NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

"Is Olajuwon's training camp really that effective?" Kenny couldn't help but say, "This year's Kobe really gives people the feeling that he has perfected his post-up skills, is almost omnipotent, and ignores all opponents."

Barkley followed up, "Yes, it's been two months since the start of the season, so this is definitely a large enough sample! Among the current 1-3 players in the league, there aren't many who can contain Kobe's post-up singles in a one-on-one situation."

"What's even more incredible is that Kobe is almost 30 years old! At this age, he is still improving, he is still making himself better, and he is still working hard to make himself better and more outstanding."

"That alone is enough to put Kobe in the discussion of 'the best player of all time.'"

"Especially, now I really feel that if we only talk about post-up skills, Kobe's skills have surpassed Jordan! His footwork changes, rhythm control, shooting timing and control of details are all perfect!"

"You mean, Kobe is better than Michael?" Kenny smiled and started to set a trap for Barkley.

"That's not what I meant! Michael is still the best!" Barkley said, "I've seen so much, how can I be fooled by you?"
He spoke without hesitation: "I'm talking about pure technique and skills. Kobe is better! Don't try to change my concept there."

"For example, if Michael and Kobe were both boxers, Michael could punch with a force of 1000 pounds. This punch would allow him to ignore all defenses and knock out his opponent directly, so he wouldn't need any shaking, footwork, body movements, combination punches, front and back punches, or anything like that to coordinate."

"Just a straight punch is enough."

"But Kobe's punching power is only 500 pounds. If he wants to defeat and knock out his opponent, he needs to work hard in all aspects, including footwork, combination punches, physical strength, details, rhythm control, and even the ability to withstand punches. He has to go all out."

"Then he can KO his opponent!"

"In the NBA, Michael's physical qualities, including speed, jumping, agility and strength, are beyond the times and all players in the same position. When he plays with his back, he only needs to turn around and take a tentative step to get enough space for himself to shoot."

"Kobe's physical fitness is great, but he doesn't have Michael's physical fitness, which is the best in history. If he wants to get shooting space, he can only hone his skills. He needs more fake moves, more footwork, more fakes and changes in rhythm."

"Then he was able to get the space that Michael could get with a half-turn after a physical confrontation."

"He needs to spend more energy to get his shot in space, and I think that's why Kobe's efficiency is not that high."

"I think I understand." Kenny nodded. "Michael hasn't reached the point where he needs to work hard to hone his skills and improve himself. He can beat almost everyone with his physical fitness and talent alone."

"Kobe had to work hard every day and give his all to barely reach this level."

"Yes! That's it!" Barkley nodded and said, "But Kobe did a great job! He did almost perfectly! Except for not winning the championship and MVP, he really exploded all his attributes and energy and squeezed out all his potential."

"If the full score is 100, then 90% of NBA stars are only at the 85 level. And for various reasons, such as making a lot of money or being satisfied with their current situation, they don't work hard every day. They are lucky if they can play at the 80 level."

"Those top players probably have a 90-point level and energy. They tried their best and gave it their all, and played at a 95-point level."

"Michael was a real monster. He had 120 points and he played them all."

"Kobe is another kind of monster. He may only have 85 points, and his talent may seem mediocre among the top players in history, but he is definitely the one who has developed all his potential to the extreme."

"This guy, with 85 points of talent, played at a 100-point level."

"Look at his performance in the first quarter: 11 of 7 shots, 3 free throws, no 3-pointers, 17 points and 3 rebounds. He is constantly evolving. He is using all means to make himself stronger, so that he can maintain a super high level when his physical fitness, jumping ability and speed decline."

"Yes, he completely blew up Barnes!" Kenny said, "With his 17 points in the quarter, the Lakers gained a 4-point advantage in the first quarter!"

After echoing Barkley's words, Kenny suddenly smiled evilly and said, "So Charles, what about Lin? How good is Lin? What kind of monster do you think he is?"

"Lin? Of course Lin is the third type of monster." Barkley looked like Grandpa Charles knew you would ask this question, and said proudly: "Lin's potential is X, his ceiling is X, and even his level of effort is unimaginable. No one knows how strong he is, and no one knows how high his talent is."

"He definitely has Kobe-level hard work! He definitely has crazy dedication that ordinary people can't imagine."

"I don't know how many people still remember what Lin was like when he was young. He played four full years in the NCAA but didn't achieve much. He didn't enter the NBA until he was 22 years old and was only selected at the end of the second round."

"He was just a substitute at first. Apart from being fast, able to push the fast break, good at transition and able to play well, he didn't have many labels on him in his rookie year."

"But as time went on, he became stronger and stronger, from a fast-break defender to an extremely comprehensive little tank. His defense became better and better, from being only good at gambling steals at the beginning to becoming the best defensive player."

