NBA: I am a master dealer

After suffering this defeat, the Lakers did not sink, but rebounded quickly.

The next day, they defeated the Bucks 123:107 at home, stopping their decline.

Due to recurring injuries to Middleton and Jabari Parker this season, the Bucks' record has also been ups and downs, always jumping back and forth between the playoffs and the playoff threshold.

However, as Middleton gradually recovers, their record has gradually improved during this period. They are now firmly in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and their strength must not be underestimated.

But the Lakers still suppressed the Bucks from beginning to end in this game, not giving the Bucks a single chance at all.

全场下来，薛连城20中10，浅浅地拿下31分12助攻6篮板的全能数据。

George also performed well, scoring 15 points and 9 rebounds on 26-of-8 shooting, and made great contributions to the victory.

It is worth mentioning that Vonleh finally took Zubac's position and officially entered the Lakers' starting lineup.

This game was average, 7-for-3 and only 7 points.

As for the dual-core Bucks, Middleton scored 18 points on 11-of-30 shots, and his mid-range shooting was really solid.

Middleton averaged 18.2 points per game last season. If not for injuries this season, he would definitely be Antetokounmpo's most effective helper.

No one could have imagined that a second-round pick could grow to this height, and the Bucks would make a lot of money.

Moreover, Middleton is only 26 years old and is entering his peak. As long as he is not injured, his future is bright.

Antetokounmpo made 16 of 11 shots and efficiently scored 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. His performance was quite good. Except for his inaccurate free throws, he was almost impeccable.

And Antetokounmpo is only 23 years old. He has great potential and is the hope of the team's future.

Moreover, according to Antetokounmpo's physical talent and his current performance, he is likely to become a top star in the future.

The Bucks can be said to be the most promising young team.

In addition to Antetokounmpo and Middleton, they also have a talented boy, Jabari Parker, who was ranked second in the 14th overall.

The trio is enough to make Milwaukee shine and be extremely competitive for the next decade.

This is no exaggeration.

after all……

They will enter the playoffs this season and start to make a name for themselves in the league.

But for now, they are just stepping stones for others.

In Duncan's words: The future is yours, but now, it belongs to the era of the Warriors, Knicks, Heat, Spurs, and Lakers.

After defeating the Bucks, the Lakers took a day off and faced another challenge from the Cavaliers.

After James left the team, the Cavaliers have indeed weakened and have fallen to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They currently have 41 wins and 28 losses, which is indeed far behind the top teams. It is estimated that they will not reach 50 wins this season.

It can also illustrate a problem from the side. Without James, the Cavaliers are completely out of the championship ranks.

No matter how tough Clevelanders say, the facts are the facts.

Irving + Love really cannot support the championship, but there should be no problem in the playoffs. How many wins do they have ahead of the eighth Bucks? With more than ten games left, as long as they don't Despite the surprise, the Cavaliers' playoff spot is still secure.

But this game was surprisingly intense.

The two sides fought fiercely for four quarters. At the last moment, Xue Liancheng used his only 100% hit to overtake the score, and finally relied on free throws to seal the deal.

That's right.

Xue Liancheng used his 100% hit skills twice in advance.

From this you can imagine how intense the competition was.

But in the end, the Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 120:115 and defended their home court.

In these two games, the Lakers' defense has improved visibly, suppressing the opponent's score below 120 in both games.

With the whole team's active fighting and Feng Lai taking over, the effect of the five-infinite defense change is indeed much better than before.

of course.

There is still a lot of room for improvement.

In this game, the Cavaliers scored 115 points because Irving entered a violent mode, shooting 21 of 15, 10 of 6 three-pointers, and 10 of 10 free throws. He scored 46 points crazily. It was not because the Lakers were not active in defense. If you don’t work hard, you really can’t hold it down!
Courtney-Lee couldn't defend, and Xue Liancheng came up.

Xue Liancheng was not very good at it. George also tried it, but it was even more difficult because the center of gravity was too high.

We can only send in Glenn Robinson, which has a little effect, but it can't be enough to contain it.

This is why the Lakers played so hard in this campaign.

Besides.

