NBA: Starting with the undercut by Parker and Bowen

11 month 1 day.

Los Angeles, Staples Center.

The Lakers' first home game of the new season was packed with fans.

As the players entered the stadium and looked around at the bustling arena, Yang Lin couldn't help but exclaim, "A big market is a big market!"

Despite failing to achieve results for several consecutive seasons, Los Angeles fans' support for the Lakers has not diminished in the slightest.

Also!

After O'Neal left.

Although the Lakers didn't achieve much, Kobe Bryant delivered an amazing individual performance.

If you can't see your team win, then watch your star player pad their stats; at least you'll get something out of it.

Many celebrities were present at Staples Center tonight:

Lakers veteran fans Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman;

Others include Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Justin Bieber...

Huh? Isn't that...that guy?

LeBron James, are you two familiar with each other now?

Yang Lin didn't know if these people were real fans or just there to show off.

Ah!

It could be either "probably", "maybe", or "possibly".

After greeting Kobe and Fisher, Yang Lin casually glanced at the Lakers' bench.

Be nice!

I don't recognize him.

No wonder the old blacksmith was clamoring to leave the team during the offseason!

The most capable teammate around him is Odom, who often loses focus on the field. No one can withstand that!

At the start of the new season, that idiot Odom injured himself.

This has resulted in Kobe's best teammate being Derek Fisher, who joined the team during the offseason.

Fisher has become the number two player on a team. Are you scared yet?

At 9 PM, both teams' starting lineups took to the field.

The visiting Rockets were no surprise, fielding their usual five-man lineup: Yao Ming, Wilcox, Battier, McGrady, and Yang Lin.

The Lakers' starting five are: Kwame Brown, Ronnie Turiaf, Luke Walton, Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher.

Get ready for the jump ball.

Kobe looked at his own starting lineup, then at the opposing starting lineup, and muttered a string of curses under his breath.

After the match started, to everyone's surprise, both teams immediately entered a phase of "bang bang" of missing shots.

Chatterbox, is this your plan?

Get everyone into a rhythm of missing shots, and then use your rich experience in missing shots to score high points and lead your team to victory.

Hey tui~ How despicable!

In the first three minutes of the match, both sides hit six shots each.

After McGrady hit the Rockets' sixth missed shot, Kobe protected the defensive rebound, didn't pass it to Fisher, and dribbled the ball up the court himself.

Facing Battier's defense, Kobe drove to the basket, pulled up for a stop, and hit a fadeaway jumper.

Battier's chase was timely; he tried his best to use a blindfold defense...

Ah!

Covering the eyes while defending at this point is not considered a foul.

Or rather, in the NBA, this action has never been listed as a separate foul.

NBA players have rarely used this defensive move since then because it is prone to resulting in follow-up defensive fouls.

14 NBA Referee Training Guide:

If a defensive play involves blocking the view and results in physical contact or obstructs normal vision for more than one second, it can be considered a defensive foul.

In international competitions, it was clearly stipulated in 04 that:

Intentionally obstructing an opponent's view is a technical foul.

In 16, the Chinese Basketball Association clearly stipulated:

Defensive players are prohibited from "covering an opponent's eyes with their hands when the opponent is shooting".

Do you need to look at the basket when shooting?

Ordinary players might need it.

But what level of star was Kobe?

Facing Battier's shielded defense.

With a wide-angle lean back, he calmly flicked the basketball towards the basket.

"Whoosh!"

The basketball goes into the net.

After three minutes of missed shots from both teams, Kobe Bryant, the renowned blacksmith, successfully scored the first basket of the game.

Oh no, it's starting to feel like a blacksmith's game.

Another minute or so passed.

After McGrady and Battier each missed a shot, Yao Ming overpowered Kwame Brown in the paint and finally scored the Rockets' first two points.

At this point, four and a half minutes had passed since the start of the match.

