In the first quarter, the Warriors showed a gap with the championship team.

If you want to win a game, you can do it by attacking wildly. But if you want to win a championship and win a seven-game series, you have to defend solidly.

In the past ten years, it can be said that except for the Lakers, who were too rebellious on offense, whether it was the Spurs, Pistons, or Celtics, they all relied on defense to win the championship. In the game of the Warriors' "Black Eight" Mavericks, a very important factor is also the restriction of Nowitzki. At that time, Petrus, Barnes, and Jackson were all players who worked hard defensively.

Zhou Xuan didn't think that Rondo's attack was strong, it was a single breakthrough, although the speed was fast, but it was not fast enough to be rooted. Rondo is strong on the defensive end, he follows too closely, and his arm span is excellent, and he reacts quickly, and Zhou Xuan can't think of any way to get past him one-on-one.

After blocking and dismantling, Zhou Xuan faced the more difficult Garnett, who was tall and had longer arms, like a black cloud covering the sun, even his passing vision was blocked.

While being restricted, Zhou Xuan also realized some defensive truths, one is to block people and compress the space for the ball, and the other is to block the line of sight, so that the opponent can't pass the ball easily, and he can do both things, he is a good defensive player. If you can also do a good job of rotating positions, waiting for opportunities to break the ball, and causing offensive fouls, you are a super defensive player.

Zhou Xuan just defended well and broke through, but the defense lacked a sense of oppression, he was not good enough. Putting Rondo on a two-step defense may seem easy, but it actually gives Rondo the opportunity to organise on the perimeter and pass back or cut the ball into the air, which is something he needs to improve in the future.

The Celtics didn't have a fast offensive rhythm and a shooting percentage that was not so high that they led the Warriors by 13 points in the first quarter with a score of 20-33 by relying on defense.

In the second quarter, the Warriors couldn't slow down.

Azubuuk is the most important scorer off the bench, averaging 14 per game this season. 6 points, but today it was Tony? Allen couldn't catch the ball. People only know that James has transferred to the Hornets in the finals? Posey limited Kobe, but few people knew that the Celtics' best outside defender was actually not Posey, but Tony? Alan. He is an out-and-out defensive core, with good physical fitness, whether it is against the ball carrier or the ball off, he is very tight, and it is like glue sticking to the opponent.

Inside "Big Baby" Glenn? Davis also abused the skinny Anthony? Randolph, the peculiar tonnage gives Davis an advantage in the low post. Let Turyaf defend, Davis pulled out again, and he still has a hand after the pick-and-roll.

The Warriors were the only ones who stood up and faced the veteran Eddie? House was unrelenting, shooting 4-of-4 to prevent the Warriors from surrendering in the second quarter. But as soon as the starters returned, the score widened again. At 38-59, the Warriors trailed by 21 points to end the first half.

Zhou Xuan played badly, shooting 0 of 5, including an open three-point miss, he only gave out three assists, and didn't grab a rebound.

At halftime, the ESPN commentator commented on the game.

The new season of ESPN has really done a good job in broadcasting the NBA. After a conversation with former Rockets coach Jeff? While Van Gundy signed a long-term contract, they also spared no expense to invite Lakers legend star, "Magic" Ervin? Johnson, as an analyst in the studio, has once again set off a ratings climax in the new season, with the blockbuster combination of Van Gundy and Magic.

Johnson joked: "Maybe Zhou Xuan is tired of playing on Thanksgiving, but the people who go out to participate in the event play well." ”

Jeff? Van Gundy disagreed, shook his head and said: "I think he's okay, it's just that he doesn't shoot very well, mainly because Rondo and Garnett put too much pressure on him." It's impossible for a rookie to play consistently in every game, I think he's hit the rookie wall, after all, he hasn't experienced a full NCAA season, he went straight to the NBDL, he lacks a transition period that other players have, and it's a miracle that he can play so well in the first few games. ”

Johnson nodded. He has a lot of self-confidence, and in a recent interview with San Francisco Chinese Radio, he said that his goal for the new season is the best rookie and assist king. This is the first time that a second-round rookie dares to say such a thing. I remember that Yao Ming was very low-key when he was elected champion, he didn't play well at the beginning, he didn't dare to say about the best rookie, Zhou Xuan is a different Chinese. ”

Van Gundy laughed: "If his stats hadn't dropped too much, maybe he could have become the best rookie." But if you want to win the assist king, you can't break through the rookie wall as soon as possible. ”

The "rookie wall" is invisible and intangible, but many rookies will bump into it. The NBA is like a marathon in a sports meeting, not a sprint. Since the start of the training camp, the newcomers have to practice twice a day for a whole month, and after playing the preseason games, they have to endure the torture of 82 games on the long road. The long road was filled with a dozen back-to-back races and endless days of flying, staying in hotels and riding buses. If you make the playoffs, you have two more weeks to your two-month away season. A 19- to 22-year-old rookie entering the NBA has to multiply the college schedule by three.

Rookies who have played for a long time may feel like they're stuck in trouble with the rookie wall. The question is how long it will take to get out of it. Zhou Xuan is more like a typical example, he has the most minutes of all rookies, averaging 37 minutes per game, and he also happens to be the youngest person in the league, just 19 years old in the summer.

