Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 203 Kobe, stop talking trash to Su Wan!
In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, when Yao Ming carried Tim Duncan to score the crucial "second attack" at 3 minutes and 45 seconds in the fourth quarter and got a free throw opportunity, Kobe rushed over immediately and punched Yao Ming's chest with his clenched fists.

He wanted to shout out: "I have the best teammates in the world!"

这个“2加1”后，湖人队锁定了10分的优势，最终以97比86将马刺队淘汰。

The buzzer sounded in the stadium, and the DJ shouted immediately: "The finals, the Purple and Gold Dynasty is back. Pacers, are you ready? Kobe, and Yao Ming, with the Lakers, are here!"

Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming hugged each other to celebrate their victory in the Western Conference Finals in the first year of their "OK ​​Copycat" team, and silently said in their hearts:
Finals, I'm back!

From the summer of 04 to the summer of 07, Kobe once again returned to the finals stage.

more importantly……

He returned to this stage earlier than Shaquille O'Neal!

Next, he needs to do one more thing, which is to defeat the Pacers. In that case, everyone will know who is the most important person in the Lakers' "three consecutive championships" journey in the early 00s.

Kobe and Shaq, who can't live without the other?
Yao Ming embraced the Western Conference trophy. It took him five years from 02 to 07 to win this trophy.

but……

If he had come to Los Angeles earlier, would he have been able to touch the Western Conference trophy earlier?
This thought suddenly popped up in Yao Ming's mind.

Although he had just worked with Kobe for the first season, he was very clear that Kobe and McGrady were two completely different players.

The media always puts them on the same level, but in Yao Ming's opinion, Kobe may not be much different from McGrady in terms of hard power. But whether it is the attitude on the court or the attitude off the court, McGrady will be defeated by Kobe in seconds.

This is the most hardworking player Yao Ming has ever seen, and also the hardest-working teammate he has ever seen on the court.

McGrady will never be able to show the same look as Kobe on the court.

Look at it this way...

Sharks are like that!
Who can’t win a championship with Kobe!

Yao Ming now looks at Shaquille O'Neal in a similar way to Xiang Yu looking at Qin Shi Huang, both of them have the same mentality of "I can replace him".

After they advance to the finals, the problems after the game naturally have nothing to do with the Spurs. All the problems are related to the Pacers...

"Before he won two championship trophies, I had already won three championship trophies. I have more experience than him, so I am not worried about anything!" - Kobe talked about Suwan's "two consecutive championships";
"I'll let him know why it's so hard to win three consecutive championships!" - Kobe is confident that he can definitely stop the Pacers from winning the "three consecutive championships";
"I am looking forward to it, because such a scene is not common for domestic fans." - Yao Ming talked about the first appearance of the "China Derby" in the finals;
"We probably won't meet, because this is a championship, he wants to win the championship, and I want to win the championship too!" - Yao Ming said that after going to Indiana, he would not meet with Suwan privately;
"Kobe is definitely one of the best No. 2 players in the league, and so is Suwan..." - Yao Ming briefly commented on Kobe and Suwan;

"Anyway, there will definitely be a Chinese player on the winning team!" - When a reporter asked Yao Ming to predict which team would win the championship, he gave a humorous reply;

……

As these post-game interviews flew to Indiana on the Lakers' private plane, Suwan's response came quickly: "He has the experience of winning three consecutive championships, but he has no experience of winning the Finals MVP!"

What does it mean to "stab people in the heart"?

But Kobe was not so easily defeated: "It's true that there is no such thing now, but there will be after this round of finals!"

Su Wan: "If you don't understand, just ask. Can you really gain experience by watching others lift the Finals MVP?"

Kobe responded again: "I will hold up the Finals MVP trophy in front of the Los Angeles fans, no doubt!"

Su Wan: "Kobe's jokes are good, except that they are a bit cold, there are no other problems!"

During the bickering between the two, the country also sent rounds of reporters. At the same time, in order to ensure that the commentary this time could be exciting enough, the on-site commentary team was carefully selected, and Yu Jia and Zhang Weiping were all sent over.

