I just play ball

Chapter 58

After the voice fell, the interview room fell silent for an instant. The staff in charge of the sound subconsciously looked at the playback equipment, wanting to confirm whether there was a malfunction.

For about two seconds, the exclamation of "Wow" suddenly sounded, and the reporters all showed excitement and whispered to each other.

What Li Yue said is similar to McGrady's sentence "I'm already thinking about my opponent in the next round", and there is no "change to last year" as a pre-emphasis. .

No matter what the end result is, [-] percent is big news, and at least ten news stories can be fancy-written.

"Why?" asked the TNT reporter.

Howard and D'Antoni turned their heads to the right together, both with doubts on their faces, as if they really wanted to know the answer.

"Because we have better players, more experience in the playoffs, and more reasonable and systematic tactics, it is difficult for the Nuggets to respond. We just need to be patient and try not to make too many mistakes to allow them to counterattack." Lee Yue said.

"So, do you think the regular season record can't be used as a reference standard?" TNT reporter asked.

Li Yue turned his head to look at Howard, "Of course, our record was not good in the beginning and mid-term. At the time, we were 18-1, you know what I mean?"

The TNT reporter nodded and sat down with satisfaction, while other media reporters hurriedly raised their hands.

In about 10 minutes, the press conference was completely over.

Li Yue got up and left, walked out of the interview room, chatted with Howard for a few words and left the arena.

...

Back at the apartment, Li Yue spent 2 minutes making a must-have list, and then started packing.

The Lakers' first playoff game will be officially held in two days. The whole team will fly to Denver tomorrow morning to adapt to the local climate and jet lag in advance. He needs to prepare a four-day change of clothes and sneakers.

When everything was done, it was exactly eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, and he sat down and turned on the computer to log in to Twitter as usual.

The rhetoric of defeating the Nuggets within six games triggered more than [-] related discussions. He clicked to view the popular rankings.

[I think there is no problem with this statement. The Nuggets are the weakest team in the top eight in the Western Conference. They can be ranked third entirely because of home court advantage, and the Lakers just won them last year. Kobe may be the best at playing the Nuggets players. 】

[George Karl is actually very similar to D’Antoni. Both of them need a super organizer to support their tactical system. Now Lawson is in charge of the Nuggets, while Li Yue is in charge of the Lakers. How big is the gap between the two and the strength of the two teams? How big is the gap.The only disadvantage of the Lakers is that the defense in the backcourt is weak, but as long as the pace is lowered and the position is improved, the Nuggets have no chance of winning. 】

[The biggest problem for the Nuggets is the lack of superstars. This kind of team can achieve good results in the long regular season by relying on efficient execution tactics and all-people soldiers, but the defensive intensity in the playoffs has greatly increased. Without superstars, it is difficult to move an inch. The original kings, they eventually fell under the iron heel of the Lakers. 】

After reading the three articles, Li Yue was quite surprised that they all expressed support without any tendency to doubt.

Out of curiosity, he searched for keywords such as the Nuggets, George Karl, Ty Lawson, and Iguodala.

Maybe it's too late, not finding any relevant response, so I can only give up temporarily.

...

At noon, the Sky One special plane of the Lakers landed at Denver International Airport. Kobe was wearing protective boots and accompanied the team. Everyone boarded the exclusive bus and rushed to the hotel. Many Nuggets fans booed along the way.

After arriving, Li Yue ate lunch in a hurry, took the computer to the meeting room, and conducted video analysis with the coaching staff.

Kobe also came to participate, and everyone first discussed the technical statistics of the Nuggets this season.

Assistant coach Darwin Hamer pointed out that the Nuggets ranked first in the league in scoring this season with 106.1 points per game, with 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, 24.4 assists per game, and 9.3 steals per game. Ranked second in the league, ranked third in the league with 26.2 free throws, and tied for third in the league in overall shooting percentage of 47.8%.

While everyone was thinking, Hamer continued to point out that the Nuggets ranked seventh in the league in points conceded this season with an average of 101.1 points per game, fourth in the league in turnovers with 14.7 per game, and No. 18.5 in the league with 19 three-pointers per game.

Hamer finally concluded that such data shows that the Nuggets players are good at running and jumping, like to share the ball, play very selfless, and have extremely fierce offensive firepower, but their defense is particularly weak, and they prefer the basket and mid-range shots.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Hammer brought up the Nuggets' record of losing games this season. The data showed that almost all of them were away games. The three home games they lost were all within five points, indicating that they wanted to take away the victory in Denver. very difficult.

Everyone felt a little headache about this, but this is the objective advantage of the Nuggets that cannot be changed. Fortunately, the playoffs can adapt to the rhythm of high-altitude competition in advance, and the team's physical trainers have arranged to increase endurance training.

After reading all the data, you will complete your understanding of the Nuggets' style of play. Everyone changed hands to analyze the two games against the Nuggets this season.

The Lakers won the first game at home.

The reason for the win is simple. Howard made 9 of 7 in the first quarter and beat Nuggets center Costa Koufos and JaVale McGee, forcing the Nuggets to defend and double-team the Nuggets outside. The tone of the audience.

The Lakers narrowly lost the second game away.

