NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 239 Do you think I still have a chance?

Soon, the Blazers ushered in the penultimate game of the season, against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Hello, audience friends, this is TNT, and I am Kenny Smith, the commentator for today's game. Some people may be curious, where is my colleague Charles Barkley? Uh... It's hard to say, so let's stop talking about him!
In this game, we have invited the hero of the Portland Trail Blazers, the famous glider Clyde Drexler!

To be honest, Clyde, do you think the Lakers have a chance to win this game? "

Drexler, after listening to Kenny Smith's words, said immediately: "It is true that Kobe and his Lakers have come to the edge of the cliff, and they are only 0.5 wins away from the eighth Mosaic. If we talk about this game, they may directly miss the playoffs. I think it's time for them to work hard!

But well...

Then again, the performance of the Blazers this year has exceeded everyone's expectations, including me. Although they are still very young, no one will question their strength, especially the luxury lineup configuration inside~ The combination of Wang Zelin + Aldridge is almost the best in the league.

Compared with Dwight Howard, I think Wang Zelin is the league's No. 2012 center in the 13-[-] season. As long as they win this game, the Blazers will sweep the Lakers for the first time in team history. To tell you the truth, I am already looking forward to this moment! "

The ass decides the head. As a famous Blazer, Drexler and Kenny Smith communicated with each other, advocating their home team all the time.

After listening to Drexler's analysis, Kenny Smith continued to speak.

"Clyde, you said that the inside combination of Wang Zelin + Aldridge is the best in the league, I choose to reserve my opinion on this point.

On the other hand, the Lakers' inside lineup is also extremely luxurious, and Howard's recent games have made people feel that he has got rid of his back injury. At this stage, Dwight is still the league's number one center! "

Apparently, Kenny Smith doesn't quite agree with Drexler's claims.

"Okay, let's not talk nonsense, let the facts tell us!"

The starting lineups of the two teams are as follows.

Visiting Lakers: PG Steve Blake, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Earl Clark, PF Pau Gasol, C Dwight Howard
Home team Blazers: same old, skip...

From the point of view of strength on paper, the Blazers are clearly dominant at positions 1 and 3. Whether it is Steve Blake or Earl Clark, they are little-known little players. If it weren't for the fact that some of the Lakers' main players were too aging and caused constant injuries, it would be impossible for them to become the Lakers' starters.

After comparing the two, the only advantage the Lakers have is Kobe, so Terry Stotts gave an order in the pre-game meeting: At all costs, just engage Kobe!

The game on the field soon began.

Wang Zelin and Howard jumped the ball in the middle circle, the latter lost again, and the Blazers took the lead in getting the offensive ball.

With twin towers on both sides at the same time, all eyes are on players No. 36 and No. 12. Another collision between the two is a highlight of tonight.

Just as Wang Zelin received the ball in the low post, Pau Gasol defended him. Who would have thought that Howard quickly scolded: "Go away, I can solve him alone!"

Well, kindness is regarded as the liver and lungs of a donkey.

Pau Gasol walked away helplessly.

"You know Dwight, I love you to death!"

"What?"

"Every time I meet you, I can always get a beautiful data, I believe this time is no exception"

"..."

Howard's face turned black in an instant, Wang Zelin took advantage of the situation to push back, took a step back and turned over to shoot a jumper, Howard immediately reacted and rushed towards Wang Zelin, but unfortunately the ball had already been thrown.

"Shh!"

The Blazers go first.

"Look, I said what's the matter? Isn't it here..."

After scoring the goal, Wang Zelin waited for Howard to serve the bottom line, and rushed to the Lakers with him.

"You're just talking, I'm not afraid of you!"

Howard said fiercely with a fierce look on his face.

"But you just can't prevent..."

Wang Zelin smiled.

At this time, Kobe received the ball at the top of the arc and made a gesture of pulling away. After his teammates pulled to the outside line, he suddenly started to pass Matthews and went straight to the penalty area.

But Batum, who was in the high position on the left, reacted very quickly and immediately stepped over to make up the defense. Kobe quickly turned around and passed the defender cleanly. Wang Zelin wanted to propose a defensive step, but was held back by Howard.

In the end, Aldridge took the initiative to meet Kobe.

"drink!"

