Host Yu Jia’s voice was equally excited:
"Lin Fei, Lin Fei used his stable and excellent shooting performance on the court to prove that his outbreak is by no means a flash in the pan!"
"If you include the last game, Lin Fei has already hit 10 consecutive three-pointers in the Western Conference Finals!"
"This is the most star-studded Western Conference finals in the new century with at least five future Hall of Fame stars on the court at the same time!"
"But Lin Fei's three three-pointers are enough to make him the protagonist of the first quarter!"
Director Zhang’s eyes flashed and he said with great emotion:
"Lin Fei's 10 three-pointers in these two games are so meaningful!"
"He proved with his actions that our small guard in China can also perform at the top level in the world's highest basketball hall!"
Look back to Staples Center.
Lin Fei's sudden three-pointer after stalling for most of the quarter allowed the Timberwolves to directly tie the score.
The veteran Fisher blamed himself endlessly, and instantly played 12 points on the defensive end.
It seemed that one really couldn't relax in the pursuit of Lin Fei, otherwise he might appear at any time and deliver a fatal blow.
This kind of off-ball player with accurate shooting and sharp movement has always been the biggest headache for defenders.
The ball rights transitioned and the Lakers attacked.
Kobe's eyes were sharp. He crossed the screen with Fisher at the top of the arc to catch the ball. He met Lin Fei out of position, accelerated the breakthrough and then made a feint shot with a sudden stop.
He directly fired up Lin Fei, who had little defensive experience, and then stepped forward to force a shot against Lin Fei's arm.
"Clang!"
"Beep!"
Although the ball did not go in, the referee Stephen Jiawei sounded the whistle and gestured to the Timberwolves No. 22 for a foul on Kobe Bryant's shooting hitter.
2 free throws.
Kobe obviously saw Lin Fei's poor defense, so he started to take the initiative to cause him fouls.
This was Lin Fei's second foul in the first quarter. Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders on the sidelines was a little worried.
"Chinese boy, your three-point shooting and defensive level also surprise me!"
"Mark my words, offense alone will never win a championship!"
Kobe's eyes were cold, but he also cherished the talent of Lin Fei, an undrafted player.
If Lin Fei's defense can improve a little bit, he will definitely be a top 3D player, similar to Dell Curry of the Hornets back then, and he is fully capable of competing for the best sixth man.
It would definitely be a beautiful thing if there is a substitute like Lin Fei on the Lakers' bench next season.
At this time, Kobe even had the idea of recruiting Lin Fei to join forces in Los Angeles during the offseason.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Kobe, who stepped to the free throw line, made both free throws, and the Lakers regained their 2-point lead.
There were only the last 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Lin Fei was already a little tired at this time. After halftime, he bent down with his hands on his knees and stood in the LOGO area to help the team open up enough space.
Beads of sweat slid down from his forehead, along the high bridge of his nose, and dropped to the court floor.
In terms of physical fitness, there is still a big gap between the OMI players, and Lin Fei's continuous running distance on the court in the first quarter was also the longest among the players of the two teams.
Fisher stood two meters away from Lin Fei, always paying attention to cutting off the passing line.
Watching Lin Fei have already hit two super long three-pointers from 12 meters away, so even if he is now standing in the LOGO area, Fisher does not dare to take it lightly.
Sometimes a player's hand feels hot, no matter how hard he shoots, this kind of thing is not uncommon in the NBA.
Even Jordan, who has never been good at shooting three-pointers in his career, hit 6 three-pointers in the first half of the Finals between the Bulls and Trail Blazers.
"Uh-huh!"
The Wolf King hit a turnaround jumper near the baseline at the buzzer, and the first quarter ended.
Timberwolves (27): (27) Lakers.
Lin Fei's appearance at the 2-minute mark in the first quarter became a turning point in the first quarter, allowing the Timberwolves to blossom both internally and externally. The Wolf King and the "Madman" also gradually found their feeling in the away game.
The Lakers fans at home frowned slightly, and the optimism before the game was gone.
It seems that tonight's G6 of the Western Conference Finals is also a life-or-death battle.
The Lakers are still facing a big challenge, but it will never be easy.
Phillip Sanders took the initiative to smile and handed Lin Fei a towel as he walked off the field, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Lin, you've done a great job. You've already exceeded your quota in the first quarter. Hurry up and take a good rest. I'll probably send you on again in the last five minutes of the second quarter!"
Lin Fei nodded and said: "Okay coach, thank you!"
It seems that Flip Saunders still understands him, and the Timberwolves coaching team has also studied him carefully.
With his current physical fitness, playing for 15 minutes in half time is already the limit. After all, he has to constantly cover and run on the court to find opportunities.
If your physical strength is overdrawn, your feel will inevitably decline rapidly.
It seems that the next step is to strengthen endurance training. After all, cardiorespiratory endurance is an important part of physical fitness.
