The Whip of the God of Basketball

Byron Scott's rich playoff experience allowed him to smell a bad taste from Walker's fast break layup, so when Jefferson broke through from the baseline and forced a layup, it was blocked by PJ Brown. , Paul Pierce squeezed Kenyon Martin to get a backcourt rebound, and the Celtics once again launched a third-line fast break. This happened when Reed dropped to the corner to catch the ball and fired a three-pointer. When the three-pointer was hit, Scott immediately called There was a pause.

The tactical formation used by the Celtics in these two rounds was completely unexpected by Scott. It was a 3-2 zone defense. Antoine Walker was not one of the 2 inside, but ran to the outside to act as a small player. forward. Pierce moved to the power forward position, guarding the inside with PJ Brown. Although Pierce is only 6 feet 6 tall, he is quite heavy and has a strong base. He can compete with Kenyon Martin one-on-one under the basket.

Antoine Walker originally suffered a disadvantage when facing Martin, but once he came to the outside, his height became an advantage. Together with Michael Reed and Arenas, they had excellent defensive positioning and cooperation. Kidd couldn't find any solution for a while.

Kidd had no choice, and Scott actually had no choice in his mind. He could only call a timeout to cool down the situation. The Celtics' continuous reliance on quick counterattacks to score points was not a good sign for the Nets. And Fox-Leon knew that Scott would not have any good ideas, and he would not have any contingency plans, because this zone defense tactic had not been used by the Celtics in the entire regular season, so Walker was asked to put Pierce on top of the inside line. The idea was formed through recent discussions with Hart, and after two days of full training in New York, it finally had the effect on the field.

"Three minutes, hold on for another three minutes. After three minutes, no matter whether the opponent's offense can break through our zone defense line, we have to change our defensive strategy. Return to man-to-man, enhance the protection of backcourt rebounds, shrink, remember us To shrink." Leon gave the players a three-minute time limit during the timeout, which is basically what it will look like until the next timeout.

Leon knows that this 3-2 zone defense is by no means impeccable. It has loopholes. Just like the loopholes in the 2-3 zone defense are at two 45 degrees, the weakness of the 3-2 zone defense is mainly at the bottom line. In the first half, the Nets' main attack launch points were at the top of the arc, 45 degrees and the ribs. They did not launch many attacks on the bottom line. In fact, in the previous attack, Kidd had already gone to the bottom line to organize the offense, which made Leon feel nervous.

Leon is convinced that Kidd will not be able to find a solution in a short period of time. Unless his three-point touch suddenly returns, the outside pressure of the 3-2 zone defense will suppress them for a while. However, Kidd's keen sense of smell on the court made him run to the bottom corner to catch the ball immediately, which was really scary, so Leon asked the players to only use this strategy within the next three minutes. Three minutes later, Once the Nets adapt to the 3-2 zone defense, they will quickly seize the weakness and attack.

Therefore, the Celtics must seize these three minutes to expand their score advantage as soon as possible to lay a good foundation for the subsequent games.

Sure enough, back on the court, the Nets' offense still showed little improvement. The Nets rely more on Kidd and Kittles to move the ball. Neither Martin nor Collins are masters of support inside. The 3-2 zone defense team is strong on the outside. The pressure made the Nets' ball guidance seem meaningless. Kenyon Martin tried to force the ball in the low post, but Pierce tried his best to get stuck and go around, denying Martin a good chance to catch the ball.

Martin is not a master of low-post offense and does not have the ability to create good scoring opportunities for himself. Once he feels uncomfortable receiving the pass and is in a bad position, it will be difficult for him to launch an offense. The mid-range shot that was displayed in the first half disappeared in the second half. When the whole team was not going well, he did not have the courage to use the mid-range shot to break the deadlock.

The final attack started from Kidd. He completed a small cooperation with Kittles in the bottom corner. Kittles passed the ball back to Kidd in the bottom corner. Kidd faced Arenas' defense and forced the ball. After missing a three-point shot, Pierce grabbed a backcourt rebound again. This was his eighth rebound of the night. Obviously, in addition to scoring, Pierce can also help the team in other ways.

