The first half ended with a score of 35-23.
The Memphis Tigers led by 11 points. In the locker room, everyone seemed a bit dejected. Westbrook even had a towel draped over his head, sitting silently in front of his locker, lost in thought.
Everyone was a bit out of sorts. As for why, it was obvious: Derrick Rose.
The strength gap between the two teams was not significant; in fact, on paper, UCLA even had an advantage. So why was UCLA trailing by as many as 12 points at halftime?
It's important to remember that in NCAA, an offensive possession lasts 30 seconds, and the total game time is only 40 minutes, meaning there are roughly 90-100 possessions per game.
In such a relatively slow-paced game, a 12-point deficit was already a very large score difference.
The reason was simple: both the coach's defensive strategy and Rose's performance went awry.
Coach Holland's initial defensive strategy was a 2-3 zone defense, which perfectly covered Love's slow movement defending pick-and-rolls, while also utilizing Barmote and Zhao Xiu's wing rotation and help defense to better contain Rose's drives.
This was also the standard answer for defending Memphis or a penetration-type guard like Rose.
But the problem was, why couldn't anyone stop the Memphis Tigers in March Madness, even though everyone knew the standard answer? There were two answers tonight: Rose made his shots, and others made theirs too. Rose's drives simply couldn't be stopped.
The reason the Bruins were so disheartened in the first half was not just because of a tactical failure, but because they simply couldn't contain Rose's drives.
When you break through a double-team, and that player can freely weave and dodge, swiftly passing through two defenders, then drive into the paint and score a reverse layup over your center, or pass to an open teammate, that kind of blow is unprecedented.
This made the Bruins' defensive strategy very awkward, falling short on both ends. Shots they tactically conceded were made, and the drives they primarily focused on defending also weren't stopped.
They couldn't even gamble on the opponent's shooting going cold in the second half, because even if it did, Rose could still beat them with his drives.
In the first half, Rose scored 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists on 6-of-9 shooting!
These terrifying stats were already at the level of an NCAA tournament MOP for an entire game, showing that Rose's usual stats didn't reflect his performance in crucial offensive battles.
Noticing everyone's low morale, Zhao Xiu was also secretly anxious. Zhao Xiu played exceptionally well in the first half. Due to his teammates' average shooting, Zhao Xiu, as the second or even third offensive option, got more shooting opportunities.
In other words, if not for Zhao Xiu's 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, the score would have been much wider much earlier.
Anxious, he thought about how various NBA teams in his previous life dealt with such incredibly fast, strong-driving super guards.
The locker room was quiet at this moment, and morale was a bit low. Zhao Xiu was also silently contemplating a solution.
But halftime break was only 15 minutes, and it would be over in a flash.
Collison, as captain, gave a simple speech, trying to boost the team's morale, but the captain's literary skills were average, and the motivational speech wasn't potent enough.
Even though everyone responded positively, there was an underlying lack of confidence in their words.
Just then, Westbrook, who had the best relationship with Zhao Xiu, sat next to him and grumbled, "Damn it, we couldn't do anything about Derrick in the first half."
Westbrook didn't continue speaking, but the rest of the words didn't need to be said: if things continued this way, they would have a hard time winning the game.
Zhao Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately stood up, startling Westbrook.
Amid Westbrook's confusion and everyone's questioning gazes, he walked out of the locker room.
As soon as he stepped out of the locker room door, he immediately ran into Coach Holland, who was standing outside.
Zhao Xiu was a bit surprised, but then a thought struck him, and he instantly understood. The coach was also anxious, but walking into the locker room without a purpose wouldn't do much good. Coach Holland was also anxious, frustrated by the lack of a solution.
Zhao Xiu exchanged glances with Coach Holland, then without delay, he immediately said, "Ben, I have an idea."
Looking at his proud disciple in front of him, or rather, his wildly growing proud disciple, he hadn't invested too much energy in Zhao Xiu at the beginning.
His attention was more on Westbrook and Kevin Love within the team, but this particular disciple proved to be more and more useful the more he was utilized, repeatedly saving the team from dire situations.
Zhao Xiu, who usually rarely offered his opinions to the coach, spoke up at this moment. As the best performer in the first half, his words carried weight.
Holland nodded, indicating he was listening carefully.
Zhao Xiu organized his thoughts and immediately said.
"I don't think there's any problem with the 2-3 zone defense; it's just that our mindset has some issues."
Hearing this, Holland didn't relax his furrowed brow, because how could he not know these things?
But this didn't solve the practical problem.
Zhao Xiu continued, "But I think our defensive focus has some issues."
Before Coach Holland, who was frowning and about to interrupt him, could continue, Zhao Xiu quickly interjected,
"Our 2-3 zone defense is mainly intended to defend Rose's drives, but it's clear we can't stop Rose's drives, even when we double-team him," he shrugged, and then Zhao Xiu continued.
"Our problem is that we neither defended Rose's drives nor prevented Rose from creating too many open shots for his teammates through his drives. So I think we need to give up some things, abandon some offensive options that they are relatively less confident in."
