NBA Opening Draw To Twilight Shaquille O’Neal

That night, at 91:105, the Blazers won 14 points at home and won 9 consecutive victories, and stopped the Celtics' 4-game winning streak in one fell swoop.

In this game, the Celtics were powerless in the interior, and the combination of the interior, starting with Brandon Bass and Kelly Olynyk, was bombarded by Wang Zelin and some of Alter at both ends of the offensive and defensive.

In the face of his old club, Connet Lee became the starter tonight and played 28 minutes. He made 8 of 13 shots, 4 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 23 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover and 0 fouls. Field best.

The Celtics' atmosphere Jordan Crawford, and the brave Connett Lee couldn't find the North. He scored 11 points on 4 of 12 shots in 34 minutes.

Wang Zelin played for 30 minutes without much effort. He made 7 of 9 shots, 6 of 8 free throws, and scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

Kelly Olynyk, who had played well before, did not meet the Celtics' expectations for Wang Zhilian's defensive work. His physique was too fragile and his athleticism was average.

Although the offensive skills are comprehensive, in front of Wang Zelin, his physical confrontation ability is seriously insufficient, and it is difficult to maintain his shooting hand in the back.

After the game was over, a piece of news quickly detonated the league as soon as it was released, successfully stealing the Blazers' 9-game winning streak.

Before November 15, the league has scheduled two games, one is the Portland Trail Blazers vs. the Boston Celtics, and the other is the Oklahoma City Thunder away to the Golden State Warriors.

In the end, Westbrook hit a precious go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to make the score 115-114 and the Thunder went ahead by one point.

With only 2.3 seconds left in the game, a buzzer-beating lore hit, helping the Warriors complete the lore at 116:115, making Westbrook's go-ahead three-pointer useless.

After this game, the Warriors narrowly defeated the Thunder by one point. This season, they remained unbeaten with 4 wins and 0 losses at home. The Thunder suffered a two-game losing streak.

"The Thunder can't do it this year. It's a pity that we have one less opponent in the playoffs."

After learning the detailed process from the media, Wang Zelin was extremely disdainful.

The media reporters were dumbfounded, but they could not refute anything, because Wang Zelin, who led the Blazers to a 9-game winning streak, had the confidence to say this.

Winning the Celtics, the Blazers ushered in a 9-game winning streak in the first half of November.

During the period, although there were five regular season teams including Mosaic, Bulls, Knicks, Nuggets and Celtics last season, they still won, and most of them won by an absolute advantage of 10 or 20 points.

Next, it depends on whether they can continue to maintain this momentum in the second half of November?

Before the regular season started, ESPN, the authoritative media in the United States, guessed the probability of the championship: after the defending champion Heat experienced a 27-game winning streak in the last game, the probability of winning the championship was as high as 75%!

Although there are wins and losses at the beginning of this season, and the probability of winning the championship has dropped, the media agree that their probability of winning the championship is leading the league.

Before the 9-game winning streak, ESPN's estimated probability of winning the title for the Blazers was 28%; after the 9-game winning streak, it has now soared to 42%, all below the Heat's 48% and the Spurs' 46%.

The famous basketball commentator "Yang Yi of the United States" wrote in his SP column: "Leading the league's 9-game winning streak is not the biggest reason for the Blazers to get a 42% chance of winning the championship. The biggest reason is that this team has built a A very balanced system.

Not only does it lead the league in scoring average of 110.6, but it also controls the opponent's scoring average to 94, and the 16.6 point difference is no team can match.

With such a team, it's hard for me not to be associated with the championship stage next June! "

After only playing for half a month, the Trail Blazers have become one of the most anticipated teams in the whole meter. Whether it is Wang Zelin or several other starters, and even the bench players, they have received great attention.

"Do you really think of us as a department store?"

Nell Olsey received a large number of trade applications, some trading chips, and even he was moved.

