First in scoring

Chapter 508 Chapter 506. Peak Showdown (Part )
After five rounds of attempts, Zhang Yang finally tore a hole in the Lakers' pseudo-zone defense. The Bobcats' team cooperation also seamlessly switched from high-post singles passing and cutting to a triangle offense based on breakthroughs.

The existence of the three-second defense makes it impossible for "true zone defense" to exist in NBA games. The rim protection of Kwame Brown, Yao Ming, and even Howard and Ben Wallace, who was at the end of his peak, has been greatly affected.

A center like Perkins, who has almost no offensive ability, can have a restraining effect on the strongest defensive center. As long as he stands an arm's length away from the edge of the three-second zone, the opposing center will have to leave the three-second zone every three seconds.

As long as Zhang Yang seizes the opportunity to 'bully the old man', he can avoid Kwame Brown's threat. His long-distance breakthrough is extremely unfriendly to the Lakers' 'strongest defensive backcourt'.

Kobe and Kidd have maintained their bodies very well, but after all, they are getting old. Kidd is 36 years old, so his athletic ability has nothing to do with it.

Kobe is two months away from turning 31. He still has the ability to break out in short distances, and in long-range one-on-one defense, only Prince can be better than him in today's league. However, he can occasionally break out in long-distance movement while chasing and defending. When he is passed by a player like Zhang Yang, who is extremely fast among point guards, the most he can do is rely on his defensive awareness to judge the timing of the opponent's shot and block it. He can no longer do more.

This has to do with the famous battle of Thunder's talented rookie Derrick Rose. When the Thunder played against the Lakers at the end of November last year, Rose faced the rotation defense of Kidd and Kobe, and broke through the two of them. He made 11 of 13 shots, plus 8 of 6 free throws, and scored 4 points and 20 assists. Together with Durant, he led the team to almost upset the Lakers, but finally lost by 6 point...Kobe delivered the first buzzer-beating buzzer-beater of his "king of buzzer-beater season" that night.

Throughout the 08-09 regular season, Kobe completed a total of 6 "true buzzer beaters". From another perspective, it also shows that the Lakers' performance in this regular season was extremely unstable. Of course, it was mainly a side effect of the Zen Master's "old man protection principle".

The Lakers' defense was torn apart by Zhang Yang, and they did not fail to think of ways. Kobe once tried to force Zhang Yang to break through on the left, but Zhang Yang's shooting ability was balanced, and his quick stop jump shot from the left bottom limit was also accurate.

And like Afflalo, Felton was able to withstand the pressure and maintain shooting stability in the finals. His running awareness and shooting ability were even better than Afflalo. Not only that, he could also break through with the ball...

However, although the Lakers' defense was broken, their teamwork was opened up under Kidd's patient adjustments!
Kidd no longer asked Garnett to set screens, but instead ran to set screens himself and let Garnett stay at the free throw line. This adjustment greatly increased Garnett's ability to control shots regardless of whether his touch was good or not. Shooting at the free throw line without a tip-in was almost the same as a free throw. Kidd's understanding of basketball has been fully realized.

This task was very easy for Garnett to complete. He could even save energy on the offensive end and devote more energy to the defensive end, thereby increasing his interference with the Bobcats' offense.

Zhang Yang and Kidd's effective command turned the game into an offensive tug-of-war.

At the same time, Garnett and Okafor also made effective adjustments when they couldn't defend - slowing down the pace and reducing the number of rounds.

The purpose is to prevent our side from having a bad touch and allowing the other side to take advantage of the opportunity to widen the score gap.

Both of them have heavyweight rim-protecting centers behind them, and they both executed very well.

The team offense was effective. Zhang Yang and Kobe did not fight each other like they did in the previous game. After their physical strength was obviously depleted, they let their teammates participate more in launching the offense.

At the end of the first quarter, both teams had made major adjustments to their lineups.

The current lineup on the court is: Lakers: Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Garnett, Gasol Jr.; Bobcats: Felton, Zhang Yang, Hill, Okafor, Brad Miller.

