I’m Really Playing Basketball

As the current No. 1 team in the Western Conference and one of the league's super teams, the Lakers making such a major change in personnel will certainly attract the attention of the entire league.

In particular, Kobe said in an interview that he and Artest had communicated with each other, and Artest also wanted to change his ways and start over.

If this is true, then this deal for the Lakers will really make a lot of money.

Let’s not talk about David West’s potential. In terms of current strength, Artest is definitely stronger, and David West is now on the bench, and Artest can play in the Lakers. Starting, this means that the Lakers exchanged two substitute players for a starter.

Therefore, when the transaction was completed, many people were puzzled, not only the expert media, but also the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

They don't understand why a team that pursues success would want such a thorn in the side.

But now, both the media reporters and the fans in Los Angeles can only have high expectations for the Lakers.

And soon the Lakers rose directly to the top of the championship odds offered by Las Vegas.

This is the first time in recent years that a Western Conference team has topped the odds of winning the championship.

Why is this happening?

Because everyone is not stupid, Artest who does not cause trouble is really strong. Defensively, he is a player of the best defensive player level. At the same time, on the offensive end, he can also average 10 points per game with the Kings. 20 points.

To be honest, if Artest hadn't caused too much trouble in the Kings, the Kings wouldn't have let him go like this.

After Adelman left, Artest really annoyed the King to death.

The highly publicized "wife beating case" during this summer's offseason almost sent Artest to jail. In addition, Artest was also very dissatisfied with the Kings letting Adelman and his good friend Bunch go. Wells.

Moreover, he and new coach Musselman completely dislike each other, and teammate Bibby also has many conflicts with him. It can be said that Artest is in a state of self-destruction now in the Kings.

So historically, the Kings were trading for Artest around Christmas in 2007. Historically, there were a lot of bidders. After all, Artest was so famous. Historically, the Lakers and Mosaic made offers.

Unfortunately, the Lakers and Mosaic were rejected by the Kings because their chips were too low.

This is history. At this time, neither the Lakers nor Mosaic achieved the bargaining chip that the Kings wanted, and Mosaic finally robbed Houston next summer. After all, the Kings saw that Artest really couldn't make money, so in the end they just had to It can be sold at a low price, and if it is not sold at a low price, even the bargaining chip of the mosaic is gone.

However, in this time and space, the Lakers still have a lot of chips.

At the very least, David Stern is indeed a bargaining chip enough to attract the king.

It is precisely because of this that Artest came to the Lakers a year and a half earlier than in history.

From the history, Artest played for Mosaic for one year and then left for the Lakers. It can be seen that he and Kobe had a good relationship, and he was also willing to go to the Lakers. It was just because the Lakers had no chips, so he went to Mosaic first. A hand.

After all, although he doesn't like mosaics, he likes Adelman.

So in Mosaic's season, Artest was really honest.

One of the most admirable games was teaming up with Battier to put James out of a 0-assist game.

This is Xiao Zhan, with 0 assists. This means that in this game, Xiao Zhan was unable to attract the defense to create opportunities for his teammates. He was single-handedly defended throughout the game, and he defended very well.

Therefore, if Artest really turns around, those media experts can't overestimate the Lakers.

This Laker is indeed super strong now.

December 25, 2007, Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

This Christmas game is a repeat of last season's finals. Judging from the results of last season's finals, the Lakers' strength should be lower than that of the Bobcats.

But this season, it has become completely different.

Because of the arrival of Gasol Jr. and Artest, the Lakers have now become the strongest team in the league.

This is something that many people did not expect after the finals of last season.

After all, after the finals, many people said that the Bobcats were so young and an upward team.

As for the Lakers, because they are all a group of twenty-eight mature men with peak strength, it will be difficult to become stronger in the future, and they will only get weaker and weaker.

But who would have thought.

The finals of last season were the pinnacle of the Bobcats team, and the Bobcats will face a disbandment crisis after this small peak in team history.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have been rising all the way to the point where they are now the strongest team in the league.

