super small forward

Chapter 544 544. An Epic Showdown!

"By the way, Shaq, if Kobe wins another championship this year, he will have more championships than you by two." Kenny Smith began to provoke again. This is the only job in his job that still makes him feel Follow your heart where you go.

"Hmph, Kobe is a guard, can he compare with me? The only ones who can compare with me are those insiders, such as Charles. He doesn't even have a championship."

"Shaq! No, I want to fight you!"

……

……

At 6 pm on June 9th, Los Angeles time, the first game of the Finals between the Lakers and the Cavaliers kicked off at the Staples Center.

When Kobe and James came to touch the magnesium powder in front of the technical stage, there were loud cheers at the scene.

Before the game officially started, Adam Silva, who came to watch the game, received the ratings from the secretary, which had already broken the NBA Finals ratings record in history!
The number of viewers brought by the two super IPs of Kobe and James in the finals is unprecedented!
Adam Silva has seen the huge sums that David Stern never got when he was negotiating broadcast fees with major TV stations and online media in the summer.

After a series of activities before the finals, the referee blew his whistle, and the starters of both sides entered the court to prepare for the jump ball.

The Lakers' starting lineup has changed a bit. Gasol was saddened by repeated abuse of the jump ball. He took the initiative to give up the starting position and let Whiteside appear as the starting center on this most watched stage!
When the original contract was renewed, Gasol accepted a price far lower than his worth, but when the term was impossible for other teams to give a long-term contract of up to 5 years, he understood that his position as the main center was only temporary. , The main thing is to pass on his experience to Green, and teach Whiteside skills, helping the two become the strongest inside partner in the league, plus him to reproduce the inside combination that dominated the NBA back then.

Gasol's character is too suitable for being a second-in-command, no wonder Popovich is so greedy for him.

The other four players of the Lakers have not changed. Clarkson, Kobe, Liu Ren and Green will start as partners.

This lineup is completely the strongest lineup of the Lakers, even if compared with the Blazers' lineup, which is known as the league's first starter, it is not inferior!

In fact, the Lakers rarely send this lineup at the same time. In addition to Whiteside's strong basket dominance to lead the second team, D'Antoni tries to balance everyone's playing time in the regular season and make physical reserves.

The Cavaliers' starting lineup has changed a lot, with Dellavedova, Sefolosha, James, Tristan Thompson, and Mozgov playing together.

This lineup is really the strongest defensive lineup of the Cavaliers in terms of defense, but the Cavaliers are not one of the best defensive teams. No one is optimistic that they can block the Lakers' league-leading offense.

James gave a morale-boosting speech to his teammates before the game, but he succeeded in motivating his teammates. Although it is hard to say how long it will last, but the first game just started, they all have fighting spirit.

Admitting defeat before the game even started?Then he is not called an NBA player!
Whiteside and Mozgov jump the ball in the middle circle.

Mozgov stepped on the stage of the finals for the first time, and with the encouragement of James, he wanted to prove himself.But the difference in strength is not something that can be done just by thinking about it. If the opponent is Bogut, Mozgov can play evenly, and the jump ball is evenly matched, but the opponent is Whiteside...

Whiteside easily won the jump ball over Mozgov.

Immediately after the Lakers' first attack, Green gave Liu Ren a pick-and-roll without the ball in the middle distance, and used Liu Ren to run back to attract Tristan Thompson's defense, and then passed the ball to Whiteside beyond the Warriors' expectations. Seid faced Mozgov one-on-one inside, and directly dunked the ball into the basket through Mozgov.

Looking at Whiteside's expression as if he had dunked an empty basket, Mozgov's fighting spirit accumulated in the past two days was instantly crippled.

If it was Gasol, Mozgov could barely make it to the first wave. Although Gasol is in good form this year, except for defending against the small man who breaks in, he is always the target of the opponent's center. On the offensive end It also tends to shoot, it doesn't look so destructive, and this Whiteside is simply a beast in the eyes of Mozgov!

The public opinion of the media, the reimbursement of the two major stars of their own team, and finally made up their minds to prepare for a desperate battle. Mozgov was defeated by Whiteside at the beginning. Players who set foot on such a big stage in the finals lost confidence.

