I am the Warden Chapter 12: Don’t miss the shot, give the ball to Malone!
Liu Xiu immediately understood why the other side did not double-team him.
Spantinja is similar to Medvedenko, both are traditional European centers who can do a little bit of everything and are good points of containment.
Randolph made the Mavericks' inside line so bad in last year's playoffs that the Mavericks almost lost a 3-0 lead. If he had not been on the Trail Blazers, Randolph's performance in last season's playoffs would have been blown up to be like O'Neal at the power forward position.
Reuben Patterson is a very good high-post spot shooter; Travis Outlaw is a striker with excellent athletic ability and a keen sense of cutting.
If Liu Xiu can attract double-teaming in the low post, the Trail Blazers will be able to run their offense smoothly.
The Lakers have already learned about this, so they chose to use a tactic of attrition against him.
His physique and spirit make him look like a rookie with poor physical strength... Most rookies are not good at allocating their physical strength.
This guess was a little unbelievable to him himself. He was just a rookie, why would the other party target him?
Precisely because it was unbelievable, Liu Xiu had never thought of such a possibility at first.
But after thinking it through, he was not surprised.
Championship teams are always different.
The Lakers always do a great job in many details, stifling many possibilities of the opponents... Liu Xiu feels that they can make such targeted adjustments to a rookie substitute of the opponent, which may be one of !
These thoughts flashed through Liu Xiu's mind. He felt that the Lakers were really good, but...
Who made the Lakers have Kobe?
If another opponent did the same thing, Liu Xiu would have to wait several rounds before reacting, and the game would have been ruined for him.
However, he didn't realize the opponent's defensive strategy because of his declining physical strength, but because Fisher provided a wave of 99 healing value...
Keep on back-attacking!
The copied "Physical Stampede" of Kobe showed a powerful effect!
Just as Liu Xiu analyzed, the Lakers really wanted to drain his energy.
Fisher took on the heavy responsibility and was very confident. Considering his height of 185 cm and weight of 91 kg, he had considerable strength for a person of the same size, plus excellent low-post defensive skills. Even if Liu Xiu looked like a low-post singles expert, Fisher felt that he could at least inflict great damage on Liu Xiu after a few rounds.
but……
Liu Xiu forced the ball again, turned around and took a step to avoid Ma Long's defense, and made a reverse layup!
If Malone had been quicker in this backup defense, he could have limited Liu Xiu's turn, but Malone chose to take care of Randolph's mid-range shot first, and only retreated when Liu Xiu turned around and did not pass the ball to Randolph. For Liu Xiu, whose back-to-the-basket technique has reached an excellent level and whose layup ability has been increased to 92 with Randolph's back-to-the-basket talent, this was equivalent to ineffective backup defense!
Not only that, Fisher failed to stop Liu Xiu and turned around to pull Liu Xiu. The referee's whistle came a little late, but it still sounded.
Liu Xiu's goal is valid and a penalty will be added!
With Liu Xiu's free throw, the score was 64 to 62, the Trail Blazers overtook the Lakers by 2 points, and the Zen Master called a timeout!
Both teams treated this game as a very important one - a matter of face.
No one on either side expected the current situation.
It's nothing that the Trail Blazers were able to overtake the score. That's how games are. If one side can make three or four three-pointers in a row, the situation in a game with a big score difference can be reversed. Kobe did this before. It's not surprising that the Trail Blazers overtook the score with only a 2-point difference.
But Liu Xiu scored 9 to 5 on his own, which was a big surprise for the Trail Blazers!
The Lakers were caught off guard. They thought that the tactical arrangement of attrition against Liu Xiu was an unexpected sign of their attention to this rookie.
As a result, Liu Xiu was able to score in four consecutive rounds with his back to the basket against Fisher!
Payton has proven that backing Fisher with skills is not a good option. It is feasible to eat Fisher alive with strength, but the only one who can do it in the entire league last season is Andre Miller... A rookie actually did it! And he did it continuously!
