Zhiba NBA

Chapter 59 (58) Superstars and Luck
Compared with the Lakers in 15 who swept the league with a 1-01 record in the playoffs, the strength of the OK combination is not advancing but retreating.Although Kobe's 01 season should be said to be slightly lower than the current level of 04, but the 01 playoffs played like a miracle, close to the level of his future peak superstar.As O'Neill grew older, his injuries worsened year by year, and he obviously did not have the dominance he had at his peak.This Lakers team is stronger than other players. Malone and Payton are much stronger than Hawley and Fisher.Because of their existence, Oban and Kobe also saved more energy, and there is no longer a hidden danger of the bench lineup being knocked down by the Rockets.

Tomjanovich felt powerless for the second time in his long coaching career, the last time facing Michael Jordan's dynastic team, the Chicago Bulls.This time he missed his future eye friend very much, and he began to try to empathize, what kind of suggestion this friend would make.

In fact, Yuan Fei in front of the TV is also in a dazed state at the moment. The NBA is like this. Every year, there will be 2-5 strong teams with the ability to win the championship. The team management, coaches, and players have done their work to perfection, which only makes the team join the ranks of the championship, but there is only one champion in the end.The F4 Lakers in history are undoubtedly a championship-level team, but they eventually fell into the sand in the finals.It is impossible for the Rockets to have an absolutely good strategy to deal with a powerful enemy of this level through tactical adjustments.

With the game like this, strategy can no longer solve the problem.Often it is the ability to fight for superstars plus a little bit of luck.Compared with talent, our Rockets are not in vain!

The first to come forward was Billups with a big heart.When McGrady was being marked and Wang Zhizhi was being entangled, he calmly shot and scored consecutively, including hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer in the third quarter. 71:75 The Rockets narrowed the point difference to a controllable range.

In the fourth quarter, Kobe handed the ball to George and then ran to the bottom corner, and George lobbed it to the inside.Bosh reacted quickly and helped defend in place. O'Neal who received the ball immediately distributed it to Kobe in the corner, but Kobe's hands slipped slightly when he caught the ball, and Jefferson's quick eyes and quick hands made a steal.

How can Kobe bear this kind of thing, immediately rushing over is to fight back.The two fell to the floor and fought, and Kobe grabbed the ball.But O'Neill missed the hook against Okur.

McGrady singled out George, broke through with a fake change of direction, stretched his long arms and made a layup, 73:75.Even O'Neal couldn't stop his layup.

Old Malone forced Bosh and forced him into a deep position. Okur quickly stepped forward to help defend.Malone, who has experienced many battles, has a first-line level of coping ability. An exquisite through pass was given to Fisher. Billups rushed forward. Fisher was not greedy, and then passed to Fox who was wide open. The latter hit a three-pointer 73:78.

Jefferson hit the iron with a jumper, and it was O'Neal who made Okur's foul for the Lakers.The Rockets called a timeout and Yao Ming played.The Lakers rested Malone and Fisher and replaced them with Medvedenko and Payton.

The opponent changed to the Ukrainian, and Bosh was much more relaxed.The Lakers sent a sideline ball, and Medvedenko caught the ball and made a jumper, but Bosh directly blocked it.Billups got the ball and launched a fast break. He made a false pass within the three-point line and passed the ball to Jefferson who was rushing from behind. The latter added 2 points with an easy layup, 75:78.

O'Neal hit Yao Ming's shot and was slightly disturbed. The ball spun around the basket for 3 laps and fell.The Rockets attacked the frontcourt and had no chance to organize. In the end, they could only give it to McGrady. He faced George's defense and made a strong three-pointer! 78 levels!
"That's it!" the Rockets' substitute shouted from the sidelines.Tang Shuai shook his head lightly, but he was approving in his heart.To compete with a luxury superstar team like the Lakers, you can only rely on superstars to fight against it.The ball just now was definitely a bad shot choice, but McGrady is a superstar who can hit such a difficult ball.The Lakers have F4, and we have CTM.

Kobe Bryant hit Jefferson in a high post single, turned around and hit a jumper after shaking left and right, 78:80.Compared with difficult balls, the Lakers are not inferior to the scoring champion.

