Pick Westbrook

Chapter 392

Li Lai was startled, and turned his head to carefully examine the news brought by Du Feng.

The Lakers lost to the Knicks 102:108.

The Knicks' Melo Anthony was sidelined due to injury. This game was led by the bully Stoudemire, but he was not the one who played the best game.

Jeremy Lin led the Knicks to three consecutive victories with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.

In fact, Jeremy Lin's outbreak was not just in this game. In the first game between the Knicks and the Nets, Jeremy Lin, who started the game, scored 25 points in the game against Deron Williams. The data of 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals led the team to defeat the Nets.

In the second game between the Knicks and the Jazz, Jeremy Lin beat Maurice Williams and scored 28 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds in the game, leading the team to victory again.

In the first two games after the start of the regular season, Jeremy Lin ranked sixth in the league in points per game, fourth in assists per game, and first in steals per game. ranked tenth.

Because during the off-season, the Knicks believed that signing Curry or Jeremy Lin of the Bucks would be the team's most successful signing, so after the opening game, the fans in the Big Apple City were very concerned. Jeremy Lin's performance and status.

Originally they thought that Jeremy Lin could average 10+3+3 per game, and he was considered a very qualified starting point guard.

After all, last season, Jeremy Lin in the Bucks was Westbrook's substitute, averaging only 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

The result was beyond everyone's expectations.

Before the game started, because of the poor state of the Los Angeles Lakers, a reporter specifically asked Kobe: Do you know Jeremy Lin, the one who played crazy in the Big Apple recently? In this game, after all, Melo Anthony was sidelined due to injury.

Kobe glanced at the reporter, wondering whether it was the team's losing streak or something else. He said firmly with his eyes, "I don't know Jeremy Lin. I only know that the Lakers will beat the Knicks tonight and accept the game."

When Jeremy Lin scored 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in this game, and led the Knicks to a three-game winning streak, a reporter specifically mentioned this matter.

Jeremy Lin laughed and said, "You can ask Kobe now if he recognizes me."

After reading the latest news about the Lakers brought by Du Feng, Li Lai couldn't help but sigh.

The Lakers this season, like their previous lives, have completely embarked on that old path. If there is no accident, the next story about this Lakers team has become a foregone conclusion.

Li Lai signaled that Du Feng and Stevens no longer need to pay attention to this Lakers team, because there is a high probability that they will not become an important opponent of the Pelicans in the Western Division this season.

11 month 1 day.

The Pelicans take on the San Antonio Spurs.

In the pre-match interview.

A reporter asked: "The Pelicans have won all five games so far, and the Spurs have also won all five games."

"You are the No. [-] team in the Western Division at the same time, because the Spurs are temporarily ahead of you because of the point difference."

"The team with the best record in the Western Division will be determined tonight, and it will also be the team with the best record in the league. What are you going to do?"

Faced with such a question, Li Lai thought for a while and said, "The Pelicans and Spurs are not only competing for the first record in the Western Conference, but we will also become the main competitors in the playoffs this season."

"I believe that Coach Popovich cherishes this game as much as I do. Whether it is the formation of troops or tactical restraint and drills, it will bring great help to the future playoffs."

Of course, when Li Lai talked about the playoffs at the beginning of the regular season, none of the reporters in front of him questioned or were surprised.

Because the Pelicans definitely have such strength this season, there is no doubt about it.

AT&T Center Arena.

Popovich walked over with open arms with a smile on his face, and hugged Li Lai vigorously.

The old man has never hidden his love for Li Lai, just like when Bogut of the Australian team in the London Olympics was knocked out, he immediately stood up to support Li Lai.

"Boy, you have developed a very good player. He is really a perfect piece of the jigsaw puzzle to win the championship."

Li Lai followed Popovich's gaze and saw Danny Green who was warming up on the court. The latter noticed the gaze falling on him and smiled back, ready to run over.

Li Lai and Popovich shook their heads at the same time to indicate that the other party should not use it. After all, they both regard tonight's game as the prelude to the most important matchup in the playoffs. In essence, they are still enemies at this time.

"I believe that Danny Green will be even better under the use of the old man. He is a very hardworking player."

The big screen at the scene quickly displayed the starting lineups of the two teams.

Pelicans: Chris Paul, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and DeAndre Jordan.

Spurs: Point guard Tony Parker, shooting guard Gary Neal, small forward Danny Green, power forward Tim Duncan and center Thiago Splitter.

