Soul of the Golden State

Chapter 242 Destroying Confidence
After the start of the second half, the shooting percentages of both teams have greatly improved, and the incessant sound of hammering irons in the first half has finally stopped.

On the one hand, the players gradually entered the game state after warming up in the first half. On the other hand, both Mullin and Johnson resigned to their fate. Knowing that they didn't feel good tonight, they took the initiative to reduce their shots.

As long as I don't shoot, my hit rate will not drop!

However, although Johnson's shooting rate is not good, it can't stand Johnson's comprehensive skills. During the offense, he can rush into the basket and make fouls, and he can also drive the team's offense by dazzling passes without looking at people. Therefore, it seems that Johnson has given up offense. , but in fact he drove the entire Lakers offense.

On the other hand, Mullin doesn't have this ability. Although his organizational ability is also good, it is almost impossible to drive the team's offense solely by organization.

Therefore, in addition to opening up space for his teammates, Mullin's role on the court is quite limited.

Fortunately, Malone played quite well tonight, and the decadence in the last round against the Rockets was washed away.

Facing his old opponent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Malone can be said to be quite familiar with it. When Malone entered the league, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already the number one star in the league and had already joined the Lakers.

It can be said that Malone has been fighting against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar throughout his career, and he also suppressed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 83 Finals, achieving his first championship in his life.

In that round of the series, he averaged 25 points and 18 rebounds per game, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could only get 23 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Therefore, facing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Malone still has a lot of experience.

As a result, the audience at the scene was happy, the offensive basketball they wanted to see was back, they were dazzled by the various beautiful scores of the two teams, and the cheering was even louder than in the first half.

Although Li Weisi and Malone teamed up to set off a wave of chasing points, the Lakers are the Lakers after all, and they are not afraid of the Warriors' offense at all.

They just implemented their own tactics step by step. Whether the opponent played well or poorly, in the eyes of the Lakers, as long as I played normally, I could win.

It is this kind of self-confidence that prevents them from adjusting their defensive strategy against the Warriors like the Rockets did.

In defense, they used normal defense to deal with the Warriors. Even if Li Weisi is accurate and Ma Long is desperate, so what, as long as I play normally, you can't beat me.

Relying on such self-confidence and strength, the Warriors' counterattack finally returned without success. Although their offensive efficiency is good, the Lakers are not bad.

So, in the third quarter, the Warriors scored 30 points in a single quarter, but they still fell behind the Lakers by three points at 62:65.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lakers took advantage of the Warriors' transition to launch a wave of counterattacks. Magic Johnson and James Worthy led the bench players to use powerful counterattacks to beat the Warriors 10:2.

Seeing that the game was going to take a while, Nelson quickly put Li Weisi back on the field. If he wanted to chase points, Li Weisi and Ma Long were indispensable.

In this way, Li Weisi ended his rest early. In the playoffs, it is impossible to imagine resting like the previous regular season. Although Nelson tried every means to let Li Weisi rest, unconsciously, Li Weisi's average The playing time is getting longer and longer.

This is also something that can’t be helped. If you want to manage the load in the playoffs, contemporary Jordan dare not do it!
After Li Weisi came on the court, he first assisted Malone for a layup, and then caused Cooper's foul in the offense, and stood at the free throw line and made two free throws.

The defensive treatment that Li Weisi enjoys tonight is also top-notch. Newly promoted Dopy Michael Cooper and Byron Scott take turns to take care of Li Weisi, but even so, Li Weisi can still maintain a shooting rate of more than 50%.

It has to be said that as Li Weisi has been in the league longer, he has become more and more accustomed to the NBA's top defense.

However, just relying on this kind of offense, although there is chasing points, it is too slow, especially when the Lakers' main force returns, the Warriors' chasing momentum becomes even slower. 6 points is a hurdle, and the Warriors can't get over it.

Seeing that the time was running out and the point difference could not catch up, Li Weisi wanted to take over the game again. He shot from inside and outside, scored 8 points in a row, and led the Warriors to catch up with the Lakers.

But there is always a difference.

This is because the Warriors also cannot defend against the Lakers' offense.

On the outside, the connection between the Magician and Worthy made the Warriors' outside defense unable to parry. On the inside, although Malone's data is better, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can still score.

Although because of his age, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's famous stunt "Skyhook" is rarely used, but he can still seize the opportunity to score in the very few shots.

Therefore, although Malone seems to be suppressing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar throughout the game, in terms of timing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's personal score is not much lower than Malone's, and even more efficient.

In the end, in the last attack, Li Weisi missed the middle distance and the game ended.

The Warriors narrowly defeated the Lakers by 87:92 by 5 points and lost the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

Li Weisi made 17 of 9 shots and scored a game-high 28 points, plus 8 assists. Malone scored 21 points and 10 rebounds. Mullin scored 13 points on 3 of 11 shots, and his shooting percentage was only a poor 23.1%. No one scored in double figures.

For the Lakers, Worthy scored a team-high 27 points, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 20 points and 6 rebounds. Looking at it this way, he is not much worse than Malone.

And the magician played averagely. His shooting percentage was comparable to that of Mullin. He made 18 of 5 shots and shot 27.8%. Even when I feel bad, I still help the team.

In addition, Scott of the Lakers scored 11 points, Cooper scored 10 points, and a total of 5 players on the team scored in double figures. It can be said that the Warriors lost because they did not have as many scoring points as the Lakers.

The outcome of this game did not exceed everyone's expectations before the game, even the Warriors themselves, but seeing such a close score, the Warriors did not lose their fighting spirit. From top to bottom, the Warriors felt that Well, the Lakers are not that scary, as long as you work harder and score two more goals, you can beat the Lakers.

But only three days later, the Warriors came to the Great Western Forum again, and when they were confidently preparing to challenge the Lakers, they were bloodbathed by the Lakers 133:102, so that the entire fourth quarter was reduced to garbage time.

This battle also completely destroyed the confidence of the Warriors players. How can such a powerful Lakers win?

(End of this chapter)