Is this...provocation?

But Odom and Carter could hear that Zhang Hao was saying this very seriously, and he really hoped that they could fight better!

That plain tone is full of sincerity!

Doug Christie saw Zhang Hao talking to the two core members of the team and immediately greeted his teammates: "Punch Aix! Defense is important! Don't give him a chance!"

Doug Christie is the Raptors' best defense player, and the probability of being selected for the best defense team is higher than that of Antonio Davis, who is one of the Raptors' on-field defensive commanders.

The famous bad guy Charles Oakley also echoed: "Yes, it is necessary to make a direct foul! interrupt his touch! It must be compact. Although we have the advantage of strength, we cannot be careless at all!"

Carter and Odom were a little confused. Didn’t they just make a three-pointer? Zhang Hao has only scored 6 points now. Why are these two defensive big shots so nervous that Zhang Hao has already scored 60 points?

Soon, Odom and Carter understood what Zhang Hao meant and why Doug Christie and Charles Oakley were so nervous.

In the next 5 minutes of the first quarter, Zhang Hao scored 7 points and 1 assist, helping the Supersonics score 11 points!

In the first half of the first quarter, the Supersonics only scored 10 points, but from the beginning of Zhang Hao's three-pointer, Zhang Hao scored 10 points alone in the last 5 and a half minutes in the first quarter!

The Raptors' defense is really good. Doug Christie targets the Supersonics point guard, Oakley assists in defense Zhang Hao + defense cut, and the focus version of Odom is very good at defending Zhang Hao in mid- and long distances. Even Boggs's flexible and small character is well used by Lanny Wilkens, and the cut-off player passes and catches are very good. It can be said that the cancellation of the rule of violation of early attack is too beneficial to Lanny Wilkens' team defensive command.

The offensive cooperation is also excellent. Without Zhang Hao in the top arc defense, Odom or Carter organizes the offense in the top arc singles, the Supersonics can't defend, Artest was played by Odom, and neither James Percy nor Ruben Patterson can't defend Carter's strong breakout and emergency stop jump shot.

But Odom has defended well, and sometimes it has forced Zhang Hao to change his shooting hand shape. Zhang Hao often needs to hold the ball straight.

However, even so, after making a three-pointer, Zhang Hao made 3 of 6 shots, of which 1 of them was still 2+1! In the 5 and a half minutes after the first quarter, Zhang Hao made 4 of 7 shots and scored 10 points!

After the first quarter, Zhang Hao scored 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block, helping the Supersonics keep the score 24-28!

Most of the time, it is not a good thing for a team to rely too much on one player.

But more often, it is better for a team to have a player they can rely on than nothing.

The players of the Supersonics often feel powerless. They do a good job of defensive cooperation, but they always drag their legs on the offensive end. Even with Zhang Hao's guidance, there will always be times of depression. At this time, Zhang Hao needs to play better.

Today, in the first half of the first quarter, he led 6-2 at the beginning, but was quickly beaten 12-4, and he must have felt depressed.

But Zhang Hao alone withstood the attack of the entire team, which brought the excitement to his teammates far greater than the feeling of frustration!

"The boss has played so well, we must help the boss with all our strength! Although the opponent is stronger, we have the best players in the world!"

...

Still leading by 4 points, but when the Raptors' bench was resting, the Raptors' bench was even more nervous than when the official timeout was suspended in the first quarter.

He made 5 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws scored 13 points. Zhang Hao was defending the first quarter and was very restrained in his defense, which put too much pressure on the Raptors.

Even Carter didn't care about "shot duel" or "dunk duel". Thinking of what Zhang Hao said during the official timeout, he rarely felt extremely unwilling.

After returning from the break during the festival, the Raptors, Carter and Odom continued to play, Doug Christie, Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley came on the field, Carter moved to the shooting guard position, Odom... This lineup is just a point guard.

Maximize the intensity of defense!

For the Supersonics, Kassel, James Posey, Artest, Zhang Hao, and Ben Wallace played together, and James Posey and Artest were obviously planning to take turns to defend Odom.

After the second quarter, the scene of the two teams launching an offensive is very interesting.

Odom is 208 cm tall and is the highest player on the Raptors' field, but he starts to control the ball from the start of receiving the serve.

Zhang Hao claimed to be 206 cm, one year older than Odom. Although he did not start the attack since he controlled the ball, it was not much different. Kassel gave the ball to Zhang Hao when he arrived in the frontcourt. When it came to the counterattack, Zhang Hao basically took the lead in charge.

However, the difference is that Odom is an organization-type, no different position swinger, mainly focusing on series attacks, and not necessarily scoring or even assists.

Zhang Hao, if he can shoot, he will shoot, if he can't shoot, he will shoot hard. He really can't even shoot the ball, so he considers passing the ball.

