The Rockets' loss came somewhat unexpectedly.

On December 21, 2017, the Rockets, who had won 14 in a row, faced the Los Angeles Lakers at home.

1/

The Lion of the Rockets is James Harden without a doubt. With the game behind, the opponent changed defenses infinitely, and the offense was put to one by one, and the bloodthirsty Harden certainly smelled the prey. His eyes seemed nonchalant, but his body pressed to the lowest level with the dribble, constantly changing his center of gravity, looking for even a momentary oversight. As soon as the opponent hesitates, Harden will immediately go out, or kill him from beyond the three-point line, or run long distances, go straight to the paint area, and vow not to give up without catching the prey.

His black beard resembles the mane of a lion king's crown.

He had a strong body and strong limbs; With sharp claws and a wealth of weapons, he can maneuver to the end no matter what kind of opponent he is, and finally strangle him.

In this hunting ground at night in the past, he also had comrades who patrolled together. Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Yiming Yang. Paul and Harden plan the battlefield together and lock on to the target, Capela is responsible for waiting for the opportunity to deliver the fatal blow behind the two, while Yang Yiming is like a guard, guarding the battlefield, using flesh and blood to resist the dying struggle of the prey, and eliminating any form of negative resistance.

But today's Toyota Center Arena, the Lion King's helpers are not around, and he can only fight alone. Paul strained his left leg muscle in the third quarter, and Capela had a minor Achilles tendon injury, but in order to fully recover, he and Yang Yiming, who had just attended an exhibition game against NASA basketball team the day before, were put on watch by the coach.

"If they're not 100 per cent recuperated or at their best, I won't let them play," Coach D'Antoni said after the game, explaining his decision, "We have to win, but the season is long and we can't sacrifice the future. ”

With the remaining five, James Harden played as many as 43 minutes, and one person pegged the entire Lakers team, and finally scored 51 points, the eighth time in his career that he scored more than 50 points in a single game.

It's a pity that in the face of the Lakers' wolf pack, the lion king's hunting feast tonight ended in failure.

2/

To say that the Lakers are wolves is really not biased at all. In stark contrast to the Rockets' overstretched staffing is the Lakers' trio of players, who had a total of 10 players on the court in this regular season season, and six of them scored in double figures.

The hungry young wolves were undoubtedly inspired by the retirement ceremony of Kobe Bryant, the lone wolf superstar in the entire NBA history, at halftime, and trailed the defending champions by four points at halftime, and the Lakers wolves fought back wildly in the second half, biting the score to drag the game into overtime, and finally lost by two points.

Even if they are defeated, the wolves have come out and sworn to sweep the plains!

Seeing that the opponent in front of them was only James Harden, the little wolves looked particularly belligerent. Wolves are well-organized social animals, highly mobile and predatory, and this is no longer the case tonight. The Lakers' wolves take turns, maneuvering with Harden on the one hand, waiting for the Lions to make a mistake, and once the flaws are revealed, the wolves will rush out and fight back wildly. With 20 points and 15 three-point cold attacks, the Lakers' attacks are like green-eyed wolves in the night, and once they catch the opportunity, they will kill the opponent in the fastest and most cold-blooded way!

Naturally, the wolves also have leaders.

Kuzma, the Lakers' No. 0 Kuzma, who is also a rookie this year with Yang Yiming, is the head wolf tonight. Kuzma, who played Yang Yiming in the last match, had his best performance of the season in this match. Kuzma showed signs of scoring in the second half of the game against the Warriors, and he showed his offensive talent to the fullest in this game.

Looking at this year's rookies, Kuzma, who was drafted in the second round, actually has a hidden talent that is not at all inferior to the first-round picks. His ability to wrap around, his back ability, strong burst ability, fast attack ability, his skillful offensive skills, and the abundance of means are staggering, not only the entire Lakers team Little Wolves no one can win, but also looking at the junior rookies in the league, I am afraid it is difficult to have opponents. On top of this rich offensive choice, Kuzma also has a three-point shot rate of up to 40%, not only is the open three-point shot quite stable, but the ultra-long-distance projection and strong shooting in the face of defenders actually have a certain level. This allows him to find his touch quickly after he gets on the court, even if he often starts from the bench, and delivers continuous critical hits! In the 28 games he has played, he has been a substitute in 16 games, and he can still maintain an average of 17.4 points per game, which is not only a threat to Yang Yiming's rookie of the year, but also a promising sixth man in the competition!

3/

With his teammates attracting firepower, Kuzma, who was pushed into the starting lineup, took his three-point shooting ability to the extreme. He scored 16 points in the first quarter on 7-of-10 three-point shooting, including a handful of head-to-head three-pointers against defenders, helping the Lakers take a 37-22 lead. After the three-part separation, No. 0 Kuzma was undoubtedly more calm, and even soared with the lion king opposite. His defender PJ Tucker was completely blown up, not only was the three-point shot to the point of losing confidence, Kuzma received a layup in the air, a fast break and a dunk, and could do anything. And the most powerful shot came at the end of the third quarter, in the face of Tucker's close defense, Kuzma dribbled the ball with his left hand to the basket, resisted half of his body, and then changed the ball to his right hand again, and threw the board low and high! Although there was a fierce physical confrontation and the breakthrough speed was extremely fast, Kuzma's shot was extremely soft, and the spinning basketball just kissed the edge of the rebound under the timer, and the ball fell into the net, plus a free throw!

Coach Mike D'Antoni saw that the situation was not good, and replaced the depressed PJ Tucker with the Brazilian veteran Nene in the hope of suppressing Kuzma with the height of the center.

"Could it be that Nina's treatment was not scheduled at the right time? It's still a little too good. Yu Xiaochun, who watched the sidelines of this ball, couldn't help but sigh, suspecting that contacting Kuzma at that time to experience Nina's hypnotic recovery treatment was a wrong decision that was not conducive to the Rockets.

"It's a good thing that it works well." Yang Yiming remained silent, and it could be seen that he put all his energy into observing the opponent after today's truce, "It shows that he will come back in the future - you look at him, the kind of self-confidence he has in shooting breakthroughs on the court comes from his trust in his physical state, which is not only what daily training can bring." ”

"Then you're not worried that he'll become too strong and steal your limelight?" In fact, Yu Xiaochun initially did not support recommending Nina to Kuzma, according to his idea, Kuzma had to be regarded as Yang Yiming's "direct opponent" in the competition for best rookie.

"Don't worry. There is competition, there is motivation. Yang Yiming narrowed his eyes, guessing that he must be gearing up in his heart at this moment, imagining the situation of his confrontation with Kuzma on the field: "Every great player will meet many great opponents. Kobe Bryant would be, if it weren't for Iverson, Maddie, Carter... You've been saying that Tatum would be my lifelong enemy, but I actually think I'm a bit like him. ”

"Oh, why do you say that?"

"His hunger for victory. From his eyes, the longing that emanates from every pore of his body... If there is one person on the Lakers team who can inherit Kobe's mental temperament, it is probably him. ”

"What do you think?"

"Well, I felt it the first time we met. I talked to Nina when he came to see him, and I was even more sure..."

"You talked to him?"

"Well, we talked for a while." Yang Yiming's eyes completely narrowed into a line at this time, and he couldn't see what he was thinking.

"What did you talk about?"

"It's basketball, it's all about life. And the second half of the game against NASA the day before yesterday..."

"Oh? You told him? ”

"Well, I haven't figured it out yet, it's so weird — it's weird more than the Rockets losing."