I feel hot in the NBA

Chapter 281 Defending Champion Lakers

The Mavericks have all the home-court advantage, so the first game against the Lakers in the second round is still in Dallas.

However, today all the Mavericks mobilized in the locker room before the game, especially Carlisle, who repeatedly emphasized once he entered the locker room: "Cheer up, get up, guys, we are no longer going to face a weak team, we are going to face the defending champion, guys, get up!"

The Los Angeles Lakers, the 09 and 10-year championship winners, are the first team in the league to complete consecutive championships since 02.

And the previous one was not another team, but their Los Angeles Lakers!

It's just that the Lakers team 10 years ago was led by O'Neal, but now this team is led by Kobe Bryant.

As the second head of the year, and now the big head, Kobe Bryant successfully proved "I can do it if I come"!It also made O'Neal say something like "Kobe kicked my ass hard".

After 2010, O'Neal even said: "Don't compare me with Kobe anymore. I am an inside player. If you want to compare, please also compare me with Tim Duncan. We are both inside players. This kind of comparison is the most meaningful!"

Of course, O'Neill is right.

As for the relationship between O'Neal and Kobe, although there was hostility before, the relationship has indeed eased a lot after 10 years, and O'Neal's son has also learned a lot of skills from Kobe!
With this level of relationship, the relationship between these two people will indeed not be so bad...

The Lakers completed two consecutive championships, but Kobe was not satisfied. He wanted to hit the three consecutive championships. After all, O'Neal achieved the "three consecutive championships" back then!
More importantly, Michael Jordan, the goal he has always wanted to catch up with, has completed two three-peats, so Kobe also wants to complete another three-peat to catch up with his goal to the greatest extent!
Of course, he is also very clear that judging from the current situation, the possibility of him surpassing Michael Jordan in the future is almost equal to zero!

Because it is impossible for him to win the second three consecutive championships as the head of the team.

Therefore, being able to win three consecutive championships this time, for him, at least it can prove that he can do what O'Neal can do, and it can also bring him one step closer to Michael Jordan!
However, the Lakers this season are not among the contenders for the championship that the outside world is optimistic about, although they retain the championship lineup of the past two years: Kobe, Fisher, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Bynum, and even the sixth man Odom is also in the team at the moment.

The Lakers lineup that won two championships for the Lakers was preserved, and it is said that they also retained their hopes of competing for a third championship.

But in the eyes of many experts, this is not the case!

The core lineup of the Lakers is too old compared to the previous two years. Except for Kobe, who has not declined much and can still affect the game on both offensive and defensive ends, other Lakers players, such as Ci Shiping, have completely weakened their offensive ability at this moment. They have almost no presence on the offensive end. On the defensive end, they can only rely on strong defense to interfere with opponents, but the slowdown is also visible to the naked eye!Not to mention Fisher, he is really an "old fish" now!His role on the court has also diminished to the point where he can only dribble across the court.

And Bynum's failure to grow up to expectations directly made it impossible for this team to retain its previous competitiveness!
Originally, according to the thinking of the Lakers management, they planned to let Bynum take over Kobe's position and successfully complete the transformation. This is why they haven't paid attention to big players in the past two years. Now, such a move directly makes the Lakers lose their competitiveness when they compete for the championship in the third year!
Speaking of the past two years, the Lakers have indeed been unable to do what they want in the free market. After Pau Gasol, they have completed the most valuable deal, which is to bring Metta World Peace to the Lakers. Apart from this deal, there is no other eye-catching operation!
And building a team has always been like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat!

The current Lakers have reaped the consequences!

What's even more unfortunate is that they have also encountered a wave of injuries this season, and too many injuries have prevented this team from finding the feeling of the past!

Fortunately, in the first round, they also faced the Nuggets who completed their transformation after the All-Star Game, which gave them a chance to run in the playoffs!
A total of 5 games have been played. Judging from the cooperation on the scene, the Lakers are getting back to the feeling of last year. This is why more experts are optimistic about the Lakers in the "Round Table Conference"!

Of course, the most important thing is that Kobe Bryant has clearly entered the playoff mode. In 5 games in the playoffs, he averaged 26.4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, and his shooting percentage was 47.8%. This efficiency is obviously entering his best state of the season!
Although everyone is saying that LeBron James has sat on the throne and become NBA No. 1, no one dares to underestimate Kobe Bryant, especially after this guy has entered the state!
……

The regular season record between the Mavericks and the Lakers was 2 wins and 1 loss, and the losing game was still at the Lakers' home court. Therefore, the Mavericks' generals are not nervous at the Mavericks' home court, but Carlisle's words made everyone feel nervous!

After the pre-match home player appearances, the game will start soon!

A somewhat interesting situation is that during the home players' appearance ceremony, Kobe Bryant, who was sitting on the bench, saw Lin Yang's appearance, his face obviously sank, and he happened to be captured by the photographer next to him.

Bill Walton: "Apparently Kobe hasn't forgotten about Lin tweeting about him!"

Kobe Bryant generally doesn't look down on a rookie, but he is famously competitive in the league. Lin Yang made him lose face after that game, and he has always kept this grudge in his heart!

So before he was completely comfortable, he naturally wouldn't give Lin Yang a good look!
Even seeing Lin Yang, he couldn't restrain his desire to fight...

"Tonight we will see a very offensive Kobe, of course it is very good, I think tonight's game will be very exciting!" Drexler knows what Bill Walton wants to say, and he also knows Kobe's character very well, so he is also looking forward to tonight's game. If there is something between Lin Yang and Kobe, then the whole series will be good!

As commentators, they naturally hope to see more battles!

Such a game is interesting to explain!

(End of this chapter)