Pick Westbrook

Chapter 132 I've Been Waiting For You For A Long Time
Kobe Bryant still wanted to play against double teams, but Westbrook and Artest's defense was so tacit, it even reminded him of the Celtics' Rondo and Tony Allen double-teamed him defense.

"It seems that the Bucks are not only good on the offensive end, they should also have a lot of training on the defensive end."

Westbrook's defense was off the line, and Artest's defense was on the line. This defensive space only left Kobe with a super large backward jumper attack position.

But Artest is the top line of defense. He is much taller than Westbrook, so even if Kobe is about to make a fadeaway jumper again, he can steadily interfere in time.

"Pass the ball!"

Phil Jackson, the Zen master who has already seen that the overall offense and defense of the Bucks has improved by one pick-and-roll compared to last season, has begun to treat them as opponents of the same level.

This time Kobe's stubborn temper obviously came up again. Of course, Zen master is very clear about the reasons for this. Apart from the reason for the opening game of the new NBA season and the championship ring award ceremony, the more important reason should be O'Neal.

"Kobe has always wanted to prove himself in front of his big brother, and he can do without him!"

But it's never a good idea to play the current Bucks in such a horny way.

Kobe heard the Zen master's reminder, but he didn't pay attention, and still stubbornly turned around and fell back.

This recline is exaggerated, and the body is almost lying flat.

But the shooting range of basketball is very high instead. It seems that Kobe is also afraid of Artest's height so he deliberately changed the shooting range.

Li Lai was very satisfied watching from the sidelines, because from the perspective of the process, the Bucks defended very well, and could even be described as perfect. No one can use such a completely unconventional shooting method to throw the ball in.

Swish!
The ball is in!
"Fuck!"

Li Lai was upset, and looked at Kobe with wide eyes. The ball was definitely luck.

Both Artest and Westbrook were also a little helpless, because they almost defended to the extreme.

"Pretty well."

Li Lai applauded from the sidelines, gave them great encouragement, and signaled them to continue to defend like this, even if Kobe could score every difficult shot, Li Lai could accept such a result.

After scoring the goal, Kobe spread his hands to the Zen master, indicating that he can handle everything.

Phil Jackson frowned speechlessly. This is the second time in his coaching career that he has encountered such a maverick player, and you can't say anything, because he made the damn ball.

"But, that's what the Bucks want to see."

"Singles play consumes the most stamina. Regardless of whether Kobe can score a goal by playing like this, even if he scores, how many rounds can he last in this offensive mode?"

At the end of the first quarter, Kobe's hand feeling finally declined. The continuous status singles consumed him a lot of energy. As his shooting percentage began to decline, the Bucks also took advantage of the situation to play a small climax, winning 32:26 take the lead.

Li looked at Phil Jackson on the opposite coach's bench, and suddenly couldn't help admiring him.

Because the opponent is indeed a very remarkable head coach, in the first quarter, when Kobe began to stubbornly enforce one-on-one singles, Phil Jackson did not replace the opponent and give him orders, but let Gasol And Bynum went to the basket more to compete for the second rebound after Kobe failed to shoot.

But what Phil Jackson didn't expect was that Li Lai had already made very detailed defensive arrangements for the rebounding of Gasol and Bynum before the game.

Rasheed Wallace top-defended Gasol, desperately engaged in physical confrontation after Kobe shot, and made it difficult for Gasol to take off and get a comfortable rebounding position.

And Yi Jianlian, who is facing Bynum, naturally does not have the physical talent and confrontation experience of Rasheed Wallace, so he cannot defend like Rasheed Wallace.

Li Lai asked Yi Jianlian to switch to Rao's front block defense. In this way, even if Bynum grabbed the rebound, it would be difficult to make a second offense with his offensive skills.

At the same time, Artest and Westbrook also have to actively fight for defensive rebounds. That is to say, everyone in the Bucks except Curry has the task of fighting for defensive rebounds.

"But we still lost three rebounds in the first quarter."

Marshall pulled out the data and said.

Li Lai can accept this result. Kobe has already played his own hand in the first quarter of the game. He made 11 of 5 shots and scored 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Stop defending, and instead limit the Lakers' two-tower lineup, let you Kobe defend against the two to see if you can lead the team to win the game.

Judging from the results of the first quarter, Kobe can't either, at least he can't face the Bucks with full offensive firepower.

