Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

“It’s still only a 5-point difference.”

"Both sides were very strong and the fight was very intense."

"I thought the Warriors fell behind in the first quarter because they couldn't make three-pointers, but now it seems that's not the case. Curry shot a lot of three-pointers in this quarter, but the Warriors still couldn't gain the upper hand. The Lakers have really become much stronger."

In a blink of an eye, the first half was over.

The fans in the audience gathered in groups of three or four, discussing the first half of the game.

In the first quarter, the Warriors were unable to make three-pointers and fell behind in the score. However, in the second quarter, Curry was almost shooting three-pointers like crazy and the Warriors' offense was also very good, but the Lakers were still ahead in the score.

This came as a surprise to many people.

Of course, the Lakers' lead was not much, just 5 points.

At the same time, in the locker room.

A group of Warriors have returned to the locker room, where they were also discussing the game. Naturally, they were not satisfied with the first half of the game.

Just then, Coach Kerr walked in.

He clapped his hands and waited for the players to look at him before saying, "The first half is over and the Lakers are still leading. This is not luck. We have to admit that the Lakers are much stronger than last season. We must face this and re-evaluate our opponents."

The players were slightly shocked and exchanged glances with each other. They had not seen Coach Kerr look so fearful for a long time.

Coach Kerr's expression and tone showed that he thought the Lakers were strong enough to threaten them.

But do the Lakers really have the ability to threaten them?

Some players still didn't take it seriously. It was just a game, not to mention that the game was only halfway played. The Lakers performed well, but they were only leading by a few points.

What does it count?

Coach Kerr continued: "Next, we have to treat this game as a preview of the playoffs, or even a preview of the Western Conference Finals."

A group of players looked at each other, is it really that serious?

It would be fine to treat it as a playoff preview, but the coach treats it as a preview of the Western Conference Finals. Does the coach think the Lakers can make it to the Western Conference Finals?

The Warriors players are full of confidence that they can advance to the Western Conference Finals because they are so strong. They feel that it will not be difficult to advance to not only the Eastern Conference Finals but also the Finals. Maybe there will only be some trouble in the Finals.

As for the Lakers...why?

Why do they?

Taking in the players' expressions, Coach Kerr put his hands on his hips and shook his head, once again emphasizing: "We must go all out, understand?"

"Don't underestimate your opponent."

Upon hearing this, a group of players responded and said they would not underestimate their opponents.

However, they still did not listen to the coach's advice to give it their all and treat it as a preview of the Western Conference Finals.

Soon, the break is over.

The players left the locker room, and Coach Kerr walked behind them. The assistant coach beside him frowned and whispered, "Coach, it seems that the players didn't listen to what you just said."

"I know." Coach Kerr said, "Perhaps, only after they lose will they realize that the Lakers are no longer the Lakers they used to be."

The assistant coach was shocked: "You mean, we will lose?"

He was a little bit unconvinced. He admitted that the Lakers were very strong now, but the score difference was only 5 points and the game was only halfway played. The third quarter was the Warriors' strong point. They would always explode in the third quarter and often even take the game away with one wave in the third quarter.

How could the coach think he would lose?

Coach Kerr smiled and said to himself, "Sometimes losing is not a bad thing. Setbacks can make people stay humble, right?"

When Kobe had not retired yet, the Lakers eliminated the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

It’s just that after Durant joined the Warriors last season, the Warriors became unprecedentedly strong, and they played too easily last season.

The regular season was easy, the playoffs were easy, and even the finals were easy... This made some Warriors players start to feel inflated and think that they were the only geniuses.

Looking across the entire league, there is no rival!

In fact, Coach Kerr discovered this problem a few months ago.

This is not a good thing, so Coach Kerr doesn't think it may be a bad thing if the Lakers can beat them today.

The Warriors need a strong opponent.

Just like a lion, if there is no male lion around who can compete with it and it dominates alone, it will become lazy until it forgets the smell of danger.

When a strong lion suddenly breaks into its territory one day, the lion king who has become lazy may not face another peak, but failure.

But in the lion's world, failure means exile or even death!

The same is true in the NBA.

Although this highly developed business alliance has introduced various rules and measures to maintain balance, there is only one champion.

So the law of the jungle still applies, the winner takes all!

......

The second half begins.

Entering the third quarter, both teams fielded their main players. The Lakers still fielded their starting lineup, while the Warriors did not field Pachulia but instead sent out Iguodala.

Even though Coach Kerr had a feeling that they might lose today's game, he would not do nothing and just watch the team lose.

A qualified coach will not change because of what the players think.

