Chapter 97 Talent Crushing

"Wait, the game will prove me right," Smith said, turning his head.

"Yes, the game will prove you wrong." Barkley said with a big laugh. In the TNT commentary, he always bet against Smith to lose, although sometimes it is more for the effect of the show, but this time in the NCAA, He could finally raise his eyebrows again.

The four commentators talked eloquently. The players of the two teams ended the last warm-up before the game, and the scene also entered the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony of Kangda was different this time. Everyone introduced an impromptu dance when they came out.

Before Tang Tian was before Walker, he and Walker cooperated for a mechanical dance current, which instantly ignited the emotions of the entire University of Concordia fans.

Singler was speechless for a while watching UConn's appearance. He had a feeling that the other party was not coming to the game, but to entertain the fans.

Duke's opening ceremony was very formal, with 3D projections and cheers from fans. Like North Carolina, what stood out was the grandeur.

The cheers of more than 40,000 fans at the scene broke through the sky.

After the opening ceremony, the starters of the two teams appeared one after another. The cheers of more than 70,000 people at the scene were overwhelming, and they could not wait.

On the Kangda side, Kahon sent the most used lineup in the regular season, with Walker and Lamb on the outside, Smith and Tang Tian on the striker, and Auriarch on the center.

Duke's side.

The starting point guard is Irving, and his partner in the backcourt is senior Nolan Smith. Smith is an excellent dual-energy guard who averaged 17.4 points per game last season. Before Irving came to the team, he was the absolute core of the perimeter.

On the front line, the small forward is MOP Kyle Singler, and the power forward is Ryan Kelly, a space-type 4. He has made 18 consecutive three-pointers this season, ranking second in Duke school history.

The center position is the younger brother of the Plumley brothers, Mason Plumley. The Plumley brothers are rare tall men with excellent athletic ability among whites. Compared with the older brother Miles Plumley, Mason has a more consistent mid-range shot, which is why he's the starting center.

(Note: Plumlee is a total of three brothers. Now this Duke team only has two brothers, Mason and Miles. The youngest Marshall has not yet entered the NCAA. Among the three brothers, Mason has the best talent.)

Plumlee and Oriarch's jump ball. The former is 2.11 meters tall but has a pair of spring legs. After the referee's whistle, he rose to the ground and set the ball back to half court, winning the first offense for Duke. Opportunity.

With the deafening cheers of the scene, the semi-finals battle officially kicked off.

Owen held the ball outside the three-point line, and Nolan Smith directly signaled the other teammates to pull away.

Plumlee mentioned that he gave Owen a pick-and-roll at a high position. Owen accelerated and switched to Oriarch, and made a quick stop and changed direction to pass Oriarch for a layup.

There was a commotion at the scene.

Owen's change is clean and neat, and he really deserves to be the spokesperson of a new generation of crossover.

In the offense of Kangda, Tang Tian picked and rolled with Walker, Walker played Kelly in a dislocation, and also scored against Kelly when he turned low.

At the beginning of the game, the two sides began a peak duel between point guards.

Owen dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Pralim played the pick-and-roll again. The University of Concord did not change this time, and Walker took a step.

Irving did not choose a mid-range shot, dribbling the ball back to the three-point line and giving the ball to Smith to organize.

Smith's talent is not outstanding, but that kind of player with super high IQ, after catching the ball, he deceived Lamb with a fake three-point shot, made a breakthrough and attracted Oriarch to make up defense, and then directly put the ball to the basket. Hanging from above, Plumlee jumped up and scored an alley-oop dunk.

The emotions of the Duke fans at the scene were instantly ignited.

"What am I saying, this is Duke, you can't guard five of them at the same time!" Barkley shouted at Smith.

Duke's starter, Irving's breakthrough, no solution, Smith Stadium brain, Singler's all-round attack and defense, Kelly opened the space, Plumlee's basket is a pillar, this lineup configuration in NCAA is really almost no solution.

Lamb missed the catch and shot in the frontcourt, and Plumlee received the defensive rebound.

Duke attacked the frontcourt, Smith and Singler played a pick-and-roll, and after the split, Smith pushed the ball inward when he went out, and Singler received the ball and pressed Lamb to score the ball.

Duke's first three offenses were all tied.

At this time, Kahon got up and signaled to switch zone defense.

Walker and Tang Tian played the pick-and-roll in the frontcourt again. This time Plumlee came over to help defend, and Walker scored the ball to Oriarch to the basket.

Oriarch put the basket at close range, but Plumlee was talented, turned around and slapped Oriarch's shot directly, and also took advantage of the situation to win the defensive rebound.

The Duke fans cheered continuously.

In this attack and defense, Plumlee has suppressed Auriarch in talent.

Duke attacked the frontcourt again, and Kangda defended a 2-3 zone defense at this time.

After Smith saw it, he gave the ball to Irving, and Irving asked Singler to play a pick-and-roll, and then retreated to the three-point line after dismantling the ball.

Walker pressed forward, and Kangda did a good job in defense this time.

Irving returned the ball to Smith, and Smith made a three-point shot after he tricked Lamb into turning back with a pass fake.

Lamb turned his head back to save the distraction.

"Shh!"

Smith made a 3-pointer against Lamb's defense.

7 to 2.

Breakthrough, cooperation, three-pointer, Duke played a tidal wave of offense at the start.

At this time, Buckley looked at Smith, who had been silent, with a smile on his face.

This is the direct crushing of talent.

Concord University's offense, Lamb's breakthrough layup after the pick-and-roll hit Plumlee.

Plumlee is 2.11 meters tall and has an excellent wingspan. He is a wall under the basket.

Lamb showed talent, dodging in the air, but Plumlee slapped his shot after he jumped.

Not only is he tall and has a long wingspan, but he can also jump!

There were whistles from Duke fans at the scene.

Within three minutes of this opening game, Plumlee had already contributed 2 blocks, and tonight he is going to completely dominate the basket.

Nolan Smith grabbed the floor ball and pushed the defensive counterattack. After seeing Tang Tian retreat for the first time, he went up to it. When he got to the frontcourt, he gave the ball to Singler, who was following up on the weak side. Singler received the ball. A mid-range shot with a sudden stop.

"Shh!"

The ball is in!

9 to 2!

Duke opened with four straight shots from four different people, which was a real explosion of talent.

Kahon reached out and called a timeout.

Man-to-man Duke can take advantage of the matchup to play, and opponents in the penalty area have three points. This Duke is really much stronger than the previous North Carolina.

No wonder Singler is so confident, this is absolute confidence in the strength of the team.

"Kenny, do you believe we are right now?" Barkley looked smug at this time.

"Charles, the truth is in the hands of a few people, and the game has just begun." Smith replied in dissatisfaction.

"You guys, really, look at it, they can finish the game at halftime." Barkley was optimistic about Duke, and after watching Duke's opening state, he was more sure of this.