In the second quarter of the game, the teams on both sides replaced the substitute lineup one after another.

Bucks: Dragic, Iverson, George Hill, Villanueva and O'Neal.

Lakers: Point guard Jordan Farmar, shooting guard Shannon Brown, small forward Luke Walton, power forward Odom and center DJ Mbenga.

O'Neal had just set foot on the Staples Center when the fans booed and trash-talked him immediately.

Tyronn Lue couldn't understand and said: "Anyway, O'Neal was also the boss of this team and led them to win three consecutive championships. In any case, Los Angeles fans should not spray him."

Li Lai agreed and said: "Yes, strictly speaking, the management of the Lakers should have abandoned O'Neal, not because he chose to leave, so O'Neal did not betray them.

It's ironic to say that the Lakers will abandon the FMVP who won three championships for them, the biggest contributor to the team's victory. "

O'Neill is pathetic enough.

But at this time, he was expressionless on the court. O'Neal seems to have gotten used to all this, after all, he has been like this since he left Los Angeles.

"It's just that I want to remind the Lakers that Shaquille O'Neal who doesn't rap is the scariest."

Game start.

The Zen master sat on the coaching bench thoughtfully. He looked at O'Neill and wanted to know how much strength the opponent still had.

He who once led O'Neal and Kobe to win three consecutive championships is most familiar with this big shark. He was the undisputed No.1 in the league at that time, and the most dominant center in the basket. If he still has five peaks If he has the strength of the period, then the little-known DJ Mbenganu will be beaten by the opponent so that his mother can't recognize him. If he still has the strength of the peak period of four layers, then DJ Mbenganu may still be able to fight the opponent if he works hard. [-]-[-].

"When O'Neal was in the Suns last season, he probably had four or five layers of strength. This year he is one year older, at most four layers, and normally should be three layers.

DJ Mbenga should be able to limit the opponent with O'Neal who only has three levels of peak strength. "

But after such thoughts appeared, Phil Jackson shook his head in self-doubt. Judging from O'Neal's current body shape, it seems that he is even better than when he was with the Suns last season.

The Bucks attack.

O'Neal showed his strong side as soon as he came up, and he was stuck inside and wanted the ball strongly.

In the preseason, Iverson and O'Neal had already played very well together, so at this time he directly lobbed the ball and passed it steadily.

All other Bucks players stretched beyond the three-point line.

Odom, who had been teammates with O'Neal, wanted to double-team the opponent inside. After all, no matter how you look at it, DJ Mbenga, who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game in his career, is not at the same level as O'Neal.

But the backup power forward brought up by the Bucks is Villanueva, a player who averaged 16 points per game last season with three-pointers, which is even higher than Odom, who averaged 12 points per game. .

"And coach Phil Jackson repeatedly told the Bucks to be careful of the three-pointers before the game. If they make up at this time, it is very likely that the Bucks will be hit by the wave of three-pointers they are used to."

Just when the players on the Lakers were hesitating whether to double-team inside, O'Neal played with his back and singles, Yiku!turn around!

Dunk! ! !

"Shaquille O'Neal dunks!"

On the live commentary stand, Barkley was so shocked that he almost ate the microphone in front of him.

This is the 37-year-old O'Neal. He can still show this kind of one-on-one dunk. Even the opponent of the Suns last season was not so strong.

There are miracle doctors in the Suns, what do you have in the Bucks, panacea? !

Zen master Phil Jackson stood up excitedly and said in surprise, "This is impossible!"

He really wanted to say, how can O'Neal on the court now only have three layers of peak strength, judging from the turnaround shark dunk just now, he must be at least five layers, which is even stronger than the Suns.

The Los Angeles fans at the scene were silent, so everyone covered their mouths in disbelief.

And the Bucks' offense continued.

next round.

Iverson took the initiative to signal O'Neal to go inside to ask for a position. This time, the other Lakers players were not so hesitant. Everyone shrank the inside and prepared to help defend O'Neal.

But this kind of defense is simply paper in front of the Bucks. Iverson and George Hill simply passed the ball and immediately pulled out all the defensive players inside.

Who dares to shoot the Bucks' outside three-pointers?
O'Neal once again got the opportunity to play back singles inside. Odom no longer hesitated, decisively assisted in the double-teaming of the restricted area, and asked Luke Walton to help him keep an eye on his own people.

