Chapter 284 283. The Prototype of the 'Mountain Cat System'
Carlisle made player rotations and tactical adjustments. Millsap and Mike Miller replaced Hill and Muhammad, while Felton, Zhang Yang and Okafor continued to play.

Seeing his friend Carlisle acting confident, assistant coach Vincent came to Carlisle and said, "Rick, don't worry. Haven't you always wanted to practice our tactics against a strong defensive team earlier? Well, although this opponent's defense is a bit too strong, the second in the league, they have been practicing in the Wild West for a month, and we have only been playing against a weak team for a month..."

"Sam, are you comforting me?" Carlisle rolled his eyes. He was much more casual when talking to his gay friend.

Vincent smiled and said, "Of course I'm not trying to comfort you. I'm just stating the actual situation. This is the problem we're facing. The schedules of other strong teams are normal, but ours is too easy. Now the strength of our opponents has suddenly increased, and it will be very difficult to play against them... But we have a good record, 13 wins and 1 loss, so we have enough buffer space and the probability of a collapse is very low, so don't worry too much."

Carlisle: "I'm not worried about the collapse of the record. What I'm worried about is whether my adjustments are too radical. Although the league rules are increasingly conducive to offense, will it be too big a step to lean towards offense like this?"

Vincent: "Oh, Rick, this is unlike you. You used to be so confident that you would never regret a decision. But when I tried to persuade you, you pointed at my nose and said, 'You'll never be a head coach in your life.'"

Carlisle: "... and we're on our third team in less than seven years."

Vincent: “Haha, just think of it as experiencing life in a different city. Don’t worry, I will always support you!
In the past, the boss, general manager, and star players all had doubts about you, but you dared to follow your own ideas. Now Michael, Bernie, and Jack all support you so much, so don't worry, just do whatever you want!"

Carlisle: "Speaking of this, Michael and Bernie both experienced the offensive era of the 80s. I'm not surprised that they accepted my ideas, but I was surprised that Jack also accepted my idea of ​​focusing on offense. When he was a student, he saw the NBA during the most bloody and crazy years."

Vincent: "I heard that he didn't start playing basketball until he was 15. Maybe he had never watched the NBA before, so he didn't have any preference for attack or defense? Or maybe he just likes shooting... It doesn't matter, as long as they support it. I think you should worry about Paul now. Can he play the role of center now?"

Carlisle: "There is no other way. Emeka is not suitable for this. He is more suitable to be a scorer. Grant has more experience in passing, but he has to help Rajon lead the second team... Michael and Bernie have always wanted to introduce a strong forward with strong offensive and defensive abilities. I actually want an inside player with good coordination ability like Divac, preferably a veteran who can play with Paul and teach him the real inside coordination method...

But there is no need to worry too much about this at the moment. I haven't assigned too much work to Paul. He works with Raymond, Jack, Emeka and Mike. He doesn't need to do too much work in organizing the offense. He just needs to do a good job of transitioning the ball..."

The "center" mentioned by the two does not refer to the player position, but the tactical role.

For inside players, dribbling the ball and assisting, from a tactical role, it is the center's style of play; cutting into the basket, counterattacks and follow-up, and rushing for offensive rebounds, from a tactical role, it is the power forward's style of play... Like Nowitzki's style of play, from a tactical role, he has basically nothing to do with a power forward. His attacking with the ball belongs to the center's style of play, and his running without the ball and assisting in shooting belongs to the shooting guard's style of play.

When most coaches are making tactical arrangements and responding to situations on the spot, they will definitely arrange the players to do what they can do. However, creating tactics and coaching are two different things. The roles need to be divided more finely in order to better fill the tactics with suitable players.

While the two were discussing, the timeout ended and the players of both teams returned to the court. The Rockets did not make any personnel adjustments. They started the game with such good defense that Thibodeau naturally let the starting lineup continue to play.

The game continued and the Bobcats attacked.

Mike Miller passed the ball to Felton and moved to the right corner.

