NBA: The start beat Kobe Bryant in his old age

Chapter 189 The situation is not good, the playoffs are in crisis!

Zhang Weiping, the commentator in the stands, said bluntly: "The Lakers have never won against the Spurs and Warriors this season."

Another commentator quickly echoed: "Yes! The Lakers' record in the past two months seems very good, but they do have a problem now, that is, they are obviously not prepared enough when facing a championship-level team, and the depth of the lineup is not enough."

"Lin Tiantian scored 42 points in this game, but it was difficult to save the savior. There are still many problems for the Lakers!"

"The record that had just been corrected has now become 30 wins and 31 losses. I hope that the next Lakers players can adjust their mentality."

……

Visiting team locker room.

Everyone was frustrated after losing the game, but Kobe still stood up and said some words of encouragement.

Scott also delivered a testimonial that could be called chicken soup.

Lin Tian was lost in thought.

Although they traded wildly in the middle of the season, they dug up big-name players like Howard.

But the problem before us is that a center like Howard is no longer in line with the trend of the times.

If he was in his peak period, he would be fine, and he could beat all centers with his physical talent.

But now Howard doesn't even have [-]% of his peak strength.

Once he stands on the court, he will often become a point for opponents to target.

Such a tall traditional center also makes the Lakers' inside line crowded and cannot give Lin Tian too much space.

In addition, the Lakers' perimeter defense is still too bad!Curry and Thompson's super accurate three-pointers today can illustrate the problem.

Curry made 10 of 5 three-pointers today, and his shooting percentage reached 50%!

Thompson made 12 of 5 three-pointers, more than 40%.

The two are three-point marksmen themselves, and it is a recognized fact that Clarkson can't guard Curry.

Kobe obviously couldn't guard Thompson, after all, Thompson ran too fast without the ball.

If the last time the Cavaliers defeated them was talent, then what the Warriors defeated them was not just talent, but all-round slings.

Judging from the current state and momentum of the Lakers, it may not be difficult to enter the playoffs.

But if they finally rank eighth, the Warriors will be the first to play.

Lin Tian knew that with the strength of their Lakers team, it was normal for them to be swept by the Warriors.

Therefore, their goal must not be just eighth!Instead, try to strive for a better ranking and avoid meeting the Warriors as soon as the playoffs start.

His ideal ranking is No.6, but the difficulty is not small.

After attending the post-match press conference, Lin Tian returned to the hotel and started watching today's game video.

After carefully watching the playback twice, Lin Tian fell into a deep sleep.

……

In the next half month, the Lakers still played fiercely.

They played eight games in half a month, and only lost one of them, which was to the Raptors in the East.

The record of the Lakers has also become 37 wins and 32 losses.

Due to the change in record, they also successfully squeezed into the playoff zone, ranking No.7 in the West.

And the terrifying Warriors have advanced all the way, completing a wave of seven consecutive victories.

This is mainly because the schedule is relatively friendly, there are no strong teammates, and several poor teams gave them warmth.

The regular season is gradually coming to an end, and all teams striving to enter the playoffs have begun to exert their strength.

The east is fine, but the competition in the west is particularly fierce.

The Mavericks, Grizzlies, Rockets and Jazz, including the momentum of the Lakers, are currently fighting for the playoffs.

Their records are also very similar, with more than 30 victories.

The wages that players usually get are actually regular season wages.

The playoffs are equal to extra games, and players who play in the playoffs have no extra salary.

But there may be teams that don't want to play in the playoffs in order to play poorly, and there is absolutely no player who says they don't want to play in the playoffs.

Because in the real playoffs, the defensive strength will be greatly improved, and this is also the time to test the players.

If a player can shine in the playoffs, he will often not lack a big contract.

Being able to win the championship is even more equivalent to plating a layer of gold on yourself, and you can also call yourself a championship-level player in the future.

In the current league, even the Warriors dare not relax.

They were the first team determined to enter the playoffs, but in order to break the Bulls' record, the Warriors have been crazy recently.

So far, the Big Three of the Warriors have not missed a game.

Their goal this season is not just as simple as a championship, but also a record.

