Despite the Nuggets' dynamic duo performing at their peak, they are still trailing by a large margin, with no hope of winning.
The lack of defense is fatal...
If they couldn't improve their defense in 82 regular season games, it's unrealistic to expect them to improve it in just one or two playoff games. The next two games will be massacres.
This is the opinion of most sports commentators.
If we're talking about basketball knowledge, no one in the entire league knows basketball better than Wei Guo. After playing the Nuggets once in the regular season, Wei Guo said that Iverson and Anthony were incompatible. With the Nuggets' roster... if they replaced Iverson with Billups, their strength would be on the next level. It's not that Billups is better than Iverson, but that Billups is a better fit for the Nuggets' system.
Basketball is a team sport; you can't win a game by relying on one person alone.
Even with the Knicks and Trail Blazers, Gentry built his offensive and defensive systems around Wei Guo, and Wei Guo would do his best to help his teammates improve. This is why former teammates always managed to prove themselves after Wei Guo left the team.
......
Two days later, the Lakers visited Denver!
These two games were Wei Guo's farewell games in Denver. If it weren't for this reason, the tickets probably wouldn't have sold out, and who would want to come to the stadium to watch the home team get thrashed?
Pre-match warm-up...
Iverson threw a ball to Weiguo, who slapped it into the hoop with a backhand.
Iverson remarked, "Being your teammate is the best thing in the world... If I had played point guard that year, could you have helped me win the assist title?"
In his rookie season, he swept the scoring title, assist title, and block title... That's Wei Guo. The reason he won the assist title is because Wei Guo played point guard for a long time. He has to thank Thompson, the mentor of both Iverson and Wei Guo. If it weren't for Thompson's intervention, the stubborn Brown would never have let a 2.16-meter tall guy play point guard.
As it turns out... Wei Guo is the best point guard in this league.
Kenyon ran over and jumped into Wei Guo's arms. Next season... we won't see Wei Guo anymore. Without Wei Guo, the league's level will drop a notch. Kenyon and Iverson are so relaxed because Cummings sent a message revealing the Lakers' away game strategy: to use defense to crush the Nuggets. This allowed the two to completely relax.
Whether on defense or offense, if the Lakers want to defeat the Nuggets, the Nuggets will have no chance.
Iverson was also quite dejected...
With the Nuggets eliminated in the first round, his story with Anthony should also come to an end. Iverson is plagued by injuries, and between him and Anthony, the team will definitely choose the latter.
The league is vast; where is his answer?
In the dead of night, Iverson often thinks that if the 76ers had managed to keep Iverson, he would have six championship rings by this year, right? No... if you include this season, it would be seven.
......
The match is about to begin. The players have finished their warm-up and are preparing to go on the field.
Starting lineup for this match:
Denver Nuggets: Cassell, Iverson, Anthony, Kenyon, Camby
Lakers: Paul, Kobe, Wei Guo, Gasol, Bynum
With Bynum starting, Gasol, and Weiguo providing support, their height makes the paint a no-fly zone. If they want to rely on outside shooting, Paul and Kobe's defense is not to be underestimated... Whether inside or outside, the Lakers don't want to give the Nuggets a single chance.
Cummings is right...
The Lakers wanted to completely crush the Nuggets with their defense.
Bynum and Camby stood at center circle. Bynum whispered, "Senior, can your old arms and legs still jump?"
Camby, "!!!"
This kid is getting a bit arrogant. Camby was the second overall pick, yet he's not as good as this kid who was the 10th pick in the league.
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the basketball was tossed into the air!
Camby was still in a daze when Bynum jumped up and slapped the ball into Wei Guo's hands. The Lakers players immediately rushed up the court, and Wei Guo made a long pass to Paul, believing that Paul could make the right choice.
As expected...
Paul bounces the ball to Kobe, who catches it and slams it home!
"Bang!!!"
After completing the dunk, Kobe made a low-flying motion and gracefully ran back to the backcourt.
He's enjoying the game...
Cassell dribbled the ball upcourt, and Iverson reminded him to shoot if he had the chance, which Cassell did... He pulled up and shot from a step away from the three-point line.
"That's Brother Wei's shooting range..."
Paul turned around and saw Wei Guo grab the defensive rebound, then continued, "Not your shooting range, Cassell."
Paul felt that Cassell was a bit too confident to shoot from a step away from the three-point line under his defense.
Even with Iverson and Anthony playing freely, they still couldn't win. The Nuggets also wanted to play team basketball... but their disorganized roster didn't allow them to do so. George Karl also thought about it. Wei Guo and Iverson were such a good pair, but the reason why Anthony couldn't play well was that Anthony's playmaking ability was too different from Wei Guo's.
Lakers on offense!
Paul passed the ball to Kobe, who backed down to draw the defense and passed the ball to the three-point line. Anthony was puzzled; there was no one outside the three-point line. Was Kobe going to pass the ball to thin air?
The State of Wei gave Anthony the answer...
Just as the basketball reached the three-point line, Wei Guo arrived, caught the ball, jumped, adjusted his shooting posture in mid-air, and confidently released the shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
5-0!!!
The Lakers took an early 5-point lead.
That was a brilliant pass...
Wei Guo couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "Buddy, you're the king of assists!"
Hehehe...
Kobe scratched his head, not without a hint of pride.
To understand how fast professional players react, this kind of pass requires strong anticipation so that Wei Guo can receive the ball just as he reaches the shooting point; otherwise... it's a basic mistake. Paul also has this ability, but he rarely makes passes like this because he's afraid of making mistakes.
The Nuggets are on offense!
Iverson drove to the basket, but there was no space to shoot under the basket, so he circled around to the basket again. Kobe kept sticking to Iverson!
There's no space to pass...
Time ticked by, and with the 24-second shot clock ticking down, Iverson faked a crossover and leaned against Kobe, trying to draw a foul. Kobe, experienced as he was, remained rooted to the spot, preventing Iverson from drawing the foul. Iverson was forced to take the shot, which went wildly off target.
He didn't even touch the rim...
Camby took his position, jumped first and grabbed the rebound, but before he could land, the ball was lobbed away by Wei Guo!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com