155 The Miracle of the Youth Army

"coach."

Monty Williams was getting nervous by now.

He is very worried that the team will not be able to survive the zone defense strategy that the Hornets are currently using. After all, it is a 3-2 zone defense.

In the playoffs, many teams will use zone defense tactics at a certain period of time, and they can often achieve very good results.

Of course, few teams use zone defense right from the start, because this tactic also has weaknesses.

Nate McMillan said: "The 3-2 zone defense system is similar to the 1-2-2 zone defense. The difference is that the defender in the middle is located high in the middle instead of at the top of the key."

"Because there are three defenders on the outside, the defensive pressure on outside players is very strong, and the two players on the inside position themselves in advance to break through the gaps, so there will be great restrictions on the breakthroughs of offensive players."

"Simply put, this defensive tactic is completely designed to defend perimeter players."

"Of course, such an all-or-nothing defense also has great weaknesses."

Monty Williams immediately became excited and asked anxiously: "What's the weak spot? Can we attack it?"

Nate McMillan said with a bitter smile: "The 3-2 zone defense is a tactic of giving up defending the inside of the penalty area in order to defend the outside. Therefore, the pressure in the penalty area is very small. As long as we have an inside man to get the ball in the penalty area and perform singles, this tactic will naturally not work. Attack and break."

Upon hearing this, Monty Williams' excitement immediately evaporated.

He really wants to say that there is no strong center in the Trail Blazers. Which team in the league does not know that the center position in the Trail Blazers is the weakest. Any team you pick can be one point better than the Trail Blazers. .

"So, this tactic we use is completely useless, right?"

Nate McMillan said helplessly: "You can't say that. When you encounter a strong force, you will be strong. If you encounter a strong force, you will be hard. The Hornets adopted this defensive strategy of focusing on defending the perimeter. In addition to defending Zhang Jun, it also restricts our outside pitchers. "

"If the Hornets have such a crazy lineup and can't prevent our three-pointers and Zhang Jun's breakthrough, then they will be unable to defeat us, even in one game."

Monty Williams couldn't help but tremble his lips. This was too exaggerated.

The Hornets are already defending the perimeter and Zhang Jun's breakthrough. Can the Trail Blazers still face the difficulties?

How strong is this.

Nate McMillan looked back at the court. At this time, he put all the team's hopes on these players on the court, no, to be precise, on Zhang Jun.

He murmured: "The playoffs are the stage for superstars. Zhang Jun, can you grow from an outstanding player to a league superstar? Just tonight."

On the court.

Zhang Jun faced Julian White's defense with the ball. He quickly carried the ball to the penalty area with a breakthrough. Bunch Wells immediately stepped forward to double-team to help defend. At the same time, Tyson Chandler on the inside quickly took a step up. Stand on Zhang Jun's route in advance.

Zhang Jun immediately turned his back and dribbled. He wanted to punish his opponent with mid-range.

But in this series, the Hornets have already seen the power of Zhang Jun's mid-range shooting. Even Paul has to admit that Zhang Jun's mid-range shooting has begun to take shape. Coupled with his terrifying wingspan and physical talent, he is very effective on the court. No less powerful than Paul.

So the moment Zhang Jun turned his back, Julian White and Bunchy Wells immediately used personal defense and used physical resistance to violate Zhang Jun's center of gravity, so that he faced high-intensity confrontation at all times.

At this time, the two of them don't have to worry about Zhang Jun's breakthrough, because Tyson Chandler on the inside is already in a defensive position.

Zhang Jun noticed the Hornets' defensive intentions, so after turning his back, he did not choose a mid-range shot, but instead observed the positions of his teammates.

James Jones has one step of shooting space, and Channing Fletcher is slightly better with one and a half steps, but there is Ryan Bowen between him and Zhang Jun's passing route.

If Zhang Jun passes the ball, there is a high probability that it will be intercepted in the air. He does not yet have the ability to pass the ball in front of the defender.

"Oh no, the ball has been stopped!"

Seeing this scene on the field, Kenny Smith and Barkley on the commentary desk were worried at the same time.

Barkley wanted to say that this might be the first real problem the Trail Blazers have encountered in the playoffs.

"If the Trail Blazers can't solve the Hornets' 3-2 zone defense, they will have a high probability of being beaten back by the Hornets and directly eliminated."

