In another semifinal that ended earlier, the U.S. team easily defeated Lithuania. Durant scored 38 points and dominated the entire game. Lithuania, a strong European team, was unable to fight back against the U.S. team.
Before this, the Dream Team was considered to be the weakest Dream Team, but now it seems that this Dream Team is not what people imagined. At least so far, there is no team that can threaten To the dominance of the Dream Nine Team.
On the stage of the World Championships, the United States team has not tasted the taste of a World Championship championship for 16 years. The 1994 Dream Team easily won the World Championships in Canada. However, in the 1998 World Championships, due to the NBA lockout, the American team did not form a Dream Team, and no NBA players participated in the World Championships. So the U.S. team didn't win the World Championship that year.
Dream Team 5 played at home in the 2002 World Championships in the United States and only finished sixth. Then Dream Team 6 lost the Athens Olympics championship. Dream Team 7 lost to Greece in the World Championships in Japan, and Dream Team 8 suffered a defeat. When it comes to Zhang Guan's victory, it can be said that since 1994, the American team has only won one world championship at the Sydney Olympics.
Although this dream team is composed of young people, this does not affect their desire for the championship at all. They are very eager to bring a championship back to the United States.
"Boys, our opponent in the final is the Chinese team!"
This was Krzyzewski’s opening statement.
"Team China, great!" Curry said with excitement. He regarded Zhang Guan as his idol and couldn't wait for the game to start as soon as possible.
However, no one paid attention to Curry. There are as many as four point guards in the Dream Nine team, and Curry, who has only played in the NBA for one year, is the fourth one. There were Billups, Rose and Westbrook before him, so now Curry can only be regarded as the water cooler keeper in the Dream Nine Team.
Curry sat down awkwardly, and Krzyzewski continued: "I think you all know that two years ago, we lost to the Chinese team and also lost the Olympic championship. Two years later, I We no longer think about revenge all the time. Finally, our chance has come! The dream team’s chance to wash away their shame has come!”
"Do you still remember? Before the expedition, we were called the weakest dream team in history. Everyone thought that our road ahead was full of thorns, and everyone thought that our road was tortuous and difficult. But we used Our strength tells the world that we are the strongest! No matter what the opponent is, we will win like a crushing victory, including the next Chinese team!"
"Compared with two years ago, the Chinese team is stronger. You should be familiar with Yao and Yi. Their presence gives the Chinese team the strongest inside combination in the World Championships, especially Yao. Although I don't know who he is now. How is his recovery going, but as long as he appears on the court, he is a presence that we cannot solve. This has been verified many times in the NBA."
Krzyzewski said, looking at his disciples, his expression became more helpless, because none of the twelve people in the Dream Nine Team could resist Dayao.
In the previous Dream Team 8, there were still Howard and Boozer after all, but the only real center in the Dream Team 9 was Tyson Chandler, a person who has been beaten by Dayao in the NBA.
For Chandler, Dayao can be said to be the shadow in his heart. The two first met at the 1998 American Amateur Athletic Union National Tour. At that time, Yao was 18 years old and Chandler was 16 years old. Then Chandler was completely blown away. After entering the NBA, Yao's precise mid-range shot and 10-centimetre height advantage could only leave Chandler in despair. Every time the Hornets (now the Pelicans) met the Rockets, Chandler had to rely on the help of other players to deal with Yao. Although Chandler's statistics when facing Dayao were quite remarkable, it is a fact that he couldn't guard against Dayao.
Chandler averaged 10 points per game on the spot, but the Dream Nine team does not lack people who are good at offense, and they do not need Chandler to provide firepower. They need Chandler's defense, and Chandler's defense is unreliable. It's really hard to give Krzyzewski a reason to use him.
In addition to Chandler, the Dream Nine's big man also has Kevin Love.
Love, who has played for two seasons, has already shown signs of improving his statistics. The average of 14+11 per game looks very dazzling, but at this time, Love's defensive level is terrible. For a second-year player to be expected to defend Dayao, it is undoubtedly a fantasy.
