The day after the Lakers advanced to the Finals, the Knicks didn't keep the Lakers waiting.

Under the leadership of Wang Shuo's protégé Mike Brown, the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the G5 game of the Eastern Conference finals and successfully met the Lakers in the finals with a score of 4-1.

According to the schedule, the finals will start on June 2, and the Lakers, who have the best regular season record, will play home and away first, and the format is.

Since the NBA entered the 21st century, this year's Finals have been more focused and enthusiastic than ever.

After all, the feud between the nation's No. 1 city and the No. 2 largest city alone is enough to keep the nation's eyes focused on this year's NBA Finals.

In addition, in various senses, this is also a round of finals full of topics.

The first is the master-apprentice duel between Wang Shuo and Brown.

The second is another collision between Wang Shuo and his old club in the finals.

and the Chinese derby between Wang Shuo and Xiao Yao.

Before the start of the G1 battle in the finals, the sports media in China and the United States used various gimmicks in just a few days to make this round of the finals rush to the hot search several times.

In this era of increasing Internet development, it is true that this round of finals is also likely to be a lore under Stern.

Because these days, even a mediocre pre-game analysis article can attract onlookers from all over the world.

Perhaps, the Super Bowl is the "Spring Festival Gala" in the minds of the American people.

But even NFL commissioner Roger Goodale said in an interview that this year's NBA Finals have made the NFL feel a serious sense of crisis.

ESPN's routine, which invited experts to predict the score of this year's finals, easily set a new viewership record.

In ESPN's prediction program, seven of the fifteen experts are optimistic that the Knicks will win the championship, seven are optimistic that the Lakers can win the championship again after a nine-year absence, and one person chose to give up.

But without exception, fifteen experts agree that this series will be decided by a tie-break.

This year's preview of the finals on TNT TV also set a new ratings record.

Charles Barkley, "former Wang Shuo's deputy and legendary assistant coach of the legendary coach", brought a comprehensive and professional analysis to fans on the show, from the personnel composition of the Knicks and Lakers to the tactics that the two teams may choose in the Finals.

"The inside line is undoubtedly the Knicks' biggest advantage in this round of the Finals.

But it seems to me that Wang must have already figured out what to do.

Shaq, who has not played in the Western Conference Finals before, will join Mark in this round of the Finals and become an interior barrier for the Lakers to use against Yao.

This year, before the playoffs began, Wang excluded Marcus and Ronnie from the playoff roster, but kept Rashid, who only played 25 games for the Lakers in the regular season due to injury.

I think that in the Finals, Rashid will undoubtedly be the wonder weapon that the Lakers use against Tim! ”

As an ecological chain very interesting alliance.

Of course, historically, Duncan has always had the upper hand against "Roaring Celestial."

But even later in his career, Wallace was one of the interior players in the league who knew Duncan best.

If Wang remembers correctly, Duncan shot just 45.5 percent overall from the field against Wallace.

Wallace's familiarity with Duncan determines that he will be the only player on the Lakers team who can play against Duncan in this round of the Finals.

Wang Shuo knows better than anyone that in this round of the upcoming Finals, the Lakers have no possibility of being able to prevent the Knicks inside.

In Wang Shuo's view, the only thing the Lakers need to do is to find a way to reduce the hard solution efficiency of the Knicks' interior line and use higher offensive efficiency to shoot the future.

"In this round of the finals, I want to start Monta and Stephen together." At the Lakers' pre-game tactical preparation meeting before the start of the finals, Wang Shuo said to Ma Long and others.

Hearing this, I thought that Wang Shuo was just deliberately working hard in the regular season, so that Curry and Ellis, the "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chicks", would partner many times in the game, and Coach Lu, reacted instantly......

It turned out that in the regular season, Wang Shuo had been training with competitions.

Yes, you read that right.

It is precisely in order to play this Knicks that Wang Shuo will let Ellis play with Curry many times in the regular season.

Although in the face of the vast majority of opponents in this league, Ellis and Curry's defense will become the opposing guard's dream of matching.

But this Knicks does not have the possibility of blowing up this pair of "Sleeping Dragons and Phoenix Chicks".

Admittedly, Rondo's defensive ability determines that neither Curry nor Ellis will be too comfortable playing against him.

Can......

What if Wang Shuo chooses to let Curry and Ellis play together?

