socalfunplaces Chapter 636 I'll give you one last lesson, then you can train your troops.
Chapter 636 I'll give you one last lesson, then you can train your troops.
Chapter 636 I'll give you one last lesson, then you train your troops and I'll train mine!
In the second half, both teams started with a 19-point deficit, and the US team discovered their problems in the very first possession of the second half.
Still not changing their starting five, they discovered that the Chinese team had actually adopted a zone defense!
A 2-3 zone defense was set in front of them.
It was a zone defense without the three-second rule, the kind where Yao Ming could stand under the basket and plant trees and build houses!
Meanwhile, the matchups for the Hebei team have also changed.
Lin Tian stopped facing Paul and instead matched up against his younger brother Anthony!
Everyone knows there are three ways to break a zone defense!
1. Accurate shooting, using a series of mid-to-long-range shots to break down the opponent's zone defense.
But clearly, apart from Anthony and Gordon, no one on this US team has a top-notch shot.
2. The big man's role in supporting and organizing the offense at the free-throw line.
But none of the big men the US team brought this year have playmaking ability.
3. Use your unparalleled personal abilities to take you down without hesitation.
In 3-5 years, at least 5-6 players on this American team will be able to do this, but right now...
But right now, they're all too inexperienced! Nobody has the ability or skill.
Ultimately, the young people's skills are still rough; they haven't reached their true peak yet, and there are still quite obvious flaws.
That's not all. Sitting on the sidelines, Coach K seemed oblivious to how badly his team was being beaten on the court, with almost no chance to fight back. He simply refused to make adjustments, call a timeout, or make substitutions!
Tonight, he's just brought his men to get beaten up!
Once the Chinese team deployed their zone defense, the entire American team immediately began a rather miserable scoring drought.
Carmelo Anthony was tightly guarded and outmaneuvered by veteran Lin Tian. Despite his height advantage, the ball rarely came into his hands.
Neither Paul nor James dared to take long-range shots when they weren't confident in their ability to shoot.
Battier, Howard...
These two blue-collar workers are completely unreliable.
For a full three minutes after the start of the third quarter, the US team went scoreless! They were completely out of their element on offense and couldn't find any way to score.
Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian dominated the paint for the US team, constantly attacking the rebounds and disrupting the US team's defense.
Regardless of whether they can grab the rebound or not, they can prevent the US team from getting the rebound immediately and launching a fast break.
Even when the American team managed to grab a rebound and try to launch a fast break, they always encountered Lin Tian, the top fast break player in the basketball world today. He knew exactly how to defend against the American team's fast breaks.
Lin Tian alone disrupted three fast break opportunities for the American team in just three minutes!
Once he caused James to commit a charging foul, another time he interfered with Paul's layup, causing him to miss, and yet another time he stuck to Anthony so tightly that he directly knocked the ball out of bounds!
As a result, the US team didn't score a single point for a full three minutes!
On the contrary, the Chinese team, led by Lin Tian and Yao Ming, displayed extreme momentum on both offense and defense!
Yao Ming continued his routine of eating, sleeping, and playing Warcraft, while Lin Tian was able to indiscriminately defeat every defender in front of him.
In just 3 minutes, they unleashed a 12-0 offensive onslaught against the American team!
The point difference between the two sides has reached 31 points!
"31 points! This is the real American team!" Even Yang Yi could hardly believe what he was seeing: "This is unbelievable! I knew we would win, I even thought we would beat the American team by a large margin."
"But I really didn't expect it to turn out like this, to be like this!"
"That's terrifying!"
Yang Jian laughed and said, "I'm so proud! I'm really, really proud! We've become this strong without even realizing it!"
At this point, even if Coach K was trying to learn by letting the players get beaten up, he couldn't stand it anymore.
Losing is acceptable, getting blown out is acceptable, but if he continues to play like this, losing by 4-50 points a game, he really won't be able to handle that much pressure.
So, pause, and make a substitution!
After the timeout ended, the five-man lineup of Wade, Ben Gordon, Anthony, Stoudemire, and Bosh was brought back on.
This is a lineup without a point guard, but it has both offensive power and shooting ability!
This is a lineup that may have average defense, but is sure to be effective on offense!
Sure enough, as soon as the timeout ended, Stoudemire came back and hit a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line, breaking the team's scoring drought.
He may not have much playmaking ability, but he has absolutely no problem scoring with his own shots!
Then Gordon quickly erupted again, taking shots from beyond the three-point line and from the wing, scoring 5 points for the team!
And what about the Chinese team?
At this point, the Chinese team also began to learn!
After taking a 30-point lead, Jonas made a large-scale substitution, bringing on Mo Ke, Sun Yue, and Wang Shipeng, along with Lin Tian and Yao Ming. The Chinese team began experimenting with their lineup, letting their role players compete and practice against the American players.
Your American team needs to learn from us, and our newcomers on the Chinese team also need to learn from us!
However, Jonas did not have the same determination as Coach K to break down the old and build the new. He still wanted to ensure that the team won easily, so Lin Tian and Yao Ming were still on the court, letting the two of them lead the newcomers on the court.
