Chapter 95 [There Is No Pressure when There Are Fat People]

The Jazz have a way to deal with O'Neal. They double-team in the low post. The wing players retreat to the penalty area to get the ball from three directions, and one person inside defends. O'Neal attracted double-teams and then took advantage of the situation to pass the ball to the outside. Harper and Fox were in the open and hit the ball continuously.

Brian Russell defended Kobe alone. He was an excellent defensive player. He had faced Jordan for many years and had great experience in dealing with this type of player. He kept getting close to Kobe, making it difficult for Kobe to catch the ball.

Sloan is recognized as an iron-blooded coach. Although his tactics are all pick-and-roll, which is a bit rigid, under his guidance, the Jazz players have a tacit understanding. They follow routines on both ends of the offense and defense, and can rely on the team to make up for the lack of individual ability.

The Jazz's purpose is very clear, which is to let role players shoot, guard against stars, and contain the Lakers' stars in isolation.

If the triangle offense hard doubles the stars, it will leave room for role players. If they can shoot Sloan, they will admit it. As a result, the Lakers' two role players failed to live up to expectations. They failed to make three-point shots and changed to mid-range shots. They still couldn't guarantee their shooting percentage. The home team played very frustrated.

Woodson lamented: "Harper is really old. His offensive skills have almost completely deteriorated. His shooting is inaccurate and he can no longer break through and dunk. I think the Lakers can consider letting Jason Guo play early."

Horvath agreed: "At least if Jason is on the outside, he won't be left empty, but Jackson should have his own plan."

It wasn't until 3 minutes and 15 seconds that the "Zen Master" called a timeout and adjusted the lineup. Guo Xu replaced Harper.

Harper made 0 of 4 shots, all of which were open shots. He didn't score a point, grabbed two rebounds, and gave out two assists. Harper also struggled on the defensive end. Stockton used pick-and-rolls to look for mismatch opportunities, allowing Malone to face Harper and himself to deal with the inside. He made 2 of 3 shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, and scored 6 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

The Lakers trailed 12 to 19. "Zen Master" knew that his team's offense was not good, but after watching the Jazz's style of play, he was worried that Guo Xu's defensive weakness would be targeted when he came on the field, so he waited for Polynice's two fouls before substituting.

When the ball was dead, the Jazz also adjusted their lineup, and "Big White Bear" Ostertag appeared.

When Kobe is on the court, the ball belongs to the star. He and O'Neal attack inside and outside. Guo Xu's task is to dribble the ball through half court and wait for opportunities outside the three-point line.

There is a lot of news about Guo Xu today. The Salt Lake City media also said that his six three-pointers killed the Trail Blazers. After the substitution, Stockton no longer helped defend O'Neal and waited for opportunities to steal, and was inseparable from Guo Xu.

Guo Xu wants to play like he did in college, running without the ball, circling, and rushing in and out. He only ran for one round. Not only did he fail to receive the pass from his teammates, he also heard assistant coach Rambis shout from the sidelines: "Jason, don't move around."

what the hell? Am I moving around? Believe it or not, with this style of play, I exhausted Stockton to death at halftime? Guo Xu complained in his heart that he still had to listen to the coaching staff's arrangements on the court and just stood outside the three-point line.

Stockton is 38 years old this year. Even if he had good physical fitness and had a pilot's license when he was young, his condition will inevitably decline now. If the Lakers arrange off-ball movement tactics for Guo Xu, he can really outrun Stockton. Unfortunately, Jackson will not do this. This is O'Neal's team, and the tactic can only be a triangle offense.

Guo Xu played soy sauce on the court for three minutes. He didn't make a single shot. He only passed Stockton once outside the three-point line by changing direction with speed, attracting the inside defender to pass the ball to O'Neal for an easy dunk, and received an assist.

The Lakers trailed by 8 points 16-24 in the first quarter. O'Neal and Kobe Bryant each scored 6 points. They started this game weakly.

