Soon, the Trail Blazers ushered in the fifth to last game of the season, against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Hello, viewers, this is TNT. I am Kenny Smith, the commentator for today's game. Some people may be curious about where my colleague Charles Barkley has gone. Well...it's hard to explain, so let's not talk about him!
In this game, we invited the famous glider Clyde Drexler, a veteran of the Portland Trail Blazers!
To be honest, Clyde, do you think the Lakers have a chance to win this game?"
Drexler immediately said after listening to Kenny Smith's words: "It is true that Kobe and his Lakers have reached the edge of the cliff. They are only 0.5 wins away from the eighth place. If we talk about this game,
It is very likely that they will miss the playoffs directly. I think it is time for them to fight hard!
But...
Then again, the Trail Blazers' performance this year exceeded everyone's expectations, including me. Although they are still very young, no one will question their strength, especially the luxurious lineup configuration inside ~ Wang Zelin Aldridge's
The combination almost leads the league.
Compared with Dwight Howard, I think Wang Zelin was the number one center in the league in the 2012-13 season. As long as they win this game, the Trail Blazers will sweep the Lakers in a single season for the first time in team history. To be honest,
I’ve been looking forward to this moment!”
The butt determines the head. As a famous player of the Trail Blazers, Drexler always promoted his home team during the communication process with Kenny Smith.
After listening to Drexler's analysis, Kenny Smith continued to speak.
"Clyde, you said that Wang Zelin and Aldridge's inside combination is the best in the league. I choose to reserve my opinion on this point.
On the other hand, the Lakers' interior lineup is also extremely luxurious, and Howard has played in recent games, which makes people feel that he has got rid of the back injury. At this stage, Dwight is still the league's number one center!"
Obviously, Kenny Smith doesn't agree with Drexler's statement.
"Okay, don't talk nonsense, let us tell the facts!"
The lineups of both teams are as follows.
Visiting Lakers: PG Steve Blake, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Earl Clark, PF Pau Gasol, C Dwight Howard
Home team Trail Blazers: Same old, skip...
Judging from the strength on paper, the Trail Blazers clearly have the upper hand at positions 1 and 3. Both Steve Blake and Earl Clark are little-known little players. If it weren’t for the aging of some of the Lakers’ main players,
As a result of constant injuries, it is impossible for the two of them to become Lakers.
After comparing the two, the only advantage the Lakers had was Kobe, so Terry Stotts gave the order during the pre-game meeting: Get Kobe at all costs!
The game on the field started soon.
Wang Zelin and Howard jumped the ball in the middle circle, and the latter lost again. The Trail Blazers took the lead in gaining the offensive ball.
Both sides set up twin towers at the same time, and everyone's eyes were on players No. 36 and No. 12. Another collision between the two was a highlight of the evening.
Wang Zelin just received the ball in the low post, and Pau Gasol defended him. Who would have thought that Howard quickly yelled: "Get out of here, I can deal with him alone!"
Yes, good intentions are regarded as the liver and lungs of a donkey.
Pau Gasol walked away helplessly.
"You know, Dwight, I love you so much!"
"What?"
"Every time I meet you, I always get a beautiful piece of data, and I believe this time will be no exception."
"..."
Howard's face turned black instantly. Wang Zelin took advantage of the situation and pushed back, took a step back and turned over to shoot a jumper. Howard reacted immediately and rushed towards Wang Zelin, but unfortunately the ball had already been thrown.
"Whoosh!"
The Trail Blazers won first.
"Look, what did I say? This is coming..."
After scoring the goal, Wang Zelin specially waited for Howard to hit the baseline kick and rushed to the Lakers' position with him.
"You're just a talker, I'm not afraid of you!"
Howard had a fierce look on his face and said ferociously.
"But you just can't help it..."
Wang Zelin smiled.
At this time, Kobe caught the ball at the top of the arc, made a gesture to pull away, and after his teammates pulled to the outside, he suddenly started to pass Matthews and went straight to the penalty area.
But Batum, who was in the high post on the left, reacted very quickly and immediately came over to cover the defense. Kobe quickly turned around and passed the defender cleanly. Wang Zelin wanted to take a defensive step, but was held back by Howard.
In the end, it was Aldridge who took the initiative to meet Kobe.
"drink!"
Kobe roared angrily, ignoring Aldridge in front of him, and jumped up without fear. The basketball flew past the latter's fingertips and fell into the net. He staggered when he landed and almost fell.
