When a team plays carelessly on defense, it only means that they don't truly take their opponent seriously.
Fisher's two defensive plays highlighted some issues. In the CCTV broadcast room, Xu Jicheng also commented:
"Kayce's play, from getting open to passing, was beautiful, but the Lakers' defense wasn't tight, especially the defense on Westbrook. Fisher should pay attention to his defensive attitude."
Russell stood at the free-throw line, took a deep breath, and calmly sank both free throws.
After crossing half-court, Fisher first executed a hand-off with Odom, pulling Jeff Green out of the paint. Kobe received the ball after a screen, with Kayce's defense being very on-point.
But Kobe didn't attack directly. Instead, he passed the ball to Bynum in the paint. The latter received the ball, backed down twice with a Bang Bang, pushed directly near the rim, and scored with a turnaround floater.
One-on-one in the paint, Kostić truly couldn't defend. The Lakers spread the offensive space very well; these few players on the perimeter all had shooting ability and could handle the ball. As soon as a double-team came, they immediately passed the ball out.
Coach Brooks saw this situation and didn't have many good solutions. He could only stick to the plan: single coverage first, and if that didn't work, then double-team. As long as the offense could consistently respond, the game was playable.
Russell quickly dribbled past half-court, and Kostić came up to receive the ball. Kayce, using Jeff Green's off-ball screen, executed a hand-off pass with Kostić.
At this point, Kobe had already come up to defend. Kayce, while protecting the ball and driving towards the paint, also paid attention to his teammates' movements, seeing Durant shake off Artest with a screen.
He made a behind-the-back pass on the move, and the cutting Durant received the ball near the free-throw line and immediately shot a jump shot.
"Swish!" An easy mid-range shot went in.
After Durant scored, he immediately patted his chest, signaling that it was a beautiful pass. Artest's defense wasn't tight, and the Lakers' defensive rotation was a beat slow.
"Kayce's two passes were very artistic. The Lakers' off-ball defense at the start was too poor," host Yu Jia couldn't help but complain.
Kayce on the court also felt that the Lakers' rotation speed hadn't picked up, but he could understand it. After all, would a championship team go all out against a bottom-feeder team?
Maybe the Lakers were planning to make a run in the third quarter and take the game directly. Truly an arrogant team.
Kobe dribbled directly past half-court. Facing Kayce's defense, he dribbled between his legs, then quickly changed direction in front of his body, trying to establish position. But Kayce didn't fall for the fake and maintained a favorable defensive position.
Seeing this situation, Kobe immediately turned his back, used his strength advantage to back down to the low post, then quickly gathered the ball, faked with a shoulder shake, and executed a turnaround fadeaway fake.
This move directly made Kayce jump. After all, he had been scored on by a fadeaway before, so his body reacted instinctively.
After Kobe made the defender jump, he didn't try to draw a foul. Instead, he used a beautiful up-and-under move, completely shaking off Kayce, and easily scored.
After scoring, Kobe glanced at Kayce but didn't say anything. After all, a big shot wouldn't bother with trash talk with a rookie.
Kayce raised his hand, signaling it was his mistake. Goodness, those back-to-the-basket footwork moves truly taught him a lesson. The main thing was, if he didn't defend, the opponent could truly sink those tough fadeaway shots!
"Kobe's shot had a bit of Jordan's flair. He used back-to-the-basket footwork to directly shake off Kayce. It was indeed a beautiful play!"
Xu Jicheng is a Jordan fan, so he would almost always inadvertently mention Jordan and the Bulls when speaking.
"Boo!"
The Oklahoma City fans at the Ford Center booed Kobe. They didn't like the Lakers.
The Thunder's offensive pace was very fast. After crossing half-court, they started with continuous hand-off passes. Bynum was a bit uncomfortable; he was frequently pulled to the high post, which made his defense very difficult.
At this time, Russell exploited this point. Kostić made a fake screen, then rolled, taking Bynum with him. Fisher's chase defense had just arrived when Russell took one dribble and suddenly pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" Another mid-range shot went in.
After scoring, Russell was very excited, bouncing and jumping as he quickly returned to defense. Kayce knew that his emotions were up; Fisher was in for a tough game.
The Lakers' offense combined inside and outside play, with strong points both inside and out. Their offense was steady, and the Thunder truly couldn't defend it.