…
At first, when Liu Xiu first came on the court, although it made the fans very excited, it had little to do with basketball. It was just because Liu Xiu hugged and threw O'Neal that the fans enjoyed it.
The Lakers players felt that he was just a strong and muscular man.
But the approximately 9 minutes that Liu Xiu played in total made everyone present realize that this rookie can also play basketball.
He looks ordinary, and his physical fitness is unremarkable... Mainly, he has no running or jumping ability, and his skills are very simple.
But when they are on the court, they can play a very strong role!
After Liu Xiu's back-to-the-basket move, the home team fans at the scene became very interested in their rookie.
After the timeout, Liu Xiu continued to play for the Trail Blazers, and the combination of Wesley Person, Travis Otero, Randolph, and Dale Davis was substituted.
When he just came on the court and saw the opponent's rotation lineup, Liu Xiu saw the task completion prompt floating in front of him. There was a visual feeling of "floating by", but in fact he knew what was completed at once.
"My last name is Liu: Let Kobe Bryant remember your name! Goal 1: Starting from the third quarter when the host comes on the court, when the host and Kobe Bryant are on the court at the same time, the host's score must be at least half of Kobe Bryant's score. (Host 9 points, Kobe Bryant 5 points, completed.) Goal 2: Stop Kobe Bryant's intention to widen the score gap. (Completed, overtaken by 2 points.) Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: healing value 1000."
The difficulty of the task was not particularly high, and the reward was not particularly large. It was completed just like that. Liu Xiu was a little surprised. The main reason for his surprise was that the other party actually replaced Kobe at this time!
The Zen Master replaced Kobe, and O'Neal was not replaced. In the past few years, he gave up the rhythm of the game.
But now, even without the OK combination, the Lakers still cannot be underestimated!
The Zen Master sent out a combination of Payton, Kareem Rush, Devin George, Malone, and Horace Grant.
Looking at Payton waiting to receive the serve, Liu Xiu was a little excited.
Although I am still weak and I know my strength well, I am always excited to compete with those famous veteran superstars.
Liu Xiu felt very sorry that he couldn't compete with Kobe, but he could compete with Payton!
At this time, the system prompt came again!
"Mission: My last name is Liu. Advanced target is triggered."
"My last name is Liu: Advanced goal: The host needs to help the Trail Blazers win this game. Advanced reward: The basic reward is doubled."
"Damn! I'm so lucky. If Lao Yu from next door hadn't fouled me just now, I would have missed the free throw, which would have been a big loss..."
Liu Xiu was not thinking about losing now, but about how to win.
His strong fighting spirit easily infected his teammates.
No matter what happens off the court, everyone on the Trail Blazers wants to win.
This is the environment of their team. If you perform well on the court and help the team win, you will get more opportunities.
The opponent must not have given up, otherwise Payton and Malone would not have been substituted in. Watching Payton receiving the serve and advancing... "Let the two veterans Payton and Malone help Kobe and O'Neal reduce consumption and let the two of them handle some of the tense stages?"
Liu Xiu felt that the Zen master was a bit cruel in his actions, exploiting two unfamiliar veteran superstars.
However, even though Payton is 35 and Malone is 40, the pressure they bring to their opponents is still enormous.
The Lakers launched an attack, and Payton advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Kareem Rush.
Malone did a good job of tying down the inside defense in the low post area, while Payton was in the high post with his back to Liu Xiu and received the return pass for a back-to-the-basket single play.
Back-to-the-basket, turnaround, jump shot...hit!
Payton gave Liu Xiu a positive response as soon as he came up!
"Gary Payton, 35 years old, PG, 193 cm, 82 kg, ability rating 87..."
The score is tied at 64!
The offense and defense changed, the Trail Blazers attacked, Liu Xiu received the serve, and Payton pressed throughout the court!
