150 They Know Exactly What the Trail Blazers Are Going to Play at This Time.

May 3rd.

The second round of the Western Conference playoffs has officially begun.

The Trail Blazers visit New Orleans.

The little Chris Paul stood on the court with his hands on his hips. While he greeted the roar of the New Orleans fans, he stared firmly at the opposite Trail Blazers players.

Even though Chris Paul is a small player on the court, his desire to fight and aggressiveness on the court are as good as anyone else.

"Guys, cheer up."

"They defeated the Rockets."

Paul said very seriously to his teammates next to him.

During the regular season, the Rockets double-killed the New Orleans Hornets. This team's inside line is the combination of offensive arrow David West and defensive powerhouse Tyson Chandler. It stands to reason that they can compete with anyone in the league. Insiders should not be afraid.

But on the contrary, they are not afraid of the Lakers with Gasol, nor are they afraid of the Spurs with Tim Duncan. They are not afraid of the Magic with Howard in the East. They are afraid of the Rockets with Yao Ming.

Therefore, in the final competition of the regular season, the Hornets must rush to second place in the Western Conference no matter what, just to avoid the Rockets.

And now this Trail Blazers team is the opponent that defeated the Rockets, and Paul naturally values ​​​​it very much.

David West chuckled, and then said seriously: "Then let them see how powerful we are in the pick-and-roll. In the last round of the playoffs, they couldn't even guard Yao Mai's pick-and-roll style. Against us, they could only He will be beaten worse."

In pre-game analysis, Hornets head coach Byron Scott watched the last series between the Rockets and Trail Blazers from start to finish. He was a little shocked by Zhang Jun and Tracy McGrady's scoring performance, and even more shocked. What happened was that Zhang Jun's one-star shot shot directly through the Rockets.

However, after analyzing the key to the Trail Blazers' victory and Zhang Jun's personal offensive characteristics, Byron Scott also analyzed the weaknesses of the Trail Blazers' defense and lineup.

That is, the outside line relies too much on Zhang Jun's defense, and there is no qualified defensive player on the inside, so it is always inefficient when defending pick-and-rolls.

It just so happens that the Hornets, Jazz and Suns are the best pick-and-roll teams in the league, so Byron Scott conveyed a point to the players that this Trail Blazers team will be very afraid of them.

The starting lineups of the two teams were shown on the big screen.

Trail Blazers: Center Joel Przybilla, power forward Aldridge, small forward Zhang Jun, shooting guard Brandon Luo Yin, point guard Jarrett Jack.

The Hornets' starting lineup: center Tyson Chandler, power forward David West, small forward Peja Stojakovic, shooting guard Maurice Peterson, and point guard Chris Paul.

"The Hornets went into a two-forward lineup." Monty Williams reminded.

Nate McMillan nodded.

Maurice Peterson is 201cm tall. He is an excellent defensive player familiar to all teams. He is a standard swingman. He is physically strong. His height, body shape and mobile feet can match most of the first-class swingmen in the league. .

Unlike other first-class defenders, Maurice Peterson has fewer small defensive moves. His defense is completely like gummy candy, which often makes the opponent's top offensive players spend more energy than usual to achieve the usual offensive effect. The most important thing is that he commits very few fouls.

It happens that the Trail Blazers' Brandon Luo Yin is a player who likes to use physical confrontation to complete the offense, so Nate McMillan is very worried that Luo Yin's offensive efficiency will be greatly affected when facing Maurice Peterson. Influence.

"But Peja Stojakovic, the other forward on the Hornets, is exactly the opposite of Maurice Peterson."

"He is a three-time All-Star and the league's most famous marksman. He has maintained a 44% three-point shooting rate this season and averaged three shots per game. He is the regular season three-point shooter this season. Number one!"

The Hornets' two forward lines, one offensive and one defensive, give Nate McMillan a headache. Zhang Jun is the most important defense point in the Trail Blazers. He needs to take care of both inside and outside opponents, but now he is facing Peja S. Tojakovic will probably make Zhang Jun very painful.

All! All!

The referee's whistle blows and the game begins.

Jump ball at midfield.

Tyson Chandler, who is 216cm, pushed the ball into the backcourt during a fight with Joel Przybilla.

Paul controls the ball!

Compared with Nash, the league's already famous point guard master, Paul is not a player who relies on speed to pass the ball on the court. He is another passing type and may be a better point guard type than Nash.

