Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

On January 1, the Nets' challenge came, playing away against the Bucks.

On the morning of the game day, after the Nets training ended, a reporter waited for Lu Yong and conducted a brief pre-game interview with him.

"The Nets started the season with 34 wins and 2 losses, which is an astonishing record. The Bucks have also won 30 games and are the second-best team in the league after you. What do you think of this?"

"It's normal. I've said it before, the Bucks are a very talented team, and I'm not surprised that they can have an excellent regular season record. Budenholzer is a leading coach in the small ball era. His coaching style is a perfect match for this Bucks."

The reporter asked again: "The Nets have salary space in the summer, why didn't you keep Lopez, the hero of the championship?"

After Lopez won the championship with the Nets last season, he was poached by the Bucks at a high price in the summer.

His departure is indeed a loss for the Nets, but considering Luo's age and the 100 million yuan contract offered to him by the Bucks, Lu Yong, as the team's small owner, really has no reason to keep him.

With the acquisition of Porzingis at a more appropriate price, the Nets' internal strength has not diminished but increased. When it comes to signings, no one is more calculating than Lu Yong.

But after all, Da Luo was the hero who won the championship with the team last year. These inner words must not be told truthfully, it is too hurtful.

"It's a pity that we couldn't keep Da Luo. He is an excellent center. The Bucks offered him a contract that he couldn't refuse. The Nets have no reason to ask him to cut his salary and stay with the team because the team still needs reinforcements. Other locations.”

Another reporter asked: "The Bucks also signed outside 3D Wesley Matthews in the summer, but his offensive performance did not seem to meet expectations after the start of the season. What do you think?"

"It's normal to be acclimatized, but Matthews has played in the league for 11 seasons and he no longer needs to prove himself." Lu Yong said with a smile.

Matthews played for three teams last season, averaging 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1 steal per game, and shooting 37.2% from three-point range. He is a veteran 3D in the league and has been playing well.

After joining the Bucks this year, Matthews' defensive performance is still outstanding, but his scoring average has dropped to 7.5 points per game, and his field goal percentage has dropped below 39.7%, only %.

His decline in form is related to his age and his declining tactical status in the Bucks.

Lu Yong was not interested in studying a role player and ended the interview with a few perfunctory sentences.

The most important person in the Bucks is Antetokounmpo. He has performed at an MVP level this season, averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1 block per game, with a shooting percentage of 53.7%. He is Adu's biggest opponent for the MVP title.

The Nets must win the game against the Bucks. This is not only a collision between the strong teams in the Eastern Conference, but also a confrontation between Durant and Antetokounmpo.

If Adu can lead his team to sweep the Bucks in regular games, then even if the league wants to support Antetokounmpo, it will have to weigh it. You can't be a shameless person.

This game is the focus of this round, and countless fans around the world are waiting to watch it.

When promoting the league, they also used the gimmick of Durant vs. Antetokounmpo to compete for the regular season MVP.

As one of the few players in the league who can threaten the Nets, Lu Yong also attaches great importance to this match and has made targeted arrangements in advance.

That night, the Bucks' home court was full.

After the team's record improved, the Bucks' home audience also increased, becoming one of the teams with the highest attendance in the league.

The Bucks star received warm applause when he came out, and Durant was booed when he came out.

There is no way, as Alphabet's biggest enemy this season, Durant was treated like this when he arrived in Milwaukee.

If Alphabet arrived in Brooklyn, his treatment would not be much better, with boos flying everywhere.

Lu Yong shook hands with Budenholzer on the sidelines and exchanged a few words.

Both are strong contenders for the best coach, and the team's record has improved significantly compared with last year.

The Bucks' record improvement will certainly not be greater than that of the Nets, but Lu Yong suffered a loss. He led the Nets to 72 wins and 10 losses last season. If he wins the Best Coach Award this year, he will win again.

Budenholzer has only won the best coach twice, and the league will definitely take these factors into consideration when making selections.

Unless Lu Yong leads the team to sweep the Bucks in the regular season, if the two teams tie, the result is hard to say.

Ilyasova and Lopez also greeted Lu Yong.

They all worked with Lu Yong last season, won the championship and increased their value. They are grateful to Lu Yong from the bottom of their hearts.

After the warm-up, the starting players from both sides took the field.

Nets five: Brunson, Mitchell, Durant, Porzingis, Cousins.

Bucks five: Bledsoe, Middleton, Matthews, Antetokounmpo, Lopez.

Lu Yong did not play Mitchell Robinson, who has better defense, but used Cousins, who is more offensively threatening, in order to strengthen the offense and have a battle with the Bucks.

The Bucks averaged 118.7 points per game this season, ranking second in the league behind the Nets.

Lu Yong and Budenholzer are both coaches who rely on offense to win. Although their ability to arrange defense is not bad, they are not in their old profession after all.