"Oh, rookie, you look so young, it's not just female stars who like you, right? I heard there are a lot of men in Portland who like men?"
"Thank you for your reminder, old man . I will avoid them, but why do you know so much? Oh, sorry, I accidentally poked your wound."
Payton was furious. Today, he was facing a rookie and wanted to show off his veteran style and talk some trash like an artistic criminal, but the other party was no worse than him in this aspect! And he was very courageous. It can only be said that he was worthy of being a rookie who dared to hug and throw O'Neal?
Payton did not continue to talk trash and chose a more oppressive defensive move.
Liu Xiu was not intimidated by Payton's extremely oppressive defense. Payton's strength was unexpectedly great, not like what a man weighing more than 80 kilograms could have, but Liu Xiu was able to withstand it. Liu Xiu was not in a hurry to advance quickly, but steadily protected the ball and walked towards the frontcourt.
The full-court press was ineffective, and Payton took a step back and directed his teammates' defense as he retreated to the three-point line.
It is obvious, very obvious that when Payton, who once won the best defensive player award, is on the court, the Lakers' team defensive positioning, movement, etc. have become better!
But... as the saying goes, one force can defeat a thousand skills. When Fisher couldn't defend Liu Xiu's back-to-the-basket attack, Liu Xiu's choice became very simple when facing Payton.
Keep on back-attacking!
Liu Xiu passed the ball to Travis Outlaw, who received it in the low post and continued to back up... and turned around and made a layup!
Can still come!
Payton thought he came on the court to reap the fruits of Fisher's bullying, but in the end he was even worse off than Fisher!
When it comes to post-up play, the further away from the basket you are, the more important your height becomes; the closer you are to the basket, the more important your strength becomes.
Payton has a lot of skills in back-to-the-basket defense, but he is really ineffective in defending against strong low-post back-to-the-basket defenses.
The main thing is that it was unexpected! Payton himself felt it was difficult to back down Fisher for four consecutive rounds, so how could he have expected Liu Xiu to continue backing down like nothing happened?
There was actually nothing wrong with the Lakers' rotation tonight. The analysis, prediction and adjustments were all done very well. The stars are strong and the coach is excellent. But Liu Xiu's seemingly unimportant point made them beat the crap out of them.
The Lakers always thought, "This is the best the rookie can do," and then the situation became like this...
Immediately afterwards, Payton passed the ball to Malone, but the latter missed the mid-range shot.
Liu Xiu continued to play with his back to the ball, and finally succeeded in attracting double-teaming. Wesley Persson received the ball in a wide-open position. Wesley Persson had not scored in the first half, but this time, he learned from his mistakes and made a three-pointer! 69 to 64, the Blazers' lead expanded to 5 points!
In the final moments of the third quarter, the Lakers wanted to launch a quick attack in order to get another offensive opportunity and try to tie the score in the final moments of the third quarter.
The Lakers dared to do this because they were confident in their own strength, but they failed to do so.
Dale Davis completed a steal in the middle, and the Trail Blazers slowed down the tempo. With 9 seconds left, Liu Xiu backed up and passed the ball to Wesley Person who was cutting to the middle. Wesley Person passed the ball to the baseline, and Rasheed Wallace received the ball and made a mid-range shot!
With Kareem Rush missing a three-pointer from the sideline, the Trail Blazers went into the intermission with a 7-point lead over the Lakers at 71 to 64 after three quarters!
Liu Xiu scored 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in half a quarter!
Liu Xiu played for less than 13 minutes in total and scored 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Maurice Cheeks felt like he had made a fortune.
Have a big heart and don’t be afraid of big scenes.
After identifying your own strengths, be decisive and seize them and pursue them relentlessly.
When faced with a pincer attack, he decisively returned to the role of the team's offensive organizer.
I can also use my own way to make those unruly teammates obey me...even if it's only temporary, but since it happened the first time, why would I be afraid there won't be a second time?
