Pick Westbrook

Chapter 403 Popovich Does Not Have Such Courage
The league headquarters immediately announced the East and West record rankings.

The teams ranked first to eighth in the Eastern Conference are: Heat, Knicks, Bucks, Nets, Bulls, Eagles, Celtics and Charlotte Hornets.

The old hooligan Jordan finally led his team to the playoffs, although he was barely in the last place at the gate of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and was even almost overtaken by the Pacers at the end of the regular season.

But it was safe and sound.

Charlotte fans were extremely excited that night, and they all believed that the team would be a rising youth army led by prospect Kemba Walker, Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton.

The teams ranked first to eighth in the Western Conference are: Pelicans, Spurs, Nuggets, Warriors, Rockets, Kings, Grizzlies and Lakers.

Stevens said: "The Nuggets are an extremely unexpected dark horse this season. With the help of old coach George Karl, they played the best overall offense in the league and ranked third in the league in terms of offensive efficiency. .”

"Andre Iguodala is a good signing for the Nuggets in the off-season. The presence of the other party has activated the entire Nuggets."

"After this season, Andre Iguodala will become a completely unrestricted free agent, and he should become a favorite in the free market."

It can be seen that Stevens likes Andre Iguodala very much. In fact, Li Lai also likes this most watered FMVP.

Although all the fans in the previous life said that Andre Iguodala was the worst FMVP in the history of the NBA, Li Lai still wanted to say that the Warriors did not have a brother who really couldn't beat the Cavaliers.

"But even if the Nuggets rank third in the Western Conference and have a lot of outstanding performances this season, many commentators still think that the Nuggets, with strong offense and weak defense and no superstars, will hardly go far in the playoffs .”

"We are very confident that we can win against them. Unfortunately, it is not easy to play against them."

Du Feng said at the right time.

That's the downside of hitting the No. [-] record in the division, because you don't have a chance to pick the opposing team.

On the contrary, the teams behind can try their best to avoid the restraining team as much as possible.

It's just a pity that the Lakers didn't have a chance to avoid it.

Li said: "In this way, the list of divisional matchups has also been settled. We will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first game."

"This team is not in good shape this season, but it is not my habit to underestimate opponents, not to mention that there are Kobe, Gasol, Howard, Ariza and Nash in this Lakers team."

"Pelicans, will go all out."

4 month 21 day.

The first round of the playoffs officially started.

New Orleans Arena.

Pelicans fans were greeted with the franchise's first trip to the playoffs under the name change.

Since the Pelicans made the playoffs last season and went all the way to the Western Conference Finals, New Orleans fans have ignited long-lost hopes.

This is the hope of a city.

Fans here still remember that last season's Pelicans were successfully blocked by this Lakers team in the Western Conference Finals. At that time, the Pelicans were blown up by Kobe alone.

"So this season, we are here for revenge!"

Pelicans tunnel.

Leonard, Oden, Diaw and others put their hands on their backs. They closed their eyes and listened to the cheers and shouts of the fans outside the channel like a tsunami.

Paul jumped vigorously, then raised his hands high and said, "Brothers, what time is it now!"

The crowd chanted: "Pelicans time!"

Paul was surrounded by his teammates. At this time, he was completely invisible, only his voice continued to shout.

"New Orleans! Never back down!"

Jimmy Butler stuck out his tongue and shook his head, leading the crowd to shout at the same time: "We will never give up!"

Paul yells: "New Orleans, never back down!"

Beverly jumped vigorously with his hands up, "We persevere!"

Little Jordan roared to the sky, "Let's fight to the last minute, even the last second!"

JR Smith growled: "New Orleans!"

All the Hornets players surged at this moment, shouting frantically: "Fight!" "Fight!!!" "Fight!!!"

The Lakers dugout.

Kobe looked at the Pelicans players rushing into the court with high morale, and the excited trash talk of Pelicans fans kept echoing in his ears.

Kobe still remembers that in the Western Conference finals last season, the Pelicans had already caused a lot of trouble for the Lakers, but at that time, both confidence and momentum were on the Lakers' side.

Both teams have made reinforcements this season. While retaining the original lineup, the Pelicans also got the No. [-] pick Anthony Davis, and the opponent won the Rookie of the Year award this season.

The Lakers lost Garnett, the defensive core, and got Howard and Nash. At the same time, they lost many rotation players, and Odom also left.

In exchange, the Lakers almost didn't make the playoffs.

No matter in terms of momentum or spirit, the current Lakers are far behind the Pelicans.

"I will definitely lead the Lakers to win this series!"

Kobe stood up and looked at the court with firm eyes.

On-site interview phase.

Zhang Weiping said to the camera: "I believe this round of the playoffs between the Pelicans and the Lakers must be the round of games that Chinese fans want to watch the most besides the series between the Rockets and the Warriors."

