Chapter 50: The Battle Between Halfway and Orthodoxy
During Wang's week in Hawaii, the Knicks had a 2-1 record, winning at home against the Philadelphia 76ers and losing to the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets on the road. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info
There was no conflict with the Grizzlies, only a small episode, Matt Barnes came on the court because of too much defensive action, received a technical foul, and the Knicks also colored, the referee also did not hesitate to send a technical foul, although both sides were more angry, but under the majesty of the referee, the game was successfully ended, but the Knicks who fought away suffered defeat.
In the second game of the derby with the Nets, Anthony took a strategic break, and although Derrick Williams scored 31 points off the bench, he could not make up for the negative impact of Anthony's absence, and was finally overturned by the Nets playing at home.
The players began to miss the days when Wang Zhuo was on the field, as long as Wang Zhuo was there, if the difference in strength was not too obvious, Wang Zhuo could always win by surprise, and every player could play a highlight performance in a specific game.
Even Fisher misses Wang Zhuo a little, the triangle offense can't be implemented in this team, Fisher is exhausted, especially in the face of the Grizzlies' strong defense, it is completely like a headless fly running around, and the same is true for the away Nets, in the face of the Nets' crazy counterattack in the fourth quarter, there is nothing to be done, and the advantage of leading three quarters is buried in vain.
It wasn't until he returned to his home court and played against the weak 76ers that he barely stopped the decline, and even the Zen master was becoming more and more dissatisfied with the current situation of the Knicks, but Fisher was signed by him, and if he came forward to drive him away, wouldn't it be a slap in the face, so he has been patient for the time being, just looking for a suitable opportunity, and once he finds it, he will not hesitate to fire Fisher, anyway, Fisher is not the first coach to be fired.
On the first day of Wang Zhuo's return to work, the Knicks faced the Utah Jazz at home, and the Jazz team at this time was no longer the iron-blooded Jazz under the training of Sloan in the past, but it still retained Sloan's unchanged blocking and demolition tactics.
From Malone, Stockton to Delon, Boozer and later Devin Harris and Paul Millsap, the combination of point guard and power forward has been passed down in the Jazz, even after Sloan announced his resignation as head coach, there is still a shadow of blocking and pick-and-roll tactics, until Gordon Hayward played his value, the Jazz changed the traditional blocking and pick-and-roll tactics and built a new tactical system with Hayward as the core.
Jazz head coach Taylor Carbine was Sloan's assistant coach during his tenure, and now he has been corrected, but he has abandoned Sloan's blocking and pick-and-roll tactics, so Wang Zhuo wants to regain this dignity for Sloan, so that Carbine realizes that abandoning the blocking and pick-and-roll tactics is equivalent to abandoning the foundation of the Jazz team.
Under Wang Zhuo's blocking and dismantling tactical system, Robin Lopez is definitely an excellent candidate, because of his rich experience accumulation during his time with the Suns.
At the same time, Wang Zhuo decided to try the power of the playmaker that he learned from Nelson Sr., so he decided to play a new system that integrates blocking and playmaking strikers.
The starting lineup of the Knicks remains unchanged, or Porzingis, Anthony, Calderon, Afflaro and Lopez, in Wang Zhuo's tactics, Calderon and Afflaro will be ambushed outside the three-point line at the same time, Porzingis supports the basket, Anthony plays the organization forward, and Lopez blocks and dismantles.
The Jazz played the Horns tactic, a no-ball run and cover tactic that created open shots for the stars, mostly finishing the offense with the star's pull-up jumpers, and at the same time, there were three-point shooters in ambush in the bottom corners on both sides.
Wang Zhuo doesn't care what tactics the Jazz use, because the Knicks are not defense-oriented, he only needs to play the ideal offensive tactics, so there is no need to deploy defense against Horns at all, he is not for anything else, just to earn back face for Sloan.
There was nothing unusual about the starting lineups of both sides, but when the referee's whistle blew and Porzingis gave the Knicks the first offensive opportunity and the ball to Anthony, the Jazz players began to fall into confusion, and even Taylor Carbine frowned, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in Fisher's gourd.
When Anthony and Lopez cut inside after completing a pick-and-roll, and then knocked the ball back to Lopez, Carbin could see that this was a change in Sloan's pick-and-roll tactics, but he didn't expect to replace the point guard with a small forward.
After Lopez received the ball, Carbine stood on the bench and shouted to help defense, but Lopez did not shoot, but attracted the help defense and faked a real pass, and passed the ball to Anthony near the three-second zone, Anthony faced the Jazz's inside, used the speed of his footsteps, played a time difference, stopped and leaned back, and the ball hit the board into the basket, clean and neat.
If Calderon and Lopez's blocking and dismantling are mainly based on Lopez's mid-range shooting as the main point of attack, then Anthony and Lopez's blocking and dismantling are completely a strong combination, not only giving full play to Lopez's mid-range shooting expertise, but also fully exerting Anthony's dazzling advantages, and also exploring his potential in assists.
Looking back, the Jazz offense, through constant cover runs, created a mid-range shot opportunity for Hayward, but he Hayward still had a bad hand and ended up playing iron.
Porzingis received the rebound, handed Anthony to dribble across the half court, and once again directed Lopez to step forward to block and dismantle, the Jazz learned the lesson of the last time, and guarded the interior to prevent Anthony from bursting into the restricted area, of course, Anthony did not pass back to Lopez, who was assisted by the defense, but passed to Avlalo, who was ambushed in the bottom corner.
Because the Jazz players opposite Afflalo participated in the help defense of Lopez, when Afraro chose to shoot three points as soon as he received the ball, the assistant defense players had no time to rush back to interfere with Afralo's shooting, and in the end, only a beautiful arc could be seen across the court, hollow falling into the basket, and bringing out the sound of brushing the net.
Due to Hayward's lack of touch and the focus on taking care of him, the Jazz also changed their main point of attack, and a sophomore rookie named Rodney Hood played well, with three-point and mid-range shots eye-catching, completely overshadowing Hayward.
Although the offensive end has improved, the Jazz have no way to use the Knicks' tactics of organizing forwards to block and dismantle, and can only watch Anthony and Lopez ask for it, and dare not tighten the defense, because Afraro and Calderon's cold arrows from time to time are also very lethal.
As Hayward slowly regained his form, the tone of the game was completely set, and his scoring had no effect on the situation, and in the end Anthony scored 30 points and 9 assists, while Lopez scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting, and the Knicks also repelled the Jazz with a score of 116-102.
Wang Zhuo's unorthodox blocking and demolition tactics further confirmed the power of Sloane's blocking and demolition tactics, and he reciprocated Sloan's teachings by saving face for putting down the whip.