NBA's strongest prince

Chapter 383

Kobe was also a little depressed. Gasol's style of play really suited him, and he performed very well on the court a lot of time, but he really lacked a lot of vigor most of the time.

An insider has fouled better than him so far, and he should have fouled hard just now.

Stoudemire's free throws are not so stable, the key is that they make the opponent afraid.

Gasol played peacefully, and now there are only 20 seconds left, and the point difference has returned to 6 points. The Lakers can only bet on three points now.

Kobe feels good now, but three-pointers are still different from two-pointers.

The Lakers returned to the court after a timeout, but Kobe missed a three-pointer.

Then Vujacic also tried a three-pointer, but due to the defensive interference of the Suns, he still missed.

So the Lakers have been chasing points until now, but after all, they were unable to recover, and lost the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

After the game, D'Antoni also praised his opponent. He said: "Kobe's performance in the second half was terrible. He completely took over the game and almost beat us by himself. This is the real Kobe."

But as a winner, it seems a bit strange to say so.

But Ke said calmly after the game: "We made too many mistakes. We must reduce our mistakes and not allow our opponents to make too many easy attacks."

"We didn't act too excited or too frustrated. As a team, we just kept chasing the score and we were able to make adjustments and play better."

Lakers coach Jackson said: "Some of our players have not fully adapted to the rhythm of the Western Conference Finals. They will be a little hesitant when they make a choice, but it will be fine in the future."

After the game, Russell talked about meeting different opponents in the Western Conference Finals. He said: "This is a very good experience. More teams participating in the competition will also improve our fighting spirit."

"The Lakers are a very strong opponent. They have been moving forward, so what I think about now is how to beat them."

Through a duel, both teams understand their opponents better.

For the Suns, it is not enough for Russell alone to understand the opponent. In many cases, it will be slow to respond if Russell reminds him.

After a game, reviewing afterwards and then targeted training can be very effective.

This is also a situation where upsets rarely occur in the playoffs. It is easier for strong teams to seize opportunities when they are familiar with their opponents.

But the understanding is mutual. In the second game, the Lakers' bench lineup performed well and defeated the Suns.

The Suns had their first loss in the playoffs, and it was still at home.

Although the Lakers played well in this game, the Suns themselves also had a lot to blame. Several of their strengths, including Russell's performance, were not very good, and their shooting percentage was a bit low.

After the game, Lakers head coach Jackson spoke forcefully, "We won an away game, and we have broken the Suns' law of winning. Now we only need to go back and protect the home court, and we hope to win the series in six games."

Suns coach D'Antoni said with regret: "We may have been affected by some off-court atmosphere, and the players did not perform as well as the Lakers. We need to cheer up and someone needs to come forward."

But he said sternly: "For the away game, we are always ready, and there will be no problem in beating them."

Russell was also very calm after the loss. He is really experienced now.

They may have been affected by some off-court influence in this game, because the current media is blowing them up, but it is more because they didn't think of a way to restrain the opponent when their hand fluctuated, and they didn't adjust in time.

He told reporters: "Losing a game is not a bad thing, and it will not have too much negative impact on the series. We will be more aware of our own shortcomings, and then we will make up for it. Our goal is always only one, that Just defending the title, the competition in the West, that's just part of it."

Russell is qualified to say this. The Suns have been the defending champions for several seasons, and they have enough confidence.

But on the training ground, Russell has stricter requirements for everyone.

It doesn't matter if you keep winning and laughing, but if you lose, you have to correct your attitude and take the series well.

Winning a game also gave the Lakers confidence, because they were really tied up in the first game.

Then they can return to the home court. As long as they can protect the home court, they can change the situation of the league in the past few years, so the Lakers players returning to Los Angeles are a little excited.

In the away game, the Suns' strategy remains the same, and the Lakers' role players will be locked at the beginning of the game.

This is easy to do, and it can also disrupt the rhythm of the Lakers.

The Lakers were able to win the game, and the role players also performed well.

Not long after the start of the first quarter, the Lakers discovered the problem, and the Suns did not hesitate at all in the away game.

However, the Lakers have omitted the trial link since the second game, and Kobe will attack as soon as the situation fluctuates.

Now the Lakers' requirement for Kobe is to try to do a good job at the end point, but they can't completely control the ball.

The big man plays the pivot, which is also a characteristic of the triangle offense.

Because Odom's finishing ability is worse, the Lakers now let him be the pivot to help Kobe and Gasol finish, and the remaining two are ambush at the three-point line.

The Suns bet on the three-point line when they came up, so the Lakers can only let Kobe and Gasol play singles.

The efficiency of the two came up neither bad nor bad, but even Kobe, the Suns also insisted on preventing him from shooting three-pointers.

Of course, Kobe can make strong shots, and his shooting percentage also depends on his state.

But most of the time, Kobe's three-point shooting percentage against the defense is very average.

On the Sun's side, Russell originally let Stoudemire go first.

But when Gasol is physically strong, he can really defend, and Stoudemire is not so smooth.

So Russell can only attack on his own, but it's not enough for him alone. After all, this is the Staples Center. The Lakers are more familiar with the referee's standards and play more excitedly. The Suns have a lot of difficulty scoring.

So the Suns quickly made adjustments. They removed Millsap and played a small lineup on Ellis.

The Lakers also don't have a big center, and Gasol Jr. is not very good at playing his brother, so the Suns' formation will also change. Durant can go to the fourth position.

The Lakers are a little weak at the third position, they can't bully Ray Allen or Ellis, but the small lineup released one of them.

If they don't face Kobe, they all have an offensive opportunity.

After the adjustment, the sun's three-pointer opened.

Originally, Ray Allen was tightly locked by Kobe, but after the team lineup became more flexible, it was difficult for Kobe to completely guard him.

So the Lakers, who were still ahead, were suddenly overtaken.

Without him, three points is too much to kill.

(End of this chapter)