It was TNT that broadcast the big battle live.

They fielded ace commentators Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

Special guest Steve Cole was also invited.

Before the game, the trio was doing a pre-match analysis.

Kenny said: "There's no doubt that the Lakers are stronger. ”

Barkley: "But Malone's absence gives the Mosaics a few more chances of getting off the line. ”

Cole made a specific analysis: "If Malone doesn't play, the strong points of the two teams will be about the same. Center Yao Ming vs O'Neal, backcourt Mobley + Francis vs Kobe + Payton. The performance of the stars is crucial, but in addition to this, the confrontation of the front line is also an important deciding factor in this Christmas match. Jim Jackson + Lafonso Ellis vs Devin George + Medvedenko, to see who can provide more fire support and flank protection to the main team, will also determine the final outcome of this game. ”

Didi!

The game begins.

O'Neal jumped the ball to win, and the Lakers attacked first.

O'Neal hit Yao Ming inside, turned around and threw after borrowing strength, and was interfered with by Yao Ming.

Medvedenko pressed Ellis to grab the rebound and make a layup.

Medvidenko is a very good player, and the veteran Ellis is a bit overwhelmed.

2：0。

Mosaic offensive.

Bryant came straight up to defend Francis.

Francis broke through to Jim Jackson, who shot wide with George's interference.

Devin George is taller and in his prime, and he also has an advantage against downhill short forward Jim Jackson.

In just one round, Li Lei judged that even if the Lakers lacked Ma Long, the front line was better than the Mosaic team.

Sure enough, in the subsequent game, Medvedenko and George were able to help O'Neal do dirty work and tiring work, and they could help Kobe Bryant and Payton to supplement and assist in defense, and their performance was very eye-catching.

The two veterans, Jackson and Ellis, are powerless, and it is not easy to complete their tasks.

At the end of the first quarter, at 22:18, the Lakers led by four points.

In the second quarter, Francis was in great shape and led the team to tie the score.

In the third quarter of the game, Yao Ming also had a good performance, leading the Mosaic team to turn defeat into victory.

End of the third stanza, 60:64.

Mosaics instead led by 4 points.

Yao Ming and Francis's data are also better than O'Neal and Kobe.

Barkley thus asserted: "The Mosaics have a greater hope of winning. ”

Kenny would naturally stand across from Barkley and support the Lakers.

That's what gets the fans talking.

Kerr then stated that he also supported the Lakers, who were behind.

He recounted his views.

Although the Lakers are behind, their role players have taken on enough tasks, and O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are not tired and have plenty of fitness.

On the other hand, the Mosaic team, their role players have been crushed, and the first three quarters were almost played by Yao Ming and Francis, who are likely to lack stamina in the fourth quarter.

Li Lei nodded again and again, Cole's words still made sense.

Li's father and Li's mother were a little unconvinced: just one game, Da Yao and Francis can't make it through the fourth quarter?

In the usual game, Yao Ming and Francis naturally have no problem holding out for four quarters.

But the problem is, it's OK on the other side!

Yao Ming defends O'Neal, and it is no exaggeration to say that the consumption of one round of defense against O'Neill is as good as three rounds of defense against others.

Francis did not directly defend Kobe, but Jackson and Mobley have been beaten by Kobe, and Francis can only helplessly help defend and make up for the defense, which is not a small consumption.

Sure enough, the fourth quarter began.

Yao Ming's turnaround jumper was a lot shorter.

Bryant rushed into the paint area of the mosaic and pulled the rod to dodge the three-man dunk.

Francis's mid-range pull-up jump shot wasn't either.

O'Neill pushed Yao Ming away and clasped his hands heavily.

The state of the core of the two sides is completely different.

At the beginning, the Lakers overtook the score, and then gradually widened the gap and established the victory.

In the end, 88:81, the Lakers won the Christmas battle.

It can be said that Yao Ming and Francis were held back by role players.

But one more thing to say is that the Lakers' role players are bad enough.

In order to make up F4, the Lakers simply don't have the money to sign any good role players, and George and Fisher are okay.

As a result, the Mosaics' role players turned out to be worse than the Lakers.

Lafonso Whoever Sees Whoever Blows Ellis.

Anthony Carter is nothing but a name.

Jim I'm Jackson, a veteran of Morey's salary sign.

There is no worst, only worse.

……

The next day, Li's father and Li's mother returned to Los Angeles, and Li Lei also drove to the American Airlines Center Arena.

After parking the car, Li Lei carried the rice cake to the locker room.

Along the way, Li Lei shared a rice cake with the staff he met.

Li Lei prepared a lot of rice cakes, which are not valuable, but they are also heartfelt.

Some people ate it on the spot and were full of praise for the rice cakes.

After changing clothes in the locker room, Li Lei started training alone, and he was the first player to arrive today.

Afterwards, the players arrived one by one, and everyone practiced while chatting about the holidays, and then gave each other gifts.

Soon after, Cato arrived, newspaper in hand: "Stone, have you heard?" Something happened to the Mosaic team. ”

Li Lei shook his head, he didn't have the habit of reading the newspaper in the morning.

In those days, there were no smartphones, and newspapers were used to watch the news, so the flow of information was not fast enough.

Cato said: "I heard that Steve is not happy with the current roster of the Mosaic team and is asking management to trade or sign some really strong role players before the trade deadline. ”

Li Lei was not too surprised.

Last night's game had already exposed the problem of Mosaic's poor role players.

It's okay to be a bad role player, but it's too much worse than the Lakers.

It's normal that Francis can't accept it.

Li Lei asked: "What does the management say?" ”

Cato: "Morey is angry! It was taboo for players to meddle in management, and he reprimanded Steve for being unruly in front of everyone. ”

Li Lei nodded, looked at Cato, and waited for the follow-up.

Cato continued: "Steve is a good-looking person, where can he bear it? He directly sprayed, saying that Morey didn't understand basketball at all. Nothing but scratch the base salary and save money for the boss. As a result, a fierce quarrel broke out between the two, and the quarrel was inseparable! ”

Li Lei took the newspaper in Cato's hand, flipped through it and didn't see the relevant news: "How do you know about this?" ”

Cato smirked: "I've been playing in Houston for a few years, and there's my eyeliner there. The Mosaics kept it under wraps up so well that outsiders don't know about it. ”

After saying this, Cato suddenly realized something, and his mood became low again.

Li Lei: "Then Yao Ming has a statement?" ”

Cato: "Yao didn't do anything, like an outsider. ”

Li Lei nodded: Not expressing a position is also an attitude.

Since Yao Ming didn't dissuade Morey from arguing with Francis, he just hoped that the Mosaic team would make a change.

After all, from Yao Ming's own point of view, he also hopes to have better role players so that he can produce results.

Who likes to lose?