130 Trail Blazers VS Celtics

"Lakers vs. Cavaliers, Kobe vs. LeBron James."

"Spurs vs. Magic, Tim Duncan faces the new generation of potential center Howard."

"There are also the Trail Blazers and Celtics. The Trail Blazers' three young cores of Zhang Jun, Luo Yin and Aldridge will adjust the league's only Big Three combination of Wolf King Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. "

After Kenny Smith introduced the upcoming Christmas Day game, Barkley immediately asked curiously.

"Kenny, which one of these three games are you most looking forward to?"

Kenny Smith said with a smile on his face: "I believe the fans in front of the TV have seen the battle between Kobe and James many times. To be honest, although I still want to watch the two of them play against each other on the court, this game has nothing to do with it. Compared with the other two games, they are slightly less attractive to me and I have less expectations.”

"Howard was the No. 1 pick in 2004. This is already his third season in the NBA. Everyone knows that NBA rookies must produce results after two seasons of growth and training. At most, they cannot exceed Four years, otherwise it means limited potential.”

"This season, Howard averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. He is already worthy of being the number one center in the Eastern Conference. If it weren't for Yao in the Western Conference, I think he could be named the number one center in the league." ”

"And Duncan is the most accomplished big man in the era of the last four centers. Howard and Duncan, this is absolutely very beautiful."

"But the ones I want to watch the most are the Trail Blazers and Celtics."

Barkley laughed and said, "I think so too."

"Although the Celtics only formed a Big Three lineup this season, they have played very well together. Their current record is 24 wins and 6 losses, ranking first in the Eastern Conference with a terrifying 80% winning rate. At the same time, this is also the best in the world. The best record in the league.”

"Garnett, the Wolf King, is a powerful insider with a defensive system like Howard, Paul Pierce is a kaleidoscope of offense, and Ray Allen is not one of the players who has produced the most three-pointers this season."

"Coupled with the fact that the Celtics also have powerful players such as Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, and Kendrick Perkins, they are definitely the team with the highest claim to win the championship this year."

"The Trail Blazers, with a record of 20 wins and 10 losses, rank fourth in the Western Conference. The three young players performed very well on the court, and there is also Zhang Jun who averaged 30 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie season. ”

"It is necessary to mention that Zhang Jun currently ranks second among the league's scoring leaders, second only to LeBron James of the Cavaliers."

"This is definitely the best Christmas game this year, bar none!"

........

December 25th.

The Christmas war is about to begin, and the pre-game excitement has already been high.

Portland, this is the city’s first Christmas war after 14 years.

People in this city are already crazy about tonight's game.

Team owner Paul Allen also came to watch the game. Before the game started, he had a brief exchange with Zhang Jun who was warming up on the court.

Zhang Jun has a good impression of this gentle boss, who has no scheming ideas, at least when it comes to basketball, and is a very pure basketball fan.

Players enter.

Zhang Jun entered the stadium as the last one in the finale.

The DJ at the scene shouted excitedly: "The last one is Zhang Jun, the single-season scoring leader in UCLA team history from Los Angeles, California, the first step in California, No. 4, 202cm tall small forward Zhang Jun!

"

The entire stadium was dark. When Zhang Jun walked onto the court, the spotlights were always on him. On both sides of the player tunnel were cheerleaders, and beyond that were all his teammates.

The scene was filled with piercing cheers from fans.

Zhang Jun raised his hands and high-fived his teammates one by one.

"Give it your all guys."

"Portland Trail Blazers! Go! Go! Go!"

Over there with the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo whispered to his teammates: "A rookie is full of stars."

Kendrick Perkins still remembers what head coach Doc Rivers told him, so he reminded him: "Be careful of his breakthrough. This guy was unstoppable in previous games."

Garnett put his hands behind his back and said expressionlessly: "That's because he didn't meet us. Give him some color and see. I'm going to pull him down from the sky tonight!"

The big screen quickly showed the starting lineups of the two teams.

Portland Trail Blazers: Aldridge, Joel Przybilla, Zhang Jun, Brandon Luo Yin, Jarrett Jack.

Celtics starting lineup: point guard Rajon Rondo, shooting guard Ray Allen, small forward Paul Pierce, power forward Kevin Garnett and center Kendrick Perkins.

Game start!

Jump ball at midfield.

Garnett leaped high and dived for the ball from Joel Przybilla.

Celtics offense.

Rajon Rondo advanced with the ball, and he gestured to the sky with one hand to signal his teammates to start running.