But after more than 6 minutes in the first quarter, the two sides were tied at 16-16. The Lakers also couldn't defend the Thunder's offense, with Kayce constantly connecting the team.
When Kayce was on the court, Durant mostly played as a finisher, shaking off defenders with screens and shooting jump shots directly after receiving the ball. This one move made Artest very frustrated.
Because Durant was too tall, if the defense wasn't in place, he would just pull up. If the defense was in place, he might just drive past you directly after receiving the ball.
Plus, Russell was also shooting well in this game. These two constantly attacked, and Kayce occasionally fed Jeff Green and Kostić easy baskets, keeping the score tight.
Kobe, as the key player on both offense and defense, had to step up when there was a problem. Seeing his old buddy Fisher struggling, he directly switched, taking on Russell's defense himself.
This touched Fisher a bit. Look at this boss, he truly steps up when needed.
After Kobe missed his first shot on offense with Kayce's interference, the rhythm of the game changed, as Fisher began to be frequently targeted by Kayce.
On an offensive possession, Kayce, after a hand-off, found Fisher defending him and almost laughed out loud.
No screen needed. After dribbling between his legs, he quickly changed direction in front of his body, then took a large step back and shot a jump shot from beyond the 3-point line.
"Swish!" The 3-pointer went in easily. Fisher was so faked out that he could only watch Kayce shoot.
Lakers on offense, Kobe also wanted to make a response shot. He came off an off-ball screen to receive the ball, then accelerated with a right-hand dribble to drive. Kayce's defense wasn't out of position, but Kobe directly took a fadeaway shot.
His shooting motion was very beautiful, but unfortunately, it didn't go in. Ah, three misses for two makes; Kobe's shooting percentage was dropping.
The rebound was secured by Russell, who immediately charged with the ball. Kobe also quickly followed with long strides to delay him. After crossing half-court, Russell found that the Lakers had already retreated on defense, so he had to run a play again.
After the pick-and-roll, Russell was still tightly guarded by Kobe. This was not the Fisher from before; the defensive pressure was particularly strong, and his height also covered him well.
With no opportunity, he had to pass to Durant on the perimeter. The latter received the ball and was tightly guarded by Artest. Durant didn't easily give up the ball; instead, he signaled Kayce to come over for a hand-off.
After Kayce received the ball, Durant quickly ran away, simultaneously signaling his teammates to clear space for Kayce.
Fisher pulled up his shorts, staring intently at Kayce. On the surface, it looked like he was taking it seriously, but Kayce just dribbled between his legs continuously, then suddenly took a lateral step-back, and shot again from beyond the 3-point line.
"Swish!" It went in steadily. For slow and short guards, Kayce just pulled up directly, without too many fancy moves.
"Ah!! Ah!!"
The live audience cheered loudly. With Kayce's two three-pointers, the Thunder led by 6 points.
Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson called a timeout. There were 3 minutes left in the first quarter, and he needed to make substitutions. It was also a good time to take Fisher out.
On the Thunder's bench, Coach Brooks was very happy.
"Good job, Kayce. Take a break now and get ready for the second quarter."
Kayce smiled, indicating he understood. Although he wanted to play a bit longer, the feeling of throwing punches at Fisher was truly satisfying!
"Russell, Kevin, increase your aggressiveness in the last few minutes. Attack the rim more and speed up the offensive pace!"
Coach Brooks subbed in Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison to maintain offensive spacing.
After the timeout, Shannon Brown and Josh Powell came in for the Lakers, replacing Odom and Fisher.
After all, Odom would still be needed to lead the bench unit in the second quarter. The other deep bench players couldn't really be relied on; the Lakers' bench wasn't very strong.
In the final 3 minutes of the first quarter, both sides remained deadlocked. Artest continuously drew fouls and went to the free-throw line, and Jeff Green's corner shot also responded.
Shannon Brown's athleticism was very good, and he could keep up with Russell. Plus, the Lakers' defensive rotation speed increased, making the Thunder's offense somewhat stifled.
Phil Jackson naturally noticed this. He began to signal his players to execute the established defensive strategy, and Durant was once again targeted defensively.
Fortunately, there was little time left in the first quarter. The Thunder barely held on, leading 28-25, maintaining a 3-point advantage.
During the break between quarters, in the CCTV studio, host Yu Jia routinely brought up a topic:
"The first quarter was very exciting, Xu. What do you think of both teams' performances?"
