Neither the Raptors nor the Wizards are considered strong teams, yet they caused the Lakers considerable trouble.

The next opponent is even weaker.

After Ray Allen left the team, the SuperSonics fell apart. Now, the team is led by this year's second overall pick, Kevin Durant, whose player model is Tracy McGrady.

The SuperSonics have a record of 4 wins and 13 losses, ranking last in the Western Conference.

This is a game between the top team in the West and the bottom team in the West. If nothing unexpected happens... the Lakers should win easily.

Gentry wanted to use this game to allow the players to adjust themselves. His approach was simple: rest all the starting players except for Wei Guo!

This practice is rare...

The first person to propose the idea of ​​resting key players was Popovich, but that was towards the end of the season when the Spurs' ranking was unlikely to change. It's understandable that Gentry did the same, given the Lakers' record, they were basically guaranteed to be number one in the league.

If the key players get a few games off, they can be in better shape for the games to come.

The rest period is tentatively set for three games...

Unlike the Spurs, their starters sit on the sidelines when they rest.

Gentry gave his four key players a week off. They can do whatever they want, except... they can't come to the arena or watch the game live.

Kobe and the others had no objection to Gentry's decision. Gentry had absolute authority in the Lakers, and... even with the starters resting, the Lakers still had to win. No one else would dare to say they could win 100% with the bench players; only Wei Guo had that confidence and could do it.

As for the league's punishment, it doesn't matter, the boss will cover it.

......

November 17, 2007, sunny.

The Lakers have announced before the game that Kobe, Paul, Gasol, and Odom will miss three games due to physical reasons.

All four people experienced health problems at the same time...

This is clearly an excuse, but it also presents an opportunity for the opponent.

Starting lineup for this match:

Lakers: Farmar, Walton, Weiguo, Ariza, Bynum

SuperSonics: Watson, Jeff Green, Collison, Durant, Wilcox

It's clear from the starting lineup that the SuperSonics don't have many available players. Jeff Green and Kevin Durant are both rookies this year and are already starters for their teams. Watson is a 6'3" guard who entered the league in the same year as Wei Guo. In his peak season, he averaged 10 points and 5 assists per game, which is barely enough to be considered a qualified starting point guard.

For the Lakers...

Farmar, Walton, and Ariza may not be very famous yet, but having one Weiguo is enough.

Putting everything else aside, even if Paul were to lead the team, he would be confident of beating the SuperSonics. However, confidence doesn't guarantee victory. To be on the safe side, Gentry decided to let Wei Guo lead the team, as Wei Guo is the player he trusts most.

Bynum and Durant jump ball!

Look...

The SuperSonics' decision to have their forwards jump the ball once again demonstrates just how many players they have available.

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, and the game began.

Bynum passed the ball to Farmar, who dribbled across half-court and looked for Wei Guo, then passed the ball to Wei Guo. This was a habit of his when playing basketball... and it was also a bit lazy. He just needed to give the ball to Wei Guo, and then he would run to his most familiar scoring position. If he received the pass, he would shoot immediately.

Durant defends the nation!

Wei Guo dribbled and half-turned, backing up Durant... This is a rather bullying tactic. Durant has the height of a center, but he is not strong in physical confrontation. Wei Guo easily pushed Durant aside and took a fadeaway shot!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Wei Guo smiled at Durant and said, "Kid, welcome to the NBA."

This is already quite polite. The main reason is that Durant didn't provoke Wei Guo. Some clueless rookies, eager to make a name for themselves, actively provoke Wei Guo, and they all get badly beaten... Durant has the height of a center and the skills of a guard. His killer move is his one-on-one offense, and it's very difficult to defend Durant one-on-one.

Wei Guo showed Durant what true one-on-one play really is.

Supersonics on the attack!

Durant received the ball on the left side, faked a turnaround, and attempted a fadeaway jumper to score for Wei Guo.

*Smack!!!*

Wei Guo easily swatted away Durant's shot.

Not only that, after blocking Durant, Wei Guo instantly circled behind Durant, jumped up and grabbed the basketball in mid-air!

Three Lakers players quickly rushed to the frontcourt!

During team training, Wei Guo was always in one group with the substitutes, while Kobe and the other starters were in another group. That was because Gentry had long foreseen that this day would come. Turiaf and the other two ran incredibly fast, and none of the SuperSonics could catch up with them. Wei Guo pushed the ball forward with both hands.

This led to a scene where three people were playing with one basketball...

Turiaf receives the ball and passes it to Farmar, who then passes it to Ariza, who receives the ball and jumps.

"Bang!!!"

A powerful one-handed dunk!

4-0!!!

The Lakers started with a 4-point lead.

......

This is the Lakers' home court, and the cheers from the crowd are very loud!

The bench area wasn't as lively as usual...

Kobe and three others went on vacation as instructed by Gentry. Apart from the five players on the court, only Cummings and a few bench players remained on the bench. Almost all the Lakers players who could play were on the court.

Ka Mingxi jokingly said, "Old Jin, let me play when the team is behind."

"Shut your mouth!"

Gentry rolled his eyes. "With Wei Ge on the team, we can turn the game into garbage time in three quarters. How could we fall behind?"

Cummings said, "I told you before, you should at least keep two players in rotation. If you just rest four players, you won't even have anyone to substitute."

"What do you know..."

Gentry explained, "Taking two players out at a time, the game still has a certain rhythm...it doesn't have any effect."

This can't be considered a risky move. The opponents in the three games are not strong. They are either short-handed or teams like the SuperSonics. The players they can play with are young and inexperienced. Winning three games in a row is definitely not a problem.

......

The first quarter has ended.

29:21!!

The Lakers lead by 8 points.

Wei Guo played the entire quarter, scoring 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, displaying a very well-rounded performance... dominating both ends of the court. On the SuperSonics' side, Durant only managed 3 points against Wei Guo's defense.

The first half wasn't crucial...

The main question is how the Lakers can hold on in the second half. Although the SuperSonics are weak, they have a lot of rotation players and won't have any problems with stamina, but the Lakers are a different story!