Chapter Thirty-Eight: Shameless
"Played 13 minutes, made 6 of 8 shots, 2 of 4 free throws, scored 14 points and 7 rebounds, HOHO~! Looking at this technical stats table, can you believe that this is the stats played by a rookie who has only played less than 10 NBA games against Tim Duncan, the league's No. 1 power forward? β
With the analysis of the SBC arena home commentator, the statistics of the first half of the Spurs' home game against the 76ers were projected on the screen.
Although it is only a half-time statistic, and the data is not very comprehensive, the statistics of two players have been highlighted, which is very eye-catching.
"In the first half of the game, the yellow-skinned big man from China once again explained to us what is called the terrifying scoring explosiveness brought by the combination of sudden shots. So far, this Chinese kid's score is not only a mid-range shot, but you heard it right, no back, no step-back jumper, no hook hand, no advanced inside skills, only continuous mid-range shots, and extremely tough basket strength! BAMοΌοΌ β
The more the commentator spoke, the more excited he became, and the screen began to replay Chen Mu's wonderful performance in the first half, bypassing the layers of cover again and again to receive the ball and score, running in the front of the fast break, every rebound was like seeing the enemy and rushing desperately, Chen Mu's performance not only won the praise of the commentators, but also won the rare recognition of the Spurs' home fans.
"I saw a look of dΓ©jΓ vu on the faces of the fans in attendance, and I remember AmarΓ© had that look on our fans when we faced the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs six months ago."
The commentator recalled: "It was a helpless, hateful and convincing look. Although we know that our Thiem is definitely better than hard power, the opponent's score is more based on teamwork to find space, and cannot be compared with Thiem's single score again and again. β
"But a game is a game, a goal is a goal! From Alamo to SBC, the one who can convince the people in this arena is the master! β
Although Chen Mu's performance is very outstanding, on the other side, another highlighted data is also conspicuous.
"Played 18 minutes, shot 6 of 9, made 4 of 6 free throws, scored 16 points and 6 rebounds, Tim Duncan, Mr. Daji, still dominated half the court!"
In the first half of the game, the Spurs did not have a good way to use Iverson and Webber as bait for the 76ers, but in fact let Chen Mulai continue to score points, and the small lineup also proved to be a failure.
In the second quarter, after Vicky made adjustments and sent substitute center Mohammed to the court, although Chen Mu's basket score decreased, the mid-range shooting score increased. Chen Mu's strange combination of big forward position and small forward play made the Spurs a little helpless.
But on the other hand, Duncan is also taking what he wants on the offensive end, and every time he singles Chen Mu is easy to score. Even when the 76ers put Webb and Chen Mu in the middle of the defense, Duncan can find a way to draw a foul, or stagger the ball in, or deliver a brilliant assist.
Although from the data point of view, Chen Mu and Duncan seem to have little difference in half-time performance, but from the actual effect, it can still be clearly felt that there is a huge gap between Chen Mu and Duncan.
"The ability to dominate the ball, that's the biggest gap between you and the top power forwards."
The second half of the game is about to start, 76ers head coach Cheeks explained the main tactics of the second half to the players in detail, pulled Chen Mu aside, and analyzed carefully: "The ability to dominate the ball is not something that can be practiced in a short period of time, it takes a lot of hard work and patience to obtain, and you don't have to worry about it now." β
"In the second half, you were still our sixth man, remember ......"
Cheeks stared at Chen Mu, raised a finger and said, "Whenever you catch the ball within your attack range, shoot directly." Greg will definitely make targeted adjustments, change the defense, delay, control your catch, and they will do everything to prevent you from scoring comfortably. β
"But as long as you stay resolute and score one or two more goals, there's no one to stop you in this game......!"
Although Cheeks is not very good at tactics, he is also a basketball player, and he knows very well how something called "momentum" on the court will have a profound impact on the game.
"I see, Coach ......!"
Chen Mu nodded slightly, and there seemed to be a flame burning in his eyes.
Soon after, the second half began.
Without Chen Mu on the floor, the 76ers returned to a situation where Iverson and Webb were the inner and outer pivots, all of them moved together, and Iverson scored as an arrow.
There was no rebounding point on the inside, Duncan began to collect rebounds, and kept hitting shots on the offensive end, a wave of 9-2 small **, and the score was instantly pulled away.
"Chen, you go!"
At the time of the dead ball, Chen Mu was put on the battlefield, I don't know if it was Chen Mu's hallucination, he seemed to feel that the 76ers players on the court were obviously relieved, while the Spurs players were obviously a little nervous.
"Do I already have that much influence on the game......
Chen Mu didn't know the answer, so he hurriedly shook his head, completely throwing these thoughts out of his mind.
Right now, there are only two things in his eyes:
Basketball, as well as basketballs.
The 76ers attacked, everything was running as always, and Chen Mu went around the bottom line.
"Huh......?"
