Chapter 1448: Chapter 453: Not 20 Points, Not 30 Points, Not 40 Points
But the basketball still went in.
In the previous two gas, if Jas managed to disrupt Roger to this extent, Roger couldn’t score.
But tonight, under the sa disruption, Roger could easily make the shot.
The reason? In the last ga, Roger was too exhausted on the defensive end and didn’t have a good shooting feel.
But tonight, Roger faces almost no pressure on defense, making his offense hard to stop.
5 to 4, Warriors overtake, Roger pointed at Jas’s stats on the big screen: “Is this how you freeze ?”
For the rest of the first quarter, Jas realized that Roger seed to be ignoring his defense.
That No. 14’s shooting feel was too good, any slight gap, he could guarantee hitting the shot.
Tonight’s Roger is the most offensively potent since entering the Western Conference Finals.
He switched back and forth between ball-handling and off-ball, making it hard for the Lakers to target.
Phil Jackson tried double-teaming mid-first quarter, but Roy’s and Stephen Jackson’s three-point hits dispelled this idea.
Three-point shooting is a terrifying weapon, just a few makes are enough to widen the score gap, that’s why even Yao Ming started stepping out to shoot threes.
Moreover, shooting often becos smoother the more you shoot, so it’s best to cut off the opponent’s three-point montum promptly.
Reggie Miller praised: “The Warriors’ role players always give Roger maximum support, the Lakers’ double-team strategy failed!”
Indeed, Warriors’ role players can always support Roger in ti, seizing three-point chances when open.
But it’s not just because the Warriors’ role players are strong, it’s also because Roger is a master at distributing ball possession.
He’s undoubtedly dominating the first quarter, many possessions he went iso. But he occasionally passed the ball to others to break it up, and even if teammates missed, he’d persist in this approach.
For Phil Jackson, this proves Roger has completely grasped the ga of basketball.
Phil Jackson always believed, throughout a long season, you must allow role players to handle the ball for a few possessions. He emphasizes sharing the ball, asking stars to forego their usual shots and ball handling in so possessions, to do the tough work like off-ball movent, creating chances for role players.
Because if role players are doing the sa defense, pick-and-roll, waiting to shoot threes from the corner for 48 minutes, they’ll lose passion, desire to win, and feel.
Role players are also human, not cold-coded NPCs in a ga, you must ensure they are also involved in the ga.
Occasional ball-handling and shooting will make them more engaged in the ga. To ensure everyone has a ga experience, only then can the ga proceed smoothly.
That’s why people say Phil Jackson understands human nature more than other coaches.
He and Roger share a common philosophy—people are more complex than basketball.
And Roger’s actions align with Phil Jackson’s philosophy, believing he has a deep understanding of basketball, so does Roger.
He’s a perfect leader, he’s the only one worthy of being called “God”.
It’s because of Roger’s occasional relinquishnt of control, letting everyone be involved, that the Warriors’ role players never collectively lose their aim outside the three-point line. Roger knows to give them the ball occasionally, stabilizing their mindset and state.
So, when Roger needs it, teammates reward him with accurate threes.
During the Cavaliers dynasty, LBJ completely didn’t understand this principle, so many players who cooperated with him, from Shumpert to JR Smith to Deron Williams complained publicly about the sa thing.
“The team had standing at the corner for a whole ga, occasionally shooting when open, it left us with no rhythm and state. I was always defending, boxing out, rebounding, running back and forth. I couldn’t feel whether the ball was elastic, cool or warm, I didn’t know how much sweat was on the ball, roughly how much friction there was, sotis you must feel it, dribble it, pat it, to better grasp the ball. But at Cavaliers, beside LeBron, I hardly had such chances.”
This way indeed allows stars to put up good stats, but not necessarily win.
In summary, playing basketball is like making Ai. You can’t enjoy it alone, you must let your partner enjoy it too.
After Warriors continuously hit threes, Lakers had to continue single defending.
Thus, the fully offensive Roger continued scoring over Jas.
Jas tried his best, with many defenses only allowing Roger a little shooting space.
But Roger scored again and again, Chauncey Billups’s inactivity on offense let Roger maintain excellent shooting feel without much defense.
Jas also was scoring, but the frequency wasn’t as high as Roger’s.
In the first quarter’s 10th minute, Roger held the ball against Jas, calling for a pick-and-roll. Every ti Howard, the big defensive Demon King, was resting, Roger liked using 1-5 pick-and-roll to tornt Lakers’ defense.
Mutombo ca up to screen, Theo Ratliff nervously prepared to switch defense.
Roger moved toward the screen side, Jas imdiately shouted: “Delay! Don’t let him break through!”
Theo Ratliff stepped forward, ready to block.
But Roger didn’t suddenly stop for a jump shot nor continued breaking through, but instead continuously changed direction, ready for the second ti around Mutombo’s screen.
This screen disrupted Jas and Ratliff’s switch defense, both lunged at Roger, chasing full-speed.
But the next second, Roger pulled the ball back between his legs, retreating back to the three-point line!
Ratliff was completely faked, Jas forcefully changed his direction, unexpectedly fell to the ground.
Reggie Miller shook his head: “Theo and LeBron are like two puppets being toyed by Roger!”
Roger shot from long range without any interference, hitting a three-pointer.
Staples Center fans held their heads with both hands, after this shot, Roger had already scored 17 points in one quarter!
Jas’s performance today maybe outstanding, but his wish to freeze Roger has already shattered.
After the goal, Roger pointed at Jas on the ground: “Quick, freeze ; otherwise, today I’ll get not 20 points, not 30 points, not 40 points!”
“As for Staples Center,” Roger turned to look at Kobe, “I’m taking it!”
Reggie Miller couldn’t know what Roger said, but he could guess it wasn’t anything good.
As Roger’s old rival, watching Roger’s first-quarter performance, he made a prediction.
“Roger is going to dominate this night.”
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