I just play ball

Chapter 430

After defeating the Thunder, the Lakers had a rest day and had a team practice on the morning of the [-]th.

Li Yue drove to the training base. As soon as he entered the door, he saw many posters of Kobe Bryant hanging on both sides of the corridor. In addition, there were some posters of Michael Jordan and others on the floor, with the words "transcendence", "legend" and so on. Arranged nervously, it seems to be preparing in advance for something to celebrate.

He asked curiously, and the staff told him that in the game against the Kings tonight, Kobe might surpass Jordan and be promoted to the third place in the NBA's all-time scoring list. Such a commemorative moment naturally needs to do something.

Li Yue kept it in mind, walked into the court, Covington and other rookies had already arrived first.

Everyone chatted about the fact that Kobe was about to surpass Jordan in total points, and they reached an agreement tacitly - let Kobe show off at night in the game, and the rest of the team will play a good supporting role to ensure that Kobe gets enough points and wins the game at the same time.

Determined to pay attention, everyone continued to shoot and warm up, and other teammates also arrived one after another.

Li Yue and Kobe used the 'privilege' to occupy a rebound, and while warming up for shooting, they discussed their opponents by the way.

The opponent at night is the Sacramento Kings. Looking at the lineup alone, it is not bad. The record this season is not bad. It is currently 11 wins and 10 losses, ranking eighth in the Western Conference. It is working hard to ensure the qualification for the playoffs. pelican.

The king's achievement is mainly due to the introduction of powerful point guard Darren Collison in the offseason. Compared with the king's former starting point guard Isaiah Thomas, Collison has fewer points and fewer assists. , but Corey's organizational skills are stronger, and he is not so sticky to the ball, so that only three Kings scored in double figures last season, but this season, four scored in double figures.

Collison's defense is also better. The Kings don't need to spend a lot of effort to switch defenses in advance or expand the delay range in order to make up for Thomas's defensive weaknesses, which greatly reduces the easy loss of points.

In addition, the king's core player Cousins ​​is more mature than before. Most of the credit is attributed to the head coach Mike Malone. Compared with the same period last season, the number of technical fouls Cousins ​​received has dropped sharply from the previous season, and the team's offense is more stable. .

There are other reasons for young players such as Ben McLemore to improve, and veterans such as Gay to remain healthy.

Li Yue and Kobe were chatting, the shooting training was over, and the whole team entered the studio to participate in the tactical analysis meeting.

Judging from the video provided by Bodain, the Kings play style is flexible and changeable, and they did not blindly focus on inside offense just because they have a big man like Cousins. Mike Malone is a master tactician. If he leads this team for a long time A king with a reasonable age structure and all kinds of players is very likely to help the king return to the playoffs.

There were rumors earlier that when Mark Jackson was coaching the Warriors, assistant coach Mike Malone was the one who was really responsible for formulating the tactical system and on-the-spot arrangements. The Kings boss, as a former minority shareholder of the Warriors, may have hired Malone for this reason.

Of course, with the nasty nature of the king's boss and management, it's hard to predict what the future will hold.

After all, Cousins ​​has had three different coaches, and the reasons for leaving are various.

After the video was played, D'Antoni raised three points for attention.

The first is to protect the defensive rebounds, because the Kings have a lot of strong men inside, and their skills may be relatively rough, but they must be very good at blocking. As of now, the Kings have ranked fifth in the league in rebounds per game and fourth in the league in offensive rebounds. .

The second is to strengthen the pressure on the ball holder. Among the five starting players of the Kings, Collison can better protect the ball or pass the ball in high-intensity confrontation. It will reach 15.6 times, ranking fourth in the league.

The third is to pay attention to avoid being fouled by Cousins, because after 21 games in the new season, the Kings averaged 29.3 free throws per game, ranking first in the league, of which Cousins ​​averaged 10.2 times per game, and Gay and Curry Sen also averaged 5 or 6 per game.

It sounds awesome, but that's it, except for fouls, everything can be easily dealt with.

At the end of the video conference, Li Yue had lunch at the nutrition restaurant, and went to the lounge to take a nap. After waking up, he drove directly to the Staples Center. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon when he arrived, and the staff had just set up the venue.

This game is related to whether Kobe can surpass Jordan. ESPN is responsible for the national live broadcast.

Public relations general manager Blake gave permission, and Li Yue agreed because he was free.

The first topic is that Kobe can get at least 36 points, because at least 36 points can surpass Michael Jordan.

