From sparring to superstar

Chapter 287 285. What is the invincible OK combination?

When the Lakers attack, O'Neal continues to pass the ball to Devin George.

After being beaten hand-to-hand by Jordan, Devin George caught the ball in the open and missed... again.

Samaki Walker cuts in and rushes in... Matt Halprin moves in first and blocks it, and Li Ao pulls it back to get the defensive rebound.

In the first two rounds, the Lakers' offensive style was very simple, extremely simple, leaving the two role players to work hard.

Zen Master expected to use two role players to disrupt the opponent's defense or simply score in two more rounds. Unfortunately, the opponent was not fooled and responded steadily.

He was not surprised. The opponent was the regular season champion. It was not that easy to predict. He was just a little regretful. He whistled and directed the players to change their playing style and got straight to the point.

Devin George almost made 3 of 1 shots in the last round, but Jackson has no confidence that this guy can make the next shot after hitting the iron twice.

Jordan has now fully integrated into his defensive role - using the static strength of the interior to fight slow shooters, shrinking the wings to block cutting players and trapping the interior.

For veterans like Rick Fox and Horry, they can handle this kind of defense, but for Devin George, this kind of defense is equivalent to destroying his poor offensive ability.

After receiving instructions from Zen Master, the defense of the Lakers players became more rough. From the muscular point guard Fisher to the 146-kilogram Shark, the Lakers' five starters were fierce in every confrontation.

As analyzed by Li Ao, the Zen master was ready to overturn the table!
Last season, the opponents in the Western Conference playoffs all had the same idea - we don't want to score inside, we will compete with the Sharks. We have so many people on the outside, I don't believe we can't beat a Kobe.

Zen Master said that you can have as many outside stars as you like, come on, I will use a second outside player besides Kobe to compete with you and I will lose.

But Li Ao asked the nagging Zen master to tighten his pants.

Li Ao struggled to catch the ball while relying on Kobe, turned around and made a mid-range shot!
Relying on barely top-notch back-up skills, Li Ao, as Master Zen expected, had difficulty getting a good shot under Kobe's defense.

But he can just shoot the ball against the defense!

At this time, Kobe was much calmer than Zen Master. He had already regarded Li Ao as a player of the same level as him. He was not surprised by the opponent's posture when he threw the ball.

When the Lakers attacked, O'Neal pressed O'Neal Jr. to receive the ball.

Matt Halprin and Jordan did not double-team to prevent O'Neal from catching the ball in advance. Their focus on assisting O'Neal was to prevent O'Neal from digging in and protecting defensive rebounds.

O'Neal just caught the ball and pushed the Clippers defense down the line. He passed the ball to Kobe in transition.

Kobe passed around Devin George to catch the ball, but Li Ao blocked him immediately.

Like Jordan in the last century, Kobe Bryant was overwhelmed by his screen ability. At most, he could catch the ball through screens. When encountering a player with a stronger pursuit awareness, it would be difficult for him to get rid of the defense.

But it doesn't matter to him. He plays the big spider one-on-one, breaks through, moves laterally, jumps, floats in the air, controls his body balance, and throws the ball...

A picturesque mid-range shot!

After landing, Kobe made a hissing sound from his mouth.

After retreating from defense, he stuck to Li Ao and said, "It's your turn, Spider-Man, let's see which of us is better in singles!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ao ran to the right baseline, put his hands on his hips, and said, "You are stronger."

Kobe:? ? ?
You hit two on horseback, and I only hit one, so why don't you hit me?
Kobe said angrily: "You can only rely on Jordan?"

"Don't rely on O'Neal if you have the ability."

Kobe shut up.

He is ambitious, but he is not stupid. What he wants is for O'Neal to be his little brother, not to lose this thigh... At least now his ambition and conceitedness are not that big.

Jordan turned around from behind and rushed to the right side of the three-second zone to make an emergency stop. He took a step forward and then turned around to avoid Samakhi Walker's defense. He made a mid-range shot from the baseline.

The speed is average, not slow, and he doesn't look like a 39-year-old veteran, but he's not fast either. Devin George and Samaki Walker are both faster than Jordan.

