The godfather of basketball started from conquering the NBA

The third game was the Lakers' last stand. If they lost this time, the series would almost be a death sentence.

The Lakers' starting lineup for this game was just as Xu Xiao thought.

"Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Odom and Garnett."

For the Timberwolves, the starting lineup remains unchanged: "Westbrook, Roy, Josh, Ibaka and Oden."

At the beginning of the game, the Timberwolves took the lead in grabbing the ball.

The players quickly settled down, but this time, Oden went directly to the low post to ask for the ball, and Garnett stepped forward and circled forward to defend.

Westbrook held the ball and called a pick-and-roll. Ibaka's thick body directly blocked Fisher.

Although Odom is not satisfied with his speed, he is not a player who is good at defense after all, and he still can't keep up with Westbrook's rhythm, so he can only let Garnett to supplement the defense.

Under the interference of Odom's pursuit and Garnett's supplementary defense, Westbrook failed to throw in the layup although the arc was raised.

"When you are completely surrounded by the opponent's inside, don't rush to pass the ball, it is easier to make mistakes, if it is not easy to pass, then pass the ball to the basket, because..."

What Xu Xiao said to Westbrook before the game has now been fulfilled.

Because you take away the inside team, your teammates will easily grab the rebound and easily complete the second offensive score.

Seeing this round, Xu Xiao also waved his fist excitedly on the sidelines, not because of the success of tactics, but because of Westbrook's transformation.

Such a tactic has high requirements for the defender, but the sacrifice is great.

First of all, your guard must have a strong impact and be able to attract the opponent's inside defense. In addition, your physical talent must be good, especially the ability to fight, because after the confrontation, you have to knock the opponent's inside and forcibly open the way.

This requires not only a good body, but also a good guard's physical fitness. Coincidentally, the Timberwolves happen to have it, and Bledsoe, who is not only Westbrook's substitute, also meets this requirement.

The second point is also the most difficult. The defender who implements this tactic will have to sacrifice a lot, because this kind of ball will basically not be scored, but teammates will easily grab the rebound and complete the second attack, so in the end it is obvious. The output data is:

The defender takes many shots, and the shooting percentage is extremely low, which will appear very inefficient, but the statistics of the inside players will be very good. It is easy to get 2 points + 1 rebound, and it may end up with a large double-double.

This is also the reason why Xu Xiao shook his fist excitedly, because he succeeded in transforming Westbrook.

In the previous life, Westbrook, people commented on him the most: "Data brush."

Today's Westbrook can completely let go of the data, and is willing to do these dirty jobs for the team to win. Even if the final statistics will be very ugly, but he will not look back. This kind of Westbrook is what he needs most.

While Xu Xiao was still celebrating Westbrook's change, the Timberwolves had already secretly opened the score to 6 points.

It was all about attacking the inside, and Oden didn't go out. As soon as he was in position, he first asked for the ball, consumed Garnett, and then moved out of the way. Westbrook gave Josh and began to attack in turn. His task was to go to the basket to grab the ball. Board, complete the second attack.

The Lakers, who lost three backcourt rebounds in a row, couldn't sit still, and directly began to shrink the inside line to protect the rebounds.

Then Roy found a chance, a 3-pointer plus a 3-point foul, the Timberwolves opened the score to 6 points, and Phil Jackson had to call a timeout.

Xu Xiao is Yangmou. Knowing that you lack a Bynum inside, the tactic is very simple. A one-block catches someone, which is to attack the inside. Even if you don’t score, you have to take your inside away. My center grabs the rebound.

Phil Jackson also saw Xu Xiao's intentions, and he didn't expect that young people like Timberwolves could really be so selfless.

"They are willing to sacrifice everything in order to win. What about you? They are not ready to win at all. They break through again and again, push back again and again, let them grab rebounds on your heads, and then dunk. Show you? Is this the determination to win? If we can’t even defend our own penalty area, what will we use to defend our home field?”

Phil Jack Xu asked the players three soul questions during the timeout.

Back from the timeout, the state of the Lakers has changed significantly.

Although the tactic Xu Xiao designed was for the center to follow up and rush for rebounds, the matter of rebounding, although related to physical strength, was more about attitude and enthusiasm.

After Phil Jackson's hard work, the Lakers rushed to grab the rebounds, which made Xu Xiao's tactics a bit ineffective.

"I didn't expect him to really distrust Bynum. He shouldn't let Bynum play." Although Xu Xiao was a little surprised off the court, he still changed his tactics.

The Lakers have shrunk so much on the inside, so I won't play inside, and I won't go head-to-head with you.

