Chapter 242 How did the little blacksmith learn this trick!
On the evening of June 6, the 2001-2002 NBA Finals kicked off.
Cartwright didn't say anything to encourage morale in the locker room. Anyway, when it comes to the finals, success or failure will be shuddering.
On the other side, Phil Jackson had the same character as him. The two of them were talking about opening tactics in the locker room as if they were playing a regular season game.
If Lu Yuu saw the Zen master's appearance, he would only lament that Cartwright had definitely stolen Jackson's teachings.
But is this really good?
The head coach of the Bulls has the shadow of the head coach of the Lakers. What is even more speechless is that many basketball experts have analyzed that many of the tactics the Bulls are playing now are leftovers from Zen Master's original play.
After all, Cartwright played under Jackson for several years, and indeed many of his tactics were stolen from Phil Jackson.
There is a gap in strength between the two teams, and the Bulls' tactics are leftover from Zen Master's tricks. It is equivalent to Zen Master knowing the Bulls well, so it would be strange not to lose in this game.
So no one in the basketball circle really thinks highly of the Bulls.
Many basketball commentators even said that the Bulls swept all the way to the finals and would be swept this time.
The players came out, and the second to last player from the Lakers was Kobe. The fans began to cheer, as if they had won the game, and some fans directly shouted from the sidelines for Kobe to beat Lu Yu.
Following O'Neal's appearance, the atmosphere directly reached a climax.
It has to be said that O'Neal's popularity with the Lakers is definitely not comparable to that of Kobe now. It is no wonder that after the Lakers sent O'Neal away, even Lakers fans began to hate Kobe.
In fact, Kobe's character is not likeable.
Phil Jackson also liked O'Neal more. Although the Zen master was Kobe's mentor, the stubborn Kobe finally couldn't listen to what others said.
Perhaps due to the influence of the subsequent Eagle County incident, or perhaps due to the competition for team status, Kobe and Jackson began to become strangers.
Jackson even said: "I'm sick of this kid."
In fact, before this, Jackson wanted the team to trade Kobe more than once.
As early as the 1999-2000 season, he wanted to trade Kobe for Kidd and Marion, who were still with the Phoenix Suns at the time. But the then general manager West told Jackson that team owner Booth would never trade Kobe out——
—He got the same response last season.
Jackson was particularly annoyed by Bryant's long-standing feud with O'Neal.
"The conflict between these two guys is unbelievably childish." He said that Kobe was very angry that O'Neal could get the special allowance provided by the team, but "in all my years of coaching, I have never seen anyone compare.
Kobe received more special allowances."
A significant portion of the special allowance given to Bryant by the Lakers was used to pay for the private jets Bryant took several times to Colorado to attend hearings on his alleged sexual assault case.
But Kobe also often complained that the models rented by the team were not good. Jackson commented, "He should be glad that he didn't pay for it himself."
Jackson admitted that he has become accustomed to blaming Kobe, and sometimes it is not Kobe's fault.
Jackson later said he was tired of "acting as peacemaker" between Kobe and O'Neal, so he chose to leave the Lakers.
Of course, this is something.
At least they look pretty good on the surface now.
And this year is not the last year for them to be together. At least next year they will form the famous f4, provided that there are no mistakes in the trade market during the offseason this summer.
The Bulls took the field, and Lu Yu was the last one to walk out of the tunnel.
Kobe was very envious of the treatment given to the team boss.
The Lakers home fans gave Lu Yu huge boos. They felt that this yellow-skinned player was not worthy of being an opponent of the Lakers.
Today's Staples Center was packed with stars, including many singers and movie stars in the front row.
After Lu Yu appeared on the stage, he greeted many people, including Tracy McGrady, Lu Chaoyang, Mark Four, Snoopy, and of course Scarlett Johansson.
Scarlett was sitting in the front row not far from Lu Chaoyang and the others.
Lu Yu couldn't help but feel grateful that he had the foresight.
Otherwise, let alone play in this game, thank God if we just stare at the sidelines and don't start fighting.
