Pick Westbrook

Chapter 402 He's Ready

Bradley Arena.

Li Lai had a good chat with the old players of the Bucks.

Tyronn Lue and Li Lai chatted about the good performance of the Bucks during this period and his latest offensive tactics for the team.

The Bucks had reported conflicts between Westbrook and Cousins ​​before, but at this time the two were talking and laughing in front of Li Lai, telling interesting things that happened recently.

Because in the previous game, Cousins ​​slipped to the point of injury, and Westbrook was the first teammate to rush to pull him up.

And since then, as long as there is sweat on the floor, Westbrook will ask a mop from the staff during the festival or break time to mop it hard.

The purpose is to protect his brother from falling and getting hurt on the court.

It was because of this little incident that Cousins ​​finally reconciled with Westbrook and became extremely close friends.

"Hope to play you in the playoffs, coach."

Westbrook hugged Li and said.

Cousins ​​and Li Lai gave a high five and said, "Coach, when will you come back? Will you come back?"

Westbrook raised his head curiously upon hearing this.

This sentence is what he has been wanting to ask the coach all these years, but he didn't ask it for many reasons. Cousins, a big bastard, doesn't care about that, he just asks if he wants to.

Li Lai was silent and remembered Holloway's injury, and then said: "This door is not closed, I always believe that one day I will definitely come back."

Game start.

Bucks starting lineup: Point guard Westbrook, shooting guard Monta Ellis, small forward Luke Richard Mbah a Moute, power forward Ersan Ilyasova and center Cousins .

Pelicans starting lineup: Paul, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and Jordan.

Midfield jump ball.

Cousins ​​jumped high to get the ball.

The Bucks attack.

Westbrook held the ball and accelerated a one-armed breakthrough, breaking through Paul's defense in one step.

Veteran Paul's defense can enter the best team, but it does not mean that he can defend any player.

Due to limited physical talent and height, he has little effect on defense against players like Westbrook who play entirely on talent.

Inside, Jordan quickly moved laterally to protect the frame, and Westbrook took off against Jordan's defensive free throw line.

boom! !

The tortoise battle ax splits the buckle! !
CCTV commentary desk.

Yu Jia shook his head and said, "This is still the same Westbrook, and he is still full of impact."

"However, I still want to remind Westbrook that Derrick Rose, who is as violent as him, will be directly reimbursed this season because of a knee injury in the playoffs last season."

"We don't want to see Westbrook have the same day."

"If possible, I really hope he doesn't play so hard on the court."

"That's impossible." Su Qun shook his head and said in denial.

"Westbrook has been playing this way since he was a rookie. He can't come down and play. That's his style."

"And, playing for the Bucks, Westbrook never spared anything."

Switch offense.

Paul pushed forward with the ball, and Westbrook seemed extremely excited tonight, defending Paul very hard, and the audience was pressing.

Jordan and Nongmei raised the pick-and-roll at the same time. The Bucks chose to double-team the defense by shrinking the inside line, and Leonard appeared open.

Swish!
Hit steadily from outside the three-point line.

Li Lai frowned, dissatisfied with the current strength of the Bucks.

"Eisen Ilyasova is a pick-and-roll insider with a shooting range beyond the three-point line. He just lacks ball-holding skills and has limited bounce. He has low athletic ability on the defensive end. He dares to fight but suffers from speed."

"In order to solve this problem, the Bucks had to deploy a strategy of double-teaming the inside line during the pick-and-roll, so that the opponent's outside line will inevitably have opportunities."

"This is why the Bucks ranked fourth in the league in offense this season, but the team's record is not very good."

"Their defense ranks No. 14 in the league, especially the perimeter defense, which ranks almost outside the league's [-]th."

"Westbrook can watch his defender, but it's almost impossible for him to help his teammates more."

"Cousins ​​is a good inside defender. The entire Bucks' defense is almost supported by him alone, but he is not like Warcraft Howard or Wolf King Garnett, who can build a defensive system by himself."

Stevens commented.

Du Feng said: "Eisen Ilyasova may not be a reliable defender, but he can at least play the role of defender in the interior."

"The Bucks are creating trouble for themselves by using him like this."

"More importantly, the Bucks' new scoring guard this season, Monta Ellis, is also a strong offensive and defensive player. He can hardly bring any practical help to the team on the defensive end."

"On the offensive end, the Bucks already have a lot of players who can do this. Monta Ellis hasn't had a stable three-pointer yet."

