February 26, 2002

Detroit, Empire Axis Arena.

Tonight, the regular seats at the Empire Axis Arena were packed, and even the emergency seats that were not sold outside were filled with fans.

On the Spurs, Kidd led his two younger brothers to the Pistons' Lo sign.

Kidd was holding Gasol on the left and leading Arenas on the right. He was standing in the middle. It was strange to see these three people wearing Spurs jerseys.

On the Piston side, Mo Mengchen and Hill came forward to welcome the guests.

"I hope there will be a great game tonight," Kidd said.

"Then I'll ask you to shoot the damn open ball." Mo Mengchen's words always had a frowning thorn.

Kidd started to hold on to Mo Mengchen, and the person in front of him was no longer the rookie who let him fight.

Then, Mo Mengchen and Hill turned around and returned to their own positions to warm up.

"Pilots and Spurs, Bill, who do you think of?" Vinier Johnson asked his partner.

The infamous Ranbill is now one of the favorite commentators for Pistons fans. Because he protects his short-term and vicious tongue, he complains about the visiting team being particularly fierce. If there is a problem with his own players, his comments will also hit the nail on the head, which makes people almost forget what kind of bastard he is.

"Of course I have to support the league's leader." Ranbill shouted jokingly, "The Spurs will win!"

Johnson said, "The Spurs are currently 20 wins and 5 losses. Although the Pistons have poor record in the opening stage, they have gradually caught up. They are currently 17 wins and 8 losses, ranking fourth in the league in the second in the Eastern Conference."

"It's just that the Spurs are more mature than the Pistons."

While speaking, both sides had finished warming up, and the starting players changed their clothes and prepared to appear.

Tonight, the Pistons' starting lineup was slightly different from before.

Magloil replaced Curry as the starting center.

On the Spurs, their starting lineup has always been very fixed. Kidd, Arenas, Kirilenko, Gasol, and David Robinson.

Apart from Arenas, there is no player with particularly poor defense in this lineup.

Kidd can defend three positions, Kirirenko can defend five positions, young Gasol has first-class defense, and Robinson's sword is not old.

"Today's game must be a tough battle," Westfal thought.

But, he believes good things will happen to the Pistons.

Since the 19992000 season, every season, the Pistons have been waiting for the opponent's impact as the defending champion. At the beginning, they will show fatigue, but they will always suddenly find their state in the game, and from then on they will unstoppable and enter the defending mode.

Last year, similar matches took place during the Christmas battle.

Now it's Christmas War again, Westfar hopes something good will happen.

Magloire came to the middle circle, his physical fitness was very strong, and his long arms that exceeded 230 cm allowed him to defeat the old and strong Admiral in the process of jumping the ball.

The moment Mo Mengchen received the ball, a harsh scream broke out in the Imperial Axis Arena.

Kidd stepped forward and approached. His height of 193 cm and his weight of nearly 200 kilograms made him stand out in the No. 1 position.

His defense is a terrifying nightmare for every No. 1 position.

Mo Mengchen raised his hand and called the pick-and-roll to his side to accelerate the breakthrough. This is where Kidd can do anything to help. He can take care of most of the outside lines, but a lightning defender like Mo Mengchen who runs as fast as a wind is exactly the target of his defense.

No matter how good your defensive skills are, if you can't keep up, you won't be able to use your skills.

The moment Mo Mengchen broke through, a snow-white shadow enveloped him in an instant, so fast, so fast, so oppressive.

Why didn't we choose him?

Mo Mengchen glanced from the corner of his eyes to Kirirenko who had been following like a ghost. Ak47's assisted defense left a deep impression on Doro in the first round tonight.

Then, Mo Mengchen used the trick to attract Kirirenko's assisting defense, and without looking back, he followed Hill to catch up with the ball and jump shot.

2 to 0

"This Russian defense is pretty good," Lambis commented. "Doro made the best response."

Kidd dribbles forward, and he wonders what's waiting for him, and the Pistons will certainly not be unprepared.

As soon as he arrived at the frontcourt, he saw it.

Disgusting joint defense.

Mo Mengchen deliberately retreated one and a half meters away, just enough for Kidd to shoot. If he really takes action, Mo Mengchen can react.

