Pick Westbrook

Chapter 182 Cooking Wine on Heroes

Post-match interview.

Zen Master and Kobe sat in front of the conference stage one after another.

A reporter looked curiously at Kobe's dead face.

"Kobe, you just made the game-winning shot to help the Lakers beat the Bucks 112:111, leading 2:0."

"Why do you look unhappy at all?"

Kobe turned his head coldly, fixed his eyes on the reporter and said, "Why should I be happy?"

The reporter said unnaturally under this look: "Because. The Lakers. 2:0 in the finals"

Kobe didn't give the reporter a chance to continue. He asked seriously: "Is the job over?"

"Do I have the championship in my hand?"

"The game is not over yet, the battle will continue!"

The surrounding reporters couldn't help being awed after seeing Kobe still say this after leading the Bucks, but they were not particularly surprised by this.

After all, Kobe is a well-known paranoid in the league, and there are many similar things he has said throughout his career.

But these reporters couldn't help being very surprised to see that the Zen master beside Kobe was also dead.

This is the first time Zen Master, who has always looked very gentle outside the court, showed such a serious look.

"Coach Mayfair."

After hearing a reporter's yell and a hand raised for questioning, Zen master Phil Jackson shook his head and declined the interview.

Tonight's entire game is still running through his head.

In particular, the last key offensive lore arrangement was actually blocked by the Bucks. If it weren't for Kobe's big heart and ability to score goals under extreme defensive pressure, the Lakers would have a high probability of winning the game tonight. to lose.

In the first game, Curry's outburst in the third quarter almost took away the victory. In this game, the Bucks kept leading until the last 23 seconds. Zen Master's ugly face made him feel that the Bucks were a very difficult opponent. .

He also changed the conclusion before the start of the finals at this time.

"The finals between the Lakers and the Bucks, there is absolutely no 90% winning rate!"

Bradley Arena.

Hammond is already arranging the team's next trip.

After this game is over, the next Finals series will be played two days later at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles.

At that time, it will be an away game, which is undoubtedly worse for the current situation of the Bucks.

Hammond had a big belly, and then subconsciously looked up. The light in Li Lai's office was always on.

Originally, after the team suffered a two-game losing streak in the Finals, Hammond found Li Lai with concern and hoped to take him to Milwaukee Bar Street to relax.

After all, the two were once best friends, brothers and sisters, and the discussion in this aspect is notoriously detailed.

But what Hammond never expected was that Li Lai rejected him without hesitation, and said that women would only affect his thinking speed.

"What the hell! This is so hard to pretend!"

Westbrook and Curry chose to practice extra after the game. Tyronn Lue and Marshall stayed with them in the arena. After all, Li Lai had instructed all players to spend extra training time during the playoffs. Neither should exceed 1 hour.

Tyronn Lu and Marshall also raised their heads in tacit agreement at this time and looked in the direction of the office.

Tyronn Lue sighed and said: "After all, it is the Lakers. There is a reason why the whole world looked down on us before the finals. They are indeed very strong."

Marshall said: "The coach has found a way to limit the strong rebounds of the Lakers, and also helped Yi Jianlian play more aggressive inside, and even made Bynum only 5 of 2 shots and 6 points in this game. 9 rebounds, but we still lost."

Reggie Miller accompanied Westbrook and Curry on the court for shooting drills.

Westbrook didn't play well in these two games, because the Lakers' inside line was too high, and he had almost no chance to easily get to the basket and score.

As for Curry, he broke out once in the first game, but since that quarter, the Lakers' defense against Curry has become more and more perverted. Kobe and Fisher are close to each other, and they don't give Curry any support at all. Easy three-point shot.

So when Iverson and O'Neal played so well in these two games, the Bucks still lost the game. There is a big reason for them.

"Reggie, how do we beat the Lakers?"

Curry, who is also a teacher and friend with Reggie Miller, stopped and said decisively after one hour of extra training time.

At this time, Westbrook also stopped, looking at Reggie Miller curiously.

Reggie Miller was taken aback for a moment, a little surprised that the two listened to Li Lai's words, saying that the extra training could only be 1 hour at most and only 1 hour of training.

Then he said: "During the 99-00 season, the Lakers led the Pacers 2-0 in the Finals. I asked myself the same question at that time."

Curry asked curiously: "What is the result?"

Reggie Miller shook his head and said, "No result."

Westbrook frowned at the side, wouldn't he have to continue to beat the Lakers if there was no result?
It's just that after shaking his head, Reggie Miller quickly thought of it. After thinking about this question, although he didn't get the answer on how to beat the Lakers, he scored consecutively in the next two games. The data of 33 points and 35 points.

So at this time, he also looked at Westbrook and Curry in front of him and said: "When the two of you ask this question, the result is actually not important."

"Remember, Artest is the leader of the Bucks, but the team is built with the two of you."

"So, no matter how other people play, you always have to remember that this is your team."

"No matter what the final result is, whether the Bucks can beat the Lakers or not, all you have to do is to shoulder this team forward."

"This is what you should do!"

Westbrook and Curry glanced at each other, and they nodded secretly.

They really can't always let veteran Iverson and O'Neal help the team move forward, they need to do something.

At this time, Reggie Miller also put his arms around the shoulders of the two and said solemnly: "The most important thing is that you can always trust Li Lai!"

"His performance in this round of finals was better than anyone saw!"

New York, Brooklyn.