Lu Yu also spotted Stewart Jr. on the sidelines. Stewart was glaring at him with resentful eyes, as if he was complaining that Lu Yu didn't contact him after coming to Los Angeles.
Lu Yu: "I am so sexy myself, how dare I offend you?"
This year's finals were broadcast live in more than 40 languages across the world, covering nearly 200 countries and regions, including CCTV 5.
The commentators for this game were Zhang Weiping and Sun Yiping.
In the past two years, there were only a few commentators on CCTV, just a few people coming and going. It was not until Yu Jia, Su Qun, Yang Yi and others started to appear that more new faces gradually appeared in CCTV's live broadcast team.
Zhang Lili introduced: "Dear viewers, the anticipated NBA Finals of the 2001-2002 season is about to begin. Lu Yu's opponent this time is Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. They are friends and rivals. I hope they can
They can work together to give us a wonderful game.”
Sun Yiping continued: "The duel between O'Neal and Brad Miller is also a highlight. The two of them fought during the regular season. I think Miller's defensive pressure must be great today. He will definitely need to defend O'Neal.
Assistance from teammates.”
The pressure on Miller to defend O'Neal is not only great, but who in the league does not have pressure to defend O'Neal?
Without the help of his teammates to defend him, Miller might have been beaten to death by O'Neal.
Although Miller has an advantage in strength when facing other opponents and is nicknamed the Big White Bear, facing the big shark O'Neal, the White Bear is not easy to use. If O'Neal can't beat him in a fight, but in play, both Millers are not good enough.
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Zhang Weiping said: "The Bulls' offense still depends on Lu Yu. Today is also a test for Lu Yu. Lu Yu's performance on the offensive end directly affects the outcome of the game."
After the players from both sides briefly warmed up, the starting players stood on the court.
The Lakers' starting roster appeared on the big screen first.
Center: O'Neal
Power Forward: Samaki Walker
Small Forward: Fox
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant
Point Guard: Fisher
Immediately after the screen changed, the Bulls' starting players also came out.
Center: Brad Miller
Power Forward: Charles Oakley
Small Forward: Ron Artest
Shooting Guard: Lu Yu
Point Guard: Quentin Richardson
In order to limit O'Neal, Cartwright took the thinner Chandler out of the starting lineup and replaced him with the tougher Oakley.
I hope Oakley and Miller can limit O'Neal.
But Oakley is older, and his physical strength will definitely not allow him to play for too long. In fact, he is a pseudo starter.
Commentators from major TV stations analyzed the lineup, and most people believed that the Bulls only had an advantage in Richardson, and that the other positions were evenly matched, and that the Lakers were completely overwhelmed in the paint.
The Bulls want to win unless O'Neal is in bad shape today.
But O'Neal may be struggling in the regular season. In the finals, O'Neal averaged 30 points per game.
There is a reason why O'Neal is called the most dominant center in history. His dominance at his peak may only be matched by Jordan at his peak.
O'Neal has won two scoring titles in the regular season. In his career, he averaged 24.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 blocks in the playoffs, shooting 56% from the field.
The reason why O'Neal's scoring average is low is because his condition declined too quickly in his final years.
But now, it is O'Neal's peak.
Shark has averaged more than 30 points per game in three seasons in the playoffs during his career. He is the only player besides Jordan who can achieve three consecutive FMVPs. This is why there is a saying that if there is Joe, choose Joe, and if there is no Joe, choose Shark.
In Lu Yu's previous life, the Lakers played the Nets in this year's playoffs.
Although Martin of the Nets is good, he was directly beaten into a cash machine when faced with O'Neal. O'Neal averaged 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 blocks per game. His shooting percentage was as high as 59.5% and he averaged 17 free throws per game!
Martin averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and his rebounds were directly blasted by O'Neal!
What is the concept of averaging 36.3 points per game!
In history, only three players have averaged more than 35 points per game in the Finals.
One is Jordan, twice in his career.
One is O'Neal, twice in his career.
The other one was Allen Iverson last season, just once.
Iverson only had one, and ranked fifth in points per game, averaging 35.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, shooting 40.7% from the field and 28% from three-point range.
And O'Neal is more perverted.
