Chapter 1406 1405. The Most Luxurious Inside Line in History

Barnes made both free throws, and the Lakers reversed the score to 4-3.

From the beginning of the game, the Lakers showed an overwhelming inside advantage.

Although the Lakers' record is not as good as the Mavericks and the Cavaliers, when they face off, the Lakers have more advantages against these two teams and win more times.

The problem with the Lakers is that their lineup is tall, and the physical impact is greater than most teams. They can't always maintain dominance in the regular season. Their strength lies in the three highs, and the reason that affects their regular season record is also the three highs. There are many opponents who are not strong but explode in the game, and the Zen Master will not fight hard.

Another thing is their "aristocratic disease". With such a strong lineup, they often fall behind by a large score at the beginning and only catch up in the third quarter.

But it's different against the Hawks. The Lakers will not be stingy with their physical strength and go all out.

Facing the Hawks, a team that has defeated them twice in the finals in the past three years, even if the Hawks' current record and team lineup are not as good as the Lakers, the Lakers will not be stupid enough to underestimate them.

The Hawks did a lot of research and preparation on the Lakers. The Lakers did the same. They studied almost all of the Hawks' games this season during the All-Star Weekend. Moreover, the Lakers spent more time studying than the Hawks. The Lakers, who have always been the losers, obviously have a stronger desire to defeat their opponents.

The Lakers have a clear strategy. The first goal is not to give the Hawks a chance to hold on to the score and not to stalemate with the Hawks.

In the 20 days before the All-Star Weekend, in the Hawks' 14 games, all opponents who played to a stalemate with the Hawks eventually lost to the Hawks.

The Hawks, who have Liu Mang, McGrady, Jason Terry, Blake, Battier, and now Grant Hill, are particularly outstanding at critical moments.

Of course, the Lakers themselves have Kobe, Yao Ming, Fisher, and Gasol, so they are not afraid of playing key balls.

But no one can predict such things as key balls. With an advantage in the lineup, the Lakers will certainly try to avoid entering that stage.

The Hawks obviously have a clear advantage on the outside. Kobe is not inferior to McGrady or even Liu Mang. Fisher and Barnes can play a role in opening up space, but Kobe can only deal with one of Liu Mang and McGrady on the offensive end, and... can't defend either of them. Just like the Hawks can't limit Kobe well without Prince, the Hawks have a big advantage on the outside.

But inside...

The Lakers have an absolute advantage!

Except for the inside combination of Garnett and Ben Wallace or the inside combination of Duncan and a meat shield to limit the combination of drugs, other teams can't stop these two monsters at all.

Unlike the game between the Hawks and the Bulls, the Hawks played against the Lakers, and the scene was very good. Yao Ming's strong shot, Kobe's shot after the 24-second violation, Liu Mang's sometimes wretched and sometimes tough singles, McGrady's cut-in pass...

After 5 minutes in the first quarter, with Gasol's mid-range shot after receiving Yao Ming's pass, the Hawks were 5 points behind 11 to 16. Just like the last match, the Hawks were completely at a disadvantage at the beginning.

Shooting from the outside is inferior to the efficient singles from the inside.

The main problem is Rondo. Today, just like the game against the Bulls, his performance was very poor, which limited Liu Mang and McGrady's ability to attack the basket. Rondo himself did not play well in attacking the basket, forcing the Hawks to rely on Liu Mang, McGrady, and Marion to shoot from the outside, and in turn, the Lakers scored 16 points in 5 minutes.

Yao Ming made 3 of 3 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 8 points, 2 assists, and 2 blocks!

…

"If that big guy changes teams, he can score 25 or 26 points per game like O'Neal!" McGrady complained.

"I think so." Liu Mang agreed with McGrady's evaluation. In the original time and space, Yao Ming and McGrady partnered together this season and averaged 25 points per game... If he changed to a bad team and didn't have such a good helper as McGrady, he would probably score more... Of course, Liu Mang thinks it is possible that he will be reimbursed earlier.

Originally, Liu Mang expected Rondo to bring some different changes, and Coach Kruger also expected it.

But youth... is the original sin!

Rondo is too young and was played around by the cunning 96-generation guards. The two guards on the opposite side are both old hands in their eleventh year of professional career.

Coach Kruger analyzed the initial problem and felt that space is the most important!

Small ball play requires space. With Rondo on the court, the space problem is too big.

"We can only let Ace control the ball." Coach Kruger made a decision. He estimated that the opponent's twin towers would start to change, so he began to make tactical adjustments.

...

After the timeout, the Hawks sent out Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Battier, David Lee, and Kwame Brown.

The three Hawks could not play all of them. Coach Kruger was not worried about Liu Mang's physical fitness, but the combination of McGrady and Jason Terry had many problems, and Kwame Brown had to continue to play. Yao Ming went down, and Gasol still needed him to deal with him.

Hollins was demoted to the Development League due to the arrival of new players. With Mark Jackson, Gortat, who has performed poorly recently, was also temporarily demoted to the Development League for training. He was recalled after the rest period after the Lakers.

The Lakers...the inside line was too luxurious. Yao Ming and Fisher were replaced by the luxurious combination of Odom, Kobe, Solomon Jones, Wang Zhizhi, and Gasol.

Without Yao Ming, this lineup still looks tough.

The Hawks are attacking, Liu Mang receives the serve in the frontcourt, and is not in a hurry to shoot. Although they are five points behind, it is only the first quarter. As long as the score difference is not too exaggerated, there is still a chance to play.

For this lineup, the main problem is on the defensive end.

However, unexpectedly, when Liu Mang pushed beyond the three-point line and Jason Terry pulled away, the defensive player Liu Mang encountered was not Kobe, but Odom.

"Ding... Absolutely all-round trigger, can guarantee the level in any position, from Lamar Odom."

"Lamar Odom, ability rating 88..."

I looked at the ability rating. Although Odom is very serious, it is still very different from the state of concentration.

It was a very easy breakthrough. Liu Mang changed direction and left Odom, whose speed rating was only 88, behind him and rushed into the inside. Sure enough, Jones immediately came to defend. Liu Mang jumped up, completely attracted the double team, and passed the ball to Battier who ran to the right corner. Battier received the ball and made a three-pointer...

It went in!

When role players were needed to score and help share the pressure on the core players, Battier completed the task very well!