basketball never sleeps

Chapter 234 Everything is an accident (arrangement)

"Yawn~"

Inside the supersonic video analysis room, Mo Wen patted his lips tiredly.

"Take some more rest, Mo. Leave the tactics and video analysis to us. If you can't do it today, go back and rest first."

Old coach Hill looked at Mo Wen with dark circles under his eyes with some distress. God knows how much effort Mo Wen has put into improving the team's tactics and adjusting its direction during this period.

Mo Wen nodded without any pretense, picked up his clothes and left.

After using the [Signal Blocker] (temporarily blocking the copy space to regain sleep) recently, he was unable to quickly recover his strength through the sleep mechanism of the copy space.

You have to know that the Nine-Tailed Fox's Tailed Beast Cannon can't penetrate three at once, so you can imagine the consumption of him 1V3 every day.

After being frank and honest with each other, little Catherine accepted Mo Wen's outrageous arrangement without much resistance. Now the four of them sleep together shamelessly on the big bed in Mo Wen's master bedroom at night.

After experiencing the sisters singing together, going as a foursome didn't seem like a big deal to her.

After seeing Mo Wen's true strength, she was very glad to have "powerful allies" like Catherine and Ruth.

Compared to those vixen outside who have no beta number and are greedy for Mo Wen, as long as Mo Wen has his body, it is undoubtedly much safer to emotionally digest the two women by himself, even safer than his own sister.

With Mo Wen's needs, if there were no two women to help him consume the money, God knows whether Mo Wen would have kept a large number of mistresses outside like other NBA stars.

Mo Wen doesn't even have to spend any money. He just needs to wave his hand and countless beautiful women will clamor to be his bed partner.

You should know that Mo Wen not only has a god-like reputation in China, but also has a large number of fans in the United States. He is so handsome that he has been selected as one of the 50 most beautiful stars in the world for three consecutive years. He plays basketball beautifully, has a strong body, is young and rich...

With the intentional packaging of the NBA and Nike, Mo Wen is almost a perfect idol.

This kind of attraction to the opposite sex is difficult to quantify, but little Catherine has truly felt it - in the list of the top ten most annoying actresses in the United States compiled by the media some time ago, little Catherine, who usually lives a reclusive life and has no plans to make a debut, was unexpectedly listed as a candidate, just because she is Mo Wen's girlfriend.

People who have their eyes on lychees will never understand the train of thought of star-chasers. When the "little king" Bieber was still at the peak of his career, the female model who filmed a MV with him received a lot of insults and death threats, and Bieber's later girlfriend Selena also made it to the list of the most annoying female stars from the beginning.

Simply put - if you want to bear the weight, you must wear the crown.

After returning home and having another fierce battle, Mo Wen let out a satisfied sigh as he withdrew from Ruth's body.

You can't blame him for being unrestrained, it's really the happiness of four people that ordinary people can't even imagine!
Little Catherine is not opposed to having a child next year. Big Catherine is taking medicine, and Professor Ruth has done sterilization before that - this doubles the happiness.

In recent times, the Supersonics have been playing at home, and their opponents have been weak teams like the Grizzlies and Hornets. Mo Wen did not feel any pressure. Even though his physical condition was not at its peak, he still led the team to a seven-game winning streak relying on his organizational and shooting abilities, dominating the league's top spot and blinding the media.

Moreover, Mo Wen's statistics have not declined. As a person who shoots better than Guigui and Azhan, it is not too easy for him to put aside his reserve and use the ball-holding core style of play to brush up his statistics, especially when playing against weak teams, the ball-holding core style of play can also have a stable effect of bullying weak teams.

In addition to the victory, Mo Wen did not forget to take his teammates to dinner and team-building parties to enhance their mutual feelings and tacit understanding... Of course, they were all very serious. The Seattle paparazzi, who have been defeated repeatedly, can only use photos like those of high school students gatherings in China to praise Mo Wen as a self-disciplined and overly serious good leader.

The domestic media has never stopped praising Mo Wen. Before, every time they learned that Mo Wen was hanging out with O'Neal in Miami, they worried that Mo Wen would be led astray. Now it seems that it was just a stopgap measure for Mo Wen to integrate into the team.

Our God Mo is essentially upright and righteous!
However, as the [Signal Jammer] expires, Mo Wen does not plan to continue enjoying sleep and unlimited indulgence even though he still has 2 reserves.

