pertwk Chapter 1098 The Hunt! The Death Five Make Their Appearance!
Chapter 1098 The Hunt! The Death Five Make Their Appearance!
After scoring, Lin Tian looked at Wade with a righteous expression and said, "I won't ask you for interest for that extra shot. Pretty generous of me, huh?"
"My two hits combined weren't as hard as yours." Wade rubbed his chest, now wanting to call a timeout to check his injuries.
It really hurts!
"Who told you to make the first move?" Lin Tian shrugged, indicating that it wasn't my fault.
So far in the third quarter, both sides have had two possessions each, both ending with a three-pointer, with Lin Tian and Wade each scoring two.
In any case, the fans at Quicken Loans Arena and those watching on TV were all thoroughly entertained!
This kind of star-studded duel is so exciting and interesting!
As for Lin Tian and Wade's actions, which each appeared to be an offensive foul, hardly anyone mentioned them.
For referees, what's important on the field is not avoiding mistakes, but treating everyone equally!
Humans are not machines; they cannot be without making mistakes.
As long as you don't have double standards, sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused, it'll be fine.
Now, the referee has clearly not applied double standards, and the fans are thoroughly enjoying the show!
However, the three-point barrage between the two sides came to a temporary end, as Anthony missed his three-point shot, ending the two sides' streak of four consecutive three-pointers.
On the other hand, as if they had planned it, Murphy's three-point attempt also missed, and the two sides returned to normal levels once again.
On this night, the main offensive points, tactics, and rhythm details of both sides changed from time to time. Both sides' performance fluctuated and their shooting percentages changed, but the only constant was the extremely tense situation on the court.
From start to finish, no one could pull away from the score!
After the intense first half, both sides' form and energy have declined at this point in the game. Unable to pull away from the score and create any exciting moments, both sides seem somewhat distracted and less excited.
For both fans and players, this is the most tedious part of a match.
This is when both sides' focus and patience will be tested.
Whoever can endure this endless, agonizing struggle and tedious, exhausting confrontation will gain the upper hand at this stage and seize the initiative in the game.
As the game progressed, the turning point of the match occurred six minutes into the third quarter.
Brown made a lineup change after a timeout.
He replaced Zydrunas Ilgauskas with Sessions.
Browns were the first to change their lineup to a smaller one with four smaller players.
Clearly, Brown also noticed the team's lack of focus, declining shooting percentage, and rising turnovers. So he took the initiative to make changes, hoping to use speed and impact to improve the team's focus and make the players play with more energy and concentration.
"This tactical change might not be a good idea!" Van Gundy couldn't help but say when he saw Brown make the substitution. "Brown has deliberately abandoned their twin towers combination, not letting Varejao play, but instead bringing on Sessions."
"This 'one big, four small' lineup was indeed very efficient and effective in the previous games, but the problem is, the Lakers discovered that 'death lineup' in their last game and completely dominated the Cavaliers!"
"Brown's decision to shrink the roster could give Jackson an opportunity to capitalize on!"
Miller said, "In the first half and the first half of the third quarter tonight, Brown always had at least two big men on the court. Maybe that's why Jackson didn't bring out the 'death lineup'."
"But now that Brown has changed, what about Jackson? Will he change too? Is that 'death lineup' that fans and we talk about just a flash in the pan, or will it become the Lakers' regular playing style?"
"I'm really looking forward to it! My expectations have reached their peak after this personnel change!" Van Gundy said. "Every time I see new tactics, new things, and new ideas, I get excited and look forward to it!"
"I hope these new things can be implemented and become a trend. I hope basketball can continue to develop, and that various tactics can become increasingly diverse!"
Jackson seized the opportunity to immediately mock, "And then when you become a coach, you won't use any of them. You'll continue playing your heavy, ugly, and boring half-court offense and defense, giving the ball to the stars and letting them go one-on-one, right?"
"I just like watching, I didn't say I like using it." Van Gundy shrugged. "The Cavaliers' substitutions are starting to pay off. Sessions drove to the basket and drew a foul from Murphy, earning two free throws."
Miller said, "Murphy's third foul isn't a big problem. I think everyone's wondering now what the Lakers will do. Will they continue to use Murphy and Bynum as the only options, or will they make significant roster changes?"
"Now, the exciting moment has arrived!"
"Swish!" The commentators analyzed and anticipated the Lakers' next move, while Sessions calmly made his first free throw.
Then, Jackson finally stood up and began to deploy his troops.
Replace him!
Significant personnel changes.
Jackson seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted to see, and he didn't disappoint the fans and commentators.
Bynum and Murphy's twin towers were taken down together, and Terry and Barnes entered the game together.
