Chapter 339: The final quarter (3)

Kobe moved his neck and eased his somewhat uncomfortable throat. Then he stood on the free throw line, looked at the basket with the ball, and shot. The ball hit the edge of the basket and missed.
Bell has just been called for a malicious foul, so the Lakers have to throw two free throws, which is a good opportunity for the Lakers. However, Kobe stood in front of the empty baskets on both sides, but lost his free throw sight. After making some adjustments, Kobe made a free throw to get the Lakers back. However, after Kobe made a free throw, he was not encouraged by his teammates, and the players on both sides who were standing outside the three-point line returned to the three-point line as if nothing happened. The only thing that changed was the scoreboard on the court, and the Lakers had one more point.
They also had another chance to attack. Fox stood on the outside line. This time he stopped passing the ball to Kobe. Malone started asking for the ball at a 45-degree step within the three-point line. Fox passed the ball to Malone. This is a very effective tactical routine for the Lakers in the regular season, no longer obsessed with the triangle offense, but let Malone go to a high position to cope with the Lakers' attack.
Malone has a strong offensive power. When he is still physically strong, he can still hit mid-range jumpers as accurately as in 1997 and 1998, so if the opponent neglects to defend him in the high position, he will use it. The jumper teaches the opponent a lesson.
At the same time, his 18-year career in the Jazz has given him good observation and response skills. He is the player in the Lakers who can find tactical breakthrough points. His passing may not directly bring scores, but it changes the situation. One goal, this is a trait all good passers have.
"Malone took the ball at 45 degrees... he watched it, passed it to Payton, then picked and rolled, and Payton dropped the ball to O'Neal... The ball was broken by Garnett!"
The Lakers completed a good cooperation. Malone passed the ball to Payton who cut from the baseline, and then made a screen for Payton. He cut out by himself, Payton walked in from the middle, and PJ-Brown went on. Front defense, O'Neal turned inside, Payton had to drop the ball to the inside and give O'Neal a dunk. As a result, the ball was in the air, but was intercepted by Kevin Garnett.
"This kid is so fast..." Ma Long couldn't help thinking in his heart. He had obviously cut the ball just now, just trying to divert Garnett's defense and create room for cooperation inside. I didn't know that Garnett did follow, but when he saw that there was a loophole in the inside line, he immediately made up for it.
While Garnett made it back, Pierce released Fox to help defend Malone, and Fox had a chance in the bottom corner. However, if Payton transfers the ball to Fox, Garnett will try his best to run to the corner to interfere with Fox. Unless the Lakers pass the ball to the point where the passing, otherwise the Celtics with Garnett will pass Fox-Leon. High-intensity training can almost fill most of the defensive loopholes.
Malone still remembers that when Garnett was still in the Timberwolves, he was an energetic guy, but every time he played against the Wolves, Malone could use his rich experience to strengthen his instigation ability to make Garnett in a semi-crazy state. Calm down and play well.
Returning to the defensive end, Garnett stood at the waist. Malone realized that the Celtics might want Garnett to eat alone. The Celtics have a good grasp of the offensive rhythm, combining inside and outside, with a degree of speed. After experiencing indiscriminate bombing at the beginning of the third quarter, a malicious foul interrupted this high-speed offense and defense. The Celtics also need a low offense to put pressure on the Lakers.
Malone reached behind Garnett, pressed his elbows against Garnett’s back, bent his knees slightly, and inserted them between Garnett’s feet. This is a very annoying defensive posture. It will make Garnett both up and down. Nate was very uncomfortable. Malone knows that Garnett is not a good enough back attacker because of the shoulder width problem. As long as enough interference is applied, his back attack efficiency will be greatly reduced.
Sure enough, Arenas slowly dribbled the ball through halftime and passed the ball to Garnett. As soon as Garnett took the ball back, he found that Malone had stuck himself up and down.
