"Kobe, are you back?"
On January 26, after filming a commercial, Dunn returned to the Toyota Center to practice basketball, and unexpectedly met Kobe again.
"Well, I came back yesterday. Why didn't I see you?"
Kobe stopped training and chatted face-to-face with Duan.
Du En answered truthfully: "I went to shoot a commercial. My signature shoes will be on the market soon. After shooting the commercial, I came back to practice."
"Would you like to practice together?" Kobe suggested.
When Du En heard this, he immediately shook his head: "No, you go ahead and do your work. I still have to warm up, so don't worry about me."
After playing together for half a season, how could Duan not understand Kobe's personality? We practice together until the end, and you can't help but want to challenge Du En in a duel?
To use Pippen's experience to describe it - other NBA players only played against Jordan in a few games a year. And what about Pippen? From early October to mid-June, he had to withstand the offensive firepower from Jordan almost every day.
After Duan obtained the Pippen template, his defensive experience was enough! There is no need to rely on one-on-one battles with Kobe to improve one's defensive strength.
Besides, Du En is still facing a physical bottleneck.
What Du En has to do now is neither to study nor to practice hard, but to reduce physical exertion as much as possible and reduce the work that needs to be done during the game.
Today, Du En came to Toyota Center for practice, not to digest the player template, but to warm up and maintain his condition.
Just like a car that is driven infrequently is more likely to break down than one that is driven frequently. People are just like cars, those who exercise regularly are healthier than those who do not.
Athletes have always maintained a certain amount of exercise before, but suddenly they stop one day and lie in bed all day. When they really need to play, they are prone to various symptoms of discomfort, which is the so-called "rest". Case.
The regular season is still going on, and Duen has not solved his physical problem yet, so naturally he is not ready to stop at will.
"Oh well……"
When Kobe heard that Du En rejected his kindness, he could only curl his lips and quickly started his own training again.
Dunn warmed up at the Toyota Center for less than two hours before going home. When he left, Kobe was still practicing in the arena.
When I returned to Toyota Center the next afternoon, I saw Kobe again.
If Kobe hadn't changed his outfit from head to toe, Dunn would have thought Kobe had been living in the Toyota Center for practice!
On January 28, the regular season continued with the Lakers facing the SuperSonics at home.
Duan has an OK combination around him who can score, and Payton shares the pressure of holding the ball. He also tries to find opportunities to be lazy on the defensive end, and it is indeed a lot easier to play.
In 35 minutes of playing time, he made 6 of 14 shots, 2 of 6 three-pointers, and 4 of 6 free throws. He easily scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Although he failed to produce a double-double and his shooting touch has not recovered, Duan's scoring efficiency has improved a lot.
Duen originally thought that Kobe's return would last for a long time, so that someone would digest the ball rights, and Duen could continue to be lazy and continue to play healthy basketball.
Who would have thought that on the second day, Duan did not see Kobe at the Toyota Center.
Du En thought that Kobe was tired from playing and needed time to rest, so he didn't pay much attention.
On the third day, Duen came to the Toyota Center for practice as usual, but still didn't see Kobe, so he became a little suspicious.
Later, Dunn inquired with the staff and found out that Kobe left the Sonics after playing for the Sonics. At this time, Kobe should be attending a hearing in Eagle County...
"What the hell, is it so difficult for me to play basketball for health?"
No way, on January 30, Garnett led the Timberwolves, third in the Western Conference, to the Staples Center.
In the words of the Los Angeles local media before the game: "The time has come to test Du En's ability to lead the team!"
"Am I just a rookie, leading the team? Are you kidding me?"
Duen wanted to complain, but the outside media told Duen - you must help the Los Angeles Lakers win this next crucial game!
A game of strong dialogue can best reflect the personal abilities and team-leading attributes of the stars!
The Lakers can only play three stars tonight - O'Neal, Duane, and Payton.
Payton's status this season is really worrying. Although his attendance rate is full, his performance on both offense and defense is only at the mid-range level of the league's starting point guard.
As for O'Neal, he has everything he should have, regular season MVP, All-Star MVP, and Finals MVP! No one can question O'Neal's personal strength and team leadership ability.
So, can the Lakers maintain their home victory against the Timberwolves' three-headed monster? It all depends on Du En’s performance!
Since Duan's current All-Star votes are ranked first among the All-Star forwards in the Western Conference, Duan must take on the responsibility of the All-Star forward.
Duane is first and Garnett is second. Just looking at the All-Star votes, this is indeed the case.
However, fame is all false, competition still depends on strength!
Whether Du En lives up to his reputation depends on how he plays in the next game!
Of course, in the next game, it is impossible for Duan to directly compete with Garnett.
However, the Timberwolves don't just have Garnett as a star.
The Timberwolves, like the current remnant Lakers, also have two stars on the outside and one star on the inside.
If Duane wants to help the Lakers win, he needs to beat the madman Sprewell on both offense and defense!
Now Duane ranks fifth on the scoring list, higher than Madman, and there are faint signs of becoming a superstar.
So, it should be reasonable to beat up the four-time All-Star guard Madman, right?
There was no other way. Du En was also swayed by public opinion and had to give up the idea of healthy basketball in advance.
At least, in the next game, Du En must devote himself to both offense and defense, trying to outmatch the Madman as much as possible.
Moreover, just winning data is not enough, the most important thing is to help the Lakers defend their home victory!
"Dunn, don't worry, just pass the ball to me and Shaq will help you win the game!"
As the game was about to start, O'Neal smiled and gave Duan a squeeze on his shoulder.
Originally, Du En was a little nervous, mainly due to the responsibility of winning.
Now hearing what O'Neal said, Du En came back to his senses: "Yes, O'Neal is the boss of the team!"
Of course, Du En still didn't relax completely.
In the next game, Du En wants to win and prove himself!
After all, if you lose, O'Neal will be scolded, and Duan will be scolded, no one can escape!
Since you want to be the boss of the team, you must first have the courage to take responsibility and accept criticism from the outside world.
But compared to criticizing, Du En prefers to praise!
Aren’t you saying that my virtue is not up to par? Then I just want to show you who is stronger, Garnett or me!
