basketball never sleeps

Chapter 30 Lakers, Barkley, bet

"RIP (Hamilton), are you sure your nose is okay?" Mo Wen looked at the Ox Warrior who was wearing a new mask... Oh no, it was Hamilton who asked with concern.

The advice given by the team doctor was that it would be safer for Hamilton to continue pigeon racing for this game, but Hamilton did not allow himself to be absent.

"There's no way I'm going to miss the game against that guy, otherwise that bastard can mock me all year long." Hamilton adjusted the pure black mask in front of him. He originally wanted to customize a Batman mask, but

The rules of the alliance do not allow it, so we have to give up.

There are only two opportunities to play against Kobe Bryant in head-to-head matches a year. Even regardless of the team's needs, he must play.

The relationship between Hamilton and Kobe Bryant began in high school. The two have been competing with each other since they met in high school games. They fought openly and secretly, and fought to the death. During the high school basketball training camp at McDonald's, the two were even assigned to a team.

They competed in the dormitory for a whole summer, and since then the two have formed an entangled "evil relationship".

Hamilton, who entered the NBA three years later than Kobe, suffered a loss during his rookie period. In the eight previous games between the two, the team's victory was 50-50, but in terms of statistics, Hamilton was always outnumbered by Kobe.

Although Hamilton usually looks like a good old guy, he is also a man with a desire to win flowing in his blood. Every time he meets Kobe, Hamilton's desire to take action becomes stronger.

Of course, the same goes for Kobe. Every time he meets Hamilton, he always throws 20 balls to warm up.

"By the way, Mo, you are demonstrating to me how to use your "one finger", teach me again, I will try it on that piece of shit later, that shameless bastard Kobe gave it to me in the game

I haven't even settled the score with him for a cubit."

·······

"Ever since Malone sprained his knee in December last year, the Lakers seemed to have fallen into an injury swamp, starting with Karl (Malone), then Shaq, and then Kobe. Shaq came back for two games and then rested again. Kobe was originally going to

I came back but injured my hand again because of the move. Do you feel like God doesn't want to see the four Lakers stars together?" In the Lakers studio, Barkley talked in front of the camera.

"No, no, no, I think this is expected. Malone is now 40 years old. Many people at his age have become grandfathers. O'Neal is not young anymore. Just like every insider in the league has to face him.

Just like his dominance in the penalty area, O'Neal must also begin to face the injury problems caused by his weight." Kenny Smith refuted Barkley's "destiny theory."

"As for Kobe, I can only say that there are more headaches for him than injuries right now."

Speaking of this, Kenny Smith shrugged, and several people in the studio laughed heartily.

"Oh, let me go back to this game. The Pistons and Lakers, the two top teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences, met for the last time this season. What do you two think?" Ernie sat in the middle of the studio.

Earl Johnson brought the focus of the chat back to the two teams already warming up on the court.

"I don't have any opinion. In the past, the Lakers were plagued by injuries and their results were unstable, but today's Lakers are the whole Lakers. Although the Pistons have performed very well since acquiring Rasheed Wallace from the trade, they still have to compete with the strong teams in the Western Conference.

There is some distance.”

Buck said objectively, this is also the view of most people, a healthy Lakers (unless Kobe Bryant gets involved) are invincible.

"I'm not optimistic about the Pistons either. They have also begun to suffer injuries recently. The starting small forward is injured, and the one who comes in is just a first-year...newbie. Hamilton also suffered an injury two days ago. Although this game

I can play, but I don’t know how much I can play.”

Kenny Smith, in a rare move, did not contradict Barkley's words.

"Hey, by the way, Charles (Barkley), do you want to make a bet?" Kenny Smith suddenly thought of something and said casually.

"A bet? What to bet on?"

It's not hard to bet on Barkley. His gambling addiction is no less than that of Boss Joe. After retiring, he often went to Las Vegas with Jordan to have fun. Later, he revealed that he probably lost more than 10 million dollars there.

(But there are also some wins).

"Let's bet on whether the Pistons' starter at No. 3 can score more than... 15 points today." Kenny Smith raised his eyebrows but still pretended to be calm and calm.

"Yes, I bet... he can." Barkley responded simply, but Kenny Smith's face froze when he heard what he said.