Su Wan also met the commentary team in the stadium cafeteria on the day of the game.

Zhang Weiping said: "Xiao Su, you don't know how lively the country is right now!"

Su Wan could actually imagine it.

Yao Ming's entry into the NBA created a "red storm" in China, but just like a center not selling shoes, the person who truly ignited the entire domestic basketball complex was guard Su Wan.

You know, the current generation of old fans in China are basically fans of Michael Jordan.

Now that a "Chinese Jordan" has appeared in China, God knows how excited they will be.

Yao Ming is the only "golden signboard" that China has established. When they vote for Su Wan, they will also vote for Yao Ming. Otherwise, Su Wan will definitely be the "vote king" of this year's All-Star Weekend.

However, Su Wan now has the opportunity to raise his reputation to a higher level.

As long as the Pacers win this time, Suwan will become the first player in history to establish a dynasty in the first three years of his career and win three consecutive MVPs...

Of course, by then it won’t just be the domestic fans who are going crazy, I’m afraid the entire American fan circle will be agitated.

Su Wan clearly felt that he was standing at a fork in the road of his career. If he took another step further, at the age of 22, he would be able to complete the journey that a historical "super giant" would take ten years to complete.

And he was lucky to join the Pacers, a team that already had the potential to win the championship. In addition, his "child labor contract" ensured that the team had no salary problems in the first three years.

There is only one such opportunity in Su Wan's entire career.

No matter from which angle he looks at it, he must grasp it.

The game time is coming soon. As the Pacers have made it to the finals for two consecutive years and won the championship trophy, the finals means only two words to them:

familiar!

Anthony Parker and Millsap were obviously in a tense state and almost walked sideways.

Especially when they walked out of the home team's player tunnel and saw the "gray" scene, it was even more...

My whole brain went blank!

It was Su Wan who gently pushed them twice from behind, and then they resumed action as if the system had restarted.

Su Wan was somewhat surprised to see someone on the bench:

"Future Princess" Ivanka.

The reason for his surprise was that he remembered that he had not received any message from Ivanka.

Is this a surprise attack?
Ivanka noticed his gaze and just smiled and nodded as a greeting.

I don’t know if Su Wan knew that this woman would help with important matters in the future. He always thought that Ivanka had a dignified and well-educated temperament, which is rare among American women.

However, Suwan's attention quickly returned to the Lakers.

tonight……

This is what he should care about most!
Soon, he noticed a good news: except Kobe and Fisher, no other players on this Lakers team had ever played in the finals.

Compared to the playoffs, the finals will be more intense due to the upcoming O'Brien Cup.

Su Wan thought that he could let other members of the Lakers pay tuition first.

Rick Carlisle...

I have the same idea as him!

Soon the game officially began, and the first round belonged to the Lakers.

But as soon as Fisher brought the ball across half court, the entire Pacers team immediately began to put pressure on the defense, and Artest almost stuffed himself into Kobe's jersey. The "Black Mamba" had a hard time receiving the ball under such circumstances, and a "swing" action with the ball tricked Artest into taking a step back, and he directly forced his way in from the right side.

Su Wan followed quickly from the side, but Kobe was too fast and the two of them had no time to form a "closed door".

Artest was "biting" Kobe from behind, and when he saw that he couldn't stop him, he "hugged" Kobe down halfway as he flew up. From the look of his posture, it seemed that he was going to do a "thunder hug" with him.

Yao Ming was stunned.

Of course, Artest waited for Kobe to regain his balance before letting him go.

Kobe clapped at the referee's whistle, a smile on his face:

This is the taste, this is the taste!
This is the finals!
After two free throws were made, the Pacers counterattacked.

Suwan faced Kobe with the ball.

The two exchanged a lot of verbal attacks before the game, but after the game started, Suwan spoke trash twice, and Kobe did not fight back, but just looked at him coldly. This time, Suwan took the ball and faced him, and provoked him again, but Kobe still did not say anything.

