Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 264 The Series Lead

The Lakers' tactics are really nothing new. In the second half, their reaction was the same as the Timberwolves coaching staff speculated.

Kobe is the main attacker, Gasol is helping, and the others are staying.

In this way, the Lakers basically fell into the Timberwolves' defensive pocket.

They want to crack, unless Kobe starts Wushuang and ignores the flanking to get everything done.

Kobe has that kind of time, but it is not a regular state, and the time when Kobe took over the game strongly this season is actually less and less. Don’t look at the statistics, you will know that Kobe is also affected by his age.

The Lakers are still in the original routine, and some things are out of control, but they encountered the mighty Timberwolves again.

"How is it possible, how can the Lakers' offense be so poor?"

"It should be that the Timberwolves' defense is so good, beautiful! Milicic sent out a big cap again. Last year, some people thought that signing Milicic would be a bad contract, and now it seems to be worth it."

"Kobe really doesn't pass the ball, does he want to have zero assists?"

"Kobe is not a point guard. It's obvious that other people are not good enough. Odom is absent-minded. Artest can't even be a second-year rookie. The decline is too fast. Gasol's performance is not good."

"Hey, I can't blame Gasol, Gasol seems to have been cheated by others, it's miserable..."

Because of the anticipation, the Timberwolves played the best defensive quarter, while the Lakers' performance was a disaster.

In fact, if you don't look at the offense, the Lakers' defense is also doing well.

During the intermission, the coaching staff of the Lakers also did their work. In the third quarter, the defensive strength of both sides improved, and the Timberwolves also encountered some troubles on the offensive end.

It's a pity that the Lakers played worse. In contrast, the Timberwolves performed much better.

The Lakers encountered the most troublesome time, the score was behind, and Odom came up and was not strong.

So Bryant had a shorter break in the second half, and Gasol was always on the court when he rested.

The arrogance of the Lakers in the first game has already disappeared under the difficulty of the game.

But that's it, the Lakers' scoring is still problematic.

Under the strong defense of the Timberwolves, the Lakers played like the Hornets.

In fact, the Timberwolves' defense is not so good today. Before, it was always because the Lakers had extra players to stand up. Today, except for Kobe and the Twin Towers, other players are restricted to death.

Moreover, the performance of the twin towers is also limited, not much better than the twin towers of the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves' role players are much better than the Lakers.

Since Zhang Sixin coached the Timberwolves, he has never brought in any big-name players, but their players who can play have always been the first in the league. Zhang Sixin deserves the word "magic".

"We must play resolutely!" Kobe encouraged his teammates after he quickly entered the court at the end of the quarter.

The score is behind, the situation of the Lakers is very bad, but Bryant believes that they still have a chance.

He endured his temper and first used the Timberwolves to pinch him a few times.

After his teammates failed to hit, Kobe was very annoyed and directly turned on the personal mode.

Then in the pinch of the Timberwolves, two-pointers and three-pointers hit the iron.

In order to chase points, the Lakers increased their three-point shots, but the effect was not good.

Now the league also knows that the Timberwolves are very good at defending three-pointers, but when it comes to chasing points, many teams don't have too many choices.

Zhang Sixin is a bit contemptuous. Like many teams in the league, the Lakers usually don't pay much attention to three-pointers.

Halfway through the final quarter, the Lakers not only failed to catch up with the score, but the score gap between the two teams was even wider.

The Timberwolves led by double digits, and the outcome of the game gradually lost its suspense.

Playing against the Timberwolves again in the playoffs, the Lakers' coaching staff was a little confused.

Last season, the Lakers only remembered Curry's miraculous performance, but this time the Timberwolves not only stood up again, but their tactical coordination felt much better than the Lakers.

"How can the team's cooperation be so tacit? The intensity of the playoffs is not the regular season?"

"The Timberwolves have controlled their mistakes too well. The rookie players are all so stable. How did they do it?"

"It's impossible, how could the Timberwolves do this?"

The coaching staff of the Lakers really had no choice. Their head coach Phil Jackson could only pretend to be calm on the sidelines, hoping that the players could break out and save the team.

However, the truth is always cruel.

The Lakers still missed the outside line, and when it was their turn to defend, they lost backcourt rebounds several times.

I don't know if the Timberwolves are too strong on the rebound or the Lakers are out of shape. They can't keep the rebounds with the twin towers.

Zhang Sixin applauded from the sidelines. Love's rebounding is really talented.

With DeRozan hitting a three-pointer from the outside, Zhang Sixin could feel the decline of the Lakers' morale from the sidelines.

Kobe began to play hard, facing the pincer attack with all kinds of strength with his body.

He still has to get a few fouls, and he will still give this face at home.

Bryant hit a free throw and forced a pull-up from beyond the three-point line.

Although it is not a particularly explosive performance for Kobe, it can be regarded as the level of one person carrying the team.

The point is that when Kobe scored consecutive points, the gap between the two teams did not narrow.

This is more sad, but Kobe Bryant made consecutive hits and missed consecutive hits, no matter which player the hit rate seems to have a certain law of conservation.

The time entered the last 2 minutes, and the Lakers chose to play a small lineup and various three-pointers.

But the miracle didn't happen, and their choices just made their three-point shooting percentage lower.

When the time entered the last minute, the Lakers replaced Kobe and voluntarily surrendered.

The Timberwolves won the Lakers away and regained the home court advantage.

After the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson could no longer continue to be a gentleman. He said angrily: "We played a little badly. I don't think our offense is bad. I care about our defense. We think this is our problem tonight."

"I wish the big men on the team could make it harder for the Timberwolves, but they didn't. I was thinking about whipping them..."

Zhang Sixin was very satisfied and said: "Most of the time, we did a good job, helping each other and fighting for every inch of the ground. This is what we need to do. When we help each other, fight tenaciously, and grab good rebounds, we are a very good defensive team. We did this tonight."

"I just believe that we can win in the end. We have a longer-term goal. For now, we enjoy this moment, it will be short, and then we will maintain focus. The key to success is focus. We have to prepare for the next game. The series is far from over."

(End of this chapter)