Day of the Great Escape: The Rockets Life, The Lakers Death

Two games of G5, the Rockets play against the Warriors.

The Rockets were in a turbulent momentum in the first quarter, and the whole team was trying hard to defend without giving the Warriors the opportunity on the outside. Shin Kyung was even able to fight back to defend quickly! It can be seen that they were determined to break up after losing the game. The Rockets Green saw that the Warriors Green was very jealous and did it as soon as they got the ball. Green made up the line too fiercely and had to pull Jaylen Green down early. His foul changed the Warriors' defensive deployment. Jaylen Green broke through hard and created another foul Curry's inside position to make up for the Dream. In order to continue targeting the Dream, Shin Kyung ran to the center line to pick-and-roll early, and chased Zhui Meng to hit the body when he received the ball. As a result, Zhui Meng controlled it and did not commit the second rule. Butler on the other side lost a foul. These three fouls laid the tone of the confrontation in this game and also set the direction of the game.

Rockets surround a center - the powerful assault Warriors inside!

Jaylen Green changed the sluggish state of G2G3 and attacked the inside without hesitation. The outside line used Shin Kyung to cover and hit a three-pointer that boosted confidence. The offensive end was out of control. The Rockets' young man also pulled the intensity up and attacked Curry without hesitation at all. As long as he wanted a pick-and-roll, he would resolutely attack, and hit the outside contact point, quickly rotated, and supplemented with joint defense to protect the rebound!

Low Ethan's hand-to-hand fight Butler! He did not give Butler a chance to be low. As long as he wanted to be low, Ethan would use his chest - top, squeeze, push, and even fight with Butler from the low post without the ball to the bottom corner of the three-pointer... The old-school battle is about strength. If the foul is foul, there will be no foul if the referee doesn't yell... This is probably the playoff rules learned by these young people. The result of the intensity on

is that in the first quarter, Curry was in two fouls, the Warriors made 9 fouls and 5 mistakes, and Hilder, Curry and Butler had a total of 0 points. The Warriors' away difficulties were unprecedented. Van Vleet scored 14 points in a single quarter with an 80% shooting rate, leading the team to shoot a 55% three-point shooting rate. The team scored 40 points in the first quarter, suppressing the Warriors' scoring to 21 points, achieving a local victory.

In the second quarter, the Warriors made consecutive mistakes under the Rockets' joint defense. Shin Kyung stuffed himself on Boger's passing route and directly cut off his connection with the bottom corner. Holiday and Amen United's defense blocked the Warriors' free throw line, and the steal was successful, causing their bodies to be extremely tight under the confrontation. Santos could not catch Moody's counterattack pass at all, resulting in an unforced mistake, and the Warriors' morale was firmly suppressed.

Kele also made his own efforts. In order to limit the Rockets to rush into the inside, they also used joint defense to respond. In the middle and late second quarter, the Rockets were slack, frequently chose to shoot without invading the basket, and the rebounds were seriously lost. This is the most suitable stage for the Warriors to counterattack.

The turning point occurred when Curry fought against Ethan alone. When he was frequently double-teamed, he made it clear that he would not cover it. One-on-one single-teaming was amazing. Ethan was cheated and lost 3 points to a foul. Then he was shaken out of space. Curry hit a three-pointer. The Warriors suffered a long drought and were in a rainy state! Under Curry's outbreak, the Warriors made a 9-1 offensive, and the scoring drought was alleviated! Uduka thought about it and started to grab the medicine as a single person - replaced Ethan, Amen directly faced Curry, and the defensive biting level of the Rockets was further upgraded to the highest treatment of the Rockets' "consolation"... But except for three-pointers in the second quarter, Curry's other two-point shots were all out of the way. When the Rockets were napping, they were awakened by Curry's three three-pointers, and once again filled the intensity. The rest of the Warriors' other people outside Curry only hit 1 three-pointer. The team made 7 of 23 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 30.4%. In contrast, the Rockets' shooting percentage was as high as 73.7%, winning the Warriors' 11 points in a single quarter.

The Rockets scored 76 points in the first half and the Warriors scored 49 points. The inside and outside lines were blown away. The main players' foul troubles, lack of touch, and large scores behind caused their psychological fluctuations. The trend of the game has since formed. Even if they struggled for a while in the second half, the Warriors did not startle too many waves and stopped in a hurry to prepare for the G6.

Lakers vs. Timberwolves, like the Rockets, the Lakers are already behind their opponents 1-3 and are backed by the abyss.

Redick's team lined up a small lineup - Doncic, Reeves, Finney, LeBron, and Hachimura. The Lakers used their best players to form the best lineup, rather than dealing with the Timberwolves' three-dimensional lineup with a reasonable lineup.

As a result, the Lakers' five-team set did not play the expected effect or Redick expected, and the number of rounds was not much faster than the Timberwolves' fast attack with Gobert. Gobert can handle the Lakers' moves. He is the highest player on the field of the two teams and the only DPOY player for multiple times. Doncic wants to find him, but if there is no chance, then look for Randall. Randall has a good defense and his footsteps are even faster than Doncic. When Doncic takes a three-pointer, he always raises his arms and stands in a disturbing position. Doncic misses the first time he makes a move. LeBron did not hit the first shot. The whole team felt cold in the first half of the first quarter, while the Timberwolves started a phased pull-up phase, the first stage, 6-0, the second stage 6-1, the third stage 9-0, and the fourth stage 9-1... The Lakers woke up in an obscure dream and barely responded to a 7-2 wave. The intensity of the offensive and defensive rhythm of the two teams was completely different. Doncic was fouled by Gobert and he had two fouls in the first quarter. The Timberwolves scored a 21-9 score, which was eye-catching. The Timberwolves led 31-22 in a single quarter.

