How strong was Dwight Howard at the beginning of his career?

For this question, many fans and friends who have not experienced that era may scoff at it:

How strong can an undersized interior line who has no reliable offensive skills and only relies on physical fitness to make a living under the basket beg?

Averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds per game in the first season of his career will lead to a double-double, and Howard's statistical performance in the early years of his career is indeed far less dazzling than those super interior players who have left a name in history.

In the first two years of his career, Howard played a pure No. 4 position, and his rebounding skills and natural defensive sense are indeed very much in line with the positioning of the power forward position on the defensive end, and he is a potential new star that many teams are drooling about.

But as a power forward, it is difficult to play a piece of the sky without a hand-shot effort, after all, the real basket fight is the work of the center, and the power forward also needs to have mid-range scoring skills on the court to help the team open up the space under the basket. It would be even better if there was a hand to play the ball.

From this point of view, the current Chen Mu is the best candidate for the position of power forward, not to mention those superstars who have been engraved on the top of Olympia Mountain, if a team wants to use the most primitive position definition of basketball to select players, Chen Mu's characteristics are very suitable for the position of power forward.

Not only that, but the current overall lineup of the 76ers is more or less in line with the traditional definition of basketball. Miller, who is a traditional arc top vacancy, has a good passing and overall view, is not bad defensively, and has a back-to-back skill.

Korver, the archetypal No. 2 pick, is accurate enough to go further on the defensive end and almost serve as a definition of the term "shooting guard" in basketball textbooks. For future generations to learn.

Small forward Iguodala still lacks offensive skills, but his kung fu to connect with the inside and outside is already good, and his breakthrough ability and all-round skills are in line with the small forward's own job. As long as you develop your own killer skills in scoring and increase the lethality of breakthroughs, you can also become a textbook small forward.

Needless to say, big forward Chen Mu has the most basic responsibilities of a big forward, such as mid-range shooting, defense, rebounding, and back-to-back singles from time to time.

It doesn't matter what the quality of the players is. If there is any shortcoming of this 76ers team from the perspective of position definition, it is naturally Hunter at the center position.

The defensive end is still barely strong, able to withstand half of the league's interior line, diligent and hard-working, but there are too few scoring means, but Hunter is only 25 years old, if you don't tell you his development trajectory in the future, why can't you say that Hunter also has the potential to become a top interior line?

It's a pity today. In the face of the joyful Orlando basketball, the biggest shortcoming of the Philadelphia 76ers is about to be infinitely magnified.

After finally scoring two points through Chen Mu's counter-run shot, the Magic's offense once again cut through Philadelphia's defense. In the face of Howard's strong crushing, Hunter was completely powerless to parry, and was eaten under the basket in a few steps, watching Howard score with a stiff zombie hook.

"It can't go on like this."

Seeing his teammates restrained in the face of their respective opponents on the offensive end, unable to play at their best, Chen Mu was very uneasy.

Hold the ball again, a standard and smooth up and down swing. Chen Mu shook Barty away and scored easily. Before the team could get back to the defense, Nelson was enthusiastic, quickly ran over Miller with small broken steps, and made a sharp stop outside the three-point line in the frontcourt.

"Huh"

Nelson was lucky. Before coach Bryan Hill could get out of the way, basketball was in the frame, and Nelson made a piano celebration similar to the "human comedy" Anthony Walker, asking the crowd for the applause he deserved.

"The inside line can't be stopped, and their outside line will explode sooner or later!"

Chen Mu knows that at the moment, Tekoglu and Hill have not yet started to play. By the time Howard eats Hunter a few more times and has his hands fully open, the Magic's offense will become extremely three-dimensional. The kind of one-in-four-outside combination that ran rampant in the East in the next few seasons will take shape as long as Barty is replaced and replaced by Ariza, and it will be very difficult for the 76ers to regain the balance of power.

Don't fall into their trap!

Miller also saw this hidden danger, and after receiving Chen Mu's baseline ball, he began to accelerate and handed the ball to Iguodala as soon as possible.

Iguodala's physical superiority was evident against Tekoglu's defense, swaying neatly past his opponent in a change of direction before smashing into the basket.

Two steps later, Iguodala began to collect the ball, ready to make a three-step layup, in front of him, Howard had already changed his guard, staring at Iguodala with fierce eyes, the kind of wildness that naturally exuded made people frightened, eager to hug the basketball in his hand and go straight off the court, shouting "I don't play anymore, I want to go home".

In the last round, his shaking throw was covered by Howard with superhuman speed, this time Iguodala learned to be smart, and after receiving the ball, his feet were still sprinting to the basket, but his eyes seemed to inadvertently glance at Chen Mu on the other side of the basket.

"Be ready, I'll pass the ball at any time!"

Reading the message from Iguodala's eyes, Chen Mu turned around and bypassed Barty, stuck the opponent behind him in one step, and then stared at Iguodala's movements with both eyes, ready to catch the ball and attack the basket at any time.

"Whoosh!"

There was still half a step away from Howard, Iguodala threw the basketball high without warning, Chen Mu instantly understood his friend's thoughts, and jumped up step by step, ready to make an empty dunk, and let out a vicious anger on the top of Howard's head.

But Dwight Howard's reaction speed still exceeded everyone's expectations.

“PASS？”

Seeing that the route of the basketball was not straight to the basket, Howard grinned, his legs bent and jumped immediately, and the whole person soared into the sky, the right hand was so high that it was difficult to look up, and he actually grabbed the basketball directly in the air!

