The Trail Blazers' current record ranks second in the Western Conference. For Stotts, they also have the capital to test some of the team's new tactics in the game.

After playing the Suns in the last game in November, the Trail Blazers also got a rare three-day break. After that, they will face a back-to-back tight schedule.

During this break, Stotts began to increase the training time for pick-and-roll cooperation between Lillard and Zhang Feng.

After a month of daily training in various aspects, Zhang Feng and Lillard have maintained a tacit understanding of cooperation very well. Moreover, because Zhang Feng and Lillard are good friends off the court, they have become close buddies. Lillard gives Zhang Feng

When the ball is passed from peak to peak, it will never be sloppy.

Moreover, Zhang Feng himself is also very competitive. When he is full of physical energy, he has a very high success rate for long-range jump shots. Leonard or Robin Lopez, who are responsible for guarding Zhang Feng, have no chance to limit Zhang Feng's shooting.

When his shooting level dropped, Zhang Feng's offensive play after picking and rolling still had a considerable success rate. Although Lopez and Leonard were familiar with several of Zhang Feng's commonly used offensive techniques,

Faced with Zhang Feng's relatively nimble footsteps and his soft touch that can shoot at any point within the three-second zone, although his hit rate is not as good as before, he can still reach the level of playing.

Stotts believes that in the game, when facing some defensive players who are not familiar with Zhang Feng, Zhang Feng's offensive skills are enough for Zhang Feng to cope with the offense on the bench.

You must know that the offensive core of pick-and-roll tactics must still be Lillard. It is impossible to put the cart before the horse and let Zhang Feng become the main offensive point.

Therefore, if there are 10 pick-and-rolls, unless the opponent goes crazy and both of them defend Lillard, Zhang Feng will get offensive opportunities 3 times out of 10 times, which is a lot.

Zhang Feng's most important task is actually to provide a reliable "wall" to block Lillard's defenders with high quality and create opportunities for Lillard.

According to the results of the physical test during the inter-competition period, Zhang Feng gained 2 kilograms after hard training in November, and his muscle outline became more obvious.

In addition, Zhang Feng always has an excellent position selection when covering, so Stotts feels that Zhang Feng's "wall" should be able to keep up with the rhythm of the NBA.

Of course, Zhang Feng's appearance still depends on the opponent's inside situation. Even if he comes off the bench, he must avoid the opponent's starting center to prevent Zhang Feng from being blown away by the opponent's inside line during defense.

The next game, heading to Los Angeles to challenge the Lakers, was the best test subject chosen by Stotts.

The Lakers, with Kobe Bryant still recovering from his injury, have achieved an excellent record of 9 wins and 8 losses so far in the new season thanks to the performance of Pau Gasol and a group of substitute players.

However, in the terrifying Western Conference, the Lakers, with a winning rate of over 50%, are only ranked tenth!

It is still very difficult for the Lakers defense line composed of Steve Black and Judy Meeks to stop Lillard's offense on the defensive end, but Judy Meeks through constant pressure defense

, but he only wants to pester, harass Lillard, and consume Lillard's physical strength.

However, as Gasol is getting older and his athletic ability has declined significantly, relying on his height in the paint to defend Robin Lopez, who is not very good at attacking, is more than enough. Let Gasol switch positions to defend Aldridge.

Obviously unrealistic.

Aldridge, in this game, faced Jordan Hill, who was guarding him, and completely outplayed the Lakers power forward on both offense and defense.

When an All-Star player plays against an NBA fringe player, Ade's offensive success rate is extremely high.

In the first quarter of the game, when Lillard was caught in a struggle with Judy Meeks, Aldridge took up the offensive banner of the Trail Blazers, played hard inside, combined with mid-range jumpers, and scored 12 points in a single quarter.

points, leading the Trail Blazers to establish an 8-point lead in the first quarter.

