Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 600 The final showdown!

Thabeet's counterattack three-pointer against Kobe ignited the atmosphere of the entire Charlotte arena.

All the Bobcats fans in the stadium were shouting Thabeet's name.

On the court, Thabeet smiled, took his eyes off Kobe's face, then turned around and pointed his right hand at Duncan.

The meaning is very clear, that is, Duncan contributed at least 70% to this goal.

It's amazing that Duncan was able to block Yao Ming while forcing himself to grab the rebound and pass the ball!
How much core strength does it take to do all this?
Unbelievable!
This is Yao Ming!

This is a pass that spans half the court!
"I can understand Thabeet's gratitude to Tim Duncan, because except for Tim Duncan, perhaps no one else in the world can do such a thing, not to mention that he did it in front of Yao!"

Duncan's positioning and point pass were very plain and simple, but they were like thunder in the silence, very powerful.

Therefore, even Du Kang on the sidelines was applauding Duncan who was still under the basket.

Yao Ming, who had just been tricked by Duncan, looked at Duncan in disbelief.

Duncan can be regarded as his lifelong enemy in his career.

During the first stage of his career, which was the Rockets stage, he was not afraid of the so-called top centers in the NBA, whether it was O'Neal or Howard. He was not afraid of them, and even when facing off against these two, he could handle it with ease.

Throughout his career, O'Neal basically never took advantage of him, and Howard was even more like his little manservant, playing with him every time he saw him.

But Duncan was a person who gave him a lot of headaches.

Now most of the fans know about the 35 seconds and 13 points that year. Most people remember McGrady's 35 seconds and 13 points in that game. In fact, it was he who defeated Duncan in this game that gave the Rockets a chance to catch up with the Spurs and gave McGrady the opportunity to score 35 seconds and 13 points.

This game was one of the few in his career where he had the upper hand over Duncan in direct confrontation.

He played more than 20 games with Duncan in the first stage of his career, and the games in which he had the upper hand were very few, maybe only two or three games, or three or four games.

Yao Ming has a special affection for Duncan in his heart. Even though he is so powerful now, he still has a special affection for Duncan.

This is a very special opponent in his career.

Even in the second stage of his career, when the Lakers played against the Spurs and Duncan, he made the buzzer-beater over Duncan's head that killed the Spurs and even disintegrated the Spurs, but in fact he relied on the help of his teammates.

Duncan is the most famous background board in the NBA. He is often regarded as a background board by others, but he has never completely collapsed in the game.

No matter who he faces, he can always stand firmly on the court, as steady as a rock. Stability is often more important than strength.

Such a stable player is also the opponent that opponents are most reluctant to encounter.

Duncan was the opponent he least wanted to face, but now he is also one of the opponents he most looks forward to facing.

The Bobcats relied on Duncan's main attack and Thabeet's three-pointer to ignite the atmosphere of the entire stadium.

Looking back, the Lakers continued to attack.

This time the Bobcats used the same trick again, still not using Jordan to defend Kobe, but Rose to defend Kobe.

Kobe was more determined this time. He did not choose to pick and roll with his teammates in the interior. Instead, he pushed the ball to the three-point line and directly played against Rose at the three-point line.

Since you let me attack, then I will attack in front of you!

Just Rose's one-on-one defense!

Rose is a very good defender, but is Kobe afraid of anyone in a one-on-one match? Especially a point guard shorter than him!

From the three-point line, Surgeon dribbled with his back to the basket, and after using his iron-clad lean to push Rose away a little bit, he took advantage of the momentum and completed a jump and fade away!

Rose was naturally prepared for a one-on-one match against Kobe, but his arms were not that long, and he was not as tall as Thabeet.

In the end, all he could do was watch Kobe fade away and shoot a three-pointer from outside the three-point line!
A swipe!
Kobe made a three-pointer!

The guys under the basket raised their fists, very excited.

Popovich on the sidelines had a gloomy face. He had already put up the twin towers of Yao Ming and Jokic.

Kobe, will you die if you hit the ball into the basket?
My inside advantage is not for you to grab rebounds!
Popovich can understand why Kobe did this.

Obviously, Kobe's idea is that his success rate in single-handedly attacking a small guard like Rose outside the three-point line is at least 40%.

Although there is still a 60% chance of missing the shot, Yao Ming and Jokic have a huge advantage in the interior, and they should have a - chance of grabbing rebounds under the basket with Yao Ming and Thabeet.

Even McGrady's rebounding ability is extremely strong.

