Chapter Seventy-Four: The Christmas War - First in the East vs. First in the West!
"Win! The Lakers once again crushed the Eastern Conference playoff level powerhouse without suspense, the Charlotte Hornets! β
"There isn't much suspense, and the Lakers' handicap in this game is even as high as 21 points, which is simply terrifying. And what's even more terrifying is that the Lakers easily won more. β
Queen Bee Glen Les was not a good performer, finishing with just nine points and seven rebounds on 4-of-15 shooting. This is in strong contrast to his braggadocio on social media Twitter before the game, which can't help but make people a little embarrassed. β
"On the other hand, the Lakers players are once again getting a lot of live pictures of the game, and they are frantically exchanging and boasting to each other on Twitter after the game, will this trend make other teams follow suit?"
"With Twitter, the Lakers players have taken a leap forward in their competitive state, and everyone is positive as if they have been beaten! All kinds of exaggerated action performances are endless, and it's like people say, the Lakers have become a show team! β
Lakers 124:87 Hornets. A 37-point win for their 26th win of the season so far! 26 wins in a row! Just seven games away from the all-time best 33-game winning streak! β
"The team that has the best chance of stopping the Lakers from winning 33 in a row so far is the Orlando Magic, who have 93 twin stars this year!"
"The Lakers and the Magic are really entangled in this team! Last summer, they brought in O'Neal, the current league's No. 1 center, from Orlando in an almost predatory way! Under the leadership of the big shark and the strongest newcomer in history, Kobe Bryant, they went all the way to the finals and defeated the basketball god Michael Jordan. β
"On the other hand, the Magic fell into a near-collapse last year, and if it weren't for Penny Hardaway coming out with an injury and forcing the team into the playoffs, they would have even fallen out of the top eight in the East."
And this summer, the Orlando Magic welcomed their biggest signing in the team's history! They used the Bulls' first three-in-a-row All-Star power forward Cobra Hoth Grant to bring in the 93rd generation champion! The league's most gorgeous power forward, Chris Webber! β
"And they asked Chuck Daley, the godfather of the Pistons, to come out of the mountain! Single-handedly created a completely different team style system than before! It's hard to imagine that the head coach of the Pistons' bad boys could build such a flashy offensive system. β
"Chris Webber + Anfernee Hardaway, a young superstar who is in his prime and has a perfect complement in style and personality, completed the run-in after just a few games at the beginning of the season, and then swept all the way! Their current record is 19-8! After the pinnacle battle between the Bulls and the Lakers ended in defeat for the Bulls, the Magic has surpassed the 17-9 of the second-ranked Chicago Bulls and climbed to the first place in the East! β
"In the east of this year's joint glory, after just completing the run-in, it is undoubtedly phenomenal to be able to get a 70% winning rate of 19 wins and 8 losses! The Magic team sent away the big shark O'Neal, but Webb's addition doesn't seem to make this team much worse than the previous two years! β
"Penny has declined in all numbers since Webb joined this season, but his efficiency has taken a qualitative leap, returning to the aura of the second-in-command when O'Neal was around, this style of play seems to be more suitable for him, so far this season, he has averaged 35.6 minutes per game, can shoot 51.2% from the field, 33.5% from three-point range, and cut 22.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.7 blocks and only 2.3 turnovers!"
"Compared with Kobe, the current Kobe Bryant plays an average of 31.2 minutes per game, and can shoot 48.5% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range, scoring 29.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 3.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 2.8 turnovers!"
"If Kobe Bryant played 35 minutes, I believe his stats would be even more impressive. And the numbers don't tell you how good he is! His average shooting percentage dropped by 11.2% per game and he contributed 2.1 more turnovers, which is the most terrifying defensive performance! This season's Kobe Bryant's outside defense is as dominant as Bill Russell on the outside! β
"Worthy of being the number one in the MVP rankings, Kobe Bryant took his game to another level."
"Kobe Bryant's ball use rate is higher, and the number of outputs is higher, but Penny Hardaway's efficiency is not much inferior to Kobe! Hardaway often cuts all-around stats like 25+7+8 on the batter. β
"On the other hand, Chris Webber left the Golden State Warriors, left the Washington Bullets, oh no, now after the Washington Wizards, and has his best season by the side of Anfernee Hardaway! So far, he has been able to compete for the best power forward in the league! β
He averaged 37.2 minutes per game, shooting 48.5 percent from the field, scoring 24.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.5 blocks and 2.9 turnovers. Such a performance, except for Malone of the Jazz team, no player can match. β
"As Malone and Barkley get older, Chris Webber is very hopeful of competing for the position of the league's most powerful forward! His gorgeous style of play has attracted a large number of fans, and it is precisely because of Webber that many people have discovered that the original interior can also play so well! β
"And our No. 1 center Shark O'Neal also ushered in the peak performance of his career, playing an average of 32.5 minutes per game, with an exaggerated shooting rate of 64%, 29.5 points, 14.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.4 blocks, 0.7 steals and 2.9 turnovers!"
"That's the strength of the league's No. 1 center! I haven't seen a second center play with such dominating per game numbers since Olajuwon! His existence is the anchor of the Lakers! β
"Shaq is currently third on the MVP list, behind Kobe Bryant and Jordan."
"Back in Orlando this time, O'Neal's mentality is undoubtedly very complicated. Facing the Orlando fans who once supported them and how much they now loathe them. O'Neill wants to prove that he is worth a 100 million yuan contract! β
"O'Neal undoubtedly wants to prove that his departure is the right choice in Orlando, and Anfernee wants to tell O'Neill that he is doing well without him!"
"Kobe Bryant and Anfernee are undoubtedly the best outside guards in the post-Jordan era, and they will hold up the faΓ§ade of the future league, what will be the matchup between them?"
"Will Chris Webber be able to break through the Lakers' fragile power forward defense, and will he and his buddy Juwan Howard be able to withstand the Sharks' ferocious offense?"
"First in the East vs. First in the West! The collision of two of the league's most eye-catching twin star combinations! This will happen on Christmas Night! β
"Drama of the Year! Christmas Night! Coming soon! β