Chapter 93: Leitner's First Half
The Wizards, who changed their approach to Leitner, got the results they wanted at the end of the season, and Wang Zhizhi can be called Leitner's second, and he has made great strides in both offense and defense.
And under the protection of the Wizards, who averaged more than 18 minutes per game, Leitner played a full 70 games in the regular season.
And Leitner got more rewards, led the team to the playoffs, and became the second place in the East, although Leitner's credit in it is not the greatest, but no one will underestimate this veteran at this time.
Sure enough, after entering the playoffs, the Wizards began to take the initiative to reuse Leitner, and Leitner's performance has not disappointed anyone since entering the playoffs, especially in the rising stage of the Wizards.
No one would think that Leitner would become the core of the team, and no team had any special arrangements for Leitner, but Leitner is the absolute main force of the Wizards, or the partner who helps Kwame defend the basket, especially in the second round of the playoffs and the two rounds of the Eastern Conference finals, Leitner is the hero of the team's promotion.
Maybe Leitner at this time was extremely satisfied, and even had a little sense of pride, but Leitner would never have thought that the Wizards could play Game 6 with the Lakers at the moment when the finals came......
But it was in this situation that the Wizards defeated the Lakers three times...... The fifth game of Jordan's injury was the most touching for Leitner, and it was only after the fifth game that Leitner really began to think about what to leave on this team, instead of thinking that this season was already perfect.
With Jordan out injured, Gong Feng being limited to the whole court, and only interior players having room to score, Leitner had already made up some kind of determination after Collins took the initiative to talk.
No one doesn't want to win at the end.
There are not many things that Gong Feng can do in this game, one is to maintain his low turnovers, and the second is to maintain his high shooting rate, both of which are difficult to do in the finals, but without pursuing speed and not using his own ball control to organize the team, Gong Feng still did what Collins asked him to do.
However, Kwame is a little more difficult to do, O'Neal started the game with a complete power, this kind of power is different from the dominance in the low post in the past, but O'Neal really began to pay attention to organizing the team to do certain things.
O'Neal has the vision and talent of passing, but in the case of Kobe, Fisher, and Horry, most of the Lakers' games and time do not need O'Neal to hold the ball for a long time to organize, and O'Neal needs to put the ball in the basket more, and someone will naturally do everything else.
It's just that it's different now, and the three who put all their energy on the defensive end are also being guarded by the Wizards on the offensive end, and more importantly, Jackson wants to establish O'Neal's absolute core position once again.
Kobe Bryant didn't squeak about this, because he just lost to the former god, even if there are too many reasons for this kind of loss, but losing is losing, and there is no real sympathy in the arena.
What was O'Neill like when he organized the team?
45 degrees asked for the ball in the low post, and O'Neal did not rush to attack first after reaching the ball, but let the Lakers players keep moving, looking for space to pass the ball.
O'Neal in this position has the ability to score, although for the big fat man, playing like this is very tiring, especially the extension of the back time, it is a very big test for O'Neal's physical strength.
But how could O'Neill be concerned about such a problem as physical strength now? If the Wizards' performance is sluggish because of Jordan's departure, and the Lakers are strong at the beginning, and there is a collapse, O'Neal can certainly rest, but as far as the first half is concerned, I am afraid that the entire Lakers fans will be disappointed, even if O'Neal uses his full strength, it is just to keep the score standstill.
The Wizards will definitely not be able to defend against the Lakers, but the Wizards' offense, the Lakers can't defend either, especially when Lightner scored 15 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in the first half.
Horry's defense can't be regarded as the top level of the league, and Horry's kind of height, in the No. 4 position, against a pure interior is a very disadvantageous, but once Leitner is caught in the pinch, he will pass the ball quickly, and the accuracy of the pass is even Jackson scratching his head!
Gerrard's ability to break through mismatches is very strong, and Fox, an old man who was drafted in '90s, can't defend the breakthrough from Gerrard.
Hamilton and Gong Feng are both excellent shooters, after letting go of some things, Gong Feng has become much purer, his mind has become much smoother after a few conversations, and his emotions are very stable.
Such a mentality is the mentality of a shooter.
Unlike the Lakers, now all the Wizards players on the court are holding their breath in their hearts, a breath of not admitting defeat, and the breath of desperately working hard for the championship, driven by the team's old people, the Wizards are down-to-earth to play, not giving up, not being irritable, just waiting for the Lakers to make their own mistakes.
Watching the Lakers players become more and more impatient, and watching Leitner really glow with the demeanor before entering the Dream Team, Jackson sighed deeply in his heart and expressed his deep helplessness about everything that happened in the Finals this time.
Looking at the rest of the first half, he was ready to call a timeout and take the Lakers' defense down, and he couldn't let Leitner's state continue like this.
But at this time, something happened that made many fans exclaim, Leitner was injured and fell to the ground, looking at the posture of him covering his legs, the Wizards' Collins felt bad, which is a position where Leitner is often injured.
The Wizards' team doctor rushed forward to settle the case, and the referees began to watch the footage to see what was going on.
Collins didn't step forward to ask, let alone complain to the referee, it's the Finals game, and the Lakers players can't risk the world's condemnation to do something, otherwise the Wizards won't have to make a move, and the league will be the first to jump out and block it.
The ratings of this round of the Finals have been record-high, and the league has been keeping an eye on both sides, not to mention that the gods of the NBA are watching the game in the Stamp court, although the probability of the Wizards winning the game is low, but this is the sixth game, who can really guess the outcome of this game?
Once the Wizards do win the game and win the championship, will Stern still be able to show up?
Now Collins is thinking more about what to do with the next game!
That's the brutality of competition...... But how many thoughts could Collins have at this point? Looking at the timer on the field, there is only one minute before the end of the half, so let's lay out the tactics first, get through the first half peacefully, call Oakley to come over, and immediately replace Leitner on the court to play.
But just as Collins was about to set up the players, Kwame suddenly ran over and said to Collins: "Coach, let me take Lightner's place!" ”
Corinth frowned and looked at Kwame.
"Let me organize the Wizards' offense!"
Seeing the unusually serious look on Kwame's face, Lightner didn't know what to do for a moment.
The Wizards' team doctor came over at this time, shook his head at Collins, and whispered, "It's not going to be better in a month!" ”
When Collins heard this, he sighed, and then said to Kwamei: "How do you kid prove that you have the ability to organize a team?" At this time, where can you find time for your kid to show his strength? ”
"Coach, there's still one minute to go, that's enough for me to demonstrate!"
Seeing that Gong Feng and the others were about to come over, and this timeout was about to end, Collins smiled and said, "Okay, then you kid said, who do you want to replace Leitner?" ”
"Simmons, let's play a pure small man lineup!"
All the Wizards players who had just come to the rest area were shocked, and Gong Feng looked at Kwamei in surprise when he heard it.
"When has Kwame shown this oppressive power? Asking for the ball in a game that hasn't ended yet? ”