When Jokic, who is 2.13 meters tall, and Al Jefferson, who is 2.08 meters tall, stand together and prepare to jump the ball, the height gap between the two is quite obvious.

Jefferson is not a spring man, so the height difference makes him have no advantage in jumping the ball, and he is easily surpassed by Jokic.

The opening basketball fell to the Bucks. Knight caught the ball and ran across half-court, then paused at the top arc and passed the basketball to Antetokounmpo, who came out to receive the ball.

After Antetokounmpo caught the ball, he stood still and raised his arms slightly.

Seeing his gesture, the Bucks players quickly withdrew to the outside line. Even Jokic was no exception and stood near the free throw line.

Al Jefferson hesitated slightly when he saw this, but followed him out.

In his understanding, European big men are very good at shooting, and the distance from the free throw line does not affect their shooting percentage.

This is also true. Jokic's shooting range can also reach beyond the three-point line. Although his shooting rate is inferior to that of super shooters like Nowitzki, it is still enough to attract defenses.

As a result, Cody Zeller, who was guarding Antetokounmpo, followed Antetokounmpo out of the perimeter with a confused look on his face, and then watched the opponent make a triple-threat posture that only defenders would use.

Cody Zeller: "???"

The next moment, Antetokounmpo suddenly exerted force, and he was as powerful as a cheetah hunting. He passed Cody Zeller in one step, then immediately took off in two steps, and smashed the basketball into the basket with a crisp tomahawk dunk.

basket.

"boom--!"

At the same time as the sound of the rim being hit hard, the Bradley Center, home of the Bucks, was plunged into a sea of ​​exclamations.

"Oh! My God, what did I just see?"

O'Neal's mouth opened into an O-shape, and he was so disbelieving that he was cold.

"The guy who is close to 7 feet only took one step to start, and he already took one step inside the three-point line! His breakthrough speed is not inferior to the top point guards in the league! Cody Zeller didn't react at all.

time!"

Peak Antetokounmpo's breakthrough and single-round lethality are even more terrifying than James. After all, James in the Cavaliers 1.0 era, although his breakthrough lethality is very huge, is also related to his unique six-step layup.

When he came to the Heat and angered Stern, he lost this privilege, which greatly reduced James' offensive lethality and was one of the main reasons for losing to the Mavericks in 2011.

Of course, James later worked hard and developed superb post-up skills and no longer relied entirely on breakthroughs as an offensive method. That is all a story later.

Antetokounmpo's breakthrough and lethality are mainly reflected in his terrifying height, gibbon-like wingspan, and speed that is not inferior to that of a defender.

The combination of these factors makes it impossible to stop him once he starts on the outside unless two human shields are stationed on the inside for a long time.

In this regard, the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in the 18-19 season did very well.

Marc Gasol, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and Serge Ibaka, a shot-blocking maniac, have been stationed at the basket almost all year round, denying Antetokounmpo any chance to easily hit the basket.

The current Giannis Antetokounmpo is far from as powerful as the muscular Greek monster in the future, but the thinner he is, the faster he is even better. With no one blocking him in the paint, it is so easy to attack.

Looking at Antetokounmpo returning to defense with brisk steps, Cody Zeller felt a little uncomfortable.

Cody Zeller, like Antetokounmpo, was a rookie in 2013. The difference is that he was the No. 6 pick, while Antetokounmpo was only the No. 12 pick. From a draft perspective, Cody Zeller.

Zeller has an absolute advantage.

But in fact this is not the case. After being selected by the Pistons with the No. 6 pick in the 2013 draft, his life with the Pistons was not easy. He has been playing as a substitute and averaged only 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

After the 2013-14 season, the Pistons traded him to the Hornets, and in the Hornets, he was just a blue-collar guy who defended Al Jefferson and grabbed rebounds.

On the other hand, what about Antetokounmpo, the No. 12 pick who was not as good as him?

Although his statistics were just that last season, he was still able to make the starting lineup. This season, he is regarded as the cornerstone of the team by Wang Xiao. Just now, he even scored a single goal against him with ease, as if in a playful way.

But he was still unhappy and there was nothing he could do about it.

On the offensive end, Cody Zeller doesn't have any ball rights, and no one from the Hornets players will pass the ball to him. The basketball is either in the hands of Kemba Walker or Al Jefferson. How could it be his turn?

A blue collar guy.

On the defensive end, with just that shot, Cody Zeller realized that he alone might not be able to guard Antetokounmpo.

Although the two are similar in height, there is not a slight difference in speed. As a traditional insider, Cody Zeller cannot keep up with Antetokounmpo's defender-like speed.

The Hornets head coach also realized this, so he immediately took command from the sidelines and arranged for Jefferson to stand firmly inside and not give Antetokounmpo enough room to break through.

…

The Hornets' offense was initiated by Kemba Walker.

As the point guard regarded by Jordan as the core of the team, Walker enjoyed absolute offensive power in the Hornets. Facing Knight's defense, Walker dribbled the ball quickly from the outside and then used his teammates' pick-and-roll to score an inside layup. However, Yorkey

Qi's defense was very active, causing the basketball to miss the basket, and then was caught by Antetokounmpo.

After grabbing the rebound, Antetokounmpo didn't pause at all, and immediately dribbled towards the frontcourt.

His pace was so big and so fast that the Hornets' inside players couldn't keep up. Only three Hornets outside players had time to return to defense.

Then, they retreated quickly and were stunned to see Antetokounmpo starting a layup from outside the three-point line.

The first step was on the three-point line, and the second step still reached the free throw line. Antetokounmpo's pace was really too big!

The Hornets players reacted and wanted to step forward to defend, but it was already too late.

At this distance, for the sake of safety, Antetokounmpo did not use a move like a free throw line dunk, but chose a pick-up action. With his body in the air, he just stretched his arms, and his long arms had already

The basketball is delivered to the basket.

4:0!

At the beginning, Antetokounmpo scored 4 points in a row, leading the Bucks to an early advantage!

"Beautiful fast break, Antetokounmpo is fully displaying his talent to his new coach. It seems that he also understands that the coach sitting on the sidelines may become his boss."

Kenny Smith couldn't help but sigh: "I have to say that this Greek guy who is regarded by Wang Xiao as the cornerstone of the team seems to be a little bit different."

…

Wang Xiao sat quietly on the sidelines watching the game, with a slight smile on his face.
Chapter completed!