Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 122 Cool down
The perennially dry Salt River in Arizona runs through the jurisdiction of Phoenix.

In the Navajo language of the Indians, Phoenix-Phoenix is ​​called "the hot place".Phoenix, where the sun shines all year round, although it is not yet May, the temperature has already exceeded 5°C.

The third game of the first round of the playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns will be held at the 35-year-old American West Arena.

Although Stephon Marbury's rhetoric was ruthlessly smashed at the Staples Arena, the Suns fans who took the lead and gained home court advantage still hoped that the home team's black eight would advance to the next round of the playoffs.

There is always a dream, what if it comes true?

After the Suns lost Barkley that year, they used to start with 13 losses and 0 wins. In the first half of the season, the transaction did not stop. 23 names were written on the team roster. Didn't they make it to the playoffs in the end?

The enthusiasm of 19032 fans in the American West Arena ignited the fighting spirit of the Suns. Before the start of the playoffs, no one believed that they could win the Lakers at home. The fans were looking forward to another miracle of the Black Eight.

From the beginning of the entrance ceremony, Marbury stood in front of the technical stage, crazily stirring up the atmosphere of the scene and setting off waves of sound.

In contrast to the Lakers, the players just entered the court quietly and did warm-up exercises, as if this was just an ordinary regular season.

Kobe raised his head slightly habitually, his face as calm as water.

Garnett and Marbury brushed past each other without looking at each other.

Billups practiced three-pointers at 45 degrees to the left.

Ben Wallace has switched back to his afro and is fixing his headband.

Artest tightened his shoelaces. This time he wore a pair of Mandarin Duck shoes in the main colors of the Lakers, purple on his left foot and gold on his right.

With the referee tossing the ball up, Ben Wallace overwhelmed Scott Williams and turned the ball into the Lakers half court to start the game.

Jim hoped that the team would not continue to play tricks and show off. This is only the first round of the playoffs, and there are still various powerful enemies waiting to pull the Lakers down and achieve their dominance.He sat in front of the TV, full of apprehension.If they lose this game, they will face a 1-2 away situation, which is undoubtedly extremely unfavorable.

But before the first quarter was over, Jim put his heart back in his stomach.

Obviously, Zen Master and his coaching staff made full preparations before the away game. First of all, on the offensive end, the Lakers returned to normal and played with ease. On the contrary, the smooth conduction of the ball and multi-point blooming team offense during the regular season reappeared in front of everyone.Whether it is the strong-side three-person cooperation initiated by Kobe and Garnett with their backs, or the weak-side relying on Big Ben's positioning cover and running positions to cut out opportunities, as long as there is a fighter, the ball will come.

In the Suns, except for Sean Marion, who is considered an elite defender, the defensive level of other players can only be regarded as average, and the head coach Frank Williams has only two years of NBA coaching experience. The team's defensive system It's also not very well constructed. In the face of the Lakers' dazzling offense, Frank Williams has no good way to crack it. He can only hope to inject chicken soup into the players to improve morale and try to stop the Lakers' offense.

Marion resorted to "drawing defense", and his figure was all over the field, cleaning up the mess for the sun's defense line that was leaking from all sides.

But it didn't help. The Lakers' offense always found the emptiness of the Suns' defense and stabbed them hard.Mike Miller and Joe Johnson still look a bit immature, and under the Lakers' large number of off-ball screens, there are often leaks, allowing Artest and Ben Wallace to get a lot of easy scoring opportunities , Marion made up left and right, defended up and down, and was quite helpless for a while. Frustrated, he even dropped the ball and yelled at his teammates after a round of one defense and three defenses.

On the defensive end, to deal with the Suns where the ball is extremely concentrated in the hands of Marbury alone, the Lakers' solution is very simple. Billups defends alone and isolates Marbury. cake.

Although Marbury has the league's top breakthrough ability, his scoring ability is far behind Iverson, Kobe, McGrady and other super scorers, while his opposing defensive player Chauncey Billups A tough, cool elite point guard.

According to the coaching staff's pre-match arrangements, Billups' defensive positions are very particular. He echoes Ben Wallace's position inside, usually locking Marbury's right and forcing him to the left. move.Because Marbury's shooting percentage on the left is about 5 percentage points lower than that on the right.

Once there is a pick-and-roll, the first choice of inside players is to recover, because compared to the unstable mid-range and long-range shots, after Marbury breaks through and tears the defense, whether it is attacking the basket or distributing the ball, it is the Suns' more deadly weapon.

Under the targeted defense, the Lakers cut off all the passing routes of Marbury, and everyone except Ben Wallace resolutely locked the matchup and would never help defend.Marbury can only take frequent shots in the area between the left bottom corner and 45 degrees, which he is not good at, and then hit the iron.Repeated the scene of fighting alone in the second game, played 46 minutes, scored 30 points and 12 assists on 29 of 10 shots.

Marion, who is not good at attacking with the ball, most of his points come from fast break steals and offensive rebounds. Only when the Lakers enter the rotation and Boozer is the power forward, can he occasionally get a few comfortable points. mobile phone opportunities.In the whole game, he played 45 minutes and scored 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Even though the two horses gave everything they had, they couldn't prevent the Suns from losing at home.

After the Lakers established a lead of about 10 points in the first quarter, they have been in control of the situation and kept the point difference within this distance. All 12 players on the playoff roster were able to make their appearances and get used to the atmosphere of the playoffs , Kobe, who played the longest on the team, only played 36 minutes.With the usual data of 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Garnett's data of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists can only be regarded as clocking out.

Substitute center Brad Miller performed well. In 25 minutes of playing time, he made 7 of 6 shots, scored 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Regardless of partnering with Boozer, Garnett or Big Ben, he can adjust his role in time, which can be called a panacea for insiders.

106 to 97, the Lakers regained their home court advantage.

　Thank you @紫金常长for your reward~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)