NBA: I am the card dealer

Amidst the noise, the seventh game came as scheduled.

The TNT team broadcast this important event live, after all, this was Game 7 of the Finals!

A real championship match.

Who will win the O'Brien Cup depends on this game.

Therefore, the attention and focus were at their highest level. Tickets to Madison Square Garden were sold at sky-high prices, and Dolan was present to watch the game in person.

Many big stars and supermodels also came, and celebrities from all walks of life also gathered together. Their arrival brought the atmosphere of the entire competition to another level.

——The night of decisive battle is not in vain.

soon.

Players from both teams came out and the cheers from the crowd were like a tsunami, one wave higher than the other.

Ernie Johnson introduced: "The Lakers' lineup has not changed. It is still Xue Liancheng, Courtney Lee, James Johnson, Vonleh, and Randle. They are agile and have great impact. Clarkson, who played well in the last game, is still not in the starting lineup, which is quite surprising."

O'Neal: "It's understandable. Clarkson can be used as an X factor. If he starts, he will expose many problems, such as defense! The offensive rhythm is messed up! But if Courtney Lee takes over, there will be no such problems."

Barkley: "It doesn't really matter whether he's starting or coming off the bench. What matters is that if Clarkson can maintain his offensive firepower from the last game, the Lakers will have a great chance of winning the game and winning the O'Brien Cup."

O'Neal: "Yes! Xue Liancheng needs someone to share the offensive pressure, and there are not many players in the Lakers who can score 20+ under normal circumstances. Randle is one, Clarkson is another, and the remaining Vonleh and James Johnson are a little lacking in fire, so Clarkson's performance is crucial."

Ernie Johnson: "And there is another prerequisite here, that is, Xue Liancheng must score more than 40 points, so that the Lakers can have a hope of winning the championship."

Although the tone was slightly sarcastic, this is the current situation of the Lakers.

Xue Liancheng must perform "normally", and this "normal" means being able to score 40+10 or more, which is the basis for the Lakers to win the game.

then.

One of Randall and Clarkson must step up to give Xue Liancheng enough help, that is, score 20+ points to share the offensive pressure for Xue Liancheng.

Finally, other role players cannot perform too badly. Players like James Johnson, Vonleh, and Courtney Lee must be able to make three-pointers to create some breakthrough space for Xue Liancheng.

at the same time.

They also need to make some achievements in both fast break counterattacks and sudden cuts, so that they will not be unable to complete the task at the end. In this way, the Lakers still have some hope.

And this is the reality.

This is also the most real situation of the Lakers.

Ernie Johnson then introduced the lineup of the Knicks: "There is no change on the New York side. It is still Oladipo, Crowder, PJ Tucker, James, and Lopez. The impact of James and Oladipo is enough, and Crowder and PJ Tucker are top 3D players. Their defensive abilities have been verified many times, especially PJ Tucker, who can defend from the first position to the fourth position. In a lineup like the Lakers, PJ Tucker can defend any position and plays an extremely important role in assisting defense. Crowder has a good level whether shooting three-pointers or cutting. His defensive skills may not be as sophisticated as PJ Tucker, but in terms of offensive ability, he is much better than PJ Tucker. As for offensive firepower, with the Big Three in charge, they have a stable output and basically don't have to worry about it."

O'Neal: "There is also the change in James. Starting from Game 5, he seemed to be a different person. He has full impact and wants to win. I see the belief that he must win, which is very important."

Barkley: "Another point is that the Knicks have a lot of available players on the bench. They have excellent bench depth, which is another advantage for them."

Ernie Johnson smiled and said, "Well, you two, it's time to make a summary. Who do you think will be the final winner?"

O'Neal did not hesitate: "I still favor the Lakers. First of all, it is my old club and the place where I achieved greatness. I must support it unconditionally. Secondly, to be honest, if it is a one-game decision, I still want to believe in Xue Liancheng. His performance in the first two rounds of the series has already proved this. He really has the strength to overturn a team on his own."

