamilton.

When it came to the Nets, the Bucks once traded Ray Allen for him, but the move was first delayed by the Nets and then intercepted by Carter.

At the same time, in the Bucks, as a player of the same type, George Karl originally wanted Chen Xiao instead of him who was stronger at the time.

Generally speaking, there is no direct grudge between the two, but because of this experience, Ray Allen does have a lot of 'grievance' towards Chen Xiao.

So after noticing Chen Xiao's gaze, Ray Allen threw the basketball he received again toward the sidelines.

That meaning is already very obvious.

Facing Ray Allen's provocation, Chen Xiao smiled slightly, walked to the technical stage, and picked up the basketball thrown by Ray Allen outside the court.

Chen Xiao walked to the court, at the junction of the center line and the sideline, looked at the basketball, then looked at where he was standing, and finally nodded to Ray Allen not far away, and then casually put the ball in his hand Throw the basketball toward the basket.

After throwing it, Chen Xiao turned around and walked off the court.

Seeing Chen Xiao's series of actions, Ray Allen was stunned for a moment.

Even the Milwaukee fans at the scene were stunned for a moment.

If they read it correctly, what Ray Allen did just now was not to ask Chen Xiao to throw one, but to ask Chen Xiao to throw one, right?

How could it be possible to get in by just throwing it away?

"Is it because our precious beast didn't understand Ray Allen's provocative intentions?"

Just when the Milwaukee fans at the scene were confused, a moment later, the sound of a basketball swiping through the net was heard, and the somewhat noisy Bradley Center fell silent for a moment.

When Ray Allen came back from his daze, his hands holding the basketball even trembled slightly.

The old Marquette University acquaintances who had just exchanged greetings with Chen Xiao on the sidelines, especially Chen Xiao's junior student Stephen Novak, who abused Chen Xiaoru to drink water, at this time opened their mouths.

Looking at Chen Xiao who was smiling in the silent atmosphere at this time...

To be honest, Chen Xiao's smile, coupled with the mid-circle shot just now, is a bit pretentious.

No, it should be very pretentious!

Listen, the Bradley Arena, which was silent just now, is now shouting Chen Xiao's name like crazy.

The TNT commentators on the sidelines were also shouting wildly at this time.

"The game between the Cavaliers and the Bucks has not even started yet, but Ray Allen and Wonder Boy have worked together to create such a climax. Kenny, this game must be very exciting!"

Hearing what Buckley said, Kenny Smith blinked and opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

The main reason was that he didn't know what to say about Chen Xiao.

How much pressure is there on the Cavaliers in this game?

If the Cavaliers lose this game again, they will basically not even think about making the playoffs.

Generally speaking, in such a situation, young players should be nervous. Even if they are not that nervous, they have absolutely no intention of playing this kind of mid-circle shooting game with Ray Allen.

And what about Chen Xiao?

Not only does he have the heart to play such a game, but he also has an incredibly relaxed mind.

Tonight, I actually hit the center circle shot with one shot, and in this way!

This is incredible!

"Are the smiles on their faces real? Do they really feel that they are full of hope now?"

Kenny Smith didn’t know and had no way of knowing.

On the court, after the players on both sides finished warming up, the starting players of the two teams were already standing on the court.

The Cavaliers' starting players, Tyson Chandler, Darius Miles, Chen Xiao, Crawford, James.

The starting players of the Bucks are center Joel Przbilla, power forward Tim Thomas, small forward Toni Kukoc, shooting guard Michael Reid, and point guard Ray Allen.

Historically, for the Bucks this season, center Joel Przbilla has completely lost his chance in the Bucks. This center, who is famous for defending Yao Ming in history, was not reused until the Trail Blazers. Historically, Yao Ming's quarter 9 out of 9 in the second game, he was the one who beat him.

However, everyone remembers Dayao's 9-for-9 performance, but forgets that Dayao was actually very uncomfortable by this guy in this series.

This big center has height, strength, a wide body, and solid defensive skills. Although his athletic talent is so strong, he is very suitable for defending Yao Ming, who had some minor injuries and gained a lot of weight at the time.

