Superstar Athletes’ Black Tech Systems

Stephen Jackson came with a mission in this game.

This Lake Horse battle has been highly valued by Popovich.

In fact, before the start of the season, Popovich was not particularly optimistic about the Lakers.

I think when the Lakers robbed Gasol back then, Popovich was furious and complained loudly to the media, thinking that the Lakers violated the rules, this was robbery, and the league should investigate.

Sure enough, the Lakers who got Gasol rose rapidly, and in 2008 they pressed the Spurs to the ground and rubbed them.

This summer, after the Lakers exchanged for Nash and Howard, Popovich was quite calm and did not express his views on this "robbery" transaction.

It stands to reason that the Spurs have been dormant for four or five years since 2008, and they have slowed down step by step and started to hit the championship again.

And their old opponents, the Lakers, rebuilt their super lineup by robbing the inside after the core was aging. Popovich should be furious.

As a result, it was very quiet and nothing was said.

The reason is simple. As the master of the ball, Popovich doesn't think the Lakers that have been put together in this way will have any combat effectiveness.

But Popovich, who has rarely lost sight of his life, made a mistake this time. The Lakers started the season with seven consecutive victories, and there was a faint feeling of standing in front of the Spurs again and being a stumbling block.

In the last few days before the start of the season, it was so easy to see the Thunder self-destruct the Great Wall. Popovich was secretly happy in his heart.

Unexpectedly, the Lakers really played well. My ineffective apprentice, Mike Brown, stumbled and went undefeated.

After carefully studying the tapes of several Lakers games, Popovich immediately discovered the key.

In the somewhat messy lineup of the Lakers, there is one eyeball that has played an important role, and that is the No. 28 rookie, Bruce Lee.

It was he who made up the loopholes in the Lakers' dilapidated perimeter defense, he used three-pointers to expand the Lakers' offensive space, and he provided young and enthusiastic firepower, injecting fresh blood into this gorgeous old zombie.

The Spurs actually did the same thing last year. They targeted San Diego State University’s Kawhien Leonard, and traded the hard-earned George Hill for the No. 15 pick from the Pacers. small forward.

This is a move carefully designed by Popovich and the Spurs, which is related to the success of the Spurs' rise and fall for many years to come.

Why did the Lakers do the same thing? And the price is terribly low, and the effect is surprisingly fast.

Was it luck for the Lakers, or did Kupchak do it on purpose? Popovich didn't even know where this kid came from.

Duncan has been watching TWC TV's "Behind the Scenes of the Lakers" program these days, and he's watching it with gusto, and he's almost becoming a fan of Bruce Lee.

What is this called?

So in today's game, at the pre-match preparation meeting, Popovich specifically asked Stephen Jackson to take care of this young man on the defensive end.

Jackson has been in the league for more than ten years, won the championship in the Spurs, beat the fans in the Pacers, and played in the Warriors and the Mavericks. His basketball career is colorful and worthwhile.

Late in his career, when a regular-season game was ordered to specifically target a rookie on the opposite side, Jackson felt a little lost.

Opposite him is his old friend Ron Artest—no, it’s called Charity World Peace now. It is said that he likes this kid very much. stand up.

Regardless, Jackson still followed Popovich's instructions and started to face Li Liang after the timeout ended.

At the beginning, Li Liang didn't feel much. The Spurs' offense, Parker rushed to the basket and was taken by Howard with a nail plate.

Then the Lakers counterattacked, and Du Hong advanced with the ball and went all the way to the inside from the left, attracting most of the Spurs' defensive attention.

Kobe was completely empty on the perimeter, 45 degrees to the right, and no one was watching him.

Du Hong made a big oblique pass, and after Kobe received the ball, he made an open shot from outside the three-point line!

Go in! A solid batch!

At 21:14, the point difference widened to 7 points.

For this shot, Li Liang stood at the top of the arc, and Jackson had a chance to defend Kobe.

But he would rather stare at Li Liang than make up for Kobe, which made Li Liang vigilant.

"Could it be that my defensive appeal is already stronger than Kobe's?" Li Liang was still beautiful.

Don't be complacent, you are being targeted!

Then, the Spurs missed another attack, and the Lakers also missed the counterattack. During the counterattack of the Spurs, Parker went straight to the basket and made a layup.

Li Liang followed and ran back and forth twice. Obviously, the offensive rhythm was slowly driven by the Spurs.

Gasol missed a turnaround jumper from a zero angle because Howard had to always finish the offense with a jumper in the paint.

It was Parker's counterattack with the ball again, and after making a fake pick-and-roll with Duncan, he easily hit a mid-range corner.

At 18:21, the Spurs pulled the point difference in.

Li Liang was very dissatisfied with the team's offensive rhythm following the Spurs, and yelled at Kobe: "Slow down, why are you running around?"

Jackson, who was sticking to Li Liang, was a little confused, what's going on, how dare this kid yell at Kobe?

But Kobe didn't reply, he really dribbled the ball slowly across the half court, and then passed the ball to Li Liang at the top of the arc, and the Lakers played a position to attack.

Jackson studied Li Liang's video before the game and knew that he didn't have the ability to attack with the ball, so he directly defended against him.

In a horse step, the half of the body is straightened up, the hands are stretched back, and the torso is pushed against Li Liang's torso.

This is the most annoying personal defense method in one-on-one defense. It compresses the ball holder's space and makes people very uncomfortable.

