The Legend of the Hungry Wolf in Basketball

Chapter 25 [The strongest opponent]

In the last game in November, the Lakers lost 11 to 99 to the Jazz, and suffered a two-game losing streak.

德隆.威廉姆斯砍下24分11助攻，布泽尔也得到22分10篮板的两双，“AK47”基里连科也有出色的发挥，14分5篮板5助攻4盖帽。科比24投10中，砍下31分5篮板4助攻，奥多姆也得到18分11篮板5助攻，却只能接受失败的苦果。

The Lakers players tried their best to play against the Jazz and failed to win. It will be more difficult for them to go to Boston, and they will have to work even harder in the next game. If they lose three games in a row, their morale will be greatly damaged, and their ranking in the standings will also drop.The Celtics rested for a day and waited for work with leisure.Whether it is physical strength or mentality, they all take the initiative.

The Lakers only had one person with plenty of energy, and that was Ye Feng who came from Los Angeles.After seeing the "Zen Master" Jackson, Jackson made it clear that he would give him a lot of playing time, and he wanted to help the team as much as possible.

The teammates arrived at the hotel in the middle of the night, and Ye Feng only greeted them the next day. He was sitting with Bynum at lunch, and seeing Bynum listless, he said lightly: "Look at your expression, it's very difficult to play away games in a row. Tired."

"Of course I'm tired. You haven't played back-to-back games yet, and your playing time is short. You'll know when you fly with the team a few times. I was criticized by the coach again in the last game. He blamed me for not playing hard enough." Bynum looked around, After confirming that no one came over, he continued: "I can't catch the ball at all, how can I get tough? Kobe hit so much iron in the third quarter, he didn't pass the ball to me."

Ye Feng watched the game and knew that the opponent was defending the zone defense. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to position inside, and the Lakers' offensive focus is Kobe. Naturally, they will not arrange tactics to create chances for Bynum to catch the ball. He only took 9 shots, hit 4 goals, scored 9 points with free throws, and only grabbed 5 rebounds. The number of rebounds is what Jackson is most dissatisfied with.

Bynum laughed and said, "Celtics center Perkins is just a blue-collar player. I don't know if the coach will use me as the core to attack him more."

"Don't underestimate him, Perkins is quite strong." Ye Feng laughed.

Perkins is not only strong, but his appearance is also very intimidating. An old face is full of the vicissitudes of the proletarian people's struggle, as if the entire NBA owes him money.On the defensive end, he is also very skillful. He doesn't wobble, and he doesn't jump casually, which is why he gives people the clumsy feeling of the floor. In fact, he jumps quite high and can send big caps every game.

Now Bynum really can't deal with Perkins.Ye Feng remembered that in his previous life, in the 2010 finals, Perkins defended Bynum, who was very uncomfortable. In the fifth game, he had 6 points and 1 rebound, and in the sixth game, he had 2 points and 4 rebounds.Although Bynum had a knee injury at the time, Perkins' defensive role was also very obvious. If Perkins hadn't been injured in the sixth game, it would be hard to say who won the championship.

That night, Ye Feng accompanied the team to the North Shore Bank Garden Stadium.

Many teams will make some tricks when their stars come on the field to stir up the atmosphere, but they are not as formal as the Celtics' player appearance ceremony.

The players gathered on the bench, only the green light representing the Celtics was left in the audience, and highlights from the Big Three were played on the big screen in the center of the court.According to the strength of the players, the substitutes and starters will appear on the stage in turn, and the searchlight will shine on whoever is introduced.Garnett bowed his head and sat on the bench to play cool, bumping fists with his teammates one by one.Rondo was the fourth-to-last player, followed by Ray Allen, Garnett was the second-to-last, and finally Paul Pierce, who has been playing for the Celtics.They got together, punched and shouted, with a domineering arrogance that surpassed the crowd.

The Lakers players were much more low-key when they played, and only when Kobe was introduced did the audience send out a little applause.

The Celtics' home commentator is the legendary Celtics superstar Cedric Maxwell nicknamed "Cornbread" and his old partner Sean Grande.

The two started by introducing the comparison of the strengths of the main players of the two sides. Even if Kobe had an advantage over Pierce, they believed that the Celtics would definitely win this game.

In such a home atmosphere, the mentality of the players on the visiting team is easily affected. It is said that a rookie was so nervous before the game against the Celtics that he had diarrhea and ran several times to the toilet.

Kobe looked serious, staring at the basket, flexing his wrists. He didn't want to lose again in this game.As soon as Kobe entered the league, he met the peak O'Neal, and he was used to winning.It is precisely because he is used to winning that his desire to win is extremely strong.

Ye Feng was sitting on the bench, watching Radmanovich in a daze, feeling flirtatious in his heart.He knows that there is no suspense for him to stay in the Lakers, but he just doesn't know how many playing opportunities he can get.If Radmanovic goes skiing and gets injured during the All-Star Game, does he have a chance to be the starter?He knew the future, but he would not remind Radmanovich.People have selfish intentions, and it's not easy for him to remind them. The other party will not express their gratitude for what they say now, but will only feel like they have been cursed.

