Chapter 450 3D Player

The Wizards, who had high hopes before the game, suffered a disastrous defeat, causing Washington fans to curse.

Payton's data in this game has declined so seriously, but he can still win easily. Obviously, O'Neal and McGrady did not form the kind of chemical reaction that people expected.

To put it bluntly, I just think the Wizards are too good.

But then, the Wizards played against the Bobcats, which also involved the grudges between the bosses on both sides. The Wizards silenced many people with a huge score of 139:82.

O'Neal scored 30+20, and McGrady scored 50 points in a single game, sweeping away the haze of the previous defeat to the SuperSonics.

Then they defeated the Nets in the second round of last year's playoffs 109:107, and then defeated the Raptors who had just switched to Bosh's team with 121:101.

O'Neal is still an unstoppable killer inside, and McGrady is still the machine gun killer. Although the cooperation between the two seems to be two points less tacit than the OK combination, they complement each other inside and outside, which is also a demonstration. It has become quite competitive.

The Wizards obviously have some strength, so... the Sonics are too strong!

When fans across the United States came back to their senses and turned their attention to the SuperSonics, they discovered that the defending champion team had quietly won a wave of 5 consecutive victories.

The score difference is always 10-20 points, even when playing against strong teams and against weak teams.

The twin interior towers composed of Sakuragi Hanamichi and Chandler may not be able to say that they have any dominance over the interior. Facing a center of O'Neal's level, it is difficult to directly prevent the opponent from scoring, but they are quite good at grabbing rebounds. There is no problem whether you are facing a strength type, a height type, a linkage type, or a technical type. Even if you cannot have the upper hand, you will never fall behind. It's a bit like getting stronger when you are strong.

Sakuragi Hanamichi even scored 85 rebounds in just 5 games. This guy seems to have finally understood what his uncle once said, "Control the rebounds and you control the court." He has a special liking for rebounding, even more so than letting others do. He is much more active in scoring.

Currently ranking first in rebounding with an average of 17 rebounds per game, O'Neal, who ranks second in rebounds, exceeds his average by a full 2 ​​rebounds per game, allowing the Sonics to hardly suffer in the paint against any team in the league.

This protects the Sonics' perimeter to a great extent, allowing them to have more freedom and dare to shoot.

Iguodala averaged four or five 3-pointers per game. Korver, who was newly trained last year, also averaged two or three 3-pointers per game. Payton averaged 1.2 per game. Even Chandler averaged 0.8 3-pointers per game. , coupled with Lin Dong's current terrifying record of scoring 6 3-pointers per game, the SuperSonics' perimeter has become one of the best in the league.

And even if you occasionally encounter a bad feeling, there is still Lin Dong, an unstoppable ace killer who can shoot inside and outside to tear the opponent's defense to pieces.

In addition, apart from the offensive end, the SuperSonics defensive system headed by Payton is still the foundation for this team to dominate the NBA.

Payton is old, his personal ability is not that strong, and his statistics have dropped significantly, but as the saying goes, an old man is like a treasure. As a 'defensive coach' on the court, this guy can always lead the team at the most critical moments. Blocking the opponent's offense can always heat up the little remaining oil in the fuel tank at the most critical moment, and bring up the rhythm and momentum of the SuperSonics defensive rotation.

To put it bluntly, the Sonics' overall defense may not be the best in the league, but it must be the most practical. It is a type that does not show data but is effective. If you also include the pressure that the Sonics creates on the opponent on the offensive end, then This level of defense is enough.

It seems to be a one-man team with only Lin Dong at the top, but in fact there are no loopholes in the whole team. There are no other particularly strong points, but there are no shortcomings at all.

When the offensive firepower is going smoothly, it is enough to take away the game in one wave. If not, you can rely on Lin Dong to fight the stalemate. And his super stability allows Lin Dong to never lose in such stalemates, and the overall defensive end is It's enough to give any team a headache.

The SuperSonics are still the same SuperSonics, and they have not become weaker due to Payton's decline in statistics. On the contrary, they feel more unfathomable.

The entire alliance now has a vague understanding.

Although the Wizards formed the 'Oh Maikar' combination, the 76ers formed the combination of Webber and Iverson, and the Lakers also formed the combination of Kobe + Yao Ming, each has running-in problems, overall team strength problems, balance problems, etc. There is still no threat to this Sonics.

What's even more frightening is that this Sonics team is still young enough, hardworking enough, and has enough potential. It seems that there will never be a moment of rest or fatigue on the court...

Five consecutive wins, eight consecutive wins, thirteen consecutive wins, seventeen consecutive wins...

——Chris Webber was restricted by Sakuragi Hanamichi, Iverson lost to Lin Lin, and the SuperSonics beat the 76ers 111:98!

——The gad combination is still as powerful as ever, and the Supersonics are unstoppable!

——The combination of Kobe and Yao Ming scored 68 points, and the Lakers lost to the SuperSonics at home 105:113! The SuperSonics won their 17th consecutive victory this season!

——Three consecutive championships are scheduled, and no one can curb the momentum of the SuperSonics' winning streak.

——Can the SuperSonics break last season's 34-game winning streak?

——A new dynasty is coming! Targeting the championship!

Under the reports from all parties, the popularity of the Sonics has not diminished, reaching new highs again and again, but...

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak...

The day's training has long ended, and there are only two people facing each other in the empty arena.

Sakuragi Hanamichi holds the ball and Rukawa Kaede defends.

