Legend of Tomorrow

Harden made continuous shots, and the players on the court were all in disbelief. How could he still defend like this? And it actually works?

Nurkic grabbed the rebound and passed it to Booker. Collison's physique couldn't compete with Booker. He didn't follow up and didn't gamble to steal. He wanted to chase Guo Xu and Harden to switch defenses, but turned around and saw that his team had missed someone. .

Guo Xu's speed is too fast, and he defends behind Harden's butt. After the opponent shoots, he goes straight to the fast break without interfering. In this case, how can Harden, who is at a speed disadvantage, catch up with him?

Booker hit the ground and passed the ball. Guo Xu threw Harden two meters away. He took the ball and took off with both feet. He turned 360 degrees clockwise and dunked the basketball with his right hand and scored!

90 to 92, personal 59th point.

This is very similar to Vince Carter's classic first dunk when he won the championship in 2000, except that Guo Xu is short and not as stretched as Carter's movements. The two exchanged dunks during team training, and Guo Xu is very familiar with this movement.

Yu Jia lamented: Guo Xu is going to participate in the dunk contest this year. He has performed multiple dunks in two games. I feel that he can jump higher than when he was at his peak. He doesn't jump much after 2010.

Zhang Lijia smiled and said: He is now at his peak. Not only is his offense beautiful, but his defense is also genius. What he is guarding is Harden's step back. Harden can't draw fouls anymore, and it is really effective.

Yu Jia laughed and said: Iverson once said that Guo Xu is faster than him. He is really unstoppable when he rushes. Once the opponent fails to make a shot, he will catch the ball and counterattack.

When the Kings attacked, Harden asked for the ball as soon as he passed half court. As a result, Guo Xu followed him from half court, leaving a large space in front for him to shoot at will.

From the audience's point of view, Guo Xu was not guarding. It was more than retreating two meters away from defense. It was a kind of contempt for Harden.

Harden rushed up with the ball, gave up open mid-range shots and three-pointers, and the throw missed due to interference from Nurkic's defense. The Lakers' two big men and Robertson both moved closer to the penalty area, trying to let others take action. Harden's choice was really unwise.

There is a reason why Guo Xu's not guarding is regarded as a skill by the training system. This can really affect the opponent's mentality. Harden's ability to withstand pressure is still recognized as poor among stars. Once he entered the playoffs and played key games, he fell off the chain and his shooting percentage dropped sharply.

The reason for Harden's failure is the same every time. He doesn't know whether he should shoot or pass. In the past few seasons, the Kings lost many of his high-scoring games to their opponents, and it was difficult for him to win alone.

Horford did not hold the board and pushed the ball to the outside with one hand. Booker picked up the rebound and advanced quickly.

There was a mismatch in the 2-on-2 frontcourt.

Booker passed Stein and missed the mid-range shot. Guo Xuchong grabbed the offensive rebound, relied on Collison to turn around and hit the ball with one hand. 92 to 92.

The referee's whistle also sounded, and Collison committed a 2+1 foul. As soon as he saw Guo Xu grab the rebound, he felt something bad was going to happen. The foul was too light and he didn't stop it.

Guo Xu also made an extra free throw, 93 to 92, his 62nd point.

The audience was stunned. Guo Xu's score today has exceeded the previous game. Other players may not have 60+ once in their entire careers. He completed it easily.

George Karl stood on the sidelines pinching his waist and didn't know how to adjust. It would be difficult for players to double-team Guo Xu during the counterattack. If Rondo is sent, the Kings' offense will worsen. Director Long couldn't sit still on the sidelines. He couldn't stand the defense of his teammates and he just took the initiative to ask the coach to suggest playing. Karl was still hesitating.

The Kings attacked, Guo Xu continued to defend behind, and Harden broke through with the ball and made a throw before Nurkic's defense. 93 to 94.

Harden's choice made the home fans a little disappointed. He had the opportunity to shoot directly, and not shooting gave people a lack of confidence, even though he scored his 50th point of the game.