That night, the Lakers ushered in a challenge from the Trail Blazers at home, but eventually swallowed a loss, resulting in a record of 37 wins and 33 losses.

The Blazers' double shots in the backcourt once again exposed the Lakers' perimeter defensive shortcomings.

In the locker room after the game, Kobe even hammered his calf angrily.

These scarred legs had too much impact on his speed, making him unable to guard cj McCollum at all.

Lin Tian didn't know how to comfort Kobe. It's actually a miracle that they can play like this this season.

But once people make progress, they often have higher-level ideas.

In the next game, the Lakers' performance was not as brave as Lin Tiangang's arrival there.

One of the reasons for this is that the players have slacked off, and there is another reason, that is, other teams have also become nervous.

Now that the regular season has been played, the situation has become extremely clear.

The 76ers in the East are determined to be the last in the league, and no one can shake their position.

Countdown No.2 should be produced between the Nets and the Suns.

Of these two teams, the Suns really want to be bad, while the Nets really don't want to be bad, but their strength is really bad.

As for the third-to-last ranking, it should be among the five teams of the Nets, Suns, Timberwolves, Knicks and Daigo.

In the nba, no one will underestimate the pick.

In order to fight for a good lottery, some teams even played badly to the level of insanity!

For example, the 76ers, their record this season may hit the worst in team history.

Compared with the competition for draft picks, the competition for places in the playoffs is much more intense.

The already treacherous situation in the West has become even more confusing under the agitation of the Lakers.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has come to April.

April also means that this is the month when the regular season ends and the playoffs start.

The current record of the Lakers is 41 wins and 39 losses, ranking No.6 in the West.

Their recent record is the worst period since Lin Tian joined the Lakers.

The embarrassing situation that the outside line can't be defended and the inside line can't get out has always been with the Lakers.

So much so that they were even taught a lesson by several teams in the East.

The No.6 ranking puts them under a lot of pressure recently.

Compared with the various winning streaks in the middle of the season, it is really embarrassing recently.

Even if there are only two regular season games left, they may not be able to make it to the playoffs.

Because the teams behind them have almost the same record as them.

爵士队39胜41负，灰熊队41胜40负，火箭队40胜40负。

Even if the Lakers win the next two games, they are only No.6.

And once they lose two games in a row, there is a high probability that they will miss the playoffs.

Helplessly, the next two opponents of the Lakers are not soft persimmons.

One of the Thunder teams, ranked third in the Western Conference, is actually a favorite team for the championship.

Their record is 54 wins and 26 losses, and they have already locked a place in the playoffs.

In terms of record, they have no pressure.

But they should try to avoid falling to No.4!

Because once they fall to No.4, they may meet the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals in advance, which should be avoided as much as possible.

The Lakers' last opponent in the regular season will be the Jazz.

There is a high probability that that game will finally determine the ranking of the regular season.

……

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma.

When the Lakers players appeared in this arena, the whole arena erupted.

For Kobe's arrival, all the fans are extremely excited, this is the penultimate regular season game of Kobe's career!
If the Lakers do not make the playoffs, this will be the penultimate game of Kobe's career!
As early as before the game, the game was publicized like a playoff, and the number of reporters was so many that it made one's scalp tingle.

For this reason, the team had to arrange two more security guards to follow Kobe.

The greeting session before the game was quite simple, and players on both sides could feel an extremely tense atmosphere.

The Lakers have had a bad record recently, and the honeymoon period when Howard and Tucker joined the Lakers has long passed.

The atmosphere in the team is not as good as it was in the middle of the season, and everyone can feel this.

Even Lin Tian's recent performance showed a slight decline.

From turning out to be famous, Lin Tian only took a few games.

While his reputation is resounding throughout the league, other teams have obviously spent a lot of energy studying him.

These teams found that Lin Tian's singles against any player was almost a misplacement.

The best defense against him is double-teaming.

And these teams have also practiced this method very well. No matter what team they play, Lin Tian has been double-teamed by his opponent every game.

This also made his data inevitably decline to a certain extent. After all, even if Jordan faced double-teaming, there was no good way.

In a live broadcast, Barkley even bluntly said that the Lakers seemed to be beaten back to their original shape.