Next week, two heavyweight California teams will come to Seattle to challenge the SuperSonics.

Lakers and Warriors.

Both teams have performed quite strongly since the start of the season, losing only one game each.

Although the Supersonics are undefeated now, this is mainly because they benefited from the fact that the schedule mostly included weak teams. In terms of pure strength, the Supersonics are not among the top teams.

Paul, who was whipped by Kobe all the way, has made amazing progress this season. Whether in shooting percentage or assists to teammates, he is mature and does not look like a second-year player.

Kwame Brown has gradually regained his confidence under Paul's feeding. Although he may not have the qualities of a star, he is still acceptable to the fans.

In addition, there is "Reasonable Science" who was stimulated by O'Neal and inspired by Mo Wen, and Odom who had not yet met Kardashian.

The Lakers may not be dominant at the moment, but they are still a well-known and strong team.

The Warriors' outstanding record is based on pure strength. In the beginning, old Nelson was worried about Yao Ming's physical strength and the team could not play fast breaks happily. But after the team had some running-in, old Nelson suddenly found that they didn't seem to need fast breaks and could achieve good offensive efficiency by letting the stars play alone.

Yao Ming is so good at catching the ball. He just leans his butt forward and makes a small hook shot with a hit rate of 60%.

Simple, but unsolvable.

Unless the zebra travels through time and space, it would be difficult to interfere in a one-on-one situation, let alone block the shot.

Byron Davis also felt Mo Wen’s happiness. It turns out that getting assists is so easy?
In previous seasons, he only averaged seven or eight assists per game, but this season, relying on feeding the ball to Yao Ming, his assists number unexpectedly reached double digits. If it weren't for the unreasonable Mo Wen in front of him, he felt that he could definitely compete for the assist king.

Yao Ming's physical problem is not so obvious because of the Warriors' lineup depth. The Warriors' original inside player Andris Biedrins is already usable. Biedrins is a white rough center with good mobility and a certain sense of help defense. As the Warriors' starting inside player later, he is qualified to be Yao Ming's substitute or form a twin tower with Yao Ming. He was considered a good player before he got the big contract.

Before facing the Lakers and Warriors, the Supersonics will go on the road to challenge the Timberwolves.

"I can't remember the last time a team excited me, maybe in the 03-04 season?"

"But I can tell you clearly that I haven't been excited since Stephen (Marbury) was traded, but this time, I feel like the team can really make me happy for once."

Before the start of the season, Harden, who was not affected by the trade rumors, did not know where he got the confidence from. Just because the team recruited Mike James and two unknown rookies, he became extremely confident and described to the media a bright future of returning to the first round of the playoffs.

To be honest, judging from the data, Mike James (20+5) was a level higher than Marbury (16+5) last season. Even if they compare the shooting percentage, Mike James wins.

But he may have overlooked that Mike James came from a team that competed for the No. 1 pick.

What's more, Harden and Ricky Davis are not honest people like Bosh and Eddie Jones. The Timberwolves cannot give Mike James the core position like the Raptors did.

After his tactical status dropped significantly, Mike James was quickly reduced to his original form, degenerating from an efficient brush who was good at fast breaks to an ordinary short and malignant point guard.

The Timberwolves only had a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, and they dived into the lottery zone without encountering any strong opponents.

So in a recent interview, the Wolf King changed his words again -

"One thing I feel is very unfair. I work so hard to play, but the management upstairs doesn't seem to work so hard. This is too unfair to a player who has always been eager for a championship."

"I've been working on staying consistent and playing well every single night, which is hard."

"I'm already 30 years old, how long can I play? Four, five years, my clock is already counting down, I don't have many years left!"

While everyone expects the Timberwolves to leave in the future, the Timberwolves' home game attendance is still good.

Of course, there are also many "traitors" wearing Mo Wen's jerseys, most of whom are Mo Wen's fans, and they are quite eye-catching.

The Las Vegas All-Star voting had already begun two days ago. Two days ago, Fox Sports even published a cartoon under the All-Star voting page:

Mo Wendan stood on the ballot box and looked around at the basketball stars who were performing acrobatics and shouting to promote themselves. Next to him was Yao Ming, who was leisurely wearing a Tang suit and drinking tea. He pushed aside a stack of ballots. There was a dialog box above the two of them.

