I'm really good at shooting.

The reporter changed his question. He didn't want to be distracted by O'Neill.

"I feel sorry for him."

"Ok?"

The reporter thought he had misheard.

"If he was up against the Spurs, I'm sure he could win the game, but he's up against us and he has no chance at all."

He has no chance!And there is no chance at all!

Well, O'Neill's words are very direct!

This is so direct that Kobe is not taken seriously.

"The Mavs have Dirk Nowitzki, Dampier, and other great players."

The reporter reminded that he felt that O'Neill had underestimated the enemy.

In terms of overall strength alone, the Mavericks don't lose much compared to the Spurs or the Lakers.

"I know, but it doesn't matter who his teammates are, I know him."

But O'Neill didn't seem to think there was a problem with what he said.

And the last sentence is also very intriguing.

In short, although it is not as direct as Kobe, O'Neal's attitude towards Kobe is not the same as Kobe's attitude towards him.

The potential is the same as fire and water, this kind of thing cannot be done in one direction.

……

That night, the Western Conference finals opener between the Lakers and Mavericks kicked off at the Staples Center.

The attendance rate was full, and the aisles were full of people.

The verbal battle between Cuban and Barkley before the game, and the words of Kobe and O'Neal, all warmed up the game.

When Kobe appeared on the sidelines to warm up, Nelson Sr. and some front row stars greeted him.

These wealthy people have established a relationship with Kobe, and that relationship will not change unless Kobe falls down, regardless of which team he is playing for now.

Kobe also felt the feeling of a hero returning to his hometown from such a reaction.

Los Angeles is no different from the Los Angeles he stayed in before.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony, and the visiting team was introduced first.

Kobe was the first to play.

Even the host was not much different from when the home team introduced Kobe.

Kobe also smiled and held out his hand when he came out.

But soon, his smile froze, because what greeted him was... boos all over the sky!

The fans in Los Angeles gave him not applause or cheers, but boos!

Kobe had never been traded before, and the fans didn't boo him during the regular season. He was obviously not mentally prepared.

In fact, don't think this kind of reaction from the fans is abnormal.

In history, it was O'Neal who was sent away by the OK combination, and O'Neal would also be booed every time he returned to the Staples Center!

If you really want to talk about contributions, the Lakers completed the dynasty, and O'Neal contributed much more than Kobe.

But he was booed just the same.

To put it bluntly, this is a kind of culture in the NBA.

What's more, now that the Lakers have become better than last season, fans automatically blame last season's loss on Kobe who was traded away, and it's more natural to boo.

After Kobe, the host began to introduce other players one after another.

Because the visiting team will not turn off the lights to focus on the introduction, many fans can see that Kobe's face becomes ugly.

Obviously, the contrast between before and after has wiped out Kobe's old love for the Lakers.

When the home team played, both Sun Hao and O'Neill enjoyed cheers all over the sky.

Originally, the Lakers won the first record in the league, and the fans already loved the combination of Sun Hao and O'Neal.

Not to mention that after the playoffs, both of them entered the playoff mode one after another, performing better than the other, and Sun Hao even brought the MVP back to Los Angeles!

To paraphrase a sentence: they like the two of them as much as they like now!

However, this reaction made Kobe's face even more ugly.

What he thinks in his heart now is to win the game in front of these fans and make them regret their actions!

Shortly after the opening ceremony, the starters of both teams came on stage one after another.

On the Mavericks side, Fisher, Kobe, Bell, Nowitzki, Dampier.

In the second half of this season, Avery Johnson started more with Diop.

Including the previous two rounds, he did the same.

But against the Lakers, Johnson still brought Dampier back.

Although Dampier's status in the Mavericks is not as good as before, and his body is a little fat, but his big contract makes the Mavericks trade him, so Johnson...of course he can only choose to forgive him.

And Dampier proved himself in the playoffs against O'Neal two years ago, and Johnson is also looking forward to his revival in the game.

For the Lakers, Sun Hao, Christie, Finley, Malone, O'Neal.

All encounters are reunions after a long absence, Dampier and O'Neal are, Christie and Kobe are too.

This game hasn't even started yet, and I'm already looking forward to it just for the matchup.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long, because the starting players appeared one after another, and the game was about to start!

"beep!"

With a whistle, O'Neal easily dialed the ball back to the Lakers half.

After Dampier gained weight, his reaction speed dropped significantly.

The Lakers attacked the frontcourt, and the person defending Sun Hao was...Kobe!

