Defending champion

Chapter 142 The Battle Begins

The Hornets' final two games in March are against the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

Among them, the Hornets vs. Lakers is the last matchup between these two teams this season.The Los Angeles Clippers had to play a game at the Hornets' home court in April.The Hornets' record against the Lakers this season is one win and one loss, and the game ended in a tie.The enemy's eyes were reddened when they saw the enemy in this battle.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are two teams belonging to Los Angeles, and they share the same stadium, Staples Arena.

Although they share Staples Arena, the two teams have never been equal in the "City of Angels."The Lakers made waves and established several dynasties successively. They are the darling of the local area; the Clippers came to Los Angeles later than the Lakers, and their achievements cannot be compared with the Lakers, so they are habitually ignored.

The Los Angeles Clippers, who have been suppressed by the Lakers for so long, have had a good season this season.After so many years of hard work, the Clippers finally raised their heads in front of the Lakers this year.

This season, the Clippers beat the Lakers with a record of 39 wins and 39 losses, ranking sixth in the West.

The current record of the Lakers is ranked seventh in the West, even higher than the Hornets.And they are only 0 wins away from the Clippers in front of him.As long as they win the Hornets, the Lakers will have the opportunity to climb to the sixth position in the West, so that they can avoid the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs.

The Hornets are not like this.The Hornets currently rank behind the Lakers with a record of 36 wins and 39 losses, and they are only 1 games away from the Lakers.As long as they win this game with the Lakers, the Hornets can squeeze out the Lakers and rise to the seventh place in the Western Conference.In this way, the San Antonio Spurs, the boss of the West, can be avoided.

Although the Hornets swept the Spurs during the regular season, the Hornets don't think the Spurs are easy to mess with in the playoffs.With Popovich and the Spurs' three driving cars, anything can happen.

The main goal of the Hornets' road trip this time is to win these two games and surpass the Lakers in front. If it goes well, they can surpass the Clippers in front by the way.Try to avoid some traditional strong teams in the West during the playoffs.

Therefore, this game between the Hornets and the Lakers must be won no matter what.

For Jack, there is also a personal reason, and that is the challenge between Jack and Kobe.

Jack knew that after Kobe scored 81 points, the second highest score in history, Kobe's historical status would improve a lot.Challenging Kobe is still too far away for Jack at this stage, but it is still possible to make Kobe look at Jack differently.

Compared to the last contest, Jack has matured a lot this time.No matter in terms of technology or experience, they are not comparable to any young boy when he first entered the league.Another point is that if he is asked to defend Kobe alone now, Jack dare not say that he has zero shots against Kobe, but Jack is still very confident in limiting Kobe's score to less than 20.

Even if the Lakers are not the number one favorite to win this year.Moreover, entering the playoffs is still a little bit reluctant.However, there were a lot of people who came to watch the game. The Staples Arena was packed tonight, and the enthusiasm of the fans was high.

Before the game even started, the audience was already packed, the crowd was buzzing, and fans entered the arena one after another.

Los Angeles is worthy of being a big city. No wonder famous basketball stars in history like to come here to play basketball. It is not an exaggeration to say that there are many stars here.The stars that are often seen in Hollywood movies are here.What impressed Jack the most was Leonardo DiCaprio, the leading actor of "Titanic", who sat on the midfield line facing the first row in the past.There are also some supermodels who often appear in gossip magazines, the more famous ones are the two sisters of Kohler Kardashian.

There is also Jack's dream lover in the previous life-Jessica Alba.For Jessica Alba, as long as you have watched the movie "Sin City", everyone has a certain understanding of Jessica Alba, one of the "Sexiest Actresses" in the United States.

…………

This is the first time in Jack's career that he has stepped into the Staples Basketball Arena.

When he walked into this basketball stadium, Jack felt an inexplicable pressure. Even if this purple and gold team did not have Shaquille O'Neal, it also did not have the f4 combination that shocked the league back then.However, as long as you walk into this basketball hall, you will feel an inexplicable pressure that makes you dare not feel slighted.

Looking at the retired jerseys hanging high above the Staples Center, George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain, to "Skyhook" Kareem, " Looking at the jerseys of Hall of Fame-level basketball players such as "Magic" Johnson, James Worthy, etc., Jack felt his heart throbbing while looking at the championship banners.I thought: When will I bring the championship to that team?When can that team retire my jersey?

While looking at these, these thoughts emerged from the depths of Jack's heart.Even Jack himself felt very strange.

"Beep..." A long whistle sounded.

With the last 3 minutes of preparation time left in the game, coach Byron Scott called all the players of the Hornets to form a big circle.And he stood in the middle, and Byron Scott gave a passionate speech: "Guys, our opponent is the Los Angeles Lakers. They have Bryant and Lamar. They are indeed very strong! But, this is not yours. The reason for escaping, as a man, you have to fight with your chest up and win the final victory of the game, do you have the confidence?"

"Yes, beatla..." Jack took the lead in taking Byron's words.

"Beatla..." All the soldiers of the Hornets shouted in unison.

Hearing the sound of the Hornets' bench, more than 1 spectators at the scene looked at the Hornets' bench together.

At the Staples Center, the most taboo is the slogan "beatla".

Not long after the Hornets shouted this slogan, the boos of the fans on the scene hit the Hornets' dozen or so basketball players like a tide.

"Get out! Go to New Orleans!"

"asshole!"

"Are you looking for abuse?"

……

Looking at this kind of fiery scene, the game has not yet started, but the gunpowder smoke on the scene has already begun to completely fill the battlefield.

This is an exciting game.

Lakers starters:

Point guard Smash Parker, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, forward Luke Walton, power forward Lamar Odom, center Kwame Brown

Hornets start:
Center: Hilton Power Forward: Michael Jack Small Forward: Russell Butler Shooting Guard: JR Smith Point Guard: Chris Paul

(End of this chapter)