To be honest, neither the Rockets' coaches nor the players seem to be taking tonight's game very seriously.

Although the Lakers have a league superstar like Kobe Bryant on their roster, their overall lineup is indeed too weak.

Not to mention that Odom is also out injured, which makes the Lakers' lineup even more difficult to arrange.

That's right!

They did indeed have a strong performance from everyone in their opening game, resulting in a resounding victory over the Suns.

But what can you do about it?

Do you really expect those fringe players on the Lakers to keep performing well?

If that's the case, then it will be a different price.

The Rockets didn't take it seriously, while Kobe led the Lakers' attack.

After a fierce battle, the Lakers, playing at home, nearly took a double-digit lead, outscoring the Lakers 25-16.

During the break, Yang Lin joked with McGrady:

"Tracy, you got blown away by Kobe. Will Kobe come over and mock you later?"

McGrady, who scored a whopping 47 points in the last game, continued his aggressive offense in the first quarter tonight.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have no touch, shooting 1-for-6 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, scoring only 3 points in the quarter.

On the other hand, look at the chatter on the other side.

Although they also missed 5 shots in the first quarter, they took more shots and had a stronger impact.

单节9投4中，罚球6中5，在拿下13的同时，还贡献了3篮板2助攻1抢断。

It's terrifyingly strong.

McGrady laughed and said, "Kobe wasn't guarding me, so why are you mocking me? He was beating Shawn."

Battier was speechless, and said to McGrady with a smirk, "I feel like I defended pretty well. Kobe's shooting percentage wasn't even 50%."

"Tracy, our problem is offense. Kobe, also a top shooting guard in the league, scored 13 points in a single quarter, while you only managed 3..."

McGrady said, "Sean, don't forget you also went 1-for-6 in the first quarter."

"Heh~~"

Battier didn't take it seriously.

"I'm just a role player, it's normal for me to miss shots."

"Tracy, you're a superstar in the league, and you were defended by that guy Luke Walton and went 1-for-6. That's just unacceptable."

"Hehe~~ Okay! My fault."

Seeing that he couldn't fool them anymore, McGrady declared, "Now, let's see how I perform."

McGrady did what he said he would do.

In the second quarter, he intensified his offense, making 2 of 3 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws, efficiently scoring 7 points.

次节杨林也高效发挥，单节三分4中3，罚球2中2，砍下11分的同时还送出了3次助攻。

In the second quarter, the Rockets responded to the Lakers with a 27-18 run.

The score was tied 43-43 at halftime.

第三节麦迪迎来了真正的爆发，单节10中6，罚球2中2砍下14分，帮助火箭单节再次拿到27分。

The tide of the game turned 27-19, with the Rockets leading by 8 points.

The third period is a break between periods.

McGrady smugly addressed his teammates, "How about that? I keep my word. I said I'd crush them, and I did."

McGrady played well in the second quarter, and he actually started bragging at halftime.

However, upon checking the statistics, he discovered that his team had an even more impressive player in the second quarter, forcing him to postpone his boasting session.

As the saying goes, good food is worth waiting for.

He scored 14 points in the third quarter, and no one could stop him from showing off.

"Yeah, yeah, T-Mac is awesome!"

The Rockets players echoed this sentiment.

Unexpectedly, Yao Ming interjected, "Tracy, Kobe scored 27 points in three quarters, you only got 24, you're still 3 points less than him!"

How annoying!

He's just showing off!

McGrady glared at Yao Ming and asked, "Yao, how many points did you score in three quarters?"

19 points and 9 rebounds.

Yao Ming presented his stats.

Without giving McGrady a chance to mock him, he continued, "6 out of 10 field goals, 7 out of 8 free throws, a shooting percentage of just over 60%."

What was my hit rate again?

forget about it.

Why would a guard like me try to compete with a center in shooting percentage?

McGrady glanced sideways at Yang Lin.

Yang Lin immediately laughed and said, "What? Tracy. You want to compete with me in accuracy?"

