Legend of Tomorrow

On the evening of May 4, the Mavericks narrowly defeated the Lakers 107-100 at home, knocking out the defending champions in the first round in the tiebreaker.

The Lakers led by 6 points entering the final quarter. Michael Finley, one of the Mavericks' trident, performed abnormally. Unfortunately, the Lakers failed to maintain their advantage until the end.

Nowitzki played 46 minutes and did not miss the key moments. He scored 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, and his shooting percentage was as high as 57.1%.

Nash defeated Fisher, scoring 21 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, and shooting 50% from the field.

The most critical figure for the Mavericks is substitute guard Crazy Van Exel. He scored 12 points in the final quarter and gave his old club a fatal blow. He made 10 of 15 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Lakers power forward Robert Horry was beaten by Nowitzki throughout the series, and the performance of other forwards was also poor.

In order to strengthen the offense this time, Phil Jackson reused Medvedenko. The latter came off the bench for 17 minutes, made 5 of 6 shots, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 13 points and 4 rebounds. His superb performance was a highlight.

Kobe played the entire game, making 15 of 31 shots, 5 of 11 three-pointers, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 36 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. It doesn't help that he's already playing beyond the three-point line.

O'Neal played 40 minutes. Although he had an obvious advantage inside, he didn't make many shots. He made 8 of 14 shots and 4 of 7 free throws. He scored 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.

Only three people in the Lakers team scored in double figures, and their teammates did not give enough support to the OK combination. Devin George had the worst performance. He made 0 of 7 shots in 25 minutes and only scored 2 points and 1 rebound on free throws. Now the management feels that they have lost money by signing a mid-level contract with him.

Horry will not be renewed after the season. He made 3 of 10 shots and 0 of 6 three-pointers. Four of his shots were open shots. His performance was disappointing.

Because of the butterfly effect caused by Guo Xu, Horry could not be called Mr. Clutch in the first two seasons. The Lakers did not have key balls for him to shoot. This year, he was timid at critical moments, which will definitely affect his future evaluation.

The No. 1 position is the Lakers' Achilles' heel. Fisher's play style is reasonable and his shooting percentage is not low, but he cannot drive the team like Guo Xu. The OK combination couldn't rest at all. Once the Mavericks came off the field, they blossomed more and pushed the Lakers to the ground.

It was easier for the two Mavericks guards to face off against veterans Brian Shaw and Pargo. The former was old and lacked speed and was easily passed. The guest point guard only had the role of lobbing for O'Neal, and his catch-and-shoot shots were not accurate. The latter is an inexperienced substitute;

The Lakers let him play because no one was available.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss felt like his face was swollen. Although Guo Xu left in good spirits, never targeted anyone, and thanked the Lakers repeatedly, he knew very well that he had done something stupid that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Kobe averaged 30+ per game in the regular season, and even recorded 32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.3 steals in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Lakers gave up their dominance, and their weakening strength cannot be concealed.

Guo Xu has become one of the best players in the league. As long as the Lakers renew his contract, it is conservatively estimated that they will have a superstar point guard for at least 10 years. Guo Xu will only be 30 years old in 10 years.

Pau Gasol, whom Kobe Bryant could exchange for, also led the team to the playoffs. He is one of the Grizzlies' twin towers and an all-around power forward.

With them, the Lakers sent away both Kobe and O'Neal to become a strong force in the Western Conference. Buss's mistake caused the team to miss the opportunity to build a super dynasty.

At the post-game press conference, everyone on the Lakers looked ugly.

Zen Master Jackson did not blame the players and expressed satisfaction with their performance. He believed that the loss was because the Mavericks performed better. Their offense was so strong that people could not guard against them. The Mavericks have the strength to compete for the championship.

This is a fact. In Guo Xu's previous life, the Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals in 2003 and were eliminated by the Spurs 2-4. The reason they lost was that Nowitzki was injured and missed the last three games, and the lineup was not complete. Even without the core, the Mavericks still beat the Spurs by 12 points in Game 6, and the points difference in the two losses was not big.

As long as Nowitzki is healthy, the outcome of both sides is unpredictable. If the Mavericks defeat the Spurs, they will be the champion, and the Nets will join in the fun.

The Suns becoming second in the regular season triggered a butterfly effect. If the Lakers were ranked fifth and faced the Timberwolves, they would have easily advanced. Before forming a super lineup, the Timberwolves could not get past the first round.

Lakers players were interviewed, and O'Neal angrily criticized Kobe for being too independent during the press conference. He will only trust his teammates in the first two quarters. As long as his teammates perform poorly, he will not pass the ball again. Our possession of the ball has been very concentrated throughout the season. This has never happened in the previous two seasons. We only rely on two players to pass the ball. How can an individual score win the championship?”

The reporter asked: Are you saying that Kobe was responsible for being eliminated?

He averages nearly 10 more shots per game than me, and his shooting percentage is only 45%. Do you think he has no responsibility?

In the series, Kobe took 26.4 shots per game, while O'Neal averaged 40 minutes per game, 27 points, 14.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 blocks, shooting 55.8% from the field, taking only 18.2 shots, and averaging 11 free throws per game.

There is no doubt that O'Neal is much more efficient than Kobe, but Kobe can go to the low post again and again with a 45% shooting rate to show off post-up singles, allowing those with a higher shooting rate to grab offensive rebounds. There is no conflict between the two. Believe it?

Except for the OK combination, only Fisher scored in double figures for the Lakers, averaging 11.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Although his shooting percentage is very high, with more than 50% of three-pointers, his role is limited. He passes the ball after half the court. Kobe is the real organizer of the Lakers.

Kobe often organizes for a while and then shoots...

The reporter asked O'Neal: Which team do you think will win the next series between the Suns and the Mavericks?

Of course it's the Suns, because the Suns have Jason to organize the offense. Even if the team is a group of rookies, as long as Jason is here, the team can become very united and play like the Lakers in the first two seasons. I don't think the Mavericks have anything. It’s amazing, if the Lakers play like they did in the past two years, we will definitely win, but it’s meaningless to say this now.”

Kobe was also very unhappy and confronted O'Neal tit for tat. Shackle should do better on the defensive end. Dallas center LaFrentz always pulls out to screen, catch the ball and shoot. They do this in every game. Nowitzki also mainly shoots from the outside. , but Shaquille kept shrinking to defend near the penalty area and was very inactive in guarding pick-and-rolls. I think this was the main reason for the loss.

The two fell out at the press conference. Their overt and covert fighting seriously damaged the interests of the team. The Lakers dynasty collapsed in just one season.

Guo Xu watched the game at home and also watched the press conference.

He thinks O'Neal is right, because in the Lakers' defensive system, Zen Master allows O'Neal to defend pick-and-rolls without diving. This was the case in the first two seasons. When O'Fat is active near the penalty area, the opponent can only shoot from mid-to-long distance and cannot hit the basket. The outside relies on rotation to interfere with the shot and try to reduce the opponent's shooting percentage.

The difference is that in the first two years, the Lakers were able to defeat their opponents with better offense. After Guo Xu left, the Lakers' offense became worse.

Kobe's current style of play cannot be said to be wrong, so coach Jackson didn't criticize anyone.

A combination of inside and outside is the way to go. Kobe is the only strong offensive point on the Lakers' perimeter that holds the ball. O'Neal is frequently double-teamed in the low post. When the ball is distributed, who will shoot if Kobe doesn't shoot?

In any case, once the two publicly complained about each other, OK group was not far away from breaking up.

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