Chapter 300 Believe in Su Wan and gain eternal life!
Chris Paul’s stats at the end of the first half were 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 turnovers.

Compared with Stephen Curry’s 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers, it can be said that he was completely defeated.

But for Phil Jackson.

Paul’s explosiveness in scoring is not as good as Curry’s, but he can accept it.

Paul’s average points per game in his peak period was about the same as Curry’s regular season this year.

At that time, Paul was the absolute core of the team, while Stephen Curry was just the “second in command” in the New York Knicks.

But now, Chris Paul not only has problems with scoring, but also assists. He only had 2 assists in the first half, which Phil Jackson would never allow. Not to mention that he had 5 turnovers in the first half!
As the league’s famous “low turnover king”, it would not be surprising even if Chris Paul did not make a single turnover in a game…so Chris Paul’s performance in the first half was very problematic. And this was definitely not his normal performance.

“Chris, you need to get back to your original state!”

In fact, before this round of finals officially started, in Phil Jackson’s mind, Chris Paul would be the most stable point of the Lakers.

The reason is very simple. In the regular season against the New York Knicks, he averaged 21.5 points and 10.5 assists per game, and at the same time restricted Stephen Curry on the defensive end without any temper.

But the result…

Not to mention that they failed to maintain stability on the offensive end, they couldn’t even maintain stability on the defensive end.

Just looking at the first half of the game, it can be said that Stephen Curry beat Chris Paul!
“Don’t take it too seriously, man!”

“I feel like you’re a little nervous now!”

Phil Jackson’s words of comfort were standard, but what he didn’t expect was that Chris Paul would jump up and down like a cat whose tail was stepped on: “Phil, why should I be nervous? I just need more cooperation from my teammates so that I can get into my rhythm.”

“The opponent’s play against me tonight was too targeted!”

“If it weren’t for this reason, how could I not be able to deal with Stephen!”

You really care!

Phil Jackson muttered to himself.

Even if he didn’t know it before, just from what Chris Paul said to the media before the game, he knew how much Chris Paul cared about Stephen Curry. When he faced other teams, he would not show his desire to win as obviously as he did when facing Stephen Curry.

but……

Phil Jackson didn’t expect Chris Paul to care to this extent.

Now he understood the abnormal performance of Chris Paul in the first half.

So much care about Stephen Curry.

Curry performed well from the beginning of the game. In this situation, if it was Phil Jackson, he would also be anxious… and Chris Paul was not wrong about one thing. The New York Knicks targeted Chris Paul in the first half today.

Now he carefully reviewed everything that happened in the first half, and suddenly he had a feeling:
The main theme of the New York Knicks in this game is “Attacking the heart”!
And extremely successful!

After this conversation, Phil Jackson realized that he had to change his original strategy.

In the second half, he had to give Chris Paul enough help to calm his impatient heart.

Otherwise, as long as Stephen Curry performs well, he will become impatient and act recklessly like he did in the first half, and the Lakers will be the ones who get hurt!

and so……

“Chris, how are you going to play in the second half?” Phil Jackson asked Chris Paul.

Paul actually already has ideas for the second half:

“I want to play pick-and-roll with Kobe!”

Under such circumstances, if the opponent double-teams him in advance like in the first half, he is 100% sure to pass the ball to Kobe. At this time, Kobe is in a state where he can attack immediately in most cases, and he also has this ability.

The issue is……

He couldn’t say such things.

Otherwise, Kobe would definitely look at him with his “shit-like expression” and not say anything, just looking at him, but his eyes would express everything:
With your performance in the first half, you still want me to play pick-and-roll for you?
Do you have a key?
How many?
If Phil Jackson said this, Kobe should do it…right?

It turned out that Chris Paul was worrying too much. When Kobe heard Phil Jackson say that he would need his help with the pick-and-roll, he agreed without any hesitation.

Not only was he stunned, even Phil Jackson was stunned.

