Chapter 165 [Revisiting the Novice Village, There Is No Rookie Wall]

Horace Grant made a cut, overpowered Mason to grab the offensive rebound, and passed it from close range to O'Neal who was deep in the basket.

O'Neal pushed Brian with his right side, jumped up and dunked with both hands, and the ball flew away. Mason grabbed the defensive rebound.

Hardaway dribbled to the frontcourt, and his cross-step change was blocked by Guo Xu's sideways movement. He leaned back, but Guo Xu did not move an inch. He turned to the right to break through, and once again bumped into Guo Xu's arms. His dribbling rhythm was blocked. Disruption and near miss, hasty pass to Mason.

Hardaway was once the originator of under-crotch dribbling changes in the NBA. His iconic moves attracted stars from all walks of life to imitate him, but now he is no longer good. After two serious injuries, his explosive power is not as good as before, and his breakthrough power is gone. It was much easier for Guo Xu to guard him than to guard Kobe, and he didn't feel any pressure at all.

As early as the 1998-1999 season, Hardaway's condition declined seriously. His scoring mainly relied on sudden shots from the outside and jump shots after pick-and-rolls, and his shooting rate was not high.

Last season, he averaged 13.4 points and 7.4 assists per game, shooting only 38.6% from the field, 36.7% from three-point range, and averaging 2.6 free throws per game. His performance was even worse in the playoffs, averaging 7.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 26 minutes in 7 games, shooting 29.4% from the field, 20.6% from three-point range, and only 1.4 free throws per game.

As soon as the ball was passed out, Hardaway couldn't catch it back. Guo Xu followed closely, and he didn't move much in order to save his energy.

After passing the ball for 20 seconds, Brian pulled it relatively outside, received the ball and missed the mid-range shot due to O'Neal's interference. The rebound was grabbed by Horace and passed to Guo Xu.

In the frontcourt, Horace wanted to pick and roll in the middle again. Guo Xu signaled him to go to the side and directly held the ball for a one-on-one challenge.

He dribbled the ball from his crotch to his left hand, lightly touched his left shoulder, and made a fake move to break through to the left. Then he shot the ball with his left hand and violently changed direction to the right.

Hardaway was too familiar with this crossover move and moved sideways in front of Guo Xu. But it wasn't over yet. Guo Xu dribbled the ball behind his right hand and passed it to his left hand. He strode out with his left foot and changed direction again.

Guo Xu has improved significantly in terms of technical connection, and he has completed the change of direction subconsciously. In the time loop, even if he moves slower, he cannot get rid of Kobe's entanglement, and his dribbling practice is extremely skillful.

Hardaway's lateral movement could not get up quickly and was passed by in one step. Guo Xu made a jump shot near the free throw line in the middle road, 2-0.

The Heat attacked, Hardaway and Bryan blocked the ball in the middle. Bryan had no chance to make a shot when faced with O'Neal, and passed to Eddie Jones who was running.

Jones made a triple threat on the right and broke through the baseline.

Kobe followed up from the side, Jones forced a layup and missed the basket, and O'Neal got the rebound.

In the Lakers' position battle, Guo Xu went to the frontcourt and waited for his teammates to pull away, holding the ball in singles.

He dribbled the ball from his crotch to his right hand, stretched his right shoulder, and changed direction to the left with the ball. He performed the same feint on the other side.

Hardaway moved sideways to keep up with him, keeping one and a half steps away. Guo Xu took the ball with his left hand and took a step forward. When he was about to collide with Hardaway, he slapped the ball to his right hand. The racket was relatively far back. He changed direction to the right, took a big step with his right foot, and launched the pass at full speed.

This relies on changes in speed and rhythm to attract the opponent's center of gravity forward, and then change direction. Hardaway did not want to step forward to steal, but Guo Xu was too slow, and his retreat affected his lateral movement, and he still couldn't keep up.

Guo Xu made another emergency stop near the free throw line and scored 4-0.

When he was one-on-one with Kobe, he rarely shot three-pointers, either layups or mid-range shots. By the way, he improved his mid-range shooting percentage in several positions. Whether it is man-to-man or double-teaming, in order to deal with O'Neal, it is difficult for the opponent to cover up in the high post.

