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Chapter 487 - 214. Carlisle: I want to coach the Bad Boys... Legion!

Chapter 487: 214. Carlisle: I want to coach the Bad Boys... Legion!

Since the opponents couldn’t guard their four young talents, it was essential to capitalize on this by adjusting the tactics, allowing the young talents better scoring opportunities.

On the defensive end, they intensified the confrontations and sped up the switching and double-teaming to not only improve defense but more importantly to rush the opponents into making offensive decisions, increasing their error rate, and boosting the number of counterattacks.

Bickerstaff’s coaching style, different from mainstream coaches, had Carlisle taken aback.

The key was that these strategies were successful!

Carlisle’s impression of Bickerstaff during his player days—the team no one wanted to face in the playoffs in the upper half of the bracket during the late ’80s and ’90s.

However, he hadn’t specifically focused on the teams coached by Bickerstaff back then, and in recent years his own coaching duties with the Pacers had kept him too busy to pay attention to other teams.

Therefore, he had never truly understood Bickerstaff’s coaching style.

Tonight, he fully recognized Bickerstaff’s impactful coaching traits—unconventional and extremely radical!

The old man could be called the coach version of Ginobili, either stabbing the opponents or inadvertently stabbing himself.

No wonder his teams could only go as far as the Conference Finals.

Teams that reached the Conference Finals, under normal circumstances, would have fully adapted to the playoff rhythm and reached their peak performance after two rounds. Bickerhead’s extreme coaching likely played himself out.

But Carlisle had to admit, the Bobcats’ playing style tonight was something he could neither anticipate nor dare to consider, and indeed, this low-probability event did occur, starting the game on a high note!

On the other hand, Saunders’ view was similar to Carlisle’s, but he did not share Carlisle’s detachment as an observer; being the opponent, he could only feel like swearing.

How could that old man in his sixties be so reckless? It was very troublesome for the opponents!

And yet, this old man was also quite lucky, managing to snag the Coach of the Year award with such a coaching style.

And Sanders, who was most likely to win the Coach of the Year during the 03-04 season, had it snatched away by Hubie Brown, who had nothing better to do than to come out of retirement and coach again for two years. When it came to luck, it was infuriating how some people just seemed to have more of it.

After grumbling to himself, Saunders began making adjustments.

In the first half, he had called a 20-second timeout midway but hadn’t made any significant changes. He had intended to adjust his strategy and take on the opponent aggressively, but after calling the timeout, he abandoned that plan and simply emphasized defense, aiming to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm.

Because by that time, the Bobcats had already unexpectedly unleashed their offense.

In Game 1, they had already seen the ability of Bobcats’ four core players to seize scoring opportunities, scoring 21 points in just half of the quarter that night. Even though Saunders induced the opponent to grapple with the star players and had defensive preparations, he was still faced with the opponent scoring 21 points in half a quarter.

And tonight, the Bobcats actively tackled the star players, crafting specific tactics. If his Pistons team reduced defensive efforts and enhanced offense, the Bobcats’ opening offense might just take off.

Saunders could only endure for a while, waiting to enter the rotation phase.

...

After the official timeout, both teams made adjustments to their lineups.

The Bobcats sent out Jarett Jack, Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Jumaine Jones, and Okafor.

The Pistons rolled out Billups, Hamilton, Delfino, Webber, and Rasheed Wallace.

The Pistons executed a strategy with Billups and Webber at the core, with Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace handling long-range shots, and Delfino slicing through to the basket.

The Bobcats continued to rely on individual player skills, with Jarett Jack going one-on-one, the others always ready to fall back to counteract; Gerald Wallace or Okafor going one-on-one, with Rondo finding positions to assist and strategize, Jarett Jack and Jumaine Jones just needed to look for openings to support without worrying about passing space with the two forwards, with Rondo present.

In this lineup, the Pistons’ offensive firepower was stronger than the Bobcats’, scoring a 12-9 run in just over four minutes, closing the gap to 22-26 when the Bobcats called a timeout, reducing the deficit to four points.

After the timeout, the Bobcats sent out Felton, Rondo, Zhang Yang, Millsap, and Muhammad. Felton started by using a screen from Millsap to step back and hit a three-pointer.

Turning back, Rasheed Wallace caught a pass from Webber on the left sideline, then passed it towards the top of the arc.

Hamilton, sprinting to shake off Rondo, caught the ball and turned to shoot a three-pointer... it went in too! 25-29, the Pistons kept the score close.

In the final play of the first quarter, Zhang Yang, facing off against the rotating Prince on defense, waved to Millsap to set a screen. As Prince took small, quick steps preparing to switch on the screen, Zhang Yang suddenly accelerated, driving from the left side into the three-point line!

Prince, with excellent defensive awareness, didn’t completely lose position, blocking the middle lane, forcing Zhang Yang to take the left baseline.

Staying close behind Zhang Yang’s steps and retreating to the paint, as Zhang Yang leaped for the layup, Prince reached out to interfere... defensive foul!

Zhang Yang switched the ball to his left hand in mid-air, Prince subconsciously pushed forward, failing to stop Zhang Yang from making the shot, and even committed a foul!

Accompanied by the referee’s whistle, Zhang Yang’s toss hit, the referee signaled the basket was good, Prince had fouled Zhang Yang during the shot.

2+1!

Saunders stood by the court, arms crossed watching Zhang Yang step up to the free throw line.

Bad boy Jack’s sense of finding scoring opportunities, the boldness to strike when the chance arises, were both superb.