One Year Left to Play

However, Dale Curry couldn’t accept one thing! His son, his own son, actually brought a few classmates, all wearing the Lakers’ number 8 jerseys, to the game today!

The relationship is good, but Dale Curry plans to make Zhang Hao look bad when it’s his turn to play!

Whether he can beat him is one thing, and his son having a leg to lean on in the NBA in the future is another, but he must do so with momentum!

At the center circle, Zhang Hao looked at Matt Geiger on the opposite side, claiming to be 213 cm tall with shoes on; last year he seemed to have an edge, but this year not anymore.

Matt Geiger also felt strange; last year, he clearly had a height advantage, but this year it’s gone? Isn’t the Ultraman on the opposite side still 206 cm tall?

Oh right, Matt Geiger is a fan of tokusatsu shows and has been eagerly anticipating Zhang Hao’s tokusatsu series, which will air for two months from mid-November with a total of 60 episodes.

Soon, at 6 PM, the referee blew the whistle to start the game and tossed the ball into the air.

Zhang Hao quickly leaped up, tapped the ball away first, and then sprinted directly towards the opponent’s basket!

Barkley and George Lynch also started the fast break simultaneously with Zhang Hao. After Barkley received the ball, he attracted a double team, lobbed it to Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao quickly passed it again, and George Lynch dunked the ball into the basket with an alley-oop.

The opening fast break was executed beautifully.

For most teams, the Lakers’ opening fast break is almost indefensible. As long as Zhang Hao wins the jump ball, the Lakers’ three frontcourt players charge down the court fiercely.

The Hornets’ new head coach, Celtics legend, and one of the 50 greatest stars, Dave Cowens, decided not to let Zhang Hao dunk, as the Lakers get excited when Zhang Hao dunks, which opponents are already well aware of.

After completing their attack, the Lakers quickly retreated to defense. Boggs didn’t advance fast, as the Hornets used to excel at fast breaks, but against the Lakers, they dare not risk a fast break easily to avoid counterattacks.

However, once in positional play, the Hornets’ speed picked up rapidly. Although Boggs isn’t the fastest player on their team, he is among the quickest. Doug Christie immediately pressed forward, trying to use the height and weight advantage of over 30 cm and 30 kg to press the opponent, but Boggs cleverly avoided it with a behind-the-back dribble, did not lose balance when colliding laterally, maintained his stance, then accelerated, and easily broke into the inside!

With excellent agility, and strong core physical strength, it’s very difficult for anyone to defend against his breakthroughs!

When reaching close range, Boggs encountered George Lynch’s help defense. Boggs jumped up and passed the ball out; the Lakers switched defense quickly, and just as Clifford Robinson received the ball, Zhang Hao came out from the inside. Clifford Robinson passed to the baseline, Matt Geiger received the ball and threw it high, scoring.

This was Zhang Hao’s first time facing Boggs, and it was indeed surprising that someone of such height had such a great vision.

He didn’t underestimate Boggs at all; instead, he was full of respect for this shortest player in NBA history. But merely watching videos or scouting reports didn’t quite convey how outstanding this 160 cm player was on the court; his vision and overall game sense were astonishing!

With just one play, Zhang Hao saw many of Boggs’ strengths.

Transition, Lakers on offense.

Zhang Hao continued with his approach from the previous two games, honestly running his routes.

However, tonight, facing Clifford Robinson’s defense, Zhang Hao felt some trouble.

Standing at 208 cm, weighing 102 kg, fast, sticky in defense, with a great wingspan... Zhang Hao really doesn’t like facing such opponents.

After two games, the Lakers’ strategy deviated from the preseason expectations, now starting with star tactics instead of team play, specifically Kenny Anderson going one-on-one.

But when driving in, Kenny Anderson found it seemingly hard to pass to Zhang Hao, and when he did drive in, opportunities were scarce, so he withdrew back, faced by Boggs’ defense, and directly pulled up for a three-point shot...

Boggs isn’t particularly strong on defense, not great at guarding against drives, but he has an advantage—his lower body is very solid, making him good at contesting shooters. Kenny Anderson’s jump was clearly insufficient on this shot!

Little Anthony Mason secured the defensive rebound and held it firmly, preventing Barkley, who nearly snagged the offensive board, from stealing it, then slowly advanced over the half-court before passing it to Boggs.

Missing a shot wasn’t important; defense was the key, as Zhang Hao clapped his hands and signaled for a collapsing defense.

When Boggs started to drive in, Zhang Hao, Barkley, George Lynch, and Kenny Anderson collapsed around the paint; Barkley and Doug Christie double-teamed Boggs. With the middle blocked, Boggs tried passing to Glenn Rice on the weak side, but he was trapped by two players much taller than him... Yet, he still found a way to pass the ball out, as Clifford Robinson sprinted to the sideline, received Boggs’ pass, and shot a three-pointer over Kenny Anderson’s token defense...

It went in!

to 2!

Such a touch, unrivaled as it is, put the Lakers’ collapsing defense tactics into a difficult spot with this good a start.

Especially since they watched the Hornets turn the Heat’s collapsing defense into sieve in yesterday’s away game by shooting threes, increasing the pressure!

First, attack; Kenny Anderson tried forcing a shot last time, but their defense was decent, holding steady on the lower body. So it was only possible to drive and kick.

After organizing his teammates’ positioning, Kenny Anderson found the space he desired, driving in—Boggs just couldn’t do anything, literally nothing, as the opponent could swat the ball away from above his shoulders.

After drawing a double-team, Kenny Anderson kicked the ball out to the open George Lynch. As Zhang Hao drew Clifford Robinson into the paint, besides Matt Geiger’s defense, Clifford Robinson followed Zhang Hao, attracting him, and George Lynch jumped and made a forward pass. Zhang Hao received it behind the opposing big men and scored a layup!

An excellent utilization of height advantage!

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