Oden gets the ball at the free throw line, and because he has the ability to shoot, Garnett has to step up and defend.

Josh called Ibaka to an off-ball screen, and also walked in, and met Odom in the low post, and Josh began to arch in with his back.

Oden suddenly went inside, and the Lakers thought the Timberwolves were going to repeat their tricks, so they quickly shrank their defense to prevent him from grabbing rebounds.

In the meantime, Josh waved his hand, and the ball went directly to Westbrook on the outside. No one noticed that Westbrook had already taken advantage of Ibaka's cover and ran to an unguarded position. points hit.

Pa, Xu Xiao slapped his hands hard off the stage, and said to himself:

"Billups' star card fits Westbrook so well."

It’s not over yet. In fact, according to the arrangement of the "Zen Master", the Timberwolves are not good at attacking the Lakers on the defensive end. After all, Odom is the main offense when he comes up. His organization is very important for the Lakers.

But Xu Xiao had already discovered Phil's intentions, and directly used Josh to defend, and Ibaka was used as the second line of defense to sweep and supplement the defense. Artest is not a player who is good at cutting, and his shooting It wasn't what Xu Xiao was worried about.

And with Ibaka's reaction speed, height and long arms, even if he takes two or three steps, he can interfere with his shooting.

As for Josh, he also played at the [-]th position in the Eagles before. With Paul's golf intelligence, it is not impossible to play at the [-]th position. Besides, Odom is not a traditional power forward.

If you meet someone with similar attributes to yourself, but not as strong as yourself, the result can be imagined.

Odom's organization couldn't play out, and in the end the Lakers still fell into individual singles.

Kobe is not so easy to play singles against Westbrook. If it is said in the previous life, then Kobe of this age should be careful when playing against Westbrook at this age, not to mention that Westbrook has a very defensive Billups in his body. Woolen cloth.

As a result, after guiding the ball for a long time, it was discovered that the most stable point for the Lakers in singles turned out to be Garnett vs. Oden.

Although Garnett couldn't hold Oden in the paint, Garnett's footsteps were too nimble. Starting from the free throw line, Oden couldn't keep up with that speed.

The Timberwolves didn't help defense, so they let Oden defend Garnett alone. He knew that Garnett could explode half the game at most, and wither in the second half.

In fact, sometimes tactics are like this. The defensive end makes the opponent uncomfortable, not letting them attack in the most familiar and efficient way they like, but letting them score in a less efficient way.

Make arrangements based on the opponent's strengths. For example, if the opponent is strong inside, use zone defense, and if the shot is accurate, use man-to-man.

Also on the offensive end, find the opponent's defensive weakness, use the method you are most familiar with to attack the opponent's weakness, be as efficient as possible, and find the rhythm you are most familiar with.

The current Timberwolves are playing according to this rhythm.

In the first half, the Timberwolves led the Lakers by 58 points 53 to 5. Although the score was not widened, Garnett scored 53 of the Lakers' 22 points. This is completely different from Phil Jackson's arrangement before the game.

Among them, 11 points were scored by Artest. Xu Xiao deliberately released this point. He needs more forward players to participate in the defense, so he can only interfere with Artest's shots as much as possible. Artest made 5 of 3 three-pointers in the half, which is still acceptable.

In contrast, the main scorer of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant only 7 points, Odom play did not play the effect, only 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers.

In the second half, Xu Xiao continued to use the tactics of the first half, but at this time, Kobe began to exert his strength.

On the offensive end against Westbrook, he forced a 2+1, and on the defensive end he fought for rebounds in the crowd.

Kobe's state reminded Xu Xiao of the tie-break with the Celtics in his previous life 10 years ago, the most exciting and intense tie-break in the 21st century.

The players on the Lakers have become tougher, especially for rebounds. Obviously, this is what Phil Jackson asked the Lakers during the halftime break.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Xu Xiao immediately called a timeout. The Lakers scored 1 points in a row within 5 minute, tying the score.

Then Xu Xiao directly made a bold move, replacing Roy with James Johnson.

Under such a high-intensity confrontation, Roy, who is not dominant in physical confrontation, can't adapt to the intensity of the game. The first two attacks were stagnated or made mistakes by Roy.

James Johnson is also a person with skill cards now. Although Mobley is not a strong player, he also has a guard who averaged 20+ per game in his peak period. on the shot.

This ensures that all five players on the court have the ability to shoot, and at the same time, when defending, physical confrontation will not suffer.

Before, Kobe and Artest took turns taking care of Roy. Artest even relied on his own body to make some big moves on the defensive end. Now let the martial arts master James Johnson match up and see how you bully.

