Chapter 350 Accident

During the 15-minute intermission, after some adjustments, the two sides returned to the field again.

When the game reaches this point, in fact, not only the coaches on both sides, but also all the experts watching the game, have already made a very clear judgment on the strength comparison of the two teams.

Especially Zen Master Phil Jackson, who looked serious.

Frankly speaking, he has always felt that the Sonics are too young and do not have the ability to fight tough battles. The amazing performance in the regular season is just because most stars are afraid of Lin Dong and do not want to be stepped on by him, so they do not specifically target the Sonics.

Therefore, when it comes to the playoff series, such a young team is not something to be afraid of.

But now it seems... I was a bit wrong.

This Sonics is indeed very strong, much stronger than imagined.

Lin Dong's outside 3-pointers are very accurate, and then people realized that although he did not shoot a lot of 3-pointers during the regular season, it was mainly because of the tactical needs for him to run and play team basketball, but in fact during the regular season During this period, his 3-point shooting percentage was also surprisingly high, as high as 64.5%. It was only because he didn't shoot enough and was obscured by the aura of his breakthrough ability that everyone did not have such a strong awareness.

This guy not only has a historical level of breakthrough ability, but also has a historical level of 3-point ability.

More importantly, he also has two great guardians, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Payton. These two people cooperate with him perfectly. Both of them are very efficient in pick-and-roll with Lin Dong, which makes Lin Dong's score change. It's actually easier.

In terms of scoring alone, with Payton and Hanamichi Sakuragi standing invisible behind him, this Asian can almost compete with the OK group with his scoring alone!

On the defensive end, this all-around rookie king also has a defensive awareness and attitude that is not inferior to that of Kobe, which is enough to block anyone in the Lakers except the OK group. He will lock whoever takes the lead, making it impossible for the rest of the Lakers to play. !

At the same time, Payton, who was once again selected to the All-Defensive First Team this year at the age of 34, and Sakuragi Hanamichi, who is more dedicated than Payton and Lin Dong on the defensive end, and the rookie center who is strong enough to gain a foothold in the NBA. Chandler, coupled with the occasional defensive rotation, the Sonics' defense is definitely among the top in the league.

Compared with the Lakers, the only thing this Sonics suffers from is the basket, but it is not because Chandler is weak, but because O'Neal is a beast that even the entire league cannot solve.

Lin Dong, Payton, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Chandler, it seems that the Sonics do not have a truly outstanding center, which does not conform to the NBA tradition of centers winning championships most of the time, but the combination of Sakuragi + Chandler is already possible They have two shots against O'Neal, and they are still extremely young and have unlimited possibilities.

This made the Zen master in a trance, as if he had seen the era of bulls again...

Very strong, too strong!

If it were still the tacit understanding and OK combination from the previous three consecutive championships, Phil Jackson felt that the Lakers' combat power might still be on par with this SuperSonics.

But now there seems to be a gap between the OK team and the other players are unable to take the lead and give real support and help to the OK team. The Lakers' hard power is actually under this SuperSonics, coupled with the internal pressure on O'Neal Shark-killing tactics.

Frankly speaking, this means that O'Neal's free throws today are considered extraordinary. If his free throws today were "normal", the Lakers would be about to be beaten again.

But even so, they are still 10 points behind.

It seems that the point difference is not particularly big, but it is almost impossible to get back in the second half.

O'Neal can't always be accurate at free throws, and even if he can regain a tacit understanding with Kobe, he will at most be tied with the Sonics' lineup. When the score is behind and he is at the opponent's home court, unless there is a miracle or something unexpected happens, otherwise It's still impossible to catch him back.

It looks like we have to lose this game... However, there will be two days of adjustment time after this game.

O'Neal and Kobe have also become more aware of the problem of mutual understanding. If they can open their hearts and restore the previous understanding in these two days, they can get it back.

After all, the next two home games for the Lakers are!

The game on the field seemed to be verifying Zen Master’s conjecture.

Why is Lin Dong's 3-pointer so easy to shoot? Because Payton and Sakuragi kept giving him pick-and-rolls, the tacit understanding of the three allowed Lin Dong to get rid of Kobe Bryant who was guarding him, either by mismatching a short man like Fisher, or directly finding an open opportunity.

But Kobe can't do it. Without the pick-and-roll given to him by O'Neal, he can't even hit a mismatch. Although Fisher and others are trying their best to help him, the effect is quite limited due to the threat and strength of Fisher and others. The result is that Kobe can't get rid of Payton, or he finally changes defense, and is entangled by Lin Dong or Sakuragi Hanamichi.

After the third quarter, O'Neal and Kobe obviously realized each other's problems. Although their hearts were still not open, and although the tacit understanding still did not return naturally, the two increased the frequency of pick-and-rolls, and the effect was immediate. After all, O'Neal came to play. If there is a mismatch, Chandler will be the one to guard against Kobe. The boxing champion obviously cannot keep up with Kobe's speed and rhythm.

In the third quarter, Kobe made 5 of 6 shots, including 3 3-pointers, and his shooting percentage immediately improved. With his outside fire support, the Lakers played pretty well in this quarter.

The score in the single quarter was 24:27, and the Lakers only lost by 3 points. The score between the two sides reached 65:78.

But to be honest, whether it was Zen Master, McMillan, or other commentators on the sidelines, they already knew that there was almost no suspense in this game.

