Pick Westbrook

Chapter 112 Next is the home court of the Bucks
5 month 7 day.

The second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Game [-].

The Milwaukee Bucks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Barkley grinned and said: "The problem that the Bucks have to consider now is probably not how to win this round of the series, but how to win a game from the Cavaliers.

This is their most pressing problem. "

After all, in the last round of the series, the Cavaliers directly swept the 4ers 0:76. Now it seems that the Bucks are very likely to be next.

The Cavaliers are really strong this season!
Kenny Smith was still unconvinced and said: "This is the first game. No one can tell what will happen next. Maybe the Bucks will explode tonight."

on the field.

After Westbrook used Yi Jianlian to connect the pick-and-roll, he directly forced the pull-up.

Three point hit!

Switching offense, James advanced with the ball, but before halftime, Artest crazily pressed him. The two staggered all the way and almost caused the Cavaliers to violate the 8-second rule.

James, who finally dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, hadn't been able to launch an offense yet, and encountered Artest's almost crazy defense and extremely strong body collisions until James handed the ball to Xiao Mo. Such defensive pressure before completely disappearing.

"The defense of the Bucks tonight is even more fierce than the last game!"

The defensive pressure Xiao Mo encountered was also not small. Westbrook never let go of the shot, and the oppressive height of the opponent could easily interfere with his shooting. This made Xiao Mo unable to find the killer for several consecutive rhythm changes. The opportunity to enter the inside line can only be chosen from the outside line in the end.

Duang!

Still as solid as ever.

The Bucks set off a counterattack, James tried hard to return to the defense, Westbrook made a pass, Villanueva made a chasing three-pointer, and the Bucks played a wave of 10:2 offense.

Seeing this, Li Lai finally sat back on the coach's bench for the first time after the start of the game.

In this game, he deliberately let Westbrook and Yi Jianlian strengthen their personal offense, and at the same time let Artest devote all his energy to James' defense. Judging from the current picture on the court, the effect is also very nice.

"James was harassed by Artest and was disturbed all the way. As long as it is difficult for him to participate in the Cavaliers' offense, there is no surprise that we won this game."

Tylen Lue finally said with a look of joy.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks led the Cavaliers 30:26. Initially, the Bucks’ specially strengthened defense against James was good, and this defense was still in the defensive strategy that Li Lai arranged before the start of the series. Among the tactics, that is to keep shooting James.

Although James shot 40% of the three-pointers in the last game, Li Lai still stubbornly used the same strategy to limit James in this game.

Tyronn Lue originally supported this defensive strategy, but after the end of the last game, he began to question this tactic.

After all, on such a critical stage of the playoffs, as long as you lose four games, you have to go home and fish, so you can't slack in a single game.

"Since James has shot a good long-range shooting percentage in the last game, why don't we quickly change our strategy and limit his shooting?

Or stop shooting his three-pointers from now on, and go back to normal defense. "

What makes Tyronn Lue even more incomprehensible is that Li Lai still insists not to double-team James and only use Artest to restrict it, but it turns out that even Artest can't pinch the new MVP at all.

The second game.

The Bucks once again pinched the Cavaliers bench lineup led by Mo Xiao.

Westbrook's full-court defense limited Mo to his death. Whether he broke through or shot, it was difficult for him to contribute to the Cavaliers. An all-star player who kills indiscriminately.

Dragic extended the Bucks' lead to 40:30, and the Bucks had a 10-point lead over the Cavaliers for the first time!

Mike Brown urgently called a timeout, and had no choice but to take James ahead of schedule again.

The bald headed Mike Brown couldn't help shaking his head at the Bucks players on the field, "In the last round of the playoffs, the 76ers could only force James to play 33 minutes per game, but now you are letting James play again. LeBron may be playing more than 40 minutes, and the Bucks are really a strong team."

After seeing James play, this time Li Lai took Artest in time, and he also made up his mind that as long as James is on the court in this round of the series, Artest must play whether it is a substitute or a starting time.

Poor Artest, who played more minutes than Rose in the last round of the series, may have to fight James again in this round of the series.

The Cavaliers attack.

As soon as James came up, he hit a three-pointer against Artest.

The violent Artest shook his head and looked at Li Lai with his lips pursed, "Coach, do I have to keep guarding against this guy?"

Li Lai nodded affirmatively, but did not explain at this time, because all the players on the Cavaliers looked over curiously, and James even stared at Li Lai's lips.

"James with a high IQ may also want to know why I keep shooting him."

Li Lai smiled bitterly.

If the Bucks can limit James' offense, why use this defensive strategy that kills one thousand and hurts eight hundred?

Artest can limit James' offense, but it is absolutely impossible to prevent James from hitting the basket. As long as this tank comes to the basket, who can the Bucks defend?
Easy Link?Villanueva?

Li Lai shook his head, no one!

Therefore, he would rather let James shoot from the outside than let him go to the basket. Although this does not seem to be a very wise decision, it is really a helpless move.

Li Lai knew very well that with the Bucks' current interior configuration and defensive strength in the penalty area, James' tank would be upgraded to an aircraft carrier like a fish in water, so he had to defend like this.

In addition, this kind of defense can also greatly reduce James' passing ability. At least during this period, when James did not break through and enter the inside to attract double-teams, his passing ability was not too much of a threat. .

Of course, in addition to the above two reasons, there is a more important reason.

Li Lai looked at the court again, "I hope this defensive strategy is really useful to you."

The second quarter is over.

