full court guidance

Chapter 77 Doubting Life Odom
Having partnered with O'Neal for several years, Brother Snake knows exactly what kind of teammate he wants-a dominant center who can sit at the basket.

Since the second half of last season, Yao Ming has shown his true evolution level, especially in the Finals when he easily destroyed the Pistons' strong defense, which made Kobe realize that Yao Ming is the best helper he wants.

So during the summer offseason, the Lakers had actively hooked up with Yao Ming, wanting him to transfer to the Lakers.

After the Bass family took over the Lakers, the merits and demerits will not be discussed for the time being. It is simply their investment in the free market, which is beyond the reach of many teams.

Compared to the fact that the Rockets hardly made any reinforcements to the lineup after winning the championship, the Lakers really wanted to find a reliable helper for Kobe.

It's a pity that in the past two years, there have been no big fish in the free market. Yao Ming is the most likely big fish to appear in 05-but he still has a one-year rookie contract, and it is also difficult to operate. The Lakers have a good relationship, and it is unlikely that they will just give away their cash cow.

The biggest advantage of the Lakers over the Rockets is that they do not lack attention. If Yao Ming is willing to go to the Lakers to partner with Kobe, it will not only instantly improve the overall strength of the Lakers, but also greatly develop their own commercial value.

It's a pity that California's taxes are too high, much higher than those in Texas, which makes this advantage not so obvious, and Yao Ming himself does not lack business support-the whole of China stands behind him.

Considering that both Late and McGrady are still in the Rockets, Yao Ming, who refused to easily let go of the second chance to win the championship, rejected the Lakers' hookup and reached a maximum salary extension with the Rockets. This is why Kobe Bryant was in the restaurant before. One of the reasons why McGrady didn't show any signs of openly recruiting Yao Ming in front of McGrady.

In addition to knowing that it is almost impossible for him to stay in the Rockets next season, it is more that he has already expected it.

Seeing Yao Ming's unobtrusive performance in the opening game, Kobe was really moved, especially when he heard Yao Ming admit that he regretted renewing his contract with the Rockets at noon, Kobe couldn't help himself.

Smush Parker dribbled the ball halfway, and then Brother Snake opened his hand to ask again.

Late and McGrady were still double teams, and McGrady's narrowed eyes seemed to reveal a murderous look.

Kobe has small hands and can't hold the ball with one hand like McGrady. He held the ball with both hands and glanced at the basket. Yao Ming had already stuck Kwame Brown behind him.

It would be great if he was my teammate!

Kobe thought so, his feet suddenly moved, the basketball quickly hit the ground and rebounded, Kobe relied on the advantage of confrontation, and this time he squeezed away the late!
McGrady learned a lesson from last time, but this time he hesitated a little and gave Kobe a chance to attack.

Late and McGrady hurried to catch up. Fortunately, Kobe's current speed is not at his peak, and he didn't get far behind them.

Yao Ming also rushed out with all his teeth and claws, not to mention making it more difficult for Kobe to break through, and there was no angle to pass the ball to Kwame Brown who was emptied at the basket.

Even if Kwame Brown is just a blue-collar player, he can still score if he catches the ball under the basket.

Kobe didn't hesitate. Many years of basketball career had already turned all changes into instinctive physical reactions. He didn't need to look back to know that Lamar Odom was let go.

Brother Snake jumped high, passed the ball from his right hand to his left, and flicked it sideways.

Odom caught the ball open, he paused, slowly raised his arm and aimed at the basket to shoot!

At this moment, a fiery red figure suddenly jumped out from the side, jumped high, and slammed the ball that Odom had just thrown.

is late!
He chose to give up chasing and defending when Kobe jumped up, and ran towards Odom, and this effort also brought him rewards, blocking a shot for the first time in his late career!
But his blocking skills are not very good, the ball is not strong enough, he didn't hit the ball far, Odom got the ball again, opened his hand and shot again!

This time, a fiery red figure jumped up again, slapping the ball down again while waving its long arms.

It's Maddie!
After seeing Kobe passing the ball, McGrady also chose to return to Odom for the first time, which happened to block Odom for the second time.

But the ball still didn't go far, and Odom got the ball again.

He may have been blocked twice, and he felt a little embarrassed. After all, my brother is also an All-Star player, and you two are too shameless.

After Odom grabbed the ball again, regardless of Kobe asking for the ball, Odom dribbled the ball straight to the basket!
Although Odom is tall and burly, he is actually an all-around player with the skills of a point guard and the physical fitness of a forward. He is also quite scary when he dribbles the ball.

Full of anger, Odom rushed to the Rockets basket and was about to jump high for a dunk.

But a mountain-like figure was standing under the basket, how could it be possible for him to succeed easily?
Standard Yao's Hot Pot!

"Snapped!"

