Chapter 130: Singles
"Thank you for the ticket, Karim, but why did you invite me to this game?" Bryant and Abdul-Jabbar chatted in their seats.
"I remember you said you admired Roy, his style of play is indeed very similar to yours, and I happen to have two tickets, so please come and see how this kid performs." Abdul-Jabbar's words, half-true and half-false, said Kobe's heart.
"I said that, and I love the paranoia of Roy, his game, sometimes it's focused on scoring, sometimes it's rebounding, sometimes it's assisting, and he always gives people an unexpected surprise every game."
With this sentence alone, Roy has to thank the "mission system" that he complained about.
"I don't know what kind of surprise he can bring today."
What kind of surprise can Roy bring tonight?
He doesn't know, but he knows tonight's game is going to be a big surprise, so he's got one last thing to do.
Ten minutes before the start of the game, he pulled Liangelo to the side.
"Liangelo, there's one thing I have to ask for your opinion on, in a match like today, do you value the result or the personal data?"
"I ......," Liangelo pondered, "if I can do both, of course, it's best, if not, then I'd better choose the team to win, if I can't win the championship, then it doesn't mean to get good statistics." ”
Liangelo is a real person, Roy has counted it.
"Rest assured, you'll be happy with the result and the stats, but you may have to suffer for a while in the first half, so be patient and wait for your chances."
Roy went on to give a brief account of the story of him and Lonzo preparing to go head-to-head, and Liangelo didn't have much of a mood swing when he heard about it, he was really a good team player.
Five minutes later, Roy called for a group call, and he made it clear that they should not interfere with his and Lonzo's singles until they had received clear instructions, as this was the key to their own victory.
"What do you say? Are you crazy? "On the other hand, the bench at Justin Sina High School is not so peaceful.
After Lonzo made it clear that he was going to go head-to-head with Roy, the team exploded all at once, and head coach Van Wilk was the first to object, he was not the puppet coach Steve Barker, he had his own coaching philosophy.
Let Lonzo Ball and Roy go head-to-head on the court? It's just nonsense.
Josh Jackson was also secretly unhappy, but he had to pretend to be very empathetic on the surface, and he kept persuading Lonzo to put the game first, but Lonzo's resoluteness exceeded everyone's expectations, and he even threw out the "if you don't agree, you won't play".
Van Wilk was the first time he had learned how Lonzo could play a big game, and if Lonzo Power didn't play, the outcome of the game could be predicted. What's worse is what the media will write about if the team loses because Lonzo Ball is not on the court, then the biggest responsibility is their own line-up mistakes.
In desperation, he could only agree to Lonzo Ball, but in private, he also kept a hand, and he secretly cared that Josh Jackson could play the ball leader appropriately, which meant quite clearly, don't give Lonzo every ball.
In this delicate atmosphere, the game began.
Line-ups for both sides:
Chino Gang High School: point guard Roy (height 192cm, weight 80kg, overall ability 53), scoring guard Leangelo Ball (height 198cm, weight 100kg, overall ability 47), small forward Dion Davis (height 201cm, weight 80kg, overall ability 32), power forward Chaved Smith (height 198cm, weight 86kg, overall ability 35), center Shaun Hopkins (height 203cm, weight 104kg, Comprehensive capacity 36).
Justin Sina High School: Point guard Lonzo Ball (height 198cm, weight 86kg, overall ability 65), scoring guard Sam Patterson (height 194cm, weight 82kg, overall ability 34), small forward Josh Jackson (height 203cm, weight 94kg, overall ability 64), power forward Zach Madsen (height 201cm, weight 88kg, overall ability 37), center John Calipari (height 207cm, weight 108kg, comprehensive capacity 38).
On paper, there is no doubt that Justin Sina, who got Lonzo Ball, is better at high school, but basketball is not just a matter of piling up strength to win a championship, otherwise the Lakers' "F4" (Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton) and "new F4" (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash) would not have ended up with nothing.
Roy understands this, so the first step he has to do is destroy Justin Xena's high school brain, Lonzo Ball.
Lonzo Ball didn't break his promise, and his first attack came towards Roy, with Madsen and Calipari already being carried away by him, leaving only Roy and the basket behind him.
"Karim, what do you think this tactic is?" Bryant was bewildered by the spectacle in front of him, and he couldn't help but ask the experienced Abdul-Jabbar.
Kobe's confusion is also the confusion of all the fans present, all the fans in front of the TV, and all the fans in front of the computer.
Playing one-on-one? What kind of tactic is this? Dare to love basketball has regressed to the singles era of the 90s? Then there's no need to call away your teammates who came up to block the demolition, right?
But Lonzo Ball is so willful, his speed is still fast, his body is still strong, a start, squeezed Roy, a jumper, scored two points first, 0:2, Justin Sina high school lead.
"Okay." Lonzo, who was on the defensive, waved his hand fiercely, and he finally let out a vicious breath.
And with Lonzo's goal, the audience seemed to understand that this may be Justin Xena's high school tactics, a strong retro-style singles tactic.
Tactics? Can singles also be called tactical?
Van Wilk was rubbing his hands anxiously on the bench at the moment, and he began to worry about whether Lonzo Power would fall into the trap of the opposition's defence, but he was slightly relieved after Lonzo's goal.
But he immediately became worried again, could Lonzo really be stupid enough to defend Roy?
According to his thoughts, Lonzo's gaffe was completely provoked by Roy.
If it's really a singles tactic, I'm afraid it's also a trap that Roy arranged for Justin Xena High School.
Roy, who was in possession of the ball, was in a good mood at this time, and judging from the ball just now, Lonzo had not improved much in the past three months.
Not only that, but he also lost his best brain, Lonzo Ball really chose to defend himself alone, and Patterson, who wanted to help defend just now, was glared back viciously by him.
Seeing this, Roy was relieved that he would pay the price for his recklessness and impulsiveness, at least until Lonzo Power came to his senses.