noveltune Chapter 349 Too Much Risk
Chapter 349 Too Much Risk
Chapter 349 Too Much Risk
Second half of the game.
Kobe took the lead in hitting two singles in a row in the middle distance.
These two singles also completely shattered Li Lai's fantasy about the 34-year-old veteran.
Even if he is already in this position at the end of his career, even if he is no longer the Peter Pan of the year, Kobe can still use his footwork and singles skills reasonably to bully young defenders in various ways.
"Coach, three people have to double-team Kobe!"
"He felt hot tonight. If he continues to shoot like this, the slight lead we established in the first half will be gone."
Du Feng looked at Li Lai urgently and reminded him.
Stevens had the same idea at this time. He directly suggested: "We can try to let Paul, Leonard and Lewis defend Kobe."
"Paul and Leonard are the main double-team points, and Lewis is the inside defense point."
"In this way, we can focus on Kobe's defense on the inside and outside."
Li Lai knew very well that the defensive tactic Stevens mentioned was the defensive tactic adopted by the Bucks against Kobe in the Finals.
It was also designed by Li Lai himself to defend Kobe.
But the reason why he dared to make such an arrangement at that time was because of the Bucks' unparalleled offensive ability.
As long as Kobe's offense is limited, the Lakers will never be able to keep up with the strength of the Bucks on the offensive end.
But it's different now. The Hornets don't have that kind of offensive power, and even the Lakers can't match it on the offensive end.
So if you dare to double-team Kobe at this time, the ending can only be ended by other players of the Lakers.
Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Ariza or Ramon Sessions.
All four have the ability to finish offenses.
Therefore, Li Lai shook his head and said in denial: "For Kobe's defense, we can only arrange two defenders at most."
"One main defense, one auxiliary defense."
"You have to be careful when double-teaming."
Stevens and Du Feng frowned at the same time.
They really want to say that this is not the defensive strategy that the Hornets have been using since the series, but the three games are about to be over, Kobe's performance is getting better and better, and he has gradually begun to adapt to the Hornets' defensive strength.
Tonight Kobe obviously ignored this defense and completed one difficult mid-range shot after another.
If the defense continues like this, the efforts of the Hornets throughout the game will be in vain.
"Let's put Vince Carter on defense." Li Lai said suddenly.
Stevens and Du Feng were both startled when they heard the name.
"Carter?"
"His defense is not necessarily better than Leonard, nor is it necessarily better than Jimmy Butler."
"Beverley's defense is probably better than Vince Carter's."
"Of course, we are not looking down on Carter. At his peak, he must be the best candidate to defend Kobe."
"But now he no longer has the strength he used to have."
At this time, Li Lai looked at the two seriously and said, "Do you still remember that in the last game Leonard left the field with 6 fouls and Jimmy Butler also suffered 5 fouls?"
"Kobe made 15 free throws in one game alone. What a scary statistic!"
"It can also be seen from this point that Kobe has a lot of experience, and he is very aware of the bad habits of young players in defense."
"He has a lot of experience in dealing with talented monsters like Leonard and stunned youngsters like Jimmy Butler."
"But Vince Carter is different. He is a veteran of the league. Although he has long lost his strength on the defensive end, he will not let Kobe go to the free throw line so many times."
"At the same time, we can also allow Leonard to participate in the auxiliary defense, which can better fill in Vince Carter's shortcomings on the defensive end."
After listening to Li Lai's analysis, Stevens and Du Feng glanced at each other, with obviously shaken expressions on their faces.
They don't know whether Li Lai's defensive decision is effective, but judging from the professional ability of the coaches, at least it is better than the extreme three-man double-team defense, and it is not easy for other Lakers players to explode suddenly.
beep!beep!
The Hornets called a long timeout.
All the players surrounded Li Lai. Holding the tactical board, he kept drawing out the running route and the details of the defensive end, and repeatedly emphasized.
"Guys, we can definitely win this game tonight."
"Believe in yourself, we can do it!"
Li Lai then raised his right hand, Paul, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, JR Smith, Beverly, Jordan Jr.
All of them leaned their right hands together at the same time.
Paul yelled, "What time is it!"
Crowd: "New Orleans Hornets moment!"
The game continues.
Paul commanded his teammates to run, and the high pick-and-roll succeeded again. Jordan dunked against Garnett, the wolf king.
