basketball never sleeps

Chapter 99 Christmas War (1)

In the locker room before the game, Tang Shuai was still doing the final pre-game mobilization. They had reasons to win this game, but the gap in strength was also obvious at a glance.

The Lakers currently have 13 wins and 12 losses, ranking 8th in the Western Conference and 12th in the league. The Heat have not lost a single game since O'Neal's comeback and are firmly ranked first in the league. However, from a record perspective, the two teams are not on the same level.

"In real life, every great deed starts with confidence and takes the first step with confidence." Tang Shuai said in a measured tone.

"The Heat we are about to face are powerful, but they are not invincible. Maybe everyone thinks we will lose, but I hope you remember one thing, a winner will never give up, and a quitter will never

will win."

Tang Shuai didn't talk too much about tactics, but concentrated on making chicken soup. After this meal of chicken soup, the depressive atmosphere in the locker room that was caused by a certain person gradually eased.

As the DJ shouted, the Lakers players began to play, and before Kobe came on the court, Tang Shuai couldn't help but emphasize something in Kobe's ear.

"Remember, we are a whole, and you are facing a whole, Kobe."

"I know, leave it to me." He did not refute or ignore Tang Shuai's words like he did with the previous Zen master.

Now he is much more mature than before, and he is beginning to listen.

Moreover, the Heat in front of him cannot be solved by his own strength. He needs the help of his teammates.

Before the game started, Kupchak played a highlight of O'Neal's career with the Lakers as a tribute to O'Neal's contribution to the Lakers.

Seeing O'Neal opening his arms and enjoying the cheers of the home fans proudly, Kobe said nothing and silently clenched his fists, building up another tube of anger for himself.

Lakers starting lineup: Atkins, Kobe, Peterson, Odom, Chris Mihm

Heat starting lineup: Damon Jones, Wade, Mo Wen, Haslem, O'Neal

Comparing the lineup, the outside players are pretty good

Atkins and Damon Jones are both small men who can run and jump well and shoot well. Kobe, Peterson, Wade, and Mo Wen are almost evenly matched.

But the difference inside is too obvious.

Odom's offense is strong and his defense is weak, and the Lakers' interior frame protection relies entirely on Mihm alone.

Mihm was originally positioned as the No. 2 backup center for the Lakers, but Grant was at risk of injury and unable to play in the starting lineup. Divac, who jumped ship, was also injured a week ago and was close to being sidelined for the season.

With just a few people, you imitate him and play everything as a center. Can he guard him? He can’t guard him. You don’t have the ability to do it, you know!

Los Angeles fans didn't even scold him that much.

On the opening jump ball, O'Neal hit the ball over Mim's head as expected.

After Mo Wen received the ball, he originally wanted to repeat the three-pointer he scored with the Kings, but the Lakers were already prepared, and Kobe ran directly in front of him without giving him a chance.

Ignoring the one-on-one invitation in Kobe's eyes, Mo Wen decisively passed the ball to the energetic Wade on one side.

Although Mo Wen has enough experience and skills to deal with Kobe, and he once annoyed Kobe in last season's finals, the physical gap cannot be ignored, and he has been losing weight recently. Although his strength has increased a lot, his weight has not.

It has also become a disadvantage.

Kobe is not a young man like James James who doesn’t have a few brushes in his pocket. Kobe has almost no blind spots in basketball skills. Mo Wen is like a more complicated math problem to him, difficult to solve, but once he has the solution

The idea will be smoother later on.

Wade's success rate in one-on-one battles against Mo Wen has also increased recently, not because he has made great progress recently, but because he has gradually found a way to target Mo Wen, and has gradually become accustomed to Mo Wen's evil tactics.

NBA is a game of talent. Some people are born in Rome, and some people are born as mules.

Wade feinted after receiving the ball and caught the flaw in Peterson's frivolous footsteps. He did not use brute force, but used light dribbling and his powerful explosive power to wipe out Peterson's defense and break into the inside.

Odom glanced at the little brother he had fun with in the past, and knew that he couldn't hold this fast boy, so he wanted to give up the defense and run forward for a fast break, but before he could take a step forward, he thought about it.

Seeing Kobe's murderous look, after thinking for half a second in a flash, he still made a very perfunctory movement towards the back of Wade's head.

I interfered, I worked hard, it really interfered!

Mim on the other side watched helplessly as Wade dunked the ball into the basket without any emotion.

It's not that he doesn't want to step forward to defend, the main reason is that he wants to compete with O'Neal and puts all his strength into it. It's like an arm-wrestle. One side can't just pull away if it wants.