Li Liang didn't expect to be treated like this, so he had to pass the ball back to Kobe.

Gasol suddenly went to the outside line, received a pass from Kobe, and shot at a 45-degree mid-range shot.

The Spurs put it directly, but the goal was scored, and Popovich called a timeout.

The Spurs lineup was slightly adjusted, replacing Duncan and Parker, replacing Blair and Neal, and played the last two minutes of the first quarter.

After the timeout, Li Liang found that he was really being targeted, and Jackson never left him.

This is the same strategy as the Spurs used Leonard to stare at Li Liang in the summer league. Knowing that he doesn't have the ability to attack with the ball is to always put someone in front of you.

And the Lakers are not the kind of team that is good at running empty-handed and double-covering inside continuously, and can use tactics to give shooters space to run.

The Lakers have always used the defensive appeal of superstars to create space for shooters after attracting double-teams.

In this game, the Spurs did not double-team either Kobe or Howard, and only assisted in defense when necessary.

Not only did Li Liang have no chance to shoot a three-pointer, but when he wanted to hold the ball at the top of the arc, Jackson came up to defend him, making Li Liang very uncomfortable.

After playing for more than three minutes, Li Liang did nothing but pick up a rebound on the defensive end.

Li Liang soon realized that it was going to be a tough game for him.

The performance of role players often relies on the pressure of the core of the team.

When the core players withstand the pressure, they can give the role players room to play.

Therefore, a role player scoring 20 points in a game has a different meaning than a core player scoring 20 points.

Role players tend to take fewer shots, but if you swap the positions of the two, the result is absolutely different.

Li Liang's performance in the first few games was more or less based on Kobe's strong defensive appeal and the opponent's contempt for him.

In this game, the seasoned Spurs and Popovich began to pay attention to Li Liang's point and gave Li Liang eye drops.

Not only this game, but as the Lakers win more and more attention, Li Liang's reputation becomes more and more, and more and more people study him, he will be targeted more and more .

But would Li Liang be afraid?

I'm afraid of a hammer!

It doesn't matter if you don't shoot three-pointers close to the body, so the defensive end is equivalent to abolishing a defense point.

Then, Li Liang can still play his value on the defensive end.

Many players, especially those who have improved slightly offensively, once the offense goes bad in a certain game, it will affect the mood of the defensive end.

But Li Liang wouldn't, he was very calm.

In the last minute of the first quarter, the two sides fought against each other.

Bryant missed a jumper, Hill grabbed an offensive rebound and still missed a tip-up, and Diaw got a backboard.

At this time, Dior is no longer the slender French magician of the Suns, but a fat No. 4.

It may be called a magician, and they will all take this path in the end.

But Dior did not lose his skill. After getting the rebound and seeing Jackson in the frontcourt, Dior made a precise long pass!

The ball was about to pass to Jackson, but Li Liang jumped up and intercepted the ball in the air!

Finally got the ball again!

In the first quarter, Brown was urged to let himself appear on the court, but he didn't touch the ball much, let alone shoot.

Kobe beckoned to Li Liang to pass the ball to him. There was not much time left in the first quarter, and there were still more than 30 seconds to play one quickly. After the Spurs finished, they could play one more.

As a result, Li Liang ignored him, there was nothing in front of him, and he dribbled the ball for half the court.

Li Liang's dribble was a bit trembling. In fact, if he was in a normal state, his dribble would blow away most amateur players.

But in the NBA stadium, even if there is no one in front of you, the pressure is great.

Having the ball in your hands means that the core and focus of the court is on you, and opponents, teammates, and spectators are all staring at you.

You have to think about what to do next, guard against every move of your opponent, and observe and direct your teammates' next move.

Therefore, a simple ball control is by no means as simple as a few dribbles.

If Li Liang doesn't pass it on, of course he has his own ideas.

At this time, the positions of the two sides on the field were very scattered. After halftime, they noticed that the basket was empty.

George Hill was on the flank of the paint, a good chance, but Diaw blocked the front.

It doesn't matter, I have confidence.

Activate the skill, [Johnson's one shot into the soul]!

Li Liang felt as if special power had been poured into his arms, and his palms and arms suddenly became more controllable over the ball.

He leaned forward with his whole body and gave the ball a super push with one hand, and the ball flew straight towards Dior with a strong spin!

Dio was terrified and felt the ball flying towards his crotch.

That's right, the ball really flew towards Dior's crotch, and then hit the ground and passed directly through Dior's crotch!

It hit Jordan Hill behind him.

There was no one under the basket, and Hill caught the ball and dunked with both hands!

This wonderful pass made the whole Staples explode!

What's this?

This is Magic Johnson's classic ultra-long-distance ground throw pass during the show time period of the 1980s. It is the iconic classic lens of the gorgeous Lakers.

The audience cheered non-stop, and the TV camera showed Johnson who was watching the game from the sidelines.

Johnson stood up from the stool and applauded Li Liang's goal.

Li Liang was not immersed in this wonderful pass, but shouted loudly: "Defend! Defend! Keep an eye on your men!"

Sure enough, the Spurs immediately launched a quick counterattack, trying to catch the Lakers by surprise.

But Li Liang was prepared. He delayed Neal's advance on the line, and then the Lakers' defense returned to the position, and the Spurs' counterattack intention failed.

In the end, both offenses missed, and the first quarter ended. The Lakers ended the first quarter with 25:20, leading the Spurs by 5 points.

Popovich scratched his head, he had a bad feeling.