"Isn't it just that you lost a home game, is there such a fuss?"

Early in the morning of May 28, 2005, in the restaurant of the Mimosarifer Walker Hotel in San Antonio, there were not many people in the restaurant of the largest hotel in San Antonio at this time, although San Antonio is the second most populous city in Texas, but this place is not a tourist attraction, even if the Spurs are a famous team in the NBA, but because of commercial development, it does not have much influence in the world, in this case, even if the playoffs start, it will not attract many tourists to watch, In this respect, it is much worse than the Los Angeles Lakers.

It's just that although there are not many people in the hotel now, it's not that there is no one, at least Zhuang Fei and Green, who are preparing breakfast in the restaurant, are still quickly recognized, of course, basically many people who live in this hotel know that the hotel is still living in the Los Angeles Lakers, and Zhuang Fei did not ask the team to package the hotel all, but although he said that he knew that Zhuang Fei and the Lakers lived here, but when he saw the real person, these people were still a little overwhelmed, but in the face of such a commotion Zhuang Fei was a little surprised, I didn't pay too much attention to it, but continued to look at the newspaper in my hand.

Yesterday, May 27, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs away, and the Lakers ended up with a score of 105-116 in yesterday's game, losing by 11 points, of course, such a score loss is not a big defeat for many NBA teams, but it is definitely a big defeat for the Lakers, for a Laker who is known as the strongest team in history, and a Laker with 80 wins in the regular season. Even a loss of eight or nine points is a big defeat. Not to mention losing by double digits. Coupled with the Spurs' two consecutive wins, the big score has been pulled from 0-1 to a 2-1 lead, and one of the Lakers' feet has basically stepped on the edge of the cliff.

At this time, basically the media who were still very calm after the Lakers only lost one game have begun to be calm, not that they are beginning to despise Zhuang Fei and his Lakers, although Zhuang Fei rarely falls behind in the playoffs. But it is not that there is no time to lag behind, and this Chinese have also survived, and the struggle with Zhuang Fei over the years has made many reporters understand that it is not the time to step on Zhuang Fei and then take revenge, after all, 1 to 2 is nothing for Zhuang Fei, but although it is not the time to step on Zhuang Fei like the New York Times, many media are still a little yin and yang at this time.

At least not long ago, these people gave the Lakers the title of 'the strongest team in history' by these people at this time, and they took it off the Lakers' head and began to put it on the Spurs' head, and there are also some media who seem to care about the Lakers or Zhuang Fei began to remind Zhuang Fei and the Lakers and came up with ideas, as if the Lakers and Zhuang Fei will definitely lose if they don't do what they say, and the atmosphere in the American public opinion circle is also extremely warm for a while. And such a warm atmosphere immediately overshadowed the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, who also played 1-1 in the first two games.

"Coach, it's not just a home loss. We have lost two in a row, and it looks like there is a trend of three consecutive defeats" Facing his teacher's indifferent look now, Stephen Green felt a little funny, of course, as the leader of the team, he really needs to be in such a mood at this time, he can't mess with himself at this time, but he can't be so indifferent, but no matter what Green thinks in his heart, there is no way to tell Zhuang Fei at this time.

"Yes, it's true that it's not just one loss, but two losses" Zhuang Fei also smiled and nodded with some emotion after Green finished speaking, for the best-of-seven NBA playoffs, a team that won 2 games first has stood at a fork in the road, and a team that has lost two games has also been stood at a fork in the road and can't lose anymore.

It's just that for Zhuang Fei, the team's current situation is not bad, just like Zhuang Fei himself said, the Lakers' second home loss is because Popovich and the Spurs are preparing to deal with the Lakers in two or three months, in this case, Zhuang Fei and the Lakers in that game actually can't say anything, as long as they need to find a way to get it back after knowing the Spurs' targeting, and as for yesterday's game, The Lakers, who only have one day of rest, have no way to adapt to the environment and react from the fatigue of the trip after rushing from Los Angeles to San Antonio, in this case, the Lakers' performance of the whole team in the last game is not very good, even if Zhuang Fei has some tactics against the Spurs, it is not useful, the same loss is also full of accidents, for two unexpected losses, Zhuang Fei naturally will not worry too much, after all, this is not just lost the second game, As long as he doesn't lose the third game, Zhuang Fei won't feel any pressure.

Although Zhuang Fei has no pressure, there is no doubt that as Zhuang Fei's assistant, Stephen Green is under a lot of pressure, especially after the last two consecutive defeats and losses, he has a headache in the face of the overwhelming public opinion in the United States to diagnose the pulse of the Lakers.

"By the way, Stephen, aren't those guys up yet" Just when Stephen Green was thinking about the recent crazy public opinion, Zhuang Fei asked him about the Lakers.

