Standing pretty old

Chapter 381 The Wind Has Changed Again

On June 2008, 6, it was still the Staples Center. This was the last home game for the Lakers this season.

If the Lakers lose the upcoming G5, they will watch the Hawks ascend to the championship.

Kobe made a declaration of victory before the game: "We will definitely go to Atlanta, and the Lakers will not lose three games in a row at Staples."

The Eagles, which won two consecutive victories in away games, are relatively low-key. Ruan Erniu simply refused the interview, and Jon Jonsen only said that the Eagles will definitely win the championship.

Just judging from the momentum before the game, the Lakers are obviously more dominant.

There is nothing surprising about the Lakers' starting lineup, but the Hawks' starting lineup is the focus of media attention.

In the past three days, various sports media have been worrying about the Atlanta people. They have made various starting lists, which can be regarded as offering (blind) tricks (doing) and (eight) strategies (doing) for the Eagles.

The truth was finally revealed 15 minutes before the start of the game.

The Eagles still put Axi* Lao on the starting position.

Coupled with Ruan Erniu, on the stage of the finals, there were actually two first-year players on the Hawks side.

Such a bold arrangement is almost impossible to replicate in modern basketball.

In fact, the Eagles can't help it. Except for Axi* Lao, they really can't find a suitable candidate to replace Mike Bibby.

The game started, and the Lakers seemed to have expected that the Hawks would send Axi* Lao as the starting No. [-].

Therefore, in the first 4 games, Fisher, who averaged less than 10.8 points per game, scored 10 points even in the first quarter.

In the first quarter of the game, Asi *law, who had just won the starter, was blown away.

For the Eagles, the problem of the once weak No. [-] position seems to be a thing of the last century.

But with Bibby's injury, this cruel fact was once again put on the table.

Kobe also played very smartly in the first quarter. Facing Jon Jonson's excellent one-on-one defense and the Hawks' still tenacious zone defense, he was not obsessed with taking too many shots in the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, at 22:28, the Lakers ended the first quarter with a small win of 6 points.

After the start of the second quarter, Er Niu put more energy on the offensive end, but today he suffered the strongest defense and double-teaming since the start of the finals.

Like Kobe, once Er Niu wants to get the ball in the low post, within a second, he will be double-teamed by two or three players.

Especially Fisher and Farmar in the first position, they almost let Axi Lao shoot, and they also wanted to lock Ruan Erniu's offensive space inside.

Being defended by two people and looking for an opportunity to shoot is called Yigao's audacity; being surrounded by three people without passing the ball and looking for an open shot can only be a cancer for the team.

Even Kobe may not choose to force a shot, let alone a second-hander.

Ruan Erniu almost immediately passed the ball to Asilao who was open.

Assi is indeed a little too tender, he hesitated for a while, and has lost his shooting rhythm.

There was only a "bang", and the rookie point guard's open shot hit the iron.

After the Lakers grabbed the rebound, they immediately entered a counterattack state.

In this game, the Hawks' defense also had a big problem. The original defensive method with clear rights and responsibilities became disorganized because of the absence of the familiar Bibby to cooperate.

The Hawks play zone defense, and the most taboo thing is the lack of tacit understanding between defensive players.

Kobe played smarter and smarter in this game. He quickly noticed the loopholes of the Hawks on the defensive end, so he shot from inside and outside, scored consecutively, and widened the gap between the two teams.

Er Niu struggled to support the interior, holding back the Lakers' pace. At least in terms of rebound protection, Er Niu's existence can still restrain the Lakers' counterattack wave to a large extent.

囧囧sen was forced to be helpless, so he had to go to the first position, which is also one of the usual routines of the Eagles.

The Hawks improved a little on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, Kobe, who gained more free space, immediately entered the killing mode.

Throughout the second quarter, Kobe made 8 of 6 shots and 4 of 3 free throws. He scored 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.Leading the Lakers at 21:32 in a single quarter, they beat the Hawks by 11 points and ended the first half of the game.

At 43:60, the Hawks fell behind the Lakers with a huge difference of 17 points.

Unlike the previous game, there was no hope ahead for the Hawks.

In the G4 game, encouraged by Woodson, the generals of the Eagles firmly believed that the zone defense could finally defeat the opponent.

In the end, the Atlantans really did.

Even if they were in G4, they trailed their opponents by 21 points in the first quarter.

But today, even though they were behind by no more than 20 points in the two quarters, the Eagles had no way to fight back.

In the Eagles locker room, Woodson even considered giving up Game 5 early, but Ruan Erniu stopped him.

Er Niu said: "Mike, it's easy to admit defeat, but if our confidence is lost, we really have nothing! To be honest, even if MB can come back in G7, so what? Who can guarantee how much of his foot injury has recovered? He was in the How much can you perform in the game?

……

Since no one can make a guarantee, we must rely on our own strength to solve the problem. "

Erniu's words still made Dantou give up the idea of ​​admitting defeat in G5.

In the second half of the game, Er Niu and Lunar Eclipse teamed up to show off their power, once chasing the score to within 5 points, but the Lakers continued to take advantage of the huge loophole in the Hawks' No. [-] position to score consecutive points.

Once Jon Jonson was added to the No. [-] position, Kobe immediately entered the offensive state again. The Lakers took advantage of the backcourt in this game and almost beat the Hawks from the beginning to the end.

At the end of the third quarter, 74:91, the Lakers continued to lead the Eagles by 17 points.

In the last quarter of the game, Er Niu and Lunar Eclipse once again staged an inside assault, and the score of the two teams was once again brought within 5 points. 95:99, this is the score of the two teams 3 minutes before the end.

At the last moment, Kobe Bryant stepped forward.

As the well-deserved leader of the Lakers, in the last 3 minutes of the game, he scored 10 points in a row by himself, which can be regarded as finishing the game.

In the whole game, Kobe made 20 of 11 shots, 4 of 2 three-pointers, 9 of 7 free throws, scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and finally led the Lakers to a 105:112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Take down the G5 that decides life and death.

He successfully extended the Lakers' championship hopes to Atlanta.

As long as they win one more game, the two teams will return to the same starting line.

At that point, the Hawks' psychological advantage will turn into a huge psychological disadvantage.

Young players are most likely to collapse in unfavorable situations. Before the start of G5, the Atlanta people, who were in a good situation, seemed to have entered the most dangerous state at once.

They were already the best candidates for the championship, but with Mike Bibby injured, after the first game of G5, the public opinion suddenly reversed.

Many people are optimistic that the Lakers can finally come back, and the Eagles will become the first team in history to be reversed with a 3:1 lead in the Finals.

The Eagles returned to Atlanta overnight. On the plane, Mike Bibby said that he would play in G5 even if it was closed.

Mike Bibby is gambling his career.

This is an opportunity that Bibby finally got. He failed to win the Western Conference Championship in the Kings, but after arriving in Atlanta, he had the opportunity to fight for the O'Brien Cup.

You know, Bibby is not young, coupled with injuries, for a veteran, the chance of a championship is too rare.

"I don't agree!" came the voice from the side of the cabin.

(End of this chapter)