The Lakers’ offense during the transition wasn’t as smooth as they had hoped. When Steve Nash was pressured, the Lakers’ offense couldn’t operate fluidly.
The Warriors counterattacked, Monta Ellis used his speed to up the tempo. Brian Cook tried to use his physical advantage to force Monta Ellis to slow down, but Monta Ellis wasn’t rushing forward without a plan like a newcor.
After colliding with Brian Cook, Monta Ellis did lose his balance, though he tried hard, his weight-gaining plan is gradual, it’s not sothing that can be achieved overnight.
His ability to withstand physical confrontation is still weak.
But even when losing his balance, Monta Ellis didn’t slow down the offense. Instead, he imdiately passed the ball to Boris Diaw, who was cutting in from the right.
Boris Diaw faced Theo Ratliff, who had returned to defend the basket, and elegantly perford a 360° airborne spin layup, bypassing Ratliff, cutting the deficit to just 4 points.
Monta Ellis can not only score himself but also has so passing ability. He can’t be an outstanding point guard and organizer, unable to orchestrate the team’s offense.
But as a ball-handler at the transition phase, his passing awareness is already sufficient.
Then Steve Nash used a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to 6 points, but after scoring, he didn’t celebrate and instead yelled nervously: "Need help defense!"
He no longer underestimated this rookie guard, he could see Monta Ellis had an excellent feel for the ga, his speed was quick like his nickna, his passing could trigger the team.
In fact, originally Monta Ellis was very efficient as a role player, but when the Warriors pushed him to a core position, giving him more shooting freedom and greater responsibilities, various problems began to surface.
There’s a vast gap between Monta Ellis and those genuine franchise-carrying stars.
But if you treat him as a firefighter in the transition phase, he definitely won’t disappoint you.
This ti Monta Ellis faced Nash again, and the high school rookie wasn’t intimidated facing this elite point guard lineup: "Nervous? When Kobe’s not on the court, you look like a lost three-year-old boy. Don’t be scared, I’m just a rookie, it won’t hurt."
Yeah, that’s part of the deep-rooted team culture of the Warriors.
Monta Ellis accelerated, and when colliding with Nash, didn’t forget to use his elbow, giving Nash a hard ti, and successfully gained advantage in position.
Off the court, Gary Payton couldn’t help but laugh: "This kid is absorbing all the essence of our team!"
The Canadian guard couldn’t stop his break, but Luke Walton reached the help defense position faster than before.
But Monta Ellis’ stop and jump shot still went in, bringing the deficit back to 4 points.
He indeed didn’t look like a rookie, he was confident, decisive, brave.
"This is a dream team," Erik Spoelstra on the bench said to Roger beside him, "This is an unprecedented team."
He and Roger witnessed the glory of the Magic, and then watched as it collapsed.
He and Pat Riley created the Miami Heat’s iron miracle of defeating Roger’s team, and then watched as that team fell apart.
Failure is a test, just as no team can withstand the test of victory.
Initially, everyone might have the sa goal.
But as ti goes by, issues in the distribution of interests arise, the conviction to strive for victory starts to waver.
What kills the champion is the champion itself, this is sothing all championship teams deeply understand.
But in the Warriors, this kind of issue was magically ignored.
The dia always have a narrative, believing that this season, after losing Stoudemire, the Warriors lacked talent.
No, Spoelstra now thinks, this team’s talent is severely underestimated.
Yes, aside from Roger, this team doesn’t have a superstar, not even an ordinary All-Star.
But their genuine talent is more precious than height, wingspan, speed, or strength, that is truly selfless, working towards the sa goal.
A ready example: In other teams, if a veteran’s playing ti was taken by a rookie, he would definitely throw a fit, causing a series of internal issues.
But look at Gary Payton, he’s even cheering for Monta Ellis.
The first quarter ended quickly, the 4-point gap was maintained till the end.
Kobe Bryant was frustrated, his ambition to gain a double-digit lead in the first quarter was shattered, this ga was destined to be very tough.
When Monta Ellis ca off, he had 4 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Considering this was his first ti playing in the regular season as a rookie in the playoffs, this was already an outstanding performance.
When the Warriors’ players ca off, everyone on the bench greeted their teammates with high-fives.
Gary Payton embraced Monta Ellis: "Your brother would be proud of you, kid, but with , you still haven’t reached a level of making proud, you’re far from it."
"Then watch closely, old man, watch what it’s like to have Roger first, second, and Kobe third."
Saying this, he tightly hugged Gary Payton too.
Roger shrugged not far away, muttering to himself: "Two like-minded bastards, always carrying so inexplicable pride."
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