Okafor moved to the mid-range at a 45-degree angle on the right, and Zhang Yang moved to the mid-range at the right baseline. Millsap was the only one on the left side of the three-second zone.

After receiving the ball, Felton protected the ball under David Wesley's defense, slowly moved to the top arc, passed it to Millsap who moved to the left side of the free throw line, then circled around the free throw line and ran to the left bottom corner.

At the same time, two other players of the Bobcats were also moving - Zhang Yang cut to the basket from the right baseline, and Diop, who was standing in the middle of the right sideline of the three-second zone, quickly retreated to the basket; when Diop was moving towards the basket, Okafor rushed to the inside from the right 45-degree angle, and McGrady on the right sideline shrank to his position in time, blocking Okafor in the elbow area.

Millsap serves the ball, right sideline!
But as soon as Mike Miller received the ball, Battier was in position!
After Diop retreated to the arc of the reasonable collision zone, Battier immediately let go of Zhang Yang and went to the right sideline. Diop's huge body covered the entire basket.

After delaying Okafor at the right elbow, McGrady quickly moved to the left elbow. When Zhang Yang bypassed Diop and ran out from the left side of the three-second zone, McGrady just caught up.

The Rockets' teamwork and rotation defense are excellent! But...

Mike Miller didn't shoot against the defense after receiving the ball. He turned sideways to Battier to avoid being intercepted. He waited for a moment and passed the ball to the free throw line with his back to the baseline...

After Millsap passed the ball, he immediately moved down along the left sideline of the three-second zone to help Zhang Yang block McGrady who was switching defense.

Zhang Yang went around the free throw line, received the ball, turned around and made a jump shot!
McGrady: As expected of Mike, he has a great sense of passing.

Thibodeau: Damn! This offensive combination is something!
In McGrady's opinion, Mike Miller made a good pass.

Of course this is true. Mike Miller has a very good grasp of the timing of passing the ball from the sideline. He has averaged 3.3 assists per game in his career so far, 60% of which are passed after receiving the ball outside the three-point line, most of which are on the sidelines on both wings. It would be difficult for other shooters, even the top shooters like Peja, to grasp the timing of passing the ball so well. This is indeed Mike Miller's ability.

But Thibodeau saw more - at first glance, the Bobcats' offensive tactic was to coordinate from a high position to create shooting opportunities for the two-wing shooters. Mike Miller's pass seemed to be a flash of inspiration after being blocked. In fact, the purpose of this tactic of the Bobcats was to get the ball to Zhang Yang who was in the high position from the very beginning!

In Thibodeau's opinion, it is impossible that the opponent has not studied the Rockets' defense. Even if they have not, it can be seen in the first half of the game that the Rockets' ability to switch and help defense on the outside is not the best in the league, but it can be ranked in the top three. One pass cannot create open shooting opportunities for Felton and Mike Miller on the two wings.

However, Thibodeau feels that neither Zhang Yang's choice of movement routes, Mike Miller's timing of passing the ball, nor the quality of Millsap's screens are the most powerful aspects of the Bobcats' offensive tactics this time.

Most of these rely on the players' personal abilities, and the bald guy on the opposite side just puts the players in the right positions.

The real power lies in the pulling of space - first concentrate the players on the right side of the three-second zone. When Zhang Yang and Felton use the space on the left side, the players who chase, switch defense, and make up for their defense will have to move over a larger range, and the quality of defense will inevitably decline!
For example, just now McGrady first moved from the right three-point line to the right elbow area, and then to the left elbow area. Although he caught up with Zhang Yang who slipped out from the left side of the three-second zone in the first time, he failed to keep up and failed to limit Zhang Yang's acceleration after the screen through confrontation, which ultimately led to Yi Jianlian's failure to make up for the deficit when he switched defense.

Thibodeau feels a bit difficult...