"I think the Lakers were careless. This team is no longer the team that won 23 games last season. In the first few minutes, the Lakers' defense had problems."
"This was due to not paying attention to Kayce before the game. Before Kayce came off the court, the Thunder's offense was very fluid, always efficiently attacking the weak points of the Lakers' defense."
"But in the last few minutes, the Thunder's offense seemed to revert to last season's style. Of course, Durant and Westbrook's individual abilities are strong, and they still scored, but the Lakers aren't afraid of that kind of play."
"Kobe is the best at making response shots. If it stays tight, Kobe will eventually take over the game. So the second quarter is also crucial. The Lakers' bench is too thin; let's see if Kayce can seize the opportunity."
Although Xu Jicheng wasn't optimistic about the Thunder, he still gave Kayce his usual reverse jinx.
"Indeed, as Xu said, once the bench unit comes in, it depends on whether Kayce can get his offense going. Alright, the second quarter is about to begin, let's switch the screen back to the Ford Center."
The Thunder's second-quarter bench lineup featured Kayce partnering with Thabo Sefolosha in the backcourt, and Thomas, Nick Collison, and Ibaka in the frontcourt.
This lineup mostly consisted of frontcourt players, so rebounding could sometimes be an issue. Ibaka had a large help-side defensive area, but he was still a rookie, and his performance was inconsistent.
The Lakers also put out a tall lineup: Vujacic and Shannon Brown in the backcourt, and Luke Walton, Odom, and Josh Powell in the frontcourt.
Phil Jackson wanted to let the bench unit hold their own first. He also didn't want his starters to expend too much energy.
Vujacic primarily defended Kayce; their body types were similar. Shannon Brown was a bit shorter.
Kayce slowly dribbled past half-court, then signaled his teammates, passed the ball to Collison who came up for a screen, and then quickly established position in the low post.
Collison directly lobbed the ball to Kayce. His teammates cleared space on one side for him. Facing Vujacic's defense, he used a triple threat, then quickly put the ball down and accelerated directly with his left-hand dribble.
Using his excellent first step, Kayce directly gained half a step, then backed down to his shooting hot zone, and immediately turned around for a fadeaway shot.
"Swish!" The fadeaway was beautiful, going in steadily.
"Haha, Kayce's shot was just like Kobe's offense in the first quarter, a back-to-the-basket move. This technique is truly excellent; this young man is something else!"
Xu Jicheng was amused; this kind of offense truly impressed him.
After the score, the live audience gave him a huge cheer. Kayce returned to defense with a calm expression; the opponent's role players weren't worth too much of his effort.
Vujacic felt bitter. He had a premonition that he might not be able to defend Kayce after coming on, so he secretly glanced at the team's boss. Seeing that the other party showed no reaction, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The Lakers' bench offense mainly relied on Odom to organize and connect. He himself could drive and shoot, making him the primary scoring threat off the bench.
Odom and Josh Powell ran a pick-and-roll, driving directly into the paint. Ibaka's defensive positioning was a bit off, allowing Odom to seize the opportunity and hit a mid-range jump shot.
"Serge, it's okay, remember to crash the lane!" Kayce saw that Ibaka was a bit nervous and immediately came over to comfort him loudly.
On the offensive possession, Kayce signaled Ibaka to come up for a pick-and-roll. Vujacic immediately squeezed through the screen, constantly applying physical pressure to Kayce.
At the same time, Josh Powell also played up close, trying to delay Kayce's pass, but he focused all his attention on Kayce, and Ibaka had already rolled down.
Kayce flicked his wrist while moving, and the ball quickly passed directly between Powell's legs. Ibaka caught the ball and slammed it in.
"Wow!!!"
The live audience erupted in huge cheers for this beautiful play. That move was truly spectacular!
Josh Powell felt a bit embarrassed after being nutmegged, especially by Kayce's calm expression, which almost made him furious. 'You're a rookie, why are you acting like a boss!'
This dunk also encouraged Ibaka. On the defensive end, he fully utilized his help defense ability, being everywhere, and gave Josh Powell another big block.
Kayce successfully controlled the ball and initiated a fast break. Vujacic rushed up to try and delay Kayce, but Kayce performed a dribble-drive, leaving him stunned.
