Ford, the head coach of the 76ers, saw that he did not have an advantage in the situation and could not compete with the outside, so he focused his offense on the inside. So after the start of the second quarter, Samuel Dalembert and Derek Coleman
and Kenny Thomas frequently attacked the Magic's inside line. Samuel Dalembert and Derek Coleman, the young and old, did not have an advantage when paired with the Magic's De Klerk and Gooden. Derek was young.
At that time, he was indeed a stable 20+10 power forward, but now he is at the end of his career. He has played less than 40 times this season. If he hadn't caught up with the 76ers' season-ending injury wave,
He can't even start.
So the result of the strong attack on the inside was that the four big men fought hand-to-hand inside, but the results were about the same, and no one could take advantage.
On the contrary, Kenny Thomas frequently succeeds in low post plays. There are two reasons for this. First, Thomas's footwork is very solid and his shooting touch is very soft. Second, the person who defends him is called McGrady. McGrady can conscientiously discover the defensive personality.
It's 10 minutes and 20 minutes, but if you point to him to defend seriously for 2 games, then you are really thinking too much.
The Magic took full advantage of McGrady. One is McGrady, and the other one is really not very good. As I just said, the inside is half-weight, and Tyronn Lue on the outside is completely frozen by Snow, who attacks.
Average, but his defense is really the best in the league. He is very similar to Bowen, another defensive guru. Both have inconspicuous statistics, but they are really useful. The only thing he is not as good as Bowen is that he is not as bad as Bowen. Bowen
The Blackfoot has destroyed countless people, while Snow doesn't make many small moves or plays dirty tricks. He relies purely on consciousness and experience. For such a defensive master to face Tyronn Lue, Tyronn Lue is a tragedy among tragedies.
As for the other backcourt player Bogans, his scoring ability is really weak and his shooting ability is limited.
So McGrady naturally carried the offensive banner alone. Kenny Thomas's defense mainly relied on a conscientious attitude, never giving up, and stalking. If he encountered ordinary players, it would be enough. But when encountering a talent like McGrady,
If it's unusual, then it really won't have any effect.
Tracy McGrady made a strong breakthrough and got rid of Thomas in one step. Then he jumped into the sky and let the birds fly. He scored 6 consecutive points and caused a foul by Samuel Dalembert.
.
At the end of the second quarter, 36-44, the Magic led by 8 points. At this time, the head coaches of both teams made adjustments to the players on the court, replacing the main players and replacing them with substitutes.
At this time, the strength gap between the two sides is reflected. The Magic's substitute lineup with Uncle Huo, Hunter and Stevenson as the core, although the defensive loopholes are obvious, the offense is very reliable. On the other hand, the 76ers' side,
Only Korver can do it. But the problem is that Korver is a three-point shooter. You let him cooperate with other superstars to open up space for him, and then he uses his running position to find opportunities to shoot three-pointers. That is really amazing.
, but he has been asked to lead the attack by himself, so he really can't do it.
Huo Ershu scored the first point of the bench with a little hook, followed by Stevenson's signature dribbling breakthrough. The Magic bench relied on these three people to score 8 points in the final time of the second quarter.
-2 small attack wave.
At halftime, the Magic led 38-52 by 14 points entering the second half.
"Very good, just play like this. The 76ers' players are no match for us. If T-Mac breaks through the inside more often, Samuel Dalembert has already committed three fouls. Try to keep him at this point. If
Once he is taken down, Gooden will be able to let go of his hands and feet in the paint, and then this game will be stable. Okay, come on, kill the 76ers."
Although McGrady is a big name and plans to leave, he still has basic professional qualities. In addition, it is not difficult for Edison to ask him to break through and kill the inside. He sells face to Edison. After the start of the third quarter, McGrady really
He frequently took the ball and attacked the paint area. Sure enough, after two consecutive slam dunks, Samuel Dalembert couldn't bear it anymore...
McGrady repeated his old trick again, breaking through Thomas and rushing towards the basket. Samuel Dalembert saw that he was planning to dunk again. In addition, he had already been dunked twice just now, so he felt that he could not be so embarrassed anymore.
He grabbed McGrady's right hand. But McGrady's waist and abdominal strength were too strong, so he suddenly found his balance and made a left-hand layup, 2+1. In the third quarter, he committed 4 fouls, and 76ers coach Ford had to replace Sasha
Muir Dalembert, replaced by Mark Jackson.
Mark Jackson is a player with only a body and no brain. Regardless of whether he is offensive or defensive, he relies entirely on his body. Such a player is no match for Gooden. They are similar in body, but Gooden's skills are more balanced, with a hand shot and offensive skills at the basket.
His footwork and footwork are also good, completely beating Mark Jackson.
