Chapter 1126: Defending Against Kobe

In the Suns' position battle, Li Ba moved to the low position and Dayao moved to the high position. This change gave Phil Jackson off the court the urge to curse.

Kobe was also dumbfounded. Should he continue to guard against the Hammer, or should he switch to guarding Dayao and let Duncan defend the Hammer in the low post?

At this time, the ball was in Dayao's hands, and Duncan could only continue to defend Dayao, leaving Kobe to defend Li Ba in the low post.

Dayao passed the ball in, and Li Ba grabbed the ball with one hand and smashed it into the basket. Kobe could only stare from below.

4:3, the Suns lead.

"Hahaha... The Suns have two super centers, what should the Lakers do?" Barkley burst out laughing in the live broadcast booth.

The Lakers served and Phil Jackson asked for a timeout.

"Hammer, you and I have always been on the outside, what does it mean for you to run to the basket?" Kobe shouted angrily at Li Ba as he walked to the bench.

Li Ba chuckled and said, "Wouldn't it be better for you to try being a center forward?"

"Take the big against the small, Hammer, I underestimated your bottom line." Kobe said dissatisfied.

"What's the bottom line?" Li Ba asked in surprise.

"..." Kobe was speechless.

After the players sat down, Phil Jackson said: "On the defensive end, you must pay attention to the rhythm of switching defenses. Kevin, you switch to guard Yao. Tim, you guard the basket. Ron, you switch to defense easily. We let Tony Allen go. Kobe, you double-team the ball handler."

The timeout ends, the game begins, and the Lakers attack.

After pulling away, Duncan singled out Dayao in the low post.

"Tony, including low down."

Seeing Duncan asking for the ball in the low post on the left wing, Li Ba immediately shouted inside the three-point line on the right wing.

"yes."

Tony Allen quickly dropped Artest and turned towards Duncan.

Parker passed to Artest who was left open, and the latter made a mid-range shot.

4:5, the Lakers lead by one point.

"Artest felt the humiliation from the Suns. He worked hard and hit a ball." Barkley explained in a teasing tone.

"Charles, do you think Artest can blow up the Suns?" Kenny Smith asked.

"It's possible, if he had thirty shots, but did he? No, no, he probably didn't even have ten," Barkley said.

"Haha..." Kenny Smith laughed.

The Suns attack.

On the offensive end, Li Ba still played in the low post, Dayao moved up to the high post, and the Arab League moved to the flank.

Just like the Suns let Artest go, Tony Allen was also let go, and then Ginobili was double-teamed.

"Tony Allen should feel ashamed. He was left open. Ginobili, who was double-teamed, didn't give him the ball." Barkley complained.

With Kenny Smith laughing, Ginobili tossed the ball toward the rim before being double-teamed.

At the basket, Li Ba challenged Duncan, but the latter couldn't hold it and was stuck behind him. At this time, the former caught the ball, stood up instantly, and smashed the basket like a tyrannosaurus. The latter could only shake his head and couldn't keep up. Li Ba's rising speed.

Kenny Smith said with a smile: "This is the reason why Ginobili doesn't pass the ball to Tony Allen, because it's not necessary. Duncan's single defense can only be said to be first-class, not top-notch, not to mention he is old and can't stand alone at the basket." Pick, the hammer wins for sure.”

Barkley sighed at this time: "There is no one in the league. In terms of center, O'Neal is too old. Apart from the Hammers, the only ones left are Howard and Yao. Now the Suns have two super centers. They have an advantage inside."

"It's no wonder the Suns, Yao is on the shelf and no one cares about it." Kenny Smith said.

Barkley said at this time: "We once said that the Hammers still have up to three years of peak period. Do you think that after his peak period, the league will officially enter the small ball era?"

"It's possible that the three-point shots this season have improved compared to last season. If you look at the Magic, they have the most powerful super center besides the Hammers in Howard. If you look at their shots, they are all outside." Kenny Smith said.

The Lakers attacked, and Artest once again got open, took another shot, and hit again.

By the 9th minute of the first quarter, Artest made 4 of 6 shots and scored 8 points.

But the Lakers did not lead, falling behind by 5 points at 25:20.

The reason for falling behind is because the Suns' offensive efficiency is higher than that of the Lakers.

Li Ba beat Duncan in the low post. It wasn't that Duncan's defense was not good, but that he really couldn't handle it.

Duncan now plays completely based on his skills and experience. When playing other inside positions, his performance is the same as 20 plus 10. However, he can't defend Li Ba. Flexible, how to prevent it?

The Suns focused on low-post offense and also controlled offensive rebounds. On the defensive rebounds, although Li Ba defended Kobe on the outside, there were Dayao and Tony Allen who double-teamed Duncan on the inside. The two teamed up to grab more rebounds. Also surpassed Duncan.

Offensive efficiency coupled with the guarantee of rebounds, this is why the Suns lead.

In the next three minutes, the Suns replaced Dayao and Arab League and replaced Gasol and Diaw.

The Lakers also made substitutions. Duncan left, but Garnett was still there.

Garnett didn't perform well because all his shots were taken away by Artest. Now that Duncan is gone, he plays the fifth position and doesn't get much advantage against Gasol.

After one quarter, 32:24, the Suns led by 8 points.

Zhang Lianda said: "The Hammers made 6 of 6 shots in a single quarter, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 1 foul. Dayao made 3 of 5 shots, 4 of 4 free throws, and won 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, this performance is really good!”

Yu Jia said: "Dayao's playing time should be able to increase by a few minutes. He can play 25 minutes."

Xu Jicheng said: "The playoffs should add some time, and I think it's okay for the regular season."

In the second quarter, the Suns used all substitutes, and Li Ba sat off the court.

The Lakers' two biggest insiders were always sitting off the court, with Kobe and Parker taking turns leading the team on the court.

At halftime, 52:52, the Lakers equalized the score.

In the second half, Dayao came on for half a quarter and then came off.

With Dayao's dismissal, the Suns' scoring ability weakened, but the team immediately increased its defensive intensity. At the end of the third quarter, 85:70, the Suns once again led by 15 points.

Li Ba played 5*5 in the third quarter, with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls.

Kobe's face was dark. In the third quarter, he controlled the ball, but was blocked by Li Ba. He intercepted 2 balls and blocked 2 more. He made 1 of 8 shots and made 5 turnovers in a single quarter. His performance was outstanding. very bad.

"Look, I'm right, right? Artest can't have that much ball rights, and it's useless to be open. Give him the ball. Why are the three giants watching? Do you think there are 20,000 Staples fans? Are they here to see Artest? No, they are here to see the performances of superstars. The NBA is all about watching the performances of superstars. If you want to see role players, it is better to go to the streets. Duncan will be booed if he shoots too much at Staples. Not to mention Artest?”

Buckley laughed teasingly.

Kenny Smith shook his head and laughed: "Charles, you are right."