Jarrett Jack's continuous attempts to lift the ball came back in vain.

Paul's center of gravity in controlling the ball is very low, so low that it makes people feel a little abnormal. His dribbling and hitting the basketball are so powerful that you can't judge the movement of the basketball at all, and his dribbling speed is very fast.

Unlike most point guards who take one dribble, Paul takes two steps every time he dribbles the ball, and each step has many purposeful tests.

Or passing the ball or breaking through or changing direction.

With such a dribbling center of gravity coupled with such dribbling habits, defenders will be very afraid of the opponent's sudden acceleration while dribbling.

call!

Sure enough, Paul accelerated the moment he dribbled the ball to the ground, and Jarrett Jack was passed half a step.

This is not about passing people by speed, but by dribbling rhythm.

boom!

Jarrett Jack, who wanted to go up to defend again, suddenly felt a thick wall appear behind him, and he quickly turned around and took a look.

It's Tyson Chandler.

The Hornets' pick-and-roll came at the same time!

The Trail Blazers decisively chose to switch defense.

This is also the best defensive strategy, otherwise Paul would have shot the ball directly to the basket.

Paul did not accelerate completely after taking advantage of the pick-and-roll. Instead, he made a forward change of direction facing the big man in front of him, and then faked a step back.

call!

Mid-range shot!

Joel Przbilla was so shaken that he didn't dare to step forward. As he kept retreating, he watched Chris Paul take a mid-range shot and quickly stepped forward to meet him.

Uh-huh!

The ball goes in!

"Nice mid-range shot."

"This is a textbook-level teaching of small and large."

Kenny Smith couldn't help but praise it from the commentary box.

"I remember one time when I was interviewing Paul, I asked him who was your favorite player as a kid," Barkley said.

"He told me without hesitation that it was Allen Iverson."

"But Paul's personal skills have nothing to do with his idol. He does not have extremely fast speed or a huge range of passing. On the contrary, he has learned the skills of all point guards in the league and the scoring method that guards rely on most."

"Especially his mid-range, his floaters and his passing, and certainly other things."

"A 183BA player like Paul survived and played so well. He has many unique things."

Switch offense.

Brandon Luo Yin held the ball at a 45° angle on the left, and the Hornets' Maurice Peterson immediately stepped forward and used a dog-skin plaster-style defense.

Confrontation, hitting the ball, hitting people, and never taking a step back.

This kind of defense put a lot of pressure on Luo Yin. He first opened up a step of space, and then asked for a pick-and-roll from Aldridge.

It's just that Morris Peterson's fierce squeeze during the pick-and-roll never gave Luo Yin a chance to change positions easily.

Still facing Morris Peterson, Luo Yin chose a fadeaway jumper from the mid-range.

Duang!

The first ball was struck.

Luo Yin frowned and glanced at Morris Peterson with some fear.

The ball just now was interfered with by the opponent.

Switch offense.

The Trail Blazers as a whole returned to defense very quickly. Chris Paul advanced quickly with the ball. His counterattack speed was half a beat slower than Zhang Jun, but his passing speed and accuracy were very high.

Snap!

Paul passed the ball quickly, and the basketball bounced off the sole of Zhang Jun's foot and passed through the gap between the two Trail Blazers defenses to find Morris Peterson.

boom!

The latter quickly held the ball and completed a dunk.

"Nice counterattack!"

"The Hornets completed a wonderful collaboration in front of the Trail Blazers, who are the best in counterattack and fast break in the league."

Zhang Jun stared at Paul with more and more solemn eyes.

"How did he manage to find his teammates so keenly and pass the ball accurately while running with the ball quickly?"

Zhang Jun is a little incredible. Paul's passing ability is better than he imagined.

This is a completely different backcourt player from Tracy McGrady, smart and sharp, but equally offensive.

Trail Blazers offense.

Brandon Luo Yin once again held the ball at a 45° angle on the left side. Without any surprise, Morris Peterson once again stepped up and defended tightly.

This time it was Aldridge's pick-and-roll. Luo Yin knew that Maurice Peterson would squeeze through in advance, so this time he relied on Aldridge's wall to take a quick shot after using the pick-and-roll.

"Fuck."

Morris Peterson secretly said that he was in trouble. He was still trying to get rid of Aldridge's wall when Luo Yin took action. He jumped over to interfere, but he was still a step too late.

