I am the Warden Chapter 10 What are the Big Four?
O'Neal, who is 216 cm tall and weighed over 150 kg at the start of the new season, was knocked down, first falling sideways on the floor, and then being flipped over and lying on the floor.
This scene makes people - stare! dumbfounded!
The whole scene was quiet for a moment, and then fierce cheers broke out!
Liu Xiu was habitually about to press his knees against O'Neal's back, locking his arms, pressing... and performing three moves in a row, but suddenly he reacted and stopped the next action.
Kobe rushed towards Liu Xiu immediately, but was easily stopped by Dale Davis.
Although his fighting ability was not good, when O'Neal was beaten, Kobe was the first one to rush forward. It was almost an instinctive reaction.
Even though the two of them barely speak to each other a day now.
Malone was stunned for a moment on the sidelines and then rushed onto the court, but was blocked by Randolph who reacted quickly.
When O'Neal turned over and got up, Reuben Patterson and Dale Davis were already blocking Liu Xiu.
No matter what their previous opinion of Liu Xiu was, no matter whether they would get along well or badly with Liu Xiu in the future, at this moment, the teammates wanted to stand in front of Liu Xiu. The players outside the Lakers rushed in, and the Trail Blazers also rushed in.
O'Neal, who had just pushed Randolph and caused a conflict, saw these familiar faces and remembered that this was the Portland Trail Blazers...the blood in his throat immediately returned.
These people don't care about their lives when they fight and clash, even during team training matches, but O'Neal values his life!
O'Neal went to grab Malone and Kobe and walked aside, and Liu Xiu also pulled Randolph back.
Finally, the referee had the opportunity to separate the two sides.
Seeing that the referee was about to make a penalty, Liu Xiu immediately said to the referee: "I didn't mean to do that... I was just trying to stop the fight!"
Everyone looked at Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu had an innocent look on his face, while everyone else was speechless.
O'Neal, who weighed just over 150 kilograms at the beginning of the new season, was actually knocked down... If this was accidental, how could it be deliberate?
When the referee heard the words "I didn't mean it", he really wanted to kick the rookie out of the court.
The first time he stepped onto an NBA court, Liu Xiu successfully attracted everyone's attention.
The following sentence is not human either. If you are trying to stop a fight in such a biased way, how can you call it stopping a fight? You should just help to fight, right?
But this was a preseason game, and the bias actually prevented the conflict. The scene was eerily quiet, and the coaching staff of both teams called their players back to the bench.
The referee took a look and gave O'Neal a technical foul, and gave Liu Xiu and Dale Davis a technical foul each.
O'Neal's rebounding foul was confirmed. After the two teams offset one technical foul, the Lakers took a technical foul free throw and the Trail Blazers resumed the offense.
After the penalty was determined, the Trail Blazers called a timeout.
Liu Xiu was surrounded by teammates. Randolph hugged Liu Xiu and patted his shoulder: "Jace, you are such a XX! That's O'Neal! I can't even hug and throw him!"
Liu Xiu shook his head and said honestly: "I just used some wrestling techniques. A head-on attack will definitely not work."
"It doesn't matter, you hugged and threw O'Neal anyway!"
It was pretty cool. Liu Xiu felt that this was definitely the right choice, but he was still worried about the current situation. In his first NBA game, a preseason game, he had just come on the court, and within a minute, he was thrown to the ground by his opponent...
Randolph saw what Liu Xiu was thinking and said, "Don't worry."
Liu Xiu rolled his eyes. Why don't you worry? He couldn't help but complain: "If I had let him beat you up earlier, there wouldn't be so much trouble."
"Who asked you for help? It's not like I can't beat him!"
That's how he roared. Randolph's expression looked very happy.
…
After the timeout, on the Trail Blazers side, Maurice Cheeks did not accept Kevin Pritech's suggestion and let Liu Xiu continue to play!
The combination of Liu Xiu, Matt Carroll, Quintl Woods, Randolph and Rasheed Wallace was substituted.
Liu Xiu was mentally prepared to be substituted before the end of the first round, but the coach let him continue playing!
Looking at the opposite side, the Zen Master directly replaced O'Neal.