Game start.

Midfield jump ball.

Jordan jumped off the first-round offense for the Pelicans.

Paul advanced with the ball, and Jordan and Big Eyebrow put up a double-line screen at the same time.

As the season progressed, the thick eyebrows have become more and more adapted to the Pelicans' tactical play, frequent pick-and-rolls, weak-side cuts, combination of inside and outside lines, and appropriate amount of individual singles.

Thick eyebrows moved to the right at a 45° angle after the pick-and-roll. After the pick-and-roll, Jordan went to the left and went straight down to the basket. Paul has already changed to Tiago Splitter in front of the continuous pick-and-roll. At this time, he can You can choose to pass the ball, or you can choose to play singles, and the timing is up to you.

This is the great freedom of passing that Li Lai gave Paul, and he can also do anything on the court.

肯尼史密斯说道：“到目前为止，伦纳德场均21分6篮板2助攻，吉米巴特勒场均19分6篮板4助攻。”

"The two rank among the top two in the team in scoring, and Paul, who has always been the team's scoring leader, has averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists per game."

"So far, the only double-double point guard in the season."

"Paul is willing to achieve others, and even more willing to use the pass to solve everything."

Barkley nodded with great admiration and said: "There is no doubt that Chris Paul is the only leader in the Pelicans, but he is a leader who is very willing to let his teammates show off, even if he becomes the team's third scorer. No problem."

“值得注意的是，JR史密斯仍然能够在替补席贡献场均15分3篮板2助攻的数据，安东尼戴维斯到目前为止场均13分9篮板2盖帽，德安德烈乔丹场均9分9篮板。”

"The Pelicans' scoring points are too spread out, which makes it very difficult for opponents to guard."

on the field.

Duncan chose to defend Jordan, who was closer to the basket and more threatening, so that Tony Parker had to guard Anthony Davis.

Paul chose a high pass to the thick eyebrow at a 45° angle, and the latter raised high and hit a mid-range shot.

Swish!
hit!

Off the field, Popovich frowned slightly. This was not the first time he saw Li Lai take out high-post double-screen tactics. As early as the Bucks, Cousins ​​and Yi Jianlian often played such pick-and-rolls tactics.

However, the Bucks' high-post double screen is Yi Jianlian outside the three-point line, Cousins ​​can be outside and down, and Westbrook is the main breakthrough.

And now the Pelicans' high double screen is obviously another version, or a more troublesome version.

Paul's misplaced singles ability is already so strong, coupled with Jordan's pass down, Anthony Davis' 45° angle three-threat offensive option, this will cause a headache for the defensive team.

"This kid's offensive tactics are getting more and more sophisticated."

Switch offense.

Tony Parker also executed pick-and-roll tactics with Duncan in the high post. Gary Neal suddenly ran back from the weak side and accelerated to cut into the inside.

Leonard no longer focused on Duncan and Tony Parker's pick-and-roll. He decisively chased Gary Neal, which also meant that it was difficult for him to participate in the next defense.

Of course, Leonard is not worried about this, because he knows very well that when he cannot participate in the defense, the Pelicans will definitely have another defensive player to stand up.

Jimmy Butler shrinks the inside line to help defend Duncan. Tony Parker and Duncan quickly pass the ball to the bottom corner of the sideline through the pick-and-roll double-line fast down process.

Because of Jimmy Butler's help defense, Danny Green had a two-step shot.

Danny Green received the ball and took off without hesitation.

call!
"Jimmy Butler is back on defense! This time the defense is really fast!"

At the CCTV commentary station, Yu Jia couldn't help exclaiming, and then took out a piece of statistics.

In ESPN's latest player defensive efficiency, Leonard ranks 10th in the league and Jimmy Butler ranks 19th. Together, the two have built the Pelicans' terrifying defensive chain on the outside.

Especially in the rotation defense and return defense after participating in the defense, the two are definitely one of the best players in the league.

Swish!
The sweet sound of the Nets being swished suddenly sounded on the court.

Against Jimmy Butler's defense, Danny Green made a steady three-pointer.

Yu Jia looked at Su Qun in disbelief and said, "Guide Su, can you get in like this? Jimmy Butler's hand is almost completely covering Danny Green's eyes."

Su Qun smiled and said, "It's because you don't know Danny Green."

"In the five games he has played for the Spurs so far, Danny Green is shooting 5 percent from three and is averaging two threes per game."

