I just play ball

Chapter 40
After a night's rest in Miami, the Lakers arrived in Cleveland at noon on the [-]th on the Sky One plane.

The team canceled regular training, and Li Yue also put down the video analysis work in his hand, and wandered around with Kobe and the others.

Former Lakers star, two-time championship player, and current Cavaliers main backup Luke Walton received them and his party. However, Cleveland, as a traditional industrial city in the United States, seriously lacks entertainment programs, so it can only find a club to play Texas at the end.

In the evening, Li Yue won more than 1 dollars by playing Texas Hold'em, and invited the whole team and Wharton to dinner.

It's a pity that Cliff's food is also full of industrial taste. The streets are full of Reuben sandwiches and corned beef. It's hard for everyone to find a Chinese restaurant that can customize dishes, and the price is a bit expensive.

During the dinner, Wharton drank too much.

He put his arms around Kobe's shoulders and expressed his affection, saying that as long as the Lakers need him, he will definitely play for the Lakers, be it a scout or an assistant coach.

Kobe didn't say much, just patted his back to comfort him, and said with a smile that he would score another 70 points on his head tomorrow.

...

The next day, Li Yue got up at five o'clock, first went to the hotel gym to practice simple cardiopulmonary function for two hours, and then returned to the room to continue analyzing the Cavaliers game video and players' technical characteristics.

When the whole team had breakfast together, D'Antoni confirmed that Gasol would take turns to rest, Kobe could get up to 15 minutes of playing time, and Andrew Goodlock, Thackeray, and Devin Ebanks would enter the active list. Whether to play or not depends on whether there is garbage time in the game. Arranging a rest is a risk. It is impossible to give the three players training time.

For this decision, the Gasol three readily accepted, Kobe was expressionless, and the three of Goodlock were full of excitement.

After breakfast, Li Yue returned to his room to continue working. He was analyzing why Owen changed his direction so quickly when there was a knock on the door.

When I opened the door, Goodlock came to visit.

"Hey, brother, what's the matter?" Li Yue smiled and stretched out his hand, and the two punched each other in greeting.

"Just stopped by to see, you've been playing really well recently, especially against LeBron last night, the dunk stunned me." Goodlock imitated the dunk, exaggerated gestures.

"It's just luck." Li Yue waved his hand.

The two sat on the sofa, and Goodluck continued to gesture: "Your cut layup reminded me of the game where we scored 40 points and 22 assists to defeat the Houston Vipers..."

Hearing this, Li Yue suddenly fell into memory.

He was selected by the Lakers in the same year as Goodluck, but he failed to play in the first season due to injury.

Goodlock was lucky. He played [-] games in the first season, but was waived in the second season. It was because Nash and Duhon suffered injuries that he re-signed. Duhon was sent to the Development League after his comeback.

The two teamed up to win many games for the Defenders. They used a high-post hand-off and then used a cover to quickly get off. They played all over the entire development league. value player.

However, since Li Yue was recalled to the Lakers, the two failed to continue to cooperate, occasionally chatting through text messages.

Fortunately, for the Lakers' four consecutive away trips, the coaching staff was also recalled to prepare for the team's unexpected needs.

Thinking of this, Li Yue slapped his thigh fiercely, "Although it's morning, I still want to have a drink with me to commemorate us..."

"Don't, I think you are very busy with analysis, don't delay because of this." Goodlock got up and left after speaking.

Seeing that the door was closed, Li Yue was stunned. He came and went in a hurry. Are you really just chatting casually?
After thinking about it for a while, I couldn't find out the reason, so I continued to study why Owen changed direction so quickly.

...

Six o'clock in the afternoon, Quicken Loans Arena.

In the ESPN commentary seat, Mike Brin said with a smile: "Just now the director has confirmed that Gasol, Nash, and Howard will be absent due to tight hip muscles. Kobe will also strictly control his playing time due to knee discomfort. Tonight's game , it is very likely that Li Yue led the team to fight alone, what do you two think?"

