Pick Westbrook

Chapter 131 Opener

10 month 28 day.

The NBA regular season has finally started.

opener.

The streets of Los Angeles are already crowded with dense fans, which have nothing to do with the Bucks. These players are all fans of the Lakers.

Around the Staples Center, Lakers fans have put on the Lakers championship commemorative jerseys and cheered enthusiastically with a model of the championship trophy.

"The Lakers also have the purest fans."

For the first time, Li Lai felt the fanatical atmosphere of the defending champion. Every player of the Bucks was attracted by this atmosphere. From the bus driving into the stadium, Westbrook, Curry, Yi Jianlian , Dragic. Everyone looked out around the glass windows of the bus.

This is the defending champion Lakers!

Staples Arena.

As the announcer Enhe shouted: "Welcome to the NBA 2008-09 season, the league championship, and the Los Angeles Lakers!"

The fans at the scene shouted like a tsunami, and then the Lakers players entered the field one after another.

There are a total of 16 championship rings placed in the center of the court. From the substitute to the starter to the coach, everyone went on the court in turn to claim their own glory.

Finally, it was Kobe's turn to play the blacksmith, and the fans at the scene broke out into even stronger shouts.

O'Neal grinned on the bench, and he still remembered that the warm applause and shouts belonged to him a long time ago.

Li Lai said seriously: "Shaq, you also have the opportunity to enjoy such a night again."

It was rare for O'Neal not to speak with his head-scratching rap, "Yes, coach, just this season."

Kobe put on the championship ring and held it high above his head. This black mamba smiled shyly at this time, not at all like him.

Kobe: "Mamba is back!"

The referee blows his whistle, indicating that the game is about to start.

Countless reporters and news media have surrounded the stadium, and the enthusiasm of the scene is even comparable to a finals.

Because this is not only the opening game of the NBA, but also the championship award ceremony of the Lakers.

Li looked at all the players in front of him and said seriously: "I said that our goal this season is to hit the championship. Now the defending champion of last season is in front of us. You have also watched the championship award ceremony."

"I don't know what you're thinking, but right now, I'm thinking about killing the Lakers!"

"And let it be known that we want what they have too!"

"Bucks, go win the game!"

On-site commentary desk.

Kenny Smith has already played the starting lineups of the two teams for this game to the audience.

Lakers: Point guard Derek Fisher, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Trevor Ariza, power forward Pau Gasol and center Andrew Bynum.

Bucks: Point guard Westbrook, shooting guard Curry, small forward Artest, power forward Rasheed Wallace and center Yi Jianlian.

Barkley looked at the court very nervously and said: "The Lakers still left their champion striker Ariza. They originally planned to chase Marion and Artest in the free market, but the contract amount of the two is not enough for the Lakers. It is almost a sky-high price, and Ariza, who has proven to adapt to the Lakers system, may be more useful than the two."

Of course, no matter how you look at it, Artest is a better player than Ariza. The matchup between the two in this game is also very interesting.

Li looked at Westbrook and said: "I didn't give you a chance to challenge Kobe last season. This time I promise you that you will play against him throughout the game. I have recognized your hard work throughout the summer." You're a player who can compete with Kobe."

"Go defend him and get Russell, let him remember your name!"

Westbrook nodded excitedly. He had waited a long time for this day and made great efforts. Now is the time for him to prove his ability in front of Kobe.

Li Lai then looked at Curry and said: "Fisher is a very strong player, his breakthrough is very confrontational, but you only need to defend his outside line, if he insists on going inside, there will be Artes Te and Wallace wipe your ass.

But you also have to play your own offense, this is your value! "

Curry nodded nervously. The first game of his NBA career was to start, and it was against the defending champion. To say he wasn't nervous would be bragging.

At the same time, Li Lai gave instructions to other Bucks players one after another, and he also attached great importance to this game.

Game start!
Midfield jump ball!

The little shark Bynum jumped high and grabbed the first wave of the ball without any surprise.

Even though Yi Jianlian has strengthened his physical fitness, it is obvious that compared with those players who rely entirely on their bodies, his body is still much worse.

"Lakers! Attack!"

Los Angeles fans are extremely excited.

Fisher steadily held the ball forward, and the Lakers' first ball of the new season naturally had to be played by the boss.

Kobe ran from the bottom line from the right to the left, and Gasol's baseline off-the-ball pick-and-roll gave Kobe room to run without the ball.

Kobe wants the ball from the 45° left waist position, which is the singles position he is most familiar with.

