热烈庆祝凯尔特人取得第5场比赛的胜利！庆祝TRUTH归来！ [复制链接]

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发表于 2010-6-14 11:28:21 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

本帖最后由 duijinxiaozi 于 2010-6-14 22:22 编辑

热烈庆祝 Truth 归来！ :lol

:victory:

http://dimemag.com/2010/06/the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth/

[size=1.1em]NBA / [size=1em]JUN 13, 2010 / 6:00 PM
THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH[size=1.1em]BY SEAN SWEENEY
[size=1.2em]Paul Pierce, Dime #5

[size=1.2em]Paul Pierce once said he was the best player in the world. While most didn’t bother validating the statement- even Pierce himself probably didn’t believe it- it did spotlight the major impact the Boston forward had on the 2008 NBA Finals.
[size=1.2em]This year, things have changed. The Lakers have improved and beefed up a defense that was once a weakness. And Pierce is not needed to carry the Boston offense on a consistent basis anymore.

[size=1.2em]In Boston’s 96-89 Game 4 win, it was the bench that changed the game.Glen Davis and Nate Robinsonmixed in some Shrek and Donkey, keying a 36-point fourth quarter. Pierce watched from the sidelines for most of it, not necessarily because of his effectiveness, but more so because the bench had ignited the crowd and diffused any 3-1 thoughts L.A. had.
[size=1.2em]Between Games 3 and 4, Pierce was taking shots from just about everyone. Commentators, columnists and talking heads were all spewing about his offensive problems. To Laker fans, it was Ron Artest muscling up and guiding Pierce away from his spots. To Celtic fans, it was the referees taking his aggressiveness away with foul calls.
[size=1.2em]Here are Pierce’s numbers from the first three Finals games: 6-13 for 24 points in Game 1, 2-11, 10 points in Game 2 and 5-12 for 15 points in Game 3. Considering this series is drawing comparisons to the 1994 Finals between New York and Houston for it’s ugly, low-scoring games, a 16.3 points per game average against one of the greatest perimeter defenders of the past two decades is not that bad. But, it isn’t Finals-MVP worthy either.
[size=1.2em]L.A. came into this series with an emphasis on slowing the Truth. So far, they have done a good job. Let’s discuss.
[size=1.2em]On Thursday night, Boston’s strategy was evident: get Pierce involved early. Immediately, the Celtics put Pierce into a pick-n-roll at the top of the key where he was able to split the defense and draw a foul on Andrew Bynum. A few possessions later, the same play off the wing got Pierce a bucket. He also beat Artest two possessions in a row to inside position on fast breaks. Lay-ups are any struggling scorer’s best friend.
[size=1.2em]Once he got involved in the game and created a rhythm, Pierce was able to hit a jump shot. Pump-faking and stepping into a 20-footer, his confidence was noticeably different after bricking multiple outside shots in Games 2 and 3. His Game 4 start was a marked contrast to Game 3, when Pierce was 0-4 on jumpers during the first quarter.
[size=1.2em]The Truth finished with 10 first quarter points. Most of them came off of early offense, whether in half-court pick-n-rolls or in transition. But, in the middle quarters, Pierce turned off the aggression. He went just 1-2 from the field in the next 24 minutes and had twice as many turnovers as shots. There was no foul trouble this time like in Game 3 and the Celtics had no one lighting it up like Ray Allenwas in Game 2. Pierce just disappeared. His only basket during the two middle quarters was an eight-foot hook shot that had the ABC commentators discussing whether they had ever seen Pierce attempt that shot before.
[size=1.2em]It wasn’t until the final moments of the game that he reappeared, scoring 7 points in the final two and a half minutes to close out Boston’s come-from-behind win. For the game, Pierce maneuvered his way into eights shots within the paint area. He didn’t even reach that number in the first three games combined.
[size=1.2em]During Games 1-3, Artest forced Pierce into 6-21 shooting on jump shots. Although that may be a small sample, it does point out a trend. The Laker forward is doing a great job of using his muscle and wide body to get up into and under a lot of Pierce’s jump shots. That’s very similar to what the Celtics are doing to Kobe Bryant: making him feel their presence around his legs as he jumps to shoot. In Game 4, Pierce’s outside shooting numbers crawled to 3-6.
[size=1.2em]Those jump-shooting numbers make it clear what Pierce must do for the rest of the series: match Artest’s aggression with some of his own. For all his strengths as a defender, Artest can’t chase someone around. Every time that Pierce has come off a screen-n-roll, he has had the room to make something happen. Also, his quick hits and off-ball movement in Game 4 illustrated another point. Pierce has to find ways to score against Artest without dribbling. There is perhaps no one in the league with stronger and quicker hands than Mr. Queensbridge. He’s shown that multiple times in these playoffs by playing from behind and getting his hands on someone’s dribble. Pierce must attack him quickly and without too many dribbles so he doesn’t have a chance to lock in.
[size=1.2em]Much like Kevin Durant did in the first round, Pierce should move Artest consistently around screens, get out for early offense and generally keep away from taking a lot of dribbles. He succeeded in doing that during Game 4, not so much in the first three games.
[size=1.2em]Pierce can deny it all he wants, but Artest will continue to be a nuisance as long as this series goes on. He is the perfect defender to counter Pierce’s tempo and body control. The Truth is Boston’s constant, the one they look to at the end of games. Amazingly, they’ve won two games without having much fourth quarter contributions from him at all. But, in order to win another one in L.A., Pierce will have to have a big final period against Artest. At some point, it’ll come down to who gets the better of the other.