Chapter 182: Flanking defense, six fouls leave the field
The atmosphere in the Lakers locker room is a bit depressing.
Jackson is very satisfied with the atmosphere. Although O'Neal was sent off, which surprised him, this is just a regular season game. The team has been going too smoothly since the start and needs a little setback.
What's more, who said that without O'Neal, we would definitely lose?
As long as Kobe can fully perform, the team still has great hope of winning.
After Wei Wei arranged some tactics, he waved his hand to let the players play. The score of 46:40 was flashing on the big screen.
It’s only 6 points, it’s nothing!
…
"Beep" the referee's whistle sounded again.
Artest helplessly raised his right hand to indicate that he had committed a foul. This was already the second consecutive foul he had committed on Kobe.
He was just helping to defend, but he was still a step too slow.
"The situation is not good." Zhang Weiping looked a little heavy: "The Bulls' defense has been too poor during this period. They have already committed four fouls in just four minutes of the third quarter. If they foul again, they will have to take free throws.
.”
"Actually, the defense is not a big problem." Yu Jia added: "The Bulls' defense is only an occasional problem. Now the key is offense. Their weak offense in the previous few games was covered by their strong defense, which made people feel
It's not a big problem. But now it's obvious that their players' touch is gone. This is fatal for a team that doesn't have many offensive points."
Zhang Weiping nodded repeatedly, the Bulls' offense today was really not good - compared to the previous games.
"Artest missed two shots, Oakley missed two, Lu Yu missed one, Hassell missed one, Chandler made one of three, and two free throws." Cartwright.
He threw away the technical statistics sheet with an ugly expression. In the past few minutes, the Bulls generals had collectively misfired. The team only made one of nine shots. The only hit was Chandler's dunk.
He was already very dissatisfied.
He signaled Lu Yu, who was controlling the ball and walking forward, to pause and looked coldly at the players walking off the court.
No one dared to look at him, they all walked back to their seats silently, drinking water and wiping sweat.
Cartwright was ready to criticize their performance, but he couldn't curse after seeing the expressions of shame and self-blame on the players' faces.
After all, the players also want to play well. They play according to their own arrangements, but they just don't have the feel.
Defensively, he has nothing else to arrange.
During the last timeout, Chandler and Oakley fouled Kobe in succession, giving Kobe four free throw opportunities.
In response to this, he just asked Hassell on the outside to strengthen control of Kobe. If that didn't work, he would foul early to protect the inside players.
But what I didn't expect was that Hassel slowed down Kobe and prevented him from fouling inside. Who knew that Artest got a foul instead.
The opponent's tactics are very simple, which is to create opportunities for Kobe and let Kobe play in isolation.
Cartwright knows this tactic very well, and he also knows Phil Jackson very well. He won the championship with this tactic of Phil Jackson.
The Kobe at this time is the Jordan of that year.
The most critical issue now is not defense, but offense. Now that the team's offense can't be opened, is it really just a matter of feel?
His eyes fell on Lu Yu, who had his head lowered.
Lu Yu showed him the shadow of another superstar, not only his super ability, but also his super adaptability, which made it impossible for people to feel that he was still a rookie.
What he appreciates most is his ability to control the game and his overall view.
His calm and composed expression on the court is even more like a leader's demeanor.
Leadership style?
core?
Cartwright sighed helplessly. Today's teams are all dual-core, especially teams that aspire to win the championship. The Lakers' OK combination, the Jazz's Xuanming duo, and the Spurs' twin towers. The benefits of dual-core are obvious. The opponent dare not attack any one of them wantonly.
Once one is flanked, the other can take control of the situation.
But the Bulls only have Lu Yu!
After the opening of the third quarter, Lu Yu encountered a double attack, and Kobe was replaced as the main defender. Fisher was always ready to attack. As for Trenton Hassell, Jackson would not treat him as a dish - a company A shooting guard with no shooting ability has anything to worry about.
Cartwright wants to replace Hassell, but in this case, who will guard Kobe?
How about... Lu Yu?
"Yes!"