Kobe roared, ignoring Aldridge in front of him, and jumped up without fear. The basketball flew past the latter's fingertips, fell into the net, staggered to the ground, and almost fell.

"Oh!"

The Rose Garden Arena was in an uproar.

The 1-meter Kobe knocked away the 98-meter Aldridge, which made the fans very dissatisfied.

Why don't you dare to be cruel?
How cowardly!
"Beep!"

Aldridge thugs foul, Kobe added a penalty.

"The performance from the Black Mamba! He contributed 2+1 as soon as he came on the court. It can be seen that Kobe's desire to attack today is very strong!" Kenny Smith's commentary sounded at the scene.

"Shh!"

Boos followed, and tens of thousands of Blazers fans performed exceptionally well.

I hope they obviously underestimated the cold-bloodedness of the Black Mamba. For him, boos of this level are tantamount to encouragement.

"Shu~"

With an additional penalty hit, the Lakers went ahead by one point.

The boss's performance caused a carnival from the Lakers' bench.

Looking back, Wang Zelin received the ball from a high position, made a fake pass and assisted with a real pass, and Aldridge dunked under the basket, which was considered a return.

In the recent two games against the Spurs and the Jazz, Aldridge's state has picked up, so the players decided to give him more balls and try to adjust his state before the playoffs.

The Lakers played very hard here. Before the game, Kobe warned everyone with a serious face: Tonight's game must be won, we can't lose again, whoever dares to delay, he has good fruit to eat.

After the half quarter, Kobe took turns to educate Matthews and Batum on the offensive end. He made 4 of 3 shots in the half quarter, 3 of 3 free throws, scored 9 points and 1 assist...

But together!
Wang Zelin and Aldridge took turns to bomb the Lakers penalty area. The two scored 11 points and 5 rebounds together, helping the Blazers to stop the Lakers with a 17:13 lead by 4 points and enter the official timeout.

During the timeout, D'Antoni continued to arrange rotations and offensive tactics. Kobe sat on the sidelines with a dark face.

He is still like this and still lags behind, how can he win?
Everyone can see that the fundamental reason why the Lakers are behind is that there are too many loopholes in the perimeter defense, especially the No. [-] position.

After half a quarter, Lillard got 3 assists through simple sudden points, not counting indirect assists
It can be seen that Steve Blake can't prevent Lillard at all.

I hope Kobe doesn't blame his teammates too much, because he knows that Steve Blake's level is there, as long as he does his best.

What he hates most now is time!

Time has taken away his youth, making his inevitable peak gradually decline, and he hates the feeling of being weak.

For the Trail Blazers, Coach Terry Stotts saw the players playing so well and didn't make too many arrangements. He learned from Rivers and poured chicken soup for his soul, because he knew that what the players needed at this time was encouragement, not a stern face.

Through the half quarter just now, especially the Lakers, or Kobe's style of play tonight.

Unlike some previous games, organize teammates first, but do the opposite, and attack as soon as they come up.

In addition to being anxious about the regular season record, it is more because Kobe and D'Antoni both know that the Blazers have too many difficult points to defend, and blindly consuming time is nothing but slow suicide.

Instead of waiting to die aggrieved, it's better to gamble on Kobe's touch.

From the current point of view, D'Antoni made the right bet. Kobe's touch is really good, but he overlooked one of the most critical points, that is, No. 24 is no longer young.

While attacking fiercely, the defensive efficiency will definitely decline.

……

Back from timeout, the Lakers attack.

The two teams are still in the starting lineup, with Batum defending Kobe, Aldridge defending Pau Gasol, and Wang Zelin and Howard fighting hand-to-hand under the basket.

Steve Blake just dribbled the ball across the center line, and Kobe responded from a 45-degree angle to the right, as if to say, "Give me the ball and I'll take you home."

Steve Blake has long been used to this. After handing over the ball, he ran to the baseline and squatted obediently, silently shouting "Boss 666!"

Unlike the last time he opened the singles, Kobe made a gesture this time, allowing Pau Gasol to pull out the three-point line for a pick-and-roll.

The two deserve to be the old buddies who have won two consecutive championships together for many years. Pau Gasol's high-quality pick-and-roll just happened to get Kobe's cool spot, and he burst into the free throw line and made a mid-range shot.