The Raptors still played very well in the second quarter. The team made 11 of 23 shots in a single quarter, scoring 26 points, and performed quite well.

The Supersonics team only made 11 of 24 shots in the second quarter, and their shooting percentage was lower than that of the Raptors. However, Zhang Hao made 7 of 13 shots by himself, scoring 18 points and leading the team to score 27 points!

Kassel tried his best to help Zhang Hao pass the ball well when conditions were limited. As he played, the rest of the Supersonics team could score by cutting most of the time. Kassel scored 2 points and 2 assists, and both assists were scored by passing and cutting teammates, and 3 points were scored by Jason Williams himself to grab the offensive rebound.

The Supersonics team's defeated team attack, but after halftime, the score difference was narrowed by 1 point!

With 12 of 22 shots in the first half, 3 of 5 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws, Zhang Hao scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks!

Entering the intermission time, near the technical station, he looked up at Zhang Hao's data statistics on the big screen...

Carter also scored 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in the first half, and Zhang Hao's breakthrough layup was still the one who blocked his cutting and dunk soon, but when he and Zhang Hao were directly facing the front, they could be considered back and forth.

The Raptors are leading 54 to 51 in the first half. From the scene, the Raptors still have the initiative now. No matter how they look at the score, they are easier than the Supersonics. Moreover, they also defend against the Supersonics very well. Zhang Hao, who accounts for more than half of the Supersonics' shooting times, barely makes many shots.

But Carter is panicking now!

Odom stepped forward and put his shoulder on Carter and was about to say, "Brother, why don't we give up...", when another person came to them.

Zhang Hao spit out the collar he was holding in his mouth and said, "Brother, why don't you give up! I'm really strong and can't control it anymore."

If Odom said this, with Carter's personality, he might really not want to fight with Zhang Hao, at least tonight, but Zhang Hao said this... Even Odom, who had the idea of ​​giving up earlier, would be unhappy!

It is always strange to activate Odom's point. Even the Zen master who is the best at using superstars cannot figure out Odom's ideas. This time Odom was stimulated and gritted his teeth and said to Zhang Hao: "Brother, you will definitely lose tonight! No matter how many points you get, your team is still not our opponent!"

...

Relying on Zhang Hao's explosion to win, the Silver Fox is very experienced. The Supersonics have experienced several times this season, and their teammates are mentally prepared. During the halftime break, the Supersonics team adjusted their direction clearly.

Soon, the third quarter began.

The idea of ​​"giving up" came out in an instant. Carter and Odom didn't want to see Zhang Hao score high on them. It was too obvious. Everyone knew that Zhang Hao had already started to score.

With Carter and Odom's character, this idea may really be implemented, but they are not at all competitive. When the competitive mind is activated, the idea that "giving up" is an extremely extreme and just a budding one, and they are immediately strangled to death.

In the third quarter, Carter and Odom continued to lead the team to attack!

The Raptors' offense in the third quarter was still sharp, and their players were all very tough. Damon Stoudemire's 1.7 meters tall can gain a foothold in the NBA. Although the confrontation is not strong, his ability to keep shooting under strong confrontation is excellent.

Usually Damon Stoudemire is very dissatisfied with his weakening of his team's status and has plans to leave the team. The Raptors do not have the conditions to give him the ball at the moment. Doug Christie, Carter, and Odom can organize the offense, which is stronger than a simple short point guard who breaks through. But when he beat Zhang Hao, he endured it, and received the ball with all his might. If he had the opportunity to counterattack and hold the ball, he would rush with all his strength.

Doug Christie and Alvin Williams also played very hard, Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley, and Kevin Willis also did what they should do...

However, Zhang Hao now has a characteristic of Kobe and Iverson - using super strong physical strength to consume the opponent's physical strength, and then using better physical strength to perform better after the opponent's physical strength declines!

In the first half, several major defensive players of the Raptors made great interference to Zhang Hao's shooting. Although the interference was in place and they were not successfully defended, the consumption they should have was naturally consumed.

In the third quarter, the Raptors focused on offense, and they naturally had the idea of ​​"unpreventing". When the physical strength distribution of offense and defense was distributed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, they focused on the offense.

Zhang Hao made 9 moves in the first quarter, Zhang Hao made 13 moves in the second quarter, and in the third quarter, Zhang Hao threw 16 times!

11 of 16 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, plus 4 of 4 free throws, Zhang Hao scored 27 points in a single quarter!

In the third quarter, the Raptors only scored 27 points!

Although the others of the Supersonics only made 1 of 5 shots in the third quarter and scored 4 points, the Supersonics still scored 31-27. After the third quarter, the Supersonics surpassed the Raptors 82-81 by 1 point!