Cartwright suddenly came to his senses: "I can also use the tactics that Phil can use. He double-teamed Lu Yu, and I double-checked Kobe. He asked Kobe to defend Lu Yu, and I asked Lu Yu to defend Kobe. He asked Kobe to For singles, I will let Lu Yu play singles and let’s see who can fight to the end.”
"No, no!"
Cartwright rejected his idea again: "My lineup is not as deep as the Lakers. If we trade away Lu Yu and Kobe like this, we will still lose."
Cartwright resisted the idea of replacing Lu Yu with Kobe Bryant. He was so shocked by his stupid idea that he broke into a cold sweat.
Kobe is the core scorer of the Lakers.
But Lu Yu is the commander of the Bulls!
He didn't want Lu Yu to end up with too many fouls. It would be impossible without a commander on the court!
He arranged several tactics to cover Lu Yu, hoping that through the players' cover, Lu Yu would find opportunities to score or pass the ball.
The game continues.
He hopes that other players can quickly find the touch, so that there may be a chance.
…
Mark Foyo sighed helplessly when he saw that the Bulls did not make any lineup adjustments.
"Cartwright still has too few cards in his hand. The Bulls' defense is very strong, but the offense can't always count on Lu Yu to score. When Lu Yu is restricted, other members of the team cannot help the team win at all. .”
"Aren't there a few of their bench players who can score?" Black asked.
He was referring to Crawford and Mercer.
Mark Foyo shook his head: "The Bulls' bench is only suitable for grabbing points during rotation time. This is also the reason why the Bulls took the lead in the first half, because they had an advantage in the second quarter against the Lakers' bench."
"But when the Lakers enter the main lineup, this substitute lineup will no longer work."
"If Miller had not been sent off, maybe O'Neal would have been a big threat, but Miller can give Lu Yu support on the offensive end that no one else on the court can give now."
"On the surface, it seems that O'Neal was sent off, and the Lakers suffered a loss. In fact, the Bulls, who lost Miller, were left with only Lu Yu, and it was even more difficult to survive alone."
Blake was unconvinced: "But the Lakers only have one Kobe!"
Mark Four smiled: "In addition to Kobe, the Lakers also have Horry, Fox, Fisher, Medvedenko..."
Blake was speechless.
Although the Bulls also have Artest, Hassell, Oakley, and Chandler, are any of these people capable of offense?
Artest can give it a try, but he has no touch today, so he can't count on it.
Chandler has no ability to attack independently and relies entirely on eating cakes.
Hassell's shooting looks like shit.
Oakley...at such an old age, he can just grab rebounds.
Sure enough, as Mark Foyo expected, the Lakers, perhaps because of their morale boost, started the fourth quarter with a vigorous performance and immediately opened up the score.
Fortunately, Artest's touch returned a little at the critical moment and he hit two three-pointers in succession to close the score again.
But immediately Kobe made a conscious foul, causing Artest to receive his fifth foul.
Cartwright almost wanted to kill someone. Finally, one person regained his form, but he immediately committed 5 fouls. He really wanted to put Artest on the court and continue playing, but his reason told him that this would not work, and the opponent would always use
He used this point as a breakthrough point.
In desperation, he called a timeout again. This was the most timeout he had called in a game so far this season.
"Ron, you take a rest first, Drew handles the ball, and Lu, you switch to the scoring position. No matter if you have a good shooting opportunity or not, you shoot hard for me. Even if we lose, we can't lose on our own offense."
superior."
Cartwright had no choice but to do this even if he didn't want to.
Didn't Jackson always force himself to let Lu Yu and Kobe compete against each other? That's right!
"Ah... fans and friends, the matchup that everyone has been eagerly looking forward to seeing is finally coming. After this timeout, we saw Lu Yu appear at the shooting guard position. No matter what the final result is, I believe this experience will
Promote his growth." Zhang Weiping explained excitedly, "Let's wait and see and watch the "Kelu Showdown"."
"Here we come." the fans chanted.
"It's finally here." A fan said in his heart.
"Kelu Duel"...the term that popped out of Zhang Weiping's mouth was immediately discussed heatedly by netizens on the Internet.
