I just play ball

Chapter 401 Silent Support
Inside the bus, the Lakers applauded and cheered.

In the past history of the NBA, it is very rare for the same team to have two regular season MVP contenders, and the value of the regular season MVP is much greater than that of the finals FMVP. There are 82 games in the entire season, and the MVP candidate needs to play at least 70 games. The probability of upset is extremely high Low.

Therefore, a player with MVP must be a superstar, but a player with only FMVP is not necessarily a superstar.

The last time a similar situation occurred, it must be traced back to the 11-12 season. In the Thunder team at that time, Durant ranked second in MVP, Westbrook ranked ninth, and they joined forces to reach the finals.

If we go back further, it would be the 02-03 season. Among the Lakers at that time, O'Neal ranked third in MVP and Kobe ranked fifth. They teamed up to chase the fourth championship.

After a little observation, it is not difficult to see that no one ranked first in a similar situation before.

But this time, Kobe Bryant ranked first, and Li Yue ranked second. Such details are enough to prove that the Lakers have super dominance in the eyes of fans and the media, and belong to the "super" in "one super and many strong".

"Then you have to work hard!" Kobe smiled, "I will use 100% energy to fight for it. MVP can provide me with a huge bonus."

"As long as you don't shoot 4 consecutive shots!" Li Yue teased, and all the teammates, including Kobe, laughed, as if they didn't take it seriously.Of course, Li Yue also knew that Kobe was absolutely serious.

Because Kobe seems to have never fulfilled his competitors, and he will work harder when he encounters a strong opponent.

This is why Kobe became a historical legend. For example, at the end of the fourth quarter of the 03 All-Star Game, after Jordan hit a shot, the Eastern Conference took the lead, and the game ended with a little bit left.

At that time, most of the audience, including many players, hoped that the game would end here and provide Jordan with a perfect career ending. TNT commentator Kenny Smith even rushed to Kobe's side and bluntly hoped that Kobe would fulfill Jordan.

But Kobe said that even Jordan needs to win the game through strength.

Subsequently, Kobe caused a three-point foul by Olney, helping the West drag the game into overtime, and Garnett finally lifted the AMVP trophy.Many people think that Kobe and Garnett have low emotional intelligence and are too selfish, but Li Yue feels that Jordan will definitely thank them.

Because, taking the initiative to let Jordan win the game and take away the AMVP is simply tantamount to insulting Jordan.

Thinking of this, Li Yue silently gave a thumbs up in his heart. Kobe did not despise himself, nor did he pretend to be a big brother.

As for who will win the regular season MVP, he is not particularly concerned about it now. His priority right now is to win and improve his ranking, enter the playoffs with the league's first record, and get home court advantage in the finals.
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Between talking and laughing, the team bus arrived at Memphis Central Airport, and the Lakers boarded the plane and flew to New Orleans overnight.

The distance between the two places is relatively close, and they arrived at two o'clock in the morning. After entering the hotel and settling in, Li Yue fell asleep soundly.

It was already noon when he woke up, he ordered the room service to deliver the meal, and read the news while lying on the bed.

After the Grizzlies lost last night, the Lakers became the only team to maintain a complete victory since the new season, continuing to sit firmly on the league's first throne with a 7-0 record.

Some experts predict that the Lakers will not be able to break last season's winning record this season due to the cultivation of new players and the rotation mechanism, but it is very likely to create more than 5 ten-game winning streaks.

The first MVP ranking caused a lot of controversy. Most fans and commentators agreed that Kobe was ranked first, but they did not agree that Li Yue was ranked second. A 50+, other games contributed little to the Lakers' victory, the second position should be replaced by LeBron, and even think that LeBron can replace the first.

There are as many as [-] related tweets that think that Li Yue is not worthy of the second place. Some people think that this is a deal between the alliance and the Chinese market. By giving Li Yue a lot of honors, he can get more opportunities to make a fortune.

The key is such a stupid statement, but there are actually people who are willing to believe it.

Those people mocked the league for kneeling, but forgot about the NBA All-Star voting, and they no longer counted Chinese fans.

What's interesting is that Iguodala also retweeted and refuted by citing the Chinese proverb "a good fighter has no great military exploits".

Most American fans are quite ignorant of this sentence. Enthusiastic Chinese fans took the initiative to explain: This is to praise Li Yue for helping the team win easily, and it is not necessary to always score a lot of points or lore, unless the opponent is really serious. Strong, but even in that situation, Li Yue can stand up and help the team win, just like when they played against the Warriors.

Most American fans do not agree with this statement. They like to watch that kind of anxious game. It is better to see the lore. affect team performance.

Chinese fans emphasized: Li Yue hopes that rookies will grow this season, so it’s not impossible to take the initiative to give up the ball, but there is no need to do it often. The key is that the Lakers have many good scorers, so there is no need to learn from Jordan .

The two sides had a lot of debates around this point, who could not convince the other, but it made this matter a hot topic on Twitter.

