I just play ball

Chapter 57
Li Yue was very excited when he saw Kobe hand-picked himself, as if he was rewarded with a little red flower by the teacher for the first time in kindergarten.

The core of the next generation of the Lakers, this name is pushed forward to Kobe, O'Neal, Magician, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, West, any one of them is a famous figure in NBA history, and they have all carried the title of the No. [-] NBA team. Glory, with thousands of attention and a body, is loved by Lakers fans all over the world.

"We must live up to our trust!"

Li Yue quickly tapped on the keyboard to reply and forward it, his heart pounding. The task of succeeding the Lakers is very difficult to complete. At least he must lead the team to win a championship, and if he is not careful, it will become a joke.

But there is a great opportunity in front of us. It can be said that the right time, place and people are in harmony, and all kinds of favorable conditions are available.

Why choose to escape?

It is better to face the difficulties!

After replying, he thought about what he should do as the core of the next generation while Kobe was recovering from his injuries.

However, the new news on Twitter reminded the scarlet letter to soar like a rocket, and the beeping beeping sound kept going.

I opened it casually, and it turned out that there were more than [-] comments made by fans in response to his reply just now.

[Kobe just said a few polite words, you are really taking advantage of the situation to roll, you are so shameless, will the next generation of core players get you?You don't even look in the mirror yourself, you're the last second-round pick, do you deserve it? 】

[Since you played against the Pacers, you have performed very well. You have triple-doubles and 46 points in a single game. You have led the team to defeat the Cavaliers alone, but this can only become the leader of a team at the level of the Timberwolves. You want to be the leader of the Lakers There is still a long way to go. It's not that you are not good enough, but that our Lakers fans are very demanding, and ordinary stars don't like it. I'm really sorry! 】

[You are good at everything, but you are too prone to injury. It is too risky to build a team with you as the core. Think about the players from the same country as you. It is really a pity that he may not be able to adapt to the high-level competition of the NBA. 】

[Without Kobe in charge, you can't lead the team to win any playoff games. If you do, I will run naked. 】

After reading these comments, Li Yue smiled and clicked to block, so as not to see dirty eyes again, but except for a small amount of encouragement, most of them were similar doubts, ridicule and reluctance, and the true thoughts of most American Lakers fans were exposed.

For a moment, Li Yue felt like a hard-working married man who worked hard every day to create wealth for the Lakers family, but was always isolated from the inner circle and had not yet received final approval.

He is not angry either, he knows that the fans must be convinced, and the upcoming playoffs are the best opportunity.

Making up his mind, he turned off the computer and sent Kobe a text message to express his condolences.

Kobe replied quickly, and the two chatted seriously, from injury recovery to playoff games, from the technical characteristics of Iguodala and other players to the Clippers' tactics, and from Denver's away game considerations to home facilities.

In the end, I really didn't want to type, and switched to video chatting, until the nurse forced Kobe to rest.

...

NO.12 In the morning, Li Yue took all kinds of equipment and arrived at the Lakers training base at seven o'clock.

The old man in charge of opening the door yawned and complained that his dreams were disturbed, because according to the usual practice, if there was a game the night before, it would be assumed that no one would come to train the next morning, which would add extra workload.

Li Yue didn't mind either. Instead, he hired the old man to assist in the training and paid 400 US dollars for two hours.

The boss immediately turned his anger into joy, happily helping to set up the camera, and praised him for his standard and smooth movements before he even started.

There are a total of ten positions at the top of the arc and under the basket. Li Yue stipulates that each position cannot be considered qualified until it hits ten.

After all shots were taken, he took a total of 109 shots, with a high hit rate, and the weakest position was the top of the arc.

During the break, he exported the videos to the computer, selected a few more handsome photos, edited them and posted them on Twitter, and did not write any complicated expositions, but only wrote "Attitude". Explain too much.

After tweeting, Li Yue ran around the court, and then performed 20 20-second switchbacks, 100 self-weight squats, 1 meters once, 800 sit-ups, and 500-meter sprint training ten times.

In the middle of each training session, there are also some dribble shots and board jumpers for relaxation and relief.

