Chapter 179 [The Times Create Heroes]

Some heroes create times, and some times create heroes.

Guo Xu participated in a rookie game that had undergone major changes. In previous games, he would not have scored so easily.

The rookie game was held for the first time in 1994 and was divided into "talent team" and "passion team", with a lineup composed entirely of rookie players. In 1995, it was changed to a white team and a green team, still composed entirely of rookie players. In 1996, the rookies were divided into Eastern and Western divisions to compete against each other. It was only in 2000 that the rookie team played against the sophomore team.

The first challenge game in 1994 was a failure. The team with the second disease ended up scoring 74 to 68. The genius team won, and Anfernee Hardaway was elected MVP.

The fans almost fell asleep while watching, and there were all doubts after the game. The winning side did not see much talent, and the people on the opposite side were even less passionate. They looked like a bunch of crazy losers.

The scores in every rookie game after that were very low because they were all first-year players, and the competition was very fierce. It was all about real fighting and desperate defense. In two games, the players were all fired up.

President David Stern gradually realized that the game could not be played like this. It was too uncommercial. In 2000, it was changed to sophomores versus first-years. The result was that the first-years won 92 to 83. Brand won the MVP, although the score was still not the same. High, but the ratings have increased a lot.

The league has since found the right game model, and this season has adopted the rule of two-grade confrontation.

In this way, the mentality of the players is somewhat different. The second-year players had already played one game last year and found that their hard defense could not steal the spotlight from the All-Star players. This time they will not defend too hard. Work hard on the offensive end.

Starting from this year, in order to attract the attention of fans, rookies will also begin to imitate the All-Star game model and develop in the direction of exhibition games.

In the second-year offense, Francis faced the frame and forced a breakthrough. Guo Xu did not defend carefully and put him inside. Francis jumped up in the middle and wanted to dunk, but Martin flew up from the side and blocked the ball with a slap with one hand.

Martin doesn't care what the challenge is, he just likes to show people his jumping ability and strength. This is how he averages 4.1 fouls per game. Occasionally he blocks one without fouling and it's very beautiful.

Francis lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground, unable to quickly return to defense. Richardson picked up the basketball and passed it forward without thinking. He had played this kind of cooperation in the NCAA Final Four and knew that Guo Xuyi had a mismatch opportunity. Get off soon.

Guo Xu received the ball from the right for a fast break. Odom returned to defense quickly, but retreated relatively far back. Guo Xu was out of position and broke through. Without waiting for his teammates, he chose the right side to shoot a three-pointer and hit another one. 8 to 0.

Woodson laughed and said: "If the regular season would be called a timeout,

Jason Guo is the favorite in tomorrow's three-point contest. It's definitely not possible to prevent him from shooting like this. The second-year team's defense has a big problem. "

Horvath said: "The fans definitely like to watch them play like this. There has never been a situation in the rookie game where a player has scored consecutive points."

Francis was a little angry when Martin blocked the shot. He felt that his 20+6+6 data this year should be selected for the All-Star Game instead of participating in the Rookie Game. He waved to his teammates to find a cover, played a pick-and-roll with Brand, and mismatched Martin.

Martin is a blue-collar guy. He always plays defensively no matter where he is. He immediately switches defenses as fast as a defender can keep up. Francis forced a layup to avoid Martin's block and missed the basket due to severe interference.

Richardson grabbed a backcourt rebound and made another long pass. This time Guo Xu rushed faster. When Francis returned to defense, he was already inside the three-point line. Brand is a heavy insider. After the dislocation, his speed was greatly different and he was thrown away by two meters.

After receiving the ball, Guo Xu took two steps and jumped up with the ball in one hand. When the ball was about to hit the basket, he caught the ball with the other hand and dunked the ball with both hands. He grabbed the basket and threw it with both legs. Very high, he did a pull-up and landed steadily. 10 to 0.