On the court.

Zhang Jun suddenly shouted: "Fu Lai!"

Qian Ning Fulai had already noticed Lane Bowen's position, and the opponent had been preparing to steal. After hearing Zhang Jun's call, Qian Ning Fulai took a step up with a clear conscience and crossed the defense. The man re-establishes the passing route and at the same time opens his hand for the ball.

This gave Zhang Jun the confidence to pass the ball.

call!

Zhang Jun finally passed the ball, and Julian White, who was closest, immediately pounced on it.

It can be seen that the Hornets have already made sufficient preparations before the game, and they are very clear about the problems and weaknesses they will face when using this defensive tactic.

Julian White is very fast, and with Channing Fletcher running to catch the ball, it is difficult for him to shoot immediately. At least he has to process the ball again and be ready to shoot.

But as a result, Channing Fulai's shooting opportunities were completely gone. He, who was originally full of confidence, also stopped in place with the ball in his arms.

Zhang Jun suddenly asked for the ball again.

Channing Fletcher returned the ball without hesitation.

Seeing this scene, Barkley was suddenly shocked and shouted: "Go in and out! The ball is still in Zhang Jun's hand."

Kenny Smith frowned and still didn't understand why Barkley was suddenly so excited. Zhang Jun on the court had already told him the answer.

Zhang Jun, who re-catched the ball, once again executed a breakthrough tactic. At this time, Julian White switched to guard Qian Ningflei and couldn't double-team him, so a small loophole appeared in the 3-2 zone defense formation.

It was this loophole that allowed Zhang Jun to pass Bunchy Wells and go straight to the basket, facing the last barrier of the 3-2 zone defense.

Boxing champion Tyson Chandler!

Tyson Chandler pursed his lips nervously, and then quickly took a step up. This is also the best way to defend Zhang Jun's breakthrough. Put defensive pressure on him in advance to prevent him from taking off and playing ball in the sky.

"Zhang Jun still jumped up!"

However, this time Zhang Jun did not go straight up and down to increase the height of his bounce, and then rely on the inertia of sprinting to complete the attack on the frame. Instead, he used almost all his energy to fly forward while facing Tyson Chandler on one side of his body.

Tyson Chandler still has a lot of defensive experience. He knows that hitting the ball holder from the side will easily lead to a defensive foul by the referee, so he immediately stopped rushing forward and stayed in place to reduce unnecessary defensive actions.

Sideways, diagonally, holding the ball, layup.

Uh-huh!

Zhang Jun flew directly out of the court and hit the photography area, but the basketball also steadily improved.

"This layup is really difficult!"

"Zhang Jun, it's not easy for him to score this goal."

"But he scored!"

Buckley said with his eyes focused.

This scene reminded him of the biggest opponent in his career. In that era, everyone used such almost suffocating defensive tactics when defending the opponent, but the opponent could always respond under such defense.

That guy won two three-peats for that very reason.

"In terms of breakthroughs, Zhang Jun's intimidation on the court is not much worse than him."

Zhang Jun, who played this ball, also boosted his morale so much that Fulai couldn't help but come over and give him an excited high-five.

Zhang Jun waved, and all his teammates quickly gathered around.

"Just like this, we scored and passed one or two more goals to expose the holes in the Hornets' defensive formation so that we could complete the offense."

"Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to score goals against the Hornets' 3-2 zone defense."

After Zhang Jun conveyed the next tactical strategy, James Jones and others were immediately full of confidence.

They have already seen Zhang Jun's analytical ability and basketball IQ on the court. As long as he finds a way, there will be no problem.

This suddenly doubled the pressure everyone had when the Hornets took on the 3-2 zone defense just now.

On the Trail Blazers coaching bench, Monty Williams jumped up excitedly, and Nate McMillan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

The 3-2 zone defense consumes the physical strength of the players. If the Hornets do not use this defensive tactic to achieve results for 4 or 5 minutes, they themselves will end this tactic early.

After all, Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler are both present during this period, and the two have not rested, which will put more pressure on them.

Hornets possession.

Paul singled out Steve Blake on the outside, and he completed a difficult fadeaway shot from the mid-range.

Paul must respond at this time, otherwise the Hornets will not need 4 or 5 minutes at all, and at most 3 minutes will declare that the 3-2 zone defense is completely shattered.

