Chapter 388: The King's Championship
The fight against the Warriors was the King's first appearance after making a trade. Fortunately, Zhang Feng and Rose shot 38 of 46 and scored a total of 84 points.
In comparison, the 'Splash Brothers' backcourt combination composed of Curry and Thompson only scored 72 points, so the Kings commented that Napier praised Zhang Feng and Rose as the league's new No. 1 backcourt combination.
However, this view was quickly opposed by many people, and fans and media people felt that the Kings and Warriors only played one game, which did not say much.
Outside comments have not affected the joy of the King's victory over the Warriors, since the regular season, although the Kings have ranked first in the league, they have been criticized by the outside world for playing against too few strong teams, taking advantage of the schedule, and now that the Kings have doubled to beat the Warriors, those who criticize at least can no longer take the Warriors as an example.
Coupled with the fact that the Kings and Thunder have a record of one win and one loss in two games this season, the Rockets are the best teams in the league, and the Rockets Kings have not yet won.
The Rockets beat the Kings by a big score at the start of the season, and with Paul, Harden, and Capela, they also completed the double of the Warriors, and they, like the Kings, want to go one step further in the playoffs.
Now, the Kings have completed a roster upgrade and will face the Rockets in their final game before the All-Star break, when the two teams will face off against Mars.
After the victory over the Warriors, the Kings have won three consecutive home games against the Mavericks, Bulls, and Trail Blazers, winning 11 in a row, and if it weren't for the defeat against the Thunder in early January, the Kings are now very likely to break the 33-game winning streak set by the Lakers.
In these four games, Zhang Feng and Rose's backcourt cooperation has become more and more proficient, and in the game against the Mavericks, the two combined for 76 points and 22 assists, completely destroying the Mavericks backcourt Dennis Smith and Wesley Matthews; In the game against the Bulls, Rose was particularly excited in the face of his old master, and Zhang Feng also intended to fulfill it, and finally Rose played 45+15 super guard data, which completely proved that Rose was back at the beginning.
However, the most exciting of the four games was the Kings vs. the Trail Blazers, and before the game began, Lillard tweeted that he wanted to blow Zhang Feng to prove his strength, only because Zhang Feng was elected as the starting backcourt in the West with a high vote, and he was only selected for the bench because of other injuries.
Of course, Lillard's so-called explosion is well-intentioned, because he and Zhang Feng have no contradictions, and the two even stood together on the previous 'scolding' of Westbrook.
Interestingly, at the end of the game between the two teams, Zhang Feng scored 39 points and 13 assists, while Lillard had too many forced shots because he wanted to prove himself too much, and the data was only 19 points and 7 assists, almost less than half of Zhang Feng.
The king, who had won 11 in a row, was supposed to be rejoicing, but the king was just as frowning as the warriors.
The reason for the Kings' worries is very simple, just because after their roster was upgraded, the Rockets also took advantage of the trade deadline to sign Wright and Joe Johnson in a row, completing the reinforcement of the interior and shooting guard positions.
In the past, without Wright, the Rockets relied on Capela very much on the inside, and Capela was no longer there for a while this season, and the Rockets actually had a shocking 4 consecutive defeats, but with Wright, even if Capela rests, the Rockets' protection of the interior line will be greatly improved than before.
Not to mention the introduction of Joe Johnson, for a long time, the Rockets have had a headache about Harden's bench problem, as long as the opponent is slightly stronger, Harden basically has to play more than 35 minutes, and it will definitely be bad for Harden's health in the long run, but now that the Rockets have Joe Johnson, the bench problem is solved.
Coupled with the fact that De Antony was Joe Johnson's first coach, the two may be able to collide with a different kind of spark when they work together again.
The Rockets become stronger, the Kings are naturally uncomfortable, the two teams are very likely to meet in the second round of the playoffs, once the two teams meet, Zhang Feng faces Paul, most of his small moves, psychological warfare or something can not continue to play a role, if other positions can't break through, it will definitely be more than lucky.
The reason for the Warriors' worries is basically the same as that of the Kings, all because the Rockets have upgraded and become stronger, although it is reasonable to say that the Rockets have been strong this season, but the Warriors did not take the Rockets to heart before, but now it is different, quantitative changes produce qualitative changes, and the Warriors are really panicking.
The Warriors are worried, and the Kings are also worried, but fortunately, the Kings still have expectations, after all, there is an All-Star player in the team who has not yet played, and when Lefu returns from injury, it is likely to be a new upgrade.
On top of that, no one is worried about Lefu not fitting into the Kings' current roster, because even someone like Rose who hasn't played for a long time can get started quickly, let alone Lefou. In addition, there is also exciting news for Kings fans that the Kings team doctor announced that Lefu will return early, and his palm injury will recover faster than expected under Zhang Feng's dietary therapy, and the 2-month recovery period has been shortened by 3 weeks.
In the following road schedule, the Kings defeated the Timberwolves and won consecutive games against the Mavericks, making it 13 consecutive wins, and the last game of the three-game road trip was against the Rockets.
It is worth mentioning that the Rockets have also won consecutive games in recent games, and they managed to overtake the Warriors to move into second place in the West.
Fans were very excited about the games of the first in the West vs. the second in the West, Zhang Feng vs. Paul, and Rose vs. Harden, and they prepared the topic even earlier than the media reporters.
But no matter how much the fans prepare, it is not as professional as the TV station, and it coincides with the national broadcast of the Rockets in this game, and 2 hours before the game between the two teams, the TNT triumvirate has begun to analyze the trend of the game.
"Shaq, how about you talk first? I know it's been a long time since you've commented on the Kings on a national live broadcast, so you must have a belly to say, right? Kenny threw a 'wink' at O'Neal.
"Thank you, Kenny, you really understand me!" O'Neill high-fived him in the air, and then continued: "However, I don't have much to say, because a thousand words in my heart have been combined into one sentence!" ”
O'Neal said that he deliberately stopped to sell the off, and Barkley and Kenny hurriedly cheered in surprise.
"Can you sum up your mood at this time in one sentence?"
"Speak, speak, you've piqued my interest."
O'Neill didn't seem to notice the two of them, as if he had been in a personal rhythm, only to see him first clench his fists, and then hammer heavily on the commentary platform, and shout in a sonorous and subdued voice:
"King's Championship!"