So I am the god of basketball?

Chuck Daly and George Karl almost showed their gritting teeth one after another.

Chuck Daly showed this performance when Mourning made the attack, while George Karl showed this performance after Meng Lang made the shot.

They both have the same mentality.

Because the playing style of the Supersonics and the Lakers this season determined that there were not many changes on the offensive end of the two teams. The Supersonics mainly relied on the coordination between Payton and Mourning, while the Lakers relied on Meng Lang's singles.

If these two teams want to defeat their opponents, if they can strangle the opponent's core offensive routines, then the balance of victory will tip in their favor.

On the basketball court, there are two "nonsense" sentences:
If you want to beat your opponent, you either have to score higher than him or make him score less than you.

These are actually the two cornerstones of success:
Attack and defense!

As two teams based on defense, Daly and Karl had basically the same idea, which was to try to cut off the opponent's offense first.

Unfortunately, as it stands now, the core tactics of both sides have reached perfection and are not so easy to cut off.

Of course, it may seem easier for the Lakers, because the ball goes from Payton to Mourning, and then to the shot, which is a total of two steps. But Meng Lang can attack by himself after getting the ball, which only requires one step.

The more programs there are, the greater the chance of problems.

Therefore, Chuck Daly initially wanted to lock down the cooperation between Mourning and Payton and cut off the connection between the two.

In any case, Mourning's ability to hold the ball under the basket is not as good as the other "four major centers".

This is also one of the reasons why he is ranked fifth among the "four major centers".

However, judging from the results of the first quarter, this did not become a weakness for the Supersonics. Mourning did not have the ability to hold the ball, so his offensive style was closer to that of a blue-collar player, in that he would not take the initiative to get in position to receive the ball.

But because of his excellent finishing ability at the basket, the team will always take the initiative to feed him the ball.

This is not easy to target.

After all, he only had the ball in his hands for a few seconds.

The so-called targetable basket usually refers to the player taking the ball under the basket and starting to attack, and the defender often has enough time to complete the double-team. It is really not easy to restrict such an inside player who attacks when he takes the ball and does not take the ball when there is no such offensive opportunity.

Just like Jokic later, why is it difficult to limit him?
The problem is that he usually doesn't keep the ball in his hands all the time to attack. He uses the ball in small pieces. After getting the ball, he either passes it right away, shoots, or attacks right away.

In fact, this is essentially the "space-type inside" style of play.

Of course, this is not to say that Mourning is like Jokic. The two are not related at all.

Moreover, it is more difficult to restrict Jokic from getting the ball, while it is relatively easier to restrict Mourning from getting the ball. But it is not an easy task either.

At least the Lakers have no obvious way to limit him.

The best way to prevent Mourning from receiving the ball is to squeeze him out of the basket. Mourning's offensive disadvantage will become more obvious. Ben Wallace can keep up with his speed, but Mourning's height and weight are not a problem at all.

As for Divac, he can match Mourning in terms of tonnage, but his movement speed is a bit behind.

As for Barkley...

His current physical fitness is really not as good as Mourning's. If he is allowed to fight against Mourning for a few rounds, I am afraid that Barkley can no longer be relied on in the later stages of the game.

Ok……

The three inside players took turns looking around, but none of them could perfectly limit Mourning's matchup.

So Mourning made 5 of 4 shots and 2 of 1 free throws in the first quarter, scoring 9 points and performing very well on the offensive end.

In terms of the score, the Supersonics also led by 27 points with 24 to 3.

Chuck Daly saw this and knew that he was getting stuck in a dead end. He had to adjust his tactics as soon as possible. After a minute of quick thinking, he jumped out of his current train of thought and began to study ways to change the situation between the two teams from another perspective:

Judging from the current situation, both sides have their own core tactics, and they cannot be restricted at present.

In addition to this core offensive tactic, there is another main offensive method that supports the offensive system of the two teams, which is the same for both teams:

Defensive counterattack!

That is to say, "offensive rebounds" and "defensive rebounds"!
In addition to creating more offensive shots for the team, another point is to prevent the opponent from launching an effective "defensive counterattack".

To put it more bluntly:
Just grab all the damn rebounds and you’ll win this game.

The Lakers suddenly became clear about their thinking and changed their style of play starting from the second quarter, with the inside players beginning to focus on rebounding.

The effect was soon apparent. Gary Payton and Mourning's cooperation was still as sharp as a scalpel, which could easily cut through the Lakers' defense and score goals. But in the offensive rounds that the two of them did not participate in, once the Supersonics failed to score, it was very easy for the opponent to "quickly counterattack". - Because if Mourning wanted to receive the ball under the basket, Payton had to pass it to him.

Payton's shooting ability is limited, and most of the time, he completes the "pass" by breaking through.

As a result, the Sonics' retreat speed was not as fast as expected.

Anyway, they are definitely not as fast as the well-prepared Lakers.

On the Lakers' offensive end, the Lakers' inside players would frantically block and fight for position, and you could see that they had no intention of grabbing rebounds at all. When George Karl reacted, there were only 4 minutes left in the second quarter, and he found that the main force of the Lakers' rebounding was actually Meng Lang!
When Divac and Ben Wallace cannot grab the rebound, they will take the initiative to block the position and give Meng Lang the opportunity to grab the rebound.

However, it was difficult for the Supersonics to take advantage of the Lakers' retreat and launch a counterattack.

Because Kobe and Jones can often hold on until the other Lakers players finish retreating.

In terms of athletic ability, the Sonics surpass most teams in the league, but with Kemp's departure, their impact in fast breaks has declined a lot. Kobe and Jones can block most of the outside shots, including some forwards.

Just like that, at the end of the first half, the Lakers successfully reversed the score and led by 56 points with 51 to 5.

