Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 158 Equalizing
On the sidelines, Lakers head coach Jackson's face is already a bit bad.

Kobe has not been off the court, and the team's offensive problem has occurred, and Jackson is actually very clear, that is, Gasol went down to rest.

In fact, he also wanted Gasol to win the match point in one fell swoop without rest like he did on the court several times.

But there were problems on the court, and Gasol's lack of physical strength in the final quarter was also one aspect.

Therefore, under the calm surface of the Zen Master, there was hesitation, and he did not make a decision in the end.

So while waiting for Gasol to go into battle again, the Timberwolves led by more than 5 points again, and Kobe's explosion in the third quarter was all in vain.

The good news is that the Lakers don't feel the same when Gasol is on the floor.

When the Lakers have a complete lineup, they are still better than the Timberwolves, but the backup is not strong.

It's just that at this time, the Lakers are already behind, and it is not so easy for them to reverse the situation in the last few minutes.

Gasol came back to help attract the attention of the defense, and Bryant's shooting percentage began to improve.

But Odom continued to stretch his hips, missed the mid-range shot, and finally got a free throw opportunity, but missed two free throws.

The free throws at critical moments in the playoffs can best see the player's mentality. The Lakers have several players with a bit of mentality problem, which makes the team not so stable.

On the Timberwolves side, Curry hit again, and the pressure on the Lakers players increased a little.

"That's it. We don't need to be better than our opponents in everything, and we don't need to compare with the opponent's superstars. We just need to be good at playing our own advantages and hitting the ball." Zhang Sixin said happily.

The performance of the Timberwolves at home is indeed satisfactory. Many Timberwolves supporters outside have seen hope again and began to look forward to it.

However, it is impossible for the Lakers to end up like this.

Kobe next hit a difficult two-pointer, and then steals DeRozan's second pass to Artest to score, abruptly letting the suspense of the game continue.

This is the ability of superstars, who can always break the game in ways that others can't imagine.

"It's okay, continue to defend well." Zhang Sixin communicated with the players immediately.

Mistakes at critical moments are sometimes difficult to avoid, but it is necessary to prevent players from falling into chaos.

If the player himself cannot make adjustments in the first place, the coach must definitely help.

When a player is very tired, the physical reaction may be separated from the mental thinking. If you have participated in high-intensity competitive games, you will know that if the player does something incredible on the field, the brain has not reacted.

If the coach doesn't wake them up, something will happen.

And sometimes just a word, an encouragement, can change.

Therefore, Zhang Sixin feels that as a head coach, it is not only about quietly arranging tactics, but also communicating with players, whether it is during games or other times.

The team's offense can also stimulate the defense. After Kobe played a tough performance, the Lakers defended well in both rounds.

With Gasol grabbing offensive rebounds, the Lakers narrowed the gap to less than 5 points.

Zhang Sixin's timeout was all on his lips, but in the Timberwolves' offense, after Curry missed, Love also grabbed an offensive rebound, and then caused a foul by Odom.

Then Odom hit the iron with a three-pointer, and Jefferson made Gasol another foul.

The Timberwolves' free throws were okay, and the lead suddenly came up again.

This is the advantage of the leading side. Even if the opponent performs well, as long as they seize some opportunities, they can still stabilize the score.

Zhang Sixin felt that Zen master paid too much attention to tactics. Odom's triangle offense is indeed good, and his tactics are very rich, but his efficiency is really not very good.

If it was Bynum, the Timberwolves' inside line would definitely not be so brave.

Of course, then the Lakers may be more worried about three-pointers.

The contest between the two strong teams is also a game of tactics, and it doesn't matter if the Lakers choose to stick to their strongest tactics.

After the score was drawn, Kobe continued to show off his power again, and also made shots in the face of flanking attacks.

It's just that he didn't make a strong three-point shot.

Zhang Sixin doesn't know why, maybe it's because he hasn't rested and his physical strength has caused an alarm, or the Lakers' tactical arrangement is like this.

Because Kobe didn't pass the ball completely at this time, he would still pay attention to some three-point opportunities that the team ran.

When Kobe went crazy, the score gap narrowed, and when Kobe didn't score, the score gap widened again.

In the process, the game time is slowly being consumed.

In the last 2 minutes, except for Kobe and Gasol, the other three Lakers squatted at the three-point line.

It's a pity that he didn't hit a hit all the time, but it made the suspense of the game less.

Odom waited until the last tens of seconds and finally hit a three-pointer, but it was too late.

The Timberwolves still led by more than 5 points, and then they began to control the time.

The Lakers made a foul tactic, and Love made two free throws.

But after they missed the attack, they gave up the game directly.

There are only a few seconds left, which is meaningless.

As a result, the Timberwolves kept their home court and the series was tied 2:2.

After the game, the head coach of the Lakers didn't take seriously the reporter's question about how to crack the Timberwolves' defense. He said: "We have a very good shooting percentage, and our offense is fine. The key to the problem is that we didn't defend the Timberwolves' offense well. I think so."

Kobe talked about the performance of the Timberwolves' substitute. He said: "Their performance off the bench is too great."

The Lakers' bench has never been very strong, but it is rare to have such a huge gap with their opponents. Zhang Sixin also praised the team's bench lineup.

He said, "The team's rotation lineup has a fantastic performance. They really make a difference in the game. Our current results this season are inseparable from everyone on the team. I hope they can continue to perform. As long as they stabilize, their strength is definitely at the starting level."

And Jackson finally couldn't help but said: "I think our team still performed better than the Timberwolves in the away game, but they didn't get the victory they hoped for. They beat us at the free throw line in both games. This is the most critical difference."

This is not the first time the head coach of the Lakers has made insinuations like this. Everyone has the home whistle. If the Timberwolves were not crowded, the foul problem would still be obvious. After all, Kobe has the most free throws per game.

But Zhang Sixin still agrees with some words of coach Jackson.

For example, the other party also said, "The fifth game can change the trend of the entire series. Let's see what happens then. It should be interesting."

After the Timberwolves entered the playoffs, they encountered the Tianwangshan battle for the first time.

This will go to the home court of the Lakers. If the Timberwolves want to strive for a miracle, they need to make more efforts.

"Gentlemen, the worst battle is about to begin." Zhang Sixin said to the players.

(End of this chapter)