In the first few rounds, the Bobcats used the pick-and-roll + assist combination of Felton, Okafor and Brad Miller to deal with the opponent, and played 5 to 6 with the Lakers, keeping the score tight and making the score 21 to 23.

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack. After a few rounds of rest, Zhang Yang took over the ball, rushed straight into the inside, stepped around Gasol Jr., and made a layup.

Kobe was not willing to be outdone. He received the ball in the low post, turned around and made a fake move to attract Hill's pressure. He turned around and slipped to the baseline. He was surrounded by Zhang Yang who rushed in from the baseline, Brad Miller under the basket, and Okafor who rushed in from the free throw line, and then he made a layup!

25 to 23, the Lakers continued to maintain a two-point lead.

Looking back, Zhang Yang broke through Kobe, stopped suddenly on the right side of the free throw line, pulled the ball back with a big pull, faced Kobe who had braked and turned around to rush back, took a long step back and shot for two points... and it hit again!
25 flat!
It was the Lakers' turn to attack. Kobe stood in a three-threat position at the top of the arc, suddenly jumped up, and made a three-pointer...and it hit!
Hill actually reacted to this ball, but his jumping speed was not up to par, and he couldn't even force Kobe to fade away.

Attack and defense changed, with only 14 seconds left in the first quarter, Felton advanced to the frontcourt and wanted to pass the ball to Zhang Yang, but Kobe launched a front-end melee defense. Zhang Yang turned and cut in, and was covered by Garnett and Gasol Jr. These two men looked the same height, but one of them insisted that he was 211 cm, causing the height of the talented rookie to be questioned, and the old blacksmith's barefoot height became meters, and Kidd shrunk to about meters.

Seeing this, Felton did not hesitate, singled out Fisher and rushed forward!

The chance for a layup was not good, so Felton protected the ball and looked for his teammate to receive the ball... Seeing the younger brother's movement, he immediately passed the ball to him.

At the moment when Felton passed the ball, Zhang Yang had not yet gotten rid of Kobe's entanglement, but he suddenly stopped and ran back to the left 45-degree angle outside the three-point line, and the ball just arrived! Pure tacit understanding!
Zhang Yang turned around immediately after receiving the ball and jumped before Kobe caught up with him. After jumping, his body was still floating away from the basket due to inertia, which allowed him to avoid the block from Kobe who jumped during the sprint and successfully shot... and it went in!
The executive vice-boss was bullied by the old blacksmith, and the third brother helped him get back at his wits' end!

随着科比刚过中圈的急停超远三分打铁，把2中1的三分打成3中1，首节战罢，两队打成28比28平！
The fans at the scene were so excited. The slow-paced, high-quality positional battles in the previous quarter were already pleasing to the eyes. They didn't expect that there would be a star battle at the end of the quarter. The key was that their Zhang San won! He scored 3 points with 3 of 8 shots, surpassing Kobe who scored 3 points with 2 of 5 shots, and tied the score!

张杨9投5中，其中三分球4中2，加上2中2的罚球拿到14分，科比10投5中，其中三分球3中1，加上3中3的罚球也拿到14分，但张杨整体命中率和三分命中率都要更好一丢丢！

As for Kobe's last shot, there were only 4 seconds left...he missed it anyway!
The commentator also joked that Kobe's last shot lowered his shooting percentage, otherwise his efficiency would be the same as Zhang Yang's.

In previous years, almost no one would make a fuss about missing a buzzer-beating shot with no time left. The older generation of stars had to take such shots. They believed they could make them. Even if it was a gamble on luck, they believed they were the lucky ones.

Today's new generation players such as Zhang Yang, Roy, Durant, and Mesozoic players such as Anthony and Hinrich also maintain this tradition.

But the overall trend has changed. More teams have role players throwing these kinds of balls. Some of them are becoming the stars of the league, but they don't shoot these kinds of balls anymore...

...

After making fun of Kobe Bryant's missed shot at the end of the first quarter, the commentators got serious and analyzed the first quarter.

The Bobcats and Lakers both showed teamwork tonight, which did not surprise people. During TNT's celebrity roundtable yesterday, Barkley predicted that by this point in the game, Kidd and Zhang Yang, who were already in their best form, would definitely be able to lead the team's offense.

