My Name is Kobe Bryant

"Ahem, I really don't like the thin air in Utah."

"Come on Shaq. You don't like having your big body stuffed into airplanes."

O'Neill and Campbell were fighting again, and a group of people came to Salt Lake City, Utah from the sunshine of California.

Salt Lake City is an important city in the western mountains of the United States and the capital of Utah. Because of its beautiful environment, good security, and advanced medical standards, it is one of the most livable cities in the United States. The living population is mainly composed of descendants of Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believers and descendants of Nordic immigrants.

The jazz team was established in 1974 and was built in New Orleans. Because it was the birthplace of jazz, it was named the New Orleans Jazz.

The home fans of the Jazz are very fanatical, and the visiting team will always hear profanities and boos when they play here. This atmosphere is a big test for the away team. Salt Lake City's altitude of about 1,300 meters is another reason why the Utah Jazz Devils are home. The air pressure on the plateau in Salt Lake City is low, and the hypoxic environment has a very obvious impact on athletes.

Kobe doesn't care about this. He often uses an oxygen mask to simulate a hypoxic environment in training, and he has played many series in this stadium. Kobe wasn't even afraid of Staples' booing, how could he be afraid of this?

"Kobe, Kobe. I heard that Sprewell's MRI result was negative. He said that he will make you look good next time."

"Who cares?" Bryant shrugged. Life is full of disgusting people like this. Whether right or wrong, they will bark their teeth and claws in front of you like cockroaches. The way to deal with them is always to ignore them. Don't let the scum affect your emotions. This is the experience Kobe has summed up over the years.

"That's right, who cares? Maybe the media is willing to speculate." O'Neill laughed, he likes Kobe's character.

"Guys, pay attention. The Utah Jazz have won all 3 games recently. And bloodbathed the Kings with 31 points in Richmond. Today will be a fierce battle."

The players became dignified, and the Utah duo lived up to their reputation. After a few downturns at the beginning of the season, they quickly recovered their game status. Now the Jazz are also moving closer to a championship-level team.

The West and the Jazz already have four championship-level teams. The Lakers, the Big Three in Houston, last year's Western Conference champion Supersonics, and the Utah Shuangsha.

This is extremely rare in history. With so many championship teams gathered in one division, it can be said that the difficulty of breaking through the West is a nightmare level.

The media has already released news that whoever can lead the team to the No. 1 regular season record in the Dead West this year will be awarded the MVP. The MVP award is what every star strives for, second only to the championship award.

Whether there is an MVP is an important indicator of a player's historical status, and it is also a measure of whether a player is a superstar. If you haven't won the MVP, you are ashamed to call yourself a historical superstar.

O'Neill didn't say anything, but still wanted to argue in his heart.

. . . . . .

The game started that night, and this is another back-to-back devil schedule for away games. Fortunately, the Lakers did not consume too much energy in yesterday's game.

Utah's home court is in the Delta Center Arena, which is composed of a large number of glass walls. When night comes, it will pass through the glass walls and emit a lot of light like radiation. That's why a lot of fans call it "Laser Palace," and there are vitriol guys who come up with names like "Atomic Bomb Bunker" or "Energy Pollution Arena"...

The Lakers' starting lineup is still the same, and the Jazz's is PG John Stockton SG Jeff Hornacek SF Brian Russell PF Karl Malone C Greg Ostertag.

John Stockton is the defender with the strongest ability to organize assists after the Magician. Since 1987, he has won 9 consecutive assists! I'm afraid no one can surpass this achievement.

Although he is a short white point guard of 1.85 meters, his defense is not soft at all. He developed a strong frame in the gym with Karl Malone, and with his slick movements, he can be said to be the leader of the league's small defenders. So far, he has also won 4 best defensive teams by virtue of his defense.

Jeff Hornacek is the second offensive point besides Jazz Malone. He averaged 20 points per game in Phoenix and Philadelphia, and he also has excellent data of 15+3+4 next to Malone. And his performance is not in exchange for a lot of holding the ball. As an off-ball shooter, his role is irreplaceable in the Jazz.

Brian Russell is a second-round pick cultivated by the Jazz, with a height of 2.01 meters and a weight of 102 kilograms. Excellent physical fitness allows him to play the role of an outside engineer in the Jazz.

Karl Malone is the core of the Jazz and is also a super giant. He has the ability to blast 30+10 data in any game. He has also put up similar averages in several seasons. Currently, he has been selected to the best team for 8 consecutive years. It can be said that he is the king of power forwards.

This season, he even scored 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists with a shooting percentage of 55%. He's the most important factor in the media's perception of the Jazz as a title contender.

Malone was born as a small forward. He has excellent dynamic talent, ball-handling skills, and a historical level of mid-range shooting ability. This makes it impossible for a large number of power forwards in the league to take him. His flexible feet combined with precise mid-range shots can beat almost all traditional power forwards.

Greg Ostertag is a 2.18m and 127kg heavy insider who acts as a meat shield for the Jazz. His strong body can create many pick-and-roll opportunities for Jazz pitchers. At the same time, his body standing there is a very good inside barrier.

They also have an excellent Antoine Kyle on the bench, averaging 7.4 points in 17.8 minutes per game. It can be said to be the Jazz's bench bandit.

On paper, the Jazz are not as good as many championship teams, and Kobe thinks they are a strong team at best.

But under the leadership of Sloan and the chemical reaction of Stockton and Malone, the team's combat strength far exceeds the paper lineup.

Kobe will never forget that his first trip to the playoffs fell on this Jazz team.

"Listen, guard against their pick-and-roll! Kobe locks Stockton, Campbell is optimistic about Malone. Don't switch defenses, repeat, don't switch defenses!" Harris arranged defensive tactics before the game.

But under the pick-and-roll of Malone and Ostertag, can the Lakers really not switch defenses?

This problem ended after the Jazz scored their first three consecutive goals in the game. The Lakers simply couldn't defend the Jazz's pick-and-roll without switching defenses.

Both Malone and Stockton have the ability to finish the offense quickly when the Lakers ignore the open screen created by the pick-and-roll, and they hit the shot in the blink of an eye.