Bishop: since 1998

Chapter 51 Lakers, play the strongest hole card?
Faced with the changes in the Rockets, Li Mu remained unmoved.

Offensively, let Kobe run without the ball and link up with his teammates. Moreover, it is impossible for Olajuwon to keep O'Neal from receiving the ball.

When the outside advantage is too great, Li Mu adapts to the situation and accumulates advantages bit by bit.

The Rockets are not in a hurry, they want to control the rhythm of the court.

Pippen organized patiently, distributing the basketball to teammates who had an advantage.

If the chances of his teammates are not good, he can also hit the Bowen in front of him with his back.

After the last match, he also understood Bowen's strengths and weaknesses.

Face-to-basket offense, dry pull defense is very good, like a candy-style defense, he can use his strong body to overpower, this can be used as a trump card.

However, it seems that there is no need for Pippen to play on the offensive end, and the Rockets' offense is running very well.

Especially on Barkley's side, although his butt can't hold Ben Wallace, he makes good use of the combination of mid-range shooting skills and rhythm changes to create a lot of offensive space.

The offensive effect is also very good. Apart from his height, Daben has excellent physical talents, but now he uses his body more to defend. Against an old monster like Barkley, it will be very difficult after being thoroughly eaten.

In other words, with Barkley's individual singles as a tough attack, opportunities for the Rockets' outside players have gradually come.

Mobley stood up first. After adapting to the rhythm of the NBA, facing Kobe's defense, he used his sensitive speed to catch the ball and break through, enter the penalty area, make an emergency stop and pull out his hand, and he can also layup and pick the basket.

It can even be pulled to the bottom corner three-pointer to be a fixed-point three-point shooter.

As long as there is no standing defense in front of him, he is very daring to shoot, and his hit rate is not low.

As Mobley played on the outside, it also drove Dixon's performance.

Both of them have the characteristics of convulsions. When they are in good condition, the choice of offensive shots is completely unreasonable, but the shooting rate is frighteningly high.

In this game, the Rockets' double guns in the backcourt actually exploded together.

On the court, the Lakers and the Rockets fought against each other, and played a multi-point blooming, offensive situation where everyone was fighting, and the offensive firepower faintly suppressed the Lakers to play.

The team took the lead, and the fans outside the stadium also cheered.

The Lakers' outside offense is not going well, and it seems to be a bit misfired.

Bobby and Billups tried to hit back with a three-pointer, but failed to score.

In the end, O'Neal was unstoppable, one-on-one, one-on-two, still scoring frequently, and the free throw rate seemed to be good.

This didn't allow the Rockets to establish a big lead.

After the first quarter, the score was 25 to 31. O'Neal made 11 of 7 shots and 7 of 4 free throws. He scored 18 points in a single quarter, and he was only 6 points behind the Rockets.

In the second quarter of the game, Li Mu let O'Neal continue to play. Of course, he was just a containment, and he would go up if he had a chance to make up the knife. If he had no chance, he would play the ball for his teammates.

Substitute players, Harper, Curry, Rice and Horry played.

This is a one-star lineup, but it fell into Tomjanovich's eyes, but it was a bit of a headache.

The lineup of the Lakers, what kind of rotation lineup is there, and the core players of internal and external stars are all there, which is better than the starting lineup of most teams.

The Rockets' starting lineup has reached the extreme, and it has also opened up a situation.

Now if you want to defeat the formidable opponent of the Lakers, you must find a way to solve their "rotation lineup" that can compete with the starting lineup.

No.

Have no idea.

Tomjanovich could only think of a way while playing, let Pippen, Barkley and Mobley continue to press the field, and substitute Matt Maloney and Osella Harrington on the bench.

In this game, the Rockets can't lose. Otherwise, if they meet the Lakers in the playoffs in the future, the Lakers will be greatly weakened in their hearts.

Therefore, Tomjanovich decided to stick to the main force, take advantage of the Rockets' lead in the first game, hold on to the second quarter, and then, in the third quarter, compete with the Lakers.

The game started in the second quarter, and Pippen hit Barkley again.

Sure enough, Horry was completely powerless against Barkley's ass, and soon lost, um, lost the defense.

