Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1122 The Coaches' Showdown! Coach K vs. Coach Nelson

really!

Lin Tian ignored Durant's mid-range jump shot and focused intently on guarding James.

The US team's playing style is already very clear.

They're consuming more than just Lin Tian!

They were also wearing down Xu Yong! They knew that, given Xu Yong's athleticism and physical attributes, when he was on defense, his opponent would definitely be either James or Durant.

So the US team's strategy was to have those two players go one-on-one against him! Whoever he was guarding would initiate the individual attack!

The American team targeted Lin Tian on the defensive end, from full-court press to a rotation of players that could start at any time, ensuring that Lin Tian faced fierce and tough defense every second on the offensive end.

Then the American team needs to wear down Xu Yong on offense, attack him, and exhaust him! Whoever he's guarding, they should launch a fierce attack, ideally drawing a foul, but even if they can't draw a foul, they should still make him suffer and cause his stamina to decline rapidly.

Are James and Durant so easy to defend?

Of course, it's not that the US team didn't want to wear Lin Tian down on offense; it was simply too difficult.

Should we let Paul or Westbrook go one-on-one against Lin Tian, ​​constantly battle him, and then launch a strong attack?

That sounds like a death sentence!

It sounds like suicide.

If things really go like this, the American team might not even have time to tire Lin Tian out before their offense collapses, and the score will be widened rapidly. At that point, forget about exhaustion; they might just surrender.

Therefore, the offense will wear down Xu Yong, the defense will wear down Lin Tian, ​​and Xu Yong will definitely have to take on a lot of one-on-one ball-handling offensive tasks. The American team believes that at most three quarters, this guy, who is not known for his stamina and resilience, will be exhausted!

At that time, only Lin Tian will be left.

What else can you do?

To reiterate: Xu Yong is good, but for the American team, he's just good.

Xu Yong is not the one who poses a real death threat to the American team!

Only Lin Tian!

Having figured out the US team's strategy and tactics, Lin Tian immediately decided how he should play next.

Then so be it!

If you want me to burn through my energy quickly, then I'll really burn through my energy quickly!

Facing Allen's defense, he dribbled between his legs several times before suddenly accelerating and changing direction, forcefully passing by Allen once again.

Although Allen was still relentless, he instantly moved sideways and almost directly blocked Lin Tian's path.

Unfortunately, he could only "almost" block Lin Tian's way.

Lin Tian changed direction and gained half a body length for himself. Then he suddenly exerted force with his shoulder and took a lateral step to the side.

This step, with its upward movement and jump, instantly created a significant shooting opportunity for Lin Tian. Without hesitation, he pulled up for a mid-range jump shot, which went in.

Old Nelson frowned slightly on the sidelines, but made no other move.

According to the Chinese team's pre-match plan, they intended for Xu Yong to play more in the early game and find opportunities to exploit mismatches by using his height to bully Paul. However, in just the second round, Lin Tian has already started playing one-on-one, which is clearly different from the plan.

But Old Nelson believed that Lin Tian understood Lin Tian, ​​so even if the ball hadn't gone in, Old Nelson wouldn't have said anything. He would wait and see what Lin Tian was up to.

"They're going to wear you down." Lin Tian didn't hide anything. The basketball court wasn't a place where you could hide your true intentions, pretend to be weak while secretly gaining the upper hand, and then show off your skills when the truth came out, making everyone admire you.

Communication is one of the most important things on the court.

"I understand." Xu Yong immediately grasped Lin Tian's meaning.

The US team must be hoping he'll keep dribbling and attacking, while also having to defend against monsters like James or Durant.

If Lin Tian really feeds Xu Yong the ball continuously as Old Nelson suggested, then Xu Yong's physical exertion will definitely be enormous.

The Chinese team has done one thing exceptionally well: they trust Lin Tian!

For example, now that Lin Tian has discovered that the American team is going to wear down Xu Yong, he naturally wants to find a way to protect his little brother. Therefore, the game strategy that Old Nelson had arranged before has naturally changed.

Even so, no one on the team questioned him because of this, and no one thought that Lin Tian had a problem.

In the eyes of everyone on the Chinese team, Lin Tian played this way because he had to play this way, because playing this way would lead the team to victory.

Ultimate unity and trust!

In the next possession, the US team's strategy remained the same: James would go one-on-one against Xu Yong. This time, after James drove into the paint, he passed the ball to the perimeter again, but unfortunately, this time the person who received his pass was Allen.

Although Allen was completely left out because Sun Yue was helping to defend Durant, he received the ball near the three-point line, which is not his scoring area at all.

After a moment of hesitation, Sun Yue caught up and returned to defense. Allen, knowing his own limitations in dribbling and offense, quickly glanced at the ball and passed it to the perimeter.

