O'Neal is undoubtedly the Lakers' most offensive threat.
After the Pistons finished the first quarter, they took a look at O'Neal's statistics during the break. They found 5 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, 11 points and 3 rebounds. Larry Brown immediately exploded.
It's easy to accept being killed by Durn and Kobe from the outside. It's really impossible to prevent stars from making difficult shots to score.
The question is, why didn't O'Neal guard him?
O'Neal didn't force every ball into singles! Many balls are obviously very simple to eat cakes!
Although it might have been impossible for anyone else to eat the same cake, the one eating the cake was O'Neal, who seemed so relaxed and comfortable on the court.
After Larry Brown became furious and cursed, Big Ben and Roaring God's faces were also dull, saying that no one could miss O'Neal next!
The game started quickly in the second quarter, and Duan, who was well rested, started again.
Because Kobe and O'Neal were also on the court, Duan did not rush to attack. Instead, he handed the ball to Kobe first, focusing on off-ball play to help the Lakers open up space.
Kobe only took two shots in the first quarter. In the second quarter, he saw Duen take the initiative to hand over the ball. Not only did he have no objection, but he thought Duen was quite interesting.
"It's my first time to play in the Finals and face the Pistons' level of defense. Isn't your physical strength not enough? You're not going to compete with me for the Finals MVP, are you?"
Because Nike has already assigned the Finals MVP to the internal competition between Kobe and Duane, Kobe needs Nike to help eliminate the off-court influence.
Therefore, Kobe naturally regarded Du En's current actions as voluntarily stepping aside to make way for others, and chose to assist him in winning the championship.
Perhaps because his thoughts were clear and he was in a good mood, Kobe then played Hamilton in singles with the ball, and as if with divine help, he scored two mid-range shots in a row.
Of course, this is also because Duane and O'Neal attracted defense inside and outside respectively, and Kobe was not flanked. They all scored by Hamilton alone.
Seeing that the point difference had widened to 10 points, Larry Brown suddenly had an idea on the sidelines.
Then he shouted to the court: "Tyshawn, guard Kobe! Richard, guard Duan!"
Larry Brown had never made up his mind to do this before, mainly because during the regular season, Duan's back hitting severely beat Hamilton and Billups.
Now that Kobe is feeling hot, Hamilton can't guard Kobe at all. If Kobe continues to play like this, the Pistons will definitely lose tonight.
Larry Brown didn't want to lose to the Lakers again and lose to the Zen Master, so he could only treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor and take the risk.
I have to say that Larry Brown really got lucky.
Prince is 2.06 meters tall and has a wingspan of 2.18 meters. Kobe is 1.98 meters tall and has a wingspan of 2.11 meters.
Prince was guarding Kobe. No matter how fast Kobe shot or how far he leaned back, Prince could reach out and interfere with Kobe's shot.
Even though Kobe felt good at this time, the ball still hit the edge of the basket.
Fortunately, Malone relied on O'Neal to block the double Wallace, got the ball and offensive rebound and then made a tip-in.
In the Pistons' offensive round, it was the same as before.
Duane's assisting defense affected Billups' shooting. Kobe tried his best on both offense and defense, and Hamilton could only keep running.
As the attack time was about to run out, the Pistons could only let the Roaring God take over and make one shot.
However, Malone is not a freeloader. Although he did not interfere with the roaring Tianzun's straight-arm jump shot, he put a lot of effort into physical confrontation.
Roaring Tianzun lacks strength in his waist and abdomen, and it is a bit difficult to shoot with just his upper body strength. This time, the mid-range is a little shorter.
Ever since, O'Neal easily picked off a rebound on his head.
After halftime, Kobe got the ball again. This time Kobe didn't rush to take action, but kept dribbling to find rhythm.
Prince's pace was not slow, and he kept putting his hand on Kobe's waist to restrict Kobe from holding the ball and rushing to the basket.
Kobe Bryant didn't call for pick-and-rolls as frequently as Duane. He found that Prince's long arms were too disruptive, so he passed the ball to Duen.
Duen thought that Kobe, like James, gave the opportunity to attack to his most trusted teammates.
However, when he saw Kobe standing with his back and reaching for the ball from him, Duen realized that this was not the case.
In the NBA, some stars rely on one move to win all over the world, but some stars can adapt to different situations and use different offensive methods to solve different opponents.
Kobe's offensive methods are extremely rich. Since it's difficult to hit the frame, he can use his back!
Duan understood what Kobe was thinking and decisively passed the ball back to Kobe.
I saw that Kobe turned around and passed Prince with the help of a fake move with his back and shoulders, but when he was about to step into the paint area, Ben came out from the basket.
When Kobe saw this, he did not force himself. Just like in the first quarter, he skillfully passed the ball to O'Neal.
After receiving the ball, O'Neal was about to make a splash from the shark, but a pair of big hands came from behind and grabbed him hard.