"Obviously the competition for the basket will be even more intense in the second half!" Bill Walton now fully realized that in this game, or this series, rebounds will determine the final outcome.

It has to be said that the Sonics are indeed stable this season. Even though they were overtaken by some points in the second quarter, they still played the third quarter step by step with the cooperation of Gary Payton and Alonso. This is their offensive routine to ensure their "basic plate". Then they will use defense to slowly consume the opponent, seize the opportunity to play a series of successful defenses, and then counterattack through fast breaks after defense to complete the pursuit of points. This season, at least 80% of the games were won by the Sonics in this way.

This includes many big comeback games.

Now, they are also following their own rhythm, looking for opportunities and launching counterattacks.

only……

The Lakers are very familiar with this rhythm because they play at the same rhythm.

In such a rhythm, they will only feel comfortable, so even if the Supersonics continue to increase the pressure, the Lakers still maintain their rhythm and keep the 4 to 6 point lead firmly in their hands.

Until the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were still in the lead.

The fourth quarter was a repeat of the third quarter.

There is no other difference except that the confrontation is more intense.

The Lakers' regular season experience paid off. Although they were a group of young players, they played at a leisurely pace despite the opponent's gradually increasing defensive pressure. The young players performed their duties, and the Lakers, this "ocean-going ship", sailed steadily to the end.

Ok……

They are a group of young people, but at the same time they have experienced the test of the playoffs, watched the finals, and tasted the taste of the championship. Their ups and downs at the beginning of this season are mainly because the young people of this team have not found their new position in the team, and it has nothing to do with the intensity of the game.

Once they are familiar with their team's positioning, they will not lose themselves even in the playoffs.

In the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers won the SuperSonics' home court with a score of 103 to 94, just 9 points away.

孟浪在这场比赛的数据为35分8篮板5助攻；迪瓦茨拿到了15分7篮板；本-华莱士拿到了9分13篮板；巴克利砍下了17分8篮板；科比拿到了13分5篮板5助攻；埃迪-琼斯拿到了12分5篮板7助攻；

The performance of the "six-man group" all reached their passing line.

On the Supersonics side, Payton scored 20 plus 10, Mourning also scored 20 plus 10, and three other players scored more than 15 points.

In fact, the Supersonics were in their rhythm in this game. If the opponent was someone else, they might have won.

But they met the Lakers and lost.

However, even though the first game was tepid, Chuck Daly knew that this series would probably be a tough battle. - Since they can maintain their rhythm when they are leading, then conversely, can the SuperSonics also maintain their rhythm when they are leading?

The score difference was so big, which proved that neither team had the greater advantage for most of the time.

In this game, Chuck Daly changed his formation faster and reacted more quickly, seizing the initiative. So what if the team that seizes the initiative in the next game becomes the Supersonics?
George Karl obviously also realized this problem. After the game, he took all the problems on himself: "I didn't change the formation in time. This is the biggest reason for our loss. The kids performed very well. As long as they continue to maintain this performance, we will catch up!"

This proves that their self-confidence has not been shaken by this defeat.

Chuck Daly's fears soon became a reality:
In the second game of the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics intensified their fight for rebounds.

To be honest, the Sonics didn't change much, and similarly, after Barkley showed signs of fatigue, the Lakers didn't change much either. Otherwise, Chuck Daly wouldn't have racked his brains to think about starting with rebounds.

Because there are not many changes in moves, the opponent can keep up with the rhythm and respond well after watching the video of the first game.

At the end of the first half, the two teams alternately led by 15 points, and finally the Lakers entered the second half with a 56-point lead of 55 to 1.

In the crucial third quarter, both teams increased their defensive intensity at the same time, which was the "key to victory" for both teams.

Bill Walton watched the fierce confrontation and said only one sentence: "Whoever can hold on to the end will win."

The result was similar to what he predicted. Although the Lakers held on to the end, Gary Payton relied on his experience to cause Kobe to commit two consecutive fouls in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Sonics got the ball three times during that period and successfully built a six-point lead.

Meng Lang made two consecutive three-pointers and evened the score difference in less than half a minute. Unfortunately, in the last 2 seconds, the crucial ball was in the hands of the Supersonics. The Lakers had no choice but to foul and serve the ball from the backcourt. The Supersonics would rather leave other players in open positions than let Meng Lang receive the ball.

Kobe missed the three-pointer from an almost open position, and the game ended with the Sonics holding on to their second home court with a 2-point advantage. The score was 1-1.
To be honest, even if the Lakers lost the second game of the series, it was not completely without advantage. At least they now have the home-court advantage.

but……

After these two games, the conditions of the two teams can be said to be very different.

Does home advantage really work at a time like this?

Bill Walton reserved his opinion on this. In his opinion, whether or not the game is played at home has little impact on the two teams.

"Who will win the game that night actually depends on the key rounds..."

Or so he thought.

Barkley took all the responsibility on himself after the game: "I didn't play as well as I should have, so the team had such a hard time. I will give a better performance in the next game, at least I will be the Charles that everyone is more familiar with!"

After two games, Barkley averaged 17.5 points, 17 points in the last game and 19 points in this game.

As the team's second-in-command, and at this age, this performance is actually enough.

But in Barkley's opinion, Meng Lang averaged 37 points per game, but he couldn't even play half of Meng Lang's output, which was too eye-catching. He was not here to drag Meng Lang down.

In addition, the team's main expectation for him now is to produce firepower on the offensive end.

Barkley himself would not be satisfied if he only averaged 17.5 points per game.

Since he has already made up his mind that this is the last season of his career, then this is the last Western Conference Finals and the last Finals. Even if they are all played, there will only be 12 games left.

He must have a perfect ending! (End of this chapter)