Unfortunately, the better this guy's defense was, the worse his passing was.

The pass was weak and poorly timed. Paul, who received the ball, couldn't get into a comfortable position at all, and was even blocked behind him by Lin Tian's turn.

"Beautiful pass!" Lin Tian easily caught the ball, as if Allen had given it to him directly. After showing his politeness, Lin Tian quickly dribbled down the court and slammed the ball to the basket for a powerful dunk, giving his team the lead.

At this point, Don Nelson finally smiled; the second weakness of the American team!

Tony Allen's presence on offense was almost invisible.

He can't shoot, he can't pass, he can't drive; his only decent skill is his ability to finish with a flick of the ball.

On the defensive end, Hebei China Fortune could give him some space, or even deliberately leave him open.

Just now, Sun Yue received Lin Tian's signal and deliberately gave Allen a chance to receive the ball. As soon as Allen got the ball, Sun Yue rushed back and then deliberately blocked one side, leaving only a gap for passing the ball to Paul.

Allen fell for the trick and quickly passed the ball out.

Even if Lin Tian hadn't managed to steal the ball, and even if Paul had gotten possession, he would still have faced Lin Tian's one-on-one close pressure. At this point, 13 seconds of the shot clock had already passed, leaving Paul with very little time to reorganize the offense or to force a one-on-one attack against Lin Tian.

This was the most important thing that the Chinese team originally planned to do on the defensive end.

This forced Allen to handle the ball.

He'll definitely score a few goals, and he'll definitely make a few good plays. Those are the points and rounds that the Chinese team expected. But as long as he's on the court, it means the American team has one more player whose ball-handling ability is on a completely different level from the others.

Target your opponent's weaknesses and leverage your own strengths.

This is the most important, most basic, and most essential thing that every team should do during a game.

"Old man, he's got some skills." Coach K glanced calmly at the opposing Chinese team's bench, Nelson's style was exactly what he had expected.

His approach to everything is so simple and direct.

An old man who is direct and intelligent, and who prefers to solve problems and deal with opponents in a simple and brutal way.

However, Coach K and this American team have been preparing for so long and have honed their skills for four major tournaments, so they won't be intimidated by such a simple targeted defense.

In the next possession, the ball fell into the hands of Dwight Howard in the paint for Team USA.

He leaned against Yi Jianlian with his back to him, quickly surveyed the area, and then suddenly pushed backward with force, slamming the basketball heavily onto the floor with a loud thud. Yi Jianlian was knocked off his feet by Howard's attack, but he still managed to hold his defensive position with all his might.

But after that collision, Howard did something quite unusual, more like Shaquille O'Neal!

This turn was something Howard had never done before, but he used it now, and did it quite well.

He quickly spun towards the baseline, leaving Yi Jianlian behind, then leaped up and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!

The entire basketball hoop shook violently from side to side because of Howard's all-out, unreserved effort.

Many of the spectators sitting in the front row of the baseline area involuntarily leaned back, as if afraid that Howard would run off the court and crash into them. Not to mention many fans who closed their eyes and gasped.

The power of Warcraft is terrifying!

In this play, the American team also targeted the weaknesses of the Chinese team.

Without Yao Ming, the Chinese team can only play with one big man and four small men to ensure that even without height, they still have enough mobility. With this lineup, they can indeed run and launch fast breaks from 1 to 5.

But no matter how high their mobility, their lack of altitude cannot be completely concealed.

Therefore, attacking the paint is another preferred offensive method for the US team, and it also exploits the weaknesses of the Chinese team.

That's right, Howard's post-up game in the paint is only so-so, his skill level is not that great, but it also depends on who he's playing against.

Against Yao Ming, or other centers known for their depth, height, and strength, Howard has few options; he simply can't break through.

But Yi Jianlian has never been known for his defense or toughness; his strength is just so-so. In some ways, Yi Jianlian is even similar to Dwight Howard.

Both players rely heavily on mobility and physical attributes, not to mention that Howard's physical attributes are much better than Yi Jianlian's. When it comes to one-on-one against him under the basket, it's a piece of cake.

Moreover, Lin Tian also noticed that Howard had learned a new move.

He never used to turn around like that.

This guy seems to have put a lot of effort into his skills this summer.

A Howard with evolved skills and overwhelming physical attributes is indeed not someone Yi Jianlian can compete with.

"It's okay, it's only 2 points. You defended very well." Lin Tian, ​​who had wanted to go over to help defend but didn't have time, helped Yi Jianlian up from the ground and said, "A shot and a dunk, both are 2 points, there's no difference."

"That's shameless of you!" Paul, who was standing nearby, snorted. "Don't you always say that different grades are completely different?"