"oh!"
The Rose Garden Arena was in an uproar.
The 1.98-meter Kobe actually knocked the 2.11-meter Aldridge away, which made the fans very dissatisfied.
Why don't you dare to be cruel?
So cowardly!
"Beep!"
Aldridge's thug fouled and Kobe made an extra penalty.
"Performance from the Black Mamba! He contributed 2+1 as soon as he came on the field. It can be seen that Kobe's desire to attack today is very strong!" Kenny Smith's commentary sounded at the scene.
"Shh!"
The scene was followed by boos, and the tens of thousands of Trail Blazers fans performed extremely well.
I hope they have obviously underestimated the cold-bloodedness of the Black Mamba. To him, this level of booing is nothing more than encouragement.
"Shua~"
The extra free throw was made and the Lakers took the lead by one point.
The boss's performance caused a burst of cheers from the Lakers bench.
Looking back, Wang Zelin caught the ball in the high post, made a fake shot and passed the ball to assist. Aldridge stood under the basket and dunked successfully, which was regarded as a return.
In the recent two games against the Spurs and the Jazz, Aldridge's condition has improved, so the players decided to give him more ball play and try to adjust his condition before the playoffs.
The Lakers played very hard. Before the game, Kobe warned everyone with a serious face: We must win the game tonight, we can't lose again, and whoever dares to hold us back will be rewarded by him.
After half a quarter, Kobe took turns educating Matthews and Batum on the offensive end. He made 3 of 4 shots in the half, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 9 points and 1 assist...
Yes!
Wang Zelin and Aldridge took turns bombing the Lakers penalty area. The two scored 11 points and 5 rebounds together, helping the Trail Blazers to stop the Lakers with a 4-point lead at 17:13 and enter the official timeout time.
During the timeout, D'Antoni continued to arrange rotations and offensive tactics, while Kobe sat aside with a dark face, minding his own business.
How can he still lag behind despite being like this? How else can he win?
Everyone can see that the fundamental reason why the Lakers are lagging behind is that there are too many loopholes in perimeter defense, especially at the No. 1 position.
After half a quarter, Lillard got 3 assists through simple sudden points, not counting indirect assists.
It can be seen that Steve Blake cannot guard Lillard at all.
I hope Kobe doesn't blame his teammates too much, because he knows Steve Blake's level is there, as long as he tries his best.
What he hates most now is time!
Time has taken away his youth, causing his inevitable peak period to gradually decline. He hates feeling weak.
On the Trail Blazers side, coach Terry Stotts saw the players playing so well and did not make too many arrangements. He learned from Rivers and drank chicken soup for his soul, because he knew that what the players needed at this time was encouragement, and
Not with a straight face.
Through the half quarter just now, we can especially see the way the Lakers, or Kobe Bryant, played tonight.
Unlike some previous games where they organized their teammates first, they did the opposite and attacked fiercely from the start.
In addition to being anxious about the regular season results, the reason is that both Kobe and D'Antoni know very well that the Blazers have too many points that are difficult to prevent, and blindly wasting time is just a slow suicide.
Instead of waiting for death, it's better to take a gamble on Kobe's touch.
From the current point of view, D'Antoni made the right bet. Kobe's touch is indeed great, but he ignored one of the most critical points, that is, No. 24 is no longer young, and he cannot be as good at both ends of the offense and defense as he was when he was young.
Ruled for a long time.
When you attack aggressively, your defensive efficiency will definitely decline.
…
After the timeout, the Lakers attack.
The two teams still have the same lineup, with Batum guarding Kobe Bryant, Aldridge guarding Pau Gasol, and Wang Zelin and Howard engaging in hand-to-hand combat under the basket.
Steve Blake had just dribbled the ball across the center line, and Kobe came up from a 45-degree angle from the right to respond, as if to say: "Give me the ball, and I'll take you home."
Steve Blake was already accustomed to this. After handing the ball over, he ran to the baseline and squatted, silently shouting "Boss 666!"
Different from the last time he opened the singles, Kobe made gestures this time and asked Pau Gasol to pull out the three-point line for a pick-and-roll.
The two are worthy of being partners who have won two consecutive championships for many years. Pau Gasol used a high-quality pick-and-roll, which happened to catch Kobe's cool spot, and he suddenly reached the free throw line and succeeded in a mid-range shot.
