The Godfather of Basketball

Kuzma was basically sitting on the bench before, and Ding Yanyuhang was occasionally recalled but never entered the activation list. For them, this was an opportunity.

If Kuzma shows his characteristics in the next week, he will get a lot of opportunities to play in the second half of the season, which is dominated by rotations. On the contrary, if he can't, then this opportunity will come to Ding Yanyuhang.

In the first game Tucker was absent, the Nets went away to challenge the Lakers.

The Lakers have been in a slump since Kobe left. This season also focuses on training new players. Ball, Ingram, and Randall are all core players trained by the team.

It is worth mentioning that Walton, the current head coach of the Lakers, is also Tang Tian's former assistant coach.

In fact, there was not much suspense about the outcome. Tang Tian and Wharton laughed and chatted on the technical stage before the match, and they seemed very relaxed.

The game started quickly, with both teams in regular starting lineups.

For the Nets, Irving, Butler, George, Yi Jianlian and Jokic.

The Lakers have Ball and Pope on the outside, Ingram and Randall on the front line, and the center is Brook Lopez, who was just traded during the offseason.

In terms of strength on paper, the Nets have won a lot, but after the game started, the young players of the Lakers played well.

After the first quarter, the score on the court was 21 to 29, and the Lakers were only 8 points behind.

This kind of performance satisfied the fans on the scene, and the Lakers even had a chance to win.

In the second quarter, both sides entered the rotation, and Pope on the Lakers took Caruso, Hart, Frye and Zubac.

The Nets have five substitutes, Rondo and Mitchell on the outside, Kuzma and Markanen on the front, and Oden on the center.

Caruso took the ball to the frontcourt.

Pope caught the pick-and-roll and didn't completely get rid of it, but after receiving the ball, he shot directly against Markkanen's defense.

Markkanen is tall and has long arms, which gives him a lot of interference.

"boom!"

Pope's shot missed after being interfered.

Oden easily pressed Zubac to receive the defensive rebound.

Rondo dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and the Nets made a tactical move in the frontcourt.

Walton followed Tang Tian for a year, and Cole for another two years. His level is still there. After the Lakers switched to defense, they focused on pinching Mitchell and not giving him a chance to catch the ball easily.

Rondo saw that there were no chances there, so he asked Markkanen to make a pick-and-roll. After a sudden score, Markkanen got a chance from the outside.

"boom!"

But he didn't seize the opportunity and jumped out of the basket with a three-pointer.

Hart grabbed a long defensive rebound, and the Lakers wanted to push for a fast break, but Kuzma stretched out his long arms to block Hart's sight. The Lakers couldn't pass the ball, and the fast break didn't start.

Caruso went to the frontcourt to organize again, and the Lakers ran back and forth without much chance.

The Nets' system basketball not only exists in the starting lineup, but also in the bench. This is a style of play that runs through the entire team.

The ball finally reached Pope's hands, and Pope changed the direction of the ball and shook Kuzma, and then rushed in directly.

Kuzma's center of gravity retracted quickly, and he didn't hesitate, and basically walked in close to Pope.

Pope made a one-step throw to the free throw line.

Kuzma confronted, and Pope was disturbed and hid in the air before shooting.

"boom!"

This gave Oden a chance, he stepped out from the inside, and slapped the ball directly.

Pope's label is 3D. He played very well in the Pistons at the beginning, but when he came to the Lakers because the Lakers didn't have many ball-holding points, he was forced to do it. The result is not too surprising.

Tang Tian nodded in satisfaction at this time. It wasn't Oden's block. Oden should have seized this opportunity, but Kuzma's defense.

Whether it's interfering with Hart's one-handed pass or the pressure on Pope in defense, the details are handled very well.

This is the characteristic of older rookies. The upper limit may not be very good, but the lower limit will not be low, and Kuzma's height, wingspan, and speed are among the best among strikers.

The Lakers' sideline ball, Caruso's sudden layup after the pick-and-roll was interfered by Markkanen's long arm and missed.

Rondo took the ball to the frontcourt, and Mitchell was still focused on marking, but at this moment, Kuzma used Oden's pick-and-roll to go around the three-point line.

After Rondo glanced at it, he passed the ball without looking at him, and the ball flew straight into Kuzma's hands.

Zubac saw Kuzma raise his hand from beyond the three-point line and turned directly to grab a defensive rebound.

After Kuzma saw it, he took a step to the three-point line and made a pull.

"Shua!"

Enter the frame steadily in the middle distance.

Walton rushed directly to the sidelines and began to curse, Zubac's choice made him very annoyed.

However, relying on Zubac's foil, it reflects Kuzma's high playing quotient.

Tang Tian was even more satisfied now.

This Kuzma, if he can keep playing like this, he can consider trading Tucker away next season.

Just thinking about it, Kuzma was tricked into a three-point shooting foul by Frye on the defensive end.

After all, he is a rookie, so he is still a bit short on defensive experience.

Frye made two of three free throws. Although the scene was at a disadvantage, the Lakers did not lag behind in score.

Rondo's frontcourt command, he didn't focus on looking for Mitchell this time, but signaled the two-line pick-and-roll on both wings.

Mitchell used the pick-and-roll to cut to the basket, and then ran a three-pointer on the other side of the pick-and-roll. His running restrained most of the Lakers' defensive attention. At this moment, Kuzma crossed the baseline to the bottom horn.

Rondo looked at Mitchell, flicked the ball to Kuzma in the corner.

Kuzma had a good three-point chance. Zubac threw it out this time, but stopped halfway, ready to block Kuzma's mid-range.

But after Kuzma glanced at the basket, he pulled it up and shot.

"Shua!"

With a crisp sound, Kuzma made another three-pointer from the outside.

He has scored 5 points in the past two rounds!

Although the defensive experience needs to be improved, his performance in this period proves that he is fully capable of playing the role of the Nets' 12th or even 11th man.

Walton reached out and called a timeout.

At this time, the general manager of the Lakers "Magic" Johnson sitting in the auditorium shook his head helplessly.

The Lakers had already aimed at Kuzma in the draft last year, and even they had the information about Kuzma’s three-pointers, but unfortunately they were intercepted by the Nets in advance. Now they look at Kuzma This performance, he can only be envious.

But this is the Nets, not to mention the starter, the strength of the bench and the Lakers may not lose in a round of the series.

Kuzma's consecutive hits forced the Lakers to focus on his defense, but after Mitchell's defensive pressure was reduced, even the Lakers, who were shooting suddenly, lost sight of one another.

In the end, the Nets played only three quarters and beat the Lakers 106-87.

Irving, Butler and George all contributed 15+ points in limited time. Mitchell scored the team's most 18 points. Kuzma also performed very well in the rotation for the first time. Points and 3 rebounds.