Chapter 131 The number one center...who is recognized?
Blazers shot clock.
The Lakers' defensive position was very tight. The purpose was to suppress Wang Zelin's inside singles and Lillard's lightning breakthrough.
After several passes, Wang Zelin received the ball through a screen, faced Howard and Pau Gasol who came to double-team, and forced a shot under the defense of the two.
The results can be imagined.
Kobe Bryant rushed in from the outside early to grab the rebound, signaled his teammates to move, and pushed forward from the backcourt.
At this time, Batum and Kobe were left in the backcourt, the Staples Center was instantly ignited, and the cheers increased several times.
Kobe first carefully protected the ball sideways, then suddenly accelerated to throw Batum away and quickly advanced upcourt.
Just after halftime, Lillard came forward and blocked Kobe's path, and Batum quickly followed behind him.
Routine treatment for the Black Mamba: Double-team!
And breaking double teams is also the basic skill of Black Mamba.
Kobe ignored Ci Shiping who came to meet him from the right corner, turned around and passed the two men, and came to the free throw line.
Wang Zelin quickly moved forward.
Three people double team!
Kobe immediately braked and faked a shot first.
Wang Zelin was not deceived.
Then he quickly shook his shoulders. Wang Zelin held his breath and concentrated, but he still couldn't detect what Kobe's next move was.
coming.
The iconic flip-back!
Wang Zelin exerted all his strength and stretched out his hand to interfere. Kobe's pupils shrank, he dodged twice in the air, and successfully took the shot.
"Beep beep beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded and Wang Zelin violated the space above Kobe Bryant's cylinder.
In fact, the so-called cylinder fouls in the NBA are not as rampant as they were later, and there is a vague concept in game refereeing now.
However, the one who couldn't hold off the attacker was Kobe Bryant.
With the blessing of the superstar halo, the referee made a subconscious choice.
After being called for a foul, Wang Zelin did not argue and quickly turned his head to focus on the basketball still flying in mid-air.
A foul had been paid and he didn't want to see the ball go in.
Unfortunately, Wang Zelin's fantasy was shattered by the sound of "Whoosh!"
For other people, this goal can be described as a fairy ball, but for Kobe, there are too many such fairy balls.
Standing on the free throw line, enjoying the support of thousands of fans, Kobe steadily hit the extra free throw.
36:35!
Only one point left.
"Beep beep beep!"
Coach Terry called a timeout and the team needed to make a change.
"Shh!"
"Shh!"
"Shh!"
The boos from Lakers fans almost raised the roof of the entire arena, almost catching up with the atmosphere of the playoffs.
Such a noisy atmosphere made the young pioneers a little irritable and irritable, and they all fell silent.
"King, you will be the main attacker next. Let me use your hands and feet to blast the Lakers' penalty area to pieces! Pierce their position!"
Coach Terry will soon be able to issue new instructions.
Kobe's sudden outburst made the Blazers, a young team, play more and more anxiously, which played exactly into the opponent's hands.
Now, the Trail Blazers need someone to step up and break the scoring drought for the team.
After much thought, Coach Terry felt most at ease with Wang Zelin, so he decided to change the schedule and strategy and replace the main attacker.
"The others completely opened up and gave up the penalty area to give Wang space to play in singles."
"OK!"
"yes."
"..."
After a short setup, the game continued.
There were still two and a half minutes left before the end of the first half. Coach Terry clasped his hands on the court. He didn't know how the tactics would be implemented. It still had to depend on the execution and performance of the players on the court.
There is nothing the head coach can do in this regard.
…
"The Trail Blazers are in danger. If they can't score this offense, the rhythm of the entire game will be dominated by the Lakers."
Yao Ming said with some worry.
"To be precise, it will be dominated by Kobe!"
Kenny Smith added.
In just a few minutes, Kobe once again showed the world his rich arsenal of weapons and sharp fangs, winning endless praise.
Although the Lakers are lagging behind, in terms of aura, they are actually ahead of the Trail Blazers.
This is the charm of American heroism!
…
During the Lakers half, Wang Zelin and Howard were wrestling in the penalty area.
"Rookie, where was your arrogance just now? Don't pee your pants if you lose soon!"
As soon as Howard finished speaking, Wang Zelin immediately said: "Does this have anything to do with you?"
"It's almost halftime, and the first center who only scored 4 points is really pitiful!"
At this time, Lillard's pass arrived.
