The Bulls' bench was also in an uproar. Thibodeau sat there looking calm, but his clenched fists betrayed him.

After abandoning the conventional style of playing with one big and four small players, he faced a lot of pressure because there were only two true power forwards in the Bulls' lineup, O'Neal Jr. and Taj Gibson.

Gibson still needs to grow. If O'Neal Jr. is not up to the task, the Bulls will inevitably struggle and may even have to solve the problem through trades. That is obviously not a good option for the Bulls, who already lack tacit understanding.

The Lakers' offense, Gasol moved to the free throw line to support the offense.

Kobe cut to the basket, but Gasol didn't have a good passing angle.

Allen is very good at off-ball defense.

Seeing this, Gasol suddenly started and broke through O'Neal with the ball.

His footwork was very beautiful, but O'Neal was very focused tonight. He noticed his intention at the first time and followed him closely.

Gasol showed off his flexibility with a big hook shot on the move.

This is also his specialty, but O'Neal Jr. used his long arms to interfere with his shooting angle at the moment he shot.

"when!"

The basketball finally hit the rim and bounced out, and O'Neal Jr. turned around and grabbed the rebound.

The Bulls bench was boiling again.

O'Neal's performance was completely different from the past few games.

Sure enough, for the old guys, playing basketball requires a motivation, and starting is the biggest motivation for O'Neal Jr. tonight.

This change is very important to the Bulls, because if the power forward position is not at a disadvantage, then the biggest problem that caused the Bulls to lose streak in the past will be solved, and their chances of beating the Lakers tonight will suddenly increase.

In the Bulls' position, Rose and Yao Ming played a pick-and-roll. Yao Ming broke the pick-and-roll and went down, receiving the pass from Rose and slamming it directly over Fisher's head.

The Bulls started the game with consecutive dunks, which was very impressive.

Seeing this, Kobe knew that this way of playing wouldn't work. When Gasol held the ball in the high post on the strong side, he took the initiative to move from the weak side to the strong side, and then cut into the basket through Gasol's "back door."

This is also one of the ways to play the triangle tactics, which depends a lot on the tacit understanding between the two players.

It is obvious that Ko and his wife have a great understanding of each other.

While Gasol was passing the ball, he immediately set up a screen and blocked Allen.

Kobe accelerated past O'Neal and went straight to the basket.

O'Neal's size made it difficult for him to catch up to Kobe.

However, just as Kobe was about to perform a "Peter Pan"-style flying dunk, Yao Ming had already retreated to the basket.

Facing Kobe's action, Yao Ming held his strength and stretched out his hand.

"Bang!"

After a battle of aerial power, Yao Ming directly fanned Kobe's dunk and sent him flying out of the court!

After blocking the shot, Yao Ming waved his fist excitedly.

The Lakers also extended an olive branch to him this summer, but he ultimately did not choose to go to the Lakers.

The main reason is not the contract, but that the Rockets have been defeated by the Lakers for two consecutive years. It is difficult for him to join the Lakers under such circumstances.

It is precisely because of this that he still holds back his energy even after changing teams to play against the Lakers.

In the Lakers' frontcourt ball, Kobe ran and caught the ball and shot, but he was unable to completely get rid of Allen and the shot still hit the rim and went out.

Yao Ming protected the defensive rebound and the Bulls quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

Rose and Xu Yong faced Kobe one on two in the front court.

When breaking through to the front free throw line, Rose diverted Kobe's attention and passed the ball to Xu Yong.

However, Kobe used the puppy footwork very well and turned around quickly to face Xu Yong again.

The space was too small to pass the ball, and the distance to the basket was too close to change direction without slowing down. In desperation, Xu Yong dribbled the ball behind his back to avoid Kobe's defense, then jumped into the air and turned around to smash the ball into the basket.gif.

Kobe had no time to stop it and could only watch Xu Yong complete the fast break after showing off his skills in front of him.

The scene was in great turmoil.

The competitiveness displayed by the Bulls at the beginning did not look like a team that had just suffered a losing streak.

Kobe's expression at this time looked more complicated.

Because the action Xu Yong just did was the same thing he had done when he was young and wearing jersey number 8.

Including the ball that was blocked by Yao Ming before, he once dunked over Yao Ming with the same opportunity when he was No. 8.

This made him sigh and admit that even though he worked hard to improve his skills, his physical functions had inevitably begun to decline.

It is not shameful to admit that you are old. Living in the past will only hurt the team. Only by facing the reality can you make the right choice in the game.