The competition on the field is also heating up, the confrontation between the players is becoming more and more intense, and the movements are somewhat uncontrollable.

"James, next we need your firepower on the offensive end, you need to hit those open shots, take it easy man, you are strong."

Westbrook patted Johnson on the shoulder and said.

Because the previous two opportunities came from Johnson, but he was obviously not confident in his shooting. He dribbled and walked, and made a breakthrough pass error, and was beaten by the Lakers as a counterattack.

That's why Westbrook comforted and encouraged James Johnson like a boss.

Encouraged by Johnson, he did not hesitate in the next round and hit a three-pointer directly from the outside to help the Timberwolves regain the lead again.

For the Lakers, Garnett, who scored 22 points in the first half, seemed to be invisible in the second half. After several missed shots, Oden directly chose to give up on Garnett.

Throughout the third quarter, Garnett made 6 of 1 shots, but this is not his fault. After all, he is really old. It is definitely not enough to let him play like he is 35 years old at 25 years old.

The Timberwolves entered the fourth quarter with a 79-76, 3-point lead.

At this time, it is no longer about tactics, it is completely about the personal ability of the stars.

Kobe asked to play early in the fourth quarter, but since Xu Xiao adjusted the lineup in the second half and asked Josh to defend Kobe, Kobe's physical strength has been exhausted.

After all, Kobe is also 33 years old. Facing a player with a body like James and Paul's defensive skills, he can't bear it.

Forcibly scoring 11 points in a single quarter in the third quarter has greatly consumed Kobe's physical strength.

As soon as the fourth quarter came up, Kobe was hitting the iron.

Just when Xu Xiao was overjoyed and Kobe was about to go up, a whistle suddenly sounded, breaking the fierce competition.

Only Josh's surprised expression was left.

"This ball didn't have any physical contact at all!" Xu Xiao was very dissatisfied, this defense was absolutely clean, even in this fierce competition, it was considered clean.

Next, Ibaka made a particularly beautiful top cap and was fouled again.

But Westbrook broke through and was severely knocked to the ground by Bynum, but the referee ignored it.

"No! We protest, this is a dirty defense." Xu Xiao stood up from the bench and raised his hands like a referee in protest.

"Go back to your seat." The referee just warned coldly.

Westbrook was extremely dissatisfied with the ball just now, and smashed the ball hard like the ground.

"Technical foul, black number 0."

This move directly made the referee give a t.

This made Xu Xiao even more dissatisfied, and it was an output of national essence to the referee.

Fortunately, the referee couldn't understand Chinese, so he didn't let Xu Xiao be punished.

But this also let Xu Xiao know that this must be a "black whistle" intentionally made by the alliance

After all, how could the Los Angeles Lakers be eliminated by Minnesota.

"It's okay, I still have a hole card..."

However, just as Xu Xiao was about to show his cards, there was a sudden riot on the field.

Westbrook was dissatisfied with just now, so he was directly choked by Artest in an attack, and the furious Westbrook pushed Artest away fiercely.

Artest is naturally not a master who will suffer.

Auburn Hills has seen it all, what is this, I still see a small guard like Westbrook, if this is Big Ben, maybe he will bear it.

Artest pushed Westbrook away with a big elbow, and Westbrook's powder keg temper was also ignited, and the two immediately scuffled.

Bynum was also depressed this time, and when he saw a fight, he also rushed forward.

The Timberwolves were originally dissatisfied with the successive penalties. Seeing someone bullying their brother, they absolutely couldn't bear it.

Ibaka and James Johnson, these two people who fought each other on the court in the last life, and they are also the most difficult players in the league in the future, did not expect to fight side by side now.

The two directly turned into Westbrook's left and right guardians, one singled out Bynum, and the other choked Artest and hugged him.

The scene was extremely chaotic for a while, but the two sides quickly calmed down under the force of the Timberwolves.

For the Timberwolves, Westbrook, Josh and Ibaka were all sent off, as were Artest and Bynum of the Lakers.

"Coach, win this game for me!" Westbrook said to Xu Xiao when he left.

"Don't worry, they can't win, whether it's playing or fighting."

After Westbrook and others were sent off, the referee also restrained himself. After all, a fight on such an occasion would already make the league furious. What radical behavior, then this game really can't be justified.

After returning to normal whistleblowing, the Lakers are obviously exhausted.

Although Xu Xiao didn't have Westbrook on his side, Josh had Paul in his body, and the Timberwolves still had no shortage of organization.

The replaced Roy is full of physical strength, and without Artest's bullying, he directly becomes the god of war in the last quarter.

The 3 points in a row in 8 minutes completely extinguished the clarion call of the Lakers' counterattack.