Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"Requesting a substitution."

The Warriors requested a substitution, and Coach Kerr replaced Pachulia with Iguodala, sending out a small lineup.

In fact, Coach Kerr would have replaced Pachulia at this time.

Today, because the Lakers did not have Lopez, Coach Kerr let Pachulia stay on the court for such a long time, hoping to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

However, to his disappointment, Pachulia not only failed to become an advantage on the court, but instead became a defensive loophole.

After being blocked by Zhuang Yu at the very beginning, Pachulia seemed to have lost his soul and was completely lost.

After a few minutes, Pachulia only scored 1 point, still relying on free throws, and grabbed two rebounds, but he made two turnovers.

Coach Kerr didn't know whether he was affected by the boos and insults from the home fans. In short, it was unrealistic to want to "turn a disadvantage into an advantage."

"The opponent will most likely let Zhuang continue to play. Keep a close eye on him. Double-team him when you see him get the ball. Switch defense when you see a screen."

"The opponent's only strong point right now is this one scorer. As long as we can defend him, we will have won more than half of the game."

After the substitution, Coach Kerr made some further arrangements.

He was very dissatisfied with the players' performance in the last few minutes. It would be unacceptable if they were still behind the Lakers without Lopez.

Several players agreed.

They also knew that the coach was not satisfied with their performance just now, but they could only smile bitterly. The Lakers lost Lopez, but they still had Zhuang Yu.

The pause ended quickly.

Both sides returned to the court. The Warriors changed to a small lineup, and the Lakers also made changes. Clarkson was replaced by Deron, Davis was also replaced by Nance Jr., Gerald Green was replaced by Nick Young, and Zhuang Yu and Anderson remained unchanged.

"Deron is on the court."

"Coach Scott didn't let Deron start today. It should be because he wanted him and Clarkson to take turns to lead the rotation lineup."

"Then why is Zhuang still on the field?"

"It's only the first quarter. Coach Scott should let Zhuang play the entire first quarter. But even if he plays the entire first quarter, it will be difficult because the Warriors will use a small lineup."

Amid the fans' discussions, the Warriors launched an attack.

After Curry came to the frontcourt, he called for a pick-and-roll breakthrough, then passed the ball back to Draymond Green, who passed it to Iguodala. Iguodala rushed to the basket and then passed the ball to Durant, who also broke through and passed it to Thompson.

Swish!

Thompson hit a three-pointer.

Just a few dozen seconds later, Thompson made another three-pointer.

Zhuang Yu frowned and said to Deron, "Let's switch defense. I'll guard Thompson later."

Deron agreed, took the ball and moved forward quickly. After reaching the frontcourt, he looked at Zhuang Yu. Zhuang Yu did not go to receive the ball, but made a gesture to indicate that he was playing without the ball.

He moved quickly, using his teammates' cover to get rid of Thompson, but the Warriors' unlimited switching defense was very fast, and Iguodala quickly blocked him.

When Zhuang Yu received the pass from his teammate, Iguodala had already opened his arms. He raised one hand and kept the other at his side, taking a defensive stance.

Seeing this situation, Zhuang Yu decisively broke through, accelerated and changed direction to pass Iguodala.

At this time, the Warriors used a small lineup and lacked the protection of a big center in the interior. When Zhuang Yu rushed into the interior and jumped up, it was difficult for the Warriors to stop him from scoring.

"beep!"

The whistle blows.

The referee pointed at Draymond Green and gave him a hand foul.

Draymond Green raised his hand obediently and acknowledged the foul. It was either to foul or watch Zhuang Yu score, and he chose the former.

However, committing a foul on Zhuang Yu was basically the same as giving away points. He stood at the free throw line and made both free throws.

Before he knew it, Zhuang Yu's personal score had reached 13 points.

Before the end of the first quarter, he had already scored 13 points, and he did it while being double-teamed by the Warriors.

In the next few minutes, the Warriors continued to target Zhuang Yu on the defensive end, and played to the advantage of the five-small lineup on the offensive end, constantly using passing and cutting to tear open the Lakers' defense and get shooting opportunities.

