The Way of the Center

Although Van Gundy has a strict rotation, the Thunder's three young players played almost 40 minutes in each game. ΔHe doesn't want his players to play so hard, but if he doesn't rely on these three energetic young people, it is impossible for the Thunder to rank tenth in the Western Conference.

In contrast to the Los Angeles Lakers, after the first quarter, only Gasol returned first among the five tigers in the second quarter, and everyone else was still resting on the bench. If a team wants to win the championship, the depth of the bench is essential. The Lakers' bench players are all good puzzles.

Jordan Farmar is now the guy who controls the overall situation of the Lakers on the court. This small guard is one of the players with the best court awareness in the 06 draft. He is very good at controlling the rhythm on the court, so Phil Jackson is also very relieved to hand over the ball control to this 22-year-old boy.

After dispatching a few pick-and-rolls, he immediately got a chance to break into the paint. Farmar knew that his speed could not match that of Westbrook, so his breakthrough was not based on speed, but on the ever-changing rhythm.

With Angie in the paint and Westbrook next to him, Farmer is a guy with a high basketball IQ who mostly gets his shots right. Therefore, although he broke through, he knew that he had no chance to make a move.

Looking at the gap, suddenly a strong shift, the basketball quickly passed through the crowd, and came to the hands of Sasha Vujacic.

The Slovenian tall guard is best at shooting, not to mention that under Farmar's sudden pass, Vujacic got an open shot.

The shooting action is very beautiful and very stretched. This three-pointer went directly into the net. As soon as the second quarter came up, the Lakers' bench lineup scored first, breaking the embarrassment of poor performance in the second half of the first quarter.

On the offensive end, the Lakers' bench lineup has regained its touch, but on the defensive end, their biggest weakness has been exposed.

Whether it is Jordan Farmar or Sasha Vujacic, they are not considered good perimeter defenders. Even small forward Luke Walton, due to his lack of athletic ability and physical fitness, is not good at defending. China is also very disadvantaged. An outside defensive lineup like the Lakers naturally couldn't withstand the successive attacks of Westbrook and Durant.

Paul Gasol could only be pinned to death in the three-second zone by Anjie again and again, and he never got the chance to run out to help defend.

"Kevin Durant's pull-up jumper! It's too easy. Luke Walton is undoubtedly a very smart player, but it doesn't give him any advantage on defense."

"Russell Westbrook is relentless against his hometown team! If Casey Barr is still alive,

I will be very pleased with my brother's performance. Another forced layup! This is Jordan Farmar's third time leaving without authorization! "

Durant and Westbrook naturally did not let go of the time when the Lakers' defense was weak. Their crazy offense frequently caused the commentator to praise him.

Watching the defense of his second team being pierced by the Thunder's two aggressive outsiders time and time again, Phil Jackson had to make a change. Although the time was a little earlier than planned, he still took advantage of a dead ball to get all the players up.

When Kobe played again, the Thunder had a six-point lead over them! But even so, the Los Angeles fans cheered deafeningly, because their omnipotent Peter Pan will definitely lead the team to fight back again!

Angie and Gasol also had to be reduced to supporting roles at this time. The performance of these outside scorers on the court was really outstanding. When Kobe played, the eyes of the entire Staples were focused on him.

Stubborn, paranoid, competitive, these individual character stamps make Kobe's attack power even more terrifying when the team is behind!

He kept trying to play singles with Wilkins, and Jeff Van Gundy was already considering whether to take Durant to match Kobe.

Westbrook was already affected by a lot of emotions in this game. Seeing Kobe's singles again and again, he finally couldn't help leaving Fisher behind, and used to double-team Kobe with Wilkins.

Seeing Westbrook coming, Kobe knew without thinking that Fisher must have been missed.

"Russell!" Not only Jeff Van Gundy, but even Angie, who was fighting Gasol in the three-second zone, also saw the big open space left by Westbrook.

Westbrook believes he can block Bryant's passing lanes, and he doesn't think Bryant can pass the ball under serious interference. Not to mention passing the ball, Westbrook thinks Kobe can't even see Fisher anywhere! Therefore, he turned a deaf ear to Anjie and Van Gundy's reminders!

Indeed, he couldn't see it, being sandwiched by Westbrook and Wilkins, Kobe could only see two pairs of raised palms in his sight. But Kobe could see Gasol's castle towering outside the paint.

Kobe couldn't be more familiar with Fisher and the entire Lakers team. Kobe has long been familiar with how his teammates will stand when he encounters a double-team.

Seeing Gasol's position, Kobe deduced Fisher's position based on tactics.

"It's probably here!" Kobe vaguely saw a figure wearing a golden Lakers jersey, and immediately lobbed the ball out!

Durant just left Trevor Ariza to make up for Fisher, but Kobe passed the ball before Durant!

"Unbelievable pass! It is almost impossible for Kobe to see the outside situation. Westbrook and Wilkins have completely covered Kobe! But the black mamba still passed the ball!" Mike. At first, Bryn thought Kobe was throwing it casually in a hurry, but he didn't know that the "throwing" ball flew precisely to Fisher's position.

