NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

With a muffled thud, Nowitzki was pushed off balance by McRoberts, and his forced shot ultimately missed the rim, with Lakers center Murphy grabbing the rebound.

It's not that Nowitzki underestimated the situation; he's been playing too easily and effortlessly against the Lakers' interior defense in the last few games, truly dominating the game.

So he really didn't expect that the Lakers' forwards, whom he had been dominating all along, would actually dare to fight back.

Unexpectedly, this shot missed.

The basketball was passed to Kobe by Murphy. After Kobe dribbled to the frontcourt, facing Allen's defense, he immediately turned around, backing Allen and pushing him inside. Then he suddenly turned around, trying to do his signature step-back jump shot.

Unfortunately, with the Lakers playing such a desperate defense, how could the trailing Mavericks possibly give up?

Allen's defense was also more aggressive than before, closer to fouls, and more physical.

Kobe's sudden turn didn't create enough space for him, and Allen's large hand completely covered his face, blocking his view.

The "blindfold defense" technique has made a comeback.

"Boom!"

Then Kobe paid tribute to Nowitzki by delivering a successful missed shot.

Kobe Bryant missed shots for the same reason as Dirk Nowitzki.

Kobe was getting into a rhythm against Allen, but unexpectedly Allen increased the intensity and defensive scope. Kobe failed to prepare in advance and was careless, resulting in a missed shot.

After one player from each side made a crucial save, the pace of the game remained fast. The Mavericks' James grabbed the rebound and initiated a transition, driving the length of the court to the basket and attempting a layup despite Durant's defense.

But Durant put in a lot of effort on defense and finally managed to disrupt James' layup, causing the ball to bounce off the rim again.

This time, McRoberts got the rebound. Although he is an inside player, he clearly has the mind of a guard. After getting the rebound, he dribbled forward a few steps quickly before passing the ball.

However, the timing and angle of this pass were truly negligible. Williams, who had already spotted the opportunity, suddenly appeared from the side, intercepted the ball before Thomas could reach it, and then passed it back to James.

After receiving the ball, James took a step and rose again, and this time his layup finally went in!

But just as the ball went in, Durant ran to the baseline and made a quick inbound pass, immediately passing the ball to Kobe. Kobe dribbled down the court and found Murphy, who shot from beyond the three-point line, but the ball still missed the rim.

"Boom!"

After a muffled thud, Nowitzki and Bogut scrambled for the ball under the basket, but neither could control it, and the ball bounced towards the free-throw line area.

A group of people immediately turned around and ran towards the free-throw line area. This time, the Lakers finally had someone to participate in the scramble. After a moment of chaos, the basketball flew up again, this time heading towards the empty sideline.

"Kobe!" Durant finally arrived from the backcourt at this moment, almost flying sideways as he grabbed the basketball and threw it quickly to Kobe, who was closest to him.

Then Durant lost his balance, crashed heavily out of bounds, and lay on the floor.

Kobe didn't waste the opportunity his teammates fought tooth and nail for. After dribbling once, he pulled up and shot from two steps inside the three-point line, his signature long two-pointer going in the net.

The point difference is still 20 points!
But to be honest, everything that happened on the field during this phase can be summed up in one word.

"Chaos!" Van Gundy said bluntly, almost without mercy: "These past few rounds have been chaotic for both sides. The system, rhythm, and proper strategy have all disappeared. It's just whoever has the ball plays and whoever gets the ball is in disarray."

Miller said, "It's like two high school teams. These two teams are playing just like high school teams right now. Both sides are chasing the ball like headless flies."

Jackson looked at his two partners and said, "So, who benefits more from this chaotic situation? Will this chaos help the Mavericks catch up, or will it allow the Lakers to continue to pull ahead?"

"I don't know!" This time, Van Gundy and Miller said in unison.

The two of them had such great chemistry!
It's no wonder these two were decisive. This kind of chaotic situation is the most difficult to analyze and predict. If both sides were to fight round by round according to their tactics, then they could try to guess and analyze it.

Unfortunately, this chaotic situation was so unpredictable that they couldn't possibly figure it out.

I can only guess.

Making wild guesses would obviously damage their reputation.

Therefore, the two of them simply shut up at the same time, indicating that they would not make predictions, and that Jackson, who loved to make predictions and dig pits, could make his own predictions and jump into the pits.

While the three commentators were happily scheming against each other, the rhythm and style of the game between the two sides on the field remained completely unchanged.

Both teams' players are currently in a state of "I want to play well, I want to work hard, I want to give it my all," and they are giving it their all.

Then, when they encounter an opponent who is going all out, their offense will naturally find it difficult to maintain a stable and efficient state, and their scoring will inevitably stagnate and slow down. As a result, when the players who are blocked on the offensive end return to the defensive end, they will immediately unleash even more frantic energy to limit their opponents.

I may not understand offense, but you shouldn't either!
As a result, the offensive efficiency of both sides became increasingly low, while the intensity and ferocity of the defensive confrontations increased rapidly.

