I'm really strong in basketball

Chapter 96

The day after the second game, all members of the Lakers flew to Denver to prepare for the third game with the Nuggets.

The second battles of the other seven teams have also been played one after another.

The Spurs beat the Grizzlies again, 2-0.

The Kings beat the Mavericks again, also leading 2-0.

The Rockets beat the Timberwolves in a thrilling manner, tying the score 1-1.

The Pacers beat the Celtics 2-0.

The Nets beat the Knicks, leading 2:0.

The Heat beat the Hornets and took a 2-0 lead.

The Bucks upset the Pistons with a score of 1:1.

……

2004 4 Month 23 Day.

The Lakers and Nuggets ushered in the third game of the series.

The Nuggets fans chanted "Defend the home court".

The night before the game, Denver fans were in action.

They beat gongs and drums and set off fireworks and firecrackers near the hotel where the Lakers stayed, preventing the visiting team from taking a good rest.

The Lakers complained to the hotel, and the hotel staff said that the outside of the hotel was not their hotel's venue, and they had no right to manage it.

No way, the Lakers chose to call the police.

As soon as the police arrived, these crazy fans withdrew immediately.

But after the police left, these guys ran back immediately, acting even crazier.

And it's impossible for the police to guard the Lakers all night.

This is the first time Liu He has enjoyed an outside playoff move.

When he woke up the next morning, Liu He was a little dazed and didn't sleep well at all.

Seeing this, Kobe immediately taunted: "Young man, this little trouble will stump you! Sure enough, you are a rookie, a real noob!"

Looking at the complacent Kobe, O'Neal debunked from the side: "Two years ago, didn't you also eat fresh meat and cheese burgers?"

Kobe's face darkened instantly.

On the eve of Game 2002 of the [-] Western Conference Finals, Bryant ordered a bacon and cheese burger at the Hyatt Hotel in Sacramento.

Not long after eating the burger, Bryant developed stomach pains and weakness, leading to the Lakers' loss the next day.

This incident is almost the same as Jordan's "poisonous pizza" back then.

This is the playoffs, the opponent will use all means to hinder you, restrict you, and target you...

And after Jordan was targeted, Kobe was so careless and got the same trick, which can be regarded as a black spot in Kobe's career.

Seeing the pretentious Kobe being slapped in the face by O'Neal, Liu He burst into laughter: "Hahaha, I suddenly want to eat hamburgers this morning. What kind of flavor do you want? Bacon and cheese!"

Kobe: "..."

That night, 7:[-].

When the Lakers came out of the tunnel, boos erupted throughout Denver's Pepsi Center.

Although the home team fell behind 0 to 2, it did not affect the fans' support for their team at all.

The Denver fans at the scene held up the KT board they made.

"Nuggets come on!"

"Defend the home field!"

"Call back to Los Angeles!"

……

According to the 1122121 competition system, if the Nuggets want to play back to Los Angeles, they must defend at least one of the next two home games.

Soon, the two sides put on tonight's starting lineup.

The Lakers are still the same lineup.

After all, they have won two games in a row, and it is the best strategy to respond to changes without change.

From position five to position one are:
O'Neal, Malone, Liu He, Kobe, Payton.

The Nuggets started with minor adjustments.

Fifth position: Camby.

Number four: "Birdman" Chris Anderson.

Number three: Anthony.

Number two: Leonard.

Number one: Miller.

The more athletic Birdman replaced Nene. I don't know what coach Jeff Bzdelik intends to do.

Game start.

The Lakers won on the jump ball and went first on the first possession.

Kobe held the ball on the flank, and as soon as he gave the ball to O'Neal, Birdman pounced from one side and flanked O'Neal with Camby.

O'Neal immediately passed back Kobe.

Kobe held the ball and rushed in, Miller rushed over, and formed a pincer attack with Leonard.

Miller and Leonard teamed up to press, forcing Kobe out of the three-point line again.

Bryant held the ball outside and observed the Nuggets' defensive formation.

It turns out that the Nuggets are using a zone defense tonight, not man-marking the ball.

The reason for replacing Nene with Birdman is that Birdman has better running ability and is more suitable for zone defense.

While Kobe was thinking about how to break the zone defense, the referee suddenly blew his whistle.

Beep!
When Ma Long was stuck with Birdman, he moved too much and was called a foul by the referee.

Ma Long went to the referee to protest with a depressed face.

But obviously, the referee will not change the penalty.

The Nuggets attack.

Miller rushed into the paint with the cover of Birdman, but was blocked by Kobe.

Miller passes the ball to Leonard.

Leonard shook Kobe away, rushed in, and was blocked by Liu He in the three-second zone.

