The next day, Li Yang went to the Thomas Mike Center Arena in good spirits, where his second summer league game was about to start, and it was a game against the Lakers, his old enemies in the same city.

Compared to the Clippers' motley roster, the Lakers' roster is significantly more competitive, with two veterans on their roster, Alex Caruso, an undrafted pick in 2016 who has established himself with the Lakers, and potential small forward Josh Hart, who was drafted by the Lakers with the 30th pick in the first round in 2017.

There are also a number of talented rookies selected this year.

Potential center Moritz Wagner, who was drafted with the 25th pick in 2018, is an interior player with three-point range who is a perfect fit for the current small-ball style.

In 2018, the 47th pick in the second round, Svyatoslav Mikhailiuk, a Ukrainian prodigy with projection ability and ball-handling ability, has a very silky touch, and is known as the Lakers' "little Thompson".

In addition, this year, the Lakers also signed many undrafted rookies off the court, such as MOP Joel Berry II from the University of North Carolina, and signed Malik Newman on a two-way contract, as well as Jeffrey Carroll, Nick King, etc.

In terms of lineup configuration alone, there are inside and outside, can shoot suddenly, full of talent, 2 veterans plus 2 rookies selected this year and other undrafted picks, as well as bench bandits from the South Bay Lakers, this lineup is undoubtedly going for this summer league championship.

For years, the Lakers came to Las Vegas every year, played five Summer League games, and then returned to Los Angeles. They have returned triumphantly, and they have returned in triumph.

Since last summer, they have been doing very well. Last year, they won six games in a row and took home the 2017 Summer League title.

Since Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka took over the Lakers in February 2017, they have immediately energized the team and fits perfectly with the system that head coach Luke Wharton and his coaching staff excel at.

That dynamism was on full display during the regular season, and the Lakers' development league team, the South Bay Lakers, was doing the same.

In both years, they will send a strong team to the Summer League, including several players who have played for the Lakers. Drafted players, South Bay Lakers players and free agents together make up the Lakers' base roster in Las Vegas for the past two years.

The third game against such a strong opponent added a lot of pressure to the Clippers players.

At 8:10 a.m. Beijing time on July 13, players from the Clippers and Lakers showed up at the Thomas Mike Center in Las Vegas.

This morning will be the absolute focus of the match, as the Los Angeles derby of the summer league, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers, this game has attracted the attention of countless media.

At this time, the Thomas & Mike Center Arena was already full of people and lively.

As the winner of last year's summer league championship, the Lakers' strength should not be underestimated. This year, the Lakers' goal is to defend their title, so the Lakers' rookies and fringe players are gearing up to earn valuable playing time with the Lakers.

On the sidelines of the seat, there are also many basketball celebrities today, the most famous is undoubtedly the Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

When the camera panned to Kobe Bryant, who was sitting in the second row, he immediately showed an amiable smile and stood up to wave to the fans.

The fans immediately erupted in violent applause and screams.

"The game between the Lakers and the Clippers, Kobe Bryant also came to watch the scene, I don't know if it's to see the Lakers rookie, or to see the Clippers' Li Yang."

"I think it should be Li Yang, it is said that the Lakers were very optimistic about Li Yang before the draft, but he was cut off by the Clippers."

"Maybe, it's also the No. 13 pick, could it be that Kobe Bryant is here today to see the quality of the No. 13 pick, it seems that today's game is destined to be very interesting."

The two commentators in the live broadcast room were also discussing very passionately, talking about the rights and wrongs outside the venue, which was even more lively.

Before the game started, a female reporter quickly touched over to interview Kobe.

"Kobe, is this time here to scout the rookies on the team?"

Kobe Bryant smiled and replied after a while: "First of all, observe the Lakers' rookies, and then by the way, see if the Clippers' No. 13 rookie Li Yang deserves the number 13." ”

Yesterday, the Magic called him before the game and said that Li Yang is a very potential defender with unlimited achievements in the future.

As the No. 1 point guard in NBA history, it is very rare for a rookie to get so much praise from him, and it also indirectly shows how good Li Yang is.

Therefore, out of strong curiosity about Li Yang himself, Kobe Bryant resolutely came to the game site, ready to take a closer look at the real level of this year's No. 13 show.

"Have you already watched Li Yang's game, can you express your opinion on him?" The female reporter asked.

"Not yet, don't you want to take a closer look." Kobe said teasingly.

"Uh~~" This straightforward answer almost choked the female reporter to death, so scared that she quickly changed the topic.

"Do you still watch football games a lot after you retire?"

"Honestly, very little." Bryant paused, "I've been playing basketball for more than 20 years, and now that I'm retired, I want to find something else to do, like making a movie, and I just won the 90th Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, which is a really good movie, you can watch it when you have time." ”

"Of course, occasionally I watch other people play."

"However, you also know my personality, and when I see some players playing casually and lazily, I get very upset." Kobe Bryant shrugged, "So, in order not to get angry, I try not to play." ”

Kobe Bryant is worthy of being an old driver, and he directly used this humorous and witty answer to make the staff and fans on the scene laugh, and the audience immediately applauded, which greatly alleviated the originally tense pre-war atmosphere.

This funny scene immediately relieved Li Yang's nervous mood that was warming up on the sidelines.

After a few brief greetings, the starters of both sides officially appeared.

The Lakers' starting guards are Josh Hart (Los Angeles Lakers), point guard Alex Caruso (Los Angeles Lakers), small forward Svialav Mikhailiuk (2018 47th pick), power forward Moritz Wagner (2018 25th pick), and center Jonathan Williams (2018 draft pick).

The Lakers' roster this summer has Hart as the core player, supplemented by the Lakers' two potential rookies, Wagner and Mikhailiuk, which have a strong impact on the summer league championship.

But while being attracted by the identity of these players, there is another player who attracts fans with his own strength, and he is Caruso.

Caruso, the Lakers' champion guard in Summer League last season, focused on playmaking offense and rarely scored directly on offense.

This trait of his will be very helpful to the Lakers, because summer league is supposed to give young people a chance to express themselves.

After Li Yang walked onto the court, he carefully looked at the opponent's starting five tigers.

A player's strength can be seen from his external aura. Li Yang not only has to fully grasp the technical characteristics of his teammates, but also has a clear understanding of the opponent's strength, which is very helpful for him to make correct judgments on the field.

As expected, the Lakers' main core is Hart, a No. 2 who is skilled in all kinds of offense, tough defensively, and has three-point shooting ability.

Caruso, the brains of the Lakers' backcourt organization, a man with more bald hair and stronger strength. He went from an unremarkable draft loss to the sought-after "Bald Mamba", a ruthless man who traded his hair for his NBA career.

Svyarasv Mikhailiuk, a prodigy from Ukraine, known as the Lakers' "Thompson Jr.", has excellent three-point shooting ability, silky to the touch, silky like chocolate, three-point shooting, and mid-range shooting.

On the other hand, on the Clippers' side, Alexander was absent from this game, and in addition to his own fight, only Sowell could compete with one or two others on the court.

The fact at a glance is that it is destined to be a tough race.