"Well, I haven't gotten up yet, you know, we only came back in the early hours of the morning yesterday, thinking that they were very tired" Zhuang Fei also nodded after Green finished speaking, he came to San Antonio from Los Angeles yesterday morning, and then he didn't rest long to start training and official games, and it was midnight after the game, which was indeed a little tiring for these players.

In the NBA, there is a two-day gap between the second and third games, but this year there is only one day, which is not very beneficial for teams playing on the road. And this is also the reason why the Lakers' performance in the last game was extremely dismal, the overall lack of form, tomorrow's game will be much better.

So now there is no blame for the Los Angeles Lakers players who are a little lazy and lazy, and now for the Lakers, this team really needs to relax, especially the team leader Kobe Bryant, who has been a little tight in recent times. After being choked by the Spurs in those two games, the Lakers' dominant player was a little anxious.

After Zhuang Fei finished breakfast. The Lakers' players still haven't gotten up. And Zhuang Fei also went to the streets of San Antonio with Green with great interest, perhaps because the Spurs are still ahead of the Lakers, so when Zhuang Fei appeared on the street, these Spurs fans completely lost the anger that Zhuang Fei had when he came to San Antonio, of course, there were still two sentences of sarcasm from pedestrians on the road or Spurs fans sarcastically Zhuang Fei

For these Spurs fans, if it weren't for Zhuang Fei, they would definitely not just have won only one championship trophy over the years. For Zhuang Fei, the former Timberwolves and former Celtics head coach. These Spurs fans don't like it from the bottom of their hearts, but at this time, they don't mind showing their victorious posture to Zhuang Fei when they have the advantage, as if telling Zhuang Fei that their victory is very magnanimous.

The victorious gesture made by Spurs fans to Zhuang Fei when their team was leading did not make Zhuang Fei feel anything wrong, but at this time, when the Spurs were 2-1, Popovich was still fighting a war of words with Lakers celebrities or others in the media, which made Zhuang Fei a little surprised. This Laker will hold his breath and take the Spurs on the court, if the Lakers can't beat the Spurs on the court. Then the impact on this Lakers player is self-evident.

When the Lakers question their strength in the media, the media vortex created by Popovich and the blocking of Spurs players on the court, these Lakers players will collapse directly or not, this is the psychological warfare that Popovich thought of from the beginning, just because Zhuang Fei did not let the Lakers players face Popovich's strategy The effect is not very obvious.

May 29, 2005, San Antonio SBC Center, this is the fourth game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, this game is a life-and-death battle for the Lakers, they must win this game, and if they lose, then the next game is basically impossible to play, so that the Spurs can get the match point in advance, which is something that Zhuang Fei absolutely cannot accept.

Similarly, this is also a game that cannot be lost for the Spurs, and now it is difficult to seize some gaps and loopholes of the Lakers to get such a good situation, if this game is lost, such a good situation will be wasted, then the Spurs and the Lakers can only be caught in a struggle, and Popovich does not want to be entangled with Zhuang Fei, because the Lakers are already recovering, the Lakers players were in such a bad state in the last game, but they only lost 11 points on the road, And Zhuang Fei's new tactics tried in yesterday's game also made Popovich a little uncomfortable, Zhuang Fei is not a person who sits still, and he is also a person who must not give a chance, which Popovich, as Zhuang Fei's biggest enemy, naturally knows this.

In this case, this game may be the battle of Tianwang Mountain staged in advance or the decisive battle staged in advance.

"I really didn't expect that when the Lakers and Spurs played Game 4, the Lakers were in a backward position, and Coach Z couldn't lose this game again" In the commentary seat of the SBC Arena, Kenny Smith looked at the two teams on the court that were warming up with some emotion and said, and at this time Barkley on his side also nodded.

For many people, the trend of this series is surprising, the Lakers did not have as domineering as people imagined, 4-0 all the way, and the Spurs really intercepted the Lakers beyond people's expectations.

"The starters on both sides of this game are the Los Angeles Lakers, the front line is still Webber, Hill and Szebiak, and the guard line is Hardaway and Kobe, Kobe Bryant did not perform well in the first two games, and the center on the Spurs' side is Dwight Howard, although the young center has a lot of problems in this series, the offense is unstable, and the defense is also a little frizzy, but it does help Duncan a lot, his ability to help the defense makes the Lakers very uncomfortable, and the Spurs' forward position is Duncan and Eric Williams, the guards are Kidd and Ragabel, Ragabel has done a good job of Kobe Bryant's defense, and Kobe Bryant has not had many offensive opportunities to face him and Duncan's strangulation. ”

After Kenny Smith finished reading the starting lineups on both sides, the fourth game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs also began.

Because in the first three games, these two teams have played extremely hot, which means that the two sides have an extremely deep understanding of each other, in this case. What kind of basic play is on both sides. The players on both sides are very familiar. And when Howard again provoked the power to beat Webb successfully. The Lakers players didn't say anything, after all, the first two games were won by Howard except for the first game.

