Chapter 23: Accurate Pitcher (Seeking Follow-up Reading)
Shaq is angry, and the consequences are serious!

After Zheng Yang scored a two-plus-one, the Sharks entered playoff mode, completely controlling the entire court both on offense and defense.

Nowitzki, who was playing against him, was in a miserable situation. Although he made some good contributions on the offensive end, but on the defensive end... forget it, the interference he caused to Shaq could not be considered defense at all.

Anyway, after the first half, Zheng Yang saw the driver secretly rubbing his chest. It was fortunate that he was young and strong now. If he were older, he would have fallen to the ground long ago.

At halftime, the score is 45:53, with the Mavericks trailing by 8 points.

Zheng Yang performed well, scoring 13 points and 6 rebounds at halftime. Of course, this was also because old Nelson kept him on the court.

Except for the last two minutes of the first quarter and the first two minutes of the second quarter, he was on the court for the rest of the time.

“Watch the defense inside and don’t let that shark do whatever he wants in our half.

Nash and Zheng only have one foul, so pull that shark down for me if necessary.

Remember, when you foul, be aggressive and don't let him get a two-and-one."

During the half-time break, old Nelson spoke to everyone and everyone nodded.

The second half of the game started quickly, with both teams playing in their starting lineups. However, less than three minutes into the game, the score difference was suddenly widened to 14 points due to the Lakers scoring both inside and outside, and old Nelson called a timeout.

His face looked very unhappy. He knew where the team's problems lay, but there was really nothing he could do.

What can he do with these people under his command?
“Walker down, Josh up.

Nash, speed up the offensive tempo, fast break if you can, and run that shark to death."

Old Nelson said angrily, Damn, since we can’t defend, let’s compete in offense.

I just don't believe it. With Shaq's physique and Malone and Payton's age, he can't outrun these youngsters.

After replacing the ugly player, the team's mobility and athletic ability are stronger than that starting lineup.

Walker is indeed very strong, but he is more suitable for positional warfare. If we really want to play fast break, the young Ugly is more suitable.

After all, this guy is like someone without a stamina bar, so he won’t get tired no matter how much he runs during training.

After replacing the ugly player, the first round was the Lakers' offensive round. This time, Nowitzki tried his best to block the opponent, and Payton outside did not choose to pass the ball to him.

After Malone's pick-and-roll, he took a mid-range shot, but unfortunately it bounced out of the frame.

After Da Chou grabbed the rebound, he passed it to Nash, who made a long pass to the opponent's frontcourt. People then noticed that Zheng Yang, who had just been defending, had actually rushed to the opponent's basket.

He received a long pass from Nash and made an easy layup.

By the time Payton ran back to defend, Zheng Yang had already run over to defend.

The next few rounds were like this. As long as the Lakers missed a shot and the Mavericks grabbed the rebound, the horn of a counterattack fast break would be sounded.

Either Zheng Yang or Finley, one of them will always run to the right position to receive the ball and make a layup.

At the same time, due to the accelerated offensive tempo, O'Neal needed to run frequently, and due to the huge consumption of physical energy, his offense began to fail.

The Mavericks launched a 15:4 attack wave and quickly brought the score back to 3 points.

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called a timeout.

As a championship coach who has reached the finals 13 times and won the championship 11 times in his coaching career, many people have mixed opinions about him.

Some people say that he won all his championships by following Jordan and Kobe, and his own coaching skills are not high at all.

Some people say that he is better at handling the atmosphere in the locker room, and he has ways to deal with even a thorn in the side like Rodman.

But some people also say that since the Zen Master can win so many championships, he must have his outstanding qualities.

What kind of coach is he?

Everyone has their own opinion.

At this moment, he still looked as aloof as the fans imagined. He sat on the sidelines and did not make many additional arrangements after calling a timeout.

Just let the players have a good rest!

Back on the field, the two sides started a new round of confrontation.

Since the score was narrowed in the third quarter, the scores between the two teams have been kept within seven points, and this situation lasted until the last three minutes of the fourth quarter.

At this moment, the score is 94:100 and the Mavericks are trailing by 6 points.

After a timeout, Nelson sent out the starting lineup. Although he knew the flaws of this lineup, he couldn't possibly DNP an All-Star in the first game of the season.

If that's the case, then why trade him?
He can only hope that after the players cooperate more tacitly, they can play with good chemistry.

It was the Mavericks' offensive turn at this moment. Finley had already positioned himself in advance and asked Nash for the ball.

At this moment, Zheng Yang on the other side actually had a good chance, but out of trust in the veteran, Nash still passed the ball to him.

The person defending him was Glove Payton. As we mentioned earlier, Payton was an asshole and one of the most hated people in the league.

But don't ignore his defense because of his style. He is only 1.93 meters tall, but he was able to snatch the best defensive player award from the four major centers in the 90s.

