Legend of Tomorrow

The Lakers coaching staff has determined the 15-man lineup for the new season, and Fisher, who is recovering from injury, also occupies a spot.

Center: Shaquille O'Neal, Greg Foster.

Power forwards: Mark Madsen, Horace Grant, Robert Horry, Medvedenko.

Small forward: Rick Fox, Devin George.

Shooting Guards: Kobe Bryant, Brian Shaw, Isaiah Leder, Mike Pampesi.

Point guards: Guo Xu, Ron Harper, Derek Fisher.

The media collectively looked down on the Lakers, and ESPN pointed out their three major flaws.

One is that the Lakers' No. 4 position is old, too young, and lacks athletic ability. Robert Horry was injured in the preseason and will miss the opener against the Trail Blazers.

Second, the offensive end relies too much on the isolation of Kobe and O'Neal, and lacks a third attacker. Isiah Leder is not suitable for the triangle offense, and the bench offense is especially weak.

Third, the Lakers have a fatal weakness at the No. 1 position. Apart from two shooting guard veterans who are guest players at the No. 1 position and are not good at guarding breakthroughs, the only remaining rookie is Jason Guo. He seems unable to adapt to the rhythm of the NBA. He is small. Defenders are easy to target on the court, just like Tyronn Lue was back then.

Now the media generally believe that Guo Xu's strength is overestimated, and the reason for his good performance in the summer league is that this year's overall level is poor and his defensive intensity is low. On the official NBA website, fans also don't have much hope for Guo Xu.

If he has the strength, why has he been a marginal player in the preseason?

Everyone likes to think about the bad side. He may be unstable offensively and perform poorly in training, or he may be too poor defensively and get blown up on the court. No one thought that it was because of Ryder, who was dissatisfied with the ball, that Jackson hid Guo Xu and planned to let him be his secret weapon in the opening game.

A reporter in Charlotte specifically interviewed Bob Buss, the general manager of the Hornets. This time he stopped talking bad about Guo Xu. The old man is 70 years old and has poor mental endurance. He doesn't want to fall twice in the same place.

It is not your friends who know you best, but your enemies.

Bob Bass really wanted to see Guo Xu's joke, but he had a hunch that things were not that simple. People who could break the summer league scoring record must be trained intensively in the Hornets, and they would never be just marginal players.

The negative comments indirectly helped Guo Xu. Jackson has decided to reuse him in the second quarter to speed up the offensive rhythm. The Lakers cannot rely solely on the OK combination to attack. Others must step up.

The Bulls won two and three consecutive championships. Jordan and Pippen played a lot of playing time, but the performance of role players is also crucial. Jackson likes to let the core play more, and other players share the playing time. On the surface, their statistics are average, but in fact, the combined playing time statistics are not inferior to those of the opponent's stars.

Jackson at position 1 has no choice but to use Guo Xu. Fisher has been absent for a long time, and the combined offensive data of Harper and Brian Shaw may not be comparable to an ordinary starter of the other side.

Guo Xu was hidden in the preseason, and Jackson always trained him to give full play to his strengths.

As long as Guo Xu, Leder, George, Horry, and Madsen play together, the substitute offense is good. They can counterattack quickly, position the space and open up space for pick-and-roll offense. On the defensive end, they can prevent outside breakthroughs well and will not be easily beaten. burst.

After three weeks of training, Leder stopped making trouble. He admitted that Guo Xu was better suited to holding the ball than him. When counterattacking, he could attack hard after receiving the pass. When the position battle opened up, he waited for opportunities and waited for opportunities to make air cuts. This way, although the number of shots was small, , but the hit rate is guaranteed.

Jackson also tried to use veteran Foster as a backup center, which was more effective in pick-and-rolls, but his speed, confrontation, and ability to control rebounds were not as good as Madsen.

Foster is a famous softie insider in the NBA. He has been a substitute since entering the league in 1990, averaging 12 minutes per game.

He is 211cm tall and weighs 109kg. He has entered the finals twice with the Jazz.

Experience. He is good at helping his teammates cover and create opportunities. He has a good shooting percentage when catching and shooting from the middle. He can occasionally show off three-pointers. He made 5 three-pointers last season and made 2 of 5 three-pointers in the playoffs.

After training on the afternoon of the 29th, Jackson talked to Guo Xu alone.

I plan to increase your playing time in the regular season. How long you play will depend on how well you perform. On the offensive end, control the rhythm and be decisive in breaking through. On the defensive end, I don't need you to make up for and assist in defense. Try to keep an eye on the point guard. Especially when chasing after the screen, you have to be fast. I hope you can share the pressure on the core, understand?

Understood, I promise to complete the mission. Guo Xu gave Jackson a military salute.

Jackson was amused and patted him on the back. Don't practice extra tomorrow. We have to catch a flight tonight, so don't be late.

Okay, thank you coach.

The Lakers challenged the Trail Blazers away from home in their first game. In this era, David Stern has already mastered the gimmick of facing off against enemies. The Trail Blazers were reversed and eliminated by the Lakers in the last quarter last season, and the players were holding back their energy to take revenge.

On the evening of the 30th, Guo Xu rushed to the airport after dinner and boarded the team's Sky One special plane with his teammates.

The benefits for players of playing in big cities are not only exposure, but they will also feel much more comfortable when flying away to play games. You must know that NBA games often fly across several time zones, and players' poor rest will affect their performance. Not all teams have private planes, and most teams use charter flights to fly away games.

The Lakers' black special plane has been modified and has spacious and comfortable seats. After the aircraft is powered on, the seats turn into a golden color, which is very gorgeous and corresponds to the Purple and Gold Army.

The interior of the special plane adopts a ring-shaped seat design, so it is no problem to have a lunch box and place a cup on the table. The folded part can be spread out to form a large table for players to play poker or something.

There is a small locker between the sofa and the partition template behind it. There is toilet paper in it. Things such as Walkmans can be temporarily placed in it. There is a first aid kit on the top of the other side. The staff is very comprehensive.

Guo Xu and Mad Dog Madsen sat together and talked about the game.

The information of the opponent's players is sent to the players by the scouts before they get on the plane. The coaching staff hopes that everyone can understand their opponent. Even the substitutes must read the information carefully, preferably watching the game video.

Madsen looked excited and muttered: I hope I can play for a while longer, and don't let me have nothing to do. I think I can deal with Rasheed Wallace.

Madsen is eager to play, hungry for confrontation. Guo Xu discovered that this man was really a lunatic. During team training, he was often assigned to defend O'Neal alone. He was extremely excited about this. He went around and defended constantly, daring to be tough on the team boss.

His playing style is very similar to Guo Xu's 198CM center Chuck Hayes of the Rockets in his previous life, but he is taller than Hayes. It has to be said that it is a miracle that a non-offensive blue-collar player like Madsen can stay in the league for 9 seasons. His offensive end is not as good as Hayes. Hayes can occasionally show off throws and free throws. At his peak, he also coordinated passes and had a triple-double.

After reading the information, Guo Xu felt that he had a chance to break out. The Trail Blazers' starting and backup point guards were both small men with similar stature to him. He was not afraid of such guards, even Little Flying Squirrel Damon Stoudami. you.