For example, the Spurs submitted a trade application for Connet Lee, the Bulls wanted Mo Williams, and the Wizards took a fancy to Batum... Miami Heat is the most outrageous, and wants to use Bosh, one of the Big Three, for the Blazers' main power forward Aldridge.

But he eventually refused.

The team has a good chemical reaction up and down this year. If it is a marginal player, it can be considered. Players who exceed the important rotation level will not move.

...

On November 17th, on the road, the Blazers are about to challenge a tough stubble - the San Antonio Spurs.

This has been the case for the past few seasons. This year, the Spurs have always started so solidly. Except for the loss to the Lakers, they couldn't resist Kobe's 43-point bombardment. The other 8 games, the Spurs did not let go.

The current Western pattern is that the Blazers lead the Western Conference and even the entire league with 9 wins and 9 wins, followed by the Spurs with 8 wins and 1 loss. The Clippers and Warriors ranked third and fourth with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses, the fifth is the Oklahoma City Thunder, the sixth is the Grizzlies, the seventh is the Lakers, and the eighth is the Mosaic.

The top 8 teams in the West, except for the Mavericks who fell behind and were squeezed out by the Lakers, the remaining 7 teams have not changed.

The biggest change is the Portland Trail Blazers, who were supposed to be in the middle of the Western Conference, but now they are directly ranked first in the league.

Tonight, fans are about to see the first matchup between No. 1 in the West and No. 2 in the West, plus the two teams from last season's Western Conference finals. Therefore, this game was successfully rendered into a preview of this season's Western Conference finals after the media reporters' general rendering.

After all, as far as the current Western team’s combat power ranking is concerned, no matter how the media rank it, it is impossible for the Blazers and Spurs to be ranked outside the top three.

The rehearsal of the Western Conference finals is a bit exaggerated, and it can especially provoke hatred from other teams, but after reflection, the fans still agree with it.

In the away dressing room, several major media were approved to enter for interviews.

Flying Pig Barkley, no, now the ace commentator Barkley asked: "King, let's be honest, how many games do you want to win this season?"

Good guy, when Barkley came up, he selectively ignored the outcome of the game and directly asked about Wang Zelin's ambitions.

Wang Zelin said: "Charles, you know it. The winning streak is actually not important. What our team pursues is victory. If you are asking about victory, then naturally the more the better."

Eh, after a long time, you don't mean that you want the Blazers to win all the time, just say no...

So, the pre-match title is up to you: The Celestial Boys are in high spirits, no team can stop their winning streak, they will keep winning?

Barkley slandered and asked: "Go back to the next game, do you think the Spurs have put a lot of pressure on you?"

Wang Zelin smiled and said, "You should ask the people in San Antonio next door about this, and let them open their eyes and take a look. Who is the first in the ranking list now?"

When asked by the media about the team's record leading the league, Wang Zelin never shy away from the pride and confidence of himself and his teammates.

Not to mention that this is a fact in the first place. Have you ever seen a person who would cringe when he was young, and be mad when he should be mad. How can you be worthy of your youth?

"Oh! As you mean, the Blazers are pretty sure."

"The strength is in place, will victory be far behind?"

Wang Zelin asked back.

"...Okay, then I wish you the best of luck in the game." Barkley was once again stimulated by Wang Zelin's words, and fled from the locker room.

Wang Zelin was stunned for a moment, then waved quickly: "Hey man, you've only been here for a few minutes, the opportunity is rare, don't give up easily!"

Barkley stepped faster.

"Ha ha……"

The locker room burst into laughter.

In the home locker room, Simavic and his players were also being interviewed.

Speaking of which, the Spurs are an amazing team!

When interviewing other teams, media reporters first asked about the core players, and only occasionally interviewed the head coach.

It's a different story here in San Antonio.

The main object of media reporters' interviews has become the head coach Sima Wei, such as Duncan, Ginobili, Parker and the team's new core Leonard, few reporters interviewed them.