He has been selected to the All-Defensive Team since the 93-94 season and continued to be selected until the 01-02 season. Although his condition has declined due to his age, he is still considered a perimeter defensive gate with his rich defensive experience.

At this moment, he was making small moves on Finley and trash-talking him at the same time.

"You wimp, you're softer than my shit this morning.

It's an insult to me to play on the same court with you. How the hell did you get selected to the All-Star Game before? Did the people who selected you to the All-Star Game have a key to your back door? "

Finley, who had been surrounded by trash talk from the opponent throughout the game, was a little bit overwhelmed. At this moment, he gathered his strength and rushed towards the opponent. Who would have thought that the experienced Payton would directly remove the stool, and Finley fell to the ground with his butt.

The basketball was originally in his hand, but Payton pulled it directly from his hand and then passed it to Old Fish Fisher. Of course, it might be more appropriate to call him Little Fish now.

The opponent scored a fast break and the score difference came to 8 points.

"Hey kid, don't feel bad, because it's Glove Payton guarding you.

No one will blame you if you tell them, because they all know it’s the same no matter who comes.”

The complacent Payton continued to talk trash to Finley. Finley, who was not good at trash talking, was angry at the moment but could not think of anything to refute him.

"Hey Finley, try to understand this talkative old man. After all, he won't be in this league for long!"

Zheng Yang started trash talking to Payton on his behalf, oral sex is also something he is good at!
Is this a talent he stole from someone?
No, that's just the basic quality a ten-year-old internet troll should have!

Finley smiled and nodded: "You are right, Zheng. I really shouldn't bother with an old man who is about to retire but hasn't even won a championship."

Finley is not good at talking, but he is not stupid. He immediately responded to Zheng Yang's words.

When his wound was touched again, Payton really wanted to squeeze Zheng Yang to death.

Why does this young man's mouth stink so much?

The game continues.

After Nash controlled the ball across half court, he started to play pick-and-roll with Zheng Yang. Previously in the preseason, they found that the effect of their two-man show seemed to be quite good.

After Zheng Yang finished the screen and roll for Nash, he could attack the basket or shoot from mid-range, and Nash could do the same.

The efficiency of their cooperation is quite high.

Of course, this is definitely not as good as the pick-and-roll tactics of Stoudemire and Nash during their time with the Suns.

After all, Stoudemire's pick-and-roll quality was higher, and Nash's offensive firepower was stronger at that time, and he was good at breaking through the mid-range.

After the screen, Zheng Yang ran into the inside, and Nash passed the ball to him under double-teaming, while the Big Shark in the inside was also desperately blocked by Nowitzki.

Zheng Yang successfully scored a two-pointer, and the score difference became 6 points. The Lakers still chose Shark's inside singles in the next round, but the big Shark, whose physical tank was at the bottom, also became a butter hand.

Clearly there was space created, but the basketball didn't go in.

Currently, the biggest weaknesses of this shark are free throws and physical strength.

Especially in terms of physical strength. The season has just begun. You allow a shark who participates in various entertainment activities during the offseason to have sufficient physical strength at the beginning of the season. Do you think everyone is Jordan?
Everyone wants to be a player like Jordan, but not everyone wants to train painfully during the offseason like Jordan.

The Mavericks successfully protected the rebound. As the game time was about to end, the Lakers retreated quickly to prevent the Mavericks from launching another fast break.

Nash did not attack rashly. He dribbled the ball and began to direct his teammates to run tactics.

After some running, Nash passed the ball to Fat Monk who was lying in ambush in the corner. He grabbed the ball and prepared to shoot.

Malone quickly rushed forward to defend. Everyone thought that Fat Monk would make the three-pointer. After all, that was Walker, a man who was crazy about three-pointers.

But after jumping, he suddenly passed the ball to Zheng Yang who was at a 45-degree angle next to him, and he had also been waiting there for a long time.

"Walker passed the ball! He actually passed his favorite three-pointer to Zheng?

F*ck the Dallas media, they actually said there was a conflict between the two of them?

Have you ever seen Walker give up a three-point shot to someone else, and to a rookie he hates?

Absolutely not, they are definitely each other's best friends.

Can Zheng seize the opportunity...the ball goes in!

Only 3 points left now!
The Dallas hero saved the team again, keeping the game suspense until the last minute, when the Lakers requested a timeout.

Who will win this game?"

Barkley in the studio didn't even take a breath, and after a while he spoke, he slammed the table in excitement and then loosened the tie around his neck.

This game is so exciting!
After the ball went in, the fat monk in the corner hurried over to celebrate with Zheng Yang, and he shouted excitedly.

“I told you this tactic would definitely succeed!

I deserve half the credit for that three-pointer."

"That was a really good pass, I love it!"

Zheng Yang shouted just as loudly.

Old Nelson waved to the players on the field.

