NBA: Be the GOAT starting today!

Seeing Kobe's actions, Zhou Yi glared back without backing down.

"You're getting old, Kobe."

As Zhou Yi uttered the words, Kobe's eyes narrowed slightly, and his face turned ashen.

Even before the match started, the star players of both teams were already exuding a palpable tension.

The sideline camera focused on the two centers in the center circle. In front of Bynum, Kaman proved himself and the ball was tipped into the Clippers' lineup.

Baron Davis, with his big beard, controlled the basketball and advanced it to the frontcourt.

Facing Old Fish, Big Beard started a breakthrough, trying to score the first goal of the game over Old Fish.

*Thud*—a loud thud as a hand slams onto a basketball.

Kobe, who was guarding the round-faced Harden, was like a lurking viper, suddenly flashing out and swatting the basketball away from the bearded man's hand.

The basketball broke free from Big Beard's control and was picked up by Old Fish.

"Fuck"

The bearded man cursed angrily after making the mistake, then could only watch as the basketball was tossed into the frontcourt by Fisher.

"Kobe! Slam dunk!"

Kobe, on a fast break, pushed past the round-faced Duncan and slammed the basketball into the hoop.

"Wow, Kobe's starting line is amazing today. That chubby guy on the Clippers can't stop him."

In the CCTV studio, watching Kobe Bryant steal the ball and dunk, Wei Ping said with a regretful tone.

Yu Jia, who was standing nearby, chimed in.

"Yes, the key for the Clippers in this game is how to defend Kobe. Let's see what the Clippers have to do."

On the court, after scoring, Kobe swung his arms as he retreated to the backcourt.

"Kobe! Kobe!"

The cheers of excited Lakers fans echoed throughout the Staples Center.

The game continued, and possession returned to the Clippers.

This time, Baron Davis didn't choose to take the ball himself, but passed it to Zhou Yi at the 45-degree angle of the three-point line from the top of the arc.

Then the rest of the Clippers quickly led the Lakers players to clear one side for Zhou Yi.

Ma Long was quite surprised by Zhou Yi's rapid improvement in ball control in the summer. In order to cooperate with the team's plan to help Zhou Yi improve and win the Rookie of the Year award,

After Malone took over, he added the Zhou Yi isolation play tactic to the Clippers.

Upon seeing Zhou Yi receive the ball, Ron Artest, who was on defense, quickly closed in.

This Lakers player, number 37, who hasn't yet changed his name to Metta World Peace, has taken on the role of the Lakers' defensive anchor at the start of the new season.

"Bite him! Ron."

Kobe's voice rang out on the court; Mamba was reminding Artest.

After losing Ariza in the new season, the Lakers chose to bring in former Defensive Player of the Year Artest in order to reduce the defensive burden on Kobe.

Although Artest has struggled to integrate into the Lakers' offense this season, his diligent defense has been instrumental in the Lakers' three-game winning streak.

In the Lakers' playbook, Artest was intended to be a replacement for top forwards like Pierce, James, and Anthony.

Today, the Lakers are using Zhou Yi to defend against him, and everyone thinks this one-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Defensive Team defender will lock down the Clippers' number eight.

Facing Zhou Yi, Atai stretched out his muscular arms, attempting to use force to stifle Zhou Yi's attack.

Zhou Yi did not choose to go head-to-head with Artest; instead, he lowered his center of gravity and dribbled to find his rhythm.

The moment Zhou Yi saw Artest move his right foot forward, he chose to break through, dribbling the ball directly to Artest's right side and reaching the free throw line to shoot.

Artest quickly followed suit and jumped, but when he could only touch Zhou Yi's elbow at the highest point in the air, a look of shock flashed in the eyes of the Lakers' defensive stalwart.

The basketball swished through the hoop, the referee blew the whistle, and Artest was called for a foul.

"Good shot! Artest is strong but a bit clumsy; his speed and jumping ability can't keep up with Zhou Yi."

Inside the CCTV studio, commentator Wei Ping immediately noticed something amiss on the court.

Zhou Yi stepped to the free-throw line and, despite the boos from the Lakers fans, calmly scored the point.

The game continues.

Seemingly in response to Zhou Yi's basket, Kobe immediately took the ball in the next possession.

After elbowing the round-faced guy away, Kobe easily scored two points.

After scoring, Kobe even made a gun-blowing gesture in front of Zhou Yi, which drew another cheer from the fans.

The two sides traded blows until the first quarter was about to end, when both teams substituted their starting lineups.

The score was 25-20, with the home team Lakers leading.

Although Zhou Yi and Kaman had a good start for the Clippers, they couldn't keep up with Kobe's hot streak.

Despite being guarded by the round-faced Deng, Kobe used various techniques to put the ball into the basket.

Coach Malone on the sidelines was well aware that the round-faced Harden couldn't defend Kobe.

After all, during this period, no one in the entire league could stop Kobe.

A bunch of well-known Kobe Bryant terminators can only use reducing Kobe's shooting percentage as their selling point.

Malone, who had just won the championship last season, didn't have many good options against the Clippers.

He can only prepare a lineup for the bench phase now, and the Lakers' weak bench is the Clippers' only chance.

As is typical for the Lakers, they will start the second quarter with an all-bench lineup.

Ma Long was thinking to himself and was about to start making arrangements for the players when Zhou Yi, who was next to him, nudged him.

"Coach, I'll be guarding Kobe later."

Zhou Yi's words rang out beside Ma Long, and Ma Long looked at Zhou Yi beside him.

Sweat beaded on the boy's forehead, dripping down his handsome and resolute face onto the floor.

"Zhou, Artest is guarding you, and you're still guarding Kobe. That's too much of a strain."

Ma Long's words clearly indicated a rejection of the I Ching.

In the first quarter of the game, although Artest's overly strong physique couldn't keep up with Zhou Yi's speed, his muscular build on the defensive end still took a heavy toll on Zhou Yi.

If Zhou Yi is also assigned to guard Kobe on the defensive end, then the exhaustion Zhou Yi will experience in this game is unimaginable.

"Gordon can't stop Kobe. If we want to win, we have to take a gamble."

The cheers of the Lakers fans on the sidelines rose and fell. Zhou Yi looked at Malone and said firmly:

"Even if I lose, it will only be after I'm completely exhausted."

Looking at the boy in front of him, Ma Long was stunned for a moment. He could feel the burning fighting spirit in those eyes.

"Okay, I'll give you as much rest time as possible at the start of the second quarter, and I'll also arrange for other players to help you on defense. Let's bet on the Lakers' three-pointers."

Ma Long's words made Zhou Yi nod, and he leaned back on the bench to focus on resting.

As Malone predicted, the Lakers fielded their entire bench lineup at the start of the second quarter.

Facing the Lakers' weak bench, the Clippers' bench led by Harden and DeAndre Jordan showed courage and determination.

With the Clippers trailing 30-28, and four minutes remaining in the second quarter, their bench players narrowed the gap to two points.

Seeing the score narrowed to two points, the Zen Master on the sidelines nodded to the bench.

On the Lakers' bench, Kobe tore open his training shirt and walked to the sidelines amidst cheers from the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Clippers' starting lineup also took to the sidelines as the Lakers made their move.

"Okay, now that the Clippers and Lakers starters have finished their rest, the game is about to enter a heated phase."

Inside the CCTV studio, Mr. Wei Ping watched the screen with excitement.

On the court, the Lakers have possession of the ball.

"Hey! Zhou Yi is standing opposite Kobe."