Chapter 1405 1404. No Respect in Any Way (Fifth Update, Asking for Monthly Votes)

"Welcome the best player in the world, Ace Liu..."

Liu Mang walked out of the player tunnel amid the high-pitched voice of the DJ on the scene.

McGrady, Kwame Brown, Marion, Rondo, Liu Mang, the five starters of the Hawks all appeared on the court.

On the visiting team, the starting lineup of Yao Ming, Gasol, Fisher, Barnes, and Kobe had already appeared on the court.

After Liu Mang entered the court, the players of both teams came to the court to greet each other.

Liu Mang took the initiative to greet Kobe... but was ignored. Kobe went directly to the Hawks bench and said hello to Grant Hill...

Gasol and Yao Ming were also hugging Kwame Brown and Marion, McGrady was chatting with Fisher and Barnes, and Liu Mang was ignored...

"Intentional! These guys did it on purpose! It must be that little blacksmith who did it!" Liu Mang immediately found the point of hatred.

However... this time he didn't hate the wrong person. It was Kobe's endless hatred for Liu Mang that made his teammates consciously ignore Liu Mang.

The home fans of the Hawks and Lakers have one thing in common, which is that they are very generous...

Seeing Liu Mang's awkward look in the center circle, there were bursts of laughter at the scene.

"Poor little master, I can only hug myself..." Liu Mang didn't know what was wrong with him. He found a camera, turned his back, hugged himself, and pretended to hug someone else...

This scene made the laughter at the scene completely unstoppable.

The fans in front of the TV saw the camera locked on Liu Mang. The Hawks fans were okay and used to it. The fans of other teams who were watching the excitement and the Lakers fans felt too strange. Why is the Hawks' style always so weird?

Soon, when it was almost eight o'clock in the evening, Liu Mang sprinkled magnesium powder in the air and came to the court with his teammates. The game was about to start.

Kwame Brown and Yao Ming had a pleasant exchange before the game because of Liu Mang.

But in the game, they were mortal enemies.

The enemy of the finals, Kwame Brown is going to challenge the most dominant center in the league after O'Neal.

He was very excited, but Kwame Brown kept telling himself to stay calm and not make the same mistake as in the last game against the Bulls.

At eight o'clock, the referee blew the whistle to start the game and threw the ball into the air. When the ball reached the highest point, Kwame Brown jumped up and flicked the ball to the back!

The Lakers retreated like a tide, and Yao Ming just stepped on his feet lightly to pretend. Unless Kwame Brown made a mistake, he had almost no chance to win the jump ball.

Liu Mang and McGrady didn't get the opportunity to start the fast break, and they were not in a hurry. They ran to the front court and waited for Rondo to advance.

Liu Mang came to the 45-degree angle on the left, and Kobe defended him.

The Eagles' lineup made the Lakers not very adaptable. The last time they played, Liu Mang was still a point guard. In countless previous matches, Liu Mang was a point guard, but this time he suddenly became a shooting guard.

Liu Mang waited for Rondo to arrive at the front court, and then he immediately moved towards the top arc.

He did not use the star card immediately, as Isaiah Thomas's star card was only valid for 10 minutes. Calvin Murphy was more powerful than Liu Mang expected, but unfortunately he did not have a three-pointer, so his overall evaluation was low.

Rondo started to advance slowly under Fisher's half-court defense. When he approached the three-point line, Liu Mang just moved to the position and blocked Fisher. Rondo immediately accelerated to break through!

Liu Mang went up and blocked Fisher quite toughly. When he was hit by Fisher, Liu Mang felt like he had knocked down a lump of flesh, but fortunately he managed to hold the union chairman.

After blocking Fisher, Liu Mang immediately withdrew from the three-point line. Rondo's breakthrough forced Kobe to switch defense, and then he immediately passed the ball back to Liu Mang outside the top arc.

Liu Mang received the ball and broke through to the right. Fisher quickly stepped back. Yao Ming under the basket also took a step forward to help defend. After Kobe blocked Rondo's breakthrough, he also came to the mid-range behind Fisher, ready to double-team Liu Mang...

"Not good!"

Kobe just moved sideways and saw Fisher retreating, and realized that his old friend had fallen into a trap!

After Liu Mang's right foot reached the three-point line, he quickly retreated and bounced to a position about one meter outside the top arc, and stepped back to shoot...

Too fast! Fast and accurate, when Kobe found it difficult to rush up, Liu Mang's quick three-pointer had already fallen on the basket, rubbed the inside of the basket, and fell into the frame!

The iconic step-back three-pointer!

In the past, when the Lakers and the Hawks played against each other, Liu Mang was the ball handler in the pick-and-roll. If he shot a three-pointer, he would shoot directly after the pick-and-roll. Facing Kobe, Liu Mang did not have a good step-back opportunity. But now, as a pick-and-roll player, it would be much easier for Liu Mang to receive the ball and shoot a three-pointer after the switch.

Since Liu Mang took a step after receiving the ball and took a step-back to shoot a three-pointer, Rondo also added an assist!

The Hawks got the first three points at the beginning!

However... the next is Kwame Brown's difficult moment...

The Lakers have a clear style of play, and they first use Yao Ming to carve out an advantage!

The Hawks played very well in the middle of the season with Liu Mang's explosive performance, and the Lakers' performance in the middle of the season was not much worse. Yao Ming's best regular season state was almost in the middle of the season, around the All-Star Game.

Yao Ming received the ball and turned around to carry Kwame Brown to shoot a small floater to score two points.

Without Liu Mang's many fancy moves, Yao Ming's goal was simple and rough. He squeezed open and made a layup. He could touch the basket on tiptoe.

Too stable! Yao Ming averaged 31 minutes of playing time this season and scored 18 points, with a hit rate of 65%!

After the Hawks easily scored the first goal, the second attack was not so easy.

Rondo is still too young, just like when he met the Bulls, the opponent had too many powerful stars who were too strong and beyond his tolerance in defense. This time Rondo broke through after Liu Mang's pick-and-roll. After Kobe blocked Rondo, he immediately went behind Rondo to interfere with the connection between Rondo and Liu Mang. Liu Mang was sandwiched by Kobe and Fisher, and Rondo broke into the inside and shot... and was slapped down by Yao Ming!

Fisher's defensive mistake just now was mainly because he was too afraid of Liu Mang. Kobe was not afraid of Rondo at all. As long as he didn't let Rondo rush in with full speed, giving Yao Ming a second to move his feet, Yao Ming could play a good interference role. 2.3 blocks in 31 minutes of playing time was not Yao Ming's biggest role on the defensive end. His role was the defensive threat under the basket after the block!

After the ball was blocked by Yao Ming, Kobe grabbed the ball and passed it to Barnes who was actively running. Liu Mang saw Yao Ming's position when Rondo was making a layup and knew that it was not good. He quickly retreated, but was still fouled by Barnes who was running fast. Barnes got two free throws.

He didn't give the former boss any face at all!