I am the Warden Chapter 13: A Kick Determines Everything
In the transition from offense to defense, Liu Xiu tried to organize the offense and directly expanded the lead to double digits in one go.
But unfortunately, Liu Xiu's pass was discovered by Kobe who started to play hard on the defensive end. Kobe jumped and knocked Liu Xiu's pass away, and Payton grabbed the ball.
The Lakers did not counterattack. They have basically given up on counterattacking. Apart from Kobe's counterattack alone, they have almost no ability to counterattack for the time being. Even Fisher, who was once known for being as agile as a fish, has now gradually slowed down.
After Payton pushed the ball forward, he passed it to Kobe.
As soon as Kobe received the ball, most of the fans at the scene shouted "Give the ball to Malone" again.
Malone himself didn't know that he had so many fans. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a little proud - his 18 years in the NBA were not in vain.
For a moment, Malone couldn't help but move to the left elbow area of the three-second zone to ask Randolph for the ball.
In the first game of the new season, Kobe still had to give face. Malone did not ask for it in the last round, but this time he asked for it and Kobe chose to pass the ball.
However, Malone was just impulsive and couldn't keep up with the stamina! He was no longer a young man, and he was not at the age where he could get a burst of stamina just by being excited. He was exhausted after fake-moving to shake off Randolph, and his mid-range shot was short!
O'Neal rushed to steal the ball but to no avail. Rasheed Wallace secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Liu Xiu. Kobe rushed forward to steal the ball but failed and had to retreat.
Kobe is really furious now. He thought Malone could score one, but he didn't. It would be better if he did it.
There is no doubt that O'Neal is more familiar with his missed shots.
If he had hit the iron ball just now, O'Neal might have grabbed the offensive rebound!
There is also Liu Xiu who is advancing steadily. Kobe hates playing against such opponents.
He is neither impatient nor irritable, and will not make mistakes due to impulse. He makes very few mistakes. He does not seek to achieve anything but to avoid mistakes. However, he has excellent team offensive organization ability... Moreover, this guy does not look like a calm person at all, but his playing style is so calm...
Add to that his casual expression and the fact that he would occasionally hold his jersey in his mouth...
Kobe even felt unhappy about the No. 9 jersey this guy was wearing!
Liu Xiu felt Kobe's hostility. Even though these emotions had basically nothing to do with basketball itself and only occasionally gave him some healing value, that look and that expression could tell it all.
But Liu Xiu was not afraid. With his playing style, it didn't matter whether Kobe defended him or not... When he got outside the three-point line, he passed the ball to Randolph who was leaning against O'Neal in the low post.
The Lakers' defense changed. Liu Xiu cut in from the middle and went around. Kobe was gone, and it was Malone who was defending him. Kobe moved out to help Rasheed Wallace. Seeing this, Liu Xiu clapped his hands decisively and moved to the free throw line. Travis Outlaw, who cut in and received the ball, used his arm span to pass the ball over Rick Fox's head to Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu received the ball, played a singles match against Ma Long, broke through on the right side, Ma Long pushed forward fiercely, Liu Xiu jumped one step inside the right sideline of the three-second zone, and threw the ball when confronting Ma Long... Liu Xiu was knocked over, but! Before falling, Liu Xiu kept his balance and made his best shot!
91 to 81, the referee blew the whistle when the ball went in, and the goal was valid but a penalty was added!
The Lakers called a timeout with 5 minutes and 38 seconds left in the game. After the Lakers made an 11-5 run, the Trail Blazers responded with a 15-6 run. After the score difference was narrowed to 1 point, they widened the score again and widened it to double digits!
After calling a timeout, the Zen Master stared at Liu Xiu for a while. He remembered that General Manager Mitch Kupchak once mentioned that he wanted to select the point guard of Syracuse University with the 24th pick in the first round. The Logo Man also liked this point guard very much... "It seems that this rookie is the one? He is really suitable for us. He will never shoot if there is no chance. When there is a chance, he will not be afraid no matter who the opponent is. He will shoot when the opportunity comes. It seems that he is better than Derrick..."
The Zen master just thought about it and didn't care too much. What was in his hands was the best.
The situation was unfavorable. If it seemed that the players had their own way to solve the problem, the Zen Master would not call a timeout. Just now he waited patiently, and wow, the score difference was directly double digits!
The Zen Master made a very clear adjustment, replacing Rick Fox with Brian Russell and letting Payton take charge and organize the team's offense.
…
After the timeout, the Lakers rotated the small forward position, while the Trail Blazers did not make any substitutions. The combination of Liu Xiu, Reuben Patterson, Travis Outlaw, Randolph and Rasheed Wallace continued to play.
Liu Xiu walked up to the free throw line, stretched his body, and then smiled and said to the referee, "Sir, I'm ready."
