NBA Opening Draw To Twilight Shaquille O’Neal

In the second quarter, the two sides rotated players to compete.

In this round, the Trail Blazers' rotation lineup was fairly strong, and they were evenly matched against their opponents, and they still had a slight upper hand.

"Fortunately, Lillard, Barton and Batum each scored assists, which didn't let the score fall too far. The Trail Blazers' second team is also very strong in this quarter, and they should be able to rush back to the main force." Xu Jicheng said.

"Ade may be really tired. He has played almost 100 games in a season. He is the only player in the main lineup of the Trail Blazers who is over 30 years old. His energy is not as good as before, that's for sure. " Yu Jia said.

"Ade can't move at this point, it should take over the offense here." Zhang Lili said.

"That's for sure!"

"necessary!"

Hearing this, both Xu Jicheng and Yu Jia nodded.

The second quarter hit the official timeout, and the Blazers trailed by 4 points at 47:51.

In comparison, the Trail Blazers' bench thickness may be the deepest in the league, and the Warriors' bench thickness is not bad at all, but under normal performance conditions, it is still a little worse than them.

From the beginning of the second quarter to the official suspension of the 9 minutes, the Trail Blazers only allowed the Warriors to score 20 points, while they themselves scored 22 points.

Not only did the Warriors fail to widen the point difference as they wished, but they also narrowed the previous 6-point difference to 4 points, which can be regarded as overfulfilling the task.

During the official suspension period, Coach Terry re-distributed the main lineup to attack. The strategy remained unchanged. Wang Zelin was still the main defense and support, Aldridge was in charge of the main offense inside, and Lillard, Button, and Batum were on the outside.

He still doesn't believe that Aldridge's hand feeling will always be so bad. There are less than three minutes left before the end of the first half, and the point difference is not too big. He chooses to give it another go.

If Aldridge really can't play, it's not too late to change his strategy in the second half. On the contrary, once he makes a good shot, the Blazers' offense on the court will be more calm, and Wang Zelin will be more relaxed at the basket.

Players from both sides returned to the court, and the Warriors also switched back to the main lineup.

Wang Zelin ran to the frontcourt and asked Aldridge, "Tired?"

"Fortunately, the muscles are a little tight!" Aldridge replied.

"Relax, don't feel pressured, if they dare to let you go later, don't hesitate, shoot directly, I have the rebound!" Wang Zelin said.

"Okay!" Aldridge nodded, a smile finally appeared on his long-strained face.

The game continued, and the Blazers' offense was very aggressive.

That feeling is like wanting to swallow the opponent in one gulp.

But the Warriors have been more resilient than many expected.

Especially Curry, many people have been deceived by his innocent baby face. In fact, this guy's mental attributes and ability to withstand stress are at the historical level, even no less than many legends of the older generation.

For example, a certain Los Angeles No. 24 who did not want to be named.

With only a few minutes left in the first half, Curry hit two mid-range shots and a three-pointer. He scored 8 points for himself and scored a game-high 19 points in two quarters!

Driven by him, the Warriors' shooters also showed their touch and confidence. Even Green scored two three-pointers in the first half.

On the Trail Blazers side, Alder recovered after returning from the game, but not much. He only made one of three shots and scored 3 points with free throws.

At halftime, 54:62, the Blazers trailed the Warriors by 8 points.

If I remember correctly, this should be the first game since the playoffs this year. The Trail Blazers trailed their opponents so much in half a quarter. No wonder it will surprise many people.

But considering Aldridge's sluggish state, it can be explained.

At the same time, Curry felt overwhelming tonight, making 7 of 11 shots in the first half, including three three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 19 points efficiently!

It is precisely because of his high efficiency on the outside that affected Wang Zelin's rebounds, the Blazers did not have enough advantages in terms of shots taken in the first two rounds of the series, which is part of the reason why the Blazers fell behind in the first half.

Due to Wang Zelin's absolute dominance over the basket, the Blazers' shooters have become accustomed to taking more shots than their opponents in every game. Suddenly, the number of shots counted down, which made them a little unaccustomed.

"Zering made 6 of 7 shots in the first half, 4 of 5 free throws, scored 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, sent 3 blocks and 1 steal. Although his offensive desire is average today, more is Relying on the second offense at the basket and cutting to the end to score, but still became the best scorer in the Trail Blazers!"

Looking at the data sheet in his hand, Zhang Lili couldn't help but marvel.

