Legend of Tomorrow

When it was the rookies' turn to be interviewed by the media at noon on Friday, Guo Xu was the most popular player, significantly more popular than last season's two best rookies, Elton Brand and Steve Francis. In the All-Star Game fan voting, Guo Xu received more votes than the two combined, eventually reaching 970,000 votes, only 90,000 behind Kidd.

Reporters asked a variety of questions. Some asked Guo Xu if he aspires to compete with Iverson in the All-Star Game one day. Some asked if he was confident in leading the team to defeat the sophomore team. Some Chinese reporters asked him if he knew Wang Zhizhi, who was preparing to join. NBA.

No matter how you ask, everyone regards Guo Xu as the sole core of the first-year team.

At this time, the management of the Grizzlies was bleeding. Although the top five high-draft picks in the 2000 class were not as good as Guo Xu, they were all invited to participate in the challenge, but their second pick could only stay at home for the holidays.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Swift was invited to participate in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, but now the NBA officially invites Jason Richardson, who is obviously better at dunking, and he has nothing to do in the field where he is best.

In the afternoon, the first-year team conducted a simple training. Three Michigan State players came together, and the advantage was very obvious. Guo Xu knew the shooting positions and running habits of the two teammates.

The first-year team does not have a regular center, but it does not lack talent. The two power forwards are as fast as guards.

Mark Jackson has average physical fitness, with a height of 208cm and a weight of 115kg, but his tactical role is greater and he has a stable mid-range shot.

The 26-year-old Jackson entered the NBA in the undraft. As the Warriors suffered injuries inside, he jumped from the fringe to the starter. Then he set off a black whirlwind in the NBA. After starting, he averaged 18.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 55.9% and a free throw percentage of 83.3%, making him a strong contender for the best rookie.

The biggest highlight of this training was Crawford's proposal to duel with Guo Xu. He was very confident in his duel ability and wanted to prove his strength in this way and get more playing time.

Guo Xu agreed, and the two used the common bullfighting method to determine the winner with 10 goals.

The game ended quickly. Guo Xu easily beat Crawford 10 to 3. Two of his friends took the lead in cheering, which made Crawford extremely embarrassed and his face was red when he came off the court.

Crawford could feel the huge gap between the two sides. They were not on the same level at all. He had found the wrong opponent.

The 21-year-old Crawford's breakthrough is not too sharp and he cannot pass Guo Xu. He only has the advantage of height. He is 196cm tall and weighs only 91kg.

Guo Xu couldn't easily get out of the way with his back, so he turned around and shot after being stuck. His shooting rhythm was not very good and he hit the ball frequently.

It was much easier for Guo Xu to beat Crawford, with various changes of direction and easy layups, step-back shots from a distance, and two high-beating layups. He originally wanted to save some face for his opponent, but he was in great shape and scored on high boards. He scored 10 goals in a total of 12 shots.

Guo Xu's current regular season averages have risen to 18.2 points, 2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals, shooting 51.2% from the field, 43.1% from three-point range, and 85.6% from free throws. Many people think that he is overrated and his high hit rate is because he has an OK combination as a partner, making his shots easier.

Now this group of first-year rookies and coach Jack Marin feel that Guo Xu is clearly underestimated. With his shooting accuracy and breakthrough ability, if he is not on the Lakers and takes more shots, it will be easy to average more than 20 points per game. . Moreover, Guo Xu's defense is not as bad as rumored, and he will not be easily beaten against players taller than him.

None of the apprentices that Gary Payton taught on the defensive end was weak. Kidd, Kobe, and Snow were all selected to the All-Defensive Team. Guo Xu practiced defense with Kobe in the loop, and they were in the same line. What he is afraid of is that his opponent will use his height advantage to shoot a pull-up jumper. It is very difficult to beat him with speed and change of direction when facing the frame.

After the one-on-one, there was no longer any controversy about who should be the core of the first-year team. Marin arranged frontal pick-and-rolls and side off-ball screens as the main tactics. These are the basics and everyone can play them. In addition, players grab backcourt rebounds to counterattack quickly and speed up the tempo.

The second-year rookies came to train later, but the coach could not arrange tactics and could only fight randomly. There are too many players in the team with good regular season statistics, especially at the No. 1 position, where the core cannot be established and it is difficult to allocate playing time.

The Hornets' Baron Davis is the point guard with the worst statistics, averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. Francis and Terry average close to 20+ points per game, and Miller ranks among the top five in the league in assists per game.

In this case, it is easier for the second-year players to perform at small forward. Only Szczerbiak and Marion share playing time. Marion also has to serve as a power forward, so the two insiders cannot play the entire game.

In the evening, the Rookie Challenge begins.

Guo Xu was very impressive during the warm-up, because his new potato chip commercial with O'Neal and Megan was shown on the big screen in the stadium, and the audience laughed a lot.

O'Neal and Kobe were sitting in the front row as spectators. Guo Xu went to the sidelines to fistfight with the two, and also said hello to Vanessa.

ESPN broadcast the game live. Tom Horvath said: We are about to face the four second-year point guards. Jason Guo still looks very relaxed. He was almost selected as an All-Star starter in his rookie season, but narrowly lost to Jason Kidd. If Kobe Bryant had counted the votes If you give it to him, he might be selected. Rookies with this kind of popularity are very rare.

Partner Mark Woodson laughed: Before, only Grant Hill was more popular in his rookie season. In 1995, Hill was directly elected as the All-Star vote winner. But considering Jason's selection, it is even more rare for him to be so popular. .”

Both sides started the game.

First grade team: Guo Xu, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, Kenyon Martin, Mark Jackson.

Sophomore team: Steve Francis, Hamilton, Szczerbiak, Odom, Brand.

Beast forward Martin won the game with a jump ball.

Guo Xu caught the ball outside the three-point line, waved his teammates away, and faced Francis in the middle.

Before the time loop, he didn't have enough confidence to face Big Brother against the Rockets. Now he doesn't take the opponent seriously. He doesn't even think about looking for a pick-and-roll and just goes it alone!

Guo Xu dribbled the ball from his crotch to his left hand. With a slight shake of his left shoulder, he changed direction to the right and passed Francis. He took one step inside the three-point line and made a jump shot. 2 to 0.

Francis didn't defend very hard. After being passed over, he turned around and only extended his hand without jumping to block the shot. Guo Xu clearly felt that it was easier to deal with him than in the regular season.

In the second-year offense, France dribbled the ball across half court and met Guo Xu in the middle with a pull-up three-pointer. He wanted to return one, but the choice was too simple. Guo Xu didn't jump, but only stretched out his hand to interfere slightly. The ball missed the basket and Jackson grabbed the backcourt rebound.

Guo Xu took the ball to the frontcourt, and this time he and Jackson played a pick-and-roll outside the three-point line. After getting rid of Francis, he took a step laterally and made a 70-degree jumper from the right side for a three-pointer. Brand did not change his defense, and Francis was not active in pursuing the defense. Guo Xu easily took the shot from an open position and scored hollowly into the net. 5 to 0.

The fans at the scene gave him warm applause. He is the most popular rookie, and scoring consecutive points is what the fans want to see.

Woodson commented: The second-year defense is too lax. Jason Guo's shooting is uninterrupted. If he keeps defending like this, he will definitely explode this time.

Horvath agreed. This kind of shot is not challenging for him. Francis is going to be tested and he has to be serious.

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