Kobe missed the shot.
Lu Yu rushed to grab the rebound.
As soon as his hand touched the ball, before he could be happy, another hand stretched out from between his hands and gave it a hard poke.
The ball, which he had not yet grasped firmly, flew out with a "thump".
Medvedenko appeared in the air and held the ball firmly.
Lu Yu turned around and found that Kobe had poked his ball away.
The basketball returned to Kobe's hands. When he caught the ball, he did not stop and accelerated directly to break through. He knew that as soon as he stopped, he would be entangled by Lu Yu.
Lu Yu followed Kobe with all his strength. He only knew that he could not give Kobe too many opportunities to shoot, otherwise it would be suicide.
He also knows that there is still some gap between his strength and the league's top players like Kobe.
Although it is not big, it still exists objectively.
Suddenly Kobe on the outside pulled the ball and stopped suddenly. Lu Yu quickly stabilized his body, but Kobe was already leaning on him, so he subconsciously made a move.
"Beep" the referee's whistle sounded.
Lu Yu's thugs fouled and made two free throws.
A sign was displayed on the technical stage, showing that Lu Yu had also committed five fouls.
Looking at the score: 99:86, he was already 13 points behind. Cartwright sighed. The team's shooting percentage still didn't go up in the fourth quarter, although this must be the case for a team that relies on defense and lacks offensive points.
I will go through the competition, but I still can’t accept it.
He wanted to replace Lu Yu, who had committed five fouls. Lu Yu, who switched to shooting guard in the fourth quarter, did not perform well either. He made 1 of 4 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring only four points.
No matter what position Lu Yu plays, Jackson will always flank Lu Yu.
Of course, Kobe's score was not high. Lu Yu's defense surprised Kobe. Although he knew that Lu Yu was famous for his defense in the NCAA, it was the NCAA after all. Unexpectedly, after meeting him in the NBA, he discovered that Lu Yu's defense was indeed very good.
powerful.
Fortunately, his teammates are more capable.
While Cartwright was hesitating, Kobe had finished his free throw and the team had regained control of the ball.
Lu Yu caught the ball at the three-point line, then shook his upper body a few times, and moved his right foot forward a little. Kobe was a little scared by Lu Yu's surprise just now, and took a step back.
Lu Yu immediately put his right foot back, jumped high and threw the ball.
Kobe didn't respond.
"The ball has gone in, the ball has gone in..." Zhang Weiping shouted happily. "Lu Yu finally made another three-pointer. He has now scored 17 points. If he works harder, he can still catch up with the score.
"
Fans all over China also sat up straight, and the fire of hope was rekindled. Just as their flames were burning, they heard Zhang Weiping exclaiming: "Pay attention... let him pass, don't foul... Oops... the referee's whistle sounded.
, I still lack experience..."
Lu Yu walked down the court in frustration. Kobe had consciously chased him and hit him, and the referee's whistle also sounded like home court. He had been off the court six times, and he knew that his game today was over.
Cartwright also understood that the team's game was over today!
In the last few minutes, Artest, who had just been replaced by the Bulls, also committed 6 fouls and was sent off. Although Chandler and Crawford worked together to reduce the score to 9 points, they still could not catch up.
When the final whistle blows, the game is over.
The Lakers defeated the visiting Bulls 104:95 at home, and Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 41 points.
The last thing the camera focused on was Lu Yu, who was sent off for 6 fouls in the game. He scored 17 points and 13 assists. This was an amazing answer for a rookie.
But people don't know why but they just feel that his performance is not perfect enough. They feel that the Bulls' defeat has a lot to do with his performance today.
Perhaps everyone has subconsciously forgotten that he is a rookie, and should use a higher standard to measure him.
Lu Yu walked out of Staples Arena with his head held high, and there was no trace of frustration after the defeat on his face.
Looking back at the celebrating Lakers fans, and at Kobe with a bright smile on his face, Lu Yu clenched his fists: Thank you, Kobe, you told me not to be arrogant, which made me feel a little overwhelmed.
It has calmed down. You can defeat me, but you will never defeat me. I will definitely come back again."
