Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

Stop end.

After returning to the court, the Raptors naturally wanted to press on and further widen the gap between the two sides.

Their defensive strategy has not changed. They still want to cut off the connection between Zhuang Yu and his teammates and prevent Zhuang Yu from getting the ball as much as possible.

But this time the Lakers also changed their strategy.

Zhuang Yu was seen running back and asking his teammate for the ball. When his teammate passed the ball to him, the others moved away and Zhuang Yu played directly.

Leonard was still responsible for defending Zhuang Yu. He jumped forward, about one meter away from Zhuang Yu, with one hand raised high, always keeping it in front of Zhuang Yu's face to prevent Zhuang Yu from making a three-pointer directly.

Zhuang Yu held the ball at his waist, first took a tentative step with his right foot, and then suddenly raised the ball. Leonard raised his eyebrows, and subconsciously stepped forward a little bit, but did not jump easily. His defensive awareness was very good, and he was not easily fooled by Zhuang Yu.

Seeing that Leonard did not jump, Zhuang Yu did not care. He hit the ball to the right and accelerated to break through.

As the distance between the two sides was too close, Leonard had no way of getting in position first, and could only quickly turn sideways and try to stick to Zhuang Yu.

But then Zhuang Yu dribbled the ball behind his back, switched the ball to his left hand, and changed direction again.

At this time, Leonard was already in a sideways position, and it took time for him to readjust his steps. He was unable to jump up in time to block the shot.

All they could do was watch Zhuang Yu dribble the ball behind his back, change direction, and then shoot a mid-range jump shot.

In the last few rounds, Zhuang Yu frequently took the ball and played against Leonard. Leonard's main focus was to defend Zhuang Yu's three-pointers from outside, but it was difficult for him to defend against Zhuang Yu's breakthroughs. Therefore, Zhuang Yu always chose to break through, then make a quick stop and jump shot, or rush into the three-second zone and then make a floater against the defender.

Although it was not a three-pointer, Zhuang Yu's hit rate after the breakthrough was also very high, forcing the Raptors to shrink their defense and encircle Zhuang Yu.

At this time, Zhuang Yu began to pass the ball after the breakthrough.

At this time, the Raptors contracted their defense, allowing the Lakers to have more opportunities outside the three-point line. Coach Scott also replaced Zubac with Kuzma, who can shoot three-pointers, in order to give their team more three-point shooting points.

There is nothing wrong with this strategy, and the Lakers did get a lot of opportunities from beyond the three-point line. However, things did not go as planned, and their shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line was not as good as expected.

Kuzma and Holiday's three-point shooting percentages are not high.

However, Korver, who performed poorly from beyond the three-point line in the last game, had a good touch today and has already made two three-pointers.

It’s not enough to rely on Korver alone.

After a while, when most of the first quarter had passed, the Lakers were still behind.

Fortunately, the Lakers played well on the offensive end in these few minutes. Although they were behind, the score difference was not big.

"Requesting a timeout."

Coach Scott called another timeout and began to make substitutions, gradually replacing the main players with substitutes.

At the same time, the Raptors also made substitutions. Leonard and Gasol Jr. were both replaced, but Siakam remained on the court.

In the subsequent rotation time, the two sides were evenly matched.

Although the Lakers have Rose and Clarkson, it's not just the main players who are bad at three-point shooting. The three-point shooting is still bad after changing to the rotation lineup.

However, Siakam of the Raptors continued to score points during rotation time, and under his leadership, the Raptors still maintained their leading advantage.

Until the end of the first quarter, the score was 1:33, and the Raptors were still leading by 26 points.

"Haha, you played really well today."

"That's it, good defense."

In the audience, the home fans cheered excitedly.

The Raptors did play well in this quarter. They played to their strengths on offense, with Leonard, Gasol, Ibaka, Siakam and others all performing well. On defense, although they still failed to completely limit Zhuang Yu's scoring, they successfully limited the Lakers' three-pointers. The Lakers only made three three-pointers in the first quarter.

......

Soon, the second section began.

During the intermission, Coach Scott emphasized three-pointers. A big reason why they fell behind in the first quarter was that they failed to shoot three-pointers.

