The world's best combo guard

Chapter 80 77 [Get rid of Bowen]

At the beginning of the third quarter, Li Hao was mentioned by Phil Jackson as the starter. He replaced Fisher and took the lead.

Fisher can understand Phil Jackson's arrangement. After all, Li Hao was the Lakers' best player in the first half and even the whole game. Letting Li Hao take the lead at this time is also the reason for continuing Li Hao's fiery state.

At halftime, Popovich made a decision based on the situation in the first half. He tried to focus on Duncan in the second half. He knew very well that it would be difficult to gain the upper hand if he competed with the Lakers in the backcourt. Kobe was uncomfortable enough. Now Adding Li Hao is simply unimaginable.

Because he didn't even know about this Chinese defender before, in such a short period of time, he couldn't make a targeted defense at all.

And experience tells Popovich that it may be difficult for a player to effectively stop him by relying solely on defense when he is in a hot state.

"Maybe Karl is really not in a good state tonight, his footwork looks very stiff"

When Duncan crossed Karl Malone and dunked successfully, many people felt helpless for Karl Malone's state tonight. Everyone knew that Karl Malone was already a veteran player, but it wasn't so bad, after all, he was once an insider A defensive champion, although his physical strength and footsteps are a bit overwhelming, at least he still has experience, which he did not show tonight.

In the next 3 minutes, the Lakers did not score a point. Kobe's shot and Devin George's shot all ended in iron strikes, but the Spurs played well. They continued to play around Duncan's point. With 8 points in a row, the point difference was quickly narrowed to 10 points.

Phil Jackson couldn't sit still anymore. With a big wave of his hand, Karl Malone was replaced by the young Brian Cook.

Replacing a young rookie on the court at such a critical time, in addition to showing Phil Jackson's extreme disappointment with Karl Malone, it also reflects that in the absence of O'Neal, the Lakers really have no one to use inside.

Sometimes Li Hao is a little envious of Brian Cook, this year's rookie like him, even his own pick is higher than Cook, but since the start of the new season, Cook has gotten far more playing time than himself .

When the Spurs quickly narrowed the point difference to 10 points, the hearts of the Lakers fans on the scene hung instantly.

In the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, Kobe Bryant and Devin George, who performed well in the first half, missed shots one after another. It seems that their state has not been continued.

Of course, the fans still have certain expectations in their hearts, because Li Hao has not made a single shot in these 3 minutes. He was the best player for the Lakers in the first half. has hope.

Li Hao did not disappoint the fans. After returning from the timeout, he hit a three-pointer from the left corner, and then he completed a steal against Tony Parker on the defensive end, and quickly counterattacked and succeeded.

A wave of 5:0!

Li Hao helped the Lakers stabilize the situation and widened the point difference to 15 points.

"Bruce"

Popovich looked very embarrassed, and he yelled at Bowen directly, the meaning was very clear, Kobe doesn't care about you, just guard me against the Chinese defender.

Facing Bruce Bowen, Li Hao's pressure increased sharply in an instant. This Bowen really deserved his reputation. Both his defensive position and his awareness of anticipation were very good. At one time, Li Hao couldn't catch the pass from his teammates.

For several consecutive rounds, Li Hao felt as if he was isolated, unable to form a team with his teammates at all.

Li Hao's brain was running fast, he had to think of a way, this was not going to work.

"Speed, yes, speed"

Li Hao quickly thought of a way to break Bowen's defense, that is to use his own speed. Bowen is not as young as himself, and his speed itself is not fast, which gave him a chance.

After finding the solution, Li Hao did not hesitate at all, but simply communicated with Kobe, let Kobe control the ball, play off the ball by himself, and be a pitcher, so that he can better get rid of Bowen.

"Yes!"

When Li Hao made two breakthrough layups in a row, Popovich shook his head helplessly. Sure enough, when a player feels hot, as long as he is given a chance, he will basically be unstoppable.

"This Chinese defender is a bit smart." Popovich remembered Li Hao deeply, because he knew how Li Hao got rid of Bo Wen's defense, that is, he took advantage of Bo Wen's weakness. Bo Wen's speed was not as good as him, so Given him a chance, and being able to find a solution in such a short period of time, Popovich felt that even if Li Hao was the head coach, he would be a genius.

With more than ten points behind, the only chance left for the Spurs to win is crazy offense, and the Lakers want to continue to maintain the lead. In addition to making efforts on the defensive end, there is no doubt that they are also offensive.

Therefore, in the next few minutes, the two teams played a strong collision on the offensive end, a scene that seemed very inconsistent. The Spurs scored around the point of Duncan on the inside, while the Lakers relied on Li Hao's outside point to score.

At 11 minutes and 06 seconds of the third quarter, when Li Hao made another jump shot from the free throw line, there was a huge cheer at the scene, because Li Hao had already scored 35 points in this game.

This score is not only the highest score in the game, but also the highest score in Li Hao's NBA career so far.

The fans are very clear that most of the credit for the reason why the Lakers can still maintain a double-digit lead should be credited to Li Hao. Without him, it would be impossible for the Lakers to take the lead.

"Give that damn ball to Lee"

Phil Jackson is crazy. Standing on the sidelines, he is not only because he has too much pressure to shave during this time, but also because he is excited to have a rookie like Li Hao. He is loudly shouting at the court The players shouted, so it made him look like a madman.

Phil Jackson admits that he doesn't like and is not good at using rookies, but when you meet a rookie with strong energy, you will definitely give him a chance without hesitation.

Phil Jackson felt that he made the right attempt tonight. He accepted the suggestion of general manager Mitch Kupchak and listened to the views of assistant coach Larry Lewis. Now Li Hao gave him the answer. He proved that Li Hao is trustworthy.

"Maybe I don't have to miss Gary anymore. It seems that even in the triangle offense, Lee is much better than Gary."

Maybe Phil Jackson didn't realize it himself. In just one game, his positioning of Li Hao as a Chinese defender has become more and more clear. He even thought of replacing Gary Payton with Li Hao...

(End of this chapter)