Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

A group of Nets players gathered around head coach Steve Nash.

Yes, that’s the “Son of the Wind” Steve Nash.

The head coach of the Nets last season was still Kenny Atkins. His performance last season was actually quite good and he led the Nets into the playoffs.

Although they entered the playoffs at a late stage and did not go far in the playoffs, it was still quite good that they made it to the playoffs despite Durant's absence due to injury.

However, with Durant's return this season, the team has undergone many changes.

Obviously, after Durant's return, the Nets' goal is not just to make the playoffs, but to win the championship.

Therefore, the team has changed a lot. In addition to the changes in players, the coaching staff has also changed.

Atkins was fired and replaced as head coach by assistant coach Jacques Vaughn for a while, and then finally by Nash.

At the beginning, many people were not optimistic about Nash, and no one guessed that Nash would take over the position of head coach of the Nets.

Although there is the successful example of Jason Kidd, it does not mean that a star point guard will definitely be able to do a good job as a team's head coach.

The reason why Nash became the head coach of the Nets is rumored to be because of Durant. He has a very good relationship with Durant, so...

As to whether it is true or not, it is unknown.

But after Nash became the head coach of the Nets, he did attach great importance to Durant's opinions, but some problems also arose.

For example, Nash's promotion to head coach was somewhat abrupt. He lacked foundation and prestige, so he seemed a bit too "weak". He either listened to Durant or to assistant coach Vaughn and the coaching staff. He didn't come up with anything convincing of his own and was like a puppet.

In addition, many problems were exposed in the team's tactical system and game guidance.

Fortunately, the Nets' lineup is strong enough, and in the end these problems were overshadowed by the strong personal strength of players such as Durant and Irving.

Until the playoffs, Nash's presence became increasingly low.

In the first round, the second round...all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Nets kept advancing, but it was not easy. Every time at the critical moment, they relied on stars and the players' personal abilities to solve the problems. People didn't see much of Nash's coaching level.

However, the Nets successfully advanced to the championship, leaving people speechless.

Just like Tyronn Lue back then, no one was optimistic about him and did not agree with his coaching ability. He only had one tactic: give the ball to James.

But the problem is that they succeeded in the end.

You said it was luck?

So is luck part of strength?

Not to mention that Tyronn Lue not only achieved success with the Cavaliers, but also remained firmly in the position of head coach of the Clippers.

If Tyronn Lue is a relative of James, then what's wrong with Nash getting promoted by relying on his relationship with Durant?

Anyway, there are different opinions.

In the end, it all depends on your results. If you get good results, people will speak for you. If you don’t get good results, no matter how well you do, you will still be blamed...

At this time, Nash held the tactical board and said, "The Lakers' defense is very strong. They have a successful defensive system, so our offense needs to be patient and play tactics..."

In fact, the Nets' offensive tactics are relatively simple, which is singles play by stars.

It would be best if the star player can score the points himself, but if not, he can also distract the defense and pass the ball to his teammates.

That’s right, eating cakes!

Except for Durant and Irving, other players score mainly by catching rebounds, and they almost only do one thing.

For example, Joe Harris only shoots three-pointers.

For example, power forward Jarrett Allen is only responsible for grabbing rebounds. Occasionally, he will shoot immediately when he gets an opportunity in the paint, and he almost never attacks with the ball.

Only center Andre Drummond will occasionally ask for the ball in the low post for one-on-one play. After all, he is a former All-Star player and one of the "Big Three", so he still deserves some respect. It's just that his one-on-one efficiency is very low now.

But today they are facing the Lakers, and Nash thinks simple star one-on-ones may not work, and he needs to be more flexible.

After that, he made some arrangements for the defense.

But this problem is very troublesome.

The main thing is that Zhuang Yu is so unbearable, it's really beyond comprehension.

Every team tried various methods, but it was difficult to limit Zhuang Yu's scoring, and Nash also had no good solution.

Of course, there is no other way, but we have to find a way. He said, "When KD goes against Zhuang Yu, you have the advantage of height and wingspan. Try to cover him as much as possible, prevent him from shooting, and force him to break through. The teammates behind will help you defend."

This is the only way.

It would definitely not work if Joe Harris was asked to defend, because although he is not short, his movement speed is limited. Although Durant's speed may not be much faster than Joe Harris, Durant has height and wingspan, so even if he is farther away and reacts slower, the defensive pressure he brings is different.

Even so, it can only limit Zhuang Yu's outside shooting at most.

Once Zhuang Yu breaks through, Durant still can't keep up, but as I said, he has height and wingspan, and if he turns around and chases, he can still provide certain defensive interference and threats.

What's more, there are Allen and Drummond in the interior, two big players guarding the interior. Nash believes that it will not be easy for Zhuang Yu to score.

After some arrangements, Nash clapped his hands, his expression extremely solemn, and said to the players: "Play well, come on."

A group of players responded one after another, looking somewhat nervous.

In fact, Nash was also nervous.

This is his first time as the head coach of an NBA team, and his first time participating in the finals as a head coach. If he can win the championship, he will take advantage of the opportunity and become famous just like Tyronn Lue did. Not only will he be able to gain a foothold, but he will also become a championship coach.

But if they lose the finals, all the problems that were previously covered up will be brought to light, and they may even become the scapegoat, and the head coach's career will come to an end.

So he was more nervous than the players.

......

Here, Coach Scott also made some arrangements.

Compared to the Nets, the atmosphere on the Lakers side is much more relaxed.

After all, the Lakers have played in the finals several times and won three consecutive championships. They are better than the Nets in terms of experience and mentality.

