Chapter 1208: Substitute Lineup Takes Action

But Fisher's ball was not passed over, but passed down, because Haslem was defending in front of Gasol's backhand.

The moment his ball was released, Li Ba turned around and rushed towards the paint area.

Haslem desperately pushed against Gasol, which prevented Gasol from taking action immediately after receiving the ball. He adjusted his position before taking action.

But at this time, Li Ba arrived and slapped the ball onto the backboard.

The basketball bounced off the board and Li Ba took off a second time to catch the ball.

"Beautiful! It's so beautiful to help defend the basket this time!" Yu Jia praised.

At this time, Ginobili was almost down at the top of the arc. He dropped Fisher, then received a pass from Li Ba and made a fast break.

The Lakers attack again.

Li Ba released Kobe three more steps on the right wing, provoking him with trash talk and asking him to ask for the ball.

Kobe's face was cold and he suddenly took two steps towards the top of the key.

He wanted to shorten the distance to the top of the arc so that he could avoid being intercepted by Li Ba.

When Li Ba saw it, he immediately rushed over and closed the distance with Kobe.

Seeing the opportunity disappear, Kobe immediately changed direction and cut down the wing.

But this move was not good. He succeeded in cutting in, but Liba was between him and the top of the arc. Fisher had no chance to pass the ball unless he passed it.

But passing the ball in front of Li Ba is seeking death. History has proven this, so Kobe cut it in vain and did not catch the ball.

Moreover, Li Ba did not follow him. Instead, when he cut into the wing, he rushed directly to the top of the arc and began to double-team Fisher.

Based on Ginobili's experience, after noticing Li Ba's movements, he immediately used a close body to force Fisher to protect the ball. He was unable to release the ball immediately, creating an opportunity for Li Ba to double-team.

Li Ba double-teamed in place, snatched the ball from Fisher in the next second, and then took advantage of the situation to hit a fast break at the top of the key.

But instead of attacking himself, he passed the ball back to Ginobili and earned an assist.

"We made a mistake in our analysis and underestimated the Hammers' defense. The Suns' bench is not weak."

Barkley said seriously at this time: "The Hammer froze Kobe on the defensive end, and then when the offense and defense transitioned, he played a fast break from the outside.

You must know that no one in the league can really guard against his outside fast breaks. Even LeBron James will suffer from his outside fast breaks. The Lakers' bench lineup cannot guard him at all. "

Phil Jackson saw this situation and started to use his brain.

Next, the Lakers attack.

"Udonis, you can't stop him from catching the ball. When he catches the ball, immediately block him and wait for me to come back." Li Ba said to Haslem.

"I know, boss." Haslem nodded.

The two were drafted in the same year, both were undrafted, and they are both defensive players, so they feel a bit sympathetic to each other.

It is natural for Haslem to call him the boss, because Li Ba is the boss among the players in the 2003 draft.

Gasol caught the ball under the basket, and Haslem was already between him and the basket, pushing him outward.

Gasol is not a very confrontational player, so he still needs to make adjustments this time.

But at this time Li Ba returned to defend the basket again, and there was no chance for Gasol to adjust. He had to speed up his shot and missed the jump shot near the basket. Then Li Ba rushed back and grabbed the rebound.

"Haslem and the Hammers cooperated very well, which made the Lakers' strategy of playing inside fail." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.

The Suns once again played a fast break. Ginobili received a pass from Li Ba, advanced quickly, and then successfully made a layup.

Kobe tried his best to catch up, but the distance from the wing to the basket was farther and he failed to catch up.

The Lakers called a timeout, and Phil Jackson allowed one more play in other positions. In addition, Kobe pulled out again, pulling Li Ba further away from the paint area.

After the timeout, Fisher was forced to make a mistake by Ginobili. The latter stole the ball, and the Suns once again made a fast break. Li Ba received Ginobili's pass, attracted a double team, and then passed back to Gino. Billy, who hit a three-pointer.

Next, contrary to the media's expectations, the Lakers' strong bench lineup did not take advantage in the second quarter. Instead, the Suns launched a 12:2 attack wave.

In the 6th minute, 30:40, the Suns led by 10 points.

The Lakers called timeout again.

"This is really unexpected."

Zhang Lili said with a smile: "But in analysis, it is reasonable. You see, the Hammers and Ginobili partnered in the back line, they have speed, impact, strength, and defense. This is crushing The defense organization of Kobe and Fisher.”

After the timeout, Duncan replaced Gasol.

This time Duncan did not attack directly at the basket like Gasol, but pulled to the waist of the left wing paint area.

In this position, he has a hit rate of more than 70% on the 45-degree rebound.

And in his position, there is no need to worry about Li Ba on the right wing coming to help defend him, the offense is very safe.

This tactic really paid off.

Duncan took shots one after another, and Li Ba's defense was mainly to grab rebounds, but the former's shooting rate was too high and the defense was still not in place.

So Li Ba changed his offensive tactics, reduced fast breaks, started holding the ball directly, and began to attack Duncan.

At the end of the second quarter, 55:55, the two games were tied again.

Duncan made 4 of 6 shots in the half, made 1 of 3 free throws, and scored 9 points.

But on the defensive end, he was also severely impacted by Li Ba.

Li Ba kept attacking Duncan and didn't even care about scoring, which was one of the reasons why the Lakers pulled back ten points in the first half.

In the first half, Li Ba caused Duncan to commit two fouls. In this way, in the first half, Duncan had three fouls and Gasol had three fouls.

Li Ba scored 27 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 5 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in the first half.

The second half began.

The Lakers' inside line was composed of Gasol and Odom, and the outside line was composed of Parker + Kobe + Tony Allen.

The Suns' inside line was composed of Li Ba + A Lian, and the outside line was composed of Nash + Ginobili + Ray Allen.

Zhang Heli analyzed: "The Suns played with the main lineup, the Lakers were reserved, and Duncan was still resting. In this case, the Hammer should continue to attack Gasol. Gasol has three fouls, his defensive strength cannot be improved, and it will be easier to attack inside."

"Ray, double-team the ball handler."

As soon as Li Ba came on the court, he looked at the opponent's lineup and immediately said to Ray Allen.

Ray Allen nodded and said, "Leave it to me."

The Lakers attacked, and Ray Allen began to double-team Parker from the backcourt.

On the right wing, Kobe was no longer in front of Li Ba, so he immediately became active. After a counter-run, he got rid of Ginobili by one step, pulled outside the three-point line, and signaled Parker to pass the ball.

Parker made a long pass from the backcourt, and Kobe shook left and right after getting the ball, broke through Ginobili, and rushed to the right wing with the ball. He took a two-step jump shot outside the paint area and scored a two-pointer.