When the Lakers attacked, Guo Xu and Horry played pick-and-roll in the middle first. Without getting rid of Francis, they passed the ball to Kobe who cut the ball from the side without getting rid of Francis.

Kobe forced a layup, causing Shandon Anderson, who was following the defense, to foul, and made both free throws, 28-27.

Joe McDonal praised: "Jason and Kobe cooperated well. As soon as Horry appeared, the Lakers could completely withdraw the inside. They should play more of this kind of empty cut."

Charlie Parsley said: "If Harper or Brian Shaw plays a guest role in point guard, the Lakers will definitely not be able to play this kind of cooperation. They can easily catch up with the opponent's defender on the pick-and-roll, and they will not attract the inside to switch defenses. I think Jackson will consider giving Jason more playing time, so it should be good to have him start."

The Rockets attacked, Mobley ran and received the ball and shot the ball while Kobe was interfering, and Fox grabbed the backcourt rebound.

In the last 14 seconds, the Lakers had plenty of time to make the last attack. Guo Xu did not steal the limelight and challenged Francis, who was half a head taller than him. He passed it to Kobe in the half, pulling out the defense to attract attention.

Kobe beats the time to the end, facing Anderson's defensive jump shot, the Lakers led 28-27 to finish the first quarter.

Both sides adjusted their lineups in the second quarter. O'Neal, who had been resting for a while, appeared and brought substitutes, and Kobe took a break.

Last season, Kobe averaged 38 minutes per game and often led a substitute with O'Neal. The rest was usually garbage time or when he was troubled by fouls. Now Guo Xu is here, Jackson likes to let Kobe rest for a few minutes in the second quarter to recover his strength, which will help him perform later.

Guo Xu controls the ball and O'Neal plays pick-and-roll, reducing the number of times O'Neal attacks at the basket, O'Pang is also much easier.

The other three are Ledel, Fox, and Horry. Their task is to open up space and catch the ball and shoot.

The Rockets played five players: Francis, Mobri, Shanton Anderson, Thomas, and Coral.

The Rockets' ball rights, Francis and Thomas got rid of Guo Xu on the pick-and-roll, attracted Horry to replace the defense and split the ball into the middle. Thomas's physique could not even hold back the empty-cut guard. He received the ball and rushed to the basket, attracting O'Neal to make up for defense and pass the ball to Coral on the right.

Horry retreated to defend and fouled a man. Coral was not a purely rough guy. He made both free throws, 28 to 29.

When he returned to defense, Coral smiled happily, not knowing that his troubles were coming. Even if he was not injured and his body was at its peak, his shortcomings were obvious - his horizontal movement was slow.

O'Neal pulled to cover near the three-point line, Guo Xu moved the ball horizontally and took a step back and took a three-pointer. Francis could not get around O'Neal immediately, and Coral's distance was far away and the defense was slow.

Guo Xu made an empty shot! 31 to 29, with the 11th point.

The Rockets attacked, and Francis broke through the pick-and-roll and was double-teamed by O'Neal and Guo Xu. The ball was divided into the middle, and Coral was empty. He aimed at the high jump shot and missed. Thomas grabbed the frontcourt rebound and pushed Horry, and was judged to be a foul.

The Lakers attacked, Guo Xu made another pick-and-roll jump shot and three-pointer. Francis and Coral failed to block the block, but unfortunately they didn't make it.

Guo Xu's offensive path has nothing to do with triangular offense, and it does not conform to Jackson's basketball philosophy of ensuring hit rate. However, "Zen Master" is not called a timeout, and the old god is there on the sidelines as the audience.

Joe commented: "Jason shoots three-pointers whenever he has the opportunity after covering up, and rarely shoots in the mid-range shots. He is really similar to Van Exel."

Charlie laughed: "If the coach asked him to vote casually, I think he would be crazy than Van Exel."

