LaFrentz still occupies a very important position in Rivers' tactical board.
LaFrentz is a very unique player.
First of all, as an inside player, LaFrentz's main attack point is outside the 3-point line. He has a body of over 210cm. Although he is not good at attacking in the low post, he is enough to cause deterrence in the inside. Such a player who can inside and outside
The players on the court are a good containment for Chandler.
Then, although compared with Eddy Curry or Chandler, LaFrentz's inside style is not tough enough and he prefers to go outside to face the basket to attack, but his career three-point shooting rate of 36.6% is better than that of his peers.
The defender he is facing cannot underestimate him. With him on the court, he is enough to pull Chandler to the outside and create space for other Celtics players to break through.
Moreover, LaFrentz's basketball IQ is also very high and he never makes blind shots easily. On the court, he will not cause chaos to the Celtics' offense.
Compared with LaFrentz, the Celtics' substitute insiders obviously do not have these advantages.
In addition, on the defensive end, LaFrentz is also very good at blocking shots and has outstanding defensive awareness. He is an indispensable part of the Celtics' defensive system.
Because of the above reasons, Rivers did not dare to replace LaFrentz easily.
The reason why Scales let Chen Jie keep attacking him was because he knew this. Now, Chen Jie had completed Scales' arrangement and successfully made LaFrentz foul twice.
However, Skiles frowned when he saw that Rivers still stubbornly put LaFrentz on the court.
With LaFrentz around, Chandler has to often defend on the outside. He cannot guard the Bulls' inside line with all his heart. If Chen Jie or Du Hong breaks through, there is also a deterrent inside presence, and he cannot score easily. It can be said that
In Skiles' view, the Celtics' most threatening player is Paul Pierce. Then, it's LaFrentz, not Gary Payton.
Paul Pierce is not an inside player and will not fall into foul danger. Even attacking him is useless. Moreover, Griffin's offensive ability against Paul Pierce is not very outstanding and he cannot contain Paul Pierce on the offensive end.
.
LaFrentz is different. As an important part of the Celtics' defense, he not only has to defend his opponent Eddy Curry, but also regularly helps defend the Bulls' outside players who break through. The defensive pressure is very high.
Big. If there are too many fouls, it will be easy to be constrained and it will not be as effective as it should be on the defensive end.
Generally speaking, when such an inside player commits two fouls in the first quarter, the coach will basically replace him for protection. But now, LaFrentz has fouled twice, and Rivers still has not replaced him.
mean.
This surprised Scales.
After thinking for a moment with a frown, Scales probably understood what Rivers meant.
He was betting that LaFrentz wouldn't foul.
In fact, two fouls are acceptable. After all, there are still four opportunities for fouls. If there are three fouls in the first quarter, then Rivers will never dare to continue to put LaFrentz on the court. I am afraid that the entire second quarter will be fouled.
Every festival, LaFrentz had to be on the bench.
After figuring this out, Scales nodded to Chen Jie on the court, signaling Chen Jie to continue attacking LaFrentz.
Compared to Scales, Rivers' situation is actually more embarrassing.
Now, LaFrentz committed two fouls, and it was the Celtics' side that was passive, not the Bulls' side.
The Bulls can choose to continue attacking LaFrentz until he is defeated, or they can ignore this and concentrate on breaking through and scoring.
After all, after two fouls, LaFrentz didn't dare to help defend easily.
Rivers knows that now, LaFrentz is no longer an advantage defensively, but has become a vulnerability.
But Rivers still didn't replace him because LaFrentz was needed on the offensive end.
Now, Rivers is planning to let LaFrentz survive these few minutes without committing any more fouls, and then on the offensive end, he will contain Chandler and give Paul Pierce space to play in isolation.
As long as they survive these few minutes and the Bulls don't open up the score, Rivers will win.
Of course, the premise is that LaFrentz doesn't foul again, otherwise, the next game will be difficult to play.
Just such a goal put the Celtics' tactics into a passive position, and Rivers was also very frustrated.
However, he had no choice. He knew that if LaFrentz was replaced now, not only would the Bulls be able to boldly double-team Pierce, but on the defensive end, Chen Jie would also be able to boldly break through.
In this case, the Celtics will not only fall into a passive position tactically, but they will also be stretched out in the score immediately.
Rivers didn't dare do this.
He could only keep LaFrentz on the court and gamble.
If you win, you still have a chance to fight back.
If you lose, this game will be very passive.
Sometimes, NBA games are like this. One ball may affect the trend of the game.
After all, this is not a street ball, but a professional basketball with tactics to follow.
The arrangement and application of tactics are very important to the outcome of a game.
The competition is not simply about comparing the strength of both sides.
Otherwise, the NBA wouldn't have so many classic examples of the weak defeating the strong.
Those games, without a doubt, were all victories using tactics.
Moreover, many times, in a game in which the weak defeats the strong, the weak team finds an advantage at a certain point and then attacks non-stop.
This is why, if the players are still the same players, if they change the head coach, the team's record can improve or decline rapidly.
Of course, the strength of the players and the team is essential. Otherwise, having good tactics but not good players will be in vain.
The coach's tactical arrangements and the players' tactical execution make the game full of suspense. This is also the charm of NBA.
Not only do the players compete with each other on the court, but the coaches also compete with each other off the court.
This time, Scales took the advantage in the contest with Rivers. This is the best proof of this.
Skiles keenly discovered the importance of LaFrenz on the court, and then asked Chen Jie to attack LaFrenz. This was the tactical arrangement.
After the timeout, Chen Jie immediately broke through to the inside and not only scored a layup, but also caused LaFrentz to foul. This is the execution of the tactic.
Of course, Rivers also arranged a set of tactics for the Bulls, and Paul Pierce should also be an excellent tactical executor. However, it is a pity that after the timeout, the Bulls attacked first, and Chen Jie was the first to attack.
Successfully complete the coach's arrangements.
Rivers can only do nothing. (To be continued...)
ps: I have time today, so I will write more. This chapter is a bit messy, but I have to write it, as it will pave the way for many subsequent games...
