Every sport has its own leaders at any given time.
In basketball, it was Jordan in the 1990s, and after 2005 it became Kobe.
Especially after Kobe played such a crazy season last season, his popularity and influence reached a peak, catching up with Jordan back then.
To put it in a very vivid way, tickets for Kobe's games are hard to get, and the ratings for the Lakers' games on cable television networks are also high.
At the beginning of the game, Kobe showed everyone his unparalleled scoring skills.
Or he could catch the ball and step back for a jump shot, or he could do a fade away after posting up, or he could make a pull-up layup after breaking through the basket with a triple threat.
This is a shooting guard who possesses the most comprehensive skills of this era, or he is the "most handsome player" in the eyes of fans.
Under his leadership, the Lakers even suppressed the Mavericks at the beginning.
Durant and Lin Ying stared at this.
Honestly, the NCAA games they play now are like elementary school kids playing house compared to this one in terms of entertainment value.
"When did Kobe change to No. 24?"
Lin Ying suddenly asked.
He knew that Kobe had two numbers, 8 and 24, and both jersey numbers were retired by the Lakers.
But he wasn't sure when Bryant changed his jersey number.
"I just changed it this season. I was surprised at the time. It's rare to change your number during your prime."
Durant replied, his eyes fixed on the TV.
Indeed, changing numbers is not common in NBA history, let alone changing numbers at the peak of one's career.
The most representative one is Jordan.
When he made his first comeback, he briefly changed from No. 23 to No. 45, but he changed back quickly.
Because No. 23 and Jordan are in a sense completely tied together, the fans are not used to it, and Jordan himself is not used to it either.
The same goes for No. 8 and Kobe.
Lin Ying said "hmm" and said nothing.
Regarding this, he had seen some analysis when he was staying at home:
There are many reasons:
Kobe himself said that "there are 24 hours in a day and 24 seconds of offense" which has risen to the level of "Mamba Mentality";
There is a rumor among fans that because No. 24 has one more number than No. 23, Kobe wants to surpass Jordan;
There is also a saying that the No. 8 Kobe jersey has low sales.
Before last season, sales of Kobe ranked 80th in the NBA. Even after a crazy season like last season, No. 8 jerseys only ranked fifth in the NBA.
This is not Versailles. Compared with the history that Curry's jersey sales have led the league for several seasons, it can only be considered low.
Some even said that there were too many negative news about Kobe wearing No. 8 and he wanted to change to a new one.
However, the most reliable thing that many people may not know is that Kobe once wore the number 24 in high school.
This is also what many players do in the NBA.
"Will you continue to wear No. 1 when you enter the NBA?"
Durant then asked.
"Maybe."
Lin Ying answered uncertainly. He hadn't even started playing in the NBA yet, so how could he even think about this?
The current number 1 was also a number I randomly chose after entering the University of Texas.
It was also when he was choosing the numbers that he learned that the NCAA has regulations on numbers and that he could only choose from 0~5/10~15/20~25/30~35/40~45/50~55.
And the reason was a bit funny, because the referee couldn't make a number higher than 5 with one hand.
At that time, he instinctively made a 6 with one hand.
Of course this is off topic, his focus now is on the game.
The Lakers are still in a stalemate with the Mavericks!
Kobe was like a tireless scoring machine, gritting his teeth and fighting against the Mavericks.
The two teams remained deadlocked until the start of the fourth quarter.
Kobe went off the court to rest after the third quarter, and the Mavericks began to widen the score under the leadership of Jerry Stackhouse, the former "successor to Jordan" and now the team's sixth man.
The live camera showed Kobe sitting on the sidelines with ice on his legs, looking serious.
If we were to add a picture to this scene, the most appropriate one would be:
You really need me!
Kobe only rested for three minutes before he had to come back.
After he came back, the Lakers quickly returned to normal and continued to be deadlocked with the Mavericks.
It’s just that an NBA-level game lasts 48 minutes. Even if you are in a stalemate with your opponent for 45 minutes, the lost 3 minutes are enough to make you lose the game.
