The voice of the on-site commentary clearly reached Jefferson's ears.
"That foul mouth of Barkley!"
Jefferson cursed under his breath, but after shooting, he ran back to the backcourt without even checking if the ball would go in!
The little whip quietly occupied a chair...
No Nets player dared to stroll on the court; they were running incredibly fast!
......
Big Ben and Rashid both tried to grab the ball, but Wei Guo's timing of the ball's landing point was extremely accurate!
*Smack!!!*
Wei Guo grabs the offensive rebound!
The Nets players quickly ran back to the frontcourt, and facing a double team from Ben Wallace and Rasheed, Wei Guo passed the ball to the three-point line.
Stockton receives the ball and shoots a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball swished through the net!
3-0!!!
Thanks to Wei Guo's offensive rebound, the Nets scored first!
but...
The Nets' style of play is very physically demanding. After a player shoots, they immediately get back on defense. But if Wei Guo gets the offensive rebound, they have to run back from the backcourt to the frontcourt. After a player shoots, they run back to the backcourt again!
Scott worriedly said, "Too much physical exertion is not a good thing for us!"
Brown also realized that the Nets were using a strategy of playing against strong teams when they were weak. This was a last resort, as the Nets only had eight players to rotate, including veterans like Stockton and Mourning, whose stamina was not enough to run four quarters.
On defense, the Nets players worked incredibly hard!
Pistons on offense!
Hamilton took the shot, but the Nets players didn't rush to the frontcourt. Mourning and Wei Guo battled for position under the basket, and Wei Guo grabbed the defensive rebound!
"Whew~~~ Let's run~~~"
Wei Guo controlled possession of the ball, and Stockton encouraged himself, taking a run towards the frontcourt!
Wei Guo dribbles the ball forward...
Jefferson moved toward the basket, and Wei Guo made a bounce pass, and the ball ended up in Jefferson's hands!
Jefferson received the ball and made a layup!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball swished through the net!
5-0!!!
This is the Nets' tactic: the ball handler is the core, and the other players run around like crazy, shooting as soon as they receive the ball!
One coach was also watching the game; his name was D'Antoni. The Nets' style of play gave him some inspiration, but D'Antoni still felt that this offensive tactic was not feasible!
The intensity of the game in the paint is very high, so it's not feasible for someone like Jefferson to receive the ball and then drive to the basket for a layup!
If the league were to introduce a no-handcheck rule (where players cannot touch or interfere with a player driving to the basket in front of the free-throw line, and this is not considered a foul), and the Nets' style of play were to flourish, coupled with a top-tier point guard, the league might undergo a transformation!
......
No one had high hopes for the Nets' tactical approach, but the Nets still caught the Pistons off guard!
31:21!!
The first quarter ended with the Nets leading by 10 points!
The Pistons players were very dissatisfied, saying that the Nets' tactics were completely reckless and unpredictable!
"It feels like playing against a bunch of people who don't understand football!"
"They were just lucky!"
"Wait until they can't run anymore, then let's see how they fight!"
The Pistons players were all complaining, but only Brown saw the key to the Nets' tactic and said in a deep voice, "Stop arguing! The Nets have their reasons for playing like this... it's rebounding!"
"rebound???"
The Pistons players were puzzled.
Brown said, "The Nets seem to be giving up on rebounds, but quite the opposite... Just look at the rebounding statistics in the first quarter!"
The statistics sheet was passed around among the Pistons players.
Nets/Pistons
Score: 31/21
Rebounds: 13/9
Assists: 9/7
Steals: 3/2
Blocks: 4/1
Mistakes: 6/2
The Nets lead in all six categories, including turnovers!
"how so?"
The Pistons players were even more confused.
They remembered the Nets playing chaotically, so why were they leading in every statistic? Of course... the Pistons' lead in turnovers was expected! But the Nets had 4 more turnovers, yet they scored 10 more points!
Brown said, "The Nets seem to be giving up on rebounding, but one player makes up for it!"
"Defend the country!!!"
The Pistons players understood instantly.
Every time the Nets took a shot, they left only Wei Guo in the backcourt, but he still managed to grab several offensive rebounds.
Wei Guo's ability to grab rebounds is beyond doubt. Gentry once said that if Wei Guo wanted to, he could grab thirty rebounds every game.
Wei Guo is the tallest player on the court, has the best jumping ability, and the best rebounding instinct!
In other words...
The Pistons forced the ultimate form of rebounding to the forefront!
Brown said, "Rebounding is the key to this game!!!"
......
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the Pistons players!
The second quarter begins!
Brown had said before the game that Wei Guo would definitely play the whole game, and that proved true... The Nets made some personnel changes, but Wei Guo remained on the court.
Unlike before...
Cummings is on the court!
It seems the Nets really value this game; even Cummings put down his stat sheet.
On-field lineup:
Brooklyn Nets: Cummings, Wei Dong, Jefferson, Wei Guo, Collins
Pistons: Billups, Prince, Anthony, Campbell, Okur
Tyronn Lue was Stockton's substitute. He played five minutes in the first quarter. The Nets' style of play is very physically demanding, so even Cummings couldn't shoot. Veteran Wei Dong also had to contribute his remaining energy. Fortunately, he didn't need to play the whole game, so the situation of him collapsing from exhaustion wouldn't happen again.
The Pistons played with great patience.
After a few passes, Billups had a shooting opportunity beyond the three-point line!
Wei Dong came up to reinforce the defense...
Billups' shot was quick; he wouldn't give Wei Dong a chance to block him. The basketball glided through the air and fell into the basket!
31:24!!
The Pistons started to close the gap!
The Nets' first attack was unsuccessful. Okur and Campbell blocked Wei Guo from receiving the ball, and Wei Dong's mid-range shot missed.
Anthony grabs the defensive rebound!
This time...
The Pistons launched a fast break, and Billups drove to the basket and scored a layup!
31:26!!
The score difference is getting closer and closer.
Gentry frowned slightly. The Pistons rarely made mistakes. Brown was indeed a very strict head coach with very high expectations for his players!
The audience was very nervous...
Unlike the audience, Iverson and Francis sat together chatting and laughing. They had been teammates with Wei Guo and knew Wei Guo's abilities all too well. The more crucial the moment, the more difficult it was to defeat Wei Guo!
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