"Kids, there is only one and a half minutes left in the game, let's do everything we can to take the victory away from this stadium!

Listen carefully to my arrangements from now on..."

In fact, all he can do at this time is to continue to emphasize the inside defense problem. At present, they are still three points short and the ball is in the hands of the Lakers.

If we can defend this offensive round, the chances of a comeback will be great. After all, one minute is more than enough to make a three-pointer.

But if the score difference is widened to 5 or 6 points, the possibility of a comeback will become very small.

"If the Shaq wants to do whatever he wants in the paint, I'll knock him down, but he's going to compete with his free throws."

Before the timeout ended, Nelson emphasized again.

As the inventor of the shark-cutting tactic, he knows the power of this shark better than anyone else.

The Jordan Rules are said to have more than a hundred items, but their sole purpose is to do everything possible to bring Jordan down.

The only purpose of the Hack-a-Shaq tactic is to get the shark to the free throw line, where he will tell you his weaknesses.

The Lakers had the ball. After Payton successfully received the ball, he observed the situation on the court again.

After a while of running, Nowitzki was the only one left in the Mavericks' interior, and Payton quickly passed the ball to him.

As soon as the Shark received the ball, Nowitzki fouled him.

"shit!"

The shark cursed softly. He might be the man in the league who hates going to the free throw line the most.

Often a ball that could have given you 2 points will only have 1 point or even 0 points left once you step onto the free throw line.

"Let me see how many free throws this Shark made today, oh Los Angeles fans, I have bad news for you.

Today, Shark made 14 of 8 free throws, which is better than what I remember from him, but I don’t think he made both free throws at the critical moment.”

Barkley said this sarcastically, and just as he finished speaking, the Sharks made the first free throw, and Kenny Smith on the opposite side laughed at him.

"Yes Charles, you are still as good with your words!"

The Shark was very excited after making the first free throw and immediately took the second free throw.

Fat Monk and Nowitzki quickly got into position, ready to grab the rebound, but the basketball bounced on the rim a few times and actually fell into the basket.

The Big Shark, who has always been criticized for his free throws, actually made two free throws at the critical moment.

"Don't try to limit the Big Shark with free throws, he can do anything!"

The Big Shark, who made both free throws, shouted while returning to defense and waved excitedly to the fans in the stands.

The joy of making both free throws was no less than kicking his younger brother and old Buss's butts.

The Mavericks had no choice but to request a timeout, and this was also their last timeout.

Old Nelson could only arrange the next three-point tactics. After all, the gap was five points. If he didn't shoot a three-pointer, he would have to play three rounds, and if he did shoot a three-pointer, he would have to play two rounds.

In this era when three-pointers were not so popular, there were two people with the most three-point deterrence on the team, one was Fat Toutuo and the other was Zheng.

The former is obsessed with three-pointers. Although his hit rate has always been low, who doesn’t eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year? Fat Monk has also made 14 of 9 shots in a single game.

So the other party didn't dare to let him go.

Another threatening player is Zheng Yang. Since he still has a lot of skills to improve, he doesn’t practice three-pointers much.

But thanks to his excellent touch, his three-point shooting percentage has always been impressive, and he just made a key three-pointer.

No one can guarantee whether he will make the next three-pointer!
The tactics arranged by old Nelson were actually similar to the previous one. After handing the ball to Fat Monk and Zheng Yang, he let them decide whether to shoot based on their own situation.

Whether there is a glimmer of hope depends on their next performance.

Back on the court, the Lakers adopted a man-to-man defense strategy, preferring to give two points rather than three points.

Zheng Yang served the ball, but Payton was quick-witted and almost stole the ball. Fortunately, Nash managed to protect the ball in the end.

Due to the previous scramble, the Lakers' defense had a loophole at this moment, and Nash passed the ball to the open Fat Monk who was standing in the bottom corner, which was his sweet spot.

Facing Fisher who came to defend, he did not choose to pass the ball, just like his previous shooting. Even though he missed every time, he still chose to believe in his three-pointer.

Some people say that the seventh piece of equipment for a shooter is confidence, but for Fat Toutuo, that is his first piece of equipment.

This resulted in that although his three-point shooting percentage has been fluctuating slightly around 33%, he still dared to take seven or eight three-pointers in a game.

This is a big problem, but because of this, he still dares to take bold actions at critical moments.

The man who thought he was the best basketball player on the planet shot a three-pointer. The basketball drew a perfect arc in the air and then went accurately into the basket.

"Zheng, what the hell did I say? I'm a shooter, an accurate shooter, and they don't respect me at all. They didn't even use two players to defend my three-pointer. I'll make them pay a heavy price."

The fat monk pounded his chest and shouted, the man who lost to Zheng Yang in the team duel and dropped his little pearl in grievance afterwards, he is not a weakling.

His name is Antoine Walker, the strongest man on the planet, the teammate you can always trust!
(End of this chapter)