Chapter 642 Is This Bowling in the Penalty Area?

I have been training for several days.

Li Shengli enjoys the convenience brought by the regular season ranking and only needs to wait in Los Angeles.

In addition, the 221 first-round format is still implemented. No matter how the first round goes, the Lakers only need to go to Houston once, and the first round is the most comfortable round.

Until the 23rd.

The Rockets still came, and went to the Lakers' court to train and warm up before the game. There were rumors in the media that Barkley would play with an injury. Although the Rockets officials did not admit or deny it, Li Shengli still smelled it when the two sides came on the court.

Barkley not starting? !

You must know that Barkley did not play in the last 11 games of the regular season. He seemed to have not recovered from his injury after nearly a month of rest, and the Big Three were reduced to two and a half before they even played...

Although Campbell also missed the game, the two are definitely not equal.

Without Campbell, the Lakers are not in trouble, but without Barkley and the Rockets, their problems will become bigger. Of course, how big they will be depends on the fight.

It's just... there was something wrong with the way the Big Three looked at Li Shengli before the game, especially Barkley.

…

The Lakers started with Li Shengli, Big Ben, Kobe, Nick, and Horry.

Rockets starting, Olajuwon, Kevin Willis, Matt Bullard, Matt Maloney, Drexler.

Harris knew what the Rockets' Rudy was thinking early on.

Let Drexler play shooting guard, small forward Brad and point guard Maloney cover the former's offense, while inside are the twin towers of Willis and Olajuwon at 213 to supplement offense, defense and rebounds.

But Harris is not afraid at all, because he still has the big card in his hand.

Not to mention anything else, it was difficult for Willis to perform today. It was like inserting a knife into the Rockets' unchangeable lineup. Even if Barkley stepped up from behind, it would be useless, because Ben became increasingly weak under Li Shengli's forging. Be patient.

…

The game started.

Li Shengli won the jump ball and led the team's attack. In the first round, he screened Kobe from a high position and went down to the basket to take over the rebound. However, Kobe had a good touch and scored the first ball.

Back to the Rockets offense.

Determining the outside-in play style, Brad helped Drexler pick and roll, and Drexler didn't say much. He circled his teammates and shot a 45-degree jumper three steps inside the three-point line. , fight back against Kobe.

After a few exchanges of attacks, the shots were basically from the outside.

On the Lakers side...

Because the Rockets' outside defense is weak, there is no reason not to attack weak points, so Kobe was the main attacker and hit 2 of 4, while Li Shengli and Da Ben cooperated to get a frontcourt rebound and hit the second offense, which is equivalent to 4 offenses. Hit 3, very efficient.

The Rockets on the opposite side were not so lucky.

Drexler hit a ball around the screen at the beginning and then lost two more goals in a row. The fourth ball was taken by Olajuwon. Although he was recuperating from injuries in the regular season, he still worked hard in the playoffs, facing Li Shengli and showing off He used his most accomplished footwork and hit a turnaround jumper.

Pushing into Li Shengli's penalty area?

Olajuwon never thought about it. After all, it would be good to have a stalemate with Li Shengli, who was good at confrontation, but Li Shengli couldn't catch Olajuwon's steps and was beaten.

…

The elderly cheerleaders and members of the uniform team including West and Magic were all sitting on the sidelines. As professionals... they noticed something fishy not long after the game started.

"Olajuwon seems to be in good condition?"

"It's good, but he hasn't reached the level of suppression yet. If Kobe wasn't in such good shape today, if Lee took action, he might not be able to withstand it. After all... he's older."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and West watched the game and said a few words, while Li Shengli and Kobe Bryant have been determined to become the Lakers' internal and external twin stars. If one person performs well, the result will not be too bad.

"Actually, this is okay. Lee can give Kobe very good feedback inside. Ben has defensive pressure on Willis, and we already have an advantage on the rebounds."

Rebounding advantage?

Speaking of rebounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar glanced at Barkley on the Rockets bench.

When the Big Three formed a new team, there was a game in which the three of them had 48 rebounds and Barkley had 33. They simply beat people to death with rebounds. Assuming that Barkley was on the court, the situation would have become more intense, right?

"Are you looking at Barkley?" West smiled.

