The Way of the Center

The Taples Center is a star-studded stage. There is never a shortage of stars here, from on-court to off-court.

The first three rows of the Lakers home court are always filled with various celebrities or rich people. Beckham, the king of hip-hop, the oil tycoon, the famous basketball player...Here, you can never treat yourself as a star, because someone who is more famous and richer than you may sit in your seat beside.

Watching the game in this environment, Giardina is also the happiest. Because only in this group of big names, people will not ask her for an autograph. After all, compared with others, Giardina is still too young in terms of reputation and qualifications. Her arrival will not cause any disturbances at the Staples Center.

Giardina, who can watch the game with peace of mind, never left the tall No. 16 center of the Thunder from the moment he sat down. Most of the people who come here are to watch Kobe. But Giardina is different, she is a Thunder fan!

From the warm-up to the end of the game, Giardina did not let go of any pictures of Anjie. When everyone was cheering for Kobe's warm-up, only Giardina looked at the Thunder's warm-up half.

An Jie had actually seen the girl coming during the warm-up process, but this was an extremely crucial game, so he didn't say hello to Giardina, all in order to keep himself from being distracted.

Dedicated to the game wholeheartedly, this is the only thing An Jie wants to do at present.

"Ann! Today you still give me more digging inside! But after the victory in the last game, the Lakers will definitely strengthen their defense on the inside. Because of your relationship with Westbrook, their defensive lineup will inevitably go down. The basket shrinks. At this time, Sefoloza and Durant, your chance is coming! You performed very well in yesterday's training, and I hope your state can be continued to this day." Van Gundy knew that West Brook and Anjie's scoring today will not be so easy. Durant must take on the responsibility of a team core.

"Just pass the ball, I won't miss it today." Durant patted Anjie and Westbrook on the back. When he was just warming up, Durant also felt that there was no problem with his touch.

"Also, Morris and Ann, pay attention to the number of fouls. The triangle offense of the Lakers will let you face players who break in from the outside many times. Although they were pressed and played last game, they failed to play this characteristic. , But today, we still can't take it lightly." Van Gundy is not worried about any trouble Gasol and Bynum will bring to his inside line, and the person he fears the most is Kobe.

As for the Lakers, Phil Jackson didn't say much. What should be arranged, he arranged it yesterday, and let the players practice it. These guys are no longer rookies. They are members of a championship team. They know how to read the game and how to make changes according to the situation.

The only thing worth worrying about is Kobe's performance. The generals of the Zijin Army are in good condition, and the Lakers will perform well. If the generals of the Zijin Army do not play well, the performance of the Lakers will also be greatly affected.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and the starting players of both sides also took off their training uniforms and stood up in two different halves.

Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum, the triangle of the Lakers remains.

Westbrook, Sefoloza, Durant, Morris and Anjie, the Thunder's three young players are also eager to try.

Everyone was staring at their opponents, and the last competition made the two groups even more difficult. They were all waiting for the moment when the whistle sounded, using the most brutal and effective means to strangle their opponents.

The referee also stopped the conversation between Anjie and Bynum before throwing the ball. Before the game started, the mouths of these two guys began to fight.

At the beginning of the game, it was still An Jie who got the basketball first.

After a day of adjustments, the Los Angeles Lakers are sure to look very different. For a team of the Lakers' level, one day is enough to refresh them.

The Thunder's first offense hit a wall when Westbrook failed to break through.

The defensive position of the Lakers really did not meet Van Gundy's expectations. It shrank very sharply. Its purpose was to stifle Westbrook's impact and Anjie's inside singles.

When Westbrook used Angie's pick-and-roll to break through, he realized that he was simply rushing into the crowd.

As soon as one foot stepped into the three-second zone, three or four arms swiped back and forth in front of Westbrook's eyes. Looking back, the route of the ball was also blocked. Westbrook had no choice but to fight against the interference of Fisher and Artest, and the result was obvious.

After the Lakers got the ball, Fisher still controlled the rhythm. When Kobe ran to the designated place, he passed the ball without hesitation.

As soon as Kobe caught the ball, the Staples Center seemed to be on fire, and the cheers doubled immediately.

Giardina was among the crowd cheering wildly, but he was cheering for Anjie in his heart.

Bryant supported Sefoloza with one hand and patted the ball cautiously with the other. With a sudden acceleration, Kobe threw Sefoloza a step away.

For a scorer like Kobe, one step is enough for him to punch. Seeing the Swiss rushing to catch up, Kobe suddenly stopped and turned around. Seeing this, Sefolosha immediately braked and took off to block the shot.

Unexpectedly, Kobe's "turning around" was nothing more than shaking his shoulders. Kobe easily tricked Sefoloza and turned over and made a jumper.

After scoring the goal, Kobe shook his head following the cheering rhythm of the fans. In this game, he was in perfect condition!

But just tens of seconds later, Durant used a precise three-point shot to restore the confidence of the Thunder fans. The shrinking defense of the Lakers allowed Durant to finish the shot calmly, so what if the Black Mamba is in good shape, and our scoring leader is also in good shape!

Afterwards, the Thunder and the Lakers played back and forth, inextricably linked. It is true that Kobe and Durant's state has improved, but with the full defense of both sides, the offensive pressure of other players has become greater than in the previous game. Therefore, the performance of other people is simply a replica of Kobe and Durant the day before yesterday!

On the Lakers side, only Kobe and Gasol played normally. As for the Thunder, Westbrook's breakthrough is useless now, and Sefolosha's shooting is not accurate today. Morris? With such a tight contraction defense, the big brute who is not good at attacking is even more helpless.

