Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 826 826 524

?Chapter 826: 524 Chapter 826: 524 This suffocating turn lasted nearly 30 seconds.

After missing the offensive opportunity, James stood up and complained to the referee, believing that Gee indeed committed a foul.

This incident had no further follow-up, as the referees tonight were very strict with their calls, judging through their on-the-spot sensations.

If it went beyond that degree, it was a foul; if not, it wasn’t.

After winning the ball, Gee punched the air and roared in triumph, the events that had unfolded since the start of the game made this seemingly insignificant league figure’s impact exceed his wildest dreams.

“Can you hold against Artest?”

Fei asked before Gee threw the ball in.

Gee couldn’t guarantee it but said, “I’ll fight tooth and nail to hold him off.”

“You have no advantage over him, but there’s one thing…” Fei said, “he doesn’t like to move much on defense, but on offense, it’s quite the contrary.”

Then, Fei dribbled to the frontcourt and targeted Pau Gasol for attack again.

Having learned from earlier experiences, the Lakers knew they had to protect the Spaniard as much as possible, so they had Artest come out to defend the pick-and-roll.

Artest switched defense with James, but Fei had no intention of initiating a play and instead waved for a pick-and-roll, which was unusual for Gee, who was temporarily matched against Pau Gasol.

Because of Gee’s unstable shooting, Pau Gasol stayed contentedly at the free throw line, then Fei suddenly drove to the left of the free throw line, using a hand gesture suggesting a catch-and-shoot to shake Pau Gasol, and squeezed past the Spaniard’s defense to slam dunk and score.

“Marc Gasol is the defensive pillar of the Lakers Team,” Jeff Van Gundy said, “but in these few turns, Frye has made him look like a defect in defense.”

“The Carnival Basketball that George Karl and Frye ran in Milwaukee completely changed the face of the basketball game. There is a belief that traditional big men like Marc, who lack the ability to quickly switch defense against guards and forwards, will be rapidly phased out. But great traditional big men like Yao and Marc have adapted to the evolution of time; they have shed weight so they could barely keep up with the rhythm of contemporary basketball and developed outside shots to fit into the new era. But can barely keeping up with the rhythm prove their defense can handle someone like Frye, who excels in unlimited one-on-ones?”

Now, experts were no longer focused on how many points Fei scored.

This was the biggest difference from the last game.

When you score 59 points but your team loses by nearly 30 points, no matter how you gloss it over, it’s meaningless. And a truly effective offense only needs a few turns to hit the opponent’s weak spot.

Phil Jackson, unnoticed, had already stood up from his spot and was discussing countermeasures with his assistant coaches.

Meanwhile, on the court, the Lakers players had also found some clues to the Supersonics’ indiscriminate switching defense strategy.

If they were going to play an unlimited switching defense, then among the five players on the court, there were bound to be strengths and weaknesses on the defensive end. If the strong ones were too hard to attack, then targeting the weak ones would suffice.

The Lakers had two targets, one was Durant, who wasn’t tough enough, and the other was Gee, who was tough enough but lacked in other areas.

Kobe came to the top of the arc to receive the ball, and like James, he chose the easiest dish to devour—Alonzo Gee.

Compared to James, Kobe might not simply bulldoze through his defense in one step, but the opponent’s combination of techniques was too good.

In less than two seconds, Gee, who had been accustomed to James’s straightforward and aggressive drives, was tricked by Kobe, which resulted in Gee’s third personal foul.

Kobe even managed to adjust his posture after being fouled and, with an awkward shooting form, hit a shot that swirled around the rim and dropped through the net.

Coach Lu immediately substituted Livingston for Gee.

Kobe made the additional free throw.

With Gee off the court, the power forward position needed redistribution.

Durant intended to take over, but as soon as he crossed the halfway line, Fei was already by Artest’s side.

Livingston dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Fei immediately went out to get the ball, then, once again, called for the center to set a pick-and-roll.

The cat-and-mouse game began.

The Lakers were determined to hide Pau Gasol, so they had James switch defenses. Fei called for a pick-and-roll again; this time, it was Kobe who came out. After switching positions for the third time and calling for a pick-and-roll, the Lakers, out of switching options, had to bring Pau Gasol to the forefront.

Kobe let Livingston go, intending to double-team closely.

Suddenly, Fei passed the ball to Livingston, who took one dribble and made a free-throw line jump shot, scoring.

Kobe looked displeased, and Fei didn’t miss the chance to flash him an ironic smile before getting back on defense.

How much effort must you put in to protect someone who shouldn’t need your protection?

Just when the Lakers on the court were unsure of how to defend, the Zen Master blew a whistle from off-court and beckoned everyone to look at him.

“Attack the inside!” the Zen Master instructed, “let Marc attack their paint area!”

This was somewhat a stalling tactic.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a solution to the problem.

Because the Lakers couldn’t let Pau Gasol play inside every turn, but Fei could indeed call out Pau Gasol’s name every turn.

Once the Lakers spread out on the perimeter and James lobbed the ball to Pau Gasol, Fei prepared to help defend.

Unexpectedly, Pau Gasol had already positioned himself excellently beforehand and was in a place ready to receive the ball for an attack.

As soon as the ball was in place, Pau Gasol scored with a big hook shot off the backboard.

In this process, Chris Bosh appeared somewhat weak, but this was the difference in strength between the power forward and center positions, like a fight between boxers of different weight classes.

“If all else fails, try fronting him on defense.”

This suggestion came from Livingston.

Fei agreed, but would Chris Bosh agree?