Chapter 324: Release or Defense?
"The Lakers played a fast break, and the Grizzlies' troubles began!" The on-site commentator said slightly pessimisticly, because he knew very well the abilities of Zhang Yi and Robert, the two fast-break masters.
In addition, the Grizzlies' defensive ability is actually focused on two fast guards, if even they can't catch up with these two young guys, then the so-called slowing down the pace is just on paper.
In order to regain the advantage of the game, the Grizzlies also increased their speed a little. Now that possession is back in the hands of the point guard, although his skills are rough, the overall picture is still better than that of Opp.
The Lakers' change of defense is very fast, coupled with the strong defensive ability of Zhang Yi and Vali in the core position, so the Grizzlies' already overstretched offensive ability is now even more chicken.
Center John Purdue was supposed to be their scoring weapon, but his individual desire to attack was not too strong after the game. And Opp, as the team's No. 2 scorer, is now defended by Zhang Yi and has never been able to find a chance to score.
In the end, the point guard still chose to break through by himself, but he didn't attract any defense, because in the pre-game analysis, Wacker had already said that this guy's ability to make damage under the basket is not strong, as long as he follows the defense normally.
This is exactly what WACKER analyzes. Oscar successfully seized the gap between his hesitant layup and completed the block, although it was still the Grizzlies' possession, but there was not much time left to attack.
When he sent out the ball, because he couldn't find a good offensive opportunity, Op had to force a mid-range shot against Zhang Yi's defense, and it was natural to hit the iron.
The offense hasn't been fluid for several rounds in a row, and the Grizzlies now have to work around their own problems on the offensive end. Coupled with the fact that the Lakers are also adapting to the opponent's defense, if they don't get back to form quickly, then the probability of an upset in this game is also very low.
Although it was a fast break, the Lakers consciously controlled the pace of the game. Because Zhang Yi noticed that the opponent's double guard seemed to be ready to defend their fast break.
Even for Wacker's pre-match instructions, he was slow to advance with the ball. Zhang Yi and Op are two concept playmakers, and their offensive methods are completely different.
When he gets close to the three-point line, Opp has to come up on defense. And the opponent's entire half was within Zhang Yi's firepower, so this is where he is difficult to defend.
Not only Zhang Yi, but Robert's fast breakthrough and projection ability are also the best in the league, and now the Lakers have the strength of these two singles, so they don't have to worry about their own offensive problems.
When the Grizzlies were changing defenses, Robert was standing in front of a slower-moving power forward. Zhang Yi immediately flew the ball to Robert's side, only to see that he first made a feint to break through, and then immediately stepped back to shoot decisively outside the three-point line, and slammed into the frame with a hollow sound!
"This ball is really heartbreaking!" "The Grizzlies' offense was already blocked, and Robert's three-pointer was too much of a blow to their morale!"
The on-site commentator said excitedly. Because the Grizzlies are not afraid of the opponent playing fast, but they are afraid of three points, and they once grabbed seven games in the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.
Although they played an epic offense, they were still blinded by a three-point rain from the Warriors in the third quarter. From leading by double digits to losing by more than 20 points heading into the fourth quarter......
The Golden State Warriors hit 18 three-pointers in a single quarter, not only limiting the opponent's scoring to 12 points, but also slashing the team to 46 points, directly sending the game into garbage time.
Even an experienced manager as experienced as Hawley was caught off guard by the result. Because Curry Jr.'s sudden outburst is something that most people can realize, but the Warriors' sudden three-point explosion on several benches is really unexpected.
So that game was also hated by Grizzlies fans, and three-point is an undesirable presence here. Now Robert hit a beautiful step-back three-pointer, and all he got was a sparse boo from the audience.
The Lakers' offense became more and more fluid, and Hawley called a timeout to avoid mental problems with the Grizzlies players in the first quarter, and made some personnel adjustments.
Although they have to defend the opponent's fast attack, they can't win the ball without scoring correspondingly. Replaced with two more offensive No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
This substitution still has an effect, although the Lakers' substitutions are fast and can also limit some offensive poor points, but the Grizzlies can threaten the defending champions after all, and the bench depth of the lineup is still there.
The newly introduced quarterback immediately responded with a three-point team to stop the bleeding. Even Wacker had to admit the skill of his old coach Hawley, and the adjustments he made were useful most of the time, regardless of the situation.
On the Lakers' side, Zhang Yi continued to control the ball through the half, and after he switched positions with Oscar, because he attracted the No. 1 position to help the defense, the latter got a chance to break through.
Zhang Yi's advantage lies in the awareness of quickly sharing the ball, which rarely appears in a rookie rookie. This is one of the reasons why he can be called Curry Jr.'s successor.
After receiving an assist from Zhang Yi, Oscar scored an easy layup. The core of the Lakers doesn't seem to have a strong desire to attack this game, but he can help the team with assists.
Regardless of whether Zhang Yi is scoring by himself or not, he is a key player in the defense as soon as he appears on the court, and any mistake will allow him to seize the opportunity to convert into an attack. This has already been summed up by several previous losses to the Lakers.
Before this game, Hawley gave his players an order to block the opponent's fast attack, and also to strangle Zhang Yi's attack at any cost......
It's just that he didn't expect that before they could make a move, Zhang Yi himself directly stopped attacking. And I didn't expect that although he got an earth-shattering quadruple-double in the last game, his assists were really stronger than most players in the league.
If this continues, even if Zhang Yi doesn't score points himself, the Lakers' offense is still smooth. The Grizzlies also said in this timeout that since they can't completely strangle Zhang Yi, it is better to prevent other positions and let him attack.
So in the next round, when the Grizzlies' offense was stopped again, the Lakers played a fast break again, this time with Wali throwing the ball into the opposing half.
The people involved in the attack were Zhang Yi and Robert, if according to the initial preparation of this game, Zhang Yi was the one who was heavily targeted, but when Vali threw the ball to find Robert, he found that the situation was reversed?
"Oops!" Because Robert was marked, Wally's assist was snatched back without being passed at all, and Hawley smiled when he saw this scene, this Lakers team is still a little younger......