Chapter 589 The first game of the new year, a replica of the Spurs
Putting aside DeRozan's mood after the game, Wang Zelin will be very busy in the next few days.
Except for the 31st, he specially took time to spend a day with his parents. Until January 3rd, he flew almost all over the United States, and even made a special trip back to China just to promote new sneakers.
After being busy for several days, on the morning of January 3rd, I got up for morning practice. After breakfast, Wang Zelin went to the team to meet his teammates.
Tonight, the Trail Blazers will face the challenge of the Atlanta Hawks at home. The Hawks' current record is 24 wins and 8 losses. Like the Raptors, they are one of the top four seeded teams in the Eastern Conference.
In his impression, since the 2007-08 season, the Eagles have never missed the Eastern Conference playoffs, especially in recent years. After sending away the restless Josh Smith, the Eagles management recruited Paul
Millsap, partnered with Al Horford, formed the two cores of the team, plus Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll and other powerful puzzle pieces...
This season, the Atlanta Hawks are having their strongest year in the 21st century.
If I remember correctly, they reached the conference finals this year, and then... fell at the feet of James, who shaved his head.
Since then, starting from the transfer to the Miami Heat in the 10-11 season,
The NBA Eastern Conference team's eight-year history of blood and tears against LeBron James continues.
As expected, even after returning to the Cavaliers, the Eastern Conference is still dominated by the James family. The mere Hawks are just one of the ghosts at his feet.
But then again, the eagle is really quite strong.
Especially after they acquired former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer last season, Coach Bush vigorously implemented the Spurs system as soon as he arrived, with Ford and Millsap inside, and point guard Jeff Teague, who is gradually coming out of his rookie stage.
, the league's top shooter Korver, and the tough-style wing Carroll, have improved to a higher level this year, and after the chemical reaction has become better, it is no wonder that their record this season has further improved.
With the arrival of the new year, when people look back at the schedule of the past two months or so, the Eagles, whose record has been rising, have undoubtedly become a dark horse in the Eastern Conference.
Currently, many experts believe that the Hawks will definitely make a difference in this year's playoffs.
The Trail Blazers also attach great importance to this game.
On the evening of January 3rd, the competition begins.
Both parties submit lists.
Hawks: Jeff Teague! Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Trail Blazers: Lillard, Connett Lee, Batum, Jokic, Wang Zelin
The game was broadcast live by Chaoting Channel.
"Hey Al, are you ready to get busted?"
Meeting at the entrance of the tunnel, Wang Zelin took the initiative to say hello to tonight's opponent, Horford.
Faced with the provocation, Horford just looked up and ignored it.
Needless to say, under Budenholzer's guidance, the Hawks not only resembled a replica of the Spurs in terms of tactical system, but also included their core players Horford and Paul Millsap, both of whom are down-to-earth and stable off the court and do not like to cause trouble.
, a diligent and conscientious player on the court.
Not to mention, under the influence of the two core players, even the atmosphere within the Hawks team is very much like the Spurs.
Perhaps the only qualitative difference between the two teams is that the Eagles are missing the player who makes the final decision at critical moments.
After learning that the opponent was really as boring as reported, Wang Zelin stopped looking for trouble and returned to the team angrily.
"Blow them up!"
"The pioneers will win!"
"Come on, King! Crush them!"
After the players from both sides took the field, the home fans in the Rose Garden Arena screamed.
For the jump ball, Horford tried his best to jump, but still lost to Wang Zelin, who was more athletic.
Trail Blazers offense.
"Damien, give it to me!"
After reaching the basket, Wang Zelin shouted at Lillard at the top of the key.
The latter understood the idea, hoisted the ball into the air, and then...
"boom!"
There was a loud bang and the alley-oop was successful.
"Ha ha!"
Wang Zelin laughed twice and couldn't help but look back at Horford to see if there was a change in this guy's expression.
The result was disappointing. Horford ignored him at all and turned to pick up the ball.
Hey, it’s really a low-end version of Duncan!
They both have the same boring gourd personality.
Silently complaining in his heart, Wang Zelin quickly turned around and returned to his defense.
Eagles attack.
After halftime, Jeff Teague started directing traffic with gestures.
After 5 seconds, Paul Millsap moved without the ball. After bypassing Jokic on the baseline, he received the pass in the right short corner and made a mid-range shot.
Swish——!
The ball hit the basket.
2:2 flat.
Just in the first attack, Coach Terry noticed the excellent tactical execution skills of the Eagles players.
This battle is not easy!
While he was still sighing, something suddenly changed around him.
"Oh ho ho!!!"
The fans at the scene suddenly became excited.
The camera returns to the field.
When Wang Zelin received the ball in the short corner of the right wing, he decisively hit Horford with his back. When the latter retreated one after another, he turned around and hit a side hook.
It has to be a familiar recipe and a familiar taste.
The sky hook is here again!
When this scene appeared, the home fans immediately applauded wildly in celebration.
At the commentary table on the court stage, Zhang Lili and Su Yu were also happy.
"It seems that the last rest did not stop the king's hot touch, and he scored two goals in a row!" Su Yu said with a cheerful smile.
"Yes, Zelin who can hook and those who can't hook are simply two different levels of players on the offensive end! If Zelin in the past few seasons can only be regarded as a top scorer in the league, then from this season
From now on, he will officially join the ranks of top scorers like Kobe, Durant, and James!"
Zhang Lili's words were full of emotion.
From his rookie season to now, he has witnessed with his own eyes how Wang Zelin reached his current position in the league step by step.
Just like when he personally experienced Dayao's growth, he also had deep and sincere emotions for Wang Zelin.
well, let's get back to business.
The first quarter of the game quickly progressed to 10 minutes and 27 seconds, and the Eagles had the ball.
Again, the Hawks really look like a replica of the Spurs, and their strength should not be underestimated.
The current score on the field is 22:24, and the Trail Blazers are only one goal ahead of their opponents.
This time Horford did not go into the low post to ask for the ball, but went to the free throw line.
On the offensive end, Millsap has quite a lot of methods. In addition to finishing at the basket, he also has a good shooting range, which can even extend beyond the three-point line.
Jokic followed up to the free throw line.
Both are power forwards, and Jokic's height is slightly advantageous over Millsap's, so the tight defense made the latter very uncomfortable for a while.
Wang Zelin suddenly moved from the basket to one meter below the free throw line, reasonably positioned two meters in front of the collision area, and made a defensive gesture towards Millsap.
But in this way, Horford was completely left out.
When Horford saw that he was empty, he quickly waved to Jeff Teague at the top of the arc for the ball.
Jeff Teague immediately lobbed the ball toward the basket.
Horford finally showed some excitement on his face. In the past 10 minutes, he only scored 2 points under Wang Zelin's defense. Even the clay figure would be blocked from a three-pointer.
Seeing the basketball hanging in, Horford bent his knees and prepared for an alley-oop dunk.
When the ball arrives, he jumps quickly, catches the ball with both hands, and hits the basket.
"Snapped!"
Faced with this lob pass, Wang Zelin easily replayed his position and slapped the ball in Horford's hand.
The ball was released instantly and flew all the way out of the baseline.
"yeah!"
The Rose Garden suddenly burst into deafening cheers.
"Man, I forgot to tell you, this is my territory, don't break in easily next time!"
After landing, Wang Zelin looked at Horford with angry eyes and added coldly.
The smell of gunpowder between the two gradually became stronger and stronger.