The moment Wang Zelin received the ball, Howard roughly approached him.
Pau Gasol on the other side was about to double-team, but after seeing the other four Blazers players running outside, he quickly gave up the idea.
"drink!"
Wang Zelin grunted as he grabbed the ball with both hands, contracted his abdomen and exerted force. After catching Howard with his lower limbs, he half-turned his back to face the basket and hit a small hook in the penalty area.
Although Howard's defensive ability is excellent, there is a gap between him and Wang Zelin in terms of wingspan, height and weight.
The traditional heavy-tank center's powerful offensive ability at the basket is clearly demonstrated in Wang Zelin.
38:35!
Wang Zelin broke the team's scoring drought for several minutes.
"Yes!"
Coach Terry stood up excitedly and waved a towel.
The strongest player on the Trail Blazers is undoubtedly Aldridge, but he still chose Wang Zelin as the main attacker, which is undoubtedly a bold choice.
Not to mention whether Aldridge will be offended, it is still unclear whether the young Wang Zelin can take on this important task.
Fortunately, Wang Zelin did not live up to his attention.
"Dwight, sometimes I feel that you are so lucky to be in such an era. If it were in the 1990s, I can guarantee that you, a soft-footed shrimp like you, would be better than the four major centers, even Mourning.
No." Wang Zelin spat.
Howard's face froze, Shete, how dare you call me a soft-footed shrimp!
While he was distracted, Wang Zelin had quickly returned to defense.
The referee on the sidelines urged Howard to serve quickly and not to delay the game.
In the frontcourt, Kobe decided to attack on his own.
The Trail Blazers' position changed to a three-two zone defense. This pocket formation was obviously created to capture the venomous snake of the Black Mamba.
Kobe dribbled just past the left three-point line, and Batum, Lillard and most recently Aldridge pounced on him.
Seeing Kobe passing the ball to Pau Gasol, Aldridge slammed on the brakes, turned around and ran towards Pau Gasol.
During the Lakers' two consecutive championships, the isolation play between Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol was the most efficient way to score in the Lakers' triangle offensive system.
But now that Howard, who is more famous and stronger, has arrived, Pau Gasol is no longer inclined to play in singles inside.
In addition, D'Antoni's main focus is running and gunning, which makes Paul's family even more uncomfortable. This season's data has shrunk a lot compared to previous years.
Of course, this does not mean that Pau Gasol has declined significantly. The Spaniard is still a rare All-Star big man in the league.
Pau Gasol's shooting range is very wide and can cover any position within the three-point line, and even has a certain accuracy outside the three-point line.
Therefore, Aldridge defended very tightly.
Through a flexible back play, Pau Gasol finally got a little space and hit a mid-range shot from the front of the paint area.
"Pao!!! Sister-in-law!!!!"
Two O'Brien Cups have allowed Zijin fans, who consider themselves noble, to recognize this Spanish man.
Looking back, Wang Zelin was sitting in the penalty area. After receiving the ball, he hit Howard again with a hook.
"Whoosh!"
This hasn't been played yet.
"Beep!"
Howard just made an obvious move to pull people away.
Defensive foul.
Defensive failures again and again made the Staples audience very dissatisfied, especially the Lakers' big-name fan - golf superstar Tiger Woods.
"Dwight, you are such a softie. I really don't know how you got three DPOYs. You can't even guard against a rookie. Did you spend too much time on women's bellies last night?"
"You piece of shit, you can't attack or defend, you might as well be Bynum!"
"..."
Led by Woods and other big-name Lakers fans, some fans even booed Howard.
Howard, who was originally unhappy, had been suppressing the anger in his heart. When he saw the fans turning against him, he directly frowned...
Finally, he lowered his head and picked up the ball.
Fans are God!
This is an iron law that Jews have implemented in the NBA for decades. Howard doesn't have the guts to challenge the fans.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"They're right, you're such a wimp!"
2 1 made, 41:37.
Wang Zelin will not give up any opportunity to hit his opponent.
Especially the opponent is the very sensitive and fragile Howard.
Do everything you can to bring victory closer to you, this is the principle Bowen has always instilled in him.
Although Wang Zelin dislikes some of Bowen's playing methods, he has to admit that these methods did bring him victory.
If you want to achieve extraordinary things, you must use extraordinary means!
…
"This shot is too tough. Wang continuously attacks the league's top center. This is his show time!"