Ernie Johnson: "And then what?"

O'Neal spread his hands and said, "That's all! I only trust Xue Liancheng. As for the others, you can only hope that they don't make mistakes, or try to make as few mistakes as possible. Not being a drag is their greatest achievement."

Ernie Johnson looked at Barkley: "Sir Charles! What do you think?"

Barkley: "A lot of people don't like the Knicks, but I'm definitely an exception."

Ernie Johnson: “What?”

Barkley also spread his hands: "O'Neal has already supported the Lakers, I can't ignore the Knicks, right? This is not the point. The point is that I can't agree with O'Neal's point of view. After all, I have already lost on the court, and I can't lose as a commentator..."

As soon as these words came out.

The crowd laughed.

Ernie Johnson: "Do you have any other reasons besides this?"

Barkley: "The Big Three are strong, the Knicks have a reasonable lineup structure, and the bench depth is excellent. These are their advantages. As long as they play to their strengths, they will have no problem winning the O'Brien Cup. Another point is that this is Madison Square Garden, the home court of the Knicks. They have home-court advantage, which is also a very important point."

Ernie Johnson: "Very convincing. The game is about to start, so let's wait and see!"

The three of them exchanged a few words and made their positions clear, which served as a warm-up for the much-anticipated seventh game.

soon.

The game officially begins.

In the jump ball, Lopez still had the absolute height advantage and easily got the first attack.

The Knicks followed their pace, with Oladipo pushing the ball across half court, and others began to move in, including James.

Their attitude was obviously much more positive. After all, it was a tie-break game and whoever won would win the trophy, so they dared not slack off at all.

But the Lakers' defensive attitude was also very active, not giving the Knicks any room to shoot.

There was quite a bit of physical collision between the two sides, but the referee didn't blow the whistle, which set the tone.

O'Neal commented: "This first round seemed to go back to the 1990s. They were in fierce competition, and the referee did not blow the whistle. This means that the penalty standards for this game are very loose, which encourages confrontation between the two sides. This is not a good thing for the Lakers."

Ernie Johnson cooperated and asked, "Why?"

O'Neal: "The Lakers only have one player who can solve the problem, and that's Xue Liancheng, while the Knicks have three, James, Oladipo, and Lopez. Their offensive ability and offensive means can still score some points in this level of intensity. Obviously, the Lakers are at a disadvantage."

Barkley: "For this level of competition, maybe Clarkson would be a better choice."

The higher the intensity of the confrontation, the more advantage players with strong individual combat abilities will have, while teamwork will be severely weakened.

The reason is also very simple.

You've been knocked all over the place, how can you cooperate and provide cover?

And what is the role of the star player?

He ignores defense and shoots the ball in a one-on-one shot, relying purely on his personal ability. You can't defend against it at all.

and so.

In a confrontation of this level of intensity, the more stars there are, the greater the advantage; the stronger the one-on-one ability, the more control the situation has.

This is what O'Neal meant.

Clarkson's one-on-one ability is actually not to be underestimated, but his thin body makes his confrontation ability not good, his shot selection is also problematic, and his vision is not broad. These are the factors that restrict him from becoming an All-Star level.

But now in the Lakers lineup, only Clarkson can barely dribble the ball.

So Barkley's proposal is not groundless.

And the first round.

Lopez failed to score despite various dribbling moves.

Obviously, even though he had advantages in height, weight and tonnage, Lopez was still seriously affected by such a fierce confrontation.

The impact on the Lakers is even greater.

When Randle was holding the ball in the high post, James forced him to push upwards, and then...

He didn't hold the ball firmly and made a mistake.

Fortunately, the other Lakers players returned to defense quickly and did not give the Knicks a chance to counterattack on a fast break.

Then, the two sides were completely stuck in the quagmire of this high-intensity confrontation and were unable to form an effective offensive system. They relied solely on a combination of individual singles and breakthroughs. Apart from that, they could only take advantage of opportunities under the basket.

Everything becomes simple.

Even Xue Liancheng had to go to the low post and play one-on-one with his back to the basket.

