After breakfast, the Lakers held a tactical meeting.
Leading 2 to 1, the atmosphere of this tactical meeting was good and relaxed.
In comparison, the Knicks' tactical meeting was a bit serious and dull.
Phil Jackson said at the meeting that the time for rotating players should be increased to obtain more rest time for the main players, which requires substitute players to make more contributions.
Several veterans came here just for the championship and immediately expressed that they had no problem and were willing to make every effort for the team.
Phil Jackson also formulated tactics for Ellis. Ellis is the only main force among several veterans. Although he is almost 38 years old, his strength is the most preserved. Once he finds the touch and gets the opportunity, he can also score explosively.
ability.
"The G4 game is a game that we must not lose, we must not lose." Phil Jackson finally emphasized.
During the G3 game, he told Jordan and O'Neal that if they lost the G3 game, the series would probably be lost. That was just what he said to motivate the two, but now, what he said is true, and everyone is
Understand that if the Knicks cannot tie the game at 2-2 and let the Lakers get the match point, with the strength of the Lakers, everything will be a foregone conclusion.
Knicks owner James Dolan also attended the meeting, but didn't say anything. After the meeting ended, he stopped head coach Phil Jackson and asked: "Phil, tell me, how sure are you of the G4 game?
"
Phil Jackson said cautiously: "Boss, if you are playing in the Finals with a strong team like the Lakers, and this is the peak period of Old K, no one has much confidence in beating the Lakers.
I know Lao K very well, but I don’t know how much energy Lao K will burst out and how destructive it will be to us."
Dolan was a little disappointed, but he was still satisfied that the team had reached the finals just after he bought it. He encouraged: "Phil, tell Michael, after this season, no matter what the result is, stay and the league will be there soon."
I will implement the luxury tax system, I am not short of money, I will invest heavily in the team, and I will also offer him a big contract worthy of him."
"That would be great." Phil Jackson laughed, who doesn't like a boss who is rich and willing to invest?
…
The G4 game is on the 8th, with two days of rest in between, which is very important to both sides. These two days give the players a chance to recover their physical strength.
On the morning of the 6th, ESPN once again adjusted the winning chances of the two teams. The Lakers once again increased from 45% to 51%, and the Knicks dropped from 55% to 49%.
After breakfast, Lao Wang did not stay in the hotel, but went to the martial arts gym with his wife and son.
The martial arts gym now has a good environment. Drinking tea, playing cards, and chatting with brothers can relax your body and mind.
A large group of people including Dayao Kobi and Dameng were also there. They all had lunch in the martial arts hall, chatted and bragged together, and even set up two tables of mahjong. They had a great time.
After being together for so long, Da Zhi has obviously changed. His communication skills have improved, and he can also take the initiative to communicate with Dameng Lightning and the others. The changes are even greater than in one season with the Kings.
Needless to say, Dayao and Lao Hu got mixed up with Barkley and the others last year.
Even Liu Wei, Liu Jihua, and Du Feng are familiar with this large group of stars.
Lao Wang attaches great importance to Liu Wei and Liu Jihua. The national team has him inside. Two years later, in the 2000 Olympics, Yao will be able to use it. In addition to Da Zhi, the national team also has several good power forward teammates.
There is no shortage of small forwards, and there is also Hu at the second position, but there is a shortage of good point guards.
In the 1996 Olympics, the national team had only one point guard and suffered a great loss. He hoped to cultivate useful point guards.
To this end, he asked the Lightning to teach Liu Wei and Liu Jihua lessons and gifts, and asked Pippen to teach them defense.
In the afternoon, Lao Wang received a phone interview from a reporter and asked him what he thought about ESPN’s adjustment of its championship probability. He said: “I advise ESPN not to move around. As a professional media, you must be aware of your own profession.
Confidence, but I don't see confidence in ESPN.
It is unprofessional to change the data at will just to win or lose in one game or two. Every change is a negation of the judgment you just made."
After his words were published by the media on the 7th, ESPN became the target of ridicule.
On the 8th, the G4 game day.