Thinking of what Randolph said just now... Liu Xiu had a new understanding of Maurice Cheeks' coaching style.
Kevin Pritchard wanted to replace him. The fans at the scene were very emotional and cheered wildly. Players from both teams wanted to bite each other. Replacing the players who had a conflict was a routine operation in the preseason.
But Maurice Cheeks just doesn't!
On the other side, although the Zen Master replaced O'Neal, he replaced Malone, and Fisher, Kobe, Devin George and Medvedenko came on the court.
The outcome of the preseason games itself is certainly not important.
But in the current situation, with such attention and such a competitive situation, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.
Kobe took the technical free throw. As the best free throw player of the Lakers, Kobe made the technical free throw steadily.
39 to 31, the difference is 8 points.
The game continued, the Trail Blazers attacked, Liu Xiu received the serve and advanced across half court...he almost sweared.
Kobe waved to Fisher, come and guard this rookie!
If you can’t beat Kobe in a fight, then play basketball!
"Kobe Bryant, 25 years old, SG/SF, ability rating 97, offense 96, defense 98..."
Kobe's player detection report floated before Liu Xiu's eyes, making him feel very distressed.
Challenge impossible? Of course not, Liu Xiu protects the ball well.
"Rookie, come and challenge me."
"Kang Mang, hit me!"
"You don't dare to hit me? Are you so timid?"
Liu Xiu listened to Kobe's trash talk and wanted to play, the kind of play that wasn't about playing basketball.
This rubbish is not as good as the "happy" and "rebound" of two elementary school students...
Liu Xiu has no other advantages , but he has a stable ball control. Kobe Bryant used pressure and tight defense while spewing trash talk, but he couldn't find any chance to steal the ball or create a turnover!
He has a large tonnage, excellent height and wingspan, and is stronger than people of the same size... Kobe even feels that his strength is slightly inferior to this rookie!
Liu Xiu slowly advanced to the right side of the free throw line and turned his back to Kobe.
A question mark popped up over Kobe's head - was he going to be backed down?
Of course not. Liu Xiu made a tactical gesture before turning around and leaning against Kobe. He saw his teammates moving, pushed them behind his back, and made a ground pass!
Randolph pulled out to draw Malone away, Rasheed Wallace cut in to receive the ball, jumped up, lifted the ball straight up in the air, and dunked to get two points!
With this tomahawk pass, Rasheed Wallace showed off his physical fitness, making Liu Xiu, who passed the ball, extremely envious.
Liu Xiu knocked over O'Neal and Rasheed Wallace with a violent tomahawk slam dunk, kicking off the Trail Blazers' next offensive climax.
In the second half of the second quarter, the Trail Blazers played very comfortably on offense!
First of all, there was no O'Neal on the opposite side, and Randolph alone was enough to contain the 40-year-old Malone.
The most important thing is that the team’s offensive tactics worked out!
It was not the kind of tactics that Damon Stoudemire used, where everything had to be decided by him. Rasheed Wallace felt the same as when Pippen joined the team in his first year... This made him feel incredible!
The twin tower offense is one of the traditional tactics , but it has not been played since Sabonis retired. Now there are new twin towers and Pippen has left again.
I didn’t expect to see this trait in a rookie!
Liu Xiu did not try to show off himself in the game. He controlled the ball steadily and sent it to the tactical receiving point. Relying on his broad body, he made almost no mistakes while protecting the ball.
After half a quarter, the Trail Blazers played very well on offense, scoring 16 points in half a quarter, but Liu Xiu only had two assists. However, with these two assists, Liu Xiu revitalized the offense!
The hug and throw of O'Neal had a huge effect!
Liu Xiu saw a lot of things in that one and a half quarters of the game. The Trail Blazers players wanted to win very much, but most of them wanted to show themselves. Derek Anderson was also a very good point guard who organized the team's offense. Although his strength was not particularly strong, he was extremely comprehensive.
However, when Derek Anderson had the ball, Randolph wanted the ball for a one-on-one, Rasheed Wallace wanted the ball for a one-on-one... Derek Anderson simply couldn't command the team's offense.
Liu Xiu, only Randolph has a good relationship with him, and Dale Davis is convinced by him, so he can command the lineup that first played.
