Chapter 526 Shelter
A 10-point gap is what Phil Jackson calls a 5-goal gap. It is not easy to fight back.
James pursues his own way of playing, holding the ball, looking for opportunities, and choosing the best solution.
But Kobe's style of play will never be as reasonable as James imagined.
Reasonable play is not what Kobe believed in.
Just when James' breakthrough was affected by the Sonics' sudden zone defense, he passed the ball to Kobe.
So Kobe took over.
At that moment, James felt relieved.
The advantage of joining the Lakers is that James no longer has to work alone like before. He knows that he can trust Kobe.
However, the relationship between people is far more complicated than a simple matter between passers-by who meet by chance.
Kobe Bryant scored two goals in a row, and Durant responded with a three-pointer for the SuperSonics.
So James felt that he needed to share more responsibilities, so he dribbled decisively and broke through.
However, Yu Fei would always team up with others to suddenly flank him on the road, making it difficult for him to enter the paint area.
James can only choose to pass the ball.
Fortunately, his teammates have not lost touch with this kind of defense that is tearing them all the way.
Mike Miller hit a three-pointer.
The Lakers chase points bit by bit at a slow pace. In order to limit the opponent's scoring, both teams will consciously increase their defensive intensity, which in turn increases the difficulty of scoring.
The scoring efficiency of both sides plummeted in the middle of the second quarter.
Especially the core players of both sides.
Yu Fei and Durant, Kobe and James, they have not rested for a second since the beginning of the game. They continue to attack, defend and apply pressure. Even if they can persist, the decline in feel due to loss of strength is inevitable. of.
With five minutes left in the first half, Mike Bibby used a pick-and-roll to get rid of the defense, and then made a jump shot to chase the point difference to 5 points.
The Sonics replaced Durant and DeAndre Jordan and replaced Roy and Bosh.
The effect of the recharged Roy and Bosh's appearance was immediate.
Yu Fei stepped down from his organizational responsibilities and stood aside to watch Roy roll over Big Z.
The Lithuanians were also unable to resist. Roy's roll call was not as violent as Yu Fei's, because his current offensive level was far from being restored, so the roll call was more of a strategy to mobilize the opponent's inside position, but Big Z had become a frightened bird.
This is the result of Yu Fei's continuous military training on the inside since the beginning.
Big Z got his second foul first, and then acted like a zombie, without any reaction to Roy's variation breakthrough.
Roy therefore broke into the basket and scored a layup.
The score difference came to 11 points in a few minutes.
Seeing that Big Z was about to become a new breakthrough, the Lakers urgently replaced Big Z with Gasol.
But for the SuperSonics, exchanging small plus for big Z is just a new breakthrough. They can still specialize in pick-and-rolls at the fifth position to break through the Spaniard's defense.
Yu Fei called his name for the last time before being replaced by Coach Lu.
Xiaojia, who just came on the field, was full of energy and wanted to work hard to defend, but the speed gap between him and the striker was difficult to make up.
Even if Yu Fei doesn't start at full speed, Xiaojia still needs to pay the price of a foul if he wants to block him.
I saw Xiaojia's hand wrapped around Yu Fei's ball-protecting hand, and the referee quickly blew the whistle.
This was the Spaniard's fourth foul of the night.
Also after this foul, Lu saw that he was ahead by a lot, so he took Yu Fei off to rest.
The Lakers also replaced Kobe, leaving only James on the court to control the situation.
This is actually an opportunity for the Lakers to chase points.
Yu Fei is not here, and Durant is not here either. Roy is the only ball-carrier on the SuperSonics court, and Bosh is the core of the offense.
James worked hard, went on a rampage, and cooperated with shooters such as Bibby and Miller on the outside, and it really produced results. The Sonics also took advantage of Garfield's problem of frequent fouls and being afraid to put pressure on the defensive end, and continued to target him.
Bosh, who has been pressured by García at the fifth position, is proud of himself. García is walking on thin ice on the defensive end and is afraid of being called out. These negative factors in turn affect his offensive touch.
As a result, no matter how many points James and the shooters get back, they will give them back on the defensive end.
ABC's Doug Collins said: "I completely understand the predicament the Lakers are in. They have swept the league with the current lineup, and the center led by Marc Gasol has never been a fatal problem."
