Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 119 An Opponent That Cannot Be Underestimated

Although the Grizzlies are young, energetic and full of talent, there is no doubt that there is a hard gap in experience and strength. Even without Kobe, the Lakers, who are striving to win, are not opponents that the Grizzlies can easily defeat, but the process is a little thrilling.

Garnett scored 36 points and 22 rebounds, Ben Wallace scored 2 points but grabbed 20 rebounds, and the two gave the Grizzlies' young inside trio a good lesson.

Combined, Gasol, Stoudemire and Randolph only grabbed 21 rebounds. If Battier and White Chocolate's shooting percentages were not always online, the Grizzlies would not have survived the fourth quarter.

In the league scoring list, Tracy McGrady, who has been soaring all the way recently, temporarily ranks first with 31.9 points, followed by Kobe with 31.4 points.

Losing Kobe, the Lakers had to let other players make up for the gap of more than 30 points. The first thing that surprised people was point guard Chauncey Billups.

After wandering in the league for many years, Billups is no longer the young and frivolous when he first entered the league. When Kobe and Garnett were in the team, he hid his edge and played the role of a 3D point guard. In the offensive system, the proportion of point guards holding the ball to initiate offense is not high. Billups usually uses the ball to sort out the team's offense.

And when Kobe was absent and a scorer was needed to share Garnett's pressure, Billups was the first to stand up. With more than 17.6% of his three-pointers and solid low-post skills, he won nearly ten games. He averaged 5 points per game, which is about [-] points higher than before, and the shooting percentage has not changed significantly.

Ron Artest at the small forward position also got more offensive roles, usually based on the face-up.Artest used stiff dribbling and awkward movements to forcibly rely on his physical strength to crush the opponent's small forward and hit the inside to score. It has become a special lens for Lakers fans to adjust the atmosphere every game.

Of course, the biggest contributor to the Lakers' ability to remain at the top of the Western Conference is none other than Kevin Garnett.

Throughout March, Garnett averaged an astonishing 24.8 points, 17.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. With his sweeping defense and comprehensive and strong offense, he supported the team and deservedly became the leader of March. best player in the Western Conference.

After entering April, under Zen Master's strategy of controlling the playing time of the starting lineup, adjusting his physical fitness and competitive state, to prepare for the playoffs, several major substitutes got more opportunities to perform, including the team's selection at the end of the second round. A rookie, Udonis Haslem, the towel man of ten thousand years, has played a lot of playing time against the Suns and Nuggets and other teams, and has a good performance. Although he is not tall enough and his skills are rough, But his energy and passion have been recognized by everyone.

On April 2003, 4, the final day of the regular season, Kobe, who had been absent for a month, finally announced his return from injury.

The Lakers' last opponent is the Golden State Warriors.

Kobe, who had been holding back for a long time, was like a tiger coming out of the cage. In this fast-paced offensive battle, he scored 44 points and helped the team beat the Warriors 117 to 110, locking the record at 63 wins and 19 losses.

The Lakers rank first in the Western Conference, and their first opponent in the playoffs will be the Phoenix Suns.

Although after losing Jason Kidd, the Suns were once reduced to a Western Conference under the leadership of Marbury, but with the growth of Marion and Joe Johnson, and the improved health of "Penny" Anfen With the steady performance of a group of veterans such as Nee Hardaway, the Suns gradually regained their vitality.

After trading away the mediocre rookie Drew Gooden and getting Mike Miller, the Suns made up for the team's weakest small forward position. Penny Hardaway, who has been plagued by injuries for a long time, does not need to hold this position for a long time. , but as the bench leader to lead the bench.Although the injury deprived him of his physical fitness, Penny, who still has skills and experience, can still contribute 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

The starting lineup led by Marbury and Marion, with the support of Joe Johnson and Mike Miller's two peripheral guns, plus the veteran Scott Williams doing dirty work in the interior, played well. Very good, achieved a winning rate of nearly 7% in the second half of the game, surpassed the Seattle Supersonics and Houston Rockets in one fell swoop, and successfully caught up with the last train of the playoffs.

"I have to say that Colangelo has done a good job. The Suns have many talented players. They already have the skeleton of a strong team. There may be only one opportunity missing from becoming a real powerhouse. We cannot underestimate any opponent. , especially in the playoffs, the winner takes everything and the loser has nothing." In an interview with TNT, Jim gave a positive evaluation of the opponents in the playoffs.

But thanks to Jim and Jerry West, Amare Stoudemire, one of the sun's revival hopes, has been cut off by the Grizzlies. As for the future, the touchstone court wizard, the Canadian poet, Whether he will return to Phoenix has also become an unknown. In the future, there will be one less strong enemy in the Western Conference. Jim does not want to be like Raja Bell choking the throat. The script was played again.

In the first game, the Suns, who were a guest at Staples, gave the Lakers a bad start. Joe Johnson and Mike Miller hit 3 three-pointers together as soon as they came on the court, and Marbury's lightning-fast breakthrough also made the Lakers feel uneasy. Billups, who is good at speed, is a little overwhelmed.

Of course, the Lakers' own state of confusion is also a major factor. In the first quarter alone, there were 6 turnovers, which made Marbury and Marion, who love fast breaks, dunk a dunk.Especially Marion, he is almost everywhere. He was still defending Garnett with his teeth and claws in the previous round, and he was misplaced to defend Kobe in the next round.Reminiscent of the All-Star Game, it was he who was chosen to defend Jordan.

Hacker, who is only [-] meters tall, has the reach and wingspan of an ordinary power forward. Coupled with his amazing physical fitness, ghostly running position and excellent defensive awareness, he has become the Suns' offensive and defensive team. VIP.The left leg with the inexplicable "Magic Bird Camphor" tattoo, and the extremely ugly and wretched shot, often become the opposing team's nightmare.

Whether it is Garnett or Artest, they are the top defensive players in the league, but against this guy who rarely holds the ball and runs around the field to steal chickens, he feels a little bit powerless.And through the involvement of Marion, the fire support of Mike Miller and Joe Johnson on the periphery, the space of the court is widened, so that Marbury has enough space to show his strong breakthrough ability.

In the first quarter, the Suns led 31 to 18. The fiery enthusiasm of the 18997 spectators at the Staples Center cooled down a lot because of this score.

　Thanks to @紫金威廉希和@云起言 for their rewards~ Thank you for your encouragement!I wish you all a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance!I'm a little dizzy from drinking today...Maybe this is the update...Tomorrow I will make up...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)