They were able to eliminate the Jazz 4-0 in the first round.

The reason is that the Utah duo has become the Utah veterans, the Jazz are the weakest teams in the playoffs, and with Wei Guo's outstanding performance, the Rockets and Jazz have a long history of rivalry, so sweeping the Jazz is not difficult.

The Lakers are not as easy as the Jazz.

Second round of the playoffs...

The Lakers' goal is not to avoid a sweep, but to defeat the Rockets and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

...

After the warm-up, the stadium was already packed with people.

Starting lineup for this match:

Rockets: Francis, Mobley, Wei Guo, Thomas, Yao Ming

Lakers: Fisher, Kobe, George, Horry, O'Neal

"Beep!!!"

The game began with the sound of the whistle.

Francis received the ball and dribbled it to the frontcourt. Wei Guo ran from the penalty area to the outside to draw the defense.

Francis isolates against Fisher, takes a step-back jumper and shoots!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went through the net cleanly.

2-0!!!

The Rockets scored first.

"Tactical success!"

Gentry laughed and said, "The Lakers will definitely have Kobe and Horry double-team Wei, so Francis will be a reliable scoring option."

Francis still has a significant advantage over Fisher.

The Lakers weren't in a hurry. Fisher dribbled the ball up the court and patiently organized the offense. After passing the ball to Horry, Horry didn't get a shot off and passed the ball back to the three-point line. Fisher received the ball again and passed it to Kobe.

As soon as Kobe received the ball, Wei Guo blocked his way.

Kobe is the Lakers' primary scorer... so Wei Guo has to guard him.

Many head coaches in the league have said in interviews that the player they most want to coach is Wei Guo. There's no way around it... Which coach wouldn't like a player who can play from position 1 to 5 and defend from position 5 to 1? Having Wei Guo would make the tactics more flexible and varied.

This is just wishful thinking on the part of other head coaches in the league.

Only Gentry knew how happy he was coaching Wei Guo. He didn't even need to devise tactics; many of the pre-match tactics were devised by Wei Guo himself.

"Don't shoot at Wei Guo!"

Kobe reminded himself of this.

Kobe dribbled past Wei Guo on the left side and drove to the basket. Facing Wei Guo's defense, Kobe jumped and, to avoid being blocked, hung in the air for a short while before releasing the shot as he landed.

"Smack..."

Wei Guo's fingertips still managed to pick up the basketball.

The basketball flew into the air, and Wei Guo jumped up instantly after landing, catching the basketball and protecting it in his arms. He didn't forget to tease Kobe, "I guessed you would have some hang time when you released the ball, but unfortunately... my hang time is a bit longer than yours."

"!!!"

Kobe grunted and ran to the backcourt to prepare for defense.

It wasn't just Kobe; many players in the league had a strange feeling when facing Wei Guo, as if Wei Guo could see through all their moves.

This kind of insight...

It's not something that can be achieved by playing against someone a few times or analyzing game videos.

........

In the first quarter, both teams were testing each other.

The offense and defense are relatively balanced...

Wei Guo needed to help Yao Ming defend against O'Neal, which also gave Kobe some opportunities to shoot, and Kobe seized those opportunities.

27:27!!

The first quarter ended with the score tied.

For the Lakers, Kobe scored 9 points on 3-of-7 shooting in the first quarter, making him the Lakers' leading scorer. For the Rockets, Wei Guo scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, making him the Rockets' leading scorer.

The Rockets' bench.

Holding the tactical board, Wei Guo said, "The Lakers' bench is very weak, which is the main reason why they are only ranked fifth in the West this season. The second quarter was the key for us to widen the score gap."

"right!"

All the players nodded, then looked at Wei Guo in unison, "Brother Wei, what do you suggest we do?"

Wei Guo put down the tactical board again, "It's very simple... I won't rest, I'm going to play the full 48 minutes. Yao Ming and Mobley will rest for three minutes, and I will be the offensive core in the second quarter."

actually...

The Rockets share the same weakness as the Lakers: a weak bench.

However, it was because Wei Guo was too strong, and the Rockets' roster was relatively well-balanced. In addition to Wei Guo, the other four main players, Francis, were also strong. Moreover, Wei Guo played every game this season and became more accurate in crucial moments, which made the Rockets the leader in the West.

Wei Guo had also thought about it.

If I'm changing teams next season, should I first decide which team to switch to, and then buy the team first?

so...

Wei Guo can reduce his salary, giving the team enough salary cap space to create the most reasonable lineup.

........

The second quarter begins.

Wei Guo remained on the court, and so did Kobe...

It seems...

The Zen Master and Wei Guo shared the same idea and knew each other's weaknesses, so the team's key players had to fight until the final victory was decided.

Francis dribbles, Weiguo positions himself under the basket, and actively calls for the ball.

Francis lobbed the ball to Wei Guo, who caught it, turned and squeezed past Madsen, then jumped up and slammed it home with a two-handed dunk.

"Bang!!!"

The basketball hoop even shook.

After successfully dunking, Wei Guo looked down at Madsen and asked, "What's your name?"

"Brother Wei..."

Madsen said in a low voice, "My name is Madsen. We played against each other in last year's Finals."

"Next time I dunk, stay away and don't become part of the background."

Wei Guo gave Madsen a friendly reminder.

Madsen was still in a daze when Kobe walked over and said coldly, "Don't let Weiguo distract you, he's a bad guy."

Lakers on offense.

Kobe dribbles to the frontcourt and hits a three-pointer!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

29:30!!

This three-pointer was very sudden; even Wei Guo didn't anticipate it, so his defense was a step too slow.

The Lakers took a one-point lead.

Less than two minutes into the second quarter, O'Neal returned to the court. In the first round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, Kobe and O'Neal consistently played over 40 minutes per game.

Especially Kobe...

Kobe played more than 45 minutes in every game.

"Yao Ming, replace Thomas."

Gentry patted Yao Ming on the shoulder and said, "Wei should defend Kobe here. You and Posey should limit O'Neal's scoring as much as possible."

O'Neal will definitely dominate the Rockets' interior defense.

There's nothing we can do about it...

Wei Guo can't be in two places at once. Between Kobe and Shaq, he can only choose to take care of one of them. Last year in the Finals, Wei Guo took care of Shaq. This year in the playoffs, it should be Kobe's turn.