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On June 4, the Lakers faced the Trail Blazers at home, and the brutal tiebreaker began. ．

"Zen Master" Phil Jackson showed his coaching talent. He did not blindly play the triangle offense. Instead, he asked O'Neal to pull out the pick-and-roll, support him from the high post, reduce his shots, and help his teammates open up.

This move is to prevent the aging Sabonis from being slow in the pick-and-roll, and the idea is correct. O'Neal's attack on the basket allows Sabonis to play a defensive role. His height and tonnage are not inferior to O'Neal.

After the adjustment, the Lakers opened up their outside offense and their shooting percentage improved collectively. But Blazers core Rasheed Wallace is not a vegetarian. He played his best performance in the series. He shot 70% in the first three quarters and scored 26 points, driving the team's offense.

Steve Smith ran to catch the ball and made 3 of 4 three-pointers, which also ensured the team's outside firepower.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers trailed by 15 points. Before the start of the fourth quarter, the Lakers bench was desperate and confused.

On the Trail Blazers' side, coach Mike Dunleavy was holding his waist on the sidelines, full of confidence and extremely arrogant.

His lines and victor's posture, if he had multiple braids on the back of his head, it would be like Nurhachi leading Manqing into the customs, leading his cavalry into the finals to burn, kill and loot.

As a result, the situation suddenly changed. At the beginning of the final quarter, the Lakers began to counterattack with long-range artillery. Two substitutes, Holly and Brian Shaw, led the "three-point rain". O'Neal acted as a pivot inside to attract defense, passed the ball to drive the whole team, and quickly filled the 15-point hole.

The Trail Blazers Sabonis couldn't defend the pick-and-roll, so they sent Marcus Camby, but his thin body couldn't carry O'Neal. At this time, Dunleavy missed Kevin Catto particularly. If Cato is here, it won't be so difficult to deal with the Lakers.

At the last moment, the game entered "shark time". O'Neal scored consecutive hooks, dunks, and free throws to seal the victory. Miraculously, O'Neal's free throws became accurate in key games, making 8 of 12 shots from the field.

Six Lakers scored in double figures. With their joint efforts, the Lakers won 93-88.

The entire Knicks team watched the game. After it was over, Yang Rui turned off the TV and walked onto the podium. "Okay, everyone, let's talk about your thoughts now. In addition to the shark-cutting tactics, how to deal with the Lakers is suitable. Not only the assistant coaches, but also any ideas can be raised."

Little O'Neal raised his hand first, and the room burst into laughter as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Jerry, can you predict the lottery ticket for tomorrow's draw? I'm going to buy one, should I win?"

Yang Rui is not angry either,

The atmosphere within the Raptors is like this, as long as they play the game and don't mess around.

"I can't predict the lottery, but I can provide you with a financial plan. Everyone has a Minion account, and you know Facebook, right? If Facebook goes public one day, you can buy stocks and wait for the appreciation." Yang Rui is He said it casually and didn't care if he believed it or not.

Thibodeau raised his hand and spoke. "I suggest guarding O'Neal alone on the defensive end and guarding the Lakers' perimeter. This is what the Trail Blazers did, and it really works. If your teammates can't open up, O'Neal's statistics are incredible and you can't win. In addition, I suggest letting Cato and Miller lead the bench. , so that our second team’s offensive power will be stronger.”

D'Antoni said: "My suggestion is to go on a fast break when you have the opportunity, run with O'Neal, and consume his physical energy. In positional battles, take O'Neal out of the basket, and the defender will attack him in a misplaced position. If he cannot pass, he will be released to his teammates. attack."

Everyone spoke enthusiastically and agreed to remove O'Neal from the basket. This fat man was too powerful near the penalty area. His dominance on the offensive end is invincible, and he can resist people and block shots on defense. He stops at the basket and blocks half of the penalty area.

Yang Rui decided to defend O'Neal alone, focusing on counterattacks and outside ball-free coverage.

