If he were the only player on the team, Kobe would try every means to score one-on-one, but with Wei Guo on the team, things became much simpler.
Wei Guoshun...
Kobe raised the ball above his head, faked a shot, and bounced it off the ground to pass to Weiguo, who was cutting to the basket. Weiguo caught the ball and launched a floater!
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew.
The referee pointed at Garnett, pulled down on his right wrist with his left hand, indicating that Garnett had committed a foul. The call was correct, and Garnett did not argue with the referee. Wei Guo had already entered the three-second zone and his floater was over 80% accurate. Just like when he was defending other inside players, he subconsciously reached out and grabbed Wei Guo.
The throw missed...
Wei Guo stepped to the free-throw line, his tone accusatory, and said, "Kevin, don't you know my free-throw percentage is close to 100%? What's the point of me committing fouls?"
"Oh..."
Garnett shrugged. "Let's get those two balls into the basket first."
Shaquille O'Neal once had 39 free throw attempts in a single game during the 2000 NBA Finals, setting a league playoff record for free throws in a single game. In comparison, Wei Guo rarely had more than 20 free throw attempts in a single game. The main reason is that opponents would not intentionally foul Wei Guo, as sending him to the free throw line would be tantamount to giving him points.
"Whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh!!!"
Both free throws went in cleanly.
2-0!!!
The Lakers took an early lead.
Rivers stood with his arms crossed, quietly watching the game. In this kind of game, tactics were no longer so important; it was all about the will to win. Only a strong will to win could unleash the greatest potential. Rivers kept encouraging the players, telling them that they could only win if they weren't afraid of failure.
It was just bad luck...
If they had assembled a Big Three last season and faced the Trail Blazers, who at that time only had Wei Guo, they might have actually won a championship trophy.
......
The Celtics were on offense, and Garnett made a tough one-on-one move under the basket, drawing a foul from Bynum as well.
Not only that...
After drawing the foul, Garnett looked at Bynum with a defiant gaze. If the rules allowed, he probably would have poked Bynum in the chest with his index finger and said, "What kind of class do you think you are, daring to guard me?"
Bynum was provoked by the look in his eyes.
Paul noticed Bynum's displeasure, walked over to Bynum, patted Bynum's big butt, and said, "Good defense... foul when you should, he's not like Guardiola, his free throw percentage is very low."
Garnett, "!!!"
As an inside player, having an 80% free throw percentage is something to be proud of. However, Garnett couldn't refute Paul's statement. Compared to Wei Guo, his free throw percentage was really low. Perhaps influenced by Paul's sarcastic remark, Garnett only made one of two free throws.
Wei Guo grabbed the defensive rebound.
The Celtics' quick defensive transition prevented the Lakers from launching fast breaks, and Kobe got tangled up with Pierce while boxing out!
Paul dribbles the ball...
The Celtics' defense was extremely aggressive, and all five Lakers players were tied up. The best thing to do was to pass the ball to Wei Guo and let him take the shot one-on-one. Wei Guo guessed Paul's intentions, got rid of Garnett, ran to Paul's side to receive the ball, changed direction and spun past Garnett, and drove to the basket in two steps!
Pierce and Perkins quickly blocked the three-second zone!
Rondo had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Go defend Kobe! Weiguo, pass the ball!"
With Wei Guo's ability, even with Pierce and Perkins under the basket, he had a 70% chance of putting the ball in the basket. However, Kobe, who was left out, quickly retreated to the corner... This was the tacit understanding between him and Wei Guo. After Wei Guo jumped, he made a behind-the-back no-look pass and sent the ball to Kobe's hands.
A pull-up jumper!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
Kobe's three-point shooting percentage wasn't high because he was always targeted by specific defenses. Not everyone can do what Wei Guo did, where even the greatest defensive pressure wouldn't affect his shooting touch. If he was completely open, Kobe's three-pointers could be deadly.
5:1!!!
The Lakers lead by 4 points.
......
The Celtics' defensive pressure was intense, but they still couldn't stop the Lakers from scoring.
Popovich once said that Wei Guo is more difficult to deal with when he passes the ball than when he plays one-on-one. There is only one reason why Wei Guo doesn't pass the ball: his teammates are no longer reliable, so he can only keep playing one-on-one. When his teammates have scoring opportunities and are in a good shooting touch, Wei Guo is more willing to pass the ball than to score.
This is different from Nash's...
Nash was too keen on passing the ball; even when he had a one-on-one opportunity, he would still try to help his teammates score.
Rivers called the timeout. He didn't grab the clipboard; he just had the players surround him and instructed them, "If we can't stop the Lakers from scoring, we'll score more points than them. The Lakers won't double-team, so we'll go one-on-one... Pierce, I believe in you!"
Lakers bench.
Gentry praised the player's performance and wanted to say a few more words, but Wei Guo interrupted, "Pierce wants to go one-on-one, Kobe...it's up to you now."
Kobe asked, "How did you know Pierce was going to go one-on-one?"
"The reasoning is very simple..."
Wei Guo smiled mysteriously, "I won't explain it. You'll see when you go on stage later."
"Then you guys need to focus on help defense and prevent Pierce from scoring."
Gentry reminded him.
"Need not!"
Kobe shook his index finger, "I'm not as good as Wei Ge on defense, but I'm still on the All-Defensive Team. Trying to beat me one-on-one isn't that easy!"
To put it bluntly...
Even if Wei Guo had guessed Rivers' tactics, it wouldn't have been a well-intentioned scheme... Rivers wanted to tell the whole world that he wanted Pierce to go one-on-one against Kobe, and given Kobe's pride, he would absolutely not allow his teammates to come up and help defend.
......
Timeout over, game resumes!
Rondo dribbled the ball across half-court and directed his teammates to make runs. Perkins set an off-ball screen for Pierce to get rid of Kobe and receive the ball. However, Kobe reacted quickly, bypassing Perkins and blocking Pierce again.
Gentry, who was watching the show with a spectator's mentality, also stood up.
Pierce's stance... is clearly aimed at one-on-one against Kobe. Known as an offensive kaleidoscope, Pierce's offensive capabilities are absolutely not to be underestimated.
If offensive kaleidoscopes had levels, Pierce would be at least A-level. There are many offensive kaleidoscopes in the league, and there are some better than Pierce, but not many... Anthony could be considered S-level, and Kobe would be SS-level. As for higher-level players... then there are only two left: Jordan at SSS level, and Wei Guo at the infinite level.
Pierce dribbled the ball slowly...
He suddenly accelerated as he approached Kobe, changed direction to dribble and shift Kobe's center of gravity, then suddenly stopped and pulled up for a three-pointer.
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