NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Barkley's praise for both teams and his appreciation for the excitement of the game lasted only 20 minutes.

That is the 20 minutes of halftime.

At the beginning of the second half, the atmosphere and situation of the game suddenly changed.

It seemed that the players from both sides did not rest or adjust their condition during the half-time break, nor did they carry out any recovery or tactical arrangements. Instead, all of them did 20 minutes of extreme weight-bearing anaerobic training.

Everyone played terribly!

Everyone, including Lin Tian, ​​Stoudemire, McGrady, Kobe and others, kept missing shots in the third quarter, and various low-level mistakes occurred one after another.

Halfway through the third quarter, the score was 66:62.

In this nearly 6-minute game, to put it nicely, the Knicks chased tenaciously and did not let up, trying their best to catch up.

The Lakers worked together to set up an iron bucket formation to protect their position and their slight lead, striving to bring a victory to the team.

But if we put it bluntly, this quarter was just a fight between two weak teams, and the performances of both teams were so bad that it was hard to even open your eyes.

Not exaggerated at all.

Barkley and Kenny also quickly woke up from the excitement and excitement of the first half and were more or less drowsy.

How did the second half of the game for these two teams turn out like this?

"If we only look at these 6 minutes, Lin made 3 of 1 shots, Stoudemire made 2 of 0 shots, and Anthony made 3 of 1 shots. Kobe made 3 of 0 shots for the Lakers, and McGrady made 4 of 1 shots." Barkley looked at the technical statistics in his hand and couldn't help but ask, "Have these two groups of people been cursed by some shaman or something like that?"

"How could it suddenly become so bad? Did they eat the same expired pizza together?"

The head coaches on both sides were of course quite dissatisfied with this situation.

After all, their players played so badly in the second half, which affected their face.

What did that sentence say?

You won't affect my academic status, but you will bring shame upon me in the educational community.

This is the situation the two championship head coaches are facing now.

What did we arrange during the halftime break?
Are you guys going to be undercover together?
Fighting so badly damages both of our reputations!
At this moment, Nelson and Tomjanovich reached a soul resonance and had completely the same thoughts.

Then, what they did was to change players constantly, from the main players to the absolute core, they changed them one by one, adjusting little by little, trying to find people who were in good shape tonight. The number of players appearing on both sides also increased rapidly.

On the Lakers side, even Parker, who completely angered Tomjanovich, was replaced after making consecutive mistakes at the beginning and did not even get a chance to start in the third quarter, got some opportunities again.

Then Parker quickly touched Tomjanovich's baseline again with a low-level mistake and an outrageous jump shot, and replaced him again. This time, Parker is likely to be abandoned for a long time.

When the third quarter entered the last 3 minutes, the situation on the field suddenly changed dramatically again.

At the moment, the Lakers have Kobe, Vujacic, Walton Jr., Cook and Bynum on the court, an absolute rotation lineup. The Knicks are similar, with Lin Tian, ​​Nate, Ariza, Wallace and Smith on the court.

Old Nelson's idea is: since you can't make the shot, then run! I'll put up a small lineup that can run the most. As long as you can seize the opportunity to counterattack, can you miss the layup and dunk continuously?

The score must be praised and increased!

Tomjanovich's idea is similar: if you can't make the shot, then change the players and the playing style. If you played a bit recklessly and scattered before, then change to a smarter and simpler lineup.

Now, it goes without saying that these five people only follow Kobe's lead. How the team plays and what tactics they use depends entirely on Kobe's mood.

This style of play is collectively known as: Kobe, think of a way to beat them all!
Tomjanovich can come up with a similar tactic: McGrady, think of a way to deal with a few of them.

That's what top stars do.

"It looks like it's time for Lin and Kobe to face off again! I'm curious if these two can find their rhythm and carry the team. I'm also looking forward to them getting their touch back and playing their due performance in this 1-on-4 lineup."

As soon as Barkley saw the lineups of both sides, he immediately became excited and said, "This is my favorite scene! This is my favorite part! The head-to-head confrontation between the stars!"

"Let's do it! Whether it's Lin or Kobe, let's do it! Let everyone see your level and fighting spirit!"

Barkley really wanted to add some vitality to this boring game, but the stars on both sides said: I don’t want to!
In the first attack after changing to this lineup, Kobe gave the ball to Bynum, asking him to make a strong shot in the low post. Facing Smith, who was at least a head shorter than him, Bynum played so easily. After two shots, he turned around and made a hook shot, and scored 2 points for the team with great difficulty.

Kenny immediately praised: "Good shot! This one has some shadows of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! I heard that the thing Bynum did most after joining the Lakers this summer was to train with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!"

Continuing the Knicks' attack, Lin Tian performed a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc as usual, and then found Nate on the wing while moving. After giving the ball to Nate, the little guy immediately bravely and fearlessly pulled it up and threw it!
"Shh!"

