LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 135 How can they be the same?

Leonard remained calm upon hearing this, taking quick, shuffling steps, ready to slide and block at any moment, his long arms constantly applying pressure to the ball.

Kobe turned his back, raised the ball over his shoulder, made a series of feints, and then used his left foot as a pivot to turn and face the basket, creating space.

Leonard hesitated whether to stick to him.

Kobe lowered his center of gravity so low that his head was almost touching Leonard's chest, and his right foot kept probing. This posture made it easy for him to generate power and break through.

Noticing Leonard's hesitation, Kobe quickly gathered the ball and used his leg strength to make a shooting motion.

Just as Leonard stepped up to block the shot, Kobe quickly passed the ball, took a big step down, and created space again.

Leonard forcibly shifted his center of gravity and lunged diagonally, but could only block Kobe's eye.

Every little trick has been honed to the point of being effortless yet sophisticated, and a series of small tricks and movements create space for action.

Even when Leonard was guarding him closely, Kobe could always get a shot off in a one-on-one situation.

Chen Shuo was very clear that Kobe's ability to develop his shot was absolutely top-tier in history.

"Duang!"

However, the first shot missed.

Even so, the fans at Wukesong gave a standing ovation.

The roles of offense and defense have reversed.

Instead of going one-on-one with Nash, Paul waved for Chandler's screen.

Gasol had no choice but to follow up, positioning himself around the free-throw line to both suppress Paul's mid-range shots and cover Chandler's cuts to the basket.

Chen Shuo was a little surprised.

Gasol is often criticized for being soft, but his overall defense is actually not bad, and his positioning to defend pick-and-roll delays is quite excellent.

But that's not enough.

Seeing this, Paul suddenly slowed down after his breakthrough, using his body to shield Nash who was chasing him. After a moment's pause, he dribbled the ball laterally, drawing the attention of both Nash and Gasol.

Chandler smoothly drove to the basket, Paul dribbled forward, and in the eyes of the fans, it looked as if he had rushed into Gasol's arms. At the same time, the basketball bounced off the ground and passed between Gasol's legs.

The boxing champion then delivered a powerful dunk with one hand, sending Jamison sprawling as he came to help defend.

Chen Shuo clapped his hands gently.

If Howard had come to the rescue, the Lakers would have actually been able to stop the ball.

Jamison is someone who has the will but not the ability.

Even if he were ten years younger, he couldn't stop that shot.

Back to the Lakers' offensive possession.

Lakers head coach Mike Brown was gesturing on the sidelines, clearly instructing his players to execute a play.

Yu Jia hosted the live broadcast on CCTV5, with Zhang Weiping serving as a guest commentator.

Zhang Weiping spoke in perfect Beijing dialect: "This knight is really fierce."

"The Lakers need to get serious. Look at this play, the Princeton run."

"Gasol moved to the high post, and Kobe ran off the ball."

"Give the ball to Kobe, yes, Kobe catches and shoots, catch and shot, it's in!"

"That was a fair shot."

Chen Shuo's eyes darted around.

Mike Brown must have been thinking, letting this superstar Lakers team play against Princeton.

On paper, Gasol has excellent basketball IQ, a long shooting range, and top-notch playmaking ability in the high post, making him a worthy candidate to be the pivot of Princeton.

But expecting Nash, Kobe, Artest, and other veterans to run a lot of off-ball movement on the court would be a recipe for disaster for them.

In terms of technical skills, these individuals are capable of adapting to the Princeton system.

Unfortunately, this is not ten years ago.

Nash was already used to fast breaks, quick offense, and pick-and-roll initiation.

Kobe, on the other hand, preferred the triangle offense, acting more as a finisher rather than a moveer who could stretch the floor off the ball.

Artest played for the Kings and Rockets in Princeton, but now he can barely move his legs.

Not to mention that Howard was focused on proving himself through one-on-one play in the low post.

The power of habit is profound.

More than a decade of professional careers have long established a player's comfort zone, making them undergo a significant role change at this age is a true test of both their physical and mental abilities.

If the Lakers can maintain a stable season and the team is united, there is still a slim chance of success.

Mike Brown's fate was sealed.

Knight's turn.

Kobe decisively went up against Paul.

At this age, Kobe rarely does defensive work anymore.

But since his backcourt partner was Nash, and Kobe wanted to win the game and give the Lakers' Big Four a good start, he had no choice but to step in himself.

A battle of the stars.

This brought the atmosphere to its peak.

Almost everyone held their breath, waiting for Paul's next move.

Kobe's defense lived up to his nickname "Black Mamba." He was incredibly agile with his quick, short steps, constantly shifting left and right around Paul, completely covering him and displaying extreme aggression.

Although the defensive lineup has always been criticized by fans for being ineffective.

But when Kobe was in good physical condition, he could indeed deliver top-notch one-on-one defense.

Paul was clearly aware of the situation, and he turned sideways to protect the ball, waiting for the opportunity to arise.

On the other side, Nash was guarding Thompson, keeping a close eye on him. Nash's footwork and awareness were fine.

However, he was completely helpless against Garnett's screens. The average physical attributes of white guards made it difficult for Nash to regain speed and catch up with Thompson after contact.

Thompson received a cross pass from Paul beyond the three-point line and delivered a clean and decisive shot.

If the Lakers' offense can rely on the individual abilities of their star players to break through the Cavaliers' defense from time to time...

There's simply no way to deal with the Cavaliers on the defensive end.

At this age, Nash was a complete defensive liability, Jamison's performance was even worse than Nash's, and Gasol has never been the kind of defensive anchor who can clean up the mess for his teammates.

The score quickly widened to ten points. Although the Cavaliers were still within a reach of the score, experts could already see that they were in a very favorable position.

The Cavaliers are adept on both offense and defense, and are still able to play the game they want.

The Lakers' Princeton offense quickly devolved into star isolation plays by Kobe and Nash.

This is not difficult to understand.

For a star of Kobe's caliber, after running around the court for a long time, he finally managed to create an opportunity for Artest to steal a basket, but Artest was immediately blocked by the rim.

You can imagine how utterly disgusted they felt.

Jamison is no less impressive than Artest.

At his press conference announcing his joining the Lakers, the veteran boasted to the media, "We have the best bench depth in the league."

As a result, he immediately missed several scoring opportunities on the court.

As the point difference widened, a fan in the arena muttered to himself, "Has the Cavaliers become this strong? They're even easily crushing the Lakers' Big Four."

Someone nearby immediately replied, "Is it possible that the Lakers are just too weak?"

Lakers fans vehemently denied it: "Absolutely impossible, that's a fucking Big Four, a super team."

A disdainful voice rang out: "What's the use? Didn't LeBron James get suppressed even when he teamed up with the Big Three?"

"How can that be the same?"

"And Howard hasn't even played yet. It'll be a different story once he comes on."