In the Lakers' turn, Kobe started to hold the ball.

But he didn't do his signature pull-away move like he had in the past, instead he gave Gasol a look.

Gasol understood what he meant and quickly moved to the high position to make a pick-and-roll.

Even couples need to pat each other's butts, but between Ko and his wife, a glance is enough.

With the help of Gasol's pick-and-roll, Kobe quickly broke through with the ball and completed a quick stop jump shot before O'Neal Jr. came up.

“Swish!”

The basketball is shot into the pocket.

There was a burst of cheers at the scene.

Kobe Bryant communicated with Gasol again through the air using his fingers while retreating to defense.

The cooperation between the two just now was not just a pick-and-roll, there were many details involved.

Although Kobe's cut in on the previous round was blocked by Yao Ming, one thing was successful, that is, Gasol successfully blocked Allen.

Others may not pay much attention to this detail, but Kobe keenly captured Allen's weakness in dealing with Gasol's screen.

As a top defender, he knows how to find and discover the weaknesses of defensive players.

As it turned out, he was very successful.

This goal was also crucial because the Bulls' defensive counterattack is now their signature tactic, and forcing the Bulls into a positional battle is obviously more advantageous for the Lakers.

"Defend! Defend!"

Moreover, Kobe's classic cooperation just now also aroused the emotions of the fans at the scene, and cheers rang out in the Staples Center.

The Lakers played a high defensive intensity. After Rose's breakthrough attempt failed, he dribbled back to the three-point line and then passed the ball to Xu Yong.

Last season's experience has shown that Xu Yong is more capable of solving tough problems in positional battles.

Xu Yong had little time left to attack with the ball, so he directly asked Yao Ming to set a high-post pick-and-roll.

This time, Yao Ming broke through the defense and took Ariza to the free throw line. Xu Yong took the ball and broke through Bynum, changed direction and made a layup to finish.

During this process, Bynum habitually pulled Xu Yong's jersey, trying to stop Xu Yong's layup, but not only did he fail, he was also caught by the baseline referee and paid for a defensive foul.

After Xu Yong's calf deltoid muscle strengthening training, his explosive power has reached a higher level compared to the past.

Kobe was nearby at this time, looking at Xu Yong who had landed, his expression was a little dazed.

For a moment, he seemed not to be himself, but turned into that boiled egg, while Xu Yong's figure was highly similar to his youth.

6 and 8 are actually just missing half a circle.

Xu Yong went to the free throw line, adjusted his breathing and made the free throw.

9 to 4.

The fans at the scene were even more restless. From the opening to now, from defense to offense, the Bulls gave people the feeling that they were the stronger team.

At the critical moment, it was Kobe who stepped forward for the Lakers.

He continued to break through with the help of Gasol's screen. Although Allen bypassed the pick-and-roll this time and did not give him the opportunity to shoot directly, he dribbled the ball and turned around to play a second pick-and-roll with Gasol, and then made a quick mid-range jump shot.

Although Allen struggled to squeeze past Gasol, his movement was obviously too slow.

“Swish!”

Kobe hit consecutive mid-range jump shots to stabilize the situation for the Lakers.

And after Kobe retreated to the defensive end, he switched defense with Ariza and directly defended Xu Yong.

The bending movement, the fierce look, and the right hand that constantly tried to interfere with Xu Yong's movement.

Although he feels that he is getting old, his competitive spirit has not diminished at all.

Yao Ming then took the initiative to set a pick-and-roll for Xu Yong, but Kobe successfully avoided it using the puppy step.

Relying on his explosive power, Xu Yong seized a gap and rushed straight to the basket.

However, Ariza's help defense came quickly, and Xu Yong finally chose to take a drop shot under the double-team of Ariza and Kobe, but unfortunately the ball missed.

The rebound was protected by Gasol, who dribbled the ball quickly, showed off his skill in dribbling, and assisted Kobe in a fast break layup.

9 to 8.

In the blink of an eye, the Lakers had narrowed the gap to 1 point.

Thibodeau reached out and called a timeout.

There were cheers and applause at the scene, and the camera was naturally focused on Kobe.

Kobe scored 6 points with a series of breakthroughs and shots, and was the key figure in the Lakers' pursuit of points.

After the timeout, the Bulls made a lineup adjustment, with Artest replacing Tony Allen.

It cannot be said that Allen's defense is bad, but the fact is that he failed to limit Kobe tonight.

And when he was on the court, the Lakers defended four with five players, and they double-teamed the ball handler with impunity.