In this situation, even if only 10% of your missed shots are converted into offensive possession, they are all due to collision.

In fact, in most games, the probability of frontcourt rebounds is at least 10% of the total rebounds. In a game, at least 40 of the 4 rebounds are frontcourt rebounds, which is still considered small. In fact, the proportion of frontcourt rebounds and backcourt rebounds of a team with a large score is about 20%.

Therefore, if you can add the 10% advantage in the interior, the 30% offensive rebounding rate, and your own 40% efficiency, it will be very impressive.

From Kobe's perspective, he felt that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his style of play.

He not only played to his own advantage in outside singles, but also played to the team's advantage in the inside.

He even terminated the team's physical strength.

The Bobcats play against the Lakers. Another advantage of the Bobcats is that they are younger.

If the Lakers can play simpler, it will definitely be better than playing more complicatedly.

The more complicated the game is and the more confrontations there are, the greater the consumption will be. This is definitely not what Kobe and the Lakers want to see.

Therefore, Kobe has his own set of logically self-consistent ideas.

In fact, many NBA superstars have this idea. When Jordan did not listen to Phil Jackson, he also had his own logically self-consistent theories and persistence. When Jordan was unable to train Kwame Brown well, it was also because he had his own understanding of basketball.

There are many things that players must not do just because the coach says them.

At the very least, Popovich does not have that much influence on the Lakers. The current Lakers team is more like the superstars of the Lakers leading Popovich forward.

The Bobcats, on the other hand, have a completely different style.

Kobe started his own personal offensive mode.

On the Bobcats side, Thabeet's offensive advantage was obviously so great, but after Thabeet fell into the position, he still did not attack!
After Rose dribbled the ball across half court, he did not attack. Instead, he passed the ball to Jordan, who was directing traffic at the top of the arc at the three-point line, and then ran away.

Beasley and Rose, one on the left and one on the right, both were running.

At the same time, Thabeet and Duncan were both there to cover for the two.

Kobe was chasing Rose, but was blocked by Duncan, and Rose bounced outside the three-point line.

Rose's burst of speed is originally stronger than Kobe's current one, and now Kobe is blocked again. Even if Kobe pushes Duncan away and rushes out, he has no chance.

They could only watch as Rose, who was outside the 45-degree three-point line on the left, received the pass from Jordan, adjusted it slightly, and shot the basketball in his hand almost in half-air.

A swipe!
Also a three-pointer!
"Rose's three-pointer was very decisive and accurate!"

"What shocked me more than Rose's three-pointer was that Rose's off-ball movement ability was so outstanding! He almost knocked Kobe down with his off-ball movement!"

Yes, Rose almost went from gold to purple and gold by running without the ball.

The reason why Kobe was hung up by Duncan was because Kobe himself was actually shocked that Rose's off-ball running ability had become so strong.

Rose's off-ball movement is now almost at the same level as him. Even if it is slightly worse, it is not much. The key is that Rose's speed and burst are really outstanding. Such speed and burst combined with excellent off-ball movement, plus such an excellent screen player like Duncan, Rose's offensive method is really incredible.

"After O'Neal left the court, Yao Ming gave up the main attacking right and stopped attacking. I thought the game would fall into silence. Although Yao Ming and McGrady are both Goats, they don't have the nearly invincible ability of Yao Ming and O'Neal on the offensive end. They all need to play tactics, and as long as they play tactics, the opponent can defend. After all, both sides are not only the strongest in the league in offense, but also the strongest in defense!"

However, the offensive performances of the next two teams were still shocking.

Although the two teams choose different offensive methods, the offensive efficiency of the two teams is really strong!
However, after the first quarter, Kobe turned his head with a frown and looked at Duncan.

Yes, his efficiency in one-on-ones is indeed very high. However, one cannot simply look at the hit rate in one-on-ones, because his hit rate in one-on-ones against Rose and Rose's hit rate when he creates opportunities to shoot, he is actually at a disadvantage.

Originally, he hoped that Yao Ming and Jokic could dominate the frontcourt rebounds.

However, Kobe was somewhat disappointed with the number of offensive rebounds by Yao Ming and Jokic in the second half of the first quarter.

His plans were all ruined by Duncan!

Duncan's backcourt rebounding protection was almost extreme. Except for some long rebounds, Duncan almost guarded all the rebounds under the basket for the Bobcats, blocking the double-team of Duncan and Jokic.

After the first quarter, the score between the two teams was 39 to 39, which was just like an All-Star Game.