The Thunder, now only Anjie and Durant, can still provoke the mainstay.

In this case, the head coaches of both sides will definitely let the players on their benches play early, so as not to waste opportunities for players who are not in good condition.

However, what Van Gundy and Phil Jackson did not expect was that the players on their bench did not perform as expected. At most, it can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

In fact, the reason for this situation is not that other people are in bad condition, but that it is really difficult for others to make a difference under such a super-high-intensity defense. It can be seen that the coaches of both sides have spent a lot of thought on defense.

The first quarter of the game also finished 12 minutes in this situation of driving high and low, 22 to 26, and the Thunder temporarily fell behind the Lakers by four points.

After seeing the strength of the Thunder, Los Angeles fans will not cheer for this mere four-point advantage. They haven't forgotten that in the last game, the Lakers took the lead many times, but they still lost in the end. Against the Thunder, a four-point advantage is not enough!

During the intermission, Spike Lee raised his camera and frantically took pictures of Kobe Bryant off the court. He is working hard for Kobe's next documentary. In the playoffs, it can highlight the most authentic Kobe.

Although Spike. Lee is a diehard fan of the New York Knicks, but this did not hinder his appreciation of Kobe. In addition, all the stars have turned into ordinary fans at this moment, they shouted and stomped wildly. In Staples, no matter how big you are, you can only be reduced to a supporting role. Because the owner here is the guy wearing the No. 24 jersey.

Distraught by the noisy environment, Giardina has become an outlier in the audience. She was cheering when everyone else was sighing. While others were cheering, she looked sullen.

Kobe's performance in the first quarter was really good, with 10 points in a single quarter, allowing him to make up for the low shooting percentage of his teammates. But now you can't see a smile on Kobe's face, because Durant and Angie also scored eight points in a single quarter.

The game entered the second quarter, and the situation did not change at all. Artest and Fisher got several open shots, and Bryant shared the ball in time. However, the open shots of these two guys all knocked out of the box. Although Fisher has become more refined, under the high-intensity defense, his offense is no longer what it used to be.

Seeing that he couldn't break through the impregnable defense of the Lakers, Westbrook also placed his shots on the outside. However, he can't score inside, and it's not easy to shoot outside.

Fisher was afraid of Westbrook's breakthrough, but he was not afraid of his shooting. This veteran guy knows when to challenge shots.

In the second quarter, the Lakers and Thunder hoped to enrich their offense, but all ended in failure. It wasn't until Durant made a mid-range shot after receiving Anjie's pass that the scoring drought between the two sides was finally broken.

It seems that the next game will not be much different from the first quarter.

After Durant opened it, Anjie also began to dig inside according to Van Gundy's arrangement. It has to be said that Morris' ability to contain is getting stronger and stronger. When he is on the court, Anjie can generally play singles with Bynum calmly. Gasol on the side would like to come to protect the restricted area, but Morris often does not let him succeed.

With Morris' efforts, the Lakers' twin towers were literally split into two separate parts. Gasol and Bynum can't take care of each other on the defensive end.

If it weren't for the Lakers' overall lineup shrinking too much, Anjie would have more offensive opportunities.

55 to 53, the leading team at the end of the second quarter became the Thunder, but the advantage was only two points.

Van Gundy and Jackson had a lot to say in the locker room at halftime. However, how effective the tactics are depends on the execution and performance of the players. In this regard, there is nothing the head coach can do.

In the third quarter, Van Gundy drew a lot of tactics for other Thunder players, but the effect was not very satisfactory. He knows that it is very difficult to win with Anjie and Durant alone. Facts have also proved that when these two people are off the court, the Thunder's offensive efficiency will be greatly reduced.

But what Van Gundy didn't expect was that the Lakers still hadn't adjusted. In addition to Shannon. Brown's feeling slightly recovered, the others still presented a symphony composed of iron strikes for the fans.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the situation of this game will not change much. As expected. Until the last minute of the game, the rhythm was exactly the same as in the first quarter.

Today Bynum got more shots than in the previous game, but he couldn't grasp it. Under Anjie's defense, he only hit 3 goals in 10 shots. Even if this shooting rate is placed on an outside player, it is absolutely unqualified, not to mention Bynum is an offensive center.

Even Bynum's hit rate has become like this, let alone others. Sefoloza made 2 of 7 shots and Odom made 2 of 9 shots... This game really promoted personal heroism.

The singles of Kobe and Gasol are the most efficient way for the Lakers to score, and the singles of Durant and Angie on the other side have the same effect on the Thunder.

In 45 seconds, Durant missed a mid-range shot. But at the moment the Thunder still lead by two points, 93 to 91.

In 30 seconds, Kobe's breakthrough caused Anjie's third personal foul. But the Black Mamba, who stood on the free throw line, made a rare mistake. He only made one of two free throws, 93 to 92, and the Lakers were still one point behind the opponent.

In 20 seconds, Anjie sat in the penalty area and wrestled with Bynum. A game full of setbacks had made Bynum lose all confidence. Anjie easily hit the black guy with a hook, and the Thunder once again widened the gap to three points.

The Staples Center was dead silent at the moment. Even if Kobe could hit the last attack, the Lakers would have to play the Thunder in overtime. However, Kobe, whose physical strength has declined seriously and his shooting percentage has been unstable, may not be able to pull the Lakers back from the cliff.

Is it really going to happen? The rare and powerful Zijin Army will lose two games in a row at home?

To be honest, many people gave up, including Bynum, including Odom, including those batches of Lakers fans who left early.

But Kobe didn't, he still focused his eyes. The fangs of the Black Mamba are about to inject deadly venom into the Thunder at this moment... (To be continued.)