Chapter 380: Shark, You Are Not Strong Enough, You Need to Gain Weight.
Barkley smiled: "Feilong made 8 of 10 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in a single quarter. The efficiency was amazing. The Lakers' defense against him could be said to have completely failed."
Smith shook his head and said in admiration: "Since the Dragons started firing on all cylinders in the playoffs, the Knicks' scoring ability has obviously gone up a notch compared to the regular season. Thirty points in a single quarter has become common."
Barkley suddenly said seriously: "In order to increase the suspense of the finals, I think the Lakers must find ways to limit the efficiency of Feilong and improve O'Neal's shots. Otherwise, there will be no suspense in this series and our ratings will be affected."
Smith laughed and asked: "Well, Charles, judging from the performance in the first quarter, the Lakers don't seem to be a match for the Knicks. What do you think?"
Shaking his head, Barkley said: "O'Neal is the key. His scoring ability has not yet exploded. How to deliver the ball to his hands is a problem that Phil Jackson has to figure out now. Once O'Neal is under the basket Once he gets the ball, the two flying dragons may not be able to stop him from scoring.”
"Invincible, unstoppable!"
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili summarized Zhao Dong's performance in the first quarter.
Su Qun said excitedly: "We always say that Ben Wallace's defense is very strong, but under Feilong's attack, we can't seem to see the effect of his defense."
Zhang Lili smiled and said: "This is because Zhao Dong's offensive firepower is too strong and cannot be defended at all.
When Zhao Dong plays Ben, he doesn't give him a chance to defend at all. He pulls out and then rushes in, using his several levels of faster movement ability and speed to make Ben's defense useless.
The second reason is that Big Ben's defense is stronger than his assist defense. His single defense is worse, especially because he cannot deal with tall and large insiders, as well as technical insiders, and Zhao Dong is the most skilled insider. He is also an insider with excellent physical fitness.
Third, Zhao Dong is too familiar with the base. When he hits the base, it is a dimensionality reduction attack, so it is not surprising that the base is destroyed. "
On the sidelines, Lakers general manager Jerry West felt a little heavy.
He signed Ben Wallace with a big contract and strengthened the Lakers' inside line. This deal really allowed the Lakers to play very well in the regular season. Ben took off the defensive pressure for O'Neal and saved the Sharks a lot. Physical fitness.
However, now he realizes that when it comes to the Knicks, Ben Wallace is not very useful. He has even become a drag on the Lakers' offensive end, allowing the Knicks to double-team O'Neal without the ball.
On the bench,
Phil Jackson is also having a headache with Ben Wallace.
Now that O'Neal enters the basket to play, he cannot avoid the consequences of being double-teamed under the basket, because Ben Wallace has no ability to pull out and take Zhao Dong away.
His mind was spinning rapidly, and he needed to decide whether to continue to use Ben Wallace and O'Neal to cooperate, or to replace him.
In the second quarter, Zhao Dong and Kobe continued to lead their respective substitute lineups, and Ben continued to be on the court.
In the third minute, at 24:40, the Knicks led by 16 points.
Phil Jackson shook his head. Seeing that Ben couldn't guard Zhao Dong, he could only make a decision to replace Ben.
Anyway, if you can't prevent it, then you might as well let an inside man who can stretch away take away one of the Knicks' inside men.
As for whether the insider taken away is Zhao Dong, it doesn't matter. As long as O'Neal is double-teamed without the ball under the basket, it is enough. Anyway, even if Zhao Dong defends O'Neal, the only result is that he will be defeated.
When the Lakers attacked, he called a timeout and then changed to the main lineup, but the team came down and replaced him with substitute power forward Robert Horry.
He gave Horry only one offensive task, to pull out and take away a Knicks inside player.
However, he has some concerns. Horry's three-point shooting is not very good this season. He only shot 30.9% in the regular season. It is even worse in the playoffs, only 28.8%.
But he still believes in Horry. Horry's psychological quality is excellent and he can still be trusted at critical moments.
O'Neal came back on the court, and with Horry as a shooter beside him, he felt that his spring was coming. As soon as he reached the frontcourt, he rushed to the basket ambitiously.
Horry, on the other hand, pulled directly to the left bottom corner, like a poisonous snake, waiting for an opportunity.
