Chapter 547 The New NBA Star 7
Even with the Portland Trail Blazers team replacing the main players, they were still able to put pressure on the attack because the replacement players they had were better than the replacement players on the Los Angeles Lakers team.
Of course, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry, who were substitute players, were very good, but substitute players in other positions were not so good, luckily Jake was always on the court to make the plays.
In another move Jake was organizing another attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake passed the ball to Fisher from the right, Fisher received the ball and Jim Jackson came up to press the defense.
Fisher held the ball for a while and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick was not replaced in that game because he had already rested a few minutes in the previous games, this season Rick was happy to play as a starting player for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
Rick had an average of more than 14 points per game and in many games, he helped the Los Angeles Lakers team by making more than 22 points, he could not be compared with Jake, Shaq, and Kobe, but he helped the opponent's defense not to focus a lot on Kobe.
Rick received the ball and Bonzi Wells came in pressing on defense, Rick tried to advance to the inside area, but Wells was firm in defense, so Rick decided to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Stoudamire arrived pressing in defense.
Jake made a feint and outwitted Stoudamire and advanced on the right, Stoudamire tried to keep defending, Jake did a quick crossover and advanced on the left and left Stoudamire behind.
Jake continued to advance and the opponents were unable to defend against him, Jake advanced and scored another 2 points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake was very good at three-point play, but when he advanced to make the individual play it was difficult for opponents to stop him.
With the two teams replacing the main players, the Portland Trail Blazers team was able to put more pressure on the attack and defense, luckily with Horry, Fisher, and Jake on the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Portland Trail Blazers team only managed to score a little more points.
Coach Rambis realized this and let Shaq play longer on the court, Jake had realized that Shaq was not playing very well in that game, but with him, on the court, the Los Angeles Lakers team was stronger.
In another move, the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Rider on the right, Rider received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Williams on the left.
Williams received the ball and Fisher came up on the defense, Williams tried to trick Fisher with a feint, but Fisher was not fooled, so Williams waited for a little and tried to advance from the right using his speed.
Williams managed to move forward and Fisher was trying to keep defending against him, Williams managed to move forward and did not notice Jake getting close to him, Jake was quick and steal and caught the ball and Williams was unable to react.
Jake took the ball and advanced using his speed for the attack, Williams and Stoudamire managed to follow Jake and came back to defend, Jake was very fast and left Williams behind and only Stoudamire left to defend.
Jake didn't think much and as soon as he approached Stoudamire he tried the Ghost move dribble, Jake made his move very fast and Stoudamire didn't see the ball like the other opponents that Jake did this dribble.
Jake passed by Stoudamire who did not see the ball until he heard the ball hitting the ground and Jake moving forward to make 2 more points with a dunk, Jake did this dribble several times and many still didn't realize that this was a dribble move by Jake.
For fans at the Great Western Forum and commentators Stoudamire just let Jake pass him with the ball and then Jake did the dunk, Jake also wouldn't say this was his special dribble because opponents could learn how to defend.
The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to win the game and managed to further increase the points advantage, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 12 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.
"The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win the game, it is difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to recover and win this game, especially since this is not the priority for the Portland Trail Blazers coach."
"That's right, Jake is playing very well and the other main players are also playing well even if they are playing for less time, even with the Portland Trail Blazers players playing well, it is difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win this game."
"The Portland Trail Blazers team is playing very well this season and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers team in one game and even losing the other games they still played well."
"But these two teams can still face each other in the playoff conference final, so the game would be completely different."
The Los Angeles Lakers team already had a big advantage in points in the game and it would be difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to try to win, even so in the third quarter the Portland Trail Blazers continued to press in attack and defense.
With Shaq playing longer and with fewer substitute players, the Los Angeles Lakers team played even better, in the last quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team continued with the points advantage with a great performance by Jake.
The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with 131 points against 86 points from the Portland Trail Blazers team, Jake played for 48 minutes in that game and had 51 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals.
This was the game that Jake made the most games in all season and it was the first game that Jake scored more than 50 points in his NBA career, Jake was very happy with his performance and even more for having achieved a double-double.
"The last game for these two teams ends this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to finish this regular season with one more victory and so they managed 44 victories and only 6 losses in 50 games."
"The Portland Trail Blazers team played well in that game, but with the substitutions, the Portland Trail Blazers team's defense failed to stop the strongest attack of the season, especially with this being one of Jake's best games of the season."
"Jake Smith showed today because even though he is a rookie he is one of the best players currently in the NBA, Jake made a double-double in this game with 11 assists and an incredible 51 points, this was the first game in Jake's career in which he did more 50 points."
"Jake broke the record by currently being the youngest player to score 50 points in a game, Jake is currently 20 years and 4 months old, unfortunately, he debuted this season with reduced games, otherwise he could score much more in the season. his debut."
"Jake was chosen three times as the player of the month and after that game scoring 51 points and with 11 assists Jake is a strong candidate to win the MVP award of the season, in fact, I think that this season nobody can compete with him."
"With this victory the Los Angeles Lakers team will go with more confidence to play the next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves team in the first game of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team will be playing at home which makes them even more favorites to win this game."
"The Portland Trail Blazers team will play against the Sacramento Kings team and will also try to win the victory to advance to the next playoff phase and perhaps win this season's NBA title."
The players were very happy with this victory of the Los Angeles Lakers team, many players congratulated Jake for having managed to make more than 50 games in the last game, everyone knew that Jake would help the team a lot in the playoffs of this season.
Jake was also very happy to have managed to score more than 50 points in that game and he was also excited to play the playoffs, after the end of the playoffs Jake knew he might have a chance to win the MVP award in his debut season.
Jake knew he could play the playoffs this season because he knew the Los Angeles Lakers team did it in his past life, but with Jake joining the team, things were different, the games were no longer the same and the Los Angeles Lakers team started to depend on Jake to win.
Certainly, in the playoff games the Los Angeles Lakers team would depend on Jake to win, Jake was anxious about it and also a little afraid, after all these games in the playoffs would be different from what Jake remembered in his past life.
In addition to the Los Angeles Lakers team having different players, the opponent would also be different, even so, Jake was confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win, coach Rambis and the other players were also confident of that.
After the end of the game, the reporters went to interview the players, some players were happy for the victory, but they refused to speak to the reporters, Shaq and Kobe were stopped first by the reporters and spoke little to them.
"Kobe, this is your third year in the NBA and the third time that you will play in the playoffs, last season the Los Angeles Lakers team reached the West Conference Finals before losing, do you think that this season you can reach the NBA Finals this season or even winning the NBA title?"
"For sure, this season the Los Angeles Lakers team had one of the best seasons in the team's history, I was able to play longer and my teammates also played well this season."
"With the arrival of Jake, who is an excellent player, our team has improved a lot and I think we can win the games in the playoffs and win this NBA title if we continue to play well."