As for Rasheed Wallace, he may not be able to command the team. He is just a rookie, and Rasheed Wallace has every reason to trust his own singles more.
The situation is different now. The tackle on O'Neal gave Liu Xiu the opportunity to show his strongest quality - organizing the team's offense within the tactical framework!
The tactics centered around Rasheed Wallace's scoring can be implemented with quite good results. He will certainly play well, and his comprehensive scoring methods are the key to supporting the tactics.
At the end of the first half, the score was 47 to 50. After Kobe took the technical foul free throw, the Trail Blazers scored 16 to 11, narrowing the gap to 3 points and entering the halftime break!
…
In half a quarter, Liu Xiu made Rasheed Wallace very interested in him.
Liu Xiu also developed a keen interest in Rasheed Wallace - how did this guy manage to switch seamlessly between being a rim protector and a defensive vacuum?
If this guy hadn't stopped moving on the defensive end during the game and was hit by Kobe's 2+1, they would have tied the score at halftime!
Let’s not worry about that for now. After playing for more than 5 minutes and getting 1 point, 1 rebound and 2 assists, Liu Xiu felt that he played well and made Roaring Tianzun willing to cooperate in tactics.
After the halftime break, as Liu Xiu expected, Maurice Cheeks did not include him in the starting lineup for the third quarter.
On the other side, the Lakers replaced O'Neal.
In the first half of the third quarter, Liu Xiu saw Rasheed Wallace switch his style of play again, and together with Dale Davis, he caused a lot of trouble for O'Neal.
But! Liu Xiu discovered that after entering this state, Rasheed Wallace's presence on the offensive end almost disappeared!
"Let me see... I see! Physical strength!"
"Rashid Wallace, 29 years old, PF/C, ability rating 91... physical strength 89..."
As the tactical core of a team, Rasheed Wallace's physical strength is shockingly poor.
Liu Xiu's physical strength is worse than Rasheed Wallace's, but he is a rookie and a substitute. Scoring and defense do not depend on him. His physical strength of 87 is definitely enough for now.
The situation of Roaring
With Sabonis and Pippen carrying the defense on the front line and under the basket, Rasheed Wallace never had problems in this area. But now, in a preseason game he is trying to win, facing an opponent like the Lakers, his problems are clearly exposed!
However, the Lakers played uncomfortably after the start of the second half. Their preparation was based on Rasheed Wallace's 7 points in the first half. Now Rasheed Wallace has no points. The Lakers are ready to start with defense. The Zen Master's defensive coaching attainments are definitely among the top five in the league, but now their efforts are in vain.
After more than 5 minutes, the score was 8 to 7, and the Trail Blazers chased the score to 55 to 57, narrowing the difference to two points and entering the official timeout stage.
The cheers of the home team fans are now steadily overwhelming those of the away Lakers fans. It is obvious that the Trail Blazers fans are very satisfied with the current situation.
But Maurice Cheeks is under a lot of pressure now. If they fail to make a comeback and lose the game at this point, it will be a big blow to their first start of the new season.
In the past 5 minutes or so, the Trail Blazers seemed to have taken the initiative, but... on the other side, there were only Payton and O'Neal leading the team!
What do the Big Four represent?
This means that even if Payton and O'Neal are substituted for rest, there are still two superstars, Kobe and Malone!
Maurice Cheeks turned his head and thought - "It doesn't matter if I fail to start. I gained a lot tonight!"
Thinking of this, Morris Cheeks turned his attention to Liu Xiu who was eager to try.
…
The eagerly awaited Liu Xiu was substituted in, along with Reuben Patterson, Travis Otero, Randolph, and Georgia center Vladimir Spantinya.
the other side……
"Derrick Fisher, ability rating 78 (peak)... Kobe Bryant, ability rating 97... Bryon Russell, ability rating 70... Karl Malone, ability rating 88... Vladimir Medvedenko, ability rating 68..."
"O'Neal, who was rated 95, was replaced, Payton, who was rated 87, was replaced, and there were two stars!"