Barkley received the ball and arched his back, step by step, arching to the sweet spot of shooting, arching until Horry lost his center of gravity, then turned around and made a layup. The basketball goes into the hoop.

25 to 33! !
On the commentary stage, Mike Breen explained, "I didn't expect that this game would be played like this. Judging from the first half of the game, it is undoubtedly that the Rockets are well prepared, and the Lakers are somewhat underestimating their opponents.

As if to verify the saying never underestimate the heart of the champion, if the Lakers meet this Rockets and continue to play like this, it is really hard to determine who can win the series.

The Lakers are indeed terrifyingly strong in terms of lineup, but the Rockets are also growing, accumulating strength bit by bit, and polishing the lineup.

Especially in the position of head coach, when the Lakers lost too much, the suspense between the two sides returned. "

On the court, the Lakers attacked, and the players on the Lakers seemed to be on the leading side, attacking unhurriedly.

Harper handed the basketball to O'Neal, and then, with a slam, Harrington was knocked off the baseline.

Bang-dang-!
27 to 33! !
So easy!

The Rockets have no meat shield inside, and Olajuwon is off the court to rest. There is absolutely no way to attack O'Neal.

Next, Pippen created opportunities for Mobley and gave him a chance to single out Curry.

He knows that Curry's defense is very problematic, and he understands that as long as the Lakers' flaws in the power forward and shooting guard positions are caught, no matter how luxurious the Lakers lineup is, it depends on whether they can be effective. Basketball, after all, only one.

Sure enough, Mobley's agile speed broke through Curry's defense in an instant, went inside, and shot a jumper from close range...

Swish-!
27 to 35! !
The Rockets took the initiative and firmly pressed the Lakers to play.

The offensive and defensive transition, the Lakers' three-pointers finally broke out.

The former Hornets were too strong with two guns in the backcourt. Curry and Rice actually set up a screen to cooperate. In the end, Rice raised the knife and dropped it, and hit a three-pointer steadily with a bang.

Six minutes into the second quarter, the difference between the two sides was only 6 points.

Tomjanovich then replaced the three starting lineup, replaced by Olajuwon and Dixon, and a substitute striker.

When Li Mu saw the opponent's substitution, he remembered that O'Neal, who scored 24 points in the first half, was replaced.

Replace Kobe, Billups and Ben.

No way, Horry suffered too much against Barkley, the defense couldn't stand it, and it also affected the shooting mentality when attacking. He couldn't see the characteristics of a big-hearted player in the big scene at all.

Horry, the state is too unstable.

Next, the Lakers played a small lineup, rushed up, and ran with the 36-year-old Olajuwon for a while, but the two sides still played back and forth.

At the end of the first half, the score was 58 to 55. Although the Rockets spent a lot of effort, they finally took a 3-point lead to the second half.

Moreover, it is indeed very gratifying to survive the horrible rotation of the Lakers.

……

Back in the second half, Li Mu replaced Rice to replace Bowen at the small forward position.

The main lineup became, Billups, Kobe, Rice, Ben Wallace.

finally come!

Tomjanovich saw the Lakers play the strongest hole card, his face became solemn and dignified.

Next, the Rockets will have a lineup that can stand up to the Lakers, which is the key to winning this game.

It seems that there has been a plan for a long time, Tomjanovich let Pippen change to Rice, and then, Mobley matched up to mark Kobe.

The game started in the third quarter. In the first 6 minutes, the Rockets held on strangely, and the score still led by 2 points.

Although O'Neal was allowed to kill all directions in the penalty area, the Lakers' stronger perimeter than the Rockets did not explode.

Mobley and Dixon, the backcourt combination, don't seem to be worse than the Lakers Kobe and Billups, the backcourt combination.

But, just when Tomjanovich was full of joy.

On the court, the Lakers attacked, Billups controlled the ball in the frontcourt, and O'Neal, who had just scored 31 points, broke through and pulled out of the restricted area, and came to the flank to cover for Rice.

Olajuwon couldn't keep up with O'Neal's thoughts, stayed in the penalty area, and didn't follow up.

"what!

The Sharks swam ashore, a rarity, and Rice came out of Pippen's defense and caught a pass from Billups.

