Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 579: Maizi and Kezi scared Bobo to tears!
After the Bobcats swept the Celtics 4-0, Du Kang gave the Bobcats players two days off to rest and then prepare for the finals.

However, the Bobcats' finals opponent doesn't seem to be that easy to come by.

The Thunder is a very tenacious team, especially after playing against the Warriors this season, it was visibly that the Thunder had produced a very terrifying chemical reaction.

The amazing thing about basketball games is that the team that wins is not necessarily the stronger team.

If you were to calculate the relationship between the NBA champion and the strongest team in each season, perhaps, most of the time the team with the strongest strength on paper is not the champion.

For example, the shot that determines the outcome of a basketball game.

Compare Kobe and Westbrook.

This is the most extreme example. In a series, Kobe's shooting percentage may be lower than Westbrook's.

When Westbrook's form is fully up to par, he has the ability to perform well in every game.

In the NBA, even a role player can play a magical game because of the team's strong chemistry and excellent condition.

Not to mention the players of the Thunder, basically each of them is a star with unique skills.

Durant, Westbrook, Anthony, and even Carter, it's unreasonable when they play magical basketball.

Another point that is very unfavorable to the Lakers is that the Lakers' star player McGrady has been competing with Durant in this series, and Kobe and Westbrook have also been competing with each other.

Durant and Westbrook are young players that McGrady and Kobe like very much.

Maizi and Kezi have always looked upon these two young men with a different eye.

However, for Mai Zi and Kobe, the most efficient way to beat the Thunder is to end the series quickly, preferably within five games.

The longer the time drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Lakers who have many veterans. The more they play against the Thunder, the more energetic they will be, and the more tired the Lakers will be.

But Kobe and Michael Jordan obviously did not intend to use that very utilitarian and efficient style of play in the series against the Thunder.

I have to compete with Durant and Westbrook.

Maizi and Kezi are definitely very strong in singles.

If it really comes to a one-on-one match, McGrady and Kobe will definitely beat Durant and Westbrook.

But the real game is not a one-on-one match.

After all, Mai Zi and Kobe are old. When you attack, Durant and Westbrook will bite you madly, consume you, and defend you. When you defend, you have to defend Westbrook and Durant with the same intensity.

With such offensive and defensive intensity, it would not be easy even for Danzi, let alone Maizi and Kezi.

Compared to McGrady and Kobe, Westbrook and Durant seem to never get tired.

When McGrady and Kobe compete with Durant and Westbrook, most of the time the situation is that in the first quarter of the game, McGrady and Kobe have a huge advantage, but slowly the advantage is getting smaller. In the second half, Kobe and McGrady's advantage disappears. In the fourth quarter, Kobe and McGrady are at a disadvantage, and a big disadvantage. Durant and Westbrook can still rush and run, but McGrady and Kobe can only put their hands on their hips.

The key is that Kobe and McGrady fell into the rhythm of Westbrook and Durant, and they accelerated the tempo. If they missed one-on-one shots, it would be very easy for the opponent to counterattack and fast break. The Thunder team was fast, and even Yao Ming and Jokic were dragged down by Kobe and McGrady.

Almost since G1 when Kobe and McGrady chose to compete with Westbrook and Durant, Kobe and McGrady have never won completely in any game.

For soloists like Danzi, victory is sometimes very important, but sometimes, it doesn't seem that important. The most important thing is to defeat the opponent and win.

If you don't defeat your opponent, you won't think about winning.

You started a fight, and before you defeated your opponent, you already wanted the team's victory. That means it was the team's victory, not your victory. This was certainly acceptable to James. When the Big Three played against Rose, he could shamelessly bring Wade to double-team him.

Even Rodman knew about this. Olajuwon was the Admiral's man. After the Admiral was humiliated by Olajuwon, even if he cried, it would have to be because he was beaten one-on-one by Olajuwon.

This is the character of these old-school players.

For many people, this kind of character must be very uncomfortable.

For example, Popovich.

Popovich was miserable.

It is obvious that if the Lakers follow his ideas, they can easily defeat the Thunder, but these Lakers players have to play with the Thunder at the Thunder's rhythm.