On the shooting, the Lakers made 6 of 18 in a single quarter. Fortunately, the Timberwolves' youngsters were addicted to three-pointers and threw 16 long shots in a single quarter. Adding two more was the same as the Lakers' total shots in a single quarter. The shooting rate was too smelly and incredible. The Timberwolves were 18.8%, and the Lakers' 14.3%, which complemented each other. The shorts couldn't pull out General Gao. The offense and defense center of the two teams seemed to be all about wrestling and confrontation..

This is better for Gobert, who has the advantage of body shape and weight. He was not replaced early as in the first four games. He gained the respect of Coach Finch through his movements and defense. He made 4 of 4 in a single quarter. The first two were put in high above Doncic and LeBron. In order to transfer Gobert out, Claybel, who was moldy all over was replaced, but was transferred out by the Timberwolves, and Gobert dunked another one at the basket!

Claybel doesn't work... Gobert even chased Edwards' defensive counterattack and followed up with a layup. If James moves, it's possible to have two plus one...

Randle's performance can be said to be a decisive figure in this game. At the beginning, I was not optimistic about his role in the Timberwolves. I didn't expect that his performance on both offense and defense in the playoffs was much better than in the Knicks. Perhaps it was just a problem for Thibodeau. Fincher used the part that Thibodeau wouldn't know. The Timberwolves' inside double evil spirits scored 17 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter (2 frontcourt boards). The efficiency of these two people is inseparable from the weakness of the Lakers' inside lineup. The Lakers' five small lineup gave them a stage to perform.

When your weakness is discovered by your opponent, it will be infinitely magnified. In the second quarter, I thought Gobert would only come out of the rotational connection and go back, but I didn't expect that he would play for 11 minutes and 15 seconds. Isn't he put on the court so unscrupulously because of the Lakers' inside flaws?

Keywordsman, Gobert did play DPOY style, with 4 frontcourt boards, 2 defensive rebounds, and 1 block. Of course, if you are Gobert, you are Vincent, Finney, Doncic and others who are stuck in the position, and you are squeezed out, you will really lose your job.

When Edwards tried hard to prove himself outside the three-point line, Gobert held the bottom in the inside, Randall played for only 45 seconds to rest with peace of mind, which retained enough physical strength for his second half attack and provided guarantee for the Timberwolves' rotation strength. The Lakers just lacked the rotation strength of this connection. The Timberwolves' last core can play back and forth with the Lakers, and even won 1 point 28-27 in a single quarter...

The Lakers woke up from a dream, and then remembered that they were the "five small" lineup. They began to run frequently and pull and speed up. Anyway, defense cannot be defended, so let's fight for offense and attract Gobert to the bottom corner. Brown cut in the air and accelerated the transfer of the ball. The Lakers made a 16-7 attack wave, but Gobert's position was still unsolvable - yes, he became his real self from the "Doncic scope" that people joked about. He made 4 of 4, 8 rebounds and 2 frontcourt boards in a single quarter. Edwards was still addicted to three-pointers and 0 of 3. Randall scored two in the inside to relieve the embarrassment and barely maintained the score. The Lakers made a fuss on McDaniels, causing him 4 fouls, and the outside defended, and the Timberwolves made 0 of 7 three-pointers in a single quarter... The Lakers finally won a game 31-22 in a single quarter, which was better than chasing to 80-81. The fourth quarter was destined to be a difficult pulling moment. In the last quarter, after Finney was over, Vincent's lineup height dropped even shorter on the Lakers. Gobert got his 21st rebound and made up his dunk! Gobert grabbed 3 offensive rebounds, and he played his personal career masterpiece in the Lakers' small lineup. When both sides were anxious, the law of "whoever wins the inside wins the world" played a huge role. Randall had a certain shooting percentage support against Doncic and LeBron, with 3 of 6 shots in a single quarter and 11 points in a single quarter. The two insides covered Edwards' stubbornness in this game. Edwards pulled the three-pointer like an iron head, shot until the end of the day, and shot until the south wall collapsed... Both sides played a tragic hit percentage. The Timberwolves made 6 of 19 shots, 10 of 10 of 3-pointers, the Lakers made 6 of 20, and 3 of 11 of 3-pointers, but the Timberwolves were determined to rush into the inside. Randall and Gobert played dominant. The Timberwolves got 12 free throws, and the Lakers only had 2... This is how the score was opened... The best outside defenders of both teams both fouls and burned out.

Unfortunately, the Lakers' inside and defense are always unsolvable flaws. Their offense is not bad, but they are limited to the good starting camp. There is no one to rely on in the rotation lineup. The Timberwolves have 22 points as a substitute, and the Lakers have 4 points as a substitute... The total score is 1-4. The depth of the lineup determines the intensity of the field. The Lakers can think of a solution during the offseason. Doncic must have a center who eats cake to exert his power. There is no doubt that if the Lakers have a Gobert, this round of series will not be so field. See you next season.