Switch offense.

Zhang Jun held the ball again, and he still broke through and passed the ball. This time the opportunity came to James Jones.

Bunch Wells pounced again, and Zhang Jun asked for the ball again. Bunch Wells learned the lesson and double-teamed Zhang Jun again the moment James Jones passed the ball.

This change also made all the fans watching the game around the world feel heartbroken. The Portland fans at the scene also clenched their fists and looked solemn.

"It depends on how the Trail Blazers solve it."

"Zhang Jun passed the ball!"

"Again to James Jones!"

"The latter has two steps to shoot this time!"

"James Jones didn't return the ball, he shot!"

Uh-huh!

!

As the sound of the basketball hitting the net sounded, the Moda Center Arena immediately erupted in the cheers of countless fans.

Under the roar of the mountain and the tsunami, they were not only excited about the team's goal, but also excited about the players breaking the Hornets' defensive tactics.

All the Hornets players looked ugly on the court, and Paul, with his hands on his hips, felt powerless in the playoffs for the first time.

He knew very well that the Hornets had tried their best, but they just couldn't prevent it.

Barkley couldn't help but praise and said: "Although Zhang Jun's passing skills are not very good, I have to admit that his passing awareness and basketball IQ are really outstanding. This is a player who is born to pass the ball."

"If he can't develop his passing ability, he will simply be unworthy of the talent God has given him."

In the next round, Zhang Jun continued to break the Hornets' 3-2 zone defense with a dunk under the basket. The Hornets' head coach Byron Scott was already livid. He stared at Zhang Jun and even wanted to punch him. Off the field.

Byron Scott couldn't understand how the Trail Blazers selected such a perverted player. This was still his rookie season. It would be okay if Zhang Jun was allowed to grow up for another year or two.

"It's been a long time since the league has seen a rookie who is at his peak and so strong."

The Hornets began to double-team Zhang Jun firmly, and Byron Scott wanted to continue to bet on the shots of the Trail Blazers' outside shooters.

In his opinion, Zhang Jun's threat from the frame is always the greatest.

The cost of such a defensive strategy was that the Trail Blazers made 6 of 15 three-pointers in the second quarter and led 29:22 in the single quarter.

The two teams were tied again at halftime.

The Hornets did not end their 3-2 zone defense strategy. On the contrary, they continued to implement such defensive tactics in the second half of the game.

This is a pain for the players on the court. Just defending consumes a lot of energy, especially Chris Paul. He only rested for 5 minutes in the first three quarters of the game. He can be called a real iron man.

At the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers had a slim lead of 84:82.

The fourth quarter of the game.

The Trail Blazers' entire starting lineup appeared again, and the offensive focus shifted to Zhang Jun.

He first held the ball and completed a fadeaway jumper from mid-range, and then passed the ball to Luo Yin to assist him in completing a three-pointer.

At the same time, Zhang Jun and Aldridge started to fight in the pick-and-roll. The pick-and-roll threat of the two was much greater than the pick-and-roll threat of Luo Yin and Aldridge in the first quarter.

The defensive strategy chosen by the Hornets is to double-team whenever Zhang Jun plays a pick-and-roll, and in this way Aldridge will frequently have scoring opportunities.

Aldridge's performance in this series was significantly better than in the first round against the Rockets, and he once again broke out tonight.

In a single quarter, he made 5 of 7 free throws, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 13 points and 3 rebounds.

In the last three minutes, the Trail Blazers had already taken a 5-point lead. Paul wanted to lead the team to counterattack, but at this time, a physical crisis that everyone felt was natural appeared.

Paul missed three consecutive mid-range shots that he was good at, which directly ruined tonight's game.

114:106.

The Trail Blazers scored another victory.

"It's 3:1! The Trail Blazers took the lead in getting the match point."

"In tonight's game, the statistics of the three core players of the Trail Blazers are: Luo Yin 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Aldridge 23 points and 9 rebounds, and Zhang Jun 26 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists."

"The three of them scored 73 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. This was the best night for the three of them in this year's playoffs. I want to say that the Trail Blazers have found their own winning formula. The three young players in their team "The players know what to do when and how to distribute the ball."

"Next, the game venue will be moved to New Orleans, and the game time will be two days later. Let us look forward to the next game together to see whether the Trail Blazers youth team can create miracles."