After the timeout, the core players of both sides did not choose to force a shot, but instead each gave an assist!
These two balls, like opening Pandora's box, began to ferment immediately.

Everyone seemed to be stimulated by these two balls, and both sides began to regain their touch.

Walton Jr. can score with his back to the ball, Smith once again turns into a handsome mid-range player, Cook also starts to make his signature three-pointer, and Ariza can also complete a beautiful one-on-one fast break after a steal.

The role players on both sides have awakened one after another, creating beautiful and wonderful moments to continuously contribute their strength to the team.

But for the fans.

During this period, Kobe and Lin Tian only did two things besides passing the ball.

Iron shots and mistakes.

Lin Tian was responsible for missing shots. He made 3 of 3 shots and scored no points in 0 minutes. His touch in the second half tonight was really bad.

Kobe was responsible for the turnovers. He made two turnovers within three minutes. One time, his pass to Bynum was intercepted, and the other time he was directly intercepted by Ariza in a one-on-one situation.

To sum up in one sentence: Both teams performed quite well in these 3 minutes, but Kobe and Lin Tian played terribly.

Even in the last 10 seconds before the end of the third quarter, the role players on both sides had a big showdown!
First, Nate Robinson faced Kobe with a series of crotch jumps and fake moves, then he forced a 3-point shot. The basketball passed over Kobe's fingertips and hit the target accurately, and the Knicks overtook the score!
But their excitement only lasted for a few seconds.

Because in the next round, it was Vujacic's turn to receive the ball outside the three-point line, and then he took a long three-point shot at the buzzer. The basketball flew towards the basket, bounced off the backboard and went into the basket.

The Lakers once again took the lead and the initiative of the game!
The surprise duo of Nate and Vujacic, who had a wonderful match in last season's finals, are on the rise again!

79: 77!

At the end of the third quarter, the gap between the two sides continued to narrow to only 2 points!

Both teams played very badly in the first 9 minutes of this quarter. Half of the points scored by both sides in the third quarter came from the last 3 minutes!

Role players from both sides.

At this moment, if Larry Brown or Hubie Brown, who are strict, old-fashioned and tyrannical, were to be replaced, they would definitely withdraw a large number of main players and let the best role players in their respective teams take over. But unfortunately, both Nelson and Tomjanovich are well-known for their bad tempers but lenient to players.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, both sides still basically used regular rotations.

On one side are Stoudemire, Anthony, Hill, Houston and Ward, three veterans, and on the other side are McGrady and a group of substitutes.

Kobe and Lin Tian got a rare rest time.

This is the most common lineup combination for both teams in the fourth quarter. It is also a signal that although the coaches on both sides are dissatisfied with their players and think that they have performed poorly, they also think that it is no big deal and do not need to make large-scale adjustments.

Keep fighting! Fight and watch!

Then...

The more we played, the more I felt that the main players and core members of both sides were like they were asleep or full, and they played extremely badly!

In the first half of the fourth quarter, several main scorers on both sides still had poor touch and did not score much. The scoring of both sides depended almost entirely on role players on both sides.

Okur and Cook competed in mid-range and long-range shooting, Vujacic and Barnes took turns to score in the air, Smith relayed violently in the air, Bynum showed the ferocity of the little shark, and showed his talent by dunking fiercely under the basket...

In short, the role players on both sides played at a first-class level and with a very high success rate in the second half of the game, while the five All-Star players on both sides were undercovers and their performances were more mediocre than ever.

Until the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the score difference between the two sides was still quite close, 99:100!

The Knicks had already overtaken the opponent without realizing it.

But from the fans' point of view, on such a wonderful night as Christmas, what they want to see is the competition among stars and unreasonable consecutive goals. No one wants to see the drama of Vujacic vs. Barnes or Okur vs. Brian Cook.

No matter how close the score is, if the stars don't take action to win the game, the game will be somewhat unsatisfactory.

Fortunately, the players on the court are all top stars in the league. No matter how they are in regular time or how they perform, when the game enters the final moments, the players can still find their feeling and take over the game!

They won't let the fans down forever.

At the very least, not everyone will disappoint the fans at the same time.

As another timeout called by Tomjanovich ended, both sides replaced all their starters except Vujacic who replaced Parker who had a poor performance and was completely abandoned.

The coaches on both sides have finished their various operations and are about to enter the final decisive battle.

After returning to the game, Kobe of the Lakers took the lead in attacking!

He asked for the ball in the low post and blocked Barnes, then made a quick turn to create distance and shot for 2 points!
The Lakers once again took the lead by 1 point.

Kobe's hit helped the stars on the court and sounded the clarion call for a counterattack.

Everybody, rush up!
"I have a hunch!" Kenny said with some anticipation: "What we want to see the most, what we expect to happen the most, is about to happen!"