Knicks: O'Neal, Oakley, Dale Ellis, Jordan, Charlie Ward
Lakers: Wang Tiejun, Danny Fortson, Rick Fox, Richmond, Kobe Bryant
In the TNT live broadcast booth, Barkley said with a smile: "The Lakers can afford to lose this game, or draw at most, but the Knicks absolutely cannot afford to lose.
If the Knicks lose again, Old K has said that he hopes to win the championship at Madison Square Garden. If the Lakers get the match point, Old K is likely to explode completely in the G5 game and complete his idea of winning the championship on the road.
"
"A battle of life and death." Kenny Smith immediately echoed.
"But if the Lakers lose, they will lose the opportunity to get the match point, and they will be very passive." Bill Walton said.
"So both sides must go all out in this game, and there will be no reservations. In terms of physical exertion, there will be no reservations," Barkley said.
The other two people nodded and agreed with this sentence.
Eight o'clock, jump ball, Lakers offense.
In the last game, Lao Wang mainly passed the ball from the beginning and got 9 assists in the game. He tasted the sweetness. This time he wanted to do it again, so he didn't hit the first ball by himself. After getting the ball in the low post on the left wing,
Seeing Oakley double-teaming him, he immediately passed the ball to Fox, who was cutting in from the weak side.
On the right wing, Fordson set up a pick-and-roll for Fox, who took the opportunity to back-cut Oakley, catch the ball at the right waist of the paint area, and then drove into the paint area.
At this moment, Oakley made a sudden stop and returned to defense, and Charlie Ward, who was defending Kobe from a high position, also turned around and pounced down, forming a double-team on Fox.
At the same time, O'Neal turned around and blocked Old K, preventing him from entering to meet Fox.
"Crack!"
Oakley stole the ball fiercely and slapped Fox on the right hand holding the ball. The latter gasped and the ball dropped, and Ward took the opportunity to snatch it away.
Jordan took the opportunity to counterattack from the outside, caught the ball for a layup, and hit a goal.
He didn't choose to dunk because he wanted to save every bit of energy.
Lakers offense.
This time Lao Wang decided to do it by himself and start talking nonsense first.
O'Neal, who was in the low post on the left wing, receiving the ball and defending, suddenly took half a step away. Was he trying to let him go into the basket?
He was not polite either. While dribbling, he stepped into the paint area.
With his actions, the Knicks' defense as a whole shrank inward.
Then O'Neal took another half step back and stepped on the circle of the reasonable collision zone.
At this time, O'Neal suddenly came up to him and held him firmly. A pair of thick arms almost hugged him, preventing him from getting up.
At the same time, the Knicks' defensive formation quickly accelerated and began to double-team the basket. Wang only fought hand-to-hand with O'Neal for half a second before the Knicks took advantage of him.
O'Neal defended, with Jordan behind him, Oakley on the lower side of his left hand, and Charlie Ward on the upper side of his left hand. The Knicks were double-teaming him, with only one veteran, Ellis, not coming in.
This dumpling is not the dumpling used when fighting the Bulls. The dumpling skin at that time was not thick. Among the current dumpling skins, there is a giant beast like O'Neal. It is very thick and restricted by the K Law. He wants to break through this layer of dumpling skin.
It's just too difficult.
"Lie down!"
Suddenly someone grabbed a handful of his right armpit, and a few hairs were pulled out. It was either Jordan or Charlie Ward. This made him feel stiff, and his hand immediately became loose. Then Jordan took the opportunity.
Took the ball away.
"Whoosh!"
Once the ball was in hand, Jordan passed it to Ellis.
This is the Knicks' tactic, put Old K into the paint, use the Bad Boys' Jordan Rules to double-team Old K in a narrower area, and then switch offense and defense to play fast breaks.
The reason why K was allowed to enter the paint area was to use the three-second attack rule and double-teaming to force him to take action as quickly as possible, thus lowering his hit rate.
Ellis caught the ball and moved forward quickly, and when he ran outside the three-point line on the left wing, Fox caught up with him. After all, he was almost 38 years old and his speed was no longer enough.
"squeak!"