乐福也很威猛，18中8，三分9中4，罚球7中6，爆砍26分15篮板的超级两双。

Such data is also extremely explosive.

But even though both Cavaliers stars performed like this, they still failed to win the game. This also shows how well the Lakers performed in this game.

Xue Liancheng performed regular operations, making 19 of 11, scoring 34 points, 14 assists and 6 rebounds, as stable as ever.

George made 19 of 9 shots, a three-pointer that stretched his hips, and 6 of 1. He only scored 22 points, but had 10 rebounds.

Comparing the two stars, the Cavaliers had the advantage, but in the end they swallowed a bitter pill.

Mainly reflected in the fact that the Lakers role players are really strong enough.

Randall had 15 points and 7 rebounds, Vonleh scored 10 points, James Johnson had 12 points, Clarkson had 10 points, and Marvin Williams had a poor performance and only scored 6 points.

But enough.

Fully 6 people scored in double figures, while the Cavaliers only had 4 people.

The overall strength and lineup depth reflected by both sides are indeed not on the same level.

With two consecutive victories, the Lakers regained their momentum and set sail again.

The next game is the focus of the same city battle that everyone is looking forward to.

That's right.

After arguing for so long, the Lakers and Clippers finally met.

The Lakers currently have 39 wins and 31 losses, ranking sixth in the Western Conference, but this position is not stable.

Because in the recent period, the Thunder have regained their strength and played very fiercely, with a record of 39 wins and 31 losses.

However, in three direct matches this season, the Thunder fell behind the Lakers 1:2, resulting in them having to succumb to the Lakers and only rank seventh.

The fifth position is the Los Angeles Clippers.

Their record is 42 wins and 29 losses, only 2.5 games ahead of the Lakers and Thunder. With 11 games left, they seem to be relatively safe.

but.

Since the Clippers have to play against their direct rivals and city rivals, the Lakers, twice, their fifth position looks unstable again.

after all……

What if we lose two games in a row?
Then these 2.5 wins will be wiped out.

Competing for a spot in the playoffs is not enough to make this game the focus. The most important thing is that Xue Liancheng threatened to hit the top four, which triggered a quarrel between the two teams, which made this game attract more attention.

In particular, Old Rivers' response brought this topic to the forefront.

Because this dead fish said that if the Lakers eventually surpass the Clippers this season, then he will resign on the spot.

When I said this at the time, there was a seven or eight win gap between the two sides. When Old Rivers said this, there was actually nothing wrong with it at the time.

After all, there are 30+ games left. Wouldn't it be earth-shattering to surpass the Clippers?
result.

After the Lakers stabilized their position, they went on a 16-game winning streak, which stunned everyone on the Clippers.

Although they were ended by the Pelicans and then lost to the Rockets, the Lakers still won more and lost less during the period. The record successfully reached 39 wins and 31 losses, and the gap between the two sides was directly reduced to the range visible to the naked eye. Now.

The two sides finally faced each other head-on, and reporters in the entire sports media were immediately excited.

They first rushed over and interviewed everyone from the Lakers.

Randall said: "I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I want to see if their strength is as tough as their mouth."

Feng Lei was more direct: "The moment of slap in the face is coming, and we will step on their faces hard."

Courtney Lee: "We will definitely do what they think is impossible. It's a little exciting to think about it."

George: "Everyone looked down on us, and everyone laughed at Xue's bold words at the time, but we have come to this point now. To be honest, I am particularly proud of the results the team has achieved. As for the biggest challenge we are about to face, Doubters, there's no doubt about it, we're going to knock them down and get that loudmouth out of Los Angeles."

……

The Lakers generals are united.

This game is a real battle of pride. Only by winning the game will they be able to truly overcome their mortal enemy and realize the bold words Xue Liancheng made.

If you lose.

That's another story, and they may be in for an even bigger wave of ridicule.

and so.

This battle is very important and can be said to be a must-win battle.

of course.

The person the reporter most wanted to interview was naturally Xue Liancheng.

Before the game.

Reporter: "The game against the Clippers, our city rival, is about to start. Is there anything you want to say at this moment?"

Xue Liancheng actually didn't have much thought. He just said it casually.

