0349 Playoffs
After playing against the Spurs, the Lakers' Southwest Division tour continued, and after a day of rest, fly to New Orleans to challenge the Hornets.
Su Yang was interviewed before the game and talked about the fierce battle between Kobe and LeBron, and shook his head and said: "I can't agree with ESPN's point of view. Kobe has excellent data this season. He is currently leading the team to win 18 consecutive games. As for the PER efficiency value, as a player who is more inclined to outside offense, his overall shooting percentage is relatively disadvantaged, and he attaches too much importance to efficiency value unreasonable..."
Originally, according to the previous style, Su Yang would directly confront ESPN, but at a critical juncture when Kobe is competing for MVP, there is no need to establish hatred for the media represented by ESPN, which will arouse unnecessary disgust and lead to the indifference of previous efforts.
In the evening game, Eric Gordon, the Hornets' main player, was absent due to injury. Kobe played against Marco Belinelli, who had poor defense. He scored 25 points with a high shooting percentage of 11 of 18 shots and free throws. He clocked in and got off work in three quarters and led the team to win 19 consecutive victories.
After a night off, the team flew to Phoenix to challenge the sun.
Su Yang was interviewed before the game and talked about the sharp topic: Michael Jordan, as an outside player, can achieve PER efficiency value exceeds that of Barkley and other inside players in the season of MVP. Why can't Kobe?, laughed and said: "I remember that in the 93-94 season, the PER efficiency value of David Robinson was 30.7, but the MVP was finally awarded to Olajuwon, who had PRE efficiency value of 25.3..."
The media asked twice, and Su Yang answered reasonably.
However, when the interview was posted on social platforms such as Twitter, some people said that he was deliberately avoiding the fact that Kobe's efficiency was low.
Su Yang was too lazy to pay attention to it, so he turned to design tactics around Kobe, wanting to ensure a winning streak, and wanting to help Kobe be more efficient.
The game started at 7 o'clock, perhaps because I always remembered the 3-1 lead that year and took over the shame of being beaten by the Suns. Kobe was a little excited. He could run a few more steps in many tactics, and he could shoot better, but he chose to attack and do whatever he wanted.
After the first quarter, Kobe made 2 of 7 shots, causing the Lakers to fall behind by 4 points. The social network frantically complained that his nature was difficult to change.
Su Yang took advantage of the break during the holiday to remind him that Kobe then appeared on the court and did not attack again, but did not make any moves. He only shot twice in the second quarter, and all the other time was assists. However, after the half-time break, he directly made 8 of 11 shots in the third quarter.
The main thing is to design tactics to help Kobe better break the Suns joint defense, allowing Kobe to make many of his moves one-on-one. Hill and Dudley, who defend Kobe, have slower movements due to injuries, while the latter is prone to fake moves due to lack of experience.
In addition to offense, Kobe also pulled up the defensive end and led the team to win 13 points in the third quarter, surpassing the Suns by 14 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Suns launched a strong counterattack and interfered at the cost of fouls. However, Jeremy Lin and Dior controlled the rhythm steadily. When Blake hit a three-pointer for the second time, the Lakers established an advantage of up to 18 points and secured a game.
Kobe then made a comeback, 3 of 5 shots completely killing the game, and the Lakers finally defeated the Suns easily 116-99.
The Lakers achieved 20 consecutive victories, and social networks such as Twitter sparked heated discussions. Kobe's efficient 38 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists became the focus of hot discussions, but on the same night, LeBron led the team to defeat the Trail Blazers and scored a triple-double of 33 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
Many reporters and commentators believe that the MVP battle remains suspense, but because the Lakers have won 20 consecutive games, Kobe's efficiency is not very low in each game, and LeBron has no advantage. Whoever wins the MVP in the end depends on the final battle.
The Lakers returned to Los Angeles, defeating the playoff team Nuggets and Mavericks in succession, successfully expanding their winning streak to 22 games, and completely locking in the first place in the regular season league, and avoiding the second-third-ranked Spurs and the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
But then lost back to back to the Suns, and the winning streak was over, but the whole team also breathed a sigh of relief and the high-pressure nerves were relieved.
However, the league simultaneously updated the MVP rankings, and Kobe continued to rank first, and his efficiency value became closer to LeBron.
The reporters and commentators who have voting rights have revealed their votes in advance. Kobe got the first vote ratio, surpassing LeBron and major gambling companies in Las Vegas for the first time, and also lowering Kobe's odds for MVP, which is obviously more optimistic.
Early in the morning of the 18th, the team's game day meeting was held, focusing on whether to adjust the rotation when only four games were left.
It is said that it is adjustment and rotation, but it is actually to reduce the time of the main players playing, especially Kobe's playing time. Su Yang reached a consensus with Kobe at the beginning of the season and would carry out load management to better prepare for the playoffs, but he encountered a critical period of MVP competition.
Fortunately, according to the latest news, LeBron will only play in one of the remaining four games of the Heat, but it is difficult to tell whether it is true or false.
Su Yang decided to ignore that news. Although it can be used as a basis to reduce Kobe's playing time, he can't always focus on LeBron's playing time to adjust. That would seem a bit cowardly and waste energy. It would be better to adjust Kobe's playing style significantly.
"I'm going to let Kobe deal more at the top of the arc..."
Su Yang saw Snyder and other assistant coaches look confused, and then smiles, "That is, the organization striker..."
Anyway, when entering the playoffs, Kobe will definitely encounter a lot of double-teams. It is better to let Kobe practice the arc top deal first. If the actual effect is OK, then it will be more painful to defend Kobe. If it doesn’t double-team, it will be one-on-one on the arc top, and double-team will be 4-defense 5.
And the 4-defense and 5 are different from the 4-defense and 5-defense and double-teaming when Kobe holds the ball, Kobe has a bigger vision and more choices.
But Kobe has never played a similar role. It is hard to say whether he can play in actual combat. The main reason is that it does not conform to Kobe's personality. He asked him to stand at the top of the arc to wait. He lacked operations before the tactical running position was completed, which was really more irritable than letting him go.
After confirming the good plan, Su Yang found Kobe on the stadium and briefly explained it, Kobe was excited to accept the challenge.
The whole team followed the training and decided in advance until the playoffs started. The main content of each training was Kobe's top deal. The previous tactics would continue to be trained. As for how to play in the playoffs, it depends on the situation.
In the evening, the Lakers' match against the Warriors began.
Since the first attack, Kobe has been dealing cards at the top of the arc. The Warriors thought it was just an ordinary single-handed fight at the top of the arc. They were consciously preparing to limit it through double-teams. Kobe immediately passed the ball to Sessions, who easily completed the tactical running, and assisted and hit a three-pointer.
Chapter completed!