Or break through after a pick-and-roll screen.

All other tactics and systems are ineffective.

Randle's high-post support was completely useless in this game.

James pressed forward, and other Knicks players assisted from the side. In just a few minutes, they forced Randle to commit a traveling violation and lose the ball three times, which was simply despairing.

But the Knicks are not much better.

In the narrow paint area, Lopez has no way to form an effective deterrent. As soon as he receives the ball, the double-team comes. You don't have time to adjust and you need to complete the shot immediately.

In this situation, it really depends on incredible personal ability and touch to maintain the offense.

But Lopez is not a top-notch inside player and does not have the ability to dominate the basket. He is okay in the low post and with his back to the basket, and his touch in the high post is also smooth, but things did not go well today.

After the first quarter, he only scored 5 points with 1 of 2 shots, which was extremely miserable!

of course.

A large part of this is due to Xue Liancheng's effort. He knows Lopez's offensive characteristics and shooting habits very well. He knows how to double-team Lopez and how to make him uncomfortable.

So when he was practicing tactics on the rest day, he instructed his teammates and told them how to defend Lopez.

For example, if Lopez is slow, then when someone passes the ball to Lopez, they have to rush over to double-team and interfere with him.

In a situation of intense physical confrontation like today, it is easier to defend Lopez. Putting the force on Lopez's lower body is enough to make Lopez uncomfortable. At least when turning around, Lopez is not so agile.

And these instructions came in handy today.

Because the referee encouraged confrontation, Lopez's "softness" was revealed.

Randall did a pretty good job on this point.

James' performance was not good either. In the fierce confrontation, James seemed unable to adapt to this intensity all of a sudden. Vonleh's little tricks could play a role, and his height and tonnage were there, and he entangled with James, which made James very uncomfortable.

Only Oladipo played normally, and his mid-range and half-court shots hit the Lakers' weak spots.

You have no way to defend against this kind of sudden shot after a breakthrough. You can only try to interfere. The movement may be a bit bigger, but it will not have much impact on Oladipo.

This is enough to show that Oladipo's personal ability is indeed outstanding. He has improved a lot compared to last season, and his hard-hitting scoring ability has reached the level of a first-class guard.

Given the sluggish touch and condition of both teams, at the end of the first quarter, the score was 18:19, neither team scored 20+, and the Lakers trailed by 1 point.

This is simply unimaginable for the two top offensive teams.

But it also reflects indirectly that the confrontation is indeed fierce.

O'Neal shook his head after watching it: "For a moment, I felt like I was in the ancient Roman Colosseum. Here, any action can be performed. It's really amazing."

Ernie Johnson: "This also shows that the referee is sending a signal to the players, leaving the final result of the game to the players. As long as you don't commit an obvious foul, they won't blow the whistle. This will be a fair duel. The fierce scene of a life-and-death struggle makes my blood boil."

Barkley smiled and said: "I am even more surprised that the Lakers can hold on to the score in a confrontation of this level of intensity."

O'Neal: "Xue Liancheng is very good at breaking through and passing the ball, and his accurate passing is also very advantageous in this level of intensity confrontation. I even feel that Xue Liancheng is born to be suitable for high-intensity confrontation games."

Barkley: "Don't forget Clarkson. He came off the bench for three minutes, made 4 of 2 shots and scored 5 points. He really relieved a lot of pressure on Xue Liancheng."

Ernie Johnson: "And there's an interesting thing about this. So far, both teams have only six players on the field, which means both teams are determined to fight to the death."

O'Neal: "Both sides are afraid to make substitutions easily, which is understandable because they are afraid of making mistakes. But this is not good news for the Knicks. Its bench depth has not been able to play a role, which is a self-defeating move."

Barkley: "Yes! If I were Tyronn Lue, I would definitely not bet everything on one throw. I would try to get the substitutes to play, at least to deplete the Lakers' main players, and then let James and Oladipo rest, so that they have more physical strength and energy to devote to the decisive moment."