basketball pope

Chapter 258 [The Lakers reverse, the trap is dug]

On June 6, the Lakers faced the Blazers at home, and the brutal tiebreaker began.

"Zen Master" Phil Jackson showed his coaching talent. Instead of blindly playing the triangle offense, he let O'Neal pull out the pick-and-roll, support from a high position, reduce shots, and help his teammates open up.

This move is aimed at preventing the pick-and-roll slowness of the aging Sabonis, and the idea is correct.O'Neal storms the basket, but instead allows Sabonis to play a defensive role. His height and tonnage are not inferior to O'Neal.

After the adjustment, the Lakers' perimeter offense opened up, and the hit rate increased collectively.But the Blazers' core Rasheed Wallace was not a vegetarian either. He had the best performance in the individual series, hitting 70% in the first three quarters and scoring 26 points, driving the team's offense.

Steve Smith moved to catch the ball and made 4 of 3 three-pointers, which also ensured the team's perimeter firepower.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers trailed by 15 points. Before the fourth quarter, the Lakers bench was desperate and confused.

On the Blazers side, coach Mike Dunleavy pinched his waist on the sidelines, confident and arrogant.

His hairline is matched with the attitude of a winner. If there are many braids on the back of his head, it will be like Nurhaci bringing Manqing into the customs, waiting to bring his iron cavalry into the finals to burn, kill and loot.

As a result, the situation changed abruptly. At the beginning of the final quarter, the Lakers launched a long-range attack and started to counterattack.Shaquille O'Neal acted as a pivot in the interior to attract defense, passed the ball to drive the team, and quickly filled in the 15-point hole.

The Blazers Sabonis couldn't defend well against pick-and-rolls, so he sent Marcus Camby, and his thin body couldn't handle O'Neal.At this time, Dunleavy missed Kevin Cato in particular.If Cato was there, it wouldn't be so hard to deal with the Lakers.

At the last moment, the game entered "shark time".O'Neal scored consecutive hooks, dunks and free throws to seal the victory.It's amazing that O'Neal made the free throws in key games and made 12 of 8 shots.

The six Lakers scored in double figures, and with joint efforts, the Lakers won 93-88.

The Raptors watched the game together. After the game, Yang Rui turned off the TV and walked onto the podium. "Okay, let's talk about your thoughts now. In addition to the shark slashing tactics, how to deal with the Lakers is suitable, not only assistant coaches, but also any ideas."

Little O'Neal raised his hand first, and the room burst into laughter as soon as he spoke.

"Jerry, can you predict the lottery ticket for tomorrow? I'm going to buy a bet. I should be able to win, right?"

Yang Rui is not angry either, the atmosphere in the Raptors team is like this, as long as they don't mess around during the game.

"I can't predict the lottery, but I can give you a big plan to make a fortune. Everyone has a Minion account, and they know Facebook, right? If Facebook goes public one day, you can buy stocks and wait for the appreciation." Yang Rui is As soon as he said it casually, he didn't care whether he believed it or not.

Thibodeau raised his hand to speak. "I suggest that the defensive end defend O'Neal alone and strictly guard the Lakers' perimeter. That's what the Blazers did, and it really works. If the teammates can't open up, O'Neal's data is against the sky and can't win. In addition, I suggest that Cato start and Miller lead the game. Substitute, so our second unit attack is also stronger."

D'Antoni said: "My suggestion is to take a fast break when you have a chance, run with O'Neal, and drain his energy. The positional battle took O'Neal out of the basket, and the guards dislocated him to attack him. If he can't get past him, he will be distributed to his teammates. attack."

Everyone spoke enthusiastically and agreed to withdraw O'Neal from the basket. This fat man was too powerful near the penalty area.His offensive dominance is invincible, he can resist people and block shots on defense, stop at the basket, and block half of the penalty area.

Yang Rui decided on a one-on-one defense against O'Neal, focusing on counterattacks and outside ball-free screening.

