Pick Westbrook

Chapter 271 What I want to say is

Bradley Arena.

The second game of the finals.

"The Lone Ranger team has changed!"

Kenny Smith looked at the lineup on the court and exclaimed.

Mavericks starting lineup: point guard Jason Kidd, shooting guard Jason Terry, small forward Shawn Marion, power forward Dirk Nowitzki and center Tyson Chandler.

As early as the end of the last game, Magic Johnson has determined that if the Mavericks want to beat the Bucks, they must make major changes in tactics or player lineup.

Otherwise, judging from the results of the previous game, the Mavericks really have no chance of winning in the battle against the Bucks.

"DeShawn Stevenson is a swingman with a very strong defensive ability. In the last game, his defense against Curry and his defense against Westbrook were quite satisfactory."

"Now that the Lone Ranger team is missing DeShawn Stevenson, I am afraid that there will be a lot of pressure on the perimeter defense, and the defensive burden on Sean Marion will also increase dramatically."

"In the final analysis, the Bucks are still a team built with a combination of two perimeters. It is not a good thing to give them such a loose perimeter offensive environment."

Magic Johnson does not agree with the Mavericks' substitution strategy, because after such a substitution adjustment, it will be difficult to defend the Bucks' outside combination of Westbrook and Curry in the starting lineup stage, and when it comes to rotation playing time, Jason Terry, who started the game, will not appear on the bench.

You must know that in the last game, it was the double explosion of Jason Terry and Nowitzki that helped the Mavericks' bench lineup to bite the score. Now that Jason Terry is mentioned in the starting lineup, it is tantamount to Cut off an arm.

On the court, the game begins.

Boxing champion Chandler jumped off the ball in the fight with Cousins, and Kidd suddenly accelerated the moment he received the ball.

"The Lone Ranger team must play fast!"

The opening changes made everyone unexpected.

Although Westbrook has been staring at Kidd, an old fritter, he didn't expect the opponent to break through with the ball at the beginning of the game.

In the jump ball stage, Yi Jianlian, who was more inward, returned to the defense alertly, and he also blocked Kidd's path.

Westbrook secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to say that the United Arab League is good at helping defense, but Kidd directly distributed the ball to the bottom corner at this time.

The Jets Jason Terry ran right into that position and shot the ball without hesitation after catching the ball. Curry was a step slower and didn't keep up with the opponent.

At the same time, Sean Marion has already cut to the basket to grab the rebound, and is stuck in Yi Jianlian's take-off position. The physical confrontation between the two is very intense.

Swish!
Three point hit!

Terry, who hit the shot, stretched out three fingers with an extremely arrogant expression.

"The Lone Ranger team showed a good spirit at the beginning of the game. It can be seen that they really want to win tonight's game."

Li Lai crossed his arms, slightly surprised by the way the Mavericks played at the beginning of the game, because they were picking up speed.

Of course, speeding up can provide more offensive rounds, and it is the simplest and most effective way to increase the score on the field.

But in Li's view, Tyson Chandler and Nowitzki of the Mavericks are not fast, so it really takes a lot of courage to dare to speed up so boldly.

"The movement speed of Cousins ​​and Yi Jianlian is much better than that of Chandler and Nowitzki. Carlisle really dares to speed up in front of us?"

Tyronn Lue questioned.

Li Lai also has the same question, and the main players of the Bucks are younger than the Mavericks. No matter from any point of view, fighting the Bucks to speed up is not beneficial to the Mavericks.

Switch offense.

Because the Lone Ranger team completed the offense, the Bucks failed to push back quickly, so they could only engage in positional combat.

Westbrook and Yi Jianlian were in the high pick-and-roll, Nowitzki switched defenses, and Yi Jianlian fell to the low post.

Westbrook quickly passed the ball to Yi Jianlian, who singled Kidd.

Kidd's defense is very experienced. After seeing Yi Jian's ball, he chose a hard top and never let the opponent easily reach the basket.

At the same time, Tyson Chandler chose to take a step back, ready to help defend at any time.

Cousins' three-pointer was not effective at the time, so his position at this time was also two points away from the waist.

In this position, Chandler can not only help defend Yi Jianlian, but also quickly pop up and defend in front of Cousins.

"Compared to the last game, the Lone Ranger's defense has put in a lot of effort, and Carlisle is by no means someone who is trying to catch his name. He is indeed a leader among the younger generation of coaches in terms of tactical response and response."

Yi Jianlian turned his back to attack, he has a certain ability to support the ball.

But at this time, there are defenders in front of the Bucks players on the field, and there are no particularly good opportunities to pass the ball. It is too difficult for Yi Jianlian to organize the offense like a defender.

