With three consecutive home games, this is the confidence Gentry had to rest Kobe and three other players.
The second game was against the Bulls.
The third game is against the Knicks, who are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
After Wei Guo left the team, the Knicks fell into a slump and finished at the bottom of the league last season.
so...
If they can win the second game, there will be no pressure in the third game. Once Kobe and the other three return, the Lakers will continue their winning streak. Only Wei Guo and Gentry know that Kobe and the other three went to Hawaii.
When you mention the Chicago Bulls, the first thing that comes to mind is the Bulls dynasty of the 1990s. Led by Jordan, the Bulls won 6 championships in 8 years and dominated the 1990s.
Since then... the Bulls have gone downhill.
This season, the Bulls are a strong team. After Ben Wallace's trade, the Bulls have Ben Wallace and Luol Deng in the paint, Gordon, Gooden, and Hinrich on the perimeter, and Noah on the bench. Otherwise, Kobe would not have asked the team to trade him to the Bulls.
......
Starting lineup for this match:
Lakers: Farmar, Vujacic, Wei Guo, Ariza, Bynum
Chicago Bulls: Hinrich, Gooden, Gordon, Luol Deng, Ben Wallace
......
During the pre-match warm-up, Ben Wallace casually tossed two balls and then ran off to chat with Wei Guo.
Anyway, you don't need to find a good feel for the game.
Wei Guo has taken away several of Ben Wallace's best defensive players, making him arguably the player Ben Wallace hates the most. Now that Ben Wallace's form is declining, he has lost the will to compete with Wei Guo and can now have a peaceful chat with him.
The two are truly old rivals...
They've faced each other many times in the playoffs. Ben Wallace defended against all the big men in the league, but he suffered a lot against Wei Guo. When talking about the first time he was dunked on by Wei Guo, Ben Wallace joked that he should have dodged it back then. His bad start led to him being crushed by Wei Guo every time they met.
Young players like Hinrich and Gordon have a deep admiration for Wei Guo.
Their idols in their youth might have been Jordan, Johnson, or Iverson... but now they only have one idol: Wei Guo. Before they even entered the league, Wei Guo was the regular season MVP, and after three years in the league, he was still the regular season MVP.
Worship is worship!
They still yearn to...defeat the Wei Kingdom.
The game is about to begin, and Ben Wallace and Andrew Bynum are standing in the center circle, ready for the jump ball.
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the game began.
Bynum passed the ball to Farmar, who dribbled to the frontcourt, shook off Gordon's defense, and received the ball beyond the three-point line for a pull-up jumper!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
Wei Guo's shot was too fast; Gordon had no time to help defend and could only watch helplessly as the basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air before finally falling into the basket.
The Bulls changed head coaches after playing less than ten games this season. The current head coach is Pete, who is not a famous coach and has mediocre coaching ability. Before the game, there were concerns that the Lakers would make a feint, seemingly resting their starters, but when they arrived in Los Angeles, they would see Kobe and the others warming up.
In short...
It's a bit petty.
His coaching ability isn't very strong either; the fact that the Bulls have this roster and their record is among the worst in the Eastern Conference is the best proof of that.
Bulls on offense!
Hinrich lobs the ball to Luol Deng, who isolates against Ariza and turns to shoot!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
This play was very decisive. Luol Deng is the Bulls' second-leading scorer, while Gordon is the leading scorer, with both averaging the same number of shots per game. However, in this game, Luol Deng needs to increase his inside shots while Gordon reduces his outside shots, simply because of the Lakers' defensive positioning, which effectively shut down the Bulls' perimeter defense!
Gentry had anticipated that the Bulls would play this way.
but...
Gentry has confidence in Bynum, and with Ariza's help defense, dealing with the Bulls' interior defense shouldn't be a problem. After all, the Bulls have someone in the paint who can be left open. As long as Ben Wallace isn't allowed near the basket, no matter where he stands, there's no need to assign a player to defend him.
Let's make an assumption...
Even if Ben Wallace makes 10 of 10 mid-range shots, Gentry still won't have his players guard him on the 11th shot.
This is the experience I've gained from playing against Ben Wallace for many years. Wallace's role is defense; he doesn't contribute much on offense. Although he can average seven or eight points per game, these points mainly come from second-chance opportunities under the basket. Putting everything else aside, Wallace's rebounding ability is second to none in the entire league.
......
At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led by 3 points.
The score difference isn't too big...
The Bulls are a team with no major weaknesses on either offense or defense. Luol Deng scored 9 points in the first quarter, making him the Bulls' top scorer.
"I didn't defend well, and Hughes made two three-pointers."
Turiaf wanted to slap himself. In the last minute, he allowed Hughes to shoot two three-pointers in a row, which resulted in the Lakers only leading by 3 points.
"It's not your fault..."
Gentry patted Turiaf on the shoulder, "Sinrich broke through and passed the ball; you were right to help defend."
Hughes was substituted in with one minute left, and everyone thought he was just killing time to give Gordon a rest. But his shooting was so decisive, and he hit two consecutive three-pointers, which angered Turiaf.
Cummings was secretly delighted!
Turiaf snorted, "Brother, can you help me get my revenge?"
"ah???"
Cummings was stunned. "Shouldn't we be asking Brother Wei about this?"
"Brother Wei is so busy, he has to do both defense and offense, so I came to you..."
As he spoke, Turiaf started to whine. Can you imagine what it's like for a nearly two-meter-tall strong man to whine? No one could resist... Cummings stood up!
......
The second quarter began with six-time champion Cummings taking the court.
Pete glanced at him, shrugged, and said, "That's the legendary six-time champion Cummings? Nothing special..."
Bulls on offense!
Gooden drives to the basket and pulls up for a jump shot after a one-on-one against Cummings!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
27:26!!
The Bulls are down by only one point.
Cummings' defensive ability is even worse than Nash's. When Gooden taunted him after scoring, Cummings simply ignored him... "I can't defend, so what if you score? Why are you glaring at me like that?"
Lakers on offense!
Cummings made a ghostly run, and before even reaching the corner, he had already spread his arms, ready to receive the ball.
Wei Guo dribbled past his opponent, made a behind-the-back pass, and with a whoosh, the basketball landed in Cummings' hands. As Cummings caught the ball, his toes landed just outside the three-point line.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went through the net cleanly.
Catch the ball...shoot...score!
The movements were performed in one smooth motion...
The partnership between Wei Guo and Cummings can only be described in three words: beautiful as a painting.
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