"I think we need to use Westbrook to press up a bit more to defend Rose. Coach Ben, we have Westbrook, whose speed is in no way inferior to Rose's. And Rose can't shoot this accurately all the time, and Rose can't drive like this for an entire game."
Hearing this, Coach Holland's eyes lit up!
Yes, Rose's drives were unstoppable, and his shooting ability was still poor; it was difficult for him to kill the game with shooting. So, the more important thing was to cut off Rose's connection with his teammates. Without the support of his teammates, could Rose, with Westbrook draped all over him, kill the Bruins?
Seeing that the Bruins' mastermind clearly had an idea, Zhao Xiu wisely didn't say much. Sometimes, speaking at the right moment makes the words have the greatest effect.
Looking up, Holland said to Zhao Xiu, "Good! You go back to the locker room first and tell everyone, I'll be there right away!"
Seeing that his suggestion had an effect, he didn't say anything more. He patted the coach's shoulder and turned to return to the locker room.
As soon as he returned to the locker room, Zhao Xiu was immediately met with everyone's collective gaze again. Normally, everyone had a good relationship, and at this moment, Wei Shao Ye, whose mindset was even more anxious, directly asked,
"What were you discussing with the coach outside? I heard you two seemed to be talking about something out there??"
Zhao Xiu was usually highly respected by his teammates. He was like the team's second assistant coach. Although he never spoke too much, if you asked him a question, he would often give concise answers, and you could tell they weren't fabricated but rather the result of genuine observation.
In other words, although Zhao Xiu didn't proactively offer advice, as long as you consulted him, you would get results, gain something, and have new ideas. He was truly the team's "third assistant coach."
Zhao Xiu smiled mysteriously. He said, "You'll know when the coach comes in a bit," and without another word, while everyone was scratching their heads, he walked straight to Westbrook's side and patted his shoulder.
Before Westbrook could say anything, Coach Holland suddenly pushed the door open and, with his uniquely passionate and loud voice, exclaimed, "Guys, our secret weapon is here! In the second half, we're going to kick their butts!"
With that, he switched to a very simple tactic inspired by Zhao Xiu: "Man-to-man!"
The tactic wasn't particularly complex. The main idea was to no longer strictly guard Rose. Because Rose's driving threat was too great, he could easily penetrate and find teammates who were shooting well. Therefore, trying to defend everything was impossible today, with Rose's hot hand; it would only lead to losing both ends, neglecting one while trying to cover the other.
However, this tactic was a bit "Westbrook-intensive." How to defend Rose one-on-one?
It's simple: you just need to be able to keep up with Rose.
Can Westbrook do that now? The answer is: he can't stop him, but he can keep up.
Seeing everyone looking somewhat confused, with "Is that all? Is that all?" written all over their faces,
Zhao Xiu waited until the coach had finished speaking completely, then took over and said.
"Our biggest problem in the first half wasn't that we were blown out by Rose's scoring, but that we failed to limit Rose from involving his teammates. Do you all agree with that?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhao Xiu continued.
"The coach's tactic is simple: starting in the second half, Wei Shao will take on Rose, allowing him to shoot but not drive. We will handle everyone else, taking care of all of them."
Knowing his good roommate had a strong mentality, Zhao Xiu continued directly. "That's right, Westbrook will have a hard time defending Rose, but our defensive problem in the first half was that we wanted to completely contain Rose, and it proved that we couldn't do it.
The coach's tactical change is to fully defend only Rose's drives, giving him a step for a shot. On every possession, Westbrook needs to put enough defensive pressure on Rose, and then we'll beat them with our offense. Rose can't play like this all game, but we still have Love, and we still have others."
Everyone suddenly understood. At this point, Zhao Xiu sat next to Westbrook and patted him on the shoulder,
"Get up, Russ, you handle Rose. Wasn't this agreed upon before March Madness began?
In the second half, I'm going to kick Roberts' ass, how about you?"
Westbrook didn't reply; he seemed to be under a bit of pressure.
Looks like I need to use some stronger medicine, Zhao Xiu thought.
He immediately used legendary coach Larry Reeves' classic quote, "Come on, Russ, I'm not asking you to shut down Rose, just wear him out!
Damn it, compare stamina with him. Are you, Westbrook, afraid of him?"
With that, he extended his right hand towards Wei Shao.
Immediately grabbing the hand extended towards him, Westbrook shot up, shouting loudly, "Fxxk! Of course I can!"
This loud shout startled everyone, but it also brought a transition to the entire atmosphere on the court. In 2K terms, it was a "morale boost."
At this moment, Zhao Xiu also met Westbrook's gaze, his eyes burning with an unsuppressable fighting spirit, like a raging fire, transmitting into Westbrook's eyes.
Collison glanced at the two of them, walked forward, and placed his hand on Zhao Xiu's hand as well.
Everyone gradually stood up.
Once everyone had placed their hands together, Zhao Xiu shouted,
"We fight!" Everyone shouted along!
After shouting three times, Zhao Xiu continued, "Let's go! Let's kick their butts!"
Then he led the way, running out of the player tunnel.