"However, looking at it this way, as long as the outside offense has a strong touch, it can really avoid the king's defense. But few people can maintain a strong touch in the whole court. As long as the touch is down, the king can use his defense to gain an advantage for the Blazers. "Xu Jicheng said.

Yu Jia said: "Most of Curry's offenses just now were concentrated in the mid-to-long range, and he only had 2 rushes to the basket. As long as he feels down, he will approach the game area in large numbers to improve his shooting rate. And it is necessary to just give the king out. Opportunity to defend!"

"So unless he can hit the ball from a position far away from the king throughout the game, he will definitely take the initiative to approach the king." Xu Jicheng laughed.

Zhang Lili shook his head and said again: "But the Blazers also have a weakness. Al, who is the second scoring point in the team, has a physical problem. After two quarters, he made only one of nine open shots and only scored 5 points by free throws." He can't open this point, now there must be another point to stand up in time to share the pressure for Zelin."

Yu Jia nodded: "Lillard is 2 of 5 today. The offense can only be said to be quite satisfactory. Alder is obviously out of shape now, and he must perform next."

The three of them pointed out Jiangshan in the commentary booth, and the Chinese fans in front of the TV listened with gusto, and the 15-minute intermission passed quickly.

At the beginning of the second half, the two sides basically continued the rotation in the first half of the second quarter in the third quarter, but the Warriors replaced Iguodala, which further strengthened the offensive stability and perimeter defense.

In the 6th minute, 70:76, ​​the Blazers were still 7 points behind, and the two sides made substitutions.

The Blazers resumed the main lineup in the first quarter, while the Warriors, the Splash Brothers stayed on the court to maintain the threat of outside offensive, Iguodala was still on the flank, Green and Bogt were replaced, and Speights and Azeri played.

The Blazers attacked, and Aldris pulled out the inside line.

But Speights didn't follow, because Albic felt too bad today. He took so many shots in the first half and only scored 5 points. He directly emptied Aldridge.

The Blazers were the main players on the outside. Lillard and Batum squatted in the corners on both sides. The Warriors had to send someone to watch, and they couldn't double-team. So Speights let Aldridge go, and Azeri Double-team Wang Zelin together.

But at this moment, Aldridge ran back to the game area, and together with Button, stuck Ezeri behind.

Speights was in a dilemma, and finally chose to return to the basket.

But it was still a step too late, Wang Zelin passed the ball, Aldridge received the ball, made a sideways layup and hit a goal.

This cooperation made the Warriors dare not come up to double-team Wang Zelin in the next time, and could only guard the basket.

After observing in the first half, after realizing that Aldridge was indeed out of form today, coach Terry asked Wang Zelin to assume the responsibility of his main attacker again.

Within four minutes, Wang Zelin sent two consecutive blocks, making the entire three-point line a no-fly zone for the Warriors.

The offensive performance is even sharper. The combination of Speights + Azeri is far worse than the combination of Green + Bogt. He hit all four shots in a row, and there was another 2+1, and he scored 9 points in a row.

During this period, Cole paid the price for his underestimation.

Originally thought that the Warriors were still leading by 7 points, and the presence of the Splash Brothers would be enough to maintain the offense, so he habitually committed the problem of sailing against the wind and waves, and actually chose to replace Green and Bogt.

After this wave of operations, it can be regarded as paving the way for Wang Zelin's short-term scoring explosion.

The last two minutes of the third quarter.

86:82, the Blazers in turn led by 4 points.

More importantly, the Blazers scored a total of 16 points during the period from switching back to the main force and leading. In addition to Wang Zelin scoring 9 points, Aldridge also contributed 4 points, a cut layup and a mid-range jump shot.

Since then, Aldridge is only one point away from scoring in double figures tonight.

In the second half of the third quarter, his state began to recover slowly. This result excited the home fans on the sidelines.

"LaMarcus is getting better and better, so the Warriors are ready to die!"

"This is what the defending champion should look like. It doesn't matter if we are led by half the game, as long as we are the ones who win in the end."

The fans on the sidelines talked a lot, and the atmosphere in the Rose Garden Arena, which had been silent for a long time, began to become lively.

In the last two minutes of the third quarter, the two teams made lineup adjustments.

For the Trail Blazers, Aldridge and Jokic continued to stay on the court to find a touch. Beverly and Morrow were sent in the backcourt, and veteran Jefferson was flanked.

For the Warriors, Azeri is still the center forward, and Green played to lead the team, partnered with the backcourt combination of Barbosa and Livingston, and Barnes played on the flank.

"Adelaide has finally recovered his touch, now it depends on whether he can maintain it in the last two minutes."

