Chapter 545: The Terrible Lakers
Kobe Bryant was stunned at first, then proudly replied, "The essence of basketball is putting the ball in the basket, not getting attention through fancy passes and exaggerated dunks. Why should I compete with you in these areas? My goal is to win, understand?"
"I understand, because my goal is also to win." Yang Mo laughed. He felt that Kobe Bryant was a little too abnormal tonight. He was not his usual style of fighting with force.
Yang Mo didn't know that Kobe Bryant's low profile tonight was entirely due to his inability to defeat Yang Mo. He was completely powerless against Yang Mo, and he hadn't expected Yang Mo to surpass him in skill. At this moment, he truly felt old, but he wouldn't express this feeling out loud. If he did, he wouldn't be Kobe Bryant.
The game continued, and when Kobe returned to half court, everyone noticed that Kobe Bryant had changed. Instead of continuing to make demands, he started running without the ball and even made selfless pick-and-rolls for his teammates.
When this scene happened, not only the Lakers fans, but even the Lakers players were stunned. Phil Jackson was even dumbfounded. He didn't expect Kobe to become the person he wanted Kobe to become at this time: a selfless leader.
The sudden selflessness of a player with such offensive prowess made his team incredibly resilient. The Lakers instantly settled into a powerful system, allowing other players to find more open looks. Meanwhile, the Knicks had to focus considerable attention on Kobe, whose threat remained even when he wasn't attacking.
Soon, the Lakers scored a goal, and Ron Artest hit the ball steadily. It was an open goal.
Yang Mo quickly grasped the seriousness of the matter. Kobe Bryant had obviously changed from a slasher to a tactical disruptor. The already strong Lakers team immediately became even stronger.
In response, Yang Mo could only grit his teeth and deal with it. After returning to the half court, he actively directed the players to run, and then took advantage of the opportunity to accurately pass the ball and score a goal.
Offense is not a problem for the Knicks now. The problem is defense. When the Lakers evolved again, the Knicks' defense fell into trouble and they were unable to effectively limit the Lakers.
If it were the Knicks last season, Yang Mo wouldn't have given it much thought and simply countered their offense, relying on their scoring advantage to win. But now, Yang Mo couldn't think so simply. After all, their goal this year was a championship, and a team without defense was bound to have a difficult time in the playoffs.
Yang Mo tried to increase the intensity of his defense, but the effect wasn't particularly noticeable. Kobe's movement was like an electric eel, energizing the entire Lakers team. This was what Phil Jackson had always hoped Kobe would do, and now Kobe had finally gotten it.
Yang Mo hadn't anticipated that his overall lead would force Kobe Bryant to abandon his individual heroism and embrace the spirit of collective combat. This was like transforming the opponent from a tiger into a pack of wolves. A single tiger was formidable, but a pack of hungry wolves was even more terrifying.
The two teams exchanged blows for nearly five or six minutes, each hitting the ball with a high percentage and rarely missing. However, the Knicks still couldn't widen the gap, maintaining a five-point lead.
This was a good result for the other teams; after all, this was the Lakers' home court, and this was Staples Center. However, for Yang Mo, it wasn't something to be proud of. He wanted to defeat , and secure an easy victory, just as they had done before.
drop!
So, at the end of the first quarter, Yang Mo requested a timeout. He returned to the bench and went directly to the coaching staff to listen to their comprehensive opinions.
"Our current defense is completely unable to take into account Kobe and other Lakers players. Kobe's performance completely disrupted our pre-match deployment, and we must make changes." Stein said this to Yang Mo as soon as he came up. His words were almost all questions, and he didn't give any answers at all.
But what Yang Mo needed now was advice. He turned his gaze to Coach K. Coach K hesitated for a moment and replied in a deep voice, "My opinion is the Jordan rule. Let Kobe go and focus on dealing with the other Lakers players."
Yang Mo nodded, but he didn't think it was a good suggestion. He looked at Coach Sloan again. Coach Sloan paused for a moment, then slowly said, "You might want to completely suppress the entire Lakers team. That's difficult. First, you have to find someone to suppress Kobe and prevent him from running around."
"I will defend him myself." Yang Mo said straightforwardly.
"Other players can't relax either. Although the Knicks have a lot of players now, there are very few who can play both offense and defense. If you can't completely suppress the Lakers on the defensive end, you will most likely lose your rhythm on the offensive end. Then... you'll be in big trouble." Coach Sloan said with some concern.
At this time, Yang Mo made the final decision: "Let's do it this way. Let's hold on for the last three minutes. If the Lakers continue to play like this, we have no chance of winning."
As he spoke, Yang Mo walked to the side and immediately laid out his tactics: "Tyson Chandler, Turiaf, Jeffries, and Tony Allen, follow me. We must completely curb their offense. Everyone must stick to the opponent like taffy and not give them easy scoring opportunities. As for Kobe, I will entangle him. Our defense from now on can be summed up in one word: entangle them and make it impossible for them to shoot..."
drop!
Soon, the whistle sounded and the game resumed.
When players from both teams returned to the court, the Lakers still did not replace any players, while the Knicks made a large-scale overhaul, and it was obvious that they were serious about defense .
Phil Jackson wasn't frightened by this. Instead, he chuckled, believing the Knicks had fallen into his trap. He had anticipated Yang Mo's increased defense, so he had meticulously planned a plan to completely bury the Knicks.
Yang Mo was unaware of this, he only knew that the next three minutes were crucial.