Krzyzewski also feels that both Chandler and Love are unreliable, so in the Dream Nine team, the starting center is Odom.
Odom is still the best sixth man in the NBA. He just married Kardashian at the end of last year. He has not been abolished. As a forward player, Odom is also capable of playing as a center and shooting guard, whether it is scoring. , rebounds, assists, steals, Odom's statistics are all very good. So Odom gained Krzyzewski's trust and became the starting center of the Dream Nine team. With Odom's physical fitness, facing the centers of those European teams, although he can't take advantage, he can't suffer a big loss. With someone to help defend, Odom can still handle the center position.
But now he is facing Dayao, and the situation is completely different. Krzyzewski can no longer put Odom in the center position.
Using Odom to defend Dayao, someone once tried this trick, and that was "Zen Master" Phil Jackson. At that time, Bynum, the Lakers' starting center, couldn't guard Yao at all, so Jackson asked Odom to play center. The result was of course very unsatisfactory.
Chandler, Love and Odom were all unavailable, and Krzyzewski suddenly fell into the dilemma of having no one available. This was also the first headache for Krzyzewski.
The second headache for Krzyzewski was, of course, Zhang Guan.
"Zhang Guan can not only break through, but also shoot!" Krzyzewski thought of this and sighed involuntarily.
The guards on the Dream Nine team include Rose, Westbrook, Curry, Eric Gordon and Billups. However, the defense of the top four is not reliable. Curry, who has only played in the NBA for one year, is obviously the one with the worst defense. Gordon's defensive level is also appalling. Rose and Westbrook have already shown the potential of superstars, but they have only played in the NBA for two years. The defensive ability of the second-year players is just qualified, and is still far from excellent.
The only thing Krzyzewski can count on is Billups.
Billups has made it to the NBA's best defensive second team, and is much more reliable defensively than those young superstars. Because of this, Billups has always occupied a starting position after Krzyzewski's Dream Nine Team.
"Let Billups defend Zhang Guan?" Krzyzewski still felt guilty. He recalled that in the Olympics two years ago, Kobe was not able to block Zhang Guan's offensive pace. In terms of defensive ability, Kobe was far better. Stronger than Billups, so it seems a bit foolish to think that Billups alone can guard against Zhang Guan.
"The Chinese team's forward strength is relatively average. If it doesn't work, let Iguodala help defend! If two people defend one, they can always defend it!" Krzyzewski thought silently.
…
"The tactics of the Dream Nine team are very strange. Their lineup has given up the center to a certain extent. In the previous games, their starting players were Odom, Durant, Iguodala, Rose and Bee. Lupus. There is no center in this lineup, not even a pure power forward." Coach Deng Huade continued: "However, the results achieved by this lineup are very good."
"Odom is only 2.08 meters, maybe less. I didn't expect him to become the tallest person in the US team." Wang Shipeng said.
"The tallest one is Durant, but that guy never admits that he is seven feet tall!" Zhang Guan said.
"Indeed, I felt that Durant was not shorter than me." Ah Lian said this and laughed: "I remember when we were taking pictures during my rookie season, I stood with him. Durant and I were about the same height. I felt The only thing that makes me taller than him is my hair is longer.”
"Really? Durant is about the same height as you? He can play center. But his skills are so good!" Zhou Peng's eyes widened in surprise.
"So he can become the core of the Dream Nine team! With the skills of a defender, the body of a forward, and the height of a center, this is Durant!" Deng Huade then added: "Our number one enemy in the Dream Nine team!"
…
There are only three All-Star players in the Dream Team: Billups, Durant and Rose. Of course, this refers to 2010, not the future. In addition to them, the other life-saving players are Westbrook, Rudy Gay, Iguodala, Granger, Curry, Eric Gordon, Love, Odom and Chandler.
Before the Dream Nine team set off, professionals listed three major problems.
The first is that the team is empty inside. Only one Tyson Chandler can be considered a pure center, which is even worse than the previous Dream Team.
