Legend of Tomorrow

The first quarter was just over halfway, and both sides scored very high scores.

Sanders called a timeout because he wanted to strengthen the defense. He saw clearly that Guo Xu was stronger than veteran Trill Brandon, who currently earns tens of millions of dollars per year.

Guo Xu's style of play is similar to Trier's, with pick-and-roll breakthroughs, catching and shooting, fast speed and range. Guo Xusheng is young, he is more explosive than Trier, and he has the upper hand in confrontation.

If Guo Xu is also a lottery pick, Sanders will not be depressed, but Guo Xu's pick is too low, and the Timberwolves holding the 22nd pick in the second round can select him. The management selected a shooting guard named Igor Rakosevic, but did not sign it, thus wasting a draft pick.

After the timeout, Sanders replaced Trier and replaced him with shooting guard Anthony Pillar, who is 193cm tall and weighs 94kg. In this way, Billups can rely on his physical advantage to defeat Guo Xu in the No. 1 position. However, the Timberwolves' pre-game plan has been disrupted. Sanders originally regarded Trier as the key to defeating the Lakers, but Trier turned out to be a defensive hole.

Trier looked at the opposite side unwillingly. He felt that Guo Xu looked like himself when he was young, but with much better luck. Guo Xu plays for the Lakers and may win a championship ring this year, but he is still empty-handed and has never played in a big city.

The three teams Trier has played for are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Minnesota Timberwolves. If the cities where NBA teams are located are divided into first, second, third and fourth tiers, these three teams are probably in the fourth tier and seriously lack competitiveness.

During the two timeouts, Zen Master Jackson did not use the tactical board. He just emphasized a few words about the triangle offense and asked the players to keep an eye on their own people. The timeout time was too long for him.

It's really easy to be a coach like this. Jackson's strength lies in his control of the team and management of the stars. Technical and tactical matters are not his strong point.

This is good news for Guo Xu. Even if Billups is at a physical disadvantage, Zen Master will not immediately replace him and rest, but will be happy to watch him find a way to fight on the court. As long as his performance on the defensive end is not too bad, his playing time will definitely increase. It is not surprising that he played 35 minutes in Harper's absence.

The game continued. Billups did not look for a pick-and-roll when facing Guo Xu. He made a three-pointer from the middle. Guo Xu accurately predicted and jumped with all his strength to interfere. The ball bounced out of the frame and Leder grabbed the defensive rebound.

Billups is a heavy guard with average speed and average breakthrough ability. When scoring two points, he usually relies on his body to beat the opponent. He is best at shooting cold arrows from the outside. In Guo Xu's previous life, he was once called the ball-blind evaluator. Guo Xu knew him so well that otherwise he would be embarrassed to post on the Chinese NBA forum.

During the Lakers' position battle, O'Neal attacked in the low post, attracting a double-team from Garnett. He turned around and hit the hook with a hook. Grant grabbed the offensive rebound, and the second attack was blocked by Garnett who turned around.

There was chaos under the basket. O'Neal grabbed another offensive rebound. Just as he was about to grab it, Szczerbiak slapped the basketball away from below.

Szczerbiak intercepted the ball and passed it long to find Billups who was reaching for the ball. Guo Xu knew how strong Billups was, so he chose to gamble and steal when he retreated. He jumped up with all his strength and touched the basketball with one hand, stopping the ball. Passing the ball, the ball fell and was picked up by Kobe who retreated.

After Guo Xu landed, he immediately started a fast break and got rid of Billups. After receiving a pass from Kobe, he shot a three-pointer from a position one meter outside the 70-degree three-point line on the left. No one interfered, and he made a hollow hit!

22 to 16, Guo Xu scored his 12th individual point.

Woodson shouted: Jason scored another three-pointer. Today he is likely to break his personal single-game scoring record.

Horvath said: He also did a good job on the defensive end. He made Billups unsuccessful in two rounds.

In the next round, Billups failed to break through and passed the ball to Garnett. His own running without the ball was also entangled by Guo Xu.

It is difficult for Guo Xu to guard Billups alone, but he has teammates.

His close defense makes it difficult for Billups to turn around and shoot cold arrows from the outside. If Billups relies on his body to force a breakthrough and cannot speed up, the Lakers can help defend inside.

After several passes, Szczerbiak faced Leder and hit a mid-range shot. O'Neal grabbed the rebound. When he returned to defense, Garnett yelled at Szczerbiak, feeling a little dissatisfied with his attack. .

Szczerbiak was selected sixth overall by the Timberwolves in the first round of 1999, and the coach did not arrange tactics for him. In fact, he has strong personal offensive ability, comprehensive skills, and can take on more responsibilities, but now he rarely takes the initiative to ask for the ball to attack.

Last season, Szczerbiak, who was born as a calf and is not afraid of tigers, was dissatisfied with the ball and tried to attack with the ball more on the court. As a result, he was severely taught a lesson by the team boss, and he has become much more honest this season.

Garnett once said to Szczerbiak in the locker room: Some people still don't know who the boss of this team is! Then the two clashed, and Garnett said Get out of here! The punch hit the poor rookie in the face.

The most well-known thing between the two fans is that Garnett spit directly into Szczerbiak's face.

At that time, the Timberwolves were playing against the Raptors at home. Garnett sat on the bench early because of foul trouble. Szczerbiak was scolded by the head coach for missing a shot. During the timeout, a surprising scene appeared. Garnett Nate looked unhappy and actually spat on Szczerbiak's face, which made everyone stunned. Perhaps the Wolf King also realized that his behavior was inappropriate and walked away quietly.

After the game, Garnett missed the press conference. A reporter found him at the training ground two days later. When mentioned about the incident, Garnett said: Frankly speaking, it was just a misunderstanding. Some people just wanted to Intentionally magnified it. I was a little bit out of control, and Szczerbiak played so badly, he deserved some lessons, and I just did it for him.

With Garnett around, the Timberwolves are rookie hell, not only their confidence, but also their psychology will be affected.

The position was attacked, and O'Neill's strong attack caused a foul by Nesterovic and went to the free throw line.

During the dead ball, both sides began to make substitutions. Guo Xu went off, Brian Shaw came on, and the Timberwolves replaced Nesterovic and Rafonso Ellis.

The teammates gave Guo Xu a high-five to celebrate. His outstanding performance is an important reason for the Lakers to lead.

Jackson called Guo Xu to his side and said seriously: You can only rest for a while and maintain this excitement. As long as Trier plays, I will let you play. I will arrange for you to face each other all the time. I believe you can play. Blast him.

No problem. Guo Xu said with a smile, he liked hearing this so much.

Guo Xu is best suited to play against Trier. If he doesn't focus on defense, it won't be difficult for Trier to get past Brian Shaw, who is 198cm tall. Kobe can also focus on Trier, but Jackson prefers him to deal with the swingman. .

Jackson began to add tasks to Guo Xu. The coaching staff knew very well that veteran Harper was injured at this age and it was not easy to return to form. The only thing waiting for Harper was to retire after the season. Brian Shaw also declined significantly. Before Fisher comes back, the No. 1 position has to be supported by Guo Xu.

For the importance of the Lakers, Guo Xu has already been called the third master.

On the court, O'Neal made two free throws, 24 to 16, and the Lakers' advantage became wider and wider.