Empty City!
Kobe yelled to remind his teammates, "Be more defensive! Steps, rotations, reminders, all move!"
Gasol then yelled, "Keep an eye on Chris Paul, he is the engine of the court, Kevin, next time he hits me on the roster, you have to come here quickly."
Garnett hammered his chest and signaled, "Leave it to me."
Switch offense.
Kobe glanced at the defender in front of him and frowned slightly.
It's Vince Carter!
The two have fought for most of their careers, and they are familiar with each other's abilities.
Kobe, who has played countless singles, is naturally not afraid of Carter's defense. He just feels that with Carter's experience, it may not be so easy for him to draw fouls so easily.
"Then play singles!"
At this time, Kobe did not choose to play in the low post, nor did he choose to catch the ball at the free throw line.
Because Carter's height has reached 199cm, and his wingspan is 211cm, Kobe has no height advantage against Carter.
However, Kobe has been targeted by countless defensive players in his 16-season career. Those who are taller than him are not as fast as him, those who are faster than him are not as high as him, and those who are faster than him are not as good as him. , Even if the singles skills are blocked, Kobe still has experience on the offensive end.
So Kobe chose singles and Carter's defense was to hold the ball from the outside.
Carter knew that his speed was not as fast as Kobe, so he chose to defend sideways with great experience, actively emptying the offensive space on the right.
If he encounters other offensive players, Carter will most likely empty the left-handed offensive space, because most players are right-handed.
But there is absolutely no need to defend Kobe, because he is as dexterous in attacking with his left and right hands, and leaving the right side empty will make Kobe encounter a larger area of defense.
Kobe took a look at Carter's defensive strategy. The old man's defensive experience is indeed much higher than that of Leonard and Jimmy Butler before.
Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, Kobe is biased towards the tigers, and he still attacks with his right hand. He is not afraid of the Hornets' next defense.
Kobe breaks through!
Vince Carter leaned forward, and the two secretly competed with each other with hidden tricks in their hands.
Kobe moved a step to the right of the free throw line, and Jordan took a step up to help defend. He simultaneously bit Kobe and Gasol behind him.
At the same time, Leonard moved a step laterally and was also in the defense position.
There is enough defensive pressure on Kobe in this position.
Kobe, who had no room to break through, could only choose a mid-range fadeaway shot.
Vince Carter and Leonard took off in pairs, one to block Kobe's eyes, and the other to block Kobe's pitcher.
call!
Basketball shot.
Everyone is staring at this attack at this moment.
Li Lai's eyes were shining brightly, Stevens clenched his hands tightly, Du Feng gritted his teeth and shouted in a low voice: Don't come in, don't come in.
Mike Brown opened his mouth slightly, his eyes focused.
This is true for Kenny Smith and Barkley at the on-site commentary station, and Su Qun and Yu Jia at the CCTV commentary station.
Duang!
Hard work!
"Finally hit the iron."
Du Feng slapped himself on the face, and said with a sigh of relief.
Stevens took a long breath and couldn't help but think of what Du Feng said before.
Watching Kobe shoot, you can only hope he doesn't.
The Hornets immediately launched a counterattack.
Because of the Lakers' twin-tower lineup, the speed is not very fast when defending against counterattacks.
Ramon Sessions is only a qualified defender, so the Lakers have not been particularly good at defending the Hornets' counterattack throughout the series.
Paul hit the ground and passed the ball, Vince Carter took the ball and took off, and Kobe jumped to prepare for the hot pot hat.
boom!
UFO takes off!
Vince Carter one-armed giant swing.
"The Hornets once again opened up the score!"
"They still have a chance to win tonight."
The fans at the New Orleans Arena were very excited, shouting and screaming.
In the private room, Taylor Swift was petrified by the fans' crazy celebrations, and stretched out two small hands to cover her show ears.
Although she was here to watch the game, she kept her eyes on the guy on the Hornets coaching bench.
She watched the opponent walking up and down the court anxiously, sometimes standing up and sometimes sitting down, especially the way she shook her finger when calling a timeout, it was so cute.
"This is the home of the Hornets, crazier than the New York Knicks."
Game four.
The Hornets already hold an 8-point lead.
All players attach great importance to tonight's game, and never want to let the victory slip away at this moment.