In the second half, Celtic continued to take the initiative.

Zhou Xuan's performance was very struggling, and he broke through and made mistakes as soon as he came up. After the block, Garnett made physical contact with him and knocked him to the ground viciously, but the referee didn't blow it. Garnett picked up the ball and launched a fast break, without looking at him.

Zhou Xuan is not a star, the ball that can be blown or not must be towards the star. A few minutes later, he made a mistake on his pass to Biderin, who cut through the middle, and was cut off by Ray Allen to play a counter-attack.

The Celtics have few weaknesses in their starting defense, and the Warriors are at a disadvantage compared to the individual ability of the stars.

Especially the Celtics' interior line is solid, no matter who blocks and cuts into the inside line, they will hit a big man. Biedrins can't shoot, the problem of few offensive means is seriously exposed, and he can only help the team by grabbing rebounds, Zach? Randolph is also in a slump, and the fat man had a terrible game when he met the Celtics with the Knicks last season, and now he is in the same situation. Garnett defended the breakthrough in the high post and interfered with the shot, and Perkins in the low post could not enter the three-second zone.

Don't underestimate Perkins. Rivers said, "Perkins is the team's most indispensable blue-collar player, not only as a standout individual defender, but also as a revitalizing figure for the whole team's defense." ”

Perkins received a true pass from Garnett, the best defensive player last season, and Thibodeau, who is good at adjusting defense, has greatly improved his individual defensive ability, and he seems to be one of the best executors in the three-second zone. There is no doubt that with Perkins' strength and height, he is among the best in the league in terms of low-post individual defensive ability, and he is an excellent big meat shield.

He's one of the very few players whose value can't be measured by stats, and even Lakers leader Kobe Bryant admits: "Perkins is a great team defensive player, and I think he's one of the best players in the league who defends the low post." ”

The Lakers suffered in the Finals last season, and they struggled to get inside, not so much Paul. Gasol is soft, or rather Perkins is too hard. A lot of the time Perkins defended Gasol in the low post, and if you just look at the stats against Garnett, Gasol doesn't suffer.

If they can't break the Celtics' defense, the Warriors can only try on the outside. Jackson played well today, hitting four three-pointers, and Moreau also showed some performance after coming on the court, but the efforts of just a few people couldn't win. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by as many as 26 points, and in the second half, Nelson Sr. reluctantly replaced all the main players, and the game went into garbage time.

87-110, the Warriors suffered three straight losses. The Celtics are on a six-game winning streak and continue to lead the East with an overall record of 14-2. The Big Three all scored over 20. Ray Allen scored 25 points, Garnett had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Pierce had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Rondo got 8 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, of which 4 points were scored by grabbing the front court rebound and attacking the second time, which made Zhou Xuan extremely depressed.

Warriors Jackson had 30 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Randolph had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Morrow scored 14 points. Biedrins had 4 points and 13 rebounds, Zhou Xuan made 1 of 7 shots, got 2 points, 5 assists and 1 steal, and did not grab a rebound, which was his worst performance in the regular season.

In the locker room, Zhou Xuan quickly came out after taking a shower and received calls from many friends. Everyone has the same opinion, he has done a good job, and there is no need to worry too much about losing to a strong team like Celtic.

Only Mitchell didn't comfort Zhou Xuan when he called, and said depressedly: "Man, you played really badly today, are you afraid of Garnett?" ”

Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, and asked rhetorically, "Why do you say that?" ”

"Because you pass the ball almost immediately when you meet him, you don't dare to fight him at all." Mitchell said loudly.

"Should I challenge Garnett? Wouldn't it be more certain to let your teammates hit other people? Zhou Xuan asked.

Mitchell said solemnly: "That's your biggest problem right now, you always want to pass the ball to what looks like the opponent's defense is the weakest, how did you come to the conclusion that 'teammates are more sure of attacking, you are not sure'? You're attacking less and less with the ball, and you're getting less confident in your shots. You haven't shot yet, and you feel that the ball is not sure, how can the hit rate be high? Paul, DeLong, and Nash are all pass-oriented defenders, but they don't pass the ball every time they face the likes of Garnett, Duncan, Bowen and Battier. Scoring in front of a defensive expert is a morale boost, and no one can go wrong defending. It's good that you're selfless, but being too selfless is not good for you personally or for the team. You might become Blavin? A player like Knight. He can provide a lot of assists, but the Bobcats can't win the ball, and no one thinks Knight is a threat. You can't have this concept in your head, I can't do it, I can't pass him, I'm not sure how to shoot. Didn't you read a book on psychology? It's a kind of self-hypnosis, and you can't change it after a long time. ”

More than enough is too much. Zhou Xuan thought back to the way he played in China, when his first goal was to attack, he didn't look at his teammates at all, and he didn't care how tall the person he was facing was, whether he was fast or not. Of course, the center of domestic high school students is less than two meters, which looks very tall, and the deterrent power of a giant like Garnett is not comparable to that of domestic players.

Now Zhou Xuan's first thought is to pass the ball, observe his teammates in various positions, and think about how to find a gap to pass the ball out. But how can you help your teammates contain the defense if you are weak in attack? He had to find a balance.