Pick Westbrook

Chapter 407 Indefinite Truce

boom! !

Howard received a pass and made another alley-oop dunk.

He raised his hand and pointed at Nash, indicating that the opponent had passed a good ball, and then participated in the defense with a blank expression.

This is the first time in Howard's Lakers career that he has shown such emotions on the court. This big boy doesn't like to laugh anymore.

The fans in Los Angeles did not have cheers, applause and shouts because Howard scored consecutive goals on the court. On the contrary, there were also boos.

JR Smith felt cold tonight and missed two open three-pointers. This also gave the Lakers a chance to breathe and successfully overtook the score.

Because Howard guards the inside, the team does not have Paul, Leonard and Jimmy Butler at this time. Once the outside shooting feels abnormal, they will not be able to successfully hit the ball into the basket to challenge Howard.

Stevens looked sad, and the thing he was most worried about still came.

The shortcoming of the Pelicans' tactical play from the very beginning lies in the feel of the rotation.

As long as the rotation players Beverly, JR Smith, Vince Carter, and Diaw have excellent or normal three-point firepower, the Lakers will always have nothing to do with the Pelicans' rotation.

"But the shooting touch has never been accurate. Even Curry has moments when he feels abnormal in the playoffs."

"Without the three-point threat, how can the Pelicans play against the Lakers at this stage?"

Stevens said.

Du Feng on the side seemed very anxious, and he also knew what the three-pointer meant to the Pelicans' rotation.

on the field.

Vince Carter and Diaw missed three-pointers one after another. Such a cold touch also made the Lakers dare to keep Howard on the court and stay in the penalty area on the defensive end.

The Lakers played a 10:0 offensive high slot, and the score on the field became 36:30.

CCTV commentary desk.

Yu Jia said excitedly: "This is the first time the Lakers have maintained a lead of more than 5 points against the Pelicans since the entire series."

"Tonight, the Pelicans feel a little cold. The second quarter has been played for 4 minutes, and they have shot 6 of 0 three-pointers."

"Director Su, do the Lakers have any hope of winning this game tonight?"

Su Qun nodded and said, "There should be great hope."

"But the Pelicans have never been a team that relies on offense to win. Their ability to adjust is very strong."

"At this time, it depends on whether the Lakers can persist until the end and hold their advantage."

beep!beep!
Li Lai asked for a timeout.

His move immediately attracted the eyes of the Lakers players on the court and the Lakers coaching staff off the court.

Kenny Smith and Barkley at the scene said with great anticipation: "I really want to see how Coach Li Lai will solve the current problem of the Pelicans."

Li Lai took down JR Smith, who had a bad hand, because the opponent's defense was not particularly good, so once there was no offense, it didn't make much sense to stay on the court.

Immediately afterwards, he went on to win Dior, and this move instantly made Yu Jia, who was on the CCTV commentary station, extremely disturbed.

He said: "How can you make such a substitution at this time? Diaw is the most important organization point and passer for the Pelicans during the rotation."

"The Pelicans' offense will only get tougher without him."

Su Qun also frowned and nodded, until he saw Jimmy Butler and Lewis, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, come on the field, and he instantly came to his senses.

"It's Jimmy Butler!"

"The Pelicans will play next with Jimmy Butler at the core."

Under Su Qun's reminder, Yu Jia immediately remembered that in most of the Pelicans' regular season games, the rotation lineup was led by Jimmy Butler.

Compared with Leonard, Jimmy Butler has a better passing willingness and a wider passing vision. He can completely replace Dior's role on the court, and at the same time he can do what Dior can't do.

Su Qun said: "In terms of individual singles ability, Leonard, who is more talented, is indeed stronger than Jimmy Butler."

"But in fact, there is not much difference between the two in terms of singles efficiency this season. In many cases, Jimmy Butler even caused headaches for opponents."

"Because Jimmy Butler is smart and knows his lack of talent, his singles tactics have a lot of pick-and-roll transitions and passes interspersed with them, which makes it difficult for opponents to guess his offensive ideas and effectively limit them. "

Because Vince Carter is still on the court, Jimmy Butler is playing shooting guard at this time, which is even more fatal to the Lakers.

Their current player at this position is Jody Meeks, a strong offensive and defensive shooter who is still a long way behind Jimmy Butler in height.

Jimmy Butler, who was already low in talent, worked harder in training in order to keep up with his friend Leonard. Now that he is facing Jody Meeks, Jimmy Butler is like having Leonard's talent. His power It will also be more terrifying than the other party.

