Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

The next day, the Lakers played their first game of the 2020-21 NBA preseason at home against the Hornets.

This season, the Hornets retained the main lineup of last season, including Terry Rozier, Devonte Graham, Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, Malik Monk, and Cody Zeller. In addition, they signed former All-Star Gordon Hayward this summer and selected LaMelo Ball with the third pick in the first round of this year's draft.

Judging from the lineup, it is indeed stronger than last season.

Of course, there is still a clear gap compared to the Lakers.

A group of Hornets players are warming up on the court and are very active.

After all, they are a group of young players, full of energy and drive. Even though they are going to face the Lakers, they are nervous but also excited.

This is the team that won three consecutive championships.

It’s exciting to be facing off against the gloriously restored “Purple and Gold Army”!

"Bang!"

There was a loud bang from LaMelo Ball's one-handed slam dunk.

This young man is very talented and has a lot of buzz.

However, what makes him popular is not his talent, but his family and his boastful father.

LaVar Ball is not an NBA star. Although he has had professional game experience, it was very short. After retiring, he became a personal trainer.

The reason why he is said to be a boaster is that he has always boasted that he will train his three sons to become NBA players.

A man who himself has never played in the NBA and even had no highlights in his career, actually said that he wanted to train his three sons to become NBA players.

This makes people think that he is bragging.

As a result, this guy almost did it.

The eldest son Lonzo Ball has already entered the NBA, and now the third son LaMelo Ball has also entered the NBA, and both of them have high draft picks. Only the second son is not very promising. Not only is his basketball talent not as good as that of his eldest and third brothers, but he is also a worry off the court. It is very likely that he will not be able to enter the NBA.

Although he was not able to fully fulfill his boast of having all three sons play in the NBA, it is still very impressive that two of his three sons made it to the NBA.

With a boastful father, an older brother who plays in the NBA, and being the youngest son in the family, LaMelo has been called a genius since he was a child. His personality is eccentric, like a wild horse. Even his playing style is unruly, imaginative, and very eccentric.

Well, looking at it from another angle, it can also be called smart.

At this moment, he grinned and dunked the basketball into the basket. He didn't look nervous, but excited. He ran back to the three-point line and took two steps, then dunked again. After that, he turned around twice, showing his white teeth...

"Young people are so energetic." Zhuang Yu said with a smile.

"You talk like you're old." Anderson laughed.

Zhuang Yu was stunned and couldn't help laughing.

Soon, both sides finished warming up and the game was about to begin.

This is just a preseason game, so Coach Scott did not emphasize winning or losing, but just told the players to play the tactics, after all, it was a tactical drill.

On the other hand, Hornets head coach James Borrego did not make any requirements on winning or losing. He just told the players to play the way they should play and not to be nervous. He also specifically told LaMelo Ball to relax a little.

After all, this was LaMelo Ball's first NBA game.

"Coach, I'm not nervous. I'm very excited now. It's great to play against the Lakers and Zhuang Yu," said LaMelo Ball.

"Uh..." Coach Borrego didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He patted LaMelo Ball's arm and said, "Just don't be nervous. Go ahead."

......

Players from both sides come to the field.

The starting lineup for the Lakers is Holiday, Zhuang Yu, Cunningham, Anderson, and Lopez.

The Hornets' starting lineup is LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, and Kohler Zeller.

First the jump ball.

With a snap, Zeller hit the ball to the backcourt, the Hornets got the ball, LaMelo Ball advanced with the ball, and when he reached the frontcourt and saw Holiday coming up, he showed his white teeth and called for a pick-and-roll, and when Washington came up for the pick-and-roll, he quickly got rid of it.

Lopez stepped forward to delay, LaMelo Ball changed directions continuously, and then accelerated to break through. He is a tall guard, very fast, and the change of direction is also large. He accelerated to pass Lopez by half of his body. Seeing Anderson's defense, he suddenly jumped up on one foot, not to shoot, but to throw the ball with one hand in the air and pass it to the left three-point line.

Hayward caught the ball and shot directly.

boom!

But it missed.

He shook his head, feeling a little depressed.

However, the game had just begun and Hayward quickly retreated.

......

The Lakers grabbed the rebound and fought back.

This is a preseason game, mainly for practicing tactics and testing the lineup.

So the Lakers were not in a hurry to launch a quick counterattack, but advanced at a leisurely pace. After reaching the frontcourt, Holiday made a gesture.

For a moment, several players moved quickly and played a three-person tactic between Holiday, Lopez and Zhuang Yu.

Holiday called for a pick-and-roll and passed the ball to Lopez. Lopez passed the ball to Zhuang Yu who was running back, and then quickly cut into the inside after covering for Zhuang Yu.

When Zhuang Yu got the ball and prepared to shoot from outside the three-point line, the Hornets' defense suddenly became chaotic.

no way.

This is the first person in the NBA.

For a moment, the attention of several Hornets players was on Zhuang Yu. They saw Zhuang Yu swing the ball and make a ground pass. The ball was very fast and the angle was very tricky. It was accurately delivered to Lopez, assisting Lopez to score.

The score is 2:0.

The ball changes, the Hornets attack...

After several rounds, the score became 7:0. The Lakers scored three goals, including a three-pointer, while the Hornets did not score a single goal.

