Chapter 186: Change
Fang Chuxia's vacation was coming to an end, so she simply stayed at school in New York.
Tang Wenlong left New York with the team and went to Boston's North Shore Garden to challenge last season's bitter host Celtics, which was a game that could not be lost.
Last season, the Celtics eliminated the 76ers 4-3, and the fans between the two cities were tense, and the relationship between the players of the two teams was also very tense.
It's a pity that although the Celtics eliminated the 76ers, they also spent half their lives, losing 1-4 to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Tang Wenlong still thinks that the Celtics can win the championship, so he is also a man who has fought with the championship for seven games, and it doesn't sound so embarrassing, but it's a pity that he is too angry. (Celtic: Blame me?) )
This time at TD North Shore Garden Arena, ticket sales were significantly higher than in the last game against the Pacers.
The Celtics lineup has hardly changed, it is still the same old faces, with more Brandon Buss, Petrus and others on the bench, but the loss of Jeff Green, a big player who caused major damage to the 76ers last season.
As early as December 18 last year, that is, a month ago, during the preseason, Jeff Green was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and needed immediate surgery. Later, the surgery was completed, and he would miss all the games throughout the 11-12 season, and it was a shame that a potential player who was still on the rise had such a thing.
Before the start of the game, Tang Wenlong still hugged Pierce, Ray Allen and others very gracefully. Although he lost the game last season, Tang Wenlong's strength was recognized by the Celtics, no matter who is replaced to defend him, he can always find opportunities to score, especially when the Celtics play the second round like the battle of Tianwang Mountain. I occasionally think of this game in my dreams.
Due to last season's feud, the game was scheduled to be broadcast live across the United States.
Magic Johnson partnered with Drexler to explain the game, Drexler praised Tang Wenlong's talent more than once, and this time he commented on the 76ers, and he still couldn't help but show his talent to talk about things.
"Tang Wenlong's shooting is the best I've ever seen, not that he's standard. And of course he's really standard, but it's about the continuity of his shooting touch, you know, as soon as he scores two or three shots in a game, he's going to start throwing wildly, and he's hitting a ridiculously high percentage of shots. ”
Magic Johnson sees what has changed Tang this season: "I think Tang Wenlong has become more well-rounded, not only has his scoring ability become stronger this season, but his rebounding and assists have increased a lot, especially defensively. It can not only keep up with the pace of small people, but also be able to go to the inner line and resist primary antibodies with small weights for large people, which is very comprehensive. ”
After the start of the game, Gasol jumped to win over O'Neill Jr.
O'Neill Jr. is getting slower and slower, and young Gasol looks a little more agile than O'Neill Jr. when he runs, and the two are equally burly, after one stop on the inside line. Instantly, it felt like there was no room under the basket.
Lowry's first wave of attack was handed over to Tang Wenlong to attack with the ball himself, and Tang Wenlong singled out Pierce at the 50-degree position.
He shook briefly and stepped past Pierce. Pierce's offense is at a historical level, but his defense is very average, and Tang Wenlong's breakthrough this time completely relies on the explosiveness of one step, which is so fast that he can't adjust his pace.
Tang Wenlong dribbled into the three-point line, stopped at the free throw line suddenly, leaned to the other side and threw the ball.
But the shape of the hand is right. Gently pluck the basketball and hit the hollow. 2 to 0.
The Celtics fell into a familiar positional battle, Rondo controlled the ball and Garnett did the pick-and-roll, Garnett's blocking effect was average, and Lowry was able to follow Rondo closely without changing defenses. Rondo accelerated the breakthrough on his own. After going deep into the interior line, he was sandwiched by Gasol and Lowry, and there was almost no passing space.
But he unhurriedly grabbed the ball with one hand and wrapped it around his back, and magically distributed the ball to Ray Allen, who was ambushing in the bottom corner.
Iguodala pounced, and Ray Allen threw a three-pointer with a little back-back, and the shot was fast.
The basketball shot missed, and the rebound bounced to the middle.
Tang Wenlong, who was stuck with Pierce, shouted, squeezed Pierce's hands away and grabbed them into the sky, grabbed the basketball with a "snap", and landed firmly on the floor.
Tang Wenlong wanted to attack quickly when he fell, but Pierce stretched out his hand for a delay, and his whole body blocked the direction of Tang Wenlong's dribble.
However, Tang Wenlong's left foot was the axis, and his right foot drew a circle on the ground like a windmill, and the whole person turned around unexpectedly 360 degrees, and the top just ran over Pierce.
"Grass, how can you be so flexible!" Pierce scolded secretly, it is not easy for tall people to turn around, and it is easy to get off the ball when encountering confrontation, but Tang Wenlong turned around this time and walked leisurely, saying that Tang Wenlong would take off the ball, unless he had just graduated from high school.
Tang Wenlong got another chance to sprint to the frontcourt, Rondo just killed the ground Taine, Ray Allen fell into the bottom corner, and only Pierce was able to chase and defend.
Tang Wenlong dribbled the ball to the front court, looked back cautiously, and found that Pierce was not far from him.
He controlled his pace, suddenly slowed down, picked up the ball and prepared to dunk in three steps, only to step on the first step, and a strong force came from behind him, but the whole person was imprisoned, and half of the strength was disjointed, and the basketball flew out.
"Toot ~" foul, no doubt.
Tang Wenlong walked to the free throw line, and the familiar boos rang out in the North Shore Garden, and he didn't change his face and hit both free throws.
It was the Celtics' turn to attack, Garnett missed a high jumper, and the rebound was taken by Gasol in the main position with one hand, although Mark Gasol and Pau Gasol are brothers, but the styles of the two are completely different. Pau Gasol, who has already achieved success in Los Angeles, has excellent defense, accurate shooting, and a good hand at grabbing rebounds, but on the basketball court, he relies more on technique and his playing style is biased towards European, to put it bluntly, it is a bit soft. Mark is completely different, he is strong and not afraid of confrontation, and he can see his tough side when he fought Duncan last season.
In the current 76ers lineup, what needs Gasol to do well is defense, and the first thing Gasol did when he grabbed the rebound was to look for Tang Wenlong to see if he had a fast break.
There was no chance to pass the ball, and then to Lowry, who came over to receive the ball, and Lowry advanced through the half.
After making a simple cross screen, Tang Wenlong received the ball from the left bottom corner to the right three-point line at 60 degrees, Gasol's off-ball cover was of high quality, and O'Neal Jr. was forced to switch to Tang Wenlong.
Tang Wenlong dribbled with one step and exploded at speed, forced past O'Neal Jr., rushed into the basket in three steps on the side, jumped up and flew up with one foot, and slammed the dunk with a tomahawk in his left hand. 6 to 0.
Then the Celtics and 76ers missed one attack each.
The Celtics made an offensive error, the 76ers got the ball, and after re-serving, Tang Wenlong broke through with the ball, Tang Wenlong went deep into the basket and gave it to Lowry at the top of the outside arc in a wide range, Lowry hit a three-point jumper, 9-0!
The opening wave of 9-0 showed the difference between the 76ers and the Celtics this season, Rivers was thunderous, like the referee made a timeout gesture, even in the face of the league's No. 1, the Celtics should not play like this (to be continued). )