Paul Pierce automatically applied for a technical foul and voluntarily left the game. It was a huge blow to the Celtics, but it was outright good news for the Los Angeles Lakers. Although in today's game, Paul Pierce
He performed abnormally under Ann's care, but as long as he was on the court, Paul Pierce was still one of the most powerful players for the Celtics. Paul Pierce's departure made everyone in the Lakers team involuntarily relax.
Take a breath.
In fact, this was the case. In the third quarter, the Lakers finally began to gain a slight advantage in the score at TD North Shore Garden, ending the third quarter with a five-point lead of 79:84.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Adrian hit a three-pointer from the outside, followed closely by Odom, who also hit a three-pointer. The point difference suddenly expanded to more than ten points.
Rivers called two long timeouts in a row. Sitting on the bench, the Lakers players could clearly see Rivers yelling something anxiously at the Celtics players surrounding him.
There were also some scattered words passed over. It was obvious that Rivers was already anxious in the face of the unfavorable situation on the court.
"You performed well, my boys." Phil Jackson was naturally very satisfied with this situation: "Continue like this in the last quarter, don't give the Boston people any chance. You still have to maintain your performance in the fourth quarter.
Concentrate. The Celtics are our most powerful opponents this season. Whether it's Garnett or Ray Allen, they are the kind of superstars who can suddenly take over everything in the final stages of the game. Don't give them any chance...
…”
Phil Jackson is right. Whether it is Ray Allen or Garnett, they are indeed the kind of players who cannot be given any chance. Because they are fully capable of suddenly standing up and taking over the game at some point. Maybe a few years later.
As they get older, this ability will start to disappear, but now, now is still their heyday, now is still their golden age.
Phil Jackson guessed right. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kevin Garnett suddenly stood up and took over the game.
So far in this game, Kevin Garnett's statistics are 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 assists. Although comprehensive, it does not look like the statistics of a giant, because in the first three quarters, Garnett
Te put most of his energy on the defensive end. On the offensive end, he only scored some points with mid- and long-range jumpers piecemeal. His 38% shooting rate of five out of 13 was difficult to alert others.
Just like Pau Gasol's performance on the offensive end was greatly restricted by Garnett today, Garnett's performance on the offensive end was also restricted by Gasol.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Garnett performed as usual. On the offensive end, he only made two consecutive mid-range shots, one hit and one missed, and he scored two points again. But when Garnett made his third free throw
After receiving the ball from the line, he did not choose to make a direct mid-range shot like the previous two times. Instead, he grabbed the basketball at the free throw line, turned around, and faced Pau Gasol's defense.
To defend Garnett, Pau Gasol chose to leave some space. He only had time to interfere when Garnett shot. Although Garnett has not shown any other abilities besides mid-range shots in this game.
Offensive means, but as the league's top power forward, Pau Gasol really understands Garnett's abilities very well. Although Garnett has all the known offensive means inside, such as low post offense,
He can make hook shots with both hands under the basket, and even turn around and make fadeaway jumpers. But his most powerful and threatening offense, in addition to his precise mid-range shots, is his face-to-face breakthrough.
This is a power forward who has the height of a center, but can break through with the ball like a defender. His ability to break through the frame is absolutely top-notch among the current power forwards in the league. Except for Garnett himself, no one has
Can break through with the ball like Garnett.
And because the defenders Garnett has to face are all inside, he is naturally at a disadvantage due to his own quality and the rules of the league when breaking through the defensive frame. Garnett himself is also tough and can
Against most inside players, this makes his face-to-frame breakthrough even more powerful.
Therefore, when defending Garnett, you must not defend as close as you defend the general inside line, otherwise Garnett will use his footsteps and flexibility to fool everyone. Of course, someone like O'Neal is wide and fat.
It's another thing to be able to block most humanoid human shields that break through space by assuming a defensive posture.
Pau Gasol's defensive strategy was not wrong. Under Pau Gasol's solid defense, Garnett still chose the offensive mode of jump shots instead of his more powerful face-to-face breakthrough. Pau Gasol
He stretched his arms hard, not trying to block Garnett's shot. Those abnormal long arms and his jumping ability that could continuously touch the top edge of the backboard made it extremely difficult for Garnett to be blocked, even if Paul Garnett
Sol also has a pair of long arms and is equally difficult to block.