When the second quarter started, the Lakers significantly increased their three-point shots and their tactics were more inclined towards three-pointers.

What made Coach Scott a little depressed was that even though the opportunity came, the players couldn't make the shot.

"I feel a little off today."

"Yeah, except for Korver, it seems that the other three-pointers are not very good. Kuzma and Clarkson shot well in the last game, but today they were worse than the other. Zhuang Yu didn't get many three-point opportunities, so it's hard for him to gain the upper hand."

Some fans frowned and couldn't help shaking their heads.

The Lakers' three-point shooting from outside was indeed poor today.

Coach Scott has no way to deal with this. At most, he can only make tactical adjustments, but the players' touch problems can only be adjusted by the players themselves.

A few minutes later, the gap between the two sides was widened to 10 points.

At this time, Coach Scott called a timeout again and made substitutions, replacing Zhuang Yu, Clarkson and Korver, and made some tactical arrangements.

When they returned to the court, several Lakers players were providing pick-and-roll and screens for Zhuang Yu, allowing Zhuang Yu to break free from the defense and shoot from outside the three-point line.

In the first quarter, the other Lakers players were not good at three-point shooting, and Zhuang Yu did not get many three-point shooting opportunities. Otherwise, with Zhuang Yu's three-point shooting ability, the Lakers' overall three-point shooting rate would not be so bad.

"Shh!"

With a soft sound, Zhuang Yu hit a three-pointer.

The Lakers fans immediately cheered and applauded loudly.

Several Raptors players exchanged glances, but they were not discouraged. Even if they defended well, it was impossible for them to not give Zhuang Yu any chance at all.

This is unrealistic.

Of course, they must strengthen their defense against Zhuang Yu's three-pointers, because the Lakers obviously want Zhuang Yu to shoot more from outside the three-point line.

......

In the next round, when Zhuang Yu returned to the three-point line to receive the ball with the help of his teammates' screen and pick-and-roll, the defender rushed over as soon as he lifted the ball. He was very fierce and pounced directly on Zhuang Yu, knocking him outside the sideline.

They both fell to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle, gave Siakam a defensive foul, and signaled Zhuang Yu to stand on the three-point line to take three free throws.

"Hey, Siakam is still impulsive."

"Sending Zhuang Yu to the free throw line, isn't that the same as giving him points? His free throw shooting percentage this season is a terrifying 92%."

The home fans couldn't help but complain.

However, Siakam had a blank expression on his face and did not feel annoyed at all, because this was what Coach Nash had told him.

It is impossible for them to completely deny Zhuang Yu three-point opportunities, which is unrealistic, but it is also impossible for them to expect Zhuang Yu to miss shots from beyond the three-point line.

A person's touch may come and go, but for a three-point shooter, you can't pray for him to have a cold touch.

So what to do?

First, you have to strengthen your defense against him and prevent him from shooting comfortably from outside the three-point line. Even if the opponent shoots from outside the three-point line, don't let him shoot so comfortably. It's best to force the opponent to take some difficult shots, which can reduce the opponent's three-point shooting rate.

Second, disrupt the opponent's shooting rhythm, such as committing a foul early. When the shooting rhythm is disrupted, the feel may be gone.

So Siakam's foul was not accidental, but a tactical foul.

Zhuang Yu had just made a three-pointer. They couldn't let Zhuang Yu make three-pointers in succession. If they did that, Zhuang Yu's touch would get better and they would be unstoppable.

Therefore, even if they committed a foul and sent Zhuang Yu to the free throw line, they would not give Zhuang Yu another chance to make a three-pointer.

Zhuang Yu stood on the free throw line, took a deep breath, and made the free throw steadily.

All three free throws were made.

Seeing this situation, several Raptors players turned their heads to look at the sidelines, and Coach Nash gestured to them - continue!

Since Zhuang Yu made all three free throws, it proved that his touch was not affected, and it also showed that fouling was not enough and he had to continue.

Of course, it doesn't mean that you have to foul Zhuang Yu when he has already jumped up and is ready to shoot.

That would be totally uneconomical.

There is even a possibility that Zhuang Yu can score 3+1, which would be a loss. Not only did it fail to disrupt Zhuang Yu's shooting rhythm, but it would make Zhuang Yu more confident in shooting.

