NBA: I am the card dealer

Commentator: "Mike Brown is really good! How come this lineup adjustment that is totally incomprehensible works so well?"

Commentator: "We still greatly underestimated Randle's high-post coordination ability. He organized the game at the top of the arc very well, which perfectly solved the problem of the second ball-handler and the second organizing point."

Host: "The main reason is that Courtney Lee has made full use of his talents. He can not only contain Oladipo on the defensive end, but also provide considerable help on the offensive end. He can maintain deterrence in both cuts and three-pointers."

Commentator: "At the same time, after Courtney Lee comes on, he can also liberate Xue Liancheng, allowing Xue Liancheng to focus on offense, and the inside space is also released, which is very important."

The three of them immediately changed their expressions and praised this change of formation.

Obviously.

Although they may be susceptible to rumors, as professional basketball commentators, they can still see a lot of things and have some professional qualities.

Soon, the timeout ended and the game resumed.

The Knicks also made adjustments, with Tyler Johnson replacing P.J. Tucker, which is a sign of fully entering an offensive state.

It can be seen that Tyronn Lue is decisive and has enough courage.

But the Lakers' chemistry was there and it couldn't be contained.

In the next three minutes, the Lakers' offense remained strong and they firmly suppressed the Knicks.

Halftime ended.

The Lakers led the Knicks by 61 points with 58:3.

From being 8 points behind at most to leading by 3 points at the end of the first half, the total score was equivalent to 11 points more than the Knicks.

That's right.

After adjusting the lineup and bringing on Courtney Lee, they beat the Knicks by 11 points. Such offensive explosiveness is simply terrifying.

Xue Liancheng once again became the key. In just over 5 minutes, although he only scored 5 points, he made 5 assists. The Lakers' tactical system immediately started to operate at a high speed, and the offensive rhythm was dazzling.

Anyone could become the terminator, everyone was running actively, and the interactive passing between Xue Liancheng and Randall became another highlight.

These things absolutely did not exist before.

Because whether it is Clarkson or Joe Johnson, their running effect is almost zero.

Or more accurately, not much running at all.

They just stood there, as if waiting to be fed, watching Xue Liancheng fight.

To put it nicely, it is for the purpose of supporting, but in fact it is just because there is no sense of direction in running.

This is mainly related to their playing habits and characteristics. Both of them are not good at cutting and shooting after receiving the ball. They are more of the ball-holding type. Fighting alone is their favorite. Combining breakthrough and passing is also their comfort point. As for the skill of running, neither of them has touched it...

The impact is still huge.

Just imagine, there are five people coming up, one is already fighting with the ball, another is watching outside the three-point line, and Randle pulls out for a pick-and-roll. What do you want the other two to think?

James Johnson was guarding the corner and no one came to interact with him. Vonleh was also guarding the other corner and had little interaction with others.

If so, where's your cover?

What about your sudden and split combination?

How's your ball moving?

Where does your shooting space come from?

Because if you don't move, you can't create any space at all.

Even if Xue Liancheng opened his third eye, he couldn't create a good shooting space for you!

This is the impact of Clarkson and Joe Johnson standing still and watching the game.

Not only do they stand in the stance themselves, but they also influence others and make them stand in the stance as well.

Now that Courtney Lee is here, things are completely different.

First, Randle held the ball at the top of the arc. As the central axis, Xue Liancheng also ran after him, and Courtney Lee was also running everywhere. After all, he had just come on, and his enthusiasm and fighting spirit were beyond reproach.

Then James Johnson and Vonleh will also be deeply affected and move along with them.

This is a bit similar to the herd effect, or the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." They will not be affected inadvertently.

In this way, the ball also started to move at high speed.

The ball was passed to Xue Liancheng through Randle, the central support point. Xue Liancheng caught the ball while running and pulled it, which created a big gap for the Knicks. As long as other people move actively, opportunities will be everywhere.

The reason why the Knicks can't do anything about Randle is mainly because their team doesn't have a madman like Green, nor does it have the kind of execution ability under Popovich.