"His shooting, breakthroughs, passing, mid-range jump shots, long shots, finishing and even his dunks are all improving! He has been improving all the time, and his pace of improvement has never stopped. He has never stopped improving just because he won a championship, MVP or created a dynasty."

“He can do anything!”

"This is also the most important reason why he can become the greatest player in NBA history."

With the discussion, comparison and praise between Barkley and Kenny, the second quarter of the game between the two sides has begun!
29: 25!

The Lakers gained a 4-point advantage in the first quarter.

It can also be seen from the score that in the first quarter of this game, the pace of both sides was not fast, especially when Kobe sank to the low post to play one-on-one again and again, the Lakers' pace was simply impossible to speed up.

But in the second quarter, the situation and rhythm of the game suddenly changed!
At the beginning of the second quarter, McGrady came on the court to lead some role players to fight, while Kobe, who played the entire first quarter and was invincible in the first quarter, temporarily sat on the sidelines to rest.

As for the Knicks, Anthony led the rest of the team to compete against McGrady, and both sides entered the rotation time.

At the beginning of the second quarter, McGrady showed his extremely comprehensive ability and his height advantage that almost surpassed all others in the 2-3 positions.

He can easily rush into the inside with his own stride, and after rushing into the inside to compress the Knicks' defense, he can find his teammates on the outside and pass the ball again.

He can also shrink to the basket to grab rebounds time and time again, and then find open teammates while advancing, allowing his teammates to complete the shot.

Of course, he also has unparalleled personal abilities, and he has plenty of ways to put the basketball into the basket. Although McGrady has never won the scoring title, that is really because of bad luck.

He was once the scoring leader in the first half, but because of the trade, he is gone.

He once had a big breakout and was about to win the scoring title, but because of O'Neal's injury and Kobe's explosion, he was gone.

He just lacked a little life, he was so unlucky.

So, some people would say that McGrady has bad luck, a bad personality, a soft playing style, and poor physical strength, but few people would say that his level is not good enough.

For example, in the first half of the second quarter of tonight's game, he had an absolute advantage in the confrontation with Anthony.

From the start of the second quarter to 4 minutes and 20 seconds into this quarter, he had an absolute advantage in the confrontation with Anthony.

麦迪5投3中，拿到7分的同时还送出3助攻拿到2篮板，而安东尼虽然7投4中拿到9分，但他没有篮板和助攻入账，同时还出现了一次失误。

Because of his lack of organizational and passing abilities, even though Anthony had a good touch and could score continuously, he was unable to lead the team to close the gap or surpass the score.

15:11! In the first 4 minutes of the second quarter, the Lakers continued to have the upper hand, steadily and leisurely widening the score.

It was not until 4 minutes and 20 seconds into the quarter that old Nelson lazily called a timeout, replaced Anthony with a five-man lineup of Lin Tian, ​​Stoudemire, Okur, Hill and Houston.

This combination can be regarded as the five-man group with the worst physical fitness and the oldest age in the Knicks. Although they have Stoudemire and Lin Tian, ​​the remaining three are either old, injured, slow, or all three.

"This lineup is totally inconsistent with the Knicks' previous style and tactical concepts." Barkley looked at this lineup and couldn't help but frowned and said, "What is the Knicks going to do? No, what is old Nelson going to do?"

What are you going to do?
If Barkley asked Nelson this question face to face, Nelson would definitely say: Good question! I don’t know what I want to do either!
I just suddenly wanted to try a different style, and wanted to see if this lineup would have any miraculous effect.

After all, theoretically speaking, Hill, Houston and Lin Tian have the most experience and skills in the team. If they are on the court at the same time, they may produce some different chemical reactions and bring some surprises to the team.

It's such a simple and willful reason, a complete sudden whim, I just want to have some fun and feel it out.

On a highly watched stage like the Christmas game, the team was trailing by 8 points, but on a whim, they just casually used a five-man lineup that had never been used before. This was definitely a standard Nelson-style substitution.

Just as Barkley and Kenny were wondering why old Nelson did this, the players on the court quickly gave the answer.

Lin Tian came to the frontcourt with the ball, Stoudemire came forward to screen for Lin Tian, ​​then Lin Tian broke through with the help of the screen, and then quickly passed the ball to Hill on the wing. After Hill got the ball, he made a fake shot and then bent down to get into the inside.

However, his speed was no longer as fast as it was in his peak period, and he was blocked by Bynum after taking only two steps inside.

But Hill suddenly made a low pass, passing the ball from Under the armpit to Okur who was standing behind Bynum. After receiving the ball, Okur didn't even look at it and passed the ball to Houston on the other side.

Houston followed suit, making another fake shot and breaking into the inside, compressing the Lakers' defense again. He then passed the ball to Lin Tian on the outside.