More and more fans cheered, which stimulated Francis. The performances of the defenders on both sides in the opening game were two extremes, and Francis was even more eager to return the favor.

Guo Xu was two steps away and lowered his center of gravity to prevent penetration and not to shoot. Francis once again pulled up for a three-pointer and finally hit it. 10 to 3.

After scoring the goal, Francis was somewhat grateful to Guo Xu. He would be too embarrassed if he didn't score. If Guo Xu was as close as he was in the regular season, he wouldn't have scored so easily.

Guo Xu wouldn't defend vigorously in situations like this. If he offended someone, he wouldn't get a bonus.

In the first-year offense, Guo Xu took the ball to the frontcourt and played a pick-and-roll with Martin in the middle. He lowered his center of gravity and forced a break from the right to the baseline, attracting Odom to switch defense.

When he was approaching the baseline, he suddenly stopped and turned around and passed the ball to the middle. Martin followed up with an air cut, jumped up with one step, and dunked the ball with both hands!

12 to 3, it was easy for Guo Xu to assist Martin. This man took the next option in the pick-and-roll, and his mid-range shot was unstable.

In the second-year offense, Francis also started passing the ball. Szczerbiak ran to catch the ball and hit a three-pointer. 12 to 6.

Guo Xu looked for a pick-and-roll again. This time Francis was in place to pursue the defense. Guo Xu passed the ball to his teammates. Richardson relied on Jackson's off-ball screen to run from the right corner to 70 degrees and hit the ball for a three-pointer.

15 to 6, Guo Xu’s second assist.

Brand was not so strict when defending teammate Richardson. Guo Xu thought of this before the game and told Richardson to actively move. Last year's rookie Cybrand won the MVP, and it was almost impossible for him to win again. He just came to relax this time and played without any passion.

The Bulls are currently at the bottom of the league in the regular season. The management is very dissatisfied with Brand's leadership ability and is under a lot of pressure. Even if Brand gives it his all, his down-to-earth style of play is not suitable for All-Star Weekend.

A good point guard must not only understand his teammates, but also his opponents. Although Guo Xu did not have many assists in the Lakers, he is good at distributing the ball reasonably and passing it to those who can easily score.

Brand caught the ball and singled out Jackson. Both of them were very strong. Brand was slightly shorter, only 203cm, but he had the advantage in wingspan. He turned around and threw to avoid the blocked ball and scored. 15 to 8.

Guo Xu brought it to the frontcourt and waved to his teammates to find cover. Then he suddenly started to rush to the left, and Francis followed.

Guo Xu quickly observed the situation. Martin attracted the defense in the middle. Brand and Jackson were positioned farther outside, leaving the penalty area empty.

He turned his back and held the ball in his left hand. He leaned against Francis and swayed his left shoulder toward the center. At the same time, he lightly tapped the basketball with his right hand and gave it to his left hand, making a fake move of turning toward the center. Francis' center of gravity shifted slightly. Guo Xu held the ball in his left hand and quickly turned to the right to pass.

Guo Xu completely got rid of the defense with this breakthrough, went to the basket with his left side, and easily picked the basketball with his right hand.

17 to 8, personal 12th point.

The second-year offense passed twice. Odom passed the ball to Hamilton and made a mistake. Richardson directly intercepted and counterattacked. Guo Xu received the ball and quickly advanced to the frontcourt.

Guo Xuzhong broke through the frame, took the ball with his left hand and took a big step. When he was about to hit Francis, he slapped the ball to his right hand. The racket was relatively far back, deliberately causing Francis to reach forward to steal.

He turned sideways to avoid the steal, held the ball in his right hand and moved to the right to break through, relying on his speed to pass the passer. When Francis saw that he couldn't keep up, he hurriedly drew a foul.

Guo Xu went to the free throw line and made two steady free throws, 19-8, his 14th point.

During the dead ball period, the second-year team took the lead in substitutions. Francis went off to rest and Jason Terry came up.