Seeing the Lakers half-dead, Wade was a little embarrassed.

When he attacked just now, he took into account the opponent's blocking route and showed off. After scoring the goal, he saw that except for Odom who was "saying hello" to him, no one was guarding him.

.

Did the Lakers not pay enough?

This level of defense is even looser than the sister he met at the last party who was said to be innocent but actually killed thousands of people.

Can Peterson's defense be said to be bad? It's really not bad. At least it is much better than Devin George last season, and better than Caron Butler who was originally traded in history.

But being strong doesn't mean being strong. Naochi's subsequent 81-point miracle was achieved under the defense of him and Jaylen Rose.

After following Mo Wen for two steps, Kobe noticed the movement behind him. Looking at Wade hanging on the frame, he finally remembered that Wade was the "little baby" who made rude remarks to him after the last game.

He stopped worrying about Mo Wen and instead approached Wade.

Turning around, the Lakers attacked, and Atkins passed the half court and passed the ball to Kobe.

Kobe glanced at the team's lineup and decided to take a solo shot from the outside.

Facing Wade's defense, he pretended to ask for a screen from Odom, and then took advantage of Wade's defensive attention to be distracted. He started with a cross step, took two steps inside and then faced Wade who was returning to defend, using his back.

He moved his shoulders left and right and feinted twice, feeling Wade's gambler-like defensive choices. He felt slightly proud, dribbling the ball with his core force, and turned around smoothly to open up the blocking arm.

But as soon as he took two steps inside, the Heat's lineup shrank and blocked him.

Mo Wen almost slapped the basketball out of Kobe's hands with his excellent insight.

With Kobe in the pocket, it was difficult to find the direction of the outside players. Looking at the familiar O'Neal, he subconsciously wanted to pass it, but fortunately the completely different color of the jersey made him stop his movements before passing the ball and instead gave the ball to

A meme that only missed one head.

Mim raised his hand and turned around to rush to the frame, but O'Neal, who had lost weight, gave him a shoulder in the collision area in time, allowing Mim's dunk to fly directly.

This scene once again caused the Los Angeles fans to sigh.

Haslem grabbed the basketball and passed it to Mo Wen. He no longer waited slowly for O'Neal to attack as before, but started to move forward quickly with the other three people.

The Lakers retreated quickly, and in a panic, Atkins discovered to his horror that the person he was guarding turned out to be Mo Wen.

Atkins is one of the shortest players in the history of the NBA. His reported height is 180cm, with some water added to it. Although he has achieved good data this year thanks to his offense, no matter how good the offense is, it cannot cover it up.

His defensive contribution is negative.

"For the sake of being a teammate, please save some face for me, brother." Atkins said bitterly.

Mo Wen didn't say anything. Atkins, who weighed more than 70 kilograms, seemed to ignore it and pushed it to the basket. After attracting Mimu's defense, he lightly threw the ball on the backboard.

O'Neal took off with his legs bent, grabbed the basketball, and easily put it into the frame, and also completed the dunk against Mihm. 4:0.

Seeing his teammates being treated like air, Kobe couldn't help but grind his back molars.

If they go too far, they are really too much. If you are soft, you are really soft.

"Just have a moment of silence for yourselves. After all, who let you end up with such a boss?"

O'Neal did not miss this good opportunity to ridicule.

Kobe gritted his teeth and didn't refute anything, but he responded to the ball in the next round.

After he showed off his skills on the outside, he just pulled up.

Wade took off a step too late and failed to close his eye properly. Kobe hit a three-pointer. 4:3.

Mo Wen once again led his teammates to advance quickly. After seeing the Lakers' defense becoming tighter, he did not rush forward. He waited until O'Neal returned before making the next move.

Don't think that waiting is meaningless.

When a 300-pound black bear comes one step at a time, just the feeling of oppression can put a lot of psychological pressure on people.

Mo Wen made a gesture. It was a bit hypocritical for the Lakers to use a video to pay tribute to O'Neal. The real tribute would have been to watch the Heat's triangle offense.

After the ball was passed twice between Mo Wen and Wade, it came to O'Neal.

Seeing O'Neal holding the ball with his back, Mim had determination in his eyes.

He is just a small middle-class person with an annual salary of 3 million, but he has to face O'Neal with an annual salary of 30 million.

For a moment, he also thought that he might as well be injured.

This time, O'Neal did not use force to act recklessly. Instead, he raised the ball with one hand and feinted twice. After making Mim jump, he turned sideways and hit the ball into the basket.

(End of chapter)