It was the final quarter, and although the team was leading by 7 points, Maurice Cheeks didn't feel at ease at all when looking at the superstars on the opposite side.
but……
"Jace, how is it, can you still fight?"
As the main attacking point and starting point of the offense for the past half quarter, Liu Xiu's playing style consumed a lot of energy, and his physical strength distribution was obviously not good.
Liu Xiu nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. If Maurice Cheeks didn't let him continue, he would definitely take the initiative to fight for it.
As for whether it would cause displeasure to some teammates at the point guard position...
"Healing value +13, from Derek Anderson."
"Healing value +21, from Jeff McGinnis."
"Healing value +42, from Damon Stoudemire."
…
After the intermission, both teams made personnel rotations.
The Lakers re-deployed the starting lineup of Payton, Kobe, Rick Fox, Malone and O'Neal!
The Trail Blazers sent out a combination of Liu Xiu, Reuben Patterson, Travis Outlaw, Randolph, and Rasheed Wallace. Except for Liu Xiu, the other four were also starters.
When Kobe saw Liu Xiu being substituted in, a smile appeared on his face. O'Neal also smiled, and it was very ferocious.
Liu Xiu had a feeling of "finally waiting for this moment".
I definitely didn't think too much about it at first. It was just a preseason game against the F4 Lakers. I didn't expect it to get to this point.
But it really came to this.
After Kobe was substituted in the third quarter, Liu Xiu played with more vigor, in order to go into the final quarter with a lead, otherwise there would be no win.
7-point lead...
After the start of the final quarter, the OK combination began to exert its strength!
Payton and Malone are very clear-headed. When they come, they are ready to cling to the thighs and need to do more things. For example, when teammates are injured or in poor condition and need to rely on them, they will stand up, but they are ready to play supporting roles.
Payton and Malone fully cooperated with the OK combination in offense and defense, with the core support of Rick Fox... With Kobe hitting a three-pointer against Reuben Patterson on the sideline, the Lakers started the fourth quarter with an 11 to 5 run, and the score was chased by the Lakers to 75 to 76!
The Trail Blazers' lead is only 1 point!
In fact, during this period, the Trail Blazers' tactics were well implemented. In the final quarter, Kobe returned to the defense he played in the second half of the second quarter, guarding Liu Xiu.
It was difficult for Kobe to defend Liu Xiu and the Trail Blazers to play team offense, but it was better than Liu Xiu constantly backing down Payton and Fisher.
But during this period, Malone and O'Neal blocked the entire mid-range and short-range defense! If it weren't for Randolph's 2+1 offensive rebound and Rasheed Wallace's strong shot after cutting in and receiving the ball against the defense, the score would have been reversed.
After Kobe scored, Liu Xiu immediately called several teammates and said a few words. Maurice Cheeks was about to call a timeout, but hesitated and didn't call it yet.
When it was the Trail Blazers' turn to attack, Liu Xiu first passed the ball to Randolph who was leaning against O'Neal in the low post, and then ran in along the middle while Kobe was chasing and defending him.
When a player cuts into the middle, it always attracts defensive attention, but Randolph did not pass the ball to Liu Xiu, but to Travis Outlaw behind Liu Xiu and Kobe!
Travis Outlaw received the ball and passed it to the second player. Liu Xiu ran around the baseline and came out from the right side of the three-second zone, attracting the double-teaming of Malone who did not move out. However, Travis Outlaw passed the ball in the direction of the right sideline!
Rasheed Wallace received the ball and shot a three-pointer...hit! 79 to 75, the score difference is 4 points!
Except for the king, the power forward's three-point shot is not always so stable, but Liu Xiu made the right bet this time!
The Lakers thought that Liu Xiu was going around Randolph in order to shoot from close range, so Malone retracted his shot and Rasheed Wallace had a huge open space. It was useless for Payton to rush forward... and he made the shot!
Apart from coming up with an idea, dribbling across half court and slipping under the basket, nothing else about this ball has much to do with Liu Xiu.