The overall strength of the SuperSonics still feels better, and now their momentum, mentality, etc. are in a state of all-round suppression. It is probably not easy for the Lakers to hold on to the score in the fourth quarter.

This is obviously what the Sonics players think too.

There were 6 minutes and 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the score between the two sides was 81:96.

"Defend! Defend! Defend!"

The SuperSonics substitute players were waving towels on the bench crazily to cheer up the players on the court. They were so excited that they also inspired the atmosphere of the entire arena.

"Defend! Defend! Defend! Defend!"

With a full 15-point advantage and Ruhong's momentum, there are only more than 6 minutes left. As long as this ball can be prevented, it will undoubtedly defeat the Lakers' last remaining fighting spirit to counterattack.

To chase points, 3 points is obviously more appropriate.

But at this time, the tight defense on the outside and Payton's full blockade of Kobe made the Lakers unable to find any opportunities on the outside at this time. They could only choose to hoist the ball into the basket and first save their lives by 2 points.

Snapped!

The ball is in O'Neal's hands.

So far, he has scored 38 points and 21 rebounds. His performance is already good enough, but he is still overwhelmed by the SuperSonics. This feeling makes O'Neal extremely aggrieved.

As soon as he held the ball, he immediately felt the crazy little moves from Chandler behind him.

O'Neal planned to turn around and show off his steps, but Hanamichi Sakuragi, who immediately attacked, further restricted his space for movement, and Chandler behind him was about to wrap his arms around him.

The crazy physical confrontation and space restrictions between the two made it impossible for someone as powerful as O'Neal to make any other unnecessary moves. At this time, it was either a pass to Samaki Walker who was missed by Sakuragi Hanamichi, or just a pass. Can eat by force.

But in the former case, the SuperSonics' defensive rotation is to fill in at any time. At this time, Lin Dong is not far from Walker. The ball is going to be passed out. At least Walker is blocked by Lin Dong's filling, and Sakuragi switches defense to Fox. On the other hand, Lin Dong may directly cut off the ball, not to mention that Walker himself does not have the ability to attack the frame in the mid-range. This offensive round has also entered 20 seconds. If the ball is given to him, it is almost equivalent to giving it away.

You can choose the latter... O'Neal also knows very well that as long as he turns around and raises his arm to attack the frame, the opponent will inevitably choose to foul.

However, his free throw shooting percentage in the second half was not as high as in the first half, and the psychological pressure during free throws was increasing. If the ball was converted into two free throws when the team needed to score the most, he would be defeated by himself. If you miss one or even two free throws... then there is no possibility of recovery in this game.

Farke! hateful!

These villains can't beat themselves, so they use such tricks!

Fight!

O'Neill's heart was filled with rage. A blazing white light came out of O'Neill's eyes, and all the strength in his body was concentrated at this moment.

We can't let them foul in vain. Even if the ball is hanging on that guy, he still has to score it!

"Roar!" He roared and turned around, like a lion with an angry beard. The strength accumulated in the muscles of his body exploded like a spurt, and he raised his hands high and jumped up suddenly.

But at the same time, Chandler and Sakuragi Hanamichi also jumped up at the same time.

"Ahhh!" All three of them shouted.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's bounce is undoubtedly the best among the three, and the bounce speed is also the fastest. At this time, one hand is on O'Neal's back, and the other hand has already hooked directly towards his arm from behind.

Chandler in front was used as a base point for blocking, exerting all his strength to put pressure on O'Neal right in front, becoming a wall in front of him, preventing him from leaning forward and blocking him from the basket. space, and also fully squeezed O'Neal's jumping and activity space.

At this time, in the small space where the two people were flanking each other, it was difficult for O'Neal to even make a move. He could only feel the red-haired boy behind him pass over his head...

Sakuragi's big hands had already 'bent' O'Neal's arm holding the ball high, and because there was Chandler in front of him using his body to restrict O'Neal's movement space, Sakuragi jumped much higher than O'Neal. The movement of leaning forward made O'Neal lean forward involuntarily.

Snapped!

The basketball was forcefully pulled away by Sakuragi's violent action.

This one was won!

McMillan on the sidelines clenched his fist hard as he watched.

After these two games, Sakuragi and Chandler, as the absolute main force of the SuperSonics inside now, have already learned a lot when facing O'Neal. If they work together, they have a certain chance to defend O'Neal, and if they are determined If the goal is to commit a foul, the interception rate is almost 100%.

Although the two free throws cannot be run away at this time, with O'Neal's mentality that has begun to worry about causing chaos, it would be good if he can make one free throw. Once the free throw is missed, the huge psychological pressure and point difference will become overwhelming to the Lakers. The last straw is that it's almost time for Phil Jackson to change the OK combination.

Next is the Sonics' away game, which will definitely be more difficult than these two games, but...

Won!

A relaxed smile appeared on McMillan's face, but soon, the smile froze on his face.

beep!

Boom!

"ah!"

The referee's whistle, the sound of O'Neal and Chandler landing, were accompanied by a sudden scream.

Not only did it startle all the players present, but it also made the home arena, which was about to cheer and celebrate, suddenly become quiet.

At this time, under the basket on the court, O'Neal was pressed by Sakuragi and fell to the ground. There was no way, Sakuragi jumped much higher than him, and also made a forward leaning movement, which was equivalent to pressing down from top to bottom. Even if O'Neal continued He is so strong that he cannot withstand such force even in mid-air.

But that's not the scariest thing.

What's really scary is that underneath his body of more than 300 pounds, there is still a Chandler!