"Coupled with Lewis, a spot-up shooter who is more accurate than Diaw, the Pelicans reacted very quickly to this tactical adjustment."

The game continues.

As soon as Jimmy Butler came up, he forced Jody Meeks to the basket and scored a layup.

In the next round, Howard assisted Jimmy Butler. The latter passed the ball from behind to Oden who was open at the basket, and scored with a strong two-handed dunk.

The Pelicans stabilized the situation on the court and gradually shifted the pressure to the Lakers.

Kobe was eager to try on the sidelines, Mike Brown patted the opponent lightly, Kobe raised his hand without hesitation to signal Jody Meeks, and then walked onto the court.

"Hey, Kobe." Mike Brown suddenly shouted.

Kobe turned around.

Mike Brown paused and said, "Take us to the win."

Kobe turned his head and took a deep breath, lowered his head and whispered, "The Black Mamba will lead the team to win the game."

Jimmy Butler didn't stop his offensive after Kobe came on the court. In fact, he wanted to fight Kobe a long time ago.

This is the 236th duel between him and Leonard. To see who can beat the opponent in the matchup with Kobe, Jimmy Butler just wants to win.

Mid-range singles, step-back mid-range shots after pick-and-rolls, back turns and then fadeaway shots, Lewis, who passed the outside line, hit a three-pointer.

In the second quarter, Jimmy Butler played the best playoff moment of his career. He was like a superstar on the court, wantonly attacking the defense of the Lakers and Kobe.

"You know, I can beat you one-on-one."

Jimmy Butler trash-talks Kobe after the goal.

Kobe was startled, remembering that a certain young player said the same thing to a legendary superstar in a certain year, he couldn't help but look at Jimmy Butler more.

"It's been 17 years in a flash."

In the face of this powerful opponent, Kobe also responded with color.

Stealing layups, difficult backward shots, mid-range emergency stops, fake layups and fouls.

At the end of the second quarter, Kobe played the entire remaining quarter, making 8 of 4 shots and scoring 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

与其对位的吉米巴特勒，11投6中，单节拿下了14分2篮板3助攻。

In the second half of the game, Kobe continued to play.

This time he has to face Leonard's crazy singles again.

The live scene looked a bit tragic. Not only did Kobe have to do his best on the offensive end, but he also had to spare no effort against Jimmy Butler and Leonard on the defensive end.

科比继续打满了第三节比赛，7投3中，拿下了10分1篮板1抢断。

伦纳德9投4中，10分2篮板1助攻。

The score was tied at 80:80.

In the fourth quarter, Kobe still played.

After the fans at the Staples Arena finally denounced and held accountable, for the first time there were shouts of MVP all over the sky.

Even if the Lakers are on the edge of a cliff, even if the Lakers have become the biggest joke of the season, they still can't stop their love for Kobe.

The game lasted 3 minutes and 08 seconds.

Gritting his teeth and persisting, Kobe suddenly fell down on the court without confrontation, and the fans at the scene hadn't reacted yet.

Even Barkley and Kenny Smith in the commentary shouted excitedly: "Kobe, stand up! The Lakers have the hope of winning the game tonight! You are the hero of this city."

In the reporter area, Zhang Weiping clenched his fists and shouted: "Good job Kobe, stand up and keep attacking him, the Pelicans are going to lose tonight!"

But Kobe did not stand up for a long time. He gritted his teeth and sat on the ground and squeezed his left Achilles tendon with his hands. Then Kobe stopped his hand movements. He looked in the direction of the Lakers team doctor and tried to pinch it again. pinched.

Kobe was silent, sitting on the court.

Gasol was the first to rush over, his face full of anxiety and asked: "Dude?"

Kobe's eyes were red, and he shook his head very slightly at Gasol.

Off the court, the team doctor of the Lakers has realized that something is wrong, and rushed to the court. The sideline referee signaled that the game was interrupted and entered a timeout.

Realizing what might have happened, fans at Staples Center held their heads in shock and prayed for Bryant.

The team doctor rushed over and was about to touch Kobe's left ankle, but saw that the other's eyes were blank, and he was still trying to connect the Achilles tendon with his hands.

Team doctor Gary Vitti is also one of Kobe's few friends. He patted Kobe's back lightly and said: "My child, you can't connect your Achilles tendon with your hands."

Hearing this, Kobe raised his head and pursed his lips, his face full of helplessness and regret.

The CCTV commentary station was silent for a long time.

During this period of time, the Chinese fans did not hear any commentary, only Kobe.

