Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 710 - 246: Slam Dunk Against the Lakers (Already Lost, Today I Am Ashamed to Face the Readers as a Godfather)_2

On the court, it was still the Lakers' ball.

Kobe, responsible for passing the baseline ball, lobbed it to Big Gasol at the top of the arc.

Seeing this, Big Gasol did not hesitate to take the shot from the outside.

Unfortunately, Big Gasol's determined three-point shot spun around the rim and bounced out.

Brown secured the rebound and immediately looked up to find Qin Yue.

But in the blink of an eye, a sudden shadow intercepted this pass and then banked it in for a layup, earning the Lakers another two points.

This shadow was none other than Chris Paul.

It must be said, Paul's focus and competitive state this evening were at his peak.

Back to the Warriors' offense.

During the 1-5 pick-and-roll initiated by Qin Yue and Nash, the basketball in Qin Yue's hands was nearly intercepted by Paul.

However, unlike Brown, the highly alert Qin Yue kept an eye on Paul's movements before passing the ball.

At the top of the arc, evading Paul's interception, he made a seamless pass into the paint, assisting Brown in scoring two points, after which Qin Yue gave Paul a wink.

That expression and demeanor clearly said:

You don't think you are the only one who can predict, do you?

On TNT TV Station, Barkley laughed: "Chris and the Messiah might be the league's most familiar opponents."

The back-and-forth battle between the Wake Forest twins dominated the highlights of the first quarter.

However, fearful of both his brother's suffering and his brother driving a luxury car, Qin Yue suggested to Ma Long during the official timeout of the first quarter: "Mike, we need to change our defense."

Upon hearing this, aware that Paul was playing too comfortably, Ma Long said: "I'll bring in Jimmy after this timeout."

The official timeout ended, and the Warriors made a substitution.

The more defensively skilled Butler was brought on, and the more offensive Nash was substituted out.

From the Lakers' bench, seeing the Warriors' proactive no-point-guard lineup, even knowing Qin Yue had previously demonstrated his point guard abilities, Mike Brown couldn't help but curse internally as Qin Yue personally brought the ball up court for the Warriors:

This damn freak!

That night, apart from Paul's own fiery performance, the Warriors' external defense, with Wallace and Green respectively guarding Kobe and Klay, contributed.

Faced with 38-year-old Nash, if Paul couldn't produce efficient offense, it would only mean that the Cannon Fist was overpraised.

Now, with the Warriors changing their defense, bringing in Butler, whose defense can fully envelop Paul,

the pressure Paul faced on offense increased considerably at once. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Where has my omnipotent brother Chris Paul gone?"

On the court, eyes turned to Paul, who had "disappeared" for several possessions, and Qin Yue suddenly asked.

Hearing this, while retreating, Paul, who almost couldn't resist giving Qin Yue a Cannon Fist, said: "Don't be too smug, you haven't scored for several possessions either."

Indeed.

Throughout his career, Butler's three-point shooting has always been like Schrodinger's three-pointer.

Coupled with Brown's notoriously unstable mid-to-long-range shooting.

And Wallace's three-point shot is only reliable from the right corner.

So after fielding their strongest defensive lineup, the Warriors' own offense was inevitably affected.

Nevertheless, actively turning the game into a defensive battle, the Warriors were not panicking at all.

Because at this moment, the Warriors' strongest defensive lineup was not their strongest overall lineup.

The Warriors deliberately slowed the game pace in the latter half of the first quarter.

It was then that the Lakers' head coach Brown finally realized the other purpose of Ma Long's defensive strategy change.

Yes, the Warriors, at this moment, were using their defensive lineup and the allowed defensive scale of this game to wear down the Lakers' starters' touch and stamina.

Moreover, in this slow-paced half-court battle, the Warriors could effectively prevent Qin Yue's physical exhaustion from being too rapid.

This Western Conference Finals.

It wasn't just the players on the court who were familiar with each other.

In fact, the head coaches of both teams were also very familiar with each other.

After all, before becoming the Warriors' head coach, Ma Long had been an assistant coach to Brown.

"Who says we only play offense?"

On the Warriors' bench, looking at Brown on the opposing half, Ma Long laughed: "Defense is the foundation of our last two seasons winning the championship."

By the end of the first quarter, it was 27 to 28.

The Lakers trailed by one point going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Warriors fielded the league's strongest bench unit consisting of Big Ben, Jamison, Barnes, Curry, and Jack.

While the Lakers retained Klay and Big Gasol to lead their substitutes.

Although typically...

In the playoffs, each team often reduces player rotation to maintain the lineup level on the court.

But due to the Warriors having too many experienced champion players, it gives Ma Long endless options against any opponent.

However, among Ma Long's many options, the real ace remained Qin Yue.

Take the first half of the second quarter as an example: when the Warriors' luxurious bench faced the Lakers' mixed primary lineup, the Warriors didn't demonstrate the dominance they had in the regular season during the rotation phase.