The two strongest offensive teams in the league will face off tonight, and the fans in front of the TV can't wait.

Lopez wins the jump ball and the game begins.

Bledsoe holds the ball and plays pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo in the middle. Simple cooperation is a great offensive threat.

Porzingis went all out to pursue Letter and did not lose position.

Bledsoe glanced at it and didn't pass it. He suddenly attacked Brunson with his left hand and hit a two-pointer from the mid-range, 0-2.

Bledsoe scored with ease, thanks in large part to Antetokounmpo's cutter taking away the defense.

This kind of jump shot after the pick and roll is his main scoring method this season. Even Lu Yong has to admit that Budenholzer does have something.

When the Nets attack, Durant and Porzingis also play pick-and-rolls.

The Bucks used man-to-man defense. Antetokounmpo followed Porzingis out in the middle to prevent him from catching the ball and shooting three-pointers.

Durant dribbled the ball to the left corner, attracted Middleton to double-team, and passed the ball to Mitchell on the outside.

Mitchell took a step forward to find his teammates and transferred the ball to Cousins ​​on the side. The latter caught the ball and made a jump shot on the spot. Da Luo did not cover it, but stretched out his hand to interfere.

Cousins ​​has the ability to shoot from the outside, but his three-pointer is not as accurate as a shooter. He missed the ball under slight interference, and the rebound was protected by Lopez.

The Bucks immediately counterattacked. Bledsoe quickly advanced to the frontcourt, looked at his teammates left and right, and passed a long pass to the weak side's fast letter.

The intensity of this pass was just right. Porzingis failed to steal the ball in a gamble, but Antetokounmpo completed the pass in stride. He got to the basket and dunked easily, 0-4.

In a positional battle, Durant went to the right three-point line to ask for the ball and directly challenged Matthews.

Brunson passed the ball, and the three Bucks on the outside were very defensive. Tonight, it was a big challenge for Adu to score high points.

Durant continued to dribble under his hips to adjust the rhythm, and directly faced Matthews, who was 1 meters tall, from the top of the arc and made a pull-up jumper.

Adu's advantage of height and wingspan was perfectly displayed at this moment. He ignored the block and hit the three-pointer into the net!

"Shh!"

3:4.

As soon as the game opened, Durant and Antetokounmpo were on top of each other, both scoring in the way they were best at. Lopez served from the baseline, and Bledsoe dribbled across half court and passed the ball to Antetokounmpo, who was backing up in a key position.

Antetokounmpo got a one-on-one opportunity, leaned back twice, quickly turned around and hit the basket with the ball like a tiger descending a mountain.

Porzingis worked very hard to retreat and defend, but the physical confrontation was still a bit lacking. He was squeezed out by Antetokounmpo and hit the board from close range. 3 to 6.

Durant went to the top of the arc to catch the ball and singled out Matthews. He brought it to 45 degrees and attracted Bledsoe to double-team. The ball was passed to Brunson standing in the bottom corner.

This was a good shooting opportunity, but it was a pity that Brunson's first shot was too strong. He missed an open three-pointer and the rebound was grabbed by Antetokounmpo.

The four Bucks quickly went down and counterattacked by running and gunning.

Antetokounmpo dribbled the ball through half court by himself. When everyone thought he would make a layup, Antetokounmpo passed the ball to Middleton, who had a better chance on the weak side.

Mitchell moved too inside and wanted to double-team Letter. When he saw Middleton shooting, he jumped out to interfere with the shot. He was slow to interfere with the shot and hit the net with a long two-pointer, 3-8.

This game was broadcast live in China, and fans began to worry about the Nets.

The Bucks' offensive fluency at the beginning was better than fans expected. The Nets have not been so passive for a long time.

Yang Yi said: "The Nets' defense is not strong enough, and they seem to be underestimating the opponent. If they don't cheer up against an opponent of the Bucks' level, it will be difficult for them to win today."

Wang Meng said: "This season it is likely that Antetokounmpo and Durant will compete for MVP. Both parties must understand the importance of this game. It depends on who can have the last laugh."

Lu Yong did not call a timeout. This situation is when the star's personal ability is tested.

And Durant did not disappoint him. He took the ball and singled out Matthews again, and hit another three-pointer from the right, 6-8.

The Bucks struggled to score 8 points, but Durant caught up with two three-pointers.

A single-digit point difference is nothing in the eyes of the Nets. If they are not behind by more than 10 points, Lu Yong never feels that the team is at a disadvantage.

There is no doubt about the Nets' ability to chase points. As long as there is enough time, even if the Bucks run for a while at the beginning, they may not be able to hold on to their advantage.

In the 17-18 season, Lu Yong led the Nets without Durant and swept the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.

Although Antetokounmpo has grown a lot in the past two years, the Nets have not become stronger.