The referee wanted to blow the whistle when he saw Liu Xiu stretching, but he was so polite... he endured it.
It is rare to see such a polite person on the NBA court. For a moment, the referee even forgot about the scene in front of him where this guy knocked O'Neal down.
Liu Xiu patted the ball and made the free throw.
92 to 81, with 5 and a half minutes left, the score difference is 11 points!
However! The Trail Blazers did not dare to be careless, and the Lakers did not panic either.
The Trail Blazers don’t feel very safe with an 11-point difference, and the Lakers don’t think the difference is that big either.
Zen Master! Including the championship rings from his playing days, the safe at home has more championship rings than can fit on both hands.
Payton, Brian Russell, Malone, and O'Neal are all very confident about the tactics arranged by such a head coach after the timeout... Kobe is also very confident, but he wants to do it himself now!
After Payton pushed across half court, he saw Kobe asking for the ball, but that was not the case in the tactics!
However, in the first game of the team, just like Kobe passed the ball to Malone just now, Payton also passed the ball to Kobe.
When Kobe received the ball, the Trail Blazers immediately adjusted their defensive position.
During the timeout, Maurice Cheeks made some detailed adjustments to Liu Xiu's previously effective defensive strategy.
Liu Xiu left Payton open and moved to the left side of the free throw line, and Reuben Patterson was ready to make up for the defense at any time.
Although Kobe is furious and irrational, not caring about the team and doing it on his own, he also sees the opponent's defensive intention - to use Travis Outlaw's height, wingspan, jumping speed and bounce speed to interfere with his outside shooting, block the inside, and leave Payton on the wing open, even willing to leave Brian Russell open.
In contrast, Kobe chose to shoot from outside!
Others would most likely choose to pass the ball or break through and pass it to Payton or Brian Russell at this time, but Kobe's choice was limited to "better personal shooting opportunities", and the pass button was broken at this time!
Travis Outlaw was very firm in his defensive approach, just focusing on Kobe's mid-range and long-range shots, not considering the possibility of being passed by.
This made Kobe's fake moves mostly ineffective. Kobe once again jumped up facing the defense and took a long two-point shot...it still missed!
Randolph protected the rebound and quickly passed it to Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu, based on his current position and analysis of the game situation, received the ball and chose to advance quickly as soon as possible!
Impulsive? No! If there were people blocking him, Liu Xiu would choose to advance steadily, but the Lakers were used to him not being able to launch fast breaks in previous rounds, and this time Liu Xiu caught the Lakers off guard!
The Lakers reacted and tried to retreat, but still failed to stop it.
Randolph received the ball at the free throw line and threw it out. Rasheed Wallace followed up and jumped, flew into the air for an alley-oop and dunked for two points!
94 to 81, the Trail Blazers' lead expanded to 13 points!
The tactic didn't work and the Lakers didn't call another timeout.
It's not that the tactics didn't work, but that Kobe's brain was screwed and the tactics didn't work out, so the Zen Master no longer called a timeout, and even if he did, he couldn't communicate with Kobe.
But on the field...
O'Neal yelled at Kobe after Rasheed Wallace dunked, "Can you pass the ball?"
Without even thinking, Kobe yelled back, "No!"
"..." Even though he knew Kobe so well, O'Neal was choked. After a second, he continued to yell: "Then can you find a way to put that damn ball into the basket?"
Kobe yelled back without hesitation: "Of course!"
The conversation between Kobe and O'Neal ended, and people from both teams who heard the conversation didn't know what to say.
As the referee counted down 5 seconds, O'Neal passed the ball and the Lakers continued their attack.
Payton received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. Kobe asked for the ball again, so he could only pass it to him helplessly.
But this time, after Kobe asked for the ball, he made a tactical gesture!
It’s different from the tactics arranged by the Zen Master, but at least there is a tactic!
O'Neal told Payton that when they come to their team, the priority of the stars' independent choice of tactics on the court is higher than the tactics arranged by the head coach, even at critical moments.
Kobe played one-on-one, and this time he chose the sudden scoring tactic!
Brian Russell and Payton on the wings both had chances. As long as Kobe broke through, he could create open shooting opportunities for the two, but Kobe chose to go straight to the basket!
The 25-year-old Kobe, like a nimble snake, shuttled between the defensive players, tore a hole in the Trail Blazers' defense in one fell swoop and went straight into close range!
At close range, Kobe was surrounded.
Randolph, Reuben Patterson and Liu Xiu triple attack!
Kobe passed the ball back and someone received it at the free throw line...it was Payton!
Travis Outlaw, who was defending Kobe, switched to defend Malone who came out from the right side of the basket, but he didn't expect that Kobe's tactical goal was to help Payton get a chance to shoot from the free throw line!
Payton received the ball at the free throw line and made an open jump shot!
83 to 94, the Lakers finally started scoring.
