lakers championship

Chapter 241 Time Bomb

There were rumors of a feud between Lakers player Tianyang and coach Walton, but no one believed it.

Firstly, based on past experience, the two respect each other. Wharton has never relied on the authority of the coach to force Tianyang to do anything, and Tianyang has never used his status as a super rookie to make a fuss about Wharton.

Secondly, even if there is a conflict, it is basically impossible to spread it before the playoffs. Even if it is spread, the media will suppress it, because the media and the team rely on the NBA for their food, and the circle is so small. Everyone is vulnerable to retaliation.

However, the seemingly absurd rumors not only did not end quickly, but intensified instead.

Rumor has it that the anonymous text version has been upgraded to a version with a picture description by the staff, which vividly depicts the picture of "Tianyang is smiling, and Wharton firmly expresses his opposition", and some specific content that caused the discord was also revealed. Yang and Walton disagreed on how to deal with the Spurs.

How to distinguish lies from truth depends on logic and details.

Rumors on social networks, the logic is not flawed, the details are relatively sufficient.

As a result, there are more and more people who believe that the Lakers generals are at odds with the rumors. Some Lakers fans went to the Lakers official Twitter to leave messages and petitions, hoping that the officials will come forward to clarify the matter and give the fans peace of mind.

At first, the Lakers management didn't take the fan's petition seriously, thinking that the rumors of the general's feud were smeared by boring reporters. Until Jim Buss asked Tianyang and Walton in a joking tone, both of them said that there was indeed a discussion , There were differences of opinion but no discord, Jim Buss realized why there were rumors.

Jim immediately expressed through the official Twitter of the Lakers that the team did have some disagreements in the formulation of tactics, but in the end it was the coaching staff who had the final say, and the players also expressed their understanding and approval.

These remarks safeguarded Wharton's authority, but did not damage SkyOcean's image, which can be described as the best of both worlds.

But ESPN reporter Mark said that things are not that simple, and things are far from over.

Jim Buss also agrees with this statement. This matter will continue to be dealt with, because someone actually leaked the content of the team's internal discussions. It must be investigated whether it was an unintentional move or intentional.

However, this matter will be carried out quietly after the end of the season.

……

On the evening of the 25th, the fifth game between the Spurs and the Thunder was held at the ATT Center in San Antonio.

Back at home, the Spurs, who had a big lead and held the match point, had firmly grasped the rhythm of the game from the first quarter. Leonard made a sudden outside shot and completely defeated the Thunder's defense.

For the Thunder, Westbrook was alone. Even though he rushed inside the Spurs with a gunpowder bag and got a triple-double in three quarters, he still couldn't stop the team from falling behind by 20 points after three quarters.

In the end, the Spurs beat the Thunder 115 to 88, successfully advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, and continued to sit at home against the Lakers.

The moment the final whistle sounded, the Spurs players began to celebrate, while the Lakers players packed their luggage and set off for the airport. If it weren't for the rumor that they underestimated the Thunder, the Lakers should have arrived in San Antonio on the 24th.

……

At 27:7 pm on the 40th, the Lakers challenged the Spurs in an away game and began to hold a pre-match ceremony.

According to the usual practice, TNT still went to the scene for live broadcast.

Ernie: "Have you heard the rumors about the Lakers general?"

Kenny: "I heard it, but I don't think it's as exaggerated as the media portrays."

O'Neill: "Unscrupulous media can misinterpret normal discussions as discord between generals and generals. It is as objective as our TNT."

Barkley: "So what if the generals are at odds? The Lakers beat the Spurs without Walton."

After the four chatted for a while, the live music stopped, the cheerleaders also left the court, the referee signaled the players to enter and take their positions, and the match between the two teams officially started.

In terms of lineup, because Tony Parker was injured for the season, at the point guard position, Tianyang's opponent is Patty Mills, a player who is not explosive in stature but has a bit of explosive temper.

In other positions, Nick Young played against Danny Green, Ingram played against Leonard, Randle played against Aldridge, and Cousins ​​played against Gasol.

With the sound of the whistle, the referee walked to the center of the stadium LOGO and lightly threw the ball over the net.

"Ha!" Gasol yelled, swiping the ball far away from Mills's position, and unexpectedly hit it by mistake, and it fell directly into Leonard's hands, and the Spurs got the first possession.

Leonard dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, and Alder stepped forward to make a pick-and-roll.According to Walton's instructions before the game, Randall immediately switched defenses.

At the same time, Ingram went around to the front of Alder, trying to prevent him from receiving the ball.

Leonard was not in a hurry either, he casually took the ball 45 degrees to the right, and after finding the right opportunity, he lobbed the ball inside with both hands.Ingram took off and interfered, but it was still difficult to stop.Adelaide received the ball in the paint area without turning around, and went directly to the layup.

Cousins ​​was forced to defend, and Adelaide passed the ball from his waist secretly.

Gasol caught the ball from the basket, roared, jumped up on the spot, and dunked with both hands.

Easy side Lakers attack, Tianyang dribbled the ball to the right wing.Popovich commanded frequently from the sidelines. Except for Mills, all other Spurs players circled forward to defend the Lakers. They resolