warrior godfather

Chapter 373 The Weakness of the Lakers
"Kobe, how do you feel now? Do you need to rest for a while?" In front of the Lakers bench, Mike Brown came to Kobe, leaned over, and asked with concern.

Kobe took off his training clothes, stood up slowly, shook his head and said:
"I'm fine, Mike, let me play."

Mike Brown looked at Kobe's slightly heavy figure, hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said:

"Okay, the team's offense will be handed over to you. On the defensive end, you should try to save energy and don't rush too hard."

Kobe threw the training clothes on the seat, did not speak, just nodded lightly, walked slowly to the front of the technical table, leaned on the technical table, and let out a long breath, as if he wanted to exhale all the exhaustion in his body .

While waiting for a dead ball opportunity, he raised his head and looked into the air. The score on the big screen had become 96:78. At 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Warriors further extended their lead to 18 points. at stake.

It was also at this critical juncture that Mike Brown knew that Kobe's physical energy consumption was very severe, but he still wanted him to play early.

This aging Lakers can only rely on Kobe.

In the past 4 minutes, the Lakers transition lineup led by Gasol completely fell into a disadvantage in front of the Warriors' rotation.

The Warriors adopted a crazy flanking strategy against Gasol, resolutely not giving him a chance to single Yi Jianlian in the low post.

Gasol can only be forced to distribute the ball, and the players around him are Troy Murphy, Matt Barnes and Steve Blake, they only have the ability to shoot wide open, while Leonard and Tony .Under Allen's tight and quick filling rotation, it is difficult for the Lakers outside players to get a particularly easy shot, and every catch and shot will be more or less disturbed.

They don't have the ability to run around screens and hand-to-hand without the ball, so it is difficult to punish the Warriors' aggressive defensive strategy, and they cannot give Gasol enough help. The Lakers' offense has stagnated and Kobe needs to save the world. .

"Di-"

Kobe didn't wait too long in front of the technical table. Yi Jianlian made a big move when he went around the front defense Gasol to catch the ball. The referee called him a defensive foul. The Lakers sent a sideline ball. Kobe also took this opportunity to replace Matt. Barnes enters.

"Shh-"

"Kobe, let's shoot a few more times, your game is one game less!"

"Kobe, thank you, Stephen passing you is like crossing the road in the morning!"

Seeing Kobe on the court, there was a huge booing immediately in the auditorium, and the fans in the front row raised their middle fingers at Kobe, mocking Kobe's poor performance in the second half of the third quarter.

Bay Area fans are the purest Warriors fans. They don't care whether Kobe is a superstar or not, as long as they are the Warriors' opponents, they are their enemies.

Of course, if they met Kobe outside the court, they would probably rush to take a photo with Kobe, but on the court, they would not show any mercy.

But Kobe has long been immune to this level of ridicule, which is completely incomparable to the abuse he received on the court when the Eagle County incident broke out.

He took the sideline ball from Steve Blake, took a step inside the three-point line, leaned on Leonard with his back, sat up and hit twice, suddenly turned left, did not make any fake moves, and leaned back The jumper was shot forcibly, and under Leonard's strong interference, he made a steady two-pointer.

96: 80.

After Kobe scored, the booing in the audience became lower, but he didn't care about it, but quickly returned to defense and directed his teammates to defend.

The Warriors attacked, and Jeremy Lin used Whiteside's cover to break through to the inside of the Lakers, get rid of Steve Blake's defense, and rushed to the Lakers' penalty area.

But just as he came to the next step beyond the free throw line, Kobe suddenly came out from the diagonal stab, stretched out his hand and slapped hard, and stole the ball from Jeremy Lin's hand.

"The Lakers counterattacked! Kobe rushed to the front—" Barkley said loudly, "Leonard was closely chasing behind Kobe, but he was still half a body behind. It seems that speed is not his strong point!"

On the court, Kobe gritted his teeth, squeezed out the last bit of energy in his body, rushed into the Warriors' penalty area, jumped hard, raised his hands high, and put the ball into the basket.

96: 82.

After he successfully dunked, he didn't let go immediately, but hung on the basket for a while before falling down.

"Hoo, hoo——" Kobe's breathing was a little short, and he slowly retreated to the venue, but he didn't notice that the boos from the audience became quieter.

Kobe is terribly calm now, he only has one thought in his mind, that is to win this game, and nothing else can arouse his emotions!
……

In the next 2 minutes, the Kobe Bryant team set off an offensive climax, playing a wave of 9:2 offensive, narrowing the point difference to single digits, and the Lakers seemed to see the hope of a reversal.

But after a chance of a dead ball, Zhang Yu replaced the main force and immediately curbed the momentum of the Lakers chasing points.

Kobe was still the same as before, attacking with the ball on the offensive end, but Zhang Yu made adjustments and asked Tony Allen to match Kobe, very "intimately" helping Kobe change his taste again.

As a substitute, Tony Allen didn't have much playing time and was full of energy. After he switched to Kobe, he stuck to him from the backcourt of the Lakers, constantly using various hidden tricks to confront him, and entangled with him all the way to the front. field, disturbing his state of mind.

When Kobe launched singles, Tony Allen stuck close to Kobe, resolutely not allowing him to easily exert force, and did not expect to block his shot at all, but just raised his hand to interfere, forcing Kobe to take a difficult shot .

On the defensive end, Zhang Yu arranged for Curry to find Kobe continuously through pick-and-rolls, continuing to consume Kobe's physical energy.

Mike Brown didn't sit idly by. He allowed Kobe to return after a big delay, but Curry could make a three-pointer by seizing the gap. Mike Brown had no choice but to let Kobe switch defenses.

Two minutes before the main players of the two sides came back, Kobe scored 2 consecutive points on Tony Allen, but he could not get a second of rest time on both ends of the offense and defense, and his physical strength was quickly exhausted, showing his fatigue. Defensive footwork slowed down, and fadeaway jumpers became limp.

The Warriors seized this opportunity. After defending against the Lakers' offense, the Warriors immediately launched a fast break, counterattacked with a stormy defense, continuously attacked the fragile and old defense line of the Lakers, and quickly opened up the point difference.

Bang!

With 2 minutes and 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Kobe singled out Tony Allen. After three threats, he made a jumper with a one-step emergency stop and went out of the frame. The rebound was pocketed by Chandler.

He immediately handed the ball to Green beside him. Green flicked the ball forward and took a big stride. Curry and Butler flew with both wings, shooting forward like arrows off the string!

The Lakers' retreat was chaotic. Kobe and Bynum didn't even retreat. In the case of three defenses and four defenses, Curry was left unattended. Green quickly passed the ball, and Curry did not do anything after receiving the ball. Adjust, one step away from the three-point line, and throw a three-pointer like lightning!

"Curry, three—yes, he got it!" Reggie Miller shouted, "This is a super long three-pointer, and the Warriors' lead returned to 18 points. Curry killed the game!"

"Di-"

As soon as he finished speaking, the referee's whistle sounded, and Mike Brown called a timeout.

Seeing the third-team players of the Lakers walking towards the technical stage, the fans stood up, applauded vigorously, and cheered loudly.

Mike. Brown gave up, the Lakers surrendered!
The Lakers players also realized this, lowered their heads, walked back to the sideline silently, and even Kobe had a relieved expression on his face.

He wanted to win more than anyone else, but he was just too tired.

这场比赛打到现在，他已经出场了将近40分钟，投篮29中13，三分8中3，罚球7中5，砍下了34分5助攻6篮板2抢断1封盖3失误。

With his own power, he carried the Lakers' offense. From the second half, he had to defend Curry, taking turns to single out Butler, Leonard, Tony Allen and other defensive champions. He was already overwhelmed, exhausted physically and mentally. .

He had already swayed out of space for that fadeaway jump shot just now, but when he finally touched the ball, his wrist suddenly trembled uncontrollably, and the trajectory of the basketball deviated a little before it bounced out of the frame.

Kobe knew very well that this was a sign of extreme exhaustion, and he had gradually lost control of his muscles.

And when Curry began to target Kobe through the pick-and-roll in the second half, this moment must have appeared. From that moment on, the Lakers fell into a countdown to failure.

……

In the last 2 minutes of garbage time, in the confrontation between the third team players of the two teams, the waves passed smoothly.

