NBA: I am the card dealer

Amidst the criticism against James, the second game of the finals is here.

Tyronn Lue finally discovered the problem and changed his strategy in time. In this game, the Knicks focused on the inside, using their height and weight to dominate the paint area.

The effect was remarkable, Randall was simply unable to compete with Lopez.

In fact, considering Randle's size and impact, he is not completely useless. It's mainly because his efficiency drops drastically when the confrontation intensity increases. Once he doesn't perform well on the offensive end, he will easily fall into an irritable mood, which also affects the defensive end. Various impulsive fouls and gambling-style steals make him lose the rhythm of the game.

This is Randall's current situation.

If Randle loses his form, it will affect the offensive and defensive deployment of the entire Lakers team.

Like now, the game has only entered the second quarter and Randle has already committed four fouls. In this case, Zubac has to step up.

But the problem is that Zubac also has various problems.

His size and tonnage can match that of Lopez, but Zubac's independent offensive ability is very weak. Apart from catching dribbles and secondary offense, he has very serious butter hands and loses the ball easily. Or if there is a slight pause, the offense will be completely ruined.

In addition, Zubac has a fatal weakness, which is that he has no three-pointers, which does not match Xue Liancheng's offensive rhythm very well.

of course.

It’s not that you can’t use the three-pointer without it, it’s just not that useful. It’s not that easy to create space, after all, there’s a person inside.

If Zubac is not played and Marvin Williams is selected, the situation may become more complicated.

Because now Marvin Williams is more like a three-point turret, a pure offensive end point. He can't pass the ball, can't organize, has weak ability to handle the ball himself, and has no strong awareness of cutting. On the offensive end, his role is actually very limited.

On the defensive end, Marvin Williams will perform even worse. He doesn't have the height or weight to match Lopez, and his speed and mobility don't give him any advantage.

Overall, it is better to play Zubac as center than Marvin Williams.

This is the Lakers' current dilemma.

There are some functional players, and they are very good, but there are almost no players who can stand on their own.

The Lakers lost this game without any suspense, and this is the reason.

Xue Liancheng once again demonstrated his top-notch ability, making 26 of 13 shots, 12 of 6 three-pointers, and 10 of 9 free throws, scoring a crazy 41 points, in addition to top-notch stats of 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

But the team lost the game 106:117.

Xue Liancheng's score alone accounted for a small half of the team's total score. If assists are converted into indirect points, then Xue Liancheng alone contributed nearly 70 points.

The other scores not scored by Xue Liancheng were only 30+. It can be imagined how poor the scoring ability of other Lakers players is.

This also indirectly illustrates the importance of George.

If Paul George hadn't been injured, Xue Liancheng would never have to rely on himself to support the team.

George's restraining and deterrent power can also liberate Xue Liancheng.

Except for Xue Liancheng, the performance of others is hard to describe.

First of all, Randle, the team's current nominal second-in-command, after an outstanding performance of 18+11 in the last game, took 11 shots in this game, only made 3 of them, and only scored 8 points, plus 5 rebounds.

It's simply outrageous, outrageous to the extreme.

Is this the Lakers' second in command?

Do you believe it?

It really can't be described in words.

of course.

This may also be a normal phenomenon. After all, at this point in the playoffs, Randle's performance has almost become the norm.

An average of 13+8 per game, this is probably Randle's true level.

So, there is nothing to blame.

of course.

Randle was troubled by fouls in this game and only played 23 minutes, which may also be a factor.

If he had played for thirty or forty minutes as usual, the Lakers would have lost even more miserably.

Clarkson is currently the third most important player in the Lakers. He performed poorly in the last game, but continued to perform well in this one, making 15 of 5 shots with a hit rate of 33.3%, and scoring 13 points. With such a performance, let alone giving much support to Xue Liancheng, not saying that he is an undercover is already a very conscientious statement.

James Johnson was still steady, scoring 11 points with 5 of 12 shots, a pretty good performance.

