Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 7 Gambling Contract

Compared with the drastic trades of the eastern opponents, the Lakers' actions are much smaller.

Joe Smith, the main insider, and Montrose, the substitute, were injured for a long time. The Detroit Pistons, who were in a hurry inside, sent a second-round pick in 01 and got the Lakers' second-round pick Mark Madsen and some cash.

In terms of the free market, at Jim's suggestion, the Lakers signed O'Neal's old teammate Dennis Scott.

Scott was very excited to be able to continue to be teammates with O'Neal. He was close to joining the Lakers at the beginning of the season, but because of the limited number of rosters, the team had to reluctantly give up on him.During the Magic period that year, he made 17 of 11 three-pointers in the defeat of the Eagles, setting an NBA record for the number of three-pointers made in a single game.In the current team, apart from O'Neal, Brian Shaw and Grant were Scott's teammates during the Magic period. Jim believes that Scott can seamlessly integrate into the team and provide some three-point firepower.

On the other hand, the team's rookie Reed's three-pointers have always been unstable, and Jim hopes that the veteran shooter can help Reed in training.

The most unexpected signing was that the Lakers gave the last player spot to Dennis Rodman, a veteran who had been given up and now has no ball to play.

Last season, Rodman briefly played for the Lakers. At the age of 38, he still averaged 11.2 rebounds per game. In 12 games with the Mavericks last season, Rodman averaged 14.3 rebounds per game. rebound.It has to be said that in terms of performance on the court alone, this gentleman can be called a genius on the court. He has been the best defensive player for two times, rebounded for seven times, and won five championship rings, all of which have demonstrated his strength.

The reason why no one cares about Rodman is more because of his eccentric temper and unpredictable attitude.Missing training for no reason, blaming teammates, indulging in gambling... All kinds of bad deeds made other teams dare not try to sign him again.

"Phil, I brought your rebounding champion back to Los Angeles, how can you thank me?" Jim came to the training ground and visited the team's training.

"I've always been curious, how did you convince Dr. Buss and Dennis to sign this contract? As far as I know, neither of them are very talkative people, even if you were the one who proposed the proposal, Jim . ” The work of arranging training is usually done by the assistant coaches, and Zen Master and Jim just moved two chairs far away and sat down to talk.On the field, the team is divided into two teams, the main team and the substitute team, and they are fighting in groups.

"I don't think Dennis is going to be able to continue playing on any other team because they don't have a coach named Chuck Daly, but only the Lakers, who have another coach named Phil Jackson, can play. Keep him in line, and Dad agrees with that...well done, DeShawn, you were so close to guarding Kobe, keep up the good work!"

On the court, under the close defense of Stevenson, Kobe scored two points with a difficult shot, and Jim applauded loudly.

"Where did you talk? Yes, Dennis, I just made a personal bet with him. If he accepts this contract and can play well until he is not cut by the team before the finals, then I will Help him pay off all his gambling debts... Oh, my God! Michael, are you trying to murder me with this three-pointer?"

On the training ground, Reid's corner three-pointer hit the top of the backboard, bounced high, and hit Jim on the sidelines.

The scene was very chaotic at one time. Seeing Jim joking with the players on the field, the Zen master was thoughtful. Kobe's progress was obvious. If the relationship between players is not handled well, a championship team may fall apart in an instant.

Currently in the hands of Zen Master is a strange Lakers team. Except for the league's top center O'Neal, the team only has a seven-footer Medvedenko who was undrafted. On the wing, the Lakers have Kobe, Harper, Fox, Reed, Stevenson, Scott and others are about two meters away.The time to test his formation has come.

In the second half of the season, the Lakers made adjustments to the starting lineup. Hawley was promoted to the starting power forward and formed a starting lineup with Harper, Kobe, Fox, and O'Neal, while Brian Shaw, Reed, Scott, Rodman The bench lineup of , Grant, Stevenson and others has increased the number of scenes on the court, with Grant serving as the backup center.

O'Neal's playing time dropped from 40 minutes to about 36 minutes, but the fat man didn't complain. On the contrary, he was happier because he got more rest time. Only Kobe felt a little unhappy about the reduction in playing time.

When facing traditional coolie power forwards, Hawley can take advantage of his flexibility and range to open up space for O'Neal.But when facing several star forwards, his size and defensive disadvantages are fully exposed.Rodman became a surprise soldier at this time. The 40-year-old Hua Da Chong still has strong lower limbs, and his endless tricks on the defensive end often disturb the opponent's impatience.

Under Rodman's subtle influence, everyone found that the team's rookie Stevenson's defense has also become annoying to offensive players. After getting angry on the opposite side, another flop continued to add fuel to the fire.

Before the penultimate game of the season against the old rival Trail Blazers, the Lakers had won 60 wins and 20 losses, locking in the league's first place in advance.However, the Blazers' team chemistry has dropped to a freezing point due to poor signings. Relying on their talent, they barely touched the threshold of the playoffs, and they no longer have the momentum of fighting the Lakers in seven games last year.

In the second quarter of the game, Rasheed Wallace clashed with Rodman during a rebound, and both were expelled.Wallace, who took off his jersey and jumped into a rage, was in stark contrast to Rodman, who did not forget to stir up the audience's atmosphere when he exited the field and enjoyed heroic cheers.

"As I said a long time ago, our coaches are not Harris and Rambis. Although I respect them, when it comes to how to make Dennis play obediently, Phil is obviously superior." Jim and Kupp watching the game from the sidelines Cheek was also amused by Rodman's actions. This kind of super problematic player can hurt the enemy by [-] if he uses it well, but he can hurt himself by [-] if he doesn't use it well.

The Trail Blazers who lost their core were even more vulnerable. O'Neal scored 43 points and 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 37 points, and the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers 125 to 83.

Trail Blazers center Sabonis dragged his legs that were almost half useless, fought hard for 37 minutes, scored 19 points and 8 rebounds, and was unable to stop the Trail Blazers from losing. thing.

In the last game of the season, the Lakers faced the Nuggets who missed the playoffs and had no fighting spirit. It only took half a court to make the opponent give up resistance. They all played well, and the veteran shooter Dennis Scott even made 7 of 6 three-pointers off the bench and scored 6 points efficiently.

The regular season of the 2000-2001 season came to an end. The Lakers advanced to the playoffs with a league-best record of 62 wins and 20 losses. Their first opponent would be the Minnesota Timberwolves led by Kevin Garnett.

(End of this chapter)