Author: Feng Yuanhua

Chapter 353 The Fourth Battle

On June 12, after two days of rest, the fourth game of the finals officially started.

During the break of the first two days, the entire NBA was discussing one thing: Can the SuperSonics win the championship today?

That's right, we're not talking about whether we can win the championship, but whether we can win the championship today?

After all, it is a huge advantage of 3:0, and the gap is really too big.

Not to mention the NBA's many fans, even the Nets have similar ideas.

"I know that no team can comeback 3:0, but history is created by man, isn't it?"

"It's very simple. The situation is not good for us, but we will not give up and we will keep fighting."

…

This is what Nets head coach Byron Scott and Jason Kidd said in an interview.

The two still expressed their unwillingness to admit defeat and their confidence in themselves.

It can be seen that the two of them deny that they are ducks, and only one mouth is still hard.

However, just when everyone was expecting the Sonics to win the championship, an accident happened.

Wang Hao suddenly discovered that the art of war mentioned by his ancestors, that the soldiers who mourned must win, seemed to be very reasonable.

The Nets players are now a group of mourners because they know all too well how difficult it is to win four games in a row.

Perhaps because they accepted their fate, they completely let go and no longer had any pressure.

At this time, the Nets showed their full strength.

47:58

At the end of the half, the Sonics were already 11 points behind.

After completely letting go of their burdens, the Nets finally performed the ultimate rotation defense.

Throughout the first half of the game, the SuperSonics' shooting percentage was suppressed to about 43%, especially the three-point shooting, which was only 30%.

Not only others, but Wang Hao was also restricted today.

There is no way, as long as he gets the ball, there will always be at least two people double-teaming him. One-on-two is really difficult.

As for him passing the ball out, the Nets can always rotate quickly and the defense can be in place in time.

Once the defensive efficiency improves, the Nets will have more fast break and semi-fast break opportunities.

Under Kidd's tandem organization, Nets players can always get the ball in the most comfortable position.

Sure enough, as long as they don't fall into a positional battle, the Nets' offense is still somewhat guaranteed.

"Being 11 points behind is a really bad situation, but let's just relax.

We are the leading team. If we lose today's game, we will not lose the championship.

Relax, guys, like everyone said, we are the championship, sooner or later!"

Paul Westphal's voice rang out in the locker room. To be honest, it really didn't sound like what the head coach said.

At this time, shouldn't we encourage the players and let them burst out with greater energy?

This is true, but Paul Westphal obviously has more considerations.

As a former player, he knows the players' mentality very well.

Sometimes, victory that seems close at hand turns out to be huge pressure. It is under pressure that people are most likely to perform abnormally.

Not to mention, the Sonics are still a very young team of players.

Among the entire team, Gary Payton and Ewing are very experienced, but everyone else is too young.

Even Wang Hao is only in the third grade.

Paul Westphal knew very well that even if he lost this game, it would not be a big deal.

The SuperSonics can still lead 3:1.

But there is one very important thing, that is, the current finals format is still 2:3:2.

In other words, the next game, if any, will still be played in New Jersey.

Losing this game is no big deal.

But because they lost this game, the Sonics players were under tremendous pressure.

If it even affects the next game, it will be a big problem.

Once they lose two games in a row and the big score becomes 3:2, coupled with the momentum of the Nets chasing two games in a row, it will definitely be a big problem.

Relieving the players' psychological pressure is what the head coach has to do.

However, even if he gave up this game, Paul Westphal would not give up easily.

How to reverse the decline depends on tactical arrangements.

In the first half, Paul Westphal also made some changes, such as the pick-and-roll between Wang Hao and Gary Payton.

This is one of the trump cards of supersonic speed.

However, in today's game, it was somewhat ineffective.

Wang Hao double-teams when holding the ball, and Gary Payton switches defenses when holding the ball. It really makes the SuperSonics a bit difficult to beat.

Gary Payton's three-point shot can only be said to be okay, but his condition today is not very good.

Especially the Nets' defensive rotations are spot on every time.

Gary Payton took 3 three-pointers from the outside, and not one of them was left open. Basically, he was in full defense.

As for Wang Hao, he was constantly being double-teamed, so there was naturally something wrong with his offense.

The Nets and SuperSonics are both fast-paced teams that don't like to play positional battles, but prefer to switch offense and defense.

Today's Nets used their defense to seize many opportunities to transition between offense and defense.

Under the circumstances, the Sonics were forced to fight more positional battles, but unfortunately, they were targeted by the Nets' defense.

Now how to do?

At this moment, all Paul Westphal can think of is just one solution.

If the team is unable to open a situation, it naturally has to rely on its stars.

Just like the Bulls back then, when the team couldn't score points, it was very simple to give the ball to Jordan.

However, time has changed and this trick no longer works.

In the Jordan era, zone defense was an illegal defense. At most, it was just a side kick, waiting for you to attack before double-teaming.

The Sonics were able to defeat the Lakers this year. In addition to various reasons, the legalization of zone defense is also a reason.

What Paul Westphal needs to do is to find a way to get the ball to Wang Hao and create a one-on-one opportunity for him.

"Wang, in the second half of the game, you mainly played without the ball, just like last season.

Gary, always be ready to give the ball to Wang, and everyone else should be ready, pick-and-roll, and cover.

Wang, remember, don’t be obsessed with three-pointers, you must ensure the efficiency of your offense.”

…

In fact, this is not just a simple offensive tactic, but the Sonics' tactical system in the second half.

Create scoring opportunities for Wang Hao and improve scoring efficiency.

As long as the Sonics can ensure offensive efficiency, the Nets' chances of transitioning between offense and defense will inevitably be greatly reduced.

As a result, the Nets will inevitably fall into a positional battle.

As for the Nets' positional warfare, it is also obvious to all. It is basically just two or three moves.

And the prerequisite for all this is to score the ball.

In other words, the SuperSonics put all the pressure on Wang Hao, and he is the key to today's victory or defeat.

For other players, Paul Westphal will try his best to help them reduce stress and help them regain their normalcy.

But facing Wang Hao, he would not do this and even exerted more pressure.

On the one hand, he knows that players like Wang Hao can unleash more abilities under greater pressure.

On the other hand, this is also natural.

As the core of the team, he received the most attention and honors after the team won.

In the same way, the core of the team naturally needs to bear the greatest pressure and put in the greatest effort.

"Wang, the second half of the game is up to you."

As soon as Paul Westphal said these words, the eyes of the entire SuperSonics team fell on Wang Hao.
To be continued...