Feng Lai made 10 of 4 shots and only scored 9 points, which was barely acceptable.

This is the performance of all the players in the Lakers starting lineup, and it is really hard to be satisfied with it.

Bench.

Zubac played for nearly 20 minutes and did have some performance, scoring 7 points with 4 of 8 shots.

Marvin Williams scored 6 points, Joe Johnson scored 5 points, and Courtney Lee scored 4 points.

The bench did make some achievements in the few times they played, which at least was worthy of their salary.

The Knicks here.

詹姆斯依旧狂暴，21中12，砍下了32分11篮板8助攻的全能表现。

Judging from the statistics, James is impeccable and there is no problem at all. Even his efficiency has improved a lot. But in this game when the Lakers were desperately trying to catch up, James still watched from the sidelines and did not play the role of a leader.

Oladipo's form declined in this game. He made 21 of 9 shots and only scored 25 points. He was basically responsible for all the offensive shots and the last-minute pass.

of course.

His efficiency has plummeted, mainly because his three-point shooting is not very accurate. He made only 10 of 3 shots, which is really hard to show off.

In addition to the two, Lopez finally showed his might, making 18 of 9 shots and getting top stats of 22 points and 12 rebounds, proving himself as a giant.

The performance of other Knicks players was just average, not much different from the previous game.

After the game.

The wind direction suddenly changed again.

Those who generally think that the Knicks are finished should shut up at this time.

The New York fans who were trampled to the point of being speechless in the last game finally felt better after this game!

"We should attack the inside. Tyronn Lue, that idiot, finally figured it out."

"The Lakers' fatal flaw is the inside line. His height and weight are not good enough."

"James's impact is still very strong. His performance in these two games is actually pretty good. You are asking too much, you want this and that..."

"As long as the three giants work together, it shouldn't be a problem to defend the title."

"We should have played like this a long time ago. There are three more games left and we will be the champion again."

New York fans are celebrating.

Many people also feel sorry for Xue Liancheng.

"It seems that it is not that easy for a single core to win the championship. Throughout the whole game, no one can really stand up to share the offensive pressure with Xue Liancheng. Not a single person..."

"I don't know what to say about Randle. He has been acting like a piece of shit so far in the playoffs. It's disgusting! You are the second in command of the Lakers and the hope of Los Angeles? You have a chicken hope..."

"Randall really needs to reflect on himself. If you play like this, the Lakers are finished!"

"And Clarkson, he only knows how to lower his head and rush forward. He is truly a reckless man."

"Xue Liancheng fought hard to win the game, but you two fought hard to hold Xue Liancheng back. You shouldn't have kept them when we traded them in the summer."

"Although it's your first year in the playoffs, it's understandable how you play, but the problem is, you two are really lame. Xue Liancheng brought you to the finals, you should try harder."

"It would be better to give Vonleh more penalty kicks. At least he is still working hard on defense."

"Actually, James Johnson is pretty good. I don't know why Mike Brown doesn't use him."

The complaints were overwhelming.

But the Lakers' problem is not as simple as the fans think.

First up is Clarkson.

As the team's second ball-handler, the purpose of his existence is to absorb the ball possession that Xue Liancheng overflows with.

What is overflow ball possession?

Probably when Xue Liancheng was trapped or unable to escape, someone was needed to attack the basket and tear apart the opponent's defense.

Among the Lakers, only Clarkson currently has such ability.

Joe Johnson is too old, and his movements and steps are too slow. If he is really overused, I guess his performance will be worse than Clarkson's.

of course.

No one knows what the final effect will be, but it is a point where we can try to make changes.

As for guards like Courtney Lee and Glenn Robinson, it is a problem for them to break through with the ball, so don't expect them to be able to serve as the second ball handler.

To sum it up.

That is, the Lakers are extremely short of personnel.

It was fine when George was there, and there was no worry about being the second ball handler.

Now that George is not here, Clarkson is a bit underutilized, resulting in the Lakers looking extremely short of personnel.

