Chapter 196: The Pacers Worthy of No. 1 in the East
In the second half, the King of Northland finally returned to his appearance as the King of Northland in Casey's roar. Lowry began to use his big butt to break through Hill to organize the entire team's offense. The Raptors' offense gradually improved. When they played in the small lineup, the luxurious bench line on the entire outside line performed very well, but it was not enough. The difference in scores has been hovering around 10 points.
They couldn't handle George in the playoffs last season, and it's still the case. Carol was bought by the Raptors for a lot of money to deal with these small forwards in the league. The small forwards are of the size and speed that are enough to deal with these small forwards. I'm afraid that the small forward on the opposite side will be enough to make your team play very devastating.
However, his performance did not make Raptors fans feel that he is worthy of his annual salary of tens of millions. He was beaten by James and beaten by George. These are all daily operations for him. Last year, George only had one game in seven playoffs with a shooting percentage of less than 40% and 20 points. If it weren't for his outbreak, the Pacers' lineup would not have been able to last until Game 7.
George, who was a little quiet in the first half, began to show his strength in the top ten in the league in the middle of the third quarter. His horizontal movement speed was not as good as before, but his shooting threat was higher than his previous self. He raised his hand and directly hit a three-pointer, everything seemed so light.
"Beautiful! Paul's three-pointer is very beautiful."
McGrady's roar reminded Rachel that the man in front of him may be the best striker who was good at drawing three-pointers from the outside in the first ten years of the 21 world. McGrady's personal ability is an important reason for him to attract fans, and his playing style is another important reason. A big forward player over two meters held the ball outside the three-point line and faced the defensive player who was holding the ball with one hand outside the three-point line and directly defeated the opponent's defense with a sudden three-pointer. Think about it, is there anything more picturesque than this?
George's three-pointer put pressure on him, and in the next round, Carol directly pointed to the inside and rushed to the inside. Even though the speed was not as fast as before, he was still unstoppable. Valanciulos was still standing at the edge of the three-pointer line and looking at Lin Sen with his knees. His speed of return to defense seemed so powerless.
A tomahawk dunk increased his score in this game to 20 points. Before he knew it, George, a guy who made a fortune in silence, scored more than 20 points before the end of the third quarter, which seemed to be no difference compared to DeRozan who showed great power in the first quarter.
Lin Sen touched his nose and this guy stole all his limelight. No, he must snatch it back. He immediately gave Valanciulos a big hat on the defensive end for a long time. In the second half, the arduous task of defending Valanciulos was thrown to Turner. This is the benefit of partnering with Turner in the inside. His size is enough to allow him to face most of the league's centers and free Lin Sen out of the penalty area.
When Valanciulos was about to take action, Lin Sen, who came from the side, finally gave the big center in hot form today a big hat. On the front, because of Valanciulos's body width and the pressure on him, Lin Sen, it was difficult for him to jump completely or find a suitable position.
It's different to assisting defense. Lin Sen can do his best to show his bounce and find a good position to assist defense. The basketball slammed into George's hands, and Lin Sen, who landed on the ground, started running to the opposite half-court as soon as possible.
"Paul, pass the ball, this is the opportunity I found." Lin Sen, who was running forward, shouted behind him.
George shook his head and sent a long pass directly to Lin Sen, who was running in the front and already reached the penalty area. The Raptors' center was still in his own half, and the opponent did not have enough height to defend this long pass.
Lin Sen originally planned to end this attack with a one-handed buckle, but thought that this was already a trick that George had used, so he was not so shocking when he used it again, so he simply received George's basketball in the air and twisted his waist and then pressed the back of his hands into the frame.
This goal allowed Lin Sen, a 210 big center, to fully demonstrate his outstanding bounce. Even Raptors fans seemed to have heard the whine of their baskets. They were ravaged by George and Lin Sen on the opposite side, but they had no choice. The Pacers on the opposite side were definitely one of the strongest counterattack teams in the league.
With George's outstanding performance and several consecutive counterattacks, the Pacers have completely widened the gap to double digits. It is hard to believe that the Raptors, who were still ahead of these double digits in the first quarter, would fall behind double digits after two quarters.
Raptors fans began to look forward to the team being able to fight back like the Pacers in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, such a scene could not be reproduced. In the fourth quarter, Hill steadily controlled the rhythm of the game. They did not emphasize how to fight back, but they played steadily, ensuring their sufficient success rate in every round.
This makes it even more difficult for the Raptors to chase points. It was just a very good gap. Because of the opponent's offensive efficiency, DeRozan tried three-pointers that he was not good at, because the Warriors and the Cavaliers had told the whole league that the best way to chase points was three-pointers.
But the Warriors have Splash Brothers, and now they have to add Durant. The Cavaliers have three-pointers, two three-pointers, Love and Fry, Irving, who made a desperate three-pointer on Curry, and the Royal Salutes specially built for James. The Raptors, except Lowry, have no more than 40% of their three-pointers. The outside bench bandits are more accustomed to mid-range shots and breakthroughs.
Such a meaningless three-pointer will only make the score difference between this Raptors bigger and bigger, and it will completely turn into garbage time after half a quarter.
114:97, this competition for the number one in the East finally evolved into a big victory of nearly 20 points. McGrady was not surprised after watching the game and did not give her any face to her old club: "This Pacers deserves the number one in the East."
"Why are you so sure? Tracy, you should be a Raptors fan. Why are you so optimistic about the Pacers?"
"I always think that when a team on the edge of the playoffs moves towards a top-notch team, he needs to keep the team free of weaknesses. Role players are important, but when it comes to a championship-level team, it is often their core abilities that determine their victory or defeat."
"So you think the Pacers' core players are more capable?"
"Of course, they have two top fifteen players in the league."
Chapter completed!