There was a cup of coffee in front of Larry Brown. The color was already dull, and there were still some foam floating around it. Most experienced people could tell that this cup of coffee was already very cold.

Mike Budenholzer looked away from the TV as he re-boiled two cups of coffee.

"Early before the start of the finals, most commentators and guest commentators believed that the Lakers could win the finals. Some professional basketball workers also analyzed the respective advantages of the two teams, and the final results were also surprising. unanimous."

"The Lakers have a 90% chance of beating the Bucks, which is almost indistinguishable from 100%. It's an overwhelming advantage."

Larry Brown nodded, agreeing with what Mike Budenholzer said.

Even his prediction before the start of the finals is that the Lakers will win the final victory, because this team has everything that a traditional championship team has.

With a very dominant inside line, some extremely functional role players, and one of the league's top offensive finishers, this team's lineup is born to compete for the championship.

Of course, this is the traditional direction of building a championship team. For example, the former OK combination, the Pistons, the Big Three of the Celtics, and the GDP of the Spurs are all following this idea to form a championship team.

But over the years, many teams have not been formed in this direction, and they have a good record in the regular season, but they have not been successful in the playoffs. The Suns and the Mavericks are all in this regard. outstanding.

"But don't underestimate the Bucks team just because of this support rate and winning percentage prediction. I played against them in the playoffs. They are indeed a very powerful team on the offensive end."

"And the offense of the Bucks is very different from that of the Suns. They are a team with many offensive options, so compared to the Suns, this team is more difficult to defend."

It was the first time Popovich had heard his teacher praise a team's offense so much.

Here at Larry Brown's home in Brooklyn, Popovich and his teacher have always had such a tacit understanding, that is, when their teams have not reached the finals, they will definitely get together to watch The next final matchup.

Taste tea to talk about life, cook wine to talk about heroes.

Popovich took a sip of red wine and suddenly asked, "What does the teacher think of Li Lai?"

Larry Brown was stunned, remembering that the Bobcats were eliminated by the Bucks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. At the end of the last game, he said the words "Small Ball Era".

Li Lai did create an alternative team offensive method, and the Bucks are more perfect than the Suns' 7-second ultimate offense in the entire team system.

Although Larry Brown still insists on the traditional playing concept in his bones, he has to admit that the tactics Li Lai designed for the Bucks are indeed worth learning from and learning from all coaches in the league.

So at this time, Larry Brown said very seriously: "With time, he will become a great weapon. He will become the level of you and me among basketball coaches."

Mike Budenholzer, who made the coffee, just came back at this time, and was extremely uncomfortable when he heard that Coach Larry Brown did not add his name to the level of the two.

He said: "Then Li Lai is really so powerful, can he reach such a height?"

"The teacher will definitely be a Hall of Fame coach in the future. Coach Larry Brown is even a legendary coach in the NBA. Now there are not many in the entire NBA who can compare with you two."

Seeing Mike Budenholzer's jealousy, Zhuge Weiqi smiled, pointed to the TV and said, "What did you see in these two games?"

Mike Budenholzer wiped a few strands of hair on his head and said: "In the first game, Zen master used a three-high lineup to give the Bucks a knife at a critical moment, especially Kobe's power at the end of the quarter. It was a trap dug for the Bucks, and the opponent jumped into it foolishly."

"In the second game, the Lakers' triangle offensive tactics were cracked by Yi Jianlian and Rasheed Wallace. Dominate the game, and that's how the Lakers went from trailing by 10 points to winning the game."

Popovich nodded, but Mike Budenholzer did a good job analyzing it.

His old opponent, Zen Master, did not disappoint Popovich either. In the first two games, he showed the level of the league's top coaches. After all, that guy Li Lai is young, and he needs to pay some price on his growth path.

Coach Larry Brown smiled and said, "You only analyzed the Lakers' tactical system?"

Mike Budenholzer paused aside, his face was extremely ugly. He really couldn't understand the Bucks' messy offensive tactics, which were even more troublesome than the Spurs' deep and complicated offense.

Popovich began to say: "The Lakers did not hold down the Bucks' offense in the first game, especially Curry. His sudden outburst almost took the game away. It must have been since that game. , Zen master is already very big headed thinking about how to defend Curry."

"In the second game, the Bucks made a big change. They gave O'Neal more playing time to limit the Lakers' three-high tactics, and at the same time used Artest to lead the defense to limit Kobe."

"Especially the details of Rasheed Wallace's defense, which is the main reason why Kobe didn't score high in the first three quarters in the second game."

"Originally, these changes were enough to help the Bucks win the game, and the Lakers' offensive tactics were also blocked by them in the last round, but Kobe stood up and scored this goal relying on his own ability. "

"If it wasn't for Kobe's attack in the last round, the Bucks should have tied the Lakers 1:1."

Larry Brown heard the meaning of his most proud disciple's words, so he asked curiously at this moment: "So you are more optimistic about the Bucks?"

"To be honest, I also think that the Bucks are far more than this strength, but at most it is 7:3 with the Lakers, and the Bucks are only 3."

Popovich paused and said, "I think it's 5:5."

"what?!"

Mike Budenholzer on the side was a little surprised, what kind of strange shooting lineup of the Bucks can play against the Lakers 5:5, what kind of international joke is this?
Popovich continued: "The Bucks have not yet solved the problem of the Lakers' inside advantage. If they can solve this problem in the remaining games, then I will change this idea."

"4:6 open! Bucks 6!"

(End of this chapter)