The world's best combo guard

Chapter 150 147 [Crazy Popovich]

Without Shaquille O'Neal, they are obviously better than the Spurs.

Just like people predicted before the start of the Western Conference Finals, Karl Malone couldn't hold the peak Tim Duncan at all.

As for the perimeter, although the Spurs have nothing to do with Kobe, the Lakers are equally unlikely to limit Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili at the same time.

Especially when Manu came off the bench.

On the point of targeting Li Hao, Popovich's choice was surprising. He even asked defensive expert Bruce Bowen to match Li Hao, and released Kobe, who seemed to be the most threatening Lakers.

Undoubtedly, Popovich made money by doing so.

Because Kobe has to devote his energy to the offensive end, Li Hao must carry the burden on the defensive end, so he does not have much energy and concentration on the offensive end. Therefore, under Bowen's defense, At this point, Li Hao basically lost the threat on the offensive end.

As for Kobe, when Peter Pan is fully fired on the offensive end and the opponent's defensive intensity is not very high, he can indeed have high hopes.

In the first quarter of the game, Kobe made 1 of 9 shots and scored 7 points without rest for 15 minute. This is already a superstar performance.

but.

24: 20!

The Lakers did not take the lead, but fell behind.

Why?

Li Hao can limit Tony Parker to the greatest extent, and can also deter Ginobili, but that is based on the fact that the two opponents take turns.

After all, Li Hao is not an iron man, he can't stay on the field all the time, and he can't defend two people at the same time.

As for Gary Payton, who has high hopes on the defensive end, there is also a problem at this time, that is, it is difficult for him to keep up with the speed of Parker or Ginobili.

Therefore, the situation after the first quarter was that at least two of the Spurs' Big Three could perform normally, while Kobe was the only one on the Lakers side.

Two fists are invincible to four hands!

Especially in a game like the playoffs, no one would think that the Lakers could beat the Spurs with Kobe alone.

Phil Jackson didn't have that confidence either.

Therefore, as soon as the second quarter started, he put O'Neal back on the field.

But in fact, even after resting on the bench for a long time, O'Neal's mentality at the moment has not calmed down.

the reason is simple.

Although he and Kobe made peace on the surface, in his heart, he still had a grudge.

Kobe was brilliant in the first quarter. From the overall point of view of the team, this is a good thing, but from O'Neal's point of view, he would rather this person be himself, because in his opinion, his performance and Kobe's performance formed If there is a strong contrast, people will think that what Popovich said before is right, Shaquille O'Neal is not as good as Kobe, and even the Lakers management will think so.

Therefore, O'Neal, who returned to the court, was very impatient and tough, and he hoped that he could take over the game.

After all, he is a superstar, and O'Neal's hard work has brought back some results. Popovich's infinite double-teaming against him cannot continue forever. Therefore, in the second and third quarters, O'Neal gradually played normally. , scored a total of 18 points.

It was under his and Kobe's efforts that the Lakers were not widened by the Spurs, and the score has remained anxious.

At this time, people have to feel that the Lakers are still an ok combination, and when the ok combination is performing normally, no team in the league can easily beat them.

78: 77!

The two sides entered the fourth quarter of the tiebreaker with such a point difference.

However, Popovich is worthy of the old fox. He has worked hard on Shaquille O'Neal, and Li Hao's previous worries have been fulfilled.

When the game came to the decisive game between the two sides in the fourth quarter, Popovich waved his hand, and the Spurs resorted to another big move, and the "shark-cutting tactic" reappeared.

Popovich borrowed from the "shark-cutting tactic" invented by Dallas Mavericks coach Nelson in the 90s, and used it specifically to target O'Neal again.

As soon as Popovich made this move, the entire Lakers team was completely stunned. O'Neal's free throw level is well known in the world, so it is almost unnecessary to think about it.

15 out of 2!

At the critical moment of the fourth quarter, O'Neal made 15 of 2 free throws, a very embarrassing free throw percentage.

100: 91!

The invincible and prosperous Zijin Army suffered their first loss in the playoffs. They suffered a bad start in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Fans who have watched this game know that the Lakers exposed too many problems in this game. Under the special targeting of the Spurs, after the whole game, they made the entire league's coveted F4 combination fall apart. It turned out that only Kobe Bryant played normally in the audience.

35 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists!

Peter Pan is good enough, but as people speculate, the Lakers can't beat the Spurs with Kobe alone.

After all, the San Antonio Spurs are not a weak team. As the defending champions, they are absolutely strong. They are considered to be second only to the Lakers in hard power in the entire league.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, their loss in this game is actually not the most terrible thing. After all, this is a series, not a game. What is really scary is how to solve the many problems they exposed in this game?
Or, can it be resolved in time?Can it be solved?

The first is Shaq O'Neal. Obviously, Popovich's tactics against O'Neal will continue in the next game. Whether it is using the conflict between him and Kobe or resorting to "shaq hacking tactics", it is allowed by the rules of the game. Within the scope, that is to say, the outside world cannot intervene.

In fact, the Lakers can't solve these two problems at this stage. They can't solve the contradiction between the ok combination immediately. For Kobe, it will take a certain amount of time, and they can't let Shaquille O'Neal raise his free throw level in a short time.

Secondly, the problem of Karl Malone and Gary Payton, for Karl Malone, it is impossible for him to compete with Tim Duncan when Shaq O'Neal is targeted and unable to perform normally, even in the unique team defense system of the Spurs. However, he can't play well on the offensive end. As for Gary Payton, when he can't keep up with the main players of the Spurs, he completely loses his power on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Finally, I have to mention Li Hao. No one thought that Gregg Popovich would be so "insane" that he abandoned Kobe and used defensive expert Bruce Bowen on Li Hao.

Is this a tactic?Or is he afraid of something?
For Phil Jackson, he needs to respond to these problems as soon as possible, otherwise, they may lose to San Antonio again this season.

(End of this chapter)