Isn’t this nonsense!

Seeing McGrady and Kobe messing around, Yao Ming and Jokic, the Lakers players who were dragged down by McGrady and Kobe, actually supported them one by one.

And the support was so strong that even Popovich couldn't refute it.

"If Coach D was still the head coach of the Lakers, he would also support TMC and Kobe in doing this!"

Yes, I will definitely support it, 100% support!

How could Popovich not know this?

How could Popovich not see why Mai and Kobe wanted to compete with Durant and Westbrook?

Because, these two are using themselves, and this series, to pass on their legacy!
Durant is the successor that Mai Zi found.

Westbrook is the successor that Ke Zi found.

The two are using this series to teach their apprentices!

These two are really good disciples. It is visibly that they are getting stronger and harder to deal with in every game. This is like raising a tiger that will cause trouble later!
The Lakers can't fight a long-term battle. Now they are doing this. Isn't this just chaos?

If the game really goes to a Game 7, Kobe and McGrady will be so exhausted that they can't play, and even Yao Ming will be dragged down and can't play. What should the Lakers do?
"If TMC and Kobe really mess up in the end and the series has to go to Game 7, then leave it to us."

Popovich looked at Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Ebanks, McCaw, Dinwiddie, Ricky Leakey and other young players, and finally nodded. Fuel, Mai Zi and Kobe were willful in this series.

"Maybe after this season, McGrady and Kobe will retire."

Popovich understood why these young Lakers players were so fond of Kobe, McGrady and Roy.

Jordan in the finals was the opponent.

Jordan was once their dream and goal.

Now they have become Jordan's target.

After the finals.

They will leave the NBA, and then the people who will replace their spirit and compete with Jordan will be Durant and Westbrook.

No one is more suitable to be the spokesperson for McGrady and Kobe than them.

Neither can Beasley.

Beasley is so strong now.

So strong that he doesn’t look like McGrady anymore.

So, after the first four games of this series against the Thunder, the two teams were tied 2-2.

This means that this series will have to be played to at least six games, which is a very dangerous thing.

Especially Westbrook and Durant are getting stronger and stronger. Westbrook and Durant are both very talented, but their basketball IQ is sometimes really speechless.

Durant plays with a cold hand, Westbrook gets carried away at every turn, and there is no doubt that these low basketball IQ behaviors are learned from their idols McGrady and Kobe.

What McGrady and Kobe were criticized for in the past was that they couldn't see the situation of the game clearly and often acted recklessly.

He didn't attack when he should have, and just passed the ball out of anger.

Not passing the ball when you should, just trying to force the attack.

After being trained by Coach D, the two now have a nearly perfect basketball IQ. They know when to attack and when to pass, and even when they don't have the ball, they can use their attractiveness to create better opportunities for their teammates by moving without the ball on the court.

Even if Maizi and Kezi are just walking around the court, they can create opportunities for their teammates.

The basketball IQ of these two is now so strong that it is terrifying.

Now, they want to pass on their understanding of the game and basketball to Westbrook and Durant.

"You will be happy to see that they are so much like their younger selves, but you will feel sad when you think that they will experience a lot of failures in the future and may never succeed. We have been saved by Coach D, and now we also want to save their careers. As for whether we can change them, it depends on their luck. Let's do our best. They are the legacy we leave to the NBA after we leave the NBA."

Maizi and Kezi's attitude is now very firm.

It's different from Popovich who trembled when he saw Westbrook and Durant's improvement game after game.

Mai Zi and Ke Zi were really happy to see Westbrook and Durant improving game by game.

"These two guys are very talented, and they have been well trained over the years."

After losing the last game, the two teams were tied at 2-2 and G5 was about to start. Maizi and Kezi were still talking and laughing before the game, and they were not worried at all about being caught up and having to play a sixth game.

Staples Center, Los Angeles.

Game 5 between the Lakers and the Thunder is about to begin. At this moment, the fans in Los Angeles are extremely excited.

To be honest, the game between McGrady, Kobe, Westbrook and Durant is really exciting to watch.