Liu Xiu looked at his side. Randolph, who had an ability rating of 90, and Rasheed Wallace, who had an ability rating of 91, were already very strong. However, the gap between them and the Lakers, who could make it to the finals relying solely on the F4, was really huge.
After the timeout, the Lakers attacked first.
Kobe's terminator Reuben Patterson single-handedly defended Kobe who was attacking with the ball, and shouts of "Kobe-stopper" were heard at the scene, which made Liu Xiu very curious... but it was too early to be curious.
Kobe faked a change of direction, shook off Reuben Patterson, stepped back and shot directly from the left side of the top arc for a three-pointer!
60 to 55, Kobe helped the Lakers widen the gap to 5 points!
Liu Xiu just thought of many ways to restrict Kobe in his mind. It is hard to say whether they will succeed or not, but he has thought of many ways.
But, given Kobe's playing style, does any defensive strategy make sense?
Kobe's sudden effort brought a strong impact to Liu Xiu. Judging from tonight's one-on-one performance, Kobe was the best of the game!
When O'Neal loses some weight, he may regain the title of the Lakers' strongest singles player, but now, Kobe's one-on-one singles is the strongest in the game.
The offense and defense switched, and the Trail Blazers attacked.
Liu Xiu adjusted himself to the pressure brought by Kobe's strength, received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt. The one defending him was no longer Kobe, but Fisher!
Fisher, who was at his peak, was actually quite good at defense. He was fast, strong, and had a good attitude... But Liu Xiu saw at a glance that the opponent's defensive strategy had been adjusted - Kobe was no longer defending him one-on-one, but was trying to defeat the team offense he initiated!
Obviously, Kobe has realized the defensive mistakes in the second half of the second quarter. It may be the adjustment made by the Zen Master, or it may be discovered by Kobe himself.
A very important point for Liu Xiu to smoothly organize the offense in the second half of the second quarter was that Kobe kept a close eye on him without causing any substantial interference to him. However, if Kobe went to assist in defense, it would have been a different story.
For Liu Xiu, there is not much difference between Kobe defending him and Fisher defending him.
Kobe's help defense and assist defense are no match for Fisher, even if he is not proficient in help defense!
Liu Xiu advanced from the center circle to outside the three-point line, and sorted out the current situation in just two seconds. He raised his left hand, made a "2" gesture to Randolph who was fighting with Malone, and moved to the right baseline. Travis Outlaw, who received the tactical notification, pulled to the top arc. Liu Xiu passed the ball to Travis Outlaw and took Fisher to the low post on the left side of the three-second zone!
Low post-up tactics with Liu Xiu and Randolph on the court at the same time! "1" is Randolph, "2" is Liu Xiu!
A rookie point guard can actually play one-on-one with his back to the basket!
The Lakers didn't expect this.
And coincidentally, Fisher is very good at defending low-post back-ups. In the 1998 playoffs, Fisher defended Payton's back-ups very well, with excellent footwork and enough weight...
The Lakers players were watching the show, watching how Fisher would defend Liu Xiu...but then they saw Liu Xiu receive the ball and directly push Fisher back!
Unlike Payton's post-up play, which was technically superb and had a relatively graceful posture; and unlike Mark Jackson and Andre Miller who had a keen eye on all directions, Liu Xiu relied on brute force to knock Fisher back to the left side of the reasonable collision zone. Before Kobe could shrink into position, Liu Xiu turned around and made a layup!
Kobe is a man with sharp eyes. Seeing Liu Xiu and Randolph high-fiving to celebrate, Kobe immediately realized that this was one of Randolph's back-to-the-basket methods, and also one of O'Neal's back-to-the-basket methods, a forced crushing!
Due to various factors, Kobe felt unhappy with Liu Xiu no matter how he looked at him.
Especially that casual expression...
A rookie who was picked 13th in the first round actually had the same expression as that man!
In Kobe's opinion, no one is worthy of him except that man!
But the more this happened, the more Kobe paid attention to Liu Xiu tonight and discovered that Liu Xiu had many good qualities... His interest grew stronger!
On the other side, Liu Xiu made a back hit and scored two points. Just when he was feeling happy, the system prompt came!
"The host has attracted the interest of Kobe Bryant. Mission: My last name is Liu, triggering..."
