After beating the Jazz, the Knicks lost to the Thunder by one point.

Scola was out due to a finger injury, the Knicks' offensive focus was on the periphery, and Zhou Xuan scored 36 points and 7 assists in the game.

The Thunder combined for 61 points, and Durant blew up Leonard. Leonard can prevent James from breaking through, and he is also a little helpless against a player like Durant who finds an endless pull-out.

The Thunder's defensive system is perfect, and Durant has improved on the offensive end, as he has begun to know how to play in the low post and play in response to passes.

Everyone in the Thunder did their part and defended with their hearts, only Durant and Westbrook played more flexibly and could play alone. Retro styles like theirs also attract a lot of fans.

On the 14th, the Knicks lost again, losing to the Nuggets away.

Zhou Xuan was absent from this game because of eating bad things. In order to save trouble, Zhou Xuan went out for a meal, and happened to encounter stale food, and the team doctor advised him to give up the game.

Zhou Xuan's stomach was empty, and he hung two bags of salt water, not forcing himself. He wondered if he was overshadowed by the Denver fans? The hotel staff deliberately drugged him.

As a result, the Knicks, who did not have Zhou Xuan, were easily handled by the Nuggets 97-119.

Now the Nuggets are 44-22, stable in the playoffs, and are also a strong team in the West. They don't have superstars on their team, they rely on second-rate stars to win, and there is no shortage of scorers.

After the game, the media commented that without Zhou Xuan, the Knicks judged two teams, and everyone didn't know how to play. This also reflects the importance of Zhou Xuan, Bledsoe is not suitable to play the starting No. 1 position, he must have someone to pass the ball.

It's not news that the Knicks lost and Zhou Xuan was absent from the game. The biggest news of the day was that someone broke an astonishing historical record.

The Lakers defeated the underdog Magic 106-97 on the same day to seize the eighth spot in the West.

Howard faced his old club and made 40 free throws in the game, breaking the Lakers' all-time record of 31 free throws and setting a new all-time record. The previous record of 39 times was also set by Howard in 2012.

In the end, Howard made 26 of 40 free throws, scoring 40 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Lakers to four consecutive wins, thus surpassing the Jazz and making the playoffs.

In Lakers history, O'Neal once set a record of 31 free throws in a single game, and that was set on November 20, 1999, when O'Neal played against the Chicago Bulls in the Lakers' game. He finished with 41 points and 17 rebounds to help the Lakers win the game.

From the 1985-1986 season to the present, the only players who can score 30+ free throws in a single game are O'Neal and Howard. They were able to get so many free throw opportunities, partly because of their dominance on the inside, but also because of their own poor free throw shooting percentage. Both are indispensable.

It would not have been possible to get so many free throws without super interior dominance; If the free-throw percentage isn't too bad, the opponent won't deliberately foul the player, giving him a good chance to score on the free-throw line.

There are only five players in league history who have made at least 28 free throws in a single game. James 1, Howard 2, O'Neal 3, Malone 1, Williburton 1.

The Lakers who won the game were not praised, and the media tone was even very unfavorable to the Lakers.

Because the Lakers made 33 more free throws than their opponents in the game, they were able to make a staggering number of free throws per game after the All-Star break.

Salt Lake City media outlets directly cited data protests, and fans also denounced league officials led by David Stern. Countless people have expressed disdain for "the league to send the Lakers to the playoffs".

After the All-Star break, the Jazz averaged 20 free throws per game. 5. The opponent averaged 26 free throws per game. 1. The Jazz averaged a net difference of minus 5 free throws per game. 6 pcs. And before the All-Star Game, they made 1 more free throws than their opponents. 75 pcs. You know, the Jazz is a team dominated by the inside, and the four interior lines are even evaluated as the top five in the league, and the number of free throws is not as good as many teams that rely on shooting, what is the reason?

On the other hand, the Lakers simply rely on free throws to win. Funnily enough, they've lost five more games this season with a 15+ free throw lead, including one game where they lost 30 more free throws than the Jazz, and that game led to McBrown's dismissal.

In the past seven seasons, the Lakers have made 15+ more free throws than their opponents and lost to their opponents, with only one in total.

So far, the Lakers have averaged eight more games than their opponents. 4 free throws. In the last 10 games, the Lakers have made 13 more free throws per game than their opponents. 5 times, 5 more per game. 1 free throw. The stats show that these free throws allow the Lakers to score two more per game. 6 points, while the Lakers have won an average of 1 season. 7 points.

Another interesting fact: The Lakers have an average of 18 this year. 8% of the points scored came from free throws, which is the fourth highest in the league. After the All-Star Game, that number grew to 21. 6%, ranking first in the league.

The Jazz had an average of 17 before. Eight percent of the points scored came from the free-throw line, which ranks 10th in the league, and after the All-Star break, that number has dropped to 11. 9%, ranking 30th in the league, which is the bottom of the NBA.