"Are they here to compete for second place?"

"It's the third one."

The Timberwolves players felt insulted when they saw the scattered Sonics jerseys on the stage, and they got angry.

What else can we do? Let's talk about the matter objectively. The Timberwolves sold a lot of extra tickets because of Mo Wen. For the sake of the money, even if he was NTRSed in front of everyone, maybe the Timberwolves management would still consider giving Mo Wen a blanket.

It’s cold, so don’t catch a cold.

Harden is undoubtedly the most motivated player in the Timberwolves, but he didn't brush his teeth today. I don't know if it was out of jealousy or envy, but he has been mumbling with a stinky mouth since the start of the game, fully practicing the Ah Q spirit, losing both the game and the game.

But the effect was really effective. Milicic and Tyson were annoyed by him, and the amplitude of their movements became larger, giving Garnett the opportunity to commit several fouls.

With 2 minutes left before the end of the first half, Mo Wen dribbled the ball and set a screen in front of Hardt. After hearing Hardt's foul language, Mo Wen did not indulge him and gave Milicic a look. After the two of them passed the ball against the wall, Mo Wen accidentally seemed to have lost his grip and hit the ball directly into Hardt's cheek.

Mo Wen also thought about throwing a straight punch, but there was a high probability that he would not be able to escape suspension by throwing a straight punch. Before he could become the "emperor" like A-Jan who could elbow people and cause fouls, he had to put on a show after all.

Yingte only felt that his eyes went dark, first there was pain, and then blood flowed out along the broken bridge of his nose.

Payton, who was watching the show from the sidelines, felt that the scene in front of him was very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

Hardt was very angry and the consequences were serious.

In anger, the Wolf King showed his bloodthirsty side. Looking at Mo Wen who was spreading his hands and pretending to be innocent, he took a step back, twisted his waist, swung his arms and punched.

I have to say that his punch was quite standard.

Mo Wen, who was well prepared, dodged and then slammed down Yingte's fist, clasped the four fingers of his left hand and twisted it, causing Yingte's left wrist to rotate inward, forcing Yingte to turn right. At the same time, he stepped forward with his right foot, pressed down on his left shoulder with his right palm, clasped his thumb in the shoulder socket, and lifted his wrist with his left hand to hold his shoulder joint.

The enemy is ashamed, I will take off his clothes!

All the Timberwolves were stunned, listening to their leader's screams as his shoulder was twisted, looking at Mo Wen's cold eyes like a professional killer, fear and guilt filled their hearts, but no one thought of stepping forward to rescue him.

But before the Timberwolves could react, Milicic and Francisco from the Supersonics came up to Mo Wen first, lent a hand and held the Wolf King down again.

Milicic, who wanted to vent his anger, wanted to kick Harden to his knees, but was stopped by Mo Wen.

Just teach him a lesson. You can't really act like a wolf king without brothers in someone else's territory.

Looking at Hardt bowing 120 degrees to him, the referee who rushed over to stop the fight had a brain short circuit.

What we mean is, were there any steps skipped in the middle?
The change from the unfortunate guy Hardt - the troublemaker - to the victim was too rapid.

After being caught and feeling pain, Hardt regained his senses. After being pulled away by the referee, he symbolically threw two punches at Mo Wen in the air.

"Don't stop me, don't stop me, I must kill him today!"

With his teammates' "light as a feather" cover, Harden performed a space walk and shifted into reverse gear all the way back to the locker room.

Amid the boos of the fans at the scene, several referees discussed briefly and gave Mo Wen and Hardt each a first-degree flagrant foul.

Although Mo Wen acted very realistically when he hit the ball in the face, there was also a suspicion that he did it on purpose. Besides, breaking someone's nose was at least a token of respect.

As for Harden, there is no excuse for his punch and he will definitely pay the price, even if he is only handsome for three seconds before being captured.

The impact of the Auburn Hills battle in this world was not that great, but the league had repeatedly banned fighting, and Mo Wen's subsequent capture was more of a control role. Whether from the perspective of self-defense or from the perspective of preventing the conflict from escalating, Mo Wen did nothing wrong, and the referee would not be so stupid as to send off the league's top player with such a lame excuse.

Theoretically, it was not unfair for both players to be sent off, but because the conflict lasted too short, it seemed that the problem was not serious.

