Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1141: Just like a father looking at his self-righteous 3-year-old self.

"You can't beat me on your own!" Lin Tian said arrogantly. "Because I'm not alone, we're a team! You can get past me with underhanded tactics, but you can't get past our whole team with the same tactics!"

"Face it, Tony! You're going to get smashed tonight."

Parker was somewhat bewildered by Lin Tian's trash talk.

It's not that Lin Tian's trash talk was particularly offensive, but rather that there were just too many flaws in it, so many that Parker didn't even know where to begin his critique.

How is a pick-and-roll considered a dirty trick?

Didn't I just execute a perfect pick-and-roll with my teammates? How come it's just me playing blindly by relying on my own abilities?

Parker was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do because he was the one who got crushed.

Even if he scores a beautiful goal, he can still arrogantly exchange a few words with Lin Tian.

But now, he could only watch as Lin Tian stood in front of him again, ready to defend.

"Coward! I bet you're going to pass the ball to LeBron this time, right? You're probably about to lose all your courage and give up, so just pass the ball to LeBron."

"It's not shameful to lose to me."

"You're right, it's not shameful at all, it's not the first time anyway." Parker said, as if he had already resigned himself to his fate. Then he glanced in the direction where James was, and then suddenly changed direction and accelerated, trying to squeeze past Lin Tian.

Unfortunately, Lin Tian's lateral movement speed was terrifyingly fast. Almost before Parker could change direction and dribble, Lin Tian had already started moving, blocking Parker's path to continue.

"Using this kind of trick?" Lin Tian blocked Parker while mocking, "I stopped using this kind of embarrassing thing when I graduated high school."

"Can you shut up?" Parker cursed irritably as Lin Tian blocked him again, but he wasn't the type to get carried away and shoot recklessly. After Lin Tian completely blocked his route, he quickly passed the ball.

The ball was passed to Bradley, who dribbled once and then suddenly pulled up and shot, making his signature mid-range pull-up jumper!

Bradley is known for his one signature offensive move that gets him going. Unlike traditional role players who rely on catch-and-shoot jumpers, Bradley's offensive specialty is a mid-range pull-up jumper after one or two dribbles.

This kind of shooting style is a standard star player's style of play, and role players rarely play like this. Logically speaking, someone who can shoot like this must also have excellent other offensive skills.

But Bradley only has this one move, relying on this star-exclusive pull-up jumper to score points. From this perspective, Bradley is quite an oddball among role players.

After scoring this goal, Bradley didn't get much of a chance to get excited or celebrate.

Because the person guarding him was Kobe.

The pull-up jumper was Kobe's signature move.

Could Kobe tolerate a role player scoring his signature move right in front of him?

I absolutely cannot tolerate this!

Not to mention that Kobe was already quite frustrated by Green's defense and was holding back his anger. Now that Bradley had delivered himself to his doorstep, would Kobe not beat Bradley to a pulp to vent his anger?

Isn't he like Parker now?

So for the next few minutes, Kobe kept asking for the ball and kept going to the low post to isolate and attack Bradley.

Everything returned to the rhythm of the first quarter. Bradley's lack of height made it difficult to interfere with Kobe's shots, and Kobe once again entered his comfort zone. In less than two minutes, Kobe made three consecutive mid-range shots.

It was thanks to Kobe's three consecutive mid-range shots that the Lakers managed to tie the game with one minute left in the first half!

50: 50!

There are 58 seconds left in the first half.

"It's okay." James waved his hand down slightly, then took the baseline pass from Duncan and started advancing: "That's Kobe, it's perfectly normal for him to score a few in a row."

"Just fight back!"

After James quickly moved up the court, he glanced at the time and then surprisingly made a lateral pass to Bradley.

"Avery, fight back! Show him what you're made of!"

James's idea was definitely good, and he is indeed the kind of person who is willing to help his teammates and is genuinely selfless.

When a teammate suffers a loss, the teammate will try to get revenge, and he also felt that Bradley needed a chance to get back at him.

James felt that as a newcomer, he should show courtesy when necessary and delegate authority when appropriate.

After all, being beaten so badly by Kobe is not something that can be easily forgotten.

But James clearly forgot something else.

Bradley does have a good pull-up jump shot, and it's a pretty good one.

But this is good at the role player level.

Let him sneak in a quick attack, or occasionally steal a chance to strike, no problem.

But you, James, let Bradley spread out like that and go one-on-one with Kobe?

Bradley: Listen to me, thank you, but you don't have to do that. You don't have to consider my feelings at all.

If James hadn't said anything about Avery getting revenge or striking back, then it would have been fine.

Bradley can just send it back.

But James said he just gave him a boost, so what about Bradley?

Pass it back, then shout: No, never mind, you do it.

What's the difference between that and just saying "I can't do it, I can't play"?

The NBA is also a social arena, with its own set of interpersonal relationships and complexities.

It's not shameful at all that Bradley got blown out by Kobe; there are plenty of players in the league who got blown out by Kobe.

