Chapter 622 [Being Beaten Like a Son]

The first game of the Western Conference Finals was broadcast live in many countries.

Lakers starting lineup: Lou Williams, Iguodala, Posey, Odom, Yao Ming.

Millsap came on the bench. The Lakers and the Mavericks played 4 games in the regular season. Millsap was always blown out against Nowitzki. There was only one game where Nowitzki scored less than 30 points, and that game was Odom's game. Defend, Yao Ming assists in defense near the penalty area.

This year Nowitzki has started to focus on "Golden Rooster Independent" jump shots. He turns around and leans back a lot. Millsap, who suffers from a height disadvantage, cannot block shots, and neither can Odom. He can interfere with his height and wingspan.

Mavericks starting lineup: Kidd, Antoine White, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, Gasol.

The two sides fought for the ball, and Yao Ming hit Gasol with a bounce of about 50cm, and the Lakers attacked first.

Gasol just raised his toes. When talking about his jumping ability, perhaps the word "bounce" shouldn't be used, because even Jin Mailang instant noodles can bounce better than him...

He is too fat, with a height of 216cm and a weight of nearly 130kg. He is the third among active players in the NBA, second only to the "Baby Shark" Eddie Curry of the Rockets who cannot play and cannot be sold, and because of fat problems "Shark" O'Neal, who almost killed coach Riley.

Xiaojia is still white and does not have the explosiveness of black people. In high school, he was nicknamed "Big Taco".

Posey passed to Lu Wei, and Yao Ming pulled him outside the three-point line to pick and roll him, helping him get rid of the slower Kidd.

Lu Wei took a step to the left and made an emergency stop to shoot a three-pointer. Gasol couldn't switch defenders in time and could only slightly interfere with Lu Wei's shot. Lu Wei's shot was a little stronger and bounced out of the frame. Nowitzki retreated to grab it. On to the rebound.

The Mavericks attack, the Lakers mix defense.

Gasol and Yao Ming play the same way, pulling out to the middle to pick and roll for Kidd. Nowadays, almost all centers in the league with shooting ability will play this way, cutting after the screen, catching and shooting, or relying on their height advantage to provide support from the high post.

Lu Wei specializes in dealing with Kidd, chasing him when encountering pick-and-rolls. There is no need to consider switching to guard the inside. If you switch to him, you can't guard him. Yao Ming and Gasol keep two steps apart, which can block Kidd's breakthrough route and can also prevent inside cuts in time.

The 36-year-old Kidd has trouble averaging double figures per game. Unless the opportunity is particularly good, he will not choose a jump shot. His breakthrough ability has greatly declined, and he is caught up by defenders after a slight hesitation.

Kidd distributes the ball to the middle, which makes Gasol even more uncomfortable. Yao Ming can interfere with shooting. He has no advantage in cutting to the low post. If he supports in the high post, the opponent's height can also block the line of sight.

Gasol couldn't pass the ball to the baseline, so he had to wait for teammates on the side to respond and passed it to Josh Howard. The latter singled out Iguodala, but failed to break through and then passed to Nowitzki.

Nowitzki leaned against Odom twice, turned towards the baseline and shot a fadeaway jumper, which missed the basket due to interference. Yao Ming retreated and grabbed the rebound.

Odom is the Lakers' best defender against Nowitzki. He can neither get passed nor interfere. This season, Odom has not yet met Khloe Kardashian, who is an outstanding second-rate star.

Yao Ming passed the ball to Iguodala, who rushed forward with the ball. Under Howard's defense, he passed the ball to Lu Wei in the middle.

Lu Wei took the ball and took one step to change direction. Without any fake moves, he moved to the left and passed Kidd with speed. Just after the game started, Kidd did not foul anyone, and Lu Wei went up to the basketball and scored. 2 to 0.

Zhang Lili shouted: "It's so beautiful! Lu Wei is so fast! How dare you play by yourself! Kidd is afraid of such speedy guards."

Yu Jia said: "In this year's playoffs, the two guards Lu Wei and Xiao Bu exploded, completely pushing Gibson to the bench. As soon as Yao Ming was pulled out, they always found a way to break through."

When the Mavericks attack, Gasol can only quickly move after receiving the ball, and then wait for opportunities in the middle.

Yao Ming followed Yang Rui's arrangement to restrict Garfield and not help deal with Nowitzki, in order to concentrate the Mavericks' scoring points. Nowitzki's offense with the ball is not terrible. As long as he doesn't lead his teammates, he can score 40 points in a game by shooting two points, and his shooting rate may not reach 50%.