In G1, both teams gave up early as their teamwork was hindered at the beginning, and they just competed with their stars. In Barkley's view, the Lakers' idea was "no matter how we play, if we can grab the home advantage in the first game, the championship will be basically secured." The Bobcats had a 7-point lead in the first quarter, so continued suppression was the best option.

As long as the score is close in G2, both sides will try their best to play the best team cooperation to reduce the main attack pressure for Zhang Yang and Kobe.

In the first quarter, both teams vindicated Barkley with their actual performance. You can question Feizhu's height, but you cannot question his professionalism.

The two teams played very well together in this quarter. As for the Bobcats, excluding Zhang Yang's 3 of 3 at the end and 4 of 1 at the start, their shooting performance in the first 10 minutes was 15 of 7, which means they made 11 of 6 during the team cooperation. In the first quarter, the team made 18 of 10 shots, including 6 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 5 free throws.

湖人队也不遑多让，刨开科比最后3中2，前10分多钟投出了16中8的高命中率，首节全队19投10中，其中三分球5中2，还有8中6的罚球。

However, both teams had a hit rate of over 30%, but neither scored more than points, which means that the defense of both teams did not collapse, the rhythm was well controlled, and it was simply impossible to defend.

At the end of the intermission, Dominique Wilkins, the vice president of business operations of the Hawks, who was invited to participate in the ESPN commentary, lamented: "If we met the current bad boys in the second round, we might not survive the fifth game. We tried our best to help Jack complete his evolution, which is really unhappy.

I think if we make it to the finals, Mike, Joe, and Paul can use one-on-ones again and again to consume all the energy of Jason, Kobe, and Kevin, just like disrupting the rhythm of the Bobcats, they can also disrupt the rhythm of the Lakers..."

The first sentence of this sentence, The Essence of Human Movies, was to express his unwillingness, and the second sentence was to speak for his own team. However, after the game, the media intercepted the first half of his sentence and hyped it up as him praising Zhang Yang, which led to him returning to Phillips Arena to help the team prepare for the draft tryouts and being blocked by Hawks fans at the entrance of the arena and demanded his resignation... This is a story for later, so let's not talk about it for now.

After the intermission, Carlisle sent out a combination of Felton, Zhang Yang, Pietrus, Millsap, and Perkins; the Zen Master sent out a combination of Kidd, Kobe, Luke Mbah a Moute, Josh Powell, and Gasol. Seeing Zhang Yang and Kobe continue to play, the commentator predicted that the two would play more than 40 minutes tonight.

However, both players made major adjustments to their playing styles tonight compared to G1. Zhang Yang reduced the time he spent defending Kobe. After carrying Kobe, who was in his best physical condition, for half a quarter at the beginning, he handed the game over to Hill, Pietrus, Afflalo and others, and focused his energy on scoring.

After the team offense started, Kobe reduced his one-on-one shots and instead looked for opportunities to receive the ball after launching the offense. When the team offense started, his burden of organizing the offense was suddenly lightened. Kidd and Garnett took on most of the work of organizing the offense. However, unlike Zhang Yang, he took on most of the work of defending the opponent's first scoring point, Zhang Yang.

After the second quarter started, the two teams continued to play team offense and defense. The Lakers led the Bobcats 24-23 in this quarter, but in the third quarter, the Bobcats beat the Lakers 24-23.
Both teams scored lower points in these two quarters than in the first quarter, but in terms of team cooperation on the offensive end, the two teams actually did better. However, the defense of both teams was also very good, and they both suppressed the opponent's rhythm. It was difficult for Zhang Yang and Kidd to launch a counterattack. On this basis, the two teams defended the opponent's positional three-pointers very well!
Kidd, Kobe, Fisher, and Ariza, the Lakers' four strongest three-point shooters in this year's playoffs, made only 4 of 8 three-pointers in two quarters. The only goal was a wide-open three-pointer by Fisher before the end of the first half, helping the Lakers overtake by 1 point at the end of the first half.

