Chapter 521 Back to the starting point

Chapter 521 Back to the starting point

Strategizing a game with penalty advantage should be a matter of plan, not inertia.

Yu Fei will not place his hopes on the referee. When the penalty is in his favor, he will tend to cause damage. And tonight, Dick Bavetta obviously came with a mission. Since the league wants to give the Lakers a fair According to the statement, the SuperSonics' game style will naturally change accordingly.

However, Durant came up to make a foul but was hit back, and then the SuperSonics' tactics killed him. Yu Fei missed a three-pointer, and the Lakers made another counterattack.

Yu Fei forced out the Lakers' double-team on the offensive end and distributed the ball to Bosh, but Bosh missed the mid-range shot.

This time, the Sonics retreated quickly enough that the Lakers had no chance to counterattack, but Kobe, who was caught in a positional battle, vigorously hit the ball with his back and still hit the target.

The Lakers went on a 6-0 offensive in less than a minute and a half.

Tyronn Lue called out to the defense from the sidelines, as if doing so could change something.

However, the Sonics' first three offensive offenses were unfavorable, which truly reflected the players' discomfort with the referee's changes in penalties.

Yu Fei will not expect the coaching staff to solve this problem.

He waved his hand and called out DeAndre Jordan. The two started a pick-and-roll, DeAndre Jordan cut in, and Yu Fei sent out an alley-oop.

Before the Lakers could react, Jordan was already hanging on the basket.

The Sonics' scoring drought was broken.

This is an opening that fans love, not only for viewing but also for fun.

Whenever the commentators on major TV stations say "Fry connects with Jordan", the fans will smile tacitly.

This is a sight in the Sonics game and must be watched.

The Sonics scored in a sports battle and the Lakers entered a positional battle. Lu coached and emphasized defense. However, when his players increased intensity against the Lakers like they did in the last game, the referee did not show the same tolerance.

Dick Bavetta, a famous contributor to OK's three consecutive championships and the uncrowned Sixth Man of the Year who has never been awarded an honor at the official level, first called Alonzo Key's defensive foul (1), and then called Durant's. Block foul.

Moreover, these two fouls occurred in the same possession.

Bavetta's resolute style made it clear to the Sonics: don't try to play with the same intensity tonight as in the last game.

Once the penalties become tighter, it will be bad news for the Sonics.

Because people like Alonzo Key and DeAndre Jordan who have poor defensive skills and rely mainly on strength and talent can easily be fished out for law enforcement.

Sure enough, Jordan picked up two fouls six minutes into the first quarter, and Coach Lu could only replace him with his former regular center Kwame Brown.

But Brown himself is also a person who is not particular about his hands.

After following Yu Fei for so many years, his average number of fouls per game remains high. After coming on the court, he quickly committed fouls.

As the SuperSonics' foul count expired, the Lakers began to go to the free throw line.

The boos at KeyArena fell like thunder.

Fans wanted to know why they were being treated like this at their home stadium.

Four minutes before the end of the first quarter, the Sonics trailed the Lakers by 9 points.

This momentum looked extremely bad, and Coach Lu requested a timeout.

But what can you do after the pause?

These days, Director Lu and the coaching staff have put all their energy into defensive arrangements. Now the league has waved its hand and won't let you do it. What should you do? Are you waiting to die?

"The old way, I'll play power forward." Yu Fei said, "Let Chris play center, and Nick (Colison) will be the substitute."

Director Lu had no better way and had no choice but to follow suit.

"What about defense, do we still need to give intensity?"

Director Lu was a little panicked.

"Here you go," Yu Fei said, "Dick Bavetta will not take care of the Lakers for a whole game, and no referee will deliberately blow the whistle all night, so we have at least two quarters to do it. Turn up the intensity, and since this is our game plan, stick to it, otherwise the hard work of the past few days will be in vain.”

As a coach with a background as a player, Coach Lu naturally knows that it is customary for referees not to stay in the dark all night.

But after the start was blown like this, Da Fei still dared to let everyone increase their intensity. Coach Lu admired him deeply.

"Fry, you really know how to play."

"You don't understand."

The plan is certain. Lu guided to replace Brown, let Bosh play center, Yu Fei played the fourth position, and then replaced Larry Hughes as point guard.

These changes are not new to the Lakers.

All are tricks the Lakers have used before.

Phil Jackson even predicted that Lu would let Yu Fei play the fourth position.

Therefore, the Lakers' response was very targeted. They asked Artest to play the fourth position and then used Big Z, a traditional big center, to force the fourth position and force Bosh to swing at the fifth position. .

Returning to the game, the SuperSonics' adjustments caused discomfort among some players.

Bosh only occasionally played the fifth position in the SuperSonics. Most of the time, he played the fourth position in his comfort zone.

