Chapter 132: Playing the inside line
Although Van Gundy has a strict rotation, the Thunder have played almost 40 minutes per game. www.biquge.info He didn't want his players to play so hard, but if it weren't for these three energetic young men, the Thunder wouldn't be ranked 10th in the West now.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers, after the first quarter, only Gasol returned first among the starting five in the second quarter, and the others were still resting on the bench. If a team wants to win a championship, the depth of the bench is essential, and the Lakers' bench players are all good puzzle pieces.
Jordan Farmar is now the guy who controls the Lakers on the court, and the small guard was one of the most court-minded players in the '06 draft. He is very good at controlling the tempo on the court, so Phil Jackson is also very comfortable to hand over the control of the ball to this 22-year-old young man.
After scheduling a few pick-and-rolls, he immediately got the opportunity to burst inside. Famar knew he couldn't match Westbrook's speed, so he didn't break through with speed, but with an ever-changing pace.
With Anjie in the three-second zone and Westbrook by his side, Farmar is a guy with a high basketball IQ, and he chooses to shoot most of the right times. So although he broke through, he knew that he didn't have a chance to make a move.
Seeing the gap, suddenly a strong shift, the basketball quickly passed through the crowd and came to the hands of Sasha Vujasic.
This Slovenian high guard is best at shooting, not to mention that under Famar's sudden pass, Vujacic still got an open shot opportunity.
The shooting action is very beautiful and very stretched. The three-pointer went straight into the net, and the Lakers' bench lineup scored first as soon as the second quarter came up, breaking the embarrassment of poor performance in the second half of the first quarter.
On the offensive end, the Lakers' bench lineup has regained its touch, but on the defensive end, their biggest weakness has been exposed.
Neither Jordan Famar nor Sasha Vujacic are good perimeter defenders, and even small forward Luke Wharton suffers defensively due to his athleticism and physicality shortcomings. The Lakers, an outside defensive lineup, naturally can't withstand the onslaught of Westbrook and Durant.
Pau Gasol could only be nailed to the three-second zone by Anjie again and again, and he didn't get a chance to run out to help defend.
"Kevin Durant's pull-up jumper was so easy that Luke Wharton was undoubtedly a very smart player, but it didn't give him much of an advantage defensively. ”
"Russell Westbrook is unrelenting against his hometown team, and if Casey Barr were still alive, he would be very pleased with his brother's performance. Jordan Farmar is the third time he's left without permission!"
Durant and Westbrook naturally did not let go of the Lakers' weak defense, and their two crazy offenses frequently made the commentators praise.
Seeing his second-team's defense being pierced by the Thunder's two extremely aggressive perimeter shots again and again, Phil Jackson had to make a change. Although it was a little earlier than planned, he still took advantage of a dead ball opportunity to get all the starters.
By the time Kobe Bryant played again, the Thunder were already six points ahead of them, but even so, the fans in Los Angeles let out a deafening cheer, because their all-powerful Peter Pan would surely lead the team to fight back again!
Anjie and Gasol also had to be reduced to supporting roles at this time, and the performance of these outside scorers on the court was really outstanding, and as soon as Kobe Bryant came on the court, the eyes of the entire Staples were focused on him.
Stubborn, paranoid, and competitive, this character seal makes Kobe's attack power even more terrifying when the team is behind!
He's been trying to play Wilkins singles as well, and Jeff Van Gundy is already considering whether to take Durant against Kobe.
Westbrook was already very emotionally affected in this game, and seeing Kobe Bryant's singles again and again, he finally couldn't help but drop Fischer and wrap Kobe Bryant with Wilkins in the past.
Seeing Westbrook coming, Bryant didn't have to think about it to know that Fischer must have been missed.
"Russell!" Not only Jeff Van Gundy, but even Anjie, who was hand-to-hand with Gasol in the three-second zone, saw the big empty space left by Westbrook.
Westbrook believes he can block Kobe's pass, and he doesn't think Bryant can pass the ball out with serious interference. Not to mention passing, Westbrook thinks that Kobe Bryant can't even see where Fischer is now!
I really can't see it, being sandwiched by Westbrook and Wilkins, Kobe Bryant can only see two pairs of raised palms in his sight. But Gasol's castle towering outside the three-second zone, Kobe Bryant could see.
For Fischer, for the entire Lakers team, Kobe Bryant is simply very familiar. How his teammates will stand when he encounters a bag clip, Kobe Bryant has long been familiar with these things.
Seeing Gasol's position, Bryant deduced Fischer's position based on tactics.
"Probably this is it!" Kobe Bryant vaguely saw a figure wearing a golden Lakers jersey and immediately hoisted the ball out!
Durant just left Ariza and was about to make up for it in front of Fischer, who knew that Kobe Bryant passed the ball out one step ahead of Durant!
"Incredible pass! Kobe Bryant almost couldn't see the situation outside, Westbrook and Wilkins had completely covered Kobe Bryant! But the Black Mamba still passed the ball out!" Mike Brin thought that Kobe Bryant was in a hurry to throw the ball casually, but he didn't know that the "casually thrown" ball flew accurately to Fischer's location.