Even so, O'Neal still wanted to fly into the sky, but behind O'Neal were not only the roaring gods, but also Billups and Prince, who also came up to hold O'Neal down.
O'Neal lost his footing and fell to the ground.
Hearing the whistle, it was just a common foul, so he could only stand on the free throw line cursing.
Not long after, two free throws were made and the situation could not be considered too bad.
However, Larry Brown took advantage of O'Neal's free throw opportunity to replace the roaring Tianzun who had accumulated three fouls, and replaced the substitute inside player Okur.
If you can't guard one person, there will be two; if you can't guard two, there will be three.
I have to say that the Pistons have too many resources to defend O'Neal!
Of course, Okur's role is not just to support O'Neal for a while.
As soon as they came up this time, the Pistons gave Okur the three-point tactic of receiving the ball from the outside.
Okur lived up to expectations, taking advantage of his height and Malone's defense to be a step slower and steadily make a three-pointer.
At this point, the score difference on the court narrowed to less than 10 points.
However, Kobe didn't pay too much attention and still tried to make contributions in singles.
However, this time the Pistons went around to restrict O'Neal from catching the ball, and Kobe was faced with double-teaming from Ben and Prince. Kobe was unable to pass the ball to O'Neal, so he had to force his own shot.
Duang——
There was another sound of iron hitting, and Malone rushed forward to grab the rebound but was beaten by Ben.
Turning around, Payton's defense was a little loose, and Billups hit a chasing three-pointer.
In two consecutive rounds, he scored 6 points in a row, and the point difference was immediately recovered.
Zen Master didn't just sit still, he immediately called a timeout and called the players on the field to come down and readjust.
However, halfway through, Malone seemed to be aware of the small tacit understanding between Doen and Kobe, but was a little dissatisfied with Kobe's reluctant shots in singles in recent rounds.
"In the previous round, there was a lot of space on my side. Why didn't you pass the ball to me?"
Kobe didn't care about Malone, but he really failed to help the Lakers widen the point difference. Instead, the Pistons continued to chase points, so he could only shut up and let the ridicule go.
Malone got excited and continued to chase Kobe.
Just when Kobe was about to retaliate, Master Zen called everyone over and made personnel adjustments.
Jackson first removed Payton and re-sent Fisher, adding a space point to the field.
Immediately afterwards, Du En was asked to hold the ball and connect the team.
Hearing this arrangement, Kobe and Malone had nothing to say. O'Neal walked to Duen and discussed passing him more passes.
O'Neal was in very good form tonight, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, but after playing more than 4 minutes in the second quarter, he only scored 1 point.
O'Neal didn't want to be in good condition. After the game, he looked at the scoring data and found that the score did not exceed 20 points.
Although, for a strong defensive team like the Pistons, scoring 17 or 18 points in a single game is already amazing.
But who is O'Neal? One of the league's rulers, the head of the Lakers, and the most powerful contender for MVP of this finals!
O'Neal naturally wants to continue his peak and league dominance.
Of course, O'Neal also noticed that Doan did not have a strong desire to attack tonight, and Kobe's condition declined due to the Pistons' defensive adjustments.
Therefore, O'Neal, as the leader of the team, also needs to stand up and score.
Duan expressed no objection to this. Giving Kobe the ball is no different from giving O'Neal pie. After all, it is all about winning.
After returning to the court, Duan immediately called O'Neal and Malone to double cover in the high post.
O'Neal rushed to the basket first, taking away Okur and attracting Hamilton's defense.
Ben came out to defend, but was also shaken by Du En's fake move. As Du En broke through and pulled to the bottom corner, he passed the ball to Malone.
Malone moved down to attack the basket, attracting Okur's defense.
In the end, Malone and O'Neal cooperated under the basket, and the latter completed the alley-oop dunk.
Although Duan did not receive assist data, he successfully organized a wave of offense and helped the Lakers stabilize the situation.
Next, with the help of Duan, the Lakers regained the point difference.
The Pistons hit Okur several goals, but Okur's shooting percentage also dropped significantly after the physical confrontation intensified.
Until more than 8 minutes into the second quarter, the Lakers relied on Prince to take a break and gave the ball to Kobe for singles again. Kobe's shooting touch began to pick up again.
As a last resort, the Pistons could only flank Kobe, who was playing singles with the ball.
Unexpectedly, when Kobe saw Du En waving for the ball, he decisively passed the ball to Du En.
The Pistons relied on Hamilton, who played almost the entire first half, to defend Dune. Without saying a word, Dune staggered Hamilton with an iron rock.
Then he turned around and pretended to break through, then stepped back to the three-point line and shot a jump shot.
Hamilton didn't stand firm to begin with. When he saw Duan turn around and break through, in order to prevent O'Neal from easily catching the ball, Hamilton could only retreat to the basket.