So at this time, even if the Spurs jump ball successfully, it is difficult for them to play a fast break, Kidd slowly dribbled the ball past half court and hoisted the ball to his inside, at this time the Spurs' first offense was completed by their own twin towers, and these two are also the main body of the game between the Spurs and the Lakers.

It's just that for Howard, after he received Kidd's ball one step below the free-throw line, he feels a little awkward right now, because at this time the Lakers' shrinking strength is mostly around Duncan. Whether it is Webber, the only interior line on the Lakers court, or others almost focus on Duncan, at this time only Hill is defending Howard, according to common sense, facing Hill at this time, Howard should be how to play, but at this time, under the gaze of all Spurs fans, the Spurs rookie actually hesitated, and stopped the ball one step below the free throw line, and at this time it also made Kidd, who had just passed the ball to Howard, regret for a while, He had just seen Hill, who was defending Howard, take a step back. thought Howard had a chance, and then actually forgot that Howard was not Scola. He doesn't have the ability to shoot from mid-range.

"FVCK" looked at Howard on the court who was holding the ball in the next step of the free throw line and didn't know what to do, and the Spurs head coach Popovich on the sidelines also scolded a bit fiercely, I don't know if he was scolding Howard or dissatisfied with Kidd's pass, in fact, if the other party was not Howard, Kidd's pass was perfect.

Now Howard is very hesitant, especially when he sees that Hill, who is just one step away from him, is still one step away from him, the Spurs' center forward wants to scold his mother, he hopes that Hill can come forward and stick to him, he can hit Hill off balance and kill him under the basket, but Hill clearly doesn't want to come up, just like the defensive strategy for him in the last game, although the Lakers were in poor condition in the last game and lost away, Howard was almost collapsed by Hill in that game.

The former NBA No. 1 balloon star who was beaten badly by him in the first two games seems to have found his flaw, and after he receives the ball, unless he is under the basket, he is never one step away from him, as long as he gets the ball, and at this time Hill not only ignores him, but also pretends to be ready to do Webb to trap Duncan, which means that as long as Howard gets the ball, the Lakers are going to defend four. And if Howard wants to dribble and attack by himself, Hill, who doesn't care about him, suddenly doesn't know when to rush up and use his long arms to cut off the ball immediately, and then the Lakers are a counterattack, it can be said that in the last game, Howard, who was playing this trick, was about to collapse.

"Greg, if this kid doesn't have anyone to lean on him, he won't know how to attack at all" Looking at Howard on the court who didn't know what to do, even the assistant coach of the Spurs on Popovich's side couldn't help but scold, of course, what he said was the truth, at this time Howard's offensive ability in the face frame was almost 0, if no one behind him gave him a dunk after letting him knock people away, he basically had no offensive ability, it can be said that Zhuang Fei and the Lakers' move was a bit poisonous, It's not like other teams don't care about Howard, and they don't care about Howard like other teams, it's just one step away from him, and they're always ready to break his ball.

And after hesitating for a few seconds, just when he remembered that he could pass the ball since he couldn't attack, the Spurs center suddenly found that the basketball in his hand was gone. At this time, Hill, Hardaway, Kobe and several others have begun to pour into the Spurs' basket like a tide.

Of course, the Spurs have a good defense, and it's fair to say that they're the only team that can make a big mistake while still being able to attack without any scruples on their own, but this time Howard made a bit of a big mistake and the big man who was cut off didn't give his teammates much time to react.

With a bang, the fans of the entire SBC arena were already gasping when Hardaway flew up next to the free-throw line, because Hardaway didn't have the ball in his hand at this time, and the ball was in the hands of Hill behind him. Hill was just past half-time at this time. No one will know why Hardaway thought Hill would pass the ball at this time. Even Kidd, who had been chasing behind him, didn't know why Hardaway flew like this, and when Hill really threw the ball at high speed almost at the same time the moment Hardaway flew up, Hardaway, who had already flown to the highest point, seemed to be waiting for the ball in the air, and smashed the ball into the basket after getting the basket.

And Kidd, who was watching this scene behind Hardaway, was also a little suffocated, this air relay was a bit against the sky, even if he could pass such a ball, he might not be able to grasp the timing so well with Hardaway. And in fact, this kind of air relay is the best way to attack this fast break, if you wait for Hill to advance to the three-point line, the Spurs' defensive formation may also be standing, in this case, to be able to think of so many problems at such a moment and then pass such a ball, at this time, I remember that I also felt a little unbelievable turned around and looked at Hill who had just passed this ball, but at this time Hill shrugged his shoulders in the face of Remember's gaze as if to say to Kidd, this is very ordinary.

