Author: Feng Yuanhua

"Oh, incredible dribbling, Michael was shaken away directly, and he could only watch Wang dunk."

TNT TV station, a new pair of partners, is now making a name for itself in the basketball commentary world.

Yes, it is the famous star Kenny Smith, and the famous flying pig Barkley.

However, for future generations of young fans, everyone is more familiar with their careers as commentators.

As for his playing career, Kenny Smith won two championships with the Rockets.

As for Barkley, he was also the top star in the NBA at the time, with an incredibly huge butt.

Less than two meters tall, Barkley is able to dominate the basket with his huge hips and physical fitness.

He once said that if he wanted to, Rodman wouldn't even be able to win a rebounding title.

This statement is very exaggerated, but most NBA stars of the same generation cannot deny it.

It's just that Barkley's career as a player is obviously not as good as that of a commentator.

For the sake of the championship, he has sacrificed his face to embrace the thigh, but he becomes the thigh again and again.

Although he couldn't stand Jordan, as a good friend of Jordan, he couldn't help but say when he saw his old friend being teased like this.

"Hey, wait a minute, Kenny, isn't this a walk?"

Kenny Smith laughed: "Charles, as a championship-level point guard, I can tell you, this is not a walk.

To be honest, I didn’t actually see Wang’s movements clearly, but I felt his rhythm and it wasn’t walking.”

"Damn! Kenny, can you speak without the words championship?"

…

Looking at Wang Hao with his hands spread out, Jordan felt angry. In the past, he had always done this kind of action to others.

In the next game, Jordan tried his best to fight back, but unfortunately, it was not that easy.

Wang Hao and Gary Payton, one is responsible for guarding and entanglement from behind, and the other is responsible for double-teaming and assisting defense.

Even Wang Hao could directly intercept the Wizards' pass to Jordan at some times.

It's all a matter of the Sonics' defense, they're just another shooting team that only knows how to attack.

Why is this?

The Sonics have achieved very good results in the regular season, but they have never been expected to win the championship.

The saying that championships are won because of defense is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

But is the Sonics' defense bad?

In terms of interior defense, PJ Brown is indeed a bit weak, but in many cases, opponents cannot penetrate the interior at all.

The perimeter defense constructed by Wang Hao and Gary Payton has been able to solve most problems.

This is also the tradition of the Sonics.

As early as the 1990s, the Sonics also had a period of prosperity.

Not only were they regulars in the playoffs, they even reached the finals, which made the Bulls very embarrassed.

For this Sonics team, most people remember the combination of Gary Payton and Rainman Shawn Kemp.

Another combination of inside and outside players, this can be regarded as one of the traditional formulas for success in the NBA.

Then there's the big pitcher Schrempf.

It's just that, at that time, the SuperSonics' defense was not bad, basically in the top ten.

You know, this is when the Sonics don't have a super defensive inside man.

Shawn Kemp, it’s good if he can rebound well, but you still expect him to defend well?

As for Schrempf, he is also a big white pitcher. From this description, you can tell that his defense is average.

As for the team's main center, Earvin Johnson, who has the same name as Magic Johnson, is actually a fake center.

The Sonics can maintain a pretty good defense, but in fact it is entirely a defensive formation built from the outside.

Gary Payton and Kendall Gill, Gary Payton and Nate McMillan, Gary Payton and Jose Hawkins.

Now, Gary Payton and Wang Hao have been replaced, making this defensive front even stronger.

As for the reason?

On the one hand, it is naturally because Wang Hao's defense is better, especially his excellent defensive ability.

Faster movement speed and better defensive prediction allow him to appear in the most critical position at the most critical time.

Of course, the most important thing is the NBA rule changes.

That is to say, this season, the NBA officially canceled illegal help defense, which means that the NBA allows zone defense.

To put it simply, from now on, you can double-team in advance when facing someone who is not holding the ball.

For example, when facing O'Neal, you don't have to wait for him to catch the ball before double-teaming, but can double-team in advance.

Of course, in fact, the NBA has always had a zone defense, but it has always been on the sidelines.

Now, those coaches who like to play around can finally defend in an open and honest manner.

No, Michael Jordan is deeply troubled today.

Not only did Wang Hao and Gary Payton take care of him, they also kept greeting Ewing after he came on the court.

Jordan originally wanted to take good care of his two old rivals, but the final result was a bit disastrous.

In the whole game, Jordan scored 16 points and 12 rebounds, a double-double, which looked pretty good.

But the problem is that these 16 points actually took 26 shots, and only 5 goals were made, with a shooting rate of less than 20%.

Except for Jordan, Hamilton's 23 points were somewhat impressive, but others had no achievements at all.

Without any surprises, the SuperSonics defeated the team of the God of Basketball with a score of 107:84.

By the way, speaking of NBA rule changes, in addition to the legality of zone defense, there are actually some changes.

For example, defending for three seconds, for example, making handcheck more strict.

The first is to defend for three seconds. In fact, in the previous NBA, there were similar regulations.

However, it is now more formally proposed in the NBA's rules.

In fact, whether it is zone defense, three-second defense, or even the tentacle rule, they are all designed to encourage offense.

Isn't there a saying in the NBA that offense wins box office and defense wins championships?

There is only one champion, but there are more than one team with good offense.

However, whether it is zone defense or three-second defense, it virtually restricts the inside players.

Therefore, many years later, many people said that the NBA would not hesitate to change the rules for the sake of O'Neal.

To be honest, it's a bit exaggerated.

Before zone defense became legal, O'Neal was often double-teamed, but this did not have a big impact on him.

What really has a big impact is actually defending for three seconds, which allows outside players to attack the inside more.

It is for this reason that the living space of traditional heavy insiders has been compressed, and sporty insiders are more popular.

In addition, there is another reason, that is, the NBA wants to properly integrate with international basketball.

Because in international basketball, it is allowed.

As early as the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the NBA discovered that NBA stars were somewhat uncomfortable with the zone defense rules of international basketball.

Whether facing Lithuania, the French team, or even the Russian team, the American team does not have such a huge advantage.

Especially when facing the Lithuanian team in the semifinals, the American team narrowly defeated them by only 2 points.

There are many reasons.

First of all, with the rapid development of international basketball, the basketball level of more and more countries continues to improve.

Secondly, not all of the NBA's top stars represent Team USA.

For example, stars such as Allen Iverson, O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant did not play.

Of course, these are all objective reasons, and they cannot be changed no matter how you adjust them.

As for the subjective aspect, it is because NBA stars are not adaptable to international basketball rules.

Especially zone defense, which deprives NBA stars of one-on-one opportunities and makes them unable to use their own advantages.

Changes in NBA rules will have some impact on each team.

However, Supersonic has adapted very well.

The 8-game winning streak at the beginning has already explained the problem.

In addition, the Player of the Week for the second week of the new NBA season was announced, and Wang Hao was successfully elected as the best player in the Western Conference.
To be continued...