"Maybe I should have let him rest after the third quarter. But it's too late to say anything now. Fortunately, it is not heavy on him. The team has been through something similar before. I hope he gets better soon."

The Zen master looked lost at the press conference at this time. To the surprise of reporters, Kobe Bryant did not show a happy look at this time. Shaq, the Lakers' best scorer, has withdrawn.

"Oh, I'm a reporter for the xxx newspaper, how will you play after O'Neill leaves the team?" A female reporter who was a little timid and young told him.

"You shouldn't ask me about that. Whoever plays and who doesn't play is what a coach should do. I can't help it if he asks me to rest, even if I rest for the whole game, he has the final say."

At this point, Jackson's face began to turn ugly. Listening to Kobe, he is going to deliberately blame the coach of this team? Thinking of this, the Zen master first felt angry from his heart, and then the feeling of loss spread.

'But I can say what I think, O'Neal's absence will definitely have an impact on our team. I believe in my teammates. I also...... I believe that the coaching staff will keep the team playing at a high level......"

Bryant spoke slowly, as if he had been struggling for a few seconds. But it sounds okay. At least he said it.

"Thank you" Jackson just lip-smacked and didn't make a sound. The Black Mamba looked at his coach with some indifference, and deliberately avoided his gaze at the moment.

At the press conference, some of the media's ideas fell through. Many reporters looked disappointed. They want to see Kobe Bryant's sneering look. Hopefully he'll say something more about O'Neill.

But here they see a united Lakers. Zhou Yang and some Lakers players did not attend the press conference, and there were only 4 Lakers players who came to the scene. Fisher and Odom never spoke, and Smoothy pretended not to know anything, saying something vague that would not affect the team.

Jackson's heart was somewhat comforted. At least Kobe Bryant didn't say anything drastic. And whatever he says today, the team will play around him in the future. He is now going to the hospital to visit Ao Fat.

This guy doesn't talk about it, but if you can care about this big guy, he'll be happy and even touched. Ao Fat is a big center with a lot of feelings.

"The season is still long, don't I still have you?" The Zen master returned to the locker room and looked at the other players as he pretended to be relaxed. Then it was to speed up the pace in the hallway. Look at the big shark, I'll be visiting you right after the game! At this time, Jackson was really worried about his injury.

In the end of this game, the Nuggets won 112-103 against the Los Angeles Lakers! O'Neal sprained his right foot shortly after playing in the fourth quarter. He immediately left the scene after confirming the injuries.

Zhou Yang sat on the bench for the last 5 minutes. The whole team basically knows the result. Although Kobe Bryant's form is back, he is constantly scoring! But the Denver Nuggets did not relax, relying on Camby and Anthony to break through quickly until the end of the final game.

Although the Lakers are fighting at home in this game, almost all of them are in a passive state and are playing with the Nuggets! This kind of situation does make the players feel bad!

Nuggets Anthony got 29 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists today! Camby had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks! Martin had 15 points and 5 rebounds, Boykins had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, and Andre had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists!

On the Lakers' side, O'Neal has 21 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks! Odom had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Zhou Yang had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists! Wharton had 10 points and 5 assists, and Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals!

......

"Hey, I feel like I'm going to be out of the hospital now"

"A lot of the patients who come to the hospital probably think so. But in the end, you listen to the doctor's" The Zen master walked in directly. Shaq wasn't surprised, but joked. Nice atmosphere in the house.

"I was thinking...... Maybe Kobe Bryant was right in this game. I should have passed more than I attacked."

"No, you're doing a great job! The Nuggets' 'shark-slashing tactics' didn't work at all today. You're playing this way well, it's a big deal that you can score 2 points if you don't want free throws, right? Look at the Nuggets at the scene, they think that if this continues, they will have players leave the court early~"

"Is the team okay now?" O'Neill was visibly pleased. As soon as the game was over, Jackson came over. Doesn't that prove that the manager still cares about him?

"Everything is fine, but without you I think the Lakers are going to struggle under the basket"

"The Lakers' Odom, Zhou Yang, and Mim can all play" Although Shaq said so, he was already very happy in his heart~

"Zhou Yang, how many days has he just been in the team? Odom, Mime, they're still immature," the Zen master said as he said comforting words while thinking about all sorts of things in his heart.

"Zhou Yang needs to be polished, and he sometimes I find it a bit 'unfamiliar' in the NBA arena now. But he has a good sense of the game, and maybe it won't be long before he gets up! ”

"When did you start caring about the new players on the team?" Jackson said with a smile as he looked at Shaq at this time.

"A feeling. I feel like Wharton's words are a bit lacking, and if he were to be an assistant coach for any team, I would think he could make a big difference. Because until now, too, there are players who don't listen to his on-field instructions at all. But Zhou Yang is different, he has a strong attack*, calm and smart on the field. ”

......

In the evening, Jackson recalls what O'Neill said to him at the hospital. When I walked to the door of the house and was about to pick up the key, my phone rang.

"Boss, I have a message for you," the other end of the line looked urgent.

"If a young player wants to take a leave of absence, you can give it to you, but not more than two. By the way, did Cook come back? "Jackson's mind is nothing more than another player taking a leave of absence.

"Boss, be prepared"

"What do you mean?! Did Odom take a leave of absence? I don't give!! Tell him what I said, "The Zen master is a little anxious when he hears this!"

"It's Kobe, coach. His personal doctor just called me. Said Kobe Bryant needed two to three weeks to recover from the injury, and he couldn't play with a muscle strain in his left leg......

"Okay, I see......" Jackson felt like all the strength in his body had disappeared a lot.

O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are both unavailable now. To put it bluntly, the team has lost two major scoring points at once! It came so suddenly that Jackson was a little caught off guard.

When his wife saw that he was not in a good state, she immediately poured him a glass of hot milk. But instead of drinking it, Jackson went to another room by himself, opened the cupboard, took out a bottle of whiskey, and poured himself a sip.

"Are you alright?" The wife appeared by the door at this time and said with some concern.

"I'm fine, I just want to have some drinks. You can drink that glass of milk. Drink more, maybe you can whiten more," Jackson wanted to tease his wife, but the words that came out of his mouth now had no tone.

"Did you encounter something?"

"It's a matter of the team. It's nothing, let me be alone for a while" After saying that, Jackson sat down in the room by himself, and the wine glass was beside him, which was empty. When he was halfway through the second cup, the Zen master picked up the phone in his hand.

"Vincent? I'm Jackson. If you do, inform the following players that they will go back to training tomorrow after a day off......"

You can't just think about Kobe and O'Neal right now. The team is about to start the second team!