The Lakers coaching staff confirmed the 15-man roster for the new season, and Fisher, who was recovering from injury, also took a spot.

Centre-forwards: Shackle O'Neal, Greg Foster.

Power forwards: Mark Madsen, Horace Grant, Robert Horry, Medvidenko.

Small forwards: Rick Fox, Devin George.

Shooting guards: Kobe Bryant, Bryan Shaw, Isaiah Ryder, Mike Panpersi.

Point guards: Guo Xu, Ron Harper, Derrick Fisher.

The media collectively looked down on the Lakers, and ESPN pointed out their three major flaws.

One is that the Lakers' No. 4 position is old, few and little, and lacks athleticism. Robert Horry was injured in the preseason and will miss the opening game against the Trail Blazers on the road.

The second is that the offensive end is too dependent on Kobe Bryant and O'Neal singles, lacking a third attacker, Isaiah Ryder is not suitable for the triangle offense, and the bench offense is especially weak.

The third is that the Lakers have an Achilles' heel at the No. 1 position, in addition to the two quarterback veterans who are not good at defending breakthroughs in the No. 1 position, there is only the last rookie Jason Guo, who seems to be unable to adapt to the rhythm of the NBA, and the small guard is easy to be targeted on the court, just like Tyrone Lue back then.

Now the media generally believes that Guo Xu's strength is overestimated, and the summer league is good because of the poor overall level and low defensive intensity this year. On the official website of the NBA, fans don't have much hope for Guo Xu.

If he has the quality, why has he been on the fringe in preseason?

Everybody likes to think on the bad side, maybe he's inconsistent in attack, he's not doing well in training, or he's defensively bad and he's blown up on the pitch. No one thought that it was because of Ryder, a stirring stick who was dissatisfied with the ball, that Jackson hid Guo Xu and prepared him to be the secret weapon of the opening game.

A reporter in Charlotte specially interviewed Bob Buss, the general manager of the Hornets, this time he didn't say bad things about Guo Xu, the old man is 70 years old this year, has poor psychological tolerance, and doesn't want to fall twice in the same place.

It is not your friends who know you best, but your enemies.

Bob Bass really wants to see Guo Xu's jokes, but he has a hunch that things are not so simple, and the person who can break the summer league scoring record must be focused on training if he is in the Hornets, and he will never be just a marginal person.

Negative comments indirectly helped Guo Xu, Jackson has decided to reuse him in the second quarter to speed up the offensive tempo, the Lakers really can't rely on OK combination offense alone, others must stand up.

The Bulls have won two three-in-a-row championships, Jordan and Pippen have played a lot of playing time, but the role players are equally crucial. Jackson likes to let the core play more, and other players share playing time, on the surface, their statistics are very ordinary, but in fact, the sum of the playing time is not inferior to the opponent's star.

No. 1 Jackson has no choice but to use Guo Xu. Fisher has been sidelined for a long time, and Harper and Brian Shaw's offensive stats may not be as good as a normal starter on the other side.

In the preseason, Guo Xu was hidden, and Jackson always let him play to his strengths in training.

As long as Guo Xu, Ryder, George, Horry, and Madsen play together, the bench offense is good, not only can counterattack quickly, but also can open up space to block and dismantle the attack, and on the defensive end, they have a good defense outside breakthrough and will not be easily blown up.

After three weeks of running-in, Ryder is not making a fuss, he admits that Guo Xu is more suitable for holding the ball than himself, he can attack when he receives a pass when counterattacking, and the positional battle opens up and waits for opportunities, waiting for the opportunity to cut, although the number of shots is small, the hit rate is guaranteed.

Jackson also tried to use veteran Foster as a backup center, and he was better at blocking and pick-and-roll, but his speed, confrontation, and rebounding ability were not as good as Madsen's.

Foster is a famous "soft egg" in the NBA, and has been a substitute since entering the league in 90, playing an average of 12 minutes per game.

HE IS 211CM TALL AND WEIGHS 109 KILOGRAMS, AND HAS BEEN IN THE FINALS TWICE WITH THE JAZZ AND HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE. He's good at helping his teammates cover and create opportunities, shooting well from the middle and occasionally showing off his threes, which he made five from threes last season and 2-of-5 from three-point range in the playoffs.

After training on the afternoon of the 29th, Jackson talked to Guo Xu alone.

"In the regular season, I plan to increase your playing time, and how long you play depends on how well you play, control the rhythm on the offensive end, and be resolute in your breakthroughs. On the defensive end, I don't need you to do a good job of supplementing and assisting in defense, try to keep an eye on the point guard, especially after covering. I want you to share the pressure on the core, understand? ”

"Understood, I promise to complete the mission." Guo Xu gave Jackson a military salute.

Jackson was amused and patted him on the back. "Don't practice tomorrow, we're going to catch a plane in the evening, don't be late."

"Okay, thank you, coach."

The Lakers challenged the Trail Blazers in their first game, and David Stern was already a gimmick of a rivalry in this era. The Trail Blazers were eliminated by the Lakers in the final quarter last season, and the players are holding back their energy to get revenge.

On the evening of the 30th, Guo Xu rushed to the airport after eating and got on the team's "Sky No. 1" special plane with his teammates.

The benefit of a player playing in a big city is not only the exposure, but also the comfort of flying away games, knowing that NBA games often have to fly across several time zones, and players who are not well rested will affect their performance. Not all teams have special flights, and most teams fly away games on a charter basis.

The Lakers' black plane is modified, and the seats are spacious and comfortable. After the power is turned on in the plane, the seats are golden colors, which are very gorgeous, which corresponds to the Purple Gold Army.

The interior of the special plane adopts a circular seat design, and there is no problem with eating a boxed lunch and putting a cup on the table. Spread out the folded part to make a large table for players to play poker or something.

There is a small locker between the sofa and the template of the compartment behind it, which contains toilet paper, and things like the Walkman can be temporarily placed inside, and above the other side is a first aid kit, which is well prepared by the staff.

Guo Xu and Mad Madsen sat together and chatted about the game all the way.

The information of the opponent's players is sent to the players by the scouts before they get on the plane, and the coaching staff wants everyone to know their opponents, even if they are substitutes, and it is better to watch the video of the game.

Madsen looked excited, muttering: "I hope I can fight a little longer, don't let me be strong and have nowhere to go, I think I can deal with Rasheed Wallace." ”

Madsen is hungry to play, hungry to fight. Guo Xu found that this person was really a madman, when he was training in the team, he was often arranged to defend O'Neill alone, he was very excited about this, going around the front, guarding the top non-stop close, and daring to be tough on the team boss.

His playing style is very similar to Guo Xu's 198CM center Chuck Hayes of the Rockets in his previous life, but he is taller than Hayes. It is a miracle that a blue-collar like Madsen, who does not attack, can mix in the league for 9 seasons. He is not as good as Hayes on the offensive end, and Haiye can occasionally show off throws, free throws, and at his peak, he will also respond to passes, and has a triple-double.

After Guo Xu read the information, he felt that he had a chance to break out, the starting and backup point guards of the Trail Blazers were all small people about the same size as him, and he was not afraid of this kind of guard, even if it was the "little flying squirrel" Damon Stadamyre.