After returning to the locker room to stop the bleeding, Hardt was still talking, but his whole face was already dark red. It turned out that impulse is the devil. Why did he choose to punch at that time?

Ever since the "fight and retreat" incident, his reputation has plummeted. He was caught in this round today, and he doesn't even dare to think about what the media will say about him tomorrow.

Go find Mo Wen again and try to get back at him?

Stop joking. Whether it's a one-on-one fight or a group fight, he can't see how he can win.

Harden didn't have much time to feel sorry for himself. Even with Mo Wen's subsequent release of the game, the Timberwolves still headed towards failure step by step.

The Timberwolves have some big problems with their player composition. Their average height seems good, but they have always lacked a reliable center. Like the Rockets in the past, they have stockpiled some worthless small guards, but are quite weak in other positions.

The Timberwolves couldn't defend Milicic's high-post pick-and-roll. Harden's help defense was said to cover the area within the three-point line, but Milicic could shoot three-pointers.

Once Harden is brought out, the Timberwolves' defensive system is 80% broken. If Harden is not brought out, no one else can defend.

The Iron-Blooded Wolf King returned to the court but was unable to stop the Supersonics from clocking out in the third quarter.

Looking at the Sonics players who were all smiling with joy, and then looking at his teammates who were silent, Harden really didn't understand.

The long sky, how can you treat me less favorably?
He tried his best and the best he could do was to make it to the Western Conference Finals, whereas Mo Wen had very good teammates every time he changed teams. Judging from the current strength shown by the Supersonics, he couldn't even imagine how great it would be if he were in their shoes!

Wait, change teams?
……

At the end of the game, the Supersonics defeated the Timberwolves 118:99. Mo Wen simply got a triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and then gave the stage to his teammates.

Mo Wen was finally tempted by the scoring title. If it were last season, Mo Wen would probably score 20+10 and then consider taking a break as he watched the score widen.

False fame is tiring.

During the press conference, Mo Wen also gave Garnett an innocent explanation without any apology, saying that everything was an accident (arrangement).

At the same time, he also expressed understanding for Harden's offensive behavior.

A prime minister has a broad mind. I have already forgiven you.

Yingte was very stubborn and missed the press conference. Compared with the face-saving fine of only a few dollars, he seemed to have no face left even after today's "one move to defeat himself".

The nosy media quickly linked this incident to the previous incident in which Mo Wen beat up Ma Long.

"Mo has once again proved that he is just like Bruce Lee, and he is definitely good at kung fu. We consulted a Chinese martial arts school and several police officers. According to their experience, it takes at least ten years to develop such a skilled grappling technique!"

"I have to admit that sometimes being weak doesn't necessarily mean being at a disadvantage. Looking at Mo's expression, he never considered KG as an opponent. You can't even see a trace of anger on Mo's face after being provoked by KG's punch!"

"Maybe we all misunderstood Ma Long. At least he is qualified to be beaten by Mo himself, right?"

Ma Long: Listen to me, you, my dear, because of you, the four seasons are warm~
Before facing the Lakers, the Supersonics also welcomed a star player for a tryout - "Rain Man" Shawn Kemp, who had retired for three years. The old soldier never died, just to feed the illegitimate child.

Kemp, who was nearly bankrupt due to the high child support for more than a dozen illegitimate children right after retirement, has been trying to make money in the past two years, but the investments he made before retirement were just enough to support his life.

For the sake of money and his dream of winning the championship, Kemp has been actively losing weight in the past few months, losing almost as much weight as Nash, and his athletic ability has apparently recovered a lot.

But Kemp's problem is not just his weight. The main problem is that he has fallen into the "poison jar". From before his retirement to the past two years, there has been almost no break in the news about his involvement in drugs.

Even Payton, his former good brother, did not say anything good for Kemp during the tryout, except welcoming him back home.

"Sean is a good man, but he is more suitable to be a brother than a teammate." Payton couldn't help but sigh as he watched Kemp leave in disappointment.

Mo Wen felt nothing in his heart. He had no good feelings towards the famous player named Poison Jar, and it was even more impossible for him to let such a person into the locker room to destroy the positive environment.

……

"Mo, can I guard Kobe in the next game?"

During the training break, Guy volunteered to add more responsibilities to himself.

