You should cross the mountains like a brave man

Chapter 526 When the Wind Rises

June 2008, 6, Game12.

The strategies for Game [-] and Game [-] are quite different.

The Lakers opened the game with fierce pressure on the ball and bold gambling defense.

However, fierceness does not mean brutality or recklessness. For example, when defending Rajon Rondo, Fisher had to make the representative of the disabled long-range shot regret why he didn't practice his shooting.

On one play, Fisher almost retreated to the edge of the paint, and that was the strategy.

Super high defensive intensity, controlled defensive rebounds, and fast-paced offense, this is the Lakers' thinking in the first quarter.

This kind of strong oppression is surprisingly effective for the Celtics, because Rivers probably still didn't expect the Lakers to dare to do the opposite, just like the independent team beaten by the Yamamoto special team in "Bright Sword".Li Yunlong's so-called "This is our specialty, but people suddenly come to this with you, why don't you know it?".

The most unexpected scene.

Luke "The Smartest Laker" Walton's steal and dunk at the end of the first quarter can be regarded as the overall portrayal of the Lakers' defensive end in the first quarter: giving up the three-pointer from the bottom corner, gambling steals, and dunking happily after succeeding.

Bryant, as before, used his steps to bite Pierce.

Ray Allen encountered Wei Xia's defense and couldn't get a chance. Although he felt good, he only got 4 shots and 5 points.

The cost of using too much force in the first quarter is that in the second quarter, most of the Lakers' defensive persistence can't keep up.

At the beginning, the Celtics used a strong-side three-person rotation to open up space. Pierce received the ball in the same position, stepped in the opposite direction and then cut directly to solve the problem.

He beat Wharton one-on-one and was as happy as eating a plate.And the Lakers short-circuited their brains at this time: They either simply gave Walton or even Magloire a 45-degree back hit, or used a catch-and-shoot jumper after a single screen.

After the high-pressure defense in the first quarter, the anger disappeared in the second quarter, and it was half-baked.When being chased by the Celtics to 3 points away, Zen Master waved his hand and asked Pau Gasol to play to stabilize the inside line.

Not to mention that Gasol and the Celtics in the four finals did not have a game that looked like a big lock that could restrain the penalty area. Even if he could, it is too late now.

The Celtics first opened a group and then Garnett cut into the dunk, and then Pierce used the cover to get rid of a long shot. They played a wave of 13 to 0.

On one of the balls, Magloire stood still when Walton was blocked by a screen.The communication barrier of the Lakers' defense in the second quarter was like a chicken talking to a duck.

Seeing that the lead will be exhausted, Wei Xia stood up and scored 5 points in a row to stabilize his position.

Then, the first half is over.

58 is better than 51
The Lakers lead the Celtics by 7 points at home. Although they have the advantage, it is still too early to win.

During the half-time break, an ESPN reporter who didn't know where he came from asked Wei Xia: "Since the finals, your scoring average is almost the same as Kobe's. What do you think is the reason?"

Not counting this game, in the previous three games, Kobe averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, shooting 44% from the field.Wei Xia is slightly behind, averaging 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game, with a slightly higher shooting percentage of 46%.

If the answer to this kind of question is not good, it is easy for the reporter to make a fuss.

Wei Xia frantically showed his arrogance and his self-confident face once Kobe was involved: "Need to say? I am better than him, it's obvious."

Wei Xia's "arrogance" made it impossible for reporters to delve into it.

They also couldn't use Wei Xia's answer to make a fuss.

Because anyone with a normal mind can see that Wei Xia is joking. Although his acting skills are very good, it is just a joke.

The theme of the finals was determined by the Celtics from the very beginning.

Defensive win
The Celtics know this too well. They pay too much attention to defense, but they don't play well on the offensive end.

In the second half, the Celtics, who were 7 points behind the Lakers, needed a stable offense to chase points.

However, their offensive end is almost casual, simpler than the Cavaliers who "ask James".

Just watch three quarters, their offense is nothing more than looking for opportunities to give Pierce the ball, and then pull them all away, or add a little Ray Allen's classic bottom line deep cut and then catch the ball and shoot long shots-this trick has been tried and tested.

As a result, everything went wrong for the Celtics today.

Garnett wanted to take over the offense, but in the two games at the North Shore Garden, the Lakers were already frightened by Garnett.In order to limit his performance, he often called two seven-foot big men to protect the penalty area.

The downside of a long man guarding the penalty area is that it is easy to be inserted into the back door-such as Allen or Rondo's air cut and layup from the baseline. The advantage is that the front can basically block you.

This is true for the Lakers, why not the Celtics?
The problem is simple.

The Celtics know that Pierce is sure to play Kobe, and they can get as much possession as they want, just give it to him, as long as he gets the ball, everyone else will pull away no matter what.

Even their signature tactical bottom-line penetration has become less, because if there is penetration, it will also bring defenders, which indirectly increases the thickness of the penalty area, which is not conducive to offense.

The Celtics have simplified their offense, and the Lakers have indulged their players even more. The strict triangle tactics are almost invisible, and even if they are done, they are just for show.

Kobe played around with Wei Xia's cover.Strong side screens with a little movement on the wing, make some tough shots, and fight for the offensive rebound.

