Chapter 446: The winning streak begins again (second update)
As the time enters January, the All-Star voting has entered the final moments, and the final selection of this year's 10 All-Star starters will be revealed soon, which is an exciting time, and the players are even more difficult to deal with calmly. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
The most talked about is the Lakers, because this team has only lost one game so far, and it was in the absence of the main team. So the dominance of this team is unmistakable. So how many players should make the All-Star roster for such a team? All expressed curiosity and confusion. ESPN and other authoritative media have researched and discussed this, and in the end, they unanimously believe that the Lakers must have at least three players selected as All-Stars, otherwise they will be really sorry for their horrific record this year.
In fact, if you just look at the record, it is absolutely difficult to say that the Lakers are not selected for three or four players. However, the Lakers have too many star potential players, and even if the Lakers have relied on a terrifying record this season to make a terrible exposure, many people who are not Lakers fans will vote for the players of this team. Although the total number is large, because there are too many players, it also causes the dispersion of votes, which affects the competitiveness of players in the All-Star vote.
There are only 2 days left until the end of the All-Star vote, and at this time the Lakers only have Kobe Bryant on the starting list. Knoll, for example, is fourth in the West, 40,000 votes away from third-place Griffin. The likes of Antetokounmpo, Whiteside and LaVine are unlikely to be in the starting line-up at all. Therefore, because of the dispersion of votes, the Lakers' All-Star situation this year is still not optimistic. And the only thing that can be pinned on is to be able to favor the Lakers players when the coach votes. Otherwise, the Lakers still won't be able to have more All-Star players this year.
Of course, the Lakers at this time are popular with the people, and the media is also calling for the Lakers to have four players selected as All-Stars. Therefore, when choosing a substitute, the head coach of each team seems to be careful to consider.
Two days passed quickly, and the All-Star vote had its final results.
Kobe Bryant was elected the 2016 All-Star vote winner with 2 million votes, and his individual performance this year has been maintained at 20 points + 7 assists. In addition, Knoll, who averaged an average contribution of nearly 20+10 per game, also became the starting forward of the Western team. The remaining three are Westbrook, Leonard and Durant.
As for the Eastern side, the starting five Tigers are James, Love, George, Wall and Irving. All three of the Cavaliers' Big Three were named All-Star starters, the first time they've been combined. Of course, this also reflects that the All-Star competition in the east is not as fierce as in the west.
……
After the All-Star voting came to an end, the focus of the season returned to the game.
The Lakers are still outstanding, alone in the first echelon of the league. Then there are five teams: Cavaliers, Rockets, Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Pistons.
The Lakers' record is still only 1 loss, and they are at the top of the list, which is extremely glaring.
At this time, the other 29 teams in the entire NBA league have formed a consensus, that is, to stop the Lakers with all their might, and strive to give them more defeats. Therefore, the situation at this time has evolved into a situation where no matter which team plays the Lakers, it will even use the strength to eat milk.
However, the Lakers are too strong in combat, even if there are a few injured people on the bench, there are still a lot of players who can play. Overall, the Lakers have too many people available, and the tacit understanding between the players on the team is also very good, which makes it impossible for any team to add a loss to the Lakers' record list.
In the blink of an eye, 16 years have passed, and 10 days have passed.
On the night of the 10th, the Lakers welcomed one of the season's strong opponents, the Golden State Warriors, at home.
The Warriors who make up the luxury roster have not played as luxuriously as expected, and the chemistry between Durant and this Warriors team is not very good, which is a headache for Kerr, and he has been trying to find new ways to integrate this Warriors team, but until now, the situation has not been very optimistic.
This game against the Lakers is the second meeting between the Warriors and the Lakers this season, the last time was in the opening game, when the Warriors lost to the visiting Lakers at Oracle Arena, and today's game is the Warriors' chance to get revenge. And for the outside world, everyone wants to see if the Warriors have improved after more than two months...... Whether or not a solution has been found against the Lakers.
There was a rare war of words between the two sides before the game, and the game unfolded in silence.
The Warriors' starters have been consistent with Azeli, Barnes, Durant, Thompson and Curry. And the Lakers' starters today are also more conventional, Kobe, LaVine, Antetokounmpo, Noll and Whiteside.
Judging from the lineup comparison, the Lakers' interior line is still the biggest advantage.