Iguodala didn't reply anymore, Li Yue got up and had lunch, and ran to Nick Young's room to try the latest version of "Call of Duty", but still felt that it was not as exciting as the previous games, so he played two 2K ​​games to relieve boredom.
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At three o'clock in the afternoon, the entire Lakers team took the bus to the Smoothie King Center for warm-up training before the game.

Li Yue and Kobe stood together, and while shooting, they chatted about the current situation of the Pelicans and analyzed how the game should be played by the way.

After the opening of the summer trading market, the Pelicans let go of the team's main small forward Aminu and acquired center Asik through a trade.What followed was that in the first 6 games of this season, Anthony Davis no longer served as a center, but instead served as a power forward.

"I knew that kid Davis early on. He was talented, but he resisted being a dominant center because he hated physical confrontation. We're going to punish him hard for that."

"In the first six games, Asik played the center forward. His mid-range and long-range shooting percentage was very low, and his breakthrough with the ball was also biased. We can appropriately short him."

"I am in favor of proper shorting, but we must pay attention to defending Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson. The number of three-pointers they shoot is relatively small among pitchers, but their shooting percentage is relatively high. In short, they are relatively stable."

"What do you think about their high screens? Gordon, Evans, and Holiday are all good breakthrough players, and they are equipped with Davis and Asik, two pie-eating masters."

"It's very simple, local three defenses and two defenses. There is no passer in their team. Once they encounter complicated situations, they are prone to mistakes."

The two chatted from the big strategic direction to the small action details for about [-] minutes. Except for Iguodala who occasionally said his own thoughts, the other teammates listened the whole time.

When the time came to [-] p.m., the entire Lakers team returned to the locker room. Li Yue and Kobe made suggestions to the coaching staff.

After some discussion and discussion, D'Antoni announced the starting lineup for the game, Clarkson once again served as the starting point guard, and Iguodala was given the rotation spot, but Igo gave up on his own initiative.

After Li Yue took a shower, he wrapped his ankles in 5 minutes, lay down on a chair to receive a massage and relaxed, and took out his mobile phone to browse the news.

Surprisingly, the topic that he is not worthy of being ranked second in the MVP list not only did not disappear from the Twitter trending list, but climbed up again, catching up with the upcoming "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies".

[Commentator Chris Bunty: You greatly underestimate Li Yue!He knows very well that it is extremely difficult to win consecutive MVPs this season, because he has reached the top in terms of statistics last season!He is currently mainly in charge of the organization of the Lakers, in the name of cultivating young people and providing freshness to all fans. He waited until several rookies gradually became unable to adapt to the high-intensity rhythm, and then stepped forward to score again, perfectly creating a plot of winning and saving the world. , when the time comes, everyone will admire him, data is no longer the focus, do you understand? 】

[Commentator Kevin Arnolds tweeted: In the past few games, Kobe has taken on most of the offensive burden of the Lakers. This is not so wise for a veteran who has suffered from injuries in the past two seasons , especially when the Lakers' schedule is so dense, but you don't have to worry, Li Yue can stand up at any time and carry the Lakers forward, you know. 】

Two tweets, one straightforward and one implicit, mean the same thing - Li Yue deliberately put his energy into the organization, full of scheming, even vicious, and there are comments and guesses, Kobe did not speak out, even if he must be right There is an opinion on this.

Li Yue retweeted Chris Bunty with a smile, and wrote in a comment: The Los Angeles Police should invite you to serve as a special advisor, the crew of "Criminal Minds" should invite you to be the chief screenwriter, and the Harvard School of Psychology should invite you to be a tenured professor!
The tweet was sent, the comments and retweets ensued, and the massage was just over.

Li Yue put down his phone, got up and walked towards the door of the locker room.
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In the arena, seven o'clock in the evening.

As the last note fell, the national anthem was played, the lights were turned on, and the whistle was played.

The audience was full, and in the crowd, Li Yue saw a few Lakers fans in purple and gold jerseys, and immediately raised his hands and waved them.

The big screen in the center captured this shot, and the Pelicans fans booed wildly in unison. Some Pelicans fans stood up and blocked the Lakers fans abruptly. The Pelicans fans next to them also joined in, and soon formed a siege.

Li Yue turned around with a smile, walked into the field, and interacted with the Pelicans high-fiving one by one. He suddenly found that the Pelicans had actually resorted to a three-guard lineup with Evans, Holiday, and Gordon.

Considering that Clarkson's weight was not enough for Evans to attack lightly, Li Yue convened the team to discuss and suggested that Kobe be the point guard temporarily, and Clarkson should play shooting guard instead.

This matter was not applied to the coaching staff, but it was unanimously agreed, and Gobert also guaranteed that he could complete a good interception inside.

The short whistle sounded immediately, and the five players took their positions and stood still. The referee held the ball to the middle circle, raised his hands and threw it upwards.

Snapped!Davis touches the ball first and flicks back hard.

Evans picked it up and pushed forward slowly, and the Pelicans attacked first.