The Knicks want to use Curry and Ellis's defense to make a fuss, and in Wang Shuo's view, they can only replace Smith and Douglas to partner in the backcourt.

But that's ......

How can the Knicks' outside line defend the Lakers' outside offense?

In the tactical conference room, Coach Lu thought for a while and said, "Wang, we fought thunder before...... Wouldn't it be preparing for this round of finals? ”

Wang Shuo nodded and said, "Throughout the regular season and playoffs this year, I have been preparing for this round of finals. ”

At this moment, looking at Wang Shuo, Director Lu can be regarded as understanding why Wang Shuo can always be considered a last resort.

Why can this man stand at the apex of all basketball coaches!

"Playing with Stephen will make it easier for us to use Jerry Sloan on the court.

Also, I'm going to put Danilo and Lamar in the second team at the same time.

One of them can respond, the other can attack, and in the case that Mike is likely to use Trevor and Wilson to play against Kobe.

Once in the rotation, the Knicks' forward line will have no one to stop Danilo. After a pause, Wang Shuo continued.

On the side, looking at Wang Shuo, Mike Malone said: "Do you want Rashid and Mark to partner on the inside?" ”

Wang Shuo said, "Yes, Mike. ”

Malone added: "But then we have to rely entirely on the defenders to push forward. ”

Wang Shuo smiled, "I trust my judgment, Mike.

I don't think the Knicks will have a way to solve our 'Jerry Sloan pick-and-roll' after falling into a positional battle. ”

Since receiving the gift of veteran coach Sloan, Wang Shuo has never let the Lakers use Sloan blocking in actual games.

As for the reason.

Of course, it's because Wang Shuo doesn't want to give Mike Brown time to think about how to crack this offensive system that combines modern basketball no-ball screen tactics.

Those who think that Wang Shuo has already solved the problem of the century for the Knicks may not believe it.

In fact, until he was gifted by the old handsome Sloan.

Wang Shuocai found a way to solve the Knicks' interior line in a real sense.

Of course, if they want to strictly enforce Sloan's pick-and-roll on the court, the Lakers also need Kobe Bryant to continue to make sacrifices for the team in this year's Finals.

Therefore, before the start of the finals, Wang Shuo also invited Kobe Bryant and Vanessa to have a meal alone.

Can......

The current mamba snake, where does Wang Shuo still need enlightenment?

During the meal, looking at Wang Shuo, Kobe Bryant smiled: "As long as I can win the finals, I won't care about my personal data." ”

Seeing this, Wang Shuo was also happy and said to Kobe: "In the past, every year when the finals started, I would think of a slogan for my team.

Kobe, do you want to guess what is the slogan I have for the Lakers this year? ”

Kobe Bryant thought for a while and then complained: "You also said before, I'm a person who lacks creativity, so ......

Wang, you better tell me the answer directly. ”

Wang Shuo smiled slightly and said, "This year, the slogan I came up with for you and the Lakers is called 'Ascending God'.

As long as you're willing to sacrifice for this Lakers, Kobe Bryant......

I believe that in this year's Finals, the Lakers will be able to rise to the top under your leadership.

Get ready for the world to worship you! ”

Although someone has been saying that he is not good at chicken soup for the soul and painting cakes.

But......

In a sense, Wang Shuo is definitely the strongest "chicken soup coach" and "pie coach" in the league today.

You see, after having dinner with Wang Shuo on this day......

Bryant won't even be able to walk.

At this moment, Kobe Bryant's mind was full of thoughts:

is not afraid of scars, and eventually becomes the body of a winner, ascending to the gods, who cares about the sun, moon and stars?

……

On the evening of the 2nd, the Staples Center, when celebrities and big names from all over the United States gathered.

Above the dome, the thirteen championship flags fluttering in the wind are more than ever looking forward to adding a new companion next season.

At the invitation of Buss Jr., Lakers legend Jerry West also came to the scene.

In the CCTV on-site commentary seat, when the close-up was given to West, Director Zhang complained: "Hey, this is an 'iconic' figure in the real sense of the NBA." ”

Tonight, little Bass, sitting next to Old Bass, can be described as in high spirits.

In contrast, the "Laker Girl" who in Wang Shuo's memory will confiscate West, an NBA "iconic" Laker permanent free ticket in the future, sits next to her father and brother with a smiling expression.