However, after thinking about this question carefully, he suddenly understood. Kobe probably knew what stage his career had reached. It was not easy to make it to the finals again. What he wanted to express was very simple:
As long as he can win, he is willing to do anything!

After Kobe finished speaking, he exchanged a glance with Phil Jackson. Just this one glance made Phil Jackson confirm that there was nothing wrong with his idea.

At the same time, it also made him feel a little sad.

This is the Kobe he expected to see 10 years ago.

Later, he thought that Kobe would not change at all.

But the fact is that anyone who reaches this stage of his career and reaches the finals will do everything he can to win the championship!
If only Kobe had this mentality 10 years ago…

Chris Paul got Kobe’s nod, and his expression relaxed a lot, and confidence began to show in his eyes.

For him, as long as the whole team revolves around him.

Then he can suppress Stephen Curry.

A situation like the one in the first half where Stephen Curry created a “gap between the enemy and us” was absolutely impossible to happen.

No, that’s not right…

Chris Paul believes that there will still be a “gap between the enemy and us” in the second half, but this time, it will be him who will be watching Stephen Curry.

Compared to the Lakers, Phil Jackson was like a nanny, asking all kinds of questions.

There is a relaxed atmosphere in the New York Knicks locker room.

The head coaches of the New York Knicks also saw that in the first half they had successfully mobilized the “devil” in Chris Paul’s heart, making him very agitated. His entire style of play was very un-Chris Paul, and instead had a bit of “Westbrook” in it.

As the “engine” of the team, continuous mistakes will definitely affect the team’s rhythm.

Therefore, what the New York Knicks have to do is to continue to maintain their current style of play and make it difficult for Chris Paul.

Stephen Curry is also in hot form.

The half-time break gave him more energy and his eyes were particularly bright.

It would be impossible for him not to care about what Chris Paul said before the game.

Now the first half has turned around.

Now he has to do…

Continue to play against the odds in the second half!

Suwan saw all of his active running. On the first ball back in the second half, he pretended to receive the ball on the wing, helping Stephen Curry to easily receive the ball.

then……

“Shh!”

Three point hit!

This is Stephen Curry’s 5th three-pointer tonight!

This goal seemed to make the entire floor of Madison Square Garden vibrate.

Stephen Curry played well in the first half, and the team suppressed the Lakers all the way. Although the fans could not see the subtle micro-expressions of Chris Paul, they could also see it from the number of Chris Paul’s mistakes. The most important point…

Chris Paul and Curry had a beef. Before the game, both of them made tough statements in front of the media, saying that they would not lose.

So at this time, the harder they saw Stephen Curry beat Chris Paul, the more excited they were!

They like this kind of Stephen Curry.

At the same time, the following words popped up in their minds:

Worthy of being the person Su Wan chose!

It’s really awesome!

If it weren’t for Suwan’s words, when the New York Knicks chose Stephen Curry, they would inevitably boo loudly when the New York Knicks selected Stephen Curry.

A small guy like this will never achieve anything big!

They certainly think so.

But it turns out;
Su Wan’s choice is never wrong.

Su Wan is the “savior” of New York!
To be honest, after Stephen Curry’s good performance these days, New York Knicks fans are going to have “two whatevers” ideas about Suwan.

When Chris Paul saw Su Wan score a goal right at the start, his expression was indeed different.

As soon as he reached the center line, Kobe came towards him.

“Are you going to catch the ball and play singles?”

This was Bill Walton’s subconscious thought.

In the TNT studio, there was a similar idea.

Barkley took a look at the score and became more convinced that Kobe would ask for the ball and play one-on-one. From 00 to 13, since Kobe had his own position in the Lakers, he always tried to stand up and save the team when the game was behind.

But the result…

Kobe’s next move stunned everyone.

He actually set a pick-and-roll for Chris Paul!
This was something that none of the commentators had expected, nor was it something that the New York Knicks coaching staff had expected.

They double-teamed Chris Paul in advance, just like in the first half.

Paul quickly passed the ball to Kobe.