With no pressure on the defensive end, Walker released more energy on the offensive end. He began to try to score points in mobile battles instead of fighting Martin in positional battles. When Pierce got the rebound, Walker was already on his way. Now the Nets face a very serious problem. When Walker moves to the small forward position, he is difficult to stop in fast breaks.

After receiving a short pass from Arenas, Walker slid into small steps, using a pace that was not fast but very rhythmic. He held the ball in both hands and gritted his teeth and drove into the basket. Martin had not had time to return to defense. At the same time, another layup ended the offense.

After scoring the goal, Walker waved his claws like a crab. It was obvious that this guy was a little carried away. He seemed to have forgotten all about the embarrassing situation when facing the Nets last year.

Such a scene indeed lasted less than three minutes. The Nets, who did not have a super offensive point, were choked by the Celtics' 3-2 zone defense, and they were unable to stop Walker's quick counterattack. Scott Te just watched helplessly as the Celtics widened the point difference from a few points to more than ten points in the third quarter. Finally, when Kidd finally hit a three-pointer from the right corner, Leon finally called a timeout. Time was up. They should put away their aggressive defensive strategies and use the remaining time to consolidate. Their advantage is gone.

68:55, the Celtics led the Nets by 13 points at the end of the third quarter. 13 points, in the 2003 NBA playoffs, was almost an insurmountable score at the level of the Eastern Conference Finals. The scoring of both sides may not break through 80 points in the end. The Celtics may break through 90 points if they feel better. In such an offensive and defensive situation, 13 points is an impossible task for the Nets.

In the fourth quarter, when Kittles and Kidd missed consecutive three-pointers, Leon knew that victory was not far away from him and the Celtics. The Nets had no Kobe, no Iverson, and no Carter. , without Tracy McGrady, no one can hold the ball and forcefully score points to narrow the gap between the two sides to a visible distance. Those three minutes in the third quarter were fatal for the Nets.

When the game ended, the score was fixed at 90:78, and the Celtics won their first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 12-point advantage. There is no doubt that this is Fox-Leon's night. The rhythm and melody of the entire game are in his hands. Compared with Leon, Scott, the best coach, looks like a stupid bear in the circus. .

Everything did not end with the Celtics' victory in New Jersey. The next day, on May 20, the Celtics and Nets had a second game. The Nets vowed to defend their A home ground. They pressed the Celtics from the beginning. The trident of Martin, Kidd and Jefferson swept away the offensive decline in the previous game, frequently forced quick counterattacks, and caused many defensive fouls by the Celtics. .

This situation lasted until the last quarter. There were still five minutes left before the end of the game. The Nets still led the Celtics by 6 points 77:71. The Celtics were very passive overall tonight. Leon's 3 The -2 zone defense has lost its effect. A three-pointer each from Kittles and Kidd made Leon give up the idea of ​​continuing the zone defense. Seeing that the Nets were about to slowly grind the 6-point gap to the end, Paul Pierce broke out.

He first stole Kidd's pass on the defensive end, counterattacked and made a layup. He also caused a foul on Kidd and made an extra free throw. Then the Celtics defended the Nets' offense. Pierce was unreasonable during the counterattack. made a direct three-point shot from the outside and tied the score in two rounds.

Scott called a timeout but failed to stop Pierce. Then Pierce hit a mid-range jumper and broke through for a layup in the last minute. He scored two crucial points and opened the gap between the two sides to four points. As Jefferson missed a jump shot from outside the three-point line, Chris Anderson grabbed the rebound, drew a foul, and made one of two free throws. The Nets missed another attack. The score of the second game was fixed at 81:86. The Nets lost again at home.

The Celtics unexpectedly won two games in a row on the road, taking a 2-0 lead in the series, and they will return to home next.

For a time, public opinion was exclaimed.