The former is because Randle and Green are similar in build, and they have no advantage in speed, strength, weight, or height. You can't even compare with Green in confrontation. After all, Green's despicable means of chasing him are endless, and it is impossible to defend against him. It is easy to break Randle's mentality.

and so.

If we talk about the type of player that Randle is afraid of, it must be Green. Players like Vonleh can also make Randle very uncomfortable.

As for the latter, it is really a question of training.

Popovich really has a way to target Randle, but this requires strong execution from the players on the court, such as assisting defense, making up for defense, and delaying. It requires your enthusiasm, but enthusiasm can only be maintained once or twice. If you want to maintain it throughout the entire court, you need extremely strong execution.

The Spurs did a really great job in this regard.

It can also be seen from this how powerful Popovich's ability to coach players is.

And this is also the type of team that Randall is very afraid of.

Now facing the Knicks, Randle no longer has such worries.

Because the Knicks do not have the kind of new forwards who can play inside, such as Chase Green and Vonleh. Their height and weight are actually more like those of a mixed player, but they can play as a center. They have speed and strength, tonnage, and size, and can use their mobility and lower body strength to play the five position.

At the same time, the Knicks did not have that kind of strong execution ability. Although their double-teaming on Randle was fierce, it could only last for one or two rounds and did not have much impact on the entire front system.

This is why the Knicks can't deal with Randle.

In addition, Lopez's steps are slow, and the enthusiasm and fighting spirit of others cannot be sustained, which leads to Randle being like a fish in water in the high post.

Sometimes, Randle can use his footwork and impact to break through and give the Knicks a surprise.

Or Xue Liancheng and Randle complete a hand-to-hand pass and directly complete a pick-and-roll on the spot. Xue Liancheng rushes forward with the ball, and Randle follows down from the other side.

It's simply impossible to guard against it.

This makes every Knicks player a soldier, everyone can become a terminator, and it has a bit of the flavor of team basketball.

The second half.

The Knicks still couldn't find a way to deal with Randle's high-post coordination, which allowed the Lakers' offensive rhythm to continue to run at a high speed and their offensive firepower was sustained.

The score gap was gradually widened.

This made the fans at the scene very excited. They never expected that the whole game would go like this.

After all, in the first quarter, their offense was still sluggish and they only scored 25 points.

The second quarter was even worse, with the Knicks pulling the lead to 8 points at one point, and neither Joe Johnson nor Clarkson could do anything.

The fans were desperate at one point.

result.

Courtney Lee became that X factor and played an unexpected role.

The commentator couldn't help but exclaim: "Mike Brown is really back to the drawing board! If we look at the entire series, this could be a huge turning point."

Commentator: "Yes! When Mike Brown returned to the Lakers, I was also a fierce opponent. Now it seems that he gave us a slap in the face. I believe that Mike Brown has made an indispensable contribution to the Lakers' success today."

Host: "This change of formation is indeed a stroke of genius. There are still more than two minutes left in the third quarter, and the Lakers have already scored 30 points. This kind of powerful offensive power can be described as overwhelming."

The Knicks, on the other hand, had no way of stopping the attack and could only watch their defense being torn to pieces.

It’s bad enough that we can’t defend, but we can’t keep up with the offense either.

After Courtney Lee came on, the Lakers' backcourt defense instantly reached a higher level. After working together with Vonleh and with the addition of James Johnson, their overall defense improved visibly.

Oladipo's offensive power was suppressed, and the direct consequence was that James lost his left arm.

Especially when the Knicks urgently need someone to step up and score, they show signs of stalling from time to time.

This is very fatal.

What happened next was indeed proven true.

Courtney Lee is not only intimidating in open cuts, but also in three-point shooting.

The momentum suddenly rose.

This led to James Johnson also making a three-pointer.

In less than three minutes, the Lakers launched a wave of attacks, leaving the Knicks helpless again.

End of the third quarter.

The Lakers led the Knicks by 102 points with a score of 91:11.

In other words, the Lakers bombarded the opponent in the third quarter and scored 41 points.

41 points!

This is the finals!

One can imagine how smoothly the Lakers' offense has been during this period.

of course.

