I’m Really Playing Basketball

On May 6, 2007, the Eastern Conference semifinals between the New Jersey Nets and Bobcats began at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey.

Because of the special bond between Chen Xiao and the Nets, before the game started, there were New Jersey fans wearing Nets No. 7 jerseys on and off the court to greet Chen Xiao for the game.

It can be said that the love New Jersey fans have for Chen Xiao is still so hot four years later.

Even at the Continental Airlines Arena, many sharp-eyed reporters could clearly feel that the Nets fans wearing Chen Xiao's No. 7 jersey were better than the Nets fans wearing Carter, Marion, Richard Jefferson, Martin and Joe Johnson. Five basketball stars have more jerseys combined.

This makes people feel interesting.

"This is the home court of the Nets, but those who support the Nets' home court may not necessarily be the Nets players."

Seeing such a situation, Kenny Smith on the sidelines laughed and joked.

There is no doubt that the story of Chen Xiao's bond with the Nets is definitely one of the most interesting stories in the NBA in recent years.

Rod Thorn, the Nets general manager who sent Chen Xiao away for Carter, had already regretted it, and said publicly that he had made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.

It can be said that Chen Xiao's achievements and honors after leaving the Nets are the reason why Nets fans love him so much and why Rod Thorn is so humble.

If Chen Xiao is just an ordinary superstar or a superstar after leaving the Nets, then after four years, he and the Nets will eventually forget each other.

After all, even if it is Jordan, if the Bulls and Bobcats meet now, Bulls fans will definitely support the Bulls.

Time can dilute everything.

However, everything Chen Xiao has done in the NBA has not been diluted by time yet.

In any case, the way Nets fans greet and pay tribute to Chen Xiao still makes many reporters at the scene and many viewers in front of the TV extremely moved.

In a business league like the NBA, there are stories of true love between people like Chen Xiao and Nets fans. To be honest, it is quite touching.

"Chen, maybe you are the most beloved player in NBA history by the fans of your former team. Every time you leave, you never hurt the people who once loved you most. I am really curious now, how did you do it? .”

Seeing the Nets fans paying tribute to Chen Xiao on the sidelines, even Boss Qiao was quite envious.

Faced with this question from Boss Qiao, Chen Xiao, who was waving to Nets fans, thought for a moment and finally smiled, shook his head and said, "I didn't do anything."

Yes, he did nothing.

He didn't do anything deliberately, everything they did was done from the heart.

Faced with Chen Xiao's frank answer, Boss Qiao nodded naturally after being stunned for a moment, as it should be.

The first round of the playoffs between the Bobcats and the Raptors in G6 was played on May 4, and the first game against the Nets will be played on May 6. To be honest, this is really a big deal for the Bobcats. is quite disadvantageous.

But there's no way, that's how the schedule is arranged.

Facing the Nets, a five-forward team that claims to have no weaknesses and can overpower all teams, the Bobcats have already been fully mentally prepared.

Therefore, in addition to physical problems, the short time will not cause any difficulties for the Bobcats in preparing for the game.

After all, the Bobcats' imaginary enemies this season have always been the Heat, Magic, and Nets.

Of course, compared to the Nets, the same is true for the Heat and Magic.

On the court, after greeting Nets fans, former Nets teammates, and former Nets colleagues, Chen Xiao took his teammates on the court for a final warm-up.

To be honest, although this is not the first time to play an away game here, Chen Xiao still feels like he is in another world every time he looks at this familiar basket and venue.

When Chen Xiao was robbed here by the Nets, he really planned to play here until he retires.

He even made all the plans for his Nets career.

However, things never change as planned.

Chen Xiao is not reluctant to leave the Nets or anything like that.

After so many years, even if I had such emotions before, I no longer have them now.

On the other hand, if he had not left the Nets, he would have been the younger brother of James for at least two to three years.

Maybe he can win more championships, but it is absolutely impossible to achieve his current status and popularity.

Therefore, leaving the Nets was the beginning of his transformation into a butterfly.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao also showed a relieved smile on his face.

After the warm-up of the two teams ended, the starting players of the two teams also appeared on the court one after another.

The starters of the Nets at home in this game have not changed much. The five starters lined up in turn, Kenyon Martin, Marion, Richard Jefferson, Carter and Joe Johnson.

This is the Nets' starting lineup this season. Whether they are playing against a small team or a big team, this is the Nets' starting lineup, unchanged.