The pre-match is not a smoke bomb!

However, Sun Hao didn't mean to attack. After signaling O'Neill to take a position, he directly lobbed the ball in.

Whether he scored 6 points against the Spurs in G51 or won the regular season MVP and halo bonus, Sun Hao will give the ball to O'Neal first in the opening game.

On the one hand, the reason is the same as in past games, the Lakers need to have an advantage in the paint earlier than O'Neal.

Of course, there is another more important reason tonight, O'Neill wants to attack!

The ball was fed in, and the Mavericks didn't double-team the first time.

Johnson wanted to see what Dampier looked like one-on-one against O'Neal.

He doesn't expect Dampier to be as brave as two years ago, but as long as he can be restricted to a certain extent, it is enough.

"Oh!"

But when O'Neal turned around Dampier with a shark and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand, Johnson knew he was wrong.

His expectations for Dampier were too high, so that he couldn't accept it all at once due to the big gap.

After O'Neal finished dunking, he took a look at Kobe and ran to high-five Sun Hao.

From the regular season to the playoffs, but this "love", the show still deserves to be shown.

But Sun Hao's attention is more on Dampier at this time.

I don't know if it's because of Johnson or because of Dampier himself. Dampier's opening defense has regressed a lot compared to last season, not to mention two years ago!

Kobe, looking back, took the ball from Fisher and singled Christie.

Finley on the weak side double-teamed immediately.

Unlike the Spurs before, Ginobili's passing was too good, and with the presence of Duncan and Parker, Phil Jackson did not arrange double-team tactics.

But the Lone Ranger is different. Although Nowitzki, Fisher, and Bell are not weak, the biggest difference is that Kobe will not pass the ball easily!

This is actually the reason why O'Neal said that last sentence before the game.

If you don't pass the ball, what does it matter who your teammates are?

Kobe, really didn't pass the ball!

The reaction of the fans before the game has completely stimulated him.

Now he not only wants to win the game, but also wins the game with his own hands!

Because only then will these fans realize how stupid their own actions are.

Kobe made a pull-up jumper after facing a double-team.

"when!"

Hard work!

Christie still has strength and is very familiar with Kobe. When defending, he has forced Kobe to the non-dominant hand side. Coupled with Finley's assist defense interference, this ball is not easy.

O'Neal, happily grabbed the defensive rebound.

He is really happy, and it is the kind of happiness that ordinary people can't understand.

In the past, he watched Kobe hit the iron, and then went to the rebound helplessly.

But now, he is watching Kobe hit the iron, and then he is happy to receive the defensive rebound.

Isn't this kind of contrast and contrast exciting?

The Mavericks did a good job of defending their positions and retreated quickly, which did not give the Lakers a chance to break fast.

Just like when Sun Hao was still on the Mavericks, the team under Johnson has done a good job of defending against opponents' defensive counterattacks.

But the Lakers obviously don't need fast breaks that much.

After O'Neal settled inside, Sun Hao lobbed the ball in again.

Nowitzki is going to help defend this time, but he is still slow in the end...

Dampier tried his best to hit O'Neill, but O'Neill turned around and hooked him so that he couldn't keep up.

In fact, the biggest impact of players getting fat is not confrontation, but speed.

Just like O'Neill, although his talent did not slow down his reaction speed too much, his movement speed is still the kind that can't get out at all.

Dampier... all speed is gone.

Johnson reached out and patted his forehead, and Dampier made him a little desperate.

But he didn't make the substitution immediately.

After all, it was his own decision to adjust the starting lineup. If he changed players after two rounds, he would be slapping himself in the face.

Kobe, after breaking through the front court, was double-teamed again. This time he used the iconic turn and fall back, but he was still interfered by Christie's prediction.

"when!"

Kobe Bryant missed consecutive shots in the opening game!

O'Neal, took the lead and got another rebound!

He felt that he had lost 20+ rebounds tonight!

Sun Hao, hold the ball to the front court and continue to give the ball to O'Neal.

Nowitzki assisted in the defense this time, but O'Neal turned to the other side early and scored with a light wipe!

Dampier, didn't even have time to reach out!

Johnson, can't stand it.

He felt that it didn't matter whether he was faceless or not. In Dampier's state, his previous thoughts were nothing but fantasies!

A short whistle came from the sidelines, and Diop replaced Dampier on the field!

This substitution caused a burst of booing at the scene.

If Dampier two years ago could have restrained O'Neal, the Lakers would have had a hard time playing this game.