Chapter 1686 Here Comes the Five Little Deaths
On December 25, in the Christmas game at Staples Arena, amidst the terrifying atmosphere created by Lakers fans, the first meeting of the season between the Lakers and the Heat officially kicked off here.
The starting lineups of both sides appeared in sequence.
Lakers: Center Bynum, power forward Gasol, small forward Ji Feng, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, point guard Fisher.
Heat: Center Big Z, power forward Bosh, small forward James, shooting guard Wade, point guard Chalmers.
Except for Chalmers, who is not well-known among these ten people, the remaining nine are all famous people. Showdowns like this are extremely rare in NBA history.
"No matter what era you are in, it is rare for you to see two teams facing each other on the field with more than 6 All-Star players in total. What is even more terrifying is that 5 of them are even All-Star starters, and even the substitutes are on the bench. "With former All-Star players, I really can't think of any other matchup that can compare to this," Yu Jia said with emotion after seeing the lineups of both sides actually debut.
"No matter what the result of this game is, it has created a new history. I even think this game has opened a new era in the NBA." Director Zhang said.
"That's true. Both sides brought together the best basketball players of this era. This game is also very important. For the Lakers, this is the most critical step for them to defend their title and chase 33 consecutive victories. They defeated the Heat. The Lakers will become the second team in history to win 30 consecutive games in a single season, just shy of 33 consecutive wins.”
"For the Heat, as they aspire to win the championship, they very much need to play against the Lakers, the most successful and strongest team on the planet. If they can win the game, it will be a huge improvement for their entire team. "
"So Director Zhang, do you think if the Heat want to make a difference in this game, what do they need to do to have a chance." Yu Jia asked, and he was curious about what advice Director Zhang would give.
Yu Jia still held back some words because he felt that as long as the Lakers performed normally, it would be difficult for the Heat to stand a chance.
Unexpectedly, Director Zhang also thought so, and said it more straightforwardly!
"It's hard! Although it offends people to say this, as long as the Lakers perform normally, they will be much better than the Heat in both starting and bench positions, and their tactical level is not at the same level. The most important thing is tacit understanding. The Lakers have been working together for three seasons. After winning three consecutive championships, tacit understanding is no longer a problem, but the Heat have just been formed, and tacit understanding is very problematic. Unless the Lakers make mistakes or have a bad touch, it will be very difficult for the Heat to win. "
Director Zhang's words made Lakers fans very happy, but of course they offended many Heat fans. Many Heat fans felt unhappy and expressed their opinions online or psychologically. When the fight started, you would know how wrong you were!
At this time, both parties also completed the final preparations and walked to the stadium!
The atmosphere of the opening was obviously brought to the court by the players. In the past, even if old enemies like the Lakers and Celtics met, they would say hello before the game. However, it was different tonight. The two sides just looked at each other calmly and did not say hello. The smell of gunpowder was strong from the first second.
As always, Big Z's jump ball is just a formality. Bynum gets the ball and the Lakers advance!
There was a burst of cheers from the fans at the scene. For the Lakers, it was still Ji Feng who executed the first attack.
The person marking him is James!
Ji Feng is not afraid of James' defense. To be honest, James' defense level is average and basically relies on physical fitness. This is true in the Cavaliers and still the same in the Heat, so there is a reason why he is not selected for the best defense all year round.
Of course, the exception is when meeting Ji Feng. James will be excited when meeting Ji Feng, and he also works particularly hard on the defensive end.
This time it was even crazier, and he directly chose to guard closely, but Ji Feng did not bother at all and decisively chose to call for a pick-and-roll. After the pick-and-roll, James forced his way through, but Ji Feng turned around and shot a three-pointer!
Uh-huh!
The empty pocket fell, and Ji Feng scored the first goal of the game!
Heat coach Spoelstra on the sidelines was very satisfied with James' defense, because as long as Ji Feng was not allowed to score easily, although this kind of goal was scored, it was the goal that Ji Feng should have scored. Spoelstra was not stupid enough to think that the Heat could score Prevent death quarter peak.
The Heat turned to attack, and Wade held the ball at half court. Although Chalmers was not willing to distribute the ball, he did not dare to mess around in this game and could only hand it over to Wade. Wade faced Kobe, which was also disappointing. Exciting showdown.
Wade also called a pick-and-roll, and then the same wing singles, but he chose a strong burst from the right side after Sam Goad. Neither Ji Feng nor Gasol could cover the defense at will, and Wade scored with a throw.
Looking back, Kobe was not to be outdone, and after getting away from Wade, he also hit a jumper from the wing!
Turning around, Wade opened the wing and responded with a hit and a goal.
5-4.
Both sides showed good touch in the opening game.
But then the direction changed, because the Lakers started digging inside!
Ji Feng passed the ball to Bynum, and Bynum hit the big Z and hit one accurately. Bosh had to make up the defense, and then let Gasol dunk an empty blue under the basket.
Turning around, the Heat had no way to play inside. Bosh is a power forward who likes to float on the outside. Let him play behind him and he can't beat Gasol, let alone Big Z. He averaged less than 6 points per game. It's too difficult for him to play singles.
So James took on the task of attacking, but he encountered much greater difficulties than he imagined. Even with Wade and Bosh involved, the Lakers' defensive system was very tough, and he was annoyed by defenders like Ji Feng. Because he still has no outside line, his scoring basically relies on breakthroughs. However, Ji Feng is very powerful and has excellent confrontation ability. It is not so easy to easily break through in front of Ji Feng.
So James' next three consecutive breakthroughs only resulted in 2 free throws, and Bynum took one.
The most outrageous thing is that he only made one free throw!
James, who scored 1 point at the beginning, finally became angry. He began to frequently attack with the ball, and his physical breakthrough finally achieved a certain effect. Bynum committed two fouls in 4 minutes and left the game, while James also scored 7 points.
But at the same time, the Lakers' advantage has radiated from the inside to the outside. Kobe and Ji Feng hit three three-pointers in a row, so when there were 2 and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the score was 30-22, and the Lakers led by 8 point.
However, although the Lakers were in the lead, some people still expressed concerns. After all, the Heat decisively attacked Haslem after Bynum left the game. Although he was not tall enough, he did not suffer against Powell. On the contrary, Haslem's defensive ability and The Heat benefited greatly from their mobility, and they played faster.
James came up with the first ball and dunked on a pass from Wade. The James-Wade connection started for the first time.
The score difference returned to 6 points.
Just when the Heat fans were excited, Jackson took action. He played fast, right? He simply replaced Powell, Gasol also came off the game, Ji Feng swung to the center position, Artest played power forward, and Barnes was the third Position, Kobe shooting guard, Blake point guard!
"Coming, coming! Death Five!"