On the 21st, the first battle of the Western Conference Finals began.

At the pre-match video conference, Su Yang suggested that he continue to implement high-pressure defense against Kobe, let Webster be the main defense, use his long arm to put pressure on the shot, and then arrange for Ade to wait for an opportunity to go online to attack. Fry pressed on the speed of the situation and forced Kobe to make a strong shot.

Such a strategy has been tested against the Lakers before, and it can indeed limit Kobe's performance, but Gasol and Odom will be more likely to get opportunities, and they cannot rotate infinitely like they do against the Spurs, and can only find opportunities from the offensive end.

Su Yang suggested that the offensive end focus on the "ski man" Radmanovic. Whether the Lakers use early replacement or actively forcing the pass, they should try to find Radmanovic to play against each other and use him as a breakthrough.

After the game officially started, Su Yang ran to the player channel and placed a TV on the exit to watch the live broadcast. The team also specially equipped him with two staff members, using manual errands to communicate, so as to achieve the on-site command effect.

Who would have thought that as soon as the game started, an accident occurred when the defensive strategy he had developed for a long time.

Kobe couldn't defend himself!

Every time Webster puts pressure on the ball to make a breakthrough, Kobe will force a single shot. Anyway, he will never get close to the paint area. He has used his solid basic skills many times to forcibly create space for attack, and has to carry the defense and hit it back.

The key shot score was recognized, and Kobe also caused Webster to make two fouls, disrupting the Trail Blazers' rotation.

Fortunately, the Trail Blazers' offensive firepower is good, and relying on Ade to force Gasol, who is still relatively soft, to seize the score.

In the first quarter, the Trail Blazers trailed the Lakers 24-25, and the two teams entered the substitute stage.

During the inter-chair pause, Su Yang repeatedly sorted out the various situations of the Trail Blazers, feeling that there was no need to make too many changes.

Unexpectedly, perhaps Webster did not play for two fouls in the first quarter, and McMillan asked Webster to replace Jones as a substitute. Su Yang saw the lineup change in live TV, and there was no time to stop it.

With that adjustment, there was not much change in the Trail Blazers' offense during the bench. Both Webster and Jones were positioned in three-point turrets, but there were major problems with the defensive rotation running. Webster was more likely to make up for defense when starting, which was difficult to change for the time being.

Several times of defense, Webster made a mistake in communicating with his teammates, which led to the Lakers scoring easily.

Su Yang felt a headache when he saw it and knew that he could only do that. If he changed it temporarily, it would make it even more messy.

The chaos continued until the Trail Blazers rescheduled the main player to play, but the gap between the points grew bigger and bigger.

By the end of the half game, the Trail Blazers fell behind the Lakers 46-59, and the team's momentum plummeted.

However, after the series with the Spurs, the team's tenacity has been greatly improved. After a summary and analysis, and with the encouragement of chicken soup, the team regained its momentum, and Su Yang took the opportunity to slightly adjust his defensive strategy to reduce pressure on Kobe.

There is no basis for basketball adjustments, and it is simply a psychological warfare. Betting on Kobe will reduce the number of shots.

Su Yang also told McMillan his true thoughts, saying that the playoffs are the stage for conspirators and gamblers.

McMillan felt something was wrong, but she couldn't think of a better way, so she just said to see the effect.

The second half started soon, and the situation was as Su Yang expected, and Kobe passed more.

The reason why Kobe passed the ball is most likely because he felt that he was leading, not having high-intensity defense and lacked challenges.

Fortunately, Kobe passed so many goals, and the ski man and Odom rarely scored, with a total of 2 of 8 shots.

The Trail Blazers are also trying to win skiing men on offensive ends, and narrowed the 8-point gap in a single quarter.

But the good times didn't last long. Phil Jackson seemed to see through Su Yang's strategy, and Kobe frequently attacked the main attack in the fourth quarter.

Su Yang used the trick and asked the players to strengthen the pressure on Kobe again, with excellent defense effect.

Just when the Trail Blazers caught the score to 2 points, Kobe's playing style suddenly changed, giving up all kinds of long shots, frequently carrying double-teams to the paint area, jumping to the throw, pulling a layup, and throwing a negative angle, all kinds of methods were available.