It's all done, it's already 10 o'clock in the morning, the training clothes are soaked twice, and finally I'm completely shirtless.

After leaving the training base and getting into the car, he took out his mobile phone and opened Twitter, only to find that there had been more than 300 comments from fans.

【Regardless of his ability, at least his attitude is fine. Kobe is not retiring immediately, we can give him a chance. 】

[What's this?I once did not smoke for 24 hours, and did not hand flush for a full 48 hours! 】

[This shooting percentage is quite scary, the key is 109 consecutive shots, and the endurance and concentration are very strong. 】

After browsing a few, Li Yue uploaded another part of the video, and then went to the restaurant.

After lunch, he drove to Irvine.

First, I went to visit my second uncle's house, and then rushed to my cousin's high school to teach the students how to play. I also played a guest coach, guiding a temporary team to compete with the team led by the real coach, and finally won a big victory.

After dinner at the second uncle's house, Li Yue drove back to Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant appointed him as the core of the next generation of the Lakers. After a day of fermentation, in addition to various comments from fans, many professional commentators and media have made analysis and interpretation, making his name once again the No. 5 hot topic on Twitter.

Well-known commentator Mark Stein wrote.

[I very much agree with Li Yue becoming the next generation core player of the Lakers and taking on the important task of revitalizing Zijin again. 】

[There is no need to discuss his personal skills and mental ability. He scored 30+ points against LeBron and led the team to kill the Warriors. Big-name players such as Rant and LeBron also called him very much, which is likely to help the Lakers attract more stars to join. 】

[Besides the stadium, Nicholson and other Hollywood stars also praised him. Some time ago, he had a hot fight with the famous model Cara Delevingne. This is completely in line with the characteristics of the core players of the Lakers. There is no reason not to choose him. 】

[Of course, these words are a summary of his past performance. When the summer trading market opens and other teams offer him various crazy offers, everyone will understand his true value. 】

Some professional commentators expressed their opinions, and the mainstream evaluation of fans once again showed a one-sided trend. Questions, ridicule and reluctance all disappeared, and instead, encouragement, excitement and support appeared, and fans took the initiative to buy jerseys to express their support.

Li Yue is not excited, knowing that fans are easy to be led astray, and if he does not perform well in the next game, it may raise doubts again. This kind of repeated jumping will only temporarily stop for a while when he wins the championship like Kobe.

...

On the night of the thirteenth, the Lakers played at home against the Spurs. Kobe came to watch the game on crutches and wearing protective boots.

Popovich did not arrange for the main players to rest just because the Spurs locked in the second place in the Western Conference. Instead, he let the team adopt strong confrontation from the beginning of the game, and even arranged for Leonard to completely release his personal offense and team up with Duncan and Splitter. Encircle and suppress Li Yue.

The Lakers took the Spurs as their imaginary opponent in the second round of the playoffs, so they naturally did not hesitate, and also resorted to high-standard defensive responses.

In the first quarter of the game, the two teams also made 6 turnovers, and the shooting percentage was even worse. The Spurs made 19 of 9 shots and the Lakers made 21 of 8 shots.

Such an anxious rhythm lasted until the second quarter of the game.

The two teams still made various mistakes, and their shooting percentage did not improve. The Lakers also suffered 6 fouls. It was only thanks to Li Yue's 4 consecutive three-pointers that they tied the score at 53 and entered the second half.

In the third quarter, the two teams still failed to get out of the quagmire. The Spurs got 9 fouls, the Lakers made 7 turnovers, and no player on the court made more than 3 shots. The single quarter was tied at 18-18.

Fighting to that point, no one wants to lose.

D'Antoni's rest plan fell through, and Li Yue, Howard and others continued to play in the fourth quarter.

Due to the early debut of the main force, the Lakers once had a 5-point lead, but after the Spurs replaced the main force, Duncan hit three consecutive goals on the offensive end and completed a block on the defensive end, easily tying.

The Lakers quickly asked for a timeout. D'Antoni bluntly asked Li Yue to play the hero ball, and the other players did not make any objections.