His dominance is not as good as O'Neal's back then.

Of course, Yang Rui would not let Nowitzki easily single out. He went to the right, and Iguodala on the bottom line let go of Howard and double-teamed with Odom.

Nowitzki took advantage of the situation and passed the ball to Howard in the bottom corner. One of the Mavericks' weaknesses was revealed, which was the swingman's three-point ability. Howard's open jump shot missed the basket, and the rebound was grabbed by Yao Ming.

Howard is one of the Mavericks' trident. He averaged 32 minutes per game during the regular season, scoring 18 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals. He shot 45.1% from the field, 34.5% from the three-point range, and 78.2% from the free throw line.

He averaged 3.2 shots per game during the regular season and made 1.1 three-pointers, which was barely qualified. Entering the playoffs, his three-point shooting percentage dropped to 25%, averaging only 0.8 hits in 3.2 attempts per game. The team needs him to shoot three-pointers, but he can't do it well.

White, the other swingman, is not much better. He shot 30.2% from the field during the regular season and scored 0.7 goals in 2.3 attempts. The playoffs were slightly better, with 0.8 hits per 2.1 shots and a 38.1% hit rate, which was too few shots.

After four seasons of running in, the Lakers players' defensive end is not just about positioning. They will help each other by rotating positions and assisting in defense. In particular, Iguodala and Posey did a very good job.

The Mavericks returned to defense, and the Lakers fell into position. Posey opened 70 degrees on the left, Iguodala was in the right corner, Odom went 70 degrees on the right, and Lu Wei and Yao Ming played pick-and-rolls in the middle.

One tactic worked, and the Lakers kept fighting. Yao Ming helped Lu Wei get rid of Kidd.

The Mavericks have been eliminated by the Lakers for several consecutive seasons and will no longer use zone defense to deal with them. Nowitzki defends Odom. Gasol must follow him when encountering pick-and-rolls. Lou Williams has become his nightmare.

Lu Wei changed direction from the left, passed Gasol with his speed, and quickly hit the basketball and scored. 4 to 0.

The Mavericks attacked, Gasol cut through after a pick-and-roll, and Yao Ming defended well.

Kidd passed the ball to Gasol. The latter leaned against Yao Ming in the middle, turned around and threw the ball wide due to interference. Yao Ming immediately turned around and got stuck, relying on his height to win the backcourt rebound.

The Lakers attacked, and Yao Ming stood outside the three-point line after the pick-and-roll. Lu Wei brought it to 45 degrees, attracting Gasol to change defense and Kidd to pursue the defense, and passed the ball to the center.

Yao Ming received the ball in an open position and took a slight jump shot. He was well prepared and in perfect rhythm, and the ball hit the net hollowly. 7 to 0.

The boos from the Mavericks home fans could not affect Yao Ming's touch. After four years of practice, he has become more and more confident in his position.

The Mavericks attacked. Gasol also received a pass from Kidd after the pick-and-roll. He shot a high jumper but missed it due to Yao's interference. Odom protected the rebound and passed it to the defender nearby. Yao made a fast break.

Lu Wei passed the ball to Iguodala, who took it to the three-point line and lobbed it to Yao Ming, who wanted the ball at 50 degrees on the right. Yao Ming held the ball in a one-on-one challenge, leaned against Gasol with his back, turned toward the baseline and hooked, dodged the block, and hit the rebound. 9 to 0.

Zhang Lijia shouted: "Yao Ming is too strong, he scored another one, it's so easy for him to take care of the rookie Gasol!"

Yang Rui also stood on the sidelines, applauding Yao Ming together with the substitute players.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Yao Ming was at a disadvantage compared with other centers. His direct dialogue data was completely blown up, and he was turned into a scumbag when he compared honors.

Gasol had a lot of honors in his previous life. He was an Olympic runner-up and a European Championship champion internationally. He reached the Western Conference Finals with the Grizzlies, won the Best Defensive Player Award, and was selected to the All-NBA Team.

But watching the game, Gasol is clearly a weakened version of Yao Ming. Including defense, he is extremely slow and cannot jump. He can only act as a human shield near the penalty area. He averages 15 points per game and more rebounds per game. There are no more than 8 year-round. One-on-one, he was beaten like a son by Yao Ming.