All three felt that Kobe's recent state should be able to do it, but according to Kobe's current average shooting percentage conversion, it would take about 28-37 shots, which would inevitably lead to Kobe taking a lot of shots.

The king must know this and will definitely make targeted arrangements. Van Gundy asked Li Yue if he had any prepared countermeasures.

Li Yue replied that the coaching staff would naturally make arrangements, and he hadn't considered so much, just wait for the game to start.

After the chat was over, I went back to the court for shooting training, especially practicing step-back shooting, mainly because Gay has a moderate speed and good physical condition. It will be more difficult to complete a breakthrough through a show operation or a direct pull-up.

Practicing and practicing, many fans holding season tickets entered the field early one after another, including big-name star Mark Wahlberg.

Unexpectedly, Mark is filming a movie and wants to ask Li Yue to play a passerby role.

In order to avoid concerns about wrong political principles, Li Yue hopes that Mark can reveal the general plot.

Mark didn't hide it, and told Li Yue straightforwardly that it was actually an inspirational film, telling the story of how a decadent middle-aged man regained the respect of his son and ex-wife through a series of efforts after divorce.

The role played by Mark is the stepfather of his son. He is rich, powerful and well-connected. He brings his stepson to meet the top star in Los Angeles. The young son naturally prefers to get along with this stepfather, which greatly stimulates his biological father. stage.

Li Yue's cameo role only needs to show his face and pose, and he doesn't even have lines.

In return, the producer will use a few seconds of close-up shots to show that Li Yue is very good at playing.

Of course, the movie can also display the signboard of Li Yue's participation, which can be regarded as a win-win move.

It was so simple, Li Yue readily agreed, and immediately started shooting according to Mark's instructions.

Only one shot met the director's requirements, and Mark exaggeratedly praised him for his strong acting talent.

The two exchanged numbers, and Mark emphasized that there may be characters in the future who will invite Li Yue to appear as a guest.
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The time came to [-] pm in a blink of an eye, and Li Yue left the court and returned to the locker room.

After taking a shower and changing the jersey, I caught up with Wharton to come in and announce the starter for the game.

The coaching staff also took into account the need to pass a lot of balls to Kobe, and decisively arranged Li Yue as the starting point guard, Covington as the starting small forward, and Gobert as the starting center. It doesn't matter if the arm interferes with Cousins' shot, even if he is forced to eat, after all, Cousins ​​will consume a lot of energy.

Magic Johnson ran into the locker room, congratulated Kobe in advance, and expressed his bet with Jordan that Kobe would be able to surpass in this game, unless the King double-teamed from beginning to end.

The whole team returned to the court after getting ready, sat on the bench and waited for the pre-match ceremony.
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ESPN commentary seats.

Mike Breen finished his opening speech in five seconds and turned to Van Gundy: "The starting lineups of the two teams have been announced. What changes do you think the Kings should make when Li Yue is the point guard?"

"I don't think the Kings need to make any changes," Van Gundy said, "because obviously, Li Yue's task tonight is to be responsible for handing the ball to Kobe safely. He rarely attacks with the ball. Instead, he can liberate Collison on the defensive end. Rudy Gay will face less defensive pressure, and can even gain a certain speed advantage through small plays."

"I basically feel the same way," Jackson said. "Tonight's game is just Kobe."

"OK, let's see how the ultimate game will develop..."
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In the arena, the national anthem ended, and the lights of the audience continued to gather only in the center of the venue.

Kobe got up and made a speech as a representative of the team, thanking all the audience on the scene and in front of the TV for their support.

When the speech was over, the audience cheered and applauded, the lights around the arena were brightly lit, and the long whistle was played along with it.

Li Yue ran to the technical stage and danced with Nick Young as usual. Many audience members stood up from their seats to participate.

The short whistle sounded quickly, and Li Yue turned and walked into the field, stood still at the bottom left of the center circle, and looked around the king for the start.

My opponent is Collison, who has reached a new high in all statistics this season, feeling a bit at the peak of his career, and his three-point ability is average.

Kobe's matchup is Ben McLemore, who was a teammate of the West Dunk team last season. This season, his scoring average has soared by nearly 4 points per game. The defense is more worrying.

Covington's matchup is Rudy Gay, who will suffer a bit in terms of size. Fortunately, Gay's three-point ability is weak, and Gay will still be responsible for defending himself, while Collison is responsible for defending the offense with the ball. Weak Covington.

Landry's matchup is Reggie Evans, a pure rough guy, a complete rebounding idiot, but what really made Reggie famous in the NBA was actually grabbing Kaman's lower body on purpose, creating the most wretched foul.

