novelraw Chapter 388 - 116: The Crazed December!
Chapter 388 - 116: The Crazed December!
After Zhang Hao’s technical foul free throw was made, the Lakers briefly took the lead, but then the Spurs overtook them again.
Fueled by displeasure and anger, David Robinson demonstrated his MVP-level prowess, showcasing his exceptional scoring ability.
Despite the Lakers’ tenacious performance, the Spurs, under the leadership of David Robinson, consistently maintained their leading advantage and initiative.
Zhang Hao’s miraculous shot and the 3+1 made him face tight defense during his offensive runs.
Because of this, the Lakers were able to leverage his drawing attention to execute team coordination, making the offense organized by the Magician and Van Exel more fluid when he occasionally found opportunities to boost morale.
Zhang Hao constantly sought opportunities, trying various ways to elevate and sustain morale, knowing that the Lakers tonight needed to uphold their momentum until the plan could potentially take effect, relying solely on morale.
Fortunately, the Spurs’ rebound protection was quite average, and under the threat of Jason Williams’ aggressive rebounding, Zhang Hao indeed found numerous opportunities to crash the boards.
However, David Robinson is truly formidable!
Before the official timeout in the second quarter, when the Lakers finally tied the score, the Spurs had another surge, with David Robinson scoring 5 consecutive points and forcing the Lakers to call a timeout, leading 49 to 44!
...
Leading and continuously holding the initiative, but Avery Johnson, ready to reenter the game, sensed something was amiss.
Before the game, the preparation atmosphere among the Spurs was very relaxed, as their record of 22 wins and 6 losses seemed superior to the Lakers’ 19 wins and 8 losses.
Although the Lakers had defeated the Bulls, a normally performing Lakers team was crushed when facing the Rockets, and the Spurs had previously won big against them.
The Lakers had just completed a player trade yesterday, and even if there’s a crisis among the other players post-trade, wanting to go all out, the Spurs believed they could rely on their strength to crush that fighting spirit and easily seize the initiative.
The game seemed to be unfolding as expected: they achieved high scoring efficiency, scoring wasn’t difficult... but Avery Johnson noticed some discomforting points.
For instance, David Robinson seemed afflicted by an anxiety disorder, extremely unsettled, becoming overly agitated when occasionally defended.
People often find it hard to understand each other, and Avery Johnson couldn’t comprehend what David Robinson was encountering.
This wasn’t particularly important as David Robinson’s individual offensive efficiency was high.
The issue was that when David Robinson’s aggressive attack created an approaching advantage, just when the Lakers seemed on the brink of being overwhelmed by the Spurs, their fighting spirit unexpectedly surged!
It even made David Robinson become more unsettled during the play!
Fortunately, they were continually ahead while the Lakers seemed on the verge of collapsing, displaying signs of desperate resistance.
About to enter the game, Avery Johnson felt like he was overthinking, decided to adjust his mindset, and aimed to play well to widen the lead into a clear advantage during the remaining half of the first half.
...
The Spurs sent out a lineup of Avery Johnson, Negro, Chuck Person, JR-Red, and David Robinson.
The Lakers sent out Van Exel, Anthony Piller, Doug Christie, Zhang Hao, and Jason Williams.
The opposing team lined up the players who were fiercely keeping the score close tonight, seemingly usual, reinforcing Avery Johnson’s feeling that he had been overthinking.
Timeout ended, the Lakers on offense.
The Spurs players clearly knew that against the Lakers, their defensive strengths lay in their tall size combined with decent mobility and outstanding switch defense abilities, excel in individual defense with David Robinson inside, Avery Johnson outside, and veteran Doug Rivers.
In terms of individual defense, David Robinson and the point guard position two players could effectively limit the Lakers’ point guards; the team switch defense was well executed, which allowed them to say they could restrain the Lakers’ offense after losing Sibaros.
Switching teams, the Spurs originally didn’t defend well and won by offense, with an over hundred average points conceded.
Therefore, when that rookie sporadically displayed impressive offense, leading to increased morale among the Lakers who launched an aggressive offensive wave, maintaining close scores was quite usual, considering the Lakers kept adjusting for better offensive play.
That rookie only relied on three moves: catch-and-shoot after running, post-up play, physicality, nothing more.
But he utilized them effectively, showed basketball intelligence, always finding opportunities to boost morale, undeniably comparable to Grant Hill’s genius, always having unique aspects.
After the Lakers were called for a timeout by the Spurs, Spurs reiterated their switch defense, executing their defense very well this time. Van Exel opted to trust himself, attempted a solo three-pointer...
Off the rim!
However! Zhang Hao bolted in like it was his life on the line, and when David Robinson tangled with Jason Williams, he squeezed past Avery Johnson who retreated to contest a rebound and pushed the ball back into the hoop!
The speed, agility, strength, and instinct to seize the opportunity...
The Spurs struggled with rebound protection, unable to fend off Zhang Hao’s reckless board crashing!
to 49, the Lakers tightly clenched the score!