The Godfather of Basketball

If he had a choice, Tang Tian didn't want to face the Lakers in the first round, especially if Kobe was not reimbursed for the same season as in his previous life.

But since he had no choice, all he could do was defeat his opponent.

"Age is the biggest disadvantage of this Lakers team, but experience is also their biggest advantage. I think we can use speed to run down opponents, just like Don did in the Rockets and Cavaliers before, but at the same time we have to be in control. We did a good job of making mistakes, otherwise we would have been passive."

Stevens has been in the NBA for a season. It is interesting to say that in addition to his own understanding of basketball, he will also study the tactical systems of other coaches. Among them, Tang Tian has studied or studied the most. I moved out directly at the regular meeting in a while.

The teaching assistants, including Wharton, nodded one after another. There was nothing wrong with what Stevens said.

Tang Tian realized that he had nothing to add. He realized that if Stevens became the head coach, he would do even better than he did in his previous life.

After the regular meeting was over, Tang Tian led the team members to do the final mobilization before the game.

"Forget what happened between us and our opponents in the regular season, and put all our attention on the next game. Our opponents will be stronger, more resilient, and more difficult than we imagined. We are facing the last Nash, and even the last Kobe, they will not give up easily like other opponents, they will do everything to win the game, but...

So do we.

We reached the finals last year, we are only one step away from the championship, now we have become stronger and more tenacious, our goal is the championship, this is the only goal, no matter what we face in the end, Whoever is the last to face, we will defeat them. "

"OKC."

After Tang Tian finished speaking, he stretched out his hand.

"champion!"

The members of the Thunder team are young, and the effect of the chicken soup is also 200%. This injection will double the effect.

On April 21, the playoffs of the 2012~2013 season officially kicked off.

The Cavaliers and Eagles in the East, the Pacers and Nets, the Clippers and Grizzlies in the West, and the Nuggets and Warriors took the lead.

The Cavaliers finally beat the Eagles 108 to 83. If they play normally, their only opponent in the East is the Heat.

The Pacers and Clippers also defeated their opponents and won their first home wins.

The only upset in the four-group series was the Warriors. Although they were sixth in the Western Conference, they played more points against the civilian Nuggets. In the end, they beat their opponents 131 to 117, and they are very likely to complete the "black six".

The first day of the game came to an end, and the Thunder finally ushered in the season opener on the second day.

This group of first-round matchups, which attracted the most attention, naturally attracted unlimited media attention.

In the series predictions given by ESPN, 40% of fans believe that the Lakers can win the series, which is the second most likely among all matchups, second only to the Warriors' 55%.

Before the game, the reporters also interviewed the core players of both sides one by one to maximize the heat of the game.

"We don't care about predictions, nor do we care about anything off the court. Our attention is only on the court, and we have only one goal, to win this round of the series." As the core of the Lakers, Kobe told reporters made a final statement.

Nash was faltering and Gasol was old and feeble. Without Tang Tian's open eyes, Kobe could feel that this might be the last playoff game of his career.

The Chesapeake Energy arena was full of seats, and the fans wore blue T-shirts distributed by the arena, pushing the atmosphere of the entire arena to a climax.

Tang Tian had felt the madness of this small city arena as a challenger before, but now as the coach of the home team, he felt it even more strongly.

This definitely has a 120% bonus effect for the young Thunder.

Amidst the loud cheers of the fans at the scene, the starting players of both sides appeared one after another.

For the Lakers, Nash, Kobe, Gasol, and Howard all started, plus Artest.

For the Thunder, Tang Tian still let Harden play the role of substitute, and the starting five were Westbrook, Kidd, Durant, Diaw and Ibaka.

Howard jumped over Ibaka and gave the Lakers the opportunity to take the lead.

Nash advanced the ball to the frontcourt, and then handed the ball to the high Gasol organization.

As the season deepens and runs in, the biggest change for the Lakers is the change in organizational focus, from Nash to Gasol.

Gasol's high-post support, Kobe and Nash began to use Howard and Artest's pick-and-roll to make short cuts and run back, playing off the ball.

Kobe came out, Gasol passed the ball with a tacit understanding, Kobe caught the ball and shot directly.

"Shua!"

Bryant's first shot was securely bagged.

It can be seen from the running and shooting rhythm that he has made a lot of preparations for the series, and he feels very good on the court.

"Russell, watch out for the pick-and-roll." Tang Tian stood up and reminded Westbrook.

The pick-and-roll quality of the players on the Lakers, except Gasol, is relatively average. The Thunder's strategy is not to change when they encounter a pick-and-roll. Westbrook is facing Kobe. Compared with Harden and Du Rand, his ability on the defensive end is obviously stronger.

With the Thunder's frontcourt offense and Kidd's organization, Durant ran back to get a chance, but his first shot after receiving the ball was a bit wide.

Howard took the defensive rebound, Nash took the ball to the frontcourt, and then handed the ball to Gasol to organize.

With the same tactic, Westbrook successfully squeezed past Kobe this time, and Kobe didn't have a chance to make a direct shot after receiving the ball again. Without the ball, it became with the ball.

Nash wanted to go over to meet him, but Kobe signaled him to go back.

Kobe lowered his focus and directly chose to hit Westbrook with his back.

Westbrook is in good physical condition and stands against Kobe, but after Kobe hits twice, he turns around and walks towards the baseline. When he sees that Durant is about to help defend, he goes straight to the baseline and shoots back.

Westbrook threw out the interference, his hands almost covering his face.

"Shua!"

Kobe's fadeaway still throws the ball into the basket.

There was a commotion at the scene.

He made two shots in a row in the opening game. This is Kobe who is about to be 35 years old!

It seems that what he said before the game must be more than words.

The Thunder's offense advanced to the frontcourt, and Westbrook came out to pick up Kidd's mid-range pull-up, and the home team opened the pot.

Looking back, Kobe felt like he was playing. He didn't run without the ball in the frontcourt, and asked Nash for the ball directly. After his teammates pulled away, he changed direction and squeezed past Westbrook at full speed to the basket.

Westbrook sped up to keep up, using his speed to regain his defensive position.

Kobe made an emergency stop one meter below the basket, Westbrook jumped up, and the two confronted each other in the air.

Kobe leaned back and made a folded shot after the confrontation.

"Shua!"

"beep!"

The goal was scored, and the referee's whistle sounded.

This is still a 2+1!

Kobe reached out and clenched his fists after landing.

There was a commotion among the fans at the scene, is Kobe still the same Kobe?