In addition, both teams are offensive teams that like to run and play. So after defending against the opponent's attack, both teams will subconsciously launch a counterattack immediately, sprinting with all their might in the hope of finding an opportunity to launch a fast break.

If you can't break through positional defenses, you have to rely more on and look for opportunities to switch between offense and defense.

But if you want to switch between offense and defense, your opponent won't let you, and will significantly increase their defensive intensity, desperately sticking to you in close defense.

Under these circumstances, the fighting became increasingly chaotic and disorganized, with both sides making one blunder after another.

The coaches of both sides were not going to stand idly by and let this chaotic situation continue. Jackson and Johnson both called more than one timeout in the second half of the second quarter and made some personnel adjustments.

However, this situation did not change. Even in the last few minutes of the second quarter, after Jackson brought Lin Tian back on the court, the Lakers' overall situation did not stabilize. They were still in a chaotic battle with the Mavericks, playing in disarray.

Both sides continued to make mistakes, and the rhythm of the game remained chaotic.

"The quality and watchability of this second quarter were really not good," Van Gundy suddenly said. "Both sides were in disarray! They played too chaotically! For a conference finals game, the second quarter of this game was a failure."

"It's lively, but not exciting at all!"

What I don't understand is, why is this happening?

“I don’t understand either,” Jackson added. “Both teams have top-notch playmakers. James and Lin are the kind of players who bring their own system to the table, can single-handedly drive the team’s offense and control the tempo.”

"Why? Why didn't their team's rhythm change at all after those two came on? Why didn't the pace of the game improve at all even though both sides called timeouts?"

"Two top teams, both with top coaches and top players, yet they played such a terrible game. I really can't understand where things went wrong."

“Maybe nothing went wrong?” Miller suddenly slapped his thigh and said, “What if this is their plan, or one of theirs?”

"plan?"

"No problems?"

Jackson and Van Gundy both looked at Miller, waiting for his answer.

“I know Lin too well. I know how he plays and how high his basketball IQ is! He’s the kind of guy who can step on the court anytime the team needs him and help them solve problems. Any difficult problem is a small one in his hands.” “But now, he’s on the court, he’s started to take the lead, but he’s still playing with this kind of rhythm and messy style. So there’s only one reason.”

"Some people don't want the pace to return to normal, and some people don't want the competition to return to normal!"

"Who?" Jackson asked quickly, while Van Gundy frowned, clearly sensing something was wrong.

“Lin! Who else could it be but him?” Miller said smugly. “He did it on purpose! That was his plan!”

"Make it chaotic, everyone run and make a mess of things, the worse the fighting, the more frantic the attacks, the better, ideally both sides make a crazy number of mistakes, and then keep hitting the bricks! That's Lin's plan."

"But this also means the Lakers' offense won't be able to get going, and their efficiency will be very low." Jackson frowned, indicating his incomprehension.

"But the Lakers are leading by 20 points, what are they afraid of? They have a 20-point advantage, they're not worried about whether either team can find their rhythm," Miller said confidently. "And that's just the first point."

"The second point is even more important!"

"Generally speaking, what type of team benefits from a chaotic game on the court? Teams with strong individual skills and one-on-one abilities benefit from it!"

"So in this league, which team has the strongest one-on-one ability, and which team has the most players who excel at one-on-one play?"

"Lakers!"

At this point in Miller's explanation, Jackson and Van Gundy finally understood, and they both nodded in agreement.

Yes, although the situation looks chaotic and disorganized right now, if you think about it carefully, everything is actually under the Lakers' control. The current situation gives them a huge advantage!
After playing for so long, the Mavericks have failed to narrow the score gap and have completely failed to complete their game objective. Even James, who scored 20 points in the first half of the quarter, has not yet reached 25 points.

James is neither good at nor fond of such chaotic situations; he is better at playing methodically and steadily. He is the superstar in the entire league who is best at rationalizing his game.

The biggest reason why the Mavericks haven't fallen further behind in this uncomfortable situation is Williams.

This guy, who excels at chaotic battles, always seems somewhat out of place with the Mavericks at other times, giving the impression that he hasn't integrated into the team.

But now, under the chaotic playing style and rhythm of tonight, Williams has finally exploded.

He had only one thought at that moment: This is the same tactic I used when I was in the lottery with the Bucks!

xjbd, right?
I'm home! I'm finally home!
In the second quarter alone, Williams scored 10 points, including two consecutive three-pointers, each one more absurd than the last, each one looking like a random throw.

But he made all his shots, and it was thanks to his performance in the second half of the second quarter that the Mavericks didn't fall behind the Lakers.

On the other hand, the fact that the Mavericks failed to close the gap despite Williams playing so well and hitting three-pointers in a row proves that Lin Tian's chaotic and disorganized style of play and strategy was not the problem!
Williams' outburst was a low-probability event, but on the Lakers' side, Kobe and Durant took turns scoring in isolation plays, and they still managed to score quite a few points.

You, Williams, want to go head-to-head with Kobe and Durant?