In this era, those who throw three-pointers are all aliens. Last season, the strongest three-pointer in the league, Alan, averaged only 5.7 shots, 2.5 shots, and a shooting percentage of 43.3%. Van Exel, known as the "madman", averaged only 5.1 three-pointers per game last season. Guo Xu worked a little harder and became the league's first three-pointer madman. He is not far from winning the nickname.

When the Rockets attacked, Coral's shot was not accurate enough to go to the low post to attract defense, and the outside line turned into a pick-and-roll game between Francis and Thomas.

Horry and Guo Xu firmly doubled the defender, but Francis couldn't break through, so he was unable to shoot with the big man and passed the ball to the middle. Horry went to chase the middle again, slightly interfering with Thomas' mid-range shot. The ball went out and Fox grabbed the rebound.

The Lakers attacked, Guo Xu and O'Neal played pick-and-roll, Coral defended, and Rockets players saw that as long as they didn't save and defend, Guo Xu really dared to shoot, and he had done such a thing in the opening game.

Guo Xu forced his ball to break through and led it to the bottom line. He half turned around and passed the ball to the middle. O'Neal squeezed away Francis cut, received the ball with one hand and dunked in. Coral turned around and tried to prevent O'Fat and foul.

33 to 29, Guo Xu had the second assist.

O'Neal performed well after adjusting his playing style. He had to attack at a low post. This was very similar to the Heat's pick-and-roll tactics. At that time, O'Pang passed his peak period and his athletic ability decreased. He began to often pull out to cover Wade, which had a great tactical effect.

In the 2004-2005 season, O'Neal averaged 34 minutes per game, scoring 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 blocks. He ranked third in the regular season MVP selection, and his screen quality is really high.

When the Rockets attacked, Francis directly took the ball to fight Guo Xu without looking for cover. He moved into the three-point line on the left and made a quick stop and jump shot. He was simply using his height advantage to push people, and Guo Xu failed to block the ball and made a goal. 33 to 31.

On the offensive end, Guo Xu's good time was very short. The Rockets strengthened their defense against pick-and-roll. Thomas and Francis doubled Guo Xu, and he didn't make any moves or breaks through. Coral defended near the penalty area, dealing with O'Neal who was cut, and letting other role players take action.

Horry and Ledel were not very good at it, and they made a series of irons on the outside, only Fox made an open three-pointer.

Five minutes later, Jackson sent Kobe to replace Ledel. Guo Xu became a so-called player on the offensive end and had to hand over the ball to Kobe as the coach arranged.

At the end of the midfield, the Lakers led by 4 points and Guo Xu scored 11 points and 3 assists.

In the second half, Jackson asked Guo Xu to rest and sent veteran Harper, who had been resting for the whole quarter, to play.

As long as the opponent's inside line has a range and the point guard is relatively tall, Jackson dares not let Guo Xu play on the court for too long, and it is easy to cause serious misalignment. The Rockets' starting inside line Olajuwon and Taylor can make stable mid-range shots.

Guo Xu played in the second half, but the team still played a triangle offense. His mission was like Horry and Fox, who opened up to attract defense and waited for the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot three-pointers.

The Rockets knew that Guo Xu was good at shooting, and the defensive players followed him very closely. He only made a shot once after 6 minutes, but he missed it without assisting. He performed well on the defensive end and would not be easily broken by Francis. He successfully stole once while double-teaming.

The Lakers' situation was once very unfavorable. O'Neal was troubled by fouls and four offenders went off the court.

"Big Dream" Olajuwon is still an excellent center forward and an important part of the Rockets' offensive and defensive system. In the third quarter, O'Neal, who defended, made a series of shots and shot irons, using the "Big Dream Step" at the low post to make O'Neal foul. After O'Neal got out, he still hit Foster with his footsteps at the low post.

Olajuwon scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in a single quarter, O'Neal made 0 of 2 shots, 0 of 2 free throws, 0 of 2 points, no points, only 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Chapter completed!