Bishop: since 1998

Chapter 42 Battle against "True Mavericks"!
The next day, before the road trip, the Lakers finally traded Eddie Jones.

Jones scored the highest score at the Great Western Forum last night, which was his farewell performance.

From this point of view, the Lakers are still very humane.

I am also sorry for Jones. When Kobe was still a high school student, he spared no effort to recommend Kobe. When he entered the league, he taught Kobe without reservation.

According to legend, Jones and Kobe had a good relationship before entering the NBA. Jones was impressed by Kobe's skills, and then strongly recommended it to West.

When West went to watch Kobe Bryant's high school game, the first thing he noticed was McGrady, and he found that the kid's physical talent was terrifying.

Of course, Kobe's talent, especially temperament, is also very attractive to West.

After trading Divac for Kobe in 96, West wanted to replicate the previous year's operation in 97, trading Jones for Tracy McGrady.

The Lakers owner Bass thought West was crazy and stopped this crazy operation in time.

Because it is impossible for the Lakers to sacrifice O'Neal's peak period to train two high school rookies.

It is not only Jones who is leaving, but also center Campbell. In exchange for 'zero', the Hornets get three-point star shooter Glen Rice.

The purpose is very straightforward, that is, to honor O'Neal's peak talent, the Lakers can't wait, and want to enter the harvest season.

The specific transaction plan is that the Lakers give Jones + Campbell the bargaining chip, in exchange for the Hornets' Glenn Riley + JR Reid + BJ Armstrong.

In Li Mu's previous life, the deal was not successfully concluded until March, after playing 3 games in the regular season.

The reason why it is now ahead of schedule is because the Lakers' record in the new season has not had any problems, but they have surpassed the competition.

Kobe seems to be very comfortable playing in the starting lineup.

In Li Mu's previous life, one of the reasons why the Lakers dragged on for so long was because of the poor record of the Lakers.

The other is that Kobe is a little uncomfortable and needs Jones to make a case.

Now coached by Li Mu, facing the devil's schedule, they unexpectedly won seven consecutive victories, which gave the Lakers management the courage to make an early move.

For this transaction involving core players, Li Mu couldn't intervene, and he quite approved of this transaction plan.

The Iron Squad didn't disappoint Li Mu, and the shooting percentage was simply unsightly.

In addition, Jones and Kobe's positions overlap, which makes Li Mu feel constrained in the formation of the substitute lineup.

Jones was not reconciled to playing on the bench, and at the same time, Li Mu had to let him play.

With Jones there, the Lakers' second team is not easy to run.

The Lakers are also optimistic about Ye Mu's starting lineup, but they are not at ease with the player Bowen.

Although his defense is good, but his shooting is only reliable for three-pointers from the corner, his shooting is not stable, and his support for O'Neal is still quite limited.

Rice has comprehensive abilities, defensive line, top-level three-point shooting, and can open up offensive space for O'Neal in the penalty area.

With the departure of Jones and Campbell, the new players have not yet arrived. The Lakers took 13 players and headed for the road trip. The first stop was Texas, which will be known as the hometown of terror in the future.

Next, the Lakers will meet two of the 'Texas Three'.

……

1999, April 2, night.

Dallas, Reunion Arena.

Coming to the horrible Texas, the Lakers played against the Mavericks in the first game.

The prototype of the Dallas Mavericks reconstruction has basically come out.

Don Nelson copied Popovich's homework and fired the previous head coach Jim Clemens. The 'most own array' in my heart.

Nash, Nowitzki, Finley, the three Musketeers of the Mavericks have already arrived, and now they are waiting for their development.

Now Nash is not the old Nasha, Nowitzki, not the old driver, Finley, but the poor version of 'Jordan', only one can play.

The Mavericks of this era are real 'Mavericks'.

After a simple appearance, during the warm-up period, the faces of the Lakers players looked very relaxed.

Li Mu was also very happy when he saw Don Nelson's starting lineup.

Point guard Nash, shooting guard Cedric Ceballos, small forward Michael Finley, power forward Dirk Nowitzki, center Sean Bradley.

With the Mavericks lineup, Li Mu was worried that he would not be able to beat the Mavericks' offensive power at its peak.

The offense was not up to that level, and the defense... Well, anyway, Li Mu didn't see it, only a cloud of air.

Come to think of it, this game can be easily won.

Li Mu did not retain his strength, starting five, Billups, Kobe, Bowen, Ben Wallace, O'Neal.

beep~~
As the whistle blew, the basketball flew into the sky and the game began with a scrimmage.

The jump ball was the least suspenseful, and Bradley easily beat O'Neal to get the first attack for the Mavericks.

With a height of 2 meters, Bradley ranks No.29 in the history of the league. He is 3cm taller than Yao Ming. He is naturally a must in jumping balls.

In the first round of the Mavericks, Nash chose to break through, turned around and changed direction, passed Billups, faced O'Neal's supplementary defense, and with a flick of his hand, the basketball flew into the sky.

With a bang, Bradley almost stood up and dunked for the Mavericks.

0 to 2! !
Li Mu nodded secretly. Nash's breakthrough is already very sharp, and his passing skills are also very good.

On the court, the offense and defense switched, and the Lakers attacked.

Billups hoists the basketball to O'Neal.

Li Mu couldn't bear to look directly at it anymore, he was really afraid that Bradley's 'bamboo pole' would be broken.

In other words, Li Mu still underestimated Bradley's adaptability. He saw that he fought and retreated, so that O'Neal didn't have to sit, and he also gained room to attack when he turned around.

Next, there is no suspense to rage the basket.

bang...

O'Neal's entire body is hung on the basket.

2 to 2! !
Li Mu looked at the Mavericks' bench lineup. There was only one rookie and one veteran at the center, and none of them could resist.

You know, this is a battle of different magnitudes.

On the court, the Mavericks increased their speed very fast, and Nash ran and bombed, which was different from other teams.

O'Neal had just passed halftime, and Nash had already passed the ball to Finley with a ground-hitting pass.

His jumping ability is very good. Finley, who has participated in the slam dunk contest many times, caught the ball and stepped down and changed hands to dunk, sending the basketball into the net.

2 to 4! !
The Lakers attacked, and Billups dribbled to the frontcourt. Seeing that the Mavericks retreated quickly, he shrank the defense and immediately played a screen with Kobe.

The basketball was handed over to Kobe, and after catching the ball, Kobe ran into Nash.

The duel of the 96 golden generation.

Kobe didn't bother to pose the three offensive threats, he directly started, accelerated, forced his body, knocked Nash away, and went into the paint.

Nash was very active defensively. When he met Kobe, it was like paper. A face-to-face meeting ended the battle.

Kobe under the basket, ignoring Nowitzki's supplementary defense, elbowed his left hand in the air, blocked Nowitzki's block, and smashed the basketball into the basket with his right hand.

4 to 4! !
At the beginning of the game, the Lakers had no intention of defending, and chose to fight the Mavericks on offense. The pace of the game was very fast, and the two sides played back and forth.

……

(End of this chapter)