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

Tonight's starting lineups for both teams:

Dallas Mavericks (home): Devin Harris, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Eric Dampier.

The Mavericks' starting lineup is different from last season's playoffs, but the lineup is almost the same.

The Dallas Mavericks are currently leading the league for three reasons:

First, Josh Howard's growth. Last season, he averaged 15.6 points per game, and this season, he's averaging 18.9 points per game. This is mainly reflected in his scoring from the basket, where he shot 57.3% at the rim last season and 63.2% this season. He's also seen an improvement in his mid-range 2-point shooting percentage.

This shows that Josh Howard is becoming more and more clear about how to play next to Dirk Nowitzki.

The second point: Jason Terry's three-point shooting percentage has improved from 41.1% to 43.8%, and his output is also quite good. He averages 4.6 shots per game and can hit 2.0.

There is also Terry's assists, which increased from 3.8 last season to 5.2.

Jason Terry uses pick-and-rolls to shoot with the ball, which can help the team defuse bombs at critical moments.

The third point: and the most important point, is the progress of the team's star player, Dirk Nowitzki.

Dirk Nowitzki did not gain muscle or weight to develop his post-up skills and passing ability, but after he lost to the Lakers last season, he stepped up his three-point shooting training during the offseason.

Dirk Nowitzki's three-point shooting percentage has reached 42.6% this season. It's worth noting that during the same period in his previous life, Nowitzki's three-point shooting percentage was 41.6%, a career high.

By-the-way, Nowitzki's three-point shooting percentage was only 98% when he first entered the league (99-20.6 season).

But the real scary thing about Nowitzki is not the improvement in his three-point shooting percentage, but the increase in his output.

Last season, Nowitzki averaged 3.3 shots per game and made 1.4.

This season, Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 5.5 shots per game and making 2.5. At the same time in his previous life, Dirk Nowitzki was averaging 2.2 shots per game and making 0.9.

What exactly is the reason why Dirk Nowitzki's three-point shooting is so crazy?

The answer lies in Zhou Ze.

It was Zhou Ze, who teamed up with Kobe to defeat him in the playoffs, who changed Nowitzki's mind.

certainly...

Among the current NBA players, there are definitely more than just "Dirk Nowitzki" who have been affected by Zhou Ze's soft style of play, not to mention Zhou Ze's teammates on the Lakers.

Other team members, such as: Al Harrington, Danny Granger and Rasheed Wallace, etc., there is even news that Jermaine O'Neal, who returned from a serious injury, well, that is, Little O'Neal as everyone calls him, is also trying to develop three-pointers.

But he failed.

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Los Angeles Lakers (away): Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Zhou Ze and Andrew Byram.

The Lakers will play Derek Fisher as a substitute tonight, and the main purpose is to better pass the ball to Kobe.

The Lakers management attaches great importance to this game as it concerns Kobe's glory.

Before the game started, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who was on the bench, cheered up the players as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

When the live camera lens turned to Cuban, the fans saw the passionate team owner and the entire home stadium was boiling.

The exclamations were like waves rolling forward, one above the other.

Many Mavericks fans who like to stir up trouble at the scene even held up signs that read "Zhou Ze is the King of the Lakers" and "Zhou Ze is the League MVP."

Ok!

Mavericks fans have mastered the art of sowing discord.

This also successfully aroused Kobe's high fighting spirit.

The game officially begins.

The person defending Kobe was Josh Howard. With the help of Byram's high-post single block, Kobe came out to receive the ball, and Rondo's pass arrived immediately.

Josh Howard didn't get around him well, and after receiving the ball, Kobe went straight to the basket, facing Dampier's defense and long-arm block, but missed the layup.

Kobe's touch was a little tight tonight.

This may not be a good thing for Kobe fans who support Kobe in slapping Cuban in the face.

But for Zhou Ze, he really likes "Kobe-style assists".

Although Kobe missed the shot, he disrupted the Mavericks' defense. Zhou Ze rushed to the basket quickly. Dirk Nowitzki, who was defending Zhou Ze, even pulled Zhou Ze's jersey secretly, but he couldn't pull him back at all.

