Although Phil Jackson arranged a two-point tactic, seeing Kobe's actions, Adrian firmly believed that Kobe was preparing to play a three-pointer.
The choice between three-pointers and two-pointers is not just a one-point difference. There is also the issue of initiative and passivity. If the Lakers can score a three-pointer at this moment, then there will be nothing in the next game.
Doubts will gain the initiative. The Nuggets must score a three-pointer to tie the score, and the Lakers also have an opportunity to attack, so the Lakers have a much greater initiative.
On the last ball, the Lakers can choose to take their time, delaying time, or even get excited, and the Nuggets may be forced to choose foul tactics.
If they only score a two-pointer, the Nuggets will have more choices. They can safely choose to score a two-pointer to tie the score. If they score a three-pointer, it will be a go-ahead! If it is just a two-pointer, the Nuggets will
Take some of the initiative.
At the most critical moment at the end of the game, Kobe Bryant obviously did not want to hand over the initiative to the Nuggets. He wanted to take the initiative, and he believed that the Lakers needed a three-pointer! But this choice was undoubtedly a very risky one.
After all, the three-point shot is not a stable offensive method, especially at such a critical moment. A failure in one attack will put the entire team into a passive situation, and may invalidate all the efforts of the entire game.
Generally speaking, no player dares to go against the coach's intentions at the last moment, because it is difficult for them to bear such huge pressure.
Put all the pressure that should have been shouldered by the coach and core players on yourself!
But Kobe dares!
Adrian's speculation was groundless. But looking at Kobe's actions and look on his face, he knew Kobe had made a choice and made up his mind!
So, at the moment when Kobe pretended to break through, and the countdown to the attack time entered five seconds, Adrian suddenly swung his arm, threw Anthony away and went straight into the paint!
The choice of three-pointers was too risky. He had to ensure that the rebounding competition was in a favorable situation. While forcing the inside, Adrian did not forget to wave to Brown!
Among the entire Lakers lineup, when it comes to tacit understanding with Adrian, Kwame Brown is undoubtedly the one who has the deepest tacit understanding with him. Although Adrian has always felt that Kwame Brown's ability is not enough to match him.
, but when it comes to tacit understanding, it is another situation. The moment Adrian made the gesture, Odom looked confused, but Kwame Brown took a step forward with understanding, spread his arms, and
Blocked for Adrian and grabbed a good position to compete for offensive rebounds.
At this moment, Kobe, who was on the three-point line, finally took action.
His right foot suddenly took a step forward to the right. This step was very large, as if he was about to take the opportunity to break through. Iverson did not dare to be careless. He immediately took a small step back. At this moment, Kobe suddenly
He jumped back from the ground. Holding the basketball in both hands, his eyes were fixed on the basket, and his body jumped high out of the three-point line, with a large backward tilt!
Step-back jump shot!
There is a big gap between Iverson's height and Kobe's. Kobe used ordinary jump shots to attack, and Iverson could only interfere with Kobe's shooting sight. Now that he adds a fadeaway, Iverson is
He couldn't even interfere. Although he stretched his arms with all his strength, Kobe was still determined and shot the basketball in his hand without hesitation!
"Rebound!" Kobe shouted the moment the basketball was released!
The moment the basketball was released, he felt his elbow suddenly twitch. This unprovoked move immediately disrupted his shooting rhythm. He felt his heart tighten for a moment, but when he saw Adrian, it was like a gust of wind.
He rushed into the penalty area in the same way, and a little inexplicable hope arose in his heart!
The moment Adrian heard Kobe yelling, he gritted his teeth and took a step faster.
"Bang!"
The basketball hit the front of the basket, and Adrian jumped up and took the high-bouncing basketball into his arms. Camby and Anthony immediately rushed towards Adrian, double-teaming him unswervingly.
!
"Fake!" Being double-teamed by Camby and Anthony, Adrian let out an angry roar. He raised his elbow and swept around. His fierce expression made even a strong man like Anthony feel a little bit of fear in his heart.
Fearful, he took a step back slightly.
This step of withdrawing gave Adrian space.