After the start of the second quarter, both sides also put on rotating lineups, but at least one of the core players must stay on the court. After all, this is the Western Conference Finals.
The five players on the court for the Lakers are:
Gary Payton, Kareem Rush, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Karl Malone.
The five players on the Timberwolves side are:
Fred Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell, Latrell Sprewell, Mark Madson, Michael Olowokandi.
Both the Lakers and Timberwolves basically rotated 8-9 players in this round of the Western Conference finals, and the substitutes' playing time was very limited.
I have to say that the depth of the benches of both teams is very poor. The Lakers only have Fisher, who was the starter before Payton came.
The Timberwolves only have a sixth man, Szebiak, on the bench.
Of course, Lin Fei's emergence obviously broke this balance and made the Timberwolves' bench lineup even stronger.
Come on, the Timberwolves attack first.
"Madman" and Olowokandi, the 1998 parallel import No. 1 pick, created a high pick-and-roll, got rid of Kobe and hit Malone in a misplaced position, used his speed to get past the opponent in one step, and picked the basket to score the ball.
"Uh-huh!"
The "Madman" in the last two games is really strong, but the old Malone's defense is also not good enough.
Kobe secretly cursed Malone in his mind, why is this lateral sliding step slower than a snail?
Since you are over 40, you should retire early. It is understandable that you join the Lakers with a minimum salary and want to become a champion, but why do you have to be a starter and play 35 minutes in every game to lose face?
In the final analysis, the Buss family of the Lakers is too stingy, and they don't even have a decent inside man on the bench.
Although Malone is old, he joined with a minimum salary this season, with an annual salary of only 1.5 million U.S. dollars, and Payton's only 5 million.
The Lakers' salary space is mainly concentrated on O'Neal and Kobe, but during this period, Kobe's annual salary was only over 10 million, and the Lakers' total salary was only over 40 million.
Much less than the Timberwolves.
You must know that the Los Angeles Lakers' market value during this period is the first in the league, higher than that of the Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are 19th.
The reason why the Lakers failed to win the championship in 2004 had a lot to do with the Buss family's reluctance to spend money. They arrogantly thought that F4 would be enough to win the championship.
If they had spent another 10 million to strengthen the bench, the Lakers would have been able to win the championship in 2004.
OK group may not part ways this summer.
ball possession transition,
Gary Payton used the screen to rush to the basket, misplaced the Timberwolves substitute power forward Mark Madsen, turned over and hit a layup, and also caused a foul on Madsen's beater.
"Uh-huh!"
"Beep!"
2+1.
Compared with the 41-year-old Malone, the 36-year-old Payton still has the strength to fight.
He was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Defensive Team for 9 consecutive seasons in his career. He is the only point guard DPOY in the NBA.
As the legendary guard of the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1990s, Payton has already booked a seat in the Hall of Fame.
Seeing substitute power forward Madson stretching his hips, the Wolves King, who had been sitting on the Timberwolves bench for less than a minute, got up to play.
In this G6 of the Western Conference Finals, there is no room for breathing for the Timberwolves.
The Lakers also quickly sent O'Neal and Devin George.
The Timberwolves continued to set up a zone defense. The Wolf King and Olowokandi were on the court at the same time, which also restricted O'Neal's performance.
Kobe and Payton made continuous outside shots, all of which were iron-clad. They could only try to force their way to the basket to cause damage, but the effect was not good.
The Timberwolves put more energy on defense, and the offensive end was also unable to open up.
The two sides entered into a fight in the first half of the second quarter.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
O'Neal was slashed and went to the free throw line but also missed two free throws.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The Lakers fans at home felt a little headache listening to the continuous sound of hammering.
The celebrity fans in the VIP seats in the front row of the court subconsciously glanced at Lin Fei on the Timberwolves bench from time to time.
This look and expression seemed to be saying, when will this Lin come on stage?
It seems that even Lakers fans are looking forward to Lin Fei scoring a three-pointer to change the rhythm of this game.
Sizebiak smiled and said to Lin Fei, who was applying ice to his leg muscles next to him:
"Lin, you see the Lakers fans at home are looking at you, and they are also expecting you to go on the court and score three points, haha!"
Lin Fei flashed his long eyelashes and joked: "This game is indeed a bit boring. What these guys can do in a few minutes can almost catch up with my annual output!"
Sizebiak punched Lin Fei on the shoulder: "This is just a pretense!"
"Must score perfect!"
The game quickly reached 5 minutes and 02 seconds of the second quarter.
"Madman" made a mistake in passing the ball and was intercepted by Payton Sr. Kobe Bryant threw another explosive dunk during the counterattack.
Kobe, who had regained his touch, made a three-pointer in the next attack and scored 5 points in a row.
Timberwolves (33): (38) Lakers.
The home fans burst into cheers, and the game finally looked better.
