The preseason was played on the Lakers' home court, and the Bulls arrived in Los Angeles a day early.

After keeping Chandler on a big contract in the summer, the Bulls didn't end up making much of a move at shooting guard.

They ended up bringing Rasol Butler from the Heat in just one trade.

Butler is a rookie with the 53rd pick in the second round, with a 3D style of play, average talent, and limited strength.

But Sun Hao was very impressed with him.

There is a category of players in the NBA who are typical "good guys", and good guys here refer to good popularity, represented by James, James Jones, and Butler.

Butler has been a standard role player in his career, and he hasn't achieved much in the NBA, but basically every teammate has praised him, and when he died in a car accident, most of the league posted messages of mourning for him.

He may not be very successful as a player, but he is undoubtedly successful as a human being.

The fact that the Bulls chose such a shooting guard in the end shows that they are ready to rebuild around Paul, Yi Jianlian and Chandler.

……

Once in Los Angeles, the Bulls set up daily practice sessions and were fully open to the public.

Pre-season is a process of grinding the squad and selecting players, and winning or losing is not that important.

Coupled with the Bulls' rebuild, such an open training session could promote their new season.

In addition to Yi Jianlian in training, Paul became another focus.

This defender, who is only 1.83 meters, is extremely fast, has great physical fitness, and has excellent jumping, just like the one in Philadelphia.

But he has better organizational skills than Iverson, and he assisted Yi Jianlian and Chandler on several occasions in training, which attracted reporters to take pictures.

This is a young and energetic guard with a super high basketball IQ.

Such characteristics are reminiscent of another defender: Sun Hao.

When Sun Hao first entered the league, he happened to be 1.83 meters.

If he can grow as magically tall as Sun Hao, the future is immeasurable.

All in all, the feeling after this training session was that Paul shouldn't just be the fourth pick, he should be the top pick more than Bogut and Marvin Williams.

Of course, the NBA champion guard is extremely rare, and there were only three in total before this, so this kind of idea is limited to ideas.

But immediately after the training session, Paul was surrounded by reporters.

The scene left Paul at a loss.

It was the first time he had received so much attention.

Los Angeles is different.

"We all know you've been training with Sun in the summer and you're going to be playing with him soon, how are you feeling right now?"

This reporter's question is very pertinent.

In addition to his own performance, Paul's attention is also related to the fact that he has to face Sun Hao at night.

"Nervous, you know I'm going to play against last season's MVP, who was the best player in the league."

Paul's answer was true.

Not everyone is James, who can shout when he first entered the league that I want to challenge Sun Hao.

And the current Sun Hao is not the same as the original Sun Hao.

Last season's MVP Grand Slam player, it is not an exaggeration to say that Sun Hao is the hottest player in the league.

Not to mention a rookie like Paul, even an All-Star player, he will feel pressure on Sun Hao.

"Do you have faith?"

The reporter asked.

"Of course, I'm confident in the game, no matter who I'm playing against, I'm going to keep that confidence."

But Paul also showed his mental qualities.

And Paul is not only mentally qualified, his small body hides a lot of energy, which is reflected in the reporter's subsequent question.

"What do you think of the Bulls as a team?"

"We're young, very young, and most of us don't have playoff experience, but it's a good, very good team and I'm sure we'll be in the playoffs as soon as next year."

"Next year?"

The reporter was somewhat surprised by Paul's confidence.

This is bigger than what James said at the beginning, are the current rookies so confident one by one?

"Yes, I'm sure we can do it."

Paul said with a smile.

The young Paul exudes an air of infinite youth, although this sound like a rhetoric, but I don't know why the reporter thought it was possible after listening to it.

"Chris, I remember you."

The reporter replied with a smile.

Compared with Paul, Yi Jianlian, who was surrounded by more reporters on the other side, seemed much calmer.

After two years in the NBA, plus leading the team to win the Asian Championship, he has matured a lot.

One is young and the other is mature, not to mention Chandler, the combination of the two alone is exciting.

……

That night, the two teams showed up at the Staples Center.

The attendance was full.

It's incredible, knowing it's just a pre-season game.

But this also just shows the popularity of this Lakers team.

Last season's championship made the entire Los Angeles ball market bottom out and jump to a new high.