However, this time, ** Wei is obviously not ready to let Chen Mu have a good time.
"Isn't it Duncan?"
Beside Chen Mu, it was not Duncan or Muhammad who appeared, but a figure who looked a little thin in comparison.
"Cloth ...... Bruce Bowen ......?! β
Chen Mu was also stunned, he never thought that the Spurs would actually send the strongest individual defensive warrior in the team, Bowen, who is famous for his bottom corner three-point shot and a lot of small actions.
"It's not too much of a disadvantage, it's faster than me, and it's very experienced defensively...... I see! β
Chen Mu couldn't help but raise his eyes to look at the ** Vicky who was touching his chin thoughtfully off the field, shook his head with a wry smile and said to himself: "Is this using me as a Novitsky to defend......?" β
"Chen!"
While thinking about it, a shout came from the flank, and Chen Mu raised his eyes to see that Iguodala was already holding the ball outside the 45-degree three-point line, and sent the ball in a high-profile shot.
Catching the basketball steadily, Chen Mu was forced to turn his back into a posture, which looked very awkward.
"I still have to turn the frame and attack ......!"
Chen Mu was sure of his heart, and immediately collected the ball and turned around, but the moment he returned to the front, Bowen's scalpel-like hand had already been quickly cut.
"Smack......!"
This hand knife was extremely accurate, and the basketball in Chen Mu's hand was easily cut.
"Oops...... bad!"
Chen Mu secretly screamed that it was not good, and when he saw that Bowen beside him was already about to fall to the ground to grab the ball, he simply fell to the ground and left.
After all, Chen Mu had a longer arm span and a better position, so he still touched the basketball first, stabbed it, and sent it back to Iguodala, and then staggered up and began to lift up and dismantle it.
Iguodala comprehended, and began to start at the moment when Chen Mu blocked and dismantled, and the cheetah rushed to the inside line.
"Come on......!"
Under the basket, Mohammed is already in full swing, and as long as Iguodala dares to make a layup, he will immediately reward him with a big hat.
Iguodala, who has the physical fitness of a super scorer but has a point guard heart, how could he be so easily fooled? I saw him copy it with one hand, and the basketball returned to Chen Mu, who was just about to come in to grab the rebound.
"Humph......!"
Bruce Bowen was not deceived by the little trick between the two, and he also stepped forward quickly, sealing Chen Mu's forward route, and at the same time, he didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, and secretly stretched one foot to Chen Mu's feet.
"Click......!"
Chen Mu didn't notice Bowen's small movements at all, and stepped on his right foot, stepping on Bowen's instep, a piercing pain came, Chen Mu leaned over, and he was about to fall to the ground.
"Uh......!"
Chen Mu snorted lightly, gritted his teeth and looked at the basket, with only one thought left in his mind.
"Ball...... I'm going to throw the ball......! β
At the moment when his body began to lose his balance, Chen Mu stretched out his right hand, and his wrist and fingers used more strength than usual to throw the basketball desperately, and then fell to the ground with a thud, reached out to cover his ankle, and got up in pain.
"......?!"
Bowen didn't expect that this rookie actually had such a dedication to scoring, and looked up in surprise, only to see the basketball draw an obviously unusual arc in the air, which was ridiculously high, and then after reaching the highest point, it suddenly fell down heavily.
"Huh!"
Hollow into the net!
"Excuse ......!!"
The audience gasped, and everyone noticed that Chen Mu had fallen to the ground, holding his ankles with his hands, obviously injured.
In the case of losing the balance of his body, Chen Mu still hit the shot, and the blow of this kind of ball to the morale of the Spurs can be imagined.
"Beep beep!"
The referee immediately blew the whistle, and the 76ers team doctor stepped forward to check, fortunately, Chen Mu's ankle was only slightly sprained, which was not a big problem, but it would affect his ability to run and jump a little in the short term.
"Whew...... Call...... Call...... Whew......"
On Chen Mu's forehead, sweat was like rain, and the severe pain was gradually relieved, but the moment he was padded to his feet, the anger that he hadn't been able to react to began to erupt.
"Hey, rookie, are you alright?"
The game was temporarily suspended, and Bruce Bowen didn't know what the purpose was, so he walked to the 76ers bench in a few steps, and looked at Chen Mu with an indifferent face: "Did you step on my foot just now?" In the future, you have to be careful, and in the case of pressure, don't force a breakthrough again. β
"Heh......"
Chen Muqiang endured the anger in his heart, raised his eyes to look at Bowen with an innocent face, gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Bruce, in today's game, I can't judge who wins and who loses, but there is one thing I can be sure of......"
A burst of flame burned in Chen Mu's eyes, and his heart beat violently, almost jumping out of his chest.
"I'm going to blow up your ......!!!"
Bowen was stunned when he heard this, and also looked at Chen Mu's eyes, and instantly unconsciously took half a step back.
At this moment, he was convinced that he had seen a beast ......!