The strongest basket king

Chapter 63
The Lakers' back-to-back away opponents are the Hornets. Not only do the Hornets have no chance of entering the playoffs, they don't even have the key newcomers to train. They are completely salty fish teams.

But it is such a salted fish team that took the lead in the score as soon as it came up.

How come the Lakers are also the top three teams in the Western Conference, facing the Hornets with the worst record in the Western Conference, they can't be completely suppressed, it is really hard to understand.

The two insiders of the Hornets are starters, and the rotation period is a small lineup.

Xiang Chu is invincible in rebounding, but also can't play too much time. He hates the small lineup.

The Hornets guard Jarrett Jack and backup guard Vasquez both hit a high shooting percentage. If Xiang Chu and other insiders break through and can help defend, there is really no way to shoot outside.

Fisher is too slow, Blake is too thin, the rookie is too useless, and the back line becomes a sieve.

In addition, the Hornets' insider Kaman also played very well, but Bynum seemed a little tired.

Two overtimes were played yesterday, and it is understandable that the Lakers players are slow to enter the state.

However, trailing by double digits at the end of the West Crane at halftime is really a bit eye-catching.

Kobe and Gasol actually played well, but the Hornets played better.

Whenever it feels that the team has solved many problems, old problems will hatch again.

The scoring efficiency is not high, the perimeter defense is too poor, and the substitute has no scoring points, the third.

The halftime break is a good time to adjust. When playing games on the court, some problems are often not intuitively detected. After analysis in the locker room, the situation in the first half is very clear.

However, these situations did not have a good relationship with Xiang Chu, and he ate bananas silently.

During away games, Xiang Chu usually doesn’t eat too much for dinner, and fruit is a good supplement.

In addition to health is taste, it is always easy to eat strange tastes in unfamiliar places, or the taste of fruits is the same everywhere.

In the second half, the Lakers once again played wonderful team basketball and tight defense.

They didn't look like the Lakers in the third quarter, like a civilian team without superstars who like to share the ball.

In fact, the efficiency is very good, but it is absolutely impossible for the Lakers to maintain this state for a long time.

The Lakers directly tied the score, and the suspense of the outcome was left to the last quarter.

It's just that Kobe habitually started to make strong shots at the end of the quarter, and his efficiency was very average. Fortunately, the Lakers can grab inside.

Xiang Chu, Gasol and Bynum all gained offensive rebounds, and it wasn't the suppression of rebounds, the Lakers must have been a tragedy.

And Bynum, who had no form in front of him, showed his power at the last moment, scoring in double figures in a single quarter and saving the Lakers from falling behind.

Kobe also redeemed himself at the last moment, making three free throws and dragging the game into overtime.

In overtime, Kobe scored 7 points in a row to seal the victory. With such a performance, the little shot selection problem in front of him is not a problem at all.

Although it is very difficult, it is a winning streak anyway, and the Lakers have also consolidated their third position in the Western Conference.

Back in Los Angeles, the players took a good rest.

And on the days when there were no games, news of the deal came out of the team.

Not the kind of big deal that could cause an earthquake. The team sent Luke Walton's expiring contract and protected draft pick to the Cavaliers in exchange for a capable young guard Ramon Sessions.

This deal can be regarded as a small stroke of genius. Walton can no longer play games in the Lakers and occupies salary space. If the Cavaliers did not train Irving, they would definitely not be able to keep Ramon Sessions. The transaction will definitely not be so easy to succeed.

After the trade, Ramon Sessions was the starter. The Lakers sent the old fish out almost at the same time. While saving money, they also found a substitute for Kobe, the Rockets' Terrence Williams.

The main reason is to save money, the trade came to the No. [-] position, and Fisher has no place in the Lakers.

Those who are traded are all the old players of the Lakers, but the NBA is a business league, as long as the management thinks it is beneficial to the team, the trade will happen.

Judging from the lockout incident, players and teams complement each other and are also antagonistic.

The Lakers' first game after the trade was at home against the Timberwolves. Sessions didn't immediately appear in the starting position when he first arrived. He still needs to adapt to his teammates and tactics.

The Timberwolves are in a bit of a bad situation now. Love is back and Rubio is injured again. They seem to be getting farther and farther away from the playoffs.

In addition, their sixth man, Beasley, was also unable to play due to injury, which weakened their attack power a lot.

Facing a team equipped inside, Bynum was a little confused, but the Timberwolves had no one on the outside, and Kobe's efficiency on the Lakers' side was not bad, leading the team to easily take the lead.

Derek Williams, who returned to the bench, couldn't support the rotation time at all, and his performance was far inferior to Xiang Chu.

Ramon Sessions came off the bench and performed passable, and also plugged a strike to Xiang Chu.

Compared with Blake, he has stronger ball handling and physical strength, and cannot reach the star level, but he is definitely more suitable to be a starter than Fisher and Blake. It should be said that the price the Lakers can get is a good result.

In the second quarter, the Lakers' rotation lineup firmly suppressed the Timberwolves. Barnes performed well and scored 10 points. Xiang Chu's 4 points and 7 rebounds were considered standard operations.

The Lakers gave the bench enough time this time, and he played relatively comfortably.

In the third quarter, Kobe Bryant once again demonstrated a strong scoring ability, but the Timberwolves seemed a little lifeless without outside firepower.

They can score with two points inside, but the efficiency is not very high. The Lakers took the opportunity to expand the score advantage to double digits.

Xiang Chu's rebounds were also in double figures. Although he was still a bit short in scoring, he really didn't need to score in this game. Both Barnes and Sessions performed well.

In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves also launched a wave of counterattacks. At the critical moment, the team's three strong points still withstood the opponent's counterattack and successfully helped the team win another victory.

Unknowingly, the team also won five consecutive victories.

At the beginning of the season, the Clippers' record is not as good as theirs, and the Lakers are firmly seated at the top of the division.

The Mavericks' record has dropped a bit during this time, and the Lakers must have home court advantage in the playoffs. The main competitors are the Grizzlies and Clippers.

Especially the Clippers, teams in the same district can easily squeeze them down.

In addition, the Thunder and Spurs are several games ahead of them. It is not easy to catch up. They should be realistic and keep the top four in the Western Conference.

The Bulls and Heat in the East are also the only ones in the record. The Lakers are too late this season, and the current winning streak is bumpy. It is not bad to be ranked second.

After all, the playoffs are hard work, and it's okay if you can't rank in the top two.

What they need to pay attention to now is the health of the players. Many teams suffered from injuries in the shortened season. In the second half of the season, they are also a team that can arrange the playoffs in advance.

(End of this chapter)