"This is the triangle offense of the Lakers." Tyronn Lue murmured.

He naturally knows this tactic from the Lakers, and Tyronn Lue, who has always liked to steal tactics from various teams, knows this tactic very well.

In the Bucks preparation meeting last night, Tyronn Lue said a lot about the characteristics of this tactic.

The triangle tactic is also called the star singles tactic. The strong point and the weak side want the ball. At this time, the Lakers' player distribution on the court has also become a 4+1 combination. Gasol supports near the free throw line, and Bynum is on the strong side. The baseline is ready to receive the ball, while Fisher and Ariza are ready to shoot three-pointers from outside the strong-side three-point line.

If the Bucks do not choose to double-team, then it is Kobe’s singles teaching series. There are not many people in the league who can defend Kobe one-on-one, and Gasol is at the free throw line, and Bynum is on the strong side. Shoot, then the two will rush to the basket in an instant to grab the second rebound. There are not many teams in the league that can fight for rebounds from these two giant towers. In this way, the Lakers' offensive position will be easy to score.

But if the Bucks choose to double-team, then the first question before them is who will double-team?

If Rashid and Yi Jianlian go to double-team inside, then Gasol's shooting from the free throw line and the level of breakthrough layups are not blocked. European players have the most solid technical skills.

At the same time, Bynum near the bottom line basket is even more powerful after receiving the ball. At this time, he is not a nicknamed Shark, but a little shark.

Then the final choice, Artest and Curry go to double-team, but this will have to leave the two outsiders of the Lakers free. Fisher and Ariza's three-pointers are not parallel imports.

"This is the triangle offense of the Lakers. Zen Master Phil Jackson deserves to be the best coach in the league who can design tactics for stars."

Tyronn Lue still proposed to double-team Kobe. He knew the black mamba's singles ability very well, and the opponent was enough to win the game alone.

Li Lai would like to say that there are two great coaches in the West, one is the old man Zhuge Weiqi, who is the best head coach in the league who is good at creating space for superstars, and the other is the Zen master Phil Jackson, who is the best in the league. A head coach who creates space.

And now the Lakers' triangle offense seems to have weaknesses regardless of how the opponent double-teams, but in fact the only way to defeat this tactic is double-teaming.

For example, the Celtics used to double-team Kobe infinitely in the finals, and there was even a classic scene where Kobe was alone with five layups.

But Li Lai didn't double-team Kobe at the beginning, because he knew that the touch of hitting the blacksmith was not always stable, as long as he held him down before he had the momentum to explode.

Westbrook defends alone.

Kobe turned his back and looked back. After discovering that his defender had changed from the rookie elementary school student to the sophomore Westbrook, he became a little more serious.

There were a lot of discussions about this best rookie last season. The best rookie can be snatched from Rose, and the opponent is not ordinary.

Kobe played back singles, took a tentative step with his left foot, and then turned right to take a fake move, which was very confusing.

"Kobe's bottom line has always been the scariest!"

Westbrook didn't hesitate, not only didn't let Kobe take a step closer to the inside, but also gave him a lot of physical confrontation.

This defense, Westbrook also wants to prove himself!

But at this moment, Kobe suddenly made a continuously changing cross step, and then turned his back and shot directly backwards.

Westbrook jumped high.

But he and Kobe already had a height difference, and at this time he suffered from a change in Kobe's footsteps, so it was more difficult to interfere.

Fortunately, Kobe's fadeaway shot still has drift, which is extremely difficult.

Swish!
Basketball hit.

Li Lai took a deep breath, and then let it out angrily.

"It's already been prevented like this, and this blacksmith can still enter."

Tyronn Lue said bitterly on the side: "Since 06, Kobe has encountered devastating defenses, so he has already adapted to shooting under such defensive strength, and even Westbrook's defense against him is not the best. Horrible, at least not double-teamed, that guy dared to play like this with two double-teams."

The Bucks attack.

Westbrook held the ball across the half court, and he really wanted to get back to the place he was just now with this ball.

Fisher's defense is also not bad, but when he was concentrating on defending Westbrook, Kobe switched over and patted him on the back, "This kid let me."

Kobe has already felt the fighting spirit in Westbrook, and the defense just now made him recognize the other side. Westbrook is a player worthy of being taken seriously.

Yi Jianlian took the initiative to pick and roll, Westbrook also frowned and shook his head, "This ball, I want to single him!"

Kobe smiled speechlessly, he hadn't seen such an arrogant young man for a long time, "It's very similar to me."

