I just play ball

Chapter 205 Why Do You Play?
Timeout, Lakers bench.

Considering that Leonard will not be on the field at the beginning of the second quarter, Li Yue sat down to relax a little, took the towel thrown by the staff, wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, and ordered a special drink , Sip slowly.

Just as he was thinking about how to expand his advantage in the future, the voice of agent assistant Taylor sounded from behind, "Nike just called, I hope you can shoot a few more shots in the second quarter, all the promotional work for the first game of 50 points has been completed."

Li Yue stopped drinking water, thought for a while, and let out a long sigh of relief, "Got it."

Before the start of the new season, he went to Nike headquarters to discuss various promotional activities for the new season, including some restricted scoring requirements for special games, such as the season opener, the Christmas game, against the Heat and so on.

This is a new idea with the rise of 4G networks, because a large number of mobile Internet users are about to pay attention to NBA games.

That was all outside the contract, and Nike made it conditional on bonuses and the allocation of more advertising resources.

He signed an additional agreement at that time, thinking of multiple opportunities to accumulate more deposits for his public welfare fund. Now Nike specifically called the venue to urge him, but he was more anxious than himself. This made him feel that he had too little money, otherwise Nike would not As for being so active, it is definitely profitable, and it is a huge benefit.

It's normal to think about it. Modern society needs topicality too much. 50 points in the first game of the new season will definitely ignite discussions.

Nike promised a prize of 20 US dollars. This money can be donated to at least two Hope Primary Schools with plastic tracks. It is worth thinking about it, and it is very conducive to gaining a leading edge in the MVP competition. After all, the first image is impressive.

But it is too difficult.

Especially in the face of the Spurs, where the team's defense is better, and the super strong points are still facing themselves.

The Lakers scored 40 points in the first quarter, and they only scored 11 points. They still played for 12 minutes. They will score 39 points in the next three quarters. The Spurs can’t be defeated, but they must win the game. After all, the loss of 50 points is not topical. .

I can only take one step temporarily and watch one step.

After making up his mind, Li Yue turned around and put the drink back, just in time to see Kobe smiling at him, and immediately nodded in response.

……

The timeout ended in a blink of an eye, D'Antoni made personnel adjustments, Li Yue, Gasol, and Landry rested, Blake, Jordan Hill, and Beasley appeared on the stage, and hit the first timeout as planned.

Li Yue turned his head to look at the Spurs. Sure enough, he was playing from the bench, but the backcourt combination was Mills and Ginobili. Compared with the Lakers' backcourt, their combat ability was obviously better than that of the Lakers. Aron Baynes was also inside. That big meat shield.

Unsurprisingly, the Spurs shot higher when both teams lacked defense.

With five points left in the lead, D'Antoni called for a timeout with 5:9 left in the second quarter.

The audience cheered and shouted, Li Yue got up and walked to the sidelines, and high-fived with his teammates one by one.

Seeing that Jordan Hill was depressed, he smiled and patted his shoulder, knowing that the opponent was struggling with two low-level mistakes in a row. In addition, there have been rumors from the outside world that he plans to directly send Gobert to the second center position through privileges, and there may be a trade occur.

Jordan Hill nodded with a complicated expression, his eyes full of confusion.

Li Yue didn't explain, walked quickly to the crowd, put his hips on his hips, and waited for the tactical arrangement.

"They will be more offensive after the timeout. We need to respond strongly and don't worry about fouls..." D'Antoni said, "Gobert and Covington are ready to play, and the other three positions are filled by starters..."

After the arrangement is completed, a short whistle sounds.

Players from the two teams enter the court separately, and the Lakers attack first.

Li Yue settled on the right wing and looked around to check the Spurs lineup, which were Parker, Ginobili, Leonard, Diaw, and Ayres.

He suddenly wondered why Popovich would have such a poor defensive lineup. If he used the screen to get rid of Leonard, and then joined forces with Iguodala, he could score as much as he wanted.

Before thinking of the answer, Nash had rushed to the frontcourt with the ball, and he decisively reached out to ask for it.

The moment he took the ball, Li Yue bent his shoulders and walked to the right, accelerated to the top of the arc, used Gobert to cover half of Leonard, and crossed the three-point line in one step, like a bullet shooting straight at no one guarding basket ring.

Seeing that Ailes and Diaw were shrinking towards the basket at the same time, he stopped abruptly and jumped up, facing Leonard to interfere with the shot.

The incident was urgent and the force was a little too strong. The basketball hit the basket and bounced back to the free throw line. Gobert jumped up and grabbed it firmly.Li Yue stepped back to the top of the arc, took over the hand-off pass, broke through from the right instead, and called for cover loudly.

Iguodala immediately went up to the wall to block Leonard, and Li Yue faced Ginobili at the elbow, and then leaned sideways.

He already had a height advantage, and Xia Tian specialized in gaining muscle, crushing him like a bulldozer.

Ginobili suddenly stood still and wanted to make an offensive foul. He took advantage of the opportunity to turn around and walk to the baseline for a hook shot.

Boom!Hit the circle and enter the net.