James led the Cavaliers to stabilize the score.

55:48, the Bucks still maintain the lead.

In the second half of the game, Li Lai saw the hope of winning the game, so he began to frequently call timeouts to arrange offensive rounds, and disrupted the Cavaliers' defensive layout and offensive rhythm.

The bald-headed Mike Brown was drenched in cold sweat under Li Lai's dazzling tactical arrangement. At this time, he also completely exposed his biggest weakness, that is, it was difficult for him to find a solution immediately when facing the opponent's tactical changes.

The Bucks had more chances to score and extended their lead to 85 points again at 75:10 at the end of the third quarter.

"Wow!"

An excited Westbrook started yelling on the court.

In this game, he beat Maurice Williams violently in the matchup continuously, which turned the passage that the opponent said before the start of the series into a clown-like comic performance.

"You still want to prove that you are [-] times stronger than me? Find a class in an electronics factory!"

On-site commentary desk.

"The Bucks are finally going to win the game!

Look, Charles, I said the Bucks were going to blow up tonight. "

Kenny Smith said excitedly.

Barkley shook his head, and said very seriously: "The fourth quarter has not yet started, and everything is still unknown."

Game four.

As soon as James came up, he scored 2+1 in the middle distance against Artest's defense.

Artest was extremely upset holding his head aside, because this foul caused him to have accumulated 4 fouls in this game, and each time he committed it on James.

"He's still going to get to the basket!"

Li Lai stood up nervously, and there was already a bad sign in his heart.

This guy James is really smart. Even though the Bucks have been using his outside shots, he is trying his best to try his touch on the outside, but as long as the critical moment comes, he will still use his most lethal weapon. Going into the basket to attack, and judging from the pictures on the court, Artest really can't guard James.

Tyronn Lue reminded from the side: "Artest has stature, speed, and strength. Originally, letting him defend James alone should have a good effect, but we all underestimate superstars like James too much."

"You can't limit his scoring to less than 20 points with a single player! Even in the 07 Finals, the Spurs failed to limit James' scoring to this point with a strong overall defense."

At the same time, Tyronn Lue also came up with a statistic. When James played against the 76ers in the last round, he averaged 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game, and his shooting percentage reached a terrifying 56%. James, under special restrictions, has dropped to less than 50% from the field, which is already a very remarkable result.

So, it's not that Artest's defense is bad, it's just that even a defensive player of his level can only limit James to this point.

Li Lai nodded. He naturally knew that for superstars like Kobe, James, and Wade, you don't want them to score only 10 points in a game. Such a strong defense is not realistic at all.

It was only from Tyronn Lue's words that Li Lai heard that the other party was still suggesting that he use the overall defense to limit James like the Spurs.

That is double-teaming.

But such defense can really limit James?

Li Lai shook his head and said firmly, "Teaming means passing the ball. I would rather face a James who only knows how to attack. Otherwise, the Bucks will be in more trouble."

"And my defense against James can't be seen in one game, but the entire series!"

In the fourth quarter, James once again turned into James with all his strength, making all kinds of breakthroughs and hitting the basket. He either made fouls and hit the free throw line, or relied on the defense of the Bucks to score.

Artest was threatened with a serious foul, and he no longer dared to make big moves on the court and use his body to defend. This was firmly in the eyes of James, so instead he took the initiative to attack Artest.

The Cavaliers played a 15:5 offensive high.

The victorious Westbrook wanted to lead the team to win the game, so he also hit the basket to help the team score, but the inside defense of Big Z and Varejao was not a vegetarian, and Westbrook continued to fight.

In the last minute, James once again sealed the victory with a breakthrough 1+2, and Artest left the field with 1 fouls!
105:101, the Cavaliers lead 2:0.

Post-match interview.

The air at the press conference was very quiet, and even these reporters expected the next outcome of the Bucks.

"The Bucks have lost two games in a row. Have you thought about how to strengthen the team during the off-season, Coach Li Lai?"

A reporter who knew well that Li Lai was also the boss behind the Bucks asked curiously.

Li Lai hesitated for a while, then smiled and said, "I haven't thought about this problem yet, because the Bucks haven't lost yet."

The reporter continued: "The Bucks played very hard in these two games, but every fourth quarter, they always regretted losing the game because the Cavaliers superstar fell short.

Obviously, the Bucks don't have a superstar who can match it, so they can't lead the team to win the game at a critical moment. "

Li Lai nodded and said, "I agree with you very much. The playoffs are indeed a stage for superstars. With a player in the top 5 in the league, the Cavaliers can indeed be so arrogant."

"But unfortunately, I don't think the Bucks don't have superstars."

"The Bucks are working very hard, from the coaching staff to every player is working hard, our performance against the Cavaliers with the league's first record is not bad, so we do have the ability to win the series !"

"The series is not over yet!!!"

All the Bucks players waiting in the player tunnel clenched their fists at this time.

Westbrook again hit a triple-double tonight with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and he also received praise from all the sports media after the game.

But what Westbrook wants more than praise is to win a game for the Bucks.

Yi Jianlian scored the highest score in the playoffs, 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and made 9 of 4 three-pointers. The reason why he was suggested to gain weight in the beginning to improve the inside defense.

"If I want to play center all the time, then the ability to defend the paint is what I must have."

But even if the current Yi Jianlian understands this truth, it is too late to improve.

Li Lai put down the microphone in front of countless reporters, and uttered his last cry, "The next game will be the home court of the Bucks!"

(End of this chapter)