"His arrival doesn't help the Bucks on both ends of the floor."

Therefore, the Bucks themselves have great shortcomings in the lineup. Letting go of Curry, Yi Jianlian, and Danny Green will hurt them too much.

Li Lai knew that what Stevens and Du Feng said was very reasonable at the moment. This Bucks team did not look like a championship team no matter how they looked at it.

The lineup is unreasonable, and the team's tactics are not suitable. It is fortunate that such a nondescript style of play can achieve the current results.

Of course, Tyronn Lue has his own strengths. With his help this season, Westbrook played the best data since his rookie season.

Averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game!

This data is even more terrifying than James, but in the MVP selection, Westbrook only ranked seventh.

The reason is his not-so-good shooting percentage and the team's not-so-top record.

on the field.

Cousins ​​singles Jordan with the ball from outside the three-point line, and hits a mid-range hit with a step back.

This guy still likes to play singles on the outside as always. Of course, the best choice to face Cousins ​​​​of the Pelicans is to play outside singles.

Inside, he really can't get in.

The first round is over.

The Pelicans tied with the Bucks 27:27, and the two teams failed to defend each other in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter of the game.

JR Smith broke out in a wave, scoring three consecutive three-pointers and directly ignoring the Bucks. Diaw's pass made them miserable.

It is neither to prevent going out nor to prevent going in.

The Bucks' bench lineup at this time is JJ Redick, Mike Dunleavy, Villanueva, Kwame Brown and Dorell White.

Both Villanueva and Kwame Brown have suffered a severe decline in their status, and they are now representatives of high salary and low ability.

JJ Redick and Mike Dunleavy are players with strength and characteristics, but they are a mess on the defensive end.

Compared with the Pelicans' rotation, the Bucks are almost blown out.

The Bucks, who could keep up with the Pelicans' offense in the first quarter, are not at the same level in the rotation.

At the end of the half, the Pelicans led 60:50.

In the second half of the game, Tyronn Lue took the small lineup headed by Cousins.

Li Lai did not return to a small lineup headed by thick eyebrows at this time, because the current thick eyebrows are far from Cousins' opponent in terms of stature and ability.

杜峰提醒说道：“考辛斯这赛季场均24分12篮板3助攻1抢断1盖帽，被誉为东部第一中锋。”

"The most terrifying thing is that half of his points come from singles, low singles, outside singles and mid-range singles."

"In terms of singles efficiency and singles level, I am afraid that among the current league centers, only Yao Ming can be better than Cousins."

Under this lineup, Cousins ​​got great offensive possession and offensive opportunities, and the defender Li Lai arranged for him was Jordan Jr.

In the Pelicans, only Jordan and Oden can limit Cousins ​​​​in terms of size and strength.

But Li Lai was afraid of the Bucks' perimeter strength and did not deploy double-team defenses, so even the rotation of Jordan and Oden's single defense could not restrain Cousins.

"By next season, Cousins ​​will probably evolve and become the true league's No. [-] center."

Kenny Smith from the on-site commentary desk couldn't help but exclaimed.

In his opinion, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Bucks lost Danny Green, Yi Jianlian, Jeremy Lin, Curry and other core players this season, their strength is still not just any player. The team can be provocative.

"The Bucks are still a championship-qualified team."

Barkley was extremely disappointed at this time and said: "Since the Bucks won two consecutive championships, they have been going downhill."

"The failure of the three consecutive championships and the departure of the core players, although with the growth of Cousins, the fans still seem to have hope for this team."

"But I still want to say that since the end of the two consecutive championships, the Bucks have been eating the old lineup of the original lineup."

"They didn't bring in the right players in free agency, and they didn't get the potential rookies in the draft."

"Such a team will one day run out of strength and eventually become an ordinary team. The Bucks team that created the small ball era has already become a thing of the past."

Game four.

Leonard and Jimmy Butler of the Pelicans worked hard to eat the Bucks' forward players at will, and directly accepted the game.

110: 102.

At the post-match press conference.

A reporter specifically asked: "Coach Li Lai, how does it feel to defeat the Bucks team that you once built?"

Li Lai thought for a while and said, "It's not a very good feeling. I can feel how helpless Coach Tyronn Lue is when he coaches this team."

"I can also feel that the lineup of this team has given Coach Tylen Lue a great challenge."