At this time, he stopped suddenly, and Fox rushed over. When he stopped suddenly, he was already one step away.
"brush!"
Ellis took off calmly and hit a hollow three-pointer.
"Oh, the Knicks made two steals in a row and played two counterattack fast breaks. The Lakers should be careful. The Knicks really fought hard today." Su Qun exclaimed.
Zhang Lili reminded: "Tiejun should be careful here. Once encountering a double-team, the ball must be released quickly. I believe that with Tiejun's vision and passing ability, he can make the Knicks pay a huge price."
"What the hell, Flying Man, did you do it?" Lao Wang stared at Jordan and asked.
"What's up?"
Jordan had a weird look on his face. He had just seen Ward's little move, but he didn't expect that Ward would dare to pick out old K's hair. This was like plucking the hair from a tiger's butt. He was not timid, so he didn't even dare to try it.
"You?"
Lao Wang glared at Charlie Ward.
Charlie Ward spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and looked confused.
Lao Wang could only give up and threatened: "Plug my hair out again, take off my pants and spank me."
Charlie Ward's face twitched, he turned around quickly and secretly lifted his pants.
At the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili reminded again: "Tiejun should be careful. Due to the restrictions of K's Law, his ability to break double teams has been severely weakened. He must deliver the ball in time. Or he can take a shot. Tiejun's nearly two
The point shooting percentage is pretty good.
However, I judge that the purpose of the Knicks' multi-team double-teaming is to force Tiejun to score the ball or take a shot within two points. The last thing Tiejun's opponents want to see is for him to hit the basket."
"Fortunately, Lao K's efficiency in the past two points is quite high." Su Qun nodded.
The Lakers attack again.
Lao Wang once again asked for the ball. After receiving the ball, O'Neal retreated half a step again and did not engage in hand-to-hand combat with him.
At this time, he also noticed that the Knicks' defensive formation shrank again.
The next moment, he followed O'Neal's retreat and stepped into the paint area.
O'Neal took another half step back, then took another half step forward and put his foot on the line of the reasonable collision zone. Just as the Knicks' defensive contraction suddenly accelerated and O'Neal came up to touch him, he jumped up and his left elbow got stuck.
, hitting a side hook with his right hand.
O'Neal jumped to defend and was completely unable to block Lao Wang's side hook, missing the boss by a step.
"brush!"
The ball went into the basket, and Lao Wang hit a nearly two-point hook.
Today the Knicks used multiple double-teams on him because they didn't want him to hit the basket. In this case, he could only play one more attack of nearly two points. The feel of this ball is okay and it is just right.
Today's situation.
Knicks offense.
On the right wing, Oakley was active and suddenly ran outside the three-point line and blocked Fox's side. Ellis got the opportunity and immediately moved to the top of the arc and stretched out his hands to get the ball.
Charlie Ward had already made preparations and quickly passed the ball. Ellis received the ball and made a jumper, shot in the open space, and hit another three-pointer.
"Deadly three-point shooter Darle Ellis has his second three-pointer. Be careful. In the first three rounds, his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 42.3%. The Knicks clearly want to hit him more on this point today."
Zhang Lili reminded somewhat anxiously.
On the sidelines, Harris shouted to Fox: "Rick, pay attention to the pick-and-roll and don't let him get open again."
He was a little annoyed. He had defended Ellis well in the first three games. Today, he actually let him shoot two three-pointers at the beginning. The first three-pointer was a fast break. It makes sense that he couldn't defend it. This open three-pointer after the pick-and-roll was
The defense was not good enough.
"0K."
Fox nodded quickly.
2:8, Lakers attack.
"Bang!"
Lao Wang made another hook shot, but this time he missed, and Oakley, who came to help defend, got the rebound.
Knicks offense.
Oakley and Ellis started a pick-and-roll on the right wing again, attracting the Lakers' defensive attention. Jordan took the opportunity to move without the ball on the left wing and implement a cutting tactic into the paint.
Charlie Ward passed the ball, not to the right wing, but to Jordan. Jordan took a step outside the paint area to catch the ball and entered the paint area.