"Ah!" A hard collision with Carmelo Anthony caused Adrian to fail to accelerate. The force of the collision was actually not great, but the small step Anthony took just now gave Adrian a huge impact.
From the picture, it looks like Adrian squeezed out the defense of Carmelo Anthony and Camby.
Jumping high, Adrian squeezed out a little space, stretched out his hand and handed out the basketball in his hand. The basketball flew up and spun into the hoop.
"Beautiful!" Kobe couldn't help shouting and rushed forward, giving Adrian a chest-bumping salute. The moment the basketball hit his throat, he finally felt relieved. If Adrian hadn't grabbed it,
When he saw this offensive rebound and hit this ball, he could almost imagine the media's criticism of him the next day.
Phil Jackson, who had his heart in his throat just like Kobe, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he discovered that the current situation was even better than he had expected.
There are only 43 seconds left in the game. As long as there is a delay, the Nuggets will not be given two more opportunities to attack. In this way, the Lakers will have the advantage. Even if George Karl calls a timeout and launches from the sideline
The offense at least greatly increased the difficulty for the Nuggets to execute foul tactics at the last moment.
After all, the only timeout the Denver Nuggets have left is a short pause of twenty seconds!
Both sides fought to the end and used all their methods. Now the Lakers have a slight advantage that is not obvious!
This bad form made George Karl grit his teeth and finally resisted the urge to call a timeout. If the timeout was called now, if a foul tactic was to be implemented later, the Nuggets would lose the opportunity to call a timeout.
No. This timeout cannot be called!
He stood on the sidelines and shouted loudly, asking the Nuggets to stabilize and score this goal steadily. As long as this goal is scored, whether it is two points or three points, the Denver Nuggets will still hold the last two points in their hands.
A short pause of ten seconds, this is the advantage of the Denver Nuggets.
No one called a timeout, and the game quickly restarted. Iverson dribbled the ball from the backcourt, and just after it passed the midline, Kobe rushed forward. Iverson was almost forced to stop the ball. Kobe's mentality was very obvious. He had to use this
This sudden pressing defense forces Iverson to make mistakes. Once Iverson stops the ball and walks, or even is forced to return to the line, the advantage will all come to the Lakers' side during the transition between offense and defense.
Kobe's movements were very big and tough, and Iverson was forced into a bit of a panic in his haste. At this moment, George Karl finally couldn't help but call the last timeout in his hand.
A smile suddenly appeared on Kobe's face.
Obviously, George Karl saw that Iverson was in danger of making a mistake. In order to prevent the entire situation from reversing, he took advantage of the last 20 seconds of timeout while Iverson was still in control of the basketball.
Although he was not able to cause Iverson to make a mistake and win the ball in one fell swoop, he at least successfully consumed some game time and forced George Karl to call the final timeout.
This is undoubtedly very beneficial to the Lakers!
After calling a timeout, George Karl called the Nuggets players to his side, presumably to arrange the tactics for the next ball. Phil Jackson was also arranging the Lakers' defense for the next ball.
The Lakers' arrangement is relatively simple. At this time, they don't pay much attention to three-two zone defense, two-three zone defense, etc. As long as they can prevent this ball, the Lakers can basically determine their advantage. In this case, the best
There is no other choice than man-to-man defense, each focusing on his own defender, and immediately covering up when his teammates are out of position. These do not require too detailed arrangements. Phil Jackson chose to cheer for the Lakers generals.
!
Just like before, twenty seconds passed in a blink of an eye. Once again, the momentum of both sides was different. Now it was the moment that decided victory or defeat in a blink of an eye. After a whole game, both sides tried their best.
No one wants to fall at the last moment of the game.
Camby sent a foul ball and the basketball went to Carmelo Anthony. The current Denver Nuggets have two people with the ability to end the game. Anthony is the core of the Denver Nuggets and must be the first in this offense.
Choice. But it is not impossible that Anthony will pass the ball to Iverson after a false attack.
Iverson's three-point shooting percentage has never been very high, but no one will choose to let Iverson go at critical moments. This is a fighter. At the last moment of the game, he is more dangerous than ever.
.
