Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 58

The Lakers returned to their hometown and challenged the Minnesota Timberwolves away.

Kevin Garnett got whatever he wanted inside the Lakers without O'Neal. He scored 32 points, 21 rebounds and 9 assists. In addition, Billups' 30 points on the guard line completely overwhelmed the previous good performance. Arenas broke, and the Lakers suffered a disastrous defeat in icy Minnesota.

The next home game against the Pacers was O'Neal's long-awaited game, because Brad Miller and Ron Artest, who had previously clashed with him, were traded to the Pacers by the Bulls.However, the sharks still in the recuperation period can only watch from the sidelines.

Big Ben and Mason's double-short inside line, although the two are strong and strong, but in front of O'Neal Jr. and Brad Miller who have good shooting ability, the defensive pressure is a bit high, and Artes O'Neal and Miller each scored a double-double in scoring and rebounding, and Artest also had 4 offensive rebounds.

Under the full care of Artest, Kobe was very inefficient. He only made 27 of 10 shots, scored 26 points and 5 rebounds, and had 6 turnovers. There is no advantage in the counterpoint.

With the two-game losing streak of the Lakers, the record was officially overtaken by the hotly pursued Sacramento Kings and fell to the second place in the Western Conference. Kobe, who performed poorly, was no longer the object of media touting.

"The core of the Lakers has been injured for a long time, and the regular season champion may not be guaranteed!"

"There is only one player in the three consecutive championships, when will the first center return to the team!"

"The Purple and Gold want to make a long-term contract, will the Sharks end up in Los Angeles?"

……

"The loss of Shaquille O'Neal is undoubtedly a heavy loss for the Lakers. If we want to win the third championship trophy, and even the fourth and fifth championship trophy, we cannot do without Shaq, but the good news is that he will recover from injury next week. Come back, we can expect him to lead us to more victories. As for Kobe Bryant, he and Shaq will form the greatest duo of all time." Mitch Kupchak in the "Los Angeles Daily News" Said so in the interview.

Kobe, on the other hand, was tight-lipped when he was interviewed, and only one sentence was repeated over and over again.

"I just play ball."

Kobe, who was dedicated to playing, vented all his grievances on his opponents when facing the Rockets, who were aiming to do badly.Fei Xia scored 45 points, 6 assists and 6 steals, sweeping away the downturn in the first two games.

The opposing Cutino Mobley became the most unlucky man on the field. He suffered endless damage from Kobe on both ends of the offense and defense. In the whole game, the old cat only made 12 of 2 shots and 17 of 6 shots. His backcourt partner Steve Francis slammed the hammer together, almost smashing Staples' basket.

The 40-year-old veteran Kevin Willis has become the only fig leaf for the Rockets. Kevin Willis, who was born in the golden generation of 84, has rich experience. Little trouble, he made 21 of 9 shots and scored 8 points and 17 rebounds in only 9 minutes of playing. With his performance, the game was still in a stalemate in the third quarter.

Tomjanovich did not let Willis play in the fourth quarter, but allowed Francis and Mobley to gallop freely on the court. In the end, the Lakers beat the Rockets 96-82 to end their losing streak.

As the season progressed, the form of the Western District gradually became clear. The Lakers and the Kings had similar records, and they were all striving for the first place in the Western Conference. The group has a gap of about five games with the Lakers and Kings in front, while the Trail Blazers, Supersonics, Jazz and young Clippers are fighting for the remaining playoff spots. As for the Suns who sent away Kidd, Under the leadership of Marbury, he was stuck and basically missed the playoffs. At the same time, he was also unable to compete with the crazy Warriors, Rockets and Bulls for the No. [-] pick.

The Lakers sat at home and defeated the visiting New Jersey Nets. The core of the Nets, Jason Kidd, hit 17 irons, beating Kobe Bryant's 15 times, and forced the victory into the hands of the Lakers by himself.

It seems that Byron Scott is still concerned about the Lakers, and he will send charcoal in a timely manner without affecting the ranking in the East.

And another old acquaintance, Jerry Sloan, is not so easy to talk about. The Jazz is aging. Stockton is 40 years old, and his backcourt partner, the New York madman John Starks, is also 37. At the age of [-], the tyrants who competed with the Bulls could only rely on the residual heat of Shuangsha to barely compete for a place in the playoffs.Every win counts now.

The back-to-back Lakers have not yet recovered from the iron battle with the Nets. The old and strong Malone faced Mason, shot mercilessly, scored 27 points and 9 rebounds, and resorted to a killer move in the game. The evil elbow broke the mouth of Arenas, who hit consecutive three-pointers on Stockton's head, and Arenas, who was feeling hot, only played less than two quarters of the game.

After losing the game in Salt Lake City, the Lakers' next schedule will be more difficult. They have to face several powerful enemies such as the Mavericks, Spurs and Kings in a row. The whole team is looking forward to O'Neal's comeback.

In the multiple-choice question between O'Neal and Kobe, Jim chose the latter without much thought. To some extent, Danny Ainge's suggestion is absolutely correct-in fact, he did the same- But everything seemed to be going too well, with disturbing silence from O'Neill and Perry Rodgers' side.

All questions about O'Neal's contract extension were perfunctory in a vague official tone. Even if the player didn't care about it, could he hide it from the thoughtful agent?With a pen in his hand, Jim tapped on the table.There was a mess of writing on the manuscript paper on the table.

Kupchak rushed in to push open the false office door, interrupting Jim's thinking.

"O'Neill's agent, Perry Rogers, just called me and said that his client had undergone a doctor's examination, and the injury had recurred, and the return time may be delayed for a few weeks!" Kupchak was a little out of breath.

Very well, what should come has finally come.

"Is that so? That's not good. If we want to win the championship, we can't do without Shaq. Let's go to Shaq's house to visit. I happen to have a friend who is an expert in sports medicine. I'll give him a call. Maybe he can Help me." Jim put down the pen in his hand, arranged the manuscript paper and stuffed it into the desk.

Kupchak glanced over and saw what appeared to be some names written on it.

Jim was just about to call Thomas Carter when the phone rang.

"Hi, I'm Jim Bass."

A familiar old voice came from the phone.

"Hi Jimmy, I'm Jerry West."

　In the evening, there will be a new addition to the sign-in building~Thank you for your support~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)