Chapter 259: Another Trick
"Odom and Powell have been amazing defensively, with Ange and Morris not scoring for minutes. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info Durant is also under great offensive pressure under Artest's defense, and the shooting percentage of the scoring champion has not improved so far. If it weren't for Westbrook's repeated impacts, the point difference might have become double digits long ago!" Mike Brin couldn't believe what he saw, even Bynum and Gasol couldn't stop the whirlwind twin towers, and they were actually beaten by the Lakers' second team's interior line.
"Don't use bag clips on Anjie. This phrase, which often appears in the commentary, seems to have been broken by Odom and Powell.
Powell has good muscle strength and can withstand the impact. Odom is experienced and agile. The defensive combination of these two can complement each other to great effect.
In the regular season, other teams arranged bags for An Jie either one tall and one short, one outside and one inside, in this case, it is difficult for the outside player to interfere with An Jie's vision, and it is difficult for the inside player behind to deal with An Jie's turn and breakthrough.
If it were two ordinary insiders who were caught by An Jie, then both of them would be played around by An Jie's agile footsteps.
But Odom and Powell are different, they are both tall and flexible. When An Jie's vision was blocked and the breakthrough was unfavorable, he could only choose to pass again and again.
In addition, the importance of the playoffs, which is far greater than the regular season, has also added a lot of psychological burden to Anjie. He was afraid of mistakes, so he didn't dare to hold the ball without being sure.
Now let alone let An Jie attack, even let him organize, it has become very difficult.
There was no need to waste energy, Van Gundy had to let Anjie and Morris go off the court. Bring on Serge Ibaka and Nick Collisson.
The defense of these two lacks the tacit understanding of Anjie and Morris, so even though Ibaka's personal defensive ability is strong, Kobe Bryant's score after breaking through is still much easier than before.
It is too rare for An Jie to be dumbfounded, and in the entire 82 games in the regular season, there are no more than four games. But today, in the crucial Western Conference Finals, Phil Jackson did it with two guys who weren't very good defensively.
Now, the man who gave up the inside line has become Jeff Van Gundy.
Durant is still playing like crazy, breaking through him and suddenly failing to score, and his shooting was also interfered with by Artest and lost his crosshairs. Westbrook became the heart of the offense as he wished, but his style of play made Van Gundy feel worried every time.
It's not a long-term solution, and if Westbrook gets injured as a result, it will be more than worth the cost. Durant and Anjie, one of them must be revived!
An Jie was substituted this time purely because his performance did not meet expectations. Therefore, he did not rest after the game, but focused on observing Odom and Powell's defense.
But to his disappointment, the Lakers didn't use a wrap-and-wrap tactic when Ibaka and Collison were on the floor. Now if you want to find a flaw, you can't start.
As the minutes ticked by, watching the point difference being pulled apart by the Lakers step by step, Van Gundy decided to call a timeout in advance and set up the defense.
On the Lakers' side, the players vied with each other to celebrate, and the atmosphere was so lively. Calling a timeout for the Thunder is enough to show how good their performance is.
"Lamar and Josh are doing well, keep it up! Kobe, your shooting percentage is starting to drop. Don't worry, your teammates will guarantee that Seflorosa and you will always be in a one-on-one situation. Shoot closer to the basket, don't shoot randomly!" This pause is not much for the Zen master to arrange, after all, it is not that he wants to arrange anything, but that Van Gundy has to make a change.
"Ann, what are you afraid of!?" Van Gundy sat down in front of Ann Jie with a small bench.
"Huh?" An Jie looked at his coach blankly, he had been on the bench just now.
"I said, what are you afraid of when you face the bag!? Powell's kind of unruly guy can actually prevent you from doing nothing! No! I don't allow this kind of thing to happen, and you should do the same!" Van Gundy thought about it, still ready to let An Jie give it a go. Durant's feel today should not be any better.
"Turn me around and break through, make a foul for me, and give me every way you can, just like you did to Bynum! Don't be afraid! Only if you dare to play, can you try the depth of the opponent's defensive intensity!" Van Gundy now wants to see how effective Anjie's own offense is.
Van Gundy's shouts were audible to the fans in the third row of the stands, but they were amused by Van Gundy's setup. Encourage your players to keep attacking when they are in the bag? Van Gundy is an old fool, right?
Lakers fans are waiting to see Van Gundy's jokes, waiting to see the Thunder's jokes. And An Jie is still skeptical about Van Gundy's arrangement.
As soon as the timeout came back, Westbrook, who was indeed too tired, to implement Van Gundy's tactics and pass the ball straight into the penalty area.
His impact was much worse than before, and the third quarter was almost halfway through, and the Thunder were almost always relying on Westbrook's impact.
After Anjie won the ball, Odom did not hesitate to strike again.