So in the next round, when Zhuang Yu returned to the three-point line to get the ball and had a chance to shoot directly, Lowry, who switched to defend, took the initiative to foul.

With a loud snap, Lowry's hand cut hard into Zhuang Yu's arm, and he slapped the basketball away.

"beep......"

The referee blew the whistle, pointed at Lowry and gave him a foul.

Lowry pretended to argue with the referee, saying that he cut the ball. However, the referee ignored him and still gave a foul penalty, but it was not a shooting foul. Zhuang Yu had not yet lifted the ball, so it could only be considered an ordinary foul.

Neither side has committed enough fouls yet, and it's not time for free throws.

This is exactly the effect the Raptors wanted, to disrupt Zhuang Yu's shooting rhythm, but not always send Zhuang Yu to the free throw line.

This foul was a good one, Lowry is very experienced.

Zhuang Yu frowned, having realized the other party's intention. He shook his wrist. Lowry's attack just now was a bit harsh, and his hand was still painful now. There was a large red area near his elbow and wrist, and it was burning.

......

A few more rounds passed in the blink of an eye.

The Raptors' tactics did not change in these rounds. As soon as they saw Zhuang Yu getting the ball outside the three-point line, the Raptors players rushed to him with extra ferocity.

Of course, it doesn’t always result in a foul. After all, Zhuang Yu doesn’t always shoot a three-pointer when he gets the ball outside the three-point line.

A few rounds later, the Raptors fouled Zhuang Yu again. It was still not a shooting foul, but they were extremely fierce. Zhuang Yu's forearm was already covered in a large red area, and the finger marks on it were shocking and painful just to look at.

Zhuang Yu was also a little annoyed. After reaching the frontcourt, he first cut into the inside, then quickly turned back, received the ball outside the three-point line and shot immediately.

This time it was very quick and didn't give the Raptors a chance to foul.

But then there was a "bang" and the basketball bounced out of the hoop.

"It's a pity that I didn't get in."

"Almost..."

Lakers fans shouted in frustration.

On the court, the Raptors players couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. In order to limit Zhuang Yu's three-pointer, they had already committed a lot of fouls. If Zhuang Yu's three-pointer went in, it would mean that all their previous efforts would be wasted.

On this side, Zhuang Yu rubbed his forearm while retreating.

The moment he shot the ball, he realized that the ball might not go in because of the tingling sensation in his forearm, which affected his shooting movement.

"Made."

Zhuang Yu looked down at his red forearm and couldn't help cursing inwardly.

Although the forearm does not have as much influence on shooting as the wrist, it still has an impact, causing his shooting action to be not stretched enough. Especially in some difficult shooting situations, a little influence may also lead to a missed shot.

After that, Zhuang Yu tried twice more, but both times ended in failure.

One reason was that his arm was affected, and the other was that the Raptors' defense was very fierce, not giving him any chance to shoot calmly.

After the consecutive misses, even the fans frowned: "What's going on? Why is Zhuang Yu's three-point shooting inaccurate?"

"Didn't you see how fiercely the Raptors attacked? They committed several fouls."

"Yes, Zhuang Yu always has to take difficult shots, so it's normal that he can't make the shot..."

People just thought it was because the Raptors' defense was extremely fierce.

In the next round, Zhuang Yu got the ball outside the three-point line again and raised it. The Raptors players immediately pounced on him, as fierce and determined as ever.

However, this time Zhuang Yu did not really jump up and shoot. It was just a fake move. He waited for the opponent to jump up and pounce on him before he jumped up, leaned towards the opponent, and pushed the ball out.

boom!

beep!

The two collided and the referee blew the whistle, calling a defensive foul.

The ball did not go in, but Zhuang Yu had to stand on the free throw line and take three free throws.

But when he stood on the free throw line, Zhuang Yu only made one of the three free throws.

Seeing this scene, Coach Nash couldn't help but smile. He didn't know that Zhuang Yu's shooting was affected by his arm, but Zhuang Yu missed three consecutive free throws and only made one of three free throws. It can be seen that Zhuang Yu's shooting feel was indeed affected.