"What is Duan wearing?"
"Breastplate? Is this going to be a fight?"
"It seems that he is actively trying to practice elbow strikes. This should be to prevent Kobe, right?"
"Oh my God, is this too much? Duan is wearing a breastplate! Is this the intimidation of the No. 1 shooting guard in the Western Conference?"
"It looks like it's going to get serious tonight!"
"I think Kobe won't be able to do anything against Duan tonight!"
June 7, Chicago United Center.
Some fans who had already entered the stadium noticed that Duan, who was warming up on the field, was wearing something he had never seen before today.
Since the United Center is a stadium with more than 20,000 people, there are now thousands of fans who have entered the stadium. There are still a few knowledgeable ones among them. They can tell at a glance that Duan is a breastplate.
In other words, Du En is really ready to fight tonight.
Seeing Duen constantly conducting defensive training with the trainer on the field, the fans at the scene were even more looking forward to what good show would be performed next.
While Du En was testing the protective effect brought by the breastplate, he was also slowly adapting to the offensive disadvantages brought by the breastplate.
Although the breastplate on Du En fits Du En's body very well, it is heavy after all, and it also puts some pressure on Du En's waist.
This effect on Du En is equivalent to changing into a pair of unworn sneakers, which is not too big or too small.
In order to minimize the impact of wearing a breastplate on the finals, Du En temporarily decided to change his playing style tonight.
However, while Du En was still warming up and adapting, the on-site ABC reporter made a special trip to interview Du En.
Obviously, Duan wore a breastplate to play, which attracted the attention of ABC.
"Excuse me, Du En, why did you wear such a piece of protective gear tonight?
Is it because of the injury in the last game?
Or is this a secret weapon you specially prepared? "
Facing reporters’ questions, Duen said calmly: “Confrontation is part of the game, and injuries are also part of the game.
So, there's nothing to focus on, just look at our performance on the court.
If we lose, everything that has been said will become an excuse.
If we win, all the odds against us will become part of our legend!
Okay, let’s focus on the game!
No one knows better than me how good the Los Angeles Lakers are and how good Kobe is!
However, this is not Los Angeles. I will use practical actions to tell everyone whose territory this is! "
The more Du En fails to explain the matter clearly, the more people who don't know the truth will naturally want to find out the truth.
Even the Lakers players who were also warming up on the court noticed the protective gear Duen was wearing and were very interested in the changes that took place on Duen.
"Duen is injured?"
"Doesn't that mean our opportunity has come?"
"Is Kobe's elbow that bad?"
"You're kidding, do you know what Little Malone is?"
Kobe, who was still warming up for shooting, heard his teammates teasing him like this, and his face suddenly turned gloomy.
However, when he heard that Duen seemed to be injured and was wearing a breastplate to defend against his elbow, Kobe felt a little more serious.
The warm-up time ended quickly, and as the players from the two teams returned to the locker room to discuss tactics, the lights dimmed, the starting players made a grand appearance, and the finals G2 game began quickly.
Gasol helped the Lakers win the ball as soon as he came up. After halftime, Kobe immediately asked for the ball, and then accelerated forward and elbowed the way to attack Du En, as if he wanted to test whether Du En was injured.
Take advantage of your illness to save your life! It's the same as playing basketball. You can pick out the defensive weaknesses of the team and the opponent, but you definitely can't talk about morals.
Kobe is a player who has a strong desire to win. As long as he can win, Kobe is also willing to do things like adding insult to injury to injured players.
Of course, Kobe still uses normal playing movements when playing, not the movements in the Octagon.
It's just that Kobe's skills were learned from Jordan, Malone and others, and are relatively retro, so his movements are closer to the style of the 1980s and 1990s.
Having said that, Duan wore a breastplate to receive Kobe's elbow, so he was naturally much more calm than in G1.
Duen was originally in good physical condition, but now that he is wearing anti-Kobe armor, he is naturally not afraid of confronting Kobe.
Under the strict defense of Du En, Kobe also suffered a lot of pressure in terms of movement control.
As Luol Deng stepped forward, Kobe knew that the ball was not easy to shoot, so he passed the ball to Hinrich on the side for the first time.
Hinrich was not polite after getting the ball. He shot a three-pointer directly against Baron Davis's defense to try his hand.
Duang——
The three-pointer failed to hit, but Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound and then tipped in to help the Lakers score first.
