Legend of Tomorrow

The Suns led 73 to 40 by 33 points at halftime. Even if the Suns had defensive weaknesses, the Lakers' shooting percentage was still very low.

Devin George has become the most disappointing player for the Lakers. He has a physical advantage, but his shooting is so bad that he has to rush into the penalty area to be effective. His long-range shooting percentage is 30%, which is basically useless.

After signing a mid-level long-term contract, George became very uninterested and his shooting has not improved much. After suffering a serious injury and being reimbursed once, his physical fitness also declined significantly.

At halftime, Kobe was going crazy and was very dissatisfied with his teammates' defense. Guo Xu made 11 of 15 shots at halftime, 5 of 7 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. He had a double-double of 31 points and 11 assists.

He entered the playoffs to prove his strength, not to seek abuse. Since winning three consecutive championships in 2002, he has failed too many times. Many people are questioning him. He can hardly bear the pressure.

The Suns in Guo Xu's previous life were actually not very strong, especially since they lost center Kurt Thomas before the playoffs, so the Lakers were able to compete with the Suns in 7 games and once led 3-1. Even Kwame Brown averaged 12.9 points per game in the series, which shows how bad the Suns' interior defense is.

The Suns led by Guo Xu have no obvious weaknesses in their internal and external defense. Even if they use substitutes, they are good at defense. Perhaps the biggest weakness is Guo Xu's height. He is poor at interfering with shots and cannot catch the two Lakers point guards who lack shooting range. .

This weakness is not so easy to catch. When Guo Xu defends closely and disrupts the opponent's rhythm, he can make up for his lack of height to a certain extent.

In the second half, D'Antoni directly let Guo Xu rest.

Veteran Payton is responsible for leading the team, and the other four are Ariza, Howard, James Jones, and David Lee. Four people are over 2 meters tall, and Payton is also 193cm. This lineup is not afraid of misalignment and is suitable for zone defense.

The defensive system was completely established according to the arrangements of assistant coach Larry Drew. All five players guarded the area, shrank near the penalty area, strictly guarded against breakthroughs and strong attacks, and interfered with shooting at the nearest location.

Kobe continued to lead the team and recovered a little bit of the score, but he had no obvious advantage against the Suns' bench. The Lakers had the same problem as in the first half, their outside shooting was poor, including Kobe's.

The Suns players, who were leading by a big score, were under no pressure and dared to cooperate and share the ball. The offensive rhythm was very good, led by veteran Payton.

At 4 minutes and 47 seconds, something beyond everyone's expectations happened.

Howard held the ball on the right side facing Kobe and forced a layup. Before he could jump to the highest point, Kobe hit him on the head with an elbow.

He fell to the ground and the referee's whistle sounded.

Guo Xu had already clocked out of get off work. Kobe made 2 of 7 shots and 2 of 2 free throws against the Suns bench in the quarter, scoring only 6 points. He looked at the playful and smiling faces of the Suns players and felt extremely insulted.

In the last round, Kobe broke through Ariza's baseline for a layup. He was severely fouled by Howard who was defending and fell to the ground. He finally couldn't hold back his anger.

Howard deliberately targeted Kobe today and assisted in defense many times, which was effective. He wanted to be the boss of a weak team and get a high salary. He thought that playing against Kobe was a good opportunity to increase his exposure.

There was chaos on the court, and Howard got up from the ground and wanted to trouble Kobe.

At this time, Guo Xu stood up from the sidelines and, together with Kukoc, motioned to his teammates on the bench not to enter the field. Entering the field at this time would easily cause greater chaos and result in suspension.

Payton, a veteran on the field, also played a role. He rushed over not to help his teammates fuck Kobe, but to separate them between the two.

There was a video replay on the big screen soon, and the fans in the audience booed. Kobe's foul was obviously against a person and not the ball.

After watching the video, the referee called Kobe a first-level flagrant foul and sent him off the court. The home fans booed again.

As we all know, the NBA has certain protection and favoritism for some superstars. However, when certain stars do things that affect the reputation and image of the league, the NBA will also adopt a zero-tolerance attitude.

Violence and flagrant fouls on the court are the things the league wants to put an end to. Kobe Bryant has already been suspended in the regular season this year.

On January 11, during the Lakers' game against the Grizzlies, Kobe and Mike Miller had a conflict, and the referee called Kobe a first-level flagrant foul. Two days later, Bryant's elbow incident escalated, and the league suspended him for two games.

In the third quarter of that game, Miller broke Kobe Bryant's forehead with his left hand during a layup. The tough Kobe Bryant returned to the game immediately after getting stitches off the court. At the beginning of the final quarter, he retaliated with fire. He hit Miller with a hard elbow on defense and received a flagrant foul.

After the game, Kobe refused to apologize because he felt that Miller was the one who committed the murder first and that he was just seeking revenge.

He also vented his frustration of failure on Odom, blaming the opponent for his poor performance and not coming out to cooperate with him in pick-and-rolls, so that he was always interfered with when he shot three-pointers.

With Kobe’s poor three-point shooting percentage, why can’t he blame his teammates for not picking and rolling? Even if the whole team and the referee give him a pick-and-roll, can his shooting rate reach 40%? Odom naturally didn't want to take the blame, and the two got into a fight.

Kobe was so angry that he kicked out several lights and broke a TV monitor. When they finally left on the team bus, the staff could only separate the two.

Sometimes, Kobe's paranoid personality can be unbearable. In Guo Xu's previous life, some people said that it was this kind of demanding victory and oppression of himself and his teammates that made Kobe successful. It will be difficult for Kobe to succeed in this life, because he is in the same zone as Guo Xu's Suns, and the powerful teammates who need him to press have not yet arrived.

After Kobe Bryant left the game, the Lakers lost their number one offensive point, their morale plummeted, and they couldn't hold down the Suns' substitutes. Even Howard had to leave the game to rest after being elbowed.

The Suns played with substitute players until the end, and Payton also rested in the final quarter. Blake was responsible for organizing the offense, and David Lee was responsible for holding the ball. In the end, the Suns beat the Lakers by 37 points 125-88.

Kobe played 28 minutes, making 7 of 21 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, 5 of 6 free throws, and scored 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists.

After the game, reporters asked Guo Xu to comment on Kobe's elbow.

Guo Xu was not surprised at all. After all, Kobe had so many elbow strikes in his previous life that he could even make a 20-minute highlight reel. This was only on the defensive end, and elbow clearing on the offensive end did not count.

Guo Xu thought for a while and said: Obviously, he can't beat us. Josh controlled his emotions very well, even if he suffered a loss. On the basketball court, players should use basketball to decide the outcome. , instead of elbowing someone or stepping on someone's feet, what Kobe did was very bad.

The reporter asked: Kobe Bryant may be suspended. Is this good news for the Suns?

Guo Xu shook his head. No, this is not good news for the Suns. None of us want to suspend him. This reporter should not make it sound like we need to suspend Kobe for defeating the Lakers. It was his flagrant foul, not that we did whatever it took to win. Your question makes me very uncomfortable.

He didn't feel the need to save any face for Kobe. If he hadn't played in the second half, he might have been the one who elbowed Kobe.

Kobe may not be able to do this kind of thing. In his previous life, Kobe and Warcraft Howard exchanged elbows and curses on the court as soon as they separated. Guo Xu has left the Lakers for almost four years and has not had much contact with Kobe. The relationship has long since faded.

Other Suns players also commented on Kobe. The person involved, Josh Howard, commented: It's disgusting. That's how I feel. I don't want to say more about it. Kobe obviously did it on purpose. This is not the first time he has done this.

Kobe Bryant refuses to attend press conference…. m.