To be fair, Gay's life in the Supersonics has not been satisfactory. Although the coaching staff has recently given him a starting position and more playing time, he is still positioned as a blue-collar player in terms of tactical choices, mainly responsible for defense and fast breaks, which is quite different from Gay's expectations for himself.

He now has a shooting percentage of 47%, a three-point shooting percentage of 38%, and averages 7.7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.1 steals per game, which are not outstanding in this weak draft year, but are worthy of his draft position.

It's okay for him to be the fifth offensive option in the team's starting lineup, because the offensive abilities of other players are indeed better than his.

But most of the time, he, who is a full-time defender, cannot defend the opponent's key players, which makes him feel most frustrated.

After all, not everyone is willing to slack off for pay and dig into the capitalist system.

He has good physical talents. After coming to the Supersonics, he focused on training defense. During the game, he also focused his physical energy on defense. Even if he can't be as mature as Mo Wen when he was a rookie, he can be considered to have a good grasp of it after training slowly.

The minions of ordinary weak teams can no longer satisfy him, so he wants to challenge the BOSS of a strong team!

Although he couldn't defend against Mo Wen or Ray Allen, he was a young man, so who didn't have the confidence to make a sliding tackle?
Mo Wen did not refuse, and Ray Allen, who was Guy's senior, just watched the fun and did not dissuade him.

"Do you really think he can match up against Kobe?" Ray Allen couldn't help but ask after Gay happily found a trainer to practice defense.

Mo Wen shook his head.

Due to the butterfly effect he brought about, even with Tristana's chatter, he didn't manage to win the 81-point game that cleared his name and made him a god in this world.

But the existence of Xiao Pao not only makes the chat more reasonable, but also makes him have a tendency to evolve again in the direction of Dan Zi.

This is the performance that Lao Ke has only achieved in the years when he won consecutive championships in history.

As we all know, Lao Ke got his start by imitating Dan Zi, and Dan Zi once accused Lao Ke of stealing his arsenal.

As for the fadeaway jump shot, the quality of the highlights video is even better.

But Lao Ke and Dan Zi are essentially two levels of players.

The most popular thing about Lao Ke is that he can always score some unreasonable goals. His various techniques are perfect, dazzling, and fancy...

And the feeling Danzi gives you is that he does not have any magic ball in his hands. He plays simply and efficiently, with great skill and one fatal strike.

It is undeniable that the difference in physical talent is the key to the difference in their technical styles.

You don't even need to watch the game, just looking at the highlights you can see the gap between the two in this regard.

But among the factors that lead to the difference in performance between the two, physical talent actually only accounts for half.

The other half is in the ability to read the game and make offensive choices.

This aspect may be more abstract, but if you look at Kobe in the OK period and Kobe in 10, you can find obvious differences.

Kobe's 10-year-old style of handling the ball has become much simpler.

Even though he has not yet reached Danzi's three-step ball passing level, the number of breathtakingly difficult balls he used to make has obviously decreased.

Now Kobe has shown a clear trend of simplifying his offense.

He knew how to pass the ball and started to simplify the offense in advance, but the rules of the time did not allow him to learn defense. No one dared to imagine how high Kobe could grow in the future.

It can be foreseen that it is almost inevitable that Guy will be beaten, and Mo Wen will definitely have to make up for it later.

Mo Wen was not worried that Guy's self-confidence would be affected if he was severely beaten.

During team training, Gay has tasted failure many times, but like Melo, he is a kid from Baltimore and is very tough.

On November 11, two hours before the game, the square outside the KeyArena was already occupied by fans wearing Sonics jerseys, many of whom were holding signs voting for the Sonics' bet against municipal subsidies.

When Kobe, who was sitting on the bus, saw this scene, he put away the smile he had just had on his face when he was joking with his teammates.

Because of the existence of his old rival Ray Allen, he knows very well what the previous Supersonics were like.

Indifferent and picky fans, dilapidated stadium, and the worst home atmosphere.

But now?

Even the Lakers during their OK period couldn't get this kind of support from fans.

Looking at Mo Wen's handsome face posted on the outer wall, Kobe unconsciously clenched his fists.

Because he had suffered too much from Mo Wen, he never intended to underestimate Mo Wen.

He felt that he couldn't make a garbage team so popular all of a sudden.

And Paul, who was sitting next to him, was also staring at this side.