The ball slipped past Vujacic, and Kayce accelerated near the sideline, shaking off his defender. He didn't stop after touching the ball again, delivering an accurate long pass, and Thabo Sefolosha caught the ball in mid-air and slammed it into the basket.
"Roar!!!" Thabo Sefolosha pounded his chest and roared after the dunk.
"A beautiful assist! Kayce's imagination on that play was incredible, a perfect dribble-drive!"
Xu Jicheng also praised him directly, saying that his ball-handling skills were truly impressive!
Phil Jackson shouted loudly at his players from the sideline. It was clear he was very dissatisfied with the bench lineup's defense.
However, the Lakers' offense also kept pace. Shannon Brown, relying on his excellent explosiveness, broke through after a pick-and-roll and dished it out. Odom followed up with a layup.
Kayce also began to speed up the Thunder's offensive rhythm. After crossing half-court, he used continuous in-and-out dribbles to break through Vujacic's defense. Facing Odom's help defense, he successfully fed Thomas for an easy score.
Next, both sides traded blows. Although the Lakers' bench wasn't strong, the Thunder's defense also failed to hold up.
Ibaka had a large help-defense radius, but against a veteran like Odom, he still lacked experience, and the Lakers continuously scored in the paint.
Kayce went all out. Vujacic couldn't stop him at all, and he began to constantly attack the basket. Odom could only provide help defense, and then Collison continuously scored easy baskets.
About 3 minutes into the second quarter, Phil Jackson called a timeout. It seemed he couldn't tolerate Vujacic's defense anymore.
After the timeout, Kobe came directly onto the court, and Artest replaced the ineffective Walton.
On the offensive possession, Artest immediately drove in against the defense and sank a three-pointer. After scoring, he muttered:
"Rookie, don't get too arrogant!"
???
Kayce had a puzzled look. Why did he have to say a few trash-talking words, as if it made him seem superior?
After dribbling past half-court, Artest proactively came over to defend Kayce. He wanted to give the rookie some physical challenge.
Kayce looked at Artest defending him, immediately performed a crossover dribble, then quickly pulled back. Artest maintained his defensive center of gravity very well, and at the same time quickly stepped forward to apply physical pressure to Kayce.
But this kind of defense was useless against Kayce. The moment he pulled back, his right hand quickly dribbled the ball between his legs, accelerating directly, and then a sudden stop and go move shook off Artest.
Facing the help defense from the paint, he made a subtle bounce pass with his left hand to Ibaka, who caught the ball and slammed it in with both hands.
"Ah!!" Ibaka even flexed his muscles after the dunk.
Kayce shrugged at Artest and said nothing, directly returning to defense. This calm demeanor greatly displeased Artest, who had just talked trash in the previous possession only to be made to look foolish.
"F*ck! Arrogant bastard!" The old man got agitated first.
After Kobe dribbled past half-court, Kayce started to stick to him, not allowing him to easily get into an offensive rhythm. At the same time, Thabo Sefolosha also came over to interfere from time to time.
Seeing Kobe gather the ball, Ibaka in the paint immediately came over to double-team. At this moment, Odom suddenly cut in, and Kobe passed the ball directly to him, who then easily laid it in.
"No problem, I'll guard him one-on-one!" Kayce signaled not to double-team and gave his teammates a gesture.
On the defensive end, Kobe came to guard Kayce again. There was no other way; if there was a problem, they'd go to the boss. This was how the Lakers dealt with issues.
Kayce was the only ball-handler on the bench lineup. Facing Kobe's defense, off-ball screens didn't create many good opportunities. With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Kayce directly signaled his teammates to clear out.
It wasn't easy to shake Kobe's defensive center of gravity, as he was very experienced. Kayce's two consecutive changes of direction had no effect.
Seeing that time was running out, after a wide in-and-out dribble, he accelerated and broke through with his right-hand dribble.
Near the basket, he suddenly made a half-spin fake, faking Kobe into a stop. A pump fake after pulling back made Kobe jump, and then he quickly used an up-and-under move to scoop the ball into the basket.
"Wow!!!" The live audience gasped in surprise. The footwork on that play was beautiful!
"Good footwork, but you won't score again after this." Kobe looked at Kayce coldly and said in a calm, low voice.
"Buddy, you can't guard me! I'll still score." Kayce was a bit surprised to hear Kobe's voice, but at this moment, he had to talk back; he couldn't lose his momentum.