Leonard tried to pass the ball, but was directly surrounded by Liu He, Payton, and Kobe. The block was so tight that he couldn't pass it for a while.

Just when everyone thought Leonard was going to be mistaken, the referee blew his whistle again.

Beep!
Liu He looked at the referee with a confused face.

The referee gestures: O'Neal defends for three seconds.

The so-called three-second defense actually means that the defender spends more than three seconds in the three-second zone when there is no opponent within one arm's reach.

As we all know, big centers are surprisingly heavy, so their feet are relatively slow.

Standing at the basket is a huge deterrent.But once you leave the basket, the deterrence is greatly reduced.

This rule was specifically used by the NBA to limit O'Neal.

No way, O'Neal standing under the basket is a huge threat to any breakthrough player.

And when the defensive three-second rule was introduced, O'Neal's ability to protect the frame dropped significantly.

Of course, the rules are the rules, and whistleblowing depends on the referee.In many cases, whether you can blow it or not depends on the attitude of the referee.

Tonight, just after the start of the game, the referee gave Malone and O'Neal consecutive fouls.

Obviously, tonight will be the home whistle for the Nuggets.

O'Neal made a three-second violation and the Nuggets got a free throw.

Andre Miller made a solid free throw.

0: 1.

The Nuggets continued to attack.

Camby subconsciously led O'Neal out of the three-second zone again. O'Neal was blown once, and he already knew the referee's attitude tonight, so he naturally didn't dare to stay in the three-second zone again.

After Miller broke through, he found the birdman who made an air cut. Birdman caught the ball and rushed into the unguarded basket for an easy layup.

"Roar!"

The birdman Anderson, who landed, threw his fists and roared, while running towards the backcourt, actively participating in the return defense.

0: 3.

Lakers offense.

As soon as O'Neal got the ball, Birdman Anderson rushed over and double-teamed O'Neal.

Birdman's athletic ability is too outstanding, he can run fast and jump high.

O'Neal didn't have a chance to make a shot, and then distributed the ball.

Payton took the ball and tried to break through, but was immediately double-teamed by Miller and Leonard.

Payton gave Kobe the ball, and Kobe broke through again.

Birdman Anderson jumped up and cooperated with Leonard to double-team Kobe.

Kobe made a wonderful pass to Malone, and Malone went straight to the basket.

Unexpectedly, Anderson was so fast that he pounced back again, and cooperated with Camby to defend Malone. Malone resisted the shots of the two and missed.

Camby took advantage of the situation to protect the rebound.

Birdman Anderson has a strong presence on the defensive end.

The Nuggets attack.

With the help of his teammates, Anthony broke through to the basket and missed a jumper under the defense of Malone.

But Birdman Anderson took off the offensive rebound and gave it to Anthony.

Anthony made another jumper.

Swish!
0: 5.

Anderson's presence on the offensive end is also overwhelming.

His performance earned him a huge ovation from the Pepsi Center crowd, and the Denver crowd cheered him on wildly:

"Chris, that's it, let the guests from Los Angeles know how good we are!"

"Birdman, the sky is your limit, let our restricted area become a no-fly zone."

"Chris, I love you to death!"

……

A player with a distinctive personality like Chris Anderson, although the team's low position is mediocre and just a substitute, he also gained a lot of fans.

The Lakers attack again.

Kobe broke through to the free throw line, and the Nuggets immediately shrank their formation and surrounded Kobe.

Kobe forced the shot, but still missed.

Birdman Anderson picked off the rebound and found Miller immediately. Miller hit the ground in the frontcourt and passed Anthony, and Anthony dunked with one arm.

boom!
0: 7.

The Pepsi Center Arena exploded in an instant.

"Nuggets, come on, we will win tonight!"

"Kill the Los Angeles people!"

"Denver Plateau, anyone who comes here has to kneel."

……

This is the best start for the Nuggets since the series.

If it keeps playing like this, it will not be a problem for the Nuggets to tie the score to 2-1.

Beep!
Phil Jackson quickly called a timeout.

In the past, zone defense was also illegal in the NBA.

NBA players and head coaches generally believe that man-to-talent is the way real men play, and zone defense is a tactic that girls only use.

But at the beginning of the 21st century, Iverson and O'Neal rose strongly.

People gradually discovered that man-to-man could not guard against the two of them.And sometimes it's too late to double-team after they get the ball.

As for double-teaming before they get the ball, that's against the law.

So the league made a change and launched a zone defense.

Store at least two defenders near the area where O'Neal or Iverson is active at any time, and they can double-team the moment they catch the ball.

This is the treatment of the real strong.

This is why Iverson and O'Neal's dominance declined after that year.

The league had to come up with rules to limit them.