In addition, Durant, who had just gone off to rest and only sat on the bench for one round, returned to the court and substituted Parsons, who had only played one round.
At this point, the Lakers have once again fielded a small-ball lineup with no center and three guards!
Although the lineup is slightly different from the previous game, the overall changes are not significant. More importantly, the playing style and strategy of this lineup are exactly the same as the lineup that the Lakers ultimately used to defeat the Cavaliers in the previous game.
The Five Deadly Little Ones, the Five Deadly Outsiders!
Offense, speed, shooting, spacing, transition, and rhythm are the things the Lakers value most and must secure for this roster.
"Exciting!" Van Gundy's eyes practically lit up as he looked at the brand-new gadget that had reappeared on the court. He looked exactly like an old lecher seeing a Victoria's Secret model in sexy lingerie.
It was both lewd and exciting.
"Whoosh!"
Sessions made his second shot.
But this time the Cavaliers had no chance to relax or celebrate, because Durant immediately grabbed the ball, ran out of bounds, and then passed it out.
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian immediately accelerated and sprinted towards the frontcourt. All the other Lakers players did the same, and like a stampede of horses, the Lakers rushed to the Cavaliers' half of the court in the blink of an eye.
Lin Tian once again chose not to stop or observe; he simply accelerated and charged towards the inside line.
Then, before entering the three-second zone, he made a one-handed pass to Kobe on the wing. Kobe received the ball, dribbled once, faked a move to draw the defense again, and finally passed it to the top of the arc.
Durant followed up perfectly, receiving the ball in that position, but he still didn't stop, and threw the ball back towards the other baseline.
At this point, Terry was completely unguarded in the corner!
The Cavaliers' defense completely fell apart, and the Cavaliers players were disoriented, mostly just trying to keep up with the Lakers' relentless passes with their eyes.
With no one guarding him, Terry calmly took the shot, and the three-pointer once again swished through the basket!
"So fast! So smooth! I love this style of play!" Van Gundy was so excited he was practically ready to raise his arms and celebrate.
"The real test for the Lakers is yet to come!" Miller said. "Their offense is definitely not a problem, but what about their defense? Can they hold their own?"
"Don't retreat! Press the attack!" Lin Tian shouted to his teammates immediately after Terry hit the three-pointer. It was clear that the Lakers had been refining and tweaking this style of play in the past two days, and now they understood better how to leverage the strengths of this lineup and avoid its weaknesses.
The advantages of this small-ball lineup are clearly its mobility, passing ability, and shooting ability.
The whole team can run, pass, shoot, and drive.
As for the drawbacks, of course, it's the lack of a true center anchoring the paint. No matter how tall Durant is, he can't handle those heavy-weight centers.
The Lakers' strategy was to use their full-court press and speed advantage to mitigate their weakness in the paint.
They started with a full-court press, with all five players constantly running and defending, maximizing the difficulty for the opponent to advance.
Although the Lakers' lineup lacks a top-tier interior defender, it boasts three defensive stalwarts on the perimeter: Lin Tian, Kobe Bryant, and Harrison Barnes, along with Kevin Durant, a tall player with exceptional help defense capabilities.
Full-court press is indeed their best way to counter the opponent's attack.
Under the Lakers' tight pressure, even though the Cavaliers were playing with a three-guard lineup, their pace of play was negligible, and they were completely unable to play at the speed they wanted.
Meanwhile, once the Cavaliers finally managed to advance the ball into the frontcourt, the Lakers' defense immediately changed again.
"Zone defense! It's a 1-3-1 zone defense!" Van Gundy immediately recognized the Lakers' formation and read out their defensive strategy. Then, Van Gundy displayed a reaction speed far exceeding his coaching abilities: "Jackson the genius! A genius choice!"
"The 1-3-1 zone defense is actually a variation of the 3-2 zone defense. This defense is more tight and more pressing against the opponent's three points on the top line, and can effectively counter the opponent's defenders' passing of the ball at the edge of the penalty area."
"The Cavaliers' three-guard lineup likes to pass the ball around the top of the key."
"Secondly, this positioning can effectively counter the opponent's inside playmaking at the free throw line, preventing the opponent from using the inside playmaking type at the free throw line to break down their defensive positioning."
"The Cavaliers have Gasol, the best playmaker in the league, and this positioning is the best way to counter Gasol's playmaking and passing."
"Next, there are the weaknesses of this defensive positioning: insufficient protection under the basket, but the Lakers' lineup itself doesn't have much ability to protect the basket. Secondly, it places extremely high demands on the mobility of the player standing under the basket to protect the rim, because he has to constantly move around to help defend and change his defensive position."
