Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 625 Kobe!

After the timeout, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Duncan made a very beautiful attack under the basket against Jokic's defense.

The Lakers didn't dare to help defend and could only watch Duncan play one-on-one against Jokic.

In the first half of the fourth quarter, Duncan did not play one-on-one against McGrady, who looked shorter and thinner, but chose to play one-on-one against Jokic, who has strong defense under the basket and is very tanky. This choice is as incredible as McGrady's choice to play one-on-one against Duncan in the first half of the fourth quarter.

After Duncan successfully defeated Jokic in a one-on-one match, he waved his fist fiercely under the basket.

If it was Garnett at this moment, he would definitely howl with horror and celebrate in a very gorgeous way, but this was Duncan, so even if he wanted to celebrate, he did it in a reserved way. Clenching his fists, waving his fists, and roaring softly were already his limit.

"It can be seen that Tim Duncan has accumulated too much pressure from the beginning of this game till now!!!"

"Until now, we know how many burdens Tim Duncan carried in this game. In the first half, the Bobcats needed him to hold off Yao. In the first half of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats needed him to hold off TMC. These two are now recognized as the two strongest players in NBA history. To hold off the pressure of two such players in a game can overwhelm anyone, and Tim Duncan did it!"

"In the first half, he really succeeded in defending Yao. In the first half of the fourth quarter, facing TMC's almost miraculous performance, he made TMC miss two consecutive shots in the most critical offense, and finally prevented the Lakers from extending the lead to 10 points. He made TMC miss the only two shots in the first half of the fourth quarter, which also won a glimmer of hope for the Bobcats. In the past 42 minutes, Tim Duncan was walking on thin ice. Facing the crazy attack of Yao and TMC, no one could do better than him. After walking on thin ice with caution and perseverance, Tim Duncan can finally put down the heavy burden on his shoulders and finally start to display his talent on the offensive end!"

"This No. 1 power forward in NBA history is definitely not only good at defense, but also has the most solid, practical, influential and powerful attack at the critical moment!"

"When the team needs him to stand up on the defensive end, he can be the team's pillar on the defensive end. When the team needs him to stand up on the offensive end, he can also be the team's Optimus Prime on the offensive end!"

Now the Bobcats are trailing by 6 points. Every attack of the Bobcats is very important now, especially in terms of success rate. The Bobcats can hardly miss a shot now, because as long as they miss a shot, the Lakers may open the score again.

In this situation, even Thabeet and Beasley are under great pressure.

Do you really think that every shot is that easy?
Even if Thabeet plays against Kobe, there is actually no guarantee that the ball will go in. For the sport of basketball, the highest hit rate is always under the basket. The closer to the basket, the higher the hit rate.

Duncan's successful attack on Jokic under the basket not only stabilized the score for the Bobcats and brought confidence to the Bobcats fans and spectators, but also dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Lakers. With Jokic on the court, the Lakers' defense was solid and flawless. However, Tim Duncan could still score under the basket, and the Lakers had not yet won!
At this moment, Lakers head coach Popovich was looking at Duncan on the court with complicated feelings. Once upon a time, such a Duncan would always save him and the Spurs in times of crisis.

And now, such a Duncan was standing opposite him, and he had never even seen such a Duncan before.

Yes, he and the Spurs did not see Duncan's peak, and Duncan's wings were broken early because of the Spurs.

To the Spurs and him, Duncan will always be an angel, but an angel with broken wings.

Now, seeing Duncan beating Jokic so hard under the basket, and recalling Duncan's previous entanglements with Yao Ming and McGrady in this game, Popovich felt relieved, envious and even jealous.

Maybe Yao Ming and McGrady are the two with stronger hard power, but Tim Duncan, without showing off, showed the world that he is a player of the same level as the other two.

After Duncan successfully outplayed Jokic, the pressure to score instantly came to the Lakers, 104 to 100. At this time, with such a score, if the Lakers could not score, they might only have a 2-point or even 1-point lead in the next round.

So, when Antetokounmpo was dribbling the ball, the camera on the scene was almost scanning Jokic, McGrady and Kobe.

