Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 279 Avoid the real and attack the virtual
The next day, the Lakers rushed to Salt Lake City to challenge the Jazz in back-to-back away games.

Before the game, the Lakers officially awarded the championship ring to the retired veteran Karl Malone. After all, he has worn the Jazz jersey for 18 years and has an extraordinary feeling for this place.

Jazz coach Sloan has mixed feelings in his heart. On the one hand, he is happy that his disciple finally realized his dream. On the other hand, the strength of the Lakers and the decline of the Jazz are in stark contrast. At that time, can I continue to coach?

Falling leaves return to their roots, and Ostertag, who re-signed with the Jazz, also got his championship ring. He put on the Jazz's No. 00 jersey again, and exchanged greetings with his teammates from last season.

The Jazz lined up a big lineup, center Ostertag, three wing players Kirilenko, Gerald Wallace and Matt Harpering, plus a guard, last year's undrafted pick Keith Mack riod.

Former Lakers guard Derek Fisher was poached by the Golden State Warriors with a four-year, $4 million contract, leaving the Jazz with no one available at the point guard position.

The chain reaction is that Jerry Sloan's famous pick-and-roll tactics lack a helmsman. In the preseason, the Jazz tried to sign a reliable point guard with various short-term contracts, but they all failed. The scene was extremely ugly.

No matter how famous the chef is, if you serve him a pot of raw materials for killing pigs, he still can't make a full banquet.

Jerry Sloan can only start from other angles, such as his usual tough defense.

Fortunately, Gerald Wallace, who played as a guest power forward, made rapid progress last season, averaging 13.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. The striker formed by him and Kirilenko is full of athletic ability and has a strong team. mobility and defense capabilities.

In Jim's eyes, the wing composed of the two and Hapring is much more difficult to deal with than the talented striker of the Nuggets in the previous game.

Gerald Wallace and Kirilenko always have one person shrouded in front of Kobe, and the other is cruising at any time ready to defend, and Matt Harpering uses his football body to carry David West.

The away game, back-to-back, and the Jazz's home game are generally recognized as the most unfriendly place for the away team. The time, place and people do not take advantage of it. The Lakers played poorly in the opening game.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Jim called a timeout.

Holding the Yitian Sword to chop the dragon-slaying knife on the opposite side is not an act of bravery, but a performance of recklessness.A wise man will use the easiest way to win.

The Jazz's wing defense is almost impeccable, but the point guard and center positions are weak points. Ostertag moves slowly and does nothing outside the three-second zone. At the same time, the offensive threat is close to zero.

As for Keith McLeod... who is he?

In fact, Keith McLeod's most glorious moment will not come for another year. Now, he is just a helpless choice for the team when they are desperate.

After returning from the timeout, the Lakers replaced Artest with Battier.

Without him, Battier's three-pointer is much more stable than Artest's nerve knife. This time is not suitable for gambling on character.

Billups and Garnett relied on pick-and-rolls to find opportunities, Ostertag couldn't defend, and Garnett's high-quality screens firmly blocked McLeod behind him, and Billups withdrew three shots. At the point line, he aimed at the basket and made a steady hit.

This is what Jim has emphasized countless times since he took office. When there is a chance, try not to shoot long two-pointers stepping on the three-point line, and take a small step back.

The Jazz's offense is not good. Kirilenko and Gerald Wallace's shooting is not stable.

With Kirilenko hitting an iron, Garnett grabbed a rebound.

But the Jazz's defensive habits are much better than the Nuggets. Except for the slow-moving Ostertag who will try to grab the offensive rebounds under the basket and interfere with the opponent's players, the others retreat immediately and do not give the Lakers a shot. Opportunities to switch offenses.

Seeing that they can't play a fast break, the Lakers can only settle down honestly.

It was still Billups-Garnett's pick-and-roll, so Ostertag had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow. Billups is not a fast guard. In contrast, blocking shots is a better choice .

But Garnett was just a false screen this time. When Ostertag came up, he immediately went down. Billups understood it and threw the ball to the basket. Garnett bombed directly in the alley-oop.

After two rounds, an experienced man like Jerry Sloan knew that Ostertag could no longer be used.

He immediately replaced Jalen Collins.

As the 24th rookie in the second round, Jalen Collins' ability is lackluster. He is known more because of his twin brother Jason Collins.

Compared with Ostertag, Jalen Collins' mobility is slightly better, and Sloan is also a dead horse as a living horse doctor.

Harpering missed a three-pointer, and Garnett continued to grab rebounds in the backcourt. The season goal Jim set for him was the rebounding leader plus DPOY.

This time Billups did not look for Garnett, but made two consecutive screens with Kobe, forcing the Jazz to switch McLeod in front of Kobe before giving the ball to Kobe, and then went up the line and took Gera away De Wallace's defense.

Kobe hit McLeod with his back and easily crushed to a comfortable shooting area.

Kirilenko on the weak side saw that the situation was not good, left Battier and rushed to help defend.

However, Kobe didn't put McLeod in his eyes at all, and what he was waiting for was the Jazz's defense.

After Kirilenko swooped over with a feint, Kobe easily hit the basket and the Lakers overtook the score.

Phil Jackson's philosophy is to give the star singles when necessary, while Jim's philosophy is: let the star singles the opposite weak link when necessary.

Although the Jazz's flank defense can be described as impenetrable, but their point guard position is Puerto Rican star Carlos Arroyo in addition to McLeod, and the loopholes are not enough for Kirilenko and Gerald Wallace.

Coupled with offensive constipation, the Lakers gradually controlled the situation in the second half of the first quarter, leading 21-15.

As the two sides entered the rotation stage, the Jazz replaced Kirk Snyder and Gordon Girisek, and rested Kirilenko and Harpering.

The Lakers also put on the second team, Wade led the wolf-like Nene and Haslem debut, as well as Artest and Korver.

This lineup is full of vitality and impact, and the effect of playing the opponent's lineup with insufficient talent is obvious in the transition period.

The Jazz really got the move. Arroyo has nothing to do with Wade. After a year of training with Kobe, Wade has more comprehensive skills. In addition to his sharp breakthrough, he also includes the turnaround jump shot after holding the ball behind his back. Ku, playing back Boykins in the last game was just a small test. Facing Arroyo, Wade continued to perform fieryly, leading the team to a wave of 2-7 in 0 minutes. At the end of the first quarter , Expanding the point difference to 13 points.

(End of this chapter)