Unexpectedly, the Clippers felt that they had been stepped on and started to get on the line. This led to a war of words that lasted for more than two months.

and so.

If you have to say something, it can only be: "I am ready to fight."

Reporter: "Everyone regarded your bold statement at that time as a joke, and all the Clippers members came out to respond that you were talking nonsense. Were you very angry at that time?"

Xue Liancheng shook his head: "No, because I know I can do it."

After finishing speaking, he gave the reporter an expression: I am just so awesome and confident.

Reporter: "How did you feel when Old Rivers ended up?"

Xue Liancheng finally had some reaction, "His method of gaining attention is very good, but I always feel that this is not his job."

At that time, even Rivers stood up and ridiculed, and he was indeed a little angry at that time.

At that time, the Clippers were fourth. He said he wanted to hit the top four. The Clippers players reacted, which is understandable.

After all, there was so much difference between the Lakers and Clippers at that time. If you actually said you wanted to ride on my head, I would definitely not accept it. I thought you were talking nonsense, which is understandable.

And the old Rivers mocked at the end, this is 100% the top line.

As a head coach, you jump out to fight with the players. Aren't you a complete idiot?

You are the head coach!
He represents the team!
Chatting with players is not a concept.

Moreover, the old Rivers also had a gimmick, saying that if the Lakers could surpass the Clippers, he would resign immediately.

Isn't this a clear attempt to incite hatred?

It's like pointing at his nose and mocking him: What are you talking about in your sleep?

In this way, the properties become completely different.

No matter how peaceful he was, he couldn't take this breath.

He was going to give Old Rivers a slap in the face and let him know the true meaning of pretending to be struck by lightning.

After a pause, he continued: "I just want to see if he will resign after the season. I hope everyone will monitor him."

The reporters were excited.

This is the answer they want.

Looking back, they immediately ran over to interview the Clippers players.

Little Rivers was still very coaxing, and said angrily: "The game hasn't even started yet, and it seems like they have won. I really can't understand the brain circuits of those people."

Griffin: "There's nothing to say. Let's just see the real results on the field."

JJ Redick: "It's really unexpected that they can reach this position, but we are not fooled in our work."

Jordan: "Let them come over here. I've been wanting to kick their butts for a long time."

Paul: "Tonight, it will be a wonderful game. Let's wait and see."

The highlight is naturally the interview with Rivers.

The reporter went straight to the point: "Xue said that he hopes that after the season is over, you can keep your word and leave Los Angeles. Do you have any response to this?"

Old Rivers: "It's a good thing for young people to have confidence. It's really shocking that they can go from 13 wins and 26 losses to 39 wins and 31 losses now, but I don't think this is his arrogance. After playing tonight, Only then can we discuss this issue.”

How could the reporter listen to Rivers' deception and ask: "What if you lose, I mean, at the end of the season, you are eventually surpassed by the Lakers, will you fulfill your promise and leave Los Angeles?"

Hear this.

Rivers Sr. was blue in the face.

As the saying goes, you don’t hit someone in the face, but this is really a slap in the mouth!
How could he not be angry?
And there is another saying: Smashing people's jobs and blocking people's way of making money is like killing their parents.

At that time, the gap between the Lakers and the Clippers was really huge, and there was really no sign of the Lakers catching up.

Or to be more precise, given the situation at the time, it would be really unless a miracle happened for the Lakers to catch up with the Clippers.

result.

Having really come this far, what can he say?
Are you kidding me?

Is it just a joke?

It’s unrealistic!

Moreover, it was Xue Liancheng who said these words, waiting to be pressed against his forehead. Can he keep his word and keep his promise?
How should he answer?

I can’t answer it at all!
and so.

After a pause, he said with a cold face: "This will never happen, I said so."

There is no other way but to keep talking.

Reporter: "That is to say, at this moment, you still don't think the Lakers can surpass you?"

Old Rivers said resolutely: "Yes, there is absolutely no way they will have this opportunity."

Done.

His eyes were as cold as a knife.

But now, everything is in time. As long as they win this game, the gap between the two sides will be 3.5 wins. With ten games left, even if they lose the next encounter, they can still firmly control it. initiative.

Therefore, this game is very important.

(End of this chapter)