The reason for the loss is also very simple. The Nuggets played fiercely and the audience pressed wildly. The Lakers were in a two-game losing streak. They made a total of 18 turnovers, of which Nash made a rare 5 times, but the Nuggets won in the end. 7 points.

After analyzing the two games, assistant coach Phil Webb immediately pointed out that the rhythm of the game must be controlled, and the advantage of the inside line must be fully utilized. Don't fight with the Nuggets in disorder to avoid being played in a wave. The fast break must see the opportunity before pushing.

This reason is obvious, and no one discussed it.

After a short break, everyone continued to analyze the Lakers playoff series against the Nuggets in the 11-12 season.

At that time, the Lakers won two games at home first, and the reason was also that Gasol and Bynum teamed up to blow up the Nuggets inside.

In the third game, the Lakers made 9 more turnovers, 10 fewer rebounds, 8 fewer steals, and lost 15 points.

Assistant coach Clifford said that this situation is a full reflection of the Nuggets' home court advantage, but Kobe said that he was all to blame for the loss of that game, because he made 23 of 7 shots and made 6 turnovers, almost by himself. Take the whole team.

Hearing what Kobe said, the coaching staff shook their heads one after another, and D'Antoni said that it was because other people felt cold.

In the fourth game, the Lakers regained their normal game rhythm and achieved a [-]-[-] lead.

But then in the fifth and sixth games, the Lakers lost consecutively, did not make too many turnovers, did not lose too many rebounds, did not encounter foul troubles, and did not fall behind in assists. Kobe scored 43 points in one game and 31 points in one game. But Gasol made a total of 21 of 5 shots in the two games, and the inside advantage was completely failed to play.

In the seventh game, Artest came back, and the Lakers didn't decide the winner until the last moment.

After analyzing the entire series, without waiting for assistant coach Clifford to come to a conclusion, Kobe first said that the main reason why the Lakers played so difficult in the next three games was that they failed to predict the toughness of the Nuggets and prepared for the impact of the Nuggets. insufficient.

Speaking of the whole thing, the coaching staff looked at Li Yue in unison, because Kobe's words were equivalent to saying 'don't underestimate your opponent'.

Li Yue spread his hands helplessly, emphasizing that his way of defeating the Nuggets in six games was to learn from a great military strategist, but unfortunately, the coaching staff has never heard the phrase "We must despise the enemy strategically and value the enemy tactically." talk.

After analyzing the entire series, D'Antoni decided on the main policy: control the rhythm, focus on the inside, and go all out.

Subsequently, Phil Webb began to play video clips of the Nuggets' main players, and Kobe commented and analyzed them one by one.

The first is Ty Lawson, the champion of North Carolina back then. He has fast speed and strong impact. He has a three-pointer and a wide passing field of view. It is very troublesome to defend. The Lakers can only pass the fast rotation limit for the time being.

...

After Kobe finished all his comments and the analysis meeting came to an end, Li Yue put forward his idea of ​​taking a slant.

That is to fight Lawson and Andre Miller inwardly!

Both Kobe and the coaching staff were puzzled, and Li Yue called out the PPT that had been prepared and elaborated on his specific ideas.

Because the Nuggets coach George Karl is a very strong coach, the teams he has led throughout his coaching career, whether it is the Seattle Supersonics, the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Denver Nuggets, all have in common the use of fierce flanking forces. Opponent mistakes, fast and dynamic offenses destroy the opponent's defense, and fast switching defenses eliminate dislocation disadvantages.

So the Sonics at the beginning could not only strangle the peak dream, but also prevent Jordan from averaging only 27 points per game.

This kind of brutal style of play also needs awesome point guards like Cassel, Payton, and Billups to execute, otherwise it will become a few blind tactics. In the case of Lawson, George Karl still struggled to get the same type of Felton, and then brought in Andre Miller after proving incompatible.

The current Nuggets are weaker than the Anthony era in both internal and external strength, with a high lower limit and a lower upper limit.

As long as Ty Lawson and Andre Miller are defeated, the Nuggets will definitely collapse across the board.

After listening to the explanation, Kobe and the coaching staff concentrated on thinking.

After a long time, D'Antoni said that it is theoretically possible, but it is very difficult to implement.

Li Yue immediately recommended himself to execute it. Anyway, he had to slow down to control the rhythm of the game. He could find Ty Lawson and Andre Miller through multiple screens. If the Nuggets let it go, it would be a stable scoring point.

After all, Lawson is only 180 cm, and he doesn't have the defensive level of Chris Paul.

Bryant agreed to the proposal, and D'Antoni agreed to try.

...

After the analysis meeting was over, Li Yue returned to his room, listening to NBA-related news while sending and receiving emails.

The first round of the ESPN playoffs was broadcast on TV, and 21 commentators voted.

Hearing the host mentioning the Lakers and Nuggets, he subconsciously turned his head to check and froze on the spot.

21位评论员给出的预测比他还狠，一共15人给出湖人4比0预测，5人给出湖人4比1预测，只有1人给出湖人4比2预测，没有任何人认为掘金可能获胜。

This is completely reverse pressure!
(End of this chapter)