Now that there is a shortage of manpower, he can accept playing the fifth position, but if the team still expects him to perform as well as the fourth position, it is a fantasy.

Fortunately, his teammates did not intend for him to break through the opponent's defense.

Durant is covered by James, Hughes doesn't have much singles ability, and Alonzo Key and his like are a burden on the offensive end and are not worth designing tactics.

The ball came to Yu Fei.

Artest believes that Yu Fei will not try to attack the basket because the penalty tonight is obviously biased towards the Lakers. If he goes to the basket, it is very likely that the man and the ball will be empty.

After the opening penalty, does Yu Fei still have any expectations for the referee?

The self-righteous mentality made Artest unprepared for Fei's back-to-back breakthrough.

Yu Fei easily broke through him, rushed to the basket, forced his way through Big Z's defense and scored a layup.

Yu Fei turned to Bavetta and pointed at his arm, wondering why the whistle didn't sound.

Bavetta gave him a cold look.

The audience then angrily booed.

It's common for Bavetta to be booed by the audience, but that doesn't mean the pressure doesn't exist.

They did miss an obvious foul.

The referee team, which seemed to be unafraid of boiling water, called Artest an off-ball foul when the Lakers were about to launch an attack.

Artest showed unprecedented incomprehension, with surprise written on his face like "Aren't we on the same side?"

Only Bavetta's stinky face that looked the same to everyone gave the answer: Who and you are us?

Subsequently, the Lakers failed in the position battle. Yu Fei grabbed the rebound and quickly counterattacked. Without waiting for his opponent or teammates to get into position, he raised his hand and hit a chasing three-pointer, narrowing the point difference to 3 points.

The cheers at Key Arena got louder and louder.

As long as Yu Fei can continue to perform, the SuperSonics will not be a team that will be easily defeated.

The two teams were in a stalemate until the last minute of the first quarter, with little personal offensive performance. James, who mainly focused on defense, suddenly made a tank breakthrough into the basket and dunked 2+1, and then assisted in blocking the shot. Si, one-stop defensive counterattack succeeded.

James scored five points in a row with his personal ability.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers took an 8-point lead thanks to James' explosion in the last minute.

This gap prevented Coach Lu from letting Yu Fei rest at the beginning of the second quarter like he did in the previous game.

On the contrary, it is the Lakers. Since they have the advantage on the court, Jackson can safely rotate Kobe off the court.

In the second quarter, the Lakers changed players and were led by James, while the SuperSonics retained their main lineup as much as possible.

The only change Lue made was to replace Bosh with DeAndre Jordan.

Due to the foul problem of the center, Bosh played the fifth position for half of the quarter, which consumed a lot of money.

Thankfully, he had no foul trouble.

Coach Lu hopes that Jordan will help Bosh for five or six minutes.

After all, in terms of physical talent and rim protection ability, Jordan is more of a No. 5 than Bosh.

However, there is a reason why Jordan was not promoted to the starting lineup until the Western Conference Finals because of his better talent.

He is a player who is immature in many ways.

At this moment when he needs to grit his teeth, Jordan is like a piece of bloody beef dangling from the snout of a bulldog. On the defensive end, he makes continuous positioning errors. On the offensive end, he is blocked in the down route. He has no shooting ability and cannot be like the third player. Get into the basket and eat the cake like that in one quarter.

DeAndre Jordan, who made defensive mistakes and became a black hole on offense, hindered the Sonics' offense and defense.

Yu Fei wants to cooperate, but the idea is a good idea and the person is not a good person.

DeAndre Jordan made a mistake and a foul. In less than three minutes, the Sonics fell behind by 12 points.

Director Lu immediately replaced Nick Collison.

DeAndre Jordan was relegated to the sidelines tonight.

His talent is very valuable, and he is an excellent athlete no matter how you look at it, but an excellent athlete cannot become an excellent basketball player at the wrong time.

This is the Sonics' most dangerous moment.

There was no one inside, and the outside was inaccurate. Durant on the wing was suppressed by James, and all the pressure fell on Yu Fei.

Yu Fei did not let this pessimistic mood continue to spread on the court.

He first caused a foul on Artest, and then passed Collison's screen to catch the ball from the outside and hit a three-pointer.

The score difference between the two sides returned to 9 points, as long as the Lakers give him a chance

However, the Lakers' offensive performance tonight was impeccable.

James publicly stated after losing Game 3 that he can score on anyone, and that has something to prove, but the Lakers really looked like they could score at will.

With only a pick-and-roll, James found Hamilton's position and assisted the opponent to score a shot.

There was no sadness or joy on James' face, and he seemed to be very satisfied with his position.

"You defend well and leave the rest to me."

Yu Fei only said this, and then hit 2+1 on Artest's head.

He was the only Sonics player not under pressure from opponents.