The audience cheered, Evans brought the ball to the top of the arc, hit the ball to the left elbow, ran to the free throw line on the right, and set up a wall to block Gobert.On the other side, Davis caught the ball and turned to the left, handing it to Gordon who was rushing over, and Gordon took the ball and continued to the right, with the help of Asika's cover, he walked to the waist and hit the basket.

Gobert stayed where he was, and Li Yue chased after him, and the two teamed up to form a double team.

Asik disassembled the air cut, Gordon stopped suddenly and slowed down, hitting the ground and passing the ball towards the middle.

The idea is good, but Gordon's ability to pass the ball in a small area is average, and the rebound angle of the basketball is slightly off. Asik bent down and reached out to catch it.

The action was quick, but Asik has always had the attribute of 'butter hands', and it just happened at this moment, watching the basketball slip from his hands.

Seeing this situation, Li Yue swooped to the left, grabbed the basketball, turned around and dashed forward.

The Pelicans retreated quickly, Li Yue observed for a while, and the right wing stopped the ball and waited.

Landry was stuck on the right elbow, Gobert stopped on the left waist again, and the basket was wide open.Li Yue raised his hand high and pretended to pass to Landry, but actually threw the ball to Kobe in the corner on the right, then he lowered his shoulders and rushed straight to the unguarded basket.

Kobe immediately returned the pass tacitly, Li Yue received it in his hand, kicked the ground with force, and took two steps to throw Gordon away.

Davis swooped in, and Li Yue jumped up, gliding in the air, and pulled the bar with his backhand!
boom!Dunks scored, 2 to 0.

The Pelicans attacked, and Evans took the ball to the right wing. After observing for a while, he moved to the left along the three-point line, and used Asik to cover 45 degrees to the left.Holiday just ran through FLOPPY, moving from the left bottom corner to the right elbow.

Evans scored the ball, and Holiday flew towards Kobe and forced a mid-range shot.

when!The basketball hit the hoop and fell.

Davis took off and grabbed the offensive rebound over Landry's head by virtue of his height and wingspan.

The audience shouted and celebrated, Davis threw the ball to the left wing, Gordon caught the ball and retreated, as if he wanted to single out Li Yue.

The audience cheered and cheered, but Gordon did not act for a long time, Davis hesitated for a moment, and went up to the wall to cover. .

Gordon took the opportunity to start to the right, threw away Li Yue and rushed to the free throw line, twisted his hips and rushed to the basket.

The Lakers attacked on three sides, Gordon jumped up and shot hard, and the basketball hit the board and rebounded and fell.

Gobert got the rebound, the Lakers sent a fast break, and the audience booed and interfered.

Li Yue caught the ball and took it to the right wing of the front court. Seeing Kobe follow up, he subconsciously raised his hands and waited.

Kobe rushed to his right elbow, put his back against Holiday, and raised his left hand to ask for it.

Li Yue gave the ball and strode towards the bottom line, making it clear that he wanted to open up space, but Gordon chose to bypass Kobe behind him, preparing to intercept in advance.The opportunity was right in front of him, Li Yue stopped and turned around, stepped back beyond the three-point line, and just as he stood firm, Kobe had already handed the ball over.

Gordon made a big mistake and had no time to return to defense. Holiday was blocked by Kobe again.

Li Yue took off calmly and steadily shot a wide open three-pointer.

Boom!The basketball crashed into the net, 5 to 0.

Easy side Pelicans attack, 1 high and 4 low formation, Holiday and Davis provide screen cooperation at the top of the arc.

Holiday hit the rim to the right, and Davis followed up with an empty cut to the left, but Li Yue and Landry pinched Holiday back and forth, and Gobert moved laterally from the left short corner to defend Davis. Partial three defenses and two strategies.

Seeing that he was about to fall into the siege, Holiday rose from the ground, twisted his body in the air, and forcibly threw the ball towards the ring.

It was clear that it was going to be an alley-oop cooperation. Davis took off in the eyes of the audience looking forward to it, but he was tall and his arms were long. He no longer had an advantage over Gobert, and the basketball was abruptly pushed out of his hands. Roll to the free throw line.

Kobe bent down and rushed to grab it, the Lakers launched a fast break, and Li Yue followed the right sideline all the way to the right wing of the frontcourt.

The entire Pelicans team shrunk to the basket, Kobe pulled the ball from the top of the arc and changed direction, heading straight for the right wing.

Seeing this situation, Li Yue kicked off the ground, used Landry to cover and swing his head to Gordon, rushed to 45 degrees, received a pass from Kobe, brought Evans, who was on defense, to the top of the arc, stopped suddenly and pulled the ball, then retreated and flew away Evans made a three-pointer.

Boom!The basketball crashed into the net, 8 to 0.

Kobe raised his hands and cheered. Li Yue stepped forward to clap his hands, knowing that Kobe was silently supporting him, and he needed to speak out publicly.

(End of this chapter)