I just play ball

Chapter 275 Sudden Transaction
The external discussion did not move Li Yue, but Kupche's phone call made him look forward to it.

The Lakers aim to defend their title in the new season, but Nash and Blake suffered repeated injuries, and the Lakers were forced to sign Marshall as a free agent, but there is still a lack of candidates for the point guard position. The way the management wants to completely solve the problem is naturally through transactions.

Another factor in the management's determination is that Kobe was injured for 6-8 weeks, and it will be about mid-February after his comeback. The specific performance is unpredictable, and the risk of re-injury must be prevented. Someone must share the scoring and defensive tasks in the backcourt, otherwise When encountering Thunder Westbrook, Spurs Danny Green, and Clippers Paul in the playoffs, it is easy to be chased by one point.

Kupchak didn't specify who he wanted to trade or who he wanted to get, and Li Yue didn't ask.

On the evening of the 10th, the Lakers were a guest at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to challenge the Bucks away.

Perhaps it was because Li Yue got a five-double in the previous match. After the game started, the Bucks were extremely cautious on the offensive end.

The Lakers attack as usual, but after Kobe's truce, the personnel mix has changed significantly, and the offensive efficiency is low.

With such a pace, the two teams tied at 50-50 after halftime.

With the intermission adjustment, the Lakers played an 8-0 attack wave after the start of the third quarter. The Bucks quickly counterattacked through the high screens of Brand Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the single quarter was successful again. tie.

In the fourth quarter of the decisive victory, D'Antoni reused Jordan Hill in tactical arrangements. His personal performance was exceptional. Not only did he score consecutive air cuts and eat cakes, but he also defended Knight's pick-and-rolls and formed many good delays. Therefore, the Lakers took a 9-point lead .

This 9-point lead was maintained until the end. The Lakers defeated the Bucks 101 to 92 to avoid a losing streak.

With a record of 34 wins and 3 losses, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles and got a full 4-day vacation.

During the NBA regular season, few teams can rest for 4 consecutive days, but the Lakers and Clippers enjoy it at the same time. Because the annual Grammy awards season is coming, the Staples Center will be occupied for a long time as the venue. The team will start a wave of 7 consecutive away trips after the next home game, just like a Golden Week holiday.

Li Yue deliberately spared two days to accompany Chen Xi around the California area. NO.13 sent her on the plane back to China. It is not known when the two will meet next time, but they did not feel sad at all when they parted, and they were not affected. Long-distance relationship influence.

On the evening of the 14th, the Lakers sat at home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers who came to adjust.

The Cavaliers acquired 'British Jordan' Luol Deng through a trade last week, which shocked the entire league, because Luol Deng averaged 19 points per game in the new season, just reaching a career high, which is an important boost for the Bulls to go further in the playoffs .

Li Yue was also shocked. After many inquiries, he learned that the Bulls disliked Ruhr Deng who played for the British national team in the Olympics with injuries in the summer of 2012. In addition, Jimmy Barrett performed well, and the Bulls management planned to correct him. At the same time, to avoid triggering a high luxury tax, that's why I chose to send Luer Deng away, and there may be more actions in the future.

In order to get Luol Deng, the Cavaliers sent Bynum plus a first-round pick and two second-round picks, which can be described as expensive, but their offensive and defensive strength has greatly increased.

After the game started, Luer Deng had a strong desire to attack and took the initiative to single out Li Yue many times. However, under Li Yue's strict defense, he made 9 of 3 shots in total. However, Irving scored consecutive singles against Marshall, and the Lakers lost 5 points in the first quarter. .

Back from the second quarter, the Lakers adjusted their style of play. D'Antoni arranged Iguoda to face Luer Deng. Li Yue was liberated on the offensive end. He led the team to score 40 points in a single quarter and successfully led the team by 6 points into the second half.

At the end of the halftime break, both sides had their own strengths, and the point difference was very tight, until Jordan Hill suddenly stepped up and caused Varejao two offensive fouls in a row, causing Varejao to be forced to rest, and the Lakers took the opportunity to open the situation.

In the end, the Lakers won 119 to 108.

On the night of the end of the game, the whole team took a special plane to Arizona directly, and started the seven consecutive trips.

In the first game back-to-back against the Suns, the Lakers fought hard for four quarters and finally won 121 to 118. Rudy Gobert performed well in the process of facing Miles Plumlee, scoring 32 points and 12 rebounds in 18 minutes. .

Winning did not let the Lakers relax. They still set off to fly east overnight and landed in Boston at nine o'clock in the morning.

After a day's rest, the Lakers challenged the Celtics at the North Shore Garden and staged an unconcerned yellow-green battle.

Because the Celtics officially entered the rebuilding phase after sending away the team soul Pierce in the summer, while the Lakers are the defending champions and are in the league's first position. Even if Kobe is injured, their strength is still much ahead.

Even so, the Celtics still showed the spirit of iron and blood, and the strength of all members increased sharply. They fought the Lakers to the last moment and used foul tactics against Jordan Hill, but Hill made consecutive free throws to help the Lakers narrowly win.

At noon on the 18th, the league announced the results of the third round of the All-Star voting. Li Yue's individual votes continued to lead the frontcourt in the Western Conference, but the total number of votes was only 10 behind by LeBron, and it was very likely that he would be overtaken.

However, Li Yue has always maintained the leading MVP ranking, and the odds offered by the major casinos have also dropped to new lows.

On the 19th, the Lakers challenged the Raptors in an away game. After two overtime battles, they finally narrowly won 127 to 126. A total of five players from the team scored in double figures, and Rudy Gobert grabbed a full 20 rebounds.

That night, the Lakers flew to Chicago overnight.

In the summary of the back-to-back challenges against the Bulls, they encountered a hand-to-hand defense and suffered from a serious lack of physical strength. Although Li Yue scored 48 points, he regrettably lost 100 to 105 in the end.

Two back-to-back games in a week made the Lakers miserable. Fortunately, after they played the Bulls, they got three days to rest. The whole team rushed to Miami in advance, and they went to the beach to enjoy the sunshine collectively, and only held simple shooting training.

On the night of the 23rd, the Lakers challenged the Heat away.

Wade, who had been sluggish before, made a strong recovery. He scored 12 points on 15% shooting in the first quarter, successfully contained Iguodala in the second quarter, and LeBron defended Li Yue with all his strength. [-] points behind.

Throughout the second half, the Lakers tried their best to catch up, but LeBron performed superbly, and the Lakers finally lost 102 to 109.

The new season suffered two consecutive losses for the first time, which caused doubts from the media and fans. A lot of discussions appeared on social networks, and various analyzes were made of what problems the Lakers had and how they should improve.

[According to internal sources, the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to send center Jordan Hill in exchange for Nets guard Sean Livingston and an injury special worth $525 million. The deal will be reached as soon as noon tomorrow. The Lakers may use Injured Trey initiated a second trade, targeting power forwards or centers. 】

(End of this chapter)