One Year Left to Play

Chapter 559: Chapter 171: This Is Just Too Brutal!

After a long period of observing the lineup during games and adjustments during training, when the starting lineup of Van Exel, Doug Christie, George Lynch, Zhang Hao, and Campbell was deployed, they immediately performed quite well.

Inside, Campbell can score off feeds in various positions. Mid-range, Zhang Hao provides spacing, George Lynch cuts in, Doug Christie handles the ball on the perimeter and shoots, while Van Exel plays as comfortably as he likes. His recent good performance is not just because of his good form; most crucial is that the coaching staff is deploying players and tactics around him during the starting phase, unlike mid-season when it was centered around Zhang Hao + Magic.

Facing Dale Curry’s defense, Van Exel starts aggressively, scoring a string of three consecutive baskets for 7 points, helping the Lakers to a 7-2 start.

With Van Exel leading, the Lakers seized the upper hand in the opening, scoring 17 to 11 in half a quarter.

In this Lakers lineup, Doug Christie handles the main perimeter defense, Zhang Hao defends the guards. Although Zhang Hao is technically a power forward, George Lynch often switches to guard the power forwards. Underneath, Campbell never leaves the paint on defense, executing solid defensive plays.

The gap in strength between the two teams is evident. The Lakers were described by the media as a "regular season team," not because they’re unworthy of staying atop the West for long, but due to doubts about their playoff performance without a superstar, especially their instability when facing championship contenders post-All-Star weekend.

However, the Lakers’ record is a solid second in the West, and even if dubbed a regular-season team, their strength ranks in the top three of the regular West. Against the Hornets, they displayed a huge opening advantage.

Nevertheless, the Hornets showcased their resilience. After entering the rotation lineup, the Lakers pushed again. Zhang Hao, after receiving the ball at the top arc, distributed it, and the substitute Anthony Peeler hit a corner three, stretching the score to 28 to 18 at 9:22 of the first quarter, leading by 10 points! At this time, the Hornets launched a strong counterattack, scoring 11-4 in the next two minutes through Dale Curry and Glenn Rice’s threes, and Larry Johnson’s impactful plays!

Larry Johnson scored 5 points, making a basket against the Magician and a 2+1 against Zhang Hao.

With 31 seconds remaining in the quarter, the point gap narrowed to just 3 points. If this shot doesn’t go in, the freshly made threes from Dale Curry and Glenn Rice might equalize the score!

For the last possession of the first quarter, the Lakers handed the ball to Zhang Hao. He chose a baseline iso, decisively spun, activating "Deep Stepping," pinning Larry Johnson tightly, then drove straight to the basket, scoring easily against the panicked defense from rookie center George Zidek, and drew a foul!

Zhang Hao’s bad reputation has become an unshakable nightmare among his rookie class, even though he only targets the top 8 picks. However, the Lakers’ good record, winning against many teams, also punished some of his rookie class...

Although George Zidek last faced Zhang Hao early in the season, he remained quite fearful, making hasty movements while helping on defense, and accidentally hitting Zhang Hao’s arm after Zhang Hao had already released the layup.

to 29, thanks to Zhang Hao’s back-spin drive to the basket’s successful layup, the Lakers extended their lead to 5 points and still had a free throw to come! freewebnøvel.coɱ

Del Harris observed Zhang Hao, in the first 11 minutes, under the connection or individual scores from Van Exel and the Magician, patiently played without the ball, not vying for shots, properly spacing or seeking catch-and-shoot opportunities, taking only 3 shots and two were bailout ones, 3 attempts 1 made, scoring only 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block before this. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

But at critical moments, when the team needed him, he stood out to stop the opponent’s momentum in chasing points.

That’s the spirit!

Though facing the Hornets, a team needing blistering form to defeat top-tier teams, in such fiercely contested and defensive phases, Zhang Hao delivered the performance the team wanted from him.

Zhang Hao calmly made the free throw! The Hornets’ final eager three-pointer missed, and after the first quarter, the Lakers led the Hornets by 6 points with a score of 35 to 29 going into the break.

Although the opponent’s 11-4 run was unexpected, the quarter ended with a fair 6-point gap favoring the Lakers. However, Dale Curry, Glenn Rice, and Larry Johnson played the entire first quarter and fought hard! The Lakers, however, after a 17 to 11 half-quarter start, had already subbed off Van Exel, Campbell, Doug Christie, and George Lynch, their four starters.

The Lakers just lost a game, avoiding aristocratic complacency, unlike the Bulls, who, after becoming the fastest team in NBA history to reach 60 wins, felt complacent and got dragged to overtime by the Hornets for an upset.

Tonight, the Lakers played extremely focused!

Van Exel and the Magician ensured routine offense, and in most isolation scenarios, Van Exel could handle problems. When he couldn’t solve them, it went to Zhang Hao. It wasn’t that Zhang Hao had a higher scoring probability than Van Exel, but rather his fearlessness, looking calm regardless of scoring or not. After a miss, at least it doesn’t affect the team’s morale; the team remained composed and stable.