Zhang Hao blocked Alan Houston's breakthrough throw!
After the shot landed, Zhang Hao also took two steps back due to the impact, but Alan Houston sat on the floor.
Seeing Jason Williams rush up to high-five Zhang Hao excitedly, Alan Houston thought - are you kidding me?
He pushed Zhang Hao back, but when he rushed up to push Zhang Hao back, he lost his balance due to the confrontation and fell to the ground!
This rookie has the body of a master of assisting defense, and he is actually a rim-protecting inside man!
Seeing that the situation was not quite right, Pistons head coach Doug Collins called a timeout.
Their lineup has an advantage. They have two top scorers on the outside, but they were blocked twice in three attacks, which hurts morale too much.
Doug Collins regretted it. If he had been bolder and directly selected Zhang Hao with the No. 8 pick, instead of wanting to get Edith Thorpe and also selecting Zhang Hao, he changed the No. 8 pick to No. 18 and With the two picks at No. 19, this rookie is theirs.
No matter how Zhang Hao plays in the rest of this game, with the talent he has shown in these rounds alone, it is simply not suitable to partner with Grant Hill!
Looking at Zhang Hao, who was surrounded by his teammates, Doug Collins looked at his younger brother with complaining eyes.
As soon as his brother's buttocks lifted up, Scott Collins knew whether he wanted to poop or fart.
He looked at his brother innocently - I didn't expect that either! He made rapid progress during that period, but I didn't expect him to progress so quickly!
He really didn¡¯t expect that Zhang Hao¡¯s talent was even better than he knew! When we get to the NBA, everyone is the best!
Looking at his innocent brother, Doug Collins could only sigh silently - a younger brother is a younger brother after all.
When calling this timeout, Doug Collins didn't make too many arrangements. Their strategy was right, the defense was already in place, and the offensive coordination was good. However, in the first half of the first quarter, their players found that their strength was much greater than last season. After the amplitude was increased, it became a little careless.
The problem now is that the opponent's morale is extremely high. Zhang Hao's two blocks caused a huge drop in morale on our side, so we called a timeout.
On the other hand, Randy Whitman didn¡¯t expect the results to be so quick
Since Zhang Hao still has a lot to develop on the offensive end, the coaching staff has no plans to let Zhang Hao practice hard on defense for the time being. This is the preparation for this season. He is only 18 years old. There will be plenty of time in the future. Just let Zhang Hao try his best to defend. If he makes a mistake, he will make a mistake. , it doesn¡¯t matter.
Who knew Zhang Hao could actually protect the frame!
As a coach, Randy Whitman looks at players from a different perspective than the players, and arranges what everyone has to do from a different perspective than the players. This is definitely true.
But sometimes, like PJ Brown, simply looking at a problem from the perspective of whether his teammates can do it is also a way to solve the problem.
Randy Whitman felt it was too much to defend against a team with a strong inside line, and he was reluctant to let Zhang Hao, who was not yet 19 years old, defend a strong inside line. It would be better to let Jason Williams do that kind of thing.
But the Pistons don¡¯t have a strong inside line, so it¡¯s just right for Zhang Hao to defend!
Also, Zhang Hao¡¯s turnaround jump shot was really used in the game. He was not timid at all when facing Grant Hill, the strongest striker of the new generation!
Randy Whitman made adjustments and replaced PJ Brown with Vaughn Fleming to give PJ Brown a rest. Childs, Edwards, Jason Williams, and Zhang Hao continued to play. .
Rather than being determined to strengthen the defense just because Zhang Hao has made great achievements on the defensive end, he chose to strengthen the offense.
Because he knows that no matter how the defensive end is strengthened, the pick-and-roll combination + Zhang Hao has the potential to improve the team's offense, which is more important to the Nets.
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Returning to the court, Zhang Hao felt that he had entered the state.
Grant Hill looked at Zhang Hao. After this timeout, he really looked at Zhang Hao's strength.
The rookie was still trembling when the game was about to start. He originally thought that the rookie was scared, but now he knew that the rookie was trembling with excitement!
They are all young players, and Grant Hill also wants to compete with Zhang Hao.
The timeout ended and the Pistons continued to attack with the ball in the frontcourt and 9 seconds left in the attack time.