Paul was struck by the atmosphere.

Of course, it also excites him.

His first NBA game, all eyes on it!

There was no opening ceremony before the pre-season game, and the host quickly broadcast the starting lists of both teams.

Paul, Butler, Nocioni, Yi Jianlian and Chandler on the Bulls;

On the Lakers' side, Sun Hao, Finley, Ariza, Walker and O'Neal.

Both sides were the main players, which made the fans on the scene excited.

O'Neal put the ball back in the Lakers halfcourt, and the game officially began.

Sun Hao held the ball through half the court and glanced at Paul in front of him.

Paul looked a little ...... Nervous.

It's really nervous, and if you want to make an analogy, it's like how many rookies in the last century saw Jordan.

It sounds weird, but that's exactly what it is.

Even in the 03 generation, Anthony actually admires Sun Hao very much.

When it comes to Paul's 05 generation, that sentiment is even stronger.

Or to put it in a very true way: Sun Hao has become the object of these rookies chasing and looking up.

Of course, the mood is the mood, Paul still defended closely for the first time, and then made a steal.

Anyone who has watched Paul play should know that his steals are a must, and he averaged 2.2 steals per game in his rookie period in history, and was hailed as a "ghost hand" by the media.

This time, he grasped the timing of the steal perfectly, but unfortunately he faced Sun Hao.

Sun Hao predicted Paul's movements, turned around with a low center of gravity, and the two just passed by!

The gap in strength, as well as the early familiarity with the technical characteristics of training together in the summer, allowed Sun Hao to easily crack Paul's "ghost hand".

At this moment, a figure flashed in many people's hearts: Iverson.

Because it looks like a gambling steal.

Sun Hao passed Paul one-on-one, burst into the inside line to attract Chandler's bag, and then directly received an empty pass.

O'Neal moved with the ball, jumped lightly, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand.

The cheers at the scene exploded instantly.

Letting the Lakers win the championship in one summer has become a memory, but the cooperation of this instantaneous combination has awakened all their memories.

The Lakers, more precisely, the defending champion Lakers are back!

The Bulls' offense, Paul pushed through the halfcourt and put the ball ...... Give to the low-level Yi Jianlian.

Although he was given high hopes, James was still a junior brother to Ricky Davis, and now the star of the Bulls is Yi Jianlian, and Paul is also playing such a role.

Yi Jianlian held the ball and hit Walker, glanced at the unwrapped, and turned to the bottom line quickly.

Walker doesn't move fast, but he's physically strong and doesn't have weak defensive skills in the low post.

Yi Jianlian turned around very quickly, but he was still stuck in the breakthrough route.

If this is changed to Yi Jianlian in history, he has been forced to stop the ball and find someone to pass it.

But now Yi Jianlian turned around and leaned back to shoot!

For a moment, the fans seemed to see Nowitzki!

"Phew!"

The ball was a beautiful move, but it was a bit of a pity that the ball ended up being a little short and hit the front of the basket.

Yi Jianlian has performed better than in history, but he is clearly still far from Nowitzki.

O'Neal defended the defensive rebound and turned to give the ball to Walker.

Walker's backcourt dribble is a long throw.

Sun Hao crossed the midcourt to receive the ball, and rushed to the front court to score a layup.

Magic's successor, a strengthened version of Odom, and even an NBA's version of Bodi Loga.

The common denominator of these descriptions is that the passing is too easy for Walker.

4 to 0!

The Lakers started with ease.

Even the opening gave the impression that Walker was a better fit for this Lakers team than Malone.

There's nothing wrong with that, Malone was a tandem in the F4 period, but by last season it had degenerated into a doggy on the defensive end.

Now Walker is here, and the enhanced tandem has appeared!

Paul continued to feed Yi Jianlian, and it was not easy for Yi Jianlian to play Walker again, but this time he chose to turn around and make a layup, which caused Walker's foul after the confrontation.

Although the defensive ability in the low post is okay, Walker is not known for defense after all.

In particular, the object of his defense is Yi Jianlian, who is 2.16 meters tall.

The inside line is one-on-one, and the impact of height is huge.

There were constant noises on the scene, and Yi Jianlian scored two free throws under pressure to help the Bulls break the scoring drought in the opening game.

