pinnacle of basketball

Chapter 399 The Embarrassing Situation

At the same time, the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers will also start.

This city derby between the Los Angeles duo is very classic every time. Since the Clippers joined the NBA, they have been living in the shadow of the Los Angeles Lakers. Although the team got Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for a few years, the Clippers have hope of turning around, but Los Angeles is the world of the Lakers.

In recent years, the Clippers' performance has remained in the middle of the league and has the strength of the playoffs, but they have never been able to go further.

But this year is different. The Clippers grabbed Jackson with the fourth pick, which far exceeded the Clippers' draft expectations. Therefore, the team quickly overthrew and rebuilt, and built a team around Jackson.

The general manager of the Clippers has been playing the role of the "trader" of the league. After a series of operations during the offseason, he finally formed a good lineup before the start of the season. However, Jackson is the core of the team.

With Oscar's injury, Jackson is also close to the gap with him. This game with the Lakers is crucial. If he can win the game, Jackson can overtake Oscar in the rankings, rise to second place, and become an existence under one person.

Under the leadership of Jackson, the Clippers achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, closely following the Lakers in record, and this is also the best start for the Clippers in five seasons.

In the opening stage of the game between the two sides, Jackson showed his strong combat effectiveness with the fourth overall pick, using mid-range shots and breakthroughs to help the Clippers get 4 points, while the Lakers had Felix scored the first goal of the opening.

Although there is a very close past between Oscar and Jackson, Felix was also his opponent in the NCAA after all, so he gave him a strong response instead of Oscar.

Before the game, Oscar greeted Felix well, hoping that he could take his place before he returned, which was also based on his trust in Felix.

Felix did not live up to Oscar's expectations. He played back and forth with Jackson in the opening stage. In fact, there is still a big gap between Felix and Jackson in terms of hard power. However, the Lakers' configuration is more complete, which gives Felix a great boost in strength.

For the Clippers, the No. [-] pick is the only "big name" in the team, and the level of role players around them is also very average, but Jackson insisted on raising the team's strength to the point where it can compete with the Lakers.

After the first quarter, the Clippers still led the Lakers by 1 point in scoring. Don’t underestimate this 1 point. It is a very important score for both sides of the game. Jackson scored 15 points in a single quarter and completed a mutual explosion with Felix on the offensive end. Felix also scored 9 points in the first quarter, creating a single quarter scoring record since he entered the NBA.

In the Lakers, Felix has never been out as a sharp knife, and the reason why he broke out in scoring today is also in response to Jackson, he wants to get back the Oscar's score.

He did it. With the efforts of Felix, the team's top star James Bryant is almost equivalent to an invisible man on the court. The pictures about the Lakers basically revolve around Felix. James only got 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in the first quarter.

In the face of Jackson's near-explosive scoring ability, the Lakers were only 1 point behind in the first quarter. All this was due to Jackson's teammates. His teammates took 9 shots in total and hit 2 of them. The poor shooting rate made Jackson very tired.

A 1-point lead is not enough. If the Clippers want to win, they must establish at least a double-digit advantage in the first half, because the Lakers have a strong explosive power in the second half. James will choose to trust his teammates in the first half and take over the game in the second half.

Jackson knew in his heart that if the Clippers wanted to win, he needed to score more points in the second quarter. Of course, the opponent would also know this, and the game had proved that Felix was not a player of his level, so the Lakers wanted to limit Jackson's performance, and they would definitely replace defensive players in the second quarter.

In the Lakers, the only player who can fully limit Jackson is James, so Jackson believes that he is likely to collide with James head-on in the second quarter, and he has long been ready to challenge the No. 1 in the league.

However, when the break came back and the game continued, Felix remained on the court, and he was still facing Jackson.

It's just that James was replaced for a rest, and the current Lakers don't have a superstar.

When he saw Felix continue to stand in front of him, Jackson was a little dazed. They all knew each other's strength. He suppressed Felix in every way. The coaching staff of the Lakers also saw this, but they still didn't make any changes in the lineup.

However, this is the most satisfactory result for Jackson. If it is Felix, he can continue to unleash his scoring ability unscrupulously and help the team establish a sufficient advantage in the second quarter.

"Felix, let him see your true strength." James, who was sitting off the court, was not worried about this matchup. On the contrary, he felt that Felix's talent could be released in this way.

Jackson used his strong body to block the position and easily gained possession of the ball. The moment he turned around to attack the basket and the ball fell, Felix shot out quickly and broke the basketball in Jackson's hand.

"What?" Jackson showed an unbelievable expression. The timing of Felix's steal was perfect, just before he was about to drop the ball.

"You're not the only one who gets stronger." Felix immediately took possession of the ball after the steal. Taking advantage of the Clippers' unsteady foothold, he made a long swing. The Lakers' fast-breakers had already reached the Clippers' basket, and the basketball fell into his arms accurately.

It has to be said that the tacit understanding between Felix and the Lakers players is getting deeper and deeper. The moment Felix steals the teammate, he firmly believes that he can control the ball, so he chooses to play quickly.

This seemingly very risky behavior has reaped the biggest gains for the team. The Lakers completed the lead in terms of score, and it was still when James was off the court to rest.

"If you continue to play like this, you don't need to play anymore." Teammates teased James from the side.

"It's rare to take a break, let him play for a while." James looked at the performance of the players on the field calmly. Without him, the Lakers played more holistically. Without an absolute core and surrounding points, each of them became a choice that could end the offense.

Winning or losing is not terrible, whoever is off the court is embarrassed. When James is on the court, the team loses 1 point, but when he is not on the court, the team wins.

You are probably playing me.

(End of this chapter)