It shouldn't be, that's not how the script was written.

"Hahaha, Kenny, do you really think I don't know who the Pistons' starting small forward is?"

"Mo Wen, China's first swingman to land in the NBA, the No. 58 pick in this year's draft, had performed well as a substitute before, but recently he has averaged more than 16 points per game in the few games since he became the starter.

Points are already the Pistons' third scoring point. He even scored a miraculously 24 points in the first two days of the game, becoming the ninth rookie to score 20 points this year."

"Take the players who have already played against me, Kenny, you have regressed."

Looking at the stiff-faced Kenny Smith, Barkley, who knew everything he knew, made a tactical retreat with great pride.

After Mo Wen was promoted to the starting lineup, his performance in just a few games conquered the domestic fans who could only see statistics and highlights. Stern also saw the opportunity and began to continuously tilt media resources to Mo Wen.

Although Mo Wen is still just a pseudo-starter with average statistics, there has been a lot of publicity in the recent NBA official media, such as "China's No. 1 guard", "the most inspiring late show", and "counterattacks by ordinary talented players"

Various labels were slapped on Mo Wen’s face

Barkley watched the live broadcast of the game between the Pistons and Nuggets two days ago. He was deeply impressed by Mo Wen on the court. His silky offensive skills and flexible and sticky posture on the defensive end made him impressed.

Lord Ba's anus tightened when he saw it. This was too familiar. Aunt Susan next door didn't even have such good skills.

"Ha, now that you know, why don't you bet on whether he can score 19 points like you did on Yao a year ago?" Kenny Smith is also very thick-skinned, and he is not embarrassed when his little thoughts are exposed, so he naturally brings up the topic.

It moved to gambling again.

19 points, this is not an easy score to get. Mo Wen’s defensive players in that game against the Nuggets were average. The Nuggets’ overall defensive level was also in the middle and lower reaches of the league. That was why he exploded in that game.

.

In the rest of the games, Mo Wen's score was also highly correlated with the opponent's defense. He didn't seem to be an offensive player. Kenny Smith was betting that Mo Wen's score would definitely decrease under the Lakers' top-notch defense.

Buckley touched his chin.

Last year, before Yao Ming played the Lakers, his scoring average was only single digits, so Kenny took a bet. Mo Wen was averaging over 15 points per game, so why not bet on it?

"Bet! What are you betting on this time? Or the donkey?"

"No, no, no, let's try a new trick. Whoever loses will have his pants taken off and spanked ten times in front of the camera?"

"Kenny, do you have any special fetish for your butt? If you tell me, no one will laugh at you."

"Just tell me whether you want to bet or not!"

"bet!"

Different time, same place, a new bet was born.

······

The referee blew the whistle, and the basketball flying into the sky was easily photographed by Rasheed. O'Neal didn't even think about jumping up.

After the ball was passed to Billups, Payton defended him head-on.

After Payton took a salary cut to join the Lakers, he lost a lot of the ball and focused mainly on the defensive end. However, as he got older, the 35-year-old was somewhat powerless when facing Billups.

While Billups was observing his teammates' movements, he was also looking for Payton's flaws.

Hamilton and Mo Wen made a double screen, and then used Ben standing at the waist to make another screen, successfully keeping Kobe away from the defender.

Billups, who had been observing, didn't need Hamilton to wave to him. He hit a through ball just in time, allowing Hamilton to smoothly shoot after receiving the ball without having to adjust.

Kobe, who arrived late, had no time to interfere and could only wave his arm symbolically.

"Cut~"

Hamilton let out a defiant chuckle as he made the shot.

Hamilton's ability to move without the ball is truly historical. His grasp of running space, selection of pick-and-roll paths, and ability to catch and shoot. In this era, only Miller can compete with him.

.

Kobe gritted his teeth and started asking for the ball after halftime, but Payton didn't give it to him. He was the only point guard in Kobe's career who dared to challenge him, and Payton also had the capital.

Payton stayed close to Billups and used a seasoned shoulder shake to create space. He squeezed Billups and broke through to the inside. He didn't panic even after being tangled up by Billups in the three-second zone.