But now, Joel Przbilla should not be left to the Trail Blazers. This season in the Bucks, he has been reused. He has a huge body, solid defense, and can provide a good pick-and-roll for Ray Allen. , he is now a very indispensable player for the Bucks.

This season for the Bucks, Kukoc holds the ball at the top of the arc to direct traffic, and Ray Allen uses Joel Przybilla's running position to catch and shoot. This is also an important tactic.

In the center of the court, Joel Przybilla and Tyson Chandler jumped the ball.

Snap!

There is no suspense. As one of the players with the highest jump ball success rate in the NBA this season, Chandler easily defeated Joel Przybilla and won the first attack of the game for the Cavaliers.

After James dribbled the ball through half court, he did not encounter any defensive obstacles. Ray Allen's defense against James was no defense.

As long as you don't break through, you can play casually.

Xiao Zhan's shooting environment is so good that it can be said that he may be second only to James in the entire league.

Therefore, in such a good shooting environment, Xiao Zhan's shooting percentage this season is less than 45%, which is a bit 'shameful'.

If Chen Xiao is given such a shooting environment, Chen Xiao feels that he can average a 60% shooting rate per game.

Shooting is an old problem for Xiao Zhan, so Chen Xiao won't complain too much.

Seeing Ray Allen's defensive style, Xiao Zhan stopped trying after a slight attempt to break through Ray Allen and failed.

Ray Allen is not that kind of small point guard. Even if he doesn't often play in the back, that's because his butt is not that big and can't sit on people, but confrontation is possible.

After all, he is the strongest defender outside of the top five defenders who have been in love with McCoy Chen for many years.

If Xiao Zhan must kill Ray Allen in this breakthrough, that's okay, but with such consumption at the beginning of the game, no one can withstand it.

Therefore, Xiao Zhan did not call a pick-and-roll or screen this time. After his attempt to break through Ray Allen failed, he knocked the ball horizontally to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao also did not have direct one-on-one singles when facing Kukoc's defense. The Bucks asked Kukoc to defend him, just to let Chen Xiao shoot against Kukoc, a 2.08-meter big man.

So far in the Cavaliers' game, the league's targeted defense against the Cavaliers has been to use small but stocky guards to defend James and big players to defend Chen Xiao.

Because Chen Xiao and James' breakthroughs were tank-style breakthroughs, not McGrady's elegant change of direction flow.

Even if Chen Xiao wants to break through, it cannot be done in an instant. He needs to force others to break through. This can also give time for the inside players behind to help defend.

Therefore, it is very effective to use a tall and relatively flexible big player to defend Chen Xiao.

And this is one of the reasons why the Cavaliers have been so difficult recently.

Many teams in the league have become more and more accustomed to the Cavaliers' style of play.

Of course, Chen Xiao is not Xiao Zhan. Xiao Zhan really suffered a lot when encountering targeted defense.

But because Chen Xiao has various offensive methods, he naturally has his own methods.

After picking and rolling with Crawford, Chen Xiao changed his opponent to Michael Reed, which was much easier to play.

Facing Michael Reid's personal defense, Chen Xiao dribbled the ball, pushed Reid's personal defense back a step, and then went directly to Reid's right side. If it was Kukoc who was guarding him at this time, Kukoc would Qi will not be so close to Chen Xiao. Kukoc has height and can block Chen Xiao's shots, and he will let it go a little bit.

But Reed can't.

If you stick it too tightly, it will give Chen Xiao a chance to break through.

Chen Xiao pressed on Reid from the right side and rushed in like a tank, while Reid kept chasing Chen Xiao on the left side.

Chen Xiao continued to break through until he reached the free throw line.

Because the Bucks had Joel Przybilla under the basket, Bucks power forward Tim Thomas also came out to help defend.

Therefore, under the pursuit of Michael Reed, Chen Xiao made a sudden stop at the free throw line and made a jumper. With the interference of Michael Reed on his side, he steadily hit the two-pointer.

2 to 0!

After the hit, Chen Xiao was very calm and did not celebrate wildly. Although the Bucks were not his home team, he often came here to watch games when he was in college. If as a fan, the Lakers are his home team, then the Bucks would The Lu should be regarded as Chen Xiao's second home team.