Substitute small forward Luke Walton didn't play well this season either. Walton just signed a six-year, 6 million contract with the Lakers. He averaged 3000 minutes per game, but only scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.The three games in NBDL made Ye Feng full of confidence. He is confident that he is better than Wharton in both offense and defense.

After the start of the game, the Celtics played very patiently on offense. The core players were too old. They would try their best to control the rhythm and play positional warfare, so that they could quickly return to defense after shooting to ensure the defensive formation.

Rajon Rondo is responsible for bringing the ball to the frontcourt. This second-year rookie point guard with a height of only 185cm is lucky. He has not only become the right-hand man of the Big Three, but also is becoming the controller of the Celtics' offensive rhythm.His data has made a qualitative leap from last season, averaging 10.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

The Celtics' offensive strategy is to cover Garnett at a high position. After the pick-and-roll, Rondo drives the ball for a layup, or splits the ball to find the Big Three.Rondo's speed ranks among the top five guards.Fisher is just the opposite, probably in the bottom five.With such a simple pick-and-roll tactic, the Lakers struggled to defend.After Rondo scored the ball, Pierce and Garnett have strong individual singles abilities, and it is difficult to defend one-on-one.

Ray Allen is relatively easy to deal with. He gets shots by actively running. However, his three-pointer made the Lakers dare not compress the defensive system within the three-second zone. Once the formation was opened, Pierce played consecutive singles Radmanovic scored 12 points in the first quarter.

In the first quarter, the shooting percentage of both sides was not high, and the Celtics led 24 to 17 by 7 points.In one-on-one situations, the Celtics players have strong single-defense capabilities, and the Lakers' triangle offensive tactics were contained.

7 points is not a big gap, but Odom got two fouls in the first quarter, coupled with physical exertion and other factors, it is not easy for the Lakers to recover the gap.Whether the Lakers' second lineup can hold up is the key to victory.

In the second half of the first quarter, Jackson sent Turiaf out, and replaced Kwame Brown, Walton, Vujacic, and Farmar during the break.Both sides are on the full bench to allow the main force to recover.

The starting lineup of the Lakers can compete with any strong team, but when they are on the bench, they are often chased for points. This is the biggest weakness of the Lakers.Enhancing the depth of the bench is something they have been trying to do over the years.The Celtics have a few good people on the bench. James Posey and Tony Allen are great defensive players. Veteran Eddie House is a convulsive player, and he is also terrible when he makes a pass.

After playing for 3 minutes, the Lakers' substitutes hit the iron continuously without scoring a point.The Celtics' bench offensive efficiency is not good, but the defense is very good.The Celtics' strong defense depends not only on their single defense ability, but also on the entire defensive system.Defensive progress is thanks to one man -- Tom Thibodeau.Thibodeau was originally the number one assistant coach of the Rockets, and together with Jeff Van Gundy, he built the Rockets' iron-blooded defense.It's a pity that the Rockets are ignorant. In order to improve their offensive power, Adelman and his coaching staff were invited. Thibodeau was forced to leave, which made the Celtics cheaper.

The Celtics focused their defense on the perimeter, keeping a close eye on the three scoring points of Walton, Vujacic, and Farmar.The insiders Turiaf and Kwame Brown attacked the garbage and couldn't make waves.

The score stretched to 30 to 17, and Jackson requested a timeout.If the Lakers still want to win, someone must stand up and break through the Celtics' steel defense.

Jackson called Ye Feng to his side, Ye Feng knew that he was going to play.Jackson said sternly: "Ye Feng is on the field, Turiaf is off, Ye has to mark the opponent's power forward, pay attention to changing defenses when the guard breaks through, defend the 32 zone defense, and mark the outside line."

"Yes." Ye Feng replied loudly.This was the first time he played, and he was full of energy. Everyone else looked at him like a fool. Only then did he realize that he had interrupted the coach, and hurriedly lowered his head.

Jackson added: "On the offensive end, Farmar and Walton will throw the ball inside, and Ye Feng will take the lead!"

Hearing this arrangement, the Lakers players were stunned. Ye Feng had just returned from NBDL and became the main attacker of the second lineup. Why did the coach trust him so much?However, if the coach arranges it, it must be implemented.

Jackson's tactics were targeted.Now the Celtics' inside players are not fast except Garnett, and Ye Feng has an absolute speed advantage in singles.If it was a fast break, Ye Feng would definitely not be able to keep up with the inside players.

Jackson drew a few strokes on the tactical board and said: "Ye, you are stronger and faster. Except for Garnett, the Celtics inside can't keep up with you. Use your low-post attack method Come and play to your heart's content. If you encounter a double team, look for the nearest teammate to pass. Can you do it? Farmar is on the weak side, Vujacic is in the bottom corner. Brown goes to the high screen, evacuates the inside, and Walton runs to find opportunities , let's play!"

Ye Feng played at position 4. When he came on, the Celtics also substituted, and the one who came up was a fat man—Glenn Davis!
(End of this chapter)