This season, Wang Shuo, who has always had a tacit understanding with the old Bass, usually praises Jim Buss.

Although Wang Shuo has no intention of fighting in the palace of the Bass family, in order to prevent Jenny Bass from smashing the statue that Old Bass was already preparing for herself in the future......

Wang Shuo didn't mind, and gave Jim Bass a few more pieces of his prestige cake that he couldn't eat for a long time.

Kupchak, who was named General Manager of the Year this year, also benefited from this.

Because Wang Shuo did not monopolize the full credit for the Lakers' revival after just one summer, he would always praise Kupchak by name in interviews for his outstanding contributions to the Lakers.

In the eyes of Kupchak and Buss Jr., the only fly in the ointment is that Wang Shuo made it clear to them when he decided to take over the Lakers that the Lakers would not be the last stop of his coaching career.

However, Kupchak and Bass Jr. have also made up their minds about this.

That is, after Wang Shuo leaves in the future, they can follow the example of the Knicks and select a champion assistant coach of Wang Shuo's department to continue to take charge of the Lakers.

On the court, after the hot opening dance of the Lakers cheerleading girls, the Lakers' elaborate appearance ceremony for this year's finals also attracted cheers from the fans.

On the spot, when every Lakers player plays, Staples' lights spell out the player's name on the floor.

Bryant received the most applause and cheers when he came out.

CCTV, Yu Jia commented when Kobe Bryant appeared: "Tonight, Yao Ming and Duncan will team up to face the best outside player recognized in the NBA, Kobe Bryant!" ”

With Yao Ming in the finals, most Chinese fans will naturally hope that the Knicks can win.

But in the NBA, there's never such a thing as anyone who needs a championship more.

Because for competitive sports, the championship is undoubtedly the biggest demand of every athlete.

The Knicks are hoping to win more championships under Yao Ming and Duncan.

The Lakers are also eager to taste the championship again after a nine-year absence.

When the number one city in the United States meets the second largest city in the United States in the finals.

It's the Big Apple that can be sweet to the end.

Or can the City of Angels see the light through the clouds?

At the scene, with the big screen giving the starting list of the two teams tonight, basketball fans from all over the world held their breath at this moment.

Knicks: Yao Ming, Duncan, Hill, Finley, Rondo.

Lakers: Jr. Plus, Wallace, Kobe, Ellis, Curry.

In the center of the court, in the jump ball session, a certain Tyrannosaurus rex jumped the opening attack for the Knicks.

After Rondo escorted the basketball over half court, Duncan quickly lifted up and formed a triangle with Yao Ming and Hill, and Xiao Yao sat in the low post to play Xiao Jia on his back.

Xiao Jia's first top defense after the opening game was quite successful.

As one of the few interior players in the current league who can make Xiao Yao pay a little price when attacking.....

Xiao Jia was not chiseled by Yao Ming in this offensive round, but forced Xiao Yao to sacrifice his roll and lean back.

When ——!

On the court, Yao Ming opened the game with the first attack on the Iron, the Lakers inside, and Wallace also stuck his old rival Duncan at the first time.

As he gets older, Duncan's frontcourt rebounding ability has declined to a certain extent compared to the Knicks dynasty.

But......

As the team that can grab frontcourt rebounds in the NBA the most after entering the playoffs, the Knicks' frontcourt rebounds rely on more than just Duncan.

However, just as the Knicks' "hidden center" Rondo was ready to rush for a frontcourt rebound......

The Lakers' "hidden center" Curry stepped up!

Say it and you may not believe it.

Not only did Curry return the ball to the basket in the first place, but his positioning was even more professional than many centers in the league.

By rushing to grab rebounds in the front court, to force the opponent not to be able to move fast in advance, so as to avoid being beaten by the opponent to switch offense, is a routine that Wang Shuo played when he was still coaching the Knicks.

Therefore, in this game, Wang Shuo never thought that the Lakers could speed up the pace of the game by getting a lot of transition offense like they did when they played against the Knicks in the regular season.

Because the Knicks in the finals and the Knicks in the regular season are two completely different concepts.

In the restricted area, Bryant protected the backcourt rebound for the Lakers under Wallace and Curry's cards.

Seeing this, the Lakers fans at the Staples Center burst into applause for Kobe.

