This game between the Spurs and the Lakers can be called a preview of the Western Conference Finals, if nothing else, as the two strongest teams in the league now, the possibility that the Spurs and Lakers will meet in the Western Conference Finals is very high. But the current leaders of these two teams are in different moods, this year is O'Neal's 9th season in the league, in the previous 8 seasons, O'Neal can be said to have won almost all the honors, regular season MVP, All-Star MVP, various best teams, and even scoring champions have won two, but only one championship is missing, O'Neal has been waiting for this championship for too long, so long that he can't stand it, originally last season was the best opportunity, However, they lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, so O'Neal vowed never to let the championship go by the way this season.

This year is Duncan's 4th year in the league, in the first 3 seasons, in addition to the rookie season after being reimbursed for injury in the playoffs, the Spurs won the championship for two consecutive years under the leadership of Duncan, and Duncan also won the Finals MVP for two consecutive seasons, from the season Duncan entered the league, Duncan overwhelmed Malone, and became the strongest active power forward in the league in his rookie season, and after defending the title last season, Duncan became another player in NBA history who played in the league for 3 seasons, Players who are considered to be able to enter the league's top 50 stars after retiring have now begun to call Duncan the most powerful forward in history, and Duncan is only one regular season MVP away from the glory of being the first person in the league, so this season is also an extremely important year for Duncan.

Duncan hopes to lay the foundation for himself to win the regular season MVP by defeating the Lakers, while O'Neal wants to build confidence for the Lakers to win the championship by defeating Duncan and the Spurs. Now the general trend of the entire league, since Jordan's retirement, is the West is strong and the East is weak, and the five strongest players in the league are now all in the West, so as long as they can break through from the West, they can basically be sure to win the final championship, and the two consecutive Finals have also proved this, whether it is the Knicks or the Pacers, they are much worse than the Spurs' opponents in the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers and Lakers.

"Avery, don't rush, be steady, steady." After the game started, the assistant coach of the Spurs, Mike Budenholzer, shouted at Avery Johnson, who was advancing with the ball on the court, which was also a reminder to the players on the court that the Spurs should slow down in the first quarter of the game to play a positional battle with the Lakers.

In the main lineup of the Spurs and the Lakers, there are some older guys, so slowing down the pace is good for both sides, especially the Spurs, their main lineup is older, such as Sean Elliott, who now lets him walk on the court for 48 minutes, which is probably a bit enough. Of course, for both teams, being steady and trying not to make mistakes is also the basis for winning this game.

"Boy, your current situation with the Spurs is very bad, or the season is over, come to the Lakers and follow me." After Meng Xu passed the middle circle, Kobe Bryant immediately posted it, on the day of the game between the Spurs and the Timberwolves, the Lakers just didn't play, so Kobe Bryant also watched the live broadcast at home, Meng Xu's performance in the first half of the first quarter made Kobe's veins boil, and once made Kobe think that he had found the same kind, that is, from that day on, Kobe Bryant was looking forward to today's showdown with Meng Xu. But after that game, Meng Xu was refrigerated, and although it was claimed to be food poisoning, no one with a little brain would believe Popovich's lame excuse.

"Bryant, when are you the boss of the Lakers and come to say this kind of thing to me, you see, every time Shaq sees me, he has a hostile face." Maybe it was because Meng Xu risked O'Neal several times in the playoffs last season, from the beginning of this game, O'Neal's gaze at Meng Xu and Duncan was very unkind, and Kobe Bryant's face was also very ugly after being ridiculed by Meng Xu like this.

"Hmph, one day I'll be the boss of the Lakers and the only king of Los Angeles." Seeing Meng Xu looking at himself with a cheap smile, Kobe Bryant said indignantly in his heart. No one will pay attention to the current situation of Meng Xu and Kobe Bryant on the court, because now everyone's eyes have focused on O'Neal and Duncan.

The first few rounds of the two teams were almost all completed by Duncan and O'Neal, although the two did not directly oppose each other, but when O'Neal singled Robinson, Duncan would still help Robinson defend, and when Duncan singled Grant, O'Neal would also choose to wrap Duncan. O'Neal and Duncan are the two most intimidating supergiants in the league right now, and no matter who they are, they can't be dealt with alone.

Finally, after nearly 3 minutes of this game, Kobe Bryant ushered in the first attack of the game, O'Neal once again attacked with the ball, and after facing Robinson and Duncan's bag, perhaps because of the decline in physical strength, O'Neal chose to pass the ball to Kobe Bryant this time.