Finally, after scanning around, the camera focused its attention on Kobe.

As one of the Big Three of the Lakers, Kobe was undoubtedly overshadowed by Yao Ming and McGrady in this game. Even Jokic was more popular than Kobe.

Of course, Kobe also played a big role in this game. If Kobe hadn't assisted Yao Ming in the first half, Yao Ming would definitely not have lasted the entire half and might have been worn out by Duncan in just one and a half quarters.

Kobe was also very important when McGrady was in great form in the fourth quarter. He was still assisting McGrady. Don't think it was easy for McGrady to get the ball under the basket. Although Duncan didn't go around the front, McGrady's height was there. If Kobe hadn't used his involvement and passing to help McGrady get the ball, McGrady would not have had such a chance to beat Duncan.

If the protagonists of the Lakers in this game are Yao Ming, Jokic and McGrady, then if we have to choose the best supporting player, it must be Kobe. Antetokounmpo and Ebanks also have strong supporting functions, but if we have to say the strongest, it must be Kobe.

It is obvious that this person is Kobe. For Kobe, it is definitely not enough for him to just be the strongest auxiliary.

Especially when Yao Ming and McGrady have been exhausted, Kobe needs to step up.

Because this Lakers team is the Lakers of the Big Three, and everyone knows that now after Coach D leaves, this Lakers team does not belong to Popovich, Jokic and Antetokounmpo, nor Ebanks, but to Kobe, McGrady and Yao Ming.

The team's highest honor and the team's honor and disgrace need to be obtained by these three people themselves. Other players have no obligation to fight for them.

Back then, Popovich wanted young players like Leonard to fight for Duncan and his team, but Leonard eventually defected.

These young players of the Lakers did not defect, but worked diligently to play supporting roles for Yao Ming and McCollum on the court. They have already done their best.

In the end, if the team's crown is taken away by the Lakers' young players, it will be very embarrassing for Yao Ming and McCollum. At the very least, their departure is not so perfect.

So, at this time, all the audience are watching Kobe. In fact, all the Lakers fans are watching Kobe now, wanting to see if Kobe can respond at this moment.

Duncan has already stepped up, now, can Kobe step up?

If we say that the most suitable offensive method for the Lakers on the court at this time is of course from the inside, because the hit rate of inside offense is definitely higher than that of outside offense.

Moreover, Kobe played a supporting role in this game and did not take the lead in attacking. It was not because Kobe was giving in to Yao Ming and McGrady, but because the defensive pressure Kobe faced in this game was too great.

The biggest reason why Kobe didn't see anyone on the offensive end of this game was because Jordan was standing in front of him.

For Kobe, he can attack at any time, as long as he doesn't care about efficiency, he can stand out at any time, one against one, one against two, one against three, one against four, or even one against five, he can do it.

What about Jordan or not? As long as he wants, he can attack freely. As long as he doesn't care about efficiency, there is no ball that he can't shoot.

If it was the young Kobe, or even if it was the Kobe who hadn't met Coach D back then, he would have attacked long ago.

When he was playing in the playoffs against the Suns, when the experts and media said he attacked too much, he didn't attack at all. When they said he attacked not enough, he attacked frantically. The familiar Kobe back then was a man who cared very much about other people's opinions and ideas. He would go against these people's ideas to prove himself, or he might just go along with these people's ideas out of spite and let them see how naive and stupid their ideas were. "Don't you think I attack too much? So I won't attack and let you see how weak those insects are when I don't attack the Lakers."

If he was still the same Kobe as before, he wouldn't have to wait until now for the camera to scan him.

If Kobe could endure until now, the cameras at the scene deliberately focused on Kobe and put all the pressure on him, but in fact, it would no longer make any sense.

After Antetokounmpo passed the ball to Kobe at the top of the arc, he immediately cut without the ball.

Antetokounmpo does not have stable offensive ability from the outside, but his off-ball running ability is the best in history among power forward players.

Especially his ability to cut to the basket, his presence can bring great help to Jokic. So when many NBA fans selected the strongest inside combination, they did not choose O'Neal and Duncan, nor Yao Ming and Jokic, but chose Jokic and Antetokounmpo.