But Jordan's skills and rhythm were too strong, better than everyone present, and Devin George and Samaki Walker were shaken and almost collided with each other.

When the Lakers attack, Kobe sews his mouth shut. He is not going to talk anymore tonight and will fire with all his strength!
Kobe played the entire first quarter and made 7 of 4 shots. Except for one counterattack layup, the remaining 6 shots were concentrated in mid-range and short range. He surprisingly scored 8 points in a single quarter without taking free throws.

It's not that he never broke into the paint, but it wasn't for the sake of taking a shot. Instead, he messed up the Clippers' defense and sent the ball to O'Neal.

O'Neal didn't score many points because of this, and the Clippers insisted on blocking him. Even if Kobe scored in singles from the outside and wing shooters made catches and shots, the Clippers did not change their defensive intentions.

But O'Neal passed the ball well, with 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in a single quarter. Both assists were three-point assists. Fisher and Horry, who came on the bench, each scored a goal.

Fisher also relied on the ball passed by Kobe or O'Neal, and after attracting the defense, he distributed the ball and got two assists in a single quarter.

Gentry only wants to say one word about the Lakers' style of play-Gan!

He shamelessly called his teacher, and together they discussed how to deal with the Lakers' defeat of the 76ers last season.

As a result, the nagging head coach on the opposite side did not use the tactics that night and gave up the triangle offense!
Fortunately, he was well-prepared. If he couldn't defend himself, he would attack directly without giving the opponent a chance to take advantage and slowly delay the attack.

李敖首节打了10分钟拿到8分、乔丹打了9分钟也拿到8分，两人携手带队，以26比25领先湖人队1分进入节间休息！
On the other side of the bench, Master Zen looked at the score on the technical stage and wanted to applaud his opponent.

Many people ridiculed his coaching as "giving the ball away." He only called timeouts less than once in a game, and the responsibility for responding to the situation was given to the players to take advantage of the situation.

But in fact, he had basically done what he had to do before the game, including predicting the opponent's tactics and making targeted arrangements.

This kind of coaching method can allow stars to play more freely on the court, and can also cultivate their ability to independently play key balls.

Tonight, he successfully predicted the opponent's prediction. He did not let O'Neal be the main attack point of the triangle offense and Kobe Bryant was the pivot, avoiding falling into the opponent's defensive trap. He also did a good job in defense at the basket and on the wings, limiting the small number of offenses. O'Neal, Matt Halprin, and Big Q scored on the bench.

But he did such a good job, but he was still lagging behind in the first quarter...the opposing coach had something.

But Master Zen thinks the most important things are Spider-Man and the God of Basketball!
He feels that this series is extremely interesting. He was trailing the Trail Blazers 1-2 in the last round, but it was not as stressful as this quarter of the game.

This was also what he expected.

Since the opponent is also directly fighting for the star, let's keep fighting!See who can have the last laugh!
...

In the second quarter, the two teams continued to attack!

The fans at the scene and in front of the TV enjoyed watching it, but the players on the field were under great pressure.

Against Li Ao, Jordan, Bibby, Odom... and Kobe, whether it is the former or the latter, the pressure is quite high. They are the decisive factor in victory or defeat.

The role players are not easy either. Their playing style is simple, but the pressure is not small at all. If they can seize one more opportunity and score one more goal, they can give one more point of help to the main offensive player.

The Clippers role players have stronger personal abilities, the Lakers role players have clearer functions and richer experience, the Clippers role players have a stronger ability to seize opportunities after discovering them, and the Lakers role players have a better vision for discovering opportunities. The cooperation was even better, but the fight was evenly matched.

O'Neal, who looks very relaxed, is actually not relaxed at all, and what he does is hard work.

He has to pay full attention.

There will always be times when the opponent's double attack is not in place, and he has to seize the opportunity to score the ball.

There will always be times when Kobe hits the iron in his direction, and he has to seize the opportunity to grab the ball and complete the second offense.

There will always be times when Kobe is blocked and cannot take a shot. He has to be ready to catch the ball and seize the opportunity to hit the ball and distribute the ball...

