I'm teammates with Kobe

Chapter 13
After the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 101-77, they ushered in the challenge of the Sacramento Kings after only one day off.

Speaking of which, these two teams have a deep relationship, and both were once aristocrats in the NBA. But this season, both of them were at the bottom of the Western Conference at the beginning of the season.

Old fans who often watch the NBA know that the 2001-2002 season was the most glorious time for the two teams. The Kings, with Bobby Jackson and Turkoglu as the "bench bandits", also shined brilliantly under the Princeton system of the team coach Rick Adelman. Not only did they become the most interesting games in the NBA A strong team, also ended the regular season with a league-best 61 wins and 21 losses, setting a new team record.

At that time, the Lakers had won two consecutive championships, and the strength of the OK combination really swept the army.

"K" is Kobe. At that time, he was still a Peter Pan who was flying into the sky and escaping from the ground.

"O" is O'Neill, nicknamed the big shark.

This combination has played all over the league, and no one can beat it!
The Spurs led by Duncan were helpless against them, Iverson was alone, and the Trail Blazers with Pippen were also helpless.

But in 2002, the OK combination encountered a very powerful opponent, that is, the Sacramento Kings.

The two top two teams in the Western Conference finally met on the stage of the Western Conference Finals.

Princeton system vs. triangle offense.

The two sides fought fiercely for 7 games, and the final battle was overtime before the winner was decided.

The winners of the fourth game and the fifth game won the game by one point. The intensity, tie-break overtime, etc., are the first time in the history of NBA conference finals.

In seven games, the Kings scored a total of 697 points, while the Lakers scored 695 points.The duels from the fourth game to the seventh game were all decided by the execution of the last shot.

Especially in the life-and-death battle, the Lakers and the Kings took the lead 19 times successively. Kobe and O'Neal jointly scored 65 points.Among them, O'Neal had 35 points and 13 rebounds, and Kobe had 30 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.The two teamed up to annihilate the king and advanced to the finals with their heads held high.

Now it seems that the tiebreaker between the two teams is still soul-stirring, and the two teams also jointly contributed the most exciting playoff game since the new century, bar none!

It's a pity that the Kings also kept their last glory that year, and then their performance began to decline. In the 2004-2005 season, Divac, known as "the only single-changing Kobe in history", returned to the Lakers and retired. The infighting between Webber and Peja caused the team to be turbulent, and it never recovered.

Until 2010, the Kings harvested the best rookie Tyreke Evans and also selected a potential power forward DeMarcus Cousins. In the following two seasons, the "chemical reaction" between the two became better and better. , The fans are eager to let the team get rid of the role of continuing to "play soy sauce" as soon as possible and regain its former glory.

It's a pity that after the start of the 2012-2013 season, Evans and Cousins ​​still haven't had a strong "chemical reaction". They are currently 2 wins and 4 losses with the Lakers, and they are the last in the Western Conference.

Facing a team that was as miserable as himself, Master Zen did not intend to show mercy. During pre-match training, he made a request to the whole team, "We must win!"

Then the tactics for this game were arranged. When Kobe, Artest, and Gasol were on the court at the same time, the team mainly played the triangle offensive tactic, because these three people are very familiar with this tactic, and Gasol made a very good one. With the defensive cover, Kobe can shoot freely with ease, and Artest will make up and interfere.

And Nash and Warcraft's pick-and-roll tactics are the simplest and most effective tactical cooperation. Fans can often see James holding the ball in the frontcourt and calling Tristan to come forward to pick-and-roll.But so far, only the older point guards such as Stockton and Nash can play the essence of this tactic.

Specifically, Nash and Warcraft stood on the sideline on one side of the field, while Kobe and the other three pulled away to the other side.Then Warcraft moved near the free throw line, Nash walked around him with the ball, the defensive player would hit the Warcraft solidly, Nash would be in an unguarded state, and the opposing player would immediately take a pincer attack. Can quickly pass the ball to the monster who has already rushed to the basket, assisting the latter to easily dunk or layup.

When Nash was in the Suns, he often cooperated with Stoudemire like this, and Warcraft can be said to be an enhanced version of Stoudemire. With the cooperation of the two, as long as the tacit understanding is cultivated through continuous games, it will be very impressive. Opponents have a headache.

Therefore, in Zen Master’s tactical plan, the starting five players, Nash and Warcraft play pick-and-roll tactics, Kobe, Artest and Gasol play triangle offense, Nash and Gasol are the initiators of these two tactics , It is also the core. When two different tactics are mixed and matched in a starting lineup, it will not take long. As long as Nash and Gasol find another point of cooperation, then the triangle offensive tactic will be inserted. The wings of the pick-and-roll tactics, when the tactics take shape, it's time for the team to take off.

Speaking of this match against the Kings, it was Zen Master's second coaching game after returning to the Lakers, and it was also the first game he tried a new tactical combination after two days of conception. He hoped to have a good start.

(End of this chapter)