For football fans, this kind of exciting, picturesque game with a large number of one-on-one duels in every game is really very interesting.

There is a charm in playing tactics.

Playing primitive basketball also has its own charm.

But for most fans, the original charm of basketball is more attractive.

Even Du Kang and the Bobcats players actually really like watching the series between the Lakers and the Thunder.

The game against the Celtics was meaningless. The Celtics had too many problems and the players had too many problems. According to Du Kang, he had ten thousand ways to sweep the Celtics 4-0.

But the Lakers and Thunder are completely different teams.

The Lakers are really strong.

The Thunder is really fierce.

Any of these two teams will be a formidable enemy of the Bobcats in the finals.

After Game 4 between the Thunder and the Lakers, TNT asked experts to rate the three remaining teams in the NBA playoffs.

Taking the Bobcats as the standard, let's assume that the Bobcats are S-level.

Then the Lakers are S+.

The Thunder, on the other hand, are S- to S+.

This rating is very interesting.

According to TNT experts.

The Bobcats are stronger than the Thunder.

But if you want to beat the Lakers, then only the Thunder can beat the Lakers, the Bobcats can't beat the Lakers.

Although TNT's statement still underestimates the Bobcats, it still makes some sense.

"In the Game 4 match between the Thunder and the Lakers, it was obvious that Westbrook knew that if he tried to force his opponent, he would be doomed. He needed to slow down and be steady. Westbrook now understands how to be slow. Understanding the boundary between fast and slow is a sign of a young player's maturity."

This is very interesting. In Jordan's words, Westbrook has played in the NBA for so many years, but he still plays like a young player who has just started out and is not mature yet. As Westbrook's number one fan, Du Kang does not want to defend his idol.

"I still like Westbrook's simplicity."

"His fans like it, his opponents like it too, but only his teammates and their fans find it very troubling. Boss, I completely understand this after my rookie season."

Yes, this is what Jordan fully understood after his rookie season, but Westbrook is just getting started now.

"But just getting started, the energy that Russell Westbrook showed was incredible."

Jordan did not object to this because it was a fact.

"The reason is simple. The teammates around him are very good and very suitable for his style of play. Therefore, his slight improvement will be magnified ten, twenty, or even a hundred times by his teammates."

Durant, Anthony, Ibaka, Carter...

Putting aside other things, these people are indeed very suitable for Westbrook who knows how to slow down and observe.

As long as Westbrook can slow down after rushing forward and then pass the ball to the right teammate, the damage caused will be terrifying.

Of course, the strongest player on the Thunder is still Durant.

Durant has a sensitive personality and a sensitive playing style. If he shoots accurately, he is afraid that his teammates will say that he cannot attract double-teaming, so he passes the ball desperately with a hot hand. If he shoots inaccurately, he is afraid that others will say that he is a coward and dares not take responsibility, so he plays hard with a cold hand.

When Kobe led the Lakers to play against the Suns in the first round, he was almost driven to collapse by the media experts and celebrities' confusion about shooting and passing.

It wasn't until Gasol came that the triangle offense could finally rotate smoothly, and Kobe was able to solve the boundary between his offense and passing.

Durant's current sensitive condition is almost exactly the same as Kobe's at that time.

In fact, it is just a lack of self-confidence and not enough confidence in oneself.

For Durant, physical strength is limited. Instead of wasting limited physical strength on ineffective ball control and passing, it is better to use this physical strength to do what he does best.

This is also the essence of the triangle offense.

Controlling the ball, passing the ball, organizing, these things, leave them to Pippen and Gasol. When the ball is in your hands, just do it. Don't control the ball and pass the ball ineffectively. If you can't do it, it's naturally because the opponent is double-teaming you. Then just pass the ball to your teammates. There is no need to worry about it, and there will be no mistakes. It's such a simple thing.

McGrady and Kobe are teaching Durant and Westbrook this kind of minimalist basketball.

Bite it into pieces and feed it into the mouths of these two young men.

"I fed Popovich so much that he almost cried."

"After all, this series is really going to be a Game 7!"

(End of this chapter)