The Blazers re-established their lead, and Yu Jia also smiled.

"The Warriors don't want to see Adelaide regain his touch, so they specially sent Green to target him." Xu Jicheng said.

"There is an obvious height gap between the two. Although Green has amazing wingspan, I think that as long as Adelaide's performance just now is not a flash in the pan, his offense is definitely not something that Green can control."

Next, the Trail Blazers mainly played Aldridge at the fourth position. At the end of the third quarter, he frequently played various singles in the middle distance and low position on the left side that he is most familiar with.

The Blazers were attacking. At this time, Aldridge was carrying Green on the left wing to ask for the ball. After receiving the ball, he made a direct face-up jumper, looking very confident, and successfully hit a two-pointer.

88:82, the Blazers lead by 6 points!

"Hey, this ball is played too calmly, and the height advantage is obvious!" Zhang Lili said.

"No way, Green's defense is good, but it also depends on who is playing. Once Aldridge enters the state and wants to choke him while playing, I am afraid that there is only one person in active service who can do this. "

The more the Blazers lead, the brighter the smile on Yu Jia's face.

"Let me guess who this person you're talking about...haha, I guessed it, you're talking about the king!"

Hearing Xu Jicheng's words, Zhang Lili and Yu Jia both laughed.

Sure enough, Aldridge, who became more and more confident, hit Green three times in a row, making two of three shots, one of which caught the ball from the bottom corner and hit a three-pointer. Adding the two points in front, he scored 7 points in two minutes!

After three quarters, Aldridge lived up to the patience of the coaches and teammates, and finally recovered the status of the champion team's second leader in the second half of the third quarter.

If the previous 4 points were due to Wang Zelin sharing the pressure, then the current 7 points are all due to him relying on his personal ability to forcefully shoot from Green's head.

From being undercover in the first half to being an important player who helped the team overtake in the second half, Aldridge's transformation caught everyone by surprise.

And all of this stems from the fact that Cole couldn't help but get sick in the second half of the third quarter and changed the starting inside combination.

This wave gave Aldridge a chance to turn around. When he regained his touch, Green's single defense was no longer effective against him.

At 95:89, the Blazers established a 6-point lead.

The fourth quarter started, Cole was honest this time, and immediately resumed the starting lineup.

The same is true for the Blazers, who sent the starting five.

At the end of the quarter, the Blazers attacked first, and when they reached the left wing of the frontcourt, Aldridge did not move, but stood against Green on the three-point line and asked for the ball to the top of the arc.

In the original timeline, after Aldridge joined the Spurs later, he followed the trend of the small ball era and developed his three-point shooting ability, and his power was not low.

Take the 19-20 season as an example, he averaged three shots per game, hit 1.2 three-pointers, and made 38.9% of the three-pointers.

As a big pitcher, he could also be called an outside turret in the league at the time.

This big man who has proved that he can practice reliable three-pointers, after partnering with Wang Zelin, he has practiced a precise outside long-range shot several seasons in advance.

As far as this season is concerned, Aldridge averaged 3.5 three-pointers per game, made 1.5 shots, and made 42.9% of his three-pointers!

You know, even Ku Ritian, the number one player in the three-point field today, has a three-point shooting percentage of 45.4% in the regular season.

Of course, this is related to the fact that the opponent's defensive focus is mainly on Wang Zelin.

Thinking about it carefully, as a teammate with a super center who has the ability to score points at the scoring level, Aldridge must have a lot of open opportunities, and it is reasonable to be able to shoot more than 42% of the terrifying three-pointers.

It's just that the next goal still seemed a bit too much.

Seeing that Aldridge was going to play singles again, Green suddenly became upset. He asked you to play a few times in a row. I really thought it would be enough. If you and that **** Asian guy were not teammates...

While complaining wildly, Green's pace was not slow, and he immediately circled forward, but Aldridge made a simple back run, and Lillard's pass fell into Aldridge's hands.

Then, in the face of Green's lunge, Aldridge ignored the defense~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and directly pulled up, his face full of confidence.

"Shua!"

Difficult three-point shot, hit.

At 98:89, the Blazers lead by 9 points and are about to establish a double-digit lead.

"yeah!"

All the home fans cheered.

They didn't expect that Aldridge, who welcomed my role in the first half, quickly completed self-salvation in the second half. If he wins tonight, he will definitely be an important contributor.

The momentum of the whole team also rose crazily with this extremely tough three-pointer.

This game is stable!

Coach Terry had a faint premonition in his heart.

(end of this chapter)