Su Wan suddenly thought of something: "It seems that Shaq's warning worked. That's right, Kobe, you should listen to him and never talk trash to me, otherwise, you will definitely lose! Silence is the best choice!"

"Damn it, who do you think you are?" Kobe was immediately shocked when he heard Shaq's name.

Phil Jackson next to him couldn't help but cover his face.

So fast?

Before the game, he repeatedly told Kobe not to provoke Suwan and just to win the ball safely.

After all, he knew exactly what kind of person Shaquille O'Neal was. Even such a proud person told him not to anger Su Wan. He felt that he needed to be careful.

But Kobe's look of foolishness at the time made him realize that his warning would be useless.

But he didn't expect that Su Wan only provoked him for the third time and Kobe couldn't help it!
When Su Wan saw Kobe's response, he couldn't help but say in his heart:
It has to be Kobe!

It's just "stubborn"!
However, he did not open "The zone" directly at the beginning, but quickly called for a pick-and-roll by Tinsley, preparing to single out Fisher.

As a result, the Lakers chose the same tactic as the Pacers did against LeBron.

Kobe and Fisher double-teamed Suwan. As for Tinsley, he was left alone.

Of course, the Pacers defended LeBron in this way because they knew that his passing vision was not as good as they thought, and double-teaming would definitely make him retreat directly.

The reason why the Lakers treated Suwan in this way was not only because Suwan was not good at passing the ball, but more importantly, Tinsley did not have the ability to catch the ball and shoot.

Once he dribbles the ball and starts attacking, Fisher will be able to defend him.

This move of the Lakers obviously caught Suwan off guard, and when he passed the ball to Tinsley, Fisher, as he had expected, returned to defense in front of Tinsley in time.

Another very important point is that although "Old Fish" Fisher is not good in other aspects, he is still good in confrontation.

But Tinsley relies heavily on confrontation when breaking through.

Su Wan glanced at the time and it was too late to call for a pick-and-roll, so he simply forced a breakthrough, made a quick stop in the mid-range, and tried to pass the ball, but failed to fool Kobe. So he took advantage of the situation and his original idea of ​​"praying to Buddha" turned into a direct shot.

By the time Kobe realized that Su Wan was really going to shoot, he was half a beat slow.

"Shh!"

The ball fell steadily into the basket.

"Ouch, the ball actually went in!" Zhang Weiping didn't expect it, but his next words surprised Yu Jia next to him, "Su Wan had to play like this, the Pacers' offense this round was very reasonable!"

Yu Jia was suddenly confused.

If it makes sense...then why did you use "actually" in front of it?

He never thought that these two sentences could be said together.

The Lakers are still looking for Kobe.

After Kobe pretended to break through this time, he jumped up and made a "swing pass".

Such a pass is definitely too high for most people, but for Yao Ming, it is just the right height.

Foster tried his best to get in front of him, but because his lower body was working hard, he couldn't jump up at all when he saw the ball right in front of him. Yao Ming finished "picking the melon" over his head, and then adjusted his hand shape while moving, and scored the ball with a small hook.

Two words:
soft!

Foster called out "Pervert!"

Su Wan watched Yao Ming score and then began to retreat. He quickly threw the ball to O'Neal in the corner and then directed everyone to run.

Yao Ming accelerated back to defense, and the Lakers quickly assembled a "five-man formation", and Suwan's fast break failed.

He slowly observed the entire Lakers defense.

Because the Pacers have no low-post one-on-one options.

So the Lakers' formation expanded outwards.

This ensures that even if the Pacers' perimeter players "leak", the Lakers' other players can quickly complete the defense. From the scene, the Lakers' defense is not a problem at all.

Su Wan decisively called for Foster's pick-and-roll.

The Lakers used the same tactics as before. After the pick-and-roll, Kobe and Yao Ming double-teamed Suwan and let Foster go.

But this time, Foster immediately walked towards the basket after the pick-and-roll, and at the same time, Su Wan knocked the ball to the ground and sent it right in front of him.

"Bah!"

The slam dunk was successful.