The Trail Blazers can defend some, some cannot defend some, sometimes they are called fouls, Webster is caused to leave the field with 6 fouls, and Ade also gets 5 fouls, and the point guard Blake, who has the least fouls, is also 3 times, which is quite tragic.

In the end, the Trail Blazers lost 104 to 108 at home, and fell behind 0-1 in the series.

Kobe made 8 of 16 shots in the game, plus 21 of 23 free throws, scoring 38 points. At the same time, Roy was greatly restricted, allowing Roy to make 5 of 18 shots, with only 14 points and 9 assists in the game, and 4 turnovers, which became the biggest appearance of losing.

When the coaching team reviewed the game together, they found that the only mistake was the rotation adjustment in the second quarter.

Su Yang has no other way. No matter how fast the live broadcast is, there will be delays, and it is even more impossible to communicate immediately when you see anything.

At the post-match press conference, McMillan praised the Lakers for playing a tough game. He was asked by reporters why he broke the routine rotation in the second quarter and replaced Jones with Webster. McMillan admitted that he thought it was too simple and made a mistake.

The next day, the whole team was trained together, and the coach was disrupted by fouls in advance.

Su Yang led the team members to practice in a hurry, encouraging Roy not to panic, fight as much as he should, and don't take the initiative to seek change because he was too uncomfortable to be guarded by Kobe. Many times, he needs to fight a bayonet, and even if he is stabbed first, he must persist.

On No. 23, the Trail Blazers continued to face the Lakers.

No one expected that the Lakers took the initiative to change the formation, and the ski man was replaced by Ariza in two minutes after the start.

With that change, the Lakers' defensive strength instantly improved significantly, and they directly launched a 13-0 attack wave.

McMillan adjusted the countermeasures formulated before the game, but young people such as Ade were stunned and were unable to break the scoring drought. It was not until the first quarter that the Trail Blazers scored 18 points, and the Lakers easily scored 33 points.

The Trail Blazers did not lose rebounds, and they made fewer mistakes than the Lakers, but they just couldn't make a shot, which seemed like they were possessed by evil spirits.

Su Yang knew that was the awesome thing about Phil Jackson as a coach - using small changes to fight psychological warfare. In the 92 Finals, the Bulls used the same method to attack the Trail Blazers, and after many years, they were used to deal with the Trail Blazers.

During the suspension of the festival, Su Yang asked the staff to pass on the story of the finals that year to the coaching team and the team members.

After the second quarter started, the team got out of the haze of frequent blacksmiths and led 31 to 30 in a single quarter.

During the half-time break, Su Yang said there was nothing good to adjust, just to focus on the details and work with the Lakers to the end.

The team returned to the court with high morale and led the Lakers 34-30 in the third quarter. Roy performed the best. He carried Kobe's defense with 5 of 6 shots, scored 11 points in a single quarter, sent 3 assists, and made zero mistakes.

Then in the fourth quarter, the game turned into a foul battle. The Lakers tried their best to beat the pace and refused to give them a chance to start.

The Trail Blazers scored 5 more points in a single quarter than the Lakers, but in the end they lost to the Lakers 115-120.

The 13-0 first quarter resulted in the biggest loss. No one was wrong, and they were all confused at the time.

At the post-match press conference, McMillan said that he was too slow to react on the spot and that all the responsibilities were on him.

Su Yang delivered a speech in the locker room, encouraging the whole team not to be discouraged and not be afraid. The playoffs are just taking turns to make moves. The Lakers have already made two moves in a row. It is difficult for other changes in the subsequent games. Even if they go to the Lakers to win at home, they can still win.

It can be said that many young players of the Trail Blazers have lost their confidence in winning the game.

Su Yang did not forcefully talk about chicken soup, but instead took advantage of the rest time to repeatedly let the team members adapt to psychological warfare.

On the 25th, the third game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers started at the Staples Center.

This time, the Trail Blazers did not make much mistakes and remained on par with the Lakers until the end of the game.

Unfortunately, in the ultimate moment of the star showdown, Kobe made a low-post back and Roy made a high-post layup.

In the end, the Trail Blazers lost to the Lakers 109-111, and the series score was 0-3 behind.

Looking at NBA history, no team has ever been able to reverse the situation 0-3. Various discussions have emerged, and many fans believe that the Trail Blazers still have the last glimmer of hope, that is, Su Yang ends the three-game suspension and is about to return.
Chapter completed!