This is the strongest point of the five fronts. There is no need to make any tactical changes and formation changes according to any opponent. The five fronts tactics can find a way to play any team and any tactics.

Therefore, the Nets are definitely the most stable team in the NBA this season.

And this is one of the reasons why the Nets are so difficult to beat.

For the Bobcats, the five starters are center Weber, power forward Chen Xiao, small forward Granger, shooting guard Barnes, and point guard Roy.

Compared with the previous regular starting lineup of the Bobcats, the only two original starting lineups of the Bobcats are Chen Xiao and Granger.

In this season's regular season games, Webber, Barnes and Roy are all substitutes.

But in order to beat the Nets, the Bobcats made huge changes in this game.

Seeing the Bobcats' starting lineup for this game, domestic and foreign commentators and audiences such as Teacher Zhang and Xiao Su were all exclaimed.

"According to the experience of the two teams in the regular season, Bynum of the Bobcats is unable to gain the advantage of a big player on the offensive end because of his unstable single-player offense. He is very passive on the court and against the net. , The offense couldn’t attack, the defense couldn’t guard it, and in the end we could only grab rebounds.”

"Randolph is much better than Bynum, but he is not tall enough, and his offense is not concise enough. The Nets' five-point defensive rotation is too fast. If you slow down a little bit, you will encounter double-teams, and Randolph His shots are not enough under such a fast double-team rotation, and his defense is slower than Bynum, so it is also a side effect for him to meet the Nets during the regular season."

"Chris Paul is different from Bynum Randolph. Chris Paul's size is too disadvantageous. Facing opponents with five players above 2 meters, Chris Paul is very uncomfortable when he is one-on-one."

"Although this is the case, it is still quite amazing to make such a huge adjustment in a game. If Michael Jordan is not a rookie head coach, but a head coach with similar experience, he would never dare to make such a huge adjustment."

Yes, such a huge adjustment in this game is definitely against common sense according to the laws of basketball.

This kind of thing that goes against common sense can only be done by a rookie head coach like Jordan without any psychological burden.

Generally speaking, even if you suffer a loss again, you have to play one or two games before making adjustments.

But Jordan felt that the regular season had proven everything, so there was no need to try again.

Why waste a defeat in a game to prove something that doesn't need to be proven?

I have to say that Boss Joe was really decisive in this regard, so after seeing the Bobcats starting, Pat Riley frowned on the sidelines.

The Bobcats only had one day to prepare for the game between the Bobcats and the Nets. It seemed a bit rushed, and the Nets also felt rushed.

Although the two teams are imaginary enemies of each other, Pat Riley never imagined that Jordan would make such a move in this game.

Therefore, although the whole audience is now exclaiming Jordan's boldness, Pat Riley is secretly praising Jordan's decisiveness in his heart at this time.

If you want to be a successful head coach in the NBA, decisiveness is more important than ability.

In the center of the court, the starting players of the two teams were already standing, while Chen Xiao and Martin were ready to jump the ball in the center circle.

Chen Xiao and Martin's jump ball is of course at the level of a rookie pecking each other.

If they didn't want to make Weber more tired, the Bobcats would definitely not have Chen Xiao's turn to jump the ball.

As for Brother Martin, although his official height is 2.06 meters, his naked height is actually 2.03 meters, which is 2 centimeters taller than Chen Xiao, but his wingspan is much shorter than Chen Xiao, and his athletic ability is not as strong as Chen Xiao.

Therefore, in this jumping ball between rookies, Chen Xiao defeated Brother Martin and won the first attack of the game for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats attacked, Roy dribbled the ball across half court, and as soon as Roy took two steps off the dribble, Bobcats defender Carter directly came up, preparing to press Roy.

This is a fixed routine of the Nets' defense, half-court press!

The Bobcats, who have five forwards, are unique in pressing defense, and this is why Jordan took the small gun into the starting lineup.

Although Xiao Pao is good at controlling the ball and strong in confrontation, his figure is too disadvantageous!

In such a high-intensity game, and in the playoffs where referees are not likely to whistle easily, it is better to let him lead the substitutes than to let the guy who is covered in the starting lineup fall off his feet.

Faced with Carter's aggressive half-court press, Roy's dribbling seemed very slow and not that fast, but after Carter bullied him, Roy very calmly used his big butt to turn around, and then Pass Carter.

Seeing how calmly Roy overcame Carter's pressing on the court, the cannons on the sidelines couldn't help but give their own applause.

Although his butt is not small, due to his size, it is definitely not as easy to use as Roy. Therefore, when Carter is pressing, he will use his athletic ability to control the ball, but the effect is not that good.