"It seems that the Pacers have conducted targeted exercises specifically for this tactic!" Bill Walton has a sharp eye. Just by looking at the movements of the Pacers players, he can tell that the Pacers are moving according to the tactics.

In the ABC studio, Reggie Miller said: "Yao Ming has a problem. He can't bend down to steal the ball. Therefore, it is difficult for him to steal the ball when he is helping to double-team. The Pacers took advantage of this and let Suwan pass the ball to help Foster score easily!"

There was a back-and-forth of attacks, and it was obvious that the head coaches on both sides had made detailed arrangements for this game. Some of the arrangements were even based on data collected during the regular season matches, and they all had obvious effects.

Is this the game between “champion coaches”?
Love it, love it!
"How much data? How much data?"

At the NBA headquarters, David Stern is watching the real-time data in the background.

Soon, staff members started telling him the latest ratings. Five minutes after the game started, the number of viewers had reached 5 million!
This is only the first game of the finals, and there are so many people watching it?

Just like online novels, when a new map is changed, many book-chasing brothers will start the "book-raising" mode, waiting for the plot to reach the climax before reading it together.

The finals are attracting more and more people as time goes on. With so many people watching the first game, when the final battle really comes, won’t the number of viewers reach 3 million?

Seriously, NBA live ratings haven't reached this level since Michael Jordan retired...

Unexpectedly, this season is finally expected to break this record.

Of course, it is normal that this game attracts so much attention. Suwan and Kobe can be said to be the two best players at the No. 2 position at present. They are like Michael Jordan and "Glider" back then, one in the east and one in the west, just waiting to stand on the highest stage and then have a "decisive battle"!
However, the "glider" of that year finally proved to be just a "cjb"!
Suwan is different from Kobe...

Judging from the current situation, the two will put on a wonderful "battle for the second position".

Not to mention Yao Ming, who is probably the best "traditional five" in the league, is performing the "under-the-basket singles textbook" that is about to disappear...

To put it bluntly, this is an "All-Star Game" where real combat is carried out!

Otherwise, David Stern wouldn't be so looking forward to this round of the finals.

"Bah!"

Starting from 6 minutes and 34 seconds in the first quarter, the Lakers clearly began to concentrate the ball in Yao Ming's hands.

After he got ready, he scored 6 points in a row against Foster, successfully helping the Lakers widen the gap to about 6 points.

Rick Carlisle did not call a timeout, but at this time, he was ready to switch to a "small lineup."

In the previous game against the Lakers, the Pacers' "small lineup" had not found a suitable opportunity to play. But after Rick Carlisle studied the Lakers' style of play, he finally came up with a very good idea.

Due to Yao Ming's physical problems, Phil Jackson is still very careful in using him.

And there is a rule:
Before replacing Yao Ming, he will definitely be allowed to attack with the ball to force the opponent to shrink the defense line, and then replace him and switch the offense back to the outside.

If the opponent fails to adjust in time, Kobe can seize the opportunity and launch a fierce attack.

If the opponent counterattacks quickly, Odom will continue to break through the basket in the bottom corner and find opportunities as well.

This is a common style of play for the Lakers this season.

What Rick Carlisle has to do is to speed up Yao Ming's physical energy consumption on the court during the period when Yao Ming is attacking fiercely and send him off the court early.

Moreover, the "small lineup" can also better block the space on the court. No matter whether it is Kobe or Odom, as long as they are holding the ball and playing one-on-one, the Pacers can form a heavy blockade.

Why has the “single-player tactic” become less and less common after more than 10 years?
It is because the mobility of the lineup has increased and the flexibility of double-teaming has also increased.

Especially for "traditional centers" who want to play hard under the basket, they don't have many opportunities at all and are too easy to be targeted.

Sure enough, Yao Ming soon felt his physical energy consumption accelerating.

In fact, from the beginning of the game, Su Wan deliberately accelerated the rhythm of serving, forcing Yao Ming to run hard when returning to defense, not giving him any breathing time.

Phil Jackson was probably daydreaming again and didn't notice this. Instead, he felt that the Lakers blocked the Pacers' wave after wave of "fast breaks" and he was very satisfied with the Lakers' enthusiasm today.

