Chapter 521 Give Me the Ball!

While talking, Lin Dong had already made a timely response.

The Lakers actually came to the frontcourt to triple-team him, and Yao Ming and Odom rushed directly to the basket in front. This intention was obvious.

Even if he faced such an extreme double-team, he could not control the ball and rush out, but his teammates outside were four against two, and there were two super wide-open outside players. Normally, this was purely the Lakers looking for death.

No matter who the Sonics outside players are, they are the main players of the NBA championship team. How could they not make an open 3-pointer?

Under normal circumstances, this is impossible, but it is not necessarily the case now...

To be honest, in the past few seasons, Lin Dong has been widely praised for two points. One is that when taking the so-called simple points, he gives a lot of opportunities to his teammates, does not occupy the ball and does not force to brush the data. The second is to take over the game in the last quarter, especially when the game is stalemate, and put the offensive pressure on his shoulders, and take all the blame himself...

As a superstar, it is natural to take over the game at the critical moment and take all the blame himself.

But it is precisely because of this sense of rightness and because this has been done too much that Lin Dong is very clear about the status of other Supersonic players in the fourth quarter.

They have been "loose" for too long in the fourth quarter, and are used to handing over the key ball to Lin Dong in the last quarter. They lack the ability to handle the key ball and the experience to withstand pressure at such a critical moment. This makes the role players of the Supersonics often perform poorly when facing high pressure in the fourth quarter. It's just because the Supersonics often can't play in the fourth quarter, and because Lin Dong can always handle the key ball in the fourth quarter, this is not obvious.

Now they are forced to suddenly carry the offensive pressure on their shoulders. Lin Dong can fully imagine their tension and pressure.

Phil Jackson is worthy of being a first-class coach, and he definitely knows enough about the Supersonics. In this state, either you defend the Supersonics' outside line tightly, or just let it go!

The former is physical pressure, and the latter is a more amplified psychological pressure, using pressure to crush them, instead of using your defense with loopholes when defending two against four.

Phil Jackson decisively chose the latter.

Don't think that no one is watching you, that's really an open position.

At this time, you will be defending yourself, and only "yourself" is the biggest enemy of all athletes!

For 3-pointers, even if you can make 99 of 100 open 3-pointers in training, can you guarantee that you can make all 100? What if you just encounter that 1 at the critical moment?

You will involuntarily think - your captain was double-teamed by three people to create an open opportunity for you, and it was in such a crucial game, how dare you miss it? Why can't you make it?

That's an open position, why don't you try to miss one?

It's still a light thing for fans to spray you to death and let you take the blame. Your value will definitely plummet next season, and you will be labeled as having weak psychological quality by all teams, and regarded as a soft egg by fans, coaches, and players across the league!

So much so that this missed open ball becomes your inner demon, and it can even end your career directly!

Such pressure is actually greater than the buzzer beater. After all, the buzzer beater is a life-or-death situation. If you miss the shot, everyone will automatically think that you are unlucky. But the wide open space given to you like this...

For ordinary players, let alone making the shot, most players may not even dare to shoot!

But now...

Lin Dong has no time to think about it. The three-man double team is so tight that it is airtight. If he doesn't pass the ball, the ball will be almost 8 seconds away.

He turned his back slightly to adjust the center of gravity of the three defenders, and then suddenly stood up on the spot, relying on his height, wingspan and bounce, to pass the ball directly to Iguodala in front.

At this time, Rukawa and Iguodala were both in the three-point open space. Although Rukawa's three-pointer was more accurate during training, in terms of psychological endurance, experience, etc., Iguodala, who has been in the Supersonics for four years, is undoubtedly more stable.

At this time, Iguodala was in a super wide open space!

Although Iguodala had already made sufficient mental preparations when he saw Doug Christie shake him off and go to Lin Dong to fill in the position in advance, when the ball was in his hands, when more than 20,000 people at the scene stared at him intently, when he felt the Lakers' attacking intentions and the importance of the ball, the originally light basketball immediately became extremely heavy at this moment.

But he had no choice.

Iguodala suddenly jumped up and shot without hesitation.

The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air.

The height and arc seemed to be very good.

Countless people's eyes were staring at the ball nervously at this time, and Iguodala's toes were even tighter.

Go in, must go in! If this ball doesn't go in...

But this world is often like this.

Good things never come no matter how you think about it, but bad things are as sure as you think about it.

Bang!

The basketball hit the inner edge of the basket and bounced high. The crisp sound of the bounce also instantly shattered Iguodala's originally confident eyes.