Durant saw that Fischer was about to make a move, and he jumped up and blocked. The average guard may have been distracted by Durant's defensive height, but Fischer is the man who created the 0.4-second kill. In the face of Durant's blocking, his face did not change, and the rhythm of his shots was not disturbed in any way.
Durant's fingertips were only a little bit away from the basket, but he couldn't stop the ball from flying towards the basket.
The arc of this ball is very high, and An Jie can't judge whether he can score or not. Just when An Jie was thinking, Gasol was already stuck in position, and he didn't want An Jie to pick up the frontcourt rebounds anymore.
"Brush!" the nets tumbled like the wind and waves in the sea. Derrick Fischer, this guy is not as dazzling as Kobe Bryant, but if the Lakers want to win the championship, this experienced guard is definitely an indispensable member of Phil Jackson's hands.
After this ball, the Thunder no longer dared to rush into the bag. Jeff Van Gundy swapped Durant and Wilkins to play a little more defensively to face Kobe, but the results were mediocre.
With just four minutes left in the second quarter, Pau Gasol finally got a chance to take a break, and he was the Lakers' longest-playing man so far. Although there were not many opportunities to attack and defend against An Jie on the field, he was still sweaty by An Jie's active running and stuck.
As soon as Gasol came off the court, Jeff Van Gundy finally couldn't hold it back. He shouted An Jie's name on the sidelines, his left hand was palmed, his right hand was clenched into a fist, and his two hands collided fiercely.
Ordinary people don't care about Jeff Van Gundy's move at all, but Anjie and the entire Thunder team know that this is a signal that they are playing inside!
Pau Gasol was replaced by another big white man, Chris Mime, a center forward who is also 2.13m tall.
Without the barrier of Bynum, it is indeed difficult to limit Anjie's play by relying on the inside combination of Mime and Odom alone.
Although he seems to be much stronger than Anjie, Mime is inferior in strength. The guy's movement speed on his feet can only be described as just passing, and his defensive skills are not excellent. Compared with An Jie, he is an all-round defeat except for his weight!
is Westbrook, who is full of desire to attack, and after seeing such an obvious advantage on the inside, he is still willing to stand on the outside and watch Anjie "ravage" the poor backup center of the Lakers to his heart's content.
An Jie easily relied on his strength to hit his back into the three-second zone, he didn't plan to fake at all, but directly turned around and hooked his hand!
Unexpectedly, Chris Mime's positive attitude on the defensive end made him suffer at the moment, and he was not tall enough to bounce, which made Mime's jump block useless, but slapped An Jie's wrist.
An Jie's hook hand went into the net steadily, and in addition, the referee also blew a thug foul on Mime!
"Damn!" Kobe Bryant was very dissatisfied with Mime's defense, but he didn't express it in his mouth, he could only curse in his heart. After all, not everyone is that Garnett, and not everyone will point at their teammates' noses and scold.
The Zen master also shook his head helplessly, and now the center is a position of shortage of personnel for the whole league. It's good for a team to get a passing starting center, and as for the center on the bench, if you can use it, you can use it.
With a career average of 3.4 fouls in 20 minutes per game, Chris Meme's statistic is on track to surpass his own points per game. He always miscalculated that he would be able to complete the block, but every time he could only hit someone else's wrist.
Despite the best efforts of the Staples Center fans, even if a fat bearded man stripped off his shirt and danced in the audience, none of this could stop Anjie from scoring the ball steadily. 2+1, easy to play.
As in the usual games, An Jie doesn't make a move, and once he does, he will definitely be able to bring damage to the opponent.
With the remaining four minutes, Westbrook and Durant were both overshadowed by Anjie's strong offense. Although Kobe Bryant's singles are very efficient, he still can't match Anjie's easy scoring in the three-second zone.
At halftime, the score still couldn't be opened, 60-57, the Lakers scored one, and the Thunder could always return one. Maybe the three-point gap is because of Fischer's three-pointer.
Bryant scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the second quarter, and the stubborn Viper scored 22 points in the first half alone.
Although Anjie did not have such perverted scoring statistics, his 12 points at halftime still annoyed Phil Jackson. And of these 12 points, 10 points were scored in the second quarter! Although Jeff Van Gundy does not have many offensive routines, he is still very good at using the trick of "prescribing the right medicine". Whichever point of the opponent is weak, Van Gundy will find which point to play, and who makes the Thunder have strong points in guard, forward and center.
"Lamar, if that Chinese kid continues to play alone in the second half, I need you to help defend the pack!" "It's not terrible to let go of the Thunder's power forward, but if that No. 16 center is fully open inside, then something terrible will definitely happen.
Odom looked at the Zen master with a serious face and nodded silently.
The Lakers can lose in the regular season, but they can't afford to lose to such an opponent!
Rookie center, the Thunder's third point of attack, was selected with just the twelfth pick. However, this is such a person, but he is about to enjoy the bag treatment that neither Durant nor Westbrook have gotten. (To be continued.) )