Chapter 135 [Two Strong Men Met and Went Crazy]

In the Lakers' game against the Mavericks, Guo Xu had a poor touch and a low shooting percentage. He had to suppress his offensive desire to assist the "OK combination".

The Mavericks' lineup was not complete, and starting point guard Steve Nash missed the game due to injury. The Lakers easily won 112-97.

Kobe made 15 of 28 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 7 of 9 free throws, and scored 38 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. O'Neal also scored 25 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists.

Guo Xu played 33 minutes, making 4 of 11 shots, 2 of 7 three-pointers, 5 of 8 free throws, and scored 15 points and 4 assists. He played a pick-and-roll offense in the second quarter, and faced the Mavericks' 229cm tall backup center Sean Bradley. He made a decisive move and committed multiple fouls. Unfortunately, he couldn't even make a free throw today.

Even so, Guo Xu performed better than Mavericks backup point guard Tyronn Lue. The latter played 22 minutes, made 2 of 7 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and only scored 6 points and 2 assists.

After the game, Mavericks fans wanted to kill Tyrone Lue. "League Lu" himself was even sadder. He felt that the opportunity that should have belonged to him was taken away by Guo Xu. Without that deal, Fisher would have been injured. He is the beneficiary.

In fact, even if Guo Xu doesn't join the Lakers, Tyrone Lue won't be able to play well. His personal ability is not good and he can't bear the heavy responsibility of leading the team's offense in the second quarter.

On the 5th, the Lakers ushered in another nationally broadcast focus game at home. Their opponent was the Philadelphia 76ers, who ranked first in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers currently have 14 wins and 3 losses, and the Lakers have 15 wins and 3 losses, only half a game behind.

The good news is that the 76ers had just lost to the Nuggets 98-105 and were in average shape. The star Iverson played 47 minutes, making 10 of 24 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 17 of 21 free throws, scoring 37 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

The overall lineup of the 76ers is not weak. In addition to the star Iverson, there are also many famous players.

Forward Toni Kukoc won three consecutive championships with the Bulls. He averaged double figures in points per game for seven consecutive seasons, averaged four assists per game in five seasons, and won the Best Sixth Man Award. In the 1998-99 season, his statistics were at their peak, averaging 18.8 points, 7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Aaron McGee, the Sixth Man of the Year contender, averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

Theo Ratliff is an excellent inside blue collar who is good at guarding pick-and-rolls and assisting in blocking shots, similar to the future Thunder's Ibaka.

Blue-collar power forward Te'Lon Hill was selected as an All-Star in 1995. This man directly knocked "Flying Pig" Barkley into retirement. He is a recognized macho man.

Starting guard Eric Snow and forward George Lynch have average offense and are both excellent defensive players. Snow, in particular, can guard three positions and is particularly suitable to partner with Iverson.

76ers coach Larry Brown is recognized as an academic tough coach. His coaching philosophy is to play the game in the right way, and his tactical approach is to put defense first. Brown is indeed very good at building an "iron barrel formation". The 76ers are currently averaging only 89.4 points per game. Brown has nothing outstanding on the offensive end. He insists on using Iverson as the core and others to assist.

Guo Xu has been waiting for this game for a long time. He wants to see how far he and peak Iverson can go.

In the regular season, they are in different divisions. The 76ers and Lakers only play two games each year, except for both reaching the finals. He wants to use this as a preview of next year's finals and a good opportunity to increase his popularity.

Iverson produced star data in his rookie season because the team had the worst record in the first two seasons and failed to be selected for the All-Star Game. The 76ers made the playoffs in 1999, but the NBA All-Star Game was canceled due to the lockout. It was not until 2000 that Iverson was selected to the All-Star for the first time, but his popularity has long been at the top of the league.

In the past two seasons, Iverson has been second only to Raptors forward Vince Carter in popularity among all perimeter players, surpassing Kobe Bryant. Guo Xu also liked Iverson in his previous life. His figure was like that of an ordinary person but he won four scoring titles.

