Chapter 336: Evenly matched

As the two teams with the most luxurious lineups in the league, the Lakers and Celtics are completely different in lineup characteristics, just like the years when they confronted each other in history. The Lakers always have an inside giant center, which gives them a natural advantage on the offensive end, while the Celtics always have a team advantage in the forward group or guard group.
The Lakers often rely on a certain super player in the backcourt to fight against the Celtics' backcourt wolves. In the 60s, it was Jerry West, in the 80s it was Magic Johnson, and this year, it was Kobe's turn.
Kobe also thinks so. In the Western Conference Finals, Kobe had a decisive performance in the fourth and sixth games. In both games, he scored more than 40 points and helped the Lakers step on the old rival King. Kobe, who has been in bad luck all year, finally found his status slowly after being baptized in the playoffs.
The three-pointer just now gave him the confidence to continue offensively. Since Fox Leon came to the Celtics, every time the Lakers played against the Celtics, Kobe would feel quite uncomfortable. This year he was put on a clothesline by Chris Anderson in Staples and eventually lost. The game. This made Kobe feel angry and ashamed. In the media interview before the finals, Kobe rarely stated that he would teach the Celtics a lesson.
After all, in recent years of competition, Kobe has been targeted too much. This stubborn and victorious young man does not allow himself to be humiliated by his opponents again and again, not to mention that this opponent is still the Celtics. .
After making this three-pointer, Kobe entered the attack mode. He began to hold the ball on the outside to show his flexible and superb offensive skills. Reed, who defended him, seemed obviously slower than the first half. Even if he tries his best to catch up with Kobe's rhythm, Kobe can still hit a jumper in difficult circumstances.
"Kobe, from the center, swayed Reid and hit a jumper! This is the eleventh point he scored in the first quarter!" Brin exclaimed for Kobe's consecutive scoring, obviously without double-teaming. Reid can't deal with Kobe, who feels hot one-on-one.
"Look at how the Celtics should respond. Garnett passed the ball to Pierce, Pierce took the ball and went to the right, PJ-Brown's pick-and-roll, a step-back jumper... the ball was also scored! 22:21, Kay The Celtics surpassed the score again.
When Pierce hit this mid-range, the Celtics surpassed the score again. Although Kobe feels hot, Pierce is also full of firepower.
The fans were excited for such a fierce and exciting backcourt attack. Even David Stern, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the game, stood up slightly nervously for a while, then frowned and shook his head, knowing that Stern was watching the game. He always smiles, impartially looks like a Buddha statue, and rarely really looks like a fan.
However, fans who have watched a lot of games should easily find that the performance of both sides is not as usual at this time, especially the Celtics. Pierce rarely attacked like this in the first quarter. So far he has won Scored 10 points, accounting for nearly half of the team's points. As for the Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal has not scored yet, which is extremely rare.
Leon has returned to his seat. He tapped the armrest with his fingers. In his opinion, the Lakers' performance is not particularly normal. On the contrary, everything about the Celtics is in his grasp.
Before the start of the game, Leon told Pierce to ask him to find an offensive feel as soon as possible, and it is best to maintain firepower in the first quarter. The reason is simple. The small forward is a weak link for the Lakers. Whether it is Fox, Devin George or Wharton, there is no way to fight Pierce. In the finals, it is very important to take the lead. With the Lakers owning O'Neal, it would be very difficult if players can't quickly come forward to lay a solid foundation.
This is the lesson Leon learned from last year’s finals. Facing the Spurs last year, Duncan started to output frantically from the first quarter of the first game. He established an advantage in one fell swoop. The Celtics followed behind and was struggling, and finally was dragged by the Spurs’ defense alive. dead.
But Leon did not expect that the Lakers did not use O'Neal's point, but took the lead in activating Kobe, and instead let O'Neal do a return run on the court.
