start with scouting

Chapter 83 This Is Youth

Back at the team base, the Blazers did not conduct much training and paid more attention to video research.

Su Yang made plans in advance, and made various simulations to assume possible situations, without resting for more than ten hours.

On the 29th, Game [-] of the Western Conference Finals between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers started at the Rose Garden Center.

According to Su Yang's strategy of rushing boldly at home, Roy and Blake used a lot of cover to break through at the beginning, and Ade also temporarily gave up straight-arm long-range shots, turning around and sinking to the bottom to attack the basket more, carrying Gasol in various ways. Defensive play.

That strategy worked wonders, and soon the three starters of the Lakers suffered a total of 6 fouls.Although Kobe was not troubled by fouls, he was very uncomfortable with the big defense, and the Lakers made 5 of 0 three-pointers.

Some fouls can actually be ignored, but that is the home field advantage, Su Yang told the players not to be polite.

With those fouls, the Blazers scored 10 free throws in a single quarter, leading the Lakers 31 to 21.

After the start of the second quarter, the two teams entered the bench stage as usual, and the Lakers Vujacic made a three-pointer when he came on the court.

Su Yang didn't think it was serious. Unexpectedly, Vujacic hit a three-pointer again, so he had to adjust his partial defensive strategy.

But after Vujacic hit the ball in a row, he felt hot, and he insisted on defending and hit a three-pointer again. In addition, Mike Roberts and Outlaw hit the iron one after another. The Lakers played a wave of 9-0 attacks and quickly caught up with the Blazers. .

In that situation, Su Yang could only suspend the adjustment, but fortunately, he stabilized the situation until halftime.

Returning to the locker room at halftime, he emphasized to the players that even if Vujacic hits 4 three-pointers in the second quarter, the Lakers should continue to shoot three-pointers in the second half, because only in this way can Kobe and Gasol be prevented from looting .

Roy and others expressed their understanding that after the third quarter started, Kobe was allowed to shoot a three-pointer for the first defense.

Kobe's three-pointer hit the iron, and then he gave up shooting the three-pointer, hitting the inside in various ways.

In order to stop Kobe, Webster and Roy returned to the cost of two fouls respectively, in exchange for a stable situation.

But even then, Kobe still made 6 of 4 shots in a single quarter, but the other Lakers players made 12 of 5 shots in total.

And Roy was also defended enough by Kobe, and Adelaide's situation was not good. The Blazers relied on Frye's scoring support.

After the three quarters, the Blazers entered the fourth quarter with a 4-point lead and rotated as usual.

The two teams played quite fiercely. It was difficult for Kobe and Fisher to score from the outside. Roy and Blake also frequently hit the iron on the outside. Germany explodes.

In various hand-to-hand fights and fouls, the game played to the last 13 seconds, and the Lakers fell behind 108-110.

Phil Jackson deployed his classic starburst tactics, Kobe successfully attracted a double-team, Odom took the opportunity to shoot a three-pointer, and the result was a bang, but Gasol grabbed an offensive rebound and assisted Kobe with an air-cut dunk to tie the score.

Su Yang immediately asked for a timeout, and used Roy as a bait to arrange an alley-oop tactic for Adelaide.

After the referee whistled, the Blazers team successfully ran out of tactics, but Alder dunked and was blocked by the basket.

After the regular time, the two teams entered overtime, Ade didn't explain why the dunk was thrown, and Su Yang didn't ask.

Fortunately, Roy stood up in overtime and not only made 3 of 2 shots, but also joined with Webster to allow Kobe to make 7 of 1 shots.

In the end, the Blazers defeated the Lakers 121 to 115, tenaciously chasing the big score to 2 to 3.

After the game, Su Yang asked Ade in private why he dunked the basketball at that time, which was very strange.

Ade bluntly said that he had a waist injury. He was injured in the previous game against the Spurs. He felt that it was not serious. He wanted to play with the injury in the future. He hoped that Su Yang would not tell the team doctor or McMillan, so as not to cause a big impact on the momentum of chasing points.

