Reborn as Kobe - Chapter 111
O’Neal was naturally very happy after winning the MVP and promised to his teammates that he would take everyone to Hawaii to play after the end of the season. This was also one of the conditions he had guaranteed in advance for the support of his teammates at the beginning of the season.
Jordan did not comment on O’Neal’s evaluation of Kobe, and later generations Jordan desperately touted James in order to ensure his historical status. The several champions of James were all brushed out in a team, and in terms of historical status, even the original is not as good as the original. Why did Jordan desperately suppress O’Neal and Kobe? Didn’t he see that the two of them have seriously threatened his status? Originally, he also wanted to suppress Kobe more, but Kobe, who has changed his soul in this world, is too cunning. In addition, he has become the top-level rich man in the United States. Jordan, a man who dare not easily offend, can only be a side attack. , Which also made him very depressed.
The reason why Kobe always praised O’Neal was that on the one hand, he did not want the two to have too much conflict. O’Neal was a bug-like existence at his peak. Why didn’t he hold such a thick thigh? No matter what kind of results the two create, There will be half of Kobe’s credit; on the other hand, if you want to win this year’s championship, destroy the Bulls’ second three consecutive championships, depress Jordan’s historical status, and leave O’Neal really hard to play.
On the 8th, the Lakers ushered in the third game with the SuperSonics at home. There was a simple award ceremony before the game. President David Stern came to the scene and awarded O’Neal the MVP trophy.
O’Neal expressed his acceptance speech: “I can win this award. First of all, I want to thank everyone on the Lakers, coaches and teammates for their help is indispensable. We must win this game tonight, and every game in the future. I will go all out for the game until the moment I win the O’Brien trophy.”
O’Neillton gave a moment and said affectionately: “Here I also want to thank my family, especially my father, who taught me to face everything strong, even if I don’t get his approval, of course I still Thank you to all of you here and the fans who like me in front of the TV. The honor I get is inseparable from your support.”
Because of O’Neal winning, Hurao fans were very excited. The whole Staples burst into thunderous applause and cheers, and the atmosphere of the whole home court reached its peak!
After winning the MVP, O’Neal finally let go of his mind, which allowed him to put all his energy on the court.
After the opening, the Lakers were very angry and the supersonic speed was not weak. The two sides fought hand-to-hand and the defensive movements were great. This also made the two teams’ shooting percentages not high. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were 26 to 20, leading at home. Six points.
In the second quarter, O’Neal began to explode. Without screens, he would just hit the ball. The Supersonic double-teaming also lost its effect. In addition, O’Neal’s free throw shooting rate has also increased by a large margin.
Hurao also found a sight on the outside line, Horry scored two three-pointers, Fox and Eddie Jones also made multiple shots with Kobe’s assists.
On the defensive side, the Lakers continued to pinch Vin Baker and Payton, and let other Sonics players shoot.
The weakness of the Sonics is too obvious. There is no strong inside and no pitcher on the outside. The Lakers were beaten by the Lakers in less than one quarter, and Kobe sent ten assists in a single quarter.
Throughout the second half, the Sonics failed to solve the defensive problem and failed to chop the shark, which exacerbated the collapse of the Sonics. The third quarter is not over, the game has entered garbage time, O’Neal and Kobe were chatting and laughing off the court throughout the fourth quarter, the Lakers won a hearty victory at home.
132 to 89, the Lakers beat the Sonics by 43 points at home, leading the total score 2-1.
O’Neal played 32 minutes, scored 39 points and 11 rebounds, staged multiple personal dunks, and gave the Lakers fans a huge surprise.
Kobe played 30 minutes, 9 of 15 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws. Scored 25 points, 4 rebounds and 18 assists.
Horry made 9 of 14 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, 24 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He doesn’t take many shots and has a high hit rate. Fox had 15 points and 6 rebounds, Eddie Jones had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Van Exel came off the bench with 20 points and 2 assists. The Lakers had six points in double figures.
Supersonic speed is still an old problem. Too few scoring points, once the two strong points of Wen Baker and Payton are dumbfounded.
In the fourth game, the Lakers’ state was a bit ups and downs, but still relied on their hard power to win the game 112-91 at home, and also won the match point of the series.
On May 12th, the Lakers moved to Seattle again, and the Sonics had no way of retreating, so they played very hard in this game, and remained in a stalemate with the Lakers until the next four quarters amidst the cheering of home fans. With four minutes left in the game, the Sonics finally became unsustainable, and Bryant was doused by two consecutive long-range three-pointers to extinguish the flame of final resistance.
O’Neal had a terrible feel under the Sonics defense, shooting 9 of 26, 6 of 17 free throws, 24 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists.
In this game, the Supersonics can take out all the hooligans. Wen Baker even encountered O’Neal’s egg when he helped defend, which made O’Neal very sad.
No matter how powerful a star is, when faced with no lower limit defense, he will lose his standard. After all, everyone is ordinary.
Fortunately, the Lakers did not play abnormally because of O’Neal. Because of O’Neal’s restraint, Horry, Jones, Fox and others all turned Kobe’s open pass into a point.
Kobe played 41 minutes ~www.mtlnovel.com~ and scored 20 points and 24 assists. Under his passing guidance, the Lakers had seven handicap in double figures. The final score was 114 to 109. The Lakers eliminated the Supersonics and entered the Western Conference smoothly. finals.
At the press conference, O’Neal said angrily: “This is the most shameless game I have ever experienced. The opponents do everything they want. Although we won, the performance of the Sonics players still made me doubt them. Is it a basketball player?”
The other players of the Lakers gloated and comforted O’Neal. Maybe the entire Lakers only had O’Neal without the joy of winning.
Previously, Kobe despised Garnett for playing outside and thought it was a shame, but after this game, Kobe finally understood one of the reasons. Players like Nowitzki and Garnett who like outside shooting, It’s not that they are willing to be weak, but they really can’t afford to hurt. After all, men with a body of steel like O’Neill and Duncan are rare. In order to dominate the basket and not be bullied, Yao Yao forcibly transformed his body into a strong bronze body. Unfortunately, he was only practicing kung fu from outsiders without internal bone support. , Caused five toil and seven injuries to himself, and eventually retired early.
Reborn as Kobe