In the 2001 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Wei Guo with the 58th overall pick in the second round, from Georgetown University. With that statement, Wei Guo became the second Chinese pla...
A superstar is a superstar; even when their career is fading, they are not easily overlooked.
Shaquille O'Neal's outburst took down the Spurs...
Shaquille O'Neal's performance in Game 6 was crucial to the Suns' 4-2 victory over the Spurs.
The Suns aren't just about Shaquille O'Neal. Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire go without saying; Stoudemire is still in his prime, and Nash is the soul of the Suns, their undisputed leader. Besides these two... there's another player the Suns absolutely cannot ignore: Grant Hill!
He was once touted as Jordan's successor...
Before his major injury, Hill's worst season was still 20+6+6, and in his third season, he achieved an incredible 21+9+7. In the 90s, he was a man who was closer to the basketball god Michael Jordan than Kobe.
later...
Hill helped the team win their first NBA championship, making significant contributions in the playoffs!
The bench is the Suns' weakest link. Apart from Diaw and Barbosa, the rest of the team is simply not up to par. In the Western Conference semifinals, D'Antoni used a seven-man rotation, and he will inevitably continue to use the same rotation in the Western Conference finals. This will be very tiring... but there is no good solution.
......
Starting lineup for this match:
Lakers: Paul, Kobe, Wei Guo, Gasol, Bynum
Suns: Nash, Bell, Hill, Stoudemire, O'Neal
......
If O'Neal and Hill were both at their peak, they could have challenged the Lakers!
The Suns are a special team, comprised entirely of former teammates, including those from their championship season. Nash, Bell, Hill, and Stoudemire were teammates on the national team, while O'Neal was Kobe's teammate. Therefore, many professional basketball players attended this game, including Iverson, Yao Ming, Francis, Mobley, Mourning, Jefferson, Stockton, Marion...
Tickets for the Los Angeles game were so hard to get, and most of the players were with their families. The home team had to give away nearly a hundred tickets, which was a huge loss for them.
Stoudemire and Bynum stood in the center circle, ready for the jump ball.
O'Neal wanted to jump ball with Wei Guo, but D'Antoni, fearing that a failed jump ball would dampen O'Neal's enthusiasm, rejected his idea.
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blows, the game begins!
Stoudemire flicked the ball to Nash, and Paul teased, "He's shorter than you, and you can't even jump over him?"
"Just taller than you..."
Bynum grunted a couple of times, then stopped humming.
because...
O'Neal positioned himself under the basket to receive the ball, backed down Bynum, and then turned and hooked the ball in!
2-0!!!
The Suns scored first.
Kobe laughed and scolded, "Shakel is almost forty, and you still can't guard him..."
"I...I was careless..."
Bynum was annoyed; why was everyone targeting him?
The Western Conference Finals should have been incredibly tense, but everyone was joking around with Bynum... which shows how harmonious the atmosphere is within the Lakers team and how relaxed they are!
Lakers on offense!
Paul controlled the ball at the top of the key, and Kobe and Wei Guo cut in from the left and right respectively, both of them having scoring opportunities... Paul dribbled two steps to the left, using his body to block Nash, and passed the ball to Wei Guo with a bounce pass. Wei Guo received the ball and took a jump shot!
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, Stoudemire committed a foul!
"Young man..."
Wei Guo patted Stoudemire's butt, "If you foul like that, you won't play until the fourth quarter."
Stoudemire couldn't keep up with Wei Guo's pace, so he grabbed Wei Guo's arm before Wei Guo could shoot, preventing Wei Guo from scoring while also committing a foul.
Wei Guo steps to the free-throw line...
"mVp!!!"
"mVp!!!"
"mVp!!!"
The crowd shouted loudly, cheering for the Lakers!
Wei Guo has experienced many farewell games, and his time with the Lakers is no exception. Every game he plays is one less game he has to play, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he only has four games left in Los Angeles.
"Whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh!!!"
Both free throws went in!
The Suns' offensive strategy is clear: abandon run-and-gun offense and play half-court offense. O'Neal is at his peak, and we can't wait until that energy fades before we appreciate his contributions. If it were peak O'Neal, Gasol and Bynum wouldn't be able to stop him even with both of them crowding the basket.
Nash orchestrates the attack!
First, he passed the ball to Hill, then ran to the three-point line and made a direct pass to O'Neal after creating space.
That pass was dangerous...
With two people in between, it was easy for the ball to be stolen, which showed Nash's boldness and meticulousness.
Gentry sometimes wonders what would happen to the Lakers' strength if Nash and Paul were swapped.
Of course... this assumption is invalid.
Nash and Paul are both among the best point guards.
O'Neal was backing down when Bynum grabbed him and grabbed him. After committing the foul, Bynum looked apologetic and asked with concern, "Bro, are you alright?"
"Hey!"
O'Neal scoffed, "You're actually being quite polite!"
Bynum explained earnestly, "It's mainly because your free throws were terrible. I was afraid you'd be angry if I didn't apologize."
O'Neal, "!!!"
Who are you calling a bad free throw shooter? You're the bad one, your whole family is bad at free throws!
O'Neal walks to the free-throw line...
Take a deep breath, look back at Nash, and look up at Wei Guo, as if bidding farewell to the two with your eyes, hoping they can bring you good luck with your free throws. These are two tough guys with a free throw percentage of over 90%, especially Wei Guo... whose career free throw percentage is a terrifying 97%.
"bang~~~"
Missed free throw!
O'Neal gave Nash a resentful look; Nash hadn't brought him any good luck!
Nash looked bewildered...
"bang~~~"
Missed both free throws!
Wei Guo grabbed the defensive rebound, but was shocked by O'Neal's resentful look. What's wrong with Shaq... It's just a rebound, why does it feel like he stole his wife?
......
Despite the deliberate fouls, the two teams played a very friendly game in the first quarter!
There was basically no overly intense confrontation...
Bynum would apologize for fouling O'Neal, and when Bell was knocked down while helping on defense and it was ruled a blocking foul, he didn't argue with the referee!
The referees have never officiated such a comfortable game. As long as they made reasonable and lawful calls, not a single player put pressure on them. You know, even senior referees in the league often get pressured or have their families insulted by players during games.
certainly...
It's not easy to hype up this kind of competition!
If a referee deliberately makes biased calls or tries to control the game... even if it's biased towards one side, both teams will criticize him.