However, the biggest attraction of today's game is not how the Lakers wreak havoc on the Warriors' restricted area. Instead, focus on two sets of matchups, first, Curry vs. Kobe, and second, Durant vs. Antetokounmpo.
In particular, the pairing of Durant and Antetokounmpo is the favorite in today's game. Both are of the same size and are very talented players at the same age. At this time, Durant is more mature, and the young Antetokounmpo is more of a challenger, and everyone is looking forward to what kind of performance he can play against Durant. Of course, Antetokounmpo and Durant are not the same type of players at all, and Antetokounmpo is more well-rounded, having already recorded multiple quasi-triple-doubles and two triple-doubles this season......
At the beginning of the game, Durant hit a trademark long-range three-pointer to get the Warriors off to a good start.
This is a highlight of his scoring ability, you know, after coming to the Warriors, with multiple scorers around him, Durant can still average 26.8 points per game, and he is still the most scoring offensive machine.
However, Antetokounmpo then began to defend seriously, and he put all his experience into defense, and his long arms, height and flexibility interfered with Durant very much, and then Durant missed two consecutive shots.
Antetokounmpo defended Durant, which wasn't a surprise. You know, this season's Antetokounmpo has completely completed his transformation, his defensive ability has become extremely strong, and many people think that he has the ability to compete for the best defense. Therefore, with his own advantages, coupled with the defensive skills that he has slowly honed, this has made him one of the best defenders of the new generation.
"Smack~"
In the second quarter of the game, a crisp touch sounded the ball, and when everyone didn't react in time, Antetokounmpo had already rushed across the halfcourt, starting a three-step layup from outside the three-point line, and ended the fast break with a two-handed dunk.
This is Antetokounmpo's second steal of Durant, and his performance today was a surprise.
Durant's offensive efficiency is low, and the only things the Warriors can rely on are Curry and Thompson. However, Thompson also had a very bad hand today, he had already made four three-pointers in the first half, and none of them hit.
However, the good thing is that Barnes was able to step up at this time and share a lot of pressure on Curry.
In fact, Chu Xuan has always felt that Barnes is a very important player for the Warriors, and his low-post back play skills are a very key point for the Warriors. And without Barnes, then this Warriors team will lose chemistry. Because Barnes is actually the key point in the series of Splash Brothers......
Chu Xuan knew this, so he naturally increased his defense against Barnes and hindered their passing strings on specific routes. In this way, the Lakers gradually began to grasp the advantage.
In the second half, the Lakers ushered in a big explosion on the offensive end, Kobe Bryant scored consecutive points, and by the end of the third quarter, he had already scored 24 points, and it was completely possible to score 30+ points today. The strong offensive firepower is very supportive of the Lakers, which makes it impossible for the Warriors to close the score, and the Lakers have always had the hope of winning.
However, for the Warriors, of course, they will not give up, after all, their goal is to win the championship, and if they can't climb the mountain of the Lakers, then how can they win the championship.
"Use your brain to think about how to fight, everyone has to stay calm and cheer up. If you can't learn to be tenacious, you can't touch the O'Brien Cup......"
Kerr's mobilization had an effect, and the Warriors launched a comeback three minutes into the final third quarter.
At this time, the Lakers suffered a sudden blow when Antetokounmpo sprained his ankle during an offensive attack to the basket and had to be taken off the court for a check-up.
Without Antetokounmpo, the Warriors' offense has improved even more, and the Lakers are in trouble.
At such a juncture, Chu Xuan made a quick decision and chose to increase his outside shooting, while the inside line focused on protecting rebounds and defense.
This strategy paid off in the final quarter, and the Lakers eventually withstood the pressure and won the game 117-110, making it their fourth straight win since losing to the Rockets.
Bryant contributed 35 points and 7 assists, and was the most effective player on the team. Curry, who was opposite him, had 26 points and 3 assists. Kobe Bryant's performance completely overpowered Curry, which surprised and amazed everyone, you know, Kobe Bryant is almost 38 years old, and Curry is at the peak age of 27 years old.
Durant played badly enough in this game, shooting just 4-of-16 from the field and scoring 16 points. Thompson, on the other hand, scored just 10 points. If it weren't for Barnes' 22-point firepower, the Warriors would have lost more.
"4 wins in a row! Is the Lakers' winning streak about to start again? This alliance is going to tremble again! (To be continued.) )