Chapter 75 The first battle against the Big Three of the Green Army
This is his first time stepping into the North Shore Garden Arena, an arena with a long history.
Looking at the entire arena surrounded by green, I suddenly felt a little lucky. Fortunately, I didn't join the Celtics. If I really joined the Celtics, I might often wear a cuckold in the future. That would be really annoying. Already.
I still feel a little lucky in my heart that I don’t have to be a cuckold every day.
Looking at the player configuration of the two teams, it is not difficult to find that this Grizzlies team only has one All-Star substitute, and the others are either some rookie players, or players who are considered to be parallel imports; look at the Green Army's All-Star starters alone There are as many as three players, small forward Paul Pierce, power forward Kevin Garnett, and All-Star guard Ray Allen. It can be said that in these three positions, the Grizzlies were completely outclassed by the Celtics.
Look at the center again, good guy, Milicic is facing off against big baby Davis. Although there is a certain height difference between the two, the difference in tonnage is huge. Davis is 10 kilograms heavier than Milicic; point guard On the other hand, one is Conley in his rookie season, and the other is Rajon Rondo who has been playing for one year.
You can still take a look at the Grizzlies players on the bench, including Li Tian, Lowry, and Navarro, while the Celtics have Tony Allen and James Posey.
"Hey, this lineup is really difficult to beat. I sincerely pray to God that they play like shit, otherwise it will be too difficult to win." Li Tian sighed.
But he didn't show it. He just won the victory and his teammates were willing to help him win this game. He couldn't be discouraged.
Looking at the atmosphere at the Celtics home court and looking at the Grizzlies Federal Center, it is simply a world of difference. At this time, fans came to the home court early to cheer for the team.
This game did not attract too many American media and fans because the gap between the two teams was too big and the result was predictable. A game without suspense would not attract too many eyeballs. But it touched the hearts of countless Chinese people. Anji's breach of trust made the Chinese people have no favorable impression of the Green Army. They were more angry and hoped that Li Tian could prove himself in this game.
Director Zhang made an analysis before the game and said, "It will be difficult for the Grizzlies to win this game. No matter which position they play, it will be difficult to play. If you want to win, you need to completely open up the perimeter and be on the defensive end." , what we still have to do is to defend the Green Army hard, and we also have to pray that they have a cold hand to have a chance. If the Grizzlies perform normally, there will be no hope."
Yu Jia nodded in agreement. He was also not optimistic that the Grizzlies could win, just because Li Tian was with the Grizzlies and he also hoped that the Grizzlies could win this game.
He added, "This year's Green Army is terrible, especially their iron-blooded defense. In past games, they were able to successfully limit the opponent's score to less than 90 points. The Green Army's various statistics ranked at the forefront of the league. Before this season's games, In the game, the Celtics limited the Kings, Nets and Cavaliers to less than 70 points. Even the Cavaliers with James only scored 70 points."
Regarding the Green Army's defense this year, it feels like going back to the 1990s, that iron-blooded era.
On the plane from Indiana to Boston, Mark started sighing, "Hey, how are we going to fight?"
His emotions have more or less influence on the team.
"Paul, you promised me that you must win this game, but you can't be timid." Li Tian did not forget to stimulate his teammates before the game started.
"No, romantic Spaniards never give in." Gasol firmly denied.
But there is a far-fetched relationship between romance and cowardice.
Lowry is a kind-hearted person and promised Li Tian that he would never break his promise. "It is absolutely impossible to give in. We have to make all teams change their views on us."
Before the game, the Grizzlies' morale improved again.
Eight minutes into the game, the situation on the court was a bit unexpected for everyone. Conley and Miller hit consecutive shots from the outside. Conley was 3 of 4 and Miller was 3 of 3; however, Gasol had already been beaten by Garnett. He was blown away on both offense and defense; Guy's shooting percentage was also very low.
The score came to 18-15.
Mark called a timeout, "Lee, if you replace Gay, you must guard Garnett. Paul will take a rest on the court to recover his strength."
"I'll go, this is an important task for me." Li Tian was a little speechless. He didn't like the Green Army, and he couldn't just defend Garnett. It looked really hard to fight.
"No problem coach, I can do it."
Li Tian was arranged to play.
Conley stood at the top of the arc on the strong side with the ball, ready to launch an attack.
Li Tianyi changed from the previous game's strong attack inside the basket and started to float on the outside after coming on the court.
After combining some Tai Chi steps, his running position became even more tricky.
He made a fake move that seemed to change direction and dodge the pursuing Pierce.
Quickly crossing to the three-point position in the corner of the strong side, Conley made a gorgeous back pass, quickly destroying Rondo's personal defense.
Li Tian received the pass and took off with a three-pointer.
Basketball hits steadily.
The score came to 21-15, and the Grizzlies led by 6 points.
Rivers did not call a timeout on the sidelines. The Green Army players on the court all have rich experience and can handle this situation with ease. Rivers has absolute trust in them.
Switching sides and fighting again, Rondo holds the ball and always observes the position of his teammates.
Miller defended Ray Allen, but he still couldn't keep up with his speed and was thrown away. Ray Allen, who got a shot, received a pass from Rondo and made a direct mid-range shot.
It's a pity that the mid-range shot failed to hit. I don't know why it took so long to start. Ray Allen didn't score in a single sports game. His hand felt cold. Maybe God heard Li Tian's prayer.
Li Tian blocked Garnett, leaving him no room to jump. Gasol relied on his height to grab the rebound.
Conley launched a fast break and scored a layup.
The score reached 23-15, with 3 minutes left before the end of the first quarter.
Rivers was circling back and forth on the sidelines, holding his head in his hands, thinking about something. Seeing that the first quarter was about to end, he still didn't call a timeout.
"Paul, your assist is very good." Gasol made a long pass, and Conley received the ball and scored easily for a layup.
"Haha, there will be more in the future." Gasol shook his flowing blond hair.
The Green Army launched another attack, this time with Pierce taking the lead.
Gasol defends Pierce and has a height advantage. At the same time, Gasol's pace is not weaker than Pierce's and his strength is not weak.
Pierce tried to push hard toward the basket, but Gasol didn't move at all, so Pierce had no choice but to give up.
Seeing Ray Allen running out of space again, Pierce decided to trust his teammates and passed the ball to Ray Allen again.
Unfortunately, God is still on the side of the Grizzlies this time, and Ray Allen strikes again.
Li Tian grabbed the defensive rebound, assisted Conley, and succeeded again.
The score came to 25-15.
At this time, Rivers couldn't sit still at all. He said something on the sidelines and called a timeout.
"Paul, you finally stood up for once. This is really incredible. You actually pushed Pierce out." Li Tian praised Gasol.
"Haha, no, damn Lee." Gasol reacted, saying that he had always been soft before.
"Conley, help me hold him down, or I won't give you any more assists."
Faced with Gasol's threat, Conley replied, "Paul, if you don't give me an assist, have you forgotten that we still have Lee?"
Everyone laughed.
"Shit." Gasol was helpless. Li Tian has indeed grabbed a lot of rebounds recently, sometimes even more than himself. This is to seize power.
"Li, tell me the truth, are you trying to seize the class and seize power? You even grabbed so many rebounds."
"How is it possible? Didn't the first rebound go to you?"
"Go away, I grabbed that myself, okay?" Gasol roared loudly.