So in this offensive round, Yi Jianlian chose to attack by himself.

Back up, turn around and shoot.

call!
Kidd jumped so high that he interfered with the ball.

However, Yi Jianlian's shooting under interference is not stable, and his shooting percentage will be greatly reduced, so the basketball bounced out without any surprise.

Chandler took the defensive rebound and quickly passed it to Terry.

The Lone Ranger team pushes to counterattack again!

"Dare to fight back?"

Under Kenny Smith's questioning voice, Terry quickly held the ball across the half. Westbrook and Curry were very disciplined when defending and counterattacking, so they followed up in a timely manner.

At this time, there are only two people in the frontcourt of the Bucks who can rush over quickly.

Terry was double-teamed at the basket, and he didn't dare to hit the ball, but Terry didn't plan to hit the ball himself, but passed the ball behind him without looking at anyone.

Marion followed up and scored with a one-handed throw.

"The Lone Ranger team's counterattack and fast break are done again!"

After seeing this scene, Barkley finally admired Carlisle's tactical arrangement. He is indeed the leader of the younger generation!

In just two rounds, the Mavericks did not have the traditional style of pick-and-roll for Nowitzki in the past. Instead, they caught the defense and counterattacked many times uncharacteristically.

Originally, after winning DeShawn Stevenson, the Mavericks' defense should have weakened compared to the previous game, but who would have thought that they would cover up this problem by actively amplifying a player's offense.

Mavericks coaching bench.

Carlisle had his hands in his pockets at this moment with a proud expression on his face.

After the last game, the whole world was talking about how Li Lai's tactics limited Carlisle's tactics, and the title of best young generation leader deservedly belonged to Li Lai.

Carlisle felt underestimated, so after the game he thoroughly studied the Bucks' tactics in the previous game, and he also found a shortcoming in the Bucks' offensive tactics.

The pick-and-roll of Westbrook and Yi Jianlian is indeed infinitely powerful, but it is based on Westbrook's breakthrough and Yi Jianlian's ultra-long three-pointer.

Now the Mavericks have completely changed the offensive tendency of the Bucks, giving Yi Jianlian a chance to cut down and Westbrook a chance to shoot a three-pointer.

Of course, such a defensive choice has a certain degree of gambling. Once Westbrook makes a three-pointer or Yi Jianlian hits the effect, the Mavericks may die even worse than the last game.

But Carlisle still chose this defensive strategy, and judging from the current picture on the court, he also made the right bet.

Rather than being beaten to death by the Bucks clearly, it is better for Bing Xing to let Westbrook and Yi Jianlian do things that they are not good at and used to doing in a daze.

"coach."

Tyronn Lu looked at Li Lai slightly flustered.

This was another huge test he encountered after he only learned a lesson yesterday.

During the confrontation between the two teams, there will always be pictures of you hitting me and I hitting you, and you restraining me and I restraining you.

As the head coach of a team, if he cannot quickly think of a solution when faced with an opponent's counterattack, then his team will definitely suffer a loss.

Therefore, when facing the opponent's tactics and lineup changes, the head coach must respond quickly.

This is why Mike Brown, the former head coach of the Cavaliers, has been criticized by fans even though he has the league's top ability to build a team's defensive system.

His on-the-spot reaction was really bad.

At this moment, Li Lai didn't feel that Carlisle's sudden change was so troublesome. Instead, he smiled and said, "That guy Carlisle is a gambler."

Tai Lun was startled, and quickly figured out the reason for Li Lai's words.

In the few waves of offense just now, the Lone Ranger team obviously deliberately released Yi Jianlian's breakthrough and Westbrook's three-pointer, which allowed Yi Jianlian to finish in a field that he was not good at.

Tyronn Lue, who was also on the Bucks as a player, naturally knows the advantages and disadvantages of Yi Jianlian.

A mobile inside player with excellent physical condition, athletic ability and shooting touch that are rare among big players, excellent physical fitness and explosive power, wide attack range, and good rebounding and defense capabilities.

Disadvantages are lack of inside scoring and confrontation ability, extremely unstable jump shot feel, poor one-on-one defensive ability, and easy to get injured.

This is also the reason why Coach K, the head coach of the Bucks, did not entrust Yi Jianlian with important responsibilities and gave him a lot of playing time.

Including Li Lai, who later settled in the Bucks, in order to solve the shooting stability of Yi Jianlian and the shooting problems under confrontation, the latter finally moved the main offensive area to outside the three-point line and became a space to open up. And the big man who supports the organization.