This is a big shot.

We can't afford to mess with them! We can't afford to mess with them!

The Rockets are thriving and have a promising future, and the atmosphere among the players has become quite harmonious.

Fourth quarter rotation time.

Yao and McGrady rested, and Yang Lin led the team alone.

He first assisted Wilcox for an alley-oop dunk.

Scola then dribbled past Turiaf and scored a layup, extending the Rockets' lead to double digits.

Just when the Rockets' situation seemed to be looking up, the situation on the court suddenly changed.

Kobe Bryant scored both inside and outside, single-handedly sparking an 8-0 run for the Rockets.

With the score closing in, Adelman had no choice but to bring on Yao Ming and McGrady.

After Yao and McGrady entered the game, the Lakers' offensive momentum continued.

Although the defense was ineffective, the presence of Yao and McGrady boosted the Rockets' offense.

The two sides went back and forth.

The score remained deadlocked until the final minute.

The Rockets lead 92-86, a 6-point advantage.

Kobe dribbled the ball up the court and faced Battier's defense again. Using Kwame Brown's screen, he drove straight to the basket.

Yao Ming provides help defense, and Kobe delivers a powerful reverse dunk.

Top 5 plays.

Yang Lin, who was following Fisher in the distance, was stunned. Fisher's waist was truly amazing.

The Rockets lead by only 4 points, 92-88.

Back on offense, Yang Lin lobbed the ball to Yao Ming in the low post.

Unable to prevent Yao Ming from making a mistake, Fisher retreated and successfully stole the ball, quickly launching a counterattack.

The Rockets focused their defense on Kobe, but Fisher directly assisted Farmar to attack the basket and score with an alley-oop dunk.

The point difference has reached 2 points.

Adelman on the sidelines was visibly anxious, yelling at the players on the court: "Stay calm, play for the highest possible score, and don't make any mistakes."

Yang Lin dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, where his former teammate Fisher was marking him.

McGrady turned to the side, preparing to post up for a one-on-one shot, and Yang Lin shouted loudly, "Tracy, move out of the way, I'll take this ball."

Upon hearing this, McGrady immediately led Kobe to the far corner.

Fisher was very nervous. He was Yang Lin's old teammate and he knew all too well Yang Lin's unreasonable shots.

Consume time when the 24-second shot clock is about to expire.

Just as Fisher had predicted, Yang Lin threw out a three-pointer without any regard for reason.

To Fisher's dismay, he had guessed Yang Lin's offensive strategy.

But Yang Lin's shot ultimately went in smoothly into the basket.

The Rockets extended their lead to 5 points, 95-90.

There are 20 seconds left in the game.

In the final moments.

Kobe is still working hard, and the Lakers players are still working hard.

But it was all in vain. When the game clock expired, the visiting Rockets won the game 97-92.

As the final whistle blew, McGrady smiled at Kobe and said:

"Brother, tonight's victory belongs to the Houston Rockets, and this season's Larry O'Brien Trophy will also belong to the Houston Rockets."

What the hell!

Yang Lin was completely stunned.

T-Mac, is this something you can just say casually?

Have you forgotten the 03 playoffs?

The Magic were leading the Pistons 3-1 at the time, and then...

The Rockets narrowly defeated the Lakers, securing their second consecutive win to start the season.

After scoring 47 points in the first game, McGrady scored 30 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in this game.

He made 1 of 6 shots in the first quarter, but managed to pull it back to 10 of 20 in the end, achieving a 50% shooting percentage.

对面的唠嗑全场45分8板4助攻，投篮32中13，怒打19铁。

Kobe made 18 of 27 free throws. If he had been a little more accurate from the free throw line, the Rockets might have really given up tonight.

The Lakers got 45 free throws tonight, a full 14 more than the Rockets' 31.

It turns out that the Lakers' high free throw percentage at home has a long history.