His role is no less important than that of Kobe Bryant, who is the main attacker. On the contrary, it is more important.

He is a scoring point, a defensive pillar, a rusher, and the core axis of this style of play... He is the one who takes the back seat when Kobe strikes more than a dozen times in every game.

He consumes less physical energy than a hard chisel, but he consumes much more energy than Kobe who only needs to think about how to put the ball into the basket.

Especially tonight, he needs to be more focused than he was in the first round.

None of the Clippers' insiders are as good defensively as the Sugarman, but they have many tricks, and the four centers take turns.

Fortunately, he has started playing this way in the Western Conference series since the playoffs last season.

This style of play was brought by Zen Master. He was originally unwilling to accept it. Doesn't this mean he has become a role player?

However, in the three playoffs from 97 to 99, he was beaten 97-4 by the Jazz in the 1 playoffs. In the 98 playoffs, his head was shaved off by the Jazz. In 99, he was even beaten by the Jazz. Duncan, a sophomore, and the admiral after a serious injury shaved their heads... He accepted the Zen master's arrangement and changed his style of play. After 2000, he fell in love with this style of play and devoted himself to it, playing round after round. Well played.

This style of play can win games and lead directly to the West!
A role player is a role player. As long as he can pass the Western Conference, he can drive a Ferrari with one hand among the insiders in the East, and there are a bunch of gangsters on the outside in the East. Then it will be his turn to fly with Kobe.

In this section, the Clippers have the upper hand!
The Clippers and Lakers were tied 12-13 in the first half of the quarter and entered the official timeout tied 38-38.

But in the second half of the quarter, the Clippers scored 18 points and made several counterattacks!

The Lakers only scored 9 points in the second half of the quarter, and it was a feast of iron for half a quarter.

At this time, it was O'Neal who took advantage of Campbell to take a rest for half a quarter. He rushed madly and scored two goals. He also scored 4 points with 2 of 6 free throws, helping the Lakers hold on to the score and prevent the game from happening. Being beaten into flowers.

单节30比22，比分来到56比47，快船队领先湖人队9分进入下半场。

Gentry was a little regretful that the Lakers' outside attack phase did not overlap with Campbell's on-field phase, otherwise the point difference would have been even greater.

But he was already happy to have a 9-point lead at halftime...a little too early.In the third quarter, Kobe, who played two irons and failed to score a point in the second half of the second quarter, went berserk!
He threw 13 times in a single quarter and all of them were successful. He made 13 of 8 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers. Plus 1 extra free throw, he scored 18 points in a single quarter!
O'Neal also went berserk after falling behind by 9 points at halftime. He did not have a single shot in the entire quarter and only scored two goals in 5 shots. However, he made 4 of 3 free throws and grabbed 5 offensive rebounds in a single quarter.

科比单节18分，奥尼尔单节7分8板2助攻1抢断2盖帽，率领湖人队狂飙36分的同时，将快船队得分限制在22分！
83 to 78, the Lakers overtook the Clippers by 5 points entering the final quarter!
...

Destruction!

Li Ao felt the meaning of this word personally.

During the halftime break, they were sure that the opponent would give it their all in the third quarter. This is not difficult to predict, as the Lakers have always been like this.

But it’s also a bit too fierce!
No wonder Kobe stopped shooting after hitting the iron twice in the second half of the second quarter, and passed the ball to Rick Fox and Lynch Hunter, who had a bad touch and were left open.

The co-author is taking a break to hold back his ultimate move!

O'Neal suddenly rushed forward in the second half of the second quarter. It turned out to be because it was almost halftime and he had time to recover his strength and help Kobe create some rest time on the offensive end.

Rick Fox and Lynch Hunter found their touch by throwing a combined seven or eight times in the second half of the second quarter.

I didn't expect that the old KFC man with thick eyebrows and big eyes would be so mean-spirited!

But this is also a trust in the strength of the OK combination. I believe that O'Neal can single-handedly prevent the point difference from getting too big in the second half of the second quarter. I believe that Kobe can go on a rampage in the third quarter. These two people also repaid with practical actions. gained the trust of the head coach.