Even though it was a chaotic battle, and even though it was Williams' home court, he was still several levels below. The fact that he could put up a fight in a short period of time was a highlight of his career.

"On one side, the league's top stars were taking one-on-one shots and stabilizing the situation without much effort. On the other side, the team relied on the occasional bursts of energy from role players to keep the score close and prevent it from getting too far ahead." After fully understanding the current situation, Van Gundy gave his assessment.

"The Mavericks are still hanging by a thread. If they are not careful, the Lakers could pull away completely."

"I'll guard him!" Kobe couldn't stand it anymore as Williams scored one point after another. With two minutes left in the second quarter, Kobe clapped his hands and said, "I don't know what kind of trash he is, he can't even guard him."

"Okay, then you go and defend." Lin Tian shrugged indifferently, indicating that if you want to defend, then go ahead.

"If you know it's embarrassing, then you should be more careful next time... What?" Kobe looked at Lin Tian with an incredulous expression.

No, I was using reverse psychology.

You little punk, aren't you going to take the bait?
I didn't get any fighting spirit out of you at all. Why didn't you even grit your teeth and stomp your feet a little bit? Shouldn't you have said you were going to show me what's what and defend yourself against him?
Lin Tian: You idiot! You almost didn't graduate high school, and you're trying to play tricks on me? Go home and train for another 10 years.

"You don't lack confidence and think you can't defend yourself, do you?" Lin Tian not only didn't take the bait, but also countered directly: "How about I do it? If he takes a few more of yours, you'll really lose face."

"I lack confidence? I can't defend him?" Kobe yelled, his eyes wide. "I'll show you what confidence and defense really mean!"

"Come here, kid! Come here and face your death!" Kobe angrily found Williams, lowered his center of gravity, and devoted himself to defense.

"You got blown out by Mo?" As soon as Allen saw Lin Tian coming to defend him, Allen, who rarely trash-talked, started trash-talking, which was unusual for him because the team was in a bad situation: "You got chased away?"

"Yeah, right." Lin Tian snorted. After this high school student provoked me, you, who didn't even graduate from college, are here too?
"I'm here to pick on the weak. I've chosen the easiest one here. You won't let me down, will you?"

"I'll show you how hard I am!" Allen retorted defiantly.

"I'm not interested in how hard you are at all. Go show your dear father." Lin Tian said, then suddenly accelerated and sprinted toward the Mavericks' half of the court.

When Allen saw this, he thought it was one of his own players who had been stopped, so he didn't dare to talk trash back. He immediately and instinctively raised his leg to charge towards his own half of the court. Everyone in the world knows how terrifying Lin Tian's impact and fast break ability are, so no matter what, they can't let him get going.

But Allen had only just begun when he realized he'd been tricked!

It wasn't just because Lin Tian stopped, but also because when Allen looked back, he saw Williams being completely blocked by Kobe and forced to pass the ball, which was to him.

But Williams passed the ball to Allen, who was just two seconds earlier.

Allen was tricked by Lin Tian's feint and ran forward 2 meters. Even though he stopped in time, how could he possibly get back? How could he possibly catch up with Williams' pass?
Lin Tian easily caught the basketball, and even gave Williams a thumbs up: "Great pass!"

After receiving the ball, Lin Tian started quickly. This time, he successfully created a time difference. Allen, who had just stopped, was about to turn around to steal the ball. How could he possibly change direction and turn around again to chase Lin Tian's fast break?
He was completely powerless and could only watch Lin Tian pass by him before he finally managed to steady himself and sprint after Lin Tian.

But of course, it's too late to catch up.

If he had the speed to catch up with Lin Tian, ​​he wouldn't be the third option on the Mavericks.

Lin Tian drove down the court at breakneck speed, reaching the three-point line in the blink of an eye. While continuing to attack the basket, he kept his eyes peeled for the situation on the court. Then, after reaching the basket, Lin Tian did not jump, but instead made a behind-the-back pass, sending the ball behind him.

Almost the instant Lin Tian passed the ball, a large black rat leaped into the air, floated past Lin Tian with a helpless expression, and then flew out of bounds.

James, who was trying to chase down the block, didn't expect Lin Tian to pass the ball at this moment, nor did he expect Lin Tian to spot him and stop so completely.

The ball was caught by Durant, who had just run to the three-point line. The tall guy pulled up and threw the ball, a three-pointer that flew straight to the basket.

"Shh!"

Another crisp sound, and Durant hit a three-pointer!
"Here it comes! Here it comes!" Miller shouted. "After this basket, the lead is 24 points! The Lakers are about to launch a counterattack!"

"Calling it a counterattack isn't quite right," Van Gundy said. "They're up by 24 points!"

"But the Mavericks' taut string really feels like it's about to snap completely," Jackson added. "If the Mavericks can't quickly find their rhythm and regroup in the next minute or so..."

"The entire second half will be garbage time! The Lakers need to start their attack; they have the opportunity and the ability to use the remaining time to widen the gap to around 30 points!" (End of Chapter)