Jokic can create space under the basket for Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo can attract inside defense for Jokic, making it easier for Jokic to operate with the ball.

Although the whole world is now putting pressure on Kobe, and although the whole world thinks that this time the Lakers are attacking, it is Kobe's turn to attack and Kobe should stand up.

Even Antetokounmpo himself thinks so.

However, looking at Jokic who was entangled with Duncan at this time, Antetokounmpo knew that he needed to give Jokic some help. This has become a habit.

On the off-ball side, many people believe that Antetokounmpo's off-ball screen-and-roll for Jokic, taking away Duncan and leaving Thabeet to Jokic is a futile effort.

After Jokic and Antetokounmpo performed an off-ball pick-and-roll, Jokic went outside and Antetokounmpo went inside. In the end, Duncan could only go inside to follow Antetokounmpo, while Thabeet went outside to follow Jokic.

What happens on the weak side without the ball has never been the focus of the court. The focus of the court is always the strong side with the ball, so players like Curry who run without the ball are like being beaten to death, and the referee can't see it.

It's because you are always testing without the ball. No one's attention is on you at all.

The one who gets more free throws is never the one who gets fouled the most, but the one who holds the ball the most.

As the whole world was watching Kobe and Jordan face off again, Kobe dribbled the ball between his legs and quickly retreated one step outside the three-point line.

This is an incredibly smooth dribble.

With Kobe's ball-handling skills being the best in history, it would be difficult for other people to get up and shoot immediately with such smooth control.

But Kobe can.

"Kobe is going to shoot a long three-pointer!!!"

"It's not appropriate to do something so difficult at this time!"

"But he's Kobe!!!"

Kobe's backward flying in the air caused bursts of exclamations.

This series of actions is truly picturesque!

However! ! !
"OMG!!!"

"Kobe didn't attack?!!!!"

Yes, Kobe didn't attack!

Kobe flew backward in the air, jumped up and passed the ball to Jokic who bounced out from the 45-degree three-point line on the right!
Jokic was also very surprised when he received the ball.

However, the players of both teams were too focused in this game. Even though he was a little surprised, Jokic moved without any hesitation. He broke through and squeezed past Thabeet.

Thabeet's reaction is also very fast, but the lack of confrontation is his Achilles' heel. Jokic is very experienced in playing against tall and thin inside players. No matter whether it is Thabeet, Davis or other tall and thin inside players, Jokic's squeezing breakthrough is very useful.

And even though Jokic is not that fast, after being pushed aside, he can trap his opponent behind him and make him unable to move.

Seeing that Jokic had trapped Tabit this time, Duncan didn't want to come over to assist in defense, but he had no choice but to do so.

However, Duncan's timing in making up for the opponent was very good. He would not leave the basket unless Jokic had the intention to attack.

Duncan waited patiently until Jokic stopped the ball and jumped before he came over.

however……

Jokic didn't make a lob shot, but a pass!

Without even a second effort, he passed the basketball in his hand to Antetokounmpo under the basket.

Even though Duncan and Thabeet rushed back to the basket frantically, they were still a beat slower and watched Antetokounmpo dunk.

Bang!
106 is better than 100!

The difference between the two sides was once again widened to 6 points.

"If it wasn't Antetokounmpo, Duncan and Thabeet's help defense would have been successful!!!"

Many Bobcats fans sighed in their hearts.

But there is no way, they are playing against the Lakers in this game, the Lakers are so strong, and Antetokounmpo is on the Lakers!

Antetokounmpo received a quick pass from Jokic and scored, but the camera did not focus on the two of them, but on Kobe.

Kobe felt it.

There was no other expression on Kobe's face.

He smiled and applauded his teammates, then turned around and returned to defense.

Looking at Kobe's back, recalling Kobe's poor performance in the fourth quarter of the first regular season game of this season when he was beaten by himself at a crucial moment, and then looking at Kobe, Jordan fell into deep thought.

"Good boy..."

(End of this chapter)