064 Monsters
Fresh off the San Antonio Spurs, the Rockets welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks in back-to-back games.
Two battles in two days.
Yang Yiming's expected black-on-white jersey did not cause trouble for the Rockets as he dreamed. Maybe the dream was just afraid of the prestige of the Spurs, and the pressure he subconsciously put on him - but what he didn't expect was that the giant in the dream who was tall enough to break through the dome of the arena and was attacked by all the other crowds might not be himself?
Giannis Antetokounmpo.
1/
Antetokounmpo, or Brother Alphabet as Chinese fans often refer to him, is of Nigerian descent and comes from Greece.
Dressed in size 34, Antetokounmpo is 211 cm tall, weighs 101 kg and has an arm span of 220 cm. He was drafted by the Bucks in 2013, and four years later, in the 2016-17 season, he ranked first on the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. When Russell Westbrook ended his season averaging an all-time triple-double per game, the young Giannis quietly became only the fifth man in history to do so.
At the beginning of this season, Brother Alphabet's statistics are still skyrocketing. 29.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks. No one has questioned his official inclusion in the MVP discussion anymore:
James Harden, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant.
And compared to these superstars, fans prefer to call Giannis Antetokounmpo as:
Greek Monsters.
2/
Here's what Scott Kalonsky III's "Ten Fondue Cheats" says about the Greek monster:
"Game five, against the Bucks. It was probably the toughest of the ten. For Yang Yiming, if the performance of the first four games is as expected, it is highly likely that he will be deployed to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo one-on-one against the Bucks in this game, and Yang Yiming will lose all the defensive advantage he can rely on. ”
Antetokounmpo's height, reach, weight, bounce, flexibility, athleticism will overwhelm his defenders across the board — not just Yang, but the entire NBA league has no player to play toe. As far as the 2.11-meter big man is concerned, Giannis's coordination is not inferior to the defenders at all. Whether attacking or defending, he will keep his center of gravity very low, and he can move sideways quickly and can break through, provide cover, or keep up with defenders at any time. After gaining weight, he still maintained his slender muscles, which allowed Antetokounmpo to not only keep pressure from height, but also to play any level of physical confrontation - you know, even if you can use your body to open the way and put Antetokounmpo away, you will still have to face the test of his 2.20m arm span and 30cm big hand. ”
In addition to the physical advantage, Giannis's offensive methods are becoming more and more terrifying. Trying to put a defender on him is a nightmare for every coach in the league. His hands are so big that he can hold the basketball firmly with one palm and then pass the defender with a single step. After the break, he can choose to shoot from the center or attack the basket directly in a more aggressive way. As a monster with long hands and feet, his core strength is very strong, allowing him to maintain complete control of his body and limbs even when he encounters confrontations in the air, and score points after making incredible shooting moves. Even if he misses a shot, Antetokounmpo's speed can make him jump twice and compete for a rebound. He is averaging 2.3 frontcourt rebounds per game this season, the league's first at the forward position. If he has any offensive flaws, his three-point shot is probably the only weakness he can exploit. 27.1 percent, less than 30 percent of three-point shots almost empty Giannis, concentrating on defending his mid-range shots and breakouts. ”
"But Antetokounmpo's threat isn't just a tall man who can shoot well – the league already has a Durant, and Giannis is just himself! His passing, his vision, his skill enough to compete in the skills contest make him a good player to create scoring opportunities for the whole team as long as he has the ball in his hands. His options and ball quotient are so high that Coach Kidd has confidently and boldly launched a new basketball experiment with the Bucks - leaving all the ball to Giannis - and he is doing well, at least the team wins more than 50%, and has the confidence to call any league powerhouse! ”
"It will be very difficult for Yang Yiming to get even one block on such an opponent. If he opted for a simple mid-range shot, Antetokounmpo would have been almost impossible to block when unfolded. If he chooses to break through, Yang Yiming could become a victim of defense: he can only delay his opponent as much as possible, make it difficult for opponents to break through with physical contact, and pray that his teammates can help defend in time. It's too hard to defend Antetokounmpo one-on-one, and it's even harder to block it! ”
The cheats are right, this night, the object that Yang Yiming is responsible for defending is this Greek monster!
