163: 17 ft Assassin
The Pacers went through the initial temptation, or inducement, and immediately began to close the net.
The initial outside offense and Henson's remarks in an interview were just to cover people's eyes. Henson's offensive focus today is not on the outside at all, but on the inside that the Grizzlies are proud of! To be exact, the vacuum between the outside line and the inside line. And the man Henson sent to rule this vacuum is none other than West!
Of course, at first, Hollins or others didn't notice a change in the Pacers on the offensive end today. But this time, even a fool could see what Henson was trying to do.
"Chris. Paul was commanding on the outside, and he did not rush to break through, nor did he ask for cover, but ...... Wait, David. West sank inside, and the Pacers wanted to single in the low post! ”
After a few runs, Kevin. Harlan was surprised to find that the Pacers had pulled the Grizzlies' defensive lineup apart! Horford slipped outside the three-point line with a block, and the Grizzlies still thought the Pacers' offensive focus was on the perimeter.
After West received the basketball, people instantly discovered that a low-post one-on-one singles situation had formed on the court.
"Is he crazy? Want to play inside? Hollins turned his head in surprise to look at the Chinese coach in the other half. West singles Zach. Randolph, do you think West is still the same All-Star power forward who fought with Duncan during the Hornets days?
West leaned on Randolph with his back, and the "Big Black Bear" weighed a full 9 kilograms more than West at 118 kilograms.
Don't underestimate the difference of 9 kilograms, just look at the weight difference in boxing matches to score an order of magnitude, and you will know how obvious the advantage of 9 kilograms is.
West didn't seem to be going to push back with brute force, he just leaned back sharply and immediately rolled over and jumped!
West rarely seeks intense physical contact on the offensive end, and doesn't arch his back or hips to the basket like Barkley on the commentator's bench. West's contact with a defender is often just a split second, just to detect the defender's presence.
A very quick turnaround jumper, this jumper West didn't look exaggerated from the ground, and it wasn't that fast. But his wonderful explosiveness and soft touch make it all seem very sudden. Hardly anyone can keep up with his trick,
"Brush." The crisp sound of the Nets swept over again, and Randolph was ready to fight hand-to-hand with the veteran forward who dared to challenge the Grizzlies' restricted area.
However, there was little physical contact between the two sides, and the battle was over.
West was really like an assassin, and he did it lightly. Then, as if nothing had happened, he silently retreated.
"The ball is in, David. West singled out Randolph and succeeded. A very beautiful turnaround jumper, West's signature move. It seems that the Grizzlies put a lot of pressure on the Pacers from the outside today, and they haven't been able to play a signature offense until now. Thankfully, West's singles worked. Kevin. Harlan scratched his head, always feeling that something was wrong, and he couldn't tell.
You see, they're still trapped in habitual thinking!
Bag clip, another successful bag clip. Hollins was surprised to find that his "black and white bear" was instead restrained.
This time, the Pacers didn't wrap Gasol the moment he received the ball, but waited for Gasol to sink deep with the ball before wrapping it up. There is no doubt that this will make it more difficult for Gasol to split the ball.
And when Gasol finally distributed the ball to Randolph, the all-star power forward who seemed to never make a sound blocked his thug in front of the "big black bear".
Fortunately, this time Randolph used his back skills to score a ball, which did not bring the Grizzlies' offense to a standstill. However, Hollins also found that his tactics did not seem to work as expected.
6-7, the cheers in the FedEx Arena were also endless, and the intensity of the game was very much in line with the imagination of the fans.
But most people think the Grizzlies have the upper hand, after all, the Pacers haven't been able to score from the outside.
However, after a round, the Grizzlies' defense failed again. Only this time, it's hard to tell if this counts as a Pacers outside scoring.
The Pacers repeated the same trick, with West fake covering and George drawing the defense. In the end, Paul, the guard, set up a pick-and-roll for West, and George handed the ball to West, who swam about 17 feet away from the basket.
It's a trick that the Pacers have just used, and it's been successful. So Gasol couldn't watch West shoot so easily, and the Spaniard raised his arms high and pressed up to fill in for Randolph.