After the meeting, he left Doug Christie alone.

"Doug, this finals, your task is very heavy, I will arrange for you to defend Kobe, but it is not enough, because I am worried that Kobe is too few shots, so I need your cooperation."

"Worried about taking less shots?" Christie asked in confusion, "How do you want me to cooperate?"

"It's very simple. I went out for an interview and said that you will kill Kobe one-on-one in the finals. He's nothing special at all. It's just that he produced good statistics next to O'Neal and became an All-Star." Yang Rui smiled.

"But I can't kill him one-on-one." Christie smiled bitterly, suspecting that it was a prank.

Yang Rui said sternly: "I'm not joking, and I know you can't prevent him, but the team needs you to do it. If you can anger Kobe and get him to shoot [-] times a game, then you will be the No. [-] Raptors championship. hero."

Christie said stunned: "You've already confused me."

"No way? You don't even understand this? As long as you control Kobe's shooting rate within 45%, prevent breakthroughs and reduce fouls, how many points can he score for more than 20 shots? I can tell you clearly, it's only about 60 points, high shots for high scores. If O'Neal plays endlessly, the insiders will have to take turns fouling, playing in rotation, and affecting the offense. O'Neal's shooting rate may be [-]%. If you sacrifice yourself, everyone will be comfortable." Yang Rui explained his thoughts.

Christie and the three teaching assistants understood.

Before discussing tactics, Yang Rui asked everyone to speak, but now he throws out his tactics, which is still psychological warfare.

What is Kobe's character? At the age of 19, he dared to let Malone go away, and he made three consecutive key shots in the playoffs. He thought about expressing himself every moment.

If Christie really said that, Kobe Bryant will definitely be angry, and he may go to him, just like challenging Pippen in the last series.

It's not just psychological warfare.In Yang Rui's impression, Kobe Bryant and Christie did not take advantage of the matchup.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Christie was the most underrated Kobe finisher, and his defensive effect was better than Laga Bell, Battier, Artest and others.

Although his data was blown up by Kobe in every matchup, the effect of his one-on-one defense was very obvious. Kobe's shooting percentage was often less than 40%. It is said that the limit is less than 45%, which is to relieve Christie. Kobe's career average The hit rate is less than 45%.

Christie was at the peak of the offense-dominated Kings team. Not half of the team was weak in defense. Unlike Prince in the Pistons era and Bowen in the Spurs era, it’s not that they have bad defense, but they all have strong defenses behind them. The defensive system has a halo bonus, and Christie has nothing. For more time, he is fighting alone, and he is continuously selected for the defensive lineup of the year, which is the greatest affirmation.

And, as a swingman who can play three positions, Christie is a tech-flow defensive lock.With an average of less than 2.5 fouls per game, the nickname "Scalpel" is not for nothing.

Yang Rui's previous life, when Kobe Bryant played against Christie in his career, averaged only 43.3% shooting, 21.5 of 9.3, 3.3 of 1 three-pointers, 30.3%, 8.9 of 7.6, 84.7% of the free throws, got 27.2 points, 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Christie himself rarely fouls, and most of Kobe's terrifying free throws are fouls by breaking into the inside line after the pick-and-roll.The King's interior defense was terrible, and when Kobe was at his peak, Christie's state had declined. Aside from these factors, from 1997-2003, the two played against each other, and Kobe's efficiency was pitiful.

In addition, the Raptors' power forward is Shaquille O'Neal. The pick-and-roll defense is stronger than the King, and Kobe is more difficult to score.

Yang Rui has dug a trap, waiting for Kobe to jump.

PS: The fourth one is sent. Today is my birthday. Thank you for sending the monthly pass as a gift!
In addition, at the request of some readers and friends, the update time of this book has been slightly changed. The first change is 11:15, and then the update is at 17, 20, and [-] on the hour. Yes, I will continue to update it tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Thank you for your support. !

(End of this chapter)