“…… Wow! ”

This time the performance once again blew up the audience, and even Brian Hill on the sidelines showed a little surprise, he didn't expect his subordinate Ai General to have such a terrifying performance, his mouth opened open, and he couldn't even say words of praise.

"Smack!"

Picking the basketball off the air with one hand, Howard landed and slammed it down. The basketball was as small as a toy in the palm of his hand, and he slapped it hard like a rainbow and firmly controlled the ball.

"This ...... Is this a block or a steal......?! ”

Many new fans were dumbfounded, not knowing how to count this goal. You look at me, I look at you, my expression is shocked.

“FASTBREAK！”

With a quick basketball, Nelson began to sprint quickly, and Howard followed closely behind, causing the entire 76ers defense to be in chaos. The players' movement was chaotic and no one was defending who they were supposed to be playing against.

If this fast attack is successful, it will be terrible!

Chen Mu knew that something was wrong, and when Howard landed in one step too late, he hurriedly turned around and chased after him, following behind Howard, wanting to use his speed to interfere with Howard's offensive follow-up.

Coming to the basket, Nelson chose to shoot directly for the basket, and Iguodala behind him was already close at hand.

"Smack!"

The basketball was slapped hard by Iguodala on top of the rebound. Once the pegboard hat, the 76ers players didn't have time to cheer, and the figure of the ancient beast had already taken off.

Howard, who was following quickly, was obviously very familiar with Nelson, who joined the Magic team in the same year as him, and knew that his friend would definitely make a layup regardless of it at this moment and be blocked by Iguodala.

Taking a big step from the free throw line and starting to jump, Howard ignored Chen Mu's helpless pull behind him, grabbed the rebounding basketball in the air, and slammed it into the basket.

"Beep!"

The referee's whistle sounded, and Chen Mu fouled the defense. Howard's dunk counts as a point, and one more free throw is added!

“NO！！！”

Iguodala was frustrated, complaining to the referee with a bitter face, as if Howard had reached out and put his hand on his shoulder when he jumped. Taking off with the help of force, there is a suspicion of fouling.

However, in the away field, the referee will not blow such a small action, the penalty has been decided, Howard stood on the free throw line, concentrated on preparing for a while and then made a stiff shot. The basketball bumped a few times on the hoop and fell into the frame.

“TIMEOUT！”

Cheeks, who has always been conservative, couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout just a few minutes into the game.

"Alas......"

The 76ers returned to the bench dejectedly, but in fact, the score between the two sides was only 4-9, and the Magic only led by 5 points, which is not even a difference.

But the offense was ineffective in several consecutive rounds, and there was nothing to do with Howard on the defensive end, and the team's morale was hit hard. This led Cheeks to decide to immediately interrupt the Magic's rhythm with a timeout and pour some chicken soup for the soul on several pairs of players.

Sitting back in his seat, Chen Mu was also very uneasy in his heart. Iguodala and Hunter on the side, one was discouraged because he was continuously interfered with by Howard's blocks on the offensive end, and the other was demoralized because he was continuously blown up by Howard on the defensive end.

Two important players on and off the team have taken a hit, and if the 76ers don't find a way to play against each other right away and get back together, the game will be extremely difficult.

“BOOOOO~！！！”

In the Amway Center arena, the fans booed, all of which were given to the two players of the 76ers, and even made the two of them bow their heads and sigh, their faces as if they were burning.

Orlando fans have never been "loyal" guys, but when it comes to falling into the ground, they have a knack for it. Whether it's against the away players or the players they don't like for their own team, the Orlando fans booed mercilessly, in stark contrast to the jolly city itself.

Dwight Howard, a man who has been repeatedly underestimated since the beginning of his career, is using his explosive performance to firmly control the situation and push the 76ers into the abyss step by step.

"On the offensive end, give me the ball."

The 76ers bench was silent for a long time, everyone was still immersed in the previous consecutive losses and couldn't extricate themselves, and a calm voice with blood sounded.

“…… Old? ”

Iguodala felt an arm on his shoulder, and the power transmitted from it made him feel calm, although his mood could not be adjusted immediately, but as soon as he heard this sentence, he knew that things must have taken a turn again.

"Coach, Andre, Miller."

Chen Mu's eyes were blazing, and in his mind less than 20 years old, the soul that had infiltrated countless basketball knowledge on the two timelines began to stir.

"For the next offense, give me all the balls."

Looking at the only stunned figure on the Orlando bench, Chen Mu gritted his teeth and said firmly: "Let me single Tony Barty, as long as he resolutely focuses on him and makes him completely lose confidence, Brian Hill will definitely change his alignment strategy!" ”

“……”

Hearing Chen Mu's words, Chicks thought about it carefully, and sure enough, he found a trace of whimsical nutrients from it, and nodded after a while: "Well, it's worth a try." ”

Picking up the tactical board, Cheeks regained some fighting spirit and began to teach the players what to do.

"Just do what Chan said, and then focus on him to make Barty lose confidence as soon as possible. At that time, Bryan will definitely choose to switch defenses and let Dwight deal with Chen, and Chen, unlike Steven, has a hand-shot skill, so ......"

Cheeks looked up, looked at the generals who were gradually coming out of their frustration, and said firmly: "We can lure Dwight out of the ...... of the penalty area!" (To be continued.) )