O'Neal, who I just mentioned, averaged 36.3 points per game. Since the Bulls entered the Finals this year, we don't know if it will happen. But the year before last, in 2000, Kobe Bryant had just grown up and averaged only 15 points per game in the Finals.
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And O'Neal is somewhat of a single-core leader. Facing the weak Pacers inside, the Sharks averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1 steal, and 2.7 blocks per game. In the final quarter of the Finals, he averaged 11.4 points per game.
The record is an insurmountable historical record, and its dominance is too strong!
As for my Jordan, who is recorded everywhere, he is even more perverted.
In 1992, in Jordan's second trip to the Finals, he faced the Trail Blazers and led the team to defeat their opponents in 6 games. At that time, the core of the opponent was the Jordan of the West. In this round of the series, he averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 rebounds.
The assists were already pretty good, after all, it was the era of traditional basketball.
But Jordan averaged 35.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and his shooting percentage was as high as 52.6%. The glider was completely blown away!
The most perverted one was in 1993.
At that time, Barkley took away Jordan's regular season MVP in the regular season. Jordan was also very unhappy at the time, but considering that Barkley had a better record in leading the team, he could accept it.
However, the media portrayed Barkley as Jordan's strong rival, which caused Jordan's dissatisfaction. The two also met in the finals, and this time Barkley was completely defeated.
In this series, Jordan averaged the highest points per game in the history of the Finals, averaging 41 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, shooting 50.8% from the field and 40% from the three-point range.
It is worth mentioning that the highest score in a single game in the history of the Finals was also created by Jordan, who scored 55 points in a single game in G4 of this series.
You know, the defense in this period is different from the happy basketball in Lu Yu's previous life.
Nowadays, basketball has fewer offensive rounds. If you want to get such points, you need to have strong scoring ability.
Even in Lu Yu's previous life, with so many offensive rounds, O'Neal and Jordan still maintained the record of the top four in the finals with 35 points.
It's not that the latecomers are not strong, it's just that they are not as strong as Jordan and O'Neal.
What Lu Yu is facing now is O'Neal at his peak.
O'Neal won the jump ball and the game began.
Kobe received the ball and dribbled it outside the three-point line. Lu Yu lowered his center of gravity to defend. Fisher had already pulled to the bottom corner. O'Neal pulled up from the low post to help Fisher block Richardson. This kind of side no-ball screen cooperates with the Lakers often
Play, it has been tried and tested, O'Neal has a wide body and a strong block. As long as the opponent's inside defense is not resolute enough, Fisher will get a chance to make a shot.
Can Miller make it through?
Obviously not. He is too heavy and it would be difficult to keep up with Fisher. If Cartwright sent Chandler, he might not be able to keep up, because Chandler moves quickly and has a thin body.
Flexible enough.
But Chandler can't stand up to O'Neal, and even if Miller can keep up, he doesn't dare to change. If he changes, what will happen if O'Neal cuts in the air? Should Richardson be allowed to face O'Neal?
You know O'Neal is not bulky now!
During this period, O'Neal often made fast-break dunks, and also changed directions while holding the ball while facing the frame. His hand skills were also very delicate. What is strange is that O'Neal, who had such delicate hand skills, could not shoot free throws.
As soon as Miller hesitated, Richardson also hesitated and failed to get around in time. Fisher caught the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right and made a three-pointer. Richardson's defense failed to catch up after bypassing the ball.
Go through a beautiful arc and enter the net hollowly.
3 to 0
Zhang Weiping said: "Fisher can't let go. His three-point shooting percentage this season is 41.3%, which is higher than his two-point shooting percentage of 41.1%."
The key is that Richardson didn't want to let go, but by the time he got around O'Neal, a guy with such a large area, and pounced on him, Fisher had already launched the basketball like a cannon.
Sun Yiping said: "Let's see if the Bulls can return the favor. If they can't guard the Lakers, they must be more efficient on the offensive end."
Lu Yu waited for his teammates to pull away and crossed the middle to break through. The first time he turned to the right and Kobe followed him. The second time he made the same move to the right. Kobe approached him again, and Lu Yu began to change his back.