After scoring two goals in a row, Guo Xu felt that it was too easy to score. It was so simple that he couldn't believe it. Hardaway's defense was scumbag. Facing this kind of intensity, he could score 100 points with unlimited shots.

Because there was no game on January 3, Guo Xu could not practice passing with his teammates. He mainly practiced physical fitness and one-on-one.

Accustomed to Kobe's defensive intensity, Guo Xu faced off against the veteran point guard as if he had challenged the Demon King BOSS only to find that the next level was back to the Novice Village, and the only person he had to deal with was the village chief.

Riley, known as the "gold teller", frowned on the sidelines. The Lakers didn't play according to the routine. He had already arranged a system to deal with O'Neal and Kobe. If Guo Xu continued to fight like this, it would be difficult for the Heat.

For several consecutive seasons, the Heat's biggest defensive weakness has been Tim Hardaway. He was selected to the All-Star five times, was selected to the All-NBA first team in 1997, and was selected to the second team three times. He has many personal honors, but no one has ever said that he played defense. Well, a lot of defenders can score big points on him.

After Mourning was elected as the Defensive Player of the Year, he gave a speech and turned into a jokester: "I want to thank my teammates. They can always be easily broken by their opponents." He was not joking, but said it angrily. He was elected Defensive Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons, but the Heat couldn't get far in the playoffs.

Mourning is talking about Hardaway, who is 183cm tall, not people like Mashburn, PJ Brown, and Dan Marley.

Every time he enters the playoffs, Hardaway's performance becomes terrible, far inferior to the regular season, and the offensive end is dispensable. He failed to score in double figures in the previous two times. This year Hardaway's weight has increased to 84 kilograms, and his lateral movement speed has become even slower.

Riley is well aware of the Heat's weaknesses. Once they encounter a team with a strong offensive point guard, they will be defeated. Against the Lakers, he can only hope that "Zen Master" Jackson will ignore this and let the "OK Combination" focus on the offense.

Two years ago, Hardaway was at least still motivated. He was eager to help the Heat win the championship and played harder. When a player scores on him, he will want to score one in return, especially when facing young people. Now that Mourning has been reimbursed, there is no hope for this season. He can't pick up the energy at all. He passed the ball to Jones after halftime and stopped trying to play Guo Xu in singles.

The Heat's two inside men are not tall, and both have mid-range shooting ability. They can leave the basket and create opportunities for outside teammates. Jones caught the ball on the right side and faced a triple threat. He stepped out of the baseline and forced a layup, causing Kobe's thug to foul.

Jones made two free throws, 4-2.

When the Lakers attacked, Guo Xu brought it to the frontcourt but still did not pass. When his teammates started a one-on-one duel, he had absolute confidence in creating easy shooting opportunities and firmly believed that his scoring efficiency would be very high.

Hardaway lowered his center of gravity and kept one and a half steps away to prevent a breakthrough. This time Guo Xu dribbled the ball from his crotch to his right hand without changing direction. He stepped back with his right foot and shot a three-pointer.

Hardaway was slow to react and only reached out to interfere slightly. Guo Xu shot without much pressure, the arc was perfect, and the ball hit the net hollowly! 7 to 2.

Woodson shouted: "Jason Guo scored 7 points in a row in the opening game. Not only was he not affected by the defeat in the previous game, but he played more resolutely. Instead of cooperating with his teammates, he just singled out Hardaway with the ball."

Horvath praised: "I think he will definitely become an All-Star player in the future, just because of his self-confidence. I don't know how long it will take to adjust when other rookies are blown away, but there seems to be no rookie wall in front of him." .”

The Heat's offense must rely on overall performance. There is no player on the field who is strong in one-on-one situations. It would be a terrible choice for Jones to hold the ball and beat Kobe in one-on-one situations.

Several players passed the ball back and forth, and almost 24 seconds were spent without creating an opening. Mason received the ball in the high post and feinted, forced a breakthrough and missed a layup due to Grant's interference. Fox grabbed the backcourt rebound.

Guo Xu controlled the ball to the frontcourt, and many home fans felt their hearts were lifted. Can Hardaway defend him this time?

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