Chapter 413: Game of the Brave

Because there was no three-point line in NBA games in the 1970s, the inside-based tactics were still used.

However, compared with the 1960s when the center dominated everything, the strikers and defenders in the 1970s were growing and improving rapidly.

The players on the front line and the backcourt are getting taller and stronger, and the center forward is no longer as big as it was in the 1960s.

Of course, the competition has become more and more intense, and even tends to be rough.

Li Liang has experienced this in the missions of the Lakers City of Angels and the mission of "Truck" Truk Robinson.

Therefore, Li Liang is not afraid of any rough confrontation in the mission.

At the same time, Li Liang is not only not afraid of roughness, he also has technical advantages that inside players of that era did not have at all.

Although Bob McAdoo plays a center forward, he is more like a forward in terms of size and technical conditions.

In fact, he played backup small forward on the team before being pushed to center in his rookie season.

He has very good shooting skills and footwork around the basket, as well as good dribbling skills.

When he holds the ball, he can attack from anywhere in the half court. He is very fast, has excellent bounce, can stop for a jumper, break through for a layup, and use the offensive skills of a guard to hit the opponent's center.

From this point of view, Li Liang and McAdoo really fit well.

But McAdoo has a fatal flaw, that is, his defense is not very good.

He is a good rebounder, but he is really not as good as Li Liang defensively.

When he played small forward in his rookie season, he was scored 38 points in a single game by a player like Bill Bradley.

Later, at the center position, his advantage lies in offense. As for defense, it depends on the sky.

Starting five players, the tallest is the 6-foot-9 McAdoo, their power forward Hyde is only 198cm.

So, they played offensive basketball through and through, and that kind of basketball in 1974 was really hard to beat a defensive, inside team.

But with Li Liang, everything is different.

For the first ball after the start of the game, Li Liang first showed off his touch on the outside.

After he got the ball from the normal distance of the three-point line, he took the first shot.

No one guarded him at all.

As a result, the ball went in!

Boston Garden fans were shocked.

They have already experienced McAdoo's all-round shooting without dead ends. In the first four games of the series, he scored 44 points on the Celtics and scored 38 points once. Bad shot.

The result is a high hit rate.

But it's a bit outrageous to shoot so far from the basket and still make it.

Cowens ran to the basket to grab a rebound, but he had to serve.

Li Liang was adjusting his touch. During the mission, he didn't have touch runes, skills, or props.

Everything depends on his current hard power.

Then into the defense, Li Liang began to show something that McAdoo didn't.

Cowens came out in the high position to pick and roll Havlicek, and Li Liang knew Havlicek's game very well.

So he went directly to the intensity of oppression and teamed up with his teammates to double-team. Havlicek was caught off guard and was intercepted.

According to the normal rhythm of the Braves, they should launch a fast break.

Jack Ramsey yelled "Run, run, run" from the sidelines, but Li Liang didn't pass the ball to the point guard, but dribbled the ball for half court by himself.

Li Liang accelerated past Cowens in the high position, then went straight to the basket, and succeeded in a split dunk with one hand!

After scoring the goal, Ramsey on the sidelines punched hard. This ball is really beautiful.

Cowens was a little confused by the beating. He still wanted to defend against Bob Li Liang's shot, but a dragon came?

With rich offensive methods and outstanding defensive skills, the Braves played better and better in the first quarter.

Li Liang is very good at playing under the basket. Although Cowens is well-known and strong, his offensive skills are not very delicate.

What he plays is passion, hard work, that kind of courageous, perpetual motion machine-like energy.

Ordinary players would probably die if they entangled with him for half a game.

Li Liang was different, he was a tried and tested system fighter, and it was not enough to rely on the trick of "wrapping" him.

Li Liang is better than McAdoo in terms of weight and muscle strength. The Celtics clearly felt that the basket, which was easy to get to before, was not so easy to play.

Especially Havlicek, in the third game, Iron King scored 43 points on 18 of 30 shots and 60% shooting, all because the Braves were undefended at the basket.

Ramsey is also a clever woman who can't cook without rice. There is no master in protecting the basket in the team, so he can only make up for it with offense.

When he gets to the Trail Blazers, with Bill Walton, the situation is completely different.

And Li Liang switched to Havlicek many times in the first half, which was rare in games in the 1970s.

At that time, defense relied more on one-on-one, attitude, personal ability, and double-teaming.

Havlicek and the Celtics are very uncomfortable with this kind of targeted big defense and small defense.

Li Liang's basket protection at the basket is actually the same, and his ability to block shots is average. The problem is this thief.

Offensive fouls made it fly, and if nothing happened, he would fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.

