Batum pulled outside the three-point line, took the screen and shot a three-pointer, but failed to hit.
"Buzz!"
A big yellow hand ruthlessly pushed the basketball back.
"You guys just shoot, I'm under the basket!" After overpowering Marc Gasol to complete a putback dunk, Wang Zelin glanced at his teammates and shouted loudly.
"This Asian boy is so arrogant!" The grumpy Zach Randolph suddenly became angry and furious.
Marc Gasol, who was reduced to a backdrop, didn't take it to heart. He picked up the basketball and replied calmly: "It's okay. You can just return one later."
"Why can't it be you?"
"Are you the boss? Those who can do more work!"
"..."
The big black bear was stunned because he couldn't find a reason to refute it at all.
The Grizzlies attacked, Prince and Mike Conley were in a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, and the latter broke through and passed back to Prince, but missed from the outside.
The basketball rebounded and flew in the direction of Zach Randolph. He stretched out his hand to get the offensive rebound.
So far tonight, he has got 7 rebounds, not far from double figures.
Seeing that something good was about to happen, a yellow figure suddenly appeared behind him and rose up, destroying his plan of two pairs.
"Go, go, go!"
This was Wang Zelin's 10th rebound tonight. After landing, it hit Batum, who was closest to him. The latter shouted violently while dribbling the ball.
Lillard saw Wang Zelin grab the rebound and go straight to the Grizzlies' basket. At this time, Batum's pass arrived.
Lillard looked directly at the basket, was full of momentum, and slammed it down.
"There was no one in front of Damien and he took off! OMG! He dunked!!!"
The groom Albert roared excitedly.
If it were a home game, fans would have been chanting Lillard's name all over the place, but this was an away game after all, and Lillard was greeted with deafening boos.
"Scream! Scream louder..." Lillard looked around, not showing any signs of retreating, and naturally spread his arms, like a king welcoming the people's worship.
"Shhhhhhh!"
Lillard's arrogance completely angered the Grizzlies fans, and the overwhelming boos came, with no intention of letting go of the No. 0 on the opposite side.
The grizzly bear fell into position.
At this time, Mike Conley got an open space on the right elbow and got the ball from Marc Gasol in time.
At this time, he is three meters away from Wang Zelin in the low position. This distance is called safety.
But the moment he caught the ball, Wang Zelin immediately broke away from Marc Gasol and took a big step forward.
Mike Conley is a late bloomer, and his offensive ability has not yet reached the peak of his career. At this stage, 45.5% of his points come from mid-range shots, which is the highest season of his career.
Mike Conley will never give up such an open opportunity at this time, he must stop the bleeding for the team.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. When Wang Zelin saw Mike Conley making a shooting gesture, he sprinted and took off, swinging his right hand towards the basketball that the latter had just thrown.
"Snapped!"
"The king stepped forward to cover the defense, oh! It was a good shot! He successfully gave Mike Conley a hot pot meal!" Barkley's roar sounded.
Batum and Tony Allen, who were struggling at the three-point line on the right wing, reacted and immediately competed for the basketball. In the end, Batum, who was younger and had better physical fitness, got it.
Batum took the ball and took a look at the situation on the court. Players from both teams were already returning to defense. There was no chance for a fast break, so he simply dribbled the ball by himself.
Tony Allen, who failed to grab the ball, refused to let go and stuck tightly to Batum, making the latter very uncomfortable.
When there was an eight-second violation in the backcourt, Lillard came out to respond. Batum quickly passed the ball and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fuck, this guy is really annoying!"
Batum finally understood why Kobe admired Tony Allen so much. The candy-like defense was too torturous.
With 14 seconds left in the attack time, Lillard chose to slow down the rhythm and look for another chance.
Wang Zelin inside was about to come up, but the Grizzlies' perimeter subconsciously shrank in. Seeing this, Lillard decisively shot a three-pointer.
"Whoosh!"
Three-point hit.
Dare you let me go?
After scoring, Lillard blew into his opponent's heart.
59:51.
The score difference instantly reached 8 points.
"What are you doing?"
Hollins next to him was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his eyes that such a low-level mistake could actually happen to Mike Conley.
"mine!"
Mike Conley lowered his head in shame and raised his hands.
He didn't know what was going on, but when he saw Wang Zelin coming up, his body subconsciously wanted to double-team him, but in the end, the opponent took advantage of a big loophole.
"5 of 7 shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, this No. 0 feels great today! He has already scored 12 points.