"Timid...... Damn, it doesn't matter!" An Jie gritted his teeth and leaned on Powell before quickly turning around, ready to break through. At the same time, Odom also rushed to the scene, but this time, Odom, who rushed to the bag, accidentally tripped Anjie, who started the breakthrough. Although the all-round warrior is unintentional, a foul is still inevitable.
"Good ball!" Van Gundy waved his fist off the court, as long as An Jie dares to fight, whether he can score directly or not, it will be a gain!
With the foul count yet to come, the Thunder only got one chance to throw the sideline. And An Jie also found in that attempt that although Powell's muscle strength is good, he can reflect speed and basketball IQ, which is really much lower than he thought! Relying on him to break through, it is very easy!
An Jie, who let go of the burden, no longer had unnecessary scruples, and Ibaka's sideline ball was hoisted directly into the inside. This time, Anjie anticipated Odom's bag route, so he took the initiative to turn in the direction that Odom was running from, and jumped and shot directly.
"What!?" At this time, An Jie's position was still far from the three-second zone, and turning over and jumping in such a place was a move that Kobe Bryant did. And what surprised Odom even more was that this guy actually took the initiative to turn around to a defended place.
"Doodoooo!" Odom, who was unresponsive, failed to brake the car, and he collided with Anjie, who was rushing to the bag, and An Jie, who was taking off and shooting. This time it is not as simple as serving a sideline ball.
In addition to not being afraid, Anjie has also done it by all means. And when he does both, Powell and Odom's bag is no longer a threat.
Sending An Jie to the free throw line is almost no different from sending the Thunder two points directly. An Jie also lived up to expectations, undoubtedly scoring both goals.
Phil Jackson frowned, but when he thought that Anjie hadn't been able to score directly under this kind of bag, he decided to wait and see for a while.
Dozens of seconds later, however, the last thing Jackson wanted to see happened. After Anjie figured out Odom's speed and route, before he could complete the package, Anjie turned past Powell and went straight to the basket.
An Jie jumped up and raised the ball with one hand to dunk. The unwilling Powell kept pulling Anjie's jersey and was unwilling to let go.
"Bang!" The basket shook violently, and An Jie also fell to the ground. But before he lost his balance, he had already dunked the ball in!
"A chance to play three points! Powell was also sentenced to a first-degree malicious foul because of this! It's useless, this bag was completely broken by An, and the Zen master wants to win, so he has to change the way!"
"It's hard!" Phil Jackson couldn't believe that he had laid out a tactic that only allowed him to dominate the game for half a quarter. In order to deal with the Thunder, he has made countless changes. The Thunder team, on the other hand, can always crack them one by one.
"Boss, I'm rested!" Bynum couldn't hold back for a long time, and now seeing that Odom and Powell's defense failed, the little shark decided to take the initiative to fight.
"Hey, go to the tech desk and get ready, you and Paul, for Lamar and Josh. "There is no way, now the Lakers can use these four interior lines, except to send the twin towers, the Zen master has no choice.
Seeing that the Lakers brought the twin towers back up, Van Gundy also hurriedly replaced Morris. After that, although Anjie and Morris's offense was not as smooth as in the second quarter, they still had some advantages.
The further back in the game, the more Kobe's shooting percentage dropped. For the sake of the fourth quarter, the Zen master also had to let Kobe Bryant go to rest. Now, the game seems to have become a replica of the second half of the second quarter, Anjie and Morris suppressed the Lakers on the inside, and the Thunder gradually approached the score, until the end of the third quarter, the two sides were tied again!
64 to 64, the score between the two sides is still very low, and it is still tied!
Fans in Los Angeles were eager to see the Lakers, who swept their opponents in the first round, win at home, but they didn't expect that the Thunder's new face in the playoffs put the Purple and Gold in a hard battle.
And the Thunder fans in front of the TV found that they really have hope of overturning the Lakers in one fell swoop!
Phil Jackson must be busy right now, and in the fourth quarter, he has to come up with a tactic that the Thunder can't crack!
"It's the moment of the decisive battle! Let's play inside! Russell, you rest and rest, and finally I will send you out again, and hit hard!" Van Gundy immediately decided on the tactical thinking of the final quarter.
Kobe Bryant is not in good shape, and Durant feels cold in his hand. This game seems to have become a war between the rest of the two warring teams.
And Anjie has undoubtedly become an important weapon for Van Gundy to win this war!
Without an important competition at the core of the team, there must be someone who will borrow the banner of the core and continue to lead the team forward.
Westbrook played such a role in the first and third quarters, and the next fourth quarter was handed over to Anjie.
Playing with the center as the offensive core is Van Gundy's forte, and the person who has a headache has now become the omnipotent Zen master...... (To be continued.) )