This is not about substituting role players, this is about Yao Ming, one of the core players of the Dragon country men's basketball team.
Now they are so arrogant that they can let their core players rest more.
Coach Zhang and Yang Yi exchanged glances, and the two couldn't help but laugh.
Doesn't it feel like doing this is a bit too arrogant?
But this arrogance is too cool!
In the past, there was only Yao Ming as the core of the team, with few tactical changes and few ways to break through. Fast breaks and fronting defense were particularly troublesome for Dragon country.
Now, if the opponent wants to play fast, no problem, we have Tang Long.
If they want to front, no problem, we still have Tang Long.
If they want to lock down Yao Ming under the basket.
That would be great!
Tang Long will tell you what a star player is.
If the opponent focuses all their attention on Yao Ming, then when facing a star player like Tang Long, there will definitely be open spaces.
But if they double-team Tang Long, the Olympic group stage has already proven it.
Don't be smug, it's useless.
Double-teaming Tang Long allows Yao Ming to play, and only the Dream Eight can do this to limit both cores of Dragon country simultaneously.
Including Jonas, he didn't think of these things, but if he rashly substituted Yao Ming, and the Kangaroo team took the opportunity to catch up in score, or if they lost this game, the fans' saliva would drown him.
While Jonas was still hesitating, the first quarter ended. Dragon country led the Kangaroo country by eight points, 21-13.
Yao Ming was already sweating profusely after coming off the court.
There seems to be no suspense in this game. Whether it's the situation on the court or the offensive ability, Dragon country has shown strong dominance from the start.
Next, Dragon country's opponent will be determined between Argentina and Greece. Both are top strong teams, and no matter which one it is, the demands on the players' physical fitness will be more stringent.
From the current perspective, the time Yao Ming can spend on the court with ample stamina is getting shorter and shorter. The game is so intense, and they are all the best teams in the world. Insufficient stamina leads to slow reactions, which can easily give opportunities to the opponent.
Should Yao Ming rest in the second quarter?
Jonas was unsure and glanced at Guo Qiang.
Having worked with Jonas for so long, Guo Qiang could roughly understand what Jonas was thinking.
He hesitated and said, "Since we are leading in score, why not try it? Besides, it's not like we haven't tried it before."
"Then you go talk to Yao?"
Guo Qiang raised his eyebrows: "Why me? You are the head coach."
"You are the local team leader, who else but you?" Jonas raised his eyebrows: "Stop talking nonsense, you go talk to Yao, otherwise I'll tell the higher-ups you're not cooperating with me."
"I..."
A curse almost escaped Captain Guo's lips.
/
Guo Qiang was stunned for a moment.
"Why do you disagree?"
Yao Ming looked at Guo Qiang with confusion at first, then seemed to realize something and couldn't help but laugh, "Captain Guo, that was out of necessity before, but now with Tang Long here, I can rest more."
"That's not right, I object." Tang Long suddenly interjected, "Captain Guo, this is unfair, why don't I get to rest?"
"Rest what? You're a machine, don't ruin your image in our minds."
After saying that, Guo Qiang actually got up and left.
"I..." Tang Long was depressed.
"You should be content. You have no idea how many athletes envy your stamina."
Yao Ming said enviously from the side, "If others had your stamina, let alone rest, they would definitely play the whole game."
Tang Long said unhappily, "How about I give it to you?"
"No, I think it's fine the way it is now."
At this moment, Zhou Peng leaned over and said, "Tang Long, tell us quickly, how can I have such good stamina like you?"
"Go to nightclubs less, mess around less, and train more."
"That's it?"
"Try to do these things first!"
...
The referee walked back onto the court.
As the second quarter began, the Kangaroo players launched a fast break. Nelson saw that Yao Ming was not on the court, so he chose to go to the baseline. At this time, Tang Long followed into the three-second zone.
Nelson knew how formidable Tang Long was under the basket, so he immediately passed the ball to Barlow, who was following up.
When Nelson passed, Tang Long had already judged that he was not really going for a layup. He launched a surprise attack, rushing to Barlow's side and directly blocked the shot.
However, the ball landed in Nelson's hands, and Nelson caught the ball and shot.
This time it was too close to the basket, and Nelson's movements were not slow. With about two steps between them, Tang Long's secondary defense was a bit late.
But Tang Long never gives up at such moments. His feet had barely landed before he sprang up like a spring!
*Pa!!*
Tang Long's fingers hooked the shot, changing the direction of the basketball's movement. The basketball hit the rim and bounced out.
Tang Long jumped for the third time to grab the rebound.
"This defense is absolutely brilliant, simply incredible. We can see that Nelson thought he had fooled Tang Long the first time, but he didn't expect Tang Long to have already anticipated that the ball would be passed to Barlow. Then, when Nelson shot, Tang Long blocked the ball again!"
"This is what Tang Long often does in the NBA, continuous jumps, blocking the opponent while also grabbing the rebound. This is Tang Long's talent."
After successfully defending this play, the Dragon country team launched a fast break. Sun Yue and Da Zhi cooperated, and finally, Da Zhi easily scored.
This is just a microcosm of Tang Long on the court. In the entire second quarter, the Kangaroo team was given few opportunities. Later, after Tang Long specifically guarded Nelson, the Kangaroo team had no outstanding performance on either offense or defense.
By the end of the second quarter, Dragon country was leading by seventeen points, 50-33.
During halftime, the Kangaroo's head coach threw the tactical board onto the table.
"Losing to the Dragon country team by fifteen points, don't you feel ashamed? Look at yourselves on the court, even my grandmother would play better than you!"
Brian Goor unleashed a torrent of abuse at the players.
He was extremely dissatisfied with the players' performance on the court. In addition to their lack of effort in running, their defense against the Dragon country players' offense was not fierce enough, allowing the Dragon country players to easily penetrate to the basket!
"Show some spirit in the second half. Let these Dragon country players know that breaking through you will come at a price, do you understand?"