Kobe's pass gave Liu Xiu the feeling that he was flying in the air and choosing to pass the ball based on the actual situation on the court!
Passing to the wing shooters, such as Travis Outlaw, can do very well after receiving a certain degree of training, but passing to the basket and passing to the high post is much more difficult!
Buddha said, put down the butcher knife and you will become a Buddha instantly.
When Kobe Bryant, after playing so recklessly and almost destroying the team's morale, suddenly starts to execute tactics and cooperate well, his teammates will think - even Kobe starts to play well, so we have to cooperate well too.
This impact was not only seen on the offensive end, the Lakers also did better on the defensive end than in the previous rounds.
In the first few rounds, as Kobe missed more and more shots and the Trail Blazers widened the gap, the Lakers' defensive enthusiasm had been declining and was on the verge of collapse... Now they are becoming active again!
In the next few rounds, the Lakers intensified their confrontation and fought hard with the Trail Blazers.
A superstar is a superstar. When both sides are fighting hard, the Trail Blazers can hardly guarantee their success rate, but the Lakers' superstars can!
The situation took a turn for the worse and the Trail Blazers called a timeout, but it failed to slow down the Lakers' pace of chasing points.
It was the Lakers' turn to attack again. Kobe cut in and received the pass from Malone in the high post, then passed it to O'Neal, who received the ball and made a layup.
At 10 minutes and 14 seconds into the game, the Lakers narrowed the score to 94 to 98, with the difference only 4 points!
The Trail Blazers had finally managed to create a 13-point lead, but in more than three minutes they were beaten 13 to 4!
The Lakers caught up with the big deficit and were only 4 points behind. When the Lakers players retreated, their faces were filled with joy and undisguised pride.
The Trail Blazers players slowed down when running frontcourt.
"We are still ahead. Don't worry. We should seize every opportunity. Even if we only win by 1 point, we still win!"
The voice was gentle and the words were inspiring...but Reuben Patterson, Travis Outlaw, Randolph, and Rasheed Wallace, four teammates who had been fighting together for almost a whole quarter, heard the disgust in Liu Xiu's tone.
These three feelings, taken separately, would not have much effect, but when combined together, several teammates were stimulated - "It's as if we gave up the game. You're the only one who worked hard and persevered?"
Because the big lead was narrowed and because they felt the gap in strength... the morale of the Trail Blazers players, who had fought for almost a whole quarter, gradually declined and their physical exhaustion was also exposed.
At this moment, the Trail Blazers players were excited, their offensive running became more active, and their cutting power became more powerful... Liu Xiu slipped to the bottom line, received the pass from Randolph, and made a bottom line layup... and it hit!
This ball was a chance for Liu Xiu as he hadn't taken a shot for too long, and his presence was reduced to the point where no one was paying attention!
100 to 94, the difference is 6 points.
The score gap widened again, but the Lakers were not in any confusion.
When the Lakers attacked, Kobe ran and received the pass from Malone on the wing. He took a step out of the three-point line, turned around and jumped, and shot a three-pointer...
When Kobe shot, his body had already flown out of bounds.
This ball was incredibly difficult, but it went in!
The old fans at the scene thought of Kobe's buzzer-beater in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals three years ago...
97 to 100, the score difference just widened to 6 points, but Kobe's three-pointer narrowed it to 3 points!
The Trail Blazers wanted to score one more goal to stabilize the situation. Randolph asked for the ball, but he couldn't back up O'Neal. He could only take a step back and face the basket for a one-on-one shot. His forced jump shot... was blocked by O'Neal!
Kobe grabbed the ball and counterattacked, dunking to get two points, 99 to 100. Kobe scored 5 points in a row, increasing his personal score to 30 points, helping the Lakers narrow the gap to 1 point!
The game was at 11 minutes and 34 seconds, with 26 seconds left!
The Lakers had already seen hope of a buzzer-beater comeback, and there were cheers of celebration when they retreated, but the Trail Blazers did not call a timeout. After Kobe's dunk, Liu Xiu waved toward the bench, ran up, picked up the ball and passed it to Reuben Patterson, who had just retreated with Kobe!
After receiving the ball, Reuben Patterson immediately passed it out, and Rasheed Wallace, who was one step outside the three-point line, received the ball. The Lakers then realized that the opponent did not call a timeout at this time!
For nearly half a quarter, the Lakers' defense was so disciplined and measured, but now it's chaos!
The Lakers' defense was very uncoordinated this time. Although they successfully blocked the Trail Blazers' players who had reached the frontcourt and had not fully participated in the retreat, the players who followed up did not defend well, and their attempts to steal the ball were unsuccessful... After serving the ball, Liu Xiu ran towards the frontcourt with all his strength, followed up in the middle, received a pass from Randolph, jumped from the free throw line, and was knocked down by Kobe who rushed up.
“Beep!”
