Back on the field.
Pau Gasol caught the ball from the high post on the left and assisted Howard for a layup from close range, finally breaking the latter's scoring drought.
"The Trail Blazers' No. 36 is not the only big man who can pass the ball. We have Paul!!!"
The shouts of the Lakers DJ continued to sound.
Wang Zelin dropped to the basket, Lillard passed the ball quickly, Wang Zelin caught the ball and turned around to come up. Howard suddenly pulled a corner of his jersey.
This action was so subtle that the referee did not notice it and the offensive rhythm was interrupted.
Pau Gasol on the side picked up the rebound and passed it to Nash.
In the frontcourt, Wang Zelin is wrestling with Howard.
"Old bird, do you want to play dirty?"
Wang Zelin desperately pushed Howard out.
"Tch, the referee didn't call it, that's good defense."
Howard looked tense, but quickly relaxed again.
"This is what you said, so don't blame me for being rude."
Wang Zelin raised the corner of his mouth, and the beast in his heart seemed to break free.
The ball once again reached the hands of Pau Gasol in the high post, and quickly transitioned to Kobe Bryant at a 45-degree angle on the right.
After Kobe received the ball, he quickly went straight inside.
At the same time, Howard ran along the right side toward the left corner, and Wang Zelin followed him.
The short corner area on the right was completely empty, and Kobe got the opportunity to single out Batum.
As soon as Batum came up, Kobe immediately half-turned, holding the ball with his left hand and pressing the defender with his right hand.
Without too many movements, Kobe shook his shoulders continuously and shot a fadeaway jumper.
"Snapped!"
This time there was no hit.
Wang Zelin secretly pushed Howard, turned around and grabbed the ball.
Seeing that there were not many opportunities, he passed the ball to Lillard and played steadily.
At the top of the arc, Lillard held the ball and looked for opportunities to attack.
Wang Zelin got into a low position on the right wing of the paint area, received the lob, stuck out his butt and pushed Howard. Feeling that the latter's center of gravity was off, he quickly turned around and hit a jumper.
10:11.
The scores of both sides increased alternately.
Lakers offense.
After another turbulent run, Kobe got a chance to play in singles. This time he took advantage of it, passing Batum and then making a layup.
Lakers 12:11 Trail Blazers.
I have to say that D'Antoni does have a good offense.
After Mike Brown dismissed get out of class, the reason why the Lakers management chose D'Antoni instead of Phil Jackson was not only because the conditions proposed by the latter were too harsh and the Lakers' internal power struggle, but also because they were worried that the triangle tactic was not suitable for the F4 Lakers. .
After two consecutive championships, Phil Jackson's triangle offense proved to be very suitable for the inside-outside axis of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.
But how much benefit does it have to be afraid of Nash and Howard's characteristics?
All this is still unknown.
The most important thing is that the Princeton offensive system that Mike Brown previously admired is as complex as the triangle offense. As a result, the Lakers started to kneel in a wave.
Now there's something even more complicated. Not only are the players confused, but the team management is also a little guilty.
In contrast, D'Antoni's advantages are revealed.
The tactics are simple: run and gun!
As long as Nash, who is the core of the bombardment, winds up, the whole team will be driven into action.
You know, even the little-known little-known players in the Suns could be activated by Nash, let alone stars like Kobe and Gasol.
Since a defensive coach like Mike Brown won't work, it's better to find an offensive coach to focus on offense.
For the Lakers, who are full of stars, D'Antoni may be more suitable.
So far, the advantages of choosing D'Antoni indeed outweigh the disadvantages.
only.
After countless calculations, D'Antoni has forgotten that except for Howard, the other three people in the F4 under his command are all veterans with an average age of over thirty-five.
Run and gun, sometimes you will hurt yourself first.
Once those old men fall down, it's not as simple as taking a few games to rest.
…
The Blazers attacked, others pulled outside, and Wang Zelin singled out Howard in the paint.
Howard didn't forget Wang Zelin's push just now, and pushed him out with all his strength.
Wang Zelin suddenly turned around and rushed inside. Just as Howard was about to close in, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, followed by a sharp stabbing pain.
It turned out that when Wang Zelin turned around, his elbow naturally waved from left to right, and finally stopped on Howard's chest.
Of course, no one saw this secret move except Wang Zelin and Howard.
After reaching the basket, Wang Zelin took off and dunked on the spot. Pau Gasol on the other side tried his best to defend, but was still half a beat too late.
After the goal, Howard spread his hands and complained to the referee.
"Xiao Wang played this ball... very hard!"
Outsiders can't tell what's going on, but in the eyes of insiders like Director Zhang, Howard's sudden pause just now gave him a rough idea of what happened between the two.
Of course the referee understood something.
However, as long as the player's small moves are not caught, it is a good shot.
Looking at Howard, who looked innocent to the referee, Wang Zelin smiled and quickly returned to defense.
Since the whistle was not blown before, it was definitely impossible to make it up now. The referee looked grim and reminded Howard to serve quickly.
After suffering a dull loss, Howard will definitely find his place again.
Actively asking for the ball in the frontcourt, Nash hesitated and passed the ball.
"Boy, wait..."
In the low post on the right, Howard was competing with Wang Zelin, and suddenly turned from the back to the front.
Is it possible that Howard wants to shoot?
Do not make jokes!
Taking advantage of the opportunity to turn around, Howard elbowed Wang Zelin and gave Wang Zelin a loving caress on his back.
