I just play ball

Chapter 447 LeBron's Confidence
NO.11, the Lakers played against the Trail Blazers at home.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Lillard's offensive desire was super strong, but his hand felt like a water pipe in winter. After four consecutive strikes, he finally hit one, and then fell into a strike cycle, and Clarkson made two mistakes.

It's a pity that the Lakers also felt terrible. Li Yue passed the ball to open teammates many times, but Clarkson only made [-] of [-] shots, and Kobe even made [-] of [-] shots. Only one of three shots.

In this way, after the first quarter, the Lakers led 23-20.

In the second quarter, the shooting touch of the two teams improved slightly, and the Lakers led 27-25.

Back from the halftime break, the state of the two teams did not improve. The Blazers played Aldridge and only made 24 of 22 shots, while the Lakers played Li Yue and only made [-] of [-] shots. After the third quarter, the Lakers [-] to [-] leading.

During the intermission, the Lakers coaching staff concluded and analyzed that the team's shooting percentage was low. The main reason was that the shots were not firm enough, because the Blazers rarely used double-teaming strategies in this game, but the players themselves fell into hesitation.

The root of the hesitation is that the Blazers are desperately defending three-pointers, and there are still big Blazers squatting in the paint. If there is no relatively good mid-range shooting technique, it is indeed a bit difficult to deal with. It just so happens that Li Yue and Kobe are not in good condition.

If you want to make a change, you have to arrange for the shooter to appear on the field, and make a decisive shot when there is an open space.

After making up their minds, the Lakers arranged for Li Yue, Kobe, Iguodala, Covington, and Davis to play.

The effect was immediate. Although the defensive end was difficult to limit the Blazers' inside scoring, the lead was still gradually increasing.The Blazers tried to grab points, but Lillard and Matthews were surrounded by the Lakers and had to hand the ball to Alder.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 114 to 96 and won eight consecutive victories.

Li Yue made all six shots in the fourth quarter and sent out five assists. He scored 33 points and 11 assists.

...

The game ended very early, and Li Yue returned to Scar's apartment, just in time for the Cavaliers to play away against the Kings.

Judging from the information displayed on the TV screen, this game against the Kings is the second game of the Cavaliers' Pacific Division tour, and they will also play against the Suns, Lakers, and Clippers. Before that, the Cavaliers had already lost to the Warriors. A full 20 points.

Losing to the Warriors is normal, but before losing to the Warriors, the Cavaliers also lost to the 76ers and the Rockets in a row. They are currently in a four-game losing streak, which caused the previous wave of winning streak to go to waste, and the winning rate fell below 50%.

Just when Li Yue felt the difference, the commentator said that LeBron has missed 7 games and will not play against the Kings in this game, but then he will officially return to the game against the Suns.

LeBron was absent because he lost against the Pistons at the end of December last year. His left knee and back were injured at the same time. win by a narrow margin.

"With or without LeBron, the Cavaliers are so different." Li Yue felt emotional. He picked up his phone and turned to LeBron's number. He sent a text message to congratulate LeBron on his upcoming comeback, and at the same time invited LeBron to have dinner on the night of the 15th.

This is a plan that has been made before, and it can be regarded as a return to LeBron. At the beginning, Taylor objected, because he was competing for the All-Star vote, which could easily have a bad influence, but Li Yue felt that this was two different things. .

However, LeBron missed 8 consecutive games and still won the first place in the All-Star list. His popularity in the United States can be called terrifying.

LeBron didn't reply right away. Li Yue put down his phone to watch the game, and found that LeBron was sitting behind the Cavaliers' bench. He probably didn't bring his phone into the game, and his face was full of sadness. He must be worried about the team's record.

Perhaps because of LeBron's absence, Owen's style of play has returned to the state of letting go of himself. He hit the iron twice in a row at the beginning, but then hit three-pointers in succession. However, Cousins ​​did whatever he wanted under the Cavaliers basket. Mozgov and Le Fu was powerless to stop.

After the first quarter, the Cavaliers were 29 to 30, only one point behind the Kings.

When the Cavaliers left the court, LeBron gave high-fives one by one, wishing to put on his clothes and fight immediately.

Unexpectedly, in the second quarter of the game, Irving let himself fly beyond the earth. Not to mention all kinds of irons, the defense was repeatedly broken by Collison. Coupled with Love's poor touch, the Cavaliers only scored 15 points in a single quarter. point.

LeBron still encouraged his teammates with a smile on his face, followed Irving all the way to the locker room, and seemed to be discussing something.

After the halftime break, Irving switched to organizing the offense, but the Cavaliers still looked like a lump of mud on both ends of the offense and defense. They only scored 20 points in a single quarter, and finally lost to the Kings 83-104, suffering a five-game losing streak.

LeBron did not leave the field early, but sat with his teammates until the last second.

In the early hours of the morning, Li Yue finally received a text message from LeBron, with a total of two words, thank you and OK.

...

NO.13, the Lakers vs. the Heat at home.

Although it was the championship matchup last season, but because LeBron left the Heat, this game did not attract much attention.

After losing Ray Allen, the problem of the Heat's low three-pointers became more serious. They averaged only 6.4 shots per game, ranking 25th in the league. The 94.7ers and the two teams are higher.

Moreover, Bosh, who has soared the ball, only averaged 20 points per game, and his rebounding average only increased from 6.6 per game to 7.0 per game. Even severely slapped in the face.

The key problem of the Heat's weak inside defense has not yet come to an end. Although Hassan Whiteside is extremely aggressive in blocking shots, he is still far below the level of NBA players in terms of blocking, frame protection, and screens.

Throughout the game, the Lakers took the lead from the beginning and were always in a state of suppression, winning 115 to 88.

Li Yue scored 35 points and 16 assists, made a total of 1 turnover and foul, and had 3 steals.

...

It was still early after the game, Li Yue stayed in the arena to practice shooting, and Wharton dragged him to watch the Cavaliers game.

The second quarter just started. LeBron just came back and felt pretty good, but he made two turnovers. Coupled with Love and Irving's performance, they made two of nine shots in total. The Cavaliers trailed 24 to 31, showing signs of collapse.

As the game continued, the crash did not occur, but the Cavaliers have been tepid, LeBron did not attack much, trailed by 12 points after three quarters, and the team made 15 turnovers in total. Coach Blatter stood on the sidelines, Dazed.

Perhaps because of the unbearable itching in his heart, LeBron did not follow the usual practice. He started to rest in the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Cavaliers lost to the Suns 100 to 108, suffering a six-game losing streak.

After the bell rang for the end of the game, the rebroadcast camera kept focusing on LeBron.

I saw LeBron with a calm face and a kind of tenacity in his eyes, clapping his teammates one by one.

"He didn't attack with all his strength, and he seemed to want to train Irving." Li Yue got up and continued to shoot. "It's a kind of strong self-confidence, and he dares to do that when he is sure to control the game, just like we deliberately give rookies more time."

"Agreed, as long as LeBron stays healthy, he is guaranteed for the playoffs." Walton said, "But against us the day after tomorrow, not only the preset finals, but also the risk of a seven-game losing streak, he will definitely give 100% strength."

(End of this chapter)