His self-confidence is now the highest since he entered the NBA.

Looking back, Sun Hao hoisted the ball to O'Neill in the frontcourt.

The way of playing, it's still the way it was last season.

While O'Neal looked a little fatter after a summer, it didn't do much to his interior dominance.

Chandler couldn't bear it, and Yi Jianlian could only come over to help defend.

O'Neal didn't force a ball in the bag, but distributed the ball to Walker in the bottom corner.

Walker catches the ball and makes a happy three-point shot.

"Huh!"

Then, the ball went in!

After giving Walker a kick, Jackson gave him what he liked to do the most: shoot three-pointers.

It's like giving a slap and then a candy, and Walker is happy to eat it.

The happy Walker's shots were all accurate.

People do what they want to do, and they will always do it well.

7 to 2!

The Lakers started with a bang.

The cheers continued.

It's only a preseason game, and it's against a non-playoff team like the Bulls.

But the Lakers started with a much more dominant start than they did last season.

This change came mainly from Walker.

Walker seems to have changed all the bad things when he arrived with the Lakers, and all that remains is the good part.

Yi Jianlian played Walker again in the front court, but there was still no shot to turn around.

His singles efficiency in such a low position is not too low, but it is not high either.

O'Neal received another defensive rebound, and this time Walker grabbed a dribble behind his own to get past the defense, and scored a layup in the front court!

Don't look at his defensive speed on the defensive end, but he is still very fast when he really starts a fast attack!

9 to 2!

Sun Hao retreated and found Walker and gave a high-five.

You may not believe it, but so far in the opening game, Walker has contributed 5 points and 1 assist! He is the best player on the court for the Lakers!

This is 8 million Walker, this is the highest salary Walker!

The Bulls went to the frontcourt, and Paul motioned for Yi Jianlian to pull to the outside to block and dismantle.

As a master of playmaking, he already knows that no matter how simple it is, he won't be able to play a low-post singles tactic.

After blocking and dismantling, Paul burst in, and Yi Jianlian walked out.

Walker was a little out of step with Paul.

Some late-to-the-clock fans will think Paul is a rhythmic player, and he is, but that was after a knee injury, and before that he was a playmaker's strengthened version of Iverson.

After bursting into the interior like lightning, he made a quick shot before O'Neal could help defend.

The ball hits the rebound and bounces into the net!

Paul, scored the first goal of his career!

And it was a pretty beautiful goal.

9 to 4!

The Lakers advanced to the front court again, and Sun Hao leaned back to Paul in the high post to ask for the ball!

Ariza, who was holding the ball at the top of the arc, hoisted the ball in.

Sun Hao held the ball and began to hit Paul with his back.

At this scene, the Bulls were collectively stunned.

They had never seen Sun Hao play alone with his back!

Of course, in addition to Paul, Paul watched Sun Hao practice this technique step by step when he was in the "Evolution House".

He tried hard to interfere with small movements, but Sun Hao's height, weight, and strength suppressed him in all directions, and his interference played a very limited role.

In history, DeLong during the Jazz period was nicknamed "Eat and Sleep to beat Paul", relying on three magic weapons: changing direction in front of the body, breaking through confrontation, and back-to-back singles.

Sun Hao is now playing singles with his back, which is much more difficult to defend against than Delong.

After the confrontation, he turned around and leaned back, and the moment he pulled it up, Sun Hao felt that his waist and abdomen were full of strength.

The complete version of the badge is comfortable.

Of course, unlike Kobe, he uses a single-action shot, so the shooting point is lower and the speed is faster.

This determines that when he faces a tall defender, this move will not be as lethal as Kobe, but when he plays against a player who is shorter than himself, he will ...... It's easy.

"Huh!"

Paul, with his hands on his hips, is a little temperamental and a little adoring.

This is the idol of his big brother James!

11 to 4!

The Lakers have not scored a single offense since the beginning of the game!

The cheers of the fans at the scene were completely unstoppable.

Walker, who has no bad habits, has immeasurably improved the strength of the Lakers, and now Sun Hao seems to have mastered the lethal offensive technique of "back singles".

Saying that the Lakers want to go to heaven is a Chinese saying, and in the eyes of American fans, the feeling that the team gives them is:

MyTEAM!