novel bin Chapter 39: A Battle Against Kobe!
Chapter 39: A Battle Against Kobe!
After being sent off by Li He, Kobe Bryant got plenty of rest and scored two baskets right at the start of the third quarter.
On the defensive end, the little squirrel, who was being closely guarded by Kobe, also seemed to be struggling.
After the Trail Blazers failed to score for three consecutive possessions, Coach Maurice Cheeks immediately called a timeout.
His adjustment was simple: he had Bonzi Wells move out to create another ball-handling spot.
After the timeout, the effect was immediate. The little squirrel had help on the offensive end, and the Trail Blazers' ball rotation became much better.
Bonzi Wells received the ball on the perimeter, Randolph set an off-ball screen for Li He, Li He quickly ran along the baseline, circled out to the left 45-degree angle, received a pass from his teammate and took a three-pointer!
Swish!
Three point hit!
"When the team can't break through, it's Hansen Lee again!"
"His reliable three-point shooting helped the Trail Blazers score!"
"He's already made his fourth three-pointer of the game!"
"My individual score has reached 16 points!"
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Hansen Lee will easily score 20+ points in this match!"
"This will be a perfect debut; no one will question whether this young player from China can adapt to the NBA!"
The CBS host showered him with praise, and on the live broadcast screen, Kobe completed a layup.
"Kobe! He completely unleashed his offensive talent in the third quarter!"
"On the Trail Blazers' side, who will respond to him?"
"Hansen Lee, a very simple handoff, and a three-pointer from the outside!"
"Oh...it went in again!"
"That damn shooting ability is so enviable!"
Phil Jackson, the "Zen Master," stomped his feet in frustration after Li He hit two consecutive three-pointers.
To have a perfect debut for the Lakers at Staples Center is a disgrace!
"Keep a close eye on him! Don't let him shoot again!"
"He's a rookie, not Reggie Miller!"
Kobe Bryant continued to score, as if he wanted to unleash all the anger from the first half. After receiving the ball, he couldn't see his teammates anymore and just kept going all out.
Thanks to his performance, the Lakers quickly narrowed the score gap.
With 7 minutes and 15 seconds left in the third quarter, Kobe missed a three-pointer and the Trail Blazers quickly launched a counterattack.
Damon Stoudemire delivered a precise bounce pass to Li He, who was making a quick run down the court.
Li He received the ball, took a step, his rhythm was perfect, and launched another three-pointer from the right 45-degree angle!
It still went into the net hollow!
"Hansen Lee's third three-pointer of the quarter is here!"
"I strongly suspect he's hiding a scope on him!"
"It's unbelievably accurate!"
In an era that favors physical combat and a slow pace of offense, Li He's crisp and clean three-pointers have a somewhat "heretical" feel to them.
But it was precisely this kind of unreasonable three-pointer after a simple screen that left the Lakers completely helpless.
They've shut down Bonzi Wells and Rasheed Wallace in the paint, but the team is still down by 9 points!
Whenever the Lakers went on an offensive surge and tried to close the gap, Hansen Lee would sink a three-pointer to help the Trail Blazers stabilize the situation.
This also puts psychological pressure on the Lakers players.
During the pause, the "Zen Master" pondered a solution:
"Kobe, Gary, we can't let Hansen Lee keep shooting like that for the rest of the quarter!"
"This guy has already scored 9 points in this quarter, without even dribbling the ball once!"
"I need the two of you to sandwich him!"
Although he had only watched Li He play for two and a half quarters, the Zen Master quickly grasped his technical characteristics.
Once Hansen Lee gets the ball, he has an extremely strong ability to shoot, and limiting him to a straight shot is ineffective when he's on a hot streak.
However, if two players double-team him, coupled with Hansen Lee's poor ball handling and dribbling, it's easy to limit him.
The Trail Blazers scored 11 points before the end of the third round, with Li He scoring 9 points himself, and the remaining 2 points coming from Rasheed Wallace's free throws.
In other words, rookie Li He has completely taken up the offensive mantle for the Trail Blazers.
24 points in two and a half quarters, that's absolutely an All-Star caliber performance!
Although this method sounds ridiculous, having two established stars double-team a rookie will definitely make the news after the game.
However, compared to the victory in the season opener, Phil Jackson still prefers to win the game.
Gary Payton remained silent, but Kobe shook his head and said, "Boss, no need."
"I can keep an eye on that guy myself, trust me."
"He's just a rookie, he's just a bit on fire."
"After this timeout, I will increase the intensity of my defense against him."
After Kobe finished speaking confidently and even patted his chest to affirm his stance, Phil Jackson could only say:
"OK, be very careful around him, otherwise things could go wrong tonight!"
Kobe chuckled and said, "Boss, stop messing around, this is our home court!"
Back to the game.
Seeing Kobe guarding him again, Li He couldn't help but joke:
"Kobe, to be honest, you're pretty stingy. I have a lot of experience in handling relationships, and I can teach you a thing or two."
"Heh, do you think you're funny?" Kobe said coldly.
"The money that needs to be spent should be spent, otherwise it will cost even more." After explaining, Li He immediately gave Kobe a hard challenge, bounced out a step to the three-point line to receive the ball.
During the timeout, Coach Morris repeatedly instructed that the ball be given to Hansen Lee, and Flying Squirrel immediately passed it to him.
Kobe's defensive footwork was quick, and he rushed over to defend. Seeing Li He raise his hand to aim at the basket, he immediately flew over to block the shot!
Li He simply made a fake move, and after shaking off Kobe, he dribbled the ball and took a step to the right.
An open three-pointer!
hit!
"Here comes the fourth three-pointer of the quarter!"
"Hanson Lee is absolutely phenomenal!"
"Kobe Bryant drives to the basket and scores with a reverse layup through the crowd!"
"What beautiful movements! It's simply a beautiful picture!"
From the third quarter until now, the game has turned into a high-scoring duel between Kobe and Li He!
What surprised everyone was that he went head-to-head with Kobe Bryant, who had been named to the All-NBA First Team twice and won three championships.
He turned out to be a rebellious newcomer from China.
Although both play the shooting guard position, they have completely different styles.
Kobe possessed near-perfect offensive skills, capable of launching attacks from all directions, with a high one-on-one scoring rate and outstanding ability to break through defenses. He was like a well-stocked arsenal, proficient in all kinds of skills.
Li He's case is even simpler.
Only shoot hoops.
No matter how the opponent defends, Li He can always make the ball steadily with his textbook-perfect shooting, a classic example of "one trick is all you need".
But this one move alone is enough to make the Lakers, with their F4, struggle to cope.
Even the home fans at Staples Center were somewhat dazed by Li He's shot.
Every time Li He received a pass, their hearts would skip a beat, as if number 16 was about to score.