"Hey, if only Dwight was willing to be a pick-and-roll, it's useless to blind that body..."

During his return to defense, Kobe looked at Howard with doubts in his eyes. Obviously, the latter can do pick-and-rolls, and he is even one of the best pick-and-roll big men in the league... Why did he trade off strengths and trade off weaknesses after coming to the Lakers?

Don't you have any clues?
You thought you were No. 36 on the opposite side, do you have someone to do that?
Mingming is extremely detailed, but he always likes to say, "Mine is very big, you have to bear it!"

Howard was terrified by the stare, and the idea of ​​low-position singles that had just arisen in his mind suddenly weakened a lot.

It's better to do a good job of defense first, make Kobe happy, and talk about singles later.

At 17:15, there are still two points to equalize.

The Blazers attacked and continued their fierce inside play. After the first quarter, the point difference has been widened to 10 points.

王泽林也延续了自己“一打湖人必爆发”的特性，11分半钟拿到了10分4篮板2助攻1盖帽，差一个抢断就能把5项数据栏全部填满。

In addition, Aldridge also played well, with 8 points and 2 rebounds. The two scored 18 points in the paint and scored half of the team's first quarter score.

在内线二人组的带领下，开拓者首节。22投14中，三分球4中2，罚球6中4，以极高的效率狂砍34分！比以往比赛的场均单节得分高出10分左右。

The Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 34 points at 23:11.

A true warrior dares to face the bleak life and face the dripping blood...

Ahem, I'm talking about the current Lakers.

There is one thing to say, the Lakers are actually not bad at playing, 21 of 10 shots, 5 of 3 free throws, and 23 points... The only thing worth complaining about is that the three-pointers are a bit eye-catching, 3 of 0 shots, and the shooting rate is 0.

But considering that the Lakers averaged only about 101 points per game this season, they have already played at their due level...they can't hold back and are not as strong as the opponent.

In the final analysis, the Lakers are now a broken team, and the overall strength of the team is not as good as it was at the beginning of the season.

Nash is always a bit old and still has a defensive loophole, but he is a two-time regular season MVP winner after all. Few people in the league can match his organization and field control alone.

After all, Steve Blake is too far behind Steve Nash!
When his opposing player has some strength, he really can't attack offensively, and he can't defend defensively... A word is free!
Coupled with the problem of the Lakers' small forward position, it has not been resolved since last season. It is thanks to Kobe's hard work that he can reach the current marginal position in the playoffs.

7 of 5 shots, 13 points and 2 rebounds in a single quarter, Kobe is enough to carry, but comparing the lineups of the two sides... It doesn't matter if it's not the home game, it's still back to back...

In an instant, my heart was cold!

……

At the start of the second quarter, Tristo City was not willing to replace the main players who were in great condition, and they played really well.

"I said a number~~~20 points! At the end of halftime, I hope to see the point difference break through 20 points...

Answer me loudly, do you have the confidence to do it! "

Coach Tristos waved his hand, and the starting five continued to play.

"Have!"

+5～

For the Lakers, Pau Gasol was replaced by Antawn Jamison at the power forward position. Apart from that, the other four players remained unchanged.

Not surprisingly, Kobe and Howard should play more than 40 minutes tonight.

34, five people dare to do this, no wonder there will be problems in the playoffs.

Considering what happened in the future, Wang Zelin felt a little embarrassed.

"It's time to play, what are you thinking?"

Batum stepped forward and patted Wang Zelin's ass. This kid is good at everything, but the problem of being in a daze from time to time needs to be corrected.

"understood!"

……

In the end, the Blazers' rhythm was well controlled, and the Lakers didn't get a chance to lead.

At 113:106, the Lakers lost crucial back-to-back games by 7 points.

The reason why the point difference was recovered within 10 points was entirely because the coaches of the two teams were lining up for more than half of the final quarter, pecking at each other on the field, so that the Lakers would not lose so ugly.

After this campaign, the Lakers have fallen behind Mosaic by a full win, and are getting farther and farther away from the eighth position in the Western Conference. I don't know if they still have a chance.

Everything depends on the results of the game between Mosaic and the Suns tomorrow night. If the latter wins, the Lakers still have a little chance.

But if the former wins, there is basically no chance.

(End of this chapter)