May 19th, the game day of G2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Trail Blazers: Olajuwon, Duncan, Walter Williams, Yinsey Leder, Damon Stoudemire
Lakers: Wang Tiejun, Danny Fortson, Richmond, Kobe Bryant, Mark Price
The starting lineups of both sides remained unchanged. At eight o'clock, the game officially started. After the jump ball, the Lakers took the lead.
But this time, the person defending Wang Tiejun was Dameng instead of Duncan.
Although Dameng is getting old, his form has declined somewhat this season, but he is still hanging on the tail of his peak. The key is that this old guy has not had any major injuries, so the decline is not significant.
His experience is not comparable to that of the rookie Duncan, and his defense is also stronger than Duncan. The Blazers have no choice but to let him guard Pharaoh Wang. Duncan cannot guard him, so they can only let the veteran step up.
Fordson's ability to stretch was limited, and Duncan was at the waist in the paint area and could return to defend the basket at any time. Therefore, Wang did not go to the basket to actively look for double-teams, but positioned himself in the low post on the left wing.
Dameng moved forward and pulled Pharaoh's jersey back with his left arm. Once Pharaoh moved towards the basket, he could sense it immediately.
He was almost sitting on Lao Wang's lap, his feet constantly moving with Lao Wang, his right hand raised high, ready to jump up and intercept the pass at any time.
Mark Price first passed the ball to Richmond, who faked a real pass and shook Williams, then took a step horizontally and quickly lobbed the ball toward Lao Wang's backhand.
Seeing the ball coming, Lao Wang immediately used his right arm to hold Da Meng hard, and raised his left hand high to prepare to catch the ball.
But at this moment, Dameng reacted immediately, suddenly turned left, and pounced on Lao Wang's back hand, preparing to steal the ball.
At the same time, Duncan, who was on the weak side, also rushed over and implemented assist defense.
"careful!"
Su Qun shouted in the live broadcast booth.
Lao Wang tried his best to take off, relying on his advantages in tonnage and strength to hold Dameng, and relying on his advantage of longer arms, he prevented Dameng from successfully stealing the ball and got the ball in his hands.
But at this time, time was delayed. Duncan successfully completed the double-team, and together with Dameng, blocked Lao Wang's path up and to the paint area. He was on the upper side and Dameng was on the inside.
"here."
After Richmond passed the ball, he immediately moved to the left corner and quickly asked for the ball.
Lao Wang was double-teamed near the baseline and could only distribute the ball. He immediately turned around and passed the ball to the left corner.
Richmond caught the ball, and small forward Walter Williams, who was a little behind, had already caught up with him. He had no choice but to force a jumper.
"Bang!"
Under the defender's block, he raised the angle of his shot, and the ball was short. After it bounced off the basket, it was caught by Dameng who turned around.
"Old K, be careful of Dameng's defense!" Su Qun shouted.
Zhang Lili immediately analyzed: "Today, Dameng will be the main defender against the Tiejun. So on the defensive end of the Lakers, I think the Tiejun will definitely choose to continue to keep an eye on Duncan. In this way, Dameng will have to continue to work hard on the offensive end, and his physical energy consumption will be
Very big.”
Su Qun perked up and said excitedly: "In other words, Director Zhang, the defensive tactic of letting Big Dream defend Old K is not sustainable?"
"Yes, I think so. The tactic of allowing Dameng to exert strength on both offense and defense is unreasonable."
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "I think the Trail Blazers will let Dameng defend the Tiejun at the beginning. They just don't want the Tiejun to make a super explosive start like the night before. That will hurt morale. The tactics will be adjusted later."
Came here."
Su Qun nodded, thinking what Lao Zhang said was very reasonable.
On the sidelines, Dunleavy was very regretful when he saw that he successfully defended against Old K. He wanted to let the Big Dream guard not only defend Old K but also focus on attacking in the low post, but that was impossible, unless it was the Big Dream ten years ago.
Dream.
Trail Blazers offense.
Wang Tiejun made his own choice.
He has the power to choose and can decide whether to defend Big Dream or Duncan. This is the on-court power given to him by the coaching staff.
He chose to defend Duncan, making it clear that he would continue to keep an eye on the rookie.
First, he always believed that Duncan was a greater threat, because Dameng is indeed old. It is impossible to break out for one or two games, but it is impossible for him to break out for an entire series, but Duncan, who is terrifyingly stable, can.
The second is that he doesn't want Duncan to have a strong performance on him.
"hateful!"
Seeing Old K following Duncan, Dameng muttered something and started to get the ball.
If Old K chooses to guard him, it will be just right. He will work hard on the defensive end, and Duncan will work hard on the offensive end. One of them will focus on defense and assist, and the other will focus on offense and assist defense. It is very possible to defeat the Lakers together.
But now Old K's choice has made this plan bankrupt.
He caught the ball in his hand and swung it up and down. Fordson was still standing behind him. He swung up and down again. This time, there was no one behind him. Fordson had been swayed to the side. He immediately turned around and dribbled the ball.
, entered the paint area.
