NBA: The man who passed the ball to Yao Ming

For the rest of the second quarter, as long as the Rockets scored, Bryant was bound to recover the same amount of points in the next possession:

Yao Ming succeeded in beating Shark Bynum in the interior, and Kobe broke into the Rockets' hinterland and hit a jumper.

Zhang Jinshui ran out of the corner and hit an open three-pointer. Kobe took advantage of the Shark Bynum's pick-and-roll to force a jump and hit a long three-pointer.

No matter how tight the Rockets' defense was, Kobe could always find a way to score, and after attracting all the defensive attention of the Rockets, he timely assisted his teammates to get easy scoring opportunities at the basket and in the open.

In the end, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Zhang Jinshui of the Rockets had already blossomed in many ways and played extremely high offensive efficiency. By the end of the second quarter, the Rockets still only led the Lakers by 60 points 55-5 .

Even those who hate Kobe have to admit that Kobe is too strong today.

In the first half, he made 17 of 11 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 27 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Not enough to describe Kobe's performance today.

For Zhang Jinshui, it is a blessing in life to see Kobe's amazing performance up close.

In Zhang Jinshui's heart, there was even a feeling of pride, and he sincerely hoped that Kobe could continue such a superb performance in the second half.

Of course, there is no conflict between hoping Kobe will perform superbly and helping the Rockets win this game with all their strength.

At this time, Zhang Jinshui only had a monstrous fighting spirit and determination to win the Lakers in his chest.

During the halftime break, after returning to the locker room, the Rockets were in a good mood. McGrady was still joking with Sean Battier and Birdman Anderson.

Although the performance in the first half was already very good, the Rockets still couldn't widen the point difference.

But all the Rockets soldiers are people who have been immersed in the basketball game for many years. Naturally, they know that it is very difficult for the Lakers to rely on Kobe to perform superbly and all other players lie down. It is difficult to bite the whole game. Live the score.

No matter how close Kobe is to God, he is only one person after all, his physical strength will be exhausted at times, and his touch will also fluctuate.

And when Kobe's physical strength and touch began to have problems, that is when the Lakers began to sink.

While the Rockets players were talking and laughing, Van Gundy led his coaching staff through the door and walked into the locker room.

He also didn't waste too much saliva on how to defend Kobe, the only strong point of the Lakers. Instead, he first affirmed the Rockets' performance in the first half, especially Zhang Jinshui's toughness when facing Kobe's defense in the middle of the first quarter.

In addition, Van Gundy also called on the Rockets players to continue their play and performance in the first half and avoid mistakes as much as possible, and emphasized that as long as the players do this, no matter how brave Kobe is, the victory of this game will eventually belong to the Rockets.

Unknowingly, it was almost time for the halftime break. The Rockets soldiers filed out of the away locker room after shouting the slogan "Down with the Lakers, down with Kobe" under the summoning of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

The Rockets challenged the Lakers away to the second half of the game, and it started soon.

In the second half, the lineups sent by the two teams remained unchanged from the first half.

As soon as the Lakers came up, Kobe made a breakthrough and assisted Odom with an inside pass to complete a layup, narrowing the point difference to 3 points.

It can be seen that Phil Jackson is determined to only play Kobe in this game. The other players, except for Odom, can occasionally complete a few finishes and help the Lakers do some passing connections. In addition, there is really nothing that can help Bryant share the responsibility.

The Rockets' style of play has undergone earth-shaking changes from the beginning of the first quarter.

In terms of defense, the Rockets no longer let McGrady and Kobe confront each other, but Sean Battier, an outside defense expert who caused some controversy in his previous life because he blocked his eyes to defend Kobe, will defend Kobe. In terms of defense alone, Sean Battier can create trouble for Kobe, definitely no less than McGrady with long arms and legs.

In terms of offense, the Rockets have also changed from focusing on McGrady to a trident of Yao Ming, McGrady, and Zhang Jinshui. advantage.

In the first 3 minutes of the second quarter, Kobe, who had recovered a little after the halftime break, could help the Lakers win the score, especially a pull-up layup against Yao Ming after breaking into the paint, which was very exciting. It is bound to be able to score the five best goals in the NBA that day, and directly burst the stands of Staples Arena.