McGrady made another three-pointer and missed it this time.But the 191cm Billups got out of the crowd. He jumped high to get the ball before the Lakers players, and made a tip-up.The two sides drew again.

Payton made a jumper after Medvedenko's pick-and-roll.Yao Ming missed a single, and Payton was fouled by McGrady for a breakthrough when he came back. He made two free throws at 80:84.The old Payton is not old, and he scored consecutive points at critical moments to stabilize the morale of the army.

McGrady broke through for a layup and slid out of the basket, and O'Neal protected the rebound.After Kobe received the ball, he insisted on single-playing Jefferson, but McGrady suddenly double-teamed him.It was difficult for Kobe to play the ball, and he became competitive again. He forcibly broke through between the two and threw his hand high when his body was slightly out of balance.Yao Ming was in place in time with a big cap shot, but Kobe immediately bounced up and grabbed the ball, and then made a jumper 80:86.

"It's a pity!" The Rockets bench lamented for a while.The ball was defended quite well. If Yao Ming blocked the shot a little more vigorously, Kobe would definitely not be able to grab the ball.

Yao Ming used the footwork skills taught by Dameng himself to shake Ao Pang and shot at close range, but with a little more force, he still failed to score by a hair.Kobe wanted to take over the game by himself again, but this time he turned over and missed a jumper, and O'Neal missed a tip-up.

Yao Ming stepped forward to pick and roll to help Billups find a shot gap, and the latter hit a jumper, ending the Rockets' 2-minute scoring drought 82:86.

Then the two sides came and went, and in the last minute, Billups assisted Turkoglu to make a follow-up goal, and the point difference was still 1 points at 92:96.

The Lakers handed over the key ball to Malone for singles. Billups suddenly attacked from behind Malone and cut off the ball. Unfortunately, his fast break intention was blocked by Kobe's timely replacement.The Rockets didn't find a good opportunity when they landed. They still gave Billups a jumper and failed to hit.Yao Ming squeezed away Ao Pang and stretched out his hand to try his best. With a flick of his fingertip, he made a tip-up.

Payton Malone picks and rolls, and Malone gets the ball down to attract Yao Ming's defense and then stuffs it to Ao Pang in the three-second zone. The latter dunks 94:98 with only 10 seconds left in the game.

Tang Shuai had no choice but to call a timeout.90% of this kind of ball has been lost, and we can only rely on three-pointers to fight.After the timeout, the Rockets succeeded in running tactics. Wang Zhizhi and McGrady opened up left and right to create opportunities for Turkoglu. The latter hit a three-pointer with 5 seconds left and 1 point.

The Lakers served, and the Rockets closely guarded Kobe and Fisher, who were the most accurate free throws.After Fox received the ball, Turkoglu quickly fouled him.

Fox made only 2 of 1 free throws and Yao Ming protected the rebound.Fortunately, the Rockets were only 2 points behind and got the ball back. Tang Shuai called a timeout again in the last 3.5 seconds of the game.

In the last attack of the Rockets, the Lakers closely guarded Tracy McGrady, Wang Zhizhi, and Billups, and Yao Ming had no chance of lobbing even though O'Neal blocked him.Turkoglu couldn't serve the ball.

Seeing that the serve time is approaching, Turkoglu is about to violate the serve (rule: it is a violation if the ball cannot be released for 5 seconds when serving), and the Rockets have no timeout.Yao Ming shook off O'Neal on the inside and ran to the outside.

Other Rockets players also noticed that Tracy McGrady turned and ran towards the middle circle, while Billups ran towards Turkoglu who was serving the ball, trying to catch the ball.But Turkoglu knew that there was not much time left, so he had to send it to Yao Ming, who was unmarked in front of him.

Yao Ming received the ball, raised it high, looked around, and his teammates had no chance.But O'Neill was restrained by Wang Zhizhi on the other side and did not follow.His face sank, and he glanced at the timer, and the remaining time was less than 2 seconds.

Dayao took a deep breath, looked ahead, took off, and shot.

The ball hit the basket and bounced high, then fell into the net, 100:99!

　On the basketball court, luck is also part of strength.Don't laugh at other teams' luck. In 15, the Warriors won the championship smoothly, and all opponents suffered from injuries.This can only be said to be a trick of good fortune.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)