The referee's whistle blew and Shuhao made two free throws.
"If you can't make free throws, go back and practice more."
Kobe walked up to Jeremy Lin and tried to interfere with words.
Shuhao remained unmoved, stood on the free throw line, adjusted his breathing, and made both free throws steadily.
2:0.
Lakers offense.
Warcraft refused to give up and continued to ask for the ball in the low post. This time Nash did not give it to him because Kobe, who was 45 degrees obliquely, also wanted the ball. Of course, the two options were given to the boss.
Kobe caught the ball and smiled slightly when faced with Harden's defensive step.
Let me shoot a three-pointer? Then vote for you!
Kobe didn't make dribbling adjustments and just shot a pull-up three-pointer.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball spun straight into the net, making a crisp sound.
2:3.
"Kobe's offensive choice is very reasonable. I will take whatever you give me. Although he is not good at shooting three-pointers this season, he cannot let it go casually."
Yang Yi commented.
Jeremy Lin held the ball and faced the Lakers' half-court defense and chose to initiate a pick-and-roll.
Asik put up the screen, Jeremy Lin used the pick-and-roll to face Howard, passed Howard with a bow, and then combined the ball for a layup.
The moment he took action, a big hand behind him grabbed the ball, rejecting Shu Hao's layup.
Capture in the air!
It turned out to be Warcraft who turned around. It has to be said that Warcraft's movement speed and defensive coverage are still the best in the league.
After Warcraft took possession of the ball, he passed it to the boss.
Kobe wanted to play a transition attack, but when he looked up, the Rockets had quickly returned to defense and settled into position. He could only hand the ball to Nash and reorganize.
The game has just begun, and he needs to allocate his physical energy reasonably. As he gets older, he can no longer play a whole game in singles.
Nash dribbled the ball and directed his teammates to move. This time, he called Gasol's pick-and-roll.
Nash launched a pick-and-roll, attracting the defense of Shu Hao and Ariza, and then passed the ball behind his head to the unmarked Gasol. Gasol received the ball, took a step inside the three-point line, and made a steady hit from the mid-range shot.
2:5.
The Rockets offense, this time led by Harden.
Harden held the ball at the top of the arc, and after a series of crotch moves, he quickly changed direction in front of his body, dug his feet to break through, passed Kobe in one step, faced Gasol's defense, and scored with a left-hand throw.
4:5.
The 34-year-old Kobe's ability on the defensive end has indeed declined a lot.
Although his physical function has declined, his ambition has not diminished. If Harden beats him one by one, Kobe will naturally return it.
In the next round, Kobe caught the ball near the corner and cleared one side to hit Harden alone.
Kobe observed Harden's defensive positioning, dribbled the ball from his hip, took a big step forward with his left foot and blasted the ball, then turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper.
The basketball drew a perfect arc in the air and hit the net.
4:7.
"Scorpion tail wagging!"
The ball lit up Staples Center. The audience stood up, applauded and cheered.
This is Kobe, a living legend!
The Rockets attack.
Harden held the ball and challenged Kobe. Facing the league's No. 1 shooting guard, Harden was very excited and wanted to prove himself.
Kobe was a proud man. When he saw the younger generation eager to challenge him, he couldn't help but think of the scene when he challenged Jordan when he was young. Everything is still vivid in his mind.
Kobe lowered his center of gravity and concentrated on waiting for Harden to make a move.
Harden dribbles the ball from his crotch to receive the ball from behind, slightly raising his center of gravity, and slowly changes hands to his right crotch.
Kobe observed Harden's left hand coming to the front, ready to go, and his center of gravity moved to Harden's left hand side to prevent Harden from suddenly accelerating to break through from his dominant hand side.
Harden saw everything with his eyes. This time he changed his hands on his crotch and successfully misled Kobe. Then he changed direction in front of his body, suddenly accelerated, and rushed from the right side with cross steps.
Kobe was knocked out of the way, but he still relied on his strong physical fitness and willpower to follow up and was not completely passed.
Harden broke through and observed the defense while he was running. Seeing Kobe chasing him diagonally, he changed his moves again, pulled his hips back, and tried to get rid of him by changing gears and braking.
All this played right into Kobe's hands. When Harden pulled back, Kobe predicted it well, leaned over and swooped down, holding the ball firmly in his arms.
Then, before Harden stepped forward to create a competition for the ball, he gestured to call a timeout.
Harden looked stunned. Is this the defensive intensity a 34-year-old comrade should have?
After Kobe stood up, he smiled at Harden and did not forget to hit him with words:
"Young man, you still need to practice."
After the timeout, Kobe asked for the ball again for singles. He was particularly excited today, as if he saw the shadow of his youth in Harden.
Kobe dribbled the ball to find rhythm and muttered:
"Let me teach you what singles is!"
Kobe first broke through to the left, and when he saw Harden following closely, he suddenly took a big step, made a reverse crotch pullback, and at the moment of the pullback, he did an ecstatic scissor step.
Harden reacted quickly and adjusted his focus to block Kobe's right side.
Unexpectedly, this time it was still fake. Kobe once again connected with a scissor step, accelerated, passed Harden in one step, and then shot a mid-range jumper and hit it steadily.
4:9.
In the process of retreating, I didn’t forget to give another surprise:
"What are you doing? The neighbor's grandma can guard against it better than you."
Facing Kobe's ridicule, Harden was not depressed, but instead aroused his desire to win.
Harden, who has suffered from asthma since he was a child, has experienced more hardships than others on the road to basketball. He is strong enough in his heart and knows that Kobe's all-out effort is a recognition of his own strength.
Calm down immediately. His current singles ability is definitely not good enough compared with Kobe, but his arsenal is not limited to singles.
In this attack, Harden changed his routine and called a pick-and-roll at position 4.
Ariza put up a screen, and Harden used the screen to get rid of Kobe. Facing Gasol's defense, Harden dribbled the ball with his right hand and accelerated past the opponent.
Ci Shiping (Artest) on the side recovered to help defend and prepared with his iron elbow.
Harden faked a real pass, a very concealed pass to Parsons who was left open in the bottom corner.
Parsons catches the ball, jumps up, and takes a shot, all in one go.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball goes hollow into the net.
7:9.
Ci Shiping prepared the iron elbow for a long time, but it didn't hit Harden's head. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
Looking at Harden, he said angrily:
"You're lucky this time."
The Lakers attacked, and Kobe chose to play a post-up this time.
Harden sticks closely to the defense and is highly focused. From the beginning to the present, Kobe has made 3 of 3 shots against him.
What's even more terrible is that the way it ends is different every time, as if this is not a focus battle at all, but a one-on-one master class from Kobe. He doesn't want to lose face?
Kobe used his back to sense Harden's defensive position, felt that the opponent was very close to him, and already had a plan in mind.
After the confrontation, he half-turned around, his head and shoulders shaking in a super rhythmic manner.
Harden was at a loss and couldn't predict whether Kobe would turn forward or backward.
