No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 878 - 375. Blow Up Truth! _2

Okafor 6 points, Felton 5 points 2 assists, Brad Miller 4 points 2 assists, Mike Miller 5 points.

The trio couldn’t match up with the opposing trio, Zhang Yang could compete with their trio, but Felton and Okafor were a bit lacking in scoring ability. The weakest scoring player in their trio, Bibby, had an average of 21 points in a season, while Felton and Okafor couldn’t even average 20+ points even if they worked hard. freewebnσvel.cøm

But with the addition of two Millers, they could still outperform the opponent’s starting lineup!

The real place where the advantage is maintained—substitute players.

Hill 4 points, Millsap 2 points 1 assist, Pietrus 2 points, after the three came on, they didn’t drag behind and effectively continued the offensive firepower of the starting teammates.

Carlisle responded: "At this stage of their team, it’s hard to guess how they will play. Our defensive system hasn’t been established, targeting defense is too difficult, it’s better to play conventional defense."

Vincent: "Yes, I understand, you simplified the offensive tactics because of this, right? Simplifying the tactics, more movement to distract, less passing, and faster shooting pace...

I didn’t expect them to focus their entire team on defending Jack, blocking him outside the free throw line. Jack scored 7 points in the first 4 minutes, but only 2 points in the next 8 minutes. However, we made good use of their defensive strategy, with 8 out of 9 players scoring."

Carlisle: "Against such opponents, the simpler the better. If we play complicated tactics, we might not know what bold adjustments they will make, which often requires our players to adapt on their own, whereas the reality is they only need simple ball distribution to create shooting opportunities."

This adjustment has a challenging aspect that Carlisle found hard to articulate—when simplifying tactics, it’s essential to maintain the tactical framework, to prevent some players from playing too much simple basketball and forgetting how to cooperate tactically.

This sounds ridiculous, but Carlisle had indeed seen many such players. After being injured and missing a few games, they seemed to forget all about the tactics upon recovery, and it took several bad games to regain their feel.

However, as he spent more time in the basketball scene and became head coach... he still couldn’t figure it out.

But for this unchangeable situation, he chose to accept, adapt, and pay attention, rather than forcefulness.

Vincent: "What you said reminds me of the Lakers and the former Kings, Jackson, and Adelman liked to let the ’players lead the offense.’ Players who weren’t strong or smart enough couldn’t survive under their guidance."

Carlisle: "Jackson was alright, he didn’t have very high demands on his main players. Even Vujacic could become their primary substitute, while Fox and Walton could also serve as tactical cores. People have too many prejudices against him, perhaps due to jealousy. I also envy him; he coached Jordan, O’Neal, Kobe, Kidd, Garnett... In fact, he just needs superstars.

Adelman’s demands on players were truly outrageously high, but if you assemble the roster for him, he could lead a team to invincibility..."

...

’Talked about Adelman behind his back,’ Carlisle gathered the players together, adjusted the lineup, emphasized passing, and shooting needs to maintain decisiveness.

After the intermission, the Bobcats continued to engage in attacking exchanges with the Hawks team.

The counterattack from the Hawks team became increasingly fierce. In terms of the scene, the Bobcats seemed passive, but in terms of score, the Bobcats were very stable, maintaining the point difference above 5 points steadily.

At the start of the second quarter, Felton and Zhang Yang were both substituted for rest, with Jarett Jack, Alan Anderson, Pietrus, Okafor, and Muhammad taking the stage.

Jack was playing like a fish in water in such a game, showcasing his ability to handle chaotic situations to the fullest.

Alan Anderson was connecting on long-range shots, while the trio in the frontcourt scrambled for grabs and cuts, which suited Jack’s style of play well.

After this lineup played for a little over 3 minutes, Carlisle successively substituted Felton and Brad Miller back in.

The Hawks’ players struggled to widen the point gap. Seeing the opponent’s starters returning one by one, their initially firm mindset under Bibby’s leadership gradually changed, which manifested in the game as them playing more urgently.

However, the three stars of the Hawks were indeed strong! The Bobcats extended the point gap to 10 points at 4 minutes and 54 seconds, but by 8 minutes and 13 seconds, the three stars launched a fierce attack, resulting in a 12 to 7 run!

During this period, Joe Johnson and Bibby both hit a three-pointer, Joe Johnson missed another shot, Horford got a putback to score two points, Pierce executed a three-threat pull-up shot scoring two points, and on a three-threat drive, he caused a foul to earn two free throws.

As Pierce made two free throws, within just a little over three minutes, the Hawks brought the point gap down from 10 points to 5 points, chasing the score to 51 to 56!

During Pierce’s free throws, Zhang Yang, who had rested for more than half a quarter, replaced Jarett Jack to come back on, with Felton, Hill, Okafor, and Brad Miller continuing to play.

Carlisle maximized the rest time for Zhang Yang as much as possible, and it wasn’t the kind where he had to go off and on repeatedly, ensuring the rest’s effect was maximized.

Facing the Hawks team with Bibby, Joe Johnson, and Pierce, knowing that they couldn’t easily crush the opponent, the second half, especially the third quarter, was crucial. Zhang Yang was undoubtedly the key for their Bobcats in the third quarter, as he was the only player with stronger scoring ability than the opponent’s three stars.

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