Basketball: Starting from the Rodman template

It turns out that Ben Gordon really didn't rush to play as a substitute at the beginning.

He came off the bench just because he was forced to.

Because when he started, his performance was not ideal, and the team kept losing.

The coach then made a change and put him on the bench. As a result, surprisingly, this actually revitalized the entire team.

The Bulls started winning.

Ben Gordon was also fixed on the bench.
His performance is actually getting better and better, averaging 15.1 points per game!
Among the players in the 04 class, he ranked second in points per game.

Starting Luol Deng actually averaged less points per game than him.

Ben Gordon probably also discovered this situation. Next, he also took root in the substitute position and became one of the Bulls' main firepower points.

Another thing worth mentioning is Ben Gordon’s “big heart” ability.
It is said that it has reminded some Chicagoans of Michael Jordan.

The "Most Improved Player Award" was also announced on the same day. It is worth mentioning that the names of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were among them.

However, this award has always been the "Civilian Regular Season MVP" award.

So the players who win this award are the kind of players who "explode in silence".

This year belongs to Bobby Simmons.

Averaged 16.4 points per game, more than doubled compared to last season's 7.8 points.

And this year happens to be his contract year. This data and this performance are enough for him to get a big contract this summer.

To say that this player breaks out is also a science.

Players who break out in the contract year can often get a good contract, while players who break out in the first year of the contract, but do not rise but fall in the next season, will have a new contract because of their previous excellent performance. expected.

It is worth mentioning that this has given rise to many "contract year war gods".

Specialize in performance during the contract year.

However, after the team has been deceived too many times, they have also gained experience. For some players who are in constant off-field troubles, they will not just look at the performance in the contract year, but also measure it together with his performance in previous years, and give a more accurate report. For a proper contract, avoid giving too much and becoming a junk contract.

The Heat did not take a proper rest after the regular season, but immediately entered a state of preparation for the playoffs.

This year has been so successful that not making the playoffs to the Finals would be a failure.

Because they already reached the Eastern Conference finals last year, they have to go one step further this year.

So sometimes, too much success can lead to too much failure.

As the saying goes, "The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish. The more expensive the fish, the bigger the fish. The bigger the fish, the bigger the fish bone. The bigger the fish bone, the smaller the fish!"

Everything has two sides.

The Heat's "most successful season" is on their heads, and they also bear heavier responsibilities.

That is to make a breakthrough in team history in this most successful season!
In the last interview before the playoffs officially started, Woody faced reporters and said: "If we fail to reach the finals this year, it will undoubtedly be a failed season!"

These words show not only his determination, but also the determination of the entire Heat team!
It can be seen from the attitude of others. Wade also played "Miami at 4 AM" yesterday and arrived at the arena early, proving that he did not go out to have fun.

The same goes for Shaquille O'Neal. In addition to forwarding the news that the Lakers did not make the playoffs on his face, he also said: This is the consequence of leaving Shaq.And Shaq is still swimming in the sea of ​​​​the playoffs!This is still in my league!

The rest of the time is spent preparing for the playoffs.

This championship is so important!
The Nets immediately left for Miami as soon as the regular season ended.

When Jason Kidd got off the plane, he looked at the Woody poster opposite the Miami Airport and felt so depressed.

The Nets' decline is inseparable from last season's playoffs.

That series directly gave Billy King the opportunity to trade, breaking up the Nets' "trident."

If we meet the Heat again this year, who knows how they will be beaten again!
This was the reason for his low mood.

Entering the league in 94, he never imagined that his 10th season would be so violently beaten on the beach by the back waves.

This is too special...

Kidd didn't say those two words, but showed them on his face.

There is not much disagreement among the outside media in their predictions for this series. They are all unanimously optimistic that the Heat can advance to the next round.

As for the score between the two teams...

In the eyes of outside media, if the Nets can win a game, it is considered a success.

The Miami media is relaxed.

After the regular season, Stan Van Gundy, who had always had a sullen face, also relieved everyone before the team entered the scene: "Guys, don't think too much, we just need to play like last season!"

After the series officially started, he still didn't want everyone to play with baggage.

In some series, there must be pressure to be motivated. Now they have enough "high pressure". At this time, it is easier to maintain a calm mind and perform better.

This year's Heat management also entered the state early and prepared large-sized uniform T-shirts for each position.

The Heat fans who were present consciously changed into their clothes, and the entire auditorium immediately turned into a sea of ​​white.

Seeing this scene, Barkley couldn't help but sigh: "This team actually has such a day!"

Among so many big cities, Miami and Houston should be considered cities with a relatively weak basketball atmosphere. Well, to this list, we have to add Seattle...

This is the current situation of the NBA in the United States. Although they have many teams in big cities, many of them do not have a strong basketball atmosphere.

On the contrary, places like Charlotte have a stronger atmosphere.

But this kind of city is too small...

The reason why David Stern insists on internationalization can be seen from here.

Of course, results are the best catalyst for atmosphere.

Look at this year's Heat team. After playing the most successful season in team history, coupled with the efforts of the management, the smell soon spread out.

Now let the flavor become more and more intense.

Then a wealthy team with countless die-hard fans was born.

This is not an easy process.

So an uncommon super genius is needed!
Woody seems to have such a possibility!
And Barkley can feel that Woody is becoming more and more like a star.

When a reporter asked him before the game: "How do you think this series will end..." Woody's answer was: "I don't know, but we played against each other last year, so at least we will not be worse than last year. …”

Last year the Nets lost to the Heat by a score of 2-4.

