Chapter 552 The Playoffs 2
"The Minnesota Timberwolves team is also very strong and can still find an opportunity to win that game, moreover, this is only the first game of the 3 games between the two teams and the Minnesota Timberwolves team can find a way to win and move on to the next phase."
In that game, Jake was much more relaxed and he knew he could save himself a little for the next games, with Shaq and Kobe playing very well it was easier for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win.
Jake realized that this game was easier, but he did not underestimate his opponent and he knew that the Minnesota Timberwolves team might surprise, but his biggest fear was that in the next games Shaq and Kobe would play badly and he would have to do the best performance that he could to ensure victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team putting more pressure on the attack, Jake had already seen how the opposing players were doing and so he started to better control the pace of the game.
Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler arrived pressing in defense, Kobe was doing the low dribble keep the ball bouncing low nearest to the floor, so Kobe prevented Peeler from trying to do the steal.
Kobe had the ball and Peeler kept pressing in defense, Kobe jab stepped and Peeler retreated, so Kobe was free to try a mid-range shot and score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe was playing very well in that game and Peeler was unable to defend well against Kobe, so Jake tried to make more plays with Kobe on the right and with Shaq ahead too, so the Minnesota Timberwolves team was having trouble defending.
The Los Angeles Lakers team started the second quarter pressing in the attack and the Minnesota Timberwolves team was having a hard time staying on defense, as this was not the only game between the two teams in the playoffs the Minnesota Timberwolves team players were calmer to try to achieve victory.
In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced the ball and passed Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and held it for a bit and then passed the ball to Peeler on the left.
Peeler received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Peeler tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled, so Peeler decided to pass the ball to Garnett later on.
Garnett got the ball and Shaq came up to press in defense, Garnett was playing well in that game, but Shaq was also playing well in defense and so Garnett couldn't score as many points as in other games.
Garnett protected the ball with his body and made a forceful move trying to advance to the painted area, Shaq was heavier and stronger than Garnett and was not pushed around and kept Garnett away from the painted area.
Garnett pretended that he would advance from the right and did a spin and advanced from the left, Shaq still managed to stay in defense, Garnett advanced anyway and tried the layup and made 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team.
After a few minutes in the second quarter, the game was not so balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team started to increase the points advantage, Jake continued playing very well and made more steals in the second quarter defending better too.
The Los Angeles Lakers team really wanted this victory playing at home and all the players seemed motivated to achieve that, Dennis Rodman was defending well and managed to catch several defensive rebounds preventing the Minnesota Timberwolves team from having a chance to score more points.
Rick was also well on the attack and even though he was unable to score many points, he still helped by not letting the players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team try to double-team Jake and Kobe.
In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler arrived pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and went to the middle and Jake went to to the left.
The players had to change positions to try to hinder the defense of the opposing team, in many plays the Los Angeles Lakers team did not need to do that, but in these playoffs, coach Rambis insisted that they make this move more.
Rick passed the ball to Jake on the left, Jake received the ball and Brandon was again next to him pressing in defense, Jake remained calm even with Brandon pressing in defense.
Jake made a feint doing the jab step and Brandon who let Jake pass him a few times stepped back, this gave more freedom to Jake who tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
With this 3-point move from Jake the crowd was excited again, Jake was currently the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team and he was for fans the most important player for playing every minute in every game and being the player who most he made points.
In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Peeler on the left.
Peeler received the ball and Kobe came pressing in defense, Peeler was not playing so well in this game and that was because Kobe was defending very well in that game, so Peeler just tried to make the jump shot a few times and most of the times he tried to pass the ball.
Peeler tried to trick Kobe with a feint and Kobe was not fooled, so Peeler tried to pass the ball to Garnett later on, but Jake had realized that Peeler was going to try that move and intercepted his pass and made the steal.
After the steal Jake calmed his teammates and started the play slowly, the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a good point advantage with Jake's steals and the Minnesota Timberwolves' mistakes and they had no reason to rush.
The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.
"The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team is much better in that game and the Minnesota Timberwolves defense cannot stop Jake, Kobe, and Shaq in that game."
"The attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team is doing very well in this game with all the players on the Lakers team playing well, even though the Minnesota Timberwolves attack is playing well too, it is not enough for them to win the game."
"In the last games of this season we see Kobe and Shaq playing much better in defense and that is why the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team is stronger, with the steals and Jake's good defense the Lakers team has the advantage in this game."
In the third quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team, which had little choice, kept trying to press in the attack and press in the defense too, but they knew that if the Los Angeles Lakers team kept pressing in the attack it would be difficult for them to win that game.
Fortunately, as expected by the Los Angeles Lakers team coach Kurt Rambis, he realized that the Los Angeles Lakers team had a good advantage in this game and decided to replace the main players of the team so that they could rest and play better in the next games.
This was normal for playoff team coaches to do and even Shaq and Kobe expected it, the Minnesota Timberwolves team could not replace the top players losing and they saw it as an opportunity for them to try to win the game.
Even so, it was the Los Angeles Lakers team that started pressing in the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Derek Fisher on the right, Fisher took over from Kobe as he did several times this season and he could help Jake organize some plays.
Fisher received the ball and Peeler came in to press on defense, Fisher held the ball for a while and passed it to Rodman ahead, Rodman received the ball and Joe Smith came in to press on defense.
Rodman held the ball a little and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and passed it to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball freely and pretended he tried a mid-range shot, but it was actually a fake pump that tricked Mitchell, so Rick got free and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
At the end of the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to further increase their points advantage and it was almost impossible for the Minnesota Timberwolves to win that game, so the Minnesota Timberwolves coach decided to replace the main players for a few minutes in the last quarter.
So in the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team had no more difficulty maintaining their points advantage and coach Rambis replaced Rick, Kobe, Shaq for even longer and only Jake remained on the court.
The game ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the victory by making 112 points against 89 points of the Minnesota Timberwolves team, it was a great victory that was expected by the media and the fans of the two teams.
In this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team played very well and even then Jake was the highlight of the game, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 37 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, and 8 steals, Jake managed to a double-double and won more confidence for the next games.
"The game ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game as expected before the game, in this game all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team played well and it was natural that they would end up with the victory."