The rest is just noise

Hill the Hermit

The Celtics' momentum was halted at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

Although things went smoothly for most of the first quarter, the Lakers took the lead with their excellent shooting touch.

However, a temporary lead is far less gratifying than the effectiveness of the strategy.

So although the Lakers are playing smoothly, the Celtics believe that as long as they can choke Wilson, they will take the lead sooner or later.

However, the strategy of blocking Wilson suddenly didn't work. Wilson's method of solving the problem was not to find the touch, but to pass the ball.

Since the Celtics did everything they could to limit him and regarded Rodman and Ben as a burden on the Lakers' offense, he took advantage of this and constantly attracted the defense to create scoring opportunities for them by attacking the middle.

In those few minutes, Rodman and Ben dominated the Lakers' scoring.

Wilson's approach caused chaos for the Celtics. If the price of restricting Wilson is to make Rodman and Ben, two people who should not perform well on the offensive end, become threats worthy of vigilance, then restricting Wilson has another advantage.

What's the meaning?

After the first quarter, 33 to 26, the Lakers led the Celtics by 7 points.

The Celtics' insistence on locking up Wilson puzzled Laimbeer.

"Benj is not a player who can't contribute if you don't let him score." Laimbeer said, "Although he didn't score in the first quarter, he sent 6 assists. Does such a defense really make sense?

"

The Celtics have no answer for that either.

In fact, tonight is the real finals. Some lessons should have been learned two days ago, but it was a pity that the Lakers did not give them any chance that night.

Now, they had no choice but to follow the established strategy. In the second quarter, the Celtics replaced Sampson and continued to let Malone rest.

Louis expressed admiration for Daley's courage.

Because this kind of rotation puts pressure on Grant Hill.

The third-year Hill is a player that the Celtics are focusing on cultivating. However, a third-position ace who lacks special skills and stable shooting ability is synonymous with instability in the playoffs.

For the Lakers, the rotation is orderly.

Since both Malone and Sampson were replaced, it would be a bit confusing to use Ben again.

Therefore, Louis replaced him with Buck Williams, and then asked Kobe Bryant to replace Liu Yuqing.

Wilson, who played the entire first quarter, continued to play in the second quarter.

The Lakers are clearly in the lead, but Wilson doesn't feel good either.

Well, Louis didn't replace him like a normal coach.

The worse Wilson's hand feels, the more Louis has to keep him on the court to get his feeling back.

Moreover, Hill had little success in the quarter against Wilson, and now the Celtics are putting pressure on this well-born young man. It is perfect for Benj to deal with him.

What is surprising is that the real flag-bearer of the Celtics is not Hill, but Mark Price, who seems to be too old.

Everyone agreed that Dumars had an advantage against Price, but as a result, the former All-Star guard, who only had skills and experience, used his strong court control and quick and accurate outside shooting to open up the situation for the team.

When Price returned to his youth and scored 10 points and 1 assist in four minutes, almost taking over all the Celtics' scoring, Laimbeer exaggerated as always: "At this moment, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman,

Possessed by the souls of Frank Ramsey and Joe Joe White, Price is not fighting alone. He has inherited the long and glorious history of the Celtics. The Lakers cannot easily win two consecutive victories in the Finals!

"

There is really no one like him with his butt crooked like this.

In the eyes of many neutral fans, Laimbeer has far surpassed Tom Heinsohn and has become the most biased commentator in the history of professional basketball.

The background of Price's outburst was Kobe's poor performance and Duma's

Si was sleepwalking on the court, Rodman's offense dragged down the collective, but Wilson still couldn't find his touch.

caused.

In the first quarter, Wilson could still pass the ball to relieve the situation. Now that his teammates are not in good condition, he must shoulder the responsibility himself.

I tried shooting a few more times, but still couldn't feel it.

Then came Price's explosion.

Louis, who should have called a timeout, remained indifferent after the score was overtaken. He just said to Wilson: "Benj, if you keep playing like this, a certain low-quality All-Star center in New York City will be very happy."

Wilson, who was still a little hesitant, suddenly changed his face.

There were sparks in his eyes, and his expression was more serious than ever.

Kobe didn't know what was happening, he just looked at Wilson.

Then, he heard Coach Lu's roar.

