For the Lakers, Game 4 is a game they can't afford to lose. There are media rumors that head coach Phil Jackson may resign if the Lakers lose this game.

Separately, the Los Angeles Times said that Lakers star Kobe Bryant could also jump out of his contract this summer and become a restricted free agent. That would allow him to sign a five-year contract with any NBA team, potentially teaming up with a superstar against the Bobcats.

Bryant signed a seven-year, $136 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 that expired in 2011, but Bryant had a player option in 2009 to leave his contract early and become a free agent.

Even if Kobe Bryant wants to stay with the Lakers, he must renew his contract with the Lakers this year in order to maximize his own interests. First of all, Bryant will turn 31 years old, and he needs a long-term contract as a guarantee. Although Kobe Bryant still maintains the top competitive form in the league this season, as he gets older, no one can guarantee that Kobe Bryant will stay at the current level in 2 years. If Bryant continues to fulfill his contract and wait until two years to renew his contract with the Lakers, it is doubtful that he will be able to get the longest contract allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.

The Lakers can give Bryant a five-year contract of $135 million, and other teams can offer up to $129.5 million for five years. Of course, Kobe Bryant can also choose to jump out of his contract in the summer of 2010, so that he can sign a four-year contract worth $112 million with the Lakers, and the maximum contract that other teams can offer Kobe is four years and $108.4 million.

Kobe Bryant has been playing for the Lakers for 13 seasons, and the year before last Kobe Bryant once shouted "Replace me", but the Lakers immediately brought in Pau Gasol, and the strength has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, though, it's almost impossible for the Lakers to win a championship. Both Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are consciously or unconsciously avoiding the issue of future contract extensions.

This summer, there are a number of teams that were able to free up $22 million in salary space to snatch Kobe Bryant's big fish, including the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Bobcats are very harmonious internally, with no news of any transfers, including two players who failed to make the playoffs, Anthony Morrow and George Hill, and the Bobcats hierarchy have also said that they are very happy with them and will definitely stay. The only ones who could leave are Camby and Miller, two veterans who have been average in the playoffs.

Camby even became a substitute for Lopez in many games, and this season he has won a championship and made up for the glory regret, and should be able to chase a big contract with peace of mind. If he stays with the Bobcats for a year and can't play beautiful statistics, it will have a detrimental effect on his future signing.

Whether Mike Miller will jump out of his contract is still unknown. He shot 48 percent from three-point range in the regular season this season, was a super-shooter, and would have been a starter if it weren't for Gerard Wallace and Kevin Durant. If he jumps out of the contract, it is not a problem to get a middle class, but Bobcat may not renew his contract.

The trio of TN*T Radio's Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Kenny Smith are back on the scene to narrate.

Barkley was still in favor of the Bobcats before the game. "There's no doubt that the Bobcats are going to sweep the Lakers to advance, and I can't think of any way the Lakers can stop the Bobcats. Unless it's to elbow Hayes, but I'm sure the league and the referees won't ignore it again. One was an accident, two were an accident, the third was intentional, and the fourth was murder. I don't know how many times Kobe Bryant has been. ”

"You're too sure, aren't you? In the last game, Kobe Bryant broke the scoring record of active players, but Gasol and others did not open it on the inside, and the Bobcats won by luck. Smith laughed. He likes nothing more than to go against Barkley.

Before Barkley could retort, Miller spoke.

"Kobe Bryant can indeed score a lot of points, he's like a black mamba! Because the black mamba can continuously give fatal blows to others at high speeds, and the hit rate is very high. You know, this is the kind of ability I really wanted to have...... Except for Kobe, only Jordan can do this kind of thing. Miller complimented Kobe Bryant, but the rest of the words turned sour. But Kobe's teammates can't. So he could only take up a lot of shots to attack by himself, and the hit rate was also pulled down. I see that many fans on the Internet said that the Lakers lost the last game because their teammates dragged Kobe Bryant. Absolutely. The Lakers' current staffing is not worthy of Kobe Bryant at all, as long as he has Paul, Wade, Nowitzki, Garnett, and Howard around him as teammates, plus Delon, Pierce, and Yao Ming as substitutes, I think he can win the championship. (With these people as teammates, what else does Kobe Bryant do?) Miller is not a man who has PK with Kobe, and he is not inferior to Barkley.