Looking at the already tall and strong guy in front of me, I felt the unstoppable, crushing impact of his back...

Rukawa Kaede resisted with all his strength and used all his strength to push against Sakuragi Hanamichi's waist and abdomen.

"The center of gravity is too high!" Sakuragi kept squeezing back while instructing: "The center of gravity of the hands and body are out of touch."

"You can't just rely on your hands to press your opponent's body to sense the opponent's center of gravity. Your hands must be coordinated with your body!"

"Putting your hands on your opponent's waist is not just for stopping or sensing. You have to imagine it as a 'vanguard' that is linked to your body. Your body has to follow your hands. Move together! Otherwise you will never be able to catch up with the opponent’s changing center of gravity!”

As he spoke, Sakuragi Hanamichi turned left. Rukawa Kaede's palm on his waist slipped, and his body subconsciously moved to the left. However, what was greeted was Sakuragi Hanamichi's sharp right turn. Then he took one step into the basket and jumped for a dunk.

boom!

The basket was shaking. Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't seem to be sweating much, but Rukawa Kaede was already sweating and started breathing heavily.

"Take a break?" Sakuragi Hanamichi picked up the ball.

Rukawa Kaede looked at the guy in front of him who was already a full 8 centimeters taller than him.

His mind was in a trance involuntarily. It only took a few years from when he could abuse the other party at will to now when the other party can abuse him at will.

I never thought that one day the gap between the two would be so big.

The guy in front of him is already an NBA All-Star player. He is called the Oriental Worm by foreign media and the red-haired tiger by Japanese media. He is one of the absolute cores of the SuperSonics championship dynasty.

But he is still unknown...

After mastering the rapid 3-point shooting with its own calibrator last year, he played smoothly in the NBDL, which also gave Rukawa Kaede enough confidence to stand up again.

He was promoted to the home team this year and played with the Sonics. He wanted to perform and achieve something. Not to mention reaching the level of Sakuragi Hanamichi, he at least wanted to be firmly in the Sonics' main rotation first. But the reality is...

McMillan only gave him an average of about 5 minutes of playing time per game, and even if he did play, it was almost garbage time when Lin Dong and other main players were not around. The substitute players were all trying desperately to express themselves. When they got the chance, , when the ball has been won, more people choose to attack independently instead of passing the ball to him.

As for myself, I have no rebounding ability, can't grab the ball, and my ball-handling ability is relatively weak. After all, I was a shooter when I first entered the NBA. I have been training myself as a shooter for more than a year, and I lack independent offense. Ability, he can't get the ball, let alone defense.

This prevented Rukawa Kaede from performing as he wanted in his limited playing time.

It has been nearly 20 games now, but he only averages 1.6 3-pointers per game and has no other data. This makes the outside world's evaluation of him mediocre, and he is not at all what he imagined when he returned to the NBA. As a result, the distance to entering the main rotation seems to be far away.

Suppression? Excluded?

It doesn't exist. It can even be said that thanks to the relationship between Lin Dong and Sakuragi, and also benefiting from having a good boss, everyone in the Sonics team treats him quite well, and McMillan attaches great importance to him.

But attaching importance to him means having higher requirements for him.

"It's impossible for you to become the main force of this team just by knowing 3 points, and the rotation of the main force will not work either." McMillan talked to Rukawa Kaede twice and gave him a clear direction: "Lin Dong has created a very good team. The word, 3D, in addition to 3 points, you also have to learn to defend and fight with sufficient intensity. The Sonics have no shortage of scorers. I can't let you go to the court at critical moments just because you can score 3 points with perfect accuracy. The holes in the team’s defense.”

"So... practice your defense as hard as you can. I don't care how many 3-pointers you score in garbage time. I know that is your strength and your skill. You can't lose it. But when will you be able to score in the limited time?" When you average one or two steals or blocks per game during your playing time, or can block the main players in the NBA, that's when you transition from the bench to the main rotation position!"

"Remember, if you want to survive in the NBA, especially if you want to survive in the SuperSonics, it does not depend on the height of your long board, but the lower limit of your short board!"

Yes, the SuperSonics do not lack scorers, nor do they lack the means to score. A single 3-point ability is definitely not enough to make them the main force in this championship team.

His position can no longer be just a pitcher, but a 3D player.

When it comes to practicing defense, Payton may be the best teacher, but he is not patient enough and has no friendship with Rukawa Kaede.

Lin Dong is too busy. Recently, in addition to his own training and competitions, he has been busy setting up the European team with Hisashi Mitsui. I heard that things are not going well for the team there. Lin Dong Now whenever there is a two-day gap between games, I want to fly to Spain overnight. Even Nike has urged Lin Dong to shoot commercials several times and they don't have time. They push and push, so how can they have any time to teach him?

Apart from these two people, Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was selected to the league's best defensive second team last year, is obviously the person who knows how to defend the Sonics best.

He may be stupid, and only he can understand many of the things he teaches, but the advantage is that this guy is patient enough with himself, willing to spend time, and has enough physical strength to even accompany him every day after games and training. He practices late at the gym.

Rukawa Kaede wiped his sweat and looked at the time on the wall. It was already past 9 pm. Although there was no game tomorrow, there was a newly married Haruko at Sakuragi's house.

We agreed to prevent the next one from ending, but we couldn't delay Sakuragi until too late.

Although he felt very tired, Rukawa Kaede smiled and wiped his sweat and straightened his back again: "Why rest? I still have strength. Come again!"