At this time, Kobe, who was left open, took the ball and made a “turnaround jump shot”, and the ball fell steadily into the basket.

The attack was successful and Phil Jackson nodded slightly.

His original intention was to make Chris Paul feel the team’s support for him and to calm his mentality.

But now, calming Chris Paul’s emotions is one thing, but making the tactics work is naturally what Phil Jackson wants to see more.

So far, this tactic seems to be very good.

This round alone is enough to make the New York Knicks wary.

But what he didn’t expect was…

Tyronn Lue shouted from the other side: “It’s okay, it’s okay, keep our own rhythm!”

Kobe set a pick-and-roll for Chris Paul, which was something no one expected.

However, even if the Lakers can score, the New York Knicks are now the leading side, so as long as they can continue to score goals, they can still have the last laugh!
There was really no need for the Lakers to feel impatient about this goal.

Suwan chose to receive the ball in this round, facing Kobe, and deliberately walked to the side where Chris Paul was, testing whether he would come to help defend. After all, this guy was a little too close to Stephen Curry.

When Suwan breaks through with the ball, Stephen Curry will not move around frantically so as not to affect Suwan’s breakthrough space.

But just standing there, he also has the ability to restrain others.

At least Chris Paul hesitated in this round and did not come forward to help defend.

Suwan gradually suppressed Kobe in the confrontation, and played with great force.

Kobe’s height and body shape are actually the same as Suwan’s, but his current physical fitness is completely incomparable to Suwan’s.

In the final confrontation, Kobe was completely out of strength, but Su Wan still had some strength left. After pushing Kobe away, he took off like a helicopter and slammed the ball down.

“Bah!”

This dunk reflects what “Father Time” took away from Kobe.

The Lakers fought back.

Chris Paul watched Kobe being crushed by Suwan, but he was not in a hurry at all.

The goal in the previous round gave him enough confidence.

He believes that the pick-and-roll cooperation between him and Kobe can definitely help the Lakers stabilize the situation and then turn it around.

Are you kidding? When it comes to the ability to lead a team and open up the situation, how could Stephen Curry be his opponent?

He is the “brain”, the “core”, Stephen Curry?

Huh~
Just a shooter who can only shoot three-pointers!
The New York Knicks changed the way they defended Chris Paul. Instead of double-teaming him in advance, they gave Chris Paul the opportunity to bypass Kobe and play one-on-one against Paul George.

I thought that for a third-year student like Paul George, he had a hundred ways to pass him and a hundred and one ways to score the ball.

But in the end, for nearly ten seconds, Chris Paul was still spinning in the same place.

“Paul George’s defensive ability was fully demonstrated at this moment!” Bill Walton shouted.

George is 2 meters tall, and it is not easy for him to defend Chris Paul. If he is not careful, he will be easily shaken off. This is the result of the influence of various factors of the center of gravity, but Paul George overcame all these factors and blocked Chris Paul, preventing him from getting into the three-point line.

Finally, he hurriedly threw the ball to Kobe.

Kobe took the ball and shot without saying a word, and Su Wan almost blocked it.

The ball fell out with a bang.

“Rebound!”

Phil Jackson shouted, and Al Jackson pushed Tyson Chandler away, but before he jumped, Suwan took the lead and successfully grabbed the rebound.

Launch a counterattack quickly.

Suwan was holding the ball, with Paul George and Stephen Curry rushing to the front on his left and right.

The Lakers’ formation returned to defense very quickly, but because of the running directions of their three people, the Lakers’ formation directly turned into a “long snake formation”. Su Wan was at the top of the arc, raised his hand and made a “chase-three-pointer”, and the next second after he successfully hit it, the scene shook again.

Barkley believes that Paul George’s close defense was the key to this counterattack.

But Kenny Smith thought of another key point: “Paul George was also selected by the New York Knicks in Suwan’s prediction, right?”

Buckley nodded.

What else is there to say…

“Believe in Su Wan and you will have eternal life!”

(End of this chapter)