Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"This is too much, 18 consecutive wins. The Lakers didn't have such an outrageous record in the previous two championship seasons. This season is really amazing."

"In the past two seasons, the Lakers clearly focused on the playoffs, and they didn't pay much attention to the regular season results."

"That's true... But it also has something to do with the Warriors being too strong in the past two seasons. One season the Warriors were first in the Western Conference, and another season the Rockets were first in the Western Conference. They both had extremely exaggerated regular season records, so it's not easy for the Lakers to surpass them."

"This is the last game before the All-Star Weekend. I wonder if the Lakers can win another game and continue their winning streak..."

Today's game is the last game before the All-Star Weekend.

Generally speaking, at this time, the players will become somewhat slack.

This is just like office workers. Thinking that the holiday is coming soon, they have no mood to work like a slave.

But this game is a little special.

For the Lakers, this game is related to whether they can continue their winning streak. If they lose this game, their winning streak will end.

For the Nuggets, this game is about whether they can surpass the Clippers and become second in the Western Conference.

Therefore, since both sides want to win this game, they will naturally not slack off.

The fans also know this, so they are very interested in this game.

Staples Center Arena.

The game was about to start, and players from both teams returned to the sidelines. A group of Nuggets players surrounded head coach Mike Malone.

Coach Ma Long unfolded the tactical board and said to the players, "Defense against Zhuang Yu is still the first priority. Facts have proven that we can't completely defend him. We just need to reduce his scoring efficiency as much as possible."

"Barton, stay close to Zhuang Yu and prevent him from shooting three-pointers. Force him to break through. There are others in the paint to help you defend."

"There are others who need to be watched too. If Zhuang Yu uses a pick-and-roll or screen to get away, then you must immediately go up to defend him. Don't miss anyone, especially outside the three-point line."

"in addition......"

He first made some arrangements for defense.

The main issue is the defense against Zhuang Yu, which has become a headache for all teams in the league.

Coach Malone then made some arrangements for the offense.

The main point was to emphasize that the players must run and pass the ball, and to remind Jokic that the Lakers are now missing Lopez and are at a disadvantage in the interior, so Jokic needs to play tougher and more aggressive.

Jokic nodded to show that he understood. In fact, with his basketball IQ, the coach didn't need to do much or he also understood how to play.

This season, Jokic averaged 20 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game, and was selected to the All-Star team.

He has put up such outstanding and comprehensive personal statistics for two consecutive seasons and has become the absolute core of the Nuggets.

Now in the Nuggets' tactical system, the real organizer is no longer the guard, but Jokic, because his average assists per game ranks first in the team.

So now whether the Nuggets play well or not, Jokic is the key.

The Nuggets are completely two different teams when Jokic is on the court and when he is not.

Today, Coach Malone needs Jokic to put more effort on the scoring end and take advantage of the Lakers' empty inside line and turn it into his own advantage.

After another round of arrangements, Coach Malone put away the tactical board, clapped his hands vigorously, and cheered for the players: "It's time to prove your abilities. Play well and win this game."

A group of players responded in unison.

......

Game start.

Players from both sides come to the field.

It started with a jump ball, and Zubac touched the ball first and slammed it to the backcourt.

Holiday controlled the ball and started to advance. When he came to the frontcourt, he first observed the Nuggets' defense, then looked at Zhuang Yu and passed the ball to him.

When Zhuang Yu got the ball, Will Barton immediately pounced on him.

The starting five of the Nuggets today are Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic.

Barton rushed forward, making it clear that he wanted to focus on defending Zhuang Yu's three-pointers. He would rather let Zhuang Yu break through than let him shoot three-pointers easily.

Zhuang Yu had encountered this kind of defensive strategy too many times. He was not at all nervous and did not call for a pick-and-roll. Instead, he chose to break through directly.

really......

When he broke through, the Nuggets immediately surrounded him or forced him to pass the ball.

The game had just begun, and Zhuang Yu was not in a hurry to score, so he passed the ball. Then he ran, circled along the inside line, and returned to the three-point line. As soon as he opened his hand to ask for the ball, a figure rushed in front of him. It was Jeremy Grant.

Grant was not the one who was facing off against Zhuang Yu, but when he saw Zhuang Yu using the screen to get rid of the opponent, he decisively left Cunningham behind and rushed in front of Zhuang Yu.

"It's really a strict defense."

Zhuang Yu smiled and didn't care. He took back his hand that was about to take the ball. Although the ball did not return to his hand, he had successfully dismantled the Nuggets' defense.

In order to keep an eye on Zhuang Yu, the Nuggets had to let go of other Lakers players.

