NBA: Since James left the Cavaliers

Los Angeles, inside a luxury hotel.

Long Rui lay powerlessly on the bed, his complexion looked a little pale, and his lips were slightly dry.

Successive away games and long journeys made him very uncomfortable.

Especially today, he only felt weak all over, his body was a little chilly, his head was heavy, and his forehead was obviously hot.

Yes, he has a cold, and it's kind of bad.

"Ding dong!"

In a daze, the doorbell rang.

Long Ruiqiang stood up and opened the door. The person standing outside the door was Yi Jianlian.

"Long Rui, you don't look very well, are you okay?"

Yi Jianlian could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Long Rui, so he immediately asked.

Long Rui helped his forehead, and then pulled himself together, shrugging his shoulders pretending nothing happened: "It's okay, I'm just a little tired."

Hearing this, Yi Jianlian frowned slightly, seeing Long Rui's appearance, he was still a little worried, so he asked again: "Are you all right?"

Long Rui nodded: "Are you going to the arena? Let's go."

As soon as the words fell, he went back to the room and changed his clothes, and then walked out with Yi Jianlian.

In order to conceal his physical condition, Long Rui deliberately walked behind Yi Jianlian, trying not to let him see anything unusual.

But while the two were waiting for the elevator, Long Rui leaned directly against the wall, sweating profusely on his forehead.

"you are sick?"

Seeing this, Yi Jianlian immediately put his hand on Long Rui's forehead.

Long Rui blocked his hand away: "It's okay, maybe I wear a lot and it's just a little hot."

It's the twelfth lunar month of winter, and Long Rui's words are obviously too unreliable.

"Long Rui, stop pretending."

Yi Jianlian said solemnly.

Long Rui glanced at him, knowing that he couldn't hide it, and then admitted: "Well, I just have a cold, so don't worry too much."

"Then you should have a good rest. Go back to your room. I'll explain to the coach."

As he said that, Yi Jianlian took out his mobile phone.

But Long Rui pressed his hand directly, and shook his head: "It's just a cold, nothing to make a fuss about."

"Besides, if you have a cold, you should exercise, and sweating will be fine."

Long Rui forced a smile, he insisted on participating in this competition.

Yi Jianlian is well aware of Long Rui's character. As long as he decides something, it is difficult for others to change it.

"Okay, but if you're really uncomfortable, just say it, it's just a game, it's not necessary."

Long Rui patted him on the shoulder: "I know."

The two went downstairs, and Byron Scott and others were already waiting outside.

Long Rui trotted over and greeted everyone, but no one noticed his state.

……

When the time came to seven o'clock in the evening, the lights of the Staples Center Arena were bright and dazzling.

The Los Angeles Lakers will sit at home and welcome the challenge of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This strong duel also attracted much attention. Before the game, Kobe praised Long Rui in an interview, but at the same time he also said that he would go all out to defeat his opponent in the game.

Since the start of the game, the Lakers have performed very well, and their current record ranks second in the Western Conference.

In this game, they have home court advantage and are still waiting for work.

Therefore, for the Cavaliers, this is another difficult challenge since the Heat.

What's more, there was something wrong with Long Rui's body, but other than Yi Jianlian, no one else knew about it.

At this moment, the visiting team locker room.

Long Rui put on his 'battle suit' as usual, and whenever he put on the 'battle suit', he would be full of fighting spirit.

Head coach Byron Scott is constantly boosting morale, only Yi Jianlian glances at Long Rui from time to time, always paying attention to his state.

After a while, players from both sides appeared on the field. When Kobe's figure appeared on the big screen, the fans immediately stood up and cheered.

Long Rui watched this scene, just like the treatment he received in the quick loan center.

Unlike Kecheng, countless honors have risen from this purple-gold ocean.

Long Rui couldn't help looking up, and at a glance, he saw 16 championship banners hanging above the court.

In addition to these flags, there are also jerseys of many retired stars.

In contrast, the home court of the Cavaliers looks a bit lonely, but last season, under the leadership of Long Rui, they finally broke the championship shortage, and the banner of the championship was hung above the arena as they wished.

It's just that the gap with the Lakers is still very obvious.

Then, the two sides started the pre-match warm-up.

After Kobe played, he immediately embraced Long Rui. He really liked this young man from China.

"Tonight's duel must be exciting, and I can't wait."

As he said that, Kobe patted Long Rui's head habitually.

But when he touched Long Rui's forehead, he felt something was wrong.

"you…"

Kobe just wanted to ask, but Long Rui stopped him directly.

"Don't say it, they don't know yet."

Kobe was taken aback by these words, and Long Rui obviously didn't want to miss the game because of this reason.

This behavior can't help but remind him of Jordan back then.

It was the 97 NBA Finals, when the Bulls played against the Jazz in Tianwangshan, the "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan had a high fever and was severely dehydrated.

But it was in this state that he led the team to win the Tianwangshan victory, and scored 17 points in a single quarter.

After the game, Jordan almost collapsed and fell into the arms of Scottie Pippen, which is admirable.

And this battle, even though it was just an ordinary regular season, Long Rui's spirit of playing despite his illness was quite similar to that of Jordan back then, and deserves respect as well.

Kobe nodded slightly, then smiled: "Don't expect me to release water because of this."

Long Rui also responded with a smile: "Although I'm not feeling well, I will still defeat you!"

After a while, the warm-up is over, the game is about to start, and the starting lineups of both sides are released.

Cavaliers starters: Stephen Curry, Long Rui, Jimmy Butler, JJ Hickson, Yi Jianlian
Lakers starters: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Mehta Waldpease, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum

Compared with the starting lineup, the Lakers' twin-tower lineup has an absolute advantage in the paint.

The power of the combination of "Sister-in-law" and "Little Shark" is not weaker than the twin towers of the Mavericks last season.

In the last season, the Mavericks' twin towers made the Cavaliers' insiders suffer.

From this point of view, the Cavaliers will also be uncomfortable in this game. Even if Yi Jianlian's strength has improved, he cannot resist the opponent's twin towers alone.

The Cavaliers' backcourt strength is unquestionable, even if the Lakers have Kobe, they are inferior.