It can only be said that things are unpredictable.

The current Lakers have become the Nets, Bucks and Heat of the past, a giant team like the Magic.

"Ron, you can just sit on the sidelines and watch how we beat the Bobcats in this game."

On the sidelines, after the two teams went out to warm up and before the Lakers players came on the court, Lakers boss Kobe Bryant specifically spoke to Artest, who was wearing a suit and tie.

Artest will not play in this game and will watch the game in a suit.

However, even if he won't play, Artest, who is now the focus of NBA public opinion, is being watched by everyone.

Even the Bobcats fans at the scene looked at Artest from time to time.

Not to mention the on-site TNT commentators Kenny Smith and Barkley.

Watching the interaction between Kobe and Artest before playing, Kenny Smith said with a smile: "Judging from the looks of the two now, I believe that Artest came to the Lakers to start over. The team is really in danger."

After Kenny Smith finished speaking, Barkley next to him smiled and nodded and said, "Boy Wonder and Bobcats are lucky. They were lucky enough to meet the weakest Lakers this season, and the Lakers after that will be the strongest. "

Since Artest was unable to play in this game, it would make sense to say that the Lakers in this game were the weakest.

So, from this aspect, the Bobcats actually still have an advantage.

Because Artest, a thorn in the NBA with great reputation and strength, went to the Lakers.

The Christmas game between the Lakers and Bobcats, which was originally a battle for the league's No. 1 player, has become even more interesting.

In such a highly anticipated game, the starting players of both teams quickly walked onto the court.

For the Lakers in the away game, Gasol Jr. is the starting center, Gasol is the starting power forward, Odom is the small forward, Kobe Bryant is the shooting guard, and Baron Davis is the point guard.

In addition to Gasol, this starter is also an old acquaintance of the Bobcats in the finals.

On the other side, the Lakers are playing at home.

Bynum, Aldridge, Granger, Chen Xiao and Paul.

In this game, Granger returned to the starting lineup again, while Battier, who performed very well in the last game against the Bucks, sat on the bench.

Why didn't Battier play against the Lakers, a super team that is better than the Bucks?

Of course, it's because the Lakers' current starting small forward is Odom. Odom's defense is so-so. Granger's offensive ability is better than Battier's, so Odom is more suitable.

If the Lakers' small forward is Artest, then Battier may be better.

After the starting lineups of the two teams took the field, the two TNT commentators on the sidelines took their eyes away from Artest.

Although Artest is very important in the sideshow of this game, when the game officially starts, the matchup between Chen Xiao and Kobe's first player in the league is the most important.

"In our show, neither Chris (Weber) nor Scott could convince each other, but we all reached a consensus that this match between Boy Wonder and Kobe is very important, because the next game between the two teams The final match will be at the end of the season, at that time, the outcome of that match is basically meaningless, and in the most important Christmas match of the season, the outcome of the two is the most important."

"Those who lose will definitely be embarrassed to say that they are the best in the league."

Kenny Smith finished and Buckley chimed in.

I have to say that the two people analyzed it really thoroughly.

Chen Xiao wouldn’t say it first, but that’s what Boss Ke felt.

As long as he defeats Chen Xiao in this game, he will definitely be the number one player in the league.

Therefore, Boss Ke's fighting spirit in this game is really invincible. Standing next to Chen Xiao, the look in Chen Xiao's eyes is different from before.

At this time, Bynum and Gasol in the center of the court had already completed the jump ball.

Bynum easily defeated Gasol.

Although it is difficult for Bynum to maintain sustained concentration, when he is focused, Bynum is really strong.

As for Gasol, he is strong and has really good skills, but his athletic ability is really average.

Otherwise, historically, Gasol would not have been picked up in the second round.

A center with such excellent skills and strength, if he also has excellent athletic ability, do you think he will fall out of the lottery?

The NBA Finals and the head coach are blind, but the scouts are really not blind.

It can be said that 80% of NBA scouts' evaluations of rookies can last throughout the player's life.