Who knew that Du En could give him a trick of pretending to be a sudden attack?
Therefore, before Hamilton could pounce, Duan had already completed his shot.
In the second quarter, Duen took his first shot. Although he had consumed some energy on the defensive end before, Duen still had the energy to shoot a three-pointer.
What's more, this is a single-action tiptoe shot that Du En is good at.
brush--
The ball went in, and Duan stepped up again to score a single.
However, O'Neill was not happy when he saw this situation.
Duan feels good, and the Lakers are expected to further widen the point difference, but O'Neal only scored 3 points in the second quarter!
14 points in the half and no 18 points in the whole game?
Kobe and Duane are both feeling good, how can O'Neal still get the ball?
What's more, the Pistons guarded O'Neal very carefully.
In order to preserve some energy and be able to score in the second half, O'Neal also took the initiative when attacking and ran to the sidelines to tell the Zen Master to let him go and rest.
The Zen master nodded and quickly made substitution adjustments. O'Neal immediately notified Fisher to send him to the free throw line.
43 to 56, after the first half, the Lakers relied on an offensive efficiency that far exceeded that of G1 to take a 13-point halftime lead.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Lakers relied on Duan, O'Neal, and Malone's high-post double screens to create a better scoring opportunity for O'Neal at the basket.
However, after playing for a game and a half, the Pistons became more familiar with the Lakers' tactics.
As soon as O'Neal got the ball, someone sent O'Neal to the free throw line, and the shark-cutting tactic was forced to come early.
Because the Lakers relied on their main players, they did not choose to waste the number of fouls committed by their main players, so they did not retaliate.
However, after O'Neal made 2 of 6 free throws, Jackson still sat on the sidelines and gave instructions, indicating to Dunn not to pass the ball to O'Neal and let Kobe do it!
Perhaps it was the halftime break that made Kobe's fiery touch become extremely cold. Of course, it was also possible that it was due to Prince's interference. After Kobe got the ball, he hit two irons in a row.
In order to prevent Kobe from continuing to be so stubborn and causing the Lakers to lose, Duan could only stand up and choose to play with the ball by himself.
Duan continued to play a high double screen, but this time he pulled to the left corner for a single.
Let Malone stand in the left corner to provide support, and let O'Neal squat in the right corner. Kobe is also on the right side, but standing at a 45-degree angle.
In order to take care of both the basket and the outside, the Pistons could only send Hamilton to defend Duan alone.
Du En finally took out the killer move that he had hidden away for so long and tried it.
In fact, Larry Brown also knew that Duan would play in the high post, but this was the first time he saw him in the low post.
Seeing Duan's back-up action, Larry Brown immediately shouted for a double-team, but it was already too late.
I saw Du En hit him on the back and then turned around and ducked near Malone. Although Malone had never cooperated with Du En, he subconsciously created a wall for Du En and helped Du En block Hamilton in the corner and Ben who saved from the basket. .
brush--
It was Duan's shooting again that helped the Lakers stabilize the situation.
And this time, it's not just a flash in the pan, but it can appear on the court again and again.
Du En was so strong in low singles that he made O'Neal look stupid!
"I already had 11 points in the first quarter, and now the third quarter is almost over, but I still only have 16 points?"
In fact, O'Neal was not the only one who felt depressed at this time, Kobe was also a little speechless.
Why did Duan feel so good tonight? Why are his hands so unsatisfactory!
It was only tough for half a half, and after halftime it was time for the sage...
Due to Duane's efficient scoring in the third quarter, the Lakers had accumulated a 16-point advantage before entering the fourth quarter.
In this case, the advantage of playing at home is also reflected.
After entering the fourth quarter, once the Pistons scored, there were overwhelming boos.
When the Lakers score, even if Fisher scores, the cheers are deafening.
The Lakers already had a huge scoring advantage, so they didn't play in a hurry.
By the fourth quarter, Duane even became a dribble guard in order to avoid mistakes.
Once the Pistons score consecutive goals, the Lakers immediately resort to cost-cutting tactics to disrupt the Pistons' offensive rhythm.
It is precisely this method of methodically suppressing the pace of the game that makes it impossible for the Pistons to make a comeback.
More than 7 minutes into the fourth quarter, Larry Brown chose to withdraw all the main players, hoping to return to Detroit and play better.
82 to 99. Under the leadership of Duen, who made 13 of 22 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 33 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists, the Lakers beat the Pistons by 17 points in G2 of the Finals. Zi brought out the momentum of the super team.
After the game, even though O'Neal was beaten by the Pistons in the fourth quarter and his mentality exploded, and he only scored 20 points in the game, he still had to praise Duan, a capable little brother.
"I'm ready to pass on all my honor and status to Duen like Karim did!"
I've been a little busy lately, so I'm due for an update and will make it up on the weekend.
(End of chapter)