This is particularly attractive to fans. Even in 2018, many years after Iverson retired, he still has many fans.

Unfortunately, Phil Jackson didn't let Guo Xu start again. Instead, he used veteran Ron Harper, who had just come back, to let Kobe Bryant defend Iverson.

Yes, this is a focus game. The focus is Kobe VS Iverson, not Jason Guo VS Iverson. The Lakers coaching staff does not trust Guo Xu's defensive ability, so he can only follow the coach's arrangements.

Of course, Jackson will let Guo Xu and Iverson face off at a certain period of time, but this time will not be too long. He hopes that Kobe can beat Iverson's mismatch.

In the previous finals, Tyronn Lue only played 14.6 minutes per game. The two faced off very rarely in the entire series. It is nonsense to say that he alone defended Iverson, but it is true that the Lakers have a way to limit Iverson with their overall defense. .

According to statistics, in the four games the Lakers won, Iverson took a total of 121 shots and only hit 48 goals. Among these 73 shots, only 9 missed shots when facing Tyronn Lue's single defense, and another 3 missed shots when Tyronn Lue was double-teamed with his teammates. To put it bluntly, Tyronn Lue only deserves praise for his defensive enthusiasm.

After the game started, the two teams, which both attached great importance to defense, started a unique fighting battle.

The 76ers double-teamed O'Neal and the Lakers double-teamed Iverson, both with the goal of restricting the star.

While chatting in the locker room, Guo Xu knew that O'Neal might have a problem today.

Yesterday, O'Neal signed a huge new advertising endorsement contract. To celebrate, he had a candlelight dinner with his girlfriend Shanni. With the urine of a fat man, he would definitely have to fight San Lily with Shanni when he got home. He couldn't rest during the day today.

O'Neal was really sleepwalking in the first quarter, and he couldn't see any advantage in the low post attack.

Facing Ratliff, who is 208cm tall and weighs 102kg, O'Neal turned around and shot frequently. Only once did he use his weight to dig into the basket, force himself to draw a foul, and made two free throws. He made 0 of 7 shots in the first quarter and 2 of 2 free throws. Those who didn't know better thought this was the data of an outside player.

Iverson's performance was equally disappointing. He broke through and was surrounded by two or three Lakers players near the penalty area. He dodged and moved sideways. Every time, he faced people and forced a layup or jump shot. On several occasions, his center of gravity was seriously tilted. If you shoot under such circumstances, it would be surprising if the hit rate is high.

Iverson passed the ball out of the perimeter, and his teammates didn't shoot three-pointers. He tried every means to bring it to the basket and hit the penalty area guarded by the "Shark". It seemed like he was challenging himself.

Iverson made 2 of 10 shots in the first quarter, 0 of 1 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, 6 points in a single quarter, no rebounds, and no assists.

The best performer of the 76ers was small forward George Lynch. He had range and could stretch. He scored 8 points on 4 of 5 shots in the first quarter. Three of his goals were long-range mid-range shots within one step of the three-point line.

Lynch's shooting touch was hot today, but under the guidance of "famous coach" Larry Brown, he still insisted on not shooting three-pointers and had to take an extra step toward the basket, which is quite individual.

Guo Xu was replaced in the last two minutes. He failed to score a single outside shot and all his statistics were zero.

The Lakers were one point behind 17-18 at home, a completely different team from when they played the Spurs. The audience was drowsy and yawning all day long.

Guo Xu really wanted to ask "Zen Master" Jackson what he thought? Wouldn't it be better for the Lakers to use a pick-and-roll tactic like they did against the Spurs and use a trident to attack? He insisted on using the triangle offense to help Harper find his state. The Spurs can't guard against the Lakers' trident, how can the 76ers guard against it?

"Zen Master" went crazy again today, allowing Harper to play for 10 minutes, making 0 of 2 shots, with 1 rebound and 1 assist...