After the timeout, Wang Yi hit an extra free throw.
In the first minute of the game, the Lakers, relying on Wang Yi alone, hit a 10-2 spurt.
This kind of game is really outrageous.
But the Lone Ranger is not a soft persimmon.
Their ability to remain fifth in the Western Conference for a long time has its own unique characteristics.
If the Lakers beat them in this game, they will narrow the winning gap with them to one game.
Otherwise, it will be directly expanded to two games.
When the Mavericks attacked, Doncic dribbled the ball past half court.
Facing Pope, he dribbled behind his back, then turned around...well, he couldn't get past Pope.
His speed is not very fast, and it is basically difficult to get past a defender with better defense.
However, these few dribbles he made pushed Pope into the penalty area.
Then he turned over and made a Nowitzki-style independent jumper.
Whoosh!
The basketball easily penetrated the basket.
Next round.
Doncic still pressed Pope into the penalty area, and then made a fake pass to Poshen from the outside.
When Pope was slightly distracted, his hand picked the ball from Pope's armpit toward the backboard.
Not only did he hit the ball, but he also caused Pope to foul.
This is Doncic.
You see, he is not fast and cannot jump high.
Defenders can easily keep up with him.
But there were fake moves all over his body, even in his pores.
If you are not careful, you will be deceived.
The most important thing is that his shooting aim is not bad either.
In the next two rounds, Doncic hit another three-pointer.
This forced Pope to stick close to him.
As a result, Doncic showed off another weapon: standing long jump.
He faked a shot from the three-point line.
When Pop jumped up to block the shot, he jumped directly towards Pop.
The two collided in the air.
The referee's whistle blows.
Pope committed a three-point foul and Doncic made three free throws.
Frankly speaking, this style of play greatly reduces the enjoyment and smoothness of the game.
Although there was this kind of foul-making method in the past, it was to shake the defender up, and then throw it out when the defender couldn't control it and was about to fall on him.
Now Doncic and Trae Young, even if the opponent does not fall on them, they will jump on each other and shoot at the same time.
That’s why it’s nicknamed the standing long jump.
In fact, according to normal thinking, this can almost always be called an offensive foul.
When others are falling, you jump up and hit them.
What is it if it's not an offensive foul?
But under the current basketball rules, this is indeed a defensive foul.
Trae Young and Doncic just took advantage of the rules.
Speaking of which, I have to mention the bearded golfer who got up at four in the morning to memorize the rules.
He is a master when it comes to drawing fouls.
Although he did not invent the foul-drawing style, he took it to the extreme.
In his peak seasons, he averaged about 10 free throws per game.
This is outrageous.
Later, fans, players, coaches and many media began to complain about this style of play, and when the league began to consciously change the penalty rules for this style of play, the bearded golfer changed his style of play in advance.
No longer rely entirely on foul play.
Instead, he prefers to rely on his own offensive ability and organizational connection ability to play.
Trae Young and Doncic were still developing their foul-drawing style at this time, and they were right in the crosshairs of the league.
So it is not surprising that he was criticized by thousands of people in the alliance.
Under Doncic's performance, the point difference between the two teams was reduced to 5 points.
Vogel saw that Pope couldn't guard Doncic alone, so he shouted to the Lakers players:
"Double team! Force him to pass the ball!"
The current lineup of the Mavericks on the field, apart from Doncic as the offensive starting point, is only Hardaway.
Hardaway's offensive threat is much smaller than Doncic's.
So as long as Doncic is held down, the Mavericks' offense will be greatly reduced.
Some people say that Bo Shen can also be regarded as an offensive starting point.
Sorry, based on his performance in last year's playoffs, he really didn't deserve it.
So when Doncic dribbled the ball across half court again, Wang Yi gave up Hardaway, who was guarding him, and joined Pope with Doncic.
Seeing that he was about to be double-teamed, Doncic passed the ball to Hardaway in advance.
Hardaway hit a three-pointer.
In the next two rounds, Doncic was still double-teamed, determined not to let him take action.
But Hardaway actually showed his performance at this time.
He hit two consecutive mid-range shots without any defense.
In fact, CIC is his specialty.
As a result, the point difference was reduced to 3 points.
But there's nothing the Lakers can do.
During the timeout, Vogel said to the entire Lakers team:
"Continue to maintain this defensive strategy. Even if Hardaway performs well, he cannot let go of Doncic. No matter how good Hardaway performs, he can only perform it alone. If Doncic performs well, he will drive their entire team."
"We would rather let Hardaway beat us to death than let Doncic lead their entire team."
"Besides, Hardaway doesn't have the ability to kill our entire team by himself."
This is the defensive skills of NBA coaches.
The role players in the NBA are also among the 400 or so best basketball players in the world.
Once they are given a chance, they are likely to show their abilities.
What you can do is let them show their abilities.
Because when defense must be focused, it is always better to let them show their abilities than to let their ace players show their abilities.
After returning from the timeout, Hardaway was still scoring goals.
As for the Lakers, James could only act as a croupier in the first quarter, dealing cards online.
Faced with Boban who was 2.22 meters tall, Nongmei had a hard time beating him.
Although the coach keeps telling me to run and fight, I have to push for speed.
But the prerequisite for running is to defend and then grab rebounds to counterattack.
But Hardaway was really accurate in the first quarter, having made 5 of 6 shots.
The Lakers had almost no defensive rebounds to grab.
Secondly, with the 2.22 meter Bobanza inside, it would be difficult for the Lakers to grab rebounds even if there were rebounds.
So with 4 minutes left in the first quarter, the only 3-point difference was evened.
At this time, it is time for Wang Yi and James to rest again.
Coach Vogel hesitated and did not replace Wang Yi.
Instead, Nong Mei, Zhuang Shen and James were replaced.
Replaced with Caruso, Garfield and Harrell.
He did not replace Schroeder as he did in the past.
What does it mean?
The meaning is obvious.
Vogel looked at Wang Yi, his eyes full of expectation:
"King, with this lineup, you have unlimited firepower. Let's unleash your offensive talents."
When Wang Yi heard this, his heart couldn't help but boil.
In the past, when he was only defined as a 3D player, being in the same lineup as James was the best choice for him.
James will pass the ball to him.
And all he has to do is defend and shoot three-pointers.
But now that he has shown more offensive methods, he always feels a little awkward playing.
Because there are two scoring points like James and Nongmei, they are still the team's leader and second leader.
Wang Yi cannot take action without restraint.
Sometimes, even though I can attack, I still have to consider them and can only pass the ball out.
Chapter completed!