The Way of the Center

The Taps Center is a stage with shining stars. There is never a shortage of stars here, from on to off the court.

The first three rows of the Lakers' home court are always full of celebrities or rich people. Beckham, the king of hip-hop, the oil tycoon, the basketball player...Here, you can never treat yourself as a star, because someone who is more famous and richer than you might just sit on yours Beside.

Giardina is also the happiest watching football in this environment. Because only in this group of big names, people will not ask her for an autograph. After all, compared with others, Giardina is still too young in terms of fame and qualifications. Her arrival will not make any waves in the Staples Center.

Giardina, who can watch the ball with peace of mind, has not left the tall No. 16 center of the Thunder from the moment he sits down. Most of the people who come here are to see Kobe. But Giardina is different, she is a fan of the Thunder!

From the warm-up to the end, Giardina did not miss any pictures of Anjie. When people were cheering for Kobe's warm-up appearance, only Giardina was looking at the Thunder's warm-up half.

An Jie actually saw the girl's arrival during the warm-up process, but this was a crucial match, so he didn't say hello to Giardina, everything was to prevent himself from being distracted.

Dedicated to the game, this is the only thing Anjie wants to do.

"Ann! Today you still give me more insides! But after the victory of the last game, the Lakers will definitely strengthen the defense of the inside. Because of your relationship with Westbrook, their defensive lineup will inevitably go The basket shrinks. At this time, Sefrosa and Durant, your opportunity is here! You performed very well in yesterday's training, and I hope your state can be continued to this day." Van Gundy knows West Brook and Anjie’s scoring will not be so easy today, Durant must take on the responsibility of the core of the team.

"Although pass the ball, I won't miss it today." Durant patted Anjie and Westbrook on the back. When they just warmed up, Durant also felt that there was no problem with his hand.

"Also, Morris and Ann, pay attention to the number of fouls. The Lakers' triangle offense will allow you to face players who broke through from the outside many times. Although they were pressed and beaten in the last game, they failed to show this characteristic. , But today, we still can't take it lightly." Van Gundy is not worried that Gasol and Bynum will cause any trouble to his inside line. The person he fears most is Kobe.

On the Lakers side, Phil Jackson didn't say much. It should be arranged, he arranged it yesterday, and also let the players practice it. This group of guys are no longer rookies. They are a member of the championship team. They know how to read the game and how to make changes according to the situation.

The only thing worth worrying about is Kobe's performance. If the generals of the Purple and Gold are in good shape, the Lakers will perform well. If the generals of the Purple and Golden Legion do not play well, the performance of the Lakers will also be greatly affected.

As time passed by one minute and one second, the starting players on both sides also took off their training uniforms and stood in two different halves.

Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Gasol and Bynum, the Lakers' triangle remains the same.

Westbrook, Sefrosa, Durant, Morris and Anjie, the third youngest of the Thunder are also eager to try.

Everyone is staring at their opponents, and the last competition made the two groups of people forge a beam. They were all waiting for the moment when the whistle sounded, using the most brutal and effective means to kill the opponent.

The referee also stopped the conversation between Anjie and Bynum before dropping the ball. Before the game started, the mouths of these two guys started fighting.

At the beginning of the game, Anjie still got the basketball first.

After a day of adjustment, the Los Angeles Lakers will definitely be different. One day, for a team of the same level as the Lakers, is enough to refresh them.

The Thunder's first offense hit a wall in Westbrook's failed breakthrough.

The defensive position of the Lakers really did not exceed Van Gundy's expectations, shrinking very severely, the purpose is to stifle Westbrook's impact and Anjie's inside singles.

When Westbrook borrowed An Jie's pick-and-roll to break through, he realized that he was literally smashing into the crowd.

As soon as one foot stepped into the three-second zone, three or four arms were swiping in front of Westbrook's eyes. Looking back, the route to divide the ball was also blocked. Westbrook had no choice but to withstand the interference of Fischer and Artest, and the result was known.

After getting the ball, the Lakers still controlled the rhythm by Fischer. When Kobe ran to the designated spot, he passed the ball without hesitation.

As soon as Kobe catches the ball, the Staples Center seems to be ignited, and the cheers immediately doubled.

Giardina was mixed among these crazy cheering people, but he was cheering for Anjie in his heart.

Kobe held Sefolosa with one hand and cautiously patted the ball with the other. Suddenly, with an acceleration, Kobe shook off Sefrosa a step away.

For a scorer like Kobe, the distance of one step is enough for him to use it. Seeing the Swiss chasing after him, Kobe suddenly stopped and turned around. When Sefrosa saw this, he immediately braked and took off and blocked the shot.

Unexpectedly, Kobe's "turn around" was nothing more than a shoulder-shake action. Kobe easily lied to Sefolosa and turned over to make a jumper.

After scoring, Kobe shook his head following the cheering rhythm of the fans. In this game, he was in just right shape!

But just a few tens of seconds later, Durant used a precise shot from outside the three-point line to regain the confidence of the Thunder fans. The shrinking defense of the Lakers allows Durant to calmly complete his shots. How good is the black Mamba? Our scoring leader is also not bad!

After that, the Thunder and the Lakers came and went, playing inextricably. It is true that Kobe and Durant are in better condition, but under the full defense of both sides, the offensive pressure of other players has become greater than in the previous game. Therefore, the performance of others is simply a copy of Kobe and Durant the day before yesterday!

For the Lakers, only Kobe and Gasol played normally. For the Thunder, Westbrook's breakthrough is now useless, and Sefrosa's shot is not accurate today. Morris? With such a tight contraction defense, the big bull who is not good at offense is even more unable to start.