Gasol made a strong hit in singles inside, and then Paul returned with a small fight.
Garnett made an iron-blooded jumper from the waist, and Leonard made a steady three-pointer.
Kobe scored against the defense on the offensive end, and Jordan immediately returned a lob.
Finally the game is over.
The Hornets got the last bite.
106:101, regained a victory.
The big score is 1:2.
Outside the New Orleans Arena, the fans watching the big screen have gone crazy.
"This is the first time we've won a conference final!"
"the first time!"
"The Hornets did it! New Orleans did it!"
"New Orleans, come on!"
"Chris Paul, come on!"
"Li Lai, long live!"
Post-match interview.
This group of reporters will naturally list the statistics of tonight's main players again.
Kobe had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, playing the worst game since the series.
Gasol had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Garnett had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
而黄蜂队这边，保罗20分15助攻的大号两双，文斯卡特14分3篮板3助攻，伦纳德17分5篮板2助攻，吉米巴特勒11分7篮板2抢断。
"Tonight we once again saw the confrontation between the four major shooting guards. The direct confrontation between Kobe and Carter must have excited all the fans watching the game."
"Coach Li Lai, how did you make the decision to let Vince Carter defend Kobe, and the defensive effect is so good?"
Li Lai paused for a while, then smiled and moved the microphone to Carter.
Old Carter couldn't help grinning, then stroked his beard and said, "Experience, the coach told me to use experience to limit Kobe's scoring."
"You know that Kobe is also an old guy. He doesn't have the explosive power he had when he was young, so now he is playing more with skills and experience."
"I am also a veteran in the league. I am very aware of Kobe's way of playing, which can naturally bring great restrictions to the opponent."
"Of course, I can't guard that guy alone, he's Kobe."
"My teammates have given me a lot of support."
Los Angeles.
Old Bath closed his eyes and did not speak.
It can be seen that he is not in a good mood.
Jenny Buss has been gently pinching Old Buss's hand, stroking and patting it from time to time, and sometimes asking softly and saying some considerate words.
From forehead to head, Jimmy Bass brushed his hair anxiously, and then said to the other end of the phone angrily.
"How can you lose this game tonight?!"
"That's Li Lai!"
"It was in this situation that he made a comeback against the Lakers!"
"What are you all doing? The lineup is completely suppressed and you will lose?!"
Without waiting for the other party to explain, Jimmy Buss hung up the phone angrily, then panted heavily, and finally punched the desk in front of him.
Old Buss is a little dissatisfied that his child is still so impatient at this time. If that day really arrives, can the Lakers really trust him?
What Old Buss didn't know was that Jimmy Butt very much hoped that the Lakers could win the championship this season, otherwise he would not trade away the meritorious veteran Fisher.
The purpose is to do it again this season.
Time is really running out for Old Bath.
In terms of filial piety, Jimmy Buss was perhaps the most sincere of all the old Buss children.
"It's time to think about how to solve the current situation."
"Barkley was right when he said on his show that the Lakers are a group of veterans, not physically strong."
"The Hornets also obviously intended to deliberately consume the energy of the Lakers."
"If the Lakers lose again in the next game, and they are really dragged to a 2:2 tie, the series will definitely be very long."
"This is catastrophic for us."
Jenny Buss on the side looked at her anxious brother and smiled triumphantly, thinking in her heart: Brother silly, even if you love your father too much, you still have to think about yourself. Showing such irrational emotions at this time is really not what the leader did.
Jenny Buss patted Old Buss's hand lightly and said, "Dad, Li Lai is the top coach in the league. There is no doubt about that."
"Although Mike Brown is also an excellent coach, his response is too slow, and on-the-spot adjustments have always been a criticism of his coaching career."
"So at this time, if we only hope that Mike Brown's coaching staff can solve this problem, the risk is too great, and it is very easy to put us in a disadvantageous situation."
"I suggest consulting those top coaches in the league and asking if they have any solutions to the Hornets' current offensive and defensive tactics."
Old Buzz's eyes lit up when he heard this, he looked at his precious daughter and said, "What good idea do you have?"
Jenny Buss glanced sideways at Jimmy Buss, then raised her head and embraced her hands and said, "Zen Master Phil Jackson, Magician Packley, Zhuge Popovich, and old coach Larry Brown."
(End of this chapter)