If it weren't for the existence of Lin Tian as a fig leaf, the consequences can be imagined.

In today's game, not many people are optimistic about the Lakers.

Whether the Thunder are starting or coming off the bench, their strength on paper looks better than the Lakers.

Even the pre-match greetings are hasty.

The Thunder is definitely not a warm-hearted team, they even want to make up for the Lakers.

Soon, surrounded by the cheers of the audience, the match between the two sides officially began.

The home team Thunder's starting five are: Westbrook, Andre Robertson, Durant, Ibaka and Adams.

The starting lineup of the Lakers remains the same as before: Clarkson, Kobe, Lin Tian, ​​Tucker and Howard.

The biggest feature of the Thunder this season is stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

Some teams that look strong on paper often can't beat them.

And some teams that look like they are bad, sometimes they will steal a victory when they encounter the Thunder.

This can only show that the Thunder team is not focused enough. In today's game, they seem to be fully focused.

After the start of the game, the right to the first ball was taken by the Thunder
Westbrook dribbled the ball across half court.

Facing Clarkson, Westbrook suddenly accelerated, and the whole person rushed to the inside line like a tiger, and then forced a dunk to detonate the audience.

Westbrook's athletic ability can be said to be overwhelming, and now many fans compare him with Rose at his peak, which is enough to explain the problem.

On the contrary, Clarkson's athletic ability is mediocre, obviously he can't prevent Westbrook.

Howard sent the ball to Lin Tian in the bottom corner.

After halftime, Durant greeted him with open arms.

Durant's long arms are enough to make him a good defender.

It's not his defensive peak yet, because in the Thunder, he doesn't need to put so much experience on the defensive end, and someone wipes his ass for him.

But today, Durant's oppressive eyes made people feel a little lingering.

He stared at Lin Tian stubbornly, as if he was going to eat Lin Tian.

The players on the Lakers side were running wildly, but the Thunder's defensive attitude was extremely active, and no one could run out of space.

In desperation, Lin Tian could only choose singles.

He broke through quickly with the ball, and after two steps from the wing to the three-point line, there was a sudden stop that Durant didn't expect.

Strong jump shot, this is a long two-pointer, within Lin Tian's range.

Durant was shaken by Lin Tian's emergency stop, but he still jumped up in a hurry. It is best to interfere, but there is no other way if he can't interfere.

"Shua!" The ball went in!

Penguin Sports Live.

Witnessing Lin Tian making this long two-pointer, the commentator Yang Yi yelled "Strike", and then analyzed: "Lin Tian has recently increased his long-distance two-pointers, which seems to be preparing for the playoffs! Because the playoffs are not so easy to break through, long two-pointers are a must-know scoring method!"

"Yes!" Another commentator, Wang Xing, nodded and said, "Durant's defense was already very focused just now, he probably didn't expect Lin Tian to make an emergency stop!"

"Ouch! Just as we were talking, Durant returned a three-pointer! It's so tough!"

……

Chesapeake Energy Arena.

In the next few rounds, Westbrook deliberately passed the ball to Durant's hands and let Durant handle the ball.

In fact, this is no longer an exception. This season, Westbrook has significantly increased the number of passes he made, especially the number of passes to Durant.

In the middle of this season, Durant did not complete the contract extension with the Thunder, which is a hidden danger for the Thunder.

Westbrook also faintly felt that the situation was wrong, and even felt that Durant might be unhappy because he had occupied too much possession of the ball.

So Westbrook has become a lot more selfless recently, and the number of assists has also increased significantly, just to make Durant play more happily.

But what he doesn't know is that all these efforts are useless, only the championship is the truth.

The Thunder have the best chance of hitting the championship this season!Compared with the one that reached the finals back then, the lineup against the Big Three of the Heat is obviously much stronger!This is the best window to win the championship. If you miss it, no one in the Thunder team knows what will happen.

Of course, as a traveler, Lin Tian knew that if nothing else happened, Durant would leave Oklahoma after this season.

And now, Westbrook still doesn't know anything. He naively thinks that as long as he passes the ball more, smashes some rumors from the outside world, and makes Durant play happily, Durant will stay even if he doesn't win the championship this season.

(End of this chapter)