Zhou Ze grabbed the offensive rebound and forced a foul by the Mavericks under the basket.

Both Dampier and Dirk Nowitzki pulled Zhou Ze, but Dampier, as a blue-collar worker, took the initiative to commit the foul.

Um...

That's right.

This is also one of the job responsibilities of blue-collar players.

With a bang, Kobe took his third shot, a fadeaway jumper against Josh Howard's defense, but missed the target again. However, this time, Byram tipped the ball in over Dampier, making it 8-2!

Kobe missed his first three shots, but Zhou Ze and other teammates were very strong.

As for the Dallas Mavericks, it can be seen from the score that Dirk Nowitzki was also very strong after the opening.

Dirk Nowitzki did not continue to attack with the ball this time, but set a pick-and-roll for Jason Terry. The one defending Terry was Rajon Rondo. Rondo did not want to give Terry a chance to shoot and wanted to squeeze through the pick-and-roll directly, but was caught by Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry immediately took the ball and shot a three-pointer. With a "swish", it was 8 to 5!

"The Dallas Mavericks hit the first three-pointer of tonight's game. I have a feeling that the battle that fans are looking forward to is about to begin." Charles Barkley said in the TNT live studio.

"Really? Man! But I don't think Kobe is in very good shape tonight..." Kenny Smith laughed.

Just as he finished speaking, Rondo received the ball at the baseline, quickly dribbled forward and passed it to Kobe who was running back to the top of the arc. Kobe, who had missed all three shots, received the ball again and took a three-pointer.

No hesitation at all!

But I have to say...

Kobe's luck was really bad tonight.

The basketball bounced around in the basket and bounced out again.

Zhou Ze, it was Zhou Ze again. Zhou Ze, who was blocked by Dirk Nowitzki, made an explosive and accelerated off-ball turn from the right to the left, and immediately inserted his right foot between Dirk Nowitzki's legs. After stepping on the floor, he exerted force suddenly, and his broad back pushed away Dirk Nowitzki, whose lower limbs were not strong.

It is worth mentioning that Zhou Ze’s offensive position tonight was not in the bottom corner, but in the low post.

The purpose is to get a "Kobe-style assist."

Zhou Ze grabbed the offensive rebound and wanted to do it himself, but Dirk Nowitzki pressed his entire body against his chest, and with Devin Harris's assist defense and harassment, Zhou Ze passed the ball back to Kobe who got into a small space by running back.

After Kobe received the ball, he turned around and shot a fadeaway from mid-range. Josh Howard then jumped up and used a blindfold to defend.

With a "Swish", a crisp sound of the ball hitting the net was heard, and the ball went in, 10 to 5!

"Wow...dear Kenny, I was right, the big showdown is about to begin." Charles Barkley said excitedly.

Before Kenny Smith could finish his words, he heard a "beep!" on the court.

The referee's whistle.

Ok!

The Mavericks actually requested a timeout after Kobe made his first shot.

This move seems to cool down Kobe's touch.

This shows how much the Dallas Mavericks fear Kobe.

...

...

During the pause.

On the Lakers bench, Kobe turned into a strict mentor and explained to Rajon Rondo how to break up the opponent's defensive offense.

"When you're in a pick-and-roll, don't take big strides. Take small, continuous steps, just like moving like a puppy." Kobe learned this defensive method from Gary Payton during the 97 All-Star Game.

If your stride is too big, you can easily get hung up.

Just use small steps and good upper body strength to squeeze through the pick-and-roll in the paint. [Source: The Autobiography of the Black Mamba]

Rajon Rondo, despite his thorny personality and average relationship with everyone else on the Lakers except for Zhou Ze, listened attentively to Kobe's practical advice like a primary school student.

Suddenly, Kobe coughed twice, glanced at Zhou Ze who was "eavesdropping", and subconsciously complained: "Zhou, you don't need to learn this, because you can't learn it."

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PS1: Another major theme of this book is to gradually soften the alliance. This was also one of the pleasures of writing this book.

PS2: This game will recreate a classic battle of Kobe...