Durant saw that Fisher was about to make a shot, and he jumped up to block the shot. Ordinary guards may have long been disturbed by Durant's defensive height, but Fisher is the man who created a lore in 0.4 seconds. In the face of Durant's blocking, he did not change his face, and the rhythm of his shots was not disturbed in any way.

Durant's fingertips were only a little away from the basketball, but he still couldn't stop the ball from flying towards the basket.

The ball had a high arc, and it was difficult for An Jie to judge whether he could score or not. The moment Anjie was thinking, Gasol was already stuck, and he didn't want Anjie to get offensive rebounds anymore.

"Brush!" The Nets tumbling up, like the wind and waves being rolled up in the sea. Derek Fisher, although this guy is not as dazzling as Kobe and the others, but if the Lakers want to win the championship, this experienced guard is definitely an indispensable member of Phil Jackson.

After this ball, the Thunder never dared to double-team rashly. Jeff Van Gundy switched positions between Durant and Wilkins, allowing Durant, who had a higher defensive height, to confront Kobe, but the effect was very mediocre.

When there were only four minutes left in the second quarter, Pau Gasol finally got the chance to rest. He is by far the longest playing time of the Lakers. Although he didn't have many opportunities to attack and defend against An Jie on the field, he was still sweating from An Jie's active running and positioning.

After Gasol got off the court, Jeff Van Gundy finally couldn't hold back. He yelled An Jie's name on the sidelines, palmed his left hand, clenched his right hand into a fist, and the two hands collided fiercely.

Ordinary people would not care about Jeff Van Gundy's action at all, but Anjie and the entire Thunder team knew that this was a signal for them to play inside!

Replacing Pau Gasol was another big white man, center Chris Mihm, who was also 2.13 meters tall.

Without the barrier of Bynum, it is really difficult to limit Anjie's swing just by relying on the inside combination of Mihm and Odom.

Although he looked much stronger than Anjie, Mim fell behind in terms of strength. The movement speed of this guy's feet can only be said to have just passed, and his defensive skills are not outstanding. Compared with An Jie, he lost everything except his weight!

Even the aggressive Westbrook, seeing such an obvious inside advantage, still willingly stood on the outside and watched Anjie enjoyably "stalking" the poor backup center of the Lakers.

An Jie easily entered the three-second zone with his back punch. He didn't intend to make fake moves at all, but turned around and hooked directly!

Unexpectedly, Chris Mihm's positive attitude on the defensive end actually made him suffer at this moment. He was not tall enough to bounce, which made Mihm's take-off block useless. Instead, he slapped An Jie's wrist .

An Jie's hook went into the net, and besides that, the referee called Mim a thug foul!

"Damn it!" Kobe was very dissatisfied with Mihm's defense this time, but he didn't express it verbally, he could only curse in his heart. After all, not everyone is that Garnett, and not everyone will point at their teammates' noses and curse.

Zen Master also shook his head helplessly. Now the center is a position that is in short supply for the entire league. It is already very good for a team to have a qualified center. As for the center on the bench, just use what is available.

In his career, he averaged 20 minutes per game but got 3.4 fouls. This data of Chris Mihm is even expected to surpass his own scoring average. He always miscalculated that he would be able to complete the block, but every time he only hit someone else's wrist.

Even though the fans at the Staples Center tried their best to interfere, even if a fat bearded man took off his shirt and danced in the auditorium, none of this could stop Anjie from making free throws. 2+1, easily completed.

As usual in the game, it's fine if An Jie doesn't make a shot. Once he makes a shot, it will definitely bring harm to the opponent.

For the remaining four minutes, both Westbrook and Durant were overshadowed by Anjie's strong offense. Although Kobe's singles efficiency is very high, it is still no match for Anjie's easy scoring again and again in the three-second zone.

At the end of halftime, the score still couldn't be opened, 6o to 57, the Lakers scored one, and the Thunder could always return one. Maybe the three-point gap is because of Fisher's three-pointer.

Kobe made 4 of 6 shots and scored 11 points in the second quarter. In the first half alone, the stubborn viper scored 22 points.

Although An Jie didn't have such abnormal scoring data, he still annoyed Phil Jackson with his 12 points in the half. And out of the 12 points, ten points were scored in the second quarter! Although Jeff Van Gundy doesn't have many offensive routines, he is still very good at using the trick of "prescribing the right medicine". Wherever the opponent is weak, Van Gundy will find which point to play. Who makes the Thunder have strong points in guards, forwards and centers.

"Lamar, if the Chinese kid continues to play singles in the second half, I need you to help defend and double-team!" Letting go of the Thunder's power forward is not terrible, but if the No. 16 center is fully open inside, that terrible thing will happen. It will definitely happen.

Odom looked at the serious Zen master and nodded silently.

The Lakers can lose in the regular season, but they are never allowed to lose to such an opponent!

The rookie center, the third offensive point of the Thunder, was only selected with the twelfth overall pick. However, such a person is about to enjoy the double-team treatment that neither Durant nor Westbrook has received. (To be continued.) 8