Jazz center Ostertag is a fat man with a height of 218 cm and a weight of 130 kilograms. He moves very slowly. Guo Xu feels that as long as O'Neal pulls out to play pick-and-roll with him, he will be like a Contra with 30 lives. Difficulty.

However, the tactics Jackson arranged after calling a timeout were still triangle offense, neither reusing Guo Xu nor letting Kobe and O'Neal play pick-and-rolls. He didn't even use a tactical board, he just said - "Open the outside line.

Pass the ball to O'Neal for a low single. "

Guo Xu cursed in his heart: Damn it, where is the famous commander we promised? One look at the opponent's size and you know it's useless except against O'Neal. Are you arranging a low-post attack? When Ostertag signed a big contract with the Jazz, did you get a kickback from it?

Jackson occasionally goes crazy, arranges inappropriate tactics, and calls timeouts at strange times. Only he knows what he thinks.

In the second quarter, Phil Jackson began to control the main force. When the score was behind, he liked to leave a star player on the court. He was worried that the OK team would end the game and the opponent would take the opportunity to expand their advantage, which would make it difficult to play later.

Kobe takes a rest, while O'Neal and Grant continue to play, and the other three are George, Leder, and Guo Xu.

Guo Xu finally got the good news. Jackson, who seemed to be slow to react in the previous quarter, changed his tactics and asked O'Neal to move to the middle to play pick-and-roll with Guo Xu. Guo Xu broke through with the ball and looked for mismatch opportunities. After attracting the big man to switch defense, he gave O'Neal distributes the ball to the center.

In Guo Xu's previous life, O'Neal and Wade often played like this after joining the Heat. It was simple and effective. Not only did O'Neal save energy, but it also helped Wade gain confidence. O'Neal is larger than the average inside man, and his screen quality is very high. Wade can often use the screen to get rid of defenders and easily make emergency jump shots. Even if the opponent's inside team changes defense in time, Wade has a very high chance of breaking through.

After O'Neal picks and rolls, he usually cuts to the basket. He rushes to catch the ball, and it is difficult for the opponent to stop him except for fouling. Even if he doesn't make air cuts, O'Neal has the ability to support in the high post and can pass the ball to find teammates. When he was with the Heat, he once used assists to record a triple-double.

The premise of such a play is that O'Neal voluntarily pulls out to help cover for his teammates. This depends on his mood. Even the head coach cannot force him to do this. Tyronn Lue and Fisher did not have this kind of treatment last season.

Guo Xu felt happy when he thought about it. As a guard for the Lakers at this time, he had a fat man and no pressure. If the sky fell, he would have someone tall to hold him up.

The Jazz played five players: Jacqui Vaughn, Quincy Lewis, Russell, Donyel Marshall, and Ostertag.

The Jazz had the ball, and Russell stepped inside the left three-point line and received Vaughn's pass.

"Death Gun" Jeff Hornacek retired in the summer. When the team lacked scoring points, Russell took the initiative to take on more responsibilities, holding the ball and beating George with his back, and turning around and shooting jumpers.

Last season, Russell had career peak data of 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals, shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.6% from the three-point range. The older he gets, the better he gets. He has developed the ability to attack with the ball, and his offensive end has changed. of confidence.

However, Russell chose the wrong opponent this time. George's physical fitness is outstanding. Most people can't squeeze him, and his jumping ability is even more terrifying. This time the turnaround shot was directly blocked by George. Lewis picked up the basketball and made a 45-degree jumper for a three-pointer. Leder did not follow up and the ball went in. 16 to 27.

The Lakers attacked, Guo Xu dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and O'Neal stepped on the three-point line in the middle to help him block Vaughn.

Vaughn is 185cm tall, weighs 86kg and has average speed. He chose to bypass O'Neal's huge body from the inside in order to block Guo Xu's breakthrough route.

This is a wrong choice, because what Guo Xu loves most is not breakthroughs, but shooting three-pointers.