However, for the Rockets, Zhang Jinshui, whose performance in the first half can only be described as mediocre without facing Kobe's defense, finally began to try to take over the game.

In the next offensive round, after Zhang Jinshui brought the ball to the front court, he waved to Yao Ming resolutely, and let Yao Ming bring the little shark Bynum to the top of the arc to help him make a pick-and-roll.

After forming a dislocation, Zhang Jinshui returned the ball to Yao Ming and ran over to McGrady on the right with Bynum.

Kobe preemptively stepped aside McGrady and waited on Zhang Jinshui's off-ball running route. It was a good defense against McGrady's first off-ball screen for Zhang Jinshui.

But this defense is actually not that important, Zhang Jinshui continued to take Kobe to the bottom corner.

After making a half circle around Sean Battier, Zhang Jinshui saw that Kobe was still trying to keep up with him, so he immediately accelerated into the inside line at full speed, ran past Charl Hayes, and took advantage of Chuck Hayes. Adams blocked Kobe's position quite well, and finally got rid of Kobe.

Then, Zhang Jinshui ran directly to the top of the arc. When passing by Yao Ming, he received a hand-off pass from Yao Ming. He took two steps and turned around to stop in front of the top of the arc. Using Yao Ming's huge body as a cover, Stepping on the thick green halo on the soles of his feet, he jumped up high.

The basketball was thrown by Zhang Jinshui in a very standard and comfortable posture, drawing a beautiful and smooth arc in the air, and entered the net with a "swish".

With this smooth running three-pointer, Zhang Jinshui helped the Rockets gain a lead of more than 67 points 61 to 5.

Although Kobe made a switch attack with Odom immediately after the offensive and defensive transition, reached the Rockets' three-second zone, and with a clever small throw, the difference between the two teams was brought back to 4 points, even In the stands of the Staples Arena, which caused a high atmosphere, there was a burst of shouts of "MVP".

However, at this moment, Zhang Jinshui is determined to use the three-pointer he got just now as a springboard to make some noise in this quarter.

After the offensive and defensive transition, when Zhang Jinshui dribbled the ball to the top of the arc again, facing Parker's not-so-close defense, he directly triggered the purple badge [exploding ability value] with his mind, and his three-pointer The ability value is pulled to 100.

Then, Zhang Jinshui was not willing to waste even a second, and directly raised the ball and jumped high in front of Parker, shooting an unreasonable ultra-long three-pointer.

In the stands of the Staples Arena, there was a burst of surprise immediately.

Lakers fans who rarely watch Zhang Jinshui's games naturally don't understand why Zhang Jinshui chose such a random three-point shooting timing.

But for people like Barkley and Kenny Smith who are used to watching Zhang Jinshui's games, although they don't quite understand why Zhang Jinshui made such a shooting choice, they have already habitually shouted in surprise: "Super long three-pointer! Zhang Jinshui's ultra-long three-pointer finally came!"

Amidst the screams, the basketball drew a high and far arc in the air, and finally entered the net with a "swish".

70 is better than 63!

The voices of the Lakers fans in the stands suddenly changed from surprise to disappointment.

Originally, because of Kobe's crushing defense against Zhang Jinshui in the middle of the first quarter, the Lakers fans who already felt that Zhang Jinshui was not good enough in their hearts finally began to face up to this Hua Guo who had just joined the NBA. Rookie, and began to understand why the NBA's mainstream media has regarded Zhang Jinshui as a rookie of historical level.

These two consecutive three-pointers really made the Lakers a little overwhelmed.

However, after scoring the goal, Zhang Jinshui did not make any celebrations to extend the morale he had just ignited for the Rockets.

On the contrary, Zhang Jinshui quickly integrated into the game.

The moment he saw Bynum grab the dropped basketball, walk out of the baseline, and re-send the ball to their point guard Parker, Zhang Jinshui immediately rushed towards Parker with a move like a lion and a rabbit. .

This is definitely a gamble steal!

