NBA: Yao Ming at his peak returns to his rookie season

Kobe's athletic ability was exceptional during this period.

We absolutely cannot let our guard down.

Kobe scored a basket on a fast break, responding to the fans at the start of the game. The Lakers are still the Lakers even without Shaq!

"snort!"

That's right, the cold snort came from the audience.

This comes from Shaquille O'Neal wearing a suit.

湖人队本赛季8战4胜，没有奥尼尔的开局勉强拿到50%胜率，科比场均28.8分5.4助攻6.2篮板正负值联盟第五。

Kobe Bryant certainly looked stronger without Shaquille O'Neal and took on more responsibility for the team.

But the Lakers' interior defense is too weak.

It's not easy for Kobe to gain an advantage, but a collapse can happen in a minute as long as he's not on the court.

The Rockets have an even worse winning percentage, with only 2 wins in 7 games.

They remain strong contenders for next year's number one draft pick.

Frustrated, Kobe started the game by dominating weaker opponents, playing with incredible speed and agility, which even made Yao Ming's lips twitch slightly.

Players like Kobe and McGrady just can't play well.

If they get into a winning streak, nothing will be surprising.

Francis tried to establish a connection with Cato, whose strength lay in the paint, and he attempted to use Cato like Yao Ming.

Unfortunately, the Lakers' center is weak, but their forwards are strong.

It is especially effective against center forwards like Cato who rely on holding positions.

Robert Horry and Madsen are now completely blocking the passing lanes, giving the Rockets no chance to get the ball inside.

The best way to deal with a center is to simply not give him the ball.

Three minutes later, Cato had 0 points and 2 rebounds.

The Lakers lead 8-4.

The Rockets' offense failed again, with Francis being defended by Kobe and missing his shot, and Horry grabbing the rebound.

The Lakers' backcourt is too strong.

Horry, Kobe, and Flosser now average defensive rebounds per player.

Francis was so badly beaten he was practically cursing.

He meant to say that Cato is like noodles!

The Rockets' rhythm is becoming increasingly chaotic, which is a major weakness of Francis's.

He is neither stable enough nor absolutely strong.

After considering it for a moment, Tang called a timeout, then rested Cato, who wasn't in good form, and substituted Yao Ming.

Cato is a defensive, traditional center forward.

Offense isn't his forte. If O'Neal were on the court today, and Cato had a couple of defensive touches and tried to take down the league's best center in the low post, the whole arena would probably be cheering.

But the Lakers were completely transformed under Kobe's leadership.

Horry, Fisher, and Kobe completely ignored the inside game, and they grabbed all the rebounds themselves, which made it even more difficult for Cato, who lacked offensive firepower.

It's frustrating to learn how to slay dragons, but there are no dragons left in the world.

"Go, big guy!"

"His name is Yao Ming!"

"Yao Ming, you're awesome!"

Even at the Staples Center, Kobe's arena, many fans were cheering for Yao Ming because of yesterday's video.

This is the basketball atmosphere of a top-tier arena.

When Yao Ming came on the court, Francis seemed to be activated as well.

This time, Francis was no longer afraid of Kobe.

He dribbled the ball to the Lakers' three-point line and bravely chose to go one-on-one!

Despite Kobe's elbow flying, Francis did manage to find an opportunity to shoot.

Kobe's defense was something you had to experience to believe it.

Francis's shooting motion was completely distorted.

Lakers center Samarco was O'Neal's rotation player, and also his only rotation player. He tried to use his physique to block Yao Ming.

That move against Cato felt pretty good.

But now that the Rockets have made a substitution, Yao Ming doesn't tolerate him at all, and roughly presses down on him across an arm's length.

*Whoosh!*

Basketball was actually "added" to the mix by Yao Ming!

"FOXXK!" Samak cursed as he landed.

Find Kobe: "That was a foul!"

"He didn't foul Sommera! He's not a second-rate player, you better play proper defense! Now that Shaq isn't here to clean up your mess!"

Kobe was stubborn but fair.

After being yelled at, Samak could only cower in fear.

As a rookie, Yao Ming played too aggressively; many veteran centers wouldn't have made that kind of play.

Yao Ming scored 2 points in his first game.

They gave the Rockets a strong boost with their performance.

The Lakers started their fast break, and Kobe Bryant pulled off a beautiful fadeaway jumper over Steve Francis's defense.

Goal!

