Reborn in the 96 golden generation

Chapter 60 Finals Level Defense

To Zhou Yu's surprise, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Harris was still on the bench, and so was the Sonics.

"Coach, shouldn't it be time to replace our main players on the field, otherwise the score is likely to get bigger and bigger."

Zhou Yu approached Harris, faintly worried.

"Wang, if you want to go further in the playoffs, it is not enough to rely on the heroic performance of the main players. The depth of the bench is also an important factor. You must know that the defensive strength in the playoffs and finals cannot be compared with the regular season. If The Lakers' substitutes are vulnerable, and it is difficult for the main players to get enough rest time and perform well."

Harris looked at Zhou Yu with scorching eyes, and thought deeply.

Zhou Yu nodded knowingly. Although he has never played in the playoffs, he is also aware of the intensity of the playoffs. The reason why Harris did this is undoubtedly to give the substitutes more opportunities to exercise and for the sake of the long-term interests of the Lakers .

It didn't take long for the Lakers' substitutes to gradually find their form. Eddie Jones used his teammates' blocking to cover and hit the mid-range shots repeatedly. Other substitutes also found opportunities to make calls through continuous interspersed running positions, off-ball screens, and pick-and-roll air cuts. Hit rate is also significantly improved.

As one ebbs and the other, the Sonics' shooting percentage began to drop, and their turnovers gradually increased. Even the lack of coordination among the players led to disharmony.

"Wang, you see, the biggest disadvantage of the substitutes compared to the main players is that they are not stable enough, so there must be a backbone in the substitute lineup."

Harris sighed at Zhou Yu.

"Didn't Eddie Jones hit? He's an All-Star player."

Zhou Yu said.

"Eddie Jones' strength is good, but the overall situation is poor. It is difficult to connect other players. Besides, I heard that he is very dissatisfied with his status as a substitute. He has secretly approached many teams. Leaving the Lakers Sooner or later."

Harris sighed.

Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel his heart sink when he heard the words. In his previous life, Eddie Jones left because of Kobe's successful ascension to power. Unexpectedly, the same is true in this life, but he left earlier.

"So I think the top priority is to find a suitable substitute core for the Lakers to make up for the vacancy left by Eddie Jones. Wang, do you have a suitable candidate?"

Harris asked for comments.

Zhou Yu's mind turned in seconds. There are many outstanding players in the 96 golden generation, but the one with the strongest organizational ability is "Son of the Wind" Steve Nash. He has won two consecutive MVPs and led the Suns to "run Boom" frenzy.

Nowadays, although Nash was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the [-]th overall pick in the first round, due to the abundant talents at the point guard position of the Suns, he can only sit on the bench and hardly have a bright future. Godsend.

"Coach, what do you think of Nash of the Suns?"

Zhou Yu asked cautiously.

"Nash? I think his ball-handling skills are good, but his body is too thin. I'm afraid he is not suitable for the intensity of the NBA game."

Harris frowned.

"Coach, I dare to guarantee with my personality that Nash will become a very good point guard in the future."

In desperation, Zhou Yu patted his chest and assured him.

Harris stared at Zhou Yu for a long time, finally nodded and said:

"Okay, I'll try to suggest it to management."

Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief. If Nash can come to the Lakers, then the Lakers championship is a certainty.

At 5 minutes and 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, Harris finally called a timeout and replaced all the main players, as did the Supersonics.At this time, the two sides battled to "93:91", and the Lakers led the SuperSonics by two points.

At the beginning of the game, Zhou Yu deeply felt Harris's foresight. The Sonics deserved to be a team that participated in the Finals. The defensive intensity suffocated the Lakers. Every catch and every dribble felt extremely difficult.

In particular, Gary Payton's defense was so strong that it exploded.Using his powerful lower body strength, he staggered Kobe's head and almost fell to the ground.

Kobe at this time let alone attacking with the ball, even receiving a pass smoothly is a luxury.

Seeing Kobe opening his hands for the ball with a painful expression, Zhou Yu had the intention not to pass it, but thinking that he had promised him to show his skills at the last moment, Zhou Yu still passed the ball to him with trepidation.

It's a pity that as soon as Kobe received the ball, he was intercepted by Payton with quick eyes and quick hands, and quickly organized a fast break counterattack.

After turning around and passing Van Exel, Payton immediately threw the ball high into the air. The ball happened to be caught by Kemp, who was inserted into the penalty area and rose into the air, and poured it into the basket.

The near-perfect "alley-oop" of the two shocked the audience. Even the "Magic" Johnson in the commentary booth couldn't help but be overwhelmed. The water splashed from the water glass on the table sprayed Matthews all over the face.

"Don't be afraid, the water I've drank won't catch that kind of disease."

Johnson quickly comforted him.

"That's not what I meant, magician, you stepped on my toe."

Matthews smiled wryly.

In the next round of offense and defense, Kobe still opened his hands desperately for the ball, but this time Zhou Yu hesitated and passed the ball to O'Neal near the penalty area. After all, O'Neal's inside kills are more reliable at critical moments.

O'Neal began to shake his fat hips and hit back, but the defender was replaced by the strong "Rain Man" Kemp. The two had a strong dialogue, which can be described as sparks flying.

O'Neal pushed hard a few times, and found that Kemp's lower body strength was not weaker than his, so he made a sharp turn and walked up the line, and used a beautiful little hook directly facing the basket.

The advantages of height and wingspan make O'Neal's small hook seem inevitable. However, Camp jumped high like a "spring man", and his fingertips touched the basketball, which forced him to block.

The basketball that fell off the track was snatched by McElvine raising his hand, and then passed to Payton.

Payton advanced quickly with the ball, and the Sonics' fast-break counterattack was formed again, and the Lakers' defense was jittery.

In this fast break, Payton did not choose to pass the ball. First, he made a change of direction and passed Van Exel. He entered the penalty area to face Kobe's chasing cap. He pulled the ball beautifully with his left hand Enter.

"95:93", the Sonics went from two points behind to two points ahead in the blink of an eye, and the morale of the Lakers dropped rapidly, especially Kemp's incredible take-off block just now, which made the Lakers dumbfounded.

Zhou Yu turned his gaze to Harris on the sidelines, indicating whether he should call a timeout, but Harris pointed at him, indicating that Zhou Yu should carry the banner of attack.

After many games of practice, Harris found that although O'Neal's inside offensive strength is strong, his moves are too single. Once he encounters a defensive player with strong physical fitness, he is easier to be targeted.

Although Kobe is young and promising, his mood fluctuates greatly, and he tends to get hot-headed at critical moments and cannot play his due strength.

In fact, Zhou Yu also saw very clearly that "Rain Man" Kemp not only has a slam dunk, but also has a very good blocking ability, and his pace is more flexible than that of O'Neal. It may be difficult for O'Neal to take advantage.

And "Glove" Payton, who is facing Kobe, can be regarded as the best perimeter defensive player in the league today, otherwise he would not have won the honorary title of "Best Defensive Player" as a point guard. Compared with him, Kobe It is still immature, and it is estimated that there is little room for display.

Right now, the only person the team can point to is himself, so Zhou Yu has to work hard to give the Sonics a fatal blow.

　Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket, and hope to continue to receive support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)