As a Kobe hater, he was actually teammates with Kobe!

The Spurs ran three consecutive high-post pick-and-rolls.

The first time he directly broke through the Lakers' defense.

But in the remaining two times, Zhou Ze did not raise his position too high, but chose to half-squat, and his defensive position was very similar to Tim Duncan.

This allowed Parker to drive to the basket and make a layup; he also missed a mid-range shot, and Darko Milicic grabbed the rebound.

"Good defense, Zhou, your defense has improved again." Duncan said.

"Really? How does it compare to you?" Zhou Ze asked with a smile.

"Much better than me." Duncan was slightly startled, then a smile appeared on his calm face.

Facing Duncan's praise, Zhou Ze rolled his eyes and then grumbled, "You old man, you're quite evil."

Zhou Ze is quite self-aware. When it comes to crouching in the pit to protect the rim, he cannot compare with Duncan.

In addition, Zhou Ze had a hard time playing low-post offense tonight.

The Spurs' European center Fabricio Oberto, although he couldn't defend himself alone, was very annoying with Duncan's help defense. Whenever he turned around with his elbow and got rid of the defense, he would always bump into Duncan's long arms.

Tomato!

It was as if I had bumped into it on purpose.

Zhou Ze's ability to finish at the basket was mediocre to begin with, and when facing a rim protector of Duncan's level, his shooting percentage naturally dropped.

If you want to solve this problem in a short period of time, you must use the Death Five.

The purpose of letting Kwame Brown defend Duncan alone in the first half was to prepare for the death lineup.

but...

With Kobe's shooting percentage improving in the second half, the Death Lineup can still wait.

Zhou Ze gave Kobe an off-ball screen. The latter received the ball and took a jump shot. With a "swish", it was 70 to 76!

Facing Bruce Bowen of the All-Defensive Team, Kobe made three consecutive mid-range jump shots, which not only made Bruce Bowen look as if he had been scolded, but also forced the Spurs to call a timeout.

Popovich's timeout did not have any special defensive instructions, he just wanted to let Kobe cool down his touch.

The Lakers plan to replace the Spurs with a death lineup to disrupt their defensive strategy.

The pause ends.

The game continues.

Duncan first set a screen for Parker who had the ball, and then set a back screen for Ginobili who had no ball. With a "whoosh", Ginobili cut into the basket like a snake.

Parker passed the ball in time, Ginobili received the ball, and PJ Tucker who was defending him followed closely, but Manu Ginobili deftly used his fingers to push the basketball into the basket under the defensive confrontation, 72 to 76!

Lakers attack!

Zhou Ze received the ball at the top of the arc outside the three-point line. Facing the defense of Fabricio Oberto, he first passed the ball to the left, then suddenly changed direction. With a "bang", he broke through to the right and directly passed the defense. Duncan came over, and Zhou Ze passed the ball to Odom who was open in the corner. The latter received the ball and made a three-pointer, 72 to 79!

Facing the Death Lineup, the Spurs must respond to punish their small lineup.

Duncan received the ball, played with his back to the basket, faked left and right, and suddenly jumped on one foot with a long-arm hook shot. Zhou Ze, who was worried about being fooled, did not jump, but kept exerting physical confrontation to disrupt Duncan's shooting rhythm. In addition, the moment Duncan shot, he blocked the position and protected the defensive rebound with a "ding!"

The Lakers initiated an offense-defense transition, and Odom rushed up, forcing damage under the basket.

"This kid's defense has improved again!"

"impossible!"

"This is absolutely impossible!"

Popovich immediately dismissed the thought.

You should know that during the regular season, Zhou Zeke could not defend against Duncan's one-on-ones. He usually played as the team's No. 4 position, limiting Duncan's low-post attacks through assist defense.

Popovich, who is extremely paranoid, does not believe this fact.

The rest of the third quarter and the first three minutes of the fourth quarter were spent trying to punish the Lakers' small lineup in positional battles.

Well...

Or to put it simply, they hope to force Zhou Ze to break through the Lakers' defense.

But Zhou Ze's defense was particularly effective.

He defended Duncan to a 9-for-2 shooting percentage.

The only regret is that after defending Duncan, Zhou Ze had to turn around and face his back to Duncan to prevent him from grabbing the offensive rebound with his long arms.

Zhou Ze's movement range was restricted by Duncan.

This gave Fabricio Oberto the opportunity to compete for offensive rebounds. Although Odom, who was more of a No. 3 player, had good rebounding ability, he still couldn't grab the ball against the pure No. 5 player.

The Lakers lost three offensive rebounds during this period.

This is something that has never happened in the game against the Phoenix Suns.

However, compared with the "loss", the gains of the Death Five are really too great.

Except for Tim Duncan, Zhou Ze can single out any Spurs player in the low post without distinction.

Fabricio Oberto, who played with a tough style of play, was hit twice by Zhou Ze, and Bruce Bowen was directly knocked to the ground by Zhou Ze.

With better space, Kobe's shooting percentage continued to improve.

Zhuge Cunfu's paranoia allowed the Lakers to take a 16-point lead.

81 is better than 97!

There are more than 8 minutes left in the game.

The Spurs tried to narrow the gap through three-pointers.

At this time, the Lakers also changed back to their normal lineup.

After all, if they maintain their lead, they can win G1.

Ginobili, who was wandering outside the Spurs' offensive system, shot as soon as he got the ball.

The first three shots missed!

But the next two goals went into the net.

It's just that the three-pointer came a little late.

93 is better than 108!

With 4 minutes left in the game, the Lakers still had a 15-point lead.

4 minutes, 15 points!

Theoretically, there is a good chance of a comeback.

"Bang!"

Parker missed the three-pointer after the pick-and-roll.

The Lakers' offense and defense transition.

Kobe Bryant made a fadeaway jump shot from outside the arc with the help of Kwame Brown's pick-and-roll!!!

The pose is picturesque!

But unfortunately, the basketball bounced out of the basket.

Zhou Ze grabbed the position and directly took the European inside player, Fabrizio Oberto, who plays with a tough style of play, behind him. It's true... Although he is far less famous than Stoudemire and his offensive ability is also very different, he is really much better than Stoudemire in terms of positioning.

Throughout the game, Zhou Ze only grabbed position 4 times. Well, including this time, it’s 5 times.

Zhou Ze grabbed the rebound and jumped high. He met a long arm in the air. He saw his fingers touch the basketball first, but the long arm pushed it out with all its might.

The basketball is out of bounds!

"drop!"

The referee whistle sounded.

Zhou Ze and Duncan pointed to each other's half of the court, indicating to the referee that it was the other side that hit the ball out.

"Referee, believe me, it's him!" Duncan, like an honest and harmless uncle, accused Zhou Ze with a serious face.

"Referee, believe me, it really is him."

"You know, I'm Mr. Fashion this year!"

Zhou Ze said.

After weighing the pros and cons, the referee awarded the ball to the Lakers.

At the same time, he did not forget to say to Zhou Ze: "Mr. Feng Shang, I believe you!"