Legendary star

Chapter 484
"Larry, the effect of Meng and Jermaine's pick-and-roll is really great!" In today's game, the Pacers not only made changes in the team personnel, but also made a lot of changes in the team's tactics. Due to the existence of O'Neal and Malone, Meng Xu's breakthrough has been greatly restricted throughout the series. It can be said that in the first three games, the Pacers seldom successfully played breakthrough tactics. , Therefore, in the first three games of the finals, not only the Lakers were playing XIBD's superstar tactics, but the Pacers were actually the same.After the disastrous defeat in the last game, the Pacers had to make changes, so when Lester Conor saw the Pacers' outstanding performance after changing their tactics, he also had an excited expression on his face. Especially the pick-and-roll cooperation between Meng Xu and Jermaine O'Neal, whether it's Meng Xu's own shot after the block, or Jermaine O'Neal's cut, or mid-range shot, the Lakers have nothing to do with them.

"If Jermaine's mid-range shooting can be better, he and Meng's pick-and-roll effect will be better." Looking at the pick-and-roll cooperation again, facing Jane Luo, who is more than 20 centimeters shorter than himself- Pargo, after Jermaine O'Neal's shot hit the iron, Larry Bird also shook his head helplessly. The pick-and-roll is a sharp weapon against O'Neal, but Jermaine O'Neal's mid-range shooting is really substandard , Facing Janello Pargo's defense that is similar to open shots, Jermaine O'Neal's mid-range shots in the first quarter turned out to be 9 of 4 shots. If this opportunity is replaced by Malone, Malone can at least guarantee 6% above hit rate.

But even so, at the end of the first quarter, the Pacers still led the Lakers by 23 points 19 to 4. Tayshaun Prince defended Kobe very successfully in the first quarter, making 9 of 3 shots. 7 points and 2 rebounds, this is Kobe's data at the end of the first quarter.

"In this game, whether it's the Lakers or the Pacers, their offensive efficiency is a little low, especially the Lakers. Kobe's condition today is not very good. At this time, Phil Jackson should consider strengthening the offense inside. It’s gone.” Looking at the players on both sides who have already left the field, Jeff Van Gundy is also a little puzzled. With the Lakers’ lineup, why doesn’t Phil Jackson attack the inside by force? The inside line is inclined. Once the Pacers' defensive strategy changes, the Lakers' outside line will have a chance. Does Phil Jackson really fail to see such a simple truth?
"Phil Jackson must have a headache right now!" On the Lakers' bench, the assistant coach was arranging tactics for the bench lineup, while the head coach, Phil Jackson, was sitting next to Kobe, chattering constantly, watching Woke up and was still doing ideological work for Kobe. After seeing this scene, Magic Johnson kept shaking his head while laughing. No wonder Jerry West always looked down on him.

As for the Pacers, although the team is ahead, the faces of the players who have just come off the court look different. Jermaine O'Neal, who scored 11 points in the first quarter, seems to be in a good mood. In the beginning, the Pacers focused on pick-and-roll tactics, so Jermaine O'Neal got a lot of shots in the first quarter. You must know that in the first 3 games, Jermaine O'Neal scored only 14 points per game. Jermaine O'Neal, who averaged 19 points per game in the regular season and 22 points per game in the playoffs, plummeted after entering the finals. When the Lakers had Shaq O'Neal, they scored more than 10 points in a single quarter for the first time.

Some people are happy while others are worried. Compared with Jermaine O'Neal's rosy face, Hamilton and Prince were obviously not in a good mood when they were off the field. Because Prince was emptied by the Lakers in the first quarter, so Prince also got a lot of shots in the first quarter, but Prince only made 6 of 2 shots and 3 of 6 from open 2-pointers. For Prince, who started the game for the first time, this The hit rate obviously did not satisfy Prince.As for Hamilton, as the No. 2 scorer of the Pacers in the finals, under Kobe's key care, Hamilton made 3 of 1 shots in the first quarter and only scored 2 points. This performance is far from that of Hamilton. psychological expectations.