"Throughout his career so far, Danny Green has averaged 41% of his three-pointers per game."

"He is a player who has played in the Finals with the Bucks and fought a life-and-death tiebreaker with James of the Cavaliers. He has never seen any big scenes, and his hands are very hard."

"Even if Jimmy Butler interferes with this ball, he can still make it."

The coach of the Pelicans.

Stevens remembered that when the Pelicans played against the Spurs last season, they used the defensive strategy of the round just now, which blocked the Spurs' offense many times. In the end, they could only be terminated by Duncan or Tony Parker with their own ability. attack.

But this season, with the addition of Danny Green, the Spurs have more and more calm options on the offensive end.

For the audience and fans, this is nothing more than having more players to end the offense in certain rounds, but for Stevens, who is a member of the coaching staff, he is very aware of the gap.

Without Danny Green, the Spurs are a first-class team in the league. They have strength and ability, but it does not mean they are dominant. Last season's comeback by the Grizzlies Black Seven is the best proof.

But with Danny Green, the Spurs are a very dominant team in the league. They can cope with the opponent's various tactics and even solve the dilemma of falling behind most of the time.

This is not to say that Danny Green is as good as an All-Star player, but his role on the Spurs is indeed similar to that of the All-Star players Tony Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan.

Du Feng frowned and reminded: "Coach, the Spurs still have Manu Ginobili on the bench. We should find a way to limit the performance of the Spurs on both offense and defense in the first quarter. It is best to accumulate advantages before the rotation lineup." .”

"That guy Ginobili has the ability to come back from a desperate situation."

Li Lai folded his hands and pondered for a while, and finally made a decision to let Jimmy Butler stop paying too much attention to the inside defense and trust his teammates to solve everything.

In this way, the connection between Danny Green and his players can be greatly reduced. He himself does not have a particularly strong ball-holding ability and breakthrough ability, and the offensive threat is greatly reduced without his teammates passing the ball.

But in this way, it will extremely test the ability of the Pelicans to defend alone.

on the field.

Duncan taught thick eyebrows to be a man, one hit the board at a 45° angle in the middle distance, one made a breakthrough and fouled, and one made a three-step slow layup.

"Duncan is no longer the flying devil of the past. He is about to turn 37 years old, and his jumping ability and speed have declined significantly."

"But Duncan relied on rhythm to pack the No. [-] pick Anthony Davis into submission."

Barkley said highly.

Thick eyebrows were extremely distressed holding their heads on the court. Li Lai replaced him in advance to signal the opponent to calm down, and then took Dior onto the court to open up the space for the Pelicans and increase the success rate of offensive in positional battles.

"Amei, can you be tougher, what are you doing there? Hit him! Why are you soft!"

The thick eyebrows who ended up were immediately attacked by Du Feng's artillery.

Facing Du Feng like this, the thick eyebrows were not annoyed. He repeatedly gestured and explained: "Duncan raised his elbows with his back, and the rhythm of turning back and forth changed too quickly."

"His pace is slow, I can keep up with him but I just can't cover him."

Nongmei never thought that he could rely on his physical talent to abuse Gasol, but now he meets the older Duncan, his talent is held in his crotch and he can't use it at all.

Du Feng immediately bent down to enlighten the opponent and said: "He is Duncan. Duncan made half of the teams in the league fail. The reason why the Spurs can be called the top team in the league depends on his support there. Not Powerful?"

"When you play Duncan, don't rely on his movements. Don't look at him with a blank expression like Leonard, and his hands are very detailed. You will never know whether his next step is to pass, break through, turn back, and turn forward when facing Duncan. Still shooting."

"Keep an eye on his footsteps. Your talent is better than his. Even if he raises his hand to shoot and you are one step late in defense, you can still keep up."

Li Lai nodded at the side, and said to his thick eyebrows, "Coach Du Feng's suggestion is good."

This kind of defense is really useful to defend the old Duncan, because in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, the Grizzlies' black and white bears used this method to limit Duncan, allowing the opponent to play the worst round of his career. playoffs.

Of course, it is only useful for old Duncan.

Li Lai couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief at this time, and thought to himself: Only when Duncan retires and the Spurs' record plummets, will more and more people be willing to believe that Duncan, who averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 A player with 2 assists and [-] blocks is the league's well-deserved No. [-] power forward.

(End of this chapter)