On the Knicks bench, Brown, who knew that his side could not grab rebounds in the front court every time, kept reminding the Knicks players on the sidelines to put pressure on the ball carrier on the Lakers' side at the first time.

This is also the routine that Wang Shuo once played.

By putting pressure on the ball carrier, you can buy time for your own interior to defend.

On the court, Bryant dribbled the ball past half court and handed it over to Curry.

It's up to elementary school students to unleash the Lakers' first Jerry Sloan pick-and-roll of the night.

At the top arc, Wallace raised the ball to the high post and gave Curry a screen.

Meanwhile, on the left side of the court, Bryant also gave Ellis a cover off the ball on the wing.

Ellis then continued to run and took a small cover from the baseline to a 45-degree angle on the right side of the court.

At this time, as Ellis opened the space.....

When Curry returned to the high post to ask for the ball, Wallace only made a simple hand-to-hand cooperation with him, and successfully replaced Yao Ming in front of Curry.

The on-site commentators have not waited for the commentators from China and the United States to review the tactical design of the Lakers just now......

After winning the ball, Curry opened up him and Yao Ming with two back-dribbles from the outside, and scored the first three-pointer of the team for the Lakers tonight in front of Xiao Yao!

On the sidelines, Mike Brown, who saw this scene, always felt that the Lakers' opening tactics were very similar to Spain's pick-and-roll, but after thinking about it carefully in his mind, Brown knew it very well......

The tactics that the Lakers played tonight were not Spanish pick-and-rolls in the traditional sense.

In front of the TV, Jerry Sloan, who was watching the game, showed an excited smile.

Because......

The man who kept his promise the most in the NBA really didn't lie to him, this bad old man!

In the Finals, the Lakers played that offensive tactic that he has not been able to let the Jazz players execute perfectly on the court due to personnel limitations!

So the question is, how did the Lakers just now manage to swap Yao Ming in front of Curry through a series of off-ball screens?

A: It's all about Ellis's running line.

Because when he was running to the baseline under the cover of Kobe, Hill, who was in charge of guarding him, had been thrown out of half of his body......

So when Ellis borrowed the pick-and-roll set up in advance to a 45-degree angle on the right side, the Knicks' interior had to help Hill delay Ellis.

This time defensively, the Knicks chose Duncan and Yao Ming to switch defenses, and Duncan delayed Ellis.

Duncan succeeded in doing just that.

But on the left side of the court, Bryant secured half a position for Curry by covering off the ball at the same time.....

Therefore, at this time, Yao Ming must expand outward and protect his outside teammates by expanding his defensive area.

It can be different from the general outside line.

Because Curry's range is outrageous......

Therefore, once Curry gets the ball through the block on the outside, and the opponent rotates to the interior player in front of him, in most cases, it is impossible to choose to return to his own defense area immediately after the delay is over.

But at this moment, someone definitely wants to say.

Is it necessary for the Lakers to waste so much effort to replace Yao Ming in the library?

That's a good question.

But is there a possibility that it was because the Knicks defended too well that the Lakers were forced to finish a full set of Sloan pick-and-rolls?

In fact, in the process of strict execution, there are many offensive initiation nodes in Sloan's blocking and dismantling.

It's just that the Knicks showed their best defensive attitude in the Finals.

This tacit alliance of the dynasty army blocked the Lakers' previous offensive launch node.

Coming back, the Knicks attacked.

After Rondo held the ball past half court, Yao Ming and Duncan both stepped up to the top to provide him with double cover.

In this ball, Duncan quickly went down after blocking the defender for Rondo, and Yao Ming on the other side also bounced out at the same time.

Rondo's ball-handling assault and Duncan's step-down cut served to compress the Lakers' defense.

Although the Lakers successfully blocked Duncan's space, Xiao Jia's assistance defense also led to Yao Ming inevitably being vacated by the Lakers in this offense.

Fortunately, Kobe Bryant read the Knicks' offensive ideas in time, and rotated from the wing to Yao Ming at the first time.

Rondo, who has already burst into the heart of the Lakers, can't choose to pass the ball back at this time.

Because his return line has been blocked by Kobe, there will be a high probability of mistakes if he rushes back.

Ah, wait a minute!

Now that Kobe Bryant is in front of Yao Ming......

Wasn't Old Hill let go by the Lakers?

Yes.

Hill was indeed in an absolute vacancy at this moment.