When Zhao Dong saw it, he had no choice but to guard O'Neal, the Lakers' strongest point, by himself, and let Gary Trent, who came on the bench, follow Horry.
There is no way to double-team without the ball, and Zhao Dong can't hold O'Neal, so he can only go around and defend.
But immediately, he was pushed away by O'Neal, and the ball was hoisted towards the basket.
"boom!"
O'Neal, who was hanging on the rim after an alley-oop dunk, roared excitedly.
Barkley shook his head and said: "Whether it is tonnage or height, Feilong is an absolute small man in front of the big shark. Once the shark enters the basket, Feilong cannot defend and must double-team.
Now that Horrilla is out, Gary Trent actually can't keep up. It's better to replace him with a faster small forward. "
Smith said: "Feilong's main job is to attack. He will defend against the Sharks alone at the basket. He will definitely not defend with all his strength, because then he will be beaten by the Sharks soon. When the number of fouls increases, it will be even worse. Maybe he will be beaten again.”
Barkley nodded: "So now the Knicks want to solve O'Neal's problem, let him go?"
"Who?" Kenny Smith asked.
"Ron Harper?"
Barkley asked and answered his own question: "The point guard cannot be released easily. His passing and breakthrough must be restricted. Kobe and Glen Rice cannot be released either. Can we only release Horry?"
"It depends on Nelson's choice," Smith said.
At this time, Zhao Dong was on the left wing, and Horry was guarding him alone.
Horry's defense is different from Ben's. Ben relies on strength. His defense is somewhat similar to Pippen's. He stalks Zhao Dong and doesn't let go, and doesn't even let him catch the ball.
Zhao Dong's response was very simple. He suddenly took a step back to get the ball. When Horry caught up, he suddenly bypassed Horry and rushed towards the paint area.
Horry tried to grab him, but he blocked it with one arm.
Although he couldn't carry O'Neal, one arm was enough to deal with Horry, who only weighed 100 kilograms.
"Snapped!"
At this time, the ball came down. After receiving the ball, he took a step forward and made a jump shot on the left side of the paint area. He hit a ball on the head of Kobe who was defending.
O'Neal wanted to make up for it under the basket, but he was afraid that Zhao Dong would pass in, so he could only stick to the basket and watch Zhao Dong take action.
"There is no problem on the offensive end. It is impossible for the Lakers to defend the Dragons. In the past few seasons, Phil Jackson has never done this. What we have to see now is the defensive end. Can the Knicks defend O'Neal. If they can't. , then we can only watch O'Neal and Feilong explode each other." Barkley laughed.
Smith laughed: "If the Knicks dare to leave Horry open, they will have to pay a heavy price. Without a defender in front of Horry, his shooting is still very accurate."
Barkley's words became a fact. Then the Knicks released Horry several times. Horry made two consecutive shots and did not dare to let him go again. Zhao Dong still defended O'Neal alone.
"No one can guard against the other, they'll explode each other!"
Zhang Lili shook his head and said: "But O'Neal can hit 80% of his shots when he is under the basket. Most of Zhao Dong's offense today is two-point jumpers, which cannot reach 80% of his hits."
At halftime, 48:57, the Lakers recovered some points, and the Knicks relied on their original advantage to still maintain the lead.
After 9 minutes of the second quarter, O'Neal made 7 of 8 shots and 2 of 4 free throws, scoring 16 points. Including the score in the first quarter, O'Neal made 10 of 12 shots in the half, with a hit rate of 83.3%, and 3 of 7 free throws. scored 23 points.
Zhao Dong didn't feel as good as in the first quarter in the second quarter. He made 6 of 10 shots and 1 of 2 free throws, scoring 13 points. He made 14 of 20 shots in the half, with a shooting percentage of 70%, made 5 of 6 free throws, and scored 33 points and 11 rebounds. Data of 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 fouls.
The efficiency is still amazing, even exceeding the average level, but at halftime, O'Neal relied on his strong dominance under the basket to achieve a higher efficiency than him, which is why the score was caught up.
Barkley laughed: "In the battle for efficiency, O'Neal broke out with amazing dominance at the basket after not being double-teamed without the ball. He played with amazing efficiency.
