Legend of Tomorrow

On September 26, the Lakers generals appeared at the new season media day.

Reporters rushed to Los Angeles for interviews. No team could compare to the overall popularity of the Lakers. The better the Lakers are, the worse the Clippers are. After Chris Paul left, they almost fell into obscurity.

Maybe Paul can't lead the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals, but what about without Paul? The Clippers may be fighting for a playoff spot. Griffin is definitely not a qualified leader.

Five Lakers players took core makeup photos together, Guo Xu, Devin Booker, Durant, Horford, and Adams.

It can be seen from this point that the plans of those players who want to wait for Guo Xu to leave and join the Lakers with a high salary will definitely come to nothing. This is the third season of Booker's career. The team will negotiate with him to renew his contract in advance next summer and it is impossible to let him go.

The Lakers' main gimmick was the last season of Guo Xu's legendary career.

In an interview, Guo Xu once again affirmed this. I will retire. Even if the Lakers win four or five consecutive championships, I will not be involved. I don't want to repeat what I have done. The future belongs to young people.

The reporter asked: Which team do you think is the Lakers' biggest competitor this season?

The Warriors, Nets, Spurs, 76ers, Bucks, etc., these teams all have a chance to defeat us. I mean if we win one game in the regular season, there will probably be no competition in the finals, unless no one on our team is injured. Otherwise, it would be impossible to lose four games in a series. Guo Xu said confidently.

He is not bragging. Compared with last season's complete victory, it is already very low-key.

Other players were interviewed and expressed their belief that the team would successfully defend the title and establish a dynasty. After a season of winning streak, they have forgotten the feeling of losing and are full of confidence.

In the preseason, the Lakers players showed their invincible strength and easily won anyone they played. The team can still score a lot of points if Guo Xu takes fewer shots, and Durant can also drive his teammates with the ball.

Newcomer Tyreke Evans performed better in the Lakers system than Wade last season. He played 31 minutes in the preseason, averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, shooting 47.2% from the field and 47.2% from the three-point range. 40%, looking like an all-star.

Of course he is not an All-Star, and he plays well because he faces a low-intensity defense. When he comes off the bench, he has the ball and can challenge with the ball. When playing with Guo Xu and Durant, he is often left out.

Once defended, most NBA players can shoot accurately.

The two guards Calderon and VanVleet performed equally well from beyond the three-point line, with their catch-and-shoot percentages exceeding 40%. When Guo Xu rested, they could also organize the offense by playing as two guards together.

With Horford and Durant casually joining the bench, coupled with the organizational skills of Evans and Calderon, the Lakers can move the ball very quickly and can coordinate passes and cuts.

The Lakers won all 7 games in the preseason and ranked first in the official strength rankings.

Guo Xu didn't take many shots, playing only 20 minutes per game and scoring 14.3 points and 7 assists. After the game, no media questioned his strength. Everyone knew that he was not serious and was just looking for a feeling.

ESPN announced the player rankings for this season, and Guo Xu is still ranked first.

Everyone believes that as long as he takes it seriously, he will be the MVP without hesitation.

The Lakers' opponent in the regular season's home opener was the Warriors, and Adam Silver thought this arrangement was very gimmicky. Anyway, the Warriors have lost miserably in the playoffs for two consecutive years, so it doesn't matter if they lose more in the regular season.

Ranked second is the Nets, who also won all 7 preseason games. After Paul joined, the Nets' outside strength has been significantly improved. There are two shooters on the wings, and Gallinari and James can be pulled out to shoot as a forward partner.

It's not a big problem for the Nets to be weak inside, as long as the players can pick and roll and cut to eat the pie. Aron Baynes was not a pure blue-collar player when he came on the field. He could occasionally catch the ball and make a mid-range shot after covering, and his shooting rate was not low.

Ranked third are the Warriors. Green is gone and Mirotic, who has a longer range, is here. Gobert can fill the void left by Green's departure. The trade was made because of the overlap in their defensive end. Gobert defends the penalty area better, and Green defends more comprehensively.

The 76ers are ranked fourth with 6 wins and 1 loss. The departure of Gallinari will have little impact. Joe Ingles had a higher shooting percentage last season. The No. 3 overall pick, Jaylen Brown, is about to take over after a season of training, and Gallinari must give up the starting lineup.

The Spurs have declined more sharply, with 3 wins and 4 losses in the preseason. After Gay joined, he took fewer shots and focused more on the defensive end, and his performance was average.

Spurs core Kawhi Leonard is still recovering from injury and did not play in the preseason. Teammate Ginobili recently said in an interview that Leonard has never completed training with the team and his return date has not yet been determined.

After reading the news, Guo Xu understood that Leonard was going to be unlucky. It was almost like a parallel world where he would take a whole season off, fall out with the Spurs management, and then be traded.

In the parallel world, the Spurs sent Leonard to the Raptors, who were still a competitive team. Now that DeRozan, the trading chip, is no longer with the Raptors and was just traded to the Pelicans by the Hornets, God knows where Leonard's next stop will be.

Before the opening game, online fans discussed that they were all optimistic that the Lakers would win. As expected, the Lakers won 133-112, and the Warriors never led once from beginning to end.

Just like last season, Guo Xu broke through Curry again and again. The Warriors can still defend in positional battles, but to counterattack is to watch Guo Xu's performance. Curry's one-on-one is like a defensive black hole.

Curry's offensive efficiency is not very high. The Lakers will double-team him and let role players take action. He made 8 of 18 shots, 3 of 9 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Guo Xu played 34 minutes, making 12 of 18 shots, 4 of 8 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, and scored 34 points, 2 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Without practicing during the entire holiday, Guo Xu's shooting touch is indeed not as good as last season, but he will adjust and make more breakthroughs for two-pointers and passes. Six members of the Lakers team scored in double figures, and no one else scored 20+.

One good thing about Durant is that he is selfless and does not fight for the boss. Even when Guo Xu is in bad condition, he will control the number of shots and just strive for high efficiency. Both he and Guo Xu can help each other improve their shooting percentage, which is a major feature.

At the post-game press conference, reporters asked the core players of the two teams to evaluate each other, and specifically mentioned Curry's age. After this season, the baby-faced Curry will be 30 years old.

This successor is really sad. He will become a veteran in a few years, but he still can't compare with Guo Xu.

The reporter asked Guo Xu: You are about the same age as Jordan when he retired for the second time, and you have maintained your condition better than him. How did you do it?

Practice Chinese Kung Fu to maintain good health, and combine the movements with some breathing exercises. This is really effective and can delay aging. Megan and Alex also learned this from me. I think they will be able to see better without Botox or hyaluronic acid in the future. She looks younger. Guo Xu smiled.

He deliberately revealed a little information because he was indeed aging very slowly. If he still looks like a young man at the age of 50, he will certainly attract attention as a public figure. At that time, he plans to push all these to Chinese Kung Fu. Anyway, Kung Fu also has health tips.

The reporter asked: How do you plan to spend your last season?

I will try my best to play every game well and strive to be worthy of every fan who supports us. During training, I will teach young players experience and help them become stronger. I hope that after I retire, the Lakers can continue to maintain continuity. crown.