Lao Wang returned to defend the basket. Dameng passed the ball decisively and deliberately avoided the route where Lao Wang stole the ball. After receiving the ball, Duncan hit the board at a 45-degree angle on the left waist and easily hit a goal.
"There is no way to prevent this kind of cooperation." Zhang Lili sighed.
Su Qun said: "Fortson needs to strengthen the confrontation. He cannot let Dameng get the ball so easily, and then pass the ball to Duncan. He must consume his physical energy."
Zhang Lili nodded and said: "That's right. If Dameng and Duncan can cooperate so easily in the low post, then Dameng can completely defend the Iron Army on the defensive end and exert his strength on the offensive end. He has been using medicinal baths for many years.
, I have been training and my physical fitness is still good now."
2:0, Lakers attack.
Dameng stood next to Lao Wang again, but this time Lao Wang forced his way away from Da Meng and chose to get into a position under the basket to get the ball.
Under the basket, of course he would be double-teamed faster, and even before the ball arrived, Duncan's early double-team would be in place, but he still chose to get into the basket.
"Old K, don't try to act recklessly." Dameng followed immediately, but still went around to defend.
He knew what Old K wanted to do, didn't he just want to beat him and Duncan under the basket? He was so familiar with Old K that he knew this even with his butt.
"I just want to kill you."
Lao Wang was talking trash, facing the right wing, pushing away Duncan with his right elbow, and raising his left hand to ask for the ball.
When Lao Wang moved toward the basket, Mark Price was ready and immediately hoisted the ball over Little Flying Squirrel's head.
"Xie Te, uploaded from my head again?"
The little flying squirrel was so angry that he was bullying him. He was injured and couldn't fly. Sooner or later, he would steal a ball from you.
The moment he passed the ball, Duncan turned around and rushed into the paint. After a big step, his hand almost reached Lao Wang's body. He took another step and immediately got close to him.
Before the ball even reached Lao Wang's hands, the Blazers' two big insiders completed the double-team.
The next moment, the ball arrives and the three of them take off at the same time.
"mine."
Lao Wang secretly shouted, jumped up with all his strength, and grabbed the ball with his height advantage.
The next moment, he landed on the ground and squatted down, and was about to take off a second time. Four arms pressed above his head, and two solid bodies also squeezed up, preventing him from jumping up.
Duncan is on the right side of the basket, and Dameng is on top of the basket, squeezing his space and not giving him the space and opportunity to get up.
At this time, while dribbling, he took advantage of the situation and took a step back, temporarily getting rid of the double team of the two. Then when the two were about to press forward, he dribbled the ball again, followed by a quick step back.
In other words, he turned around and circled half a circle with Dameng's back. Not only did he completely get rid of the double team of the two, but he also completed the purpose of transferring the offense, from the back left side of the basket to the left front side of the basket.
The next moment, when the ball bounced from the floor into his hands, he suddenly stood up and was about to force himself on Dameng for a dunk.
Duncan was blocked by Dameng under the basket and failed to make a timely defensive response. When he saw Old K flying up from behind Dameng, it was already too late to take off and block the shot.
"asshole!"
Dameng reacted quickly and directly pulled Lao Wang down.
"Bang!"
The rim made a loud noise, the basketball hit the rim and flew up.
"drop!"
The referee's whistle also sounded,
"Oh, what a pity, it was just a little bit close." Zhang Lili sighed regretfully.
"Dameng fouled too quickly and decisively," Su Qun said with a smile.
"He had no choice but to be decisive. If he was a tenth of a second slower, he would be dunked." Zhang Lili said with a smile.
Su Qun said with a smile: "Old K's pace is really good now. As soon as he retreated and turned around, he got rid of the double-team under the basket. He really can move freely in a small space!"
"The plum blossom step is all about leaping, moving and turning. Tiejun has practiced it for two or three years and worked hard." Lao Zhang said with a smile.
On the sidelines, Dayao, who was sitting in the second row, watched with excitement. He had been practicing Dameng's steps, and now that he saw Lao Wang's steps, he felt even more amazing.
"Da Zhi, did Brother Tiejun teach you plum blossom step?" he asked Da Zhi next to him.
"No, I heard that Brother Tiejun is teaching Kobe." Da Zhi shook his head.
"Then I want to learn." Dayao smiled.
Da Zhi shook his head and said: "I asked, he said we are not suitable."
Dayao said disappointedly: "Why?"
Da Zhi explained: "Brother Tiejun said that the use of plum blossom steps must be coordinated with ball control, and the ability to combine man and ball should not be too bad, and because our center of gravity is too high and the height of dribbling is too high, it is easy for someone to intercept the ball.
, so it is not suitable.
He has the footwork to pass the ball, his center of gravity is lower than ours, his arms are longer than ours, his dribbling height is lower than ours, and he is less likely to be intercepted."
"Then I'll practice the pace of Da Meng, which doesn't require dribbling." Dayao could only nodded in disappointment.
"Bang!"
On the court, Lao Wang missed his first free throw.
Dunleavy stared closely at Old K from the sidelines. If he missed the second free throw, he decided to use a lot of foul tactics today.
But no matter what, foul tactics must be used, otherwise there will be no way for Dameng and Duncan to rotate.