58 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks!

From the second quarter, Zhang Hao scored 0 assists, but in two quarters, he scored 45 points!

At this time, the Raptors no longer care about how many points Zhang Hao got. They were depressed and had an explosive mentality... They couldn't even care about it. They couldn't get high scores by Zhang Hao and lost the game!

Lanny Wilkens also had ideas. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Raptors directly activated the shark-cutting tactics and chopped Ruben Patterson and Ben Wallace!

Continuous fouls, 4 fouls in 12 seconds, and two consecutive rounds sent the Supersonics to the free throw line. Ruben Patterson was fine, and 1 of 2 free throws was made, Ben Wallace was directly forced to have two free throws...

The Raptors took the opportunity to score a 4-1,85-83 wave, and the Raptors regained a 2-point lead.

After playing for 55 seconds, the Supersonics called a timeout.

At this time, the rotation was led by Silver Fox, and the rest of the coaching team were still thinking about how to maintain defense while avoiding being chopped up, so as not to let the opponent rush.

Obviously, the Raptors have done a lot of preparations before the game. In order to play against Zhang Hao, the Raptors must have done a lot of work. After all, the Raptors have young talents such as Carter, Odom, Damon Stoudemire. When these people meet Zhang Hao, they will play very hard and want to challenge the supreme existence among the Middle Age players. As a coach, Lanny Wilkens has affirmed support.

With strength, talent, good coaches, and tactical preparation... The Raptors' offense tonight has been very explosive, but if the Supersonics had not defended with all their strength, the Raptors might have scored upwards to 100 in three quarters. That is to say, the Raptors made a three-pointer in the first three quarters, and the Raptors made 9 of 16 three-pointers in the first three quarters! They did a good job of creating opportunities. Carter, Damon Stoudemire, and Doug Christie also grasped it well. These three men scored 8 three-pointers in the first three quarters.

But the Silver Fox directly chose to give up defense!

The combination of Kassel, Dell Curry, Schramf, Jason Williams and Zhang Hao was replaced!

Dare to think and do, this is the Silver Fox, this is the Silver Fox who put all his effort into getting the Silver Fox. In addition to the Silver Fox having rich coaching experience and sufficient tactical reserves, the key is the Silver Fox's on-site command ability with a clear and unique thinking in extreme situations.

It is almost impossible for a coach to give up defense if his opponent scored 81 points in the third quarter, and it was like this when the situation became unfavorable at the beginning of the final quarter, but this is how the Silver Fox did it!

For the Raptors, Boggs, Doug Christie, Carter, Odom, and Antonio Davis' lineup came on.

After the timeout, the Supersonics attacked, Zhang Hao was shot by a double without a ball, and there was no rush, so he opened the space, Kassel passed the ball to Dell Curry, and Dell Curry missed a three-pointer... But Jason Williams took advantage of Zhang Hao's restraint and grabbed the offensive rebound and tip-in to score two points.

In the Supersonics lineup, the Raptors really can't continue to chop the sharks. Even Jason Williams' free throw shooting percentage is above 75%.

When the Raptors attacked, Carter seized the opportunity to cut in, received the ball at the bottom line, broke into the left sideline of the three-second zone and started half a step from the left sideline. He slid over the backhand dunk at the basket and scored two points. He dunked for the second time in this game.

87 to 85, the Raptors continued to maintain a two-point lead. If Carter doesn't dunk, it will be a huge increase in morale to the Raptors every time they succeed in dunk.

Zhang Hao also received a prompt to Carter to complete a wonderful dunk.

When the Supersonics attacked, Zhang Hao received the serve and advanced towards the frontcourt. After halftime, he saw that Odom and Carter were in the top arc and they decisively began to imitate Damon Stoudemire. After passing the middle circle, they began to push their arms with their arms!

Odom was brave, but when he came into contact with Zhang Hao, he was immediately knocked away. Carter chose to withdraw, and Zhang Hao was at the height of his elbow. He might cause the opponent's attack foul, but he had to take his life to fight... It was mainly too fast! Odom and Carter rushed up in advance to limit Zhang Hao to complete enough sprints and didn't even do it!

In fact, it’s not that Zhang Hao has become faster, he has not changed. From the official pause in the first quarter to the present, there has been almost no change in speed, strength, and feel.

But because the opponent's physical strength declines, his reactions slow and his movements slow down!

Zhang Hao rushed into the basket without being obstructed, and was as tough as Antonio Davis could only watch Zhang Hao jump in the free throw line, bent his body backward into a bow like a tomahawk-like slashing and smashing the ball into the basket!

Carter's wonderful dunk brought morale to the Raptors and morale suppression on the Supersonics, and Zhang Hao returned it immediately!
To be continued...