Lower the center of gravity and start to accelerate directly!
Westbrook's step accelerated so quickly that even Kobe didn't react, but the experienced defensive Kobe still kept up steadily.

Westbrook didn't change halfway, he still tried his best to kill inside, and then took off directly with a big stride.

Gasol came to help, but Westbrook jumped a little high, and Kobe jumped high from behind and didn't interfere with the dunk.

boom!
A powerful tortoise battle ax smashed the buckle.

The Los Angeles fans at the scene were quiet.

"My subject was singled out."

"It's still a domineering dunk."

"Who is this player, what a dick!"

After dunking, Westbrook deliberately went to Kobe and bumped into him, and raised his eyebrows extremely arrogantly.

"It's really reckless."

Kenny Smith watched in amazement, shook his head and said, "This second grader will definitely explode this season. Judging from his offense and defense in this game, he will definitely become an All-Star player."

Barkley nodded in agreement and said, "His playing style reminds me of the Flash in Eastern Miami. It's a pity that his breakthrough didn't change as much as the Flash, but he played even more explosively."

Li Lai nodded affirmatively towards Westbrook, applauding the ball just now, but Kobe can beat a team by attacking, but Westbrook cannot.

So when the opponent attacked the center line, Li Lai reminded softly: "Play tactics! Our goal is to win the game!"

The Lakers continued to attack, still using a triangle offensive tactic.

Only this time they changed the ball holder, and Gasol held the ball near the free throw line.

"This is another way of playing the triangle tactics." Tyronn Lue reminded.

Li Lai looked at the field calmly.

The strong point of this tactic becomes Gasol. Of course, Gasol's singles skills are not as strong as Kobe's, but at this time Kobe is playing without the ball on the court. His inside cuts and outside pockets Has great defensive containment power, and it happens that my wife's passing support is also top-notch in the league, so at this time, Gasol can switch at will between passing the ball and his own offense.

Kobe Bryant's cut was still entangled by Westbrook, and Bynum was strongly stuck inside to ask for the ball.

"He ate the ball very deep, and Yi Jianlian was almost pushed to the basket."

Gasol made an inside pass, and Bynum hadn't had time to catch the ball steadily, but Yi Jianlian suddenly went around the front to defend and blocked the ball ahead of time.

"Good job!" Artest excited.

He has been training Yi Jianlian's defense since last season. The effect and defensive improvement Yi Jianlian showed last season was only negligible, but since Yi Jianlian gained weight this season, he is obviously on the court. With a stronger defensive deterrence, at least he defended this ball very smartly.

"Small magnification, weak defense, especially in the interior defense, you must go around the front and give the opponent a great physical confrontation. Otherwise, you can only watch the opponent score easily."

Bucks under fast break!

After Yi Jianlian made the steal, he made a long pass, and Westbrook took the ball and made a crazily fast pass.

But Kobe and Fisher's return to defense speed should not be underestimated.

Westbrook went to the basket with the ball. At this time, Kobe and Fisher were hanging on the left and right sides of his body at the same time. He did not choose to be reckless with this ball, but directly came to pass the ball without looking at the person, and sent the ball to the basket. Throw it near the bottom line on the right.

Curry was right there, caught the ball, raised his hand, didn't hesitate.

Swish!
A very pleasant sound of basketball hitting the net sounded.

"This shot is so fast! So accurate!"

Barkley felt instantly slapped in the face.

Originally he was still questioning the Bucks' decision to select Curry as a team, but judging from this ball, it seems that Curry is very suitable for the Bucks' offensive tactics. At least this three-pointer is what the Bucks desperately need to settle down of this.

Kobe was upset.

This game is the first game for the Lakers after winning the championship. The opening game of the new season is also the day when the championship ring is awarded and the championship flag is raised. In front of all Staples fans, this game It must be taken.

"Also, there's Shaquille O'Neal in this game!"

Kobe began to catch the ball more in the waist for isolation.

After Kobe scored the first goal, Li Lai gave Artest a tacit look.

The Bucks' best perimeter defensive duo is about to start double-teaming Bryant.

Originally, Artest defending Kobe alone could bring great deterrence to the opponent, but now he adds Westbrook, even if he still can't defend Kobe, but it should be okay to limit and reduce your shooting percentage, right?

Even before the start of the game, Li Lai had arranged for Artest in advance: "In this game, even if I send Kobe to the free throw line, I don't want to see him explode!"

(End of this chapter)