Although Oladipo was restricted on the Knicks side, Lopez was still very aggressive in the interior and is currently the best performing player on the Knicks.

He had a big explosion in this game.

But still couldn't resist the Lakers' crazy offensive frenzy.

Commentator: "The Knicks still haven't found a way to contain the Lakers, so this game is dangerous."

Commentator: "Yes! You know, Xue Liancheng hasn't exploded yet. His offensive desire hasn't been activated, and his offensive power is definitely not just 20+ points."

Host: "Now, James must step up and take on the role of leader."

result.

Surprisingly.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Randle tried a three-pointer.

Xue Liancheng created an opportunity by running, and he took the ball in an open three-pointer and made it!

After scoring 6 points in a row, it was not over yet. James made a mistake and the ball was intercepted. Xue Liancheng made a one-man show and finally assisted Feng Lai to make a flying shot.

Starting with 8:0, the score difference was directly widened to 19 points.

This time.

The entire Knicks team was stunned.

In stark contrast, the fans at the scene integrated with the Lakers bench and had a crazy carnival.

Tyronn Lue called a timeout urgently, wanting to slow down the game.

But Xue Liancheng had already seen the opportunity to end it early, so he came up with three consecutive attacks.

Silly!

The Knicks players' mentality exploded, and the score difference went straight to 30+!

With 7 minutes and 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, as Randle successfully attacked the basket, the score difference between the two sides actually broke through 30+ and reached 31 points.

The Knicks were officially carried away and there was no hope for them.

At this time, the Lakers' score had reached 126 points, which was really crazy.

The two sides fought for another two minutes. As the Knicks gradually let their starting players rest, the Lakers also withdrew their main players.

of course.

There was still a thirty-year-old man on the field who was still fighting. He didn't seem to admit defeat and wanted to try to turn the tide.

But unfortunately, the score gap is too big.

After an iron-blooded layup, his score reached 30 points, and he finally left the court reluctantly.

finally.

The Lakers easily defeated the Knicks 141:117 and successfully tied the score at 2:2.

Xue Liancheng made 17 of 10 shots and scored 30 points, plus a triple-double of 22 assists and 11 rebounds. His performance was quite outstanding. The 22 assists were also the first time he had 20+ assists in this round of the series.

This shows one thing, that his teammates were in excellent condition in this game, otherwise he would not have gotten so many assists.

The same is true.

After a period of slump, Randle finally woke up again. He made 17 of 9 shots in this game and got 22 points and 9 rebounds, which was close to a double-double.

The most outstanding thing is not this, but that he provided 7 assists.

This is quite difficult, as it means that in addition to Xue Liancheng being able to create space for his teammates, Randall can also pass the ball well and become the second organizing point and the second offensive engine.

This is also the reason why the Lakers can launch a large offensive frenzy.

James Johnson also played very well, scoring 13 points with 7 of 16 shots. He can cut to the basket, shoot three-pointers, and occasionally steal one at the basket. He can also make transitions on the defensive end, and is an important member of the Lakers' unlimited switching defense.

Vonleh was also okay, making 12 of 6 shots and scoring 15 points. He regained his energy and passion, and gave his own answers on both offense and defense.

The main contributor who replaced the starting lineup and was also the turning point of this game, Courtney Lee made 9 of 6 shots and also scored 15 points. His performance was quite eye-catching. He could defend, cut to the basket, shoot three-pointers, and actively run, set screens, and provide support. He was definitely the hero of this big victory.

The orthodox starter Joe Johnson performed mediocrely, making 10 of 4 shots and scoring only 8 points. He was steady, but his appearance did not activate the Lakers' offense. Instead, it caused problems with their rhythm, and they even became lifeless.

Clarkson is still unable to extricate himself from the slump, making 12 of 3 shots and scoring only 9 points. It is hard to describe, especially the consecutive nonsensical shots and turnovers, which are really frustrating.

There is no doubt that Clarkson's performance in this series was extremely disappointing.

It may also be related to Oladipo's main defense. In terms of speed, explosiveness, and confrontation, Clarkson is no match at all.

This may be the reason for Clarkson's continued slump.