There was no one around, and the front was as open as the ocean.

Lin Tian hadn't had such a huge and comfortable open shooting opportunity for at least two years. He glanced at the basket, adjusted himself leisurely, and then watched McGrady and Kobe, who had just come on the court, running towards him as if their lives were at stake.

"Amare, jump!" Lin Tian shouted, and instead of shooting, he threw the ball towards the basket!

The Knicks had never played this kind of extremely complicated tactic where the whole team was running and passing the ball continuously before, and Stoudemire was completely unprepared. He didn't understand what his teammates were passing the ball to. At this moment, he was actually so confused that he had no idea what to do.

But after hearing Lin Tian's roar, this guy still jumped with all his strength driven by instinct, then turned his head in the air and happened to see the basketball flying towards him.

Stoudemire is not very good at playing complicated tactics, but he knows exactly what to do with this kind of ball.

His whole body seemed to be almost suspended in the air, then he stretched out his hands forward and successfully caught the basketball. Then he turned his head towards the basket again, put all his strength into his arms, and after a sudden roar, he slammed the basketball into the basket with both hands!

"boom!"

After a loud bang, the Knicks completed a beautiful team attack!

This offense was non-stop and the ball never stopped. Almost no one on the team dribbled the ball. The basketball was passed back and forth between several people's hands without stopping. Several people on the team got the basketball, but none of them kept it in their hands for too long.

"Gorgeous! Wonderful!"

Barkley's heartfelt admiration is the best description of this round for the Knicks.

Although the players on the field have not undergone much similar training and running-in, their experience and instinct alone are enough for them to perform such brilliant cooperation.

Well, except for Stoudemire, who didn't quite understand how Lin Tian got such a big open space and how the basketball came into his hands until he caught the ball and completed a slam dunk in the air.

The main player completed the dunk in a confused manner.

"It must be that the Lakers' defense is too bad! Their defense might even be worse than ours. They got such a big shooting space in just a few moves."

With his simple and straightforward personality, Stoudemire made his own judgment directly in his mind.

It’s not that I don’t understand the tactics, it’s that you idiots are too incompetent!

Well, that's it!
Of course, the Knicks' ground-based old men can play beautifully on the offensive end, but their defense is really terrible.

The Lakers have both McGrady and Kobe on the team now, but the Knicks' second and third positions are old man Hill, who has undergone countless knee surgeries, and old man Houston, who has undergone countless knee surgeries on another knee.

Can they defend McGrady and Kobe?
They were lucky enough not to be beaten to death.

There's no way, the young and strong are better.

So in the next few minutes of the game, the Knicks' offense was impeccable, whether it was sharing the ball, conduction, team offense or success rate, these guys were impeccable and could be described as top-notch.

But the problem is, these guys are really undefendable. Of course, defense is not the job of the Knicks. Their signature has always been that no matter how many points you score, I can definitely score more points than you.

Most of the time, the Knicks can easily win the game with this trick.

But tonight they faced the Lakers, with Kobe and McGrady in full swing, the most ferocious duo in the league today.

Therefore, at least in the second quarter of the game, the Knicks' offense failed to gain any upper hand, even though the pace of the game in the second quarter was actually what the Knicks liked. Players on both sides obviously ran faster, and the scoring efficiency and the rhythm of offense and defense transitions were faster.

Even though Nelson's impromptu lineup was only played for two minutes before being quickly replaced, with Anthony and others put back into the regular lineup, the Knicks still failed to reverse the momentum of the game in the second quarter.

They narrowed the 8-point gap to 5 points, but were never able to overtake the score.

58: 53!

The gap between the two sides is still 2 goals!

"It's worthy of being the finale of Christmas, and it's worthy of being a game that makes us two brothers work overtime during the holidays." Barkley smiled and said during the halftime break: "This game is absolutely wonderful and definitely worth the price of the ticket!"

"For the leading Lakers, Kobe scored a game-high 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists tonight, while McGrady was all-around with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. In addition, rookie Bynum also showed the ferocity of the 'little shark'. Although he only had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, his footwork and defense under the basket were impressive."

"For the Knicks, Lin once again scored a team-high 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. He is clearly more versatile than McGrady. Stoudemire and Anthony combined to score 22 points, continuing their tactical position and performance as a strong firepower point."

"The most gratifying thing is veterans Hill and Houston. These two actually haven't had many playing time or highlights this season, but they both played well tonight. Several of their passes and finishes showed some old demons."

"The two of them and Lin are the guarantee of the Knicks' bottom line. With them, it is difficult for this team to be completely beaten and disintegrated. Walsh's decision to sign Hill during the offseason is definitely worthy of an A+!" (End of this chapter)