Inside the Knicks locker room.
Isiah Thomas saw that Li Yan's face was not good-looking, and he thought it was because Li Yan was in a bad mood.
"Li, don't force yourself. The team has just started to adjust, and it's normal for performance to have ups and downs."
Li Yan shook his head. He was just thinking about how to complete the task.
"It's okay. It's not difficult to defeat the Lakers. We can strengthen our defense against Kobe in the second half and let other Lakers players complete the offense." Li Yan suggested.
Reducing Kobe's shots is the simplest way Li Yan thought of.
In this way, Kobe's scoring and number of irons can be limited.
As for Kobe's assists, Li Yan believes in the other Lakers players.
Artest nodded in agreement: "Just strangle Kobe, the other Lakers players can't kill us."
Randolph also clapped his chest and said, "Just do it!"
Isiah Thomas was very surprised by Li Yan's energy. Artest and Randolph are both famous "pricks", but he didn't expect that they would listen to Li Yan's advice.
Li Yan is indeed a natural leader, and his arrival has completely changed the atmosphere in the entire Knicks locker room.
Meanwhile, the Lakers locker room.
"Zen Master" Phil Jackson and the players are discussing strategies for the second half.
"Baby Shark" Bynum is very optimistic. He is in great condition today: "Pass the ball to me and I will destroy their inside line."
Most of the Lakers players were relatively relaxed. The bravery of Kobe and Bynum made them feel that victory in the game was within their grasp.
But Kobe was still more cautious. In the first game, Li Yan won the battle with James.
The Cavaliers' inside line is no worse than the Lakers', and the Knicks' outside shooting is a great threat under Li Yan's connection.
Phil Jackson agreed with Kobe Bryant. Li Yan is a magical player. His physical fitness has always been a mystery. He will be even more vigorous in the second half than in the first half.
Compared with other super scorers, Li Yan makes his teammates better.
"In the second half we cut off the connection between him and other teammates." Phil Jackson arranged:
"Li's biggest advantage lies in his passing and connection. His own scoring method is classical and single. He relies too much on his breakthroughs."
"Although he has a precedent of three-point explosions, this does not seem to be his regular scoring method."
"No matter how beautiful a goal is, it's only two points. Andrew, you can also get two points steadily in every round."
"Of course!" Bynum raised his head and assured.
"Zen Master"'s praise made "Little Shark" so happy that he took off. After all, Bynum has the character of a child.
"Andrew does have an advantage." Kobe also smoothed Bynum's hair.
"Baby Shark" raised his head higher. (Bynum’s inner thoughts: Damn, Kobe actually praised me)
"Kobe, you guard Lee and let Lee attack on his own. He will soon be tired and fall down." Phil Jackson had full confidence in Kobe.
The Lakers' strategy is very simple. On offense, Bynum is the main point of attack. On the defensive end, Kobe Bryant is allowed to consume Li Yan and cut off the connection between Li Yan and his teammates.
…………
The second half of the game started quickly.
The Lakers' on-court lineup is: Sun Yue, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum;
The Knicks' on-court lineup is: Li Yan, Ron Artest, Quentin Richardson, Yi Jianlian, and Eddie Curry.
Li Yan knew what the Lakers were thinking as soon as he saw their lineup. Sun Yue and Ariza were obviously on the court to strengthen defense, and their shooting ability was not strong.
For the Knicks, Randolph was on the sidelines due to too many fouls, and Eddie Curry, who had been resting for a long time, was put on the court.
Eddie Curry is also known as the "Baby Shark" and his talent is undoubted.
But he has been criticized for his personality and attitude towards training matches, and he is always the first to give up a game if he gets off to a bad start.
In November, he was always bloated and needed 1-2 months in the regular season to return to competitive form.
Obviously letting Eddie Curry play is not a good option, but it is also an option when Randolph is in foul trouble.
Li Yan advanced with the ball, but Kobe blocked his way.
Kobe's defense was very difficult, and Li Yan had a fight with Kobe.
Eddie Curry came to the top of the arc to provide a pick-and-roll, and Li Yan used the screen to break into the inside.
Li Yan's passing lines were all blocked, and the Lakers' strategy was to let Li Yan challenge the inside line guarded by Bynum.
When we meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins. Li Yan kicked off the ground and jumped, "Pop!" "Beep!"
The referee whistle blows.
Li Yan was pulled from the air by Bynum and committed a defensive foul.
However, this was the second foul of "Baby Shark".
Li Yan stepped to the free throw line.
"Swish!" "Swish!"
Two free throws! 60 to 60!
Lakers round.
Kobe Bryant rushed into the paint and was double-teamed by Artest and Li Yan. He passed the ball to Bynum, who easily shook off Eddie Curry and made the layup.
Knicks offense.
The Lakers continued to implement the tactic of "separating Li Yan".
In this round, Li Yan completed an extremely difficult throw to the basket against Kobe Bryant.
Kobe's defense can be said to be airtight, but Li Yan forced the attack without a shooting angle.
"Wow! It's so beautiful. Lee penetrated Kobe's defense and made an extremely high throw that passed Kobe's fingertips."
"A very morale-boosting attack!"
Lakers round.
Kobe once again assisted Bynum for a dunk, and Eddie Curry's defense was useless.
Although both of them are nicknamed "Baby Shark," Bynum and Eddy Curry's performance at this time was not at the same level.
Li Yan had a headache. The Knicks' inside line was all about strong offense and weak defense.
Isiah Thomas made timely adjustments. He asked Yi Jianlian to double-check Bynum with Eddie Curry inside.
This shrinking of the penalty area curbed Bynum's performance to a certain extent, but this adjustment does not cure the root cause.
The Knicks' already loose defense frequently leaked people, and Li Yan could only continue to provide large-scale assistance like a "pastor".
"Oh my God! Lee was playing too tired, the Knicks' defense was so bad, Bynum played like a 'shark', I almost thought Shaq was coming." Barkley complained:
"Forget it if Eddie Curry changes his name to Little Goldfish, it will really have no effect."
Li Yan's physical strength is indeed draining like crazy. He is the strong point in the Knicks' offense. He is usually heavily guarded by the opposing team, thus giving his teammates a local advantage in strength.
In this way, Li Yan will help the team by passing the ball.
However, the Lakers used a completely different tactic.
Kobe Bryant, this tough man, is the best one-on-one player in the league today.
He didn't need the help of his teammates and guarded Li Yan on his own.
If it were other players who were continuously hit by Li Yan with fairy balls, most of them would choose to give up.
But this is Kobe Bryant. He is determined and continues to put pressure on Li Yan on both offense and defense.
The Lakers had the advantage. Although the Knicks were not left behind too much, Li Yan seemed lonely.
He is like a boat in the storm.
Smith was shocked: "The Lakers are trying to isolate Li Yan and then die from exhaustion!"
