"I didn't expect that we would become teammates." In the hotel where the Lakers stayed, Li Hao and Randall, both of whom were good friends, shared a room.
"Maybe this is fate." As the Lakers' No. 7 pick, Randall is also the focus of the Lakers' attention.
According to Madsen's tactical arrangement, tomorrow's game will be centered on Randall. Li Hao has no objection to this. Although he is valued by the Lakers, in the end he is only a second-round pick.
However, according to Randall's ability, tomorrow's game should not be easy to play, because Randall currently does not have the ability to attack with the ball. In addition, Randall has not yet developed his three-point shooting range, and even hit the ball. The distance is not very stable.
Watching Randall's college games, you can find that Randall's offensive method is to attack the basket, and he relies more on his excellent physical fitness to play.
In the NBA, in front of a group of people who can blame him, it is almost impossible for Randall to want to be like what he was in college. Perhaps it is because of this realization that Randall will develop his ball-holding offense and long-range shooting ability in the future.
But that is the future, and Randall is obviously not aware of this yet. As a noble first-round pick, and a first-round pick with the No. 7 overall pick, Randall is preparing to show off his skills in the summer league.
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Because of James, there was little attention on the Summer League on the 12th, and under such circumstances, the Lakers ushered in the first game of the Summer League, against the Toronto Raptors.
This year's Raptors selected two strikers. With the 20th pick in the first round, they selected power forward Bocacro from Brazil, and in the second round, Daniels, this year's March Madness champion.
Now Li Hao knew that Madsen used Randall as the core of his tactics. A few months ago, Randall's Kentucky team lost to the University of Connecticut in the finals.
Moreover, Daniels faced Randall in that final. Under Daniels' defense, Randall scored 10 points. As the core of the team, Randall only scored 10 points. It is understandable that he lost the final.
These days, when playing in the summer league, you need to be familiar with the layout and emotional intelligence.
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Because he does not have the ability to attack with the ball, Randall still needs the cooperation of Li Hao even if he is the core, and Li Hao is indeed very cooperative. After the game started, he frequently passed the ball to Randall.
Randall also performed well, scoring the first six points. Before Li Hao was replaced, the Lakers were still leading by 5 points. However, after Li Hao was replaced, the Lakers' lead gradually disappeared. At the end of the first session, the Lakers Instead, they fell behind by 10 points.
Without Li Hao's organization, the Lakers' offense immediately became chaotic. Whether it was Aplin, Kane or Marshall, as long as the ball was passed out, it would never come back to them. Over time, even if the three of them wanted to organize an offense, they would not be able to get it back. The group cannot be formed.
After all, the summer league is the best opportunity for these fringe players to fight for contracts. If they cannot get the contracts in the end, they will have no choice but to leave their hometowns.
Therefore, when Randall and Li Hao, the two core players of the team, take a break, other players enter the mode of displaying their personal abilities.
This situation was fully proved in the next game. After Li Hao and Randall reappeared in the second half of the second quarter, the game began to get closer.
Li Hao's assist in the beginning was reciprocated by Randall's help. The latter frequently pulled out to play pick-and-rolls with Li Hao. With Randall's pick-and-roll, it became much easier for Li Hao to make sudden shots or passes.
Offensively, Li Hao could thread the needle, and defensively, he could lock down the opposing point guard. In this case, the Lakers gradually narrowed the score, but in the end the Lakers lost the game.
After all, Li Hao and Randall are rookies, and they fought hard in the summer league. Madsen did not dare to let them play for a long time, especially Randall. There had been rumors that Randall was injured.
In the end, Li Hao and Randall only played 22 minutes in the first game of the summer league. Li Hao had an all-round performance with 13 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds, and Randall also scored 15 points and 8 rebounds.
The outstanding performance of the two did not win a victory for the Lakers. At the end of the game, the score was 83 to 89. The Lakers lost the first game by 6 points.
Li Hao was very depressed about this defeat. He knew that Madsen had good intentions and was out of protection for the rookie, but Li Hao knew very well that it was impossible for him to be injured, but he could not tell Madsen about this.
Randall was just as depressed as Li Hao, but Randall was depressed because he lost to Daniels again. Although his performance in this game was much better than in the NCAA finals, the team still lost.
Although the Lakers lost the game, Li Hao's performance still exceeded many people's expectations. Randle was the seventh pick in the first round, and his 15 points and 8 rebounds were acceptable, but Li Hao, a second-round pick, was so versatile. Performance has several meanings.
Anyone who has watched the game can see that there is a huge gap between the Lakers with Li Hao and the Lakers without Li Hao, with outstanding performances on both offense and defense.
Li Hao's performance has naturally spread to China. Li Hao is now the only Chinese player in the NBA, and his team is the Lakers, which has many Chinese fans.
During Yao Ming's era, the Rockets were the absolute home team for Chinese fans. After Yao Ming retired, the Rockets were still considered half of the home team, and after the Rockets, they were the Lakers.
Kobe's single-core leadership performance is not good, but Kobe's picturesque offense still attracts a large number of fans. Coupled with the blessing of the two subsequent championships, Kobe himself frequently travels to China to participate in activities. Kobe is currently the most popular player in China. A player that fans love.
With the Lakers and the only Chinese player in the NBA currently, the Lakers will naturally become the team that Chinese fans pay most attention to. If Li Hao performs well again, the Lakers have a great chance to replace the Rockets.
It is definitely too early to say this in a summer league, but the Lakers front office is very satisfied with Li Hao's performance. At least Li Hao showed something they wanted to see in this game.
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One day later, the Lakers faced the San Antonio Spurs in their second game. This was a civil war between UCLA teammates.
In this year's draft, the Spurs selected UCLA point forward Kyle Anderson with the 30th pick in the first round. Because they are one-eighth of Chinese descent, Li Hao has a good relationship with Anderson.
"Li, do you want to let go of this game?" Li Hao succeeded Randall in the last game, so Randall is ready to help Li Hao in this game.
"No need, we can just come as normal." Li Hao has a good relationship with Anderson. Besides, Madsen has the final say on how to fight.
"Lee, you can play freely in this game." With this emotional intelligence, shouldn't Madsen directly become the team's head coach?