"Seattle is lucky to have Frye, but the problem is that they can't regard this luck as a norm. If Frye's state declines in the game and they can't find another exit quickly, this game will It’s over.”

Doug Collins was very harsh on the Sonics, but his concerns about a potential decline in Flying's form were unfounded in the first half.

Yu Fei's offensive ability in the next five minutes just conveyed to the outside world the fact that it made sense for LeBron to choose to join forces with Kobe, because he could not defeat Frye individually. In the first half of the second quarter, Yu Fei scored 15 of the Sonics' 17 points, leading the team from a maximum of 12 points behind to a 5-point deficit.

During this period, in addition to passing the ball, James attempted two outside shots and a breakthrough. All of his shots were missed, but he successfully scored on the breakthrough.

Even though his offensive performance was crushed by Yu Fei, James did not show any displeasure. He still played the kind of basketball that Zen Master wanted to see, as if he had truly become a contemporary Scottie Pippen.

How many times will such a desireless James appear?

Yu Fei, who traveled back in time, mainly knew James from his opponent's Lakers days, which was already his twilight years. Although he still seemed to have the strength to be in the top fifteen in the league, it was far from his peak period. He needed to be on the court. Only by making efforts including but not limited to eye defense, early fast breaks and off-peak travel on the rotation table can he barely maintain data comparable to his peak period.

James has a strong desire to control the game and is also hungry for data. Can a man who has called himself the King since high school really achieve nothing in order to compete for the championship?

This James is very unfamiliar to Yu Fei.

The Lakers replaced Kobe after the timeout, and James went off to rest.

On the SuperSonics side, Director Lu did not have the courage to replace Yu Fei. He could only plead with Yu Fei to persist.

But Yu Fei just said: "I have no problem."

But Yu Fei knows best whether there is a problem.

If the team's offense and defense are shouldered by one person, and this person is not only the entire offensive system, but also faces the situation where his teammates' shooting touch is inaccurate, then more energy must be invested in personal offense.

How long can this kind of full-load consumption be sustained?

Yu Fei gradually discovered that he had made some unnecessary mistakes in the first half. When he realized that the referee was not good for him, he should give up his unnecessary illusions and focus on his personal offense. As for the performance of his teammates, If you can instigate it, do it; if it doesn't work, you should give up.

Yes, basketball is not a one-person sport, but on such an extraordinary night, extraordinary things must be done to change the situation.

Just before taking over the game, he had already wasted too much energy on breaking the ball, initiating tactics, and instigating positional battles, and the feedback from his teammates was negative.

Now it was clear that he had to fight it out alone.

After Kobe Bryant came on the court, Yu Fei's offensive never stopped.

Even if Kobe was more aggressive offensively than James, it would be difficult to open the score.

The score difference between the two sides fluctuated back and forth on the number 5 points.

Kobe wanted to open up the score, but Yu Fei used a tough attack to show his disapproval.

During this period, Sonics players including Kevin Durant did not feel their presence.

They don't seem to be able to bring any help and can only play defense. However, due to the restrictions of the referee, even if we want to increase the intensity, we cannot put pressure as casually as in the last game.

As a result, their contributions on the defensive end were minimal.

Durant didn't want to disappear in such a duel, but he had to know from the bottom of his heart that only Frye could save the team tonight.

Two minutes before the end of the first half, Durant blocked Kobe's shot. Yu Fei picked up the ball and rushed to the frontcourt, hitting a chasing three-pointer. The SuperSonics caught up to only 2 points.

In the remaining two minutes, the Lakers repeatedly tried to open up the score, but just couldn't.

The two teams went back and forth and finally kept the point difference at 2 points before the end of the first half.

Yu Fei played the entire half and scored 37 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

He looks like he has a chance to score another 59 points tonight, thereby completing the feat of back-to-back 50-point games in the playoffs.

However, all this is meaningless if you can't win.

Director Lu thought of countless words to praise Yu Fei, and finally said only one sentence: "Our top priority is to get other people involved in the game."

Phil Jackson's remarks were harsh: "Fry tonight is like MJ in the 1980s. I think he should understand that it is impossible for one person to do it."

The half-time break can give Yu Fei a breather, but the question is whether the second half can sustain his first-half performance.

At the beginning of the second half, as the score difference between the two sides was not big, Yu Fei decided to give up the plan of going it alone until the end and began to look for opportunities with his teammates.

The Lakers' ferocious double-teaming played right into his hands.

Durant got an opportunity at this time, and he didn't want to be a burden to Yu Fei.

He made the first shot of the second half.

SuperSonics tied.

Is this the beginning of a reversal?

No, this is the last time Sonics supporters will smile tonight.

Subsequently, James broke through and scored a three-pointer.

Yu Fei missed a jump shot in the position battle. Although he retreated quickly, Kobe Bryant made a direct pull-up from the outside and hit a three-pointer.