But in this situation, Bradley absolutely cannot let others think he's afraid.

If people think he's afraid, what will happen to his reputation as a defensive stalwart? What if offensive players stop being afraid of him and start saying things like, "This kid got peed by Kobe"? How will he defend then?

So even though he was cursing under his breath and had absolutely no confidence, Bradley had to go for it!

FUXX!

After cursing under his breath, Bradley suddenly started with a crossover dribble, then accelerated sharply. He only dribbled one step inside the three-point line before suddenly stopping and pulling up for a shot.

He is a man who has self-awareness.

He knew that his skills were no match for Kobe's, and he also knew how good Kobe's defense was.

He knew that in this situation, his best option was to simplify his tactics, making them as simple as possible.

Playing simply means fewer opportunities to make mistakes, making it harder for Kobe to defend. On the other hand, playing complicatedly creates many openings, making it easy to get shut down at any time.

After releasing the ball, Bradley maintained his shooting form, raising his hand high and staring intently at the basket.

"Whoosh!"

Then, a crisp sound rang out!

Bradley's shot was indeed sudden and fast. Even with Kobe's current lateral movement speed and his obvious height advantage, it would be difficult for him to keep up with Bradley.

This is why mid-range pull-up jumpers are so difficult to defend.

The entire area inside the three-point line is a shooting zone; you can pull up and shoot at any time, and score at any time, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against.

Bradley successfully created space for himself with his speed and suddenness, and made the shot.

"YES!" As the ball went in, Bradley couldn't hold back. He clenched his fist and swung it down hard, shouting in celebration.

It's in!

Then, Bradley instinctively wanted to trash-talk Kobe and get back at him, but before he could even open his mouth, a nasal sound filled with curiosity and surprise came over.

"Huh?" Kobe looked at Bradley with a puzzled expression, like an adult looking at his son who had just kicked him, and the three-year-old was proudly shouting, "I beat Dad! I beat Dad!"

In short, a bone-chilling cold suddenly seeped into Bradley's very bones.

"You're that happy just because you scored a basket?" Kobe turned around completely, looking at Bradley's frozen smile. "Can't stop laughing?"

Bradley felt his legs start to tremble.

He really needs his teammates' support now.

He needs someone to stand with him, someone to help him block Kobe.

"Well done!" James arrived as promised, excitedly high-fiving Bradley, then turned to Kobe and said, "Don't think you can easily take down my brother! My brother isn't so easily defeated!"

"We will always be there to support him!"

"Don't worry, Avery, we're with you." Duncan came over and ruffled Bradley's hair. "Keep it up, I believe in you!"

"Your team has a great atmosphere." Kobe's eyes narrowed completely. "They all trust you a lot."

"You don't usually score many goals, do you? Otherwise, why are they so excited about such an ordinary goal? If they didn't know better, they would think you scored the winning goal."

Kobe's words sounded like a joke, but his eyes and tone were icy cold, as if he wanted to kill Bradley.

"I know what to do next." Lin Tian dribbled the ball over to Kobe, patted Kobe's butt, and then looked at Bradley, saying, "Ready to experience hell?"

The last 40 seconds.

52: 50!

Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, quickly waved to signal everyone to spread out, and then Kobe quite consciously went to the corner, which is also his favorite area to hold the ball and launch an attack. He backed down Bradley tightly and then reached out for the ball.

Lin Tian didn't rush to pass the ball. Instead, he glanced at the Celtics' defensive formation and immediately understood what the Celtics' veterans were up to.

Isn't this just the same old trick of provoking Kobe and then getting him carried away to keep taking one-on-one shots?

Otherwise, do you think these people don't know Kobe's personality and playing style? Why provoke Kobe like this? Why put Bradley in front of Kobe like this? Isn't that just asking him to die?

Well, maybe among the Celtics' players on the court, only Bradley himself doesn't know what his teammates are trying to do.

But it doesn't matter if he doesn't know; he was the one who was sacrificed.

Sacrifice Bradley, then concentrate the team's defensive focus here, ready to double-team and help defend at any time, in order to cut off the Lakers' offense.

That's so outdated.

Lin Tian made a pass fake towards Kobe, extending his arm towards Kobe, but the basketball flew towards Durant on the other side.

When Durant received the ball, James, who was supposed to be guarding him, was a full 2 ​​meters away from him. James had just been prepared to help defend, but he didn't expect Lin Tian to use a feint, not letting the angry Kobe go one-on-one, but instead passing the ball to Durant.

Durant did not disappoint Lin Tian. After receiving the ball, he pulled up and shot directly from the three-point line.

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, Durant's mid-range shot was far more accurate than Bradley's, not to mention that he was almost wide open this time. The probability of him missing was extremely small.

With 27 seconds remaining, the score was tied again.

After the Celtics moved up the court, James, as if he had tasted the sweetness, backed down Durant's defense while suddenly raising his hand and lobbing the ball to Bradley again.

"Kill him!" James shouted.