3/
After receiving the defensive task from Coach Mike D'Antoni, Yang Yiming thought about it again and again, and finally decided to choose a gambling-style aggressive defense as a response.
Outside the three-point line, Yang Yiming let go of Antetokounmpo one step. It was the least threatening offensive tactic for the opponent, and he decided to take a gamble. In the end, it turned out that he was indeed right, Brother Alphabet had a bad hand tonight, and he shot 3 times outside the three-point line, all of which were missed!
Seeing that he didn't have a three-point touch, Antetokounmpo immediately changed his strategy and focused on mid-range jumpers and driving layups. Middle-distance jumper, just like the analysis of the "cheats", the letter brother with his arms spread out and his upright body shot extremely high, even if Yang Yiming's height and arm span are extremely close to the other party, there is still no possibility of interference at all. In this case, seeing that the defense could not be on the road, he turned his attention to the upper and lower plates. Once Brother Alphabet holds the ball and enters the three-point line, Yang Yiming clings to it like a cowhide plaster. Your center of gravity is lower, I'm a little shorter, I can put it lower! From the preparation stage of the jump shot, it will create difficulties for the opponent, if Brother Alphabet can still make a jump shot, Yang Yiming will choose to make physical contact with Brother Alphabet in the air and interfere with the opponent's balance. Although this aggressive defensive method is suspected of fouling, and Yang Yiming also received three fouls because of this, it at least limited Brother Alphabet's free shots, and the shooting rate of 45% in this game is as much as one percent lower than the season average!
But a monster is a monster after all, and even if he gives up his three-point shot and mid-range shooting, he still has a hand to break through to the basket. With more than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bucks trailed 95-103, and Brother Alphabet's long arm intercepted Harden's lob and hit the Rockets in a few big strides into the Rockets restricted area. Yang Yiming quickly retreated, and Harden, who had just made a mistake, also returned to the defense in time, and the two built a wall side by side on the inside! However, Brother Alphabet was completely unmoved, even if his body was separated by the two people who had already stood firmly, his long arms were relaxed, and his hands were like Laoshan Taoist priests sending the ball through the wall, and directly picking up the basket! The basketball rolled around the hoop and fell, Yang Yiming and Harden turned around to protect the rebound, but the wall spread out, and Brother Alphabet's whole body squeezed through, bounced on the spot, and grabbed the rebound in the front court! Yang Yiming, who had already committed five fouls, did not dare to stop again, and saw him easily make up for two points.
Unexpectedly, half a minute later, Antetokounmpo made a comeback.
The Rockets missed the offense, and the Bucks were firmly in the frontcourt. This time, he got the ball at the top of the arc in the reasonable collision zone, and the other four members of the Bucks all pulled away from the three-point line, and the Rockets withdrew all four players except Chris Paul to the paint area. Yang Yiming raised his arms and pushed Brother Alphabet away from the basket, James Harden stood beside him, ready to pick up the ball at any time, and the other two Rockets players hid behind Yang Yiming, waiting for an opportunity to block. But Brother Alphabet only took a step horizontally, his shoulders sank, and he turned around and squeezed away Yang Yiming's top defense and Harden's interception. In the face of the basket, the Rockets players on the back bench had not yet had time to jump to support, Yang Yiming twisted Brother Alphabet's arm to try to interfere, and the latter controlled the ball with his left hand in the air and threw the ball!
Hit the board!
The ball goes into the basket, causes a foul, and adds a free throw!
Yang Yiming, who was punished for being punished, made six fouls for the first time in his career, and left the field after graduation!
Such a monster!