"I think so too! These guys won't sleep for the entire second half. It's time to wake up." Barkley followed up, "Let's see how the Knicks fight back!"

Sure enough, as soon as the two commentators finished speaking, Anthony faced Kobe on the wing. After using his signature series of tentative steps to create a little space for himself, this guy jumped up directly and made a steady mid-range jump shot!
Then it was McGrady's turn to hold the ball at the top of the arc on the Lakers side. He changed direction and shook off Anthony, then took a step into the inside, and made a layup against Okur's help defense, and scored 2 points.

The Knicks were obviously fighting hard with the Lakers. Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and after two consecutive crotch passes, he suddenly passed the ball behind his back. The basketball drew an incredible arc, bypassing the Lakers' defense and flying directly to the Lakers' basket.

Stoudemire grabbed the basketball and made a turnaround shot, scoring two points! Cook, who was defending him, had no idea what was going on. He looked confused and couldn't believe that Stoudemire had scored two points in front of him.

Because from a physical point of view, it is impossible for Lin Tian to hold the ball at the top of the arc and pass the ball to the basket with a behind-the-back pass when facing the basket.

Unless his arms can hold the ball, pass around his waist from behind and complete the pass.

But is that still a human being?

It is impossible for a gibbon's arms to stretch that long and yet be able to exert force and pass the ball accurately at that angle.

Cook would rather believe that Lin Tian used some technique that he could not imagine to add curve to the ball, so he could make such a beautiful pass.

Not to mention Okur, even Stoudemire himself, after hitting the ball, he looked at his palm exaggeratedly, his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief. After high-fiving Lin Tian, ​​he couldn't help but ask: "How did I get the basketball? How is this possible? Is it magic? Is it God's blessing?"

"It's your father's favor." Lin Tian glanced at Xiao Si unhappily, wishing he could kick him directly.

At the critical moment, you are doing nothing.

Lin Tian's exaggerated pass, which was so imaginative and somewhat unbelievable, also boosted the morale of the Knicks. They then defended the Lakers' attacks twice in a row, and Anthony also hit a 3-pointer again, expanding the lead to 4 points.

With the outbreak of Stoudemire and Anthony, the Knicks began to take the initiative in the game!

In the next few minutes of the game, the Lakers continued to score. Kobe and McGrady had already got their groove, so it wasn't so easy to lose. The two of them fired on all cylinders and continued to score.

But the Knicks' Stoudemire and Anthony also found their form. No matter how Kobe and McGrady scored, they were always able to respond in time.

The four of them were fighting each other back and forth, and they were evenly matched.

The score difference between the two sides has been maintained between 2-5 points. The Lakers tried their best to overtake the score, but the Knicks were suppressed almost the entire game. Now that they finally got the lead, they naturally would not let it go.

Both sides have completely entered the decisive battle mode!
The pace and excitement of the game increased rapidly, fans on both sides also got into the game, and the cheers at Madison Stadium became louder and louder!

With two minutes left in the game, Kobe and McGrady suddenly connected, silencing the fans in Madison.

This time it was Kobe holding the ball outside the three-point line. McGrady, who was originally at the waist position, suddenly moved up and came to Kobe's side to provide him with a screen!
Kobe pick-and-roll!

This tactic appeared for the first time in tonight's game, and even in the Lakers' games this season! Although the two of them passed the ball to each other a lot and gave each other a lot of assists, this was the first time they played such a serious pick-and-roll!

As we all know, the threat of pick-and-roll cooperation depends on whether the offensive ability of the ball handler is comprehensive enough and whether he can attract the defense. After attracting the defense, whether his passing ability is good enough and whether he can pass the ball to his teammates.

The second is to see whether the person who is being attacked has a beautiful running position and whether he has enough ways to score after receiving the ball. If he can find a teammate to complete a second pass after receiving the ball, it would be even more perfect!

Obviously, pick-and-roll is the most basic and easiest cooperation in basketball games. It is quite simple. Even primary school students who have just started playing basketball can perform some beautiful pick-and-roll cooperation.

It can be said to be profound. 90% of the tactics in basketball games are related to pick-and-roll, from off-ball screens to on-ball screens, from real screens, fake screens, double screens, hand-to-hand passes, and the running and finishing methods of the ball handler and the receiver after the block.

There are countless variant tactics and derivative tactics. It can be said that pick-and-roll is the most basic yet most difficult and most unpredictable core tactic in basketball!
It's easy to get started, but difficult to master.

But now, McGrady and Kobe, two of the most aggressive and lethal forwards in the league today, have started playing pick-and-roll!

This is obviously one of Tomjanovich's trump cards. This guy chose to use this trick in the Christmas game!

"Old bitch!" Barkley shook his head and gave Tomjanovich a fairly fair evaluation. (End of this chapter)