NBA: This Center Is So Stable - Chapter 53
The new season is coming to an end.
Chapter 53 Preseason, Nash is a system player
Two days after the opening game.
The Knicks’ new lineup is also in its infancy, and the reinforcement transactions completed in the offseason have been roughly sorted out.
They welcomed their first preseason opponent at the Rose Garden Arena.
Indiana Pacers!
The core of the Pacers’ current team is Jermaine O’Neal, known as Little O’Neal.
Although he does not have the dominance of the peak Shark under the basket, he is also a lord in the restricted area of the NBA.
Last season, Jermaine O’Neal, who played for the Pacers, averaged a double-double of 20+10 rebounds per game.
And the occasional three-point attempts also proved that he added shooting to his training content.
The skills of this 96 golden generation are becoming more and more comprehensive!
Even for many Pacers fans.
O’Neal can completely replace Shaquille O’Neal in the league.
···
The game officially started.
The starting lineup of the Knicks: Steve Nash, Alan Houston, Tim Thomas, Kurt Thomas, Wang Song.
As for the Pacers.
In fact, their team lineup is not much different from last year.
Led by Jermaine O’Neal, Jeff Foster forms the Pacers’ twin towers.
The Pacers’ outside firepower group of the old Bulls Metta Worldpeace + top shooter Reggie Miller and point guard Jamal Tinsley.
It can be said that it is basically a continuation of last year’s lineup!
The Knicks fans at the scene were shouting a lot weaker in this situation.
Jump ball stage.
Wang Song and Jermaine O’Neal stood on the midfield line.
Wang Song, who replaced Dikembe Mutombo in the starting lineup, knew very well that today’s game came from the trust of the coaching staff.
So facing O’Neal, who was similar in size to him, Wang Song took out the attitude of a lion fighting a rabbit with all his strength.
From the opening stage, he planned to crush his opponent.
Win this game as quickly as possible.
······
“Hello, welcome all the new fans who have come to watch the game. Today’s game is broadcast live across the United States! This is ESPN Sports.”
“I am your most trusted friend, Charles Barkley!”
“Come on, Feizhu, you are at most the most unreliable friend of the fans, haha… I am Kenny Smith.”
Both Barkley and Kenny Smith were quite satisfied with being arranged to comment on this game today.
Because this game has natural jokes and popularity, there are Asian players that Barkley is most obsessed with.
“We can see that Wang Song is jumping the ball with Jermaine O’Neal on the court! Charles, who do you think will get the ball?”
“Of course it’s Jermaine! He only plays the fifth position occasionally. Compared with the real Shaquille O’Neal, O’Neal has the physical fitness and conditions of the fourth position.”
Just as Barkley finished speaking!
The players on both sides have already stood in the midfield, and the referee threw the ball high up.
The jump ball battle was decided in an instant.
Jermaine O’Neal judged the landing time of the ball very accurately, and jumped up suddenly when the ball rose to the top.
O’Neal, who got the first chance, just when he thought he was stable, the ball in his eyes was suddenly taken away by another pair of hands.
“Jermaine O’Neal got the first chance… Damn it!”
“Wang Song’s bounce speed is too fast, coupled with his height advantage, O’Neal almost got the opening ball.”
···
It has to be said.
Rick Carlisle, the new head coach of the Pacers this year, has done a good job in training the Indian Pacers’ defense during the offseason.
The Knicks originally wanted to play a “Wang Song fast break”!
But the Pacers’ retreat speed killed it in the cradle.
Rick Carlisle’s defensive strategy is also very obvious, that is, not to give the chance to score in the running game.
As long as Steve Nash, who came from the Mavericks system, doesn’t catch the flaw.
Playing positional warfare is the part that the Pacers are good at.
But the Pacers still underestimated Nash’s precision guidance ability. Nash, who was off the ball, successfully came to the top of the arc on the right side with the help of his teammates’ pick-and-roll.
The ball arrived and the people arrived!
Nash looked at Wang Song who rushed to the basket after the screen, but he didn’t stop showing off for a moment.
Played a trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west!
After a fake pass, he passed it directly to Alan Houston, who had been waiting for a long time at the baseline.
An open three-point shot.
Alan Houston, the top shooter, is like a hot shot.
Just like in the physical training, he made the move without any hesitation.
3:0!
The scoreboard jumped and refreshed.
The Knicks got off to a good start!
“The Son of Wind has adapted well in the Knicks! I always thought he was just a system player.”
Charles Barkley also talked about it on TV.
Since Barkley became a TV host, he has never been shy about speaking his mind.
This time Kenny Smith on the side did not refute.
Before the Steve Nash deal, many people said that Nash was just a system player.
His luxurious data needs the support of the system, otherwise it would be difficult for this South African petty bourgeoisie to get a middle-class contract with his weak body and porous defense.
This unrestrained and imaginative assist refreshed the outside world’s impression of him.
In the Rose Garden stands.
There were also shouts for Steve Nash.
On the court.
Attack and defense transition!
Top scorer Reggie Miller is still strong, and he responded to Nash’s switch defense with a three-pointer in the face.
3:3!
The Knicks, who wanted to play a fast-push counterattack, reacted very quickly.
The ball just passed the net, and Nash had already directed his teammates’ running positions.
The Knicks’ quarterback made a long pass from the baseline.
However, the Pacers’ man-to-man defense was not a pushover, and the first thing they did was to let Meta-Waldpeace complete a tactical foul.
The game was dragged into a short timeout.
Looking back.
The Knicks chose the safest way in the positional battle.
The ball was passed to Wang Song in the weak side low post!
And this became the first game of this game, or Wang Song’s preseason debut.
Paint area.
Wang Song directly began to destroy the Pacers’ restricted area, and Jermaine O’Neal also sank down to prepare to withstand the impact of the Asian boy in front of him.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Several consecutive muscle collision sounds were heard.
Jermaine O’Neal’s face turned green.
His position had changed from one foot in the paint area to two feet in the reasonable collision area.
The strength of this Asian boy was far beyond his imagination.
Obviously, the opponent looked similar to him in terms of body shape.
In fact, because the opponent was taller than him, his entire body looked much thinner than him.
But this strength comparable to O’Neal… What’s going on?
O’Neal thought it was his illusion.
But the position under his feet brought him back to reality.
Fortunately, O’Neal has always had a certain level of accomplishment on the defensive end, and seeing the opponent’s power was so terrifying.
He was also mentally prepared.
He planned to fall back when the opponent went in next time, and make this Asian rookie commit an offensive foul.
But what he didn’t expect was that Wang Song’s last attack was no longer pure strength.
It was a spinning top turn and layup!
Hit!
O’Neal, who had already prepared to lie down, only felt the slight friction between the two people’s clothes when he fell to the ground.
The other party did not actively apply force to his back.
After realizing that he was deceived, O’Neal could only play the whole trick.
He fell to the ground and could not get up!
(End of this chapter)