The most important thing is that Gooden can score relatively stably in the paint, which directly revitalizes the Magic's entire offensive routine. He can score inside and outside, and make the 76ers players rush for their lives, laying the groundwork for their final failure.
.
But in this quarter, the Magic's hand was obviously not as hot as it started. Instead of opening up the score, Thomas and Snow scored suddenly, and Korver found the opportunity to hit three three-pointers. In the middle of the third quarter, the Magic
The main players were replaced, but Philadelphia did not, leaving Snow, Thomas and Korver to stay on the court to close the score. As a result, by the end of the third quarter, the score was within 10 points, 61-70.
But Edison is not anxious at all, because he knows that the 76ers are now at the end of their game. Snow and Thomas have been playing for too long. It has been close to 30 minutes, and they have been breaking through. The physical fitness of these two people has almost reached the end.
It's the limit. The Magic have been rotating, and all the players are in good physical condition, and can ensure explosive power in the fourth quarter.
Therefore, Edison did not arrange any special tactics during the break, letting everyone play normally and slowly dragging the 76ers to death.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, both sides sent out substitutes. 76ers coach Ford also replaced Thomas, who has played the longest time now, and let Snow and Samuel Dalembert lead the game. But the forward was leaked.
In the continuous rain, Uncle Huo made an inside attack. Samuel Dalembert was restricted by fouls and didn't play much. He had plenty of energy, so he defended more actively. As a result, he was shaken by Uncle Huo's fake move and jumped.
, and then the second uncle, a veteran, was not polite and looked for the opponent's landing point with his body, causing Samuel Dalembert to foul again. He had already committed 5 fouls.
The coach of the 76ers was in trouble. The fourth quarter had just started. If he didn't make a substitution, it would be a complete tragedy if he committed a foul. But if he substituted, no matter who he put on, it would be unreliable. After thinking over and over again, Ford decided not to
Substitute, take a gamble, if there are no more fouls, there will still be a fight in the end.
Edison saw it and immediately called a timeout. Then he lined up Tyronn Lue and asked him and Stevenson to attack the 76ers' interior, and did nothing else to stop Samuel Dalembert.
Fouls committed by inside players are actually a very important factor in the game. If they get into foul trouble too early, it may disrupt the team's plan. In reality, Samuel Dalembert has already fouled 5 times.
, so both offense and defense have become timid. When attacking, they don’t dare to push forward, when defending, they don’t dare to block shots from the front, and when assisting in defense, they are also afraid of becoming inactive in blocking.
The result of this was that Edison's original intention of knocking him out was not realized, but he was such a defensive slot that allowed Tyronn Lue and Stevenson to suddenly make a mess and score easily. In the end, the score was opened up. 66-78
The Magic once again led by 12 points.
The game entered the last 8 minutes, and all the main players from both sides took the field. This was also the last curtain call performance of the two teams this season.
McGrady was replaced in the middle of the third quarter and has been resting until now. His physical fitness has been greatly restored. In addition, Kenny Thomas, who defended him, played too long. Although he rested starting in the fourth quarter,
It took a few minutes, but I was still tired. I couldn't stop McGrady in the first place, and I couldn't stop him now...
As a result, McGrady actually succeeded in a mid-range shot, and then bullied Samuel Dalembert to not block a layup. Finally, he succeeded in chasing a three-pointer during the steal and fast break, scoring 8 points in a row.
But by then, the 76ers' offense was weak and they failed to score two shots. McGee was intercepted by Bogans again, and the score directly opened to 20 points.
Because it was the final game, even though it was already garbage time, the main players of both sides were not substituted, showing the audience their final heroic appearance of the 2003~04 season.
The bell rang and the clock went back to zero. The Magic defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 88-102 on the road. This season, they have a record of 21 wins and 61 losses, which is at the bottom of the league, and Edison has achieved two consecutive wins in his coaching career.
During the game, Edison was fully focused, but when the game was over, he felt an inexplicable emptiness.
The season is over, there will be no games tomorrow, and it will be half a year before the NBA starts again.
My role as acting head coach is coming to an end, and I don’t know who will be in this position next season.
Maybe I will never be a head coach again in the future, and I will never be able to stand in front of everyone and explain tactics. Maybe in a few decades, when I am old and all my teeth have fallen out, I will feel like recalling my head coaching experience these days.
It was like a dream, although now it is real.
Weisbrod and Yoni Davis have resigned as team managers and head coaches because they need to rest. After the new team manager took office, he didn't know what to do. The team building plan he proposed before
I don’t know what to do, whether it will be implemented or shelved, how the team’s summer plan will unfold, all of this is unknown.
This unknown future is about to unfold in front of us, but Edison faced it with confusion for the first time.
But the wheel of fate once again inadvertently selected Edison.
