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

Chapter 172
Divac's concealed no-look pass directly toyed with the Lakers' entire defense.

The ball penetrated the Lakers' defensive iron barrel formation and flew to the bottom corner three-point line on the other side of the court.

The initiator of this attack, Michael Bibby, came to this hidden position along the baseline after passing a good ball to Divac.

Now, after receiving the ball, Bibby's eyes were open. O'Neal was squatting under the basket, Kobe was pestering Webb, Horry pounced on Divac, and Fisher, who was originally defending himself, ran to the other corner to cover. Guard against Christie.

The only defensive threat comes from Fox.

After Fox saw the ball in Bibby's hands, he gave up the physical fight with Lu Yuanzhi under the basket and turned around to pounce on Bibby.

But Fox is not a super physical monster, and there is no way he can reach the three-point line from the inside in one second.

Bibby didn't have to aim for a few seconds to take action. The moment he received the ball, even though there was no one in front of him to defend him, Bibby still took the shot quickly according to his familiar shooting rhythm.

The ball drew a beautiful arc in the air and accurately went into the basket!

"Yeah!"

Arco Arena erupted into deafening cheers, then roaring applause, and then turned into a uniform "Beat LA!"

Leading by 5 points!
"The Kings' offensive success rate is very high!" Kenny Smith exclaimed on the TNT commentary stage. "In the fourth quarter, the Kings' offense was even better."

"They took advantage of O'Neal's reluctance to come out of the paint, constantly mobilized the Lakers' defense, and performed beautiful inside-out coordination. Bibby hit an unguarded three-pointer from outside the three-point line."

"And this defensive loophole seems to have been caused by O'Neal's unwillingness to guard against it at first. Charles, what do you think of the Lakers' defensive strategy?"

"I think Shaq's defensive strategy is not wrong!" Barkley took over and uncharacteristically began to speak for O'Neal.

"O'Neal's strategy of guarding the basket is not wrong, because neither Horry nor Fox can prevent Webber and Max from scoring at the basket."

"As long as O'Neal leaves the basket, the Kings can score easily under the basket through exquisite passes. This is something the Lakers will never tolerate."

"The previous shot was when O'Neal left the basket and went to attack Divac. Max immediately grabbed the gap and went straight to the basket, forcing Fox to score."

"So, O'Neal must stick to the basket. His defensive strategy is not wrong!"

Smith nodded, this was indeed a reasonable explanation, and then asked, "But our impression has always been that the Lakers' defense has always been good, and the defense led by O'Neal and Kobe has always been impregnable."

"But why is it so full of holes when facing the Kings' offense today?"

"Is there a possibility," Barkley chuckled after listening to Smith's question, "that the Kings' offense is too strong, so the Lakers are paying attention to one thing and not the other?"

"You'd be hard-pressed to find another team in the league that's as strong as the Kings in the paint, in the mid-range and beyond the three-point line."

"If you are only good at inside and mid-range, or only good at mid-range and outside, the Lakers can easily defend you!"

Phil Jackson also quickly grasped the team's pain points. Now there is no problem with offense and he is playing well, but there are big problems with defense. He is led by the nose and beaten by the Kings.

"Zen Master" took advantage of the dead ball and replaced Devin George with Fox, hoping to use George's better athletic ability to inject vitality into the Lakers' defense.

But at the same time as the Lakers made substitutions, the Kings also made substitutions.

Replaced Doug Christie and replaced Hedo Turkoglu!

What are the Kings going to do?
Are you not guarding Kobe anymore?

Do not!
Lu Yuanzhi walked up to Kobe and prepared to defend Kobe.

Through the previous four games, Lu Yuanzhi has proven that he is capable of guarding Kobe, which gives Adelman greater flexibility in substitutions.

Christie is no longer the player who has to be on the floor.

And when Turkoglu was replaced at this time, it was precisely for George's play.Don’t you need to stack up your armor to defend?

Okay, then I'll add more attack power!

Let's see if your turtle shell is stronger or my spear is sharper!

Poor Bobby Jackson, who was originally the strongest offensive point on the Kings bench, was unable to get much playing time in this series.

But what can be done about this? With a height of 185 centimeters and a weight of 84 kilograms, no matter how excellent his defensive skills are, he will inevitably become a defensive loophole on the field.

There is already Bibby on the court, and then there is Bobby Jackson. How can the Kings defend?

This is not because Bibby or Bobby Jackson has poor defensive ability.

This is a common problem for small defenders, and no one can solve it.

Therefore, at this critical moment, Turkoglu and Lu Yuanzhi, who have greater physical advantages, get more playing time.

After George and Turkoglu came on the court, the Kings' defense changed again.

When Horry ran outside the three-point line, trying to open up space for O'Neal again, he suddenly found that his defender had become Turkoglu.

Webber, who originally defended Horry, chose to stay inside, ready to double-team O'Neal with Divac at any time.

At this point, George was released.

George sat on the bench for most of the game, but you had a hot touch as soon as you came on the court?

Adelman doesn’t believe it!

Moreover, at such a critical moment, you don't play O'Neal or Kobe, and you expect George to play offense?
Adelman doesn’t believe it even more!
Moreover, George can only choose to shoot from outside the three-point line. If it is only from the mid-range, Webber can still put great defensive pressure on him with his strong mobility.

As for cutting inside?

If you don't look at it, O'Neal, Divac and Webber are almost fighting together in the inside. Is George really capable of scoring in an inside full of big men?

I'm afraid you're not going to get slapped!

The Lakers started the offense with O'Neal inside. After being double-teamed by Divac and Webb, O'Neal passed the ball. After the Lakers quickly passed the ball from the outside, it came to the unguarded hands of George outside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle. .

George raised his hand and made a shooting motion, trying to attract help from the defense and then pass the ball out.

Just kidding, this is the first time George has touched the ball in more than ten minutes. How dare he shoot a three-pointer at this critical moment?
No matter how stupid you are, you won’t dare to take action at this time!

But what's embarrassing is that no one from the Kings came to care about him!
George put down his hand in embarrassment, gritted his teeth, took a step forward, came to the three-point line, and took another shot.

This time no one cares about him!

Don't shoot three-pointers, but shoot two-pointers. The Kings are even more fearless!
"Dangdang!"

As expected, George, who just came on the court, had no touch at all, and his unmarked shot hit the neck of the basket.

"Fuck, I might as well do it myself!"

Kobe cursed and quickly retreated.

The Kings players looked at each other and smiled.

Faint moves happen frequently!
Lakers, if you only have this ability, I want you to look good next!

(End of this chapter)