Junior Basketball says

Chapter 245 Refusal to Sweep

Although most of the Lakers players didn't show it on their faces, they felt more or less that they were sure to win.Although the Timberwolves persisted until the last quarter of the third game before collapsing, what's the use?The strengths of the two sides are not at the same level.

However, when the starting five stepped onto the court today, they felt vaguely uneasy. The Timberwolves players on the opposite side looked at them one by one as if they were life and death enemies, wishing to tear them to pieces immediately.Kobe's brow furrowed, but soon relaxed again. He is not a person who is afraid of challenges, and it is common for him to be injured. Now the opponent just raised such a vicious momentum. In the eyes, this is just a piece of cake.

In this game, the Timberwolves still used their most commonly used starting lineup, but when Bynum got the first wave of offensive balls for the Lakers, Xu Hao did not immediately step forward to harass Fisher who was holding the ball. It is to retreat to near the free throw line, almost parallel to Ellington's position.Behind them, Brewer, Jordan and Love lined up, which is a standard 2-3 defense.

Zone defense was not allowed by the NBA at the beginning, but it finally got on the field. This is a defensive formation that targets the ball rather than people, and it is just two extremes of man-to-man.Once the opponent chooses to break through, the high-position players will cut off his retreat, and then form a double-team with the inside players, forcing the opponent to distribute the ball. Basically, when facing the zone defense, top-level assaulters are needed to break through the defense. may not be able to achieve the goal.If you want to crack the zone defense, the best way is to shoot three-pointers.

According to Xu Hao's observation, perhaps because of the three highs inside, the Lakers' outside shooting is far from that powerful. Fisher's scoring average is only single digits, and Artest's three-pointers are also not very reliable. , even Kobe can generally only hit three-pointers at the most critical moment, and his three-point shooting percentage in regular time is also unrecognizable. This is their weakness.

Of course, under normal circumstances, no team will take advantage of their weakness. First of all, the three-pointer is only initially valued in the NBA. Although it is not like the 90s of the last century, it basically relies on the center to win the world, but it is obsessed with three-pointers. There are still only a handful of teams, so naturally they don't want to take precautions.In addition, the Lakers' inside strength is enough so that they don't need to rely on three-pointers. As long as they give them space, they can give the ball to the inside, and then Gasol and Bynum can teach their opponents to behave.

The reason why Xu Hao asked his teammates to defend the zone is mainly to avoid letting the opponent give the ball to the inside. As long as the movement speed is fast enough, he can take care of both inside and outside defenses, and Brewer, Love and Jordan will also Protect the safety of the basket.

In a word, just let the Lakers pass the ball meaninglessly from the outside, block the passing route into the inside, and force them to take shots from the outside. If the ball is given to the inside players, they will do their best to shrink the defense and give it to the opponent. cause stress.

The Lakers players were taken aback when they saw the Timberwolves guarding a zone defense, and then felt a lot of pressure.After they made a pass along the three-point line, they didn't find a chance to make a shot. Maybe there was a little space, but they didn't have any confidence.The defense of the inside players made Kobe and Fisher unable to transfer the ball to the three-second zone, and they could only rely on Kobe to force a breakthrough.

Seeing that there were only more than ten seconds left in the attack time, Kobe didn't dare to neglect, and directly rushed into the three-point line from the front.However, Xu Hao and Ellington have a clear division of labor. One of them rushes forward and is responsible for personal interference, while the other retreats a little and is ready to double-team with his teammates at any time.Kobe was in a predicament immediately, and he was really strong, even when there were wolves in front and tigers in back, he forced himself to take off and shoot.

It's a pity that Xu Hao quickly followed his rhythm, jumped at the same moment Kobe took off and shot, and stretched out his hand to interfere.It seems that he didn't touch the basketball, but in fact, he still rubbed his fingertips a little bit, which caused a slight deviation in the shooting arc. The basketball finally hit the front of the basket, and Love, who was still guarding the basket, easily In the bag.

Looking back, the Lakers chose to expand their defense. They were still worried about Xu Hao's three-point shooting, not to mention that Ellington, Brewer and even Love would take a few three-pointers without any problems, and their shooting percentages were not low. .McHale has always been very satisfied with this starting lineup. Players other than Jordan are all capable of shooting, and they have not lost the team's dominance in the paint. After all, Love can be very versatile and fight for offensive rebounds after missing shots. Not once or twice.

Under the target of the Timberwolves, the Lakers only scored 18 points in the first quarter, which is unimaginable for them with extremely strong offensive firepower.The Timberwolves scored 30 points with a super high three-point shooting percentage, leading the Lakers by 12 points in a single quarter, which has never happened in the previous game. It is already a good result for them not to fall behind.

During the intermission, Zen master rarely waved the tactical board and yelled at the players. You must know that he has always been a very calm coach. One of the reasons for this nickname.But now he is a little panicked. The Timberwolves' defense makes it difficult for the Lakers, which is hard for him to imagine.

While writing and drawing on the tactical board, he shouted loudly: "Stop circling outside the three-point line, pass the ball in, but be careful not to be intercepted by the opponent. If you can't get into the three-second zone, Then make more mid-range shots, especially you Kobe, you have to take on the heavy responsibility of scoring, when the team is in trouble, we can only rely on you."

Kobe nodded resolutely, without speaking.What Zen Master said is right. As the team leader and chief scorer, he must take responsibility alone when the team falls behind.What's more, Zen Master needs them to shoot more mid-range shots. Kobe, who has been imitating Jordan, is naturally a top mid-range shooter. It is a matter of course for the team to rely on him.

On the Timberwolves' bench, McHale felt a little surprised. This was not what he told his players before the game.He frowned and asked: "Why do you adopt a zone defense? Although the effect looks very good, but..."

Xu Hao rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Coach, this is my idea. I just want to try a different method. It works, doesn't it? If so, let's not ask why we use joint defense, shall we? I think the egg is delicious, so why don't I get to know the hen that laid the egg?"

(End of this chapter)