The fighting posture was combined with the 5 times speed of "left and right wild horses parting their manes, parting their manes, parting their manes again", which made Billups unable to judge the direction of his attack on the frame. He turned over and leaned back to smash the ball before Mo Wen could help defend.

When it reached the neck of the basket, the backboard was hugged by Ben who was nearby.

Payton frowned and shook his hand, which was a little cold at first.

Looking back, Billups responded to Payton, using Rasheed's screen to break into the paint. In order to avoid Payton's interference, he made a backhand layup and successfully delivered the basketball to Payton's hands.

Because the Lakers have so many veterans, they don't like to play fast breaks like the regular Western Conference teams. Instead, they play a turn-based game with the Pistons.

In the first half of the first quarter, both teams showed a very high level of defense. The Lakers fans on the sidelines were cheering enthusiastically, but the two teams' total score in 8 minutes did not add up to 20 points.

"Ha, Charles, I think your plan is going to fail. This game is destined to become a defensive battle. It is not certain whether Kobe can score 19 points, let alone Mo."

Kenny looked excited. This game turned into a defensive battle just as he expected.

"When will I be able to watch the whole game in the first quarter? Let's watch it slowly." Barkley was a little bit muttered in his heart, but he took the gamble.

Jackson frowned on the sidelines. Although the Lakers didn't seem to be behind, they had actually fallen into the Pistons' rhythm.

This kind of defensive battle consumes no less energy than a fast break. The Lakers are veterans and fat guys. If they don't start in the fourth quarter, their physical strength will collapse.

The most critical thing is that the efficiency is not high, and the score difference cannot be widened, and there is no time for the starting lineup to rest.

He called a timeout and replaced Payton with Lao Yu.

Payton has never been able to adapt to the triangle offense after coming to the Lakers. The main reason is that his three-pointers are not accurate. Asking him to be a pitcher on the triangle wing often results in a slap in the face.

When Payton was on the court, he either played pick-and-rolls with Malone, or several stars took turns playing in isolations based on their individual abilities. However, the five starting shots were not stable enough, and so-called isolations often encountered double teams.

After Laoyu came on the court, the Lakers, who launched the triangle offense, became much smoother.

Billups's single defense pressure became less, but he did not dare to easily assist in defense. Fisher relied on three-pointers and long two-pointers to make a living.

Mo Wen could help defend, but his defensive range could only take care of one side. Kobe was looked down upon by Hamilton, but the Shark at the basket was happy.

Although O'Neal has a tendency to decline from the peak, his current strength, weight, height, and even skills are not what Big Ben can bear alone.

Ben is a top help defender, but his inherent disadvantages in single defense cannot be covered up.

However, Ben is not without his advantages. He has a strong and tenacious mentality. Regardless of whether he succeeds or not, his defensive attitude and hard work will lead him to the fullest every time.

Although O'Neal took two big shots and caused a foul later in the first quarter, O'Neal did not play easily.

Rasheed, who failed to make up the defense in time, asked Larry Brown to cheer him up after yelling a few times. O'Neal tried to attack twice but missed the target due to Rasheed's interference.

Mo Wen didn't have much of a presence in the first quarter. Jackson didn't let down his guard against Mo Wen just because he was a rookie. Devin George, who could barely become a 3D player, got orders from Jackson to work hard and no one else looked at him. He just wanted to

Exchange with him.

Because his teammates were all starters, Mo Wen didn't even think about grabbing the ball when he came up. Later, Larry Brown considered Devin George's lack of offensive ability and replaced Mo Wen with Collis, who had a better offense.

The team's offense didn't improve much after that.

After the first quarter, Lakers 25:20 Pistons, the Lakers lead by 5 points.

Just when Barkley thought the bet was a bit mysterious, Mo Wen broke out in the second quarter.

Devin George has a serious attitude on the defensive end and quick feet, but his explosiveness and confrontation can be said to be average.

Mo Wen is a player whose body cannot crush him. Based on his experience, he cannot be said to be easy to beat, nor can he be said to be able to do so with ease.

With several other Pistons starters taking a break, Mo Wen made 7 of 10 shots from the field, directly pulling up Kobe who was resting on the bench.

PS: Everyone, go to bed early. We will try to change the update time to 8pm later.

(End of chapter)