Fortunately... Sakuragi is still under the basket!

Although Yao Ming can always beat Sakuragi steadily in all the previous matches between Yao Ming and Sakuragi Hanamichi, the inside line is still a job that requires more talent, but if we only talk about rebounds, the two are only 50-50.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's various small moves, fierce pressing and blocking, etc., can cause great trouble to Yao Ming. If he is not careful, Sakuragi will seize the opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

But at this moment, Yao Ming couldn't feel the threat that should have come from the red-haired boy.

Compared with the fierceness he once had, his movements seemed to be much more tiptoeing, and his strength was also much smaller. His whole person was exuding a kind of unconfidence and anxiety, and no one knew what he was worried about.

ignore him!

Yao Ming's eyes were red, and the opportunity to defeat the Sonics and the Tushen was right in front of him. He had been sprinting for this for four years, and this year was the best opportunity!

Yao Ming used all his strength to firmly block Sakuragi Hanamichi behind him, making him unable to move at all.

"Roar!"

With a roar, Yao Ming jumped high and picked up the backboard easily.

"Quick attack!"

He shouted and threw the ball directly towards the front court.

At this time, in the frontcourt, Kobe, Nash and Doug Christie had separated in three directions. Kobe and Doug Christie went straight to the basket, while Nash rushed to the right corner.

But on the SuperSonics side, in addition to Lin Dong in the frontcourt, Iguodala and Rukawa Kaede are still at the three-point line in the backcourt, just starting to run back.

Lin Dong had no choice but to follow him to the basket. Faced with Kobe and Doug Christie in a one-on-two situation, there was a high probability that he could not stop him, but he had to do his best. If the Lakers were crazy and wanted 3 points, pass it to Nash. , what if Nash misses another shot?

The Lakers, who were full of momentum, played the fast break as smoothly as mercury pouring down the ground.

Yao Ming swung his arm and passed the ball directly to Odom, who was already heading towards the midfield.

Rukawa Kaede and Iguodala, who wanted to make up for it, immediately blocked it, but Odom passed the ball directly to Nash without hesitation.

The basketball flew through the air quickly and landed in Nash's hands with a snap in the blink of an eye.

After being frozen by Lin Dong for most of the game, Nash's desire to attack had already burst out like an active volcano.

The moment he caught the ball, he jumped decisively from outside the 3-point line without hesitation.

The two-on-one under the basket is not necessary, but it actually costs 3 points...

Before the idea of ​​the SuperSonics could finish in the minds of the generals, the basketball was already out of their hands and was seen flying through the air.

Can't make a shot! Can't make a shot! You must not enter!

Everyone in the SuperSonics was staring at the basketball in the air and thinking silently in their hearts. Lin Dong had already rushed to the basket and was ready to rebound, but it was a pity...

Uh-huh!

Hollow into the net, 3 points scored, 103 tied!

"Roar!" Nash jumped up and roared, chest-to-head collision with Kobe. Doug Christie clenched his fist fiercely, his eyes shining brightly.

Odom and Yao Ming in the midfield and backcourt also roared with emotion.

Tied!

After several years of fighting, this is really the first time that the Lakers can recover the score after being led by the SuperSonics and leading by double digits!

Not only the players on the court, but also the Lakers bench, Doris in the ABC live broadcast room, and even the fans in front of the TV sets in Los Angeles and across the United States all jumped with excitement.

——Lakers! Lakers! Lakers!

——Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

——Yao! Yao! Yao! Yao!

Cheers from all over the United States swept across the land at this moment, and seemed to extinguish the ever-present passion in God Arena.

After watching the Sonics for several years, it is not that there are always times when the Sonics fall behind, but firstly, there are too few such times, and secondly, most of them are due to the Sonics' poor performance, or when the main force is rotated.

To put it bluntly, even if the Sonics lag behind, even if the Sonics lose, Sonics fans will never feel threatened or dangerous. They will just smile and say "You can't win every game", or learn to In Lin Dong's tone, he said "tactical adjustment, don't panic"!

But today... when the SuperSonics were already exerting their full strength, they were still bitten by this Lakers. Even when they were leading, they were overtaken by this Lakers, were photographed in the face by this Lakers, and were beaten by this Lakers. The Lakers completely suppressed their momentum, and even Lin Dong no longer had any effect!

Oh God Almighty…

God Arena was quiet at this time, with only the cheers of the Lakers players, and a dark sky shrouded the heads of all the fans, as if the sky was about to fall.