The big screen shot immediately gave the Lakers championship merits sitting on the sidelines. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave two thumbs up cooperatively. The magician tilted his head and moved over to steal the spotlight. The audience cheered and applauded. point.

The Spurs attacked, Parker dribbled the ball across the center line, lobbed it to Ayres who reached the top of the arc, and strode to the right elbow.

Ayres raised his hands, turned his hips to face to the right, and Ginobili crossed the free throw line and rushed to the right at the same time.

The defensive attention of the Lakers shifted to the right. Parker used the screen to go around the basket, walked the baseline and rushed to the short corner on the left, twisted his hips again, and went straight to the three-point line. Ailes turned and dribbled to the left. ball.

The two cooperated hand in hand at the left elbow area. Parker took the ball and continued to run towards the top of the arc, but suddenly pulled the ball and changed direction. Nash, who had bypassed the screen, could no longer catch up. to the hoop.

Swish!Hollow into the net.

"Very good, the Lakers only lead by 5 points." Kevin said, "Such a wonderful start, there must be a rout."

"The Spurs are a bit risky," Van Gundy shook his head slightly. "It's also possible that Popovich tempted Li Yue."

"Oh? How do you say it?" Brin looked curious.

"With the Spurs lineup, Li Yue can easily match up with Parker or Ginobili through the pick-and-roll." Van Gundy's mouth slightly curled up. "He can easily score consecutively, but that is difficult to completely destroy the Spurs."

On the field, Li Yue settled down on the right wing.

Nash rushed over with the ball, handed it to him, and then ran straight to the corner to open up space.

He catches the ball and immediately shifts to the top of the arc. Iguodala rushes forward, standing with both feet to set up a positioning screen. Gobert also lifts up from the low post, blocking the free throw line area in advance, faintly blocking Leonard's possibility of going around the screen.

Feeling that Leonard, who was chasing behind him, was far away, Li Yue sank his shoulders and twisted his hips, and cut the inside line from the top of the arc. Ailes was not ready to move laterally to switch defenses.Ailes had difficulty exerting his strength, so he could only follow along with his right hand raised high. The two came to the basket in a blink of an eye.

when!He smashed the basket and was arrested.

The audience chanted MVP, and the central big screen immediately broadcast the whole process of the Lakers' attack. From receiving the ball to making a shot, Li Yue could be described as silky as Dove chocolate, and his movements were extremely pleasing to the eye.

Ayers picked up the basketball and retreated out of bounds. Parker received it and the Spurs launched an offense. Bell made a three-pointer and made a hollow hit.

The Lakers attacked again, repeatedly screened and forced the Spurs to switch defenses. Li Yue finally faced Parker at the top of the arc, and the other four opened up space.

Changing sides for the Spurs to attack, Parker used the cover to break through Nash, rushed inside and accelerated to get rid of Gobert and rushed to the unguarded free throw line. Iguodala was forced to shrink the defense, and the basketball flew 45 degrees to the left in an instant. Ginobi Li received the ball and made a direct three-pointer.

Boom!Hit the circle and enter the net.

The Lakers lead with only 3 points left.

"Popovich's scheme succeeded!" Van Gundy sighed, "Li Yue fell into the same dilemma as LeBron."

"I feel like he's figured it out," Breen said, "but two consecutive points to his teammates didn't make it, so he just continued to attack."

"Strictly speaking, the reason why the Lakers adopt dynamic offense..." Kevin hesitated to speak, "It is because there are too few people who can attack with the ball. Kobe should be relieved when he returns from injury."

...

With the sound of the whistle, the half game ended, the Lakers trailed 67 to 68 by 1 point, and lost to the Spurs by 11 points in a single quarter.

Li Yue was upset, and walked quickly to the player tunnel, but as soon as he got to the sidelines, the public relations director Black grabbed him: "ESPN has a halftime interview, mainly about the championship ring and your 29 points in the half."

"Don't go!" Li Yue blurted out, then froze, and Black also looked confused.

"I'll go." Li Yue came to his senses, thinking that the collective work should not be dragged down because of personal feelings, and losing points is another matter.

He came to the sidelines and stood still. Seeing that he seemed displeased, the ESPN reporter quickly raised the microphone.

"Wow, how does it feel to wear a championship ring for the first time?"

"I am very excited. This is the feedback of our team's hard work. This will become a permanent memory. It inspires me to continue training and continue to fight for victory. This feeling will accompany me for a lifetime." Li Yue said.

"We noticed that you scored 18 points in the second quarter and were very efficient. How did you do it?"

"I have a lot of good teammates, and they are very unselfish, which allows me to get a lot of easy shots."

"OK, thank you for the interview."

Li Yue turned and walked towards the players' tunnel. The audience on both sides cheered excitedly and tried their best to clap their hands. Such enthusiasm made him feel a little more at ease.

……

Back in the locker room, everyone was waiting, and D'Antoni waved at him, signaling to hurry up.

"We played very well in the first quarter and got a 10-point lead, but our shooting in the second quarter was relatively poor. Li Yue failed to score several breakthrough points. We must focus on solving this problem in the second half. First..."

