Chapter 871 The Awkward Young Marshal, similar script
The Lakers' offense still failed to find an open opportunity, and Paul's three-pointer from the outside failed.
Offense and defense transition.
The Trail Blazers were on a fast break, and Lillard hit Paul's three-pointer!
7:0!
Less than three minutes into the game, Lakers coach Jr. Walton reached out and called a timeout.
The Trail Blazers were at 200% tonight and got off to a stunning start!
When the Trail Blazers players came off the court, Wang Zelin and Lillard excitedly hugged their teammates who rushed up to them.
This is the characteristic of young teams. Once they get high, they can be unstoppable.
Although this game is an away game, the previous two big wins have built up enough confidence for them. Wang Zelin and Lillard performed outstandingly on both offense and defense in the opening game, which immediately mobilized the team's state.
Got up.
During the timeout, Walton Jr. did not arrange any tactics. Instead, he imitated Lao Li from the same city next door and poured down a meal of chicken soup to the Lakers players.
There is nothing that can be done about this, because his situation within the Lakers is indeed a bit embarrassing.
When many people in later generations evaluate Luke Walton, they cannot do without two labels: "a role player known for his basketball IQ" and "a young coach."
A high basketball IQ ensures that Walton has room to use his brain when he takes over as a coach after retiring; a role player shows that his ability as a player was mediocre, and his performance as a player did not provide more convincing for his playing career.
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As for the "young coach", firstly, it means that he has not experienced too many ups and downs in his coaching career, and when faced with complex situations and unfavorable situations, he lacks control over the situation; secondly, he has not cooperated with some
The age gap between him and the players is wide, and his natural strength is insufficient. He cannot respond to the players like his mentor Zen Master did.
Of course, the most terrible thing is that the team he coached for the first time was the Los Angeles Lakers, which he had played for as a player.
As an unknown younger brother next to Kobe in the past, he has now become the head coach of the Lakers. This makes the young coach treat Kobe more as a brother than as a head coach and a player.
It was precisely this strange way of getting along that prevented Walton Jr. from taking control of the team.
Therefore, even though he helped the Lakers achieve fifth place in the regular season in his first coaching season, and finally reached the second round, in people's eyes, this is more due to
The Lakers' Big Three deserve credit, not his coaching.
This is very embarrassing.
However, Walton Jr. can't care so much now. He just wants the Lakers to win tonight's game.
Due to his poor performance in the first two games, the team management has put pressure on him. If this series is swept by the Trail Blazers, the Lakers will most likely consider changing coaches next season.
In order to keep his job, Walton Jr. is also fighting hard. Since his tactical reserves and on-the-spot adaptability are not as good as Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, he has no choice but to find another way to help the team.
That is, to inject the hope of winning into the Lakers from a spiritual level... ahem, speaking in human terms is like giving chicken soup.
Needless to say, anyone who can make a living in the NBA head coach world can at least have some chicken soup. In addition, it is a home game, and Walton's chicken soup does have a miraculous effect.
After the Lakers came back from the timeout, their offense became more patient. Under the leadership of Paul, a master of court control, they stabilized the situation on the court and did not allow the Trail Blazers to open the point difference to double digits.
Kobe no longer dominated the offensive end like he did in the first two games, but completely entered the off-ball mode. Unless his teammates really had no chance, they had to deal with some receiving balls in the last few seconds. For most of the first quarter,
They all position themselves as off-ball shooters.
This has two advantages. One is that it allows Kobe to better conserve his energy, and the other is that it allows him to focus more on assisting defense.
At this age, Kobe can't be asked to defend the opponent's outside arrows all alone like he did when he was young, but necessary help defense is still indispensable.
In order to maintain his offensive firepower in the first two games, Kobe's defensive efficiency on the court was extremely average. Although it was not to the level of a black hole, it was not much different.
After the Lakers lost two games in a row, he was criticized by some experts and fans for this reason.
This is the helplessness of the veteran.
The Black Mamba used to be the best defender in the league in both offense and defense, but now he is no longer, and Father Time has found him.
In the current Lakers game, he can only choose the same between offense and defense.
When the first quarter was still two minutes old, both sides entered into substitution rotation.
After Lu Wei came up, he made a beautiful change of direction and passed Beverley for a layup, but his shot was slapped directly off the court by Harrell!
Not everyone is as ambitious as Warriors coach Kerr and dares to train new recruits in the playoffs. At least Coach Terry is not that ambitious.
Harrell, who had no choice but to play in the first two games due to lack of strength and did not get a minute of playing time, finally made his debut tonight since the Trail Blazers entered the semifinals against the Lakers.
God knows how excited he was when he learned the news before the game!
No, right from the start, he proved his worth with a blood cap that was very good at boosting morale.
Starting from this block, both Lu Wei and veteran Caron Butler frequently misfired on the offensive end. They could only watch Connett Lee and Old Carter's three-pointers raining down, and the point difference continued to widen.
By the time the game resumed in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers' lead had reached double digits.
When the main force came back, Wang Zelin came up and took a pass from Lillard and hit a long-distance hook regardless of their defense.
Looking at the familiar sky hook, some old Lakers fans in the stands were in a trance about the great center wearing No. 33.
As a result, when they came back to their senses, what they saw was a super beast wearing jersey No. 36 constantly wreaking havoc in the Lakers' penalty area, just like wandering in their own back garden.
At halftime, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by a full 24 points, 69:45!
At this time, the entire Staples Center was silent, and the home fans could no longer shout.
I thought the Lakers would be able to fight back after returning to their home court, but after halftime, the same scenario happened again.
In the G1 game, the Lakers were 60:80 in the first half, trailing the Trail Blazers by 20 points!
In G2 station, the Lakers were 45:67 in the first half, trailing the Trail Blazers by 22 points!
Compared with the first half of tonight's game, it cannot be said that it has nothing to do with it, it can only be said that it is exactly the same.
And Wang Zelin, the protagonist of the script, performed as well as ever tonight.
At the end of the half, he scored 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal, a near-triple-double.
Tonight, his teammates all felt good. Wang Zelin, who had carried two games in a row, was willing to hold back temporarily. He only scored 18 points in the half and wanted to give up the stage lights to his teammates.
Unexpectedly, the willow trees were planted unintentionally.
He sent out 6 assists in just halftime, and it was only possible to get a triple-double in assists tonight.
In this regard, Mr. Wang felt deeply helpless. In the end, he could only attribute it to himself being so good that he was the center of attention wherever he went.