In the Bulls' offensive round, Duan did not come to the half court to ask for the ball and beat Kobe Bryant alone like he did in G1. Instead, he ran directly into the low post and turned his back to prepare for the ball.
When Kobe saw Duan running into the low post, he naturally followed him.
The Lakers did not go around Duan, but continued to mark man-to-man.
When Baron Davis saw this, he naturally lobbed the ball to Duan and asked Duan to play Kobe alone.
The reason why Duan plays in the low post is simply because he wears a breastplate and is worried that his shooting percentage will be affected.
Basketball is a sport where the farther you go from the basket, the higher the shooting percentage.
Duan plays a swingman like Kobe Bryant in the low post, and he has height and weight advantages.
As Duen hit Kobe on his back, Kobe was obviously struggling. Even though he tried his best, Duen still pushed him into the penalty area.
Odom noticed this and immediately came to help defend, but Duan suddenly turned over and hooked. With a very high starting point, Kobe had difficulty blocking the shot and steadily hooked the ball into the basket.
After this round, Kobe probably understood how Duan would play tonight.
If nothing else, physical confrontation will be the main theme tonight.
Kobe guessed that Duen would use offense to consume him, so he was not prepared to use his singles to consume Duen. After all, Duen was prepared and wore armor in advance.
Since the elbow clearing the way did not have a big impact on Duan, Kobe did not choose to hold the ball, but switched to playing without the ball.
Kobe asked Hinrich and Gasol to start the pick-and-roll to open up the situation.
And he kept running without the ball, interspersed in the Bulls' defensive system, running with Du En as much energy as possible, and at the same time, he also tried every means to tear apart the Bulls' defense.
However, realizing that Kobe wanted to become Hamilton, Dunn immediately switched defenses with Luol Deng and asked Luol Deng to chase Kobe.
It doesn't matter if he loses Kobe, Duen can still help defend.
To take a step back, even if Kobe seizes some opportunities and shoots after catching the ball, it won't be a big problem.
As long as Duane can make up for the points Kobe scored, that will be a problem.
In short, Duane, who plays in the low post, needs to save some energy on the defensive end, and this is the key to whether the Bulls can win tonight.
On the contrary, Luol Deng's scoring is not that important, as long as he can provide stable defense.
By the way, Kobe noticed that it was not Duane who was chasing him, but Luol Deng, and he signaled Hinrich to find an opportunity to pass the ball to him.
It’s hard to beat Duen, but why not hard to beat Luol Deng?
"There's a lot of space here!"
Kobe has returned to his familiar role, and Dunn noticed that Hinrich did not attack immediately, so he paid more attention to Kobe.
Whenever Kobe receives the ball, Duane immediately steps forward to help defend.
Even if he can't block the shot, it's not a bad thing to interfere with Kobe's shooting.
I have to say that Kobe's shooting was indeed okay at the beginning.
But with constant running, constant physical contact, and constant flanking, Kobe's shooting percentage can no longer remain efficient.
Kobe is a player who becomes more confident the more he throws. Even if he has two irons in a row, or even three irons in a row, Kobe will continue to shoot.
Kobe's ability is to make consecutive shots. If he makes consecutive shots, it depends on whether Kobe's teammates can grab offensive rebounds.
However, with Kobe's style of play, it is easy to fall into the dilemma of fighting alone and without help.
It can only be said that Kobe still needs to pay some tuition for his first time leading the team in the finals as the team leader.
This season, Kobe and Gasol still lack some time and patience to get along. Gasol has become the axis of the Lakers, but Kobe has not completely delegated power to Gasol, and at the same time he has not taken the initiative to follow Gasol. Make a connection.
Before the finals, the Lakers can still rely on the personal strength of their stars to turn the tide, fix everything, and win the game.
But now that they are facing a defending champion like the Bulls in the Finals, the Lakers' lineup is at a disadvantage. Kobe cannot win the game by relying on his personal strength alone.
Then, Kobe's solo style of play is undoubtedly hurting the team.
After all, as long as the Bulls double-team Kobe and make Kobe's scoring efficiency low enough, they can win the game through defense.
It was also because they established a certain advantage in the first quarter. The Bulls played steadily, replacing rotation players one by one, and continued to consume the Lakers.
After the first half, although the point difference was not as large as G1, the Bulls also established an 8-point lead.