After Zhuang Yu switched defense on Thompson, Thompson's scoring efficiency began to decline, and his three-pointers were not as accurate as before.

But besides Thompson, there are also Curry and Durant.

When Thompson died down, Curry and Durant exploded again, making the Lakers unable to defend.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 30:28. Even though Zhuang Yu played the entire first quarter and performed extremely well, the Lakers only led by two points.

......

Entering the second quarter, the Lakers sent out Clarkson and let Clarkson play with the bench lineup.

Coach Scott still gave Clarkson unlimited firing rights, but the effect was not very good this time, because the Warriors actually double-teamed Clarkson.

This made Clarkson feel uncomfortable.

He is just a best sixth man and would not be double-teamed at ordinary times. The sudden double-teaming affected his performance.

Apart from him, the other players of the Lakers failed to stand out on the offensive end, and as a result, the score was quickly overtaken by the Warriors.

Coach Scott frowned and called a timeout.

He had to replace Zhuang Yu.

Coach Kerr of the Warriors also made substitutions, and then spread out the tactical board. While drawing the tactics, he reminded the players: "The opponent will probably substitute Zhuang later. Keep a close eye on him. Jump on him and defend him closely. Don't let him shoot. Give him physical confrontation. If he wants to break through, let him break through. It's difficult for us to completely restrict him in his current state, so what we have to do is to wear him down."

At this time, Draymond Green suddenly asked: "What about Clarkson?

Coach Kerr said calmly, "It doesn't matter. When Clarkson and Zhuang Yu are on the court at the same time, his performance is not as good as when he leads the substitute lineup alone. The key is to defend Zhuang. It's okay to let Clarkson score a few points."

I have to say that Coach Kerr is very insightful. Clarkson is the kind of player who can only perform well if he is given absolute freedom and allowed to let go.

When he leads the bench lineup by himself and is given unlimited firing rights, he can often play very well.

Let him lead the bench lineup with Lopez and Deron, and he can also perform well.

But if he fights with Zhuang Yu together, the effect will be reduced.

Can't let go!

......

When the timeout ended, the Warriors began to consume Zhuang Yu. Thompson was still defending Zhuang Yu. He rushed directly in front of Zhuang Yu and launched an oppressive defense.

At the same time, the double team is still there.

When Zhuang Yu was double-teamed and passed the ball to Clarkson, he was unable to punish the Warriors on the offensive end and instead missed shots one after another.

This made Coach Scott a little depressed. He hoped that Clarkson could step up and help Zhuang Yu share the scoring pressure. After all, after Lopez was injured, he was the player with the best scoring ability besides Zhuang Yu on the team.

But it is obvious that Clarkson is not as good as Lopez.

Just as Coach Scott was frowning and thinking hard about countermeasures, Zhuang Yu stepped up. After reaching the frontcourt, he ran back to ask for the ball, and then immediately accelerated to break through. Thompson rushed too far forward and was passed by him in one step. But the Warriors' defense was quick, and Draymond Green immediately made up for the defense and blocked in front of Zhuang Yu.

Swish!

With a slight sound, Zhuang Yu made a fadeaway jump shot.

This was not a good opportunity. Zhuang Yu shot towards Draymond Green, but he was leaning back and Draymond Green could do nothing about it.

"nice shot."

"Zhuang is still amazing, he's almost got 20 points."

The home fans sighed.

In the next few minutes, Zhuang Yu once again took on the team's scoring responsibility. Facing the Warriors' oppressive defense and double-teaming, he always found a way to score the ball.

Every time the Warriors thought they had pushed defense to its limit, Zhuang Yu would miraculously score the ball every time, fadeaway jump shot, chase three-pointer, breakthrough lob shot, turnaround hook shot... In his hands, he could use all kinds of skills with ease, leaving the Warriors players helpless.

It’s not that they didn’t defend well, but that Zhuang Yu had too many ways to score.

This scoring ability is a bit too strong!

