From today on is the king

Chapter 1458 Chapter 1457. Underestimated defensive adaptability

"Pau Gasol and Yao Ming are only responsible for guarding the line. Fisher, Kobe, and Barnes are responsible for high-post defense and necessary help to defend the inside...the inside can't get in at all!"

After more than six minutes in the first quarter, after entering the official timeout, Liu Mang and Mike Woodson were discussing defensive issues.

After hitting the first official timeout, Liu Mang realized that he had underestimated the opponent's offensive and defensive balance!
Averaged 106.9 points per game, 99.5 points conceded per game, this is the performance of the Lakers in the regular season this season. At first glance, the Lakers are a mid-range team with a strong offense and defense, but considering that they often allow their opponents to score 60 points in the half, and then defend the opponent to more than 30 points in the second half when chasing points...

Even in the playoffs, the Lakers sometimes lost their minds on defense. Throughout the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers averaged 108 points per game and conceded 102 points per game, which seemed to be worse than the regular season.

From the analysis of the data, Liu Mang really only cares about the Lakers Kobe Bryant, Gasol, Yao Ming, Odom and Wang Zhizhi, Radmanovich, Fisher, Barnes, Maurice Evans and other three-pointers.

The Lakers' playoff offense is so strong that people inadvertently overlook how good their defense is.

Liu Mang also discovered the limitations of "data analysis flow", that is, "Snake Science". Data, efficiency analysis, and technical analysis sometimes cannot fully reflect the strength of a team.

In the first half of the first quarter, Liu Mang and Rondo both played pick and roll, but it didn't work.

Only then did Liu Mang and Stockton realize that the Lakers locked Nash and Josh Smith’s pick-and-roll offense tightly. When the Suns played against the Lakers, they used more positional warfare to solve the problem. Diaw and Barbosa played poorly in the second round. O’Neal still had a lot of power.

Yao knows that physical strength is a big problem, and he is much worse than O'Neal in the same age group, but he is only a physical problem, and he is much better than O'Neal in defending pick-and-rolls.

Just like in the 06-07 season playoffs, the Rockets played against the Jazz, and the two teams reached the tiebreaker. The Rockets limited the regular season to 101.5 points per game in the first round, and the Jazz only averaged 90.4 points per game in the first round. The score was less than 07, not that the Rockets failed to defend the Jazz's pick-and-roll offense.

When the Jazz played against the Rockets, the offensive end relied solely on Boozer's mid-range singles, Deron's crushing breakthrough, and Okur's three-pointer. Of course, the focus was on defense. The Jazz made it difficult for the Rockets to score more than 90 points in the playoffs in two years. However, Deron, who has averaged 10+ assists on the court for several years in the regular season by relying on pick-and-rolls, was unable to play pick-and-rolls in the series against the Rockets.

Yao Ming rarely becomes a colander on the defensive end. Thinking about the original time and space, Yao Ming has never let the team lose more than 94 points since his rookie season. By the time Yao Ming was reimbursed in the 09-10 season, the Rockets had become a bad defensive team. At that time, the Rockets' defense did not decline. Yao Ming's adaptability in various defensive changes was greatly underestimated, unless he was not physically fit.

But Zen master adjusted Yao Ming's style of play in this game. On the offensive end, he only used his mid-range shot, allowing Yao Ming to focus on defense, and instead used Gasol to support the low post. Yao Ming's mid-range containment power is much stronger than Bynum in the original time and space after Kobe Bryant. He is tall and feels good...

Looking at the Lakers bench, Liu Mang saw that when Yao Ming played against him in the past, he would go up to the first quarter and get tired and gasp after half a quarter. This time, Yao Ming only sweated a little when he rested!

"It's not hard to guess. In 08, 09, and 10, there were big centers like Bynum. The Lakers still played with the new Shuangsha Jazz. After being beaten by the Jazz in the last century, Zen Master has already started to study how to deal with pick-and-rolls. I didn't notice..."

Liu Mang has a big head!
but……

12 to 17, the Eagles are already 5 points behind!

The opponent scored 17 points in more than six minutes, but I only scored 12 points. After Fisher's three-pointer opened to 5 points, the Eagles were forced to call a timeout.

During the 100-second official timeout, Liu Mang discussed with Mike Woodson for about a minute, and then coach Kruger, who had arranged the offensive tactics, took over the tactical board and began to arrange the defensive strategy.

"Do I go with Jason, Grant, Swift, Kwame?"

Liu Mang began to draw pictures on the tactics he and Mike Woodson came up with...

……

Back from the timeout, the start of the away game was at a disadvantage, and the Eagles were not discouraged, which was expected.

The Eagles sent Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Grant Hill, Swift, and Kwame Brown.

The finals are over, there is no need to begrudge physical fitness, Kwame Brown continues to play.

On the Lakers side, Yao Ming was replaced as expected, and the lineup of Claxton, Kobe, Odom, Gasol, and Wang Zhizhi was replaced.

Liu Mang received the ball in the frontcourt, moved towards the three-point line, and observed the opponent's defense.

The point is Gasol inside!
In the tactical system of the Lakers, the most important thing is not Kobe and Yao Ming, but Gasol!
From a tactical point of view, the drug combination is not even as important as Odom.

Of course, the importance of Gasol and Odom can only be reflected in the drug combination.

My sister-in-law is a bit flamboyant today, Liu Mang really wants to have Garnett to cure her sister-in-law's anger.