To put it simply, a team that is good at scoring points from the free throw line suddenly becomes more adept at free throws than any other team in the league at a critical moment in the fight for a playoff spot. And in the same period, a team that is also good at scoring points from the free-throw line, and is also the main contender for the Lakers, has become the least good at foul making in the league, which is simply frightening. Even if both of their top scorers are inside.

The speculation about the Lakers conspiracy theories has exceeded the understanding of fans, and there has never been a team so black in history, what kind of trouble is the league going on?

The reason is very simple, the Lakers have many stars, great influence, high commercial value, and the recent death of Buss Sr. is a good gimmick. If the Lakers don't make the playoffs, the NBA will lose a lot of ratings.

And the Jazz, the biggest star Jefferson, is a guy that no one pays attention to, let alone others.

This is all money, and the NBA is a commercial organization, in addition to strength, it also tests the acting skills of each team. It's a pity that none of the judges have ever taken an acting class.

The most exaggerated was the game against the Kings, Cousins glanced at Kobe Bryant at the free throw line in the penalty area, and Kobe was sent to the free throw line by the referee, and no one touched him at all.

In the last key shot, Howard obviously fouled Cousins, and the referee stood next to him and pretended not to see, and Cousins angrily shot three points directly from the outside in the next round.

NBA management and referees have helped the Lakers Black Kings to be too blatantly black, and now the Lakers' game has finally caused dissatisfaction. The Lakers were eliminated in the first round in recent years, and the swept garbage performance also reduced their fan loyalty, and there was far more online scolding than the voice of hoping that the Lakers would make the playoffs.

The media scolding made Stern also start to think about whether to continue to praise the Lakers.

Some Lakers fans took Stern's veto of the Paul trade back then, trying to prove that the Lakers are not the league's own son team, to comfort themselves and continue to like the depraved Lakers.

The actual Stern blocking the deal is for the sake of the big picture. At that time, the three-way deal, the Hornets got Martin, Scola, Odom and others. Wasp is in affiliate custody and is looking for a buyer. If Paul is sold in exchange for these players who are not up and down, including two veterans whose form can decline at any time, it will be very bad for the sale price of the Hornets, so Stern vetoed the deal. As for the subsequent trade with the Clippers that passed, it can only be said that Stern overestimated the development potential of Gordon and Aminu. One was injured and didn't play for half a season, and the other could only be a defensive blue-collar worker.

In his office, Stern looked out through the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, and the weather was a little gloomy, just as he was in the mood.

Vice President Adam Silva asked, "David, what to do now to continue supporting the Lakers?" Or is it fair play? ”

"What are the fan reviews now?"

"It's all shady, I'm afraid the playoff ratings will be affected."

When the Lakers won the championship in the 2010 Finals, countless fans said that they would never watch the Lakers play again, and it was too dark to win the championship by free-throws. Yao Ming's injury led to the defeat, which made Chinese fans feel regretful. Later, the Mavericks won the championship and swept the Lakers, Yao Ming mixed into the ring, and a group of people were relieved.

Now the Lakers F4 plus Artest, Hill, Jamison and others are playing in a mess, once again pushing them to the top of public opinion. Just last season, there was a group of people who boasted that Jamison was a superstar and that the Knicks couldn't have won a championship without him. Now a bunch of superstars come together and win games on free throws. Is this an insult to basketball, or an insult to the IQ of the spectators?

Stern sighed: "If the Lakers don't make the playoffs, Kobe Bryant probably won't be able to attract the attention of fans like other stars who have entered the Hall of Fame." Haven't we been promoting him for so long in vain? ”

Silva smiled bitterly: "He has played for more than ten years, just a regular season MVP, a finals MVP, and both scoring titles were won when the Lakers were out in the first round of the playoffs." Even if he has four rings, the Eagle County incident, the Finals lost by 39 points, the playoffs were reversed 1-3, he didn't shoot in the last quarter, he swept out, elbowed people, wasted people's knees, cheated and divorced...... With so many things added together, what can be done with publicity? I think it's better to give full play to his commercial value before retirement, and it's better to simply hype up Clippers stars, Durant, and Zhou Xuan. They are more promising, younger, and the future of the Union is theirs. ”

Stern thought about it for a moment. He wants to see the Lakers rise this season, and as a result, any weak team dares to lose. wants to promote that Kobe Bryant's veteran is still stable, just like Jordan who averaged 30+ per game at the age of 35 and led the team to win the championship. But now more people say that Kobe Bryant is a cancer, dominating the ball so that all other stars have become spectators and can't play.

Stern sighed, "Forget it, don't overdo it." If the Lakers can't make the playoffs, it's because they don't compete. Let's blow the penalty for normal points. ”

Silva smiled: "Actually, they are likely to score, the Rockets are not playing very well, I think they are more likely to be out, after the trade, the lineup is a bit messed up." ”

"Makes sense, so be it."