"In short, the Bucks are still a strong team, the players and the coaching staff are working hard, and their goal is still the supreme glory."

Later, the game between the Lakers and the Jazz finally came to an end.

科比打满48分钟，砍下了40分5篮板4助攻的数据带领湖人队以101:98艰难赢下了比赛。

In this way, the Lakers got the last playoff ticket in the Western Division, and Kobe kept his promise.

In the post-match interview, all the reporters were praising the 35-year-old Kobe for still being able to play such a terrifying performance. They even expected Kobe to lead the Lakers in the playoffs.

Howard on the side also vowed: "My injury has healed, and I will catch up with the first game of the playoffs."

"The Lakers are back, and we will hit the championship!"

It's just that many reporters noticed the fatigue on Kobe's face.

In the last ten games of the Lakers' playoffs, Kobe's game data is like this.

Against the Warriors, facing the combination of Curry and Durant, he scored 42 points, 36 rebounds and 8 assists in 3 minutes.

Against the Timberwolves, he scored 38 points, 31 rebounds and 3 assists in 7 minutes.

Against the Kings, he scored 46 points, 19 rebounds and 4 assists in 14 minutes.

对阵独行侠队，47分钟拿下了33分11篮板11助攻4抢断2盖帽。

Against the Bucks, scored 36 points, 30 rebounds and 2 assists in 3 minutes.

In the last game against the Jazz, Kobe played 48 minutes and scored 40 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

In the first half of the regular season before the All-Star Game, Kobe played a technical style of play, taking a lot of low post shots and mid-to-long-range shots.

But after the All-Star Game, especially in the last ten games, Kobe shot almost every ball to the basket, and the number of sudden kills to the basket was not much different from that of Peter Pan in the OK period. big.

Even Shaquille O'Neal said bluntly on the Barkley show that Kobe is the hero of the entire Los Angeles, he is the city's business card, and its significance may only be higher than that of Magic Johnson.

However, O'Neal also said the last sentence. Unfortunately, Kobe is about to face the team with the strongest perimeter defense in the league in the playoffs, the strongest combination of forwards and guards Jimmy Butler and Leonard.

"It's unfortunate for Kobe and the Lakers."

The regular season has finally come to an end, and the major awards have been released one after another.

Best Defensive Player DPOY: Grizzlies Marc Gasol.

Leonard lost to the opponent by only one vote, which is very regrettable. At the same time, Jimmy Butler successfully ranked tenth on this list, Chris Paul No. 19, and Jordan Jr. [-]th.

Most Valuable Player MVP: LeBron James.

The reason given by the commentator is that James played a historic inside finish rate and the Heat's second record in the league. He deserves it.

Li Lai is extremely dissatisfied with such comments, because Chris Paul also averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals per game this season, and the Pelicans still have the best record in the league.

But in terms of votes, James got 70% of the first vote, while Paul only had 25%.

Paul took the initiative to say to Li: "Coach, it's okay, I don't particularly care about MVP, we have higher pursuits and goals."

Rookie of the Year ROY: Pelicans Anthony Davis.

Lillard fell short because he didn't manage to claim the award as the Blazers exited the playoffs early.

Most Improved Player Award MIP: Jeremy Lin of the Knicks.

Lin madness swept the world, and Jeremy Lin's statistics in subsequent games were stable, and he helped the Knicks become the team with the second record in the Eastern Conference. His winning of this award had already been settled in the middle and late part of the season.

Best Sixth Man SMOY: JR Smith of the Pelicans successfully defended his title.

This season, JR continued to prop up the offense of the Pelicans' rotation, and his biggest opponent for this award was none other than his teammate Mad Dog Beverly.

Both of them worked hard to get a big contract this season, one focused on offense and the other on defense, but the judges were obviously more interested in offense.

The best coach COY: Li Lai of the Pelicans.

This is the second time Li Lai has won this award, and he no longer has the excitement and freshness of the first time.

At the awards ceremony, all the players and coaching staff of the Pelicans came to celebrate.

Li Lai raised the trophy and said, "This is not my award alone, but the award shared by the coaching staff and all the players."

"It's a pity that there is only one trophy, but there is one award that everyone has. I promised the veterans in the team that our goal will always be it."

"Pelicans, we're ready."

With his hands behind his back, Vince Carter looked at the head coach who still remembered the incident on the podium, and said the same with his head held high.

"Vince Carter, he's ready."

(End of this chapter)