After the meeting, he left Doug Christie alone.

"Doug, you have a very heavy task in this finals. I will arrange for you to defend Kobe, but this is not enough, because I am worried that Kobe will take too few shots, so I need your cooperation."

"Worried about not taking enough shots?" Christie asked in confusion: "How do you want me to cooperate?"

"It's very simple. When I went out for an interview, I said that you would defend Kobe one-on-one in the finals. He is nothing special at all. He only produced good statistics next to O'Neal and became an All-Star." Yang Rui smiled.

"But I can't defend him one-on-one." Christie smiled bitterly, suspecting that this was a prank.

Yang Rui said seriously: "I'm not joking, and I know you can't guard him, but the team needs you to do this. If you can anger Kobe and make him shoot more than 20 times a game, then you will be the Raptors' number one candidate to win the championship." Hero."

Christie said stunnedly: "You have already knocked me out."

"No way? You can't even understand this? As long as you control Kobe's shooting percentage within 45%, prevent breakthroughs and reduce fouls, how many points can he score after more than 20 shots? I can tell you clearly, it's only thirty points Left and right, high shots are exchanged for high scores. If O'Neal fights endlessly, the inside will have to take turns to foul and rotate out, affecting the offense. O'Neal's shooting rate may be 60%. If you sacrifice one person, everyone will be comfortable." Yang Rui explained his idea. .

Christie and the three assistant coaches understood.

When discussing tactics before, Yang Rui asked everyone to say that now he has thrown out his own tactics, which are still psychological warfare.

What is Kobe's personality? At the age of 19, he dared to tell Malone to go away. He missed three key shots in the playoffs. He wanted to express himself every moment.

If Christie really said that, the full-blooded Kobe would definitely be angry and might go after him, just like he challenged Pippen in the last series.

This is not just psychological warfare. In Yang Rui's impression, Kobe and Christie never took advantage of each other.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Christie was the most underestimated Kobe Bryant finisher, and his defensive effect was better than that of Raja Bell, Battier, Artest and others.

Although his statistics were beaten by Kobe every time he faced off, his single defense effect was very obvious. Kobe's field goal percentage was often less than 40%. It was said that it was limited to less than 45% to relieve Christie's pressure. Kobe's career average per game The hit rate is less than 45%.

At his peak, Christie was on an offense-oriented Kings team. Not half of the team was weak defensively. Unlike Prince during the Pistons era or Bowen during the Spurs era, it's not that they were not good at defense, but they all had strong defenders behind them. The defensive system has a halo bonus, but Christie has nothing. More often, he fights alone. Being selected for the annual defensive team consecutively is the greatest affirmation.

Moreover, as a swingman who can play three positions, Christie is a technical defensive lock. With an average of less than 2.5 fouls per game, the nickname "Scalpel" is not for nothing.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Kobe Bryant averaged only 43.3% field goal percentage per game against Christie, 9.3 of 21.5 field goals, 1 of 3.3 three-pointers, and a .3% field goal percentage. He relied on 8.9 field goals, 7.6 of 8.9 free throws, and 84.7% of free throws. Scored 27.2 points, 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Christie himself rarely fouled, and most of Kobe's horrific free throws were made by rushing inside after pick-and-rolls. The Kings' interior defense was terrible, and when Kobe was at his peak, Christie had already declined. Putting aside these factors, from 1997 to 2003, when the two faced off, Kobe's efficiency was pitiful.

In addition, the Raptors' power forward is O'Neal Jr., who is better at guarding pick-and-rolls than the Kings. It is even more difficult for Kobe to score.

Yang Rui has dug a trap and is waiting for Kobe to jump.

ps: The fourth update is here, today is my birthday, thank you all for sending monthly passes as gifts!

Also, at the request of some readers, the update time has been slightly changed. The first change is to 11 o'clock, and then it will be updated at 15, 17, and 19 o'clock. Yes, we will continue to update tomorrow. Thank you for your support!