The Way of the Center

The gap of 12 points is not too much, but it is definitely not a lot. UCLA fans reveled in joy in the stands. They firmly believed that no matter how dark a dark horse is, it will never pass UCLA.

"In the second half, we will play zone defense!" Ricard drew on the whiteboard in the locker room for a minute before finally speaking.

"Zone defense?" Just like Anjie was allowed to play singles in the first half, the Cyclones have not played zone defense this entire season. The players looked at each other in blank dismay, they only practiced zone defense during training, is it okay to suddenly use it in actual combat?

Not only the NCAA, even in NBA games, zone defense is rarely used by coaches. One is because the current NBA places more emphasis on individual ability and fast pace, so zone defense runs counter to this concept. The second is that the NBA's three-point line is relatively far away, so the area of ​​​​area defense is expanded, making defense more difficult.

However, although it is used less in the NBA, it is not without successful examples. The most recent is the 2-2-1 zone defense used by the Spurs in the finals in 2007. Popovich used this trick to make LeBron James very uncomfortable.

Ricard knows that zone defense requires a high degree of tacit understanding of a team, and zone defense will greatly reduce the rhythm of a team. But these also happened to be the style of play of the Cyclones, so he decided to give it a try.

"No matter how they pick and roll and break through, I want you to stick to your zone! 2-3 zone defense!" Ricard patted the whiteboard vigorously.

Conventional tactics won't work against an opponent like UCLA. Now Ricard can only take the risk and play something different. Anjie's singles tactics in the first half allowed him to solve the problem of offense, and now he has to gamble on defense with zone defense.

Since it is a joint defense, An Jie doesn't have to follow Love around. His only task now is to stick to the basket, which is more conducive to the performance of An Jie, who has a strong desire to defend today.

If the integrity cannot be achieved on offense for the time being, then Ricard will use the zone defense to bring integrity to the defense.

At the beginning of the second half, everyone in the Cyclones faithfully implemented Ricard's tactics, not even giving UCLA a smoke bomb.

"The defense of the Cyclones... Did Coach Ricard arrange a zone defense?" This is the second time Philips was surprised by the Cyclones' strategy today.

Ben Holland also didn't expect the Cyclones to make defensive changes. How well the tactics are arranged can only be known by watching the players play a few rounds.

Westbrook hasn't seen the change yet, and he's still waiting for his teammates to run out of space through off-ball pick-and-rolls. However, a few seconds passed, and he didn't even see an empty seat!

Westbrook took a few steps back, ready to break through.

With a few simple crotch changes, Westbrook rushed in against Mike Taylor. The difference in physical fitness between the two was too great, and Mike Taylor was powerless.

After successfully breaking through, the Cyclones put a lot of emphasis on the mid-range defense, which is also one of the shortcomings of the zone defense. Although it was slightly larger, it was not completely empty. Westbrook still gave up the idea of ​​an emergency stop jump shot, and he was still a little afraid of Anjie's super large defensive range.

Love ran towards the bottom line, Westbrook controlled the ball and waited for An Jie to withdraw from the penalty area, but An Jie just watched Love run away without any intention of following him.

"What's going on?" Westbrook was about to pass the ball. When he looked up to find someone, he realized that Love didn't get an open shot. The man defending him became Anthony Ben.

"Zone defense!?" As a point guard, Westbrook's tactical training is still very good. But his reaction was still slow, and at this moment Westbrook was already caught in a pincer attack.

With Anjie's defense in front, Westbrook didn't dare to mess around.

He passed the ball again, ready to reorganize the offense. But UCLA passed several handballs, but couldn't find a gap. The players of the Cyclones have a tacit understanding in defense. Everyone's position will not be wrong, and there will be no situation where two people defend one person at the same time and miss the other.

Seeing that the attack time was getting less and less, Westbrook had to attack reluctantly. In the end, under the interference of Cruz, Westbrook's mid-range and long-range shots still deviated from the basket.

Love is a player with strong rebounding talent, and it is common for him to score a large double-double. But now, Love, who is floating outside the three-point line, can't teleport to the penalty area to compete with Anjie for rebounds no matter how talented he is.

An Jie, who had been cruising near the three-second zone, got stuck early, and he didn't give UCLA a second chance to attack.

Love, who had three fouls on his back, no longer dared to make any major moves on the defensive end. He was afraid that once the Chinese seized the opportunity, his foul count would only continue to rise. As long as there is nothing wrong with his playing, then the person who flops will not find a chance.

However, basketball is a sport of fierce confrontation, and there is no such thing as a completely clean basketball.

Love was timid at the beginning, so Anjie's offense was easier. switch? No one in UCLA can let go of the inside line that Love can't guard against. Double team? That hit George Ricard's arms. Ben Holland decided to just spend time with the Cyclones, to see whether Love would be ejected first or Anjie would be exhausted first.

But when Anjie made Love's fourth foul, Ben Holland's heart was shaken. If Love fouls out, then UCLA's offensive firepower will also be greatly reduced.

"Coach Ben Holland had to replace Kevin Love. His defensive performance today was too calm!" The commentator didn't know that Love was very calm. The opportunity to take advantage of the rules will never be let go.

"That damned liar!" Kevin Love yelled at An Jie after he was off the court, and An Jie made free throws on the court like a normal person.

"Okay, okay, I know, I replaced you to send you up at a critical moment." Ben Howland has never seen Love get so angry. What did the Chinese do to him? What?

Westbrook's breakthroughs frequently hit the wall. He can pass Mike Taylor cleanly in various ways, but whenever he breaks in, Angie is always waiting for him inside. Except for two mid-range pull-up jumpers, Westbrook had nothing to do in the second half.

UCLA's offense is in a quagmire, but without Love's defense, the Cyclones' offense is getting better and better. An Jie didn't have any obstacles in the interior, and he punched hard.

However, this situation only lasted for a few minutes, and the powerful UCLA will not be defeated by the zone defense so easily. Westbrook was the first to disagree.

Both Collison and Mbah a Moute became too cautious after hitting a wall, but Westbrook continued to challenge the Cyclones' defense.

He tried to break into the penalty area to face Anjie several times, was blocked once, succeeded directly twice, and drew a defensive foul by Anjie once. Such efficiency made Westbrook's confidence soar.

Looking at the passing of minutes and seconds, the Cyclones still failed to tie the score. Ricard did not expect that this point guard would be so tenacious.

Westbrook was unwilling to be reconciled, and he was hidden behind O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose. He feels that he is no worse than those two talented guys. However, because he has several excellent teammates around him, Westbrook is still often overlooked by people. Today, he wants to let experts all over the United States know the name Russell Westbrook!

Two tough and powerful guys, both intent on leading their teams to victory. The two sides are incompatible with each other, and the only way is to use all their strengths to knock each other down.

The stubborn Westbrook gritted his teeth, and Anjie, whose physical strength was declining, took a few breaths. The two of them will not stop unless one of them falls.

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