It may sound a bit unpromising to say it, but Xiao Pao has high expectations for his career. He would be very satisfied if he could achieve the same results as Mo Wen.

He is aware of his physical disadvantages, so his goal is to be the core of a well-equipped team like the Heat before, compete for the championship and win the FMVP.

He is not sure how far the Lakers can go in the next two years. If they fail to win the championship, and as Kobe gets older, wouldn't that be his chance to take the top spot?
By then, the Lakers will have him and Kobe, and they can rely on the geographical advantage of Los Angeles to recruit another inside star. Wouldn't that complete the core members of the previous Heat Big Three?

So what he has to do next is: lie dormant - usurp the throne - recruit players - win the championship!
Cool!
Paul stole a glance at Kobe.

It seems that O'Neal was forced away by you at the age of 32?

We in Sao Paulo are kind-hearted. Is it okay for you, old Deng, to step down at the age of 30 and become the second-in-command?
Anyway, there is no way you can surpass Jordan with your current condition, but isn't it also possible to change the track and surpass Pippen?
The more Xiao Pao thought about it, the happier he felt. His appearance was determined by his heart, and an obscene smile appeared on his face.

Snapped--

"What the hell are you so happy about? Thinking about winning before the game even starts?"

Kobe slapped Paul's head unhappily. The emotion and momentum he had just built up were destroyed by Paul's obscene appearance.

Xiao Pao was unwilling to suffer a loss and fought back immediately. Unfortunately, facing Kobe, whose elbow was two times bigger than his, it was difficult for him to do anything in such a small space.

Seeing that he couldn't gain any advantage, Xiao Pao started to talk.

"You know what I was thinking just now? I was wondering when the league would set up a Pippen Award to reward players who have similar experiences to Pippen."

As soon as Paul finished speaking, the bus stopped in front of the player tunnel and opened the door. Before Kobe could react, a nimble figure rushed out.

Kobe:?……! ! ! !

Kobe's nostrils suddenly expanded, and the blue veins on his temples filled up in a very short time. He didn't even take his basketball bag, but suddenly stood up and chased in the direction of Paul's escape like a hungry tiger.

Before Kobe failed to leave O'Neal and win the championship, being the second in command and Pippen were scars that he could not touch.

……

The battle between the top shooting guard in the Western Conference and the top point guard in the league has naturally become the focus of the league's recent publicity.

Mo Wen's 60 points in the finals made people realize that he is not only a top passer, but also a top scorer.

The only ones who can compete with Mo Wen in terms of personal strength are LeBron James, who is given high hopes but has no hope for sure, and Kobe, who also scored 62 points in three quarters against the Mavericks.

Many people who couldn't bear to see Mo Wen, a foreigner, bullying a group of American professional players hoped that Kobe could teach Mo Wen a lesson.

Although Kobe's winning rate in the previous record between the two was less than 20%, that was because Mo Wen's opponents were strong. If Kobe still can't beat Mo Wen after Mo Wen joins the reorganized team, then they can only ask Jordan and the ancient gods for help.

As the BGM of "Above the Sky" sounded, the starting players of both sides arrived.

Lakers: Paul, Kobe, Luke Walton, Odom, Kwame Brown;
Supersonics: Mo Wen, Ray Allen, Gay, Milicic, Tyson;
The Lakers' overall lineup has not changed much compared to last season. Sprewell is one year older and feels too tired to start, so he took the initiative to become the sixth man. The "skiing man" who was originally supposed to join the Lakers this year did not come, and the middle-class exception was taken by Sprewell.

Mihm was ruled out for the season due to ankle surgery before the start of the preseason. The Lakers had no choice but to trade Jordan Farmar, the substitute chosen for Paul, for Paul Davis, a white center who looks 5 points similar to Mihm, as a replacement.

After that, the Lakers signed a small point guard named Shammond Williams from the free market who performed well in the secondary league. Mo Wen had some impression of him, not because he was a good basketball player, but because he had boasted to Mo Wen on the bench before that he had been a teammate of Carter in college and had been dunked by Carter during a team training match...

However, what makes Lakers fans breathe a sigh of relief is that the 1500 million bad contract of Brian Grant, who was previously amnestied, will end after this year (amnestied players are no longer counted in the luxury tax calculation, but are still counted in the salary cap), and they will have space next year... to sign a few more scraps.

