Chapter 446: Dwight, go and watch
"Fuck, that damn Chinese!" Howard looked very irritable after being replaced, he originally thought that Yiyang was killing himself, but the nimble guard was stunned to get rid of his own defense by pulling the rod.
The block debut was not completed, but he was burdened with 3 fouls and unfortunately went down. Howard had just finished his game when he was forced to sit on the bench and watch the fire.
With the loss of Howard, the Lakers' deterrence on the defensive end instantly dropped a lot. While the substitute center who replaced Howard was Jordan. Hill is also a good No. 5, but no matter how good he is, he can't compare to "Warcraft".
Yiyang made 2 free throws and continued to narrow the difference. Fans were amazed by the combination of Yiyang and Mayo, and as it has been said, the ceiling for this backcourt combination is quite high. If the two can maintain this state of affairs for a long time, the Mavericks' fighting power will be more terrifying than everyone imagined.
Howard went off the court, and Yiyang and Mayo began to play a delicate match. Kobe Bryant seemed to smell a hint of danger, and he had long known that the Dallas calf was not a soft persimmon to pinch!
In the next Lakers offense, Nash fired outside the three-point line and was interfered with by Yiyang, and the ball naturally missed. In the second quarter of the game, Nash didn't score a single point. The current Yiyang seems to be too strong for the aging Nash.
"The Lakers have the Super Four, but they are still inextricably linked to the Mavericks! Counting last season's playoffs and the preseason games that just passed, the Lakers have lost ten in a row at home! Will they be able to break the bad luck today!? ”
Mike. As soon as Brin finished speaking, a sigh came from the scene. Yiyang didn't look at the back pass to assist Mayo, who cut into the penalty area, scored with one hand, and the score was equalized, and Mayo took the initiative to reach out and high-five Yiyang. Kobe Bryant's face is full of black lines, Jordan. Hill and Gasol are better than nothing to protect the basket!
"Paul, cheer up, okay!?" Kobe Bryant hammered Gasol hard in the chest, and there was no barrier between the "Black Mamba" and the Spaniard, they always had a straight talk.
Therefore, Gasol will not be angry with Kobe, and Kobe has never shied away from criticizing Gasol.
Don't say it, Kobe's reminder really brought the Spanish Tower back to his senses. At this year's Olympic Games, the Spanish team was almost overturned by the Chinese team led by Yiyang in the opening game. In the end, it was Gasol's steady play that allowed Spain to escape the fate of being upset.
Today, facing Yiyang and a group of "rabble" again, Gasol also does not want the Lakers to be upset.
Gasol is no longer willing to be a mid-range playmaker, and now that Howard is gone, he has to carry the scoring banner even more.
Nash passed the ball to Kobe Bryant as soon as he passed the half, without giving Yiyang a chance to pester himself. Kobe Bryant broke through immediately after coming out to receive the basketball, and as soon as Mayo moved sideways, he hit Gasol's "wall" solidly.
The tacit understanding between Gasol and Kobe Bryant is far beyond the reach of Howard now. Kobe Bryant broke through, and Gasol now doesn't need to stay in the middle to make room for Howard. He followed everything inside, and Bryant tossed the ball in a smart way, and Gasol jumped up to hold the basketball in the air and point it into the frame.
Defending Gasol, Brand is now completely unable to jump and can only watch as the Spanish tower easily puts the ball in the box.
If this ball is replaced by Kobe Bryant and Howard, it will definitely end up with an empty dunk. But Gasol's free layup also has his unique beauty.
'Paul's follow-up was very timely and you could see that this was the way he liked to play. It would be a bit wasteful to use him as a medium-range turret. ”
Gasol's excellent performance was not short-lived, and after several attacks, Gasol scored frequently near the three-second zone, and Brand was beaten to the ground.
Mavericks fans are starting to miss Dirk immensely, at least Dirk is there, and Gasol won't be so rampant.
The Mavericks relied on the chilling offense of Kobe Bryant and Gasol to extend the score again. Ironically, after the Lakers went through a big change in the summer, it was Kobe Bryant and Gasol who worked the most.