However, Bryant's swimming can really disrupt the Celtics' formation.

Weixia's movement can not only help Kobe ease the difficulty of space, but also give him the ball, and he can also create threats.

It was under their swimming and quick distribution of the ball that the Lakers took advantage of it in the third quarter of the fight.

With Ray Allen strangled, Pierce needs to step up.

Rondo can't attack, Perkins can't attack, and Garnett is a typical star who is famous for "whatever you want him to do, just don't let him attack".

Under W/Mish's violent offensive, the Lakers, just like the second game, completely relied on the offense with two guns from the outside to swallow the Celtics.

The score difference in a single quarter once hit 25 to 14.

At that time, with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, Pierce was pushed to the ground, and Wecha dunked and scored.

After getting up, Pierce spit a mouthful of bloody saliva, and immediately scored 7 points in a row, insisting on using "truth" to stabilize Boston's position.

However, the defensive end and the Lakers were at a stalemate, and Lukai, who had less explosive points on the offensive end than the Lakers, still lost the Lakers by 10 points in a single quarter.

At the end of the three quarters, 81 to 64, the Celtics have fallen behind by 17 points.

Has their problem been solved?
Obviously not.

Although Pierce played an unstoppable offensive state at the end of the third quarter.

But his state was unsustainable. When it came to the fourth quarter, a lot of ball possession and physical contact from the Lakers, as well as almost no rest in the first three quarters, finally made his physical strength decline and his rhythm faltered.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, after hitting the last ball, the sports battle has begun to weaken.

In contrast, the Lakers' W/Mish is still full of energy in the fourth quarter.

Bryant looked sweaty, but did not relax any of the rounds of defense.

Wei Xia was even more exaggerated. In order to prove that his physical fitness has no limit, he actually pressed Rondo in a one-on-one frontcourt press for 3 minutes at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Led by W/Mish's dynamism, the rest of the L.A. team draws strength from them, surprisingly raw.

So in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Lakers rushed down offensive rebounds and played more like the Celtics than the Celtics.

The Lakers in this game are different from the previous three games.

In the first three games, the Lakers were not strong enough, but in the fourth game, W/Mish had almost unlimited energy. With the constant high-intensity offense and defense from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, they destroyed the Celtics step by step.

So that moment came, and the autumn wind swept the fallen leaves of the Lakers.

Under normal circumstances, once the Lakers start their momentum, their offense is bound to be unrestrained and unrestrained, making the home fans nostalgic for the past, and think of the "show moment" Lakers that is permanently connected with the 80s.

But in the last 3 minutes, they were as tough and tough as a traditional Eastern Conference team, and they did not shy away from any physical contact.

That's the energy brought by Wei Xia and Kobe. They led to the change of the team, using the Celtics' way to suppress the Celtics head-on.

The pressure on the defensive end can already be refracted to the audience and the fans in front of the TV through the scene. As for the offense, the whole team of Lukai seems to be unable to match the performance of W/Mish.

If the Celtics want to get the match point, someone other than Pierce must stand up.

Rondo can't, he may be one of the five best ammunition carriers in the league, but it is too difficult for him to shoot the bullets out by himself and require accurate shots.

Garnett?His advantages can be said to cover several pages of 4A paper.

His help defense was unable to play due to Kobe and Wecha's distance from the penalty area. Surrounded by the Lakers, he still grabbed 5 offensive rebounds.The targeted double-teaming by the Lakers limited his turning and cutting, but did not ban him.It's just that the Lakers, who have set up a long-term goal in the interior for a long time, forced him to attack from the outside.His touch disappeared like the teammates around him.

Ray Allen was the most invisible giant tonight.

Wei Xia's offensive performance of 26+10+7 assists was amazing.What he does on the defensive end is vastly underestimated.

Pierce, who feels good, took 7 shots in the half and scored 3 goals.

In the second half, Wei Xia strangled Rondo in the frontcourt, and retreated to the backcourt to defend Junzilei with his teammates, and then let him only take 5 shots and hit 2 goals in the second half.

The fans had little impression of Allen's 13 points, because he was completely blocked by Weixia.

Kobe scored 30 points early. While showing his presence on the defensive end, he did not forget his teammates, especially Wei Xia.

Bryant is not a positional warfare commander-type figure.He has enough finesse on the short pass, but isn't top-notch in long-distance pass accuracy, vision and pass speed.

Throughout the entire game today, what he did was quite sensible: when he felt bad, he used Gasol's screen or his own dribble to create a cut, and then assisted Fisher's three-pointer in the second quarter.The response after those cuts is the same as his last-minute steal and dunk: when he didn't feel good, when his overall condition was limited, he thought of a way to help the team.

The moment that determines the Lakers' victory is between Pierce's offense and Wechat's defense.

It was a dislocation, Pierce was about to come to cover, Wei Xia and Kobe switched defenses spiritually, one continued to chase Allen, and the other looked at Pierce from the outside.

Pierce attacked confidently, as if he wanted to use Weixia to regain the lost touch.

He sold a loophole, hoping to get Wei Xia hooked.As a result, Wei Xia took the bait, but he didn't adjust in time. The false flaw became a real flaw. His ball was intercepted by Wei Xia, who countered with a one-stop dunk.

(End of this chapter)