Coach Kerr follows his own principles. In games where he is not unable to catch up, he will try his best to help the team win.

So he did not start in the lineup, but instead sent out a "small five lineup".

"Hey, the Warriors actually played a small lineup."

"This is not surprising. It can be seen from the first half that the Warriors' starting lineup actually has no advantage on the defensive end. Pachulia is no match for Lopez. If he can't defend Lopez, there is no point for him to be on the court. Switching to a five-small lineup will indeed be a disadvantage in the interior, but it will further play to the Warriors' advantages on the offensive end."

"That's right. The Lakers' defense is better than the Warriors'. Coach Kerr must understand this, so we can't compete with the Lakers in defense, we can only compete in offense."

Fans were a little surprised to see the Warriors field a "five-small lineup".

However, there were some fans who understood football and quickly saw the mystery.

At the same time, the on-site commentator also analyzed this and, like some fans, believed that the Warriors wanted to unleash their offensive firepower and win the game through offense.

......

on the field.

Lakers offense.

Zhuang Yu came to the front court, asked Holiday for the ball, and then broke through. After a series of changes in direction, he suddenly accelerated and passed Clay by half a body. Clay quickly turned sideways and pressed his body against Zhuang Yu, but Zhuang Yu suddenly slowed down and took the initiative to fight back.

A huge force hit him, and Clay cried out inwardly, "Oh no!" He couldn't help but take a step back. Zhuang Yu took the opportunity to speed up again, leaving Clay completely behind.

Draymond Green hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward to help defend, while Zhuang Yu threw the ball with one hand and made an alley-oop pass, assisting Lopez to dunk.

"really......"

Draymond Green was a little depressed. He knew that he would miss someone if he went up to defend, and at this time there was no one in this five-small lineup who could defend the inside.

Once someone is missed in the inside, it means losing points.

There is nothing that can be done about it, and it is also the drawback of this "five-small lineup", but it doesn't matter as long as we can fight back on the offensive end.

The Lakers retreated.

Zhuang Yu returned to his own half and shouted to his teammates, "Defend better, especially the three-pointer. Kyle, you need to switch defense quickly."

Several people responded.

As long as the defense is good and the Warriors' offense is limited, the Warriors' "five-small lineup" will be just that.

......

Coming to the frontcourt, Curry quickly passed the ball and then ran.

At the same time, several Warriors players were running, continuously interspersing, screening, pick-and-roll...Finally Curry returned to the three-point line to receive the ball.

But at this moment, Zhuang Yu suddenly pounced on him.

Holiday was blocked, Zhuang Yu switched defense, Curry frowned slightly, but did not delay, and immediately passed the ball to Klay. Klay took the ball and immediately jumped, but Anderson had already rushed over, jumped up, and interfered with Klay's shot. The basketball bounced out of the rim and Lopez received the rebound.

The Lakers counterattacked and Holiday advanced to the frontcourt. Zhuang Yu made a gesture to Holiday, indicating him not to be anxious. The opponent used a small lineup and they would fight a positional battle.

When the rhythm slowed down, Zhuang Yu made another breakthrough.

This time the Warriors tightened their defense and no longer relied solely on Draymond Green for backup. Zhuang Yu chuckled and passed the ball to Holiday, then walked outside the three-point line to pull away from the defense. Holiday then made a ground pass to Lopez in the low post.

Attacking the inside again.

This time Draymond Green fouled, sending Lopez to the free throw line, and Lopez made both free throws, and the difference between the two sides became 9 points.

"The offense has to score."

Curry said to himself and exchanged glances with Durant.

When he reached the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Green, then directed his teammates to move quickly. Several players successively screened for Durant, allowing Durant to get rid of Zhuang Yu. After the defense switched, he received the ball and made a jump shot, which hit the target and prevented the score difference from being further widened.

But no matter how the Warriors played, the Lakers were never in a hurry. They always fought a positional battle, slowed down the tempo, and tried to push the ball into the interior as much as possible.

The problem with the "five-small lineup" is not just that Draymond Green, the power forward, has to play the power forward position, but also the overall height deficiency.

When the Lakers broke through and attacked the basket, they were not tall enough to protect the rim, so not only did Lopez score points one after another, but Zhuang Yu and Holiday also broke through, and Anderson made open cuts... Once they rushed into the three-second zone, it was difficult for the Warriors to stop them from scoring.

After a few minutes, the Warriors players were depressed to find that the "five-small lineup" that had always been successful was no longer effective.

In the past, in the third quarter, the Warriors could rely on the "five-small lineup" to launch a sharp offense and win the game in one wave, but today they suffered a Waterloo.