Lao Wang was also paying attention to the right wing. When Jordan cut in from behind, he was ready to cover up the defense. O'Neal launched a counterattack in time, which delayed him for half a second. Then it was too late, and Jordan rushed in in front of him.
"brush!"
A one-handed layup and a hit.
At 2:10, the Lakers attacked and called a timeout.
"The Lakers' offensive and defensive tactics all failed. They were a little out of shape today!" Barkley said.
"In the key battle, including the coaching staff, the Lakers' condition was not adjusted well," Bill Walton said.
Kenny Smith said: "The main reason is that the previous offensive and defensive tactics of the Knicks were quite unexpected. They suddenly sent out multiple double-teams on Old K, and then formulated a three-point tactic for the veteran Ellis, and then played two quick games.
attack."
Buckley nodded and said: "As a leader, Old K has to stand up now. This is his responsibility."
After the timeout, the Lakers attack.
This time, after receiving the ball, Lao Wang took half a step back to face the basket, put his hands together with the ball, and made a three-threat preparation.
O'Neal, who was about to retreat, quickly followed up half a step, but still took half a step, and the main defense broke through.
The Knicks' perimeter defense also immediately shrank a step. Jordan was only two meters away from Pharaoh inside the left three-point line. He took a big step and was within reach.
"careful!"
Richmond's voice sounded in front of Lao Wang.
"Jordan?"
He reacted immediately.
At this time, with the sharp screeching sound of sneakers, wind blew behind him, and a black shadow emerged from the right side, and a big hand reached for the basketball in his hands.
"Bang!"
He immediately lowered his hands to avoid Jordan's cut. The basketball passed through his crotch, hit the floor, and bounced out.
This was a pass to Richmond, and he didn't know the specific position of his teammates, so the force of the ground pass was not great and the ball speed was not fast.
After he passed the ball, he immediately started a quick step, passed O'Neal in front of him, and cut into the paint area. O'Neal turned to pursue the defense and was already a step too slow.
After taking more than one step, Richmond moved to catch the ball, and Jordan had already pounced on him.
"So fast!"
He was surprised by Jordan's speed of returning to defense. The Flyers were fighting for their lives.
"Bang!"
While dribbling, he took a step toward the left corner, dodged Jordan's defense, and then shot a three-pointer.
"Bang!"
It was a little short and the basketball bounced off the basket.
Lao Wang, who was the first to cut to the basket, spread out his arms and caught O'Neal behind him. With his body suddenly rising, he caught the ball with his big hand and pushed it forward. With a bang, he completed a make-up dunk.
"Beautiful! Old K's distribution of the ball is very good, and his off-ball cuts after passing the ball are very timely. This requires good awareness of grabbing offensive rebounds and making secondary attacks." Su Qun praised.
4:10, Knicks attack.
Jordan broke through with the ball on the left wing. This was his first attack with the ball in a positional battle since the start of the night.
Using O'Neal's screen, he successfully entered the paint area, met Fordson's defense under the basket, and played a pull bar.
Just when he dodged Fordson's block and was about to pick up the basket for the second time, a pair of big hands directly pressed the ball on the backboard and grabbed it.
"Old K?!"
He looked back and saw that it was Comrade Lao Wang.
When Jordan went in, because Fordson returned to defense in time, Comrade Wang did not return to defend the basket immediately, but followed him in. There was a time difference and he just happened to block the shot.
4:10, Lakers attack.
Kobe pulled up to the right wing and hit Charlie Ward in isolation. Tieshan leaned sideways and directly knocked over his opponent who was short of tonnage, and then hit an open three-pointer.
This was the second time he knocked over Charlie Ward. When he knocked over Charlie Ward for the first time in the G1 game, he failed to hit an open ball. This time he did not miss the opportunity.
"Kobe will practice for another two years, and his singles ability will probably not be inferior to Michael's." Phil Jackson's eyes narrowed when he saw this scene.
From Kobe's singles, he saw Kobe's potential on the outside, especially when Kobe misplaced the opponent's point guard, the advantage was huge.