I have to say that the Pacers' bench lineup is really strong. The bench lineup composed of Lorenzen White, NN-Hilary, Reggie Miller, Bobby Simmons, and Jamal Tinsley is completely perfect. It is to press the Lakers' bench lineup to play again. The two sides' bench lineups only played for less than 3 minutes, and the point difference on the court ran to 10 points. Phil Jackson had to call a timeout in advance and replaced Kobe. Bryant played to lead the bench.

"Phil Jackson has changed!" When the main lineups of both sides re-appeared, the Lakers' lineup changed. Phil Jackson removed Janeiro Pargo and only kept Gary Payton as a point guard. , and then replaced the key Mr. Robert Hawley, what is Phil Jackson's intention for this substitution?Lester Conor on the sidelines was also confused.

Janeiro-Pago was really weak in defending Jermaine O'Neal's pick-and-roll, and on the offensive end, Janeiro-Pago's performance in the first quarter was also insignificant, except for a few assists for Kobe , 1 point, nothing to do on both ends of the offense and defense, it is not surprising that he was replaced, but Phil Jackson was replaced by Robert Hawley to strengthen the offense. There are not enough points. Even if Holly plays, he will not be able to get a few shots.

"Is this guy going to strengthen his defense?" Hawley's playing will undoubtedly bring more changes to the Lakers, although with the joining of Malone and Payton, Hawley's playing time has dropped sharply and has gradually been marginalized , But as long as Holly is on the court, he is a player that cannot be ignored, and after Holly plays, the Lakers' ability to defend pick-and-rolls will also be greatly enhanced.

Sure enough, as Larry Bird guessed, when Meng Xu and Jermaine O'Neal completed the pick-and-roll again, Robert Hawley immediately blocked Meng Xu, while Malone still blocked Jermaine In front of O'Neal, after being covered by the 2-meter-tall Robert Hawley, Meng Xu not only had no room to shoot, but even blocked the passing route to Jermaine O'Neal, swaying in place continuously After a feint and a back turn, Meng Xu finally opened up some space, but seeing O'Neal who had already left the basket and seemed to be moving towards him, Meng Xu did not choose to confront O'Neal head-on, but put The basketball was handed over to Prince in the corner. Prince, who had missed 08 shots in a row, obviously hesitated after receiving the pass from Meng Xu.

"Tyshaun, don't hesitate, shoot when you have the chance, even if you miss the first 10 shots, you can't be afraid to make the shot, understand?" In the end Prince hesitated for two seconds, gritted his teeth He made a shot, but Prince's shot failed again. Prince, who missed four consecutive shots, saw Meng Xu, who had retreated to the center circle, greet him. He thought that Meng Xu would definitely blame himself, but When Prince lowered his head and ran to Meng Xu's side, what he heard was Meng Xu's comfort and encouragement.

"I, I see, Meng." After hearing Meng Xu's words, Prince was stunned. Although Prince is still a rookie, he is very clear about some unspoken rules and regulations of the NBA. After all, these There are also rules in the NCAA. As long as a substitute player misses three shots in a row, he will have no chance in this game. Therefore, Prince will cherish every opportunity to make a phone call every time he plays. But now Meng Xu told himself that it doesn't matter even if he misses ten shots, as long as he continues to shoot the next ball.

"Okay, Tyshawn, I know what you're thinking, this game has just begun, and the Lakers will continue to let you go in the following games, so if you still have this forward-looking mentality, then you should do 20 strikes Get ready!" Looking at the ashamed Prince, Meng Xu patted him on the shoulder, and rushed towards Gary Payton, who was about to dribble across the half court.

