Super Evolution of Basketball

Chapter 190 Flying away from the North Country
In the last week of November, the Lakers flew away to Toronto to challenge the Raptors. This was Yuan Qingshan's first visit to Toronto, Canada.

After getting off the plane, what greeted the Lakers was a world of ice and snow, covered in snow and covered with snow. It was really cold here early.

Yuan Qingshan walked out of the cabin and breathed into the palm of his hand hastily. Downs and Whiteside surrounded each other and ran towards the bus screaming, leaving two messy big footprints at the airport.

Toronto is different from a big commercial city like New York, especially after entering the winter, it is even colder and more depressed. The Lakers players went directly to the hotel to prepare for the game. The weather was so cold that people didn't want to go out of the house.

Nick Young joked that if there was an outdoor basketball game tonight, they would lose.

Yuan Qingshan shook his head. The cold wave has hit in the past few days, and Toronto has already reached minus 10 degrees at night. Not to mention the Lakers, even native Torontonians can't bear it.

Yuan Qingshan was lying in the room flipping through his phone. There was a heated discussion on the team's official website. The wind basically turned to the Lakers. Fans felt that the Raptors were short of major generals and were in a losing streak with poor morale and a very bad state. Therefore, the Lakers must win this game.

The fans summed up the key to victory in this game: First, Towns and Whiteside's inside combination offense, the Raptors' inside line is very empty, which is a great opportunity for the Gemini stars to show off;

An hour before the game, everyone gathered in the hotel lobby and set off to the arena. The players were full of energy and felt that it was a game they were determined to win. If they won this game, they would be able to get rid of the Thunder by another game and consolidate their second place in the Western Conference.

The car roared to life. When the Lakers bus arrived at the arena, the parking lot was already full. Fans lined up to enter the arena. Many people waved Canadian Maple Leaf flags. Although the team kept losing, the fans seemed to be in high spirits.

Under the guidance of the staff, the visiting team went to the locker room from the exclusive passage. Regardless of the weather outside, the Raptors' stadium is still first-class. The lights in the arena are bright and warm like spring.

Coach Scott made the final mobilization and deployment in the locker room. Hibbert was absent for this game for no reason. Scott didn't explain much, but just slightly adjusted the rotation schedule.

Yuan Qingshan is more sensitive to this, and suddenly thinks of the previous trade rumors. Could it be that the management is already in operation, and the other players have no reaction. If Hibbert is alone, it is obvious that nothing can be exchanged. I really don’t understand what Jim Buss and Kupchak are thinking?

The atmosphere in the locker room of the home team was obviously more serious. Coach Casey kept encouraging the players, hoping to awaken everyone's fighting spirit in the losing streak.

"To take down the Lakers, I'm going to blow up the No. 16 rookie!" Lowry, a small steel cannon, cooperated with the coach's speech.

DeRozan, who had been sitting in the corner, bit his fingers indifferently, his eyes filled with depression.

Valanciunas and Carroll of the Raptors continued to be absent due to injuries. After starting the season with 5 wins and 0 losses, the team ushered in the first wave of injuries ahead of schedule. Under the influence of the absence of the two main players, they lost 6 of the next 4 games. They are currently 7 wins and 4 losses, ranking 6th in the Eastern Conference, only one win away from the Wizards.

The sudden adjustment of the main rotation and the poor defense have given them a wave of losing streak in the past, which is the main factor for their loss.

In the game against the Utah Jazz three days ago, the Raptors trailed the Jazz by 10 points in the first half. With the performance of the garbage brothers DeRozan and Lowry, they chased the score back and overtook them in the third quarter.

"We lost our defensive focus in the fourth quarter and allowed 34 points. So we lost, and that's the game of basketball," Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey said in his postgame news conference.

"The problem of poor defense is that the rotation was disrupted due to sudden injuries. Is it not enough running-in? How long does it take for the Raptors to adjust before Valanciunas and Carroll come back? Is it December?" the reporter asked.

Coach Casey was annoyed by this kind of argument, and frowned and knocked on the table: "It won't take that long, in the next game, we will show our best form against the Lakers!"

"Okay, let's go, we're going to beat the Los Angeles people on our own territory!" Coach Casey stopped his bad memories and led the players out of the locker room.

Airline Center Gymnasium has experienced three defeats in a row. The Canadian fans are almost all angry. The atmosphere has been heated up before the game started. A strong smell of gunpowder emanates from the auditorium and spreads throughout the stadium.

The Lakers only lacked Hibbert, the main lineup remained unchanged, and the starting lineup was still used all season.

The starting lineup for the Raptors is Lowry, DeRozan, Scola, Biyombo, and James Johnson.

To be honest, the Raptors' lineup is too short, and the inside is too disadvantaged. The old Rocket Scola is too old. Besides, he is not a tough inside player. The pressure of protecting the basket and rebounding is all on Biyombo.

The hope of the Raptors this time is still in the performance of the two guns in the backcourt. Unfortunately, the combination of Yuan Qingshan and Kobe on the back line of the Lakers can be regarded as a long-tested outside gate combination. After seeing strong winds and waves, it is still very easy to strangle the trash brothers in Toronto.

As a result, the Raptors were overwhelmed by the Lakers at halftime. The offense has been unable to keep pace, and the defense is full of loopholes.

In the second half, Coach Scott even arranged for Yuan Qingshan to play as a small forward, facing off against Patterson Patterson, allowing him to go to the basket more often to grab rebounds.

Yuan Qingshan played 36 minutes in this game. On the offensive side, he continued the touch he had when he played against the Rockets. Relying on breakthroughs, he made 15 of 9 shots, 4 of 3 free throws, scored 21 points, and scored 20+ points in two consecutive games.

What is even more surprising is that Yuan Qingshan grabbed 9 rebounds in the inside hands of the Raptors, almost reaching 20+10.

Among others, Kobe had 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists; Towns had 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 assists; Whiteside had 13 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 assists.

In short, the Toronto Raptors' rebounds were severely blown by the Lakers.

The cloud on Coach Casey's face was even heavier. This time at the press conference, the reporters asked some very polite questions with interest, and did not provoke this black coach who seemed very difficult to provoke.

After giving Toronto a three-game losing streak, the Lakers' Sky One plane left the cold Northland that night.

(End of this chapter)