331, The Christmas War
Throughout the month of November, the Raptors played a very good record under the leadership of Wu Di, with 14 wins and 1 loss.
Such a record can make the Raptors temporarily rank first in the league, and Wu Di can contribute an average of 34.4 points, 6.8 boards, 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in a single month, and he is still firmly in the "180 club" in terms of shooting percentage.
As a defender, there is no doubt that Wu Di was able to play such a number and fully show his excellence.
If Wu Di played very well before the start of the season, then in the next five games, Wu Di's table was clearly better than the previous eight.
Averaging 34.4 points per game, it puts him firmly at the top of the scoring list, far ahead of second-place James' 29.5 points.
Such an overwhelming advantage makes it almost impossible for everyone to think about the competition for the scoring title, because in the eyes of everyone, as long as Wu Di can maintain it like this, it is only a matter of time before he wins the second scoring title of his career.
For this reason, many experts also talked about Wu Di's personal scoring problems, although Wu Di's assists dropped to only 3, but this is due to the current tactics of the Raptors, not Wu Di's reason at all.
In the eyes of experts, it was this arrangement of Collins that finally allowed Wu Di to fully devote his energy to attacking and be more efficient.
This approach is obviously very appropriate, after all, judging from the first four seasons of Wu Di's career, he is completely a young man with extreme talent in attack, and it is obviously better to let him be completely focused on scoring.
Hence this clear division of labor in Corinthians. It also led to the current situation. Wu Di in the deadline of November. With less than 20 shots per game, he was able to maintain an efficient 180 shooting percentage to contribute 34.4 points...... Such efficiency is completely unimaginable for a defender.
When Wu Di firmly became the scoring champion, in the eyes of many people, they began to think that if Wu Di increased his shots, would it be possible to raise the average score per game to a higher level?
On this point, Barkley is extremely certain, and he said that Wu Di will go to a weak team. It is completely capable of averaging 35 points per game, or even 40 points per game.
Obviously, this is enough to see that Wu Di has a trend of scoring in today's league.
Wu Di's performance in November made him the most talked-about player of the season, and in November, he won the Player of the Month award without any suspense.
The fans began to chase Wu Di wildly, which is very obvious.
When Wu Di went everywhere. will be "chased and intercepted" by fans, which makes witnesses completely feel like they are seeing some "acting stars" coming.
For Wu Di. He's enjoying it right now, and it's clear that he's in the midst of a popularity explosion, and if he takes advantage of this opportunity, he'll be able to establish himself dominance in the league.
In fact, Wu Di also knows that although he is the most high-profile and popular rising star in the league today, he is not recognized as the best player in the league, which is what he has always hoped to improve.
Obviously, after the current eruption of strength, Wu Di's ambition is really big enough, and he hopes to become a player with the same influence as Michael Jordan.
And now the reaction of fans all over the United States has made Wu Di see this possibility, and therefore forced him to work harder.
In December, Wu Di's condition was still very good, and his watch was still very good.
Under his leadership, the Raptors still have the best record in the league, so the MVP calls for him have begun to intensify.
In the eyes of many people, Wu Di, who can score 35+ points and has such a leading table, is completely the only candidate for MVP.
On the ESPN side, today's media has begun to unconditionally support Wu Di.
After all, in many ways, Wu Di is a player who deserves their support like Michael.
In addition to ESPN, TNT also expressed its support for Wu Di, and in this way, the rest of the league players understood in their hearts that as long as Wu Di himself has no accidents, then the future league will obviously be Wu Di's.
Moreover, the most obvious point is that with the support of the media in the United States and even the world, Wu Di will be able to win all the awards in the future.
This situation makes people sigh that an era of Chinese domination of the NBA may be about to begin.
Wu Di has become the player who dominates the NBA, but some of the league's old superstars are very disgusted and unhappy with it.
And the most obvious is the Los Angeles Lakers, here, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant have always been angry with Wu Di's personal ability, obviously, they are the league's premier superstars, naturally think very highly of themselves, will not see Wu Di as a better player than them, and will not accept the existence of a ruler in his first year.
It can be said that Garnett and Kobe Bryant often unconsciously talk about the Raptors and Wu Di when they talk to the media, and they say that if they can meet the Toronto Raptors in the Finals, then they will definitely beat this team.
Of course, such arrogant remarks will reach Wu Di's ears, and Wu Di will of course can't help but fight back, so the two sides will once set off a war of words.
In such a situation, the clash between the Raptors and the Lakers has naturally become the focus of attention in the United States.
According to the NBA's prior arrangement, there will be a game between the Lakers and the Raptors in December, and the day of this game is also very special, the 25th, which is the so-called Christmas War.
In today's world, the Christmas war has become one of the focus of attention, and the exposure rate of the game on that day can be said to be very high.
Arranging the Lakers and Raptors games is entirely intentional on the part of the league.
In fact, speaking of which, this arrangement has become the wisest decision of the NBA official team this season, because the battle between the Lakers, who make up the luxury roster, and the new champion Raptors, is definitely the most watched game, and there is no one.
Therefore, the Christmas war was arranged in this way. Apparently also to meet the expectations of the fans.
But. According to the official idea of the NBA. They're just showing up for 14vs24 on top of the Christmas War. You know, they didn't expect the Lakers to form such a luxurious team in a short period of time.
14vs24 can be extremely interesting, and this has been the mainstream of the league in recent years.
After all, Kobe Bryant is the best guard player since Jordan, he has won three championship rings, and is considered the best player at the shooting guard position today.