"It's a pity it wasn't a dunk, otherwise it would have been a bit like Shaquille's back then."
Charles Barkley shouted excitedly in the TNT live room.
"Pfft!" The laughter came from O'Neal, "The number one center! Who is recognized?"
"That's right, who is recognized as the number one center?"
Yao Ming, who had been watching the show for a long time, silently made up for it.
…
The Lakers attacked, and this time Kobe and Pau Gasol coordinated.
Pau Gasol held the ball with both hands in the high post. Kobe suddenly stopped on the outside and ran back. He shook off Batum's entanglement, walked along the baseline to the paint area, and reached for the ball.
An old partner for several years, Pau Gasol understood the situation and successfully passed the ball to Kobe.
"Watch out for Kobe!"
Coach Terry on the sidelines quickly gestured.
Wang Zelin in the short corner area on the right noticed Kobe's cut-in, decisively gave up on Howard without a basket, and returned to defend the basket.
Lillard and Batum on the outside rushed inside from the bottom of the lake and the left baseline respectively.
A three-party pincer attack has been formed.
Can Kobe pass the ball?
For a normal person, the first choice at this time would of course be to pass the ball.
However, Kobe is not an ordinary person. The more people there are, the more excited he becomes, with bloodthirsty murderous intent and a will to win in his eyes.
After entering the paint area, he directly handed his body to the sky.
As for offensive options, that is something to consider only after the defenders are in place.
Batum and Lillard took off to block the shot, and Kobe shrank his body in the air and completed a 180-degree turn.
The iconic pull-up layup is about to take place!
The cheers of the fans on the sidelines grew louder as the game progressed.
The corners of Kobe's mouth couldn't help but rise. This ball was solid...
"boom!"
Third parties emerge.
Wang Zelin acted like a bird, sacrificing his teammates, and took the final shot, successfully nailing Kobe's ball to the backboard.
The sudden force caused Kobe's center of gravity to lose balance, and he fell to the floor with a "snap".
"Oh my God! A hot pot feast from the King!"
“The Black Mamba’s venom is being rejected by Portlanders!”
Teacher Yu Jia roared excitedly. The "Little Wang" he called Wang Zelin before the game became "Big King!"
"Foul, it's a naked foul."
"Where's the referee? Is he blind?"
"Why not call the penalty?"
After landing, Wang Zelin noticed that the referee's whistle did not sound, so he directly grabbed the ball and carried it to the front court.
The Lakers players' attention was still on Kobe who fell to the ground. They only woke up when Wang Zelin dribbled out of the three-point line.
Matthews on the other side ran near the center circle. Wang Zelin hit the ground hard and passed the ball, quickly sprinting without the ball.
After Matthews crossed the Lakers' three-point line, he consciously slowed down and Ci Shiping behind him had already caught up.
Wang Zelin entered the three-point line, took two more steps, and entered the paint area with his right hand pointing to the sky.
Matthews hit the ball hard against the backboard. Wang Zelin jumped up, caught the ball with both hands, and hit it hard.
43:37.
"Bounce!!!Shakaraka!!!!"
The cheers at Staples Arena suddenly stopped. Looking at the Trail Blazers player No. 36 hanging on the rim, a sense of powerlessness arose in my heart.
It's obvious that the team is about to take the lead, it's obviously only one point away, it's obvious...
In the blink of an eye, the score difference reached 6 points again.
Is it the blame on No. 36?
No, they do have this strength, you have to accept it.
So who should be blamed?
Soon, fans set their sights on the Lakers' No. 12 player.
Dwight Howard!
The team spent a lot of money this year to acquire the league's No. 1 center.
At the beginning of the season, Howard was considered by the outside world to be the core of the new Lakers team after Kobe Bryant.
His bright smile and joyful attitude on the court, compared to the cold-faced killing god of Kobe, were once loved by most Lakers fans.
However, when Howard's arrival failed to bring victory to the City of Angels, all the smiles, all the cheers, and all the applause turned into praise.
No matter how high Howard stood before, he is getting scolded now.
Three consecutive DOPY!
How did he get it?
The league's No. 1 center!
Who actually recognized it?
So far in the game, Howard has scored 4 points and 4 rebounds, which is barely average, far from bad.
But compared with No. 36 on the opposite side.
14 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block.
It's the same two quarters of game time, the same players in the same position; different salaries, different reputations, and the result...
The league's top center can't beat a rookie who just debuted.