This gave the American team a chance to finally close the gap.
In the third quarter, both sides kept changing players and trying out different lineups.
On the Chinese team's side, at least one of Lin Tian and Yao Ming was always on the court, while on the American team, all 12 players, including Deron Williams and Okafor, had taken to the court and experienced the atmosphere of the game.
However, with the coaches' continuous blunders and substitutions, the rhythm of both sides began to break down, and the number of missed shots and turnovers increased significantly. In the second half of the third quarter, both sides played quite poorly!
50: 71!
At the end of the third quarter, both sides were unremarkable in terms of efficiency, but the Chinese team still maintained their 21-point lead!
In the fourth quarter, Jonas finally let loose and let Yao Ming and Lin Tian rest!
At this point, he fielded a five-man lineup consisting of Dazhi, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Chen Jianghua, and Zhang Qingpeng!
Heh heh, training troops? You train troops, so will I!
Studying? Just because you study doesn't mean I can't.
I'm winning games while I'm studying!
I'm miles ahead of you guys!
"Is Old Yu's lineup a bit too risky? That's Team USA, a 20-point lead isn't necessarily secure! This lineup, especially the three outside players, are all rookies! And they're all quite young," Yang Jian couldn't help but say. "I'm a little worried."
"Both Yao Ming and Lin Tian should be on the court."
"Old You is giving them experience." Yang Yi was much more relaxed: "He'll know how to manage it, don't worry! When the team is about to be caught up, when the gap narrows to a certain extent, Old You will definitely make timely adjustments!"
"And don't forget, this lineup is still in its general form!"
"More importantly, tonight's situation, this kind of opportunity that allows our rookies to go all out against the American team, is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If we don't dare to let our rookies play in a situation like this, when will we ever let them play?"
"Now that we've recruited them and included them in the team, we need to give them the experience they deserve! I even think it's okay if the US team manages to come back and win this game! This kind of experience is far more important than the outcome of a group stage match!"
While Yang and Yang were discussing the game and expressing their concerns on the field, the newcomers on the field were showing the fans their strengths and explaining to everyone why they were able to replace their predecessors and enter the national team!
First up was Chen Jianghua, a young man known for his speed in China. He faced Paul two steps from the three-point line. After two consecutive crossovers, he suddenly made a sharp change of direction, leaving Paul behind in one step!
Then Chen Jianghua immediately accelerated, passed Paul and drove straight into the US team's paint! Although Gordon and Anthony quickly moved inside to try to "close the door" and cut off Chen Jianghua's breakthrough route, Chen Jianghua reacted even faster.
He suddenly gathered the ball with both hands, and while gathering the ball, he also made a large loop, using the momentum of his body breakthrough and acceleration to successfully dribble past the two players and reach the basket before they could double-team him.
Facing Howard, who was the last to arrive, Chen Jianghua remained calm and composed. With a high-arc one-handed lob shot, the basketball immediately leaped over Howard's fingers and fell vertically into the basket!
"Whoosh!"
"One against four! Andy Lau is one against four! Beautiful! That shot was absolutely stunning!" Yang Jian shouted excitedly. "If Lin Tian had hit a shot like that, I wouldn't be surprised, but Andy Lau! For 18-year-old Andy Lau to hit a shot like that is amazing! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Who was it that was worried they wouldn't be able to hold on?"
After Chen Jianghua delivered a brilliant performance, the other young players on the Huaxia team were also eager to get started!
One minute later, the US team finally grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break. Anthony dribbled the ball all the way to the basket, and then ignored Sun Yue under the basket. He held the ball with both hands and was about to use a two-handed dunk to restore some momentum for the US team.
But he clearly underestimated Sun Yue's physical attributes! One of Sun Yue's most important selling points, given his height and long wingspan, is his defense!
"Snapped!"
With a crisp sound, Sun Yue's large hand pressed down on the basketball that Anthony was about to dunk, and then with a burst of force, the basketball was sent flying!
Lin Tian, who had just finished celebrating Chen Jianghua's goal and hadn't even sat down yet, jumped up again in excitement, waving his fist and shouting, "Go, madman! Go! It's your turn, madman!"
"Madman" is one of Zhang Qingpeng's nicknames. Many people actually prefer to call him "Zhang Sanfeng" because he is the only guard in the entire Chinese men's basketball team, besides Lin Tian, who likes to take pull-up three-pointers with the ball!
His somewhat erratic and reckless playing style has led many to worry that he might become a weakness for the Chinese team.
But now, this guy received the ball that Sun Yue had blocked, and he quickly advanced all the way to the frontcourt. When he faced Wade, he wasn't afraid at all! He dribbled between his legs twice and changed direction.
He couldn't shake off Wade!
But no problem!
Because Yi Jianlian is here!
He made a lateral move to screen for Wade for Zhang Qingpeng. After using this screen, Zhang Qingpeng quickly created distance and then pulled up for a three-pointer!
A standard star player's style of play, or rather, a standard unpredictable style of play.