By the time they finally realized that Yao Ming's physical energy was being consumed faster than in the same period of time, it was time to replace him.

The person who replaced Yao Ming was Kwame Brown.

Although the "fake No. 1 pick" was completely ruined, he still had a foothold in the Lakers thanks to his solid foundation and became Yao Ming's first substitute.

Normally, what he has to do is to help Kobe with the pick-and-roll and look for "secondary attack" opportunities in the pick-and-roll offense. However, because of his "butter hands", his body and brain can keep up in this regard, but this hand...

I really can't keep up.

Because he couldn't catch the ball, he once said to Kobe during the game: "Don't pass the ball to me, Kobe!"

However, there was nothing outstanding on the offensive end, but on the defensive end he did a good job of defending the basket and protecting the rim.

But Yao Ming's departure actually means that the Lakers have returned to the mode of last season, and Kobe will become a "lone wolf" during this period.

Barkley watched the Lakers' increasingly monotonous style of play and couldn't help but sigh: "Last summer, acquiring Yao Ming gave this team a qualitative improvement in its lineup, but compared to the Pacers' accumulation over the past three years, the Lakers' lineup depth still seems too weak!"

The result of the homogenization of tactics is that Kobe has a harder and harder time playing.

The mobility of the "small lineup" was fully demonstrated at this moment. Kobe often had to face the double-teaming of not one, not two, three, but four people.

And in the case of missed shots, even the Lakers couldn’t play the “help rebound” play.

Firstly, Kobe was often forced to shoot very close to the basket, and the Pacers' inside players who were defending could just turn their heads and participate in the rebounding; secondly, Kwame Brown has "butter hands" and Odom's ability to attack the basket is not good enough. The Pacers are all forwards with tall height and athletic ability, and their ability to grab rebounds is really strong!
After grabbing the rebound and launching a counterattack, the Lakers' entire formation will be shattered due to their fear of the Pacers' three-pointers.

The Pacers' "small lineup" did the opposite during this period, as if they knew that the Lakers would definitely block their three-pointers. They concentrated their strength and continued to break through the basket during this period.

Kwame Brown is good at both back-up and top defense, but there is a prerequisite...

That is, the team must be in "positional warfare" mode.

Every time he hurried back to defense, he didn't know who had the ball. He observed the Pacers' passing routes in a panic. In such a situation, he had no way to protect the rim with high quality.

The Lakers' basket was constantly breached.

In just three minutes, the Lakers' 6-point lead before Yao Ming left the court suddenly turned into a 3-point deficit.

Phil Jackson called a timeout at this time, but he didn't dare to bring Yao Ming back to the court.

The Pacers' "small lineup" is in its best condition at the moment in terms of momentum and impact. If they bring Yao Ming in now, there will be only one result, and that is that Yao Ming will be squeezed dry as well.

All he can do is trust Kobe...

His gamble really paid off. Kobe made two consecutive three-pointers, which saved the Lakers from being left behind by double digits before the end of the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers led by 29 points with 23 to 6.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Phil Jackson decisively continued to use Yao Ming and Kobe.

Ok……

Apart from continuing to make Kobe suffer, he really has no other choice.

If the Lakers want to keep the score close in the second quarter, they must narrow the gap at the beginning of the second quarter.

The Pacers' "small lineup" had been on the court for more than 6 minutes. Suwan and his teammates also played the full 12 minutes of the first quarter. They had to rest at the beginning of the second quarter. The Lakers had absolute sovereignty.

There was nothing wrong with Phil Jackson's "peak-shifting tactics" arrangement, and the effect was achieved.

At 3 minutes and 45 seconds in the second quarter, they successfully tied the score, and Rick Carlisle did not hesitate to use the "small lineup" at this time. Originally, Foster was going to play to consume Yao Ming, and then use the "small lineup", but Phil Jackson let Yao Ming play at the beginning of the second quarter, so this step could be omitted.