At this time, I don't know if there was some carelessness, Mayo's shooting rate began to plummet. Yiyang passed him three good balls, and in the face of the vacant position, Mayo missed three times in a row. Seeing the initiative gradually being regained, the Lakers fans began to cheer. And Mike. Brown also made Howard ready to return to the court, and he wanted to take advantage of this time to widen the difference in one fell swoop!
In the face of an opponent like the Mavericks, it is not impossible to solve the battle in half a game!
Mike. Brown's calculations have indeed worked. But he shouldn't have been, he just shouldn't have let Howard come back!
On the first defense after Howard's return, Yiyang assisted Carman to score. Howard, who has been riddled with three fouls, does not dare to make any big moves on the defensive end now, he is fed up with his teammates fighting the court, and he can only sit on the cold bench.
But Howard lost his aggressiveness on the defensive end, and he actually lost his biggest advantage. Karman's hook was not good just now, but Howard was stunned to jump and stop it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to remind you that the Mavericks are still holding on! With the assist for Kaman's goal, the gap between the two teams has been reduced to six points. The Lakers' Big Four tried their best, but they could only lead Yiyang by 6 points! I don't even know if the Lakers are playing too incredible, or the Mavericks led by Yiyang are playing too incredible. ”
Barkley was wrong, the most "incredible" performance today was actually Howard!
On the next offense, Howard was going to repeat his old trick and hit the basket with a hard top for Karman. But instead of waiting for Howard to collect his head, Carman took the initiative to foul early and send Howard to the free throw line.
Chopping tactics, which Carlisle specifically explained to Kaman. Howard shot just 49 percent from the field last season, a career-low low. This summer, the Los Angeles media went crazy about Howard and his trainers working on free throws. The Kuban is going to verify today whether these messages are true or false!
Howard took the basketball and stiffly pushed it towards the basket. Although in terms of action, Howard's free-throw stance is much smoother than O'Neal's. But in fact, the hit rate is half a catty.
On the first free throw, Howard used too much force, and the basketball bounced back to the front of the iron frame.
"Relax man, like you did in training." After the first free throw, the Lakers players stepped forward to high-five Howard, and Kobe Bryant didn't even forget to say a few words.
The stadium was eerily quiet, as if the more than 10,000 fans in the Staples Center had lost their voices. However, such a good environment still can't save Howard's poor free-throw skills.
Both free throws missed! Howard's "excellent" play allowed the Mavericks to lose nothing and directly started a new round of offense.
Howard squandered his chances over there, and Yiyang wasn't going to let the Mavericks get into trouble as well. After Mayo missed three goals in a row, Yiyang decided to look for the next target who could output consistently. This Chinese guard's excellent big-picture view makes people look forward to every round of the Mavericks' offense. Because you don't know, Yiyang will guide the team how to do it.
"Keep an eye on your own alignment, watch your own alignment!" Mike. Brown shouted anxiously from the sidelines, but whenever there was a gap, Yiyang had the ability to send the ball through.
The phrase "keeping an eye on one's own alignment" sounds simple, but it can be very complicated to implement. After a few off-ball pick-and-rolls, the Lakers' defense was already a mess.
In the end, Marion assisted Yiyang to shoot from the mid-range position. Nash's blockade will only make the fans sad.
The difference instantly became only 4 points, and Howard panicked. In the second quarter of the game, I haven't opened yet!
So on the next offense, Howard directly skipped this step with the block, and asked for the ball on the inside by himself. Carlisle smiled, "Warcraft" is in a hurry!
Bryant believed in Howard, and if it weren't for that, he wouldn't have tried to persuade the No. 12 big man to join in the summer. But in the Lakers, it has always been Kobe Bryant who asks for the ball from others, and there has never been a thing where someone else asks Kobe for the ball. Even Bynum, the thorn who played a career season last year, did not dare to do this on the field.
Howard can't care so much, in his opinion, he and Kobe Bryant are completely equal in the team.
