Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 146 146. You know the triangle offense, I know you!

"In this round of the series, the Lakers are at a disadvantage in an all-round way, and they can't wrestle with the Timberwolves on both offense and defense."

"If it weren't for Walton's outstanding performance in the first half, he hit three three-pointers from the outside and scored 12 points in the half, I believe the game has entered garbage time ahead of schedule."

"The Timberwolves are not very friendly to Kobe's defense. As long as Kobe enters his offensive range, the Timberwolves will immediately flank Kobe and resolutely refuse to give Kobe any chance."

"And when the Timberwolves are attacking Kobe, Kevin, Larry and Gerrard can always make up for the first time, so that the Lakers can't find open opportunities. For the Lakers, this is simply terrible."

During the intermission, Charles Barkley said helplessly.

Barkley doesn't like the Timberwolves. This is something that the entire fan circle knows. Barkley believes that the strength of the Timberwolves has made the game lose suspense.

The record of 74 wins and 8 losses in a single season makes the Timberwolves seem invincible. Every game of the Timberwolves can win the opponent with a high probability. This makes Barkley always like to support the team against the Timberwolves. exception.

It's just a pity that the Lakers' performance in the first half disappointed Barkley. When Kobe was targeted by the Timberwolves at this point, the Lakers' offense was like a loose sand.

Even the second-in-command Odom is completely unable to reorganize the offense, which is why the Lakers have always been suppressed.

"The Timberwolves' defense is like an iron wall. This is a team that uses team defense to the extreme."

"Even if Kobe has a good offensive environment, it is difficult to win this game based on personal ability alone, not to mention that Kobe's offensive environment on the court is simply terrible."

"Actually, the Lakers have done well enough on the defensive end, and they didn't let the Timberwolves play too many defensive counterattacks."

"But it's a pity that the offensive end has been unable to break through the Timberwolves' defense. If Phil still can't find a way to break through the defense, the Lakers may face a sweep in this round of the series."

Kenny Smith is one of the commentators who firmly support the Timberwolves. Seeing Barkley's deflated face, Kenny Smith just feels extremely happy.

.........

Back in the second half of the game, the Lakers still played the triangle on the court.

The triangle offense is synonymous with "Zen Master" Jackson. As long as Jackson is in charge of the team for a day, the Lakers will not give up the triangle offense.

However, compared with the first half, the Lakers did not remain unchanged. In the first half, the Lakers tried their best to hand the ball to Kobe, allowing Kobe to drive other players to attack.

However, because the Minnesota's flanking defense against Kobe was so insane, Kobe's offensive environment became extremely bad, and it was almost impossible to complete a one-on-one.

So in the second half, Jackson let Kobe play off the ball, and the "left-handed magician" Odom took control of the ball, and then created opportunities for Kobe through a lot of off-ball pick-and-rolls to help Kobe get rid of double-teams as much as possible.

After all, it is impossible for the Timberwolves to take out two players alone to attack Kobe. As long as Kobe does not hold the ball, the Timberwolves can only try to mark according to the position of the zone defense.

The moment he receives the ball, as long as Kobe shoots fast enough, it will be difficult for the Timberwolves to react and attack. This is the change of "Zen Master" Jackson in the second half.

Seeing the changes in the Lakers' play, Luke couldn't help laughing while sitting off the court, because Kobe's current state is somewhat similar to the future Warriors star Stephen Curry.

He is obviously the star of the team and the leading scorer in the league, but he seldom plays with the ball. Instead, he lets forward players hold the ball and tries to create space for shots by running without the ball.

Jackson's thinking is correct. This transformation does allow Kobe to gain shooting space, but Kobe is not Curry, and their playing styles are completely different.

In addition, the Lakers basically never used this style of play during the regular season, so Kobe's offensive efficiency in the second half was still not high. Even if he got a lot of shots, the situation of the Lakers still did not improve.

In Luke's eyes, the poor offensive tactics of the Lakers are completely incomparable to that of the Warriors in later generations. The star alone, Kobe with the help of his teammates' pick-and-rolls, can't get too many opportunities.

The Timberwolves are a very capable defensive team. When "Glove" Payton, Gerald Wallace and Garnett are on the court at the same time, the efficiency of the Timberwolves against off-ball pick-and-rolls is definitely the first in history.

This is not necessarily unprecedented, but absolutely unprecedented.

This also caused Kobe to play without the ball. Not only is he not like Curry, but he is like a 3D player.

And a lot of running without the ball also caused Kobe's physical strength to decline seriously in the second half. Before the end of the three quarters, Kobe was exhausted and out of breath, much more tired than he showed in the first half.

The Lakers' offensive transformation did not make the team better. On the contrary, when Kobe's physical strength declined sharply, "Madman" Sprewell also stood up and made up for it.

In the third quarter, the madman scored 12 points in a single quarter against Kobe's defense. He opened the score with his own strength, making Kobe very tired on both ends of the offense and defense, and his legs were as hard to move as if they were filled with lead.

At the end of the three quarters, with the team's indestructible defense and the excellent personal performance of "Madman", the Timberwolves have extended their lead to 19 points.

In the last quarter, Kobe, who was unwilling to admit defeat, still applied to play, gritted his teeth and hit consecutive difficult fadeaway jumpers on the court. He fought more and more bravely under the double-team situation, as if he was even braver than the first three quarters.

However, Kobe's recovering competitive state was entirely supported by his tenacious mental strength. Physical fatigue made Kobe's movement speed slow. In the end, the "madman" was able to pass Kobe in one step, so Kobe could only follow behind to pull the jersey.

Seeing that the nearly 20-point difference was unable to catch up, Jackson could only sigh helplessly, waved and replaced all the main players, announcing that the game had officially entered garbage time.

At this moment, "Zen Master" Jackson seemed to be ten years older in an instant. Jackson had experienced too much in the playoffs, but the dominance displayed by the Timberwolves made Jackson see no hope.

He even remembered the fear of being dominated by the bad boy army when he led the Bulls back then, especially the familiar face sitting next to Luke, which made "Zen Master" Jackson suspect that he was back in the past, thinking of those heart-wrenching and terrible things. remember.

Luke's understanding of the triangle offense is far beyond the imagination of the "Zen Master". Until now, Jackson still can't figure out a question, why does Luke know himself so well?

This feeling is like a roundworm in the brain. Luke can always predict Jackson's thoughts, which makes Jackson feel fear from the bottom of his heart.

"Dududu~"

As the whistle sounded at the end of the game, the Timberwolves beat the Lakers by 22 points at home.

Almost won the first win of the playoffs with a crushing attitude, which made the Lakers deeply aware of what it means to be a defending champion!
　A two-in-one chapter, an ordinary chapter, and one chapter less.

　　It’s almost 520, and I went to help a friend plan a wedding today, and I’m exhausted, getting married is really troublesome.

　　No wonder contemporary young people are unwilling to get married, spending money and suffering.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)