Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Game of Chess (Three Watches)
Walker made an easy layup, and UConn had stretched the margin to 13 points.
Roy Williams looked solemn on the sidelines.
The proud disciple of legendary NCAA coach Dean Smith is actually playing a game of chess with veteran coach Cajon at this time.
Tang Tian's tactical advice to Cajon is very targeted, but because of the limited strength of Kangda's interior line, this tactic is actually not 100% strong, on the contrary, after Tang Tian was forced to play the No. 4 position, no one was able to match Barnes, and the dual-control tactics were a disadvantage on the defensive end.
Coupled with the height advantage of the twin towers on the inside, North Carolina is actually not afraid of this tactic.
It's just that I don't know what the reason is after the opening, whether it is Barnes, or Hansen and Zeller on the inside, they didn't play well.
On the contrary, on the Kangda side, Cajon finally found a relatively suitable lineup after continuous substitutions, and whether it is Walker, Tang Tian, or Napier, Oriage, or even Smith, the performance is obviously better than that of North Carolina.
It was he and Cajon who played chess, but the play of the pieces on both sides was not up to them.
Now the Kangda team members seem to have become cars moving forward, and the North Carolina side has become a river crosser, struggling.
Bullock's pullup jumper missed, and Hansen used his long arm to make a layup.
But in retrospect, it was Walker, who returned the pull-up jumper in the face of Hansen's change of direction.
Williams made a tactical gesture to signal the weak-side pack.
Zeller scored a goal against Oriage in the low post to finally save some face for himself.
Turning back, Walker was trapped, the ball was distributed to Smith, Smith didn't dare to shoot, the ball transitioned to Napier, and Napier reorganized.
Walker ran without the ball to contain the defense, Tang Tian borrowed Smith to cover the bottom corner and had a vacant opportunity, Napier threw his hand to pass, and Tang Tian received the ball and fell with his hand.
27 to 13.
After Tang Tian's three-point shot, the difference had come to 14 points.
There was a silence among the North Carolina fans at the scene.
Compared with the enthusiasm at the beginning, the team's performance so far has extinguished their enthusiasm little by little.
Just like Tang Tian said when he poured chicken soup on his teammates at the beginning, Kangda used his performance to suppress the cheers of North Carolina fans.
Fortunately, at this time, the two sides have almost entered the rotation, and both sides have been on the rotation lineup.
After Walker and Don got off the court, Lamb came up and became the main point of attack of Kangda.
Lamb's up and down form is difficult to maintain, and the performance is not good, but the form of North Carolina is not good.
In the closing stages of the first half, Zeller found some form on the inside, and a succession of points helped the team maintain the difference.
At halftime, the score was fixed at 41-26, and Kangda maintained a 15-point lead.
……
"After all, this group of people is young, and their performance is too unstable." After watching the half, Carter put away the tablet and couldn't help but speak.
Nash smiled and didn't speak, as a legendary point guard, he still knows the ball very well, and he can also see the tactical competition between the two sides in the half.
In terms of play alone, Kangda is indeed much better than North Carolina, but at the tactical level, Roy Williams is still a little too superstitious about his own tactics, and he should probably believe that his big man has an advantage on the inside in the first few minutes, but he is really a little stubborn after playing the first half without making adjustments.
However, this is also a common problem of famous coaches, and they will not make changes until they have to, and the tactical adjustments before the Kang Da are really amazing.
……
In the locker room at halftime, the Kangda players were shouting excitedly.
They never dreamed of being able to beat North Carolina like this, and it was so refreshing.
"Calm down, it's not over yet." Cajon did not forget to remind his teammates.
Because they are all college players, their performance is easy to fluctuate, so it is really common to have a reversal of more than ten or twenty points in the second half of the NCAA, and he doesn't know how many times he has played in 40 years, so the preventive injection at this time is very timely.
In the locker room in North Carolina, the situation of falling behind by 15 points made the locker room atmosphere a little dull.
Head coach Roy Williams was there to analyse the first half, and the players below were a little confused.
"Michael is here." At this moment, the teaching assistant at the door shouted.
The team members all turned their heads to look at the door, and Roy Williams also put down the chalk in his hand and walked towards the door.
"Hey, Roy." Jordan smiled and stretched out.
"Hey, Michael." Williams followed suit.
The two hugged and greeted each other.
When Jordan played in North Carolina, Williams was the team's assistant coach, and the two were mentors and friends.
Jordan came to the locker room at this time, just to say a few words to boost morale.
“…… Coach Smith has told me more than once that it's a good thing to be behind in a game, because only when you're behind can you bring out a stronger version of yourself, it's important to win or lose games, but it's more important to be able to bring out a stronger version of yourself, and now each of you has a half-time chance. ”
Jordan told the North Carolina players what Dean Smith had taught him, and that was a good remark.
"I may not be able to watch the second half because there is still a meeting, but remember what I said, and I look forward to good news from you." Jordan left first after chatting with Williams for a few more words.
As soon as Jordan left, several core players, including Barnes, exhaled a long breath, as if a burden had been lifted from their hearts.
After a 15-minute break, players from both sides returned to the field one after another.
The lineup on the North Carolina side has not changed, and California replaced Ollander with Smith, which is also the most used lineup in the first half.
Just before the game began, some fans noticed that Jordan in the front row of the audience was missing.
Jordan's departure caused a commotion among North Carolina fans.
Although I don't know why, this approach can be regarded as leaving North Carolina alone.
The game started on the field, and Kangda came up to attack first.
Walker broke through the basket and was caught in the bag after taking advantage of Tang Tian's block, and the ball was distributed to Napier, who then sent the ball to the basket Oriache, who scored the ball against Zeller's shot.
After a half-off, the state of the players on the field did not decrease.
Bullock singled out Napier's shot in the frontcourt and didn't score, but North Carolina didn't rush to grab the frontcourt rebound again this time, but retreated as soon as possible.
After holding out for a half, Roy Williams finally made a tactical adjustment.
Walker's pullup jumper missed in the frontcourt, and Zeller protected the defensive rebound.
Back in the day, Barnes took the initiative to ask for the ball and singled Smith, and hit a pull-up jumper after the breakaway.
Although it was only a goal, it was clear from the fluidity with which Barnes completed his technical movements that he was in better shape than in the first half.