"Boss, don't worry, I will never hit the iron 20 times!" Looking at the back of Meng Xu leaving, Prince suddenly felt a little sore in his nose. Meng Xu's boss seemed a bit too nasty, and at this moment, Prince really wanted to call Meng Xu his boss.Before I entered the NBA, I heard my senior at the University of Kentucky, Nazr Mohammad, say, "For players like us, if we can meet a good leader when entering the NBA, then the entire career will be good. Much smoother." In the past, Prince didn't really believe in these words, because in Prince's view, one can only rely on personal talent and hard work to gain a foothold in the NBA, but now, Prince has somewhat believed that Naz What Al-Muhammad said, if the Pacers changed to a boss with a bad temper and missed four consecutive open shots, Prince would have been scolded bloody at this moment, Jordan beat and insulted those who did not perform well Prince confirmed the rumors about his teammates from Hamilton. The top pick Kwame Brown has been scolded by Jordan to the point where he is about to have a mental breakdown. When Hamilton was in the Wizards, it was commonplace for him to be scolded by Jordan.

"I don't believe you can endure it forever." The Lakers' offense, Payton and Malone followed suit with a pick-and-roll. After getting rid of Meng Xu, Payton directly threw the basketball to O'Neal inside. Looking at Jermaine O'Neal, he turned around and made a small hook. The shot also caused Jermaine O'Neal's thug foul. During the free throw, O'Neal did not forget to provoke Meng Xu who was standing on the edge of the paint.

In this game, after Meng Xu hit a 3-pointer in the opening game, he basically didn't make many shots. Up to now, he has only scored 5 points, but he has sent 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 Normally speaking, Meng Xu, the top scorer of the Pacers, did not score. O'Neal should be happy, but on the contrary, not only O'Neal, but even Lakers coach Phil Jackson now feels to very disturbed.

It was strange to say that when Meng Xu scored, they would always be worried, but now that Meng Xu could not score, they would also be worried.Perhaps Phil Jackson and O'Neal are not only worried about Meng Xu conserving his strength in the first three quarters, and then suddenly broke out in the fourth quarter to take over the game. The very important point is that after Meng Xu gives up his individual singles, he can feel at ease. After organizing and connecting the teams, the Pacers' offense will be smoother and more threatening. This is what Phil Jackson has been worried about.Therefore, O'Neal, who can always feel uneasy, after receiving instructions from Phil Jackson, also continued to provoke Meng Xu in the game, hoping that Meng Xu could be unbearable and break out early.

"Tyshaun, catch the ball." Meng Xu, who returned to the offensive end, dribbled the ball to get rid of the double-teaming of Gary Payton and Robert Hawley, and after breaking into the free throw line, he passed the basketball again to the 3rd player on the left. Prince, who was near the point line, after Prince made four consecutive open shots, the Lakers became more and more relaxed about him.As for the Pacers, after the Lakers emptied Prince, if Meng Xu also worried that Prince would miss the shot and didn't pass him the ball, then the Pacers would face a four-on-five offensive situation.

But this time, Prince did not hesitate at all. The moment he received the pass from Meng Xu, he jumped up and shot decisively. Regardless of whether Prince could make a hit this time, he rushed to Prince in this shot. The courage shown in the game can prove that this is a trustworthy player.

"Nice, Tayshaun Prince made an open 3-pointer. It seems that the Lakers need to put a little defensive pressure on this little guy." Seeing Prince's shot, Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines also smiled, For young players like Prince, once they find the touch and play crazy, it will be too late for the Lakers to defend him in a targeted manner.

"Tyshaun, beautiful!" After Prince hit a 3-pointer, Meng Xu immediately trot over and gave him a high-five to celebrate.

"Thank you, Boss!" Prince finally called out after hesitating for a long time after high-fiving Meng Xu.

"Come on!" After hearing what Prince called him, Meng Xu was taken aback for a moment, and then punched Prince's chest with his fist.

　Thank you for my monthly pass for eating watermelon, thank you.

　　Thank you for the monthly pass of Emperor Duzun, thank you.

　　Thank you for the two monthly tickets of the damp wind.

　　Thank you for the monthly pass of Sword Demon 9, thank you.

　　Thanks for the monthly pass of Cynicism°, thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)