Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

Chapter 49 Buying Payton, No. [-] backcourt in the West
At halftime, return to the locker room.

As soon as I opened the door, I smelled the aroma of various delicacies mixed together.

In the locker room, there were two dining cars parked in three stalls, and each dining car contained seven or eight dishes.

Although it's not enough to keep the Lakers players full, it's enough to try something new and fill their stomachs together.

"Papa-papa--" O'Neill took the lead to enter the door, attracting everyone's attention by applauding.

Then he said: "Brothers, this is a seafood feast, Shaq invited you to eat it!

Everyone played very well in the first half and was the key to the team taking the lead.

Continue to work hard in the second half, let us work together to win tonight's game.

Alright, leave the abalone to our hero, Du En.

The rest of you can start, brothers, you are welcome. "

After O'Neal finished speaking, he put his arms around the shoulders of Duane and Malone, hugged left and right, and led Duane and Malone to the front of the dining car.

When the plates were opened one by one, the inside was not only still warm, but also steaming, just like it had just come out of the pot.

Abalone, oysters, geoduck, sea urchin, lobster, coral shrimp, Dungeness crab, snow crab, salmon, cod, halibut, shrimp fried rice, lobster omelette rice.

Dunn didn't expect that O'Neill would be so proud that this meal would cost at least a few thousand dollars.

Seeing that other teammates had gathered around, Du En didn't say anything to thank O'Neill, and started directly, with abalone in one hand, oysters in the other hand, and then some geoduck and sea urchin...

Unlike other teams that have to arrange tactics during halftime, Jackson has long been accustomed to players having a gluttonous feast during halftime.

Sometimes the atmosphere is so good that the Zen master himself and other teaching assistants will bring dishes and join in the fun.

But today, Zen Master still cared about his image and had no intention of competing with the players. He just sat aside and meditated on his own.

"Gary, do you have time to chat?"

After feeling a little full, Du En didn't eat any more. Instead, he took the initiative to find Payton and wanted to chat with him.

There was still half a game to play. In order to live up to O'Neal's kindness, Dunn did not want to be like Pierce, who was pushed back to the locker room in a wheelchair midway through the game because he was too full, which affected his condition in the second half.

"I'm leading the bench alone and can't absorb so much ball rights. Gary, are you willing to help me?"

Like in the second quarter, I got the ball at the top of the arc and on the wing, and I was able to attract the Mavericks' outside players to double-team.

At this time, if you are on the court, I will definitely pass the ball to you, and then you can easily rush to the basket and score.

We are teammates, we are a team!
In the starting lineup, if you hit the basket and meet a master of the frame, you can also pass the ball to Carl, right? "

In order to play better first show data tonight, Duane took the initiative to contact Payton and be honest with each other, hoping that Payton would not be so stubborn.

If Payton wants to score points and strive for the next big contract, Duane made it clear that he can share the ball with Payton in the bench lineup and create opportunities for Payton to score more easily.

Payton was not stupid, and he could obviously hear that there was something in Du En's words.Duane hopes to get more of the ball from him during his starting partnership.

Payton thought about it, and finally chose to nod: "I am happy to support the younger generation.

I'm here to compete for the championship, and I'm willing to make sacrifices for the team.

If the team needs me to bring a substitute, then I will bring a substitute. "

It has to be said that Du En's strength has won his respect!
There was no stage fright at all in his NBA debut, and his personal strength was enough to defeat an All-Star player like Nash without any chance of fighting back.

If the Mavericks hadn't put up the zone defense early and adopted a double-team defensive strategy against Duen, Duen's score should have broken 20 long ago.

Obviously, Duan already has the ability to score 30+ points in the regular season just like he did in the preseason, given the right to play football.

Originally, Payton was also worried that the absence of O'Neal and Kobe would cause the Lakers' record to be unstable, which would lead to conflicts in the locker room.

Now that a rising star like Duane has emerged in the Lakers team, it will undoubtedly help the team stabilize the situation.

It is worth mentioning that newcomers like Du En also have the support of the team's head coach Zen Master and team boss O'Neal.

If it were other rookies, with such strong offensive firepower, they would have long wanted to concentrate on the ball and let go, but Duen was willing to share the ball with his role teammates.

It was also Duane's humble character and the team's style of play that dispelled Payton's doubts and made Payton give up his small calculations.

The points that can be scored as a substitute do not necessarily need to be scored in the starting lineup.

Since Duen is willing to help him create easier scoring opportunities in the substitute lineup, Payton is also willing to accept Duen's kindness and go to the substitute lineup to help Duen share the pressure of holding the ball.

For Dunn, Payton was settled in advance, and then everything will be fine.

Today, Duane was fully fired and scored 19 points at halftime. The main reason is that Kobe did not come back. Kobe's possession of the ball needs Duane to digest.

It's impossible to score high scores without the ball!Duane must seize the opportunity when Kobe and O'Neal are not back and let Lakers fans know what he is capable of.

Therefore, it is necessary to deal with Payton.

On the one hand, when paired with the starting lineup, Duane can get more open shots, and basically Duane is very sure of the three-pointer.

On the other hand, with one person on the bench, no one can attack with the ball and help attract the defense. Relying on Fisher and others alone really made Dunn more uncomfortable.