This is a good cap. The ball in Odom's hand was slapped directly to the ground. He reacted quickly and immediately bent down to pick up the ball that bounced off the ground. Regardless of Yao Ming's deterrence, he raised his head and Want to hit the board and shoot.

"Snapped!"

Another hot pot, as crisp as a slap, slapped the ball in Odom's hand to the ground again.

Odom bowed his head and picked up the ball again, but also recklessly.

How could Yao Ming make him wish, immediately raised his arm again, another big slap.

This time the ball still fell to the ground, but Odom stood still under the basket as if in a daze.

In the end, the ball bounced off Odom's feet and went out of the baseline. Odom was still standing under the Rockets' basket, not knowing what he was thinking.

The poor second-in-command of the Lakers, in the offensive round just now, he ate 5 big caps in less than ten seconds, and was beaten a little suspicious of life.

Kobe went over and patted Odom's butt, and comforted softly: "Lamar, don't mind, this is a normal situation in the game."

However, when Lamar Odom looked up, Bryant realized that there were tears in his eyes.

Nima, this guy was made to cry by Yao Ming, late and McGrady's consecutive big hat performances?

Odom has never been such a strong person, he returned to his own half in dismay, like a puppet standing near the three-point line.

Now Odom's heart is in a mess, and of course there are complaints coming from nowhere.

Obviously it was Kobe Bryant who was provoking the Big Three of the Rockets, why did they give me a hard hat?I'm just an ordinary player, and I have no conflict with your Big Three Rockets.

No problem!
Odom is just his own bad luck and coincidence.

Late height, wingspan and athletic ability have no advantages. He is smart and never thinks about collecting statistics when defending. When facing a defensive opponent's shooting, he will not force himself to try to block shots. He just tries to interfere with the opponent's rhythm. That's all.

It's just that this time being late was entirely on a whim. Seeing that Odom's shot was not jumping high, he tried to slap him, but he didn't expect it to be covered.

Seeing that Odom is like a walking dead, McGrady will not be polite, he went directly to Odom, broke through the ball easily, Yao Ming received the ball and passed it directly to the horns, David Lee fired again, and hit a two-two point.

Charles Barkley explained: "David Lee received an assist from Yao Ming and scored another goal. It seems that the Rockets' offensive tactical arrangement today is a bit unexpected. Their preferred offensive end point is actually David Lee."

"It's normal. It's reasonable to be late to play. Under Kobe's close marking, he will not catch the ball rashly. In addition, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady attract the Lakers' defensive attention. It is indeed easy for David Lee to get an open shot. "Kenny Smith smiled and said, "But we can see that Odom's situation doesn't seem to be right. It seems that he just had five blocks in a row, which has had a certain impact on his mental state."

Charles Barkley said disdainfully: "Odom's psychological quality is too poor. As a player, no matter what kind of unexpected situation he faces, he should maintain his aggressiveness, but he was only slapped five times in a row. Just a cap."

When the Lakers attacked again, Odom's condition was still not right, and Kobe didn't say anything. He chose to double-team the shot against the late arrival and Tracy McGrady.
The Rockets were not polite, so they grabbed the dejected Odom and hammered it wildly, and the offensive efficiency was very high.

Brother Snake is also superb today, and has made many fairy balls under the teamwork of Late and McGrady.

But how can the efficiency of a single player be compared with that of a team? What's more, Lamar Odom is now completely a decoration, resulting in a very high offensive efficiency of the Rockets. After playing for more than four minutes in the first quarter, the score between the two sides gradually decreased. opened.

Phil Jackson couldn't pretend to be a Bodhisattva on the sidelines anymore. He took the initiative to ask for a substitution. Lamar Odom, who was depressed, went off, and Devin George came on.

The Rockets also requested a substitution. They were late and went off the court to rest and replaced David Wesley.

This substitution choice is different from Van Gundy's usual habits, which caused a discussion in the commentary.

In the end, everyone agreed that this was Van Gundy looking for a more reasonable match for the Rockets' weak role player lineup.

The Rockets' Big Three are very strong, especially after being forced to lead the team alone lately and showing his ability to lead the team, the Rockets have more room for lineup selection.

They can stagger the playing time of the Big Three, which can give the Big Three more rest time, and at the same time ensure the firepower of the bench lineup.

But the actual situation was not like this at all. He was late for the rest, and he applied for it himself.

After coming off the field late, Brother Snake seemed to have lost interest in one-on-one McGrady. He chose to pass the ball more, which unexpectedly activated the Lakers' offense. Because David Lee's defensive ability was too poor, Cook benefited from it. The first At the end of the quarter, Cook made 8 of 5 and scored 11 points. Kobe scored 5 points and 3 assists on 6 of 3, and entered the second quarter with 22 points behind at 24:2.

(End of this chapter)