"Oh, if only Dwight was willing to be a pick-and-roll, it would be useless to use that body..."
While returning to defense, Kobe looked at Howard with confusion in his eyes. It was clear that the latter could do pick-and-rolls, and was even one of the best big men in the league at doing pick-and-rolls... Why did he have to sacrifice his strengths and weaknesses after coming to the Lakers?
Keep clamoring for the team to increase their low-post singles tactical arrangements.
Don’t you have any ideas in mind?
Do you think you are No. 36 across the street? Do you have someone who can do that?
He is extremely detailed, but he always likes to say, "My penis is big, you have to bear with it!"
Howard was stared at with fury, and the idea of playing low-post singles that had just arisen in his mind suddenly weakened a lot.
Let's do a good job of defense first, make Kobe happy, and then talk about singles and stuff later.
At 17:15, there are still two points left to equalize.
The Trail Blazers attacked and continued their ferocious play inside. After the first quarter, the point difference had been widened to more than 10 points.
Wang Zelin also continued his characteristic of "definitely breaking out when he beats the Lakers". He scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 11 and a half minutes. He was only one steal away from filling up all five data columns.
In addition, Aldridge also played well, with 8 points and 2 rebounds. The two scored 18 points in the paint, accounting for half of the team's first quarter score. They directly turned against the visitors and completely dominated the Lakers' penalty area.
Under the leadership of the inside duo, the Trail Blazers made 14 of 22 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 4 of 6 free throws in the first quarter, scoring 34 points with extremely high efficiency! More points per quarter than in previous games.
About 10 points higher.
The Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 11 points 34:23.
A true warrior dares to face the bleak life and the dripping blood...
Ahem, I'm talking about the current Lakers.
One thing to say, the Lakers actually didn't play badly. They made 10 of 21 shots, 3 of 5 free throws, and scored 23 points... The only thing worth complaining about was that the three-pointers were a bit eye-catching, with 0 of 3 shots and a 0 field goal percentage.
But considering that the Lakers' average points per game this season is only around 101 points, they have already played to the level they should have...cannot afford to be inferior to their opponents.
In the final analysis, the Lakers are now a remnant team, and the overall strength of the team is not as good as it was at the beginning of the season.
Nash is a bit old and still has a defensive hole, but he is still a two-time regular season MVP winner. His organization and court control alone are not matched by many in the league.
Steve Blake is too far behind Steve Nash after all!
When his opponent has some strength, he really can't attack or defend... It's a waste of words!
In addition, the problem of the Lakers' small forward position has not been solved since last season. They are able to reach the fringe ranking of the playoffs now, thanks to Kobe Bryant working hard to death.
5 of 7 shots, 13 points and 2 rebounds in a single quarter, Kobe was enough to carry, but comparing the lineups on both sides...even if it wasn't at home, it was still a back-to-back...
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! My heart dropped instantly!
…
At the beginning of the second quarter, Tristo City was not willing to replace the main players who were in excellent condition. They played really well.
"Let me say a number~~~20 points! At halftime, I hope to see the score difference exceed 20 points...
Answer me loudly, do you have the confidence to do it?"
Coach Tristos waved his hand and the five tigers continued to play.
"have!"
5～
For the Lakers, Pau Gasol was replaced by Antawn Jamison at the power forward position, but other than that, the other four players remained unchanged.
If nothing else, Kobe and Howard should play more than 40 minutes tonight.
A guy in his 30s and 50s still dares to do this. No wonder there will be problems in the playoffs.
Wang Zelin was a little sad about what happened in the future.
"You're on the field, what are you thinking about?"
Batum stepped forward and patted Wang Zelin's butt. This kid was good at everything, but he had to change his habit of being in a daze from time to time.
"knew!"
…
At the end of the game, the Trail Blazers controlled the rhythm very well and did not let the Lakers get a chance to take the lead.
113:106, the Lakers lost the crucial back-to-back by 7 points.
The reason why the point difference was recovered to less than 10 points was entirely because the coaches of the two teams spent most of the final quarter arranging their troops and pecking each other on the court, so the Lakers did not lose so ugly.
After this game, the Lakers have fallen behind Mosaic by a full victory margin, and are getting farther and farther away from the eighth position in the Western Conference. I don't know if they still have a chance.
Everything depends on the result of the game between Mosaic and the Suns tomorrow night. If the latter wins, the Lakers still have a slight chance.
But if the former wins, there is basically no chance.