Li Yue knew that the opportunity was rare and did not refuse. When the game resumed, he decisively used the cover to get rid of Leonard's strong inside. After a wave of five consecutive hits, he helped the Lakers gain a 7-point lead with only one and a half minutes left.

The Spurs did not give up. Popovich unscrupulously instructed the players to use shark-slashing tactics, frequently sending Howard to the free throw line.

Surprisingly, Howard seems to have changed suddenly, and all four consecutive free throws were hollow. On the other hand, Neil and Danny Green made two consecutive three-pointers, completely losing hope of a comeback.

In the end, the Lakers narrowly beat the Spurs 91 to 86. Li Yue scored 26 points and Leonard had only 8 points.

Immediately after the game, many fans left messages on Li Yue's Twitter, saying that the next generation of core players of the Lakers must be him.

There was a former black fan who took the initiative to admit his mistakes and apologize, and called on other black fans to learn from him.

Although the change of attitude was so drastic, Li Yue didn't find it strange at all, and even took it for granted.

Because the Spurs have all the main players in this game, played for a long time, and adopted a playoff-level defense at the beginning, of the 26 points he scored, he only made 3 free throws, and the gold content was as high as 88%. It might be better to replace LeBron .

...

After the game against the Spurs, the Lakers got three days off, and the coaching staff generously took two days off.

Li Yue didn't take the time to mess around, and continued to train, and took a video and posted it on Twitter.

It's not to attract attention, but to show your attitude to fans, teammates, coaches, and management, and show that you want to be the core of the next generation of the Lakers.

During this period, the famous Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magician, and O'Neal all expressed their support for Li Yue to become the core of the next generation. Fans' evaluations also continued to change with the three big shots, and Li Yue was blown up on Mount Everest for a while.

Three days later, the Lakers sat at the Staples Center and ushered in the last opponent of the regular season in the 12-13 season-the Rockets.

Since the two teams have already determined their playoff rankings, neither side pays much attention to the results of the game. After the first timeout in the second half, all third-team players were sent at the same time.Li Yue played 17 minutes and scored 16 points and 4 assists efficiently.

In the end, the Lakers won 99 to 95, with a season record of 51 wins and 31 losses, ranking sixth in the Western Conference.

ESPN updated Twitter, pointing out that the Lakers had played Li Yue this season and only lost one of them.

...

Post-match press conference.

Li Yue, D'Antoni, and Howard attended together, sitting in the left, middle and right rows.

Public relations president Blake raised his finger to the front row, and the TNT reporter took the microphone from the staff.

"Just now, the Nuggets defeated the Suns in the last game of the season to determine the third place in the Western Conference and became the Lakers' opponents in the first round of the playoffs. What do you think of the three? With Kobe absent, how will the Lakers respond?"

Hearing this, Li Yue and Howard turned their heads to look in the middle at the same time, and D'Antoni grinned slightly.

"We will study the opponent's tactics and players' technical characteristics in detail, make full adjustments and use the existing lineup to match, but Kobe cannot be replaced. We must accept the reality that the core players are absent, and deal with the game with [-] points of spirit..."

Li Yue brows frivolously. D'Antoni's words are a bit timid before a fight, and he keeps emphasizing the unfavorable factors, as if he believes in his heart that he can't win, and prepares for the public opinion in advance. It is easy to make people feel that he is shirking responsibility.

After D'Antoni finished speaking, Li Yue looked at Howard and motioned for him to speak first.

Howard nodded and took the microphone.

"I'm very happy to be able to play against the Nuggets in the first round. I always appreciate their fast and violent style of play, but even if we lose Kobe, the team still has me and Li Yue. We have a great impact on the game. The few days when Kobe was absent We won every game, including some top teams like the Spurs, and those who say we can't win any playoffs will shut up sooner or later..."

Li Yue was almost in a cold sweat. Howard's words clearly meant to grab the position of the boss, and he was impatient.

It can be said that neither of the two speeches played a positive role, and Li Yue finally took the microphone.

"We'll beat the Nuggets in six games!"

(End of this chapter)