When the Rockets attacked, McGrady received the ball outside the three-point line. Facing Zhang Yang's defense, he did not choose to pull up and shoot. He had already known last season how good Zhang Yang was in judging the timing of shot interference, so he waved for a pick-and-roll.

Yi Jianlian blocked Zhang Yang, McGrady broke through with the help of the screen, attracted Zhang Yang and Millsap to double-team him, passed the ball back to the left high post, and Yi Jianlian took a long two-point shot from the left side of the free throw line... and made it!
Yi Jianlian was able to surpass Scola and Landry to secure his starting spot. Commercial factors were one of the reasons, but the reason why he was not scolded by the American media and fans when he started for the Bucks in the original time and space was because of his help defense ability and his long two-point shot after the pick-and-roll!
Yi Jianlian's 58% shooting percentage at the basket is very bad for a player who only takes dunks. Pure blue-collar players like Muhammad and Perkins have shooting percentages of around 65% at the basket. His 31% mid-range shooting percentage is also very low. His 42% close-range shooting percentage is good, but he rarely has a chance to shoot in this area. His 34% three-point shooting percentage means he averages 0.8 three-pointers per game, which only has peripheral containment and is not his main means of scoring.

But Yi Jianlian averaged 45 long two-pointers per game with a hit rate of 2.5%, which is excellent!
His pick-and-roll quality is also good. He chooses his position well and is fast in the pick-and-roll, so he can find the shooting point well.

9 to 7, the Rockets continued to maintain a slight lead. When the Bobcats attacked, they continued to use Millsap as the axis, and the two wings received the ball to create shooting opportunities for Zhang Yang around the middle.

When David Wesley followed Felton around the free throw line and ran to the left sideline, he did not follow him out, but stopped at mid-range. When Zhang Yang slipped out of the baseline, he helped McGrady delay Zhang Yang's run...

Millsap keenly judged David Wesley's intention and did not pass the ball to the right sideline immediately. He waited for David Wesley to retreat and then passed the ball to the left side. Felton received the ball in the corner and made a three-pointer...hit!
10 to 9, the Bobcats overtook by 1 point!
Carlisle on the sidelines punched the air. He was not too excited about Zhang Yang's difficult mid-range shot after a long-distance run. Zhang Yang's ability to make such a shot was the basis for the development of this tactic.

Millsap's passing choice this time made Carlisle even more excited! What is the talent of assisting? This is it!

When it was the Rockets' turn to attack, they still played simply - McGrady and Yi Jianlian set the pick and roll. This time, Zhang Yang and Millsap did not double-team them, but chose to switch defense. McGrady used the screen to break through to one step within the free throw line on the right side of the three-second zone, and threw the ball... and missed!
Zhang Yang went in and grabbed the defensive rebound. There was no chance for a fast break, so he passed the ball to Felton and continued the positional battle.

McGrady's shot just now made his opponent Zhang Yang feel a little regretful.

It cannot be said that this shot was bad. McGrady relied on his speed, braking ability, and jumping speed to completely avoid the interference of Millsap who switched defense.

But because Millsap knew that McGrady was unlikely to break into the inside, he only focused on interfering with McGrady's mid-range and long-range shots after switching defense. In order to avoid defense, McGrady's quick stop jump shot had a rhythm similar to that of a pull-up mid-range shot, that is, he had no shooting rhythm and relied purely on his personal ability.

Of course, McGrady has strong personal abilities, especially mid-range and long-range two-point shots. This season, he averaged 5.2 mid-range and long two-point shots per game. In comparison, Kobe and Nowitzki both averaged 4.7 shots per game.

But even for McGrady, it is difficult to guarantee the stability of such out-of-rhythm shots... But if he doesn't break into the basket and wants to get a good shooting space, McGrady can only play like this. This is what Zhang Yang regrets, because McGrady is no longer the spiritual T-Mac of the past.

In addition to this, Zhang Yang also had a strange feeling - is Thibodeau treating McGrady like an animal?