Seeing Gentry seemingly wearing a mask of pain, Li Ao felt sorry for the head coach.

Jordan is now hopeless.

The old man played 17 minutes in the first half. Even if it was a playoff game, he should have rested until the last two or three minutes of the third quarter before playing, and then played in the final quarter according to the specific situation.

But Gentry played 3 minutes in the third quarter and replaced Jordan to play the rest of the time.

Li Ao didn't blame Gentry for being confused. The opponent was too fierce.

Facing the OK combination that was firing on all cylinders was completely different from being a spectator on the sidelines and watching the live broadcast. Li Ao could see how helpless his hapless head coach was in the third quarter.

Now that the game has reached this point, Li Ao has nothing to worry about. There is still one quarter left, and the 5-point difference is not an unreachable gap. Just do it!

In the fourth quarter, Li Ao and Bibby were on full fire, and Odom looked for opportunities to provide support.

In this section, the two brothers performed better than the OK group.

The OK team is also human. After a brutal performance in the third quarter, their performance returned to normal in the final quarter and they were unable to counterattack the opposing senior brothers who were playing havoc with their lives.

But the Lakers have encountered this situation many times and have rich experience.

The OK combination will focus on defense.

As for the offense, after feeding so many balls to his teammates, it’s time to trust them.

The ones here refer to Fisher and Horry.

The OK combination, plus Samaki Walker and Mark Madsen, who seized the opportunity to eat the pie, scored a total of 14 points, which was not as high as Bibby and Li Ao's combined 18 points in the final quarter.

But Fisher and Horry scored 10 points in the final quarter, and the Lakers scored 24 points in a single quarter!
Although Bibby and Li Ao worked together to lead the Clippers to 26 points in the final quarter, the Lakers still relied on Fisher and Horry's accurate long-range shots at critical moments to defend the victory until the end!
科比拿到33分5板6助攻3抢断1盖帽，奥尼尔21分16板7助攻1抢断4盖帽，费舍尔18分5助攻……

The Lakers defeated the Clippers 107-103!
李敖28分、乔丹19分5助攻、毕比21分6助攻、奥多姆13分7板3助攻、小奥尼尔11分13板2盖帽，依旧未能守住第一个主场，大比分0比1落后！

...

After the game, Li Ao took a long bath, ate three burgers and two cups of Fatboy Happy Water, and finally regained his composure and escaped from the strong sense of oppression.

Facing the top OK combination in the playoffs, this is how it feels!

He estimates that this year's OK group will be even better than last year's.

O'Neal has better skills and more tricks. Kobe is still in the growth stage, so it is normal for him to become stronger every year.

The Lakers' dominance declined, and they were forced to five games by the Trail Blazers in the first round. It wasn't that the OK combination was no longer good, it was just that the Lakers' role players were worse.

However, the Lakers only signed two people last summer. The undrafted Medvedenko and Richmond, who was regarded as a favorite during the offseason, proved that the Lakers management and coaching staff still trust those veterans.

Tonight's final quarter proved the Lakers' unique vision. Others are saying that the Lakers failed to recruit during the offseason, but at critical moments, how many role players are more trustworthy than Fisher and Horry?

He opened the system, and the first prompt was the mission progress of Operation Shark Contortion. The highest reward was already unobtainable. Even if he won the next 4 games, he would only be able to get 2 additional basic attribute point rewards.

But he never thought that this task would be able to get the full reward.

He opened the game report for tonight's game.

Just as he remembered, tonight, the OK team played the whole game!
It's normal for Kobe to play the entire game. It's been the norm for him in the Western Conference playoffs in the past three seasons.

But O'Neal played the entire game... the last time was when the Western Conference Finals reached the tiebreaker in 00.

Even in the only game the Lakers lost in the playoffs last season, O'Neal did not play the entire game in regular time.

Judging from the score, a 4-point difference is not a big gap.

And the game hasn't even reached the final moment, and the Lakers are already relying on the veteran's key balls...

