Although the Suns won't be able to run and gun after O'Neal comes on the court, D'Antoni can't abandon O'Neal. The management will definitely not agree. This is the helplessness of being a coach.
The game continued, the Suns attacked first, O'Neal caught the ball under the basket, and Hayes sent it to the free throw line.
Missed both free throws.
Komi was booed at the scene, and Kobe couldn't help but chuckle.
O'Neal could only retreat with a dark face.
Unfortunately, his retreat speed was not fast enough. Zhang Zhiyuan had already reached the Suns' inside line. Stoudemire jumped up and tried to block the shot. Zhang Zhiyuan dodged it and scored a layup.
After switching between offense and defense, O'Neal, who had recovered some strength, wanted to play a role on the offensive end and actively compete for positions.
He still has some lethality in the low post, but the Lakers also have a way to restrain it, which is to send O'Neal to the free throw line.
One of two free throws.
The Suns scored 1 point in two offensive rounds. This kind of efficiency is simply not good, not to mention their opponent is the Lakers.
Before O'Neal came to the Suns, the Suns and Lakers averaged more than 120 points per game.
Although the Lakers attacked and the Suns retreated in time, the Lakers' positional battle was not weak either.
Several people passed the ball to each other a few times, and the Suns' defensive formation became chaotic.
Odom shot from mid-range and hit.
56 to 66, the score difference reached double digits.
When the Suns attacked, Kobe played very casually when leading. He personally retreated to the inside, fouled O'Neal, and sent O'Neal to the free throw line.
This move made many fans extremely happy.
O'Neal was almost angry to death and gritted his teeth and went to the free throw line.
He actually wanted to throw all the balls in and give Kobe some color.
It's a pity that I didn't have enough skill on my hands and still made one of two free throws.
After a few rounds, the Suns fell directly behind by 15 points.
When D'Antoni saw something was wrong, he had no choice but to replace O'Neal, and then put up three guards to fight the Lakers.
The Suns attacked, with Barbosa and Laga Bell actively moving.
Not to mention, this move is quite difficult to defend against unless you give up interior defense.
The Lakers did not do this, but continued to guard the inside.
Barbosa got a chance to take a shot and hit a three-pointer.
What's even worse is that the Suns continued to score in the next round.
As soon as O'Neal came, the Suns' offense improved to a new level, which made people more certain that O'Neal was not suitable for the Suns.
O'Neal looked lonely and helpless off the court.
This is the only way for a veteran, unless he retreats bravely and retires in time.
On the court, the Suns' offense became much better, but it did not narrow the score.
The defense of this three-back lineup is a big problem.
Nash's defense was not very good to begin with, and Barbosa was a loophole.
When the Suns played three guards, Kobe was happy.
He can always find an opportunity to face Nash or Barbosa, and then take action against them.
With his height, the opponent basically can't cause any interference.
Kobe, who has long been shooting in strong confrontations and double-teams, now only has to face a short defender, and he can shoot happily.
At the end of the third quarter, 81 to 95, the Lakers already led by 14 points.
Kobe Bryant scored 17 points in a single quarter, causing the fans at the scene to cheer and scream.
In the last quarter, O'Neal was abandoned.
This made many commentators sigh and sigh. After all, O'Neal has too many honors and is an out-and-out superstar.
Being abandoned in such a crucial playoff period really disrespects his historical status.
D'Antoni has no choice but to force the Suns to give up the game.
"Actually, D'Antoni should let O'Neal play, they can't win anyway."
Buckley said.
"No matter what, O'Neal is still very capable, but the Lakers' style of play is more restrained against him."
Smith said.
Fans prefer to hear this kind of remarks. After all, O'Neal's popularity and influence are still there, and there are still many fans who like him.
On the court, just as Barkley said, abandoning O'Neal did not allow the Suns to make a comeback.
They can score, and the Lakers can also score.
Without O'Neal, Stoudemire focused his energy on the offensive end, which caused the Suns' interior defense to be full of loopholes. Even Bynum performed well.
As the game time continued to pass, the point difference between the two teams not only did not narrow, but actually tended to widen.
Eight minutes into the fourth quarter, D'Antoni replaced the main players and surrendered early.
Nash returned to the bench and covered his face with a towel.
In just the first game, he lost confidence in the series.
