NBA: I just want to play soy sauce, you let me win the championship

Chapter 168 Kings vs Lakers, Battle of Tianwang Mountain
On May 5, the Tianwangshan battle between the two teams will begin at the Arco Arena.

There are only two days left before the fourth game.

After experiencing this defeat, the Kings coaching staff made adjustments to the previous "Three Pinghu Strategies".

There is no problem with the first one, because if the game slows down and enters the rhythm that the Lakers are accustomed to, it will be more difficult for the Kings to deal with O'Neal and Kobe's unsolvable singles.

Therefore, it is necessary to speed up the tempo of the game, increase the offensive rounds of the two teams, and firmly grasp the rhythm of the game in the hands of the Kings.

At the same time, quick offense and defense are the best way to reduce O'Neal's influence on the court.

Even Bill Russell, the King of the Rings, after watching the game between the Kings and the Lakers, praised the Kings' strategy of accelerating the offensive rhythm and believed that this was the best way to limit O'Neal.

The coaching staff of the Kings would never doubt that Russell would set off a smoke screen, because Russell is a Celtic legend, and being able to trip the Lakers is an opportunity he will never let go.

But the second and third items need to be discussed carefully.

In the fourth game, O'Neal was on the verge of physical collapse, but he was pulled back by the league and the referees. One trick they used was to call more fouls and award more free throws.

The league may not go astray in Game [-], but it will never allow O'Neal, the face of the Lakers and an important face of the league, to sit on the bench at the most critical moment due to physical problems.

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Moreover, the referees also acted very covertly. They knew that O'Neal's physical strength was not enough, so they asked players from both sides to go to the free throw line to give O'Neal more time to rest.

From the perspective of any third-party fan, both teams have received a lot of whistles, and there is no such thing as "black whistle" or "deviation".

As long as the referee continues to follow the instructions of the league's top brass and call more fouls in the next game, O'Neal will be able to get sufficient rest, and the goal of exhausting O'Neal's physical strength will never be achieved.

The third point is the same. Three-pointers have a very high expected score value, but the three-pointers in the team that are relatively stable now are Bibby and Turkoglu.

The three-pointers like Lu Yuanzhi, Christie and Bobby Jackson are on time and not on time.

During regular game time, because the expectation of scoring three-pointers is high, missing a few shots is not a big problem, but at the critical moment of the fourth quarter, the instability of the three-pointers will bring too many variables.

At that time, what was important was not the expected scoring value, nor how many points scored, but stable scoring.

Stability, overwhelming!
Because players are not machines, not scoring for a long time will cause players to have a series of negative emotions such as anxiety and frustration, which will in turn affect their shooting percentage and enter a vicious cycle.

Without Miller and Bird in the team, and without Curry and Lillard later, who can really believe that the three-pointers of their teammates can really turn the tide?
Seeing their own basketball hitting the neck of the basket and the score on the opposite side rising, how many players will not have negative emotions?
Therefore, at the critical moment, it has become the consensus of the coaching staff of the Kings not to bet on three points, but at the last moment, what should be relied on to score?

The Lakers can rely on O'Neal to score at the basket, because O'Neal has a huge advantage in matchups.

The Kings can also rely on Weber to eat alone, but although Weber's single-eating efficiency is high, it is not as stable as O'Neal.

Therefore, at the decisive moment, we must come up with another stable scoring weapon and cooperate with Weber's solo attack to stabilize the situation.

You can't just rely on the basket to attack!
So what is it?

The Kings coaching staff, with the cooperation of Bus, continued to explore over the past two days and vaguely grasped some ideas, but the effectiveness can only be verified through the key battle of Tianwang Mountain.

On the night of May 5, the much-anticipated Battle of Tianwangshan in the Western Conference Finals began at the Arco Arena in Sacramento.Today's start, it's the Lakers' turn to feel hot.

第一节，奥尼尔8投6中，科比6投3中，福克斯3投3中，费舍尔3投2中，其中三分线外1投1中，霍里也在三分线外1投1中。

The Lakers came out strong in the first quarter and scored 33 points.

The Kings scored 27 points, but they did not perform well outside the three-point line. Bibby made 2 of 0 shots, Lu Yuanzhi made 3 of 1 shots, Christie, Bobby Jackson and Turkoglu were all 1. 0 hits.

The one who made the three-pointer was Lu Yuanzhi, who had the worst three-point skills.

Trailing by 6 points in the first quarter and performing poorly from beyond the three-point line, Adelman defied all odds and continued to ask the Kings to continue shooting from the outside.

Three-pointers are unstable, but the returns are extremely high. Since the score is not widened now, keep shooting!

The Kings have a better three-point shooter group than the Lakers. When it comes to the fifth game, it is about whose will is stronger and whose hands are steadier.

The first quarter performance of the Kings and Lakers seemed to be a replica of Game [-], except that the one with a higher shooting percentage became the Lakers.

Fortunately, the Lakers did not have the scoring explosiveness of the Kings. Even if they felt good, they only scored 33 points in the first quarter.

The Kings also performed better than the Lakers in Game 27, scoring a crucial [-] points and not allowing the Lakers to open up the score as soon as they came up.

In the second quarter, the situation suddenly changed. Except for Kobe who continued to shoot 8 of 4 from the field, no other player on the Lakers could stand up and score in sports games.

Fox and Fisher, who performed well in the first quarter, both made 3 of 0 shots, and Horry also made 1 of 0 shots.

The Lakers made a quick substitution, hoping that the players on the bench would have a good performance. As a result, they were replaced by Samaki Walker, Stanislav Medvedenko, Mitch Richmond, Devin George, Lin Chi Hunter and Brian Shaw all missed their shots.

Almost the entire bench of the Lakers played, and they couldn't find a second player who could score in sports games.

As for O'Neal, Phil Jackson arranged more rest time.

"Zen Master" is also afraid that O'Neal will encounter physical problems again like he did in previous games.

In the second quarter, O'Neal made 3 of 0 shots, all three small hooks missed the basket, and only relied on free throws to keep scoring.

The Lakers' feeling of decline came a little earlier than everyone expected.

In the second quarter, the Lakers only scored 17 points, of which Kobe scored 10 points, O'Neal scored 8 points on 6 of 6 free throws, and Walker scored 1 point on [-] of [-] free throws.

The Kings did not miss the opportunity. In the second quarter, everyone's touch exploded. Bibby, Turkoglu, Lu Yuanzhi, and Bobby Jackson hit three-pointers one after another.

At 17:28, the Kings scored 11 more points than the Lakers in the second quarter and took the lead before the end of the first half.

At 50:55, the two teams once again entered the second half with a high score.

There was not much difference in points between the two teams. O'Neal got a good rest and the Kings' three-point shot was opened. Both teams were very satisfied with their performance in the first half.

The crucial second half is about to begin!
(End of this chapter)