After losing a playoff game, apart from the pressure brought by the terrifying strength of the OK combination, Li Ao didn't have too many negative emotions. He will always lose in the playoffs. With a win-win system of 7 games, the winner is the one who laughs at the end.

As for losing the home court advantage... seven games were played at the Staples Center. Does he care about this?

After packing his backpack, Li Ao left the lounge where he was the only one and came to the training ground. Jordan was scolding his teammates. He heard it when he was eating burgers in the locker room just now.

Seeing his teammates change from being overwhelmed by pressure at the end of the game to anger, Li Ao felt that it was great to have an old basketball god. He didn't need to work hard to adjust the emotions of his teammates after the game.

As for whether the teammates' anger is directed at Jordan or the Lakers...it doesn't matter. The important thing is not to be overwhelmed by the pressure.

Beating the opponent until they are unable to escape from the pressure and making the opponent lose confidence is also the scary thing about the OK combination.

In the playoffs last season, the four teams that played against the Lakers seemed to have given up in the last two games of the series. Even Iverson could not regain the confidence of his teammates.

Li Ao acted as if he didn't see his teammates and left directly.

Jordan also pretended not to see Li Ao. The big spider would definitely retaliate when scolded and ridiculed.

The two of them ignored each other tacitly, and the teammates were expecting the boss to be scolded as well, so they were balanced.

I didn’t expect these two people to be so shameless!
...

After the first game of the Los Angeles Derby, public opinion was not as one-sided in favor of the OK combination as Li Ao thought.

The media and experts are all objectively analyzing this game and the next direction of this series... There is no shortage of popularity in this series, and there is no need for meaningless hype.

For games like this, fans prefer to watch more professional analysis. The media's forced hype is to attract fans' attention. Only professional analysis can retain fans.

Even Lakers fans, there are only a few pure supporters who don't understand football at all and don't watch the game at all but only watch the score.

The arrogance of most of the Clippers fans has also subsided a lot at this time. The most discussed topic in the forum has become a discussion on how to defeat the OK combination.

After Li Ao heard such public opinion from Vivian, he was a little surprised, but he didn't pay attention to it and didn't go online to look. He didn't have that free time. Tomorrow was the second battle. He had to seize the time to prepare for the battle. He spent the entire morning I'm watching the video, watching it over and over again, and analyzing what I did well and what I didn't do well last night, and what I need to do better.

However, public opinion had no impact on him, but it had an impact on his teammates.

After lunch, he came to Memorial Stadium and clearly felt the confidence of his teammates returning!

It's not just a matter of using anger to deflect pressure after being scolded by Jordan, but a real rebound. The teammates' enthusiasm for preparing for the game seems to be even higher than before the Los Angeles Derby started.

He heard his teammates actively discussing last night's game and exchanging their thoughts.

After losing the first game, they clearly felt the invincible strength of the OK combination.

But just because they can play against the playoff version of the OK combination and have the possibility of winning, their confidence has greatly increased... Is this the OK combination?Li Ao rubbed his chin, not envious at all... Gee!The beard grows faster!

In the afternoon training, Gentry was much calmer than in the third quarter last night. He did not rush to adjust his playing style, but focused on the details.

After calming down, he confirmed one thing - there was only an OK combination on the opposite side.

Although the opponent is still the strongest team in the league, they really pushed the opponent to a dead end last night. If the details can be done better and the responses can be calmer, it is not impossible for them to win!

Several mistakes in on-the-spot adjustments in the first game frustrated Gentry, but it also tempered his will. He himself did not notice his subtle changes.

But old coach Doug Collins discovered this. He felt that Gentry might open the way to become a real famous coach through this Los Angeles Derby...

The day's rest time passed quickly, and on May 5th, the second game of the Los Angeles Derby arrived!
……

……

Hey, hey, I can only be short and concise today. Xiaofeng slept in in the morning and played mahjong with his elders all afternoon. He only had time to code in the evening. After finally going back to his hometown, he should spend more time with his elders. If you have time to write, write more~ Xiaofeng knocks me, thank you friends who are still supporting Xiaofeng~
(End of this chapter)