"You don't need to look at it. If he is here, we may not play this way, but I still believe we still have an advantage!"

"Then let's wait and see. Barkley should also have time."

…

There was no amazing performance, but the Lakers were overwhelming the Rockets.

Because Kobe is in really good shape, Li Shengli is much more relaxed on the offensive end, and he and Ben are the defensive rebounders. This makes Kobe more confident in his shots, forming a virtuous cycle.

As for the Rockets, they are a bit frustrated.

Olajuwon's offense couldn't score, so he could only pull Li Shengli's position and create an air defense in the penalty area. It was not easy for Drexler to hit the penalty area for a layup.

First of all, we have to get past the defensive barrier on the outside. After that, it depends on the face of Ben who comes over to defend.

He wanted to pass the ball to Willis, but Kobe and Nick were both watching. If he was not careful, he would be intercepted. And further outside... Maloney's offensive ability is limited, which means that Brad can rely on his height to get out of position. The good news is that Brad felt good and didn't let the Rockets suffer too much in the first quarter.

The Lakers led by 4 points in the first quarter.

The Lakers also led by 4 points in the second quarter.

In the second half, Rockets head coach Rudy finally put Barkley on the bench, and Harris immediately made substitutions, retaining the two core players Li Shengli and Kobe Bryant, replacing Ben, who had rested for half a quarter in the second quarter, and Crotty as a substitute. Send to the field.

…

As soon as the second half of the game started, the atmosphere on the court changed a bit.

As soon as the Big Three of the Rockets gathered together, the Rockets' offense also heated up. The specific implementation was Olajuwon pulling away Li Shengli. Drexler tried to attack first, attracting defense and then handed it over to Barkley to finish.

However, the prerequisite for attracting supplementary defense is to break the defense.

Crotty couldn't guard against shots due to the height difference, but he had no problem guarding against breakthroughs.

Originally, when Drexler took a shot from the outside, the Lakers should have used the defensive Crotty, but the reason why he never did... Harris was waiting for Barkley.

Hold down Drexler.

Exclude Olajuwon who pulls space.

Harris forced Barkley to attack Ben, and the tactical arrangement worked very well. Barkley had no choice but to fall into the trap, and got entangled with Ben in the low post on the left. Preventing back hitting and crossing your arms is like an old man pushing the cart.

It was supposed to be a good show, but unfortunately Barkley was injured, and not in one place.

The strain on his left ankle was fine, but the laceration on his left pelvis was a big problem. The more he pushed Ben on, the more painful it became, and he still couldn't get in, which made him suspect that Ben was staring at his pelvic injury.

He had no choice but to pass the ball to Olajuwon who came to meet him. He rushed into the penalty area and received Olajuwon's return pass.

Only this time... the Lakers switched defense.

Barkley felt Li Shengli's body temperature outside the penalty area. Unlike Ben, he pushed himself out in a stuck rhythm. But just as he was about to turn over and shoot, Ben rushed up again and Olajuwon was also ready to grab the board.

The chaotic scene was crowded with people.

Li Shengli pressed down Barkley's jumper and the ball bounced.

Ben went to grab the ball, turned around and bumped into Olajuwon, stumbled back and bumped into Barkley who had landed. However, Barkley was already unstable when he landed, so he pounced forward on Li Shengli.

But Li Shengli had just landed on the ground and pushed Barkley back even before he could stand firmly.

Poor Buckley, he sat down on Ben's calf, which was the first to fall to the ground. The whole leg was bone, which caused more damage to his butt than a flat floor.

It hurts!

Buckley cried in pain and felt like his butt was exploding.

And this time... Li Shengli, Ben, and Barkley were all sitting on the ground. Olajuwon, who was on the outside, looked at Barkley in terrible pain, and everyone else was dumbfounded.

…

"What the fuck?! Barkley only played for 20 seconds?"

"You can't rely on big money, right? Three of the four fell. Look, Olajuwon is still standing..."

"I saw it, it was Olajuwon who moved it!!"

"Is this horse playing bowling?"

"Olajuwon hit a 'Big Full'?"

The players and fans outside the court were also stunned. The doctors and nurses rushed to the scene. Barkley was sweating in pain, while Olajuwon was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do. Li Shengli and Ben looked like they had seen a ghost.