This is a very dangerous signal for the Rockets! "

On the court, outside the 65-degree three-point line on the right, Rice caught the ball and jumped up slightly. With a flick of his right hand, the basketball drew an arc in the air.

Swish-!
in!

Three-pointer hit! !

In this game, except for the lead in the first few minutes, the Lakers achieved a lead in the score for the first time.

The Rockets led the game by almost three quarters. As a result, they were broken by a three-pointer made by the Lakers.

Next, O'Neal continued to pull out, and Olajuwon could only follow.

Rice's three-pointer is too strong.

If he is given another chance to open and hit another three-pointer, it will be a big blow to the Rockets.

This ball must be defended.

Billups suddenly flicked his hand and sent a scalpel pass, pointing directly at the Rockets' penalty area.

Suddenly, a figure came out, it was Kobe, it was Peter Pan, he ran back, easily got rid of Mobley's entanglement, made an air cut to the penalty area, and successfully received the basketball.

Barkley was a little flustered, and hurriedly let go of his defense against Ben Wallace, rushed inside, trying to do a good job of sweeping and protecting the basket.

Kobe took the ball, jumped up, faced Barkley's block, and after dodging in the air, his body was still in the air, and the flying pig was already descending.

Bang-dang-!
After Kobe dodged, he changed hands in the air, dunked with his left hand, and the basketball passed through the net, hit Kobe, and flew out of the baseline.

"Come on, this is an unsolvable problem.

Dameng threw out, the Rockets didn't protect the rim, Kobe could rush in to get points, if Dameng didn't throw out, Rice used O'Neal's cover to get an open three-point shot.

With the terrifying lineup of the Lakers, it is completely possible to play the offense at the ShowTime moment, and now they are still playing tactical cooperation. How do you let the Rockets live? "The groom Albert spread his hands and explained.

Next, the Lakers relied on Kobe and Rice to play "magic ball" efficiency, or break through, or three-pointers, and the Rockets were caught off guard.

In just a few minutes, the Lakers played a 10-4 shock wave, leading the Rockets by 4 points and directly stopping the Rockets.

Calling a timeout just proves that Tomjanovich wants to get serious about solving the problem.

It's just the crushing of the strength of the lineup, which made his so-called tactical adjustments become stretched.

Can not think of a solution, can only gamble luck.

In this era, there is a saying that three-point shooting can't kill the game.

If Kobe hits the basket, the Rockets will definitely lose, so they can only let the Lakers shoot three-pointers.

When the game resumed, on the Lakers side, O'Neal did not pull out again to cover.

Instead, Kobe played off the ball again. With Mobley's defensive skills, he couldn't keep up with Kobe's running rhythm.

The Rockets wanted to shrink the lineup and block the inside line, but they couldn't do it.

Kobe lit up all the offensive points of the Lakers.

O'Neal raged in the penalty area, and the basket was trembling.

However, the Lakers' outside shots also exploded at the same time.

Billups hit a cold arrow with a three-pointer, showing the characteristics of Mr. Key.

Originally thought that O'Neal, Kobe, and Rice were the most threatening to the Rockets. Unexpectedly, it was Billups who had been focusing on organizing passes and threading the needle for the Lakers.

Tomjanovich's face was a little dark, and his heart was very angry.

why?
Why doesn't Rice start?
This is so fucking inexplicable.

Wouldn't it be better to let Rice out earlier?
Fortunately now, the Rockets had hoped to win the game. In the end, they broke through and knocked the Rockets out, taking away the victory of the game, leaving the Rockets with nothing but despair!

This is too cruel!

You are probably playing with our rocket, right?

In fact, he can be more confident.

Li Mu really didn't play the Rockets, but let O'Neill play a little bit, so what bad intentions could he have?
hum~~
As the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, the score was fixed at 121 to 103. The Lakers beat the Rockets by 18 points, and the number of victories in the new season expanded to 15 games.

O'Neal scored 42 points and 13 rebounds, and his scoring average continued to increase.

莱斯三分球12中7，拿下了24分4助攻3篮板。

Kobe scored 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and his performance was eye-catching and comprehensive.

The Big Three of the Lakers played collectively, showing an incomparable power.

……

(End of this chapter)