Countercurrent and become a superstar

"The Olympic version of Arroyo gave Larry Brown and the Pistons too much room for imagination. He was called out on the roster and lost 4 points, but he still insisted on staying on the court!

Hopefully Arroyo's brilliance can bring some surprises to the Pistons..."

Bang-dang——!
Rasheed Wallace and Billups set a pick-and-roll, and despite Payton's block, he took a jump shot but missed.

Under the defense of Qin Yang and the control of the ball by his teammate Billups, Arroyo couldn't even touch the ball. What a flash! !

He doesn't even have a hair!!

On the contrary, he was singled out for his defense.

"Wow, Qin Yang and Kobe played an outside screen pass and cut, passing the ball to Kobe while also bringing Arroyo's defense in front of Kobe.

But Prince's defense was blocked by Qin Yang!

Kobe Bryant gets the ball and just breaks through, trying to eat Arroyo alive, what can you use to stop him?
Arroyo chose to foul, and Kobe seemed to have predicted it and made a shooting gesture..."

“Beep!
The whistle sounded.

Arroyo fouled, Kobe got the free throw opportunity..."

Swish-!
Swish-!
Kobe was not soft-handed at the free throw line, making both free throws, targeting Arroyo's tactical assignment, which made it even easier for Kobe to score.

20 to 25! !
The score difference came to 5 points.

"Sure enough, the Lakers, who had an advantage in lineup, continued to expand their lead.

In the 04/05 season, the Pistons' total salary was 5477 million US dollars!

With Coleman's $450 million salary being injured and out of action, Milicic's $387 million salary averaging only 2 minutes per game, and Elden Campbell's $440 million salary averaging only 5 minutes per game, the Pistons can only really play with the fighting power of the $4100 million salary. In terms of bench depth, they are really far behind the Lakers.

It’s not surprising that the rotation team can’t win. The key to winning is still the Pistons’ five tigers…”

It's true that the Pistons' big five are really good at playing. In the next round, Billups made a sudden move with a three-point jump shot, which was unsportsmanlike and caught Payton off guard.

By the time Payton rushed out to block the shot, it was already too late.

Swish-!
The knife fell and the goal was scored!!
Billups used his strong offensive skills and made a three-pointer, which was like timely rain and stabilized the situation on the court.

23 to 25! !
"Billups' big heart is so brave!!

When the Lakers were about to take off on offense and widen the gap, Billups stepped in and suddenly hit a three-pointer to put the brakes on the Lakers.

Want to take the game away? No way..."

With Billups's three-pointer, the morale of the Pistons was boosted. They fought hard on defense, cleaning up Arroyo's defensive butt and making Payton's breakthrough and quick stop shot in vain.

Bang-dang——!
"Payton's two-point jump shot missed!
Failed to continue the Lakers' offensive firepower!

As the sixth player of the team, Payton didn't bring a microwave oven. He just came on the field and wanted to score a goal. This is unacceptable. His hands are still a little cold! !

Next, let’s take a look at the Lakers’ defense.
Payton was not smooth on offense, but was very active on defense…”

Facing Payton's tight defense, Billups first protected the ball with his back to the basket to waste some time, then directed traffic and let Rasheed Wallace move to the high position to provide screen.

Bang-!
“Peyton got a solid block!
This is not a martial ethics again!!
A sneak attack, but...

This is Billups' style of play. He rushed in, and Qin Yang quickly rushed over to help defend, but it was useless. Billups controlled the offensive rhythm very well. He pulled out, finished the game quickly, and used a two-point quick stop jump shot to test Qin Yang's block and the Lakers' basket..."

Swish-!
The knife fell and the ball went in again!!

Why say it again?
Anyway, Billups is killing like crazy.

When the Lakers broke down Arroyo's defense and took the lead, Billups took action and scored two points in a row with a three-pointer and a jump shot to fight back.

“You destroyed my Wonder Boy Arroyo, I will destroy your Glove Payton!!

come!

Hurting each other..."