But after scoring the goal, Rasheed Wallace smiled excitedly at Liu Xiu...which scared Liu Xiu so much that he almost grabbed the referee's whistle and blew it at him twice.
It was the Lakers' turn to attack, and they scored their sixth goal in a row...
After O'Neal received the ball on the left side of the three-second zone, he lifted it up and threw it back, and Malone received the ball and made a low layup.
Liu Xiu looked at Rasheed Wallace and felt a headache - he could take care of offense but not defense.
Liu Xiu discovered that this teammate was top-notch whether he was responsible for offense or defense alone, but when he did both, it seemed that it was not just a matter of physical strength, his brain couldn't keep up with the switch in playing style!
There are thousands of weird athletes in this world, and Tianzun doesn't seem to be particularly weird.
After Ma Long scored the goal, Liu Xiu called his teammates together and talked to them for a few words.
Maurice Cheeks wanted to call a timeout again but stopped. He called a timeout because he wanted to make more detailed tactical arrangements for Liu Xiu's previous style of play in which Rasheed Wallace attacked from long distances, and at the same time think of a way to solve the defensive problem. Liu Xiu had just figured out the problem with Rasheed Wallace. As a coach, he had already understood it, and his old teammates were also familiar with it.
When Liu Xiu received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt, Maurice Cheeks saw a scene that surprised him - Rasheed Wallace did not run and serve as a possible supporting point, but went directly to the three-point line to open up space!
This is exactly the adjustment Maurice Cheeks wants to make!
Malone still did not follow Rasheed Wallace to expand, but let Rick Fox expand to defend.
After Liu Xiu passed the ball to Randolph, he did not cut into the middle. Instead, according to the actual position movement on the court, he ran to the right sideline to provide an off-ball screen for Rasheed Wallace!
Rasheed Wallace used the pick-and-roll to get to the right baseline of the three-second zone, received the pass from Travis Outlaw who received the pass from Randolph at the free throw line, and then passed the ball to the wing, and took a long two-point shot...
Kobe switched defense, but Rasheed Wallace received the ball and Kobe was able to defend. He had no way to deal with Rasheed Wallace's straight-arm shot.
Rasheed Wallace is in great form now and makes another long two-point shot!
On the sidelines, on the Lakers bench, the Zen Master saw this scene and kept touching his index fingers together. He knew that a troublesome situation was coming!
Liu Xiu had previously scored 5 goals in a row with his back to the ball and had 11 points. Now Rasheed Wallace scored 5 points in a row with his long-range shots. This means that the Trail Blazers have two threatening points. Coincidentally, these two people correspond to the two major assist points of the Lakers!
Kobe defends Liu Xiu, and when Rasheed Wallace moves to the outside, Malone will defend. You can't let the overweight O'Neal defend a flexible center's mid-range and long-range running and receiving style of play...
After Malone retreated twice in a row, causing Rasheed Wallace to score two goals from long distance, Liu Xiu could really organize the team's offense!
Although Liu Xiu did not think so much, the initial success rate of back-to-the-basket shots, and the sudden inspiration of letting Rasheed Wallace be a long-distance receiver and shooter or even a fixed-point shooter, all became important factors for Liu Xiu to organize the team's offense at the critical moment of the fourth quarter!
Reuben Patterson's high-post spot shooting, Randolph's second-chance offense, Travis Outlaw's drive to the basket, Rasheed Wallace's long-range shooting from the sideline... This lineup can be deployed, of course, there are tactics related to this lineup, but it was difficult to play it out against the Lakers. Now, it has been played out!
The most important thing is that Liu Xiu told Rasheed Wallace not to think about more things on the offensive end and only be responsible for shooting, so that Rasheed Wallace could focus on the defensive end, which means that Rasheed Wallace entered the playing style of his time with the Pistons... focusing on protecting the rim!