West didn't make a strong shot in the face of the Spaniard's defense, but made an understatement pass with one hand. The basketball slashed under Gasol Jr.'s armpit and into the bottom right corner. There, Al. Horford is unmarked!
Don't think that Horford is a "fake shooter" like Bombset, Horford's three-point shooting has always been very solid, even when compared to outside shooters. Not to mention, Horford doesn't have a cold spot outside the three-point line at all.
The sound of the Nets tumbling once again jumped into Hollins' ears, but the originally pleasant sound was very heart-wrenching at this time. The Pacers hit the first three-pointer of the game, but you can't say that Henson's outside offense paid off. Because, this is the combination of the Pacers' two interior players......
"Three-pointers hit back-to-back goals. They played really well, but they always felt weird, and they always felt that this kind of offense didn't look like the Pacers were playing. In short, it's hard to watch even when ...... goal is scored." Harlan pondered a couple of Pacers' offenses, and just when he seemed to have an answer, Barkley said what he had in mind.
"Because today, Coach Henson has increased the weight of interior players with the ball and shots, and he's playing against the Grizzlies with West and Horford as the core!" Barkley smiled, what a crazy plan! To use the most unexpected method of the other party to meet the head-on attack, of course, this also has to take a lot of risks. After all, the Grizzlies' interior defense is excellent. Their inside line, it's not that you can play if you want to.
So far, however, Henson's plan has been undoubtedly successful. Seven of the Pacers' nine points are from two interiors, which is unprecedented throughout the season!
But, that's not exactly what Henson. Joe's style of that guy? Surprise, don't play according to the routine!
Subsequently, it was Rudy. Guy and Mike. Conley joined the fray, and the Grizzlies' offense finally picked up.
Hollins originally wanted to take advantage of the "Double Bears'" physical strength to slam the inside line at the beginning to lay an advantage, but now it is the Grizzlies who are behind!
It seems that the experience of dealing with the Pacers last season is not very good now.
After the first quarter, West continued to hit the Grizzlies' defense hard with his mid-range shots. The Grizzlies put all their defensive focus on the outside players led by Paul, but they always let West seize the gap and seize the "vacuum" of Henson's tactical board.
This tough inside line with a height of 2.06 meters did not go to the restricted area to turn over the river and the sea, nor did he use his height to crush the restricted area like the "black and white double bear".
But he used his soft fingers and delicate touch to shoot the ball in every corner where there was space.
West's hand gets hotter and hotter, and the basketball in Paul's hand is always delivered to West's hand with precision.
The same set that the New Orleans Hornets did back then was perfectly replicated in Memphis by the two today!
Paul seems to be a pair of hands that pull the trigger, and West is the bullet that is accurate enough to hit the enemy's heart!
Seven minutes into the first quarter, West had scored 10 points! With 5-of-6 shooting, his shooting percentage was incredible for everyone.
"This dude is on fire!" Kevin on the commentary stage. Harlan ostentatiously trusted West's hand tonight.
Hollins couldn't have imagined that the first person to open up the situation for the Pacers today would be West. The experienced Paul, the agile George and the accurate three-point Green are all covering for West.
It's easy to solve this problem, and Hollins has to step up his protection in the mid-range and three-second zone. But in this way, the Pacers' outside group can be regarded as completely liberated!
A few minutes later, Hollins called for another halt. By this time, the Grizzlies were already trailing by eight points. Trailing by eight points in the first quarter doesn't bode well for the Grizzlies, who like to play positional battles.
During the pause, all the fans who were following the game turned their eyes to West, and the cameras on the scene followed West all the time.
"Well done, David." Henson happily high-fived West, and sure enough, this guy's strength was more terrifying than everyone imagined!
So it was, and it is now!
Out-of-the-box All-Star Forward? He's not angry, it's just that you think he's too angry.
After the timeout was over, when Hollins was trying his best to get ready to deal with West. It was discovered that West, who scored 10 points in 7 minutes, disappeared and was replaced by Henson! In his place, it was the fierce "Birdman" Anderson. In other words, just now, Hollins talked about West's arrangement in vain.
Henson didn't care about the stunned gazes, but continued to stand on the sidelines, directing the show.
David had to take a break, after all, he still had a lot of things to do today......