"Bean, from now on you have to guard against Mark Price!" As for Dumas, Louis had nothing to say to the old guy. The chain fell too suddenly.

However, Louis will not abandon him because of this, after all, everyone has bad times.

Louis just turned around and called Barros, asking him to prepare to replace Dumars, and then asked the tragedy man to get up and replace Rodman when the ball was dead on the court.

Lakers offensive possession.

Since the start of the game, Wilson, who has made 0 of 8 shots outside the paint, has enjoyed being left one meter short, which made him even more angry.

Wilson waved to Bryant for the pick-and-roll.

This was a pick-and-roll at the second position. Kobe turned into a wall of flesh and just dropped down. Wilson actually used his pick-and-roll to attract the Celtics' attention. In fact, he was going in the opposite pick-and-roll direction.

Hill lacked experience, and (Shanton) Anderson lacked speed. There were some problems between the two. Wilson drove straight into the paint and scored with a dunk directly across the two Celtics insiders.

"Is this ball the conqueror's declaration of resurrection?"

Watching Wilson's goal, Louis knew that the Celtics were about to face the most heartbreaking thing.

Although they worked hard to limit Wilson's shooting touch, if Benj gave up shooting and only relied on breakthrough points, the Celtics still couldn't do anything to him.

This is the value and power of a three-position super player with no blind spots in skills.

Wilson is theoretically unassailable.

Even on a night when his shooting touch is so poor, his breakthrough can still be easily accomplished.

Hill was undoubtedly stimulated. After that, when facing Wilson, his talent also got a chance to show off. He passed Benj head-on, shot into the paint like a meteor, and was stopped by Rodman's rough foul.

The Lakers were able to make substitutions.

Back in the game, Hill, who was confident that he could break Wilson's defense on his own, did not call a pick-and-roll, but still chose to let his teammates open up and use his explosive power to forcefully break the defense.

With almost the same action and the same angle, Wilson was passed over again.

Is it that simple?

Not far away, Louis sneered. Of course it wasn't that simple. The moment Hill, who was in a hurry, got rid of Wilson, he found a Lakers player with a similar height to himself standing in front of him. Then he couldn't continue thinking.

Just as his vision went dark, his body bumped into the opponent uncontrollably.

The referee's whistle blew and Hill was called for hitting someone with the ball.

Wilson said caustically: "Now you know why New York traded you?"

Hill is a refined person who plays calmly on the court and never talks trash.

Wilson suddenly became angry, and he was also a little confused.

To say that Daly is not disappointed with Hill would be a lie. How terrible is it that a 25-year-old All-Star forward is useless in the Finals?

No matter how good Hill's talent is, his immediate combat ability can never realize it.

During this period, Hill should have been supporting the team, but if it hadn't been for Price's explosion, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Hill's performance made Daley afraid to bet on him again.

This also means that the Celtics will have fewer rotation options in the future.

Disrupting the regular rotation and leaving Hill on the field like tonight will never happen again.

Then, Price's explosive moments were like the transformed Ultraman. There seemed to be a time limit. When the time came, even Kobe could limit him.

None of the tricks Price used to beat Dumars would work in front of Kobe.

There are two things that Kobe has improved the most this year. One is tactical awareness, which is a subtle change. The other is defense. Stevens, a well-known defensive guru in the league, has personally trained him. His progress can be described as rapid.

Not only was Price unable to use the change of pace to deal with Kobe, he was also unable to bully the latter's lack of confrontation because he himself was the weakest person on the court.

Kobe's current defense is equipped with defensive skills, both in terms of pressure and skills. What is lacking is confrontation and experience.

And the experience he lacks is not just general experience, but the experience of guarding super giants like Wilson and Jordan. Price obviously does not belong to that level. All his intentions have been seen through, and all his fake moves have been seen through.

The outbreak was like a dream. Although it could not last long, it was sweet enough and bought time for Sampson and Malone.

Five minutes passed in the second quarter, the Lakers took the lead again, and Daley also breathed a sigh of relief, replacing Sampson and Malone.

In any case, this difficult transition stage was finally over.

They got good news and bad news. The good news was that Price still had oil and could be trusted.

The bad news is that Hill's playoff attributes are becoming more and more obvious, making it difficult to entrust him with important tasks.

The impact of bad news is so severe that good news seems to have no consoling effect.