And only girls would call on the alliance to change the rules to help themselves.

Between O'Neal and Iverson, O'Neal is naturally the bigger victim.

After all, Iverson is a small player, and he can still catch the ball by running a lot on the outside.

And O'Neal is a big center. Once targeted, he really can't get the ball.

Therefore, the Lakers' tactics of "every ball must go through O'Neal's hands" in the first two games became invalid, which is why the Lakers fell behind.

Holding the tactical board, Phil said: "Facing the zone defense, we need firepower, strong outside firepower. Liu, it's time for you to stand up."

Liu He nodded.

Therefore, Phil drew up a set of tactics specifically for Liu He.

After the explanation, the Lakers are ready to play.

Kobe asked Liu He slightly worried: "How is your condition?"

After all, everyone on the Lakers team knew that Liu He didn't sleep well last night.

Kobe was worried that Liu He was in an abnormal state and did not perform well.

Liu He said with a sinister smile, "I'm just a little sleepy, and I haven't eaten bacon and cheese burgers."

Kobe: "..."

I want to kill someone on horseback.

O'Neill, Malone, and Payton stood aside, watching Liu He and Kobe bickering, and laughed.

Liu He said again: "Just kidding, just kidding, don't mind. Don't worry, as long as you pass the ball to me, I will definitely make it. After all, I am only 20 years old, unlike you four old guys, If you don’t sleep all night, you won’t get hard.”

O'Neill, Malone, and Payton, who were laughing at first, stopped laughing in an instant.

No, who is the old guy?
no no no!Who can't get up hard?

We are very hard.

Kobe was also speechless.

I'm only 26 years old, how can I be an old guy?Don't put me with the three of them.

Although trailing 0 to 7, the Lakers did not panic at all and were still chatting and laughing. This is absolute strength.

So what if you get 7 points?

Pause back, and the game continues.

Kobe attacked with the ball on the left side, broke through, and attracted the Nuggets to double-team.

At the same time, Ma Long stepped up from the bottom line and set a cover for Liu He.

Liu He easily got rid of the defender and got an open opportunity.

Kobe returned a pass to Liu He.

Liu He aimed at the basket, squatted down, raised the ball, moved his fingers...

Swish!
in.

3: 7.

Everything has two sides.

The zone defense can better limit the breakthrough players and the big players in the low post, but it is less threatening to the outside shooters.

Only needing a cover from his teammates, Liu He can run out of the open space more easily than when he is being man-marked.

After scoring the goal, Liu He turned around and returned to defense. When he passed the Nuggets bench, he shouted loudly to coach Jeff Bzdelik: "Mr. Jeff, first!"

Bzdelik's cheek twitched.

This rookie!

Opposite Phil Jackson crossed his arms and smiled.

This disciple of mine is dedicated to the mentality of the opponent's head coach.

The Nuggets attack.

Camby pulled O'Neal out of the basket again, and Birdman Anderson received a pass from Miller and rushed to the basket.

However, Liu He quickly assisted in the defense and helped Malone trap Birdman.

The advantage of Birdman is that he is full of passion and can run and jump. The disadvantage is his passing ability.

Surrounded by the Lakers at the basket, Birdman couldn't find a chance to make a pass, so he had to force his shot and was slapped and slapped away by Liu He beside him.

O'Neal picked up the basketball and went straight to Kobe.

Kobe pushes fast.

The Nuggets retreated quickly, and Miller and Leonard blocked Kobe.

Kobe took his time and flicked the ball to the wing.

Liu He, who was already standing on the flank, caught the ball with both hands, and shot directly without waiting for the Nuggets to set up a defensive formation.

Swish!
6: 7.

Liu He raised two fingers high at Jeff Bzdelik.

"the second!"

Bzdelik frowned, not because of Liu He's harassment, but because of Liu He's projection ability.

This guy's three-point shot is too accurate.

Especially the open three-pointer, almost hits every shot.

But Bzdelik did not give up zone defense because of this, because zone defense is already the last desperate struggle of the Nuggets.

back.

Anthony made a mid-range jumper.

6: 9.

Lakers offense.

Kobe broke through with the ball on one side.

Liu He ran without the ball on the other side, relying on Ma Long's cover to run out of opportunities.

Kobe immediately passed the ball over.

Liu He catches the ball, pulls up and shoots.

Swish!
9: 9.

Liu He scored three consecutive three-pointers and instantly helped the Lakers tie the score.

Bzdelik stood up directly, and shouted from the sidelines: "Melon, you come and watch that rookie, and the others continue to defend the zone defense!"

Anthony nodded.

The Nuggets are playing a hybrid defense of man-to-man and zone defense.

(End of this chapter)