Chapter 488 A Great Deal 2
After the first attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Denver Nuggets team had to react, Nick Van Exel started to organize the attack and advanced to the attack with Jake defending against him.
Van Exel passed the ball to Billups on the left, Billups tried the feint, but Bryant was firm on the defense and was not fooled, so Billups had to pass the ball to Raef LaFrentz later on, LaFrentz received the ball and Robert Horry pressed the defense.
LaFrentz was quick and made a spin and managed to make a mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Denver Nuggets team and tie the game again, LaFrentz really was a great player and unfortunately, his career would be hampered by injuries like many players.
In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake started to organize the move and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Fox was not participating as much in the game because the Los Angeles Lakers team did not have so much trouble making points against the Denver Nuggets team.
Fox received the ball and Bryant Stith soon pressed in defense against him, Fox held the ball and soon passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and two players from the Denver Nuggets team came to defend against him.
So Bryant passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and soon got rid of the Van Exel defense and went inside, the Denver Nuggets team's defense was open and Jake took the opportunity to advance.
Antonio McDyess realized that Jake was going to make the points and tried to defend against him, Jake realized this and made an assist to Shaquille O'Neal who was free, O'Neal received the ball and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
O'Neal praised Jake for his assistance and Jake was happy with that, Jake thought it best to play as PG because he could defend better and organize his team's plays, moreover, Jake participated in all plays and had more freedom to make assists or make the stitches.
In another play by the Denver Nuggets team, the ball stayed with LaFrentz, LaFrentz held the ball and passed it to Van Exel further back, Van Exel received the ball and made a pass to McDyess further on McDyess protected the ball and O'Neal was defending against him.
McDyess used his ability to position himself to hook to make 2 more points for the Denver Nuggets team, McDyess, LaFrentz was playing very well and were giving problems to the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that first quarter.
Jake received the ball and began the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and felt the pressure of the Denver Nuggets' defense and had to pass to Horry later on.
Horry received the ball and LaFrentz was already defending against him, Horry passed the ball to Jake further back, Van Exel was not pressing in defense and Jake decided to try the shot from outside and hit it with 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
That was another difference that he had playing as a PG and playing as an SF, the three-point shots were easier for Jake to try and he would try less 2 point shots, so the tendency was that he had more chances to make assists and could also make more points.
The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers having a big advantage on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 9 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake can make assists and points more easily but had less chance of catching rebounds.
"The first quarter ended, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning with a big advantage on the scoreboard and it seems to be an easy game for them even with the team playing away from home."
"Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite in this game anyway, after all, the Denver Nuggets team hasn't won a game this season yet, even with the good performance of Raef LaFrentz and Antonio McDyess they can't stop the opponent's attack."
"And in the Los Angeles Lakers team we have the whole team performing well in that game, Jake Smith has been playing well and controlling the pace of his debut in his PG position in the NBA."
"Kobe Bryant started trying to make several plays and made some points and realizing that the Denver Nuggets team's defense was focusing on him, Bryant started to pass the ball more."
"Shaquille O'Neal is playing as well as always scoring 8 points in that first quarter in 6 attempts, and even Robert Horry and Rick Fox who are debuting this season are playing well."
Seeing Jake's first quarter as PG, coach Harris can relax, basketball fans might not realize it, but the team played completely differently with Jake playing as PG than it did before with Fisher.
Coach Harris realized that Rick Fox was not making many moves because it was not necessary with Jake, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and even Robert Horry playing well in the attack, the team's defense was not so good, but even so, the Denver team Nuggets were unable to score points at all attacks.
It didn't make much of a difference in this game that was easier for the Los Angeles Lakers team, but in more played games and against tough opponents the pace and control of the game in Jake's hands would help the team achieve victory.
The second quarter started with the Denver Nuggets team pushing in the attack, with Raef LaFrentz and Antonio McDyess playing so well, the Denver Nuggets team manager decided to try to exploit that to get the win.
In a good attacking move by the Denver Nuggets team the ball was passed to McDyess, O'Neal was pressing and Horry also approached to help in the defense, so McDyess passed the ball to LaFrentz who was free from the left.
LaFrentz received the ball and tried the shot from outside to score 3 points for the Denver Nuggets team and cheer up the crowd at McNichols Sports Arena, even with that play going on Horry was playing well in defense otherwise LaFrentz would make even more points.
In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake started to organize the attack, he passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox tried to get rid of the opposing player on defense, but he couldn't and passed it to Jake in the back.
Jake received the ball and Van Exel pressed in defense, the Denver Nuggets team's defense increased the pressure defending O'Neal and Bryant, so Jake made a long pass to Horry who was free in the attack, Horry went forward and hooked to do more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
As commentators said all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were well on the attack and so Jake had an easier time getting assists in his debut game, even so, Jake passed the ball over to Bryant and O'Neal to make the attacks.
In another play by the Denver Nuggets Van Exel team passed the ball to LaFrentz, LaFrentz failed to deceive Horry in defense and passed it to Bryan Stith on the right, Kobe Bryant soon went to defend against Stith who tried to pass the ball further back to Van Exel.
Jake, who had already noticed the move, anticipated and managed to intercept Stith's pass making the steal, Jake did not run for the attack and held the ball until his teammates had time to go on the attack.
Jake moved slowly forward because the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning and he didn't want his teammates to tire of anything, Jake passed the ball to Fox on the left.
Fox received the pass from Jake and held the ball before passing it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and with a feint, he got rid of Billups, Bryant advanced to the inside area and after a beautiful play, he made the layup and more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
Jake was happy that the team did not lose the attack and that they increased the advantage on the scoreboard, in this game in which the two defenses were not playing very well, the steals that Jake managed helped to increase the advantage on the scoreboard.
After another good play by the Denver Nuggets team Raef LaFrentz shot outside to make three more points for the Denver Nuggets team, Jake received the ball and started organizing another play for the Los Angeles Lakers team.
Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox held the ball and passed to Bryant on the left, the Denver Nuggets team's defense soon pressed against Bryant who had to pass to Jake further back.
Jake received the ball and made a feint getting rid of the defense of Van Exel and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake had a large percentage of correct three-point shots, so he had no afraid to try whenever I had the chance.
The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team got a good lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 7 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake had a great second quarter and almost got the double-double before the game break.
"The second quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team increasing the points advantage, even more, it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers team will get another victory and the Denver Nuggets team will lose another game."
"The Denver Nuggets team's attack is fine in that game with a good performance by Raef LaFrentz, and Antonio McDyess, but that didn't seem enough for the Denver Nuggets team to win."
"After all, the Los Angeles Lakers team's attack has been very strong this season and they are doing very well in this game too, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Jake Smith, and Robert Horry have been playing very well and Rick Fox is also doing a good game."