Now that Payton has agreed to take the bench with him, Duane can also reduce the pressure on the ball, reduce the number of turnovers, and save some energy to further improve scoring efficiency.

The intermission ended quickly, and Dunn, Payton, Malone and others started again.

Jackson was originally worried that Payton still went his own way and refused to pass the ball to Duan. He insisted on speeding up and played a fast break with the Mavericks, and then the Mavericks caught up with the score difference.

Unexpectedly, after the third quarter started, Payton handed the ball to Duane after halftime.

After Duane got the ball, he was immediately double-teamed. Instead of passing the ball to Devin George, who was left open, Duane passed the ball back to Payton, allowing him to single out Tony Delk.

Payton didn't disappoint Dunn either. He hit back from the high position first, then immediately turned around and stayed to the basket.

Nowitzki came over to help defend, but Payton didn't look at it and threw the ball into the sky.

Malone suddenly appeared in the air like Rainman Kemp back then, and directly received a dunk.

Looking back, Payton also worked hard on the defensive end, and Tony Delk had to pass the ball out early.

Facing Duane's defense, Finley could only pass the ball to other teammates again.

With Malone in front of Walker, it is not very easy to catch and shoot. Nowitzki and Eduardo Najera are left to choose.

Nowitzki these days is still relatively immature, his style of play is soft, and the Golden Rooster has not practiced to the point of proficiency.

Under the influence of Grant's little move, the mid-range shot missed.

Malone relied on his excellent blocking to protect the rebound. When he turned back to look for his teammates, he found that Du En had rushed to the midfield.

"Hey, this kid."

When Malone saw Du En's position, he immediately passed the ball long.

Malone's passing level is often overlooked by fans, especially as he grows older, his ability to read the game increases, and his passing level becomes higher and higher.

Malone will pass the ball to his teammates in the low post, and he is also a good player with long passes.

Because Malone passed the ball in advance, Duan easily caught the ball and then simply stepped forward and performed a one-handed dunk.

Naturally, Duane's score tonight cannot be limited to 20+. After taking advantage of Duen's ability to share the ball, Payton is willing to continue passing the ball to Duen.

If the Mavericks don't double-team on the outside, Duan will resolutely play the pick-and-roll, and then rush to the basket, either attacking the basket or causing damage.

Dunn's ability to draw fouls is already strong, not to mention the blessing of the whistle.

After more than 8 minutes in the third quarter, Duan's score has reached 27 points. Today, if he works hard, he still has a chance to score 40 points.

Returning to the bench because of a timeout, Payton learned that Zen Master intends to replace Du En, and suddenly found that such a useful tool man as Du En disappeared, and Payton was also a little anxious.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Payton took the initiative to confront Zen Master and expressed his willingness to sacrifice for the team and lead the substitutes with Du En.

Payton's stats are not bad tonight, and he has already scored 18 points. This is because he was held down by Zen Master in the second quarter, and he returned to the court in the last 2 minutes.

When Zen master heard Payton's initiative to apply for a substitute, and saw Du En and Payton flirting, he probably understood what was going on.

Instead of objecting to this, the Zen Master appreciated it very much.

He originally planned to let Payton or Kobe go to the bench to help Dunn share the pressure of holding the ball.

It's just that Payton has not cooperated before, and Kobe has remained silent in the preseason.

He was disgusted with Kobe's personal behavior, so he wanted to ask other assistant coaches to help convey some words to Kobe, but he never received a response.

Stepping through the iron shoes, there is nowhere to find it, and it takes no effort to get it!
Payton is willing to bring a substitute with Duane. The ball rights of the two lineups of the first and second lineups can finally be reasonably distributed, and he is naturally willing to facilitate this matter.

"Then you and Du En can rest together! I will send you on the field in the fourth quarter."

The Zen master gave a new arrangement.

At this time, the Lakers have widened the point difference to 13 points. Although it is not a lot, it should not be a big problem to rely on Malone to lead the team and maintain their advantage until the fourth quarter.

71 to 78, the Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a 7-point lead.

Dunn and Payton's double guns in the backcourt once again exerted their strength, picking up the Mavericks' weak point guard and constantly bombarding them indiscriminately.

Although it is too much of a two-man game, other teammates have little sense of participation, and it does not conform to the tactical concept of the triangle offense.

However, winning is a good thing!The Zen master didn't complain too much about this.

93 to 106, in the opening game of the 03-04 season, the Lakers defeated the Mavericks by 13 points and got a good start to the new season.

Rookie Du En was called upon to take over Kobe's position in Kobe's absence, but he performed extremely well.

全场21投13中，三分6投3中，罚球8投6中，狂砍35分8篮板7助攻3抢断。

除此之外，湖人新援佩顿和马龙表现亮眼，分别砍下26分6篮板8助攻2抢断1盖帽，以及21分12篮板5助攻1抢断1盖帽的数据。

In an interview after the game, rookie Dunn talked about the key to winning: "Payton and I scored 61 points together. We are the No. [-] backcourt in the Western Conference. No one can stop us!"

According to gossip, Kobe rushed back to Los Angeles overnight that night. Because of Kobe's involvement, the "No. [-] backcourt in the West" theoretically only existed for a few hours...

(End of this chapter)