And at this moment...

Lin Dong felt threatened for the first time, just like when he led the national team to face that super all-star team in the Olympics.

Three defenses and one defense are indeed the most extreme tactics, but they are quite effective for the Sonics at this time.

Originally, he wanted to use himself to boost the morale of the whole team, but after a few rounds of fighting, his teammates were stunned.

In this confrontation between himself and the entire Lakers team, he was ultimately defeated.

Basketball is a sport for five people. Even the God of Basketball cannot truly complete one versus five. This is also the reason why he cannot win the 2004 Olympics.

At this moment, Lin Dong suddenly thought of Coach Anxi and the conversation that Coach Anxi had with him before he faced Sanno in the summer league for the first time.

——Then lead them. It’s not about tactical distribution, organization of offense, or series defense. It’s not about you alone carrying the team forward!

——But spiritual leadership, twisting every independent individual around you into one, to stimulate their true potential!

——Find their strengths and advantages, use them reasonably, encourage them, let them no longer be afraid, no longer be timid, no longer retreat! Let them dare to follow you without hesitation to the place of death, let them dare to win!

Coach Anxi's words seemed to pass by Lin Dong's ears.

He didn't rush to receive the serve, but turned his head to look at his teammates.

It happened that all his teammates were looking at him nervously and confusedly at this time.

Find their advantages and stimulate their potential...

Iguodala's face showed irrepressible self-blame and guilt. He missed the big open shot just now. Such a simple open 3 points, because of him, the team fell into such a desperate situation! If the Supersonics lose at home today, he will be the biggest sinner. If the Supersonics lose the series because of this, he will even be the sinner of the entire Seattle!

Lin Dong shook his head secretly, he had to let him calm down first...

The little flame in Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes that was still struggling stubbornly finally died down, and he even lowered his head in shame, not daring to touch Lin Dong's eyes again.

His guilt and self-blame were no less than Iguodala's, or even worse, because he not only failed to defend Kobe, but also injured his opponent, becoming the kind of "injurer" he hated the most, and thus made the opponent "victorious", bursting out with a stronger fighting force than before!

He felt that he was the sinner of the team, sorry for Brother Gao, sorry for his teammates, sorry for the team and even sorry for the opponent...

Sakuragi used to be easily awakened by a few words of chicken soup, but because he had drunk too much in the past, it would be particularly difficult to do it now. This thing is like taking medicine, he will develop resistance... He has to find another way.

Chandler seemed to be in a relatively good mood, but he was also breathing heavily. It was too difficult for him to fight against Yao Ming under the basket. The Dragon countryman had been beating him since he was in high school. The gap between the two had never changed since seven years ago.

The obvious difference in strength aggravated the consumption of physical strength, but it was precisely because he knew that he was inferior in strength that Chandler's self-mentality was not affected too much.

Chandler could be stimulated. If the inside line could not hold up, he might try to pull him out to play 3 points from the outside, but his 3-point shooting rate was not very high, even if he was open... and Chandler's footsteps were relatively slow and his shooting speed was relatively slow. With Odom's current swinging position inside and outside, even if Chandler was pulled out, Odom would have enough time and opportunity to fill in the position, and the effect would not be very good.

This can only be used as a last resort.

Lin Dong continued to turn his head and his eyes fell on Rukawa Kaede.

I thought that as the person with the least experience in the team and the least experience in big competitions, and the one with the worst mentality in Lin Dong's mind, he would be more nervous, worried and confused than others, but I didn't expect that Rukawa Kaede's eyes looking at Lin Dong at this time were as calm as water.

This guy...

Lin Dong's eyes lit up.

"I have nothing to lose, I have lost enough... Hehe, I don't care about losing a few more things." Rukawa Kaede smiled slightly, obviously knowing that the reason why Iguodala missed the shot just now was due to pressure, and the terrible cost of missing the open ball.

But he didn't care.

Now the team needs a pitcher, so I will stand up and shoot!

Now the team needs someone else to help Lin Dong withstand the pressure, so I will do it!

If you can withstand it, you are lucky, and if you can't, you will just go home!

If there were no Supersonics and Lin Dong, if there were no help from these teammates around me, I would have reached that step two years ago. These two years would have been a waste. What is there to be unacceptable?

It's time for me to give back to the Supersonics and these people!

Rukawa glanced at the distraught Sakuragi Hanamichi, and said calmly to Lin Dong: "If you are surrounded, give me the ball!"