After D'Antoni's tirade, Iguodala and Nash took the lead in promising to go all out, and the team was free to move.

Li Yue sat down resentfully, put on his earphones to listen to music, and took off his sneakers at the same time, preparing to change into a new pair of color schemes. He didn't change his sneakers so frequently before. This was a publicity strategy formulated by Nike, and he had to cooperate more with the money.

After changing his sneakers, he got up and walked out of the locker room, ready to return to the court ahead of time, and continue to think about how to break the game.

According to the conventional thinking, it is natural to divide the ball to assist teammates, but the Spurs are too tight. If they fail to score for several rounds in a row, they will fall into a passive situation later, and may even become a vicious circle. Not only will they lose hope of scoring 50 points, but they will also increase their losses. probability.

If you continue to attack, will your teammates feel uncomfortable?

Although it has happened many times, there were not many choices or special reasons at the time. Now there are three new players in the team, and there are two rookies. A fringe substitute like Jordan Hill also has the opportunity to perform. Big score behind.

All of a sudden, various problems flooded into Li Yue's mind, and Li Yue was in such a state of confusion that he didn't know how to solve it properly.

"Hey!" Kobe's voice suddenly came from beside him, "What are you thinking?"

"I was wondering why after I became a core player, I couldn't find the pure happiness when I first played." Li Yue told the truth, "I feel that there are many problems that need to be dealt with, but I can't find a perfect solution."

Kobe shrugged. "I didn't mean to, but I heard you talking to that person before, because of publicity?"

Li Yue blushed suddenly. After all, this was a personal benefit. Just as he was about to explain, Kobe said, "It's nothing. Nowadays, many commercial endorsements will make all kinds of strange demands for players, so as to create topics to gain attention.

In the age of the eye economy, you understand, I don’t know what you think, anyway, I think it’s okay, as long as you can master it well. "

"It's because I can't grasp that speed." Li Yue smiled awkwardly, "Unless the opponent is weak and can easily win."

"It's easy to meet a strong team. Let me ask you, why do you play professional basketball?" Kobe stopped and said solemnly.

Li Yue also stopped and thought carefully about why he played professional basketball. In the beginning, he definitely wanted to enter the highest level of competition, and by the way, make money to live the life he wanted. Naturally, his core motivation was to become a good player.

How is that considered great?

Of course it is to win the championship. To win the championship, you must win the game, a lot of games.

"I play to win."

"That's right, you just need to think that you can choose to win." Kobe spread his hands, "It's like when I shot three consecutive shots and didn't even touch the net, but I still shot the fourth one. Although I lost, but I believe it's a process."

Before answering the question, Kobe continued: "Pass when you need to pass, fight when you need to fight, don't hesitate, just be yourself."

Li Yue nodded silently, rediscovering the excitement he had when he first played.

...

The halftime break is over and the game continues.

The two teams switched back to the starting lineup. According to the result of the opening jump ball, the Lakers went first.

"What adjustments do you two think the Lakers will make?" Breen said, "The Spurs are very strong."

"I guess the Lakers will take advantage of their physical strength to run more tactics." Kevin said, "This is a good way for role players to get back their touch."

"It doesn't look like that." Van Gundy pushed his glasses up. "Someone is going to go full fire."

On the court, Li Yue took the ball at 45 degrees on the right.

Seeing that the Spurs were temporarily unguarded under the basket, he immediately retreated and raised his hand, signaling to open the space.

The teammates followed suit, and he stepped sideways to the left, made two consecutive strokes, and suddenly decelerated and braked.

Leonard pulled back, he started again, rushed to the basket with the time difference, leaned sideways, and layup with a low hand.

The basketball hit the backboard and rebounded into the net. The Lakers overtook by one point. Li Yue scored his 31st point, and the arena burst into applause.

The Spurs attacked, Parker took the ball to the frontcourt, and the three in the backcourt made a figure-of-eight run. Leonard met Li Yue at the top of the arc.

Split raised up as a screen, Li Yuefang shot, and went around to the front to prevent a breakthrough.

Leonard hesitated for a moment and chose to shoot a three-pointer, and the basketball hit the basket and rebounded.

Hearing the sound, Li Yue rushed down, crossed the center line and turned around to look back. Gasol happened to make a long pass. Seeing Leonard catch up, he took off to catch the ball, changed hands behind the landing to avoid interference, bent down and lowered his center of gravity and rushed forward. , like a Formula 1 racing car flashing by.

Leonard chased after him closely, and the two came beyond the three-point line in an instant. Li Yue stopped to pull the ball, strode back, forced a distance of two meters, and pulled out his hand in front of the pounce.

Boom!The three-pointer hit the circle and entered the net.

It is rare for Li Yue to throw his fists into the air and roar passionately. Before, he always wanted to fight every attack carefully, but now he fights according to the most true thoughts in his heart. brave!

Kobe led the standing ovation, cheers resounded from the Staples Center, and there was a sudden restlessness for no reason.

"Li Yue has evolved again, and Popovich's prophecy may come true..."

"You mean surpassing Jordan? Don't be kidding me!"

(End of this chapter)