Feilong was beaten when he defended O'Neal alone, because he was responsible for the main offense and could not use his full strength on the defensive end. For him who had already committed two fouls, the team should not expect him to be able to guard O'Neal in the second half. As long as he committed one more foul, His defensive intensity will continue to decline. "
Smith said: "O'Neal is not strongly defended at the basket, then this will produce very bad results. His physical energy consumption will not be so great, and his offensive efficiency will not be affected. If the Knicks cannot solve the problem at the basket It’s really hard to say what the outcome of this game will be.”
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili analyzed: "We have long had a unified view on the confrontation between O'Neal and Zhao Dong. No one can guard against the big shark under the basket, nor can double-teaming. No one can." Guard against Zhao Dong, even double-teaming won't work.
But the Knicks can no longer let O'Neal enter the basket. The efficiency of the basket is too high and they must be prevented from getting close to the basket.
In addition, although Zhao Dong scored 33 points in the half and made 6 free throws, his impact on the Lakers' interior was not enough. He must strengthen his impact on the basket because O'Neal only committed one foul. "
Su Qun nodded and said: "Yes, today Feilong seems to be holding back and playing. He rarely directly attacks O'Neal. He basically makes jump shots near the basket."
In the home team's locker room, Nelson was discussing tactics to defend O'Neal with Fan and Thibodeau.
Xiao Fan had been thinking about this issue for a long time and said: "Don, I suggest that Marion go up and let him double-team O'Neal because of his speed."
Nelson nodded thoughtfully and said: "With Marion and Ginobili, plus Stackhouse and Feilong, we can play a faster offensive and defensive rhythm and increase O'Neal's physical consumption."
Xiao Fan said to Zhao Dong at this time: "Feilong, we must strengthen our defense against O'Neal in the second half and cannot let him get into the basket."
Zhao Dong nodded and said: "Don't worry, I won't give Fatty so many opportunities again."
Back from halftime, the Lakers attack.
The Knicks are Zhao Dong, Rogers, Marion, Stackhouse, and Ginobili, and the Lakers are O'Neal, Horry, Glen Rice, Kobe, and Ron Harper.
Barkley shouted: "The Knicks have completely given up on interior height. The tallest player on the court is the Flying Dragon, which is 205 centimeters. Is this going to be a fast break?"
Smith said: "Except for the power forward position, the Lakers are in the starting lineup."
At the start of the game, Horry pulled to the left corner again, and Rodgers followed. Marion, who was facing Glen Rice on the left, took two steps, staring at O'Neal with one head above and the other below.
O'Neal wanted to get into the basket again. In the first half, he entered the basket without any obstacles every time. This time he thought it was, but it was not. Zhao Dong stood in front of him and refused to let him in.
"Get out of the way, little dwarf!"
He shouted deeply, his strength exploded, and with the tonnage, Zhao Dong in front of him retreated.
But Zhao Dong took a step back, stood still, and started to defend again, which gave O'Neal a headache because he couldn't stay in there because of the three seconds of attack.
Sure enough, after he pushed Zhao Dong back one step again, it was almost three seconds. At this time, the ball came in. He was still two meters away from the basket. Zhao Dong pushed in front of him again. There was no time, so he had to hurry up. Came a little toss.
"boom!"
Under Zhao Dong's defense, the ball missed.
"Yes, if we play like this, O'Neal's efficiency cannot be higher." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
Zhao Dong turned around and grabbed the backcourt rebound. After scaring off the shark with his elbow, he quickly passed the ball because the other four teammates were already about to pass.
"boom!"
Kobe tried his best to defend, but the Knicks had the numerical advantage and outplayed more. Stackhouse cut to the basket, received Ginobili's pass, and dunked a ball.
Zhang Lili then analyzed: "O'Neal is no better than Zhao Dong. Zhao Dong's offense is too strong and cannot be defended at all. Once O'Neal leaves the basket, his offensive firepower is only average. Just carry him twice and consume a little offensive time. , not allowing him to get close to the basket smoothly will limit his offensive efficiency, and this ball will be easy to hit."
At this time, O'Neal entered the frontcourt and ran towards the basket, but was blocked by Zhao Dong again.
"Damn fat man, you're not strong enough, you have to keep gaining weight! More fat will make you stronger." Zhao Dong, who had been pushed back a step, came forward again, provoking with trash talk.