The Grizzlies should consider strengthening their defense beyond the three-point line next."
Albert the groom explained.
"But Marv, don't forget, all five players on the Trail Blazers field have shooting ability, and their shooting range can extend beyond the three-point line. If they stare at the outside, LaMarcus and Wang inside will probably be extremely happy. This makes
How to guard against a grizzly bear?" Barkley asked.
"That's Hollins' problem." Groom Albert smiled nonchalantly.
The sudden change in the situation on the field was something Hollins did not want to see, and what Barkley said was exactly what he had been worried about.
All members of the Trail Blazers can shoot. If they develop their touch, the Grizzlies will still have shortcomings no matter how good they are at defense.
And this shortcoming is Zach Randolph. He is the worst defensive player in the Grizzlies lineup. Especially when ensuring offensive efficiency, it would be good to have a few outstanding rounds on the defensive end. Count on the Big Black Bear.
Being able to defend well throughout the entire game is nothing more than a pipe dream.
Calling a timeout at this time will probably be useless, because this is already the Grizzlies' strongest lineup, and how far it can go depends on the players on the court.
In the next round, Zach Randolph couldn't wait to take the initiative and came deep inside and began to forcefully gain position.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It is obvious from this look that he is preparing to beat Aldridge hard and help the team chase points.
But the Trail Blazers have found a strategy to deal with the Grizzlies' interior offense, and that is double-teaming.
If Zach Randolph is the Grizzlies' only flaw on the defensive end, then Tony Allen, the defensive powerhouse on the offensive end, has become a point worth targeting.
As the 25th pick in the first round of 2004, Tony Allen has outstanding physical fitness, but because of his lack of shooting and ball-handling abilities, not many people are optimistic about him. He has been positioned since the first year of his career.
Became a defensive leader.
It turns out that Tony Allen has proven himself on the defensive end that he can do it better than anyone else.
At the same time, his independent offensive ability has declined year by year, and is not even as good as during the NCAA period.
Perhaps Tony Allen has forgotten that he is the first player in the history of Oklahoma State University to score 1,000 points in just two seasons.
"damn it!"
Seeing Batum take the initiative to abandon Tony Allen, rush in from the left baseline, and complete Zach Randolph with Aldridge to form a front-to-back attack, Hollins secretly thought in his heart and jumped up anxiously.
Knowing that Tony Allen is an excellent defensive leader, why does Hollins choose to control his playing time? In addition to physical problems, the lack of sufficient offensive threats is also one of the reasons for limiting his playing time.
Facing ordinary playoff-level teams, the Grizzlies can simply rely on defense to defeat their opponents. However, facing the top teams of the same level, the disadvantages of the Grizzlies' weak offense and strong defense are naturally exposed.
It is generally said that the Trail Blazers are good at torturing vegetables, but little does anyone know that the Grizzlies are even worse.
After receiving the ball, Zach Randolph in the low post didn't notice Batum coming quietly. The moment he completed a half-turn, the latter made a big steal.
"Snapped!"
"The ball was intercepted! The Grizzlies made a mistake, and the Trail Blazers had a great opportunity to expand the score to double digits!" Barkley's commentary voice came again.
Michael Conley didn't have time to curse, and ran side by side with Lillard, not giving the latter a chance to catch the ball.
But Wang Zelin broke free from Marc Gasol's entanglement and ran toward the frontcourt. The big white bear was like a tractor, and even Wang Zelin's exhaust fumes were gone.
I saw Batum make a long pass, over the heads of everyone, and passed the ball to Wang Zelin outside the three-point line of the opposite position.
There were only Lillard and Mike Conley inside the three-point line, and their situations instantly reversed, with the former interfering and the latter trying desperately to break free.
In a 2-on-1 frontcourt, Wang Zelin bypassed Mike Conley, stepped into the paint, took another dribble, and took off with the ball.
"Boom! Blind Karaka! The score difference between the two sides has reached 10 points. The Trail Blazers seem to have found the key to victory."
Albert the groom explained.
In just a few minutes, the Grizzlies made frequent mistakes, which eventually led to the current bitter consequences.
In the competition between strong teams, the outcome is often decided in an instant. If you grasp it, victory is right in front of you...
Obviously, the Grizzlies failed to grasp it!
“There was a timeout, and Coach Hollins also stopped the game.
But please be honest, I don't think the Grizzlies can come up with any decent countermeasures.