"This is not normal. What does Jackson think? O'Neal hasn't touched the ball for nearly two minutes. More importantly, Malone rarely touches the ball." Leon watched the Lakers' offense and Fisher just passed halftime. When the ball was handed over, Kobe took the ball to face Reid, and passed it to Fox for a bit. O'Neal took a position in the interior. PJ-Brown was very aggressive. Fox hesitated and did not pass, so it passed back to Kobe, and Kobe took it. The ball is shot directly beyond the three-point line.
The ball scored, a three-pointer, another three-pointer, Kobe's 14th point in the first quarter of the game, after the goal, Kobe shook his head helplessly, as if there was nothing to do with his hand.
At 22:24, the Lakers led by two more points. At this time, there were less than 10 seconds left in the first quarter. This was the Celtics' last offensive opportunity in the first quarter. Leon called a short timeout to arrange the tactics for the final attack.
The Lakers also took this opportunity to make substitutions. Shaquille O'Neal and Malone both came off the court and replaced them on the bench, but Kobe remained on the court.
"In the last offense of the first quarter, the Celtics replaced Chris Anderson and Bell, Anderson served, Pierce lobbed to the inside, PJ Brown received the ball and made a layup! 24 draws!"
The Celtics played a very simple tactic in the last offense. Anderson sent a touchline. PJ-Brown stood near the free throw line and made a screen for Pierce. After Pierce ran out to receive a pass from Anderson, Brown one. Reverse running cut, Pierce dropped the ball, Brown succeeded in receiving the ball and layup.
After the ball was scored, the two sides drew, and the Lakers missed a three-pointer in the backcourt in the last three seconds. The first quarter ended.
"The first quarter ended, and the two sides were tied. Kobe and Pierce became the backbone of the team in the first quarter. Kobe is from Philadelphia and Pierce is from Los Angeles. But they are now one on the west coast and one in the northeast. , Life is such an impermanence. Of course, I must admit that the performance of the Lakers in the first quarter was a surprise, especially Kobe's sudden explosion. And the Celtics did not seem to have their full strength yet, Pierce played too early However, other players, especially their defense, have not yet shown the intensity and level of the Eastern Conference Finals. You must know that in the Eastern Conference Finals, they turned the Pacers into high school students." Brin’s intermittent analysis in the first quarter. The team's performance in the first quarter.
At this time, Leon made some changes to the lineup. He had already begun to have an idea in his heart, but he decided to observe the time of another game. It is not too late to wait until the third quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, both sides were placed on the bench, but Kobe remained on the court, and Leon also put Pierce in the lineup. The two players who surpassed each other in the first quarter continued to lead in the second quarter. With a group of substitute players shaking.
However, the Celtics' bench is much stronger than the Lakers' bench. Their second team has been honed. Posey, Anderson, and Bell are all players with bright functions and strong defense. Especially Anderson is a weapon against the Lakers. As soon as he played, Phil Jackson felt his temple jump, just like he saw Rodman play when he played against the Pistons against the Bulls in the late 1980s~www.mtlnovel .com~ The two sides have launched a wonderful battle. Kobe and Pierce have shown a very high level of competition. Once the team needs it, they can immediately stand up to score and relieve the pressure on the court. The score on both sides also rose from 24:24 to 33:33. It can be said that the two were evenly matched, and the team's score was evenly divided. After that, the two sides began to rotate, and the main players returned to the court. All the way to the end of the second quarter, the Celtics led the Lakers by 51:50. Half of the game.
"The first half of the game is over, a wonderful matchup, the heroism of the Lakers and the Celtics, Kobe and Pierce dominated the first half, Kobe scored 23 points and 2 assists, and Pierce 19 points and 5 assists. 6 rebounds. I think in the second half, we will definitely see a more intense confrontation, because both teams are good at knocking down their opponents in the third quarter.
The first half of the game was obviously quite intense, but the fans and the commentators There is a feeling of "both sides have not yet exerted force", it seems that it is a one-man show between Pierce and Kobe.
At this time, in the Celtics locker room, Leon stood in front of the tactical whiteboard and said to all the Celtics players: "The Los Angeles Lakers are drinking poison to quench their thirst. We will knock down in the third quarter as usual. they."
"Knocked down forever." Leon added. (To be continued.)