Saying that Bynum is a hopeless brainiac, Bynum really is a hopeless brainiac.

Even this can be predicted. How powerful do you think this group of NBA scouts are?

NBA scouts seem to have a system.

The Lynx team won the first wave of offensive opportunities in this game at home. They had been the protagonist of the team some time ago, and took the initiative to hand over the perspective of the protagonist to Chen Xiao.

After Xiaopao dribbled the ball for half the court, when a dribbler hit the ball into Chen Xiao's hands, he left with the defense and gave all the positions to Chen Xiao and Kobe.

Since he is competing for the first man, it is certainly impossible for Kobe to find other people to defend or double-team from the beginning.

Moreover, among the current Lakers starters, except for him, there is really no one who can defend Chen Xiao.

And this is another role of Artest. His arrival can liberate Kobe's offense. After taking away the task of defending sharp knives, Kobe can have more energy to attack.

Although judging from the fights in the past few seasons, no matter whether Kobe's strength is A+, S- or S-level, basically his defensive effect on Chen Xiao is not that good.

After all, compared to Chen Xiao, Kobe is really a bit shorter and shorter.

Therefore, even if Kobe works hard every time he meets Chen Xiao, his defensive effect can really only be described as average, not even average.

It was the same this time. In the first attack of the game, Chen Xiao, who received the pass from Xiaopao, turned his back at the free throw line and faced Kobe's defense, making a mid-range shot!

2 to 0!

Chen Xiao's ball was not only beautiful, but also made Kobe lose his temper at all.

After Chen Xiao hit, Xiao Pao quickly rushed over to applaud Chen Xiao.

Xiaopao will always believe in Chen Xiao's singles ability.

With such a strong singles ability, in the past period of time, he almost never even played singles in a game.

This was enough to move Xiao Pao.

After high-fiving Xiao Pao, Chen Xiao turned his attention to his idol, Kobe Bryant.

After looking at Kobe's helpless face, Chen Xiao smiled and said, "Bryant, I am very horny now!"

Very horny?

Kobe looked at Chen Xiao's back and was stunned for a moment.

At this time, Kobe even subconsciously thought of how he had been O'Neal's little brother for so many years. O'Neal was finally injured, and he eagerly scored 40+ in 10 consecutive games.

At that time, he was really horny.

Even now, he still dreams about that time a few years ago.

That was the best time of his career before last season's Finals series.

So, is this a provocation or an intimidation?

Of course it is impossible for Mr. Ke to be scared. Hearing what Chen Xiao said, Mr. Ke will only become more excited now.

So looking back, I performed a picturesque blacksmith strike against Chen Xiao at the same position on the free throw line.

Well, Boss Ke was so excited that he forgot how to attack Chen Xiao.

Of course, I didn’t really forget it, but I forgot it subconsciously.

After all, Boss Ke is so happy these days.

Off the court, he got a perfect perimeter teammate like Artest.

Off the court, the Lakers are now riding high to become the NBA's No. 1 favorite.

Off the court, his reputation as the league's No. 1 player has grown stronger.

And just now in the court, Chen Xiao provoked him again.

Although Mr. Ke is now 29 and almost 30 years old, anyone who knows Mr. Ke knows that no matter how old he is, his heart will always be a young man’s desire to win.

Therefore, after the blacksmithing, Boss Ke actually stuck out his tongue with some regret.

Kenny Smith next to him also said with some regret: "Kobe was too anxious in this attack."

"It's obvious that Kobe wants to improve so much!"

Buckley immediately echoed.

Compared with the leader Ke who has never been the number one player in the league, the number one player in the league is about to be caught off guard.

Chen Xiao, who has been the league's number one player for several years, appears much calmer in such games.

Another swipe!

In the same position, the same fade away, and the same mid-range shot, Chen Xiao once again pierced Kobe's strong defense.

So much so that Artest, who was watching the game from the sidelines, sighed subconsciously at this time.

"No solution!"

There is really no solution, especially for Boss Ke. This attack method is not only insulting, but also extremely lethal!