The big deal between the Rockets and the Celtics caught the eye of the vast majority in mid-January.

Harden made his debut in the Celtics' game against the Hornets on January 16, scoring 27 points and dished out seven assists to help the Celtics win over the Hornets.

On the team's lineup, Stevens put Thomas Jr. on the bench as the sixth man.

And Harden's No. 13 has not retired in the history of the Celtics, so it is a miracle that he does not have to change his number.

The attention and ratings of the entire East have been added a lot because of the arrival of Harden.

The alliance must have been quite relieved to see such a situation.

It is foreseeable that in the next season or two, Harden's whistle will not be less.

After all, it's a balance.

And before this deal, the Kings got PJ-Tucker's operation, but it was overlooked.

In fact, this may be the one that really affects the situation.

The Kings have finally strengthened their last weakness — the defense at the front.

At the same time, by the way, the problem of the team's sixth man was solved.

After Tucker's arrival, Li Liang decisively promoted him to the starting No. 3 position to relieve his defensive pressure at the No. 4 position.

Rudy Gay was dropped off the bench in a well-rounded sixth man role.

In this way, the Kings' starting lineup of Cousins, Li Liang, Tucker, Gordon and Rondo is basically formed.

In general, this lineup is similar to the idea of Li Liang when he was with the Pacers.

On the court, Cousins, Gordon, and Rondo all have the ability to solve problems on their own in the offense, and they can also integrate well into the team's offensive system.

Defensively, the Pacers use a tough one-on-one defense, and the Kings actually have the ability to defend one-on-one at the moment.

Of the five people who started the game, Cousins still has a strong one-on-one defensive ability without constantly assisting in defense.

So, while Mike Brown continues to refine his bee defense, he is also using a simple but used 1on1 to solidify the team's defensive foundation.

Purely relying on the bees, the problem is that when you encounter some teams with strong offensive strength, you will get into trouble.

For example, in the game against the Warriors in early January, the two teams met for the first time this season.

The Kings were completely pressed by the Warriors.

After the Warriors have James, the team's offense has reached a higher level, reaching a state of flowing water and never exceeding the rules.

Offensive efficiency, fluency, ability in key moments, outside shooting percentage, and ball transfer have reached a peak.

James' three-point shooting also reached an all-time high for the Warriors, and his shooting percentage exceeded 40 percent for the second time.

The last time he shot 40% from the field in the regular season was in 2012-2013, but he averaged just 3.3 shots per game that season.

He is averaging a career-high number of three-point attempts per game this season.

If there's anything wrong with the Warriors, it's probably that Green's role in the offense has been offset a lot by James.

Also, the Warriors' bench is a little weaker than it used to be.

But overall, this Warrior is a well-deserved gold team.

In the face of the Warriors' superior offense, the Kings' "swarm defense" is tickling.

James' wide range of ball movements, and the Warriors' air-cut runs, disrupted the swarm.

Li Liang did his best in this game, scoring 48 points in a single game, and the king still lost by 7 points.

After this game, the Kings got P.J. Tucker, and Mike Brown combined the Bees with one-on-one.

The Bees are really good against weak teams, especially some teams with poor offense.

Constant harassment in defense can lead to poor offensive performance at all, and eventually gradually fall into endless singles.

And this kind of harassment defense, the physical consumption is not large, and the Kings players are not left behind at all.

Therefore, the king is quite stable.

They enjoyed a winning streak and did not lose again in the second half of January.

That includes a win over a strong team like the Thunder.

Li Liang is more handy in the position of coach.

He came to appreciate what Mike Brown meant when he said "rule by doing nothing".

In the regular season, the state of the players, the simplicity and consistency of the tactics have a great impact on the record.

As a coach, he needs to keep his players in good physical condition and mental stability, while maintaining a certain level of intensity in training.

Just like long-distance running, the most important thing in the middle of the run is to ensure that the breathing rhythm is smooth, and the playoffs are the time to sprint.

He handed over most of the tactical stuff to Mike Brown and D'Antoni for team training and games.

With the two of them, he doesn't have to worry too much about tactics, he just needs to make crucial decisions.

For the rest of the time, Li Liang participated in training by himself as a player, partnered with Lu to guide him, and often thought about life with the players.

Tyronn Lue is fundamentally a disciple of Phil Jackson, who stayed with the Lakers who won three consecutive championships that year.

He's a player-oriented coach and knows what the players think.

Playing is actually the same as any other job, as an employee, you will also be slack, lazy, and emotional.

After all, whether you win the championship or not does not directly affect the player's salary.

As for how to appease the players and mingle with this group of hey boys, Coach Lu has his advantages.

After all, Li Liang is too authoritative, except for seniors like Cousins and Rondo, others will always feel a sense of distance from him.

With Tyronn Lue by your side from time to time, you have a middleman, a messenger, and a buffer, and you will feel much better when you get along with your teammates.

In February, on February 3, the Kings went on a 12-game winning streak after beating the Suns at home!

This wave of winning streak allowed the Kings to rush to the second place in the West with a record of 40 wins and 10 losses.

The Golden State Warriors, who are second only to 44-6, have left the Spurs, Thunder, and Lakers behind.

This wave of victories has brought the entire West back to its senses and drawn everyone's attention away from the Harden trade - it turns out that the Sacramen dragged the Kings to be the biggest beneficiary of the recent trade.

With PJ Tucker, the Kings' defense has become extremely solid, and the rotation has become quite abundant and stylized.

Li Liang truly achieved "rule by inaction" and put the king in a good state of self-circulation.

In terms of court performance, Li Liang averaged 28.7 points, 8 assists, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game in January, winning the best of the month and the best of the week in the West with an indisputable performance.

For the first time, Li Liang showed people what it means to "exert force in the future".

The fear of Li Liang once again fell on the heads of the alliance and the westerners.

On Feb. 4, the Kings will host back-to-back Warriors at home.

At this time, the warriors who formed a super strong team were no longer the so-called big demon kings, but brave men who wanted to challenge the demon kings.

The task of saving the west and defeating the Demon King is on them.