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Chapter 695 - 292. Someone can shoot better than Zhang San! _2

Chapter 695: 292. Someone can shoot better than Zhang San! _2

Although some media hyped up that the Lakers had three top ten players in the league joining forces, only ESPN ranked Kidd in the top ten, and most media outlets weren’t giving Kidd that much "face".

In people’s eyes, Kidd’s abilities alone were no longer enough to rank in the top ten of the league, he could at most play a role close to a top ten superstar under certain conditions. Besides, with all three players getting older, the youngest Kobe would be 30 years old in eight months.

At that time, the three of them joining forces didn’t bother anyone, nor did anyone need to use them to launder their reputations. The mainstream opinion was—Kidd and Garnett had struggled to lead teams to championships for over a decade and were at the end of their careers. They stepped down to join forces with Kobe, who had also had a miserable three years.

Bobcats... Domestic media’s evaluation, even the fans of eagle sauce recognize—"the most rightful" champions.

They didn’t rely on super teams, no undercutting. When the opportunity came, they grasped it firmly, defeating the Pistons and the Spurs fair and square to win the championship...

At 9 PM, the game between the Bobcats and the Lakers kicked off, broadcasted live by BunnyEagle!

Kwame Brown beat Okafor for the tip-off; Lakers had the first possession!

Lakers’ starters: Kidd, Kobe, Morris Evans, Garnett, Kwame Brown.

Bobcats’ starters: Felton, Zhang Yang, Hill, Okafor, Perkins.

Kidd initiated the first attack, dribbling up court and passing to Kobe.

Guarding right in front of Kobe... Grant Hill.

In most games, Carlisle would assign Zhang Yang to defend the opponent’s strongest one-on-one perimeter player.

Zhang Yang had the talent to defend from positions 1 to 3. By his third year, he had toughened up; Carlisle, Jordan, and Bickerstaff had decided after discussions to let Zhang Yang guard the opponent’s offensive spearhead more often, integrating game practice and focusing his development toward becoming the strongest offensive and defensive player on the perimeter.

But development also depends on timing. Against players like Wade, who have strong individual abilities but lack team strength, they’d let Zhang Yang take them head-on. Even if he gets blown out, it doesn’t matter. But against the Lakers, they needed to assign a more suitable defender.

Hill defended fiercely... brutally faked out by Kobe.

Facing Hill’s tight defense, Kobe pulled up and made a fadeaway jumper!

Hill couldn’t stop him, but his defense earned continuous praise from the commentators, endless astonishment... Of course, praising Hill’s defense was also a way of indirectly lauding just how awesome Kobe’s shot was.

On the Bobcats’ bench, Carlisle also exclaimed, "I didn’t expect Grant to be 35 years old, not only overcoming injuries but also not missing a single game this season, healthier than last season with the Magic, and becoming our best perimeter defender."

Vincent added, "Yeah, Grant defended that play beautifully. His anticipation is so good, always predicting the exact moment Kobe will make his move and blocking the spot. Kobe’s feints before shooting can’t fool him. When Kobe actually jumps to shoot, Grant jumps even a bit quicker than Kobe. This shot is typical of Kobe, giving him just a sliver of space to jump and shoot... uh..."

As Vincent spoke, he looked toward Zhang Yang receiving the pass in the frontcourt, Carlisle also turned his attention to Zhang Yang.

Their team also had a player like that; unfortunately, Zhang Yang was a whole ten years younger than Kobe, with a relatively evident gap in individual skills. Both coaches felt regretful, unable to witness a true king-to-king showdown...

Zhang Yang, facing Kobe’s close defense, didn’t go for the one-on-one. He protected the ball, waiting for Okafor to come up and screen off Kobe before he dashed forward with the cover!

Garnett switched defense brilliantly, tightly covering Zhang Yang’s mid-to-long-range shooting space, but Zhang Yang didn’t consider shooting from mid-to-long range at all and drove straight to the basket. Catching the ball at close distance, he performed a Euro step! The first step to the left brought him to the middle of the court, and the second vast sideways move brought him back to the right side of the three-second area.

Garnett and Kwame Brown, two high-school forwards, showed good defensive coordination. Garnett chased tightly to block the middle while Kwame Brown, fully trusting Garnett’s chase, anticipated Zhang Yang’s cutback direction after being covered in the middle, moving to the right side of the restricted area to block Zhang Yang’s path to the basket!

Zhang Yang’s second step landed, facing Kwame Brown, he jumped, and Kwame Brown also sprang up quickly, and it was a vertical jump to block the shot!

But Zhang Yang didn’t shoot; he shifted away from Garnett on the left during his jump, tossing the ball in mid-air to split to the left side of the three-second area...

As Zhang Yang broke to the basket, Felton quickly moved from the left baseline to the top of the arc, drawing away the defensive attention of Kobe, who had switched to Okafor. Okafor received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left side of the three-second area!

Garnett turned and launched into action, reaching Okafor in a single step, completely denying him any open shot opportunities.

This mid-range defensive speed was simply superb, combining Gerald Wallace’s explosive movement speed and Kirilenko’s reach disturbance with an even greater height enhancement.

Okafor did not panic at all, passing directly beneath to the basket just before being closely guarded.

Perkins, positioned on the left side of the restricted area, received the pass, took one step, jumped, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!

At the sidelines, the Zen Master glanced across the court. He felt that Kwame Brown’s defense was very solid, particularly noting the vertical jump, which had drastically improved from the past two years.

Meanwhile, being teammates with Kobe and Garnett, the Zen Master thought Kwame Brown was truly pitiful, unable to find a tougher ’living environment’.

But unlike Jordan, who only knew how to curse, both Kobe and Garnett were strict but genuinely taught valuable lessons.

In Kwame Brown’s first season by Kobe’s side, his shooting percentage soared from 46% the previous season to 52%, and last season it further soared, reaching 59%.