Jeff Van Gundy said: "This is a great challenge for Li Yue, and it is also a great challenge for the Lakers. Li Yue needs to prove that he can defend the speed guard, but as long as he defends successfully and leads the team to win, then in the In the summer, he will definitely receive a contract of the kind offered by Daryl Morey to Jeremy Lin. Because the Lakers need to keep Howard and Gasol first, the salary space is not enough to match the offer, and Li Yue will also struggle with how to deal with it. choose."

Jalen Rose curled his lips: "How can this be regarded as him leading the team alone? As long as Kobe is sitting on the sidelines wearing a jersey, that is Kobe leading the team. Jeff's statement just supports my previous views. The reason why the Lakers won consecutive victories is mainly Relying on several main players such as Howard and Gasol, Li Yue just repeated their work and did not create new value."

Brin laughed in astonishment: "Even if Kobe played zero minutes, is he still leading the team?"

"Of course! Kobe is a deterrent to both the Lakers players and the opposing players." Jaylen Rose said.

Van Gundy shook his head again and again, and pushed his glasses: "I object to your statement, you are completely..."

"OK, let's take a look at the topic discussion on Twitter tonight. In the topic of whether Li Yue can score 30 points, nearly [-] fans chose yes, and nearly [-] fans chose no. Among all comments , the one with the most likes thinks that after Li Yue loses the containment of his inside and outside teammates, he can easily be locked up by the opposing players."

"Hey, the fans are very knowledgeable and have the same views as me. Are you still going to continue to oppose it?" Jaylen Rose shook his head and shrugged happily, as happy as he had won a major victory.

Van Gundy just smiled and didn't answer.

...

On the court, the Lakers bench.

Li Yue tied his shoelaces, stood up and looked up to observe the entire arena. There are many empty areas with more than 2 seats. It seems that since LeBron left, Cavaliers fans have become uninterested. The blow is too great, and this season is the third last in the league. It takes an average of four games to witness a victory.

The whistle sounded, and the players of the two teams entered the field one after another. Sporadic applause gradually sounded at the scene, which sounded very shabby.

In terms of lineup, point guard Blake vs. Irving, shooting guard Kobe vs. Alonzogie, small forward Li Yue vs. CJ Myers, power forward Clark vs. Tristan Thompson, center Jordan Hill vs. Taylor Zeller.

Compared with Hill, Zeller is taller and has a longer wingspan. He easily touched the basketball with most of his palms before he swiped to the backcourt.

Irving picked it up in his hand and quickly led it to the frontcourt. The fans were silent, as if they were watching the visiting team play a game.

Li Yue strode into position, and as soon as he stood on the left wing to observe the situation, the basketball flew into Miles' hands. He was about to defend, but Owen rushed over to take over and pass back the pass, while moving along the sideline with the help of screens.

Blake stared and waved his hands. Li Yue turned around and switched defenses. He quickly chased to the left sideline near the bottom corner. Seeing Owen raise his shoulders and lower his waist, he decisively took a small step back, but at the same time raised his right hand to block the shot.

As expected, Irving made a sudden stop, turned around and took off, facing him with a three-point jumper.

If he were to defend someone else, Li Yue would have 0.2 points to block shots with confidence, but this time facing Irving, he could block the shot. The key is to be prepared, because Irving's limit change time is only [-] Second.

clang!The sound of a basketball hitting the hoop sounded.

Li Yue turned and ran, half sideways like a crab, rushing forward, expecting his teammates to grab a rebound.

Fortunately, Clark did get the rebound, and immediately saw him swinging a long pass.

Li Yue took over the center line position, and Owen was the only one chasing and defending the entire Cavaliers.

The fans at the scene seemed to have finally reacted, cheering one after another, and booing endlessly.

Li Yue strode to the three-point line. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Owen's sudden acceleration and turned around without hesitation.

The two are almost in the same pose!

boom!The basketball bounced off the board, went back and forth several times, and finally fell into the net.

Goodlock was the first to stand up from the Lakers bench and applaud wildly, causing Howard and the others to look sideways.

(End of this chapter)