"Let's set aside whether Durant can become a qualified center for now, but if we're just talking about mobility and movement, is there any center in this league who runs faster and moves more quickly than Durant?"
"Obviously not!"
"Jackson's 1-3-1 zone defense maximizes his own advantages while targeting the opponent's strengths. A genius, truly a genius choice! It's amazing and admirable! And in just two days, Jackson has come up with such a perfect countermeasure!"
"So the Cavaliers can't break through the Lakers' 1-3-1 zone defense?" Miller asked curiously. "They can also set up heavy defenses along the baseline to stretch the Lakers' defense."
Miller, of course, was also very familiar with the tactics and immediately pointed out another weakness of the 1-3-1 zone defense: the lack of sufficient protection for the baseline.
"The Cavaliers could certainly do that against other teams, but the problem is, their opponent is the Lakers."
Van Gundy said, "First, the Lakers players all have considerable speed. Their help defense and lateral movement are top-notch in the league. If you deploy a large number of players in the corners, the Lakers will definitely be able to rush up and block your baseline players."
"Secondly, against opponents who move quickly and play zone defense, if you pass the ball to the corner, as long as the receiver cannot shoot immediately, he can easily be countered by the opponent and directly surrounded in the corner. This is because this area is inherently half the area where you can pass the ball, and half of the directions are out of bounds. This is an area that is easy for the enemy to target."
"Furthermore, given the Lakers' tactical sophistication, if you simply adjust your positioning, changing from a three-guard formation to a strategy of deploying heavy forces in the corners, the Lakers will immediately switch from a 1-3-1 formation to a 2-3 zone defense, thus plugging their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities."
"Finally, and most importantly, when facing Kobe and Lin, would you dare leave your ball handler alone at the top of the key against those two? What if they double-team you? Wouldn't it be easy to make a mistake, get the ball stolen, and launch a fast break?"
"The Cavaliers aren't refusing to leave their players near the baseline; they simply can't! From both a tactical and a safety-first perspective, it's the same thing!"
"So, how should the Cavaliers break this deadlock?" Jackson continued to ask.
"I don't know!" Van Gundy displayed his usual bluntness and directness, stating without hesitation, "But I hope they can find a way out!"
"Bang!"
As soon as Van Gundy finished speaking, Anthony's forced shot under double-team pressure missed. He didn't want to force the shot, but for some reason, the Lakers seemed to have an adrenaline rush after changing their lineup, with a significant increase in defensive intensity and lateral movement speed.
The Cavaliers tried for a long time but couldn't find an opportunity. When the ball finally came to Anthony's hands, there were only 3 seconds left. He didn't have time to react and could only shoot quickly to avoid a 24-second violation.
But Anthony regretted it after missing the shot.
That play would have been worse than a direct 24-second violation!
If this play were a 24-second violation, the Lakers would have to stop, wait for the referee to give them the ball and inbound it, and then they could launch their own attack. By then, the Cavaliers would have already finished their defensive transition.
Now, as Anthony's shot hit the rim, Lin Tian seized the opportunity, leaped into the air, and slapped the basketball directly!
While he was still in the air, he swung his hand and passed the basketball out!
The reaction was astonishingly fast. Even though the Cavaliers weren't distracted and everyone was willing to defend with all their might, their defense still fell apart.
Kobe received Lin Tian's "flying palm" pass. After receiving the ball, Kobe dribbled twice quickly and then passed it to Barnes. Barnes knew his position and immediately passed the ball to the other side, giving it to Terry.
Terry also knew his role. After receiving the ball, he used two consecutive crossovers to shake off Sessions' defense. Then, he stepped into the three-point line and pulled up for a long-range two-point shot!
"Whoosh!"
A crisp sound, and it went in again!
Terry perfectly embodies the meaning of a microwave and a bench scorer: scoring as soon as he steps onto the court and contributing as soon as he steps onto it!
"Terry's 5 points were crucial! Not only did they extend the Lakers' lead to 4 points, but they'll definitely disrupt the Cavaliers' defense!" Miller quickly added. "After all, the Lakers still have three other key weapons on the court!"
"Kobe, Lin, and Durant haven't even taken a shot yet, and Terry has already scored two in quick succession. What are the Cavaliers going to do next? How are they going to defend?"
"The best approach, in my opinion, is to call a timeout, bring in Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao, solidify our interior advantage, slow down the pace, reduce the number of possessions, and play basketball that truly suits our strengths, rather than playing according to the Lakers' ideas and intentions."
"If they keep playing like this, with the Lakers' terrifying scoring ability on offense and their strong pressure on ball handlers on defense, they're likely to crush the Cavaliers again."
"The Cavaliers need to play to their strengths!" (End of Chapter)