“Relevant research has been advancing since Frye’s targeted pick-and-roll tactics in the Bucks made the traditional interior disastrous for defense.” Collins explained, “There are many that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s. Many big insiders have been eliminated, and there are also insiders like Yao who have successfully transformed. Mark is also one of the survivors, but he is one of the survivors. The reason why he survives is that his technical characteristics can adapt to today's game style, and the defensive problems are not fatal in most cases because he is an excellent defender himself, and the Lakers also have Kobe and LeBron. Most problems can be solved, but tonight, Fry pursued a strategy that challenged that perception. ”
"Frye defeated the Lakers' inside line through unlimited pick-and-roll offense. Once Marc Gasol was knocked off the court, the Lakers would face a situation where no one was available inside." Collins said seriously, "This will not only be the turning point tonight. , will also become a turning point in the series.”
On the court, Bosh's condition has skyrocketed.
The more Kevin Garner worries about fouls and pick-and-roll defense, the more Bosh wants to confront him, actively participate in pick-and-roll offenses, and continuously cooperates with Roy to attack him to death.
James tried double-teaming Roy, and also tried switching defenses and squeezing screens, but it was also a roll call. Roy's style was different from Yu Fei's.
Yu Fei's every step is aggressive, while Roy seems to be non-aggressive. He moves slowly and relies entirely on his sense of rhythm, but he can ensure that the ball is given to the right person during the pick-and-roll, and he can also give the ball to the right person during the pick-and-roll. When he was completely ignored, he suddenly dribbled in and attacked.
The only thing that limits him is the physical problems caused by the long battle formation.
One minute before the end of the first half, Roy had that feeling of running out of gas again.
Alonzo Key has quick eyes and quick hands and takes the initiative to foul.
Coach Lue replaced Roy with Larry Hughes and survived the last minute of the first half.
47 to 59
After halftime, the Lakers, playing at home, trailed the SuperSonics by 12 points.
They didn't show the combat effectiveness they had in their last road win over the Sonics. On the contrary, their rhythm became a mess as their opponents targeted the paint throughout the first half.
Tyronn Lue took the halftime interview like a winner.
His coaching performance has been praised by professionals on social media.
Especially tonight.
Whether it is the use of Roy or the targeting of the opponent's insiders by name, it is just right.
"I just did some trivial work." Lu said modestly, "You know, without a superstar like Frye, everything would be impossible to arrange."
Yu Fei walked into the midfield lounge wearing a towel. He didn't ask about his own statistics. He didn't care if he could score 50 points in three consecutive games.
The only thing he knew was that they played very well in the first half and had already killed the Lakers.
"Chris, you can play tougher in the second half. The Spaniard has committed four fouls and he is scared out of his wits!"
Yu Fei began to lecture.
Bosh nodded vigorously: "Of course, kill him while he's sick!"
"Zuo!" Yu Fei looked at tonight's special soldier Alonzo Key, "You have committed four crimes, so be careful."
"Don't worry, Frye." Key laughed, "I will make every foul I make count!"
Roy lay aside and was examined by the team doctor. He played 10 minutes in the first half and scored 6 points and 5 assists. He provided help in the opening seconds and at the end of the first half that no one on the team had been able to give Yu Fei since the Western Conference Finals.
When Roy is on a truce, if the ball is not in Flying's hands, the SuperSonics' game will lack a sense of stability, like a headless fly, whoever gets the ball will hit.
Tonight, Roy brought a long-lost feeling. Even if Yu Fei is not on the court, they can still play an orderly game.
"You look like you're about to die."
Yu Fei said to Roy.
"Almost," Roy said lazily, "I'll play for another 10 minutes at most tonight."
"That's enough!" Kwame Brown said optimistically, "I don't think the Lakers can last ten minutes in the second half!"
Durant also interjected: "That's right, as long as we use full firepower, they won't be able to last even five minutes!"
"It's good to be confident, but don't be arrogant." Yu Fei interrupted his teammates who were about to open the champagne at halftime, "Don't forget what happened in the last game."
Yu Fei's teammates rarely see him take the game so seriously.
Normally he would not give lectures during halftime, not to mention playing for so long in the first half like tonight. He should find a place to lie down and rest like Roy did.