After the start of the third quarter, Duan came up and continued to play low singles. After attracting the defense, he suddenly fed Tyson Chandler. The latter dunked and scored 2 points. The Bulls once again expanded their advantage to double digits.
Kobe wanted to respond strongly, but his shot failed. Tyson Chandler protected the rebound and immediately made a long pass to the frontcourt for conversion.
In order to avoid being like the last game, Duen made a chasing three-pointer. When the Lakers players on the field returned to defense, they chose to focus their defensive attention on Duen.
When Duan noticed that Kobe and others were double-teaming him, he turned back to Mochizuki and passed the ball to Luol Deng who was walking in the middle. After receiving the ball, the latter relied on his impact to hit the basket and hit Hinrich with a two-pointer. plus one.
After the extra free throw was made, the point difference further widened to 13 points.
The bigger the score difference, the more anxious Kobe feels, but sometimes just being anxious is useless.
By the time Kobe came off the court in the third quarter, the Bulls had established an 18-point lead.
Just when the Bulls thought the Lakers were about to collapse, Hinrich and Odom led other substitute players and scored three consecutive rounds to narrow the point difference to less than 15 points.
When this happens, Kobe can only drink water and wipe his sweat silently while staring at the situation on the court.
However, before the Lakers could maintain their current offensive momentum, the Bulls players on the field adjusted themselves and quickly launched a counterattack.
Not long after, Duan returned to the court and continued to punch hard in the low position.
After the third quarter, Duan only made 1 of 3 three-pointers, but his overall shooting percentage was 11 of 21.
In addition, Duan also made 5 of 6 free throws, as well as 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
In the finals, as long as you can shoot 50% from the field, you are pretty strong.
Not to mention, Duan's low-post offense can also win a lot of free throws and some self-shooting rebounds.
More efficient scoring and more rebounds are key factors for the team to win.
And Duan can not only keep himself efficient, but also give full play to his ability to attract defenses, create more simple scoring opportunities for his teammates, and make the team more efficient.
Of course, Duan's teammates are not bad either. They use their excellent physical talents and abundant stamina to help the team do a lot of defensive work.
The Lakers' offensive efficiency was limited by the Bulls, and even Kobe was no exception.
And this also fits the essence of defense to win championships!
When the Bulls enter the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead, the Bulls only need to continue to defend well and actively lower the pace of the game, and basically there will be no problem.
In order to consider the following G3 of the finals, Scott Skiles discussed it with Duan before the start of the fourth quarter, and sent Baron Davis to play with other substitute players at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Anyway, it is to slow down the rhythm of the game and slowly drag the Lakers to death. Baron Davis leads the second team and is fully capable of doing these tasks.
Duan understands that Scott Skiles wants to fish, which is to continue to drag the Lakers' main force so that G3 can wait and win the game on the road.
However, Duan still chose to continue playing and played with Baron Davis to avoid the situation where the cooked duck flew away.
As for the Lakers, even though it was difficult to find a chance to turn defeat into victory in the fourth quarter, they still did not give up easily.
Kobe had the same idea as Duane, and he also led the team on the field at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and even seemed not to be ready to take a rest.
Instead, Du En left the game and returned to the bench, quietly watching his teammates continue to fight hard against the Lakers' main force on the court.
It was not until the last 4 minutes or so that the Lakers chased the point difference to 12 points, and then Duan returned to the court.
After more than 4 minutes of fierce battle, the Lakers still lost tonight's game 101 to 109, with a gap of eight points.
It has to be said that the Lakers played very tenaciously. With so many points difference at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the main force persisted in finishing the fourth quarter and recovered nearly 10 points. This was not easy.
However, the Lakers playing like this is exactly what Du En and others want to see.
Scott Scales' fishing plan was successful, taking advantage of the Lakers' race-against-every-second mentality and continuing to consume the physical strength of the Lakers' main players.
Even if we switch to an away game next, there will be three days in between.
But the intensity of the finals game was so intense. The Lakers' main players fought hard to the end for two consecutive games. Coupled with the consumption of the previous series, the main players had to lose several pounds in weight alone. This was not just three days. Able to recover.
As you lose weight, your physical resistance will also decrease, and even your shooting ability will be affected.
But Duan will spend the next three days further adapting to the anti-Kobe armor and taking the three-pointer out of his arsenal again.
(End of chapter)