Because Carter's athletic ability is quite strong!

Don't forget, this Carter is the Carter who was only hurt once by Bowen!

Therefore, Carter is definitely one of the best players in the NBA combining strength, athleticism and skill.

In terms of the combination of strength, athletic ability and technology, perhaps only Chen Xiao and Kobe Bryant are comparable to Carter in the entire NBA.

Of course, although Carter is very strong, in history, Roy was very good at handling this ball, mature and effective, and he was able to face Kobe with ease, which made Kobe sigh.

Therefore, although after passing Carter, he made a move and was bullied by Carter again, Roy had already got a chance to play the ball.

After leaning against Carter, Roy threw the ball behind his head. Webb, who responded, made a wall on the spot after receiving the ball, and passed the ball to Roy, who was running, by the way. Blocking Carter from his side.

Although they got rid of Carter's defense, each of the Nets' five forwards can dislocate the defense, so the Bobcats' offensive opportunities actually did not fully appear.

But there is no doubt that compared to playing Carter, for Roy, facing Kenyon Martin is actually a misplacement for him.

So, after receiving the ball again, Roy looked out of the corner of his eye at Chen Xiao, who was entangled by Marion not far away. Facing Martin's defense, Roy made sudden changes again and again. After passing Martin, he went straight to the basket. With the help of Richard Jefferson, Roy made a backhand layup and hit!

2 to 0!

The Raptors, playing away from home, took the lead to score with Roy's single!

Roy, who scored, showed a grateful look to Chen Xiao, who was taking Marion away not far away.

He was able to score so easily in this attack, mainly because Chen Xiao's prediction was too good. He predicted his attacking intention in advance, and all of them made Marion empty.

As a teammate of Chen Xiao, Roy has always admired such incredible golf intelligence.

Speaking of golf quotient, Roy can indeed be admired. After all, Chen Xiao, who has a 100 golf quotient, is one of his most outstanding advantages.

Of course, Chen Xiao is equally satisfied with Roy.

To play against the Nets, what is needed is sharper and decisive singles.

The Nets' defense is extremely strong. Basically, if you want to get open shooting opportunities, it is a dream.

Every time you attack, you need to face the defender.

If you don't have Roy's outstanding singles ability, you can only face Martin's defensive throws.

Under Jordan's leadership, even the Bobcats, who are a singles team, can play singles against any of the five Nets players. Except for Chen Xiao, Roy is the only one left.

This is no joke.

Xiaopao and Granger are also very strong in singles. Xiaopao is worse than Roy in strong shooting ability, and Granger is worse than Xiaopao in ball control and skills.

Why is Cannon sitting off the court and Granger on the court?

Because against the Nets, strong shooting ability is better than technology.

In this round of the series, it is conceivable that Chen Xiao must be the most focused player on the offensive end of the Bobcats. Therefore, besides Chen Xiao, it is very important to have a player who can face anyone who can play singles.

With such a threat, the Nets would not dare to focus all their defense on Chen Xiao.

Looking back, the Nets attack.

Faced with the Bobcats, which has undergone a drastic change in the starting lineup, the Nets players have clearly lost focus on offense.

In the regular season, they can play Zach Randolph, Bynum, and even Paul.

But now, Weber, Chen Xiao, Roy, Barnes, Granger...

Every Bobcats defensive player is not that easy to match up.

Although Webber looks like a bully, on the defensive end, he sits under the basket and doesn't come out.

And Martin's shot is not eligible to call Webber out.

Therefore, in order to play Webber's defensive 'loophole', Martin needs to play at the basket.

As Martin's former teammate, Chen Xiao knows that Martin's power under the basket is great. This little Garnett can do everything. As long as the defensive player has shortcomings, he can catch them.

And Webber is definitely deficient in defense right now.

Therefore, on the court, after the Nets had five forwards and one pass, Martin got the opportunity to bully Webber, an "old man" at the basket.

To be reasonable, if you give Martin enough time to twist and turn, luckily, and turn around, Weber will definitely not be able to defend Martin.

But obviously, Chen Xiao, who was helping to defend, would definitely not be able to give Brother Martin such a chance.

Although the five forwards stretched Brother Martin's offense very far.

But Chen Xiao decisively released Marion and rushed back to the inside to help defend.

Of course, before Chen Xiao released Marion, Chen Xiao signaled his teammates to take turns.

After the Bobcats narrowed the position, the defensive rotation was equally rapid.