Gobert's opponent is Cousins, a player who is neither happy nor brainy. However, he has super physical fitness and vaguely has the potential to become the league's first center in the future. The key figure for the Kings to embark on the road to revival.

In a blink of an eye, the referee held the ball and came to the middle circle, gestured left and right, held the ball with both hands and tossed it lightly.

Snapped!Gobert touched the ball first and swung it back vigorously. Kobe picked it up and the Lakers attacked first.

The audience cheered and applauded, Kobe crossed the center line and raised his hand to hand the ball, Gobert took it and raised his hands to observe.At the same time, Kobe cut in from the left side with the help of a screen, just in time for a back-up tactic, Li Yue beckoned, and Gobert threw the ball to the right wing.

Li Yue went up to catch the ball, turned around and threw it to Kobe who was around the right waist, and then rushed over, pretending to catch the ball and slip to the baseline, but actually took away the defender and helped Kobe clear the space for post-up singles.

But I never thought that Guy, who was in charge of chasing and defending, did not chase, but suddenly stopped and teamed up with McClemore to double-team.

Just about to retreat to the bottom corner to respond, Kobe stepped forward calmly and turned around, facing the two to block the shot, and shot backwards.

when!The basketball hit the basket and rebounded, bounced several times, and fell into the net under the expectant eyes of the audience.

The Lakers scored two points first. Li Yue ran forward and heard the announcer calling for an assist.

The NBA's assist statistics standards are really loose. Just scoring is responsible for passing the ball, and it all depends on Kobe's strong shots.

The Kings attacked, and the audience shouted for defense. Corey dribbled the ball forward, crossed the center line and raised his hand for a long pass.

Cousins ​​catches the ball at 45 degrees to the left and waits with his hands up.At the same time, Collison rushed to the top of the arc and blocked Kobe invisibly. McClemore took the opportunity to rush to the left 45 degrees, trying to cooperate with hand-to-hand cover.

But Kobe squeezed through the cover in lightning and chased him in the blink of an eye, and McClemore could only continue to run in.

Cousins ​​didn't dare to pass at first, but after seeing McLemore enter the inside, he suddenly threw the ball forward. It looked like a pre-judged pass, but the strength was too great and the rebound speed was too fast. McClemore had no time In response, the basketball flew directly out of bounds.

The referee blew his whistle to call a violation, the Lakers got the ball in the backcourt, and Kobe received the ball nearby and pushed.

Amidst the sound of cheers from the audience, Kobe dribbled the ball across the center line, raised his hand and threw it to the top of the arc, cutting inward at 45 degrees from the left.

Gobert received the ball and then divided it to the right wing. Li Yue took the ball and put on a three-threat posture and waited.

Seeing that Kobe came around from the paint with the help of Landry's cover, he immediately ran over with the ball.

When the two met at the elbow area, Li Yue slowed down and stopped, handed over the ball, and erected a wall to block the defender.

But Kobe took the ball and turned around, leaned back in the air and made a mid-range shot. The basketball went into the net hollow, and the Lakers made it 4-0.

This is a pretty standard assist.

The Kings attacked, Gay received the ball from the right wing and cooperated with McClemore in a pick-and-roll.

Kobe and Covington chose to attack, McClemore took the opportunity to disassemble the air cut, received the pass and started three steps, ignoring the interference of Landry's defense, leaped high, dunked with both hands, the whole action was more powerful than the previous leap over O'Neal up.

The Lakers attacked, Kobe dribbled the ball across the center line and passed it to Gobert at the top of the arc.Li Yue received the ball from the right wing and waited with his hands raised high.

Kobe ran to the right half with the help of Landry's cover, as if he wanted to cooperate with Li Yue.

McLemore also seemed to have noticed this. Kobe had just turned his back and blocked the position, and then went around to intercept the passing route.

Kings head coach Mike Malone hastily shouted a reminder, but before the words fell, Kobe had already turned around and ran straight to the basket. At this time, there was no Kings player defending the basket. The nearest Reggie Evans , also in the short left corner.

Seeing this situation, Li Yueqing threw a lob pass, and the basketball flew into the air and then fell to the basket.

Kobe received the hand, jumped up and scored a dunk, and the Lakers led 6-2.

"Kobe is in excellent form, and the King's defense is like a piece of paper. If he hits a lot of shots tonight..." Van Gundy looked thoughtful, "Then Li Yue may also get the assist record. He already has three assists."

(End of this chapter)