"The Pelicans are in excellent form this season. Last season they had playoff experience reaching the Western Conference Finals. No matter in terms of strength or experience, the Pelicans already have the strength to become a strong team."

"ESPN's latest odds of winning the championship given before the start of the playoffs, the Heat ranked first, the Spurs second, the Pelicans third, and the Knicks and Warriors ranked fourth and fifth. "

"All the commentators and basketball pundits agree that the Pelicans are perfect against the current Lakers because they have the best forward and defensive line in the league and are very good at playing fast."

"However, we should always believe in the Lakers, believe in Kobe, he is the best."

CCTV commentary desk.

Yu Jia was originally lamenting that Director Zhang's previous interview style was very good, but the last sentence really made his eyes sting, so he quickly cut off the report ahead and said.

"Director Su, how many games do you think the Pelicans will use to solve the Lakers?"

Su Qun said, "It's hard to say."

Ok? !

Yu Jia was a little surprised that Su Qun, who had always dared to speak, would say something difficult to say at this time. He was very curious and asked: "What does this sentence mean, Director Su?"

Su Qun continued: "First of all, Kobe is a player who has won four championships. His playoff experience is not comparable to that of the Pelicans."

"At the same time, Gasol, Nash, and Howard are all regulars in the playoffs. The four are very clear and have already gotten used to the intensity of the playoffs."

"This is the advantage of the Lakers. They even have the best playoff experience in the league."

"And the players in the Pelicans have not even played as many playoff games as their head coach Li Lai. This is an obvious gap."

"And how good is Kobe in the last ten games of the regular season, even away from strong opponents such as the Bucks and Warriors, plus Howard will officially return tonight, the strength of the Lakers really cannot be measured by rankings and records .”

Yu Jia remembered that after the All-Star Game, the Lakers had been focusing on Howard for a long time, and achieved very good results, and even ushered in the first three-game winning streak of the season.

At that time, the record of the Lakers was also on the rise. Originally, taking advantage of this momentum, they might still be able to achieve the top four records in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, Howard was injured afterward, followed by Nash's injury. It led to the Lakers' subsequent poor record.

On-site commentary desk.

Kenny Smith shouted excitedly: "NBA 2012-13 season, the first round of the playoffs, the game between the Pelicans and the Lakers officially begins!"

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

Pelicans starting: point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Leonard, small forward Jimmy Butler, power forward Anthony Davis and center DeAndre Jordan.

Lakers starting: point guard Nash, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Trevor Ariza, power forward Gasol and center Howard.

The game starts, the midfielder jumps the ball.

Howard jumped high and jumped off the first wave of offensive possessions from Jordan.

The fans in New Orleans immediately shouted: "Defense!"

Nash advanced with the ball, and Chris Paul pressed the audience.

This opening change surprised Barkley on the commentary desk. He said: "Paul is famous for his good defense and many small moves."

"But this is the first time I have seen Paul play like this, and he played like this from the beginning."

Kenny Smith said with some concern: "Chris Paul is the leader of the Pelicans and the core of the backcourt. He defended like this from the beginning. How can he have the energy to play later games?"

on the field.

Under Paul's consecutive shots, Nash still dribbled the ball steadily to the frontcourt, but it took a lot of time in the middle.

Kobe immediately came up from the waist to catch the ball. Leonard followed all the way and used the defense around the front. He always kept his body between Kobe and Nash.

This is blocking the passing route and preventing Kobe from receiving the ball!

Kobe ran back and forth to fake moves, but still failed to break free from Leonard's defense, but at this time Nash had already stopped the ball, so he could only pass the ball to Ariza on the strong side, trying to organize again.

Ariza raised the ball and wanted to find Nash. Nash was also actively running to regain control of the ball and organize the offense, but Chris Paul also defended closely.

"This defensive strength is a bit too scary!"

Howard suddenly ran back to the strong side to get a position, and Ariza quickly sent out.

Howard just got the ball, and Jimmy Butler on the strong side immediately lost his defender and rushed into the inside to double-team.

Jimmy Butler knew that his talent was not outstanding. If he wanted to help defend Howard, it was impossible to defend from the front, so he was smart enough not to let Howard successfully raise the ball, but directly stretched out his hand and inserted it through the gap between Howard's hands. .

Clamp your arms to defend!
Howard wanted to swing his elbow to break away from Jimmy Butler's small defensive move, but Jordan Jr. behind him made a move at the same time, and the three of them fell to the ground in front of them.

The referee whistled and the Pelicans made a defensive foul.

Jimmy Butler, who fell to the ground, was still fighting for the ball fiercely, and finally managed to snatch it from Howard.

Annoyed Howard stood up and pushed Jimmy Butler, and the midline referee rushed over.

"Don't make trouble tonight, keep your hands clean for me."

Jimmy Butler didn't push Howard back, but handed the ball to the referee, and said trash talking while stepping back.

"It's not that the referee is here, I'll scream at you to death."