Everyone loves a comeback, but that is almost impossible when the leading side is stronger.
After experiencing the "black three minutes", the Lakers finally lost to the Mavericks 103-110.
Kobe scored 43 points, Odom scored 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Bynum scored 10 points and 12 rebounds, and no one else scored in double digits.
For the Mavericks, Nowitzki scored 24 points and 11 rebounds, and five players on the team scored in double digits.
After watching the game, Durant complained that the other Lakers players did not give Kobe enough help.
"They couldn't even get three minutes."
This sentence is very heartbreaking.
"I'm going to beat Kobe."
And then Durant said with a firm look.
If you want to be the one standing at the top, you must defeat the person who is already there.
Although there is still a big gap between him and Kobe, the goal is already there.
"you will."
Lin Ying nodded, but he was thinking about other things at the moment.
As a data analyst, when he watches a game, he not only watches the game, but also some information that can form data.
What attracted him most was the Lakers' tactics.
The famous "triangle offense" is the signature skill of Lakers head coach "Zen Master" Phil Jackson.
The reason why Kobe was able to score so many points has a lot to do with this tactic.
The "three minutes" Durant mentioned further highlights the characteristics of this tactic.
With the superstar Kobe on the court, the team's offense is very layered and role players can play their due roles on the court.
But once Kobe was not on the court, the Lakers were at a loss, and it felt like they didn't know who should take the shot.
Combining these basic analyses, he can now draw a basic conclusion:
The Lakers' triangle offense is a tactic that is extremely dependent on superstars and can maximize the abilities of superstars.
After coming to this conclusion, Lin Ying was stunned for a moment, then turned and stared at Durant for a long time.
When Durant gave him a puzzled look, Lin Ying made a request: he wanted to watch the game again.
Durant didn't know what Lin Ying was thinking about, but he knew that Lin Ying must have thought of something.
So the two grown men watched the game replay again.
Durant fell asleep unknowingly while watching it, but Lin Ying confirmed his previous thoughts after watching it for the second time.
And this time he also paid attention to the performance of another person.
Andrew Bynum.
Bynum is a standard genius, with a height of 2.13 meters, a wingspan of 2.29 meters, a pair of naturally broad shoulders, and even a soft touch that is rare among big men.
This is also an important reason why he is called "Little Shark" by fans.
And there is something that many people don’t know. When Bynum was selected by the NBA, he was only 17 years, 8 months and 2 days old, making him the youngest player selected in NBA history.
Because of the talent show reform, high school students were no longer allowed to participate, and this record has never been broken.
Moreover, he was the tenth pick in the lottery.
The word "genius" may not be enough to describe him.
He eventually joined the team of another "genius" Kobe.
Having similar experiences and even facing similar doubts when being selected, Kobe felt that he and Bynum were "kindred spirits".
So in the past year, Kobe not only gave Bynum special training, but also made the training very strict and even harsh.
It is under this kind of high-intensity training that the sophomore Bynum has demonstrated his outstanding inside strength.
This is another important reason why the Lakers were able to stalemate with the Mavericks for three quarters.
The triangle offense is extremely dependent on super giants, but it requires at least two sufficiently threatening points to be effective.
After watching the game, Lin Ying found that Durant had fallen asleep in the chair, so he got up, took the remote control, and then looked through some old games.
He was watching some of the Finals performances of Jordan's Bulls teams.
By the time he finished watching, Durant had woken up.
As soon as Durant woke up, he saw Lin Ying smiling, and he couldn't help but look confused.
What did he miss?
"I'm going to find Springman."
Before he could ask, Lin Ying had already spoken.
The doubt in Durant's eyes became even stronger. It was rare for Lin Ying to be so proactive.
"He should be eating now, right?"
Durant pulled out his cell phone and checked the time.
Lin Ying was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he was a little too excited.
Springman was eating, so it was impossible for them to run over, and it was time for them to eat.
During high-intensity training, energy replenishment is also very important.
