However, Lakers fans have long been accustomed to Nash's on-and-off state this season. After all, as a 40-year-old, they can understand.
And this also means that tonight, the burden on Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol is much heavier than before.
A jump ball in the middle circle, without any surprise, the Blazers took the lead in getting the ball.
"Give me!"
In the first attack, Wang Zelin dropped to the low post, pushed away Robert Thackeray, and opened his hand to ask for the ball. Lillard immediately passed the ball, and while pushing Robert Thackeray away with one arm, he stood up and held the ball with his right arm.
Swinging like a basket.
"boom!"
The Lakers basket was exploded at the start.
"Shhh!!!"
Staples, countless fans booed Wang Zelin. They couldn't stand this guy's arrogant attitude on the court.
"One more! One more!"
"Kobe! MVP!"
It was the Lakers' turn to attack. When Kobe got the ball at the left midfielder, Staples was momentarily quiet, and then a roar of cheers suddenly came.
"This is Kobe Bryant! This is the charm of a team leader! Under the leadership of the Black Mamba, the fighting spirit and fighting spirit of this Lakers are no lower than any other team..."
The Lakers game was broadcast live across the United States... How could it be possible that Zhang Lijia was missing?
In the live broadcast of the imperial court, Zhang Lili roared with excitement.
"Ahem, let's see what Kobe does with this feat?"
At this time, Yu Jia on the side was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to turn in. I said to Director Zhang, it seems that when the king scored a goal just now, you didn't show so much excitement. Really...
Facing Kobe, Terry Stotts has never been careless at all. Before the game, he gave Batum and Matthews, two perimeter defenders, a death order:
At all costs, guard against sticking to Kobe Bryant.
However, Kobe is Kobe after all. Facing Terry Stotts' pressing defense, he found a piece of cloth and forced it out.
"You won't get in..."
Batum took off almost at the same time, providing the greatest interference within his capabilities. He firmly believed that with this kind of defensive intensity, it would be too difficult to score a goal!
"Whoosh!"
But as soon as he landed, there was a crisp sound behind him, like a hot slap, hitting him directly in the face.
"ah!!!!"
Staples burst out with huge shouts and cheers for Kobe's first goal.
Batum looked at Tristos on the sidelines, who also looked helpless.
This kind of fairy ball is useless even if you enter it!
The two teams tied 2:2.
Trail Blazers offense.
Lillard advanced to the frontcourt with the ball and began to organize the offense at the top of the arc.
Wang Zelin was wandering inside and outside the paint area, suddenly raised his head and came to the free throw line area.
Lillard quickly passed the ball, and the moment Wang Zelin received the ball, Pau Gasol rushed over without hesitation.
Seeing that Aldridge was left open, Wang Zelin decisively distributed the ball. The former caught the ball and pulled one out from mid-range.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow into the net.
Wang Zelin has been playing smoothly from the game to now, and his mood has not changed because his opponent is Kobe. He plays as he should.
And this is what Kobe is most worried about.
If Wang Zelin is not emotional and still plays reasonable basketball, then it will be difficult for the Lakers to win this game just based on the strength gap between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers.
Kobe knew that he must now find a way to anger Wang Zelin and let him have a "one-on-one duel" with him. In this way, he could only defeat Wang Zelin in his best field, and then defeat the Trail Blazers.
Looking back, Kobe made a fake pass and assisted Pau Gasol for a layup. The two teams were tied again.
However, this time, when returning to defense, Kobe deliberately slowed down and stared at Wang Zelin.
"Boy, I really don't know why those stupid media named you, a guy who can't even enter the top five in the season's scoring list, as the strongest scoring center after O'Neal. Do you think you deserve it?"
The sudden trash talk left Wang Zelin a little confused.
But in Kobe's view, he mistakenly thought this was a sign of mental stability.
"Boy, do you dare to bet with me who will score more points tonight?"
As soon as this sentence came out of his mouth, Kobe regretted it because it seemed that he was too stupid.
In fact, if it was normal, he would definitely not say such stupid things. The use of provocation was too obvious.
To blame, I can only blame him for being too scary tonight.
"Tch, since you like scoring so much, that's fine. Anyway, I just want to win!"
After understanding Kobe's intention, Wang Zelin smiled slightly, replied calmly and left quickly.
Due to the huge gap between the two sides, Pau Gasol faced Wang Zelin's crazy single defense, and sometimes it was difficult to even connect the ball.
In the first half, Kobe used one-time mid-range shots and inside attacks to draw fouls to help the Lakers hold on to the score.
At the beginning of the third quarter, when the Trail Blazers put most of their main players off the court, Kobe did rely on his own personal ability to slowly narrow the point difference.
But when Wang Zelin and other main players of the Trail Blazers returned to the court again, the Lakers' momentum came to an abrupt end!
Watching Kobe staggering and resisting tenaciously inside the Trail Blazers; watching Kobe holding up against the defensive wall of the Trail Blazers' perimeter duo time and time again in the mid-range; watching Kobe immediately speeding back to defend the moment the offense strikes,
Kobe still never gives up...
It is difficult for people to understand why a guy who is almost 36 years old can still work so hard?
Does the so-called Mamba Mentality really exist?
And with Kobe Bryant's hard-working defense after playing hard on the court, people have to believe that maybe, the Mamba Mentality really exists!
However, after the Trail Blazers led by Wang Zelin entered the debt market, the Black Mamba, who did not want to give up the game, had to recognize a cruel reality. It would be difficult for him to score!
The strength gap between the two teams cannot be bridged by Kobe Bryant alone!
If Nash can play, maybe the Lakers will have a better chance of winning. If Kobe and Pau Gasol can be two or three years younger, maybe...
What a pity!
When the third quarter ended, the Trail Blazers entered the final quarter leading the Lakers by 19 points, 88:69.
In the final quarter of the game, even though the Lakers were already trailing by 19 points, through his actions on the court, it was clear that Kobe still didn't want to give up.
However, his efforts are more like "the lion king's counterattack before his death!" As long as the hunter's mentality is good enough and he can stabilize the situation without losing control, then the counterattack of time is destined to be useless.
Finally, the electronic buzzer sounded, and the game ended. The Trail Blazers led by a score of 112:91, over 20, ending the battle.