It is not easy to defeat Universe Network. Lu Yong sat on the sidelines with a calm face and watched the game quietly.

The Bucks attacked, and Bledsoe played a pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo. He held the ball and walked to the right, attracting Porzingis to switch defense and distribute the ball to the center.

Antetokounmpo squeezed Brunson away with the ball and reached the basket. He jumped up with the ball and wanted to dunk from behind.

As a result, Letters severely underestimated Porzingis' speed.

I saw Porridge decisively let go of Bledsoe after changing defense, jumped up from behind, accurately pressed the ball with his left hand, and directly gave Antetokounmpo a standard nail plate block.

"boom!"

With the sound of the basketball hitting the backboard, Durant retreated, grabbed the backboard, and passed to Brunson to launch a counterattack.

Brunson caught the ball quickly, dribbled the ball to his left hand from behind the center line, accelerated to break through Bledsoe, attracted Middleton to help defend, and threw the ball high into the sky.

Mitchell's explosive athletic talent took advantage of the situation. He caught the ball with both hands in the air and violently dunked into the basket!

"boom!"

8:8.

Yang Yi shouted: "Beautiful, the Nets played a wonderful fast break cooperation, this dunk will definitely be among the top five goals! Mitchell's physical fitness is so amazing, his take-off height is even with the basket, and he dunks alley-oop to The feeling brought by people is full of power and the visual effect is full!”

Wang Meng smiled and said: "He is indeed a lottery pick personally selected by Lu Yong. His potential is indeed great. He has a chance to enter the second team of the best team this year."

The Bucks attack, Bledsoe and Luo play pick-and-roll.

This time Bledsoe rushed to the right to attract the defense and passed the ball to Daluo at the top of the arc for a three-pointer.

Cousins ​​was injured and couldn't defend the pick-and-roll, so he hurried out to interfere with the shot. Daluo hit an open three-pointer, 8-11.

Lu Yong sat off the court and thought for a while, and decided to make a substitution.

Cousins ​​and Brunson exit, Claxton and Rose appear.

Clarkston's offensive threat is not as good as Cousins' shooting touch tonight, and his role on the court is far from expected.

Clarkston's biggest advantage is that he is fast and explosive, and is very suitable for guarding pick-and-rolls.

Even if he is out of position and faced with a defender, he is not afraid, and he can still save and interfere with Daluo's three-pointer.

In fact, before the game started, Lu Yong expected that Cousins ​​​​would be weak on the defensive end, and his speed would be a liability when guarding against him.

The reason why Lu Yong starts Cousins ​​​​is because he wants Cousins ​​​​to attack.

As a result, in these rounds, Cousins' offensive presence was almost zero.

In this case, Lu Yong can only replace him first and let him lead the team's attack in the second quarter and be more effective.

The Bucks are strong this season because the five main players are all very capable, but the team has an obvious weakness, that is, there are no good substitutes.

Although their starting lineup is strong, their fault tolerance rate is low, which is why the Bucks often suffer in the playoffs.

After Clarkston came on the court, the Nets' defensive intensity really improved.

When Da Luo pulls out to play a pick-and-roll, Claxton's agile footsteps can always keep up immediately, and his lateral speed is not much different from that of a defender.

In addition, Claxton also did a good job in assisting Antetokounmpo. He is really fast and can do whatever he wants.

The situation once turned around, and the Nets, which were lagging behind, began to gradually exert their strength.

Yang Yi explained: "Cousins ​​is indeed stronger in overall strength, but he has a hard time facing Lopez who can pull out to shoot three-pointers. Luo's shooting range is too far, and his playing style is like an inside version of 3D. Clark It's better to guard him with Stone."

Wang Meng said: "Lopez is the championship center brought out by Lu Yong. He has been gaining momentum in the past two years. His role in the Bucks is second only to Alphabet. But he is a bit older and I don't know how long he can maintain his peak condition."

Players also pay attention to styles and compete with each other, and Lopez was guarded.

The Nets' defensive tactics have been changed to a mixed defense. Clarkston mainly defends Luo, and is not afraid of dislocation when encountering pick-and-rolls. Porzingis mainly defends Letter, so there is no need to worry about becoming a loophole.

Others can make decisions about assisting defense, interfering, and double-teaming based on the situation on the court, and the overall cooperation is quite tacit.

However, the Bucks still have ways to score, and Middleton and Bledsoe have rich offensive methods.

Especially second-in-command Middleton, who has entered his peak period and is gradually becoming a knife-wielding guard next to Antetokounmpo. He scored 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the season, and his shooting percentage was close to 50%. It is not explosive, but it is very stable.

In this quarter, he scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists from inside and outside shots, which was very efficient.

After the first quarter, 31 to 32, the Nets were only 1 point behind.

杜兰特砍下12分3篮板1助攻，8投5中，三分4中2，命中率同样很高。(本章完)