Chapter 168 [Rookie 40+, Stealing the Spotlight! 】

Brian Grant looked at Riley on the sidelines, his eyes a little innocent. Before the game, Riley specifically emphasized that he should control the number of fouls. Because the Heat are suffering from injuries and there are not many people available inside, if he commits too many fouls, it is equivalent to surrendering.

The current situation is that the Heat's No. 1 position is blown out, the offense is not from the inside out, and Brian's control of fouls does not make much sense. After all, he is just a blue-collar man and is not good at adjusting at any time according to the situation on the field.

The Heat attacked, and players kept passing the ball around to look for opportunities. With 4 seconds left to attack, the ball was knocked out of the sideline by Grant and entered the dead ball. Riley took this opportunity to replace Hardaway and replace him with Anthony Carter.

As a result, the Heat have one less offensive point.

After the out-of-bounds ball was issued, Mason singled out Horace at the free throw line, forced a shot while leaning forward, and beat his opponent to score. 26 to 13.

This kind of ball is blind. If the Heat play so hard in every round, halftime will have to enter garbage time.

When the Lakers attacked, it was not so easy for Guo Xu to duel. Carter worked hard to find a confrontation, and his defensive attitude was far better than that of veteran Hardaway.

Although both his name and surname sound like a star, Anthony Carter, who is 185cm tall and weighs 86kg, had a difficult time entering the NBA. He was born in 1975 and only joined the NBA with a minimum salary last season. He played 79 games for the Heat and scored 10 goals. 6.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

Although Carter was not very talented, he trained hard and impressed Riley, who was known for "torturing" players in training sessions.

He is known as the "stupid bird" for his desperate defense on the court. In Guo Xu's previous life, his offensive ability was average and he suffered three serious injuries that ended the season. He still stayed in the league for 13 seasons, relying on his attitude.

He is a good man who comes from a slum, and his living environment is unimaginable to ordinary people. In the past, he was raped by drug dealers and held a gun to his head while playing basketball. If he didn't play, he would take the gun and pay for playing. After he entered the NBA, he often helped the poor and orphans. In the eyes of the children in the slums, he was a big star. He must fight hard and give it his all in every game to get a better contract in the NBA.

Faced with a candy-like defense, Guo Xu would be blacklisted by the coaching staff if he continued to play hard. He began to pass the ball mainly, attracting defenses from outside the three-point line, and watching O'Neal and Kobe perform.

The OK combination attracted double-teams and then passed to other players. Fox made a three-pointer. Guo Xu only made one more shot during the counterattack, passing Carter's emergency stop jumper and missed, and was replaced in the last two minutes.

The Lakers led 37 to 21 in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Riley asked Hardaway, who had rested for a while, to come on the bench and lead the offense.

Jackson also replaced Guo Xu. A simple adjustment made the opponent very uncomfortable.

Hardaway needs the cooperation of his teammates and lacks the confidence to challenge directly; Guo Xu asks his teammates to stay apart and challenge each other as long as the opponent does not get double-teamed. It is clear at a glance who is stronger and who is weaker.

Whether it is a change of direction breakthrough or a step-back jumper, Guo Xu can always create mobile opportunities. In the first six rounds, he shot four three-pointers and hit two goals. He scored a total of 8 points on a counterattack and a layup. He attracted double teams and passed the ball, and Bowen missed the open shot.

Madsen, George, Ryan Bowen, and Horry are mainly responsible for defense. The offensive end opens up and waits for opportunities. The task of holding the ball and attacking is given to Guo Xu. This is a bit like the 76ers' style of play.

The Heat players played more as a team, but only Mason scored 4 points on 2-for-2 shooting. Former Lakers veteran AC Green scored 2 points on a mid-range shot. The point difference continued to widen.

Hardaway's mid-range shot and three-pointer missed the basket due to Guo Xu's interference.

Woodson lamented: "As long as O'Neal and Kobe are not around, Jason dares to shoot endlessly, and he advances very quickly, completing an offense in less than 10 seconds. The Lakers have never played like this in the past few seasons."

Horvath said: "When his star teammates are playing well, he can also wait for opportunities outside the three-point line. He is not a cancer."

After the dead ball, Riley was forced to replace Hardaway and replace him with Carter. After two rounds, Guo Xu and Horry played a pick-and-roll in the middle, attracting the inside line to switch defenses and then the ball passed to the center. Horry hit a three-pointer, and the point difference widened to more than 20 points.

After that, the two sides gradually replaced their main players, and the Lakers unexpectedly fell at a disadvantage in the second half, mainly due to O'Neal's poor offensive performance. The Heat used the "shark-cutting tactic", O'Neal went to the free throw line again and again, the game was intermittent, and the audience was drowsy.

The Heat relied on Dan Marley and Green to recover a few points, falling behind by 16 points at halftime.

Guo Xu scored 23 points and 2 assists in the first half, and faced Hardaway again in the second half.

He played 8 minutes and his shooting percentage dropped. He made a total of 2 of 5 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 30 points and 3 assists in the three quarters.

Hardaway made 1 of 5 shots, 0 of 3 from beyond the arc, and 1 of 1 free throws. Hardaway's only goal was not against Guo Xu's defense. He faked a move to shake Brian Shaw and then made a mid-range shot to score 2+1.

The Lakers entered the final quarter with a 20-point lead, and it was basically garbage time.

"Zen Master" Jackson arranged for the OK group to rest, and Guo Xu continued to play with the substitutes. The rhythm was under his own control, which meant that he could throw whatever he wanted.

Jackson likes to watch players let themselves go. He will not force players to complete any fixed tasks, especially players like Guo Xu and Kobe who like to fight. Too many rules will limit their performance.

If Jackson hadn't been the coach, Kobe might not have had those miracles of 40+ points in multiple consecutive games, 50+ points in four consecutive games, 62 points in three quarters, and 81 points in a single game. The prerequisite for players to score high points is unlimited. Take action.

Riley also sent Hardaway and Guo Xu to face off. They were behind by a big score. Riley no longer expected to win this game, so he simply let Hardaway play casually, and the players competed with each other. This is what the fans want to see most. .

Riley also did this to inspect Hardaway to see if his current state can still meet the team's requirements. If not, the first thing he will do after this season is to kick Hardaway out.

As a business league in the NBA, many team managements lack human touch, and Riley happens to be one of the most snobbish people. He didn't realize Hardaway's contribution to the Heat. The team had not reached the finals in the past few years.

If a player has poor defense and is not good at the offensive end, he will be completely useless. Riley has a lot of power in the Heat and always looks at everything from the perspective of interests.

Both point guards played 5 minutes. Guo Xu made 4 of 8 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 12 points and 1 assist, helping the Lakers continue to expand their lead.

Hardaway made 1 of 5 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 0 of 2 free throws, 3 points, 1 rebound, and no assists.

Hardaway was beaten again and again and became angry. He pushed Guo Xu and was replaced after fouling. Guo Xu also came off the court and became a spectator after completing two free throws.

In the second half, both sides sent out full substitutes to play, taking turns to play. There was no excitement, and many home fans chose to leave the game early.

Woodson commented: "The Heat's offense is weak when facing really strong teams. If they rely solely on defense to win, they will not be able to win the championship."

Horvath agreed: "I think the Heat have to rebuild, and they need young people who can take responsibility."

The Lakers scored 24 points in the final quarter, while the Heat only had 12 points. The Lakers won 111-79 on the road.

Guo Xu played 35 minutes, making 15 of 28 shots, 8 of 15 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 42 points and 4 assists.

He scored 40+ in his rookie season and stole the limelight from the OK team.

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