Mozgov sent the ball to Dellavedova in a daze, the Cavaliers attacked, and Dellavedova advanced to the frontcourt and handed the ball to James.

Contrary to the expectations of the fans and the expectations of the TV commentators, it was not Liu Ren who came to the top arc to defend James, but Kobe!

But this unexpected picture is a surprise for the fans!
23vs24!

Instead of leading their respective teams to attack with the opponent's team, the two will fight head-to-head!

"Whoa...! What did I see? It was Kobe defending James? Isn't it? My old man, you'd better stop messing around and let the boss defend! Let's win the championship early! Don't delay our boss Win the first championship!" O'Neal complained wildly.

"I also think, is Kobe just being smart? Doesn't he know how bad his defense has been in the past two years?" Barkley was also speechless.

"The two of you are wrong. Look, Liu has retreated to the edge of the three-second zone. As long as James breaks through, he can help defend immediately." Kenny Smith was indeed the only one who watched the ball and analyzed it. , "The Lakers' defense is not a big problem. The point guard of the Cavaliers is Dellavedova. Liu doesn't have to guard him at all. He has a 20.00% mid-range shooting percentage. Liu can't wait for him to shoot, and Kobe's defensive data is also good It’s not as bad as you imagined, and his opponents scored below his average level…”

Sure enough, Kenny Smith was the only one of the TNT Big Three who did his homework before the game...

Just like Kenny Smith's analysis, the defense arranged by Bickerstaff is the original defense of the Spurs against the Heat, but it is more excessive than the defense of the Spurs. When James was in the Heat, the point guard was Chalmers anyway, so Leonard used to defend James alone, leaving someone to keep an eye on Chalmers' open shots, but now he puts Liu Ren directly on the waist, and uses Kobe, who is still very good at chasing and double-teaming, to defend against James' shots. If James breaks through Kobe, he will double-team with Liu Ren. As for Dellavedova... who cares?
James was in possession of the ball and saw Kobe in front of him, Liu Ren who was eyeing him on the edge of the three-second zone, Green who was ready to help defend at any time on the other side of the three-second zone, and Mozgov and Tristan who were guarding the basket. Whiteside, who was covered by Thompson's two offensive weak chickens, smiled bitterly in his heart.

But the opponent in front of him is the key point. James put aside all his troubles and said to Kobe: "Kobe, I am really excited to play against you."

"It's great, isn't it? But then your excitement will turn into despair." Kobe blasted unceremoniously.

James shook his head: "No, my excitement is excitement, I am desperate now."

The moment James finished speaking, he accelerated and rushed forward. Kobe was not disturbed and clung to him, but was resisted by James' brute force, and James went straight to the inside!
Liu Ren and Green immediately double-teamed up, Kobe followed closely from behind, and the three surrounded James!

James glanced at Dellavedova beyond the three-point line.

Pass?

Do not!
He has always been known for being selfless, even so selfless that people criticize him, he decided to be willful today!

James has never been willful and selfish when playing on the court before, but now, the opponent is Kobe, and the team is in such a situation, James is going to be willful!This may be the only chance in this life!
James got into the double-team of Kobe, Liu Ren, and Green, and was blocked by Kobe behind him. James couldn't get out, so he resisted Green and forced a jumper against Liu Ren's block!

hit!

Playing the Eastern Conference Finals with the Eagles has pushed James to the limit, but because of this, although he has not been physically rested, he is indeed in the best state!
Liu Ren looked at James' steady strong shot, and looked at Kobe resentfully. If he was defending James on the outside at this time, James would not be so easy, and Kobe and Green's defense would be more in place. , It will not give James so much extra room to rush in and score a jumper directly.

Bickerstaff also arranged that way before the game, but Kobe took the initiative to ask to defend James. Bickerstaff felt that anyone's defense was the same, so he agreed to Kobe's request.

However, Liu Ren is still willing to let Kobe fight James head-on, and he also wants to see this epic duel that has never appeared in his time and space.

And Liu Ren knew that, at least in the current year, the biggest stage for the Lakers still belonged to Kobe.

The offense and defense transition, the Lakers attack, and Clarkson advances to the frontcourt. At this time, the ball should be given to Liu Ren or Green, but Kobe took the initiative to come to the top arc to ask for the ball. Clarkson thinks it is better to give it to the boss. The boss is still Kobe.

Kobe played singles with the ball, and James also took the initiative to switch defenses with Sefulosa this time, and played one-on-one with Kobe.

The sound of the scene sounded again, and the fans didn't care whether the Cavaliers were their opponents or whether James was the guy they had always regarded as their enemy.

In the confrontation between the two strongest players in the NBA in the new century, even if they were opponents, they all began to cheer for both sides!

From the first game of the regular season to the end of the Western Conference Finals, D'Antoni strictly protected his physical fitness. Now that it's the finals, Kobe finally got D'Antoni's permission to burn the remaining fuel in his tank without any restraint. Under the oil!

It is quite difficult for Kobe to break through James now!
Green was about to come over for the pick-and-roll, but was rejected by Kobe!
Kobe did the same thing he did against Jordan in the 1998 All-Star Game.

"Drummond, get out of the way, I'm going to challenge LeBron!"

The scene was too noisy and no one could hear it, but the NBA's radio equipment was excellent, and the fans in front of the TV and computers heard Kobe's words clearly!
In an instant, it seemed to return to 18 years ago, and the scene before the first match between the old and new kings of the alliance reappeared on the big stage.

Green also thought of the words he heard when he was a kid who was less than ten years old watching the All-Star Game. He was instantly embarrassed. He had already expected that he would be repeatedly talked about by countless fans because of this incident in the future. Tears streaming down my face, I was rejected by the boss!

"I feel very honored, but if you let your teammates not come to help you when I attack, I feel even more honored." James continued to spray trash.

"You can also let your teammates help defend, I don't mind, of course, I may pass the ball." Bryant said while looking for the gaps in James' defense.

Of course James would not be really stupid enough to ask his teammates to assist in the defense. You must know that he is the strongest defensive point of the Cavaliers, and he must assist in the defense.

In terms of heads-up, the No.1 Jordan in NBA history said that the only outside line that could beat him was Kobe.

Kobe's single-handed ability has always been second-to-none in NBA history. Even if James regained the defense enough to compete for the best defensive player in the playoffs, Kobe still found a defensive gap.

Kobe continued to dribble the ball under his crotch, and his whole body was full of fake moves. He successfully swayed James' defense, cut a step into the three-point line and made a long-distance two-point shot!
Same hit!

The fans burst into cheers again.

The Cavaliers attacked, James was still preparing to come by himself, and the fans also cheered for James.

Kobe stuck close to James, not giving James a chance to shoot from the outside.

Although James has been criticized for his poor shooting, no opponent dares to underestimate his three-pointers. It can be seen that James' three-point shooting percentage is not bad, but he is easy to hesitate, so the three-point shots are relatively rare.

James continued to choose to break through. I have to say that he is no worse than any scorer who only thinks about scoring. This time the Lakers double-teamed more timely and decisively. He didn’t give him a chance to aim at the basket, but he still caused Green’s foul and went to free throws Wire.

Like Liu Ren, James has always had a problem with free throws. His constant weight gain has made it difficult for him to adapt to free throws like Liu Ren. Shooting in sports has little effect, but it is difficult to practice free throws too accurately. Liu Ren is slightly better, but only 70.00%.

James made one of two free throws.

3 to 4, the Cavaliers fell behind by 1 point after their own round.

It's Kobe's offense again. As an offensive kaleidoscope, Kobe will certainly not make the same shot twice in a row. This time he came up with a simple, direct and rough shot, directly pulling up a three-pointer!

"Swish"

It was too late for James to pounce, watching Kobe, who was feeling hot, throw the ball into the basket.

"Can you do it, LeBron?" Bryant laughed.

James felt it during the Eastern Conference finals. Without Irving and Love, the others are useless at all!The role players of the team with three top picks in four years are really cheating!
Seeing Kobe's provocative smile, James completely decided to go it alone!

(End of this chapter)