The game continues.

The Lakers made a bottom line ball, and Kobe successfully received the ball under the cover of Nash and Gasol. The Pelicans did not double-team, but Leonard's one-on-one defense.

But at the same time, the Pelicans used a one-step defensive strategy. Jimmy Butler and Paul's defensive positions were slightly closer to the paint.

In this way, the Pelicans completely blocked Kobe's breakthrough route, leaving only the chance for him to shoot in singles. Leonard's need to limit Kobe's offensive methods was also extremely narrowed.

Duang!

Kobe dribbled a step back and made a fadeaway jumper. Leonard's long hands interfered in place, and the Lakers attacked in the first round.

"Hurry up!!!"

Li Lai stood near the center line and waved vigorously. He grabbed the rebound and passed it to Paul with thick eyebrows. At the same time, Leonard and Jimmy Butler accelerated the fast break.

The only Lakers players who followed defense were Kobe and Ariza.

Three-on-two up front.

Paul made a fake pass to Jimmy Butler, who scored with a one-handed dunk!
"The Pelicans' counterattack is coming!"

Yu Jiayou noticed that the Pelicans had completed their offense, but at this time three of the Lakers' players hadn't even reached the center line.

Gasol, Howard and Nash.

The first two are moving too slowly, and the latter is really not very useful whether they come or not.

next round.

Gasol took the ball in the paint area, and the Lakers were about to play a triangle offense. As a result, Gasol who took the ball was immediately defended like a meat grinder inside.

Nongmei and Leonard double-teamed Gasol, one stood behind, and the other slapped hard, directly knocking the basketball into the air.

boom!
Jordan Jr. and Howard fought in the interior. The two hit the basketball at the same time, and were picked up by Jimmy Butler, who had been standing by and waiting for an opportunity.

The Pelicans make another fast break!
This time, it wasn't just three people who were about to get off, but four people, including Nong Mei, who were about to get down!
Paul passed the ball high, gliding and dunking with thick eyebrows, and at the same time threw his body to the basket, showing off his muscles with both hands.

The fans in New Orleans at the scene all put their hands on their eyebrows, which looked like a line of thick eyebrows, and shouted in unison.

"Huahua's sister, Huahua's sister, a galloping mustang, a rose with thorns!"

next round.

Kobe actively raised his hand to signal that he wanted to control the ball.

The offense of the Lakers can't be opened at all. This is definitely not good news for the team, and the Pelicans use a zone defense strategy. Kobe knows very well that the only way to solve the defense of the Pelicans is to break the zone defense , Let the Pelicans pay for their defense.

The best way to break the zone defense is to pass the ball and make three-pointers from the outside.

Kobe chose the latter. After shaking continuously, he found a gap in Leonard's defense and stepped back for a three-pointer.

Swish!
hit!

Kobe fell to the ground and punched hard.

Leonard's defense reminded Bryant of Bruce Bowen on the Spurs.

Although it also gave Kobe a lot of defensive pressure on the offensive end, it is obvious that Leonard's defense is much cleaner than Bruce Bowen.

"However, Kobe can't play like this every shot, and he can't make every strong three-pointer."

"More importantly, his style of play can't solve the Pelicans' shrinking zone defense tactics."

Yu Jia commented.

Su Qun on the side nodded, thinking that what Yu Jia said made sense.

"When the Pelicans came up with such a zone defense tactic, the mid-range and inside lines were completely restricted. Whether it was Gasol, Howard or Kobe, they all lost their main means of offense."

"It's just that coach Mike Brown is another defensive coach. If he can come up with some offensive tactics to break the Pelicans' zone defense tactics, the Lakers will not play so hard."

Lakers coach.

Mike Brown's head is going to explode right now.

He can feel how suffocated the players on the field are being defended by the Pelicans. If it weren't for him, he would be the head coach of the Lakers now, and even wanted to praise the defensive system that the Pelicans' coaching staff arranged for the team.

Neat and consistent, extremely efficient.

But let Mike Brown solve the Pelicans' defense, he really doesn't have that ability.

"That bastard, Li Lai, always hits me with defense, but bullying me can't solve his defense!"

"If you have the ability to attack! See if I can restrain you."

In the second half of the first quarter, in a full 8 minutes, the Lakers only scored 8 points.

The Pelicans led 18-8.

Li Lai immediately adjusted and replaced, 5 up and 5 down.

Take Beverly, JR Smith, Vince Carter, Diaw and Oden.

Stevens is very clear that although the coach has arranged such a high-intensity defense that can limit the Lakers enough, it also consumes a lot of energy for the players on the field.

That's why Li Lai made a substitution in advance at 8 minutes into the first quarter, and it was still 5 up and 5 down.

"Even Popovich of the Spurs didn't have the courage to go 5-up and 5-down in the playoffs, but Coach Li Lai, he has."

(End of this chapter)