The overlap between Bucks fans and his Marquette fans is very serious.

After all, the Bucks and Marquette now share a home court.

He was too familiar with this venue, and Chen Xiao was also too familiar with the fans next to the venue.

However, although Chen Xiao did not celebrate wildly after scoring the goal, the Milwaukee fans at the scene were very excited.

You can only watch Chen Xiao here twice a year. Being able to see Chen Xiao score again at the Bradley Center is certainly something worth celebrating.

"God!"

"God!"

"God!"

Listening to the incredible cheers, Ray Allen frowned after being stunned for a moment.

As the saying goes, I decide my territory. After getting rid of the big dogs, George Karl, and Cassel, Ray Allen now has a very strong sense of territoriality. He no longer wants anyone to share his rights in his territory.

At this point, Chen Xiao is not a teammate of his team, nor does he share his rights.

But there is no doubt that Chen Xiao is sharing his territory!

This is not okay, he won’t allow it!

Reality told him that his fight for himself was far from over!

On the court, it was the Bucks' turn to attack. After Ray Allen dribbled the ball through half court under the interference of James, under Ray Allen's eyes, Joel Przbilla set a three-point pick-and-roll at the top of the arc. With the help of Joel- Przbilla's pick-and-roll, Ray Allen blocked James' defense, and faced Darius Miles who came out to help defend.

Ray Allen took a step back and pulled up from outside the three-point line.

Darius Myers is a big defender who defends a small one. The defensive method of the big one is to retreat a little instead of letting go of sudden shots.

Just like Kukoc defended Chen Xiao just now.

There's nothing wrong with that. If you vote, I can interfere, but if you try, you can't.

However, Darius Miles didn't expect that Ray Allen's shot this time was actually a long-range three-pointer with a step back!

Of course, even if Darius Miles knew about it, it would be difficult to block him out.

What if he is blocked and Ray Allen chooses to fake a shot?

Therefore, most teams in the league have no solution for the one- or two-step long three-point shot that Ray Allen often chooses this season.

Before Chen Xiao appeared in last season's finals, most NBA experts defined such a shot as a random throw.

And these experts feel that what they said is right, because after the finals, Chen Xiao no longer focused on such an offense.

Chen Xiao is very restrained from long-range three-pointers this season.

Ray Allen is not restrained at all.

Ray Allen averaged 8.5 three-point shots per game this season, half of which were one step beyond the three-point line or farther away.

Ray Allen's shots like this make it difficult for the league's big defenders and small insiders to guard against them.

A swipe!

The long-range three-pointer thrown by Ray Allen drew a wonderful arc and fell into the net.

3 to 2!

After scoring the goal, Ray Allen was not as calm as Chen Xiao. The Bucks' leading player pointed his hands down, signaling to the world that this was his territory.

I have to say that shots like Ray Allen's are indeed easy to arouse people's adrenaline.

So after Ray Allen hit the ball and made such a domineering move, the fans at the scene who just shouted "God" are now shouting Ray Allen's name.

Teacher Zhang on the sidelines saw the Milwaukee fans cheering for Ray Allen and couldn't help but sigh: "Ray Allen's performance in Milwaukee this season is very good. Whether it is in Milwaukee or in the United States, Ray Allen's performance this season The popularity has exploded.”

Xiao Su next to Teacher Zhang added: "But in Milwaukee, Chen Xiao is still the most popular player. Ray Allen's actions just now were because he was a little annoyed by Chen Xiao's influence in Milwaukee."

Good guy, are you angry?

Ray Allen didn't even think he was angry.

In the NBA, everyone else is knocking on your door, and if you don't perform well, you're considered a softie.

In your home court, the fans are cheering for your opponent. If you don't do something, you will just wait for the cynicism of the media after the game.

Therefore, if Ray Allen behaves like this to provoke someone, it must be provocative. It is far from being angry or anything like that.

As for Ray Allen's provocation, Chen Xiao was quite happy.

Because the long-range three-pointer that Ray Allen challenged him just now was indeed beautiful.

"No wonder Ray Allen is so popular in the United States this season."