It's just that the rest of the Spurs players and Howard himself are helpless at this time, he is a high school rookie, and he has been doing well this year. Even if he really made a mistake, the other teammates could only be helpless. Just like Duncan did now, a hard slap on the big man's head was considered punishment.

However, Popovich on the sidelines was not so simple at this time, the Spurs head coach's expression on his face after Hardaway completed this dunk was very scary, and the look in Howard's eyes also made Howard on the court excited.

"Hmph, don't think that you can beat us by pinching Howard, the importance of Howard's offense to us and Kobe's offense to you are not at all the same level" Finally, the Spurs head coach also took a deep breath and looked at Zhuang Fei on the side, for Zhuang Fei's defensive strategy that made Howard collapse in the last game, the Spurs head coach didn't like it very much.

"Coach, it would be nice if I could let Popovich get Howard down, so that Duncan and Ragabel would never be able to block Kobe" After seeing Howard's somewhat funny mistake caused by the points, Green in front of the Lakers bench also found it a little interesting, Popovich's attack against Kobe Bryant's current problem blocked Kobe Bryant made the Lakers very uncomfortable, and in the last game, Zhuang Fei's strategy against Howard also made the Spurs very uncomfortable now. It would be nice if Popovich could ditch Scola like he did in the final minute of last year's playoffs against the Timberwolves.

"It's impossible, Howard's importance to the Spurs is not on the offensive end" Zhuang Fei said with a smile indifferently in the face of his assistant's prospects, and after Zhuang Fei finished speaking, Green also nodded with some regret, of course he knew this truth, and it was just his hope just now.

From the first offense of this game, the Los Angeles Lakers showed themselves in the SBC arena in a completely different state than the previous game, Hardaway's dunk kicked off the Lakers' offensive prelude, and similarly, after the start of this game, Hill, who rarely attacked independently in the first three games, also began to break through Eric Williams very resolutely in this game.

"Damn, how can this guy be so fast now?" Eric Williams looked at Hill, who had just broken through himself with just a body shake, and the Spurs defender was a little helpless.

He and Hill are the same age, both are 32 years old this year, not yet 33, his current state has been maintained enough, but what makes him helpless is that there is no comparison with Hill, Hill did not go to the basket after breaking through Eric Williams, although he played Howard in the opening game when defending, at this time in the face of Howard's basket defense and Duncan, who has been paying attention to Kobe, Hill did not recklessly challenge his offensive ability under the basket, but a steady mid-range jumper.

"Beautiful pull-up jump shots, the Lakers played aggressively in this game, especially Hill and Hardaway and Webb, and it was clear that after Kobe Bryant was choked by the Spurs, Coach Z laid out more tactics that allowed them to attack more independently. This is a good way" Although Kenny Smith agrees with Zhuang Fei's method of letting the team's three veterans attack more independently, it is surprising that the three veterans are still in shape.

And just as he finished speaking, after Duncan strongly pressed Webber to complete a hook shot, the Lakers quickly attacked the baseline with a fast serve, and to the surprise of many people, Webber, who responded at the free throw line, directly faced Duncan, who was half a step away from him, after receiving Hardaway's pass, and shot from the middle distance without the slightest hesitation, and Webber's shot had already hit when Duncan reacted.

"Tim, I admit that you are better than me, but it is not a wise choice to be distracted by other people while defending me, Kobe Bryant or me, you can only choose one" After shooting the ball, Webb gave Duncan a deep look and left with this sentence. And at this time, Duncan looked at Webber's back and was a little surprised, Webber at this time was different from Webber when he was one against two, and the meaning of Weber's words was naturally to say that he would never have the scene of losing to Duncan alone with Divac two years ago.

"It's really funny," Duncan finally seemed to make a decision in his heart after skimming the Laker No. 8 on the other side.

"Damn, how can these old guys be so powerful" Popovich scolded secretly after watching Weber hit the ball very decisively, the start of the Lakers in this game surprised him a little, it can be said that he definitely didn't think about it before the game, the sudden attack of the Lakers three elders in this game is not a normal situation, this is obviously a counterattack by Zhuang Fei to him to pinch Kobe.

Although it is impossible for even the Lakers, who are playing extremely actively, to pull away the score or lead the Spurs by a large score without fast break and Kobe Bryant's offense, there is no doubt that such a Laker has made people ask about the dangerous atmosphere, such as the Spurs fans and Popovich on the scene have asked about this atmosphere.

"Since you want to defend a place, then I'll give you a fire everywhere to see if you better keep it" Zhuang Fei looked at the Lakers who had been entangled with the Spurs on the court at this time, and thought with a little playfulness in his heart, the Lakers have the capital to ignite fires everywhere, whether it is Hill or Webb or Hardaway is a good fire.

"The glory of our victory never belongs to one person, this is my basketball" (to be continued......)