With Ade performing so well, Stotts changed his rotation strategy in a timely manner, allowing Ade, who was open on the offensive end, to continue to attack the Blazers on the court, while Lillard took a rest and prepared to play in the game.

Leading the bench in the second quarter.

In the first quarter of the game, under the fierce defense of the opponent, Lillard only took 2 shots, hit one ball and scored 2 points.

As the game progressed, when Aldridge was not physically strong enough to continue attacking efficiently, Stotts chose to make substitutions and sent Lillard and Zhang Feng on the field at the same time. This pair of tactics was what Stotts planned to test today.

Cooperate.

And in order to better open up the space, the defender on the field is Mo Williams who has outside shooting skills, and Batum and White on the forward line also have sufficient shooting range.

The purpose is to prevent the Lakers from shrinking inside or double-teaming Lillard, and create a comfortable offensive space for Lillard.

As for Zhang Feng, due to his old age, the Lakers have always used Pau Gasol protectively during the regular season, waiting for Kobe Bryant to come back soon. So in this game, Gasol was on the bench.

There is more time to rest, and now the Lakers' backup center Sacre is sitting in the paint.

Although Thackeray weighs more than 120 kilograms, he is still a second-year rookie after all. He is still a little chubby, and his skills at the basket are not that mature. He is a comparable opponent to Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng's first appearance as a substitute, with the rapid development of online live broadcast in China, instantly attracted the attention of NBA fans. Everyone poured into major text live broadcast rooms to cheer for Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng himself knows his position very well. Now is the time to show his cooperation with Lillard. As long as the tactics can be successful, he will definitely have opportunities to play in the future. If the tactical experiment fails, he may have to continue.

Wasted in garbage time.

In the Trail Blazers' offensive round, although Mo Williams has been an offensive defender in his career, when he is on the same court with Lillard in the Trail Blazers, Mo Williams still wisely chooses to stay on the outside and play without the ball, preparing for

Respond.

From the inside, Zhang Feng pretended to confront Sacre and got stuck for a few seconds. As Lillard dribbled the ball across half court and outside the three-point line, Zhang Feng ran out directly according to the tactics.

As the only barrier for the Lakers inside at this time, although Sacre followed Zhang Feng for a few steps, he did not follow closely. Instead, he stopped at the free throw line and did not come out completely.

Zhang Feng's movement made a small arc, and Lillard also accelerated his dribbling rhythm and tried to move diagonally to the right. Zhang Feng took the last step with force, standing upright with both feet, not moving, and Lillard

De Ze accelerated sideways and walked away from Zhang Feng around the pillar, but Judy Meeks was unable to move forward and forward. She wanted to step forward to grab the position, but was blocked by Zhang Feng.

Thackeray did not dare to step forward to block Lillard for fear of being passed by Lillard, so Lillard had enough time to adjust, complete the take-off and shoot, just like daily non-confrontation training, and the mid-range shot was stable.

Hit the ball and scored another two points for the Blazers.

Yang Shaoxia's subsequent three-pointer returned the ball to the Trail Blazers.

It was still Zhang Feng and Lillard's pick-and-roll tactic, although Judy Meeks consciously took a step ahead when Zhang Feng stepped forward, wanting to maintain follow-up defense against Lillard.

But Zhang Feng's final step can be completely adjusted according to the situation on the court. Lillard himself will also defend the defensive players, change his course of action, and form a tacit understanding with Zhang Feng's cover.

Through the subtle adjustments of the two, the gap between Lillard and Zhang Feng was minimized, preventing the opponent from having the opportunity to squeeze through.

Zhang Feng's last step took a further step, and his body quickly followed up and stood firmly. There was no possibility of a moving cover foul due to the increase in pace.

Judy Meeks' attempt to grab the ball this time was still unsuccessful and was still firmly blocked by Zhang Feng, while Thackeray was still clumsy and unable to step forward. Although Lillard made a small change of direction this time, he was able to dodge.
Chapter completed!