In the stands, Shaq shook his head: "Look at this idiot, does he really deserve to be called the third-best center currently playing? How can he be compared to and Yao?"
Bill Simmons shrugged: "I don’t an to spoil the mood, Shaq, but you didn’t have much of a strategy against intentional fouls either."
"Co on, only the big centers fouled . If soone like Stephen Jackson fouled , I’d just give him a 2 1."
Bill Simmons couldn’t deny this point; the Shaq of the Lakers era was indeed terrifying. However, he felt that calling Howard the league’s third-best center wasn’t an exaggeration.
"Actually, Dwight isn’t that far-fetched. If you know that the Rockets’ Erik Dampier (traded by the Warriors to the Rockets when Roger arrived) claid to be the second-best center in the West, and the Rockets actually gave him a big contract, wouldn’t you laugh to death?"
"I wouldn’t laugh at soone with a ntal handicap. They’re pitiful, and so is Erik. I face him four tis a year, and I’m sure he’s got a ntal issue."
Bill Simmons liked talking to Shaq because they both had a good sense of humor.
While they were talking, Roger scored again.
This ti Roger changed his rhythm to an off-ball move, caught the ball at the left corner, faked a drive, but actually stopped and turned around to shoot.
Jas could do nothing but raise his hand and pray the ball wouldn’t go in.
Chauncey Billups then tried a transition three-pointer, but Roger blocked him directly.
Roger knew Billups’ habits too well. As one of the league’s pioneering analytics-driven guards, you had to stick close to Billups outside the three-point line, while you could give him so space in the mid-range.
Also, Billups, exhausted on defense, saw a steep drop in his ability to penetrate, making him more likely to seek opportunities beyond the arc.
Sure enough, Roger’s tight defense left Billups unable to take his shot.
The plan to exhaust Roger by having Billups attack was a bust. Roger could easily shut down Billups’ offense. If the Lakers kept letting Billups attack, they’d only lose faster.
Billups, struggling offensively, didn’t even have a chance to catch his breath before he had to follow Roy around the entire half-court.
"Damn it, fucking pest!" Billups cursed while chasing, almost reaching his breaking point.
From Howard to Billups, they were all pushed to the edge of madness by the targeting strategies of the playoffs.
Roger handed the ball to Tayshaun Prince this ti, intending to let him get so action and catch his breath.
But as soon as Prince got the ball, Kobe snatched it away.
Fortunately, Roger was close by, picking up the ball first and seizing the opportunity to cut into the paint. Against Howard’s air defense, he pulled a Kobe-style hang-ti layup, waiting for Howard’s body to descend before flicking the ball up and in for the basket, plus a foul!
The fans at Staples Center started feeling uneasy, with Roger already at 21 points, and if he made the free throw, it would be 22 points.
But the second quarter had just begun!
How many points would Roger score if he played all four quarters?
No one could predict the outco, and Roger’s free throw went in.
"LeBron, that’s 22 points. Are you going to keep locked up like this?"
Roger felt relaxed. It had been a long ti since he experienced the thrill of channeling all his energy into offense.
He felt as if he could just keep scoring, endlessly.
Roger’s scoring desire was strong tonight, perhaps because this was a chance to end the series, or because Jas had said, "I’ll keep freezing Roger next ga."
The reason no longer mattered. What mattered was that the fans at Staples Center witnessed how the strongest active offensive player racked up the points.
Actually, that’s exactly how the ga went on.
The Chinese fans following the text live on their phones mostly saw information like: Roger scores 2 and Roger scores 3.
LeBron Jas’ defense was the sa as in the previous two gas, but tonight, none of his defensive efforts mattered.
By the end of the third quarter, Roger had already blasted 44 points.
The Lakers trailed by 10 points, still hanging by a thread. Kobe played great, but he wasn’t as unstoppable as Roger. Jas’ offensive efficiency started to drop as he expended too much on trying to stop Roger.
Jas did have a physical advantage over Prince, but Prince wasn’t handling LBJ alone; he had soone backing him up.
If LBJ wanted to score, his best bet was to shoot over Prince’s long arms.
That strategy worked before, but now, as his touch faded, Jas missed more and more shots.
No one knew if the Lakers could catch up.
Reggie Miller started singing praises for Roger: "He might just score 60 tonight!"
Roger last scored 60 in the playoffs years ago, in the 2000 playoffs, when the Atlanta Hawks faced the Miami Heat, who had eliminated them in the previous season.
In Ga 2, Roger vented a full year’s worth of frustration, scoring relentlessly.
Ultimately, against Sprewell, Roger delivered the most brutal one-on-one slaughter in playoff history with a 62-7 point ga.
Since then, over the last eight years, no one has scored 60 in the playoffs again.
That’s normal; while 60 points in the regular season might be many, scoring 60 in the playoffs has happened only three tis in history, by Elgin Baylor with 62, Michael Jordan in ’86, and Roger in 2000.
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