During the meal, Durant chatted with Lin Ying and roughly understood the reason why Lin Ying was excited.
"Triangle offense, can we play that?"
Everyone has different personalities and preferences.
Durant has never been very interested in tactics.
He plays the way the coach arranges him to play.
However, he was still a little confused when Lin Ying said that they could play a triangle offense.
This is also a normal reaction.
Phil Jackson won 9 championships with the triangle offense. Can this group of people play like this?
Lin Ying didn't explain much, just said to give it a try.
After the meal, the two took a short nap, waited for a while and started the second training.
As in the morning, Springman and Wright came over together in the middle of the training.
After the training was over, Lin Ying took the initiative to find Springman and told him his ideas.
Unlike Durant's reaction, Springman pondered for a while after listening, and then gave Lin Ying this reply:
“We don’t have a super center.”
He knows more about triangle tactics than Lin Ying.
This tactic became famous because of Phil Jackson, but the person who actually invented this tactic was Tex Winter of the NCAA.
This tactic helped Winter become famous in the NCAA. Later, he took this tactic to the Bulls to follow Phil Jackson, which led to a series of stories that followed.
However, this tactic has a characteristic, which is that it requires an inside player who is dominant enough in the interior.
O'Neal during the "OK period" is the most typical example.
Once he sits in the inside, passes the ball to the inside, and then moves out to the wing, the opponent will fall into the ultimate choice-making dilemma.
By shrinking the defense and O'Neal passing the ball back to the outside, Kobe can get an easy one-on-one opportunity.
But if you don't shrink, O'Neal will let you know why he is called "The Shark."
"I think the triangle offense from the Bulls era can be a reference for us."
Lin Ying did not refute Springman's words, but put forward his own ideas.
"We can use Kevin as Michael."
After seeing Springman's gesture for him to continue speaking, he immediately put forward his core idea.
Springman is right. A team with a super center can indeed maximize the power of the triangle offense.
Just like the Lakers can compete with the Mavericks for three quarters with Bynum.
But Lin Ying is a data analyst, and his job is to organize data, which is also the main reason why he watched the Bulls games during the Jordan era.
Because that Bulls team didn't have any so-called super center, but they were still able to play the triangle tactics.
Jordan's strength is certainly one aspect, but as he said, the University of Texas now has Durant, so they can learn from the Bulls' style of play.
After listening to Lin Ying, Springman fell into deep thought again.
There is indeed nothing wrong with what Lin Ying said. The triangle tactics has its operating rules, but it is relatively flexible overall and is not a single tactic.
So sometimes you can see a classic scene in the Bulls game: Kukoc is outside the three-point line on the wing and Jordan is sinking at the bottom of the basket.
This is completely opposite to the normal triangle offense idea of ​​"center in the low post", but it is an unconventional tactic that has been proven to be feasible.
The reason is Jordan's destructive power in the low post. If he is against an opposing guard, his lethality is no less than that of a top center.
This is also the origin of Lin Ying’s words “Durant can be treated as Jordan”.
Durant's height, wingspan, and improved confrontation ability can also play the role of Jordan on the Bulls in NCAA level games.
After he figured this out, a smile gradually appeared on Springman's face.
He felt that he had given the tactical manual to the right person, Lin Ying.
Triangle offense has a chance to be the answer for the University of Texas!
After talking with Lin Ying, Springman left the training hall with a new question in his mind.
Lin Ying thought of the tactics for him, but the triangle tactics is also a system. Although Old Winter has written a book on triangle offense, there is still a difference between looking at the theory and learning and mastering it.
The so-called teaching is to solve problems. Without a teacher, it would be difficult for them to learn the tactics within a season.
But this teacher is not easy to find.
The only one who can master the triangle offense is Phil Jackson, the current head coach of the Lakers.
The NBA and NCAA are not in the same system, so it is not easy to meet Jackson.
Excluding Phil Jackson, the only one left is... old Winter.
As the inventor of the three-point offense, his understanding of the triangle offense should be deeper than Phil Jackson.