Therefore. After the emergence of a young super scoring guard like Wu Di, he will naturally have to compare it with Kobe, in this regard, it is similar to how many people compared young Kobe Bryant with Jordan back then.
In particular, after Wu Di played a terrifying playoff game and got a championship ring in an almost magical way, the eyes of the world looking forward to 14VS24 can be said to be as enthusiastic as a volcanic eruption.
Therefore, this year's Christmas War can be said to be a very, very high-profile game.
In the regular season in full swing, time always flies.
In the blink of an eye, the end of the year is approaching, and the long-awaited Christmas war is finally coming.
Winter 2006. The weather can be said to be quite cold during the year. Snowflakes are falling all over the United States, enveloping the world in a field of ice and snow.
However, this cold cannot hide the enthusiasm of the fans, and this heat is completely erupted because of this year's Christmas war.
The enthusiasm of the fans seems to be able to melt the ice and snow of Los Angeles, which makes people feel excited.
Wu Di came to Los Angeles with the team again, and he was also nostalgic in his heart, the city always gave him a special feeling, solemn with a little impetuousness, which is the unique atmosphere of this metropolis.
Staples is still the same, still showing its ancient history.
For this arena, the difference is mainly reflected in the superstars and the ever-changing posters.
Not to mention the distant SHOWETIME era, let's just say that in recent years, the former OK group has long been announced, and the posters of the four kings after have long been missing.
On the periphery of today's Staples, on the huge and beautiful poster, standing is the new Five Tiger Generals......
Of the five people in the purple and gold robes, Kobe Bryant is in the center, showing his identity, after all, he is the new owner of this arena.
And beside him, Wolves Garnett and Peja, two former Western opponents, are intimately putting their arms on Kobe's shoulders.
And next to Garnett, is a serious and slightly cute big Ben, and as for Peja's side, is the small "jet" Jason Terry.
Such a poster shows the strength of the Purple and Gold Lakers this season, this is a team with a luxurious roster, and they have begun a new era.
In Wu Di's eyes, the OK era has come to an end, and the Lakers are ushering in a new era, with the current lineup, they have the ability to compete for the championship, which is the most real idea in Wu Di's heart.
However, Wu Di is not afraid of such an opponent, in his opinion, facing this kind of opponent with a lot of stars will be more interesting.
Moreover, every time Wu Di goes to Staples, he can be said to have the advantage in his heart, which can be understood as self-confidence, here, he has never shown a bad time.
Wu Di is also looking forward to such a game in his heart, after all, in this season, if the East is the most eye-catching for the Raptors, then the best in the West today is the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been a surprise in their hearts this season, even incredible.
The Lakers, who brought Ben Wallace, Garnett, Peja, Kobe Bryant and Jason Terry together, didn't seem to go through much of a run-in period to play an unstoppable game.
Obviously, this is because a group of stars are relatively well fitted, so the Lakers were able to play a very good record in a short period of time.
Judging from the current Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant's identity is similar to Wu Di's in the Raptors, he is responsible for scoring and helping the Lakers provide firepower output.
As for Garnett, after coming to the Lakers this season, Garnett's scoring dropped to only about 18 points.
But that's understandable, given that with scorers like Kobe and Peja and John Terry around him these days, it's completely difficult for him to continue to play like Wolves to score.
However, it is worth mentioning that Garnett has partnered with Big Ben this season, and the rebounding has increased instead of decreasing, which is quite surprising.
Garnett and Big Ben, as a group of interior partners, were able to contribute an average of nearly 28 rebounds per game until this Christmas game, which makes people feel the horror of this group of interior combinations.
Obviously, playing next to Kobe, Terry, and Peja, the two interior players are completely focused on grabbing rebounds.
Speaking of which, Big Ben's table has slipped slightly this season, but this has not made too many people feel that Ben Wallace has started to decline, after all, there are too many people who can contribute in all aspects of the Lakers today.
This is not a reflection of the strength of the Lakers' roster, which has made the team's bench one of the best in the league this season.
In this regard, it is mainly because Jason Terry is sitting on the Lakers' bench.
The Zen master's arrangement is now very obvious, that is, to let Jason Terry play as a substitute.
And after so many games, it's clearly a very good arrangement.
Terry is averaging 17.5 points per game this season, and he's now a strong contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Obviously, no matter what the point of view, such a Lakers team is very competitive at any time in the whole game, and because Kobe Bryant and Garnett were not very happy with Wu Di beforehand, so both sides can be said to be extremely concerned about this game.
When Wu Di stepped into Staples, it was already a hot wave.
Fans in Lakers T-shirts erupted in a frenzy like a wave, as if trying to scare Wu Di and them off before the game.
However, that is clearly not very realistic.
For Wu Di, he is in 30 arenas in the league, and it can be said that Staples is the most confident place for him to play outside of the Air Canada Center and MIC Center.
At this time, when Wu Di, an uninvited guest, came here in the new season, the fans were definitely very nervous.
On the big screen above the arena, Wu Di's personal table against the Lakers throughout his career appeared impressively.
Aside from the previous two 60+ performances, throughout his career, Wu Di can be said to be handy against the Lakers.
However, at this time, Wu Di did not have the energy to observe his own numbers, because a reporter was interviewing him.
"Wu, I heard that the league sent you an invitation to the slam dunk contest, do you intend to participate in the dunk contest this year?"
Obviously, this reporter got inside information, because Wu Di had just received an inquiry from the alliance last night.
Wu Di smiled slightly, and his speed of speech was neither hurried nor slow.
"I'm going to participate in this year's slam dunk contest because the opponent is good and it excites me." (To be continued......)