The Lakers are so powerful that they can't find a way to win.
He was confused about the future and didn't know what to do to win the championship.
The team's lineup on paper is already quite luxurious, and the team's salary ranks among the top three in the league. The lineup cannot get better.
On the court, the substitutes of both teams played the last few minutes.
106 to 122, the Lakers won the first game.
Judging from the game process, the Lakers were able to handle it with ease.
What makes Suns fans and coaching staff even more depressed is that the relationship between Kobe and Zhang Zhiyuan seems to be fine.
In this game, Kobe took 38 shots and scored 42 points.
Zhang Zhiyuan only made 15 shots and scored 22 points. Zhang Zhiyuan did not grab the ball.
Even Odom threw it 16 times.
If Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe Bryant can get along well, do the Lakers still have weaknesses?
After the game, the media praised the Lakers, saying that they were fully in a state to win the championship.
The betting company directly adjusted the odds of the Lakers winning the championship to 100 to 105, just short of closing this betting option.
There was no way. Originally, everyone expected the Celtics to pose some threat to the Lakers, but now the Celtics and a team with a winning rate of less than 50% have entered the tiebreaker.
How does this look like it can win the championship?
On May 3, the playoffs will continue.
Game 7 of the Celtics and Hawks begins.
In this game, the Celtics realized their shame and acted bravely, bursting out with strong fighting spirit and showing their special skills of iron-blooded defense.
They only allowed the Eagles to score 65 points in the entire game, the lowest score in a single game in the playoffs this season.
Joe Johnson, the top scorer on the Hawks, only scored 16 points, and this was the result of 20 shots.
Only two people on the team scored in double figures, and the other guy only had 10 points.
There is no way, their strength is far weaker than the Celtics, and the Celtics also broke out.
At the end of the game, fans who wanted to see an upset were disappointed. Celtic fans were relieved, but not too happy.
After all, for the Celtics' Big Three, they deserved to win, and it was already a shame to reach the tiebreaker.
In the West, the Hornets play against the Spurs at home.
82 to 101, the Hornets got off to a good start and won the game.
The Spurs' Duncan played a little abnormally, shooting 1 of 9 from the field.
Although Shi Buddha is characterized by stability, no matter how stable a player is, there will be times when he performs abnormally. Even if he makes 1 of 12 shots, no one will doubt his strength.
After the game, Popovich didn't seem too anxious. Perhaps losing an away game was expected and completely acceptable to him.
On May 4th, the Pistons played against the Magic at home.
93 to 100, the Pistons won the game again, leading 2-0.
Howard did not stretch the ball in this game and scored 22 points and 18 rebounds.
It's a pity that his teammates got stuck.
The characteristic of three-point teams is instability, not to mention that neither Lewis nor Turkoglu are top three-point shooters.
In this game, Lewis made 6 of 21 shots, with a shooting percentage of 28%. This kind of big hole is too difficult to fill.
Trailing 0-2, the Magic have little hope of a comeback, which also makes his evaluation lower than Paul. After all, the Hornets are currently in very good shape.
In the second game between the Lakers and the Suns, O'Neal continued to start.
Obviously, the management has put pressure on D'Antoni.
If O'Neal plays for too short a time, it will prove that the Suns' deal has completely failed and the management needs to be held responsible.
Furthermore, if O'Neal is not allowed to play, D'Antoni will have no one available.
No matter how many shortcomings O'Neal has, he is more reliable than most players on the Suns.
O'Neal continues to play, and the Lakers still use their old tactics.
Fast attack and slash shark.
But this time O'Neal was very successful, making 10 of 14 free throws.
This is already pretty good for O'Neal.
However, even though O'Neal performed well, scoring 22 points and 8 rebounds on 6 of 10 shots and free throws, the Suns still lost to the Lakers.
It's just that it's not as ugly as the loss in the last game.
119 to 126, the Suns only lost by 5 points.
Considering the away factor, some irrational Suns fans felt there was still a chance to return to home court.
Of course, this is overthinking, after all, O'Neal can't play so well every game.
228, this is still the data of an excellent insider.
Nash and Stoudemire both performed pretty well.
It's a pity that the Lakers performed better here.
Kobe Bryant scored 40 again, and Zhang Zhiyuan continued to be efficient, scoring 20 points in 13 shots.
