Reborn as Kobe - Chapter 137
On the 8th, the Lakers flew to San Antonio to challenge the Spurs away. The Spurs owner is also a well-known poor player in the league, but he is very commendable, that is, he gave Popovich all the trust.
This game was full of Spurs at home, which is also the advantage of the small city, the fans are very loyal.
There are not many loyal fans of the Lakers. The main players who watched the game were attracted by the Lakers’ superstars and gorgeous play. After the rise of the Clippers, the Lakers almost became a supporting role for some time. The Rockets’ fans are also not very good, lacking passion, so the Rockets’ home atmosphere among the top three in Texas is the most dull. So the league’s most loyal fans are still small towns like Cleveland, because there is really nothing worth paying attention to except for an NBA team.
When the players played, Spurs fans gave the home team a warm applause, especially the appearance of Billups and David Robinson, which evoked the cheers of the audience. Billups has become the darling of San Antonio with his outstanding performance.
The young general Avery Johnson sitting on the bench was full of jealousy and melancholy. This season the Spurs sold veterans, including the young general, but the asking price was too high and they were unsuccessful. The two draft picks were also very late. , Did not get the favorite player.
The situation of the Spurs is similar to that of the Jazz. There are strong veterans in the team to support them. They are not reconciled to being bad. The team is poor and cannot sign big players. The situation is very embarrassing.
The San Antonio local TV station broadcasted the game. The host John Vickers said: “We have achieved two consecutive victories just like our opponents. Billups performed very well in the first two games.”
Paul Plessy solemnly said: “Billups is very good, but he has to face Kobe today, which is a huge challenge for him, and the Lakers have further gained strength after signing Barkley and other players this season. Promotion, which we have been able to see in their first two games, so this game the Spurs will be very difficult to play.”
Players of the two teams came to the center line to wait for the faceoff. The Lakers started this game: Kobe, Ray Allen, O’Neal, Barkley, Nowitzki.
The five Spurs starting at home: Billups, David Robinson, Sean Elliott, Jalen Jackson, Mario Ellie.
It is not difficult to see from the lineup that the aging of the Spurs players is very serious. All the players on the field are on the verge of retirement except for Billups in the second year of the rookie.
O’Neal won the jump ball and the game officially began.
Kobe held the ball in the middle, his teammates pulled away, Ray Allen on the right did not find a screen, suddenly ran to the left corner, Kobe passed the ball.
Ray Allen received the ball and faced Mario Ellito and cast a cold arrow!
Mario Elli slowed to follow the defense, jumped from the side to block the block, and the ball went into the net hollow. 3: 0.
After the goal, Ray Allen and Kobe slapped their palms, smiled and returned to defense, without the additional action of beating their chests and feet.
On the bench, his teammates’ cheering actions were more exaggerated than him. Kobe felt a little funny. It’s no wonder that Gentleman Sword’s reputation is not high, and this is the result of not being a show.
The Spurs attacked, Billups dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and suddenly speeded up to change the direction past Kobe. Barkley was experienced and blocked Billups’ breakthrough route in time.
Billups had to pass the ball to Sean Elliott at the free throw line on the right. The latter shot out of the open basket. O’Neal grabbed the rebound from the position and passed the ball to Kobe after landing.
Kobe sprinted with the ball, followed by Billups near the center line, divided the ball to Nowitzki who followed, and Nowitzki threw the ball straight to Ray Allen on the right.
Ray Allen and Barkley made a pick-and-roll and passed the ball to O’Neal who cut into the basket, and O’Neal dunked directly. 5:0.
The admiral’s speed and strength obviously couldn’t keep up with O’Neill, which made him very depressed. There was a Duncan in the original space-time to help him defend, but now he alone can’t restrain this prehistoric giant shark.
The Spurs attacked, Billups relied on Robinson’s pick and roll to call on Kobe, then pulled the ball past Nowitzki and hit the board. 5:2.
Kobe found that Billups’ play was very similar to the later “dirty gun” Chris Paul, but Billups was better than Paul, both in terms of defense and rhythm control.
Changing the environment can really change a person’s life.
Barkley picked up the basketball and passed it to Kobe. Kobe dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and changed direction continuously and passed Billups. Sean Elliott hurried to help defend, Kobe took advantage of the ball to the open Nowitzki, Nowitzki made a mid-range shot. 7:2.
Plessy said: “The Lakers have too many players. Looking at us, the offense can only rely on Billups and David Robinson. It seems that a replacement is inevitable.”
John Vickers nodded and said: “If the Spurs want to go further, they must find a capable helper for Billups and Robinson.”
Billups played the pick-and-roll with the common people. After getting rid of Kobe, he passed Barkley and made a layup~www.mtlnovel.com~ Billups played very resolutely, which made Kobe and others a little unprepared.
In the Lakers positional battle, Nowitzki didn’t have the ball to screen to help Kobe get rid of the defense. After entering the penalty area, Kobe attracted the people to change defense and divided the ball to O’Neal.
O’Neal relied on Sean Elliott, ignored the interference of the opponent, and scored the hook. 9:4.
Billups received the ball from the outside running position, attracted Kobe and Nowitzki to pass the ball to Robinson in the high position. Robinson shook Barkley and made a mid-range shot. 9:6.
In the Lakers position battle, Kobe dribbled the ball over the half, facing Billups and suddenly drew a three-pointer, and the basketball made a hollow shot. 12:6.
This ball Billups did not expect Kobe to shoot, the take-off interference was a step slower.
For Kobe, the Spurs coach Popovich on the sidelines has nothing to do. He can only shake his head and sigh. The shot is accurate and the pass is super strong. Kobe has no way to prevent it. You can only try to limit it. It’s not a vegetarian, the lineup gap is too big, it can’t be made up by tactics.
Billups and Mario Elli made a pick-and-roll, throwing off Kobe behind and facing Nowitzki in disguise, and after swaying to each other, they made another throw and hit under the cover of Robinson. 12:8.
Although Nowitzki made a defensive error, Kobe still gave him encouragement and support. This kind of tuition is inevitable.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 28-20. Although Billups scored 11 points and 3 assists, the others were guarded against death, and the Spurs kept falling behind.
The Lakers were limited by their physical strength and played conservatively, and everyone did not use their full strength. This is no way. There are too many back-to-back games in the shrinking season, and the interval between games is very small, so the Lakers can only release some water on the defensive side to prevent the game from getting too intense.