He just wants to interfere with Garnett's line of sight and make his shot miss. Although his jumping is not as good as Garnett's, if he just wants to interfere with his line of sight, he can still do it with Pau Gasol's wingspan.
Judging from the previous experience in this game, this kind of defense is indeed effective. Garnett's shooting percentage is only 38%, which is the best proof.
He did extend his arm in front of Garnett's eyes, blocking his view of the basket.
But... ugh.
Hearing the crisp sound of the net swiping, Pau Gasol's heart skipped a beat. For no reason, he felt that the next game today might not be easy. Such a premonition was very unreasonable, but Pau Gasol didn't.
Guessed wrong.
For the second time, Kevin Garnett once again held the ball at the free throw line. This time Garnett suddenly stepped forward and broke through after receiving the ball. Pau Gasol quickly took a step back to prevent Garnett's breakthrough, but just after
The moment Gasol chose to retreat to defend, Kevin Garnett did the same.
Uh-huh...
The third time, this time Garnett didn't hesitate at all after receiving the ball, turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper!
For three consecutive times, Garnett completely ignored Pau Gasol's defense and hit consecutive mid-range shots, and the two sides tied at 89.
"Ah!" Garnett, who scored six points in a row, roared to the sky and beat his chest hard with his right fist!
"kg!"
"kg!"
"kg!"
In response to Kevin Garnett, there was a landslide and tsunami of cheers from TD North Shore Garden Stadium.
"Damn it!" Garnett almost ignored his own defense and hit consecutive mid-range shots. Even the always good-tempered Pau Gasol couldn't help but lower his head and cursed. Kevin Garnett's
The consecutive hits not only tied the score again, but also dealt a severe blow to the Lakers' newly rising momentum.
"Timeout!" Phil Jackson is not a head coach who likes to call timeouts, but in this situation, he has to quickly call a timeout to readjust. Phil Jackson, who always cooperates with superstars, is far from the best.
He knows better than the average head coach what kind of energy these superstars will generate once they break out.
"Paul, your defense needs to be tougher. Don't worry about his breakthrough. If he breaks through, Andrew, you have to be ready to defend Paul at any time. Parkinson doesn't have much offensive ability and there won't be much danger if he lets it go temporarily."
.Understand, we need to be tougher on defense. And there is offense. Gentlemen, what about our offense? Why didn’t I see anything just now? They may be able to score a lot of points, but we should get more than them.
More points. Move the ball. Ed, what's going on with you? Don't always stand on the three-point line waiting for the ball. You have to cut more and slide the baseline. Believe that as long as you find the space, basketball will be good.
It will come to your hands. Cut from here, here, and here, and the cutting speed must be fast. Paul and Andrew will pick and roll for you to help you run out of space. Paul, pass the ball more on the offensive end and use your long range.
The shooting ability pulled Garnett out of the paint...and Kobe, stop shooting three-pointers all the time, break through, make more breakthroughs, and make fouls if you can't score..."
The duration of a long pause is only one hundred seconds. For the audience watching the game, one hundred seconds may be a long period of advertising time, but for the coach, if he wants to fully lay out his tactical intentions,
One hundred seconds is not enough.
Phil Jackson wanted to call another long timeout, but after thinking about it for a while, Phil Jackson gave up this tempting wrong idea, because at this time, his opponent, the Celtics, Rivers needed it more frequently than he did.
He used timeouts to adjust the game pattern on the field. Every time he called a timeout, he gave Rivers an extra chance.
In fact, if the Lakers' offense wasn't so bad on the court, he wouldn't even want to call this timeout.
Phil Jackson's adjustment was still effective. After the timeout, Kobe Bryant began to frequently rush inside on the offensive end, completely trying to draw fouls even if he couldn't score. The referee's whistle in this game was quite harsh, no matter what
This is true for both the host and the guest, and this situation makes it slightly easier to commit fouls.
After causing two consecutive fouls on the offensive end, Kobe made 3 of 4 free throws and scored three points, temporarily stabilizing the situation on the court where the Lakers had not scored for a long time.
On the defensive end, Pau Gasol, who was strongly requested by Phil Jackson, began to become tougher on Kevin Garnett's defense, which also caused Garnett's offense to encounter trouble. (To be continued.