The outside world has been talking about the only empire for a whole year, but in the end, the master of the empire needs his teammates. It is impossible for one person to win, and he needs to concentrate the strength of everyone.
This may be his biggest advantage over Kobe and James.
Compared to those two people, he can indeed mobilize the strength of the entire team, and no one will refuse.
While Yu Fei was stabilizing the team's morale, the Lakers' locker room was a different scene.
Marc Gasol was beaten to autism.
The Sonics' strategy of treating him as the Lakers' weakness negates his value as a player, especially since Phil Jackson has always relied heavily on him and given him a high tactical status.
In order to make it clear that Kevin Garnett is the future of the Lakers, and also to strengthen the fourth position, the Lakers even traded the real prince Andrew Bynum.
Marc did live up to expectations. In his second season, he developed a stable three-pointer from the top of the arc. As the axis of the triangle offensive system when James was not on the court, he won Jackson's trust.
Although he was often named in the first four games of the Western Conference Finals, in the two games the Lakers won, he suppressed the SuperSonics' proud inside group.
In front of him, Bosh has no strength as the fourth position, and DeAndre Jordan and Brown are too rough.
But he didn't expect that his world would be overturned in this crucial battle of Tianwang Mountain.
Yu Fei beat him like a vulnerability and really broke him.
He now has neither fighting spirit nor confidence.
But the problem is, apart from him, the Lakers don't have a strong inside man who can support the system.
Big Z is just like Xiaojia who is slower, has worse physical strength, has degraded in singles ability, has greatly degraded in support ability, and his shooting range cannot cover beyond the three-point line.
But the Sonics were so frantic that even Big Z was called out for three fouls in the half.
If D.J. is defeated and Big Z is useless, do the Lakers want mascot D.J. Mbenga to support the inside?
Phil Jackson and his assistants held a short meeting in the room, while the players waited quietly.
Jackson was not desperate at this moment. Perhaps he had seen too many big storms and waves, and this kind of "little thing" could no longer arouse his emotional fluctuations.
He said this to the assistant coaches and the players:
"When everything is in chaos, retreat to your 'sanctuary.' It is an image in one's mind, or a memory, that can bring us peace, happiness and inner peace."
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Some people need peace, happiness, and inner peace, and some people don't.
Kobe stood up and said: "Enough! Enough! I don't want to see them attacking our center wantonly! If it doesn't work, we will give up the center. I can play center, LeBron can play center, and all of us can play Center!”
"That's right!" echoed Richard Hamilton, "I can play center too!"
"I can do the same!"
Lakers players one after another loudly stated that they could play center, and they wanted to express their support for their teammates in this way.
But Jackson's eyes fell on the person who was most concerned about him: "LeBron, where is your 'refuge'?"
For James, there was no place in his life that could accurately be called a "sanctuary."
During his childhood, he lived in a dilapidated house in the worst neighborhood in Akron. His mother, Gloria, worked late every day. He had to face alone the activities outside the house that could cause psychological shadow for children; he had to live under the supervision of others for many years. Although he met a nice family, it was not his home. Cleveland gave him everything, but he buried them with "decisions." Los Angeles is Vanity Fair, a mecca for those seeking fame and fortune, never a refuge.
If he really wants to find a place in this world where his soul can be stored, it can only be a basketball court.
"The court." James affirmed, "That's my refuge."
Basketball changed his life and gave him unimaginable wealth and status. It was the only thing that allowed him to temporarily put aside his rationality and calculations and devote himself wholeheartedly.
However, if he fails again, his refuge will also be destroyed by the hurricane named Yu Fei.
Only when he wins fame and fortune does the court become his refuge.
"So, LeBron," Jackson said, "I want to see your determination to defend the sanctuary."
Jackson's words made the team's confusion disappear.
A few minutes before the start of the second half, all major television stations received the Lakers' second-half starting lineup.
They are James, Kobe, Hamilton, Artest, and Jamison.
Before the game started, reporters asked Jackson who would be the Lakers' center in the second half.
"They all are," Jackson said.
PS: This paragraph is separated from the chapter I haven't finished yet. Because I can't finish it before twelve o'clock, I will post part of it first. Tomorrow we will end this game in one breath.
(End of chapter)