On the Bobcats side, the number of three-point misses in the two quarters was the same as the Lakers, both 7, but they made more. Zhang Yang threw 6 times, facing Kobe, Kidd and Ariza alone, and made 6 of 2 shots, while the others made 4 of 1.

湖人队两节比赛合计35投16中，把8中1的三分刨开，三分线内投篮表现是惊人的27投15中；山猫队其实还要更好，两节比赛34投17中，刨开10中3的三分，三分线内24投14中，命中率接近六成；两队罚球倒是一模一样都是14中10。

Led by Zhang Yang, the Bobcats actually had the upper hand in the third quarter, but Garnett made great contributions to the Lakers in this quarter. He interfered with the opponent's passing many times, and although he did not make many successful steals, he caused as many as three Bobcats' passes out of bounds, and single-handedly suppressed Zhang Yang's third-quarter offensive.

After three quarters, the two teams continued to tie with the score 75 to 75!

...

Entering the intermission, the head coaches of both teams were actively adjusting.

Carlisle always likes perfection, and although he has changed a lot in private over the past two years, he is still as detailed as possible on the court, striving to achieve the ideal state.

It is rare to see a Zen master like this.

Because the adjustments that the players can make on their own have reached the limit, with the Wolf King on the left, the Blacksmith on the right, and the base in the middle not attacking, it is difficult for him as the head coach to do better with the offensive and defensive play adjusted by these three brothers on their own. But it is also because of this that he must say more, emphasize the details that are difficult for players to notice, and provide top-level analytical opinions from another perspective.

After the intermission, Zhang Yang returned to the court, joined by Felton, Afflalo, Okafor and Brad Miller.

He glanced across and saw Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Garnett, and Gasol Jr. on the court. Then he looked up at the big screen.

It contains the statistics of the best players of both teams.

他目前打了31分钟，第二节官方暂停后休息了两分钟、第三节刚开始的时候休息了3分钟才上，19投9中，其中三分球10中4，加上6中5的罚球拿到27分。

比21投10中、其中三分球5中1、外加5中5的罚球拿到26分的科比多1分。

He scored 4 points and 9 points in the second and third quarters respectively. His scores were not as high as in the first quarter, but his scoring efficiency was not much worse than in the first quarter. He made 9 of 4 shots in total, including 6 of 2 three-pointers. The main reason was that his number of shots was limited by the opponent. In 19 minutes, he only made 4 successful shots within the three-point line, making 4 of 2 shots, plus 4 of 3 free throws.

This was a situation he had anticipated before the game. As long as he started shooting, the opponent would definitely defend him more strictly than in G1. After he scored 8 points in a row at the end of the first quarter, he was already prepared. In these two quarters, he made good use of the opponent's defensive tendencies and led his teammates to maintain efficient teamwork.

Moreover, the opponent had no way to completely block his shots. He missed four shots around the three-point line, but still made two goals. He single-handedly avoided the team's crisis of not being able to score from long range and created more space.

It was thanks to these two three-pointers that he scored a total of 13 points in these two quarters, surpassing Kobe's 4 points in the two quarters, who made four mid-range and close-range jump shots, one layup and two free throws.

However, he made 8 mid-range and short-range jump shots in the third quarter. No one can compare with the old blacksmith in this aspect except the Silver Horn King, and the Silver Horn King is still relatively weak in back-to-the-basket shots... Thinking of this, Zhang San was not afraid, but became more excited.

Without such an opponent, what's the point of playing in the finals?
The opponent's tactical coordination also made him excited as an opponent.

Garnett's shooting was very good tonight. He took 5 shots from inside and outside the free throw line in the first three quarters, made 3 of them, and shot 2 of 8 at the basket, for a total of 4 of 4 shots, maintaining a 5% hit rate; Fisher's long-range shooting supported the Lakers' outside shooting; Kidd's effective command created better cutting opportunities for Ariza, who was afraid of long shots, and avoided the hidden danger of falling into a 13-on-8 situation in tactical cooperation... The team continued to play efficient cooperation around Kobe, who was incredibly accurate in making of mid-range and short-range jump shots.

The referee blew the whistle to start the final quarter, and Zhang Yang turned his attention back to the game.