Yao Ming is still very threatening even in the middle distance. In the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals, Yao Ming made 5 of 5 shots, 5 of 5 under the basket, and 10 shots. He also scored 5 points in three quarters with 5 of 25 free throws. He also won the only triple-double in his career.

This allowed Gasol to play well in the first half of the quarter, and Gasol, who was at his peak, was not as physically weak as Yao Ming, who was a few months younger than him, so it was not a problem to play the whole game.

Seeing Wang Zhizhi carrying Kwame Brown with his weight in the interior, Liu Mang immediately saw that the Zen master planned to let Wang Zhizhi play the role of Yao Ming's defensive teammate to help his teammates grab rebounds and top people, and use Wang Zhizhi in a similar way to Yao Ming... Or, conversely, today's Yao Ming is the ultimate version of Wang Zhizhi with a range-weakened board defense.

Although the pick-and-roll effect is not good...but you still have to play!

Liu Mang beckoned Kwame Brown to continue playing the pick-and-roll.

Sure enough, when Liu Mang used the pick-and-roll to break through, Wang Zhizhi did not come out, but stayed in the three-second zone.

Liu Mang broke into the inside and was also guarding the three-second zone. Wang Zhizhi was far behind, but at this time Odom actively assisted in the defense. Unfortunately, Wang Zhizhi could not delay Liu Mang. Liu Mang pulled the bar to avoid Odom's supplementary defense and scored two points for a layup.

The Lakers' defensive tactics are very good, taking advantage of Kwame Brown's lack of shooting. The pick-and-roll defense mainly revolves around the pick-and-roll defense against Liu Mang's three-pointer, the mid-range pursuit of Liu Mang, and the basket defense, but Wang Zhizhi can't do the basket defense like Yao Ming.

Without Yao Ming, the Lakers' interior defense dropped a notch, just like Liu Mang's evaluation of Bynum, the last two-game Lakers in time and space. He may not have a good head, but his excellent interior protection ability cannot be replaced by Pau Gasol. In addition to the huge difference in Garnett's state in the 08 and 10 finals, the key is whether to have Bynum or not.

The Lakers attacked, and Claxton advanced the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Kobe, and then went to run by himself.

Kobe knew that Yao Ming's down, the team's defense dropped a notch, so he also needs to adjust, from the previous defensive style of play, only one shot in the first half of the quarter to an offensive style of play!

But Kobe was a little surprised. It was not Liu Mang who defended him, but Grant Hill!

Liu Mang went to guard Claxton, who had no shooting ability!

Seeing Liu Mang looking at him from time to time, Kobe immediately judged Liu Mang's thoughts, wanting to defend the Eagles like they did in the first half of the quarter. Claxton and Rondo generally have similar shortcomings.

Kobe took the initiative to break through in the direction where Liu Mang chased and defended Claxton on the right!

Grant Hill tried his best to take Kobe off the line. His excellent defensive awareness allowed him to move ahead of time to delay Kobe's acceleration, and made it difficult for Kobe to have a good chance to change direction. When he was one step away from the free throw line on the right side of the three-second zone, Kobe stopped and jumped!

Sure enough, as Kobe expected, Liu Mang rushed forward!
Kobe gave the ball to Claxton in the air. Clexton received the ball and rushed inside. When Gasol cut in, he distributed the ball to Gasol!
Kwame Brown's defensive attention was attracted by Kobe. He wanted to make dumplings with Grant Hill and Liu Mang. Kobe used this!

At the same time, it attracted the attention of Liu Mang and Kwame Brown, helping Gasol create scoring opportunities!
Gasol received the ball and was about to make a wild dunk to show off his majesty.

but……

As soon as Gasol jumped up and lifted the ball up, the ball in his hand was slapped away!
Stromile Swift!

Making the best use of everything is what the Spurs have always been good at. Even if it is a piece of toilet paper, Popovich can find a way to use its value.

Coach Kruger has gradually developed a completely different but similar core concept of employing people, focusing on Liu Mang and making good use of all existing resources of the team.

Switching to Swift this time has had a miraculous effect, and the active contraction has given Gasol a big hat!
Gasol faced the basket, not noticing that Swift had let go of Wang Zhizhi and rushed in.

However, Odom grabbed the ball first, rushed inside, turned like a guard to avoid Liu Mang and Kwame Brown's block layup and scored two points.

Yao Ming and Pau Gasol partnered inside and had stronger dominance, but the frontcourt combination of Odom, Wang Zhizhi and Pau Gasol was more mobile!
After the Lakers scored a goal, they retreated quickly and did not press the whole court. Although the backcourt combination of Claxton and Kobe is very suitable, this is related to their defensive habits for more than a decade. There was O'Neal before, and Yao Ming now.

The Lakers pressed 100% of the game and were run to death, so their first choice after scoring a goal was to retreat.

Even if the situation on the court reached the rotation stage, the Eagles did not get any benefits.

Although Liu Mang's pick-and-roll breakthrough and high-post singles are very good, and he sometimes hits three-pointers; Jason Terry's singles performance is also good, and McGrady's mid-range setters and long two-point pull-up shots are pretty good when he is on the court, but... the Lakers played too steadily in the first home game of the Finals!
The Lakers can't and dare not lose the first game. This is their home game, so no matter who plays, they will try their best to play according to Zen Master's instructions...

The execution is strong, and the playoffs are in good shape so far...

The point difference began to gradually widen...

(End of this chapter)