Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 147 147. The Depressed Zen Master

The magic weapon of the Timberwolves throughout the game is definitely a defense like an iron wall.

With the joint cooperation of "Glove" Payton, Gerald Wallace and Garnett, the Timberwolves' defense ability can be called the top in history.

Especially the pincer attack on the Lakers star Kobe Bryant made Kobe's offensive environment very bad throughout the game, and he could barely complete the shot with difficult moves.

In the first game of the playoffs, Kobe only made 25 of 9 shots on the offensive end. Although the data of 22 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists is not bad, compared with Kobe who averaged 35 points per game in the regular season, this kind of offensive efficiency is really low.

In addition, although the second-in-command Lamar Odom also contributed 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, he can't count on it at the critical moment, so the Lakers can only let Kobe go alone.

Even if Kobe's offensive environment has been compressed to the extreme, it is difficult for Odom to stand up and take on the heavy responsibility.

For the Timberwolves, the best performer is naturally the "Wolf King" Garnett. Whether it is offense or defense, Garnett has shown unparalleled dominance on the field.

全场比赛加内特在登场37分钟的情况下交出23分16篮板4助攻5抢断以及3次封盖。

On the offensive end, Kwame Brown was pressed on the ground and frantically rubbed. On the defensive end, the Timberwolves' defensive pressure was directly raised to a higher level, making the Lakers Twin Towers unable to play a decent game throughout the game.

As for the veteran player "Glove" Payton, he also played well in this game. Facing Smush Parker, who was born on a dirt road, Payton efficiently scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

With the basic salary of a veteran, he has an annual salary of tens of millions.

The playoffs are the stage to test the stars, and the performance of "Glove" Payton seems to tell everyone that even if the "god" goes down the mountain, he is still much stronger than the "man" who went up the mountain!
It is worth mentioning that Bynum and Gortat, who have been receiving much attention in this game, played very averagely.

Since this game is the first playoff game of their careers, their performances were mediocre and there were not many surprises.

Among them, Bynum handed over 7 points and 7 rebounds in the limited playing time. Looking at the win-loss value and real efficiency alone, it is much better than Gortat's 6 points and 9 rebounds.

After Gortat came to the Lakers, he got a lot of playing time. He played a full 38 minutes in this game and won the trust of head coach "Zen Master" Jackson.

However, the Timberwolves' inside defense is oppressive, which made Gortat, who was playing in the playoffs in the first year of his career, disgraced, and could only endure a lot of complaints and doubts after the game.

Relatively speaking, Bynum's growth environment is much better than Gortat's. Bynum was originally traded by the Lakers to the Timberwolves and Gortat because of his poor performance.

The media will definitely tout Bynum's amazing game, but once Bynum performs poorly, it seems to be a normal thing.

And in these few matches with the Lakers, Bynum has an overall advantage when facing Gortat, which makes Bynum invincible in media reviews, and the growth environment is much better than Gortat. Too much.

…………

At the post-match press conference, "Zen Master" Jackson looked as uninspired as frosted eggplant.

Facing the questions from the reporters, even the "Zen Master", who has always been a Buddhist, wanted to bury his head under the table.

Losing to the 74-win Timberwolves is not a shameful thing, and even the Lakers won't be surprised to be swept by the media in the first round.

But before the game started, "Zen Master" Jackson's confidence was very sufficient, and there was a hint of conceit in his words.

As a result, after the game started, "Zen Master" Jackson's proud triangle offense has been suppressed by the Timberwolves, and he has been unable to break through the Timberwolves' defensive system.

Even if the "Zen Master" improved Kobe's offensive environment on the basis of the triangle offense in the second half, the Lakers still didn't get any cheap.

All these scenes were like an invisible slap directly on the face of "Zen Master" Jackson.

It is reasonable that the lineup is not as luxurious as the Timberwolves, but now even the tactics are completely suppressed by Luke, which makes Jackson very uncomfortable.

"The lineup gap between the team and the Timberwolves is huge. When Kobe was targeted by the opponent, the Lakers couldn't play a tactical threat at all." Phil Jackson said with a strong face.

It is impossible for Jackson to question his own triangle offense. In Jackson's view, the reason why the Lakers have been unable to break through the Timberwolves' defense is because the lineup gap between the two sides is too large.

Jackson was very unwilling to believe that Luke, a young coach who was only 36 years old, would have such high tactical attainments!

…………

The outside world was not surprised by the fact that the Timberwolves beat the Lakers in the first game of the playoffs.

The dominance shown by the Timberwolves this season is too strong. The record-breaking 74 wins and 8 losses make the Timberwolves look even more terrifying than the Bulls back then.

But this does not affect the fans' determination to go to the scene to watch. After all, the Lakers and Timberwolves are respectively one of the most popular teams this season. Just watching the game can make the fans feel happy.

What's more, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves once during the regular season. With Kobe, the league's new generation scoring leader, present, it is not impossible for the Lakers to create a few miracles.

.........

The second game of the series is still played at the Timberwolves' home stadium, the Target Center. The Lakers' main tactic in this game is still the triangle offense that "Zen Master" will never give up.

"Zen Master" Jackson can be described as the top iron in tactical pursuit. Even if the triangle offense cannot win the game, Zen Master will never change to other tactics.

The Lakers have been at a disadvantage throughout the game. Except for the first shot to lead the Timberwolves in the opening game, the Lakers have not narrowed the point difference to single digits.

Kobe's offensive environment is still very bad. The Timberwolves' attack on Kobe can be described as merciless. As long as Kobe receives a pass, the two of them will immediately stick to each other and resolutely refuse to give Kobe any chance to make a move.

In the last game, the Lakers also had Luke Walton, who scored 19 points in a single game to help the Lakers bite the score.

But Walton's personal performance is only phenomenal after all. When Walton's touch returned to normal in this game, the Lakers' situation immediately became more difficult, even more difficult than the previous game.

On the offensive end, the Lakers can only allow Kobe to adjust as much as possible with his personal ability, but even in the second half, Kobe still made consecutive hits in a double-team state, the Lakers have not been able to close the score, which seems more like a needless struggle.

At the end of the whole game, the Timberwolves once again beat the Lakers at home, rewriting the total score of the series to 2:0, getting closer and closer to sweeping the first round.

(End of this chapter)