The Magic reached the Finals last season, and their record this season is still good.
So far, the Magic are second in the Eastern Conference, only one game behind the Cavaliers.
This is because the Magic lost two games after the All-Star break and were ranked behind the Cavaliers.
Across the league, the Magic's record ranks third.
The defending champion Lakers, second in the Western Conference, have a worse record than the Magic.
So the Magic still have confidence.
The Warriors played a team with one senior and four juniors, and they also had one star and four stars.
Of course, it's okay to say it's one star and five shots, because Curry himself is the best shooter.
What are the Magic playing?
It’s also a star!
Howard stood inside, and four shooters lined up outside the three-point line. Let's see how you defend!
The same goes for the Warriors. Curry is a super shooter who can hold the ball without the ball. He attracts a lot of attention from opponents and creates opportunities for his teammates.
Ultimately, the core concepts of both teams are the same.
It’s easy to find, but one star is hard to find!
How high a team like this can reach depends on the level of its star players.
Howard is indeed good, but he is much worse than Curry!
It seems that the Magic often give the ball to the inside and focus on the inside, but this is not the case.
The most offensive thing about the Magic is his perimeter!
Howard relies on his amazing explosive power. He has no skills in attacking the basket and his technique is rough. Compared with O'Neal's dominance at the basket, he is far behind.
As long as you guard the Magic's perimeter, no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to win!
The worst case scenario is a foul!
Your free throws are not good anyway!
If that doesn't work, attack from a flank!
Although the Magic have shooters on the outside, Howard's passing is average. As long as the timing of the double attack is mastered and the outside rotation is in place, Howard will be useless!
In fact, Howard's biggest problem is not technology, but mentality.
Howard is a big boy who loves to laugh, he is always smiling.
It's great to be a friend with this kind of person, but it's almost boring to be the core of the team.
If you still laugh when fighting with a bayonet, and you don’t even try your best, what will your teammates think? How can you make your teammates try their best?
To put it bluntly, Howard's biggest problem is that he is too emotional and has a childish temper.
His technique is rough and he always wants more ball rights, so he has to play to be happy!
If you don't let me have fun, then I won't have fun!
If Howard can defend with peace of mind and be a super blue-collar player, then the Magic will be a nightmare for their opponents.
A person must be self-aware and strive to maximize his own advantages.
Howard can't do that.
In order to accommodate Howard, Van Gundy thought of many ways.
But no matter how we do it, the Magic's upper limit is just that.
Why?
It's because of Howard.
Compared to Howard, the Warriors' Curry is much better!
Not only does Curry have incredible three-pointers and outstanding skills, he also works hard.
Even though he was limited by his physical fitness and was always targeted defensively by his opponents, Curry never backed down.
As long as he plays, no matter who he faces, Curry never takes a step back!
If the head football star takes the lead and works hard, the others still have the nerve to be lazy?
More importantly, no matter what tasks the team assigns to Curry or what role he plays, Curry works hard and never complains.
Play without the ball and act as a shooter?
Can!
Give you the ball for a single?
no problem!
A 40-minute game?
Can!
Training substitute to only play 20 minutes?
also!
Great performance, good personal data, happy!
The personal data is not good but the team won, so happy!
In short, no matter what the team asks Curry to do, Curry has no complaints.
Even as the second in command!
As long as the team wins, as long as it's beneficial to the team, Curry will do it!
This is very rare for superstars!
Once many stars have the right to speak, they want this or that, putting themselves above the team.
Doing this will do great harm to the team!
For example, the current number one player in the league often does this.
Your teammates are all professional players just like you. Why do you boss them around and have such great privileges?
You are a part-time worker, why should the team owner listen to you?
Do you know more about team operations than professionals?
Which is more important, the team's interests or your personal interests?
Your interests are important, so we work hard to play. If the team's record is not good and you leave, what will we do?
With such a leader, it will be difficult for the team to have no problems.
It's okay to win, but it's going to be troublesome once you lose and get into adversity.
But Curry won’t!
Because he is a simple big boy, Howard is not as calculating as the first player in the league.
But precisely for this reason, Howard became very emotional.
Everything must be centered on him and make him happy!
Van Gundy also put a lot of thought into this.
I don’t know what magic drug Van Gundy gave Howard today. Howard was very obedient and didn’t keep asking for the ball in the paint.
This disrupted Deng Fang's deployment.
Deng Fang feels that in this game, Howard will still take position in the paint and take down Lopez alone.
So Deng Fang sent Jordan to start.
In terms of defensive ability alone, Jordan is still better than Lopez.
Without Curry, Livingston becomes the starter.
The Warriors' starting lineup is a purely defensive lineup, with the average height being over two meters!
Jordan is 2.21 meters, Prince is 2.06 meters, Laga Bell and Azubuike are both 1.96 meters, and Livingston is 2.01 meters!
These five people are the Warriors' Iron Man Iron Cable Formation!
Jordan is tall and strong, so he won't suffer too much even if he defends Howard alone.
Others also have speed, height, rich defensive experience, and good coordination.
If Howard plays alone in the paint, he will definitely have to pay the price!
Who would have thought that Howard wouldn't take the position in the paint today!
Nelson and Howard were constantly running pick-and-rolls, and so was Vince Carter.
This made the Warriors even more annoyed.
Once you've set up your stance and drilled into the inside, it's hard to defend when you start to attack.
Nelson and Carter both have three-pointers from the outside and are full of impact.
After Howard picks and rolls, he goes to the basket. If he is moved, it will be difficult to defend.
The most powerful thing about Howard in the paint is not his isolation, but his mobility.
It's easy for Jordan to guard him, after all, he doesn't suffer from his height and weight.
If the defense is switched after the pick-and-roll and Howard is allowed to catch the ball while moving near the penalty area, there will be big trouble!
I have to say that the Magic team's preparations were in place.
Van Gundy knows that the Warriors are short of men and horses, and Curry will also be absent, so this game is bound to be won!
To be honest, every head coach in the NBA is an excellent speaker and a master of chicken soup!
The whole Magic team has high morale and high fighting spirit.
The Warriors were under great pressure on the defensive end, and the Magic kept scoring.
In turn, the Warriors' offense was annoyed.
The best weapon against Howard is Curry.
Just ask: Curry and Lopez pick and roll, can Howard come out?
come out?
Then the Magic opened the door to the restricted area for the Warriors!
The Magic's penalty area Warriors players can flow unimpeded!
