Chapter 1917 The Four Treasures Rush to Orlando
30 wins and 3 losses!
This is the report card handed over by the Lakers before the All-Star Game.
Although back-to-back games and Gasol's absence due to special reasons led to a regrettable defeat in the Western Conference peak showdown on the 24th, this did not affect the Lakers' perception in the hearts of fans at all.
"Strong, really too strong!"
Even if the Thunder beat the Lakers, their team and fans would not dare to think that they are capable of catching up with the Lakers.
Durant, who scored 29 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, said after the game: "Although we won, it doesn't mean anything. This is an encouragement to us, but if we want to truly challenge the Lakers, We still have a lot to do.”
Westbrook also rarely kept a low profile. He felt that they were just lucky; "We scored a lot of magical goals tonight, but their shooting percentage was not good. Only Ji Feng and Kobe played to their true standards, so this is an ordinary game." regular season, that’s it.”
Harden, who became a surprise player in this game and got 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists as a substitute, also said: "They are a little tired. We protected the home court. I did what I needed to do, but it cannot be denied that their lineup is not complete. "It's a pity that Gasol didn't play. I hope we can have a complete showdown next time."
It is not difficult to understand the attitude of the three young masters. Although they won the first match of the season, they continued to secure second place in the Western Conference. At the same time, they maintained huge pressure on the second-placed Spurs. Not to mention the increase in confidence, since Since the Thunder became a team, the Lakers have only lost one game to the Thunder in the regular season, and that was last season. Not to mention two sweeps in the playoffs, which made young people like the Thunder realize the cruelty of the league early on. , so they are naturally very happy to defeat the Lakers.
But in fact, not to mention Gasol's absence and the Lakers' JKJ combination is not complete, let's just say that the other players on the field are also in very bad shape. It is not because the Thunder defended well, but simply couldn't make shots.
The reason is not difficult to guess. Firstly, it was because we just played a game on the 23rd, which consumed a lot of energy. This was the ninth back-to-back game of the season, ranking first among all teams, and the physical exertion was extremely high. Secondly, what about the reason? , after this game, it was finally time for the much-loved All-Star Weekend, and the time for rest was finally coming, which also made their mood fluctuate.
Under this influence, the Lakers made 4 of 17 shots from the outside, and all outside shooters had no touch. This also allowed the Thunder to safely shrink the inside line, leaving Bynum unable to support himself.
But even so, Ji Feng and Kobe scored 5 points together. Ji Feng scored his 12th triple-double of the season with 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Kobe also performed well with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. JKJ had not seen each other for a long time. In the double-star mode, the Hard Steel Thunder's three young men, although they scored 4 points less, had an overall advantage in other statistics, but they unfortunately lost because their teammates were really weak.
From this point of view, the Lakers are really worthy.
Moreover, Ji Feng didn't have any special feeling after losing. He just felt unhappy about losing to his opponent, but as he said: "It's just a game, now it's time to enter the All-Star game."
This season's schedule is very even, with exactly half of the games played before the All-Star break, and the Lakers naturally become the half-time champions of this season, which also dilutes the discomfort of losing to the Thunder.
The most important thing is that this year, a total of four members of the Lakers team were selected for the All-Star Game, which is also the most in recent years.
In addition to Ji Feng and Kobe Bryant who were confirmed as starters early, two other Lakers generals were also selected as substitutes for the All-Star roster in the coaches' vote a few days ago.
The first is Pau Gasol. Since joining the Lakers, he has been selected to the All-Star 4 times in a row. This season, Gasol averaged 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, shooting 68% from the field and 88.6% from the free throw line. The data is not outstanding. But the efficiency is very high, and his role in the Lakers is obvious to all. Although his condition is not very good this season, the coaches still put him in.
Lakers JKJ also united once again in the All-Star Game.
This is not surprising. Among the older generation of power forwards in the Western Conference, Duncan has declined significantly this season and is very low-key. Gasol is the only one who can make a difference, which makes the Lakers happy. The most important thing is undoubtedly Bynum's selection.
As a former high school star, Bynum undoubtedly carried the high expectations of the Lakers. However, in the past few seasons, Bynum's growth was not smooth. In addition to his half-glass attributes, he took a few breaks from time to time. Apart from Yue's problems, the most serious problem was his brain.
This topic has been discussed in the previous hundreds of chapters, so I won't go into details here. In general, Bynum did not meet people's expectations.
It's just that everything turned around when Ji Feng came. After several seasons of Ji Feng's guidance, inside and outside, Bynum's attitude has improved a lot. The most direct manifestation is that he has become much calmer on the court. , he has become more funny off the court, and at the same time he has become more diligent. In the past few summers, he has been training hard with the coach every day, and his growth is obvious to all.
This season, Bynum averaged 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 65.4% field goal percentage, and 82% free throw percentage, both career bests. He surpassed Gasol for the first time and became the Lakers' third leading scorer. And his frame-protecting ability, defensive ability and support ability have all been improved to a higher level.
This kind of performance also made him very conspicuous among the centers in the Western Conference when O'Neal retired and Dayao Yao retired due to injury. Last season, there was actually a voice of Bynum being selected as an All-Star, but this time it just happened naturally.
Bynum himself is naturally very excited. This is the first time in his career that he has been selected. It also means that he has finally become a star player. The significance of this is self-evident.
"Let's go! I'm treating you tonight!" After learning the news, Bynum finally broke out on the 24th. After the game, he dragged the Lakers to a dinner party in Oklahoma. It's a celebration for being selected as an All-Star for the first time.
Oh, in addition to Bynum, the Western Conference substitutes include three guards, Parker, Westbrook, and Nash, as well as Kevin Love and Marc Gasol. This is also the first time that the Gasol brothers have been selected to the All-Star team at the same time.
In the East, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, and first-time All-Stars Andre Iguodala, Luol Deng and Roy Hieber special.
The All-Star lineup was announced, and the lineups for other games were also unveiled. After Ji Fengbi finished the game, he separated from the team and went to Orlando with three teammates.
Regarding this All-Star, Ji Feng can be said to have no desires or desires. After all, except for the main game, he did not participate in any individual competition. He also declined the coaching invitation for the rookie game. In a word, he is here this time. Beat the soy sauce.