When Yao Ming was on the court, the "small lineup"'s restraint on Kobe was not so obvious. At least when it was difficult for him to shoot under the basket, he could pass the ball to Yao Ming to assist him in completing the offense, or to get a "rebound".

Yao Ming was like a "monster" in front of the Pacers' "small lineup". He grabbed 3 offensive rebounds in the second quarter alone.

However, the consumption of the "small lineup" on him will gradually become apparent, and the more fiercely he attacks, the more obvious the effect will be.

As a result, Yao Ming was substituted off the court again with about 3 minutes left in the second quarter.

In fact, Yao Ming's playing time, including the first and second quarters, has reached 17 minutes. If this time is converted into a full game, it is 34 minutes. And Phil Jackson would not let Yao Ming sit out for half a quarter in the crucial third quarter, so the final playing time will definitely exceed 37 minutes.

For a giant with a height of 2 meters, playing for such a long time in the finals with such a high intensity of competition can really not be considered as having poor physical fitness.

Unfortunately, facing such a Pacers team, the Lakers want Yao Ming to be in the same state as a "physical monster".

Otherwise, no matter how tense the game was, even if the Pacers were ahead, they could take advantage of the time when Yao Ming was not on the court to get ahead.

At the end of the first half, the Pacers once again had a 6-point lead.

Watching the Pacers take the lead again, Charles Barkley's eyes were full of aftertaste: "Now it seems that these two teams have their own advantage periods. Now it depends on which side can grasp their advantage period and play more advantages!"

Kenny Smith expressed a different opinion: "The Lakers are undoubtedly the more passive side because their advantage time is all controlled by the Pacers."

His words came true for the Lakers.

In the second half, the Pacers resumed their regular season lineup and began to consume Yao Ming's energy.

Their purpose is obvious, which is to reduce the Lakers' strong period and allow the game to get into the Pacers' rhythm more quickly.

Phil Jackson can only resort to the "drag" strategy, also known as...

Kobe, go ahead!

The Lakers entered Kobe's one-on-one mode, while on the Pacers side, Suwan, who was slightly suppressed by Kobe in the first half, continued to give strong responses this time.

Phil Jackson looked at Suwan, who became stronger in the second half as usual, and his eyes gradually became firm.

After this game, he must have a good talk with Kobe!
Having witnessed the weirdness of Michael Jordan, he is sure that there are indeed a few players in this world who can boost their fighting spirit and make themselves stronger by finding faults.

Plus, Suwan was able to enter what Michael Jordan called "The zone."

And if I really want to say...

The frequency is much higher than Michael Jordan!
He had to make a bold guess:

Su Wan’s “The zone” definitely has a lot to do with whether his opponents will talk trash to him.

Just like Jordan exploded when he encountered doubts, and Kobe exploded when he went to court...

Su Wan is also the type of person who is easily ridiculed.

And just now he saw with his own eyes Kobe constantly chattering at Su Wan and arguing with him.

Then Suwan's performance in the second half was completely different, almost approaching Kobe!
The first 8 minutes of the third quarter were almost spent in a "fight between the gods". Suwan scored 9 points, and Kobe was even better, scoring 11 points. But for the Pacers, even though Suwan scored 2 points less than Kobe, his mission was accomplished.

Because Kobe is tired...

His efficiency is declining, and at this time the Lakers must transfer the ball to Yao Ming.

The Pacers successfully consumed Yao Ming's physical energy.

Yao Ming was known as a "superstar in the first three quarters". After being severely exhausted, his performance in the fourth quarter was hard to describe. In the last 5 minutes, he only made 2 of 1 free throws, even his most stable one.

But this is not his fault, because at this time Yao Ming had been on the court for more than 33 minutes. At the end of the game, his playing time will reach 38 minutes... This exceeds his regular season playing time.

Now every step on the court is a load exercise for him.

106 to 91, a difference of 15 points. After a tense period, the Pacers defended their first home court.

Phil Jackson found Kobe after the game and said very seriously: "Kobe, if your goal is to win the championship, then... stop talking trash to Suwan!"

Today is the second update. The finals are expected to be completed in two days, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Please vote for me.

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(End of this chapter)