Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The game on the field at this time.

The Mavericks' opening effect was good. Not only did they cooperate on offense, but they also targeted Kobe on the defensive end. Kobe didn't even take a shot. If he didn't take a shot, he wouldn't even score. This start made people who were paying attention to this game think. Different, Li Shengli is the most anxious.

Although it was true that he dunked four Mavericks goals in a row, the problem arose immediately after. Mavericks coach Old Nelson suddenly ran to the sidelines and yelled.

"Shawn, Dirk, don't step on the horse and go out together, leave one person in front to defend!"

"Finley, hurry up and follow me. As soon as he passes the ball, get out of here!"

Nelson knew very well that in pure one-on-one defense, neither Bradley nor Nowitzki could stop Li Shengli, but if it was just a short-term defense around the front and cutting off Kobe's pass, one person would be enough. After all, this time is very short, and the Mavericks' defense does not leave much time for Kobe to make the ball.

As for whether Li Shengli will be forced to take charge personally, extinguishing the last hope of winning?

Nelson is not afraid of this. He is sure that Kobe will be holding the ball most of the time. Because without Kobe holding the ball first, the Lakers cannot judge their own defensive attitude towards Kobe. More importantly, Kobe needs the performance of other teammates. He has excellent touch and uses the ball to divide their defensive strength.

…

The Mavericks should have discussed the details of the game before the game. After Nelson finished shouting, the Mavericks executed very well. When Kobe ran around the screen to the edge of the penalty area on Li Shengli's side, Nowitzki pounced directly. Go out and cooperate with Finley to block front and back, and Bradley immediately goes around to defend Li Shengli.

"Dirk, here you go!" Bradley, who walked around with his back to Li Shengli, stared at Kobe's movements and said, but Kobe failed to take the shot smoothly and passed the ball to Artest on the same side. The outside stabilized.

"Beautiful, they quit!"

"Continue, continue to defend, block them both!"

Seeing the Mavericks' unusually active defense, Kobe tried again and was double-teamed. This time, he distributed the ball faster and passed it directly to Fisher who crossed the penalty area and cut to the bottom corner. Fisher completed the ball. He made a long-range shot, stumbled and finally fell into the basket.

…

Several mutual attacks followed.

The three backcourt musketeers arranged by Old Nelson and their crazy cooperation only fired near the mid-range. Under the pressure of a last-ditch battle, they felt very good. They hit 4 times in 5 consecutive attacks. Even the defensive end was in line with Old Nelson. As expected, the Lakers couldn't produce a fast break effect at all.

Kobe was restricted from the outside, and only one person was sent inside to go around Li Shengli.

Old Nelson selectively gave up the other three positions of the Lakers, and just tried to make up for the defensive holes after Kobe Bryant's ball. What surprised him was that Fisher and Artest's offense could not open up the situation, and there was only one old Green. He has become the main scoring force of the Lakers, but Green's efficiency cannot catch up with the Mavericks who are desperate today.

Phil Jackson called a timeout in the middle to no avail.

Until the end of the first quarter, Kobe only scored 4 points, and Li Shengli scored 12 points. The two were not replaced. Fisher and Artest totaled 4 points. Tyronn Lue and Fox were replaced in the middle, but they only had 3 points. , on the contrary, Green became the target of the Mavericks' proactive defense and successfully scored 13 points.

The Lakers totaled 36 points in the first quarter.

The Mavericks scored 38 points in the first quarter. Except for Bradley, the scoring in other positions was very even. Finley and Nowitzki both scored 10 points, while Strickland and Nash scored 7 and 8 respectively. point.

…

"No, we can't open up the point difference by playing like this." Kobe was a little anxious. He spent 25% or more of the time, but only completed 7.8% of the task progress of 51 points. The result of not being able to open up the point difference is ... He will also be targeted endlessly, and there is no way to make the Mavericks afraid of the efficient shots of his teammates as expected, thereby dividing the defensive power.

"Damn, something's wrong!" Li Shengli patted Kobe on the shoulder to calm down.

Plans can’t keep up with changes!

Li Shengli didn't expect that the Mavericks, who were fighting against the odds, would be in such good shape. On the contrary, his teammates were not feeling good. The reason why they were able to score such a high score of 38:36 in the first quarter was that the Lakers were able to catch up. He and Green accounted for a large share of the scoring!

"Then what should I do now? The previous idea is completely unworkable. Now...I can't force myself to fight, and I can't distribute the ball. I have no chance at all if I continue to fight like this. I have already played one quarter, and I have no time." Retreat to On the bench, Kobe became more and more impatient, and Phil Jackson did not expect that the worst situation in the plan would occur today.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Jackson called to all the players.

In fact, it is no longer the rhythm that everyone expected.

Although the conventional tactics can be used casually, as long as Li Shengli takes the ball and attacks first, he can basically determine the advantage in one quarter, but the problem is that while winning the game, everyone also wants Kobe to score, but Kobe has to hold the ball to try to attack and test the Mavericks' defensive direction.

Now... give up the previous ideas and the established tactics!

Phil Jackson's thoughts changed rapidly, and he made a decision with terrible decisiveness. He directly expressed his thoughts to Li Shengli and Kobe.

"Kobe, just attack and don't worry about anything else."

"Lee, it's up to you whether you can help Kobe this time!"

"Now go ahead and play as I said, but let me declare in advance... I will only give time to the last quarter. If it doesn't work, if there is no improvement, then don't think about the scoring title in the second half. After all, winning the game and scoring the title, We guarantee to achieve one of the goals, and obviously the former is easier."

…

After Phil Jackson finished speaking, he once again detailed the requirements for the second quarter, and there was not much time left in the timeout. Before going on the court, Kobe felt a little uncomfortable. Li Shengli hugged him and said, "Don't panic, I'm here!"

"Don't panic, I just think it's a bit too difficult."

"Didn't we agree to leave this quarter to me? Just wait!" Li Shengli pushed Kobe, and the two came on the court together to play the second quarter, and in the second quarter...because of the Mavericks' defensive focus in the first quarter Green, who was able to perform well, is still there, and Artest, who mainly defends Finley, is also absent. Only Crotty replaced Fisher and was responsible for Artest's slow speed and his inability to prevent the opponent's pick-and-roll.

It was the Lakers who attacked first in the second quarter.

Crotty didn't need to be reminded that the ball had to be passed to Kobe. After Kobe got the ball and broke into the paint under Green's high pick-and-roll, Nowitzki stepped forward and rushed forward. Finley chased from the side and behind. Lirank also came from the front.

"He's going to pass the ball!"

"Back there, Finley, block his back quickly!"

The three people making Kobe's dumplings shouted a few words, which made Kobe's face turn cold. Before the three of them were in place, they changed the ball-distribution action in the first quarter into a forced fadeaway jumper, and Finley and Nowitzki , Strickland were stunned for a moment.

"Dirk, come back quickly!" Bradley was a little panicked, because if Kobe Bryant missed, he had to choose to face Li Shengli directly. But the problem is that Nowitzki needs reaction time. Before he reaches the basket, Kobe Bryant He was already hitting the iron and producing rebounds in his first shot.

"Come back? Remember to be earlier next time!" Li Shengli shouted angrily.

In fact, after Kobe took the shot, he activated the blocking position and squeezed to the basket. Bradley was not even able to compete with the first-line crane tail center in the blocking position, and was directly picked up by Li Shengli to get the rebound.

At this brief moment, Nowitzki had already turned his body, but Kobe had already run into the penalty area under the cover of his teammates, received Li Shengli's pass and took his second shot, this time he hit.