Popovich was surprised and regretted not choosing Guo Xu this year. This is the point guard that the Spurs urgently needed. With him, the Spurs can reach the championship. The No. 1 position is no longer a weakness.

He felt that Guo Xu was like the enhanced version of Avery Johnson. He had a longer range on the offensive end, had a stable ball protection, and was not weak on the defensive end. He could withstand most defenders, which was something Johnson did not have.

Popovich was a little confused about why Guo Xu could knock Johnson away twice and turn around. They obviously had similar figures. How did this kid practice? Is he born with divine power when he looks so thin?

Guo Xu is practicing dancing and boxing because of his strong toes. His toes are very strong and his body is used to being fists. Naturally, he doesn't take the impact on the basketball court seriously. Even if his opponent is much stronger, he dares to stick close to his body. He doesn't care about the pain.

After two more rounds, Ross missed the ball with the ball from the running position and Grant interfered. Duncan hit the ball out of the baseline when he grabbed the frontcourt rebound, forming a dead ball.

With 2 minutes and 33 seconds left, both sides made adjustments. The Spurs replaced Johnson and Elliott, replaced Danny Ferry, and Antonio Daniels. The Lakers replaced Guo Xu, O'Neal, and sent Brian Shaw and Horry.

Guo Xu scored 19 points and 2 assists before finishing the first quarter. When the game ended, all the fans gave him warm applause.

"It's crazy. Jason has dedicated the most terrifying scoring performance of this rookie, and his opponent is the Spurs, currently ranked second in the West."

Horvas smiled and said, "This year's draft is really ironic. The last rookie is more like the No. 1 pick than Kenyon Martin. Martin is a blue-collar worker in the Nets. He can't even control the foul."

On the sidelines, Megan Fox stared at the big screen of the stadium in a daze, feeling a little unreal.

This person who is stolen by the "OK combination" is actually my neighbor. Will he chat with me, have dinner, and buy vegetables together?

Austin touched her arm and smiled, "Don't be dazed, he's looking at us here."

"Who sees us?"

Megan looked along Austin's fingers and saw Guo Xu waving at them on the bench. Austin gave him a thumbs up and shouted: "Brother, you are the best!"

Megan suddenly didn't know how to say hello to Guo Xu. When she was nervous, she opened her mouth and subconsciously bit her lip, coupled with an awkward smile, as if she was seducing people.

Guo Xu couldn't stand her expression the most. He was afraid of affecting the game state, so he quickly turned his head, picked up a bottle of sports drink he endorsed and fed a few mouthfuls to suppress his shock.

After the substitution, the Lakers could not attack, only Kobe made a foul and made two free throws, scoring two points. On one side, Anderson ran back and received the ball and made a layup to score two points. In the last 8 seconds, Robinson was replaced and played a pick-and-roll with Daniels, hitting a buzzer-beating mid-range shot.

The Lakers led 34-21 to end the first quarter.

Jackson changed his strategy in the second quarter, Guo Xu took a break first, and the OK combination appeared and brought a substitute.

After only one minute of playing, Popovich realized that Robinson could not withstand the OK combination's attack and replaced Duncan early.

The Lakers firmly grasped the initiative, leading by 16 points, 48 ​​to 32 in the second quarter, 6 minutes and 20 seconds. In order to strengthen the attack, the Spurs replaced Johnson and replaced Daniels. The "Zen Master" immediately replaced Brian Shaw and sent Guo Xu.

O'Neal attracted Duncan's defense at a low post. Guo Xu and Grant played pick-and-roll in the middle to get rid of Johnson. Robinson was slow and his experience was still there. He saw the right time and poked the basketball in Guo Xu's hand from the side with a long arm, causing him to make a mistake. The Spurs quickly counterattacked, and Burt scored a mid-range shot. 48 to 34.