The reporters said: "You think we think, who made those guys all have ice cube faces, and they don't necessarily have a fart after laughing for a long time! If you have time, it's better to ask you a few more times. question."

Hey, the little old man seems to have drank two or two wines before the game, and that old blushing, it would be a pity not to hurry up to interview.

Kenny Smith, who was in charge of interviewing the Spurs, asked: "Greg, are you ready to interrupt the Trail Blazers' winning streak?"

Sima Weiwei pretended not to hear clearly and asked, "Winning streak? What do you mean by interrupting? What streak is coming..."

Kenny Smith frowned and increased the decibel: "You said, are the Spurs ready to interrupt the Blazers' 9-game winning streak?"

"Oh, this is it."

This time I heard it clearly, and Simavic quickly laughed: "Winning streaks or something, the Spurs have never pursued such illusory things. Besides, every season is a season for every NBA team. It's a marathon and we focus more on the final result.

Win streak or something, you should go to the bottom of the interviewer, now, Tim they are here, go, hahahaha! "

It seems that Simavic didn't drink enough fake wine today, and Kenny Smith couldn't get any valuable news from the interview.

Before the game, the two sides announced the starting lineup:

Spurs: Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Thiago Split

Trail Blazers: Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, Wang Zelin

The battle of focus will never be without the presence of the court staff.

After getting the starting list, Zhang Lili said: "The starting lineup of the two teams is the same as what we speculated before the game. Yu Jia, what do you think will be the key to the outcome of the two teams tonight, the Blazers and the Spurs?"

"Oh! It seems that Director Zhang has an idea. Why don't you talk about it first."

Hearing what Zhang Heli said, Yu Jia instantly knew that the former already had the goods in his stomach.

"Haha, then let me throw the bricks and attract the jade first."

Then, Zhang Helin explained: "Simavic took Thiago Split from the rotation this season. Although this big European white man has no shooting ability, he is not afraid of confrontation, is good at pick-and-roll, and is good at basketball. He's very good at protecting the basket and resisting the low post.

The interior defense system he and Duncan formed has allowed the Spurs to have an 11.5-point net rating in the eight games they have won this season, second only to the Trail Blazers.

Considering that many players broke out at the beginning of the Blazers, and the regular season has been played for a long time, the average points per game will definitely drop. It can be said that the two teams are at the top of the offensive and defensive league, and their starting lineups have been running very well. Then, the key depends on the performance of the rotation players! "

"Director Zhang, you mean the contest between Manu Ginobili and Mo Williams?" Yu Jia said.

"It's possible." Zhang Lili smiled.

If you want to select the list of players who have a chance to win the Best Sixth Man Award this season, Mo Williams, who averaged 15+ points per game in the Blazers, can definitely top the list.

With the league's No. 1 team scoring among the best off the bench, Mo Williams has the best chance of getting the best sixth man.

For Mo Williams, who has only been an All-Star in the Eastern Conference once in his career, the Sixth Man award is tempting.

The Spurs' Manu Ginobili happens to be a frequent visitor to the list of favorable contenders for the sixth man of the season award.

What kind of sparks will collide between the two will be known only after the game starts.

Players tunnel, the players of the two teams met.

"Meet again, the first power forward in history who occasionally guest-starred at the center position!"

Seeing the Spurs No. 21, Wang Zelin couldn't help but tease.

"..."

Duncan was silent and walked away slowly, but there was a smell of embarrassment in the air.

Both of them knew very well that when it came to the game, Thiago Split would not be able to guard against Wang Zelin, and the person who mainly guarded Wang Zelin had to be Duncan, but this guy was a power forward in the starting roster...

It's no wonder that Wang Zelin made fun of Duncan just now.

After the game started, Thiago Split was naturally inferior to Wang Zelin.

As soon as they got up, Duncan and Wang Zelin began to fight hand-to-hand without acting for a while. Tiago Split completed the jump ball and took the initiative to find Aldridge.