Many Chinese football fans felt that Zhang Qingpeng's throw was unreasonable!
"Don't vote! Give it to Yi Jianlian! Do you think you're Lin Tian?"
"Whoosh!"
But with a crisp crack, everyone shouted excitedly!
"Great! Keep it up! Damn those American devils!"
Everyone's transformation happened so quickly!
However, the current lineup of the Chinese team is indeed quite inferior to that of the American team.
After the new trio demonstrated their form and confidence, scoring 5 consecutive points for the team, the US team finally recovered.
They began to overwhelm the Chinese team with high-intensity defense, constant attacks, and physical talent.
The Chinese team couldn't hold on any longer!
After all, they are currently in a situation where Yao Ming and Lin Lin are both absent!
The score gap between the two sides began to narrow rapidly!
66: 81!
When the gap between the two sides narrowed to 15 points, Jonas called another timeout!
That's enough fun, time for a change!
He was still quite cautious; after all, this was Team USA! He couldn't possibly let Lin Tian and Yao Ming rest indefinitely!
After the timeout, the Chinese team brought back their starting five! They also once again employed the same zone defense tactic that had allowed them to extend their lead to 30 points in the second quarter!
Clearly, Jonas is about to end the match!
At this point, the American team also changed their lineup!
After the timeout, their lineup consisted of Stoudemire, Anthony, James, Gordon, and Hinrich!
A lineup that can attack, defend, and shoot—it looks like the most balanced lineup!
At least on the surface, this lineup is not afraid of China's zone defense!
In the first offensive possession after the timeout, Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. As soon as he saw that Yao Ming was actually matched up against Stoudemire, he didn't hesitate at all and lobbed the ball to Yao Ming in the paint.
Go ahead, go bully Little S!
When playing on the run, Yao Ming can't catch up with or defend against Stoudemire, but if they stand still and play like this, Yao Ming could probably kill Stoudemire!
Sure enough, after receiving the ball, Yao Ming made a back-and-forth movement followed by a half-turn, then gathered the ball with both hands and raised it upwards. Stoudemire immediately fell for the trick and jumped, but Yao Ming calmly took a step forward, jumped 5 centimeters, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
"Where are you, Amaree? Where are you? How about I call you a taxi? So you don't get lost and start crying in fear."
An excited Yao Ming also unusually started trash-talking.
It has to be said that Yao Ming is in much better shape this time, both in terms of mentality and form!
He didn't meet Van Gundy, so he didn't gain weight so drastically! Lin Tian didn't know Yao Ming's exact weight, but by visual observation, Yao Ming was at least 5-7 kilograms lighter than Yao Ming on the Rockets!
Don't underestimate this weight.
Given Yao Ming's height and playing style, those few kilograms of extra weight could definitely extend his career by several years!
Of course, there's no way that extreme weight gain could extend Yao Ming's career, make him more agile on offense, or allow him to perform some beautiful moves.
But this also caused Yao Ming to lose his absolute advantage in weight.
For example, he would still be suppressed when facing O'Neal, and he would also find it difficult to gain an advantage in size and physique when dealing with other heavyweight centers like Duncan.
It can only be said that there are gains and losses.
After Yao Ming easily scored against Stoudemire, Gordon got an open shot at the top of the key.
If we disregard the difference in skill, this guy's playing style is almost identical to Zhang Qingpeng's; both of them are the type who, once they get an opportunity, will shoot without hesitation.
But this time Gordon's catch and shot missed, the ball bounced off the rim, and Lin Tian grabbed the ball and rushed towards the frontcourt!
The American players simply couldn't stop Lin Tian's crazy drives to the basket. He would charge all the way to the basket and then pull up for a powerful shot just like Amar'e Stoudemire!
"boom!"
With a loud bang, the gap between the two sides widened to 20 points again!
At this moment, Coach K's expression on the sidelines turned rather grim. These two rounds had turned out quite differently from what he had anticipated!
His original intention was to let these five players go up and try to catch up in points and regain their confidence! He originally wanted to use these few minutes of the game to give the team captain confidence.
In his mind, these guys could always close the gap to single digits, and then no matter whether they won or lost in the end, he could use this footage to tell his teammates: Don't be afraid, we're not bad, we can win! We just need to adapt.
but now……
What kind of confidence do they have? They're going to get crushed by the Chinese team!
After thinking for a while, Old K made a decisive decision.
He surrendered to the hell!
do not fight!
That's enough. If they keep going, they won't be a match for the Chinese team. This isn't helping the players get into a rhythm; it's crushing their confidence to the Mariana Trench!
However, surrendering is also a skill!
Especially for a team like the US, who are all proud and arrogant, and each member is like a little bulldog, they cannot simply surrender.
After all, there are limits to the so-called "not caring about results," "accepting not winning a championship," and "rebuilding the team" mentality!
You lost to China, so what?
But if morale is lost, and then Angola, Slovenia, and Italy also lose, then it won't just be a matter of rebuilding.
Old K felt that he might be reborn after returning to China.
He needs to find an opportunity, a suitable opportunity, to surrender.
(End of this chapter)