When the news that Wang Yi scored 102 points in the play-offs reached Vogel's ears, he was not shocked like others, but smiled.
He's laughing at the Pelicans head coach who can't play defense.
He admitted that Wang Yi was very capable.
But for Wang Yi to score 102 points in an important playoff game, he believed that the Pelicans' defense was too stretched.
As a coach who started out as a defender, he thinks this is simply unreasonable.
But today he saw it.
Wang Yi scored 26 points in a single quarter, which showed him how strong Wang Yi is.
It reminded him of the 2021 playoffs, when the Suns' Devin Booker scored 22 points in the first quarter.
The Lakers simply couldn't contain Devin Booker in that series.
And now Wang Yi's scoring ability is even more exaggerated than Devin Booker.
What made him even more intolerable was the Kings' defense.
The Kings' defense had been at a mid-to-lower level throughout the previous season.
Their personal defensive abilities have improved, but because the coach doesn't know how to defend, their overall defensive ability is still poor.
But in just these few minutes, they used their personal defensive capabilities to the extreme.
Everyone was biting the Lakers players like mad dogs.
The Lakers were stunned by this sudden increase in defensive intensity.
So with 4 minutes left before the end of the first quarter, the Kings not only caught up with the point difference, but also took a three-point lead.
Defense is Vogel's strength, but now he is confused by his opponent's defense.
This was intolerable to him.
At this time, all Kings fans were incredible at the defensive intensity displayed by the Kings.
"Is this still the king I know?"
"Everyone plays defense like Beverley, it's outrageous."
"Just one Beverley can make Durant furious. Now all five players on the Kings court are biting like Beverley. You can imagine how angry the Lakers will be."
Tencent NBA live broadcast room, Yang Yi couldn't help but marvel when he saw this.
"This defense! It looks so entertaining. Is this still the Kings we know?"
Wang Meng shook his head: "I have commented on the Kings for no less than 20 games this season, and I have never seen the Kings like today. Their defensive enthusiasm and their keen judgment on defense are all things I have never seen before. We can look back on it.
Look at how they played in the first three minutes of the first quarter. Dribbling to their feet, going out of bounds, passing the ball to the opponent, and then look at these few minutes. This is a completely different team."
"I think this all stems from Wang Yi's leadership. It was he who led the defense against Westbrook throughout the game and motivated all the players. This led to the Kings' strongest defense this season."
In Golden Center 1, Walton was a little surprised when the Kings players came off the court.
As a head coach, he never dared to imagine that the Kings could develop such a strong defensive ability.
He kept clapping his hands to encourage the players: "Very good, very good, you did a great job. Your defense is the strongest I have seen this season, keep it up."
However, while encouraging the team members, he felt a hint of worry in his heart.
The Kings' desperate defense consumes a lot of physical energy. What will they do in the second half?
What should I do especially in the 4th quarter?
But let's take it one step at a time. If the Kings don't work hard like this, there will be no second half at all and the first half will collapse.
Vogel holds a tactical board in the Lakers dugout.
He slapped the tactical board heavily with his hand and emphasized to the players: "Their defense today is crazy, but we can't be scared by them. Use your brains and think about how long their defensive intensity can be maintained."
Minutes are 5 minutes or 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, their physical fitness will not support them to defend like this."
"And I already have a way. Since they want to defend, then we will defend. And he has to defend at least 4 of us. As long as we defend Wang Yi, we are equivalent to defending the entire Kings team. So next we double-team
Wang Yi, try the other players on the Kings team."
This has become a routine for almost every team in the league to defend the Kings.
In the first quarter, try Wang Yi's touch first and avoid double-teaming him.
If Wang Yi is in very good condition, then double-team him decisively and try out the skills of other Kings players.
After the timeout, James and Anthony of the Lakers took a rest.
Westbrook and Big Eyebrow led three substitutes on the court.
This is the strength of the Lakers: there are two giants sitting off the court, and there are two giants leading the team on the court.
On the Kings side, Wang Yi refused to rest.
On the defensive end, other Kings players can also increase their defensive intensity by biting like mad dogs, but on the offensive end, if Wang Yi comes off the court, the defensive pressure faced by other players will be much greater, and then they will be ineffective.
.
So he couldn't rest at all.
Westbrook holds the ball near the center circle, and Wang Yi is still defending him.
Hield just had an exchange with Wang Yi and said that Wang Yi wanted to focus more on the offensive end, so he was asked to defend Westbrook.
But Wang Yi did not agree.
He has made up his mind that he will be the one to defend Westbrook today.
Because he is the only one on the Kings team who can defend Westbrook alone.
If it were Hield, someone would have to double-team Westbrook with him.
Westbrook faced Wang Yi and still wanted to use speed to force his way past him.
But he almost dribbled out of bounds and still couldn't get past Wang Yi.
In desperation, he had no choice but to pass the ball to Howard at the top of the arc.
Howard has no deterrent effect at the top of the three-point arc. He can only pass the ball to the thick eyebrows in the low post.
Bagley and Hield quickly came to double-team the thick eyebrows - not only did Wang Yi of the Kings not rest, but Hield, Danny Mitchell and Bagley also didn't take any rest.
Facing the double-teaming of Bagley and Hield, the thick eyebrow turned towards the baseline.
Make a shooting motion.
Shake Bagley, then use an up and down step to get closer to the basket, and take off with both feet.
Pick the basket and shoot.
This was a rare situation today where he still took action despite being double-teamed by two people.
However, at this moment, when Wang Yi saw the thick eyebrows turning towards the baseline, he quickly came over to help defend.
The moment Nong Mei just picked up the basket and shot, Wang Yi jumped up high.
He pressed the ball directly onto the backboard with both hands.
Another big hit!
Having been teammates with Nongmei for nearly a year, he knows Nongmei’s routines very well.
I know that when I shoot the ball with thick eyebrows, I either turn my back and shoot, or I step up and down to pick the basket.
"oh--"
The 17,500 spectators at the scene immediately roared with excitement.
After Wang Yi covered his thick eyebrows, he took the ball down with both hands.
After landing, it is time to launch a quick attack.
Nongmei also knew that Wang Yi would have to break quickly when he landed, so after being blocked, he took a step in front of Wang Yi.
However, Wang Yi responded very quickly.
Taking advantage of the situation, he stuffed the ball under Nong Mei's crotch, then quickly bypassed Nong Mei and got the ball behind him.
Chapter completed!