As a Kobe hater, he was actually teammates with Kobe!

[30:27], the Lakers entered the second quarter of the game with a 3-point lead. Zhou Ze did not start with Kobe at this time.

Nothing.

Zhou Ze is "recovering his mana" on the bench.

There is a big problem with physical strength. Of course, most NBA rookies will face the problem of physical exhaustion at the beginning of their careers.

But as a physical freak, Kobe can almost ignore this point.

Facing Raja Bell's entanglement and biting, Kobe also gave a strong response.

[35:31], Kobe faced Raja Bell's close defense, and with a simple disguise, he launched a shot. Raja Bell gritted his teeth and tried his best to catch up. Seeing that Raja Bell was still half a body away from him, Kobe made an abrupt stop while breaking through. Raja Bell seemed to be nailed to the floor. Kobe accelerated again, completely passed Raja Bell's defense, and made a low layup.

This is an advanced breakthrough move - a hesitation step breakthrough.

When breaking through, he was only half a body length ahead, so he used sudden stops and starts to challenge the defender's judgment.

Of course, masters of hesitation steps all have one thing in common, which is that the mid-range shot must be accurate. During the sudden pause, if you lack the ability to shoot, the defensive players will shrink to the basket.

[35:33], after Kobe scored, the Suns' backcourt engine Steve Nash also responded quickly. He used a pick-and-roll with Kurt Thomas in the middle to attract the defense, and then passed the ball to the hacker "Shawn Marion" who was cutting to the left wing without looking at anyone. The latter stretched his arms and slammed the ball with one hand.

...

...

In the first half of the second quarter, with Zhou Ze not on the court and Raja Bell constantly harassing him, Kobe, although he responded strongly many times, gradually became overwhelmed.

When Kobe gets high, he will create difficulties even if there are none.

Even when surrounded by three people, he still forced his attack.

A poor offensive choice.

The Suns are a team that is extremely good at transitioning between offense and defense. Every missed shot is a good opportunity for a fast break.

Kwame Brown, the Lakers' inside player and the so-called bust No. 1 draft pick, was very poor at protecting rebounds and even had butter hands.

He grabbed the rebound but it was taken away by the opposing defender.

Odom's performance tonight was average and it was difficult for him to provide much help to Kobe.

The Suns took advantage of Kobe's excitement and launched a 3:12 attack wave in less than 5 minutes, bringing the score to [40:45].

...

...

Lakers coach Phil Jackson requested a timeout.

The biggest problem of the team right now is Kobe's stubbornness. He needs to be cooled down.

In the past, persuading Kobe to calm down was a very troublesome task.

But now it's much simpler...

With his physical strength almost recovered, Zhou Ze, who is about to debut, is even better than Kobe in terms of "wild shots".

But Zhou Ze's wild shots can calm Kobe down. In addition, Zhou Ze's three-point shooting percentage is well guaranteed.

In the words of a Zen master, this is called "fighting poison with poison, and suppressing waves with waves."

...

...

After the timeout, Zhou Ze came on the court and was immediately met with boos and shouts from the fans.

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

"Coward!"

"Coward!"

As a sturdy inside player, Zhou Ze made 3 three-pointers in the first quarter and did not take a single shot in the paint area.

Suns fans used this to mock Zhou Ze.

"Zhou, the more these guys are afraid of you, the more they will boo you... Don't let go..." Kobe was worried that Zhou Ze's mentality would be affected. After all, it was rare for a rookie player to be booed by away fans.

However...

Kobe soon realized that he seemed to be overthinking.

Zhou Ze's mood was not affected at all. He even listened attentively to the fans, stimulating them to boo even louder.

"Fuck! Damn rookie, who do you think you are!"

"Rookie, your luck is up."

"Rookie, you're not going to make another three-pointer next time."

The emotions of the Suns' home fans were ignited by Zhou Ze, and many people even shouted "fuck Zhou".

"It's really worthy of being Zhou, the way I dreamed of him." Andrew Byram, who is also a rookie for the Lakers, was substituted in together with Zhou Ze. Byram, who was standing next to him, looked at Zhou Ze with admiration.

Although Zhou Ze was 7cm shorter than him, he looked like a giant at this moment.

Not only did he dare to elbow the team leader, league superstar Kobe, he also dared to directly respond to the away fans.

...

...

After coming on the court, Zhou Ze quickly got a chance to shoot. Taking advantage of Kobe's offensive threat and his teammates' quick ball transfer, Zhou Ze received the pass at the top of the arc and shot a three-pointer, his fourth three-pointer of the game, and the score came to [4:46].

Seeing Zhou Ze hit a 3-pointer as soon as he came on the court, Kobe calmed down and also understood the opponent's defensive intentions at the time.

How's Kobe's basketball IQ?

It must have been three or four stories high.

After all, these are two NBA players who understand the triangle offense best.

Kobe began to use his off-ball threat to create good shooting opportunities for Zhou Ze.

[51:52], the Lakers made another beautiful pass, Zhou Ze made another three-pointer against Marion who was defending after excessive help defense.

This three-pointer directly forced the Suns to request a timeout.

"The Suns still don't take Xiao Zhou's three-pointers seriously."

"Well, Shawn Marion over-helped, so he didn't have time to help Xiao Zhou."

"Yeah, even though Marion's defensive speed is fast and his wingspan is excellent, Xiao Zhou is an anti-aircraft gun."

"In the mind of Suns coach Mike Anthony, Zhou may not have such a stable three-pointer, and he doesn't believe that he can make a three-pointer right after sitting on the bench for so long."

"Of course, after this timeout, the Suns have to pay more attention to Xiao Zhou's three-pointers."

"Marion shouldn't dare to leave Xiao Zhou so easily."

Two commentators from the Tianchao Sports Studio analyzed.

...

...

After the timeout, the Suns did strengthen their defense against Zhou Ze. Marion stayed close to him, making it very difficult for Zhou Ze to receive the ball.

If this is put into the game, this defensive distance can be called "blockade".

Close defense on the off-ball end is what elite shooters are treated like.

Once they are close, it means there will be more opportunities for open cuts, but Zhou Ze's low-post lethality and finishing ability are average, and he cannot beat Marion.

However, Marion, who is good at assisting defense, was stuck, which reduced the defensive pressure on Kobe when he broke through to the basket.

Kobe used his off-ball threats to create good shooting opportunities for teammates like Zhou Ze and help them perform well.

Similarly, Zhou Ze, who was in good shape, also shared the defensive pressure for Kobe.