Leon knew it was going to be bad when he saw Garnett try hard to fight, he couldn't help shouting: "Use what you are good at, use what you are good at!"
But after Garnett completed his standard routine-dribbling, shaking shoulders, and leaning back, the ball has been shot. Obviously the routine is still the same, but the rhythm is wrong. The ball obviously fluttered at the moment of the shot, deviated from the established track, and hit the rim of the basket.
"Kevin Garnett missed a back jumper, but Brown grabbed an offensive rebound and he passed the ball back to Garnett... Garnett..."
Brown really tried his best tonight. He grabbed the offensive rebound before O'Neal. He didn't want points, but immediately passed the ball back to Garnett. This time Garnett no longer tried to turn his back, but took the ball and shook his shoulders, and then suddenly a crotch dribble, the lightning-like Crossover passed Karl Malone. Then he dribbled the ball through the bottom line, crossed the basket, to the other side, leaped high, turned around and dunked with one hand!
After scoring, Kevin Garnett screamed up to the sky, and then glared at Karl Malone. This guy who once played an important villain in his growth path is now no longer afraid, no matter what he is in people’s hearts. The uncrowned king of, for Garnett, either let him remain uncrowned or become the next him. Garnett obviously has to choose the former.
The number of decibels in North Shore Gardens is almost unbearable because of this goal. The Zen master, who has always been calm, has to shout at the players from the sidelines, and he can't help but call a timeout. Fox Leon sat on the sidelines with satisfaction, watching Kobe become more and more impatient and annoyed under Bell's entanglement in the offense. The connection between Kobe and his teammates is getting thinner, especially between O’Neal. When O’Neal receives the ball, Kobe will hardly participate in the offense, and when Kobe has a chance to get the ball, O’Neal can only do a return. run.
The seemingly easing relationship between the two in the Western Conference playoffs was seen by Leon at a glance. In the first half, he clearly felt the tactical distance between the two; however, Phil Jackson had to rely on Kobe's autonomous scoring. Ability, in addition to Kobe, the other backcourt players of the Lakers are old, old and weak, and there is no way to compete with the strong backcourt of the Celtics. Therefore, Jackson must delegate power to have both sides evenly matched in the first half. And Jackson needs to satisfy Kobe's ambitions, so as to thoroughly stimulate Kobe's fighting spirit and ability.
But just as Leon thought, Jackson was drinking poison to quench his thirst. He pinned his hope on Kobe's explosive energy like Jordan. Kobe did it in the Western Conference finals, but in the finals, he faced the unfathomable Kyle. The specials, the Lakers and Jackson felt a touch of despair.
Starting from the second half of the third quarter, the points difference began to gradually widen ~EbookFREE.me~ Leon deployed troops, replaced Arenas with Reid, played no point guard tactics, and sacrificed death defense. The lineup completely strangled the Lakers' offense in three minutes, allowing them to score only 4 points, and the Celtics used this to pull the point difference to 17 points in one fell swoop.
The score difference of 17 points. In 2004, the three-pointer has not been fully developed. The perimeter offense is still subject to Handcheck. O'Neal has been weak in the fourth quarter. In the Celtics' home court, North Shore Garden, in the Celtics. Under the 17-year championship desire, this is an insurmountable gap.
As Leon said in the midfield, they have to win in the third quarter and knock down the Lakers in the third quarter. They did it.
When the fourth quarter started, Fisher and Kobe hit two three-pointers, which gave the Lakers a little hope and made Jackson think of the magical reversal in Game 6 of the 1992 Finals. However, Arenas and James Posey's two three-pointers shattered the Lakers' hopes, and then Pierce shot in a row in the mid-range, opening up to 20 points.
At this time, the TV camera was given to Leon, watching the game just spend like this, he just shrugged slightly, showing a helpless expression, then sat back on the bench and waited quietly for the end of the game. In his heart, he was already thinking about how to deal with the Lakers in Game 2. (To be continued.)