Duncan's stance angle is very tricky, and he uses both hands and feet to prevent Wang Zelin from receiving the ball in a comfortable position. In the playoffs last season, he made Wang Zelin uncomfortable in this way.

"How does it feel to be eliminated in the Western Conference Finals?" Duncan took the initiative to speak after entanglement with Wang Zelin for a while.

Duncan is... in a hurry?

Slightly stunned, Wang Zelin suddenly burst out laughing.

NBA game 48 minutes, naturally no one can do a whole game without speaking, of course, Duncan is no exception.

It's just that his state in the game is always full of concentration, and he is proficient in psychology, which causes him to be rarely stimulated by his opponents.

It may be the loss in the finals last season, or it may be the strong strength that the pioneers of the emerging team showed to the outside world, and finally even Shifo felt the pressure.

Deng Cheng knows that the Spurs' players this year are even stronger than last year, and it is a crucial year for winning the championship. If there is no success this year, the GDP will be one year older, and the hope of winning the championship will become increasingly slim... He does not want to miss this year.

Wang Zelin, who vaguely understood Duncan's psychological changes, responded indifferently: "So what? You are not the championship. In essence, you are a loser just like us!"

After responding, he suddenly mentioned the high position and set up cover for Lillard.

Lillard took the opportunity to break through, and the speed was so fast that the team's defense didn't have time to react.

This is the new task that Terry Stotts set for Wang Zelin: to increase the frequency of high-post cover and flanking, and temporarily reduce the number of low-post attacks.

For the coach's arrangement, Wang Zelin has no opinion.

Basketball is a 5-player game, let alone the NBA ceiling strength of Jordan, the **** of basketball, even if he has it, it is impossible for one person to play for 48 minutes from start to finish.

So, good teammates are really important!

After Lillard broke into the three-second zone, Leonard immediately came up to block, Lillard stopped the ball, and just passed it to Batum, who was open, Tony Parker was already stuck.

The speed of the Spurs switching defense is evident.

The Blazers passed the ball down, and time was running out.

"here!"

Suddenly there was Wang Zelin's shout, and Batum on the flank immediately shot the ball and handed it to Wang Zelin in the short corner of the right wing.

Duncan stretched out his hand to cover his face, and Wang Zelin completed the shooting pattern, ignoring the interference, and sent the ball into the basket.

At 2:0, the Blazers took the next game first, and the players quickly retreated.

Why did Wang Zelin agree to Coach Terry to implement his new tactic, because he found in the previous few training games that sometimes, it is not necessary to attack the frame in the low position to have an offensive threat.

After pulling out, Wang Zelin, who has a very high shooting threat, will make the opponent have to follow. At this time, the opponent's penalty area will be empty, and the breakthroughs of perimeter players such as Lillard, Batum, and Matthews will be useful. Martial arts...

Because Wang Zelin's passing ability has been recognized by everyone on the team, he can find teammates who have opportunities at the first time, and accurately guide basketball to teammates.

Moreover, whether it is Lillard or Batum and Matthews, they all have quite good ball-playing ability. If they are blocked, they can transfer the ball to teammates with better chances in the first place.

This kind of play will increase the number of times the team passes the ball, which will increase the team's overall assists, and will also make the teammates' stats look better...

As for Wang Zelin, his points may drop, but his assists will rise.

However, if this can make it easier for the team to win, he doesn't mind such a tactical play. After all, this type of play is more healthy than a low-post strong play, and it is also more conducive to protecting the body.

No way, the city of Portland has too many players who have received the "injury curse", which makes him feel terrified.

Don't be afraid of 10,000, just be afraid of what happens!

Of course, when there is a need, when the team's key ball needs someone to stand up and deal with it, Coach Terry will still choose to let Wang Zelin use his most assured low post to hit the frame.

After sending the baseline ball, Duncan shook his head secretly in his heart. Even though the ball seemed to be blocked in time, it was actually more than a beat slower.

Duncan with old arms and legs can no longer keep up with Wang Zelin's movement speed.