Garnett was covering without the ball in the corner, and Ray Allen used the pick-and-roll to get to the bottom line.

The Trail Blazers took a step back as a whole to prevent Rajon Rondo from passing the ball directly to the penalty area. Ray Allen ran to the other side, and Luo Yin quickly followed up after being picked and rolled.

At the same time, because Ray Allen's movement cleared the strong side, Paul Pierce got a singles opportunity.

This is a very classic strong side clearing tactic, the purpose is singles.

Rajon Rondo passed a high-profile pass to Paul Pierce at the waist position, and Zhang Jun defended alone.

Holding the ball, turn to the front, take a step forward and then perform a fake move, then lean forward to perform a fake move and follow up with a fadeaway jumper.

Paul Pierce's speed is not fast, but his rhythm is very good, especially the combination of breakthrough and retreat movements. It is difficult for defensive players to see clearly the virtual and real situations.

Zhang Jun also did not notice Paul Pierce's singles intention at the first time, so he was a step late when defending Pierce's step-back shot.

Fortunately, his wingspan is an advantage when guarding Pierce. If someone else were to guard this ball, it would be almost difficult to interfere with it.

Uh-huh!

Still got in.

"nice shot!"

"Nice singles moves."

"Celtic scored the first Christmas Day goal."

Switch offense.

Luo Yin received the ball at a 45° angle on the right side, and the Trail Blazers also chose individual singles in the first round of offense.

Ray Allen defended sideways and took the initiative to give Luo Yin room to break through to the middle.

Although Ray Allen's defense is not very good, he has very good defensive experience. He knows that Luo Yin's personal offense involves a lot of physical confrontation, and he will suffer a disadvantage when facing the opponent, so he took the initiative to give There is a space on one side in the middle direction, let Luo Yin go in that direction.

Luo Yin did not refuse this offensive opportunity. He accelerated with one step and leaned on Ray Allen to reach the middle and into the penalty area.

Suddenly.

The Celtics contracted 4 people!

Rajon Rondo shrank at the top of the arc, mainly interfering with Luo Yin's passing. Paul Pierce shrank at the waist to prevent Luo Yin from further breaking through to the left for a reverse layup.

Kendrick Perkins is in the help position, keeping an eye on Aldridge and Joel Przybilla.

As for Garnett, who was supposed to defend Aldridge, he naturally stepped up his defense at this time and became the main inside pillar to help defend Luo Yin's breakthrough.

boom!

Luo Yin relied on Ray Allen's forced shot and met Garnett's head-on block. Then the opponent took off for a second time and grabbed the defensive rebound.

"This defense is so suffocating!"

The scene on the court made Barkley shake his head and sigh.

The best defensive era in the NBA was in the 1990s, and Barkley was in that period. After 2000, the NBA slowly began to speed up and strengthen its offense. This was due to the fact that the basic skills of the players became more and more solid and excellent. In addition, The league intends to promote offense, so the rules are more beneficial to the offense.

"After 2000, the strongest defense in the NBA is undoubtedly the iron barrel formation of the Pistons. Now there is another team to add, and that is the Boston Celtics."

"Both teams are as strong as the top defensive teams in the 1990s!"

Kenny Smith said: "So the Trail Blazers are probably going to be in big trouble tonight."

"They are a completely offensive team and can rank among the top five in the league in terms of offensive efficiency. But unfortunately, the Celtics are the team with the highest defensive efficiency in the league this season!"

"Not only are they strong in defense inside, but they are also strong in defense on the outside. Not only are the starting lineup strong in defense, but the rotation lineup is also strong in defense!"

"If the Trail Blazers' offense can't break down the Celtics' defense, then they will definitely lose tonight, and they will be dealt with badly."

"This is the intimidating power of a championship-level team!"

After hearing this, Barkley said decisively: "Offense wins box office, defense wins championships! This is an unchanging truth in any era."

Barkley heard about Portland's high box office this year and the sales of surrounding malls. Frankly speaking, based on the performance of the Trail Blazers' three young cores on the court, especially Zhang Jun's pleasing breakthrough highlights on the court, they have played well this season. There shouldn't be much of a problem entering the playoffs, and it's natural that the box office results will be good.

But if you want to compete with a team like the Celtics, whose defense is at the playoff level, I'm afraid it's not even close.

The Celtics went on a fast break.

Rajon Rondo advances very quickly with the ball. He is also a player with a very good overall view, so he has already observed Zhang Jun who is chasing behind him.

Rajon Rondo snorted and did not choose to stop and wait for his teammates to reorganize. He also knew that Zhang Jun had a physical defensive advantage, but he was not afraid.

call!