The referee blew the whistle and Liu Xiu got two free throws!
Kobe's few shots just now silenced all the home team fans at the scene, as if the only sound was the cheers of the five or six thousand non-Trail Blazers fans in the front court who came for the Lakers.
At this moment, the scene was boiling!
There are 18 seconds left and we get two free throws. As long as we make both of them, we will be invincible!
Maurice Cheeks did not call a timeout, but told several players to prepare for overtime; the Zen Master did not call a timeout either. While the ball was dead, he replaced Payton with Fisher and Brian Russell with Rick Fox.
Liu Xiu walked to the free throw line holding the jersey in his mouth. The second effect of Kobe's "Physical Penetration" was that the energy consumed in a single round was quickly recovered and the mind was calm.
Liu Xiu's most basic skills - basic ball control, passing accuracy, free throws... are very solid!
Now he was very excited, but his mind was very calm, and he made two free throws...both of them!
102 to 99, 18 seconds left, the difference is 3 points!
Unless the Lakers can score a 3+1, the Lakers can at most drag the game into overtime!
After Liu Xiu made both free throws, the Lakers still did not call a timeout. They directly served the ball and Fisher advanced from the backcourt.
After half court, Fisher passed the ball to Kobe who was in the high position on the left side of the free throw line. Kobe received the ball with his back to Travis Outlaw.
Liu Xiu followed Fisher to the left baseline and saw Rick Fox moving toward the top arc. Reuben Patterson, who was defending Rick Fox, was shrinking towards Kobe, and Kobe was also looking toward the top arc... Liu Xiu doubled up from the side, and Reuben Patterson stopped his doubled-up steps when he saw this, but Kobe noticed Liu Xiu's movement and predicted the ball when Liu Xiu moved!
For this ball, Liu Xiu wanted to make a sneak attack from the side where Kobe wasn't paying attention, but Kobe discovered it!
Liu Xiu also noticed Kobe's pass and quickly turned around and rushed in the direction of the ball , but he was already far away from Fisher, so even though he made the right judgment, he still lost the opportunity to steal the ball.
The ball Kobe threw hit Liu Xiu, more than a meter away from Fisher, but Liu Xiu didn't have time to steal it. In a hurry, Liu Xiu kicked it...
At this moment, Liu Xiu broke away from the tradition of Chinese men's football... and kicked the ball!
Liu Xiu kicked the ball with a big kick. The ball flew past the baseline referee and dived into the audience seats, causing panic among the audience seats.
The referee was stunned for a moment before blowing the whistle - kicking the ball was a violation, and the Lakers continued to attack!
After Liu Xiu's kick, his teammates, fans at the scene and others were definitely not as professional as the referee. It took them a while to react - awesome!
This kick destroyed the tactics the Lakers had just used!
Even if according to the rules, the defending team intentionally touched the ball with their feet, which is a violation, the offensive team's offensive time will be reset, but! Now, there are only 5 seconds left in the entire game!
Whether the clock is turned back or not, it makes no difference... It makes a difference! The Lakers don't have time to run another offensive tactic!
Moreover, this was a dead ball, and Maurice Cheeks generously called a timeout to allow the Lakers to prepare the tactics for the final attack.
Liu Xiu, who kicked the situation open, was replaced, and Randolph was also replaced. Maurice Cheeks was replaced by Derek Anderson, Dale Davis, and the combination of Reuben Patterson, Rasheed Wallace, and Travis Outlaw.
I have no objection to Liu Xiu being substituted. His defense is just so-so. Now his main focus is on defending three-pointers. His role is definitely not as good as that of Derek Anderson who is taller.
Liu Xiu, who was substituted, heard some people shouting his name... and felt a little good!
After the timeout, the Lakers did not make any substitutions.
At this time, it might be better for the Lakers if there was no timeout.
At that time, the ball was passed directly to Fisher and Kobe, and they just threw it.
Now, on to tactics...
In the 5-second running serve tactic, all five players of the Trail Blazers left the inside. Rasheed Wallace tried to steal Malone's serve. Dale Davis, Travis Outlaw and Derek Anderson tried to double-team or go around Kobe and Fisher. O'Neal received Malone's serve at the free throw line, but he couldn't shoot after receiving the ball, so he passed it out. Only Rick Fox had the chance to receive the ball!
When Rick Fox received the ball, Reuben Patterson was in position to defend him... Rick Fox missed the key three-pointer!
The ball bounced up, O'Neal tried to grab it but to no avail. The ball bounced far, and when it bounced out and was grabbed by the aggressive Kobe, the final whistle had already sounded!
Although it was just a preseason game, the whole scene was boiling when the final whistle sounded!
Thanks to Rasheed Wallace's 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, Randolph's 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Liu Xiu's 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals... the Trail Blazers narrowly defeated the Lakers, which had the Big Four, 102 to 99!