After the start of the final quarter, the two teams continued to engage in a tactical offensive battle, and they were still very patient. The first few rounds were back and forth. In the first 3 minutes, the two teams were tied 7 to 6. The score came to 82 to 81, with the Bobcats leading by 1 point.

Just when the fans were ready to continue enjoying the tactical tug-of-war, the situation suddenly changed!
It was the Lakers' turn to attack. Kobe, who had missed a three-point shot at the beginning of the final quarter and had made only 6 of 1 three-pointers, took advantage of Afflalo's unpreparedness and shot a three-pointer!
Then Fisher hit an open three-pointer from the sideline, Gasol Jr. hit a long jump shot from close range, Garnett cut in and caused Brad Miller to foul and made both free throws... The Lakers scored 2 points in 8 minutes!
During this period, the Bobcats only relied on Okafor to receive the ball, turn around and attack the basket to beat Gasol Jr. for a 2+1, and were beaten 8 to 3 by the Lakers.

85 to 89, the Bobcats fell behind by 4 points in an instant!

Fortunately, Zhang Yang stepped out in time, broke into the inside and went straight to the basket, and made a low-hand layup in a Nash-style run, stopping the bleeding for the Bobcats.

It was the Lakers' turn to attack again. Seeing that they had finally overtaken the opponent, Kobe took the initiative to ask for the ball outside the three-point line for a one-on-one game. Zhang Yang guessed his intention and took the initiative to switch to defense at the three-point line.

Facing Zhang Yang's defense, Kobe leaned over and took several steps forward. When he felt the ball coming, he just jumped up and threw it!
But when his toes left the ground, he was shocked to find that Zhang Yang had actually jumped up before him, with his long arms stretched out, almost pressing on the ball he had lifted!

The best waist attack!

Kobe leaned back more than 45 degrees in the air, dodged when Zhang Yang's hand was only one or two centimeters away from the ball, and threw the ball out...

It's a pity that Kobe used all his strength in his waist, and his shoulders and back were not strong enough, so the ball flew out and hit the front of the basket and bounced back!
When Zhang Yang saw the angle at which the ball flew out, he knew that the ball had a high probability of not going in. After landing, he turned around and rushed in, reaching the landing point just one beat faster than Ariza. He moved sideways to block Ariza, took the ball, and turned around to counterattack!

Kobe made a wrong reaction after landing and standing firm. He also rushed in with Zhang Yang, but was brushed by Zhang Yang who turned and rushed forward! However, he did not hesitate at all, and immediately turned around and followed, chasing with Ariza, and the two followed closely behind Zhang Yang.

Without the chance for a three-pointer, Zhang Yang rushed all the way to the free throw line, grabbed the ball, and took three big steps.

Kobe and Ariza, one on the left and one on the right, also took heavy steps, ready to seize the opportunity to block the shot... Suddenly, the two saw Zhang Yang throwing the ball back with his left hand after taking off from the third step!

The two men immediately stopped and turned around, seeing Okafor following them, and quickly blocked him... Eh? Where's the ball?
Little Duncan, who was ready to catch the ball and knock down the three bloodthirsty outside players in front of him for a windmill dunk, also wanted to ask: Where is the ball?
The two looked back and saw Zhang Yang slamming the ball into the basket with one hand!

Old Blacksmith + Tieza: Didn’t the ball get passed? It’s possible that I’m the only one who’s dazzled, but it’s impossible that both of us are dazzled!

The two of them moved their heads in unison again, looking at the big screen for an explanation.

Of course the director had to replay this kind of goal - after Zhang Yang jumped up in the third step, he took the ball with his left hand to the left side of his head and threw it backwards, but he did not throw it to Okafor who was following up, but threw it downwards. He caught the ball behind his back with his right hand, raised the ball again, and slammed the ball into the basket as his body fell!

Listening to the crazy cheers of the fans at the scene, the old blacksmith and Tieza exploded on the spot!

Just say, it was just a fast break dunk, why were the fans at the scene so excited? It must be that Zhang San played a trick and the two of them were fooled like fools!
(End of this chapter)