"We still have to guard KD and Irving well. Their scoring ability is too strong. We can double-team them when necessary..."

"On the offensive end, you should play the way you should play. You should be resolute in your outside shots, but you can't play too simply, with too many cuts..."

The arrangement is a cliché.

After all, the Lakers don't need to make too many changes because the Nets and Clippers are actually somewhat similar.

Both teams have height in the interior and advantages in forward position, but the Nets seem to be stronger in the backcourt because they have Irving.

But the Lakers' strongest point is their backcourt. With Zhuang Yu and Holiday, Coach Scott is not worried about how much trouble Irving will cause.

......

Soon, the game officially started.

When players from both teams came onto the court, the Lakers still had their regular starters: Holiday, Zhuang Yu, Cunningham, Anderson, and Lopez.

The Nets' starting five are Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Kevin Durant, Jarrett Allen and Andre Drummond.

Zhou An is still a substitute.

First there was a jump ball, and the Nets got the ball first.

Starting the attack, Irving wanted to launch an attack immediately after pushing the ball to the frontcourt, but he found that the person defending him was Zhuang Yu. He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and passed the ball to Durant.

If he were facing other players, Irving would have absolute confidence, but he still had some concerns facing Zhuang Yu. It's not that he couldn't beat him, but his positional advantage was not that obvious.

Durant faced off against Cunningham.

That's totally fine.

Whether in terms of height, wingspan, speed, or technology, Durant has an absolute advantage over Cunningham, and Nash's arrangement is also to launch the attack from Durant.

After passing the ball to Durant, Irving moved away and signaled his teammates to move away to allow Durant to play alone.

Drummond and Jarrett Allen did not go up for screen and roll, but just watched Durant lower his center of gravity, take a tentative step, then put the ball down and break through to the left.

Of course, the Lakers couldn't just stand there and watch Durant play one-on-one against Cunningham.

Seeing Durant dribbling the ball and preparing to break through, Anderson quickly moved towards Cunningham to help him defend.

However, Durant did not actually break through. He took a step forward and stopped, making a quick stop jump shot.

"Too high."

Cunningham and Anderson both jumped up, but they couldn't reach it at all. Durant's shooting point was too high and also with a fade away.

This kind of ball is impossible to block, it all depends on whether Durant can make the shot or not.

Swish!

With a slight sound, the Nets took the first point.

Although the Nets scored a goal at the beginning of the game, the Lakers were not panicked at all. Durant scored, it was no big deal.

The Lakers can completely accept such goals. They just hope to see the Nets play in the same style as they usually do, because that relies heavily on stars.

In the regular season, this style of play is obviously fine, but in the playoffs and the finals, it is different.

Of course, the Lakers will not relax their defense against Durant.

At the same time, the Lakers will not play like the Nets.

After Durant scored this goal, the fans in the audience were wondering whether Zhuang Yu would return the favor with an answer ball.

The result was not the case. When the Lakers launched an attack, the ball was indeed given to Zhuang Yu in the frontcourt. However, Zhuang Yu did not choose to shoot himself. Instead, he passed the ball to his teammate after breaking through, assisting Anderson to make a mid-range shot.

This is the strategy that Coach Scott has decided a long time ago. The Nets play the Nets, and we play ours. They rely on stars, and we just focus on scoring more points.

If it were an ordinary team, they would really worry about being defeated by Durant and Irving.

But the Lakers are not an ordinary team. They have a super strong defense. Coach Scott is not worried that Durant and Irving alone can defeat them - if that were the case, they would have lost the previous series against the Clippers.

The score is 2:2.

In the next few rounds, the Nets' offense all started from Durant. Cunningham obviously couldn't defend Durant one-on-one. Even though Durant's athletic ability declined after suffering a serious injury, his height, wingspan, and skills were really outstanding.

Of course, the Lakers also strengthened their defense against Durant.

Durant did not force it. When the opponent came to assist or double-team him, he would pass the ball immediately. After all, the team had another strong scorer in Irving, and he did not need to carry the offense alone.

But in general, the Nets' offense is mainly based on singles by stars. Durant plays after Irving plays, and after Irving plays, Drummond occasionally plays...

Before the game, Nash told the players to play more flexibly and avoid relying on stars as much as possible, but it is difficult to do so on the court.

This is how the Nets have played throughout the season. Durant plays after Irving, and Drummond occasionally plays after Irving... It's too difficult to get them to change it all at once.

Fortunately, the Nets were still leading in the score at this time, so Nash was not panicked.

After a few minutes, the score became 20:18, with the Nets leading by two points.

At this time, the Lakers called a timeout and began to rotate personnel. Coach Scott replaced Holiday, Lopez, and Cunningham with Rose, Clarkson, and Nance Jr., turning it into a small lineup.

After the substitution, he looked at Nash on the other side with a smile on his face: "I left Zhuang Yu on the court, do you want to leave Durant on the court as well?"

This is what forces Nash to make a choice.

Nash frowned at this moment. He should have replaced Durant and Drummond with Zhou An and substitute forward Caris LeVert, but the Lakers did not let Holiday or Lopez lead the substitute lineup, but left Zhuang Yu on the court.

This put him in a difficult position.

After hesitating for a while, Coach Nash replaced Durant and Drummond, leaving Irving and Joe Harris on the court, and also replaced them with Zhou An and LeVert.

"Believe in Irving." Nash muttered to himself.

He knew that Coach Scott did not play by the rules and that leaving Zhuang Yu on the court was to create problems for him and disrupt his rotation arrangements.

And he chose to believe in Irving's ability.