Soon, when Chen Xiao returned to the basket to help defend, the opportunity to rotate appeared to Richard Jefferson.

When Garnett and Martin saw Chen Xiao coming back, he knew he had no chance, so he could only pass the ball to Richard Jefferson outside the three-point line.

In the past few years, Richard Jefferson's three-pointers have improved a lot, from 25% to 36% this season. Even in the playoffs, he has a 32% hit rate. A 42% hit rate.

The problem can also be seen from this. Richard Jefferson's three-pointer is as unstable as the Six Meridians Excalibur.

Therefore, under the interference of Chen Xiao's high-speed running back from the way to help defend Martin, Richard Jefferson failed to make the shot.

Weber, who was under the basket, used his height and anticipation to successfully protect the backboard.

"Wonder Boy's help defense is so wonderful. He has long hands, long feet, fast speed and explosive strength. Magic Boy and LeBron James of the Cavaliers are simply born for help defense!"

"The help defense like Wonder Boy has limited effect on attackers who shoot well or are very tall, but for attackers like Richard Jefferson whose shots are not very stable and who are not too tall. , which is a great deterrent.”

"However, the Bobcats were able to defend themselves this time. It was also very important that Webber was not easily penetrated by Martin at the basket. Although Webber's athletic ability has declined greatly, his flexibility, skills and experience are still there. He is still better than ordinary people now. The big center is flexible and fast.”

"And what's very interesting is that even this season, in the Pacers, the only time Webber faced Garnett directly was when he scored 16 points on 8-of-12 shots, but Garnett scored 14 on 4-of-13 shots. Points, and another interesting statistic is that Kenyon Martin’s career-high score against Webber was 17 points, and his shooting percentage was only 40%.”

"There's no doubt that Chris Webber is one of the most experienced players in the NBA playing 'Garnett-type' players."

Yes, Webb is the best player the Bobcats could find to play against Martin.

The reason why the Bobcats and Jordan spent so much energy to find Webber is that in addition to playing five small teams and providing solutions to the Heat, the most important reason is to solve the problems of the Nets and Martin.

Especially after playing against the Heat in the regular season and proving that the five players brought by Webber cannot beat the Heat, Webber's biggest role in the Nets is to use it against Martin!

Obviously, judging from this defense, it can be described in one word.

"Your uncle is still your uncle!"

And what makes Brother Martin even more depressed is that Webber's earth-shattering pass was so scary!

Chen Xiao, who rushed out to help defend Richard Jefferson, didn't stop at all after taking off to help defend and land. Instead, he rushed directly to the frontcourt, as if he knew that Richard Jefferson's shot would be forged.

"No, even if Richard Jefferson hits this shot, he still believes that Webber's fast-break pass can find him!"

Seeing Chen Xiao running wildly on the court and successfully receiving the pass from Weber after crossing the half court, the look on Pat Riley's face on the sidelines was already dark.

Why is Pat Riley turning black?

"You know, the Nets' return defense is the fastest in the NBA!"

"This fast break of the Bobcats, this connection between Webber and Wonder Boy, this is not a kick in the Nets' butt, this is simply a slap in Pat Riley's face!"

The Nets players already realized the seriousness of the problem when they rebounded in the backcourt under the protection of Webber, so they retreated frantically.

But it was obvious that Chen Xiao did not give them a chance to retreat to their defensive position.

After receiving the pass from Weber, Chen Xiao only took two steps, even if he did not reach the three-point line, he was only two steps outside the three-point line. In order to prevent the Nets players from returning to his defensive position, Chen Xiao He still chose to jump high two steps outside the three-point line!

Looking at Chen Xiao jumping high in the air, Carter and Marion, who were chasing after him frantically, looked as if they had seen a ghost.

This is a shot full of déjà vu!

"Ray Allen!"

"This is the way Ray Allen shot when the Nets played the Bucks in the first round!"

Listening to the wild shouts of Barkley and Kenny Smith, and looking at Chen Xiao's picturesque figure on the court at this time, Ray Allen clenched his fists in front of the TV.

"No, he's closer to the three-point line than me!"

Because Weber's pass is stronger than Braxon's, Weber's pass created a chance for Chen to take a closer step!

And this step is very important!

A swipe!

The crisp sound of a basketball hitting the net came, and after a moment of silence, the scene suddenly became boiling!

5 to 0!

"You can get in here?!"

Pat Riley on the sidelines was a little stunned and speechless.

"I just sent away a god, and now another god has arrived?!"