Durant held the ball in singles. He didn't know how important the ball was. He only knew that he had to play well.

To be fair, he was not wrong, nor was Yu Fei who passed the ball to him. In front of the Lakers with all the firepower on the line, if there is no second person to step forward, even if Yu Fei scores 80 points, it will be of no avail.

Durant stepped up.

He scored over James.

Then, Kobe responded with another single.

Yu Fei fought back with a low post attack.

Just when everyone thought that star isolations were going to become the focus of the game, Richard Hamilton pointed out the way to victory for the Lakers with his deadly outside shots.

Yu Fei and Durant can score. They are stars and have excellent singles ability. However, situations where stars are asked to compete in singles ability to determine the outcome often occur when the role players of the two teams other than the stars have lost their ability to score.

If one side only relies on stars to play alone, and the other side relies on all the people, the result is not difficult to imagine.

Moreover, Durant's singles success rate cannot be compared with Yu Fei's, and Yu Fei's touch is not as good as in the first half.

At the end of the third quarter, the Sonics trailed by 14 points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Yu Fei's personal ability exploded again, helping the team catch up to 9 points, but soon, the Lakers' three-point rain wiped out Seattle's hope of winning 3-1 at home.

Four minutes before the end of the game, James dealt Kobe Bryant, who made a strong pull-up and hit another three-pointer, stretching the point difference to 19 points.

The Sonics' chance of victory evaporated.

They requested a timeout, and Coach Lu asked Yu Fei if he wanted to stay on the court and score 60 points.

At that time, Yu Fei had scored 59 points.

Yu Fei smiled meaningfully: "I want to rest."

So Director Lu replaced Yu Fei, and the game entered garbage time.

Durant also left the game. Although his performance was not as regrettable as Yu Fei, he still scored 24 points and 8 rebounds.

That's good enough for a third-year star.

Just not enough to help the team win.

This will bother him.

He wanted to know why, despite all his strength, he still felt like he was being punched on the couch.

There was no moment when Durant felt like he was dragging the team forward like Yu Fei did in the first half. On the contrary, the complete defeat in the second half made him feel that he messed up Yu Fei's rhythm of the game and put him into a double burden of attacking and organizing offense at the same time. As a result, the offensive in the second half was far less than the first half.

At this moment, Durant discovered how much the lack of a strong ball-handler to help Yu Fei share the ball affected them.

If only Brandon were still here.

Durant never thought he would miss Roy.

But now, he missed that person so much.

Then, he glanced at Yu Fei.

The opponent's expression was calm, showing no signs of frustration even if he was about to score 59 points.

Durant understood Yu Fei's mood in his own way.

As someone who lost with a perfect performance, he can't be blamed.

Durant can already predict the tone the media will use to criticize these wastes that are holding them back.

Maybe they would be dissatisfied, but seriously, who would not feel sorry for Yu Fei after watching this game?

They have no excuse.

In the last four minutes of garbage time, the Lakers still crushed the SuperSonics.

In the end, the 19-point gap turned into 26 points in four minutes.

After being beaten by the Sonics in the last game, the Lakers responded with blood for blood. They gave the Sonics a beating on the road and took the initiative in the series into their own hands.

They had home field advantage again.

"Beep!!!"

Dick Bavetta blew the final whistle. The invisible guardian of the OK Dynasty is still the lucky star of the Purple and Gold Army eight years later.

"I think for the Sonics, the worst thing tonight is not the big loss, but the fact that the Lakers finally found the way to play that suits them best." Jeff Van Gundy, who has always stood up for the Sonics, said worriedly, " Leave the opportunity to Kobe. LeBron only needs to break through, pass the ball, activate the shooter, and then defend with all his strength. The Lakers look invincible!”

"Yes, as long as LeBron can suppress the mentality of being the protagonist of the game." Mark Jackson echoed, "I think the Lakers are impeccable."

The game is over, the score is 2 to 2.

The Lakers returned to the starting point from the edge of despair.

They were full of momentum, had home-field advantage, had a well-organized staff, and were in amazing form. It looked like no one could beat them.

LeBron James looked at his statistics. Tonight, he scored 14 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists.

Kobe had 39 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

They defeated the Sonics and put the initiative back in their hands.

Is this enough?

The doubts were growing in James' mind. He walked to the sidelines and when reporters asked him how he felt about his career-low scoring average in the Western Conference Finals, he looked like the selfless Mr. Team Basketball he was. : "I am not a person who plays for data. Victory is the most important thing."

But a win with numbers should be sweeter.

⑴ Before Bavetta directed Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2002, he had already done it in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 2000. The number of free throws between the Lakers and Trail Blazers in the tiebreaker that year was 37 to 16, but it was not as exaggerated as the last quarter of G6 against the Kings two years later when the Lakers made 27 free throws and walked in the tiebreaker.

(End of chapter)