At this time, Grant let go of Cunningham. It seemed that Cunningham did not pose an offensive threat on the outside, but Cunningham is an NBA player after all.

When Anderson passed the ball to Cunningham, Cunningham grabbed the basketball and ran straight to the basket, forcing Jokic to step forward to defend. This missed Zubac, who was caught by Cunningham and hit the rebound.

"Someone's missing."

"There's no other way. It's better to miss Cunningham than to let Zhuang Yu catch the ball and shoot a three-pointer, right?"

"Too......"

Some Nuggets fans were shaking their heads, thinking that the defense was not very good and that someone was obviously missed. However, if you think about it carefully, missing Cunningham is better than missing Zhuang Yu.

Although the Lakers still scored the goal, they thought it was acceptable as long as it was not scored by Zhuang Yu.

Coach Ma Long also found it acceptable.

It was just a two-point shot. If Grant hadn't jumped over and let Zhuang Yu receive the ball and shoot a three-pointer, then it would most likely have been a three-pointer.

The score is 2:0.

The Nuggets attacked and Murray advanced with the ball in the backcourt.

Murray's performance this season is similar to that of last season. Although there has not been any significant improvement, he is still relatively stable. Together with Jokic, he has built the tactical framework for the Nuggets.

After coming to the frontcourt, Murray called for a pick-and-roll. Jokic went to the top of the arc and made a pick-and-roll for Murray. Murray tried to get rid of it, but after looking at the Lakers' defense, he saw that there was no chance to shoot directly, so he passed the ball back to Jokic.

at the same time.

Several other players were moving, Jokic stood at the top of the arc and raised the ball, pretending to shoot a three-pointer. At this time, Zubac had switched defense again and blocked in front of Jokic. He subconsciously raised his hand and stood on tiptoe, and the next moment Jokic slapped the ball and squeezed past him.

Jokic took a step forward, hugged the ball and took three steps. His speed was not fast. After all, he was a big man with a height of more than 2.1 meters. Jokic's playing style did not rely on speed, but rhythm.

He took a step forward, raised the ball, pretended to shoot, attracted the defense and then passed the ball to Grant.

Grant took the ball and shot a three-pointer, but missed.

Jokic frowned slightly, turned around and ran back to his own side.

In fact, he originally wanted to pass the ball to Barton, who was better at three-point shooting than Grant. However, Zhuang Yu kept guarding Barton and had no intention of coming to help his teammates defend Jokic, as if he had already seen through his thoughts.

So Jokic couldn't get the ball to Barton and could only pass it to Grant, but the shot ended up missing.

......

Lakers offense.

After coming to the frontcourt, Holiday passed the ball to Zhuang Yu again.

Zhuang Yu still chose to break through. Jokic stepped forward to defend and shouted to his teammates, "Don't come over. Guard your own people."

Sure enough, the next moment Zhuang Yu passed the ball to Anderson.

At this time, Anderson was standing near the baseline on the right. If Millsap came over and Jokic defended Zhuang Yu together, Anderson could directly shoot after receiving the ball and moving forward.

But now Middleton didn't move, and Anderson couldn't shoot. Shooting towards Middleton was obviously not a good choice.

Although he is tall enough, his shooting ability is not stable.

After hesitating for a moment, Anderson passed the ball and it returned to Holiday.

"This guy seems to have seen through our tactics." Zhuang Yu frowned slightly, looked at Jokic deeply, and then ran back to the three-point line. Holiday passed the ball to him, and after receiving the ball, Zhuang Yu pretended to shoot a three-pointer.

The Nuggets immediately switched defense and Grant rushed over.

However, Zhuang Yu did not shoot a three-pointer. Just when people thought he was going to break through again, Zhuang Yu pushed the ball to the side, created a distance of more than one meter, then jumped up and shook his wrist.

"not good."

"Hurry up and rush over..."

Someone shouted, alerting the Nuggets players, but it was too late.

The basketball flew out from Zhuang Yu's fingertips, spinning in the air and drawing a beautiful arc, and finally went through the net with a swish.

Hollow hit.

"Damn it." Grant was a little depressed.

The coach repeatedly reminded that Zhuang Yu must not be allowed to shoot a three-pointer, but in the end, Zhuang Yu made the three-pointer anyway.

Coach Malone on the sidelines couldn't help but frown, but didn't say anything.

Grant cannot be blamed for this ball. He had actually rushed forward in time and interrupted Zhuang Yu's shooting rhythm. It's just that Zhuang Yu's personal ability is too strong and his three-point shooting is too stable.