The Thunder, now only Anjie and Durant, can still provoke the mainstay.

In this case, the coaches of both sides will definitely let the players on their bench play early, so as not to waste opportunities for players who are not in good shape.

However, what Van Gundy and Phil Jackson did not expect was that the players on their bench did not perform as expected. At most, it can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

In fact, the reason for this situation is not because other people are in bad condition, but because it is really difficult for other people to make a difference under this kind of super-intensity defense. It can be seen that the coaches of both sides have spent a lot of thought on defense.

The first quarter of the game also finished 12 minutes in this high-driving low-going situation, 22 to 26, the Thunder temporarily trailed the Lakers by four points.

After seeing the strength of the Thunder, Los Angeles fans will not cheer for the four-point advantage of this district. They haven't forgotten that in the last game, the Lakers took a number of leads, but in the end they lost. For the Thunder, the four-point advantage is far from enough!

During the break, Spike Lee raised the camera and frantically shot all the scenes of Kobe in the audience. He is working hard for Kobe's next documentary. And the playoffs, it can highlight a most realistic Kobe.

Although Spike Lee is a big fan of the New York Knicks, this has not hindered his appreciation of Kobe. In addition, all the stars have become ordinary fans at this moment, they shouted crazy and stomped their feet. In Staples, no matter how big you are, you can only be reduced to a supporting role. Because the owner here is the guy wearing the No. 24 shirt.

Giardina was distracted by the noisy environment here, and she has become an outlier in this audience. When everyone else was sighing, she was cheering. When others were cheering, she looked unhappy.

Kobe's performance in the first quarter was really good, 10 points in a single quarter, allowing him to make up for the problem of his teammates' low shooting rate. But now you can't see a slight smile on Kobe's face, because Durant and Anjie also scored eight points in a single quarter.

The game entered the second quarter, and the situation did not change in the slightest. Artest and Fischer got several open shot opportunities, and Kobe also shared the ball in time. However, the open shots of these two guys were all knocked out. Although Fischer was already well-oiled, his offense was not better than that of the past under the high-intensity defense.

Seeing that Westbrook couldn't break through the Lakers' defense, he also put his shot on the outside. However, it is not easy to make a shot on the inside, and shooting on the outside is not easy.

Fischer was afraid of Westbrook's breakthrough, but not afraid of his shooting. This experienced guy knows when to interfere with shooting the most appropriate time.

In the second quarter, the Lakers and Thunder hoped to enrich their offense, but all ended in failure. It wasn't until Durant made a mid-range shot after receiving Anjie's pass that the scoring drought on both sides was finally broken.

It seems that the next game will not be much different from the first quarter.

After Durant opened, Anjie also began to chisel inside according to Van Gundy's arrangement. I have to say that Morris's ability to contain is getting stronger now. When he is on the court, Anjie can generally play singles with Bynum calmly. Gasol on the side wanted to come over to protect the penalty area, but Morris often refused to let him succeed.

Relying on Morris's efforts, the Lakers' twin towers have been dismantled into two separate parts. Gasol and Bynum can't take care of each other on the defensive end.

Had it not been for the Lakers' overall lineup to shrink too much, Anjie would have more offensive opportunities.

55 to 53, the leading team at the end of the second quarter became the Thunder, but the advantage was only two points.

At the end of halftime, Van Gundy and Zen Master talked a lot in the locker room. However, the effect of the tactics depends on the execution and play of the players. In this regard, the head coach can do nothing.

In the third quarter, Van Gundy drew a lot of tactics for other Thunder players, but the effect was not very satisfactory. He knows that it is very difficult for Anjie and Durant to win the game, and the facts have proved that the Thunder's offensive efficiency will be greatly reduced when both of them are off the court.

But what Van Gundy didn't expect was that the Lakers still didn't adjust. With the exception of Shannon Brown's slight improvement, others still presented a symphony of iron strikes for the fans.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the situation in this game will not change much. As expected. Until the last minute of the game, the rhythm was exactly the same as in the first quarter.

Today Bynum got more outings than the last game, but he was not sure. Under Anjie's defense, he only hit 3 goals in 10 shots. This shooting percentage is absolutely unqualified even if it is placed on perimeter players, not to mention that Bynum is an offensive center.

Even Bynum's shooting rate has become like this, let alone the others. Sefrossa made 2 of 7 shots and Odom made 2 of 9 shots... This game really promoted personal heroism.

The singles of Kobe and Gasol are the most efficient way for the Lakers to score, and the singles of Durant and Anjie on the other side are the same for the Thunder.

In 45 seconds, Durant missed a mid-range shot. But at the moment, the Thunder are still two points ahead ~www.NovelMTL.com~91.

In 30 seconds, Kobe's breakthrough caused Anjie's third personal foul. But the Black Mamba, who was on the free throw line, made a rare error. Two free throws were only made, 93 to 92. The Lakers were still one point behind the other side.

For 20 seconds, Anjie sat in the penalty area and wrestled with Bynum. A frustrated game has left Bynum with no confidence, An Jie easily hit the hook on the head of this black guy, and the Thunder once again widened the score gap to three points.

The Staples Center is dead at the moment. The last offense, even if Kobe can hit it, the Lakers will have to play overtime with the Thunder. However, Kobe, whose stamina has dropped and his shooting percentage has been unstable, really may not be able to pull the Lakers back from the edge of the cliff.

Is it really going to happen? Will the rare and powerful Zijin Legion lose two games in a row at their home court?

To be honest, many people gave up, including Bynum, including Odom, including the batch of Lakers fans who left early.

But Kobe didn't, his eyes were still focused. The black mamba’s fangs are about to inject deadly venom into the Thunder at this moment...(To be continued.)