In other words, the problem of poor shooting stability under Yi Jianlian's confrontation is still there, but Li Lai has used his strengths to avoid weaknesses.

"Carlisle is not a random gamble. His vision and strategic offensive and defensive arrangements are good. It must have been deliberated for a long time."

Li Lai continued.

Tyronn Lue said anxiously: "Coach, what shall we do now?"

After thinking for a while, Li Lai said, "The Lone Ranger team knew that we had completely cracked down on their positional warfare tactics, so they found another way to attack and started to fight faster."

"That's the main reason they took John Terry and took DeShawn Stevenson."

"Judging from the current picture on the court, Kidd's good pass is the engine of the counter fast break, and Terry's good running is the key to complete the counter fast break or cut into our position."

"But the players on the Lone Ranger team are too old after all, and they can't maintain such a high level of counterattack and fast break ability."

Hearing this, Tyronn Lue frowned slightly and said: "So we have to wait now? Wait for the physical strength of the main players of the Lone Ranger team to decline?"

After saying this, Tyronn Lu immediately regretted it.

After following Li Lai for three years, he has already seen countless tactics and offensive and defensive strategies of the opponent, and Li Lai has always been extremely careful and even cautious on this point.

Therefore, according to Li Lai's usual habits, he would definitely not choose the strategy of sitting on the sidelines and waiting for his opponent to make mistakes.

From Li's point of view, this is also a bad idea.

In other words, Li Lai must have other arrangements.

Li Lai turned his head, looked at Tyronn Lue's battle-like look on his face, nodded affirmatively, then walked to the sideline of the court and made a gesture to the players on the court.

"Turn Curry to hold the ball! Call out the big man inside, continue to target Nowitzki's defensive weakness, and focus on the inside."

"We need to improve our hit rate! Reduce the opportunity for the Mavericks to counter fast breaks."

After seeing Li Lai's gesture, Westbrook and Curry immediately completed the handover of the ball.

Curry began to play singles with the ball.

Without DeShawn Stevenson, it would be extremely annoying to have Terry guarding Curry now.

After all, the latter is the league's scoring leader this season, and his man-ball combination ability and three-point shooting ability have already belonged to the top of the league.

Swish!
Curry first hit a three-pointer from the outside. After changing the defensive position of the Mavericks, he combined the ball to the basket and made a breakthrough.

At the same time, Curry will play a lot of pick-and-rolls with Yi Jianlian, making Nowitzki and Terry exhausted on the defensive end.

At this time, Nowitzki didn't dare to choose to let the opponent's three-pointer like defending Westbrook. At the same time, Yi Jianlian stopped cutting inside and turned to the outside to attract defensive attention.

The Mavericks' penalty area was stretched empty.

Chandler no longer knows whether he should help guard Curry or guard the basket.

The two-person connection between Westbrook and Curry was immediately opened. The former went to the basket many times to complete the tomahawk dunk, and the latter's ability to open up space completely disrupted the entire defensive system of the Mavericks.

The first quarter is over.

30: 27.

"Although the Mavericks are still behind the Bucks, compared to the last game, they are going to play better in this game."

"At least the score on the field has not been stretched too far, it can be regarded as biting the score."

"It also helps them keep the suspense in the next game."

Barkley analyzed.

After hearing Barkley's statement, Magic Johnson on the side shook his head repeatedly and gave his negative attitude.

Kenny Smith had fun watching from the sidelines. In the past, he was the only one who was denied by Barkley. Now that the latter was denied by Magic Johnson, he couldn't help being happy.

"The magician has a championship ring after all. This analysis is more reliable than some people."

Kenny Smith looked forward to the magician continuing to speak with a look of admiration.

The bald Barkley was so angry that his eyebrows were going to the top of his head. He gave his old partner an unhappy look and said, "He hasn't said why he denied it. You just say that he is reliable. There is something wrong with you."

Kenny Smith spread his hands and said, "He has a championship."

Although the magician knew that the quarrel between the two in front of the commentary stage was for the effect of the program, in fact, the relationship between the two of them was very good in private, but this time is the stage of the finals after all, and he still wanted to bring something to the audience and fans in front of the TV. A more professional explanation.

So the magician emphasized to the camera: "I have five championship rings."

After the magician finished speaking, he looked at Barkley.

This look completely annoyed Barkley.

He said: "Yes, you have five, I have none! Get down to business!"

The magician laughed, and returned to the theme and said: "In the last finals, the Mavericks' bench lineup was already restricted by the Bucks."

"Fortunately, Nowitzki and Terry played efficiently in that game, so they helped the Mavericks bite the score in the substitute stage."