After learning from his mistakes, Guo Xu played pick-and-roll with Grant in the middle again, and broke through on the right and kept a distance from Robinson to 45 degrees. Robinson had to keep up and shoot in the mid-range shot if he didn't follow him. Johnson chased and defended, Guo Xu jumped up and quickly divided the ball into the middle, and Grant jumped into the open jump shot.

50 to 34, Guo Xu made the third assist.

Guo Xu had to defend against pick-and-roll in the middle, and Popovich rushed to the field and shouted, asking Duncan to defend the pick-and-roll, and Johnson tightened his body.

However, Jackson's offensive strategy has changed. He asked Grant to pick-and-roll for Guo Xu, and O'Neal continued to be in the low post, both of which are familiar offensive positions for players.

Guo Xu didn't get a phone in the middle, and after attracting Duncan to defend, he passed it to Kobe on the wing. Kobe himself fought or gave O'Neal a low-post lob, forming a triangle with Fox in the right corner.

There are many routines in triangular offense, and the purpose is to create opportunities for players to fight one-on-one.

During pick-and-roll in the middle, Guo Xu and Kobe on the right, and Grant on the middle were also in the triangle position. He attracted Duncan to switch defenses and only needed to look at two points, so it was easy to find the teammates who would be able to meet.

Many people look down on triangular offenses and think it is not easy to create open spaces, but with stars here, one-on-one fights are enough for the opponent, and there is no need for so many open spaces.

Fox and Guo Xu can also switch positions. When Fox cuts at the baseline, he can catch O'Neal's pass and directly hit the basket. If he can't catch the ball, he will go to the left bottom corner to wait for opportunities. At this time, Guo Xu has to run to the right bottom corner to ensure that someone can catch the ball and take action on the strong bottom corner. These are several running positions that the Lakers are training, and it is not difficult.

After joining the Lakers, Guo Xu mainly practiced three running routes, and he ran very smoothly. In his previous life, Artest once complained that he had never known what the triangle offense was going on, which made Guo Xu feel that he was a person with a high ball quotient and a little complacent.

2 minutes and 40 seconds, O'Neal grabbed a defensive rebound and passed by Fox. Fox made a long pass to Guo Xu. After the Spurs were misaligned after pick-and-roll, Guo Xu ran away from Robinson and scored a layup. The second quarter started.

In 31 seconds, the Lakers counterattacked quickly, Guo Xu pushed the ball into the frontcourt, facing Johnson's 70-degree three-pointer on the right, which was his sixth three-pointer.

His choice of attack seems to be very poor, but in fact he is very smart. The Spurs have 9 seconds left after a position attack, and the Lakers have plenty of time to attack one more.

After two passes, Ledel cut the ball and rushed to the basket and made a foul, making both free throws.

At the end of the half, the Lakers led by 24 points 66-42, almost securing the victory. Guo Xu scored 24 points and 3 assists in the half, made 6 of 9 three-pointers, and the Spurs made a total of one three-pointer.

During the intermission, Popovich did not return to the locker room. A reporter took this opportunity to conduct a live interview with him and asked him to evaluate the first half of the game.

Popovich sighed: "We must defend against Jason Guo. He is a huge threat. We seriously underestimated his strength before the game. If he lets him take action from the outside, it will be a very terrible thing. He opened up the space and made O'Neal and Kobe even more difficult to defend."

The reporter asked: "Do you think Jason is a better point guard than the Spurs starter Avery Johnson?"

Popovich replied without thinking: "There is no doubt that Jason is much stronger. Avery may be able to fight him at his peak, but now Avery is in a state that is down, and he is the best rookie this year."

The reporter noticed that what Popovich said was "the best rookie" and did not add "one".

This is Popovich's real idea, not a pity. The three point guards of the Spurs all have a single role, they can only break through or make three-pointers, and they have to replace them if they want to adjust their tactics. Guo Xu is a defender who can combine breakthrough points and score points, and is the only rookie who can do this at present.
Chapter completed!