Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 165 Let go of your pride
The Lakers can be said to be one of the most gorgeous teams in NBA history. From showtime to the "OK combination", they are known for their powerful offensive firepower. In the history of the Lakers, there have been many powerful scorers. When the game showed a strong defensive desire at the beginning, the players on the court and the audience off the court were taken aback. This is not the Lakers in a normal state.

Phil has a hard time. After losing the fourth game, he thought carefully about the Trail Blazers' running and bombing lineup, but found that the Lakers can't use offense to attack. It's not his hope to win the game because the opponent feels bad. The style, of course, is not the way the Lakers have always been.However, apart from those big teams preparing to compete for the No. [-] pick in the entire league, there must be no team that will degenerate to the point where they depend on the sky for their food. They believe in their own strength.Phil is even more so. He also knows that this may be the last card in the Blazers' hand, so if they want to beat the Blazers, they must stop the opponent's running and bombing tactics.

For this reason, Phil did not hesitate to reverse the Lakers' consistent offense-oriented style, and began to play iron-blooded defensive tactics. It seemed that they were not the original Lakers at all, and everyone on the sidelines stared wide-eyed.This is the Lakers?This team, which is full of inside melee, body collisions and all kinds of actions on the verge of fouls in every round, is really the Lakers?Everyone felt that their eyes were blinded.Although the Lakers are not a team like the Suns who are slanting their swords and attacking desperately, their offense is undoubtedly at the forefront of the league, not to mention the league's top scorer Kobe...

Well, when everyone thinks of Kobe, he is entangled with Roy outside the three-point line like a defensive engineer. Such "lingering" actions make the referee feel a little bit uncomfortable, if it is not for the playoffs , The penalty standard is not so strict, and Kobe will probably suffer a personal foul in nine out of ten cases.Originally, there were some sporadic Trail Blazers fans who were smiling and watching Kobe defending his idol like brown sugar, but soon they couldn’t laugh anymore, because the big screen above the arena clearly captured Kobe’s expression , this point-cutting maniac has a serious face, even a little ferocious, and there is no reluctance at all.

Yes, this is Kobe, his stubborn personality does not allow him to accept failure, so in order to win, he can do anything the coach asks.He is indeed very proud, but as long as he can win the game, he doesn't mind letting go of his pride, just like entangled with Roy on the outside without image.He doesn't look like a superstar worth 3000 to [-] million, but more like a rookie who has just entered the league and needs to fight for his playing time. In many cases, only rookies will do their best to complete this kind of hard task, but Kobe doesn't care, because this is the task assigned to him by the head coach.

His feelings for Phil are very complicated, including awe, resentment, depression and helplessness, but he never denies Phil's tactical attainments.Since he said that if he did this, he would have a good chance of defeating his opponent, so he would do it well.Maybe Phil has some problems in handling the relationship between players off the court, but he is definitely at a historical level in terms of building the team's tactical system. Kobe knows his ability very well, so he has no doubts about his orders.

Not only Kobe, but also Fisher, Ariza, Vujacic and Bynum who started the game at the same time. Before the game, they were all told by Phil to do a good job of defense first. Consider the offense again.If you can't defend the opponent, then continue to work hard. As for the offensive end, use the team's simplest routine, or just hand the ball to Kobe for singles. Anyway, you must focus on the defensive end first.Seeing that Kobe has taken the lead, Bynum, who is as willful as Bynum, can only obediently obey the coach's instructions, forming a barrier under the basket.

Such a 180-degree turnaround by the Lakers caught the Blazers by surprise.After running to death in the last game, McMillan once again dispatched a running and bombing lineup, hoping to replicate the previous miracle, but the Lakers who put their energy on the defensive end are not joking. Although Fisher is slow but strong , Kobe was selected to the All-Defensive Team for eight seasons, Trevor Ariza is the outside gate that the Lakers focus on training, Vujacic has the energy to work hard, even the youngest Bynum has the physical condition to become the backbone of the inside defense, can It is said that as long as the Lakers are willing, their defense should not be underestimated.But now, under Phil's strong request, they quickly transformed into an iron-blooded army, which brought a lot of trouble to the Blazers.

Ye Feng also had a deep understanding on the field. Vujacic and Ariza took turns to defend him closely. Although it seemed that he was easily called a foul, Ye Feng could see in their eyes that even if he fouled, he was determined to stop him.But when he was holding the ball in a high position, he was surprised to find that he couldn't find a reliable point of exit, and his teammates were all watched. As long as he passed the ball, it would be a mistake immediately.It is impossible to get rid of the defense by running. The Lakers players are now sparing no effort to follow up. Even if they encounter a screen, they will desperately follow up. If they can't keep up, their teammates will switch defenses.

You know, running, bombing, running and bombing, the focus is not on bombing, but on running. Only continuous running can create shooting opportunities. If they all stand still, it is a regular half-court battle. No matter how accurate it is, it is not considered a run and bomb at all.Now the speed of the Blazers has been abruptly suppressed by the Lakers, completely unable to play the mercury-like offense of the previous game, and even made 5 turnovers in the first quarter, and all of them were converted into fast break points by the Lakers .This is a very dangerous signal. If it is not handled well, this game will be very bad for the Blazers.

McMillan's face was livid off the court, and he finally came up with a crazy small running and bombing lineup according to cats and dogs, but was resolved by the Lakers in an alternative way. Which head coach would not be angry or frustrated?But at the same time, he also secretly admires Phil's boldness. You must know that the Lakers have always had a kind of aristocratic arrogance, which can make the Zijin Army put down their pride and roll into the quagmire, and then drag their opponents into it by the way, and then tear them apart in the most primitive way. Bite, this is not something that ordinary people can do.

But Phil doesn't care about aristocratic demeanor, he just needs to win.

(End of this chapter)