"But in tonight's game, Nowitzki was almost run to death by Curry in the first quarter. It is impossible to continue to fight in the next bench lineup."

"Terry, as the starting player of the Lone Ranger team, has taken on a lot of offensive responsibilities from the beginning. I estimate that he will not play in this time period."

"That is to say, Dirk Nowitzki and Terry, who helped the Mavericks to hold on to the score in the last game, are not there. How can the Mavericks play against the Bucks at this stage?"

Barkley suddenly realized that the problem was here. At this time, he nodded in agreement, admiring the magician's grasp of the entire court situation.

Kenny Smith gave a thumbs up and said, "As expected of Magic Johnson who won five championship rings."

Buckley opened his eyes angrily, and rushed towards Kenny Smith, "I'm going to kill you."

The game continued in the second quarter.

Mavericks rotation: Point guard Jose Barea, shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, small forward Peja Stojakovic, power forward Marion and center Ian Mahinmi .

Bucks rotation: Dragic, Westbrook, Danny Green, Villanueva and O'Neal.

Seeing that Westbrook is still on the court at this time, Carlisle's originally worried mood became heavier.

Nowitzki had to rest at this time. In order to maintain the flexibility and offensive and defensive strength of the Mavericks' lineup, Carlisle had to push Marion to the rotation power forward position.

Marion also played at the position multiple times throughout the regular season and playoffs.

"But the crux of the problem now is that Bucks coach Li Lai seems to have already guessed that I will bring Marion on the court at this time, otherwise why would Westbrook lead the team at this time."

Carlisle is very clear that, judging from the rotation stage of the previous game, Ian Mahinmi will definitely be transferred out by the Bucks.

In this way, the Lone Ranger team has a large area in the penalty area, and it is necessary to have players on the front line to fill this position.

Marksman Peja Stojakovic certainly can't do it, and he's not good at it, it can only be Marion.

Of course, Marion's defense is unquestionable. The first-class players in the front line just want him to protect the frame on the court or protect the basket under Westbrook's impact. This has nothing to do with defensive ability.

"To prevent Westbrook from hitting the basket, it can only be height and body!"

boom!
Westbrook used O'Neal Jr.'s pick-and-roll to go straight to the basket, and the turtle dunked with the tomahawk.

After shooting, Westbrook cocked his mouth arrogantly and clenched his hands tightly.

His court momentum is also an inspiration to all Bucks players.

Westbrook, who had been passing the ball for Curry in the first quarter, also completely released the shackles on his body at this time, breaking through the basket three times in a row and dunking successfully.

The Mavericks had to double-team defense by shrinking the inside line.

Westbrook started passing the ball again at this time.

德拉季奇三分线外3投1中，维兰纽瓦4投2中，丹尼格林3投3中。

"The Bucks scored 6 three-pointers in a single quarter, and a wave of 22:8 offensive high slots directly beat the Mavericks!"

Magic Johnson shook his head as expected.

There is no Nowitzki, no Terry, only one Barea, is it possible that the Mavericks still expect Barea and Westbrook to confront each other?
He's not at that level yet.

At halftime, the Bucks led 65:50.

The game quickly entered the rhythm of the Bucks.

In the third quarter, Nowitzki led the team to launch a counterattack and once chased the score to single digits, but the Bucks always responded in a timely manner and did not give the Mavericks too many opportunities.

Finally, at the end of the game, the Bucks defeated the Mavericks 116:100.

Another big win.

The big score is 2:0.

When the final whistle sounded, Carlisle's face was so stagnant that he couldn't even say anything at all. When he was interviewed by the reporters on the scene, he just dismissed it with a few words.

Carlisle thought of a solution to the problem for the Mavericks, but the Bucks quickly thought of another way to restrain the Mavericks.

There has never been a perfect tactic, but there is a perfect tactic.

Carlisle couldn't help but let out a long sigh at this moment, "I lost two games in a row."

During the post-match interview.

有记者聊到了今晚这场比赛诺维斯基的数据，15投9中，罚球6罚6中，24分7篮板2助攻。

Such an efficient offensive efficiency only took 15 shots in the entire game, which naturally made these reporters doubtful.

Nowitzki was trying to explain that this was because they mainly played fast and played defensive counterattacks in this game, but Carlisle responded in advance with a microphone on the side.

"The Bucks are a very difficult opponent. We and their coaching staff have played no less than 10 times in these two games."

"We know where the problems are, and we're going to take a good look at how to fix them."

"This is Dirk's second trip to the finals. This is his 33-year-old championship trip. We also have veterans like Kidd, Terry, and Marion in our team."

"What I want to say is, please don't ignore the heart of a champion."

(End of this chapter)