The young Kobe was much less skilled than Yao Ming was in my memory.

Their athleticism and aggression are indeed stronger.

Kobe was very young at that time.

We can't rush it; we have to take it slowly.

Kobe is on fire right now, beating Francis is a piece of cake, so Yao Ming, as the inside player, has to keep him in check.

Kobe sought speed, while Yao Ming sought stability.

Yao Ming and Steve Francis had a very good understanding, with Francis effectively switching positions and slowing down the pace.

The Rockets' rhythm began to smooth out.

The Lakers' lack of a center quickly became apparent, as Francis connected with Yao Ming, who scored two consecutive low-post points in two minutes.

The individual score quickly reached 6 points.

The Lakers called a timeout.

Their inside-cutting and ball-receiving tactics are completely ineffective against Yao Ming, a long-term victim of the disease; experience makes perfect.

Barkley's howls echoed through the TNT studio, while he yelled at Kenny again, asking if they should switch to a cash bailout, offering $10!

Kenny Smith's refusal was utterly ruthless.

Kobe was under a lot of pressure on the bench in the arena.

The atmosphere in Los Angeles has been tense lately, with fans very dissatisfied with the poor start to the season.

Although the Lakers were not originally a regular season team.

Losing a few games at the start is normal.

But fans and the media don't think that way.

Kobe is easily influenced by fans and his desire to win, and right now he is eager to lead his team to victory.

He was determined to win this game against the Rockets.

However, the Zen master was indeed more experienced.

It was quickly clear that the Rockets' focus was now on the paint. Although Francis had the most possessions, the key was how to stop Yao Ming.

So the old man assigned two spring-like figures to them.

The tactic remains the same: "Don't let him receive the ball."

Even the strongest inside player is useless without the ball!

There were many Chinese fans at the stadium today, and Yao Ming's explosive performance at the start of the game ignited their passion!

Moreover, Cato only scored 2 points, while Yao Ming scored 6 points in the blink of an eye.

Even rounding down, Yao Ming is already better than Cato!

Many Chinese fans rushed to their TVs as the match's viewership and ratings continued to rise wildly, with the graphs showing the TV stations going crazy.

Pause ended

The Rockets took the lead after returning to the court.

Francis dribbles the ball as Kobe prepares to come up and continue the defense.

This time he hit a wall!

Suddenly, Yao Ming appeared and set a screen, and Francis behind him immediately accelerated!

"Damn it!" Kobe snapped.

That idiot Samak actually let the big guy out like that?

Horry and Fisher failed to cover for him, and Francis easily dunked the ball. Francis is really good at jumping these days.

It's definitely more comfortable playing with Yao Ming.

If Cato's defense is top-notch, his offense is mediocre, and his overall ability is that of a second-rate center.

Nasamako's offense and defense are not even third-rate.

Asking him to defend Yao Ming, who has top-notch experience, is asking too much of him.

It's not that the Lakers don't want a stronger frontcourt rotation; it's that they can't buy one. After their three-peat, the Lakers' roster improvements were targeted by all the teams in the league. Whatever they lack, the price of free agents skyrockets.

This resulted in the Lakers being unable to find suitable candidates for the center and shooting guard positions.

No one expected Yao Ming to have such a cover-up.

That pick-and-roll was so sharp, Kobe almost thought he was seeing Karl Malone.

The Rockets maintain their lead.

TNT's Barkley, on the other hand, tried to salvage the situation by adding details about the technical characteristics of the pick-and-roll to the fans. As the Jazz's biggest victim, Barkley's words were very convincing.

This also gave fans a more comprehensive understanding of Yao Ming's skills.

This is not just a rookie number one draft pick who is tall; he has mature skills, his own style of play, and he is an outstanding player.

Barkley is praising himself like crazy now so that when he makes a fool of himself, it won't seem so embarrassing.

At least he has a profession.

Kobe came up again.

This guy ignored Francis's defense and stubbornly forced his way into the penalty area.

This is not Kobe's usual style of play.

But he couldn't run away.

As the team's ace, he needs to create more scoring opportunities!

Mobley was stronger than Kobe, but he was still pushed aside, which shows Kobe's basic skills and strong desire to win. However, Yao Ming filled in the moment he was pushed aside!

So high!

Kobe's vision was instantly blocked by Yao Ming's height, forcing him to force a fadeaway jump shot with no vision.

Yao Ming missed the block and was shot short.

The basketball goes into the net.