Don't think that because Howard wears a bright smile all day long, he really thinks he is a big baby.
From the No. 1 pick in high school to the current No. 1 center in the league, Howard has seen all kinds of destructive tricks, and he is even more comfortable in using them.
"grass!"
Howard's upper body strength is as high as 95, which is two points higher than Wang Zelin. He was suddenly hit hard, and his physical strength could not help but groan.
Howard made a hey, turned around and hit with a small hook.
14:13.
The Lakers temporarily lead by one point.
"Beep beep beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded, and nearly halfway through the first quarter, it was time for the official timeout.
Returning to his position, Wang Zelin lightly touched the position where Howard elbowed him.
"hiss!"
A burning pain came from my back.
"King, Dwight has done something wrong."
Lillard noticed something was wrong with Wang Zelin and came over to lift up Wang Zelin's clothes.
All red!
"Don't worry, the opponent will only be worse than me, not better than me!" Wang Zelin said coldly.
"..."
The timeout ends and the game returns.
The two teams replaced their second lineups.
Compared to the main lineup, which played tit-for-tat in the first half, the second lineup also played back-and-forth.
No.
The confrontation between the two sides was quite fierce, and the smell of gunpowder was still full, but the score just did not rise.
"Nolan Smith missed a pull-up jumper and Chris Duhon got a backcourt rebound."
"Duhon assisted Jordan Hill, but the latter's little hook under the basket was severely interfered and failed to score."
"On the Trail Blazers' side, Will Barton missed a long two-pointer in a wide open space. The rhythm of the game between the two teams was fragmented. The gap between the starting lineup and the rotation is too big!"
After the gluttonous feast, the audience ushered in the drowsy blacksmithing feast, and the commentators were stunned.
For the players of both teams, the basket is like a lid. They can shoot as hard as they want.
After a two-minute drought, the two teams finally started scoring goals.
…
19:17.
In the last minute and a half of the first quarter, the head coaches on both sides couldn't stand it anymore and quickly replaced some of the main players.
"Wang, Damien, get ready to play!"
Coach Terry said.
"Steve, Dwight, come on!"
D'Antoni said.
As soon as Lillard came back, he launched a fierce attack, using Wang Zelin's cover to easily break into the inside.
Howard wanted to cover up the defense, but due to the threat of Wang Zelin's mid-range shot, he could only watch as Lillard went in.
Facing Jordan Hill's one-man defense, Lillard made a quick throw and scored the ball.
With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol absent, Howard naturally became the Lakers' strongest point on the court.
Regardless of offense or defense.
Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, Howard naturally chose to cooperate.
After Jordan Hill stepped forward to do a pick-and-roll, Nash quickly changed direction and came to the right wing.
The closest ones are Wang Zelin and Howard.
Seeing Nash running out of position, Howard took two steps outside and Nash passed the ball.
Although he had some doubts in his heart, Wang Zelin quickly followed.
Howard quickly passed the ball back, started directly, and cut to the basket.
Nash drove the ball to the basket, attracted Lillard to defend, and passed the ball behind his back to Howard.
After receiving the ball, Howard took a step, quickly took off in the reasonable collision area, grabbed the ball with one arm, and only had eyes on the basket.
At this time, a pair of yellow palms came from the side and pressed down on the basketball that was hitting the basket.
"You're the only one who calls me a monster!"
With great strength and firm belief, Wang Zelin nailed the ball to the backboard with his right hand, then squeezed hard with his five fingers, and the ball was caught.
As for Howard, he lost his center of gravity and stumbled a few times. He barely managed to hold his knees with his hands to avoid falling to the ground.
Unlike the physical suffering, this ball had a particularly severe psychological impact on Howard.
…
"Damn it! This young man is exaggerating now!"
"Hats off!!!"
"It was an unbelievable catch, oh my God!"
Director Zhang shouted excitedly.
In the TNT live broadcast room.
"Oh my God! That was a catch!"
"This goal definitely qualifies for the best defense of the season!"
Kenny Smith shouted excitedly and even rubbed his eyes exaggeratedly, unable to believe what he saw.
…
Back on the field.
Lillard at the top of the key waved to both Wang Zelin and Aldridge.
Two walls were on call and Lillard entered the three-point line.
But this time, Wang Zelin and Aldridge did not cut in. Instead, Batum and Matthews, who were 45 degrees on both sides, entered the paint area at the same time.
Wang Zelin and Aldridge had already positioned themselves on the outside, leaning on Jordan Hill who was nearest, and pounced on Aldridge immediately.
As the league's famous shooting insider, in Jordan Hill's mind, Aldridge's shooting threat is much stronger than Wang Zelin.
Lillard quickly passed the ball to Wang Zelin who was left open. Just as he was about to take action, Howard quickly approached with amazing speed.
If you insist on taking action, you will most likely be interfered with.
Wang Zelin still chose to raise the ball, and Howard jumped to block the shot.
It's a shooting fake!
After escaping the block, Wang Zelin took a big step laterally and continued to take action.
"Bang!"
This time the shot felt average and the basketball bounced out of the frame.
However, now that the basket was empty, Lillard took advantage of the opportunity and quickly ran to the paint area and made a tip-in.
Seeing that the score was getting wider again, in the last minute, D'Antoni took a timeout and replaced Kobe.
Unfortunately, the Lakers' bad touch seemed to have infected Kobe, and he scored two goals after coming up.
At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by six points, 23:17.