"Who do you think you're going to kill?" Kobe snorted, and almost the instant Bradley received the ball, he was right there with him, unleashing his signature tenacious defense.

His physical intensity suddenly increased, and he practically hung on Bradley, a stark contrast to his defensive effort in the previous possession.

In terms of the level of competition alone, Kobe raised the level from the regular season to the NBA Finals in just this one round.

This kind of "head-on" mentality has never been limited to the offensive end.

He can get carried away on the defensive end too.

Kobe's sudden increase in intensity was treating Bradley like a top star. How could Bradley possibly withstand this level of defense?

He didn't even have a chance to get the ball. He had just turned his body to try and block Kobe's defense to find a teammate to receive the ball when Kobe was already close in again. Then, seizing the opportunity, Kobe slapped the basketball out of Bradley's hand and then rushed in to grab the ball.

This is the difference between an ordinary NBA player and a star player.

Ordinary players may put on a spectacular performance in certain rounds or matches, but once they are targeted by their opponents, or when they are specifically defended by their opponents' defensive experts, they will immediately be brought back to reality.

Even players who can put up great stats on weaker teams will see a significant drop in efficiency on both offense and defense once they join stronger teams or are taken seriously by their opponents.

Ultimately, the difficulty of attacking Kobe is vastly different from that of attacking Isaiah Thomas.

If you're the leader of a bottom-tier team, your opponents naturally won't bother studying or targeting you. If you want to rack up high scores and stats, go ahead and do it; let your opponents take the victory.

However, if you are the core player of a playoff team or a top team, then every game you will face the opponent's targeted defense and specific tactics. The opponent will know exactly what your habits are, where you like to shoot, and what offensive methods you choose in which areas.

Only if you can still put up good numbers against weaker teams by that time can you be considered a true star.

Bradley is clearly far from that level, and is far from being a star player; he's just a role player with one special skill.

Kobe caught the ball he had stolen, but instead of launching a counterattack immediately, he slowed down, giving Bradley the opportunity and time to catch up. When Kobe reached the Celtics' three-point line, not only was Bradley already in position, but the Celtics' entire defensive formation was also set up.

Kobe didn't speak or communicate with anyone. He just kept dribbling the basketball, staring intently at Bradley. His expression and demeanor were just like a beast that hadn't eaten for three days, staring intently at its prey.

As for the rest of the Lakers, Kobe didn't need to give any gestures or call out any tactics. Everyone consciously spread out, giving Kobe plenty of space to go one-on-one.

Bradley's feeling was even more peculiar at this moment. He was in a stadium with as many as 20,000 people and had four well-coordinated teammates helping him, but he still felt that he was isolated and helpless and in a desperate situation.

He felt like he was being swallowed up.

The last 7 seconds of the first half.

Kobe suddenly accelerated, executed a crossover dribble forward, then abruptly stopped, showcasing his signature rhythm change. After a hesitant step in place, Kobe suddenly accelerated again. This rhythm change successfully fooled Bradley, creating space for Kobe to shoot.

But as they shook off Bradley, the Celtics' help defense arrived.

Kobe was blocked by James almost instantly, and Bradley, who had just been shaken off, was a defensive expert and immediately turned to help defend.

In the blink of an eye, Kobe went from having a shooting opportunity to being double-teamed.

If it were Kobe from a few years ago, he would definitely show off his skills and shooting at this point, trying to create space for himself and then take a buzzer-beating shot.

But this time Kobe was incredibly calm. When he was double-teamed, the first thing he did was dribble back to create space, and then, after he had completely pushed the two players out of the three-point line, he suddenly passed the ball with one hand.

The ball was passed to Durant at the top of the key, who then passed it to Barnes on the wing. Barnes immediately passed it to Lin Tian in the corner.

When Lin Tian got the ball, there was no one in front of him.

The Celtics' rotation defense was already very strong, but they still couldn't keep up with the Lakers' selfless, non-stop passing and ball movement.

Why should they be one less person because they were helping with defense?

No matter how fast James is, he can't catch up with the basketball.

That wasn't all. Lin Tian, ​​who had the ball in the corner, glanced at Parker, who had just been defending Barnes and was now sprinting over from the wing to fill the gap. Suddenly, he raised his hand and made a fake pass towards Barnes.

This was a fatal blow for Parker. He instinctively wanted to turn back and find Barnes, but his body wouldn't obey. At the same time, he realized that it was just a passing feint by Lin Tian, ​​and he immediately wanted to turn back and chase after Lin Tian again.

But it was this sudden pause and the subtle shift in his center of gravity during the continuous turning that caused Parker to lose his balance almost inexplicably.

With a loud thud, Parker fell to the floor in a very awkward manner. This was definitely the most outrageous and inexplicable time in his career when he was faked out.

Then, lying on the floor, he helplessly watched Lin Tian easily launch a three-pointer. The basketball streaked across the sky, creating a wave of net activity.

"Whoosh!"

"Buzz!"

The first half is over!

55:52! (End of Chapter)