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During this time, Kobe watched countless videos of Lu Yu's games, and asked Tracy McGrady to imitate Lu Yu's style of play. Lu Yu and McGrady were about the same height, so Kobe's practice felt more like he was actually guarding Lu Yu.
No wonder the Magic went home early, but McGrady did not go fishing, but appeared in Los Angeles.
It wasn't because he wanted to watch the finals, but because he was pulled over by Kobe as a sparring partner.
Kobe's defensive moves were very clean and he didn't reach out to steal. He knew that as long as he reached out rashly, Lu Yu would be able to get rid of him.
Lu Yu forced a turn and took a step-back jump shot. Kobe predicted it accurately and jumped up to close his eyes. The basketball bounced out of the frame and Fox grabbed the defensive rebound.
"Hey, how did the little blacksmith learn this trick!"
Lu Yu cursed secretly.
When he was still at Gonzaga, he went to New York and was one-on-one with Kobe Bryant during the midfield event at the Knicks' home court. Lu Yu used his eyes to guard against Kobe Bryant.
Causal loop?
Or does evil come with its own consequences?
Now Kobe is using this trick to defend himself!
It’s really... ah!
Kobe Bryant's confidence greatly increased after he defended Lu Yu for one goal. Sure enough, after special training with Tracy McGrady, Lu Yu would not be able to get rid of him easily. Lu Yu was taller than him and his speed was not slow. He wanted to defend Lu Yu.
, the first thing is to stick to him and not let him make too many false moves.
Finally, at the moment when Lu Yu shot the ball, his eyes were closed!
There are not many defensive players in the league who use eye sealing. This is why Kobe and McGrady had an idea when they were training. Lu Yu was taller than him, and the best way to interfere with Lu Yu's shooting was to use what Lu Yu once used.
The move of sealing eyes.
This is called treating others in their own way!
When returning to defense, Lu Yu felt a little depressed. If a master is in a position, he will know if what he encountered today is a tough one.
Before the game started, Lu Yu was already prepared for Kobe's tough defense, but because of the recent blessing of Rock Breathing Technique, he was not afraid of confrontation, so Lu Yu felt that he should be able to cope with Kobe's defense.
And even Kobe, his defense is not without loopholes, otherwise Iverson would not have averaged 35 points per game last year.
But now it seems that I still think of Kobe too simply.
What he didn't know was that it was Kobe who thought he was too complicated.
Compared with Iverson last year, Lu Yu's current offensive ability is actually still a little behind, but Lu Yu's playing style is more varied, he can pass, shoot, hold the ball, and without the ball, so
Only Kobe would think that compared to Iverson, Lu Yu is actually more difficult to defend.
What's more, Lu Yu is so much taller than Iverson.
Kobe came to the frontcourt to receive the ball. He did not directly challenge Lu Yu. He played a pick-and-roll with Fox in the middle and then went to the left.
Lu Yu overcame the defense and Kobe had no chance to shoot, but the passing opportunity at this moment was enough.
He hit the ground and passed to O'Neal who wanted the ball in the low post on the left, forming a triangle with Fox.
O'Neal has Miller on his back, and Charles Oakley on the other side is ready to double attack at any time. The time has come to truly test the Bulls' inside line.
Kobe did not leave after passing the ball, but attracted Lu Yu's defense there. He would not let Lu Yu sink down to double-team O'Neal. Only Artest and Oakley could double-team O'Neal, but if Artest went in,
Fox has an easy shot from the bottom corner.
Artest didn't double attack, and O'Neal hit Miller twice with his back.
Oakley was about to attack from the bottom line, but O'Neal suddenly turned around and walked up the line. Miller was pushed away. By the time Oakley pounced again, O'Neal was already in the air.
Boom!
O'Neal hung his hands on the basket, and the entire basketball stand was shaken by him. If the basketball stand fell down, none of the players under the basket would be able to escape.
It also has to do with the quality of the backboard. A few years ago, the backboard would have been smashed.
Opening two rounds.
5 to 0
The bull is in danger!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
There are only two updates today, but there are still 10,000 words. That’s it today. Please vote for me.