Jr. Smith can't be let go either. Although he is a smart knife, giving him the shot at the last moment is a bit of a gamble. But today, Jr. Smith has quietly beaten the Lakers three times. This time, maybe he will
Will come again!
Relatively speaking, Camby and Nene are unlikely to have a relationship. Nene has not yet developed his mid-range shooting ability. Although Camby has a good mid-range shooting, his efficiency has dropped a lot after being injured, but it is necessary.
Defend.
However, the Lakers' defensive focus is still overwhelmingly on Anthony and Iverson. Among the Denver Nuggets' lineup, these two are the most dangerous.
But the basketball was placed in the hands of jr Smith
Adrian pestered Anthony. At the last moment of the game, he didn't pay attention to whether he committed a foul or not, and his actions were very rough. Anthony tried his best to get rid of it, but he could never find a way. His proud tonnage was behind Adrian.
It's not easy to use in front of him. In fact, Adrian T. Anthony's defense in this whole game was very successful, and so far he has only scored 23 points.
This score is already very good for ordinary players. But for a super scorer like Anthony who averages close to 30 points per game, this score is not enough.
Iverson was also tightly entangled by Kobe. He tried to use reverse running several times to get out of the space, but he never found a suitable opportunity to take action.
The attack time passed minute by second, and George Karl could no longer sit still. He stood on the sidelines and stared anxiously at the situation on the court. Seeing that the twenty-four seconds were about to come, the Nuggets never stopped.
Find any opportunities.
Anthony protected the ball with his back, trying hard to push away Adrian. As time passed by, he couldn't find any chance under Adrian's defense, which made Anthony even more anxious.
stand up.
"Ah!" Anthony yelled. In desperation, he chose to go hard!
The chance of success in beating Adrian like this is very low, and Anthony himself knows it, but there is no way now. He can only choose this offensive method to give it a try when he can't find a chance!
Anthony hit Adrian hard and turned around for a fadeaway jumper!
Adrian stretched out his arms to interfere!
In order to avoid Adrian's interference, Anthony had to lean back significantly, throw his center of gravity to the side, and shoot the basketball in his hand with almost losing his center of gravity.
The arc of the basketball is very high and the arc is very large. The ball almost seems to be thrown in the air. But the basketball that was thrown in the air miraculously got into the basket.
It was tied, it was tied again, and with only twenty-one seconds left on the clock, the two teams were tied again.
Phil Jackson really wanted to call a timeout at this time, but there was no timeout to call.
This was almost certainly the last offense. The basketball came out easily. The Nuggets did not choose foul tactics, but returned to their own half to hold on. Obviously this should be George Karl's arrangement, hold on.
Defend this goal and prepare for overtime.
Adrian dribbled the ball into the frontcourt. He did not rush to take action, but chose to press the time.
Twenty-three seconds, the last attack, he was not going to leave any offensive time for the Nuggets.
Ten seconds, eight seconds, seven seconds...
The Lakers generals moved quickly, and through continuous pick-and-rolls, Kobe finally got rid of the entangled Jr. Smith and Allen Iverson and found a little space.
"Ball!" Kobe yelled, reaching out to Adrian.
Although he was staring closely at Adrian, when Kobe found space, most of Anthony's energy was still attracted by Kobe, and his feet naturally made a little movement.
Five seconds...
Adrian moved, moved quickly. Instead of passing the ball to Kobe, he chose to break through!
Anthony took a sudden step. This step shocked Anthony. Just now, he thought Adrian would pass the ball to Kobe, so he naturally shifted part of his mind to Kobe, preparing to intercept the pass.
He didn't expect Adrian to choose to break through!
When he reacted and wanted to make a move, Adrian was already like a heavy armored vehicle accelerating, rumbling and squeezing him into the inside line.
"Stop him!" George Karl shouted loudly!
Nene and Kanbi rushed towards Adrian almost in no particular order.
Adrian, who was flying forward, took off lightly. He turned his body slightly sideways in the air, slipped right through the gap between Nene and Camby's defense, and flicked his wrist.
The basketball he picked up flew towards the basket without a trace of fireworks. (To be continued.)
