Two and a half months later, the men's basketball final of the Beijing Olympics took place.

Wei Guo and Kobe Bryant meet again, but the difference is... this time they are not teammates but rivals.

After losing to the US national team for seven years in the NBA, the US players were eager to regain their pride on the international stage. This year, they assembled their strongest lineup, including the first and second teams. Except for the US national team, almost everyone else made it into the US Dream Team.

include:

Kobe, James, Howard, Paul, Anthony, Bosh, Wade, Kidd, Boozer, Prince.

Legendary big men Garnett and Duncan initially declined the Dream Team's offer, but upon hearing that they would face Wei Guo at the Olympics, they still decided to join the Dream Team. It can be said that the star power of this Dream Team is comparable to the Dream Team led by Jordan in his prime.

Gu Tao, nicknamed "The Mathematician," is arguably the strongest player for China besides Wei Guo and Yao Ming. Unfortunately, he tore his ligament during a game last season and needed to recover for half a year, thus missing the Olympics and significantly weakening the Chinese men's basketball team. If Gu Tao could play, the Chinese men's basketball team would be able to field an NBA-caliber lineup.

There are three favorites to win the Olympic men's basketball gold medal: the US men's basketball team, the Chinese men's basketball team, and the Spanish men's basketball team.

The Spanish men's basketball team, led by Gasol, lost to the Chinese men's basketball team in the semifinals and thus failed to reach the finals. If it weren't for Wei Guo's explosion in the fourth quarter, hitting 11 consecutive three-pointers and scoring 41 points in the quarter to lead the team to a comeback, the Chinese men's basketball team would have been blocked from the finals. The fact that they struggled so much against the Spanish men's basketball team gave the US men's basketball team the determination to defeat China.

......

Wukesong Arena was packed to capacity!

These are all fans who came to cheer for the Chinese men's basketball team. Although the Chinese men's basketball team won the Men's Basketball World Championship once, the US men's basketball team at that time only sent a second-rate lineup, without any superstars. This Olympics is different. The US men's basketball team has sent its strongest lineup.

Fans are eager for the Chinese men's basketball team to defeat the US men's basketball team on home soil and win the Olympic gold medal, which is the only chance for the Chinese men's basketball team to win an Olympic gold medal.

Wei Guo has retired...

He also publicly announced that he would not participate in any formal basketball competitions after this Olympics.

If the Chinese men's basketball team fails to win the championship in this Olympics, they will have to wait decades to win again, unless another prodigy like Wei Guo emerges.

......

Starting lineup for the men's basketball final at the Beijing Olympics:

China Men's Basketball Team: Liu Wei, Zhu Yu, Wei Guo, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming

US Men's Basketball Team: Kidd, Kobe, James, Duncan, Howard

......

How strong is the US men's basketball team?

Players like Garnett, Paul, Anthony, and Wade were merely substitutes.

From the group stage to the quarterfinals and semifinals, the biggest advantage of the Chinese men's basketball team, apart from Wei Guo, is their height. However, this is not an advantage against the US men's basketball team. The US team has Howard and Duncan in the paint, and their height is not much different from that of the Chinese team. As for Wei Guo, who is 2.16 meters tall, he plays small forward.

Playing at home, the Chinese men's basketball team is in high spirits.

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, and the game began.

The basketball was tossed into the air, and Yao Ming and Dwight Howard jumped for the ball. Taking advantage of his height, Yao Ming tipped the ball to Zhu Yu first. Zhu Yu then passed the ball to Liu Wei. Liu Wei is a veteran with a steady playing style. He dribbled past half-court and found Wei Guo.

This is the tactic of the Chinese men's basketball team... find Wei Guo.

When attacking, the ball is given to Wei Guo, and he runs to position himself. There is no distinction between position 1 and position 2. He is always ready to receive the ball and shoot quickly. There are rarely more than three passes in an offensive game. If his teammates cannot get into position, he lets Wei Guo take the shot one-on-one. The reason why the tactics are so simple is that apart from Wei Guo and Yao Ming, the other players are quite different from their teammates.

James and Kobe began to double-team Wei Guo!

The head coach of the US men's basketball team is Krzyzewski. Don't underestimate the US men's basketball coaching staff. The three assistant coaches are Gentry, D'Antoni, and Brown. These three were invited to be assistant coaches to deal with the US.

According to Brown's idea...

Against the Chinese men's basketball team, three players double-teamed Wei Guo, while Howard guarded Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian under the basket. The remaining two players from the Chinese team were left unguarded. Their dribbling and shooting speeds were slow, so if the two players received the ball, the one closest could easily help defend and win.

Faced with his two friends surrounding him, Wei Guo first knelt down between his legs, then took a step back!

"Put it on!"

Kobe knew Wei Guo too well; as long as he had space to shoot, he could put the ball in the basket.

As expected...

James was only half a step too slow, and Wei Guo had already launched a super long-range three-pointer.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

3-0!!!

The Chinese men's basketball team took the lead first.

Gentry once said that the reason why the Chinese men's basketball team was always behind against the Spanish men's basketball team was because Wei Guo did not play seriously. He had the confidence to finish the opponent in the first quarter. The fact that the Chinese men's basketball team took the lead in the last quarter does not mean that the Spanish men's basketball team and the Chinese men's basketball team are on the same level. With Wei Guo and Yao Ming, an All-Star center, the overall strength of the Chinese men's basketball team is no weaker than that of the US men's basketball team.

The US men's basketball team is very likely to fall behind at the start. At this time, they must keep a calm mindset because the Chinese team has obvious weaknesses.

......

James inbounds the ball from the baseline, and Kidd dribbles it up the court.

The Chinese men's basketball team adopted a zone defense tactic, which is like a bucket. How much water it can hold depends on the shortest plank. Kidd dribbled to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Kobe. Kobe then passed the ball to James. Duncan positioned himself under the basket to block Yao Ming, which created a situation where James was posting up against Zhu Yu.

"Whoosh!!!"

With a simple back turn, he raised his hand and put the ball into the basket.

The reason why the Dream Team lost in international competitions was because they didn't take the game seriously. They just put together a random lineup, didn't practice together before the game, and didn't respect their opponents. This kind of mentality makes it easy to lose unexpectedly.

This year is different...

It can be said that no previous Dream Team has ever placed such importance on this year's team. Just three days after the Lakers lifted the championship trophy at the end of the season, Kobe Bryant reported to the team. After two months of training, he came to Beijing to participate in the Olympics. These two months of training were all for one team: the Chinese Men's Basketball Team!

The Chinese men's basketball team should have been even stronger, but Gu Tao's injury has left them with another weakness. Gentry's suggestion is to exploit this weakness, which will be their hope for winning.

The biggest threat comes from Wei Guo's three-pointers. No one can say for sure if Wei Guo's three-pointers will suddenly explode. If Wei Guo's three-pointers explode and make every shot, the chances of the M men's basketball team winning will be very slim... Fortunately, this situation rarely occurs, especially since it seems that his three-pointers have been exploding throughout the game.