"That's because your trash-talking skills are so bad, so bad that you don't even understand the core elements of trash-talking," Lin Tian said in a tone as if educating a child. "Remember, Chris, the most fundamental standard of trash-talking is double standards!"

"It's perfectly reasonable for me to do the same thing, but it's shameless and despicable for you to do it."

"Double standard dog!" Paul cursed again.

"Others who apply double standards will have their whole family die, but I apply double standards and laugh it off." Lin Tiancai wasn't fooled by Paul's trash talk. Instead, he laughed and said, "Aren't you going to run away? If you don't run away soon, it'll be too late. Uncle is going to beat you up from behind, kid."

"Fuck you! I'm not afraid of you!" Paul cursed fiercely, then turned around obediently and left as fast as he could. Only Allen and Lin Tian remained to continue their one-on-one duel.

"Look, Chris has improved; he's starting to learn double standards." Lin Tian received a pass from Yi Jianlian, teased Paul again, and then the Chinese team continued their attack.

After arriving at the frontcourt, Lin Tian didn't rush to go one-on-one this time. Instead, he stayed in place, directing his teammates' positioning and waiting for the right opportunity.

Xu Yong and Sun Yue set another off-ball screen, and the US team once again switched their defense, putting Paul against Xu Yong again.

The US team does want to wear down Xu Yong and make his stamina decline rapidly. The Chinese team, especially Lin Tian, ​​does need to protect him, but there are limits to that protection. It's impossible for the Chinese team to simply prevent Xu Yong from having the ball just because the US team wants to wear him down.

That would be putting the cart before the horse.

Lin Tian's original plan was to have Xu Yong launch a fierce attack from the start, until the American team had to change their defensive lineup or strategy.

Now, we are selectively letting him attack, keeping his physical exertion at a reasonable and balanced level.

It's like giving him a HP value. The first section consumes 20%, the second section consumes 20%, the third section consumes 30%, and finally, the part recovered during the rest between sections and the remaining energy are added, and then all of it is output in the fourth section.

This method of controlling the rate and extent of his teammates' physical exertion is almost unbelievable; no one could do it. But Lin Tian was confident that he could grasp the details and maintain the balance.

Because he understands Xu Yong and knows his physical limits, and also because Lin Tian has absolute confidence in himself!

After receiving the ball, Xu Yong immediately backed down Paul and then, after confirming that no one was helping him, began to drive towards the paint.

"Xu Yong's progress is quite obvious. His previous playing style was somewhat flashy but impractical." Yu Jia watched the two players go head-to-head and physically challenge each other on this play, and said with some satisfaction, "He doesn't like confrontation, he doesn't like too much physical contact."

"Sometimes he plays too much in a flashy and stylish way. But when the national team needed Xu Yong to change his playing style, he did so without hesitation. His current style is quite practical and efficient!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" After a series of confrontations, even if you, Paul, have a tenacious will, fierce confrontation and cunning defense among point guards, you are still quite helpless against Xu Yong, a proper small forward.

He was carried all the way to the basket by Xu Yong, and when Xu Yong pulled up to shoot, Paul tried to defend, but he didn't control his strength well and was inadvertently fouled by Xu Yong.

Xu Yong stepped up to the free-throw line; this was the first time tonight that either team had someone stand at the free-throw line.

"Lin!" On the sidelines, while Xu Yong was taking a free throw, Old Nelson waved Lin Tian over and said, "You can try a zone defense. You take charge of the details and specific situations, and adapt to their playing style."

"Understood." Lin Tian nodded. Old Nelson was right. The current US team lineup is still very suitable for using a zone defense to counter it!

They lack a reliable inside player to facilitate play. Even if James is forced to stand at the free-throw line to facilitate, it will cost him many other advantages.

In addition, apart from Durant, the other three players' three-point shooting is not consistent or accurate enough. As long as we focus on defending Durant's three-pointers, then using a zone defense has a good chance of being very effective.

At the free-throw line, Xu Yong was perhaps still a little hurt by Paul's slap, as he missed his first free throw. Fortunately, he adjusted his mindset in time and made the second free throw.

After making one of two free throws, the US team continued their attack.

"Yongzi, go defend Durant! We'll go 1-4 next!" Lin Tian quickly arranged the strategy for the next round while everyone was back on defense.

One-to-four connection!

Xu Yong, the most physically gifted forward on the Chinese team, went one-on-one with Durant, while the other four players set up a zone defense to target the American team's post-up plays and drives to the basket.

"It's changed! It's changed again! Our defense has changed again!" Zhang Weiping shouted. "Old Nelson's tactical changes are really unpredictable! We actually defended man-to-man well in the first two rounds, but suddenly, he changed it just like that."

"Let's see if this defensive tactical change will have a surprising effect!" (End of Chapter)