Chapter 1212: So What if It’s Overstepping Authority?

Li Ba said straightforwardly: "It's not about the state, it's about the mentality. They have no idea of ​​competition, and their muddling style of play has no room for survival in the Suns."

"Are you not letting them play?" the reporter asked.

"I'm the boss of this team, and I don't think they're ready to play, so there's no way they'll get a chance to play."

Li Ba stared at the reporter and said coldly.

The reporter was a little frightened by Li Ba's gaze and retracted his head.

But his question was taken up by other reporters, and another reporter asked: "But you are not the coach. You have no right to interfere with how the coach hires people. You are exceeding your authority."

Li Ba snorted coldly: "So what if it's overstep of authority? This is my team. Without my approval, Michael Jordan won't even be able to play."

As soon as these words were said, the entire locker room was extremely silent.

This was so overbearing that the reporter who asked the last question was so embarrassed that he couldn't ask any more questions.

After half an hour, the game started, Li Ba won the jump ball and the Suns attacked.

The UAE did not pull out like they did in the first three games, but faced Gasol in the paint area and let Li Ba play Duncan in isolation.

But the Lakers still chose to double-team Li Ba, and Artest actually let Ray Allen go.

Li Ba pointed his big hand at Ray Allen, and Nash immediately passed the ball. Ray Allen caught the ball at 45 degrees from the left wing three-point line, glanced at the basket, and hit a three-pointer.

Barkley laughed and said: "I don't understand what Phil Jackson is thinking? Does he think that in this case, the Hammer will still force the ball?"

Kenny Smith said: "This should be a test to see how determined the Hammer is to fight hard."

Lakers offense.

Kobe shook off Ginobili while running without the ball, ran back and cut to the wing, received a pass from Parker, circled a wide arc, and headed toward the paint along the baseline.

The Arab League rushed to the low post on the sideline of the paint area to intercept Kobe. The latter changed direction and broke through, causing the former to foul.

However, Arab League fouled very decisively and knocked the ball away from Kobe without giving him a chance to take action.

"Ah Lian, be careful. The Lakers back line is likely to come towards you today. Don't foul too many, just slow him down. Follow the defensive tactics we practiced. I'm behind you."

Li Ba warned.

"I understand, Brother Hammer." Ah Lian nodded.

"Can you speak English?" Kobe next to him said very dissatisfiedly because he failed to detect the information.

"NO." Li Ba smiled.

Today's Lakers tactics were indeed expected by Li Ba, who wanted to follow the Suns and beat the Arab League.

The Lakers resumed their attack. After Kobe received the ball, he went to the UAE again.

This time when Kobe changed direction and broke through, Arab League did not block it. Instead, he stayed close to Kobe's bottom. He supported Kobe with his left hand and raised his right hand high to slow down Kobe and prevent him from getting close to the basket.

Li Ba made a double-team move at the same time. Kobe immediately chose to pass the ball when he saw it. He passed it to Gasol who was emptied by the United Arab Emirates.

But the purpose of Li Ba's double-teaming was to force Kobe to pass to Gasol. He was well prepared and quickly changed direction. When Gasol just received the ball, he defended him.

Facing Li Ba's defense, Gasol could only turn around to protect the ball.

But as soon as he turned around, Ginobili grabbed the ball behind him and stole it away.

"One link after another, the defense this time is so beautiful!" Zhang Lijia exclaimed.

In fact, this is exactly the defensive strategy developed by the Suns.

Just now, Kobe passed to Gasol. Ginobili's task was actually to bypass Gasol, cut off the passing line, and create opportunities for the three to double-team Kobe.

But he was blocked by Gasol's pick-and-roll screen. If Li Ba hadn't forced Gasol to turn around, the defensive tactics would not have been so smooth this time. Gasol would definitely pass the ball back to Parker outside. Then reorganize the attack.

The Suns played a fast break. Li Ba dropped Duncan and Gasol, forming an advantage in the frontcourt with more players and fewer players. Finally, Nash hit a three-pointer.

0:5, the Suns lead at home.

The Suns' basic tactics today are different from the last game, and this is also a change.

Specifically, when switching offense and defense after grabbing backcourt rebounds, play fast break; after grabbing offensive rebounds, play a second offense to try to cause damage; in the backcourt serve offense, depending on the situation, shoot from outside when there is an opportunity.

The reason why these tactics are used is because Carter returns and there is one more person on the outside, which makes it much easier.

This is also the reason why the Arab League did not pull out today, because the Lakers will definitely double-team Li Ba, so he must ensure the rebounding advantage inside.

"Ah Lian, when you are close to the ball, try to stick to it and cut off the passing line of the ball holder." When retreating, Li Ba reminded.

The Lakers attacked, and this time Parker broke through with the ball, but he still looked for the Arab League.

The Lakers' purpose is already very clear, so the UAE is very careful.

He first stopped Parker in the low right wing, and after he slowed down, he stuck to Parker's side.

But this time he put it down and stuck it on top of the former as Li Ba said.

This makes it easier for him to defend, using his body to cut off the passing lines of Parker and Gasol.

At this time, Duncan took a step outside the left wing of the paint area to restrain Li Ba, preventing him from double-teaming Parker or Gasol, and at the same time asking Parker for the ball.

Parker was forced to the baseline by the Arab League, so he could only speed up and leave the Arab League behind.

At this time, Duncan, who had retreated outside, suddenly moved down to the low left wing. Parker rushed past him and gave him the ball.

But Li Ba came up to defend, and Duncan had no chance to shoot. He smashed his hand back and passed the ball to Parker behind him.

At the moment when Duncan smashed the ball back, Li Ba reacted quickly, immediately took a step forward, rushed to Duncan's side, and then took a step forward and jumped up.

He "saw" Parker's position clearly, and the position of the ball was also clear. This block, whether moving or shooting, was extremely accurate.

"Snap!"

Parker took two steps behind Duncan and jumped up to shoot, and Li Ba grabbed the ball directly from the air.

Parker was stunned. He could be blocked even if he was hiding behind?

"Yeah!"

This block was so wonderful that the whole audience of the American West Arena was boiling, and tens of thousands of palms were shaking, which made people dizzy.

"Haha..." Zhang Heli laughed happily for a few times and said: "Parker thought he was safe, but he didn't expect that the iron hammer's net was still on his head."

Attack and defense changed, the Suns played a fast break again.

The Lakers were limited by the slowness of the two inside players and could not cope with the fast break in which Li Ba personally participated.

In fact, in terms of outside speed, even if Ginobili was in the starting lineup and the Lakers had Parker and Kobe, the Suns were not as good as the Lakers.

But when Li Ba participated in this fast break, the situation was completely different. His impact could completely crush guards like Kobe and Parker. Even Artest could not stop him. What's more, Artest's speed was not as good as Li Ba's, and his mobility was far inferior. Li Ba could directly knock him down with a change of direction or speed.