25 to 25! !
With Billups's explosion and the Lakers' golden double guns, the scores of both sides were brought back to the same starting line. Barkley also shook his head repeatedly when watching the commentary.

“So underrated!!

Once upon a time, the strength of the unsold third pick Billups was completely underestimated.

In addition to organizing and commanding the overall situation, Billups' scoring is also top-notch.

Moreover, it is the kind of hard battle!!
Payton didn’t seem to be ready for the finals. Although it was a sneak attack, he was still beaten by Billups…”

In Qin Yang's previous life, during the 04 Finals, Payton was beaten badly by the Pistons' duo of outside shooters.

No matter whether it was Billups or Hamilton, whoever faced Payton would take a decisive shot. Whoever Kobe made a substitution for would just rest and watch, making Kobe's defense a lonely one.

At this moment, it is each other!
Who would have thought that Billups would show off his prowess in front of the so-called defensive master Payton?
but……

This is the cruel reality!

In sports competition, no one can defeat the knife of time!!
I originally thought that Payton was the advantage of the Lakers, who could play as a surprise soldier and give the Pistons what Durant called a "slam dunk." Unexpectedly, he became the old No. 6 of the Lakers' lineup, and he was unable to attack or defend.

Payton's unexpected move and Billups' surprise turned the Lakers' advantageous position in the rotation battle into a tense 50-50 situation.

"The Pistons also showed championship-level strength on defense, making it difficult for the Lakers' golden duo to attack easily..."

In addition, Billups took control of the game, which is the so-called time delay. In the second quarter, the Lakers did not get any advantage.

As the second quarter passed halfway, Larry Brown's "correct basketball" system was actively running, and Hamilton and Ben Wallace returned to the court.

With Arroyo and Rasheed Wallace off the court, the Pistons' lineup became a four-horse team with top-notch blue-collar defense. It became even more difficult for the Lakers to break through and establish an advantageous lead.

The Lakers won't do it!!
Especially when Billups went crazy, making 8 of 3 shots, 3 of 1 three-pointers, and scoring 11 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound, an MVP-level performance. The Lakers would never do that.

As for the Lakers, although the golden duo Kobe and Qin Yang were both in the lineup and had decent performances at the start of the second quarter, in the final analysis, during the transition and rotation period, the main attacking point was Payton, who ended up making 6 of 6 shots, scoring 2 points and 4 assist, and his performance was just mediocre.

Kobe scored 5 points and Qin Yang scored 6 points, but with such little offensive firepower, they were simply not able to create a breakthrough on offense.

In the second quarter, the Pistons scored 17 points, while the Lakers only scored 19 points.

At the end of the first half, the score was 37 to 38. The Lakers went into the locker room to rest with a 1-point lead that was not enough to feed a cat.

On the commentary desk, Kenny Smith commented that the Pistons had made a profit.

"In the second quarter, we only paid 2 points, not enough to feed a cat, and survived the blow of insufficient bench depth.

After the rotation of players in the second quarter, the Pistons' big five were fully energized in the second half and were able to use all their main players to fight until the last minute.

After solving the weakness of bench depth, the Pistons will be even less likely to make mistakes in "correct basketball".

They just need to wait patiently for the opportunity and wait for the Lakers to make a mistake.

You never know which way the game will go, it could swing in their favor.”

Mike Breen next to him shook his head and expressed a different opinion.

“In fact, the Lakers are also waiting.

It's not about waiting to die, but waiting for the attack to start!

Once the offense is in good shape, a wave of attacks will extend the lead, and then force the Pistons to attack.

The Pistons' so-called 'correct basketball' system will collapse on its own.

It is still unknown who will win the game, but this is the Staples Center, this is the Lakers' basket, and no matter how you look at it, the situation is in favor of the Lakers.

Especially since the Pistons are a team that relies on defense to win, the referee's whistle is also the key to determining victory or defeat.

Obviously, this scale will only favor the home team Lakers..."

...(End of chapter)