......

"Shh!"

With a slight sound, the ball went in and the second quarter ended.

This was a buzzer-beating goal from Zhuang Yu.

After this shot, the score became 57:56, the Lakers led by one point, and Zhuang Yu's personal score had reached 28 points.

"He scored 28 points in the first half, that's amazing."

"It is certain that Zhuang will get 30+ today, maybe 40+."

"I hope so. Looking at the situation in the game, Zhuang has to get at least 40 points for the Lakers to have a chance of beating the Warriors."

In the audience, fans were talking.

Although Zhuang Yu scored 28 points in the first half, the Lakers only led by 1 point because they could not defend against the Warriors' offense.

......

Soon, the second half begins.

The Warriors directly sent out a "small five" lineup, while the Lakers sent out Deron, Zhuang Yu, Gerald Green, Anderson, and Nance Jr.

Coach Scott did not let Clarkson play this time because Clarkson is more suitable to play as the sixth man, and the effect of playing with Zhuang Yu is not the best.

After entering the second half, the Warriors' offense became more and more sharp, and the terrifying strength of the five-small lineup on the offensive end was undoubtedly revealed.

Fortunately, Zhuang Yu's performance on the Lakers side is still outstanding.

Although the Warriors tried their best to limit Zhuang Yu, they still couldn't stop him from scoring.

When the Warriors defended against three-pointers, he would break through. When the Warriors defended against breakthroughs, he would shoot. Even double-teaming was useless because Zhuang Yu could play without the ball. Moreover, he was so fast that he could launch a quick counterattack by himself without waiting for his teammates and playing less in the frontcourt, finishing on his own. He left the Warriors helpless.

This was an ultimate individual performance. Zhuang Yu undoubtedly showed his strength as the "scoring champion" and was unstoppable on the offensive end.

"Shh!"

"beep!"

The ball goes in and the whistle blows.

The referee blew the whistle, called a defensive foul, and indicated to Zhuang Yu that the goal was valid and an additional penalty would be awarded.

Several Warriors players looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

This time it was Zhuang Yu who broke through, and the Warriors quickly contracted their defense, with several players surrounding Zhuang Yu. However, even in this situation, Zhuang Yu actually changed hands in the air and used a left-handed pull-up move like a juggler to score the ball, which also caused a foul.

"Zhuang Yu has already scored more than thirty points."

"It's certain that he'll score 40+ today, with more than a quarter left. And his offensive form was so good today that the Warriors couldn't defend him at all."

"This is the strength of the scoring champion..."

Amid the fans' discussions, the Warriors called a timeout.

After a few players came off the court, Coach Kerr replaced McGee and asked him to guard the inside, not allowing Zhuang Yu to continue playing like this.

He must be restrained.

After the timeout, both teams returned to the court. The Warriors replaced McGee and the Lakers replaced Clarkson.

At this time, Thompson was still defending Zhuang Yu, but the double-team and assist defense were still there, and McGee was guarding the inside as another line of defense.

It can be said that in order to defend Zhuang Yu, the Warriors have used everything they can.

However, what made Coach Kerr depressed was that the Lakers suddenly exploded against other players at this time.

When Zhuang Yu was double-teamed, the ball was passed to Gerald Green, who immediately took a three-point shot and made it.

A moment later, Zhuang Yu ran back to get the ball, pretending to shoot, but in fact he made a breakthrough, attracting McGee's backup defense, and then passed the ball directly to the basket, assisting Anderson with a dunk.

When other Lakers players were able to step up and score, the Warriors' assist and double-teaming on Zhuang Yu were not as effective.

It was not until more than seven minutes into the third quarter that the Lakers replaced Zhuang Yu and the Warriors regained the upper hand.

In the previous few minutes, the Lakers played very well and widened the gap a bit, but when Zhuang Yu was substituted, the Warriors quickly caught up with the score.

By the end of the third quarter, the score was tied.

At this time, Zhuang Yu's personal score had reached 35 points, making him the highest scoring player in the game.