Therefore, replacing Artest can maintain the defensive intensity while reducing the defensive pressure on the offensive end.

However, this would put higher demands on Xu Yong, because he had to focus on offense while keeping a close eye on Kobe.

So after making the adjustments, Thibodeau patted Xu Yong's shoulder meaningfully, as if a heavy burden was placed on him.

Xu Yong responded with a faint smile.

Kobe is now capable of both offense and defense, and since he is younger, it is natural for him to do these things.

Not to mention that he had already done this last season when he was a rookie.

And now, he actually has another thought, which is that he has always wanted to try whether his puppy steps can defend Kobe.

Although he had a very successful restriction on Durant during the World Championships, there is still a certain gap between Durant and Kobe today.

Back to the Bulls' offense, Rose and Yao Ming returned the ball after a pick-and-roll, and Yao Ming made a steady mid-range shot.

The biggest difference between the Bulls this season and last season is the addition of Yao Ming, who can provide a hard-hitting solution, which greatly improves their control over positional warfare.

The Lakers are still under a lot of pressure now, because Gasol does not have an absolute advantage in the matchup. As long as Kobe's scoring is interrupted, the Bulls can quickly widen the score in the starting period.

Kobe had the ball and Gasol continued to set screen, but his screen failed to stop Xu Yong.

Xu Yong walked in the same way as Kobe, but with faster steps, he avoided the screen and followed closely in front of Kobe.

Just like in the previous round, Kobe took the initiative to bypass Gasol's second pick-and-roll and took a mid-range jump shot in the gap of the pick-and-roll.

But Xu Yong once again bypassed the screen and jumped forward to cause great interference to Kobe.

Kobe was forced to lean back in the air. Although he showed his strong waist and avoided Xu Yong's block, the ball instantly became a difficult shot.

"when!"

The basketball hit the basket with a sound of iron hitting the iron, and Kobe's attack was interrupted.

This time Thibodeau couldn't contain his excitement and stood up.

In fact, the reason why he replaced Allen, or the reason why he dared to replace Allen, in addition to the previous considerations, was another more important reason, which was the existence of Xu Yong.

When he went to Türkiye for inspection, he saw with his own eyes how hard Xu Yong struggled to restrict Durant.

O'Neal Jr. protected the defensive rebound, and the Bulls launched another defensive counterattack. Rose easily flew over Fisher and scored a layup in the fast break.

The Bulls played a great positional battle tonight, but their main focus is still defensive counterattacks.

Although O'Neal's appearance reduced the flexibility of their lineup, with two fast break machines, Rose and Xu Yong, their speed will not slow down.

Now the usually calm Phil Jackson couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up and walked to the sidelines, blowing his signature whistle with both hands.

He has been coaching for so many years, and with his reaction speed, he has already felt the huge threat posed by the Bulls.

The Lakers advanced to the frontcourt, and everyone else moved to the weak side. Ariza was in the strong side corner, Fisher held the ball outside the 45-degree three-point line on the right, and Kobe was in the high post with his back to Xu Yong.

This is the most standard triangle offense tactic.

Kobe Bryant caught the ball with a small jump, bent his body to feel Xu Yong's defensive center of gravity, then turned right and made a fade away jump shot after a fake dribble.

His series of technical movements were very smooth, but Xu Yong was not fooled.

Because he learned the dream step from Kobe.

And when Kobe was leaning back, he made a well-timed save, which caused great interference to Kobe.

In fact, the reason why Xu Yong's defense against Kobe was so effective was not only because he learned Kobe's puppy steps, but more importantly, his size.

Although Allen's defensive skills are equally excellent, his height with shoes is only 1.93 meters, while Xu Yong's is 2.06 meters. The defensive effects brought about by this size difference are completely different.

Kobe is still Kobe. Despite the huge interference, he still managed to dodge Xu Yong's block with an extremely difficult pull-up shot.

only……

"when!"

This kind of difficult shot can only result in three misses.

After Yao Ming and Gasol were in a position to position themselves, he grabbed another defensive rebound. This time, Artest and Rose made a fast break. Rose's fast break layup was blocked by Ariza and missed, but Artest followed up with a tip-in to score.

The scene was in great turmoil.

Kobe looked up at the score at this time.

15 to 8.

The Bulls widened the score again after a 6-0 run.

But this time his mood was even more complicated than before.

Because of Xu Yong, the "apprentice", the speed of improvement on the defensive end seems to be a bit too fast.