Su Yang thought over and over again, chose to 'sell' Ade, and informed the team doctor to request a second round of examination.

However, the team doctor kept him secret and only said that he would do a routine physical examination, pretending to have discovered it accidentally.

After examination, the team doctor confirmed that Adelaide's injury was indeed not serious, but there was a risk of aggravation.

Su Yang didn't understand at all and didn't participate in the discussion. Finally, he was notified that he could respect Ade's personal wishes.

After two days of rest, the Trail Blazers team rushed to Los Angeles to start Game [-] with the Lakers.

In the first quarter of the game, the Lakers also relied on their home court advantage to defend with all kinds of big moves, and they were not afraid of fouls at all.

The Blazers were greatly affected. They only made 23 of 7 shots in the first quarter and fell behind by as many as 13 points.

As a substitute in the second quarter, Vujacic made consecutive hits in the fifth game, but Su Yang made the team insist on defending the inside line first, forcing the Lakers to shoot more three-pointers until halftime, when the Blazers trailed the Lakers 43-62.

Faced with a 19-point deficit, the Blazers responded calmly, after all, they were behind 0 to 3 before.

In the resumption of the halftime game, Su Yang temporarily drew up some three-point tactics to prepare for the final chasing stage.

With the idea of ​​fighting to the end, the whole team responded to the third quarter as usual, narrowing the three-point gap with difficulty.

During the timeout between the quarters, Su Yang reminded again that he could grab three points at the critical moment and be caught off guard.

After the start of the fourth quarter, the Blazers were still 16 points behind, and they struggled to catch up until the last 2 minutes left before narrowing the gap to 8 points.On the Lakers side, Kobe began to take over the game, causing Roy to make defensive fouls one after another.

Roy resisted the situation under tremendous pressure, successfully executed Su Yang's three-point tactics in succession, and continued to narrow the point difference.

The two teams played until the last four seconds in the rhythm of two free throws and two free throws.

Facing the situation of falling behind by 2 points, Su Yang used Roy as a bait to specially arrange a three-point tactic for Frye.

When the referee whistled, the Blazers ran out of tactics perfectly, but it was a pity that Frye hit the iron with a three-pointer.

While the audience at Staples Center was cheering, Alder rushed to take off and made a dunk through Gasol.

But Ade fell heavily on the floor and didn't get up for a long time, and was carried back to the bench by Roy and others.

The team doctor made an on-the-spot diagnosis and forced Adelaide to withdraw from the game. The Blazers had to play overtime with fewer main players.

Fortunately, the whole team was encouraged. Roy and Blake succeeded one after another, defeating the Lakers to win.

With a score of 3 to 3, the Blazers flew back to Portland overnight with only one day to rest.

The team doctor tested Ade again and gave a report that he was banned from playing in G7, and the whole team accepted it calmly.

But no one said to give up, Su Yang designed a new tactic overnight, and the whole team practiced against the clock.

On June 1, the Trail Blazers faced the Lakers in the Rose Garden, and the ratings in the first minute of the game broke the record.

Adelaide sat on the bench wearing a jersey and gave the team the greatest support, and Oden also came to help.

It's a pity that without Adelaide, the Blazers' internal firepower was greatly reduced, and only 16 points were recorded in the first quarter.

In the next two quarters, relying on various efforts, the Blazers were only 17 points behind the Lakers.

But the game entered the fourth quarter, the Lakers defended like crazy, and it was extremely difficult to score.

In the end, the Blazers lost to the Lakers 91 to 102, and the series stopped 3 to 4 in the Western Conference Finals.

When the final whistle sounded, Su Yang hugged the players one by one, thanking them for their cooperation throughout the season.

Owner Paul Allen spoke at the scene, thanking the fans for their support this season, thanking the management headed by Kevin for building a strong team in a short period of time, thanking the McMillan coaching staff, and thanking the team of scouts and trainers.

At the end of the speech, Paul Allen specially thanked Su Yang alone, and the fans booed Su Yang to stay.
-
PS, do you think this episode of fighting the Lakers is a little rushed?
(End of this chapter)