If the ball is intercepted successfully, Zhang Jinshui can certainly form a counterattack opportunity immediately, but if the ball is not intercepted, Zhang Jinshui will completely lose his defensive position, allowing the Lakers to form a 5-on-4 offensive advantage against the Rockets in a short time.

In the 80s and 90s, this kind of gambling-style steals was very popular. After all, this method can effectively increase the number of steals, so it is liked by many outside players.

However, gradually, more and more NBA coaches began to discover that this defensive style is a typical one of no consideration. The great risk is that the harm outweighs the benefit in an absolute sense.

So, over the years, this kind of steal has been banned by almost all NBA coaches.

However, Zhang Jinshui suddenly chooses this kind of gambling-style defense. Naturally, it is not because he is hot-headed after scoring two three-pointers in a row. He has a very clear logic behind it:

If this defensive sneak attack is successful, then Zhang Jinshui can control the basketball, and with the special effect of [explosive ability value] with about 20 seconds of effective time left, he can hit a three-pointer, thus linking up his other one. Purple Badge [Hot Status].

And even if this defensive sneak attack fails and Zhang Jinshui loses his defensive position, the Lakers can be tempted to take advantage of the short-term advantage of 5-on-4 to play a wave of quick offense.

And when the fast attack is over, it should also give Zhang Jinshui's [Ability Explosion Table] special effect about 10 seconds of effective time, which is enough for Zhang Jinshui to complete a three-point shot after the offensive and defensive transition, thus scoring 9 points in a row to activate [ The state is hot].

Therefore, no matter whether this gambling defense is successful or not, in the overall situation, Zhang Jinshui will definitely help the Rockets make money.

And after Zhang Jinshui's sneak attack was evaded vigilantly by Reaper Parker who had been hanging out on the street court for many years, as Zhang Jinshui expected, Reaper Parker immediately rushed forward with the ball at high speed.

Tracy McGrady, who had retreated back to the backcourt, had to put down Odom beside him to block Parker's forward charge.

Parker passed the ball to Odom who was unguarded at the right time. Odom took the ball and continued to advance to the hinterland of the Rockets. Kobe, who followed and was unguarded, completed a clean one-handed dunk.

65 is better than 70!

In the stands of the Staples Arena, the Lakers fans who were a little confused by Zhang Jinshui's ultra-long three-pointer just now can finally cheer for the home team and Kobe again.

Van Gundy on the sidelines immediately put his hands to his lips, and comforted Zhang Jinshui, saying, "It's okay, Zhang Jinshui, it doesn't matter if you defend like a gamble once in a while, just keep playing steadily."

It can be seen that Van Gundy is definitely taking good care of his beloved apprentice. If it is normal, Zhang Jinshui will definitely obey Van Gundy's call and pass a round smoothly on the court.

But under the current circumstances, Zhang Jinshui really couldn't stabilize.

According to his calculations, at this time, the special effect of [Ability Value Exploding] on his body is at most about 10 seconds left.

Zhang Jinshui hurriedly urged Chuck Hayes to pass the basketball from the bottom line to himself, and after receiving the basketball, he immediately took the ball to the Lakers' position.

But at this moment, Zhang Jinshui couldn't help but thump in his heart when he saw clearly the defensive player running over and standing on his way forward.

Unexpectedly, when he most urgently wanted to advance to the frontcourt and use the remaining special effects of [Explosive Capacity] to quickly score and trigger [Fire State], Kobe actually switched defenses with Death Parker and stood in front of him .

Zhang Jinshui sighed secretly, but he had to admire Black Mamba Bryant's ability to read the game in his heart.

Kobe should have felt the restlessness and offensive desire in his heart from the fiery touch shown by his two consecutive three-pointers just now, coupled with the "aggressive" gambling defense just now, so he took the initiative to fight Parker. Switched.

To be honest, although the remaining 10 seconds of attack time in the [Ability Value Report] seems to be sufficient for an attack, but when the person defending him becomes Kobe, Zhang Jinshui really doesn't have much confidence that he can complete it in 10 seconds A smooth three-point shot.