According to the rules of past games, once the Grizzlies are in the lead, they are very sure to maintain the lead until the end of the game; and once they are behind, the same is true.
This team lacks a decisive player, or a superstar!"
Barkley shook his head. The Grizzlies are very strong, but they are a bit weird. Once the opponent finds a weakness, it will be difficult for them to have a chance to come back.
If Rudy Gay was still there, maybe the Grizzlies would have a chance to make a comeback, but he was traded away.
It’s not that the Grizzlies made a wrong decision by trading Rudy Gay. On the contrary, by trading Gay for Prince, who is more suitable for the team’s system, the Grizzlies have become much stronger to the naked eye... This is
Most of the time during regular hours.
And at certain critical moments, a pure scorer like Gay is really needed to break the game.
Right now, the Grizzlies lack such a type of player to turn the tide.
Grizzlies bench.
All the players gathered around Hollins who was making tactics, and they were helplessly aware that it was just two words.
Defend!
…
"Hahahaha! The opponent's mentality has collapsed. Damien, keep shooting three-pointers when you get the chance. You have a good touch tonight, don't let it down!"
The Trail Blazers' bench was all laughing. The team was gradually gaining momentum, taking away the depressing atmosphere of the first half.
After returning from the timeout, Wang Zelin glanced at the Grizzlies players. Everyone, including the Black and White Bears, looked in a trance.
It’s still a little bit worse, and we need to work harder!
"Brothers, tonight we drink bear blood! We eat bear meat!"
Wang Zelin yelled out immediately.
"Drink bear blood! Eat bear meat!"
This sentence made Lillard and others excited, and they shouted in unison.
In the second half of the quarter, the Grizzlies' pace was still very slow, but the Trail Blazers players could clearly sense that the opponent's offensive rhythm was filled with anxiety factors, and they were definitely not as calm as they looked.
"The game is about to go far. The Grizzlies are going to fail at home today. Their energy is more than one level weaker than in the first half." Groom Albert said solemnly.
The morale of the army is in chaos!
This is a perfect word to describe the current grizzly bear.
"Wang Zelin's block, Lillard's three-pointer, and Batum's steal... The past few rounds directly destroyed the Grizzlies' belief in a strong team based on defense.
Their defense can no longer save the current situation!"
Buckley put away his playful smile and explained with the same seriousness.
Until the end of the second half of the quarter, the Grizzlies only took 8 shots and hit 3 goals. In addition to Mike Conley's 1 of 2 free throws, they only scored 6 points.
On the other hand, the Trail Blazers confidently took 11 shots and hit 5 goals, including two open three-pointers by Matthews and Batum, for a total of 12 points.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! At the end of the third quarter, at 73:57, the Trail Blazers lead away from home by 15 points.
No one expected that the Grizzlies only scored 10 points in the entire third quarter.
This grizzly bear was completely lost and faced only death.
…
The fourth quarter started quickly, and the Trail Blazers served from the baseline.
"Defend! Defend!"
The fans at the Express Fed Arena were furious and chanted. They wanted to use their voices to infect the fans on the court.
Put down this goal, maybe the Grizzlies still have hope of chasing points.
However, the results were cruel.
Terry Stotts, who planned to take the game away directly, had no intention of giving the main players a rest and still played with all the main players.
As soon as Wang Zelin came up, he turned over and made a jump shot, scoring two points steadily. The entire FedEx Arena was silent.
17 points!
All 17 points!
How else to pursue it?
People in the audience were already leaving one after another.
Some people didn't want to see the home team being slaughtered, while others were disheartened and had no hope for the final result of the game.
For the Grizzlies, who are not good at chasing points, they are 17 points behind and want to catch up, unless a McGrady comes from the sky.
But is this possible?
What's more, the Trail Blazers are an offense-oriented team, averaging 103.6 points per game in the regular season this season, ranking fourth in the league.
Once this type of team hits the ground running, it's difficult to stop the offensive wave.
Therefore, most people can already foresee the scene of a grizzly bear being beaten to death on the beach by waves of attacks.
The scenes that happened inside the arena were witnessed by Barkley and Groom Albert in the stands. The two looked at each other and shook their heads.
"There is no hope. Perhaps, we can celebrate the Trail Blazers' two-game winning streak in advance. Congratulations to them!" Barkley said.
"Yes, after this game, the regular season battle between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies was tied at 1:1. Facing the younger Trail Blazers, the Grizzlies completely lost the opportunity to compete for fourth place in the Western Conference."