Although the whistle of the referee was relatively loose in the 1970s, basketball is not rugby after all, and it is not allowed to hit people casually.

At the beginning, the referee didn't care much, but later Li Liang always fell down. After thinking about it, he should show face and call the Celtics foul.

This happened several times in a row, and the fans in the Garden Arena booed, and Li Liang's anger value continued to rise.

From this point of view, the Garden Arena is also considered a blessed place.

At halftime, the Braves led the Celtics by 8 points at 55:47!

In this game in history, McAdoo's performance was very poor, and his shooting percentage was not good. He really relied on Randy Smith.

If Li Liang plays well in this game, it won't be a big problem for the Brave to win the game.

But the reason why the Celtics are champions is not something you can easily beat with another player.

In the third quarter, the Celtics, who changed their strategy, launched a counterattack.

Cowens continued his high confrontation defense like a perpetual motion machine, and he almost fought with Li Liang.

On a sweltering April night in Boston Garden without air conditioning, the game started to get tougher.

With Havlicek frustrated, Don Nelson came out and hit consecutive shots in the third quarter.

The Celtics approached the score, they continued to maintain a tough defense, and kept attacking the inside on the offensive end.

After all, Li Liang is not Russell, and it is impossible for him to provide high-quality interior defense throughout the game.

Moreover, Cowens' entanglement made his outside shots a bit inaccurate. Without the help of props, Li Liang became a little timid and didn't dare to shoot casually.

If there is a three-point line, Li Liang can still try to shoot one two or three steps away from the three-point line. Although there are risks, the return is also high.

But there is no three-point line here, and this lifeline is gone.

The two sides began to enter a quagmire-like fight.

The pace of the game is slowed down, which is the game mode the Celtics like.

The Celtics have a lot of players who can play. In addition to the starting five, there are Don Chaney and Paul Westphal sitting off the court.

A capable player like Westphal has not yet been reused by the Celtics.

Later, he went to the Suns and led the Suns all the way to the finals against the old club Celtics.

Even though the Celtics expanded their rotation and 10 people played, Cowens didn't rest for a minute.

Not even a minute. He played the full 48 minutes this time, just to harass Bob Li Liang non-stop.

The game reached the fourth quarter, the score between the two sides came to 88:87, and the Braves still led by 1 point.

The Celtics called a timeout.

Li Liang felt more and more hot and tired, without the support of energy runes, he still lacked a lot of physical fitness.

Li Liang has not scored for a while, and he put all his energy on the defensive end, grabbing rebounds and protecting the basket.

At this time, he had committed 4 fouls, and the referee blew his whistle two more times, and he was about to be sent off.

If he loses this round, he will fail the first mission in the second volume of the City of Angels Book.

He will never be rewarded for passing the mission.

Li Liang began to regret a little, why did he enter the task in such a hurry.

You should hone it in the six-dimensional mission before you come in, you should watch the game video a few more times, and study it carefully.

Li Liang gulped down the water, the inside defense was really hard work.

Does Cowens really have a perpetual motion machine in his body?

Does he not know how tired he is?

Ramsey was arranging tactics. Seeing Li Liang's bewildered expression, he stepped forward and said, "Hey Bob, you want to shoot, you have to throw the ball in."

Li Liang nodded, but Cowens was so tightly entangled, and there was no Corvo or Paul to give him space, how could he vote?

Direct three points? There are no threes here, and Cowens is inseparable.

Dribble breakthrough? Cowens is the best defensive player in the NBA.

Li Liang just nodded. Seeing this, Ramsay said again: "Bob, have you forgotten what you said? You are the greatest basketball player in history."

"What?"

"You are the greatest basketball player, you said it yourself."

Ramsay repeated one side, and a memory suddenly popped up in Li Liang's mind.

It was Bob McAdoo, who was so confident it felt cocky, saying he was going to be the greatest basketball player in the NBA, back in 1974.

McAdoo is extremely confident, so he has many shot choices that make people feel unreasonable.

But he has the capital of confidence, because he can put the ball in.

"Am I the greatest basketball player?"

"That's up to you."

"The greatest basketball player ever..."

Only then did Li Liang understand that for McAdoo and the Braves, what he had to do was not only to protect the basket, but to have the confidence to defeat the Green Giant in Boston Garden Plaza.

He wants to break the fear of Cowens, the Celtics, and the three-second zone!

Only by defeating fear can you gain the fear of others.

Basketball is a game for the brave.

At this time, the timeout was up, and Li Liang stepped onto the field again.

He's going to shoot the ball, the way McAdoo does, and tear the Celtics and Dave Cowens apart.