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Chapter ninety-ninth [No desire is strong, aspiring is strong]

Woodson lamented: "Jason Guo was not ruthless at the critical moment, and he didn't act like a rookie."

"He will face a huge test on the defensive end, and Stockton and Malone are playing pick-and-roll again," Hovas said.

Guo Xu tried his best to chase Stockton and handed Malone to his teammates. Stockton passed the ball, Malone beat Fox one-on-one and turned around and made a mid-range shot, 93-91.

The Jazz's two elders performed very well in this game, not inferior to the Lakers' star in their years, and they were close to the score.

"Zen Master" Jackson requested a timeout, emphasizing tactics but no substitutions. In fact, Madson, who had not played for a minute, may have better effect in defending Malone, but Jackson does not trust the two insiders, for fear that they will make mistakes. Madson and Medvedek's main task is to guard the water dispenser and work as part-time cheerleaders.

Jackson's offensive tactics arranged by him are very simple, and he handed the ball to Kobe to fight alone. It is risky to fight O'Neal at the last moment. If he is fouled, he is too hurtful of morale if he misses two free throws.

The Jazz substitutions, and Lewis, who has a strong impact, appeared and replaced Manning.

This is a clever adjustment. They are ready to wait for O'Neal to foul as soon as they receive the ball, send him free throws, play small ball tactics on the offensive end, and pull out to avoid O'Neal's shot.

The Lakers attacked, Kobe beat Starks in a single step in the three-point line on the right, and then stepped forward and jumped to the iron.

The rebound was grabbed by Lewis and passed it to Stockton. Guo Xu pressed in the frontcourt to block his breakthrough route and prevented the fast break. Stockton gave it to Starks on the left.

Starks is a double-athlete guard with good dribbling skills. He was transported to the frontcourt under Kobe's press and passed to Lewis, who followed up on the right. Since the Jazz did not go to the center, the Lakers players on the field were a bit chaotic, and Lewis was empty, so only O'Neal, who retreated to defend the basket, was closer to him.

This was a misalignment. When Lewis saw that O'Neal was a little far from the side, he took the ball and rushed forward with three steps, jumped with all his might to dunk. He felt that as long as the ball entered, he would become popular.

In Guo Xu's previous life, even O'Neal, who was about to retire, could not tolerate his opponent's dunk like this. Pistons defender Stucky died like this. O'Neal did not get stuck and rushed over from the side and slapped Lewis and covered the ball to the ground.

The referee's whistle sounded, O'Neal went for the ball, but the thug was first, and he also "graduated" six fouls.

Horvas said: "The Lakers' situation is not good. Today they are doing very poorly in controlling fouls. O'Neal shouldn't be impulsive. He is completely at a disadvantage when he gets into the Lakers' inside."

Woodson smiled and said, "If O'Neal had chosen again, I think he would still do this. He would not allow the newcomer to be arrogant in front of him."

Lewis fell to the ground and made two free throws on the free throw line. The two sides tied at 93, and Jackson asked for a timeout again.

Both the fans watching the live TV broadcast and the fans on the scene were worried about the Lakers. The two major starters in the interior were sent off, and it was difficult for the Lakers to defend against their opponents, and now they can only fight for offense.

Jackson did not use the tactical board and directly talked about the tactics. "The next player will pull away. Jason will fight Stockton with the ball. If he attracts double teams, he will pass the ball. The defense end will mainly prevent outside shooting. If Malone receives the ball near the penalty area, he will make a foul and send him a free throw."

Kobe's face looked a little ugly. He knew that the coach was dissatisfied with his performance and gave the ball to Guo Xu at the critical moment.

Kobe was in poor form in the second half, and his chances of hitting iron were greater than goals. He made 4 of 10 in the previous quarter and 1 of 5 in this quarter. Jackson knew that he could not continue to shoot like this. He scored 31 points, including 13 free throws.

Jackson knew that Stockton had no strength, and he also knew that Guo Xu would definitely dare to shoot the key ball.

Guo Xu was indeed happy after hearing this. There was a clear curve in the corner of his mouth and his eyebrows were bent, but he didn't laugh out loud, which attracted his teammates to look at each other.

Guo Xu firmly believes that he is going to fight Stockton alone, which is definitely easier than Kobe's single-handed striker defense experts, and it is easier to help the team win, but he doesn't know that his excited expression surprised his teammates.

Grant and Harper were players who entered the NBA in the 1980s. They had never seen such a big rookie.

Kobe sighed inwardly: This kid is too brave. After playing at this time, isn’t he afraid of conceding a ball to take responsibility for the loss? Don’t he know what nervousness means?

Kobe has played for 4 years with the Lakers and has made 9 key balls. Five of them are based on free throws and accurate finals or dragged into overtime. He missed more key balls than he made in sports battles, including two and three nonsenses. Every time he hits a critical moment, Kobe is also nervous. Guo Xu looks just excited, as if he has already shot the ball.

Because Guo Xu saw it thoroughly and was not afraid of losing shots and being criticized. He just felt that this was a good opportunity to become famous. He was just the last rookie, just a rookie season, and it was natural not to make a key goal. What's there to be afraid of?

The last rookie's gimmick can relieve him of pressure. It's normal for him to play well. If he plays well, he is a big dark horse. If he doesn't have any pressure. It doesn't matter if the Lakers lose today. Anyway, it's just a regular season game, and it doesn't affect the end. The winner is the one who laughs to the end.

Without desires, you will be strong; with ambitions, you will be strong.

When he first entered the league, Guo Xu put his personal position very straight. He came to the Lakers to become famous. He was the best at playing beautiful data, and the data was generally acceptable. He never thought that he would be the boss as soon as he entered the league, because that was impossible. Even a bad team would not allow a 180cm Chinese rookie to be the core of the rookie season, unless the boss and the head coach were crazy.

As long as the Lakers defend their title, he will be a hero. The championship puzzle will not be enough to say that he will drag the team down. He knows that the Lakers have the ability to win the championship, so there is even less pressure.

Guo Xu is the only one in the league who has this mentality, and he is the boldest one.

On the Jazz side, Sloan could not guess that Jackson would give the rookie ball rights at the last moment. He arranged to strictly prevent Kobe. "O'Neal was sent off. The Lakers will definitely hand over the ball to Kobe at this time to attack, keep a close eye on him, force him to take action away from the basket, and assist the wings at any time to help him with enough pressure and interference!"

Players from both sides have appeared, and the Lakers are five: Guo Xu, Brian Shaw, Kobe, Ledel, and Fox.

Jazz Five: Stockton, Starks, Russell, Lewis, Malone.

With 28 seconds left before the end of the final quarter, Guo Xu's three-point line protection and other teammates opened up, and all five of them could shoot, but there was no inside line.

Stockton's heart was thrilled, and he had an ominous premonition. The other party played and took a break, and he was still very physically strong, so he was already tired.

In 20 seconds, Guo Xu dribbled the ball under his crotch and changed direction to the right and entered the three-point line. He pulled a position with speed and stopped quickly to get the ball.

Stockton jumped from the side, not asking for blocking but only asking for interference. He predicted that the opponent would shoot because Guo Xu had been very determined to shoot. Unexpectedly, Guo Xu made a fake move at the critical moment, which was more patient than before. Then he jumped forward and bumped into Stockton and pushed the ball out.

The ball did not enter, and the referee's whistle sounded. This was not a preferential home whistle, but an obvious success in fraudulent foul!

Guo Xu knew very well how to play more efficiently. He had specially practiced foul-making skills and hoped to get more free throws in the game.

He scored steadily with two free throws, 95 to 93, with a 15th point in his own score.
Chapter completed!
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