Not only Rasheed Wallace focused on protecting the rim, but Randolph, Reuben Patterson and Liu Xiu also shrank to the middle and close distances, and they would double-team anyone who entered the middle and close distances.
Payton on the wing can shoot three-pointers at will. If Malone leaves the mid-range, let Reuben Patterson expand... Travis Outlaw, the rookie, defends Kobe alone! If Malone goes to help Kobe pick and roll, let Reuben Patterson switch defense. If Malone receives the ball and plays one-on-one, he will double-team him if he breaks through. If he doesn't break through, Reuben Patterson will be beaten... He was indeed beaten. Reuben Patterson was blown up by Malone's long-range singles, and Malone scored two goals in a row.
but!
Ma Long’s age...40 years old is always a hurdle that cannot be overcome.
In fact, last season, Malone's assist rate was close to 50%. He averaged 7.3 goals per game last season, 3.5 of which were made by catching the ball, 1.1 were second-chance shots, and his singles scoring averaged less than 3 goals per game!
Sometimes, having more superstars is not necessarily a good thing. Some things may seem to be good, but the actual effect may not be that good.
Like now, O'Neal is covered in big men and has very few chances to score in the paint. In previous years, when Kobe needed a break in a one-on-one game, O'Neal would force himself to do it even if there were a lot of people around him. Now he is more willing to hand the ball over so that Kobe and Malone can take turns.
But in these few rounds, Malone scored two goals and Kobe only made 1 of 3!
If Malone hadn't scored both singles, the Trail Blazers, who scored 7 points during this period, would have widened the score!
It was the Lakers' turn to attack again. Kobe played against Travis Outlaw, but couldn't break through, so he chose to step back and shoot.
Travis Outlaw knew that Kobe would not break through and press forward. If Kobe had committed a foul at this time, it would definitely have worked, but Kobe did not choose the easy shooting method, but jumped back and took a long two-point shot... It was too difficult. Travis Outlaw's jumping ability made Kobe feel a little outrageous. Kobe missed the shot this time!
Randolph and Rasheed Wallace fought hard for position, and in the fight between a group of big men, Liu Xiu picked up the rebound.
Looking back, Liu Xiu seized the opportunity to pass the ball. There was no strategy involved in this ball. Randolph suddenly turned around with his back to O'Neal on the left side of the three-second zone. Liu Xiu reacted quickly and seized the opportunity to pass the ball to the basket. Randolph received the ball and made a layup, and caused O'Neal, who turned around to block the shot, to commit a foul!
88 to 81, the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 7 points, and Randolph got a free throw!
Randolph made the free throw, and Liu Xiu retreated directly to the backcourt. He looked at the sidelines and found a group of girls. Seeing that they were wearing the jerseys of their own team's players, he approached them decisively and said a few words to them amid their screams...
Randolph made the free throw and it went in steadily, 89 to 81, the score difference became 8 points!
When it was the Lakers' turn to attack, Kobe was now in a furious state, and he felt that he would soon get his feeling back from missing shots, and he felt that he would be fine on the next shot.
Just as Rick Fox passed the ball to Kobe and Kobe was about to start a one-on-one game, a shout came from the sidelines...
"Give the ball to Malone! We want to see Malone play one-on-one!"
"Don't shoot! You can't make it!"
"Oh, damn, we're down by 10! Give the ball to Malone!"
"Pass it to O'Neal! O'Neal is the MVP!"
The shouting of this group of people spread quickly. Some Lakers fans really thought so, but most of them were fans of the home team, and they all wanted to influence Kobe.
Kobe was so angry that he didn't pass the ball! His mentality was also affected. The way he had just thought about how to get a shooting opportunity with skills and fake moves turned into a forced shot again... A long two-pointer missed!
O'Neal's tip-in missed, and Rasheed Wallace grabbed the second rebound.
Liu Xiu received the ball and felt that the female fans were awesome! Only the first sentence was taught by him, and the rest were all free to play by the female fans!