Chen Xiao appreciated it very much, but Xiao Zhan felt uncomfortable.

Ray Allen's offensive style is simply humiliating to defensive players.

This kind of shooting, shooting, shooting, just like the daily offensive method, O'Neal and Kobe know it best.

When they were shot like that by Chen Xiao in the finals, they really collapsed.

Therefore, seeing Ray Allen shooting James and the Cavaliers like this this time, O'Neal in front of the TV was so happy.

Let me tell you, the Nets didn't play very well against the Bucks this season. Although they won in the end, it was very difficult to win.

This is why O'Neal believes that Ray Allen and the Bucks will definitely defeat the Cavaliers in this game.

O'Neal thought so especially after seeing Ray Allen hit a three-pointer from the center circle during pre-game warm-ups.

Ray Allen's offense is so morale-killing. It's especially suitable for burying and destroying people, and giving the Cavaliers the final blow!

"The Bucks are really strong this season!"

Their record is not that good, entirely because the Bucks have many veterans, and in many consecutive back-to-back games, the Bucks did not play well.

At this point, the Bucks and Cavaliers are actually quite similar.

The Cavaliers are afraid of away games.

Bucks are afraid of back-to-backs.

In this game, the Cavaliers are on the road, while the Bucks have had two days of rest, and their physical condition is at their best.

"Chen, I used to think that the shot selections of you and Kobe were the 'most amazing'. I didn't expect that there are players with more amazing shot selections than you."

James complained to Chen Xiao when he went to catch the baseline ball.

To be fair, Chen Xiao thinks Xiao Zhan is right.

You have to throw even a Ko-style double-team, and Ray Allen, who prefers to retreat and throw very far in order to get space to shoot, and shoots with super-fast shooting speed without adjusting, which kind of shot is more unreasonable?

Chen Xiao thinks it's Ray Allen.

Because Chen Xiao feels that it is a normal shot choice for him and Kobe to double-team. I have completed my shooting movements and my shots are definitely not hasty.

But Ray Allen's move was really hasty.

The shooting action can be simplified as much as possible, the shooting speed can be as fast as possible, and the distance from the defensive player can be as far as possible. In order to wait for the defensive player to react, you don’t even have to jump, just shoot on your tiptoes. This kind of shooting choice is very important for NBA and basketball. To put it bluntly, it is simply epoch-making.

At least, Chen Xiao can't shoot as fast as Ray Allen.

After all, Ray Allen is the fastest player in NBA history.

Therefore, although this style of play is magical to Chen Xiao and others, it may be ordinary to Ray Allen?

Just like to other people, Chen Xiao's and Kobe's shots are magical, but to him and Kobe, they are actually ordinary.

By the way, although Chen Xiao has played like Ray Allen in the finals this season, Chen Xiao has always felt that the two are different.

Chen Xiao's super long three-pointer in the finals only took up one distance. His shot was not fast and his movements were not simple.

Except for the distance, the two were completely different.

Chen Xiao is still traditional, Jordan, Kobe, and him, the traditional shooting passed down from generation to generation.

Ray Allen, on the other hand, is completely untraditional and epoch-making.

Looking back, the Cavaliers attacked. This time, Chen Xiao received a pass from James outside the three-point line and called Chandler out for a pick-and-roll.

This time Chen Xiao faced Tim Thomas' defense, and he made a small hit like Ray Allen just now.

Take off, bend your legs, lean back, stay in the air, and take action!

The movements are very complete, completely different from Ray Allen's quick shots that give opponents no chance to block shots.

Traditional shooting like Chen Xiao is actually not suitable for this kind of dry-and-dry shooting.

But Chen Xiao can, at least when facing Tim Thomas who is 2.08 meters and is not in a good defensive position, Chen Xiao can do it.

He's not as fast as Ray Allen.

But he is big and long enough!

A swipe!

5 to 3!

On TV, the slight smiles between Chen Xiao and Ray Allen when they looked at each other made O'Neal's heart skip a beat in front of the TV.

Not only Ray Allen, the Wonder Boy also seems to have a good touch in this game?

Also, did he really not collapse?