O'Neill turned back and hit again, Erku!

DJ Mbenga tried his best to go to the top, but the tonnage difference between the two was too big, and he was about to fly with just one touch. Fortunately, Odom double-teamed and helped to prevent O'Neal from turning his back. space, but at this time the big shark actually chose to turn forward.

boom!
The big shark splits the buckle with one hand!
"Second dunk!"

This time Barkley finally believed it!

O'Neal's current state is definitely better than last season!
"Daddy Shark is coming!"

O'Neill's suffocated breath finally broke out at this moment. He looked at the Los Angeles fans at the scene and nodded again and again.

"This is my answer to you!"

beep!beep!
Fick Jackson urgently called a timeout, and quickly took Bynum who had a rest for less than 2 minutes.

Big sharks against little sharks.

One is in his twilight years and the other is in his prime.

Li looked at O'Neill. He really wanted to say that Bynum, who has not reached the peak of washing, cutting and blowing, can not be underestimated on the defensive end, and the effect of the veteran's immortal skill is coming to an end. At this time, O'Neill still imagines playing DJ· Mbenga is somewhat unlikely to play Bynum like that.

O'Neill also looked at Li Lai. At this time, he no longer had the funny appearance off the court, but looked like a real leader.

O'Neal shook his head.

Li Lai nodded and smiled at the old shark, "I'll beat you until you're exhausted!"

The Bucks followed up with substitutions.

Curry was taken, Dragic was taken, and Iverson was moved to point guard.

From now on, the Bucks will give O'Neal the ultimate space!
The Lakers attacked, and Odom made a mid-range shot.

O'Neal grabbed the rebound.

During the period, Bynum also deliberately used his body to fight against O'Neal. Although it is difficult for the old shark to compete with Bynum in terms of explosive power, his experience, weight, and strength will never lose to the opponent.

So after a short confrontation, O'Neal still protected the backboard.

The Bucks attacked again.

This time Zen Master has finished standing on the court. His spine has always been sick, so he rarely watches the game standing up. Even in the finals last season, he didn't have much time to stand and guide the game.

O'Neal once again fell inside and asked for the ball.

But this time Bynum pushed him far away from the basket.

Iverson frowned slightly. The chances of singles in this position are not good, but O'Neal still raised his right hand, he obviously wanted to play.

Iverson still passed in and directed Curry to run from the bottom line to the weak side, which attracted the attention of the Lakers inside, and O'Neal was able to get half a step closer to the penalty area.

This is the veteran experience.

O'Neal post-up singles!
First hit!
Didn't move!
The second time, Bynum remained motionless.

Seeing that O'Neal's attack was about to fail, the old shark suddenly made a flexible back turn and scored with one hand.

After dunking, O'Neal excitedly pushed Bynum, "Boy, playing basketball is not all about brute force, you have to use your brains. By the way, I remind you that I have a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University. MBA from the University of Phoenix, what degree do you have?"

Bynum, who participated in the draft after graduating from high school, had a gloomy face. I never went to college!

Zen Master was a little annoyed by the pictures on the court, and he still didn't let the Lakers players take the initiative to double-team O'Neal.

Because he has played against the young coach Li Lai several times, he knows very well that the opponent is a head coach who is very experienced in three-point shooting tactics, so even if players from the Suns and Mavericks shoot three-pointers, he will not shoot. Players who dare to let the Bucks shoot three-pointers.

beep!beep!
The Zen master called timeout again.

The two consecutive timeouts also caused Kenny Smith, who was on the commentary desk, to look sideways.

"There are not many opponents who can make the Lord of the Rings Zen master Phil Jackson call two timeouts in a row. The head coach of the Bucks, Li Lai, is proud of it."

The Lakers took Kobe and Fisher, and at the same time played a zone defense on defense.

After all, these two are the two best defensive pioneers on the outside of the Lakers. With them, even if the defense is slightly contracted, the Bucks will not have too many three-pointers.

The Zen Master murmured: "If you can force me to deploy defenses to limit the offense set by the opposing coach, Popovich will count as one, George Karl will count as one, and you, Li Lai, will count as one from now on."

Iverson looked at Kobe on the court with perfect eyes, and he remembered the year when the two participated in the draft at the same time.

That year, he was the pride of heaven, and that year, Kobe was just a kid who had just emerged from high school.

"Kobe, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

(End of this chapter)