Wang Zelin easily defeated "Gao Yuanyuan" Hibbert in the jump ball, giving the Blazers the first opportunity to attack.
In terms of jumping ability, even Hibbert at his peak cannot compare with Wang Zelin. What's more, his legs have already been damaged by injuries, and he lives up to his courage.
Before this game, the Lakers' record was 10 wins and 8 losses, ranking sixth in the Western Conference, which was slightly better than the Grizzlies and Mosaics.
In these 18 games, Hibbert started all of them, but he could only average 7+5+1.5 per game. That 1.5 was assists, not blocks.
In other words, this guy has lost the ability to protect the frame that he relies on for survival!
This performance made Lakers fans increasingly unhappy, and their expectations were really in vain. I thought that the Lakers would definitely make a lot of money by only exchanging a future second-round pick for Hibbert. Lakers general manager Kupchak once vowed in the past:
"I am very happy to have brought an experienced interior veteran to the team. Roy is an All-Star center who has proven his strength. He will enhance our frontcourt height!"
Kupchak's face is probably distorted now.
From the current point of view, Hibbert is most likely useless and will never be able to return to the top.
The only good thing is that Hibbert is in a contract year this season. If it can't be done, he will bite the bullet and pay the 15 million yuan salary this season, and then lay him off next season.
However, this will most likely delay the already aging Kobe for another year.
Kobe is currently averaging 23.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. These three statistics have improved compared to last season, and he is quite dreaming of returning to the top.
But when you think about Kobe's age, no one can tell when he will collapse instantly.
Looking back at the NBA superstars who were 37 years old, in this rapidly changing league, there are only three people in history who can maintain an output of more than 20 points per game at the age of 37.
They are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Jordan. Their average per game data in the season when they were 37 years old were 23.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 blocks, 23.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals.
From the current point of view, even if Kobe's data drops in the future, his basic performance can still be maintained at around 20+3+4, which is no less than the above three historical giants.
But again, as the best basketball league in the world, NBA updates and iterates faster than people imagine, and has extremely strict requirements on player abilities and performance.
The age of 30 is already a hurdle for most players, not to mention those who still maintain top scoring ability after the age of 35, all of them are true giants.
But if you are 37 years old, it is really hanging.
There has never been a situation in NBA history where a team has won a championship around a 37-year-old star as the core of the team!
Therefore, as the season progressed, when the Lakers' record ranking gradually dropped from the top four to sixth, the outside world gradually gained a clear understanding of the Lakers. This Lakers team is not as strong as imagined. Maybe they are really just a playoff team. A strong team, not a championship contender.
…
Halftime is over.
At this time, the score between the two sides was 54:40, and the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 14 points.
Wang Zelin, who played 18 minutes, made 10 of 16 in two quarters and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 26 points, plus 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal.
Although Patton failed to prevent Kobe tonight, he did a good job in controlling fouls and exhausting his opponent's energy.
Before coming to Los Angeles, Wang Zelin reminded Barton that in order to increase his offensive threat, Kobe's ability to draw fouls has not diminished but has increased. He averaged more than 8 free throws per game this season, compared with 14 and 13. There has been improvement in the two seasons, almost catching up with the 9 per game average in the 2008 MVP season.
Although it is not as terrifying as Houston's bearded man who averages 10 per game, he is still among the top five in the rankings of active guards, so be careful of Kobe's fouls.
For the Lakers, Kobe made 8 of 14 shots and 4 of 5 free throws in the two quarters, scoring 21 points. Paul only took 5 shots and scored 6 points, but he also sent out 7 assists and contributed 2 steals.
Hibbert, who averaged 7+5 per game this season, cried.
Because after two quarters of the game, he found that he had scored 1 point and 1 rebound...
It's impossible to have good statistics against Wang Zelin. Every player who has played against Wang Zelin in current service has been beaten to isolation. There are basically no players in the same position as him that he knows.
Of course, this is said as if Hibbert's poor performance is justified.
At the end of the intermission, players from both sides took the stage.
In the third quarter, Wang Zelin continued to dominate the offensive end because he already felt that the game had become boring.
After briefly experiencing the performance of what Lakers fans call "the strongest backcourt combination currently active" in the first half, there is no need to drag on this game.
If they were two or three years younger, maybe this Lakers team could really cause huge trouble to the Trail Blazers.
However, the fact is that Kobe is 37, Dajia is 35, and Paul, the youngest of the Big Three, is also over 30.
The real Big Three!
When the Lakers were unable to output the ultimate firepower from the outside, and Wang Zelin's two-on-one on the inside, Dajia and Hibbert, were severely pressed to the floor and rubbed against each other, it was surprising that the Lakers could win.
So in the third quarter, the Lakers suffered a devastating blow under Wang Zelin's fierce attack.
When the first active player started to exert his strength, people found that the duel in the previous half instantly turned into a fight between children.
Turnover jump shots, breakthrough dunks, low-post singles, ultra-long-distance sky hooks...
Wang Zelin is simply a kaleidoscope of inside offense. He has mastered all the offensive skills that can be used at the center position.
The key is that on the defensive end, he can also ensure that he is not stabbed by thousands of people...
Ahem, let’s get down to business.
Hibbert's defense is not without effort, but there is no way, the gap in hard power is really too big. Even if the Lakers decided to double-team later, Wang Zelin had already shown his touch, so it was useless to double-team.
Don’t forget, the sky hook is known as a scoring method that cannot be restricted!
Once this move becomes ruthless, it's like Jordan and Kobe's fadeaway jumper. There's no way to limit it. The only thing the defender can do is to expect his hand to be poor.
But Wang Zelin had already thrown away.
Played 12 minutes in a single quarter, made 8 of 11 shots, 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 20 points!
After three quarters, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 25 points, which was almost the same as ending the game early!
During the break, the live camera gave Kobe a close-up. The Black Mamba played 26 minutes tonight and scored 27 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in three quarters. His condition was obviously better than in the previous games.
But today, people still saw an unwilling expression on the face of this legendary player.
I don’t know whether he is unwilling to accept that the Lakers are about to lose, or whether he is unwilling to just grow old and end.
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