Legend of Tomorrow

On the morning of the 4th, Guo Xu practiced shooting, rested in the afternoon, and went to the team's public training class in the evening. He planned to go all out and show some limelight in front of the fans.

The result was beyond Guo Xu's expectations. Phil Jackson didn't give him a chance to show off, and he was abused.

The Lakers allowed 1,200 season ticket holders to enter the players to watch the Lakers' internal training. When introducing the training the next day, the Los Angeles Daily News used the phrase They came, they watched, they almost fell asleep. I'm overwhelmed to describe the atmosphere of the fans at the scene, and it also reflects the dullness of this training session.

Some staff members introduced the training of each group to the fans at the scene, as well as the reasons for the training, how to implement these contents and how to complete them. These are boring and uninteresting for fans. It was not until the end of the training when the group confrontation was held that the fans started to cheer, which was one of the few bright spots.

Guo Xu failed to confront Fisher, and the two split their playing time and were divided into the same team.

Jackson let Guo Xu, Ryder, George, Horry, and Medvedenko play together against the OK combination, Harper, Grant, and Fox.

This is starting from the bench, and Guo Xu and others are completely unable to compete. If he can lead the team and play with the OK combination, he will be a superstar now.

Jackson also deliberately arranged for Kobe to defend Guo Xu, and Harper to defend Ryder to limit Guo Xu's performance.

Kobe was always very serious in training and focused on defense. It was difficult for Guo Xu to get rid of this recognized defensive strongman without relying on inside coverage. Even if he got rid of it, Grant was unambiguous in defending the pick-and-roll, leaving the penalty area to O'Neal alone to guard.

Because Grant wears goggles to participate in competitions all year round, people in the rivers and lakes gave him the nickname Cobra. He is a very traditional inside player. He is accurate in mid-range shooting but does not shoot three-pointers at all. His value is mainly reflected in screening, defense and rebounding. Although he moves slowly, he has a very good awareness of assisting defense and can stand in front of him. Guo Xu's uncomfortable distance defense breakthrough, as long as he blocks him for a second, Kobe will bypass the cover and chase up.

Kobe was a defensive player back then. Because he was ignored by the coach when he first entered the league, Jerry West encouraged Kobe to practice defense first, so he worked hard on the defensive end and asked Glove Payton for advice.

Last season, the 21-year-old Kobe became one of the most comprehensive defensive perimeter players in the league. His defensive attitude, physical fitness, and oppressiveness have all been recognized by people.

Guo Xu hasn't played such a frustrating game for a long time. He has been interfered by Kobe and can only find space to quickly shoot or distribute the ball. Even if he wants to force the shot, it is not easy. After the ball is distributed, it is difficult to get it back.

The highlight of Guo Xu was his rapid advancement in transition between offense and defense. During the counterattack, he assisted Leder to score twice, assisted George to score once, and forced a breakthrough to pass Harper for a layup.

He also played outside the three-point line, shooting 2 of 5 shots, moving sideways after the pick-and-roll and making a quick shot. Kobe is not easy to block shots if he is slow to chase and defend.

After playing for a total of 20 minutes, Guo Xu scored 8 points and 4 assists. He was very dissatisfied with his performance, but the coaching staff was already very surprised by this.

There is a huge gap in defensive strength between the NCAA and the NBA. Although teams in the NCAA often score only 5 or 60 points in a game, the lack of scoring does not mean that the defense is strong, but that most NCAA players have rough skills and poor scoring ability.

For example, Adam Morrison, a parallel import prospect in Guo Xu's previous life, averaged 28.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the 2005-2006 NCAA season, with a shooting percentage of 50% and a three-point shooting percentage of 43%. He was called Big Bird during the draft. Second.

As a result, Morrison entered the NBA and played 161 games before retiring. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20.4 minutes per game. He shot 37.3% from the field and 33.1% from three-point range. He was defended like a blacksmith.

It takes most NCAA rookies some time to adapt to the rhythm of the NBA.

Some could never adapt and were eliminated.

After Grant and Fox entered the starting lineup, the Lakers' defense was stronger than last season. Even famous guards in the league would feel uncomfortable. Guo Xu can steadily protect the basketball and bring it to the frontcourt, and dares to attack with the ball. He is an instant success at first glance. combat power.

After that, Jackson arranged training to focus on running tactics. The group confrontation time was not long, and Guo Xu and Kobe were pitted against each other every time.

There was no chance to face off in the match, so Fisher often challenged Guo Xu to show off his personal abilities. He is stronger than Cliffs and can shoot. It is really difficult for Guo Xu to guard against him, but he can compete with him by virtue of his own advantages. Fisher is 185cm tall, weighs 95kg, and has a nearly round body shape. He can barely accelerate in a straight line, but cannot move quickly laterally. This weakness has been with him throughout his career.

Guo Xu faced off against Kobe and was completely blown away. Kobe's defense was too tight, and he couldn't take an easy shot. He could only constantly find screens to get rid of, misplaced positions and forced the inside or distributed the ball to his teammates.

It was more difficult for Guo Xu to defend Kobe during the counterattack, as the size difference between the two was obvious. He can prevent face-to-face breakthroughs, but he can't do anything about Kobe's one-step turn and breakthrough or jump shot. Kobe was strong and his release point was too high. He couldn't even close his eyes to interfere. He could only hope that Kobe's touch was not good and he would be able to do three irons.

I am not afraid of facing Harper and Brian Xiao Guoxu. Although these two are 198cm tall, their advantages are mainly used in passing. Their singles ability with the ball is average. As long as someone interferes with them, the hit rate will be reduced.

Seeing Guo Xu forcefully break through for a layup and be slapped away by O'Neal who was defending him, assistant coach Kirk Rambis asked in a low voice on the sidelines: Phil, although you want Jason to be the sixth man on the team, but once Wouldn't it be too much to just practice like this? Aren't you afraid that he will lose confidence in the blow?

Rambis knew that Jackson wanted to use Guo Xu, so he put pressure on him to play against Kobe. But Guo Xu was only 19 years old by more than a month. Rambis was worried that the mentality of the young players would be problematic, which would encourage the young players.

Jackson didn't tell Guo Xu what he thought, and Rambis was also afraid that Guo Xu would have some bad emotions.

Jackson was very confident in Guo Xu and said with a smile: Different players have different training methods. Kobe was just a substitute in his rookie season, but he dared to challenge all the stars as soon as he appeared on the court. Jason is not the kind who is willing to play a role. A player will not lose confidence easily, if you don’t believe me, ask him to the sidelines and ask him how he feels about Kobe.”

During the timeout, Rambis called Guo Xu to his side and asked: Jason, we have always arranged for you to be on the bench and let Kobe guard you. What do you think?

Very happy, thank you. There is no better exercise than this. I feel that I have learned a lot of new things in the past few days. Guo Xu said excitedly.

Perform well and attract the defense to play faster. Rambis patted Guo Xu on the back and encouraged him.

This is indeed a good exercise. If Guo Xu can perform well against Kobe Bryant's defense during team training, and his opponents use ordinary players to guard him during the game, he will be under much less pressure and will play very resolutely.

If faced with players such as Harper and Fisher who are poor in defense against breakthroughs, Guo Xu would not have a sense of accomplishment even if he scored high in the team. He is the kind of person who likes to play games on the highest difficulty level to challenge himself.

Rambis was relieved. He felt that Guo Xu was the same type of person as Kobe. He liked to face off against strong men. If someone with average strength was sent to defend him, he would feel uncomfortable and would feel slighted.