It won't be worse this year, which means the Heat will eliminate the Nets in 4 or 5 games.

Although some media have predicted this, Woody's own words will definitely cause his opponents to have a stress reaction and become more tenacious.

There is a risk of being slapped in the face.

Dare to speak like this means that this guy has enough confidence.

"I like his confidence!" Bill Walton said when talking about the news.

As soon as the game started, Woody took the lead and continuously caught the ball under the basket to complete the kill.

Since the departure of Kenyon Martin, the Nets' inside line is really hard to describe.

Facts have proved that although Kenyon Martin's defense against Woody was not good last year, it was one of the few teams in the league that could put some restrictions on Woody.

But the result paid for the Nets' exit.

This is the current situation of a blue-collar "pie-eating" player.

He can't really be the cornerstone of a team.

This is also the reason why Woody performed so well in his rookie season and the Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets have no regrets. That is the upper limit that can be seen.

A "super giant" must have the ability to hold the ball.

There are few superstars in NBA history who don't have the ability to hold the ball.

Moreover, it is too easy for such a super giant to fall off the chain at critical moments.

Karl Malone is a clear example.

Under Woody's continuous strong attack, the Nets' interior defensive system has almost collapsed. What makes them collapse is that this team has not one "Big Mac" inside, but two.

After Woody's attack was almost complete, Shaquille O'Neal showed his fangs and continued to cause damage under the basket in the same way.

In the first half of the first quarter, the Heat's style of play was very simple. Woody's attack was after Shaq's attack, and Shaq's attack was after Woody's attack.

At this time, the Nets finally remembered that they should change their formation.

But after shrinking the inside defense, Wade's breakthrough space suddenly became much larger.

He started to exert force!
At the end of the first quarter, the Heat scored 34 points.

Among them, Woody scored 11 points, O'Neal scored 8 points, and Wade scored 7 points. The three of them together contributed 26 points.

A more intuitive statistic is that before they were substituted in the first quarter, in addition to their 26 points, other Heat players scored a total of 2 points.

They proved with actual actions that as long as they are strong enough, the "threesome" can defeat five people on the opposite side!

After their first quarter, the Heat also led by 10 points.

The second big problem with Martin's departure is reflected in the fact that the Nets' firepower has dropped a lot.

In fact, the Nets were able to win because of the fast break scoring led by Kidd. It was similar to the Suns, but not as gorgeous and the offensive firepower was not as fierce.

But the defense needs to be a little stronger.

Facts have proven that Martin is a key part of the Nets' success and he should not be traded away.

But at this time, it was obviously too late to understand this.

The Heat's offensive continues, and at the end of the first half, they have taken a 20-point lead.

But yes, if the Nets could really have a chance to compete with the Heat, they wouldn't have met the Heat so quickly in the first round.

At 3 minutes and 34 seconds in the fourth quarter, Stan Van Gundy looked at the opposite coach very politely. The other side also understood and replaced all the main players. Stan Van Gundy also replaced all the main players. .

The game has entered "garbage time".

At this time, it was not like some teams later, where other main players were replaced during "garbage time" and a core player was left to "do their best". The "garbage time" at this time was very clean.

It's just a bunch of substitutes fighting around.

In the first game of the final series, the Heat defeated 118-91 by 27 points at their home court, easily winning the first game of the series.

And this is also a portrayal of the next few games in this series.

Whether it was at the home court of the Heat or the Nets, the Nets could not stop the Heat's "two-man attack" of Woody and Shaq in the first quarter, and always fell behind by almost 10 points in the first quarter. Points difference.

Among them, the smallest point difference after the first quarter was in the third game of the series. The Nets had just returned to their home court and wanted to go from 0-2 to 4-2 like the Heat last season. big comeback.

So they used the "shark-cutting tactic" at the beginning of the game, and the tactic worked very well. Shaq's free throws didn't feel very good. After missing all three consecutive free throws, they finally made the first free throw.

However, no matter how the "cutting the shark" tactic is used, the key is that the Nets themselves must be able to grasp the offensive round.

But the problem is that they really have no effective way to ensure their own offense.

The problem with Jason Kidd is that he is a passer rather than a high-scoring core.

Main players like him may have been able to lead the team to championships in the 80s and 90s, but now that more and more emphasis is placed on offense, players like him are no longer suitable to be the absolute core.

Because when his teammates can't score, he can't just go to the referee, right?
Or have the team write a letter to the league asking for free throws?

In the end, even though the "shark-cutting tactic" was used, which delayed the Heat's offense for a long time, they did not gain any lead in the first quarter and still fell behind by 6 points entering the second quarter.

Moreover, due to the "shark chop" at the beginning, the number of free throws taken by the main players was not enough.The team was sent off 2 people in this game.

This is the disadvantage of always using "shark chop".

This is especially true in games where the combat capabilities of the enemy and ourselves are very different.

In the last game of the series, all members of the Nets stopped resisting and waited for the exit moment. The current fans are also very disappointed. The attendance rate for this game was not even 7%.

The basketball atmosphere created by reaching the finals for two consecutive years in 02 and 03 has obviously begun to slowly disappear with the playoff losses in these two years.

The culprit who caused all this is sitting peacefully on the bench, waiting boredly for the last game of the series to end.

There are now 12 wins left to win the championship!
111 to 94, this was the final score of the fourth game of the series. The Heat won the last game with a 17-point advantage and successfully entered the next round.

After the game, Jason Kidd took the initiative to walk up to Woody:
"Man, your time is coming!"

This is not a simple compliment, he can clearly feel how Woody has changed since last season! (End of chapter)