Yu Jia said after a long time: "The director only gave a statistic. This is the third time Kobe fell to the ground tonight, and this is the sixth time Kobe fell to the ground in this round of the series."

"He stood up successfully the first 5 times, but this time."

Su Qun said: "Kobe this season deserves everyone's applause. From the beginning of the season when the team had conflicts, he was the one who led the Lakers forward. After the All-Star Game, he voluntarily gave up the ball to Howard and Nash. "

"During the successive injuries of Howard and Nash, the Lakers were almost unable to make it to the playoffs, and it was Kobe who led the team to success in the playoffs with a series of magical performances."

"In the playoffs, Kobe gave his all, and his average playing time ranked first among the two teams."

"Kobe is old, but the Black Mamba is still there."

on the field.

Bryant stood up with the support of his teammates. Gary Vitti motioned for the players to help Bryant off the court, but Bryant directly rejected the offer and walked towards the free throw line.

The referee finally blew his whistle, and Kobe had to execute two free throws.

Howard took the initiative to bump fists with Kobe, Gasol pressed Kobe's head in his arms and rubbed it, Ariza patted his good brother's ass, and Nash whispered something beside him.

Swish!
First free throw.

Kobe's eyes turned red.

Swish!
Second free throw!
The Pelicans served, and Li Lai took the initiative to call a timeout.

Applause erupted at the Staples Center, and Kobe left the court under the applause. In the player tunnel, Kobe looked back.

This glance is a pity.

After losing Kobe, Leonard and Jimmy Butler continued to explode, and finally eliminated the Lakers 106:101.

The first round of the playoffs for the Pelicans is over.

When the whistle blew, Li Lai stood up and was about to leave the Staples Arena, when the roar of Los Angeles fans suddenly sounded in the entire arena.

"Li Lai, shit!"

"Li Lai, shit!!"

Los Angeles fans love to call shit on their hated opponents, Stevens reminded: "The last time the home fans at Staples Arena called shit on the Celtics in 08 was the Big Three. "

"You are the first head coach to be sprayed."

Li Lai nodded, knowing that the fans were venting their emotions about Kobe's injury, and the Pelicans finally achieved their goal, sweeping the promotion with a 4:0 posture, helping the players get a longer and more sufficient rest time .

In order to prepare for the finals.

"It's just that the result of this is that Kobe ruptured his Achilles tendon."

Li Lai didn't know if he would have allowed the Pelicans to show the strongest defensive posture in the first round if he had known the consequences in advance.

All he knew was that Kobe wanted to see the Pelicans at full strength, not another.

Post-match interview.

The interview rooms for both the Pelicans and the Lakers were packed with reporters.

The problems facing Mike Brown are Kobe's injury, whether Howard will renew his contract with the team during the offseason, whether Mike Brown can continue to stay in the team, and whether the contract of veteran Nash needs to be dealt with.

Li Lai, on the other hand, was faced with countless questions.

"Does Kobe's injury have anything to do with the Pelicans?"

"If the Pelicans didn't raise the intensity of the game to such an extent, would Kobe be injured?"

"Does Coach Li Lai intend to take responsibility for this incident?"

"."

Faced with unprecedented and unprecedented countless questions, Li Lai became more and more sympathetic to what happened to the Lakers and Kobe this season. They must have encountered such embarrassing questions every night.

This is Los Angeles.

Of course, for the Lakers, this is not their most difficult moment, and the chaotic management has just begun.

Li Lai replied: "I pray for Kobe and hope he is okay. If possible, I suggest that he come to the Pelicans during his recovery. I know how to help him recover from his injury."

Wow!
The reporters at the scene were in an uproar.

Li Lai's seemingly caring words were directly interpreted by them as recruitment!
Who doesn't know that you, Li Lai, are also the owner of the Pelicans!

Not to mention eliminating the Lakers with his own hands, but also planning to poach the opponent's head star, future Hall of Famer, and historical legend Kobe?

"This Li Lai is really a bastard!"

After the game, the news of Los Angeles denouncing Li Lai almost overshadowed the news of Kobe's injury.

Later, the Los Angeles media tracked and reported Kobe's injury.

Achilles tendon ruptured, sidelined indefinitely.

This news undoubtedly seemed like a thunderstorm, and even disrupted the entire NBA playoffs.

And somewhere in Los Angeles, Jenny Buss is smiling prettily with her best friend Linda Rambis.

"Even God will help me this time, little Buzz, my dear brother, you have pushed yourself into the abyss."

(End of this chapter)