Can......

With the Lakers full of people in the middle, how can Rondo, who has limited vision, pass the ball to Hill's hand on the other side of the court?

On the basketball court, many fans often complain that the players who are responsible for holding the ball cannot pass the ball to their teammates in the first place when they see that there are players in the empty seats of the team they support through God's perspective.

However, if this group of people has actually played 2K games, then they will definitely find out......

Players in the game, who also have a god's perspective, will often get the ball cut off because they want to pass it to a computer-controlled teammate.

In the absence of absolute certainty.

In a basketball game, a wide range of cross-pass transfers is a big no-no at any time.

On the pitch, in desperation, Rondo could only pass the ball back to Finley, who was closer to him.

Duncan is responsible for defusing the bomb by moving around to this side to catch the ball.

The Knicks' offensive organization also shows their calmness and sanity as a dynastic team.

On the sidelines, Wang Shuo, who saw this scene, couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

——It is worthy of the team that the master has led, and this tactical literacy is different from the average team!

Of course, at this moment, Ma Long and the others didn't know Wang Shuo's heart.

Otherwise, they will definitely ask Wang Shuo a rhetorical question:

And what about the sun?

On the court, Duncan hit a sideways hook after winning the ball.

But Xiao Yao, who has already killed from the outside to the inside, made a rebound and successfully scored the first two points after tonight's opening for the Knicks.

Wallace, who is very familiar with the characteristics of Duncan's game, has a good top shot.

But if there is no timely defense from Xiao Jia, Duncan's sideways hook will definitely be nine out of ten.

It's just that......

After Jr. helped Wallace help defense, the Lakers could only bet on Duncan's sideways hook that could bounce back to the side of the Lakers' basket with more people.

But it turns out......

Just like Duncan is good at snatching those balls that Yao Ming throws.

Yao Ming is also good at snatching the balls that Duncan throws off the court.

Come back, Lakers ball possession.

This time, it was replaced by a small plus who was promoted to the high post to join forces with Curry to launch the Sloan pick-and-roll.

The Knicks' first few pick-and-rolls were fine.

But as an offensive system that tests the ability of players on the court to adapt to changes, Kobe Bryant used his reading of the game to tear down the wall early when he made a wall for Curry on the wing, and quickly cut into the Knicks' basket.

Seeing this, Xiao Jia did not hesitate and immediately smashed the ball into the Knicks' penalty area.

The Lakers scored two points from Kobe Bryant, 2-5.

On TNT TV, Smith looked at the "master tactician" Barkley with a curious look and asked: "The Lakers' first two offenses tonight are like Princeton and Spain blocking."

Charles, do you know the name of this set of tactics? ”

Hearing this, Barkley immediately asked Smith to stop.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, when the game entered the official pause, the on-site host answered the doubts in everyone's hearts through an interview with Wang Shuo.

"The tactics we played tonight were an offensive system invented and created by legendary coach Jerry Sloan.

When we practice, we call it 'Jerry Sloan pick-and-roll.' In an interview with the live host, Wang Shuo said with a smile.

It's just that due to the limited time for on-site interviews......

So although the name of this tactical system is known, more details about this tactical system and why this tactical system will be presented to the world by the Lakers, people still need to wait until after the game to find out through an interview with Wang Shuo.

However, with the live broadcast, people learned the name of the offensive system that the Lakers played tonight.

Jerry Sloan, the name of the legendary NBA coach, will be immortalized along with this tactical system.

That is, on the Knicks bench, there was a moment when Mike Brown felt that Wang Shuo was too much of a bully.

Because no matter how resourceful Brown was, he couldn't have thought of it......

His mentor Wang Shuo even has the big move of "off-site assistance".

It's too much.

It's really excessive.

What does this mean by co-authoring, a group of Zhuge Liang came to beat me, a stinker?

However, on this night, Wang Shuo's surprise to Brown was not only Sloan's blocking?

On the court, at the end of the first quarter with 4 minutes left, Wang Shuo adjusted the Lakers' lineup on the court to O'Neal, McRoberts, Odom, Kobe, and Curry.

At this moment, on the Knicks bench, looking at Ellis, who was replaced by Wang Shuo in advance, and Gallinari, who had not yet appeared in this game......

Brown secretly screamed in his heart, and his brow suddenly tightened.

……