As a Lakers celebrity, ESPN's commentator "Magic" Johnson expects the Lakers to achieve a victory. His commentary is biased in favor of the Lakers. "The Lakers will definitely give it their all in this game. The Bobcats won the last game very flukely, and the aggregate score should have been 1-2. The Bobcats didn't have a clear advantage against the Lakers, and with Billups out of action for this game, the Lakers' players are all healthy, and I fancy them to win at home. ”

Johnson's partner, Joan Barry, said: "The Bobcats play more teamwork than the Lakers. In the first three games, the Bobcats had at least five players score in double figures. How to limit so many points of attack is a problem. The Lakers' scoring points are more concentrated, mainly Kobe, Gasol, Butler, and Odom on the bench. Blache can also contribute points, but he is not consistent. Fisher and Bynum had a very disappointing play in this series. Bynum seems to be able to only bully players who are shorter and skinny than himself, and after being targeted by veteran Camby, he has only scored in double figures in one game and has done little against Lopez. Do you think the Lakers were right to sign him to a contract? ”

Johnson is still bullish on Bynum: "I think it's worth it. Bynum has a lot of promise, and he doesn't play well not because he's weak, but because the Bobcats' interior strength is too strong. Camby and Lopez are both good at blocking, and Hayes can put Gasol on the outside. In terms of rebounding, the Bobcats have a clear upper hand in this series. Camby, Hayes, and Wallace were all fierce in grabbing rebounds. That's where the Lakers mostly lose. I think the other key figure for the Lakers is Ariza, who doesn't score much and relies on point-up shots, but he has a great defense, and Durant is averaging only 13 points per game in three games, which is well below average. How to limit the blooming of the bobcat, I think the most important thing is not to wrap up Hayes, he likes to be wrapped by others. But if you let him go one-on-one with Hayes, it's hard to limit his scoring......"

Johnson's words hit the nail on the head, and the "Zen Master" Jackson realized it. When arranging the tactics, he said: "Today Caron (Butler) on the outside defended Hayes alone, and Paul (Gasol) changed the defense on the inside, and today we changed our strategy to defend other people and limit Hayes' passing. As long as the Bobcats can't open it, we're going to win the game. ”

The Lakers players all nodded, each of them had some small ideas in their hearts, but as soon as they got on the court, they could basically put those thoughts aside and devote themselves to the game.

"Triangle attack, first attack the inside, Paul (Gasol) You won't feel so bad today, right? If you're playing against Hayes, I want you to blow him up with a jumper. Kobe Bryant on the outside pays attention to his positioning, and you have to play to the state of the last game. ”

Jackson didn't notice that Gasol looked embarrassed and didn't look very confident.

On the Bobcats' side, D'Antoni didn't need to say much to arrange the tactics. He just needs to set up a joint defense and then attack for Hayes to get the ball and pose a threat as long as the ball is in Hayes' hands.

"Coach, I suggest that Corunna be played, Bynum jumps well, and Brooke is very difficult to fight. I suggest having Corunna call twice on the side. Gerald Wallace said suddenly. It's rare for this guy with a cold face all day to tell a bad joke, and the players burst out laughing.

D'Antoni frowned and said solemnly: "Everyone should calm down and play with all their might." Gerald, you're not right, we've all agreed to stop making jokes about Corenna. Can this killer feature be used when jumping the ball? I'll have to wait until the second quarter......"

The crowd burst into laughter again.

Azubuk sat on the side, his eyes closed, and his mouth muttered: "I can't hear, I can't hear......"

The Bobcats players were in a very relaxed mood. The last stunner made them full of confidence, and they could win a victory in such an unfavorable situation, not to mention this one, can Kobe Bryant still score more than 50 points?

Hayes walked to the middle of the dressing room and smiled: "I have something to say, relax is relaxed, and when you get on the field, you have to give it your all. Although losing this game will not affect our championship victory, a sweep is the perfect result. Tomorrow on the 11th is my birthday, and if we win this game, it will be my birthday gift. I can also have a more relaxed and happy tomorrow. ”

"Sweep the Lakers, celebrate Chuck's birthday in advance!" Jeff Van Gundy said loudly. The teammates immediately shouted "Sweep the Lakers!" ”。

Hayes' birth was June 11, just in time for the NBA Finals. His first two years of life were not good. When he was in the Rockets, he missed the Finals because of injury. Eliminated in the second round last season. This time, he didn't want to leave any regrets.

The Bobcats started five: Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Gerald Wallace, Chuck Hayes, Brook Lopez.

Lakers starting lineup: Derrick Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Caron Butler, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum.

Hayes and Kobe Bryant looked at each other, and Kobe's eyes were full of murder. This look made Hayes suspect that Kobe Bryant had a dagger hidden in his panties, ready to pull it out and pounce on him at any moment to stab him to death. (Who would hide a dagger in their panties?) Aren't you afraid of cutting that something? No matter how fierce the eyes are, it is useless, and those who should lose will always lose. You're really good at singles, but you can't beat me with that alone. Hayes smiled at Bryant.

Bynum faced Lopez again, and he no longer had the arrogance of the first game. He's not as good as Lopez. His only advantage is that he wins every time he jumps.

Lopez has a confident smile on his face, which makes Bynum's mentality a little messy, he is the Lakers' worst starter, does he have a chance to perform today?

The referee blew the whistle and the game began.

This time, Lopez finally won the jump ball......

(To be continued)