Legendary star

Chapter 425 The Problematic Lakers

"It seems that the Lakers still have a long way to go. At least Phil Jackson must coordinate the distribution of the ball and combine the four stars on the court to let them play 1+1+1+1 +1 > 4, otherwise they still can't beat the Pacers." As the game continued, the Pacers had completely controlled the situation on the court, especially inside, and O'Neal couldn't do anything anymore. In that way, the Pacers were ravaged unscrupulously. Mutombo and Jermaine O'Neal were not O'Neal's opponents one-on-one, but the combination of the two caused O'Neal a lot of trouble, especially in the first quarter. After physical strength, O'Neal's offensive efficiency dropped sharply in the second quarter, and there was even a scene where he missed three consecutive offenses.As for the team's outside line, Hamilton's defense against Kobe was also very good. With Meng Xu helping to defend from the side, the two leading stars of the Lakers encountered a lot of trouble in the second quarter.

When the official timeout of the second quarter came, the Pacers led the Lakers 40 to 34 by 6 points. After the substitute players from both sides came on the court, the point difference between the two teams not only did not narrow, but was further widened. The Lakers' bench has also become a shortcoming this season. The bench lineup composed of Lorenzen White, Jeff Foster, James Posey, Reggie Miller, and Bobby Simmons completely suppressed it. The Lakers bench lineup led by Malone, at the end of the second quarter, the point difference between the two sides has been widened to 10 points.

The Lakers' current offensive system is really problematic. The triangle offense is no longer compatible with O'Neal and Kobe, and Malone and Payton can't integrate into the triangle offense. Payton, in particular, is very resistant to the triangle offense. Many tactical moves in the offense are superfluous. In Payton's view, the current Lakers don't need too complicated and sophisticated tactics at all. As long as the whole team pulls out and hands the ball to O'Neal, the other side doesn't need it. With Malone, Kobe and their own abilities, as long as no one is defending, it is an absolute chance to score. The combination of inside and outside is simple and effective, and it saves time and effort. It is no more efficient than the triangular offense. too much.

At the same time, in this game, the Lakers' problems are not only on the offensive end. On the defensive end, the Lakers also have a big problem. The Lakers' two guard positions, power forward and center, are all strong points. The forward position is much worse. As for the Pacers, the small forward position is the strongest, and the Lakers do not have a perimeter defensive strength that can limit Meng Xu. Kobe, Malone and Devin George Taking turns to defend, Meng Xu couldn't be restrained, and Meng Xu couldn't be restrained. No matter how well the Lakers defended against the Pacers' other players on the court, it was of no use.Defense and offense have always complemented each other. If the efficiency of the defensive end does not increase and the corresponding defensive strength cannot be achieved, it will also affect the performance of the offensive end, especially the Lakers and Pacers, who are based on positional offense. team.

"Yes, for the Lakers, the primary issue now is how to coordinate the distribution of ball rights among several superstars and increase their mutual cooperation. Only in this way can the Lakers truly display their strength."

The Pacers players on the court performed well, and the audience off the court became even more excited. Today is a day that is destined to be recorded in the history of the Pacers. For these fans on the scene, if they can beat the Lakers today, then today The championship ring presentation ceremony is perfect, championship, ring, victory.And still stepping on last season's opponent in the finals, the Lakers with the most prosperous lineup this season, all of this makes people full of inexplicable pleasure.

Although the Pacers have firmly controlled the situation on the court and are not far from their first victory of the new season, Larry Bird was very calm after entering the locker room. , obviously did not play the strongest strength. If they maintain this state, not to mention winning the championship, even entering the finals will be difficult, but the long season has just begun, and the Lakers have plenty of time to adjust. Being able to find a way to knead them together, the Lakers' strength can rise at least two steps.

"Guys, you performed very well in the first half, but the game is far from over, and we have not yet reached the time to relax." In this game, Laliberd was used to test the reality of both sides, but the game The process made Larry Bird a little disappointed. Originally, Larry Bird thought that after more than a month of training camp, Phil Jackson had solved these problems faced by the Lakers, but judging from the performance of the Lakers on the court, The Lakers are clearly not ready yet.As for the Pacers, many problems were exposed in this game. After replacing the two main players, the Pacers' starting lineup was obviously a little rusty in terms of coordination. Hamilton was not very familiar with Meng Xu's style of play and The technical characteristics are far less tacit than Reggie Miller and Meng Xu.The team's starting point guard, Jamal Tinsley, was basically locked up by Payton, and he didn't perform well on both ends of the offense and defense. Fortunately, the Pacers organized the offense with Meng Xu, and Payton couldn't get much from the Lakers. Opportunity, otherwise Jamal Tinsley alone would be enough for the Pacers to drink a pot.

"Meng, the Lakers are likely to change their lineup in the second half and change the focus of offense, so in the second half, you have to pay attention to covering for Jamal Tinsley and pay attention to assisting Gary Payton." In Larry Bird's view, As a veteran head coach, it is impossible for Phil Jackson not to see what he can see, so as long as Phil Jackson still has a little desire to win, he will make changes in the second half and make a last-ditch effort, so from After entering the locker room, Larry Bird has been thinking about this question, how should the Pacers deal with the change of the Lakers?

"Jermaine, in the second half, you can expand your defensive range a little beyond the free throw line, hand over the area under the basket to DiBacon, and you can cooperate with Meng to sweep the area near the free throw line, but you still have to deal with O'Neal and Malone pay more attention." After arranging Meng Xu's task, Larry Bird found Jermaine O'Neal again. Jermaine O'Neal was always the Pacers' inside defensive axis last season, but In terms of frame protection ability, there is not a small gap between Duncan and Ben Wallace. O'Neal transformed into a defensive free agent, and let him take on the connection between the Pacers' outside defense and inside defense, as well as the defense of defensive loopholes. Rebuilding the Pacers' defense is also one of Larry Bird's important plans this season. .

Soon, after the 15-minute intermission ended and the Pacers and Lakers players appeared on the field again, the fans at the scene were still very excited. Kill your team's biggest rivals,
(End of this chapter)