In order for Howard to play his rhythm, Bryant still chose to pass. The basketball fell firmly into Howard's hands, and he still plans to do it!
Carman didn't hesitate and fouled Howard before he could make a shot. Aggrieved, "Warcraft" smashed the ball to the ground and had to accept the fact that he wanted to continue to make free throws.
If a reporter were to ask Carlisle to pick an X-factor today, he would definitely choose Howard! Who knew that this guy could make two free throws in a row without making two free throws!
"Damn it!" Bryant cursed under his breath, not letting anyone hear it. If Howard can make free throws, the Lakers don't have to be so nervous now.
Howard is still unwilling, he still wants to exert force. If you can't do it on the offensive end, you can leave it on the defensive end. Then the people heard a hurried whistle.
"Dwight. Howard gave the Mavericks another big gift just before halftime was over! 4 fouls, Howard's irrational block has made him already have 4 fouls! We see Mike. Coach Brown was arguing loudly with the referee, but the referee ignored him! I think that if the referee doesn't give him a technical foul, it's already a lot of face. ”
Yiyang, who fell to the ground, was picked up by Marion and Kartra, who came on as a substitute, and in front of Yiyang, there was Howard with a displeased face.
Under the deafening boos of the Los Angeles fans, Yiyang still hit two free throws and two hits, making a total of six free throws today. Such a hit rate made the people in the Staples stands envious.
Howard was off again, and the Mavericks seized the opportunity to close the score before halftime.
52-50, the Big Four are still in a hard battle, and the Mavericks can turn the tables at any time!
In the third quarter, Mayo "resurrected", and Yiyang and Mayo's alternate impact brought a lot of trouble to the Lakers' loose defense.
On the Lakers' side, Nash and Howard's offense is basically scrapped. Nash couldn't get rid of Yiyang, and Howard couldn't shoot from the free-throw line. If even Howard and Nash can't score, the others are even more embarrassed. Artest, who is currently only 1 of 7 shots, is the best example.
The Lakers can only rely on the hard support of efficient Kobe Bryant and Gasol to lead the team forward.
The game lasted until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, when a slam dunk from Howard under the basket allowed him to score his 19th point of the day. 19 points may seem like a good statistic, but if it's all based on 14 free throws, Howard's performance is far from satisfactory.
3 of 14, Howard's free throw shooting rate today was lower than Yiyang's shooting rate when he fired indiscriminately from outside the three-point line! Carlisle's tactics were used very successfully, and the Lakers' proudest reinforcement became today's failure!
Twenty seconds later, a whistle blew to end the first game of Howard's Lakers career. Marion's sudden counterrun caught Artest off guard.
Yiyang's eyes are quick and he passes the ball out quickly. The basketball flew through the crowd and flew precisely into Marion's hands.
As soon as Marion jumped to the basket, he felt as if he had been hit by a heavy truck. Howard, who came to make up for the defense, roughly slapped the basketball in Marion's hand, but also knocked Marion into the press booth next to the basketball hoop.
Just as Howard was secretly proud that he had finally completed the block, the referee blew the whistle.
The entire Staples Center was in mourning, and if the referee confirmed that the whistle was blown, then Howard's game would be over!
"Dwight was too impatient, he wanted to win too much, and he wanted to show himself too much in Los Angeles."
Howard stood on the court with his waist crossed and shook his head, and Bryant went over and patted the big guy on the shoulder, then whispered a few more words. Howard took a step and walked off the field.
Three minutes, seven points, no Howard. The hearts of Lakers fans are in their throats, this game, you won't really have to lose!
After Howard sat down on the court, Bryant turned his gaze back to the court and threw it into the game. The Big Four, one was killed by Yiyang, and now another one is full of departures. In the end, the Lakers still have to rely on Kobe.
"Are you ready, boy? No one will bother us now! Kobe Bryant gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, and then he personally took the baseline ball and began to advance.
Yiyang and Kobe's new and old accounts will be paid off together in these three minutes!