Kobe chuckled when he heard this and didn't say much more, as trash-talking wasn't very interesting.
For the next 3 minutes, Kayce experienced what it was like to face a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Kobe's full-effort defense was very tenacious. He barely fell for fakes, squeezed directly through screens, and constantly applied physical pressure.
"Kobe is serious now. He's going to increase the defensive intensity on the rookie!" Xu Jicheng knew Kobe was serious when he saw his defensive state.
Kayce was the offensive initiator for the bench lineup. Once he was limited, the offense would be difficult to organize effectively. However, Kayce didn't turn the ball over under heavy defensive pressure; he just slowed the pace down significantly.
Then Kobe and Kayce both entered mamba mode, frequently missing shots.
With 5 minutes and 46 seconds left in the second quarter, the Thunder called a timeout. Kayce knew he had completed his task.
"Guys, you played great! Russell, when you get on the court, try to speed up the game's tempo as much as possible. If there's an opportunity for a fast break, be decisive in taking the shot!"
Coach Brooks was very satisfied with the bench's performance. Kayce's ability to withstand pressure and not turn the ball over was a bit beyond his expectations. Although he missed some shots, it was harmless.
Kayce shot 1-for-5 in the second quarter, indeed clanking shots under Kobe's tight defense, but Kobe also went 1-for-4, so the Thunder were still leading by 3 points.
Kayce sat on the bench, breathing heavily. The continuous high-intensity offense and defense had taken a toll on him, but it wasn't a big problem. He had to admit that if Kobe defended like that for the entire game, it would indeed be terrifying.
"A Defensive Player of the Year candidate is truly amazing!" Kayce thought to himself.
For the remainder of the second quarter, the Lakers controlled the offensive rhythm. Kobe didn't take frequent shots but instead continuously fed the ball to Bynum, playing inside-out.
This gave the Thunder no fast-break opportunities. With continuous half-court offense, they could only rely on Russell and Durant's individual abilities to score. Jeff Green occasionally had chances, but Kostić was severely suppressed.
At the end of the first half, the score was 50-47, with the Thunder leading by 3 points going into the second half.
During halftime, in the CCTV studio, host Yu Jia and Xu Jicheng were also discussing the first half of the game.
"Xu, Kayce scored 8 points in the first half, and his overall shooting percentage was decent. What kind of performance do you expect from both teams in the second half?"
Yu Jia cleverly avoided mentioning Kayce's missed shots in the second quarter.
"Kayce's performance in the first half was actually quite good. Most importantly, he delivered 8 assists with no turnovers. However, the game has now entered the Lakers' rhythm."
"The Lakers like this inside-out offense. Bynum completely dominated the opposing paint in the first half. If the Thunder want to win, they have to find a solution."
Xu Jicheng spoke frankly; the paint was currently the Thunder's weakness. Gasol didn't even play in this game.
Coach Brooks also had no good solution for the paint problem. It was a fundamental weakness that couldn't be solved. The Lakers could simply crush them in the paint.
In the Thunder's locker room, everyone was in good spirits, after all, they were still leading at halftime.
After Coach Brooks came in, he immediately drew on the whiteboard and then said loudly:
"Alright, guys, look here first. In the second half, we need to strike first. Ibaka, you'll start the second half!"
"Kayce, Russell, Kevin, unleash your strengths, play aggressively, we need to completely speed up the offensive rhythm!"
"As long as it feels good, shoot directly. Pay attention, try to exploit the weak points of their defense and reduce unnecessary forced shots."
"If we don't score, we'll quickly retreat on defense. On defense, pay attention to help defense, and we need to increase some fronting defense!"
"Remember, guys, offense, we need to attack quickly, and destroy them with one-on-one offense!"
Kayce listened to Coach Brooks's endless tactical arrangements and constant motivational speeches, and couldn't help but be dumbfounded:
"What kind of tactic is this? If we blow them out, it's fine, but if our shooting is off, we'll definitely be done for."
However, after thinking about it carefully, if they played normally, the Lakers would definitely dominate the paint again in the second half, and with Kobe likely not missing as many shots, this game would indeed be tough to win.
"This is interesting, completely relying on shooting touch and offensive talent? This game is too fun!"
Kayce chuckled to himself, and at the same time, couldn't help but think:
"Will a championship team never stumble? That's hard to say... After all, the ball is round."