Then there's Randall.

His offensive efficiency and defensive attitude are both problems, but his role is equally irreplaceable.

His impact and high-post coordination ability are what the Lakers urgently need at this stage, especially the ability to attack the inside and personal singles ability. Among the inside players, Randle is unique.

Players like Vonleh, Zubac, Marvin Williams, etc., have problems attacking with the ball, let alone playing one-on-one and attacking the basket with the ball.

and so.

Randall's role is also irreplaceable.

When both players don't perform well, it will be extremely difficult for the Lakers to win.

There is actually another reason for the loss of this game.

That is the weakness of lack of inside players, which the Knicks seized upon.

The Lakers' inside line does not seem to be weak this season, with quality inside players such as Randle, Vonleh, Zubac, Marvin Williams, and Larry Nance.

But in fact, they are only as tall as Zubac.

Others are more like power forwards.

The only player who has the ability to play one-on-one with the ball is Randle.

There is not a single player with excellent low-post skills.

Therefore, once they encounter a strong inside player, the Lakers' paint area has no power to resist at all.

Tyronn Lue obviously saw through this. Lopez attacked the inside, while Oladipo and James took turns to attack the penalty area, and suddenly broke down the Lakers' weak defense.

This is another major reason why they lost.

But they also have good news, that is, after the first two games, they can finally return to Los Angeles.

After two days of rest, they will face the real decisive battle.

period.

Mike Brown found Xue Liancheng and asked for any suggestions on the next tactical arrangements.

Xue Liancheng still insisted on his own idea: "The biggest weakness of the Knicks at present is actually Lopez. Clarkson and I can target him and break his confidence. Then our chance will come."

Mike Brown nodded: "Then the main direction of our next drill will be the pick-and-roll, and let you and Clarkson call out Lopez until they can't stand it anymore?"

Xue Liancheng: “That’s about it.”

Mike Brown: "And then? Any other suggestions?"

Xue Liancheng: "Oladipo has made great progress, but he is not unstoppable. His ability to stay in the air and his explosiveness are not outstanding among guards. We need to target these two points on the defensive end and deploy defense against him. I believe that as long as Oladipo and Lopez are defeated, James alone will not be able to make any waves."

And in fact.

The outside world has already been in turmoil over James' performance in this game.

The most important thing is that James finally broke the curse and defeated Xue Liancheng in a head-on confrontation. The invisible shackles on his head were finally removed.

"It wasn't easy! I finally won."

"From now on, the sky is high and the birds fly freely, James! You have to work hard!"

"The inner demon has been removed. Now it's time to prove myself."

"The balance of this series has officially tilted towards the Knicks. As long as James breaks the curse, he will be unstoppable."

"Who is the best basketball player in the league? We should soon find out."

"Championship! This is the only thing James can prove himself."

At this time, James' fans, who had been suppressed for a long time, finally ushered in the biggest carnival of his career.

Even James himself sent more than 30 IS messages to celebrate this hard-earned victory.

It's really not easy.

In the past three years, it can be said that he was suppressed by Xue Liancheng to the point where he could not breathe and even his shoulders were bent.

In the head-to-head confrontation, not a single match was won.

In the first match of the series, they were nailed to the pillar of shame after being defeated 3-4 and -.

In the second match of the series, they were swept out, which was really a loss of face.

just now.

Finally won.

That feeling is like seeing a ray of light in the endless darkness. It is so exciting.

This greatly boosted people's confidence in the Knicks.

Once the curse is broken, the sky will be high and the birds will fly freely. James can spread his wings and soar, and no one can stop him anymore.

That's what people expect from James.

This is also James' own state of mind.

However, Xue Liancheng did not feel much about this. After all, he had become numb from winning all the time.

Losing a game now did not affect his mentality.

Because he knew he couldn't win all the time.

The Knicks have a Big Three model with plenty of quality role players. It is simply a pipe dream to want to sweep the Knicks.

So, having this psychological expectation, he was not surprised by it.