Hayward had a bad touch today and missed both of his shots. Rozier also shot one and also missed.

Seeing this situation, LaMelo Ball decided to do it himself.

"Pick and roll."

After making a gesture, LaMelo Ball waited for Zeller to come up for screen and roll, and moved to the left.

Lopez stepped forward to delay it, but before he could get in front of him, LaMelo Ball raised his hand and threw the ball, just like a sniper shot.

However, his shooting posture is still different from that of his older brother Lonzo Ball.

Lonzo Ball's shot is a bit awkward, while LaMelo Ball's shot doesn't look that awkward, but it looks a bit random.

"So casual?" Lopez turned his head.

The result was shocking.

The ball actually went in.

Hollow hit!

LaMelo Ball ran towards his own half while making a three-point gesture, his face full of youthful boldness.

When the Lakers attacked and Zhuang Yu came to the frontcourt, he rushed over and stood in front of Zhuang Yu.

This is not really random.

The two guards of the Hornets are LaMelo Ball and Rozier.

Rozier is only 185cm tall, more than ten centimeters shorter than Zhuang Yu. He tried to defend Zhuang Yu in the previous few rounds, but the effect was not good and it didn't work at all. Because of his height disadvantage, he could only rush forward to defend, and as a result, he was easily passed by Zhuang Yu.

So before the game, the Hornets head coach instructed that Rozier and LaMelo Ball could try to defend Zhuang Yu.

Whoever defends better will be the one to face off.

Seeing that LaMelo Ball actually took the initiative to defend Zhuang Yu, Rozier felt relieved and naturally would not compete with him.

He is the best player in the league, whoever wants to defend him can do so.

Well, it’s not that I’m too weak, it’s just that Zhuang Yu is too strong.

LaMelo Ball was seen standing in front of Zhuang Yu, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

Zhuang Yu glanced at LaMelo Ball lightly and didn't care. At his current level, he was already indifferent to this situation.

What's more, he was just a rookie and couldn't cause any ripples in his heart.

As for whether to give some strength to LaMelo Ball, who has high aspirations, and welcome him to the NBA, the protagonist has no interest at all. Do I have so much free time?

So Zhuang Yu didn't play a singles game directly, but called a tactic. Lopez came up to screen, Anderson cut, Zhuang Yu got rid of it, and broke through...

LaMelo Ball quickly bypassed Lopez and chased after Zhuang Yu.

Several Hornets players also subconsciously contracted their defense, and after attracting the defense, Zhuang Yu passed the ball to Anderson who was cutting to the basket.

"not good."

"Watch out for the basket."

On the Hornets bench, a group of substitute players shouted loudly to remind their teammates on the field.

Several Hornets players also noticed Anderson and hurriedly adjusted their steps, but Anderson did not shoot himself. Instead, he threw the ball to Holiday.

Only then did the Hornets players realize that Holiday was outside the three-point line on the right, and there was no one within two meters in front of him.

"Oops."

The faces of several Hornets players changed, but there was nothing they could do. They could only watch Holiday throw the ball, and with a slight sound, it hit the target.

The score is 10:3.

A group of Hornets substitutes looked depressed.

Head coach Borrego also shook his head. Compared with the Lakers, they were like a group of newbies.

Facing the Hornets' defense, the Lakers played with great composure. They didn't even rely on Zhuang Yu's personal ability. They suppressed the Hornets firmly only through tactical coordination.

No, it’s not just suppression, it should be said to be crushing.

......

In a blink of an eye, the first quarter was halfway through.

At this time, the score on the field became 20:7, and the Lakers were leading by 13 points.

"Requesting a timeout."

The Hornets called a timeout.

The head coach shook his head and began to rotate personnel.

In the past few minutes, the Hornets were crushed by their opponents on both offense and defense. They were unable to defend, not only Zhuang Yu, but also other players of the Lakers.

In fact, Zhuang Yu didn't score much in these few minutes. He only scored 4 points so far, and the remaining 16 points were scored by his teammates.

Holiday scored 5 points, Lopez scored 6 points, Anderson scored 3 points, and Cunningham scored 2 points. It can be said that they played in many areas.

Obviously, Zhuang Yu has not yet started scoring mode.

But even so, the Lakers still had an absolute advantage and were leading by 13 points after half a quarter.

So relaxing!

As for the offense...

After LaMelo Ball made a three-pointer, he threw two more three-pointers, but none of them went in under Zhuang Yu's defense.

On the offensive end, Zhuang Yu did not call on the new third pick to play singles, but on the defensive end he still let LaMelo Ball feel the intensity of the NBA.

Apart from LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward had the most shots, but he only made one of his five shots, which was very inefficient.

Hayward lowered his head and looked a little depressed.

Coming to the Hornets, as the biggest player on the team, he needs to prove himself and he also wants to prove himself.

But the coach gave him enough opportunities, but he himself failed to seize them.

"My touch was so bad today." Hayward rubbed his right wrist.

Facing the Lakers' defense, the Hornets played without any organization. Hayward made 5 of 1 shots, LaMelo Ball made 3 of 1 shots, and the others were similar.

After half a quarter, only three goals were scored.

The head coach took a deep breath and said, "Okay, everyone, get ready. The game has just begun. Let's follow our tactics later..."