When the Lakers attacked, Nurkic screened Guo Xu to block Collison just after halftime. Stein was inexperienced and retreated to within the three-point line. Robertson usually stands on the baseline after coming on the court, and Solomon cannot come out to double-team Guo Xu. Harden followed Booker and was thinking about life.

Guo Xu took a step laterally and shot a three-pointer as soon as the Kings team mark came out of the middle. He hit the ball without interference and received applause from the Kings home fans.

96 to 94, personal 65th point.

Zhang Lili said: Guo Xu has made such long three-pointers for two consecutive games. This distance is really a normal shooting range for him.

Yu Jia said: I think there is no doubt that he will score 70+ today. As long as he is not blocked, he can score wherever he shoots.

Collison still passed the ball to Harden after halftime. Guo Xu continued to defend behind the ball. Harden made a three-point jumper from the middle and hit the ball again without any interference in front of him.

The Harden fans at the scene were very disappointed. They couldn't figure out why Harden, who was killing everyone in the last quarter, suddenly failed.

Guo Xu is actually very smart in this kind of defense. He knows that Harden is a person who plays with rhythm, and rhythm is the most important thing to him.

Not only Harden, but also Guo Xu's three-point shooting percentage will drop a lot if his center of gravity is forward. It is not as comfortable as adding a fade-away shot. The arc of the fadeaway shot will be higher and more likely to score. Harden's step back is his signature, but he can't do it now, and his shooting posture is different from usual.

In terms of touch, the gap between Harden and Guo Xu is obvious. There has never been a season in his career where his three-point shooting percentage has exceeded 40%. His mid-range shooting is even worse. He has not been a conventional weapon since he entered the league. Guo Xu suddenly came to him like this, and he couldn't adapt.

In a parallel world, in the 2019 playoffs between the Kings and Jazz, Rubio also defended Harden in this way.

Although the final result of the series was that the Rockets advanced 4-1 and Harden scored a lot of points, his shooting percentage exceeded 45% in only one game. The worst game was 3 of 20 in the third game and 2 of 13 three-pointers. , made a joke.

Guo Xu didn't know about that series, and it was past the time of his rebirth, but he knew how to make Harden uncomfortable, because he would be uncomfortable if he couldn't retreat.

As long as the Kings players are shooting, the rebounds in the backcourt will almost certainly go to the Lakers. The one the Kings can steal the most is rookie Stann, who has obvious weaknesses. Casspi was unable to grab rebounds as a power forward, and substitute Jon Leuer was also a softie who could catch and shoot from outside. He had poor resistance and average defense.

When the Lakers attacked, Guo Xu first distributed the ball to his teammates, then ran around to the left baseline to get the ball, attracting double-teams from Leyer and Collison.

After observing the players' positions, Guo Xu chose to force a break through the middle. He pushed Collison to the inside and broke through the double-team. He strode in front of the free throw line and turned to the left basket, picking the basketball with his left hand and scoring.

98 to 94, personal 67th point.

Karl's on-the-spot response was not fast enough. Guo Xu scored 13 points in a row and clearly found his shooting feeling. At this time, he should have called a timeout to interrupt his rhythm, but Karl was a spectator on the sidelines and had no intention of calling a timeout.

After Harden was bypassed by Guo Xu, the defense once again chose to break through. He made a one-step shot from inside the three-point line. Robertson slightly interfered with the flank. This was Harden's own interference.

Horford grabbed the rebound and passed it to Booker, who easily dribbled the ball across half court. Collison headed towards Guo Xu who was on a fast break.

Booker saw the opportunity and passed it to Guo Xu, who was asking for the ball from behind. Guo Xu took the ball and squeezed Collison, turned around and pulled the lever to score the basketball.

Collison wanted to commit a foul but failed to stop it. There was a big gap in jumping ability between the two. Guo Xu scored with a steady close-range shot with both hands in the air. The referee blew the whistle 2+1.

Guo Xu also hit the extra free throw, 101 to 94, his 70th point.

At this time, some fans at the Kings home court shouted MVP and they switched sides. Harden's performance in the first three quarters was not much inferior to Guo Xu's, and now there is a 20-point gap in scoring. It is clear at a glance who is stronger and who is weaker.

Karl's adjustment method is to play Rondo...