"Little dwarf, I'm going to crush you."
O'Neill gasped and pushed forward again.
He is very flexible, but that is only relative to the inside. Now that Zhao Dong is so locked in, it is difficult to get around. Zhao Dong's flexibility is several levels higher than his. If he wants to get into the basket, he can only be blocked, which intensifies his physical consumption.
O'Neal pushed back Zhao Dong twice in a row, blocked Zhao Dong outside the reasonable collision area, and started to ask for the ball.
The reason why I didn't continue to squeeze to the basket in this position is because I ran out of time.
Harper passed Ginobili and passed the ball in time.
As soon as O'Neal caught the ball, he carried Zhao Dong behind him with his left hand, and made a small hook near the basket with his right hand.
In this very close distance to the basket, his small hook hit rate is quite high, 60% is certain.
But just when he took action, Marion pounced down and blocked him from behind.
"Beautiful! Shawn Marion back hat shark..." the on-site commentator roared excitedly.
Before the ball was dead, Kobe rushed in and just grabbed the ball, jumping up in front of Zhao Dong.
Zhao Dong suddenly blocked the shot, but Kobe got out of the way, but Kobe's shot failed and was grabbed by O'Neal.
O'Neal, who had just taken a shot, exhaled, stepped forward, held the ball in both hands, and smashed towards the basket crazily.
If he had scored this ball, the backboard would have been smashed.
"What the hell!"
It was time to see the real story in the second half. Zhao Dong's defense became more intense, and he suddenly burst into flames and blocked the basket with both hands.
Bang, under the huge impact of O'Neal, he flew away.
"boom!"
The next moment, amid the exclamations of the audience, O'Neal sank the Knicks' basket.
However, the ball in his hands was gone, and he hit the empty basket.
"Beautiful! Feilong blocked O'Neal. He and Marion blocked O'Neal consecutively..." the on-site commentator roared excitedly.
"Damn it!"
O'Neal's eyes were almost bleeding after swallowing another big shot. This kind of big shot under the basket is an absolute humiliation for a giant like him under the basket.
The ball was still picked up by Marion, and the Knicks immediately launched a defensive counterattack.
Zhao Dong fell to the floor, then quickly got up and rushed to the frontcourt.
Ginobili dribbled the ball and rushed to the basket. He had already seen Kobe chasing behind him, so he pulled to the left and gave it to Stackhouse who was following up.
Stackhouse caught the ball, faked a real pass, and passed it to Zhao Dong who followed behind.
Zhao Dong rushed through the top of the arc, caught the ball and entered the paint area, flying towards the basket and Kobe under the basket.
"Shet!"
Kobe didn't dare to stand under the basket, so he could only quickly duck to the side.
"boom!"
One-arm tomahawk dunk, Zhao Dong scored a goal.
He didn't slam the dunk hard because he didn't want to smash the backboard and gave O'Neal time to rest.
"The defense is really good this time. The Knicks are really serious on the defensive end. Now the Lakers can't guard Zhao Dong, and as long as the Knicks limit O'Neal's efficiency, this ball will be easy to beat."
Zhang Lili praised.
Su Qun smiled and said: "O'Neal's consecutive attacks failed. 48:61, the Knicks are now 13 points ahead."
Next, O'Neal started to fish, and he had to take a breath first.
After Glenn Rice made a shot, the Knicks attacked.
Zhao Dong ran without the ball on the left wing, dropped Horry, and began to cut into the paint area.
On the first cut, Ginobili, who was holding the ball, was unable to pass the ball in under Harper's defense. He cut in and then pulled out, turned around and dropped Horry, and then started to cut in again. .
This time, the ball came in, and he caught the ball and headed toward O'Neal.
Kobe Bryant made up the defense, and after a beat, Zhao Dong rushed over and flew towards O'Neal.
Seeing Zhao Dong rushing over, O'Neill's eyes turned red.
In the last regular season, he was hit twice by Zhao Dong in one game. Zhao Dong's impact was too strong, and he jumped higher than him and dived from top to bottom. If he carried him, he would only be knocked away. , and even got knocked away.
But this is the finals. He wants to win the championship and FMVP, and he doesn't want to give in.