Other role players also took a lot of shots. Odom, Bynum, and Ariza scored in double figures. The Lakers' firepower was off the charts.
On May 5th, the Celtics played the first game against the Cavaliers at home.
72 to 76, the Celtics won the game with difficulty.
During the game, the Celtics could not see any advantage, which once again surprised the fans.
It could be said to be an accident when the Hawks were playing, but now that they still don't have an advantage against the Cavaliers, it's hard to say it's an accident anymore.
Anyway, some "big smart people" jumped out and said that the Celtics were overvalued.
In this game, James and Pierce fell in love with each other.
James made 2 of 18 shots, a shooting percentage of 11%, and scored a total of 12 points including free throws.
Pierce was even worse, making 2 of 14 shots, no free throws, and only scored 4 points in the entire game.
Ray Allen wasn't much better. He made 0 of 4 shots in the entire game and didn't score a point. He seemed lost.
If veteran Cassel hadn't stepped up at the critical moment and hit two three-pointers, the outcome of this game would have been hard to say.
By signing Cassel with a minimum salary, the Celtics made a lot of money.
After the game, the media headline was "Big Three?"
Obviously, the performance of Pierce and Ray Allen left people speechless.
On the same day, the Hornets played against the Spurs.
84 to 102, the Spurs lost again.
This time Duncan recovered and scored 18 points and 8 rebounds.
However, Parker missed the mark, shooting 4 of 14 from the field and scoring only 10 points.
Fortunately, he is in the Spurs, so he takes less shots when his condition is poor. If he were allowed to take more shots, he might be like James.
Facing a strong team like the Hornets, it would be impossible for anyone in GDP to fail.
Paul scored 3012 and 3510 in the last game.
For a time, the media was so hyped that Paul could be replaced by James alone.
There is no way, the media is too eager to praise a local player who can compete with Zhang Zhiyuan.
Kobe is old, James still has some hope, and Howard and Paul have the greatest potential because they are young.
May 6th.
The Pistons challenge the Magic away from home.
86 to 111, the Magic pulled back a game, but still fell behind by a big score, 1 to 2.
The reason why the Magic won is simple: Lewis broke out.
That's what a three-point team is like. When they lose, they can lose badly, and when they win, they can win like a wreck.
Lewis made 12 of 15 shots, 6 of 7 three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws. He scored 38 points with a true shooting percentage of over 92%. Who the hell can withstand this.
Hamilton and Prince, the Pistons' top two scorers, combined for exactly 38 points, taking a total of 39 shots.
The Magic won, but the media was still optimistic that the Pistons could advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The reason is very simple. Lewis can't play so well every game. The biggest difference between him and Zhang Zhiyuan is that Zhang Zhiyuan is stable enough, while he can only take it as it comes.
On the same day, the Lakers challenged the Suns away from home.
"Charles, do you think the Suns will be swept like the Nuggets?"
Smith didn't even ask the Suns if they could win this game, because Barkley would deny it without hesitation. So, he asked about the entire series.
"Of course, I don't see any place where the Suns can win. Compared with the outside, the Suns can't compete with the Lakers, and the advantage inside is not big..."
Barkley analyzed a lot in a serious manner. In fact, it can be summed up in one sentence: Zhang Zhiyuan is too strong than Kobe and the Suns cannot guard him.
This is almost bullshit. All fake fans know this. There is no need for Barkley to BB.
cctv.
"It may be more difficult to win on the road, but with the current state of the Lakers, there is a high probability that they will sweep the Suns."
Zhang Lili analyzed.
"Actually, with the strength of the Lakers, they can definitely lose an away game. This way we can sell one more ticket and we can watch one more game."
Sun Zhengping said that this is also the argument of some fans.
espn.
"I heard that the league is preparing to launch a new rule that will prohibit the top five players in the league from being on the same team starting next season."
Brin said.
"Really? But how to determine the ranking of players? Is it based on honors or performance in the season..."
another guest asked.
Ranking players is not an easy task, and there will always be controversy no matter how you rank them.
In the past, it didn't matter if there were disputes. But when it comes to transactions, it's troublesome if you can't explain clearly.
The alliance is also having a headache on this matter and has not really made a decision.
"Probably based on MVP voting and best team."
Brin said.
Amid the chatter of the commentators, the game officially began.