Rajon Rondo poked the ball into the sky, then turned sideways like a top and pulled the ball back for a layup.

"It was a feint layup."

"What a feint layup!"

"The fake action is so beautifully done!"

boom!

!

Zhang Jun slapped his head and covered his face with a big hat that directly sent the basketball flying away.

Rajon Rondo looked back at Zhang Jun in disbelief, and rubbed his braces unhappily.

"I'm very familiar with your fake moves, so don't do it in front of me next time."

Zhang Jun said in a friendly way.

However, in the eyes of Rajon Rondo, such a reminder is Chi Guoguo's provocation, which is still very arrogant.

The Celtics take a throw-in.

Rajon Rondo quickly threw the ball into the sky, and Garnett leaped high to face Aldridge and Joel Przybilla's defense and dunk the ball in.

"ah!"

Garnett, the wolf king, began to roar, beating his chest while roaring.

Neither Aldridge nor Joel Przbilla can jump as high as Garnett. I have to say that Rajon Rondo’s passing angle, height, and timing are all just right, flying in the air. Garnett doesn't even need to make any adjustments to complete the offense.

"And Garnett didn't have a chance in that round just now. It was Rajon Rondo's pass that led him to complete the alley-oop dunk."

“This guy’s passing is really good.”

Trail Blazers offense.

Luo Yin was a little embarrassed. Although he averaged 20+4+4 per game this season, he was still a sophomore in the end. It was his first time to face the Celtics' level of defense. Overwhelming.

"Brandon, give me the ball."

Zhang Jun shouted at the right time.

Luo Yin nodded. He knew that Zhang Jun's breakthrough was a weapon that could destroy the city. At this time, only the opponent could destroy the Celtics' defensive formation.

"Well, the ball is in Zhang Jun's hands."

"This time period is a bit too early, but Zhang Jun's breakthrough threat is much greater than Luo Yin. The Celtics must figure out how to defend him."

Kendrick Perkins saw Zhang Jun suddenly holding the ball, and immediately reminded his teammates and shouted: "Don't let him get into the paint easily."

Kendrick Perkins didn't know why, but he always had a bad feeling lingering in his heart during tonight's game, especially when he faced Zhang Jun. The feeling he gave him was very unusual.

Paul Pierce is guarding Zhang Jun alone. He is very strong and is not afraid even of James of the Cavaliers, but he is not fast.

Paul Pierce quickly took a step back and took the initiative to give Zhang Jun a shooting opportunity from beyond the three-point line.

This season, Zhang Jun has a 33% three-point shooting rate. He is not particularly hip-stricken. He is also confident in taking shots from beyond the three-point line.

But, he has three-pointers, eh, he just doesn’t shoot.

boom!

!

Zhang Jun exploded very quickly in his first step and broke through directly in front of Paul Pierce. The latter was very experienced in raising his body to defend, which gave Zhang Jun a lot of physical confrontation, which could also slow down the opponent's breakthrough speed.

"Why!"

Paul Pierce felt a huge force in his abdomen. He had no idea that this tall and thin rookie could explode with such power in a confrontation.

Paul Pierce did not gain an advantage in the confrontation. This scene made Kendrick Perkins on the inside even more nervous. He immediately stepped forward to help defend Zhang Jun. This was also the task assigned to him by head coach Doc Rivers.

But Kendrick Perkins still yelled.

"Kevin, I need you to help defend."

Garnett was speechless when he heard this. You are here to help defend, and I want to help you defend? !

In the Celtics' defensive tactics system, only one of Kendrick Perkins and Garnett can help defend, and the other must shrink inside to prevent the opponent's big man from opening up in the penalty area.

So Garnett didn't rush over this round.

call!

!

Zhang Jun took a step inside and jumped into the air.

Kendrick Perkins knew the opponent's height and wingspan, so he used all his strength to jump into the sky as hard as he could.

But Kendrick Perkins is a big fat guy after all. Zhang Jun can't jump as high as him. However, his jump blocked Zhang Jun's tendency to fly forward. It was equivalent to being directly fixed in the air, and he could only fly upward. There is no force to fly forward.

Kendrick Perkins' defensive awareness is also very good.

Zhang Jun, who was in the air, estimated the distance between himself and the basket. After finding that he couldn't reach it, he had no choice but to smash the basket.

boom!

!

On the court, a scene suddenly appeared that shocked all the fans, players and audiences around the world.

"Zhang Jun pressed Kendrick Perkins' head and dunked the ball directly into the basket!

"