Chapter 223: Coach, I Want to Play
All members of the Magic team held their breath and attacked again, and all four people on the outside of the Magic line were pulled out. After Howard reached the low post, he directly asked for the ball to play alone, and was ridiculed, Howard couldn't hold his breath, and the Magic was going to start playing star tactics.
O'Neal played like this during the Lakers' three-consecutive championships, O'Neal couldn't pull it alone in the low post, and as soon as the opponent was clamped, he passed the ball, Kobe, Fisher, Robert Holly and others had a chance and could score easily.
The camera can talk, and at this time the director cuts the camera to O'Neill's side, O'Neill doesn't know that the camera is facing him, smiling unscrupulously. He pulled Nick Young next to him and pointed at Howard, and the two of them looked very funny together.
Although they couldn't be heard, fans could guess that O'Neal was laughing at Howard. The media has always said that Howard does not have the dominance of O'Neal, and in the regular season, O'Neal paddled and did not let Howard take advantage of the two matchups. The opinion of the fans is generally unanimous, the so-called first center, after adding an O'Neal, even Magic fans think so.
Howard wanted to prove himself so much that he took the ball and hit Jordan Jr. a few times, shook his left shoulder slightly, and turned around in the middle.
O'Neal seemed to see something funny, because Howard was actually trying to fake it, but the feint didn't shake Jordan Jr. at all.
Is Jordan Jr.'s defense too strong, to the point where he can ignore feints? Of course not, but Howard's feints are not at home, and this ball is still played by the body.
Jordan Jr.'s lower body strength was stronger than Howard's, and he immediately used his knee to resist Howard's lower limbs. Little Jordan also has a weird face, he often practices with O'Neal, what kind of feints have you never seen?
O'Neal is strong, stands firm, and can easily make two or three feints on an offense, and Jordan Jr. doesn't eat Howard's set at all. Now that Howard is jumping, Jordan Jr. immediately jumps up and blocks it. Same height, same weight, but Jordan Jr. has long arms.
Howard's shot was hatted by Jordan Jr.'s crackling pretentiousness. The audience, referees, players, and commentators were all stunned!
With the decline of the center, there are few people who can cover Howard like this, which is also the reason why Howard can be unscrupulous on the inside of various teams, Duncan and Yao Ming are the only two people, and O'Neal who has taken medicine is counted as one, but these are all in the West, and the only Celtics in the West with a super interior line injured Garnett, and Howard can only pass all the way in the playoffs.
It is said that the Warriors are lucky to reach the Finals, but isn't the Magic luck? If Garnett is not injured, the combination of the Celtics' interior "Wolf King" and "Big Baby" Davis, the Magic will not be able to win at all.
Everyone was shocked, and now, there is one more person who can cap Howard like this - Jordan Jr.
Li Zhi rushed into the restricted area, picked up the rebound, passed to Jackson, and the Warriors did not wait for the Magic players to settle down, and immediately launched a fast break. Jackson went straight to the front court and made a pull-up jumper, 11:2.
In the first 3 minutes of the first quarter, the Magic only scored two points, and then the Warriors' continuous rotation on the perimeter had an effect, and the Magic had no chance to shoot outside three-pointers, and the open opportunities were generally "blacksmith" Courtney Lee and Alston.
Courtney Lee continued his sluggish run in the first two games, making 0-of-2 three-pointers. However, Alston was in good shape today, making two mid-range shots, one three-pointer, and two free throws in the first quarter, scoring 9 points and 1 assist in a single quarter.
The Warriors led the Magic by seven points at 27:20 in the first quarter, and if it weren't for Alston's play, the Magic might have been even worse.
Fans who support the Magic are disappointed, and although 7 points is not a big difference, the two sides are completely different. The reason why the Magic are so far behind is because of Alstom's outburst in the second half of the quarter, and if it weren't for Alstom, the Magic might have surrendered in the first quarter.
During the break, Van Gundy didn't say anything, named a few names, and prepared to be replaced by a substitute. But Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu immediately stood up.
Howard said: "Coach, I'm not tired, I haven't fouled, let's keep playing!" ”
The core of the team spoke, and the other starters also nodded, Van Gundy saw this and nodded heavily, he vaguely felt that whether this game could be turned around was in the second quarter of the game.
The Warriors came off the bench in the second quarter, with Crawford, Morrow, Barnes, David Lee, and O'Neal on the court.
At the beginning of the second quarter of the game, Nelson stared directly, the Magic did not change the bench, Nelson didn't know what medicine Van Gundy sold in the gourd, so he didn't adjust it immediately, let the bench play first, he didn't believe that the Magic was not tired in the second half of the start.
Courtney Lee didn't play, it was so irony that Van Gundy lost patience with him and left him on the bench. Coming off the bench was Michael Petrus, who also remained on the pitch because of his good performances.
However, Van Gundy's decision made Jamil Nelson on the bench feel like he was out of favor, and he was dropped at a critical moment, which was a complete sign of distrust.
The Magic starters vowed to make the Warriors look good, and they played very tough in the second quarter, both offensively and defensively, overpowering the Warriors. Although the Warriors bench is famous in the league, it is a substitute after all, and there is still a gap between it and the starter in terms of strength.
The Warriors' bench strength has always been reflected in the offense, offensive and defensive conversion, individual singles, are all good at playing, and the defense is actually not very good.
Now against the strongest lineup of the Magic, he immediately suffered. After the Magic blocked, Howard covered, and Lewis made a direct three-point shot.
The Magic's lineup is much taller than the Warriors' bench lineup, and it's hard to be interfered with after blocking and pulling. Although the Magic players were a little excited, they did not lose their minds, and they took advantage of the Warriors' weakness in the second quarter.
Alstom's hand is hot, and he doesn't call cover against Morro, and directly rushes out. Morrow has struggled since reaching the Finals in the playoffs, but Nelson has always valued his three-point shot and can't resist using him. Alstom, who entered the penalty area, made a layup and caused Jordan Jr. to foul, 2+1.
The Warriors' offense was blocked again, and Magic Howard singled David Lee with a cover, and the two were not at the same level of physical confrontation, and the ball was scored again. Howard glared at David Lee after he scored, and the big boy who loved to laugh finally became the one he hated.
After playing for 4 minutes, the Magic took the opportunity to overtake the score, and Nelson couldn't see it, and was about to overturn, so he called a timeout and replaced the main force.
With Ritch and Barnes on the floor, the Warriors played a three-forward play. Barnes was not as dangerous as Nick Young from the outside, the Magic compressed the defense, and the Warriors defended tightly, and the two sides were at a stalemate in the second quarter.
In the last attack of the second quarter, Li Zhi singled Petrus and hit a three-point shot from the outside. At 54:54, the two sides are tied.