And in fact, all the players on the court, all the players who played, are indeed All-Stars.

On the road, we played with a score of 39 to 39, which is actually a score we should be satisfied with.

However, Kobe always felt that the cost of his comeback was greater.

In fact, the Bobcats didn't have much consumption.

He fought Ross to a 50-50 draw.

In the first quarter, he and TMC fought evenly with Rose and O'Neal.

On the opposite side, Thabeet, Duncan, and Jordan, Beasley hadn't even attacked yet.

Of course, Yao Ming, Jokic, Antetokounmpo and McCaw on their side didn't attack much either.

"In the first quarter, both teams played very lively, but both were reserved. Neither team chose to gamble everything to suppress the other side right from the start."

"When facing other NBA opponents, these two teams would have basically declared the game to be garbage time if they had exerted their strength for the entire first quarter. However, after the two teams faced each other, they both chose to bet everything on their opponent and left behind some sustainable back-up plans."

"After all, these two teams are both teams that can maintain their top level for 48 minutes! They need to perform at their top level for 48 minutes, not just one quarter, so this finals will be a real test of the two teams' head coaches' ability to deploy their troops."

The Lakers can let Yao Ming, McGrady and Kobe explode in the first quarter, but what about the next 36 minutes?
Is it to burst out with 120 points in one quarter, or to maintain 48 points for 100 minutes?
Of course the latter.

This is also the reason why Du Kang let O'Neal and Rose take the lead in the first quarter.

This is also the reason why Du Kang told Rose before the game that his performance in this game was very important.

Letting Rose play without the ball and compete against Kobe requires extremely high standards from Rose. It doesn't mean that he will be able to make a shot if he runs into an open space. Even if he can make 50% of the shots, it is already very rare. In the finals, it is still such a finals, and Rose still has to face Kobe. If he is weak in the hands or feet, he may collapse.

Rose's performance in the first quarter exceeded Du Kang's expectations.

The score was locked.
In this way, Du Kang could arrange his troops very calmly afterwards.

Thabit, Grant Hill, Ding Yanyuhang, Batum, Parker.

This is the Bobcats' second team.

The Lakers have Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Ricky LeBron, Dinwiddie and McCaw.

On the Bobcats side, Thabeet and Hill are both above the super giant level.

Jokic and Antetokounmpo are also MVP level or above.

Jokic and Antetokounmpo cooperated very well and easily defeated the Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

As for the Bobcats, it was the first time that Thabeet and Hill cooperated with each other, and the effect was not apparent.

However, it should definitely be good.

And the final result was indeed like this. During the rotation phase in the second quarter, neither side was able to defend the other.

"Thabit faced Antetokounmpo's defense, oh my god, pray to God!!! Beautiful pull-up shot, hit!!!"

"Jokic broke through, turned around, and made a layup. Beautiful, tying the game!!!"

"Grant Hill!!! Grant Hill's breakthrough, quick stop and fadeaway was amazing, overtaking again!!!"

"Antetokounmpo turned around and rushed to the basket, pushed Thabeet away and dunked!!! Tie again!!!"

"Parker!!! Three points!!!"

"Li Kaier! Incredible change of rhythm, 2+1!!! Tie again!!!"

Peak showdown!

What is Peak Showdown?

The peak showdown is just two teams that don’t even make mistakes!!!
From the beginning of the game, all the way to the fourth quarter!

"They have been performing at their highest level for 42 minutes!!!"

"There are only 6 minutes left in this game. Next, it's the final battle!!!"

When the two teams' decisive lineups came onto the court, almost all the cameras on the scene focused on Yao Ming.

The two teams will play very tensely in this game, which is actually something many people can predict.

However, the odds off the field are still very favorable to the Lakers.

The reason is...

"The Lakers have Yao Ming!!!"

"The Lakers have lost many games this season, but the Lakers have never lost a crucial game this season!"

"Will Coach D use O'Neal and Yao Ming to fight each other?"

O'Neal never played again after the first quarter.

Now, it should be O'Neal's turn, right?

however!
Rose, Jordan, Beasley, Thabeet, Duncan!

Those who know Coach D know that he is definitely not someone who likes to avoid the spotlight.

The stronger your skills are, the more Coach D will confront you.

But this time...

"OMG, no O'Neal!!! Coach D handed Yao to Tim Duncan!!!!"

"Faced with Yao, Coach D was scared. He didn't dare to attack and chose to defend!!!"

All the experts, commentators, media and fans at the scene were in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)