These days, most teams’ signings are patchwork, as they don’t overdraw on the future to make trades.

Before the game started, Paul glanced at Mo Wen, who looked relaxed, and moved his elbow.

The tragic incident last season where Mo Wen took advantage of the height difference to "strengthen his body" was still fresh in his mind. In the summer, he used his connections with James to find a relevant coach and trained with him in a systematic manner. Today is the time for acceptance.

Kobe next to him didn't have so many thoughts. He had seen Mo Wen's elbow skills many times and was not interested in a competition. He also didn't have the idea of ​​competing with Mo Wen for points as the media expected. He also didn't easily forget the last time Mo Wen scored 34 points in a single quarter against them.

He now has only one idea - win first!
Both teams got into position and the referee went to midfield and started throwing the ball.

As expected, Tyson failed to jump over Kwame Brown. After all, one of Kwame Brown's major selling points during the draft was his jumping ability.

After the Lakers got the ball, Kobe was quite surprised that the Supersonics did not send Mo Wen but instead let a rookie defend him.

Reading the scouting report of the opposing players before the game is a must for every player.

Kobe could still vaguely remember that the rookie in front of him had indeed performed well on the defensive end before.

But, he is Kobe, right?
It’s fine if he isn’t double-teamed, but when will he be defended one-on-one by a rookie?
Seeing that Mo Wen had no intention of switching defense, Kobe felt a little overwhelmed, which was rare from the start.

But his request for the ball was not responded to by Paul.

Paul and Odom created a pick-and-roll after creating some distance from Kobe on the right. After Milicic switched defense, he stood too far forward and was passed by Paul in one step. In this area near the baseline, even though Paul's legs were short, it was enough for him to complete a rebound shot before Tyson returned to defense.

0:2
On the other hand, during the Sonics' offensive round, Kobe did not pass Mo Wen to other people just because of the Sonics' "disrespect".

There is no one else in the Lakers lineup who can defend Mo Wen except him.

But Kobe's pursuit was ultimately blocked by Milicic outside the three-point line.

Mo Wen turned lightly on his toes like a ballet dancer, and got rid of Odom and rushed into the paint area. He jumped in two steps, and while gliding, he flicked his fingers to kick the basketball into the sky.

Swah——

2:2
Although Mo Wen's goal looked obviously more beautiful, there was actually no difference in the operating mechanisms of the two teams.

Because the two teams have good similarities in personnel configuration, with two star guards, the same tool small forward, the same power forward with shooting and supporting abilities, and the same blue-collar center. When the players' functionality and abilities are similar, tactical convergence is almost inevitable.

In the Lakers' turn, Kobe, seeing that the Supersonics were really planning to use their rookies to defend him, couldn't help but start asking for the ball after half court.

But Xiao Pao still did not give Kobe face. He noticed that Tyson Chandler was about to retreat to the position on Kobe's side, so he just made a fake pass to Kobe, and then broke through to the side away from Kobe.

After attracting Mo Wen's defense halfway, he tried to pass the ball to Luke Walton who was waiting on the outside.

But Mo Wen, who had anticipated this and remained focused at all times, completed the interception very smoothly as if he knew Paul was going to pass the ball to him.

While returning to defense, Kobe reminded himself not to get angry. After all, if it weren't for this mistake, the opportunities created by Paul might not be worse than his.

During the counterattack, Tyson Chandler was closely watched by Kwame Brown, but Milicic was smart enough not to go to the basket to join in the fun but to stand in the bottom corner.

Mo Wen passed the ball, and while the Lakers were still looking for who was Milicic's defender, Milicic had already adjusted his shot.

In line with the principle of "do it once, do it twice, but never three times", this time Kobe stood on the three-point line and made standard positioning movements before asking Paul for the ball.

But this time Paul had already passed the ball to Odom.

Odom glanced at Milicic, who was positioned inside due to Paul's movement, and after thinking for half a second, he raised his hand and shot.

In order to prevent Milicic from interfering with him, he deliberately raised the shooting angle, resulting in a miss.

Looking at Kobe's unhappy expression on his way back to defense, O'Neal in front of the TV swept away his previous distress and couldn't help laughing.

Bryant, oh Bryant, you have come to this day?
How about it? It must be unpleasant to have opportunities to score more efficiently and stably but never receive the pass, right?
(End of this chapter)