But the Warriors still played against the Lakers. Thomas Jr. returned to garbage time. He could only accept this reality, but it was inevitable that he would have emotions. He poured all his anger on the Lakers and scored two three-pointers. Continue to sprinkle salt on the bloody wound.

And Parsons has already started to do this. He managed to start four games and performed well, but after Butler returned, he returned to the bench. Although compared with before, he finally squeezed in. With regular rotation, you can get a few minutes of playing time, but as long as you experience the taste of the first game, no one will want to continue watching the water cooler.

Parsons knows that his strength is not as good as Butler's, but he doesn't think he is inferior to Leonard. He always wants to replace Leonard as a substitute. As long as he can play, he will seize every opportunity to express himself.

With the persistent efforts of Thomas Jr. and Parsons, the Warriors continued to expand the point difference, and finally beat the Lakers 118:94 by 24 points, completing their revenge at home.

全场比赛下来，库里出战36分钟，21投12中，三分12中7，罚球4中4，砍下35分12助攻6篮板2抢断3失误的豪华两双。

In the first half, he focused on motivating his teammates while accumulating physical energy. He took over the game in the second half. His singles against Kobe made Kobe exhausted on both ends of the offense and defense. It became the last straw that overwhelmed the camel and killed the Lakers. Hope for a comeback.

Except for Curry, the rest of the Warriors swept away the decline of the last game against the Lakers. With Curry attracting the Lakers' defensive attention, they faced much less defensive pressure. Butler had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Guy, Clay 16 points, Green 8 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal, Chandler 12 points, 8 rebounds, Jeremy Lin 12 points and 4 assists. The scores may not seem to be many, but they are all very efficient.

For the Lakers, apart from Kobe Bryant who scored 30+ points, only Gasol scored 15 points and Ramon Sessions scored 17 points, and none of the others scored in double figures.

This was when Gasol was tightly double-teamed, and none of the Lakers' role players stood up. Only Ramon Sessions punished the Warriors for letting go. , On the offensive end, Kobe and Gasol simply cannot give enough help.

This Lakers team is already very old and lacks shooters, but it is only relying on Kobe, Gasol and Bynum to support the scene.

Zhang Yu pinpointed the Lakers' weaknesses very precisely, flanking Gasol, blocking the basket, and consuming Kobe, each of which hit the Lakers' weakness of lack of space.

Although the Lakers were able to maintain a balance with the Warriors in the first half, it was just an illusion. When Mike Brown was unable to make adjustments and could only rely on the 34-year-old Kobe to force his life, the Lakers had already lost.

……

At the press conference after the game, the reporter asked Kobe if this fiasco would hit him. Kobe replied very strongly:
"Of course not. The Lakers have only one goal, and that is the championship. We will pack up and go back on the road. (Are you kidding me? Nothing in this world can hit me!)"

"The last time you played against the Warriors, Stephen Curry was absent and you won; this time, Curry returned and you lost. Did the Warriors rely on Stephen Curry to win?"

"Of course, there is no team that doesn't rely on their core star. Curry is a big problem. It's a pity that we didn't solve this problem tonight."

"Kobe, since the third quarter, Stephen Curry scored a lot of points against you. Your defensive effect seems to be very bad. Is it because you were too tired at that time?"

Kobe was silent for a moment before saying:
"... there is no doubt that Steph is a great player, he has a strong scoring ability, no one in this league can completely guard him, but I will never let him score so many points in front of me next time (What do you mean? You mean I'm old? I won't be old, and I won't be tired. I was just careless today. Next time, I will definitely be able to guard against Curry!)"

After the Lakers, it was the Warriors' turn to be interviewed. The reporters asked Zhang Yu that the Warriors won as soon as Curry came back. Does this mean that the Warriors can only win by relying on Curry? Zhang Yu immediately said:

"I don't understand why people always want to separate Stephen from the Warriors. It is because of Stephen that the Warriors became what they are today; Stephen also became what Stephen is today because he came to the Warriors. Stephen and the team Inseparable, without Steph, the system that the team built around him will no longer exist, the Warriors will no longer be the Warriors, and of course there is no way to win!"

(End of this chapter)