Grant Hill started to exert his strength. Faced with Vaughn Fleming's defense, he directly broke through. When he encountered the help of Jason Williams, he changed direction. It was easy.Without the mistake, they might have scored two more points. The credit was that the Pistons didn't fight back after that mistake, otherwise it's unclear whether they could take the lead now.
However, Zhang Hao is very happy to help the team lead the score. His role is reflected in scoring, containing, and occasionally passing the ball with inspiration.
There was also a transition ball today, and it turned into Childs' final three-pointer.
The teammates are also very happy, even excited! They realize they underestimated themselves.
There are times when the Nets are strong, and they are not far apart. In the 1993-94 season, they were still a playoff-level team under the leadership of Chuck Daly.
It's just that the Nets management was not willing to be just a first-round team in the playoffs. When the news spread in the NBA that "Duncan's talent is unparalleled," they decisively changed coaches in the summer of 1994 and started to mess up, like Almon- Gilliam, Jason Williams, PJ Brown, Kenny Anderson and others all played in the playoffs in the 1993-94 season, and they were all the main players. They felt that the Pistons had the Eastern Conference playoffs. level of strength.
And they are currently leading, which means they themselves have underestimated their own strength.
Not too strong, but definitely not as weak as they think! Because the opponent's Grant Hill had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in a single quarter, and Alan Houston had 7 points and 1 rebound in a single quarter. Both of them played very hard, and they were definitely not lucky.
But they really have the possibility of making the playoffs!
Although it is difficult and progress still needs to be made, it is possible, which is better than impossible!
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After the intersection, the Nets sent out a combination of Childs, Edwards, Almon Gilliam, Jason Williams, and PJ Brown.
For the Pistons, the combination of Joe Dumars, Michael Curry, Grant Hill, Terry Mills, and Mark West came on the court.
Grant Hill will average 38 minutes per game in his rookie year. When he starts winning in his second year, playing 40 minutes will definitely become the norm.
This is the requirement for superstars these days, and the Nets can expect it.
How important is a pitcher who is valued by the opponent and can contain the opponent's best defensive player?
As soon as the second quarter began, the Nets learned.
With this Nets lineup, Almon Gilliam will definitely play first to bring out the threat, and then Childs and Jason Williams will play the pick-and-roll to create teamwork.
But Almon Gilliam encountered Grant Hill¡¯s defense and was in trouble!
Why does Grant Hill get such a high rating?
Because he not only has top-notch scoring ability, top rebounding, and top-notch offensive organization, but also has extraordinary talents on the defensive end, and his physical condition is so good. Just like Zhang Hao¡¯s enthusiasm + physical condition, one look at it makes people think that he will definitely help with defense in a few years. As good as it can be practiced, everyone thinks Grant Hill will become a top defensive player and the next Jordan!
And he did it, and his defense has been qualitatively improved compared to last season. When Almon Gilliam saw Zhang Hao score 10 points in the first quarter, he believed that his scoring ability was better than Zhang Hao's, and his independent offense was indeed the strongest in the team. He went up with full confidence and wanted to continue to beat the Pistons, but he encountered Grant Hill's tough defense when he went up.
Almon Gilliam completely ignored that Zhang Hao was playing while avoiding Grant Hill, and that Zhang Hao was playing without the ball!
Almon Gilliam missed two consecutive singles. Fortunately, one of the offensive rebounds was taken by Jason Williams, a rebounder who was crazy about rebounds. He passed it to Edwards and hit a mid-range shot, so it was not missed by Grant Hill. Scored 4 points to take the lead.
The first person to exert containment power was not Almon Gilliam, who had strong confidence, but Grant Hill!
Fortunately, with Childs here, Almon Gilliam also trusts this positional battle organizer and adjusts his style of play in a timely manner.
It's just that the energy in the first quarter was really consumed in those two strikes. Gradually, the Nets fell into decline. At 4 minutes and 22 seconds in the second quarter, Alan Houston, who came on the field in rotation, scored With a three-pointer, the Pistons led the Nets by 4 points, 39-35, and stopped the Nets!
The Pistons went 15-8!
Zhang Hao, who had rested on the sidelines for half a quarter, had his mouth twitching. He felt the looks in his teammates' eyes - I, Zhang, am still a child, this is my first game! Why does the team seem to have placed their confidence in me?