Chapter 122: More Blossoms
Staples, the crowd is buzzing.
The 76ers attacked, with Allen Iverson holding the ball from beyond the three-point line.
In the purple and gold stadium, the fans shouted in unison, "Defense, defense......." Everyone focused on seeing how the 76ers should perform this round of offense.
Iverson beckoned.
"Pick-and-roll?"
Bryant glanced at it and silently moved two steps inside, shrinking his defensive range.
But Pau Gasol didn't come out and pulled to the flank, where he made a simple two-handed cover to create space for Iguodala to pull out and catch the ball.
But Iverson still didn't pass it.
Iverson dribbled the ball under his crotch, crossed his steps under his crotch very beautifully, and then stepped out with his left foot to the right, and his right hand poked out, and the whole body was about to break through to the right by a large margin.
Fisher defended Iverson and subconsciously moved his feet to block Iverson's breakthrough laterally.
But at the moment when his center of gravity moved, Iverson "snapped", a beautiful crotch dribble, the whole body turned, the step was wrong, and the right foot was to the left, instantly pulling away a position.
Derrick Fisher is also a member of the '96 Golden Generation, a year older than Iverson, and the reason why he was able to sit at the starting point guard with the Lakers is because of his excellent defensive skills, strong physical confrontation, and key ball ability in key moments.
But his defense, in the face of Iverson, who has an extremely fast cadence and changes to the top of the league, is a little powerless.
In an instant, he was out of place.
If it was three years ago, Iverson would definitely go straight to the inside and get inside, whether it was a direct layup or a foul, it would have had a good effect.
But now, Iverson made a jump shot directly from mid-range!
Sudden stop, posture paused slightly in the air.
"Huh!"
Hollow hit!
2 to 2, a draw.
Offense and defense switched, and the Lakers attacked.
It was still Kobe Bryant who received the ball on the flank, and after receiving the ball, he wanted to go to the bottom line, and was caught by Iguodala and Saflosa.
Across the middle, Al Horford shoots from the free-throw line.
Missed, the rebound was snatched up by Ballam Porter.
Iguodala catches the ball and turns to advance.
The 76ers have a strong offensive position, and they still maintain the offensive and defensive transition style of last season, and the speed of advancement after landing is very fast, and Iguodala advances to the frontcourt.
He advanced from the middle, got up front, and moved to the flank, where Iverson came in from the flank and the two were hand-to-hand passes to cover.
Iverson took advantage of his cover to accelerate the breakthrough.
The speed of the explosion in an instant, surpassing Fisher, straight into the middle, the Lakers contracted the whole team.
On the dribble, Iverson spun to the weak side and gave Safrosa an ambush in the bottom corner.
Kobe Bryant made up the defense, and Saflosa made a three-point shot.
Hit!
Kobe Bryant's face has changed, why does the 76ers shoot everyone, where did this guy come from?
Indeed, Saflosa's reputation last season was unremarkable, and compared to the likes of Andre Iguodala and Paul Millsap, who shone on the 76ers last season, Saflosa is unknown.
Until this season, he had been a role player, scoring six or seven points per game, tepidly, and the highest career scoring game so far has not exceeded 20.
But Saflosa has improved, and in addition to the defense he relies on to survive, his three-point shooting ability has increased significantly, and his three-point shooting rate per game is close to 4 percent.
This is where the king will appreciate him tomorrow, the Swiss Army Knife, is cashing in on his talent.
5 to 2.
Kobe Bryant asked for the ball in the half.
Saflosa, with her legs spread apart, stood firmly on the floor and her defensive stance was exceptionally standard.
Kobe Bryant himself singled Saflosa, turned around and walked the bottom line, and still had a bag.
He passed the ball, and after Al Horford received the ball this time, he dribbled straight inside. Horford - Although he is a power forward position on the court, he has a lot of mobility and a high level of breaking, and with the help of the time difference, he passed Gasol and hit the basket.
Gasol has never been afraid of players who have their backs to him, just some players with a frame.
He's very effective at defending his back, but he's inefficient at defending his frame.
Horford picks up baskets in the air, presses his hands, and hits the board into the frame.
4 to 5.
The 76ers attacked.
In the frontcourt, Iverson asked for the ball and singled out Fisher.
It stands to reason that there shouldn't be so many heads-ups, but in the face of Fisher, Iverson feels that he has a lot of experience, after all, he is the opponent who broke up in the finals that year.
Iverson completed another one-on-one breakthrough almost in the blink of an eye.
Then he tore open the Lakers' defense and passed a low hand to Gasol inside.
Gasol catches the ball high and throws it.
The basketball crossed an arc and landed in the frame.
"Beautiful!"
Wang couldn't help but stand up and applaud tomorrow, this ball is really good-looking, Iverson broke through Gasol, Gasol made the final offensive finish.
The point is that with Gasol's long arms, half-hook and half-throw, no one can block at all.
Such a close position is equivalent to giving away points.
7-4, the 76ers got off to a smooth start.
Kobe Bryant's jumper missed, Gasol grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, and Al Horford was alert to jam a pass from Gasol and slow down the 76ers' advance.
"This Al Horford is really good." Wang's eyes lit up off the court tomorrow, and Horford played steadily, not like a rookie.
The problem for the Lakers is that they can't suppress the 76ers' offense.
Phil Jackson frowned deeply, the 76ers' tactics are very simple, that is, to use Iverson to break through Fisher, or Iguodala to force Lakers small forward Luke Wharton, or simply block high posts and various players. Despite its simple tactics, it was very effective, and the Lakers' defensive pick-and-roll was inefficient.
Horford has the potential to be a great pick-and-roll player, but for now, putting him on a guard is tantamount to giving points away.
Two rounds later, the 76ers flanked and picked up, Iverson threw a delicate pass into the air, and Dareham Porter, who ran without the ball on the weak side, scored an empty dunk.
11-5, the 76ers led by six points.
The scary thing is that almost everyone in the 76ers except Iguodala scored, using various different methods such as mid-range shots, three-pointers, layups, dunks, etc.
Bryant was very unhappy, but the way he expressed his dissatisfaction was to answer his opponent with more crazy scores.
In an instant, Kobe Bryant suddenly broke out, shot inside and out, scored 6 points in a row, and led the team to chase the score back.
After the official timeout, Gasol singled Horford in a row, and the 76ers' focus shifted to the interior offense, scoring more solidly.
The Lakers are still mainly attacking from the outside, and Fisher also made a three-pointer to relieve the pressure.
But everyone can see that the Lakers, who are playing at home, are actually suppressed.
Waiting for Pau Gasol, who is in improved condition, to replace him, Wang will shift his focus to the outside tomorrow, Iverson and Iguodala are both offensive strengths, compared to Kobe Bryant, who only relies on one person, the 76ers are all-round offense and more blossoms.
Staples fans sighed for a while, seeing Kobe Bryant, who fired wildly and scored high, recalled the Finals in 01.
At that time, it was the short scoring champion of 1.83 meters on the opposite side.
Now that seven years have passed, the feng shui flow has rotated, and the roles of the two have been reversed.