Lao Wang stood on the free throw line, dribbled the ball six times, took a deep breath, stared at the basket and threw the ball.
Big Yao in the audience held his breath and secretly helped with his strength, hoping that Brother Tiejun could make the second free throw.
"Bang!"
The second free throw was missed and the ball was a little too long.
"Why!"
Dayao couldn't help but sigh.
Wang Tiejun has always been invincible in his mind. He can easily defeat any powerful opponent. Super centers have fallen at his feet one after another. Now seeing Tiejun standing on the free throw line, he feels that this is still the case.
An individual, a person with weaknesses.
Duncan got a backcourt rebound and the Trail Blazers attacked.
On the sidelines, Dunleavy strengthened his determination to use foul tactics.
This time, Duncan gave up the low post and moved to the high post as requested by the coaching staff to engage in pick-and-roll tactics with the flying squirrel.
Lao Wang followed up to the high post and took a step back. This way he could guard against Duncan and the Flying Squirrel's pick-and-roll breakthrough, and he could also return to the basket in time.
The quality of Duncan's high-post pick-and-roll was quite high. The little flying squirrel used the wall to get rid of Kobe who was guarding him, but suddenly took the initiative to rush towards Lao Wang.
"not good!"
Lao Wang knew it was bad.
Sure enough, the little flying squirrel jumped in front of him and while blocking him, the ball in his hand was passed back to Duncan. Duncan caught the ball and made a jumper. Kobe hurriedly jumped from the side to block the shot, missing by a big margin.
"Bang!"
Duncan made a high jumper and hit a two-pointer off the board.
4:1, Lakers attack.
Zhang Lili praised: "This pick-and-roll tactic is beautiful! The speed and flexibility of Flying Squirrel made it difficult for Kobe to keep up, so Tiejun adopted a one-step defensive strategy and prepared to block Flying Squirrel. Unexpectedly, Flying Squirrel took advantage of him.
The second pick-and-roll."
Su Qun said: "The Blazers' tactics were quite good today, the Lakers should be more careful."
In the frontcourt, Lao Wang was in the low post on the left wing to get the ball, but Da Meng came to guard him, also going forward.
The two struggled for a while, and then Richmond passed the ball from outside, and Duncan immediately pounced from the weak side.
This time, the passing Richmond did not sink into the bottom corner, but immediately cut inside. He was faster than Walter Williams and successfully cut into the paint.
Duncan was forced to stop at the basket. Not only did he have to switch to guard Richmond, but there was also Fordson behind him. His weak-side help defense failed.
But Williams, who was chasing behind Richmond, reacted quickly and immediately double-teamed Wang Tiejun, so the Blazers' flank low double-team was still successful.
It is impossible for Wang Tiejun to get into the paint area. There is Da Meng in front of him, Williams is on the top side, and there are Duncan, Fordson, and Richmond inside. They are all full of people.
There was no room for his teammates, so he had no choice but to take action. He suddenly started his withdrawal method, turned around and stepped back, escaped from the double team, and retreated to the paint area step by step. At the same time, he completed the preparation from back to the basket, and then
Hit a front hook.
This is a mid-range area, and his mid-range attack is only level 80, so when he takes the shot, he is not sure of hitting it.
Fortunately, neither Dameng nor Williams kept up with his rhythm, so they were actually in an open position to take action.
"Bang! Bang bang!"
The basketball hit the basket, jumped on it twice more, and finally rolled into the basket.
"Beautiful! The mid-range hook shot that turned around and stepped back, Tie Jun's shot was so beautiful!" Zhang Lili said happily.
"Old K rarely shoots like this, so there's nothing we can do about it. But this turnaround and step-back hook shot is really beautiful and hard to guard against!" Su Qun said with a smile.
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "Although the technique of turning around and stepping back jumper does not require as much physical fitness as the turnaround and fadeaway jumper, it is also very particular about physical fitness. Coordination, balance, and flexibility cannot be worse. It is the same."
, you can’t practice well even if you practice till old age.”
On the court, Kobe ran up to Lao Wang and shouted: "Old K, how did you practice your turnaround and pullback shooting technique?"
"You can refer to the use of plum blossom step and hook hand." Lao Wang said.
"Really?" Kobe became excited.
This skill is too important to him. His core strength has not been fully developed yet, and the time in the air is not enough. He can barely do a turnaround and fadeaway jump shot, but he has to lean back greatly. His shooting rate is too poor to be used in practice.
This turnaround and step-back shot does not require such strong core strength and can be practiced completely.
Moreover, the effect of turning and stepping back to get rid of the defender is not inferior to turning and fading away. If combined with the sideways shooting technique, it will be better than the old K's turning and stepping back shooting.
Old K couldn't use the sideways technique in the low post. He didn't have this restriction on the outside. Thinking of this, he was very excited.
After Old K suggested it to him yesterday, he has been thinking about this issue. Today, Old K's turn and step-back shot gave him an idea.
Just like Old K's lean-to play and Jordan's turnaround and fadeaway jump shot, he also needs to create his own signature technique.
However, he hasn't mastered the plum blossom step yet and still needs to work hard.
