Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 215 Digging a Pit
"I have already said that according to the recent operation of the Rockets, it is impossible for them to become a championship contender within ten years. Yao is an excellent player, but he is still a long way from a historic insider. If he wants to leave, his strengths and weaknesses are very clear. Moreover, the most important thing to become a historical player is to maintain health. I heard that he will participate in a lot of national team games in the summer. I have to advise Yao Ming. Play for a few more years, and it’s best not to let him participate in those messy games.” After the game press conference, Jim was not too polite in the face of interviews with reporters.

Of course, this interview went to the other side of the ocean. After being processed by the pens, it became "The Lakers boss uttered wild words, the Rockets will eventually slap the face in the playoffs". The famous fire black hat.

But Jim himself doesn't care whether he is "ruined" by the fans. Victory is the only criterion for measuring success or failure.

Back-to-back visits to Seattle to challenge the Sonics. The Sonics, who have fallen to ninth in the Western Conference, showed an extraordinary desire to survive. Ray Allen entered the state early in the first quarter and scored 4 on 4 of 11 shots in the opening game. On the contrary, it was Kobe. After the opening, he felt cold, and his operation was as fierce as a tiger. Looking at the statistics, it was 0-5.

The Timberwolves are gaining momentum recently. Since the game against the Lakers, they have not lost a game. The number one spot in the Western District is not guaranteed. Seeing that the players on the field are playing carelessly, Phil Jackson can't sit still anymore. Called two timeouts, trying to interrupt the Sonics feel.

Ray Allen's momentum has indeed gone down, and here Lewis stood up again, scored 8 points in a row, and let Artest get two fouls, and he left the game early to rest.

Under the leadership of Ray Allen and Lewis, the Sonics rained three-pointers and hit a 35-17 single-quarter offensive climax.

This kind of team with super shooters has a lot of variables. After making a few three-pointers in a row, the trend of the game will be different immediately.

Fortunately, the Lakers' rotation is deep. With Ray Allen and Lewis off the field, the SuperSonics' main players have become Ronald Murray and Antonio Daniels. Although Murray has good scoring ability, but The defense is average, and at the same time, the style of play is unique. Basically, the other four players in the supersonic speed are watching him play singles.

Ronald Murray has his own difficulties. At the beginning of the season, Ray Allen was injured, and Murray topped the starting position. At one point, he averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4 assists per game, and his shooting percentage reached 48%. The Sonics were stable in the top eight in the Western Conference at the beginning of the season. As soon as Ray Allen returned, coach Nate McMillan did not think of any way to make the two coexist, but simply and rudely dropped Murray back to the bench.

As a low-ranking rookie, Murray might have gotten a good contract with his high-profile performance, but under the arrangement of the coach, he can only use the broken playing time to collect statistics.

On the other hand, the Lakers, Wade, Nene, Haslem, Battier, and Raja Bell's bench lineup have gradually formed a tacit understanding. Nene's coping ability has been greatly improved compared to the beginning of the season. Haslem Hardworking and full of energy, while Bell and Battier are reliable 3D players, Wade has enough space to show his talents.

Murray missed consecutive strong attacks, the Lakers came back after a few counterattacks, Raja Bell and Battier scored a three-pointer each, and Wade's sudden layup added 2 plus 1, and the point difference quickly returned. Single digits, at this time the second quarter was played for less than 3 minutes.

McMillan couldn't sit still, there was not much left in the regular season, and every victory was crucial. After all, the Lakers' main force performed poorly and dug a big hole of 18 points. Of course, this was an unplanned victory. After fighting it out, how can you easily let the opponent fill in the pit with a substitute?At this time, McMillan decisively resorted to the simplest and most brutal method-to go to the main force.

Ray Allen and Lewis had just taken a sip of Gatorade before returning to battle, but the Lakers' bench was already on the move, with Battier and Bell marking Ray Allen and Lewis' shooting percentages. Dropped, and did not reopen the score.

When the Lakers' starter came back, Kobe quickly made adjustments, constantly taking advantage of his height and weight to force Ray Allen to kill the Supersonic inside line. Potapanko's movement speed is not fast, and his ability to protect the frame is average. Only fouls can be used to stop Kobe.

Kobe continued to walk to the free throw line, and gradually recovered his shooting touch while scoring points. After the second quarter, his shooting percentage was pulled back to 10 of 4. With free throws, he scored 15 points in the half.

The Lakers responded to the Sonics with a 32-18 score in the second quarter, narrowing the point difference to 4 points.

In the third quarter, Billups, the silent killer, broke out suddenly and hit 3 three-pointers in a row. Stretched, plummeted, and fell from heaven to hell in the second half when the Lakers outscored them 15-4.

At the final whistle, 112 to 92, the Lakers reversed the Seattle SuperSonics and won a big victory when they were behind by at most 20 points.

Although it is a victory, it also sounded the alarm for the players. The Supersonic lineup has a lot of flaws, so that the Lakers can complete the reversal after a bad start. But if the opponent is a strong enemy such as the Spurs or the Pacers, the Lakers will be a disaster. After the first quarter, the game is basically over.

Back at home and against the Spurs, Popovich's team did not waste opportunities like the Sonics did. They beat the Lakers 32-20 in the first quarter. With a high score, Kobe continued to have a cold touch. He made 7 of 1 shots in the first quarter. Many of them were his usual [-]-[-] goals.

Once Kobe failed to open the mid-range, the Lakers had nothing to do with the Spurs' defensive system. They were in a state of chasing points throughout the game. Due to the consecutive fouls and Turkoglu's performance by the Spurs, the rhythm was stabilized, and the Lakers did not take advantage of it.

The twin towers of Duncan and Rasheed Wallace performed well. Duncan scored 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Tianzun had 18 points and 11 rebounds. % of the passing line, scored a game-high 45 points, but the hole dug in the first half was too big, the Lakers finally lost the game 31-92.

(End of this chapter)