Uh-huh!

In!

“Very stable mid-range shot.”

"Brandon Luo Yin is known as the Yellow Mamba. He is a top shooting guard in the Western Conference. His offensive methods have a lot of shadows of Kobe. Although his physical talent is not as good as Kobe's, his movements are very similar and smooth."

On the commentary table, Barkley and Kenny Smith were still talking, but Luo Yin looked very solemn at the moment.

He didn't play well against Maurice Peterson.

"I can't always let my brother solve the team's difficulties. He also has to defend, lead the rotation in the second quarter, and close the game in the fourth quarter. I can't leave all the problems to him. "

"I want to score for the team at this time."

Luo Yin licked his lips, his expression gradually becoming firmer.

Zhang Jun looked over. He noticed that it was not easy for Luo Yin to play against Maurice Peterson in the two balls just now, so he looked inquiringly.

"no problem!"

Luo Yin raised his right hand and shouted.

Zhang Jun chose to believe without reservation and smiled. Aldridge beside him also said with conviction.

“If this guy says it’s okay, it must be okay.”

Next round.

Luo Yin once again held the ball against Morris Peterson, and Aldridge moved up to pick and roll.

Accelerate, pass people, hit the basket, face Tyson Chandler's frame protection and Maurice Peterson's pursuit behind him.

Luo Yin decisively threw his body into the air and faced Tyson Chandler's defense for a layup.

Snapped!

The basketball was kicked out by Tyson Chandler. Luo Yin fell to the ground. At the same time, the referee blew the whistle. Tyson Chandler clenched his fist and shouted at Luo Yin.

"Don't even think about taking a layup in front of me!"

All the Trail Blazers players gathered around, Aldridge pushed Tyson Chandler away, and Zhang Jun pulled Luo Yin up.

"How about it?"

Luo Yin stood up, patted his legs and turned his head naturally and said, "No problem."

Zhang Jun glanced at Tyson Chandler, who was still chattering there, and walked towards the three-point line.

Made both free throws.

"Luo Yin of the Trail Blazers was playing desperately. He had to stabilize the offense for the team during this period. This foul was not easy to cause."

Paul then held the ball on the outside and played a small game to attract double teams, then transferred the ball to Peja Stojakovic on the weak side. Zhang Jun let the latter two steps away because of his help in defense.

But these two steps were a very short return distance for Zhang Jun, but Peja Stojakovic immediately took a shot.

His shooting range is very high and his shooting speed is also very fast. For other opponents, Zhang Jun can almost get back to the defense, but for Peja Stojakovic, letting him go is dangerous.

Uh-huh!

"This ball feels stable as soon as I take it off."

"Peja Stojakovic, he is a two-time three-point contest champion. He is also the first in three-pointers this season. He is the most powerful shooter in the league."

"It is definitely not a good choice for Zhang Jun to short him."

Zhang Jun also blamed himself very much for this goal. He obviously found that Peja Stojakovic was a shooting type he had never encountered before.

This European player is a player with a soft touch and very solid shooting skills.

The first quarter is over.

The Trail Blazers trailed 24:28.

Second quarter of the game.

Zhang Jun, who took a three-minute break, led the shooters back on stage.

The Hornets' rotation consists of point guard Janello Pago, shooting guard Bonchy Wells, small forward Julian White, power forward David West and center Melvin Yilai.

"Two more defensive leaders."

complained Monty Williams.

Although the shooting guard Bunch Wells and small forward Julian White brought in by the Hornets at this time are both players with a salary of 3 million, and their personal abilities are not very outstanding, they are both fierce on the defensive end. host.

Julian Wright has excellent physical fitness and a long wingspan, which makes him look more advantageous than his actual height on the court. On the defensive end, Julian Wright's comprehensiveness allows him to defend and control. Players in 4 positions from guard to power forward.

His defensive footwork is very good, and his ability to stay in the air is also very strong. He is a player with a high basketball IQ and full of team spirit.

Wells is a unique heavy-ton swingman, a master of chaos, less than two meters tall, but his statistics and low-post singles ability are like those of a power forward. Generally speaking, he is a good defender, with extraordinary ball-stealing ability and quick reactions. quick.

Nate McMillan said with certainty: "The Hornets are preparing to use these two strong and fast players to block Zhang Jun. They know very well what the Trail Blazers are going to play at this time."