"Meng, now is our time, take out your strongest strength." Kobe Bryant stepped on the 3-point line with one foot, turned sideways to Meng Xu, and kept slapping the basketball while lowering his body gravity slightly.

But after this summer's weight gain, although Meng Xu is still slightly inferior to Kobe Bryant in strength, he is no longer the Meng Xu who was knocked out of position last season, and after a few consecutive tops, Meng Xu did not retreat much.

Obviously, last season's method of dealing with Meng Xu is useless, but Kobe still has his own tricks, after a few consecutive shakes, Kobe Bryant turned his back and jumped up directly in front of Meng Xu, and at the same time, in order to avoid Meng Xu's block in the air, Kobe Bryant's backward amplitude is also very large, and at the same time, there is a slight drift to the left side of the body.

"It's second only to Jordan's step-back jumper." After watching the basketball pass through his fingertips and Kobe, who still maintained his shooting posture, fell from the sky, Meng Xu also let out a sigh. With his own bounce and arm span, players who are generally shorter than him shoot in front of him, which is definitely a rhythm that has nothing to do, but like Kobe's Jordan-style back, Meng Xu really has no way, just a little bit, just a few centimeters away, like a chasm, blocking between Meng Xu's palm and the basketball, so that Meng Xu can only look at the ball and sigh.

"It's a perfect back-to-back jumper." At this time, the reporters sitting under the basket and the spectators on the sidelines basically thought the same thing, Kobe's shot was really too similar to Jordan's, to be exact, this is a step-back jumper that only Jordan can use.

Kobe, who was sitting on the ground, also waved his fist at Meng Xu after seeing the basketball hit, and at this time, Kobe's teammates also quickly rushed over, pulled Kobe Bryant, and high-fived each other with Kobe to celebrate.

"Greg, I really want to thank you." Phil Jackson, who was on the bench, looked at the scene on the field, turned his head to look at Popovich not far away, and said to himself. Although the Lakers failed to win the championship last season, after the series with the Spurs, Kobe Bryant completed the transformation from star to superstar, and Kobe Bryant is still improving this summer, maybe it won't be long before the Lakers will become the only team in the league with two supergiants, and then they will dominate the league again, just like they did when they were with the Bulls, knocking all the old guys who look down on them to the ground, and stepping on them a few more times.

Although the defense of Kobe failed this time, Meng Xu did not have any other ideas, as a defensive player, being shot by the opponent ** and on the head was just as commonplace, and before the game started, the head coach had a strict order that he was not allowed to hold the ball alone in this game, so Meng Xu could only honestly run and pull space and make the ball for his teammates.

Although Meng Xu can swallow this breath, but Meng Xu's teammates can't, there has always been an unwritten unspoken rule in the NBA, that is, when one's teammates are provoked by the other party one-on-one, their own players will support their teammates to return it, especially Meng Xu is more or less a star now, in this case, even if the head coach has a strict order, the Spurs players, especially Duncan, will find a way to let Meng Xu return Kobe Bryant.

Therefore, when the Spurs started to attack, the basketball turned around on the court, and finally when Meng Xu ran to the left 45-degree angle outside the 3-point line, Duncan, who was holding the ball alone on the inside, passed the basketball in his hand.

"Bryant, you can't stop me." After Meng Xu received Duncan's pass, Kobe Bryant immediately clung to him, just now Meng Xu had obviously thrown off Kobe Bryant and ran out of the vacant position, but after receiving the ball, Meng Xu still deliberately waited for Kobe to catch up with him, just to return one on Kobe's head. Kobe's official height of 1.98 meters may actually be a little shorter, and Kobe's arm span is also a shortcoming, so when a player like Xiang Meng Xu, who is tall and has long arms and excellent jumping, shoots in front of Kobe, Kobe generally has nothing to do.

"You'll have to try it before you know." As soon as Kobe's words fell, Meng Xu jumped up directly in front of Kobe, and before he had time to react, Kobe also jumped up with Meng Xu, and at the same time covered Meng Xu's eyes with the palm of his right hand. But Kobe's defense this time is the same as Billups' defense of Meng Xu in the game with the Timberwolves, although Kobe Bryant blocked Meng Xu's eyes well, but after Meng Xu had an obvious pause in the air, Meng Xu threw the basketball in his hand at the moment when Kobe Bryant began to fall.

Seeing the basketball in Meng Xu's hand coming out of his hand, Kobe Bryant didn't have the slightest way, this kind of jumping up and waiting for you to fall, and then shooting, the same way as Jordan's shooting, is very hurtful to confidence, many defenders will even lose the courage to defend him again after being constantly ** like this.