When it was the rookies' turn to speak to the media at noon on Friday, Guo Xu was the most popular player, significantly more popular than last season's two rookie of the year, Elton Brand and Steve Francis. In the All-Star Game fan vote, Guo Xu had more votes than the two combined, and finally reached 970,000 votes, only 90,000 behind Kidd.

The reporters asked a variety of questions, some asked Guo Xu if he longed to compete with Iverson in the All-Star Game one day, some asked if he had the confidence to lead the team to beat the second-year team, and some Chinese reporters asked him if he knew Wang Zhizhi, who was ready to join the NBA.

No matter how you ask, everyone regards Guo Xu as the only core of the first-year team.

At this time, the heart of the Grizzlies management was dripping blood, although the top five high-ranking rookies in the class of 2000 were not as good as Guo Xu, they were all invited to participate in the challenge, but their own leaders could only be at home on vacation.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Swift was invited to participate in the 2000 slam dunk contest, but now the NBA has officially invited Jason Richardson, who is obviously better at dunking, and he has nothing to do in the most skilled field.

In the afternoon, the first-year team had a simple training, and the three Michigan players got together, and the advantage was very obvious, Guo Xu knew the shooting position and running habits of the two teammates.

The first-year team doesn't have a regular center, but it's not lacking in talent, and both big forwards are as fast as defenders.

MARK JACKSON IS AVERAGE PHYSICALLY, 208CM TALL AND WEIGHS 115 KG, BUT HIS TACTICAL ROLE IS MORE SIGNIFICANT, WITH A STEADY MID-RANGE SHOT.

The 26-year-old Jackson, who entered the NBA without drafting, went from fringe to starter due to injuries on the Warriors' interior. Then he set off a "black whirlwind" in the NBA, averaging 18.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game after starting, shooting 55.9% from the field and 83.3% from the free throw line, becoming a strong contender for the best rookie.

The biggest highlight of this training session was Crawford's proposal to go head-to-head with Guo Xu, he was very confident in his heads-up ability, and wanted to prove his strength in this way and get more playing time.

Guo Xu agreed, and the two decided the winner with 10 goals according to the general bullfighting method.

The game ended quickly, Guo Xu easily beat Crawford 10-3, and his two friends took the lead in applauding Crawford to lose face, and his face was red when he came off the court.

Crawford could feel the huge gap between the two sides, it was not a grade at all, he had found the wrong opponent.

This year's 21-year-old Crawford's breakthrough is not too sharp, and he can't pass Guo Xu, only has a height advantage. He is 196CM tall and weighs only 91 kilograms, and his back can't easily squeeze Guo Xu.

It was much easier for Guo Xu to play Crawford, with easy layups in various direction changes, step-back shots from a distance, and two high-level board layups. He wanted to save some face for his opponent, but he was in too good shape, and he scored 10 goals in a total of 12 shots.

At present, Guo Xu's average data in the regular season has risen to 18.2 points, 2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals, with a shooting rate of 51.2%, a three-point shooting rate of 43.1%, and a free throw shooting rate of 85.6%. Many people feel that he is overrated, and the high hit rate is because he has an "OK combination" as a partner, and his shots are relatively easy.

Now this group of first-year rookies and coach Jack Marin feel that Guo Xu is clearly underestimated, with his shooting accuracy and breakthrough ability, if he is not on the Lakers, it is not difficult to average more than 20 points per game if he shoots a little more. Moreover, Guo Xu's defense is not as bad as rumored, and he will not be easily beaten up against players who are taller than him.

None of the apprentices Gary Payton has taught on the defensive end are weak, and Kidd, Kobe, and Snow have all been selected to the All-Defensive Team. Guo Xu practiced defense with Kobe Bryant in the loop, and it is also in the same vein. He is afraid that the opponent will take advantage of his height advantage to pull up the jumper, and it will be very difficult for him to rely on speed and change of direction in the face frame.

After heads-up, there is no dispute about who will be the core of the first-year team, and Marin has arranged frontal blocking and side off-ball coverage as the main tactics, which are all basic, and everyone will play. In addition, players grab rebounds in the backcourt and play quick counterattacks to speed up the tempo.

The second-year rookies then came to train, and the coach had no choice but to fight in a chaotic manner. There are too many players in the team with beautiful regular season statistics, especially the No. 1 position cannot establish a core, and even the playing time is not easy to distribute.

The Hornets' Byron Davis averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game as the worst point guard, Francis and Terry averaged nearly 20+ points per game, and Miller ranked among the top five in the league in assists per game.

In this case, the second year is easier to play as a small forward, only Szzczebiak and Marion share playing time, Marion also has to play a cameo as a power forward, and he can't let the two interior players play the whole game.

In the evening, the Rookie Challenge begins.

Guo Xu was very beautiful during the warm-up, because the new potato chips advertisement for him, O'Neal and Megan was shown on the big screen of the stadium, and the audience laughed a lot.

O'Neal and Kobe Bryant sat in the front row as spectators, and Guo Xu went to the sidelines to punch the two and greeted Vanessa.

On ESPN's live broadcast of the game, Tom Horvath said: "Coming up against the big four point guards in the second grade, Jason Guo still looks relaxed. He was almost selected as an All-Star starter in his rookie season, but lost to Kidd, and if Kobe had counted his vote, he might have been selected, which is very rare. ”

Partner Mark Woodson laughed: "Only Grant Hill was more popular in his rookie season before, and in '95 Hill was directly elected All-Star vote leader. But considering Jason's ranking, it is even more rare for him to be so popular. ”

Both sides started the game.

First-year team: Guo Xu, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, Kenyon Martin, Mark Jackson.

Second-year team: Steve Francis, Hamilton, Szzebiak, Odom, Brand.

Beast striker Martin jumped the ball to win and the game began.

Guo Xu received the ball outside the three-point line, waved his teammates away, and faced Francis in the middle.

Before the time loop, he was not confident in facing "Boss Fu" against the Rockets, and now he doesn't take the other party seriously, he doesn't want to find a block, and he just goes it alone!

Guo Xu dribbled the ball to his left hand, shook his left shoulder slightly, changed to the right side and passed Francis, and brought a one-step stop-and-go jump shot into the three-point line. 2 to 0.

Francis didn't work very hard defensively, and was turned around and only stretched out his hand after the turn, but didn't jump to block. Guo Xu clearly felt that it was easier to deal with him than in the regular season.

In the second-year offense, Francie dribbled over half the court, and facing Guo Xu in the middle was a three-point pull, he wanted to return one, the choice was too simple. Guo Xu didn't jump, only stretched out his hand to interfere slightly, the ball deflected out of the basket, and Jackson grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

Guo Xu dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, this time with Jackson outside the three-point line to play a block, he got rid of Francis and moved sideways, the right side of the 70-degree jumper three-pointer. Brand didn't change the defense, Francis didn't chase the defense actively, Guo Xu shot easily in the empty position, and the hollow went into the net. 5 to 0.

The fans gave a round of applause, he is the most popular rookie, and the consecutive scoring is what the fans want to see.

Woodson commented: "The defense in the second year is too lax, Jason Guo shoots without interference, if you keep defending like this, he will definitely explode this time." ”

Horvath agreed. "It's not a challenge for him, Francis is going to be tested, he has to get serious." ()

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