Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 306
"What happened in the fourth quarter? I don't know. The players didn't play as a unit. They played on their own. It was not possible to win with that style of play. We were punished. The score reflected that very well. All of this, we will talk behind closed doors after the game. Have I said enough?” After the game, Timberwolves coach Philip Saunders was furious and did not give the reporter a second chance to ask a question Back to the locker room.

Several families were happy and some were sad, and the Lakers were full of joy and laughter. After all, the Devil's six-game streak was only short of the last game of the Denver Nuggets, and the players could return to the long-lost Los Angeles and bask in the warm sunshine of California again.

After two consecutive big score reversals, Lakers fans joked that Stevens' coaching style was to vomit himself in the first quarter, and then let the opponent eat the vomit in the following games.

Here the Lakers have re-stabilized their rankings, while the Suns and the Supersonics have also been "modest" in a rare way. First, the Suns overturned in Salt Lake City in an away game and were beaten by the Jazz. Gerald Wallace scored 17 points and 20. Kirilenko also contributed 5 points, 6 rebounds, 13 blocks and 9 steals. The combination of the two made the Suns' shooting rate just over 4% and appeared 4 times. Mistakes, 40 to 18 defeat.

The loss of the Suns sent the SuperSonics to the top spot in the Western Conference, but this throne only sat for two hours. In the away game against the Los Angeles Clippers, both Ray Allen and Lewis misfiring, Ray Allen 20 He made 7 shots, 10 of 7 free throws, and scored 23 points. Lewis even scored 8 of 1 shots and only 5 points.Six Clippers scored in double figures, Maggette had 6 points and 31 rebounds, Brand had 10 points and 20 rebounds, and Bobby Simmons had 18 points. The Clippers beat the Sonics 19 to 114.

Coupled with the Texas Civil War the day before, in an extremely ugly game, the Rockets defeated the Spurs 73 to 67. The Lakers' record was able to tie with the Spurs, but it was temporarily ranked fourth in the West because of the outcome.

It's a pity that the Lakers failed to seize the opportunity. In the last game of the 6-game streak, homesickness permeated the entire team. Everyone wanted to finish the game as soon as possible and go home as soon as possible. Denver's highland course has always been unfriendly to the visiting team. After the Lakers trailed 14 to 26 in the first quarter, they didn't get back their touch in the remaining three quarters. They shot 37.8% from the field and 17.2% from the field. Three-point shooting percentage.

When Artest's 18 points became the team's highest, it meant that the Lakers' offense had a big problem, making it difficult to win. 83 to 95, the Lakers swallowed an ugly loss, and Carmelo Anthony's winning percentage against the Lakers finally looked a little better.

The Lakers finally returned to the Staples Arena, but their first home game after six straight away was still back-to-back.

The opponent is the hot new star in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James.

Regrettably missed the playoffs last season, the Cavaliers management learned from the painful experience, worked hard, and made great efforts in the offseason. They successively introduced Robert Traylor, the No. 1998 pick in 76, Eric Snow, the steady point guard of the [-]ers, Drew Gooden, who has a high position but has been to many teams, experienced guard Lucius Harris and others, hope to build a capable team around James as the core.

It's a pity that Jim Paxson's level of signings is really not very good. Drew Gooden is a famous defensive player. Eric Snow has nothing to commend him except for his stability. As for Robert T. Majorelle, whose peak moments came when he singled out Dirk Nowitzki in the draft and nearly broke McGrady's waist in two with a vicious foul.

So the Cavaliers can only rely on James and Ilgauskas, who is not working at all times, to conquer the world.

After returning to Los Angeles, Stevens got up early the next morning and rushed to Jim's hospital room.

"Good job, the winning rate is maintained at 50%. To be honest, it has exceeded my expectations, but you are still not familiar with other teams. It is difficult to come up with targeted deployment before the game, and we have continued to You have been the target of the league for many years. Many teams have studied our tactics and made targeted arrangements. This is why we always fall behind in the first quarter. Of course, your adaptability is still good, plus we There are excellent players, so they can often win the game back later, but always playing against the wind will consume more players, and the mentality will not be happier than playing with the wind.” Regarding Stevens’ acting head coach career, Jim sums it up.

Stevens remained silent. He spent most of his time studying the tactical board and rarely paid attention to the dynamics of other teams. One thing he admired Jim was that he seemed to know the strengths and weaknesses of each team. Can always make some targeted arrangements before the game.

"We really need to win a victory at home, so my suggestion is to increase the time that Ron and Sean are on the court together, use Ron to defend LeBron James, defend against breakthroughs, put shots, and don't rush for James Sean assisted in the defense, and Kevin covered the hole at the basket. The Cavaliers' power forward position is not a threat, even if Sean misses a few, it doesn't matter, they can't defend the outside. , Pavlovich and the like are not worth mentioning at all, and Kevin played casually against Ilgauskas."

In fact, all teams know that as long as James is strangled, the Cavaliers will have no competitiveness at all, but the second-year James has been able to contribute 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. When he was with the Pistons, he scored 43 points alone under the impregnable defense of the Pistons, leading the team to victory at Auburn Palace.

It's not that easy to lock James.

First, you have to have a top perimeter defender who has both skill and strength.

Then, you need to have a top inside defense monster, and when James breaks through with speed, he rushes to protect the basket as soon as possible.

Finally, your team's overall rotation defense must be very tacit, blocking the opportunities formed by James passing to teammates in the first place, and preventing others from easily eating cakes.

Fortunately, the Lakers have all three of these points.

Under Artest and Garnett's joint internal and external network, the young James played very hard, and Battier, who was checking for omissions everywhere, came out from time to time to make an offensive foul, and the Cavaliers The attack is even more difficult.

Can't attack, can't defend, but the height of 2 meters 21 has become the biggest flaw of the Cavaliers. His slow movement is infinitely targeted by the Lakers' pick-and-roll. Take points easily when hitting big.

This time the Lakers did not continue to disgust the fans at the beginning. From the beginning to the end, 7 people scored in double figures and beat the Cavaliers 108 to 94. James made 27 of 11 shots and scored 31 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists. The other teammates were only Gooden and Ilgauskas scored in double figures.

(End of this chapter)