Hu Weidong, born in 1970, is already 28 years old this year. He joined the NBA at 27, and at this age, there’s not much potential left to tap into.
For Hu Weidong, his greatest growth is not in technique or physical fitness, but in having truly gone through the most brutal basketball competition environment and persevered.
This has a significant impact on a person’s will, belief, and character formation. Although fans and spectators often don’t see this, the players themselves know that they are not the same as before.
Hu Weidong made a three-pointer in the first quarter and drew a foul from Kobe at the end of the quarter, scoring both free throws.
When Hu Weidong was shooting free throws, he was extremely calm, catching the ball and shooting without any adjustment or hesitation, unlike Malone or Hornersek who would dawdle.
This contained his confidence in his shooting skills. Jerry West appreciated Hu Weidong’s confidence, which was one of the reasons he brought him to the NBA at the age of 27.
Both free throws were successful, helping the Lakers trail the Trail Blazers by only one point in the first quarter.
"Well done, Hu." West patted Hu Weidong on the shoulder from behind the bench.
Hu Weidong turned around, nodded, and managed a slight smile, not saying much.
West didn’t mind Hu Weidong’s "indifference," because West himself was the same kind of person.
In fact, West increasingly disliked the current NBA, disliking the noisy courts and the flashy colors on the floor.
During the two-minute break between quarters, cheerleaders would come onto the court, twisting and jumping, raising their legs high.
It’s the same everywhere. Young players are getting richer and things from the streets are flooding the courts: tattoos, dreadlocks, hip-hop, all black culture.
The cheerleaders’ skirts are getting shorter, but the players’ shorts are getting longer, looking sloppy, and the playing style is becoming more and more flashy.
West is not opposed to new things, quite the opposite; for victory, for winning games, he can embrace any new thing related to basketball.
But deep down, he despises these things. He despises everything; he even despises himself, which is why he never laughs, always keeping a cold face. He doesn’t like seeing players joking around.
O’Neal’s laziness, Jide’s neuroticism, Tracy McGrady’s eyes that always seem half-open, West dislikes them all.
But he rationally understands that they have talent, they can bring victories and championships, and he must take care of them and nurture them.
This contradictory mindset torments West every day. He also has to work with the playboy Jerry Buss, so it’s no wonder he’s depressed.
Therefore, Jerry West is exceptionally fond of Hu Weidong, enjoys working with this quiet, somewhat introverted, shy Chinese guard.
In the past, West didn’t like China, even hated the red country across the Pacific Ocean, because of his brother.
Through Ah Gan, through Hu Weidong, West had a different view and visited China several times while working for the Trail Blazers.
Like Jabbar, he said he loved the tranquility there.
The second quarter quickly began, and both sides’ second units took the court to continue the exchange of offense.
Bird sent in the Portland Three Young Masters, engaging in a back-and-forth attack with the Lakers using fresh troops.
Bird asked to further accelerate the game’s pace, attacking, attacking, and attacking.
Tonight is destined to be a high-scoring game.
Kobe is the absolute core of the second unit, with a lot of the ball under his control.
He is very fast, has a strong ball-handling ability, and compared to last season, he has made great strides.
More importantly, he is full of energy, consistently running hard on both ends of the court as long as he is playing.
He often complains to Bird, saying his playing time is too short and he can play longer.
Recently, Bird has indeed given him more and more time, especially when the defensive vulnerabilities of the Chris Mullin + Riddle duo are magnified.
Bird often puts Kobe on the court at critical moments, replacing either Mullin or Riddle, to enhance the defensive activity on the wings and prevent easy defensive breakdowns from putting too much pressure on the interior.
Tonight, the Lakers’ forward line is tall and young, so Kobe’s responsibilities will certainly be heavier.
For the Lakers, Hu Weidong remained on the court.
This exposed some defensive issues with Hu Weidong.
When matched against Kobe, Kobe often can get past him with a single crossover.
In the NBA’s man-to-man defense rules, being beaten on the perimeter is very damaging to the defensive system.
Kobe consecutively scored two balls, one with a 45-degree angle crossover to the basket for a layup, and the second from the corner, catching and driving along the baseline, dodging in the air to score against Thorpe.
Hu Weidong felt the gap, and Del Harris was ready to let Tracy McGrady back on the court.
The Lakers’ perimeter passed the ball to Hu Weidong, who followed the tactic and handed it to Robert Horry in the post, with Horry posting up against Little O’Neal.
But his spinning cutter layup was blocked by the help defense of Ben Wallace, and it was another fast break for the Trail Blazers, driven by Kobe, who quickly crossed half-court to attract a double-team.
A bounce pass was made to Old Porter, who went for the layup but was disrupted by the defense and missed, and Little O’Neal followed up with a tip-in but still missed.
Horry grabbed the rebound, a chance for a Lakers fast break, with Derek Fisher catching the ball and then making a long pass to the rushing Hu Weidong.