Kidd is not unable to shoot, but he is not good at shooting. The Pistons' undisguised use of this flaw annoyed him.

Gasol recognized the Pistons' trick at a glance. In Europe, every team will play in the joint defense. The best way to crack the joint defense is to let the inside jump shot at the free throw line.

Therefore, Gasol decisively came to the free throw line, but Kidd obviously didn't want to end the attack with such a straightforward method. He wanted to let the Pistons know that they were powerful.

Gasol had to pick-and-roll and let Kid break through.

Kidd entered, and the Pistons' defense line contracted. He immediately passed the ball to the outside, first to Kirilenko, then to Arenas, and then to Gasol

The Pistons' defensive rotation was amazing, and the tacit understanding between Momonchen, Hill and Rashid made Ranbir applaud.

But, in the end, someone fell into the vacant seat.

Kidd felt the insult, and when he retreated to the outside line, he was actually put in a few meters of empty space.

——"I hope there will be a great game tonight."

——"Then please let you hit the damn open ball."

Now he knows what that sentence means.

The Pistons do not expect to rely on the United Defense to prevent the Spurs from killing them, they will selectively empty a Spurs player.

This person is not Arenas, Kirilenko, or Gasol, but Kidd, who can clearly shoot open goals but is always regarded as a food guard who can't shoot.

Kidd took action angrily.

"Bang!"

Kidd averaged 44 three-pointers per game, hit 14 goals, and hit a shooting percentage of 32. No matter how you look at it, the shooting percentage is not very good. Think about it, the three-pointers he made were basically put into three-pointers of one meter or two meters. So, why did Lonzo Ball use Kidd as a template later? You have to admit that NBA scouts are indeed far-sighted. These two are good at everything, but they just can't shoot.

The difference is in a dark era of defense where it doesn't matter if you don't shoot three-pointers, and in an era of not defending if you don't shoot three-pointers.

Kidd's three-point missed a long rebound. Mo Mengchen predicted the landing point and the moment he took the rebound, the counterattack had already begun.

Kidd's speed prevented him from participating in the return defense, but the rest of the Spurs' return defense speed was quite rapid.

Even Arenas retreated as quickly as possible, and with Kirilenko, the all-around fighter who supported the Spurs' defense was accurately placed.

"Ula!"

The Russian roared excitedly, if Mo Mengchen dared to come forward, he would definitely teach the other party a lesson.

"Don't think about it!"

Doro went deep in fearlessly, and in AK47's view, it was a contempt for his defense. He opened his long spider-foot-like arms to wrap Mo Mengchen's entire vision. As long as the ball was shot upwards, what awaited him was a ruthless block.

Momonchen and Kirirenko took off together.

However, Mo Mengchen did not take action, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and even looked at it, gently pushing it backwards.

"Manu Ginobili intervenes with him!"

"The Argentina's eagle is flying!"

Ginobili took the ball and made a heavy dunk over Kirilenko's head.

"It's not over yet." Momonchen said gloomy beside Kirilenko, "I will keep blowing you, a defense that is not even as good as a sanitary napkin."

4 to 0

Kidd still has to face joint defense. He told himself to analyze the situation calmly. According to the Pistons' defense just now, he was the player who was emptied.

Kidd did not intend to sacrifice the start to test his feel, so when Gasol came to the free throw line again, he decisively passed the ball.

"Swish!"

Gasol scored a jump shot from the free throw line.

2 to 4

"He's really smart," Johnson said. "The Pistons had initiated a deal for him, but the Spurs asked for too high prices and the deal had to be terminated."

Rashid goes to the high position and supports his body to make a shaft.

Mo Mengchen gave the ball and made a move to run to the right. Kidd followed at full speed, but when he passed Rashid, he suddenly retreated and turned to the left.

Kidd didn't expect him to do this. Just as he was about to catch up, Rashid's body had already blocked the person.

Rashid leaned against Kid while passing the ball to Momonchen on the outside.

In the open position, Mo Mengchen changed his left hand in front of Kidd and shot three points.

"Bang!"

"Three-pointer on the front of the left hand?"

"This guy really made his shots come true!"

"What's the difference between a guard who can't shoot and an inside player who can't defend?" Mo Mengchen spread his hands and asked and answered himself, "They are all disabled people on the basketball court."
To be continued...