Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

Because of the lagging situation, the Lakers took the lead in calling a timeout.

When Harris came up with tonight's starting lineup, he thought that the Celtics would take advantage of the loopholes in this lineup. That is, Ben's offense is far lower than that of the other four positions, and he selectively leaks Ben and double-teams. After Li Shengli...the Lakers' overall efficiency has indeed declined.

Although the Lakers' defensive arrangement allows Ben to defend O'Neal alone, foul when necessary, and let Lee successfully block Garnett and force O'Neal to play in isolation, theoretically it can cause the Celtics' efficiency to decrease as well, but the problem is that they often get close to the basket. Pierce couldn't handle it.

Garnett's position was very far away, making it difficult for Li Shengli to defend.

On O'Neal's side, although Ben was sitting in the penalty area following him, Pierce charged with a high probability of causing fouls on Ben. 71.3% of his free throws were more stable than the offense, and the most important thing was that Ben's fouls were useless for tactical needs. To put it simply, Ben's foul was given to Pierce, but not O'Neal.

The result after half a quarter was 10:14, and the Lakers were 4 points behind.

…

Don't worry, don't worry now!! Harris told the team members to take it easy, but he looked a little anxious.

Do you want to switch back?! Garnet is too far away and I can't take care of Pierce! Li Shengli said.

No need for now, just follow our original tactics! Harris shook his head and said quickly: Barkley, take a rest. Rodman, keep an eye on Pierce and don't let him get into the paint. In addition, Nick takes a rest. Di, Kobe, you and Eddie need to pay attention to their positions, don’t force singles, be sure to be steady, find more pick-and-rolls, and let Rodman help!”

Okay! The people who were clicked collectively responded.

Well, everyone played well in this half of the quarter. The situation is very simple now. On the defensive end, take care of Pierce. On the offensive end...Lee, don't worry first. Wait for Kobe and the others' firepower. You and Ben and Rodman Pay attention to rebounds. Harris's choice is already very clear, which is to improve offense while stabilizing defense, and the Lakers' lineup cannot maintain balance on both ends of the offense and defense, so there must be a focus.

…

The Lakers' offense...

In ordinary second-rate inside combinations, Li Shengli can get to the basket even if he is double-teamed, but now it is a top-level combination of O'Neal + Garnett. The best way is to distribute the ball to Ben who is actively missed.

However, the ball cannot be dealt with when it is not close to the basket, which means that the offensive end loses an excellent opportunity, so the final result is to hand over to Kobe's outside connection, but Kobe's opening touch is not good.

But if you want to seize the above opportunity and replace the base with Barkley, who has a more stable offense, then the Lakers' pre-arranged defensive tactics will be gone, because the base is specially prepared for O'Neal on the defensive end.

Basically, this is a choice between defense and offense.

Harris chose the former, and everyone can understand this substitution, but the problem is that Kobe and Barkley looked bad. They glanced at each other, then looked at Li Shengli, and immediately spoke.

Coach, I think we'd better let Li take the shot!! Kobe said seriously, a little bit aggrieved for Li Shengli who cut down his shots and adapted his tactics.

I think so too! Barkley publicly agreed with Kobe for the first time and said seriously: Our lineup is naturally strong in interior defense and does not require specific tactics to be effective. As for Lee... It is indeed difficult to double-team, but the problem is that he was double-teamed because of our defensive arrangement. Let me play power forward, and he can beat O'Neal alone. No one among us doubts that he has this ability, and Kobe and the others The outside touch can be improved slowly, but the most important thing now is to stabilize the point difference first.

After Barkley finished speaking, Kobe nodded to him.

However, Harris' face stiffened...

It is indeed possible to abandon targeted defensive tactics and directly improve offense.

But it cannot be said that it is wrong to continue this kind of defense and use substitutions to find touch.

Specifically in this half of the quarter, the problem is that everyone's hand feeling is generally not good, otherwise they would not lose points.

So when Harris thinks about it...as long as Eddie plays well and Kobe's touch picks up, the situation is still under control, and the most important thing is that he still wants to restrain O'Neal.

How to restrain O'Neal?

As long as Rodman blocks Pierce, the Celtics' offense will most likely be played by O'Neal. Then Ben can choose to foul when necessary and use O'Neal's poor free throws to score points for the Lakers, instead of like now... Pierce took O'Neal's shots, preventing Big Ben from fully exerting his role.

Targeted defensive tactics have not failed, they just have not been effective for the time being.

Harris felt that he still wanted to persist, but before expressing his stance, he glanced at Li Shengli and asked: Li, do you think... choose defense or offense?

Just go ahead and play offense. I have no problem beating O'Neal. Don't be reluctant to set up your tactics. Tactics that are ineffective are useless. Just change them. I will take care of the rest!

Well... forget it, just listen to me and do what I say!

Damn, then you're still asking me! Li Shengli rolled his eyes.

Ahem, I thought you would agree with my choice!

Okay, okay, who called you the head coach? Let's talk about the specific arrangements quickly! After Li Shengli finished speaking, he turned to look at Kobe and Barkley who were a little unhappy and said, Kobe, Barkley, you don't have to Urgent, I’m still here!”

…

The Lakers have chosen their path forward.

After Harris finished explaining the specific arrangements, the timeout ended and the two sides returned to the court. The big guys from the yellow and green camps sitting on both sides of the court took a look at the Lakers' substitutions and instantly understood what Harris meant. idea.

Check for deficiencies? !

Is this a patch to the original strategy?

At this moment, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was comforting Baylor and telling him not to speak, while West and Johnson looked at each other first, without much expression on their faces.

West, does the lineup you formed give Harris too many choices, and he doesn't even know how to choose? Magic Johnson also served as the head coach of the Lakers and understands what Harris thinks.

Isn't this already chosen? What he wants is defense! West frowned.

Why, you seem dissatisfied with this choice? But I don't think it's wrong!

I didn't say he was wrong. What I want to say is...I don't agree with his adventurous spirit! West turned to look at Johnson and said: You should understand that if you continue to defend in a targeted manner, Eddie, With Kobe's touch picking up, we may lead the Celtics by a big score and win the game without any suspense. If we change now and choose to attack and let Lee take action, the situation may be deadlocked, but this is not a safer bet. choose.

One is a big lead directly, and the other is a more secure stalemate. It seems that you are right, Harris is indeed quite adventurous, but I heard you say this... let you choose, you seem to choose offense. Choose a safer stalemate?

Of course, when all the factors of the game were uncertain at the beginning, Harris and I made the same choice, but now that there are unfavorable factors, it is the most appropriate way to be more decisive and maximize Li's role. The appropriate method, after all, this is the finals and not the regular season, we can't afford to gamble, our strength lies in consumption, and we still have the upper hand in the end of the stalemate.

Don't worry, this is just your guess. After all, the competition is not an arithmetic problem with a fixed answer.

Well, of course I know, but the opportunity to choose is in this pause time. If you make the wrong choice, it will be difficult to make up for it later!

Magic nodded in agreement with West, who continued.

This is not a foresight, but a summary of what I have learned so far. There are a few other points worth noting...

When Campbell was here, Ben had no problem as a substitute, but when he was promoted to the main starter, his shortcomings were not so suitable for our lineup, and Barkley couldn't rely on too much, so he had to re-train or find a more comprehensive No. 4. Bits matter.”

As for Harris...except for the newly emerged Celtics, there are really not many teams that can compete with us. Harris may be a little conceited in leading our team. We can’t and don’t dare to fight a stalemate, which is not good.”