The second is the team's shortage of shooters. Rose, Gordon and Gay all rely on breakthroughs to dominate the NBA. However, the young Westbrook and Curry are not as abnormally accurate as they will be in the future. Even Durant , is also regarded as a "blacksmith" who often forges iron.
The third point is that the players are too young. There are only two veterans, Billups and Odom, and the average age of the team is only 25 years old. Durant, Westbrook, Curry, Rose, and Love are all only 22 years old. Such a young team gives the impression of lack of experience.
Both the domestic media in the United States and the international media generally look down on the Dream Team. The media believes that a Dream Nine team that lacks insiders and mainly relies on breakthrough ability to score points cannot cope with the zone defense of European teams; and young players cannot achieve the tacit understanding of traditional European teams. Even in the game, the Dream Nine team The rating is only B.
Of course, a B rating is not the second level. There are B+, A-, A, and A+ above B. An even score of B can only be regarded as the fifth level. From this score, it can also reflect everyone's disapproval of the Dream Nine Team.
However, Durant gave a "killer" level performance. Under his leadership, this most accomplished dream team in history has also become the most underrated dream team in history.
The Dream Nine team was indeed very young, but they represented the strongest talent in the world at the time. The learning ability of young players is much better than that of old players. Participating in competitions can also help young players grow up quickly. For example, the young people in the Chinese team can be greatly improved through each game. The top talented young people in the American team are growing even more rapidly. Therefore, the Dream Nine team gets better and stronger as they play.
The "cohesion" of this Dream Nine team is also very good, because there are no superstars in the team, the sharing of ball rights is smoother, and the cooperation between the players is more tacit. In the previous Dream Team, although Kobe was the boss, James might not be convinced by him. James and Anthony must be dissatisfied with each other. Everyone wants the ball. Plus Paul, Wade and Deron, these three people all need the ball, so the distribution of ball rights for the Dream Team is very important. Headache thing. The Dream Nine team does not have this problem. Players are willing to share the ball, making the Dream Nine team's offense smoother.
As for defense, the Dream Nine team also relies more on the team rather than individual abilities. The U.S. team has always disdained the use of zone defense tactics because the players' personal abilities are so strong that they can easily defeat their opponents with one defense and one defense. But the Dream Nine team began to use zone defense tactics, coupled with excellent physical talent, even without a center, the Dream Nine team's defense was almost impeccable.
…
Americans originally didn’t pay much attention to the World Championships. Firstly, because there are no superstars in the Dream Nine team, the appeal to the audience is greatly reduced; secondly, because the American team has not won the World Championships for many consecutive years. People don’t have much expectations for this; the third reason is that besides basketball, Americans have many other sports to pay attention to, which also diverts many viewing groups.
However, when the final opponent was determined, the American media suddenly became excited, and the topic of the World Championships also appeared in the main sections of major media.
revenge! The word show is the subject of news media hype. In the Olympic Games two years ago, the Dream 8 team, composed of a group of NBA superstars, was defeated by the Chinese team at the last moment. Now the young Dream 9 team wants to avenge their predecessors!
Revenge is always people's favorite topic. In Europe, from the bestseller of "The Count of Monte Cristo" to the canonization of "Hamlet," revenge is the main theme. In comparison, Eastern masterpieces are not so subtle, and their revenge is more direct. When the storyteller tells that Wu Erlang killed Pan Jinlian with a knife in his hand, there will always be a burst of applause. Even in contemporary times, the phrase "Don't bully a young man into poverty" still carries countless readers' ardent expectations for the moment of revenge.
The American team's revenge battle, this gimmick was attractive enough, and it quickly aroused the attention of Americans. Fans all over the world are reminded of two years ago, on the last day of the Olympics, when the Chinese team unbelievably defeated the powerful Dream Team. Zhang Guan made a buzzer-beater with a shocked Kobe in the background. That scene was A timeless spot in basketball history.
Two years later, the two teams met again. Zhang Guan is still the absolute core of the Chinese team, but the twelve players of the American team have become different faces.
Can the Dream Team avenge their predecessors
Everyone is looking forward to…
(End of chapter)