Spurs attack.

Came to the left wing low, the ball really handed over to Duncan.

The 37-year-old Duncan may need teammates to assist on the defensive end, but the offensive end is still as stable as when he was 27 years old.

Playing in a low position, he pushed Wang Zelin in with his back arched, and when he got closer to the basket, Duncan immediately turned right and tried to slip into the bottom corner.

Wang Zelin reacted and turned around immediately.

But at this moment, Duncan made an emergency stop, turned left one after another, stepped on the edge of the paint area, and made a two-point shot from a close range at a 45-degree angle.

"Bang ~ huh!"

Hit the board.

2:2, the Spurs tied at home.

"Oh hoo! Tim hit the plate on No. 36 of the Blazers. Is this the defense of the league's No. 1 center?"

Watching the fun is not too big of a deal, and Barkley yelled sarcastically.

"This is Tim, this is the charm of Stone Buddha! It is as simple and unpretentious as ever, but the opponent can't prevent it!" Kenny Smith praised.

When Wang Zelin and Duncan faced off, Barkley and Smith on the TNT commentary platform could not help but gradually favor the old guys who started playing from the last century.

However, the opposite Blazers No. 36 did not have the idea of ​​respecting the old.

To the Blazers offensive round.

Another familiar pick-and-roll, Lillard used a screen to break through, and after being blocked by Danny Green, handed the ball to Matthews.

Matthews dribbled the ball in two steps, Tony Parker switched in place, and blocked the forward line...

The familiar voice sounded again, Matthews played the ball, Wang Zelin responded from a high position, and completed the shot in front of Duncan...

The next moment, the Trail Blazers shot out from the bottom line, jumped up close to the basket, caught the ball with his right hand and pressed it into the basket.

"Bang! Blind Karaka!!!"

"Air Relay!!!"

Barkley and Kenny Smith exclaimed at the same time.

Outside the venue, Blazers coach Terry Stotts showed a satisfied smile.

If you want to beat the Spurs, you have to beat Duncan Stone.

Looking back at Shifo's playing history, who can truly stand on the absolute upper hand in his matchup? The one that left the deepest impression on the fans is the first five games between the Suns and the Spurs in the 2005 Western Conference Finals. The little bully Stoudemire with an average of 37 points.

It was a round of playoffs that was easy to make an impression, and even made many fans have the legend of "Sun Stoudemire beat Duncan at the peak".

In fact, the Spurs won the Western Conference finals that year.

Because in the eyes of the Spurs, there is no need for them to use Duncan and Stoudemire. Putting too much energy into the defensive end can lead to a lack of energy on offense, and Duncan hadn't lost weight at the time.

However, when looking back at the video of past games, Terry Stotts still got some inspiration.

Duncan relies on first-class anticipation and a strong body on the defensive end. His super wingspan allows him to cover the sky at the basket; a strong body can make O'Neal difficult for Duncan to get a bargain, and Duncan also has an excellent coping ability.

After talking about the advantages, come to the disadvantages.

The lateral movement speed is relatively average~www.wuxiaspot.com~ It is an undeniable fact that when Duncan faces opponents with fast feet and excellent shooting ability, it is often difficult to defend alone.

When Duncan played against Stoudemire when he was young, the latter scored high scores many times.

It’s also okay. When Duncan is dedicated to defending well, his opponents won’t get so many points, but Sima Vic at that time doesn’t allow him to patronize defense, and the Spurs still need him to score.

But now, Duncan is old, whether he wants to or not, he can't guard against Stoudemire in the Sun Age again.

The Trail Blazers don't have Stoudemire, but they have a stronger Wang Zelin.

The latter has all of Stoudemire's offensive abilities, and his personal ball-handling and coping abilities are stronger than Stoudemire...

Playing Duncan with an enhanced version of the bully is the strategy that the Blazers coach has worked hard for several nights.

At this time, Terry Stotts gave a wretched smile and was captured by the photographer on the sidelines.