Since the start of the game, not a single attack of the Rockets has not started with McGrady, and the rate of attack initiation has caught up with Kobe in the previous two seasons.

But it doesn’t seem to be a problem, 28 years old, the peak age…

The Bobcats fell into a positional offense and continued to run tactics.

David Wesley still chose to shrink and help McGrady delay and block Zhang Yang with the help of screen. Millsap continued to pass the ball to the left...Yi Jianlian got in front of Felton!
Thibodeau's defensive coaching ability is important in being able to play the second-best defense in the league, but the enthusiasm and resilience of the Rockets' players and their defensive adaptability on the court are the key.

Battier, Diop and David Wesley are all strong defensive and experienced players who can adjust the details on the court at any time.

Felton's shooting space is blocked and he can't pass the ball immediately, so he has to break through!
My little brother said that we can’t let the ball stop!

Felton passed Yi Jianlian and rushed to close range, but was blocked by McGrady... and passed to the top arc!

After being delayed, Zhang Yang still chose to run to the high position, received the ball with one step inside the top arc, took a step out of the three-point line, avoided David Wesley's rush, turned around and shot a three-pointer... "bang"... missed.

Zhang Yang clapped his hands and retreated. This ball was too difficult. It was a bit wasteful...

Zhang San blamed himself for a second for playing too recklessly, and the opposing coach was so frightened that he broke out in sweat.

Thibodeau: No, you have only one tactic, but so many variations?
After he analyzed the Bobcats' true tactical intentions and use of space, he already felt that the bald guy on the opposite side was very powerful. He didn't expect that those were just the basis of this tactic!

Carlisle: Are you kidding? I sent out the four best scoring players on the team. It’s the strongest lineup!
Actually, although Carlisle looked very confident on the surface, he was actually relieved only after these three rounds - Millsap did not perform poorly!
Millsap has very little to do, but as the axis of the tactics, he determines the upper limit of this tactical coordination.

If he just completed the basic work and distributed the ball to the two wings steadily, without the awareness of independently choosing the passing targets and the timing of the pass, then this tactic would only be an ordinary team cooperation, and it would be difficult to tear apart the defensive cooperation of the Rockets, the second strongest defensive team in the league, like in these three rounds.

This awareness, whether you have it or not, cannot be cultivated. This is what is called talent.

Of course, in addition to Millsap's good supporting talent and the strong individual abilities of the four players around Millsap, there is another reason why the Bobcats' tactics went so smoothly - the Rockets were completely unfamiliar with their tactics.

Because they had never played like this in the previous 14 games. During the 13-game winning streak, they could win by relying on the three cores to hold the ball and initiate offense. There was no need to play so complicatedly.

When the Rockets attacked, McGrady's shot... was cold! The ball hit the outside edge of the basket and bounced toward the front of the basket!

Zhang Yang grabbed the rebound at the free throw line, turned around to avoid Yi Jianlian who was rushing for the ball, and launched a counterattack!

In this ball, no matter how well the Rockets defended the fast break, they couldn't defend it. Zhang Yang avoided Yi Jianlian's defense and took off, and was directly the one closest to the opposite basket. Even if McGrady chased him from the elbow area, he couldn't catch up.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Zhang Yang rushed to the opposite free throw line, grabbed the ball, took two steps, switched the ball to his left hand in the air, and scored two points with a tomahawk slam dunk!
When the ball hit the basket, the cheers from the audience reached their peak!

12 to 9, the Bobcats overtook the Rockets by 3 points!
At the beginning, we attacked 7 times but only scored 5 points. After the break and switching the playing style, we attacked 4 times and scored 7 points, beating the opponent 7 to 2!

……

……

During this period, Kevin was mainly thinking about how to make Zhang Yang's tactics suitable. It had to be logical, conform to the NBA rules at the time, fit the Bobcats players, and fit the abilities of the players of that season... And most importantly, he had to be able to imagine what the tactics would look like when he saw the text, and he wanted to write a picture...

(End of this chapter)