Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"They were 10 points behind in the first quarter. It might be difficult for the Raptors to win today's game."

"In terms of lineup, the Lakers are definitely stronger. The Raptors are not bad either, and are well-balanced in all positions, but the Lakers' lineup is also well-balanced after Lopez returned. The only real star of the Raptors is Leonard, but he is still a little behind Zhuang Yu. As for the others, they are obviously inferior to Holiday, Lopez, Clarkson, Rose and others of the Lakers. Even a lineup like the Warriors couldn't beat the Lakers, let alone the Raptors."

"Yes, if we talk about the lineup, the only team that can rival the Lakers is probably the Warriors. No, if we only talk about the lineup, the Warriors are even more gorgeous."

Rest time between sessions.

Fans in the audience were discussing.

The Lakers led by 10 points in a single quarter and clearly had the upper hand, so the fans naturally preferred the Lakers to win.

However, some fans are optimistic about the Raptors.

"This is only the first quarter, it doesn't mean anything."

"The Lakers did play well in this quarter, but this is obviously not the norm. I don't believe they can perform like this in the next three quarters."

"That's right. This is the finals. Scoring 34 points in one quarter is just a fluke. It's impossible for every quarter to be like that. It's impossible."

Most of the people here are Raptors fans, and it’s not really self-consolation because it’s indeed the fact.

In such a game, the intensity of confrontation and defense is extremely high, and the offensive efficiency is often relatively low. Scoring 30 points in a single quarter is already exaggerated.

It is difficult to sustain.

......

Soon, the second quarter begins.

The Lakers sent out Lopez, Rose, Clarkson, Kuzma and Nance Jr.

When Lopez returned, the Lakers had the "three cores" again, which was enough to ensure that there was at least one core player on the court at any time.

In the first quarter, Lopez hardly took any shots, only one that failed to hit the target. He scored 0 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, mainly focusing on defense.

So Coach Scott sent Lopez on the field at the beginning of the second quarter, asking him to bring in the bench lineup and form an "inside and outside echo" with Rose and Clarkson.

In the main lineup, Lopez is mainly responsible for defense, but when it comes to the rotation lineup, he can play more freely on the offensive end.

On the other side, the Raptors sent out Lowry and Siakam, plus Powell, VanVleet, and Ibaka.

In order to ensure competitiveness on the court, Coach Nurse sent both Lowry and Siakam up. As for their physical fitness... he had no time to care about that.

The first priority is to try your best to win today’s game.

Even if it means fighting to exhaustion and firing every last bullet, it is worth it.

......

"ball."

Coming to the frontcourt, Siakam ran back to ask for the ball.

There was no Leonard or Gasol on the court at that time, and he was the team's strongest scoring point, so he was decisive and took the initiative to stand up.

When the ball came, Siakam played alone.

At this time, the person facing Siakam was Nance Jr., who bent over with one hand raised in front of him to guard against Siakam's pull-up shot.

After taking a look at the basket, Siakam took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity, lowered his right shoulder, leaned forward, and pretended to break through to the right.

Nance Jr. subconsciously retreated and moved sideways, trying to get into position first. He knew that his speed was not as good as Siakam's, so he had to get into position in advance.

However, the next moment, Little Nance cried out inwardly, "Oh no!"

Siakam did not break through to the right, but quickly adjusted his steps, hit the ball to the left with his left hand, and broke through to the left with explosive speed.

Nance Jr. hurriedly adjusted his steps, but it was too late.

With one step, Siakam passed Nance Jr.

Seeing Lopez ready to defend behind him, Siakam did not hesitate, with sharp eyes, and rushed towards Lopez.

The next moment, Siakam jumped up, and Lopez also jumped up. The two bodies collided in the air, making a "bang" sound.

After the confrontation, Siakam leaned back, but he gritted his teeth, exerted strength from his waist and abdomen, stabilized his body balance, and threw the ball out.

Swish!

There was a soft sound and the ball was scored.

"nice shot."

"Well done, Siakam."

In the audience, Raptors fans stood up and cheered loudly towards the court.

This ball was played very resolutely and toughly. Siakam was not afraid of Lopez's backup defense at all and chose to go straight for it.

And, he succeeded.

A group of Raptors players also jumped up from the bench, waving their arms and towels to cheer for Siakam.

"call......"

Coach Nash breathed a sigh of relief, he knew that a goal like this was much needed at this time.

The team is already at a disadvantage, trailing by 10 points. The situation is very unfavorable. They need someone like Siakam to stand up. They not only need a hero, but also a surprise soldier.

Maybe Siakam is not the hero, but he can play the role of a surprise soldier.

......

Tens of seconds later.

When the Raptors attacked, Siakam once again ran back to get the ball. He stood outside the three-point line with bright eyes, glanced at the basket, and then broke through again.

This time, Nance Jr. reacted faster, retreating quickly and creating distance, so that he had enough time to respond.

However, Siakam only took a step forward and leaned towards Nance Jr., looking for a physical confrontation, then retreated back to the three-point line and jumped up.

Little Nance rushed forward immediately, but it was too late.

Swish!

A light sound came from behind him, and Nance Jr.'s face turned ugly. He didn't expect Siakam to choose to step back and shoot a three-pointer.

Siakam is not a very good three-point shooter. This season, he averaged 2.7 three-pointers per game with a hit rate of 36.9%. He didn't shoot many times and his hit rate was not high enough, but who knew that he would actually make a step-back three-point jump shot.

And he scored.

"Do you need my help in defense?" Rose came closer and asked Nance Jr.

Little Nance frowned, somewhat unwillingly, but still nodded: "Okay."

Obviously, Siakam played very resolutely and aggressively. He is now the Raptors' strong point in scoring and the offensive spearhead, and the Lakers need to focus on him. Since one person can't defend him, he has to help defend.

......

Lakers offense.

After arriving at the frontcourt, Rose was about to call a tactic when he saw Lopez asking for the ball in the low post, so he immediately passed the ball to him.

At this time, the No. 5 position of the Raptors is Ibaka. Ibaka is more like a No. 4 player and is smaller than Lopez in size, so Lopez has an advantage against him.

After Lopez got the ball, the others moved away and Lopez faced Ibaka alone. He lowered his center of gravity and took two steps toward the basket. Then he turned around and half turned, from facing the basket with his back to the basket. He first raised the ball and bent his knees as if he was going to jump up and shoot.

It was just a fake move. Ibaka subconsciously stood on tiptoe, but Lopez did not jump up. He just faked a move and then made a small hook shot.

boom!

The basketball hit the rim, but the force was not strong enough, so it bounced off the rim and fell into the net.

Still got in.

"Luck." Ibaka muttered unhappily.

Lopez scored one, and when the Raptors attacked, Siakam took the ball again, but the Lakers strengthened their defense against him.

Siakam broke through, encountered help defense, and passed the ball to Lowry, who raised the ball and pretended to shoot a three-pointer. Kuzma of the Lakers rushed to Lowry because Rose went to the low post to help Lopez defend.

As he rushed over, Lowry took the ball back with both hands and pushed it, then passed it horizontally to Powell, who received the ball and made a three-pointer.

Swish!

Also enter.

In the next few minutes, Siakam became the Raptors' offensive spearhead, either scoring himself or attracting defense and creating opportunities for his teammates. Under his leadership, the Raptors' offense played unexpectedly well and they actually gained the upper hand.

In fact, the Lakers' offense was not bad either. Lopez made 4 of 2 shots in the paint, and Rose and Clarkson also scored.

It's just that the Raptors played better offense...

"Requesting a timeout."

The Lakers requested a timeout.

Several players came to the sidelines, and Coach Scott made substitutions, replacing Lopez, Kuzma, and Rose with Holiday, Zhuang Yu, and Korver.

Then Coach Scott spread out the tactical board and rearranged the tactics...

After the timeout, both sides returned to the court and the Raptors replaced Lowry and Ibaka with Danny Green and Gasol Jr.

At this time, the Lakers' lineup became Holiday, Clarkson, Zhuang Yu, Korver, and Nance Jr., which was considered a small lineup. The Raptors' lineup became VanVleet, Danny Green, Powell, Siakam, and Gasol Jr.

Lakers possession of the ball.

In this lineup, Holiday was at position 1. After pushing the ball to the frontcourt, he immediately passed it to Zhuang Yu. Zhuang Yu broke through after receiving the ball, attracted the defense, and then passed the ball to Clarkson. After receiving the ball, Clarkson made a fake shot and then broke through and passed the ball.

The two breakthrough passes disrupted the Raptors' defensive formation, forcing them to shrink their defense and giving Korver an opportunity on the outside.

At this time, Clarkson passed the ball, and Korver immediately took a three-pointer after receiving the ball.

Swish!

The ball goes in.

The home fans cheered again.

But then the Raptors retaliated.

At this time, the Lakers had a small lineup, without Lopez, and Gasol had the advantage in the interior, blocking with one hand and asking for the ball with the other. When his teammates passed the ball to him, he immediately raised it high and shot the ball over Nance's head.

After a few rounds, Coach Scott made a substitution, replacing Zubac with Nance Jr.

But after Zubac came on, he still couldn't defend Gasol Jr.

Fortunately, the Lakers played well enough on the offensive end. Holiday, Zhuang Yu and Clarkson are all able to hold the ball and play one-on-one, and the Raptors players are not in position to match them. It is difficult to defend them one-on-one, and teammates must assist and backup in defense.

Once teammates assist in defense or provide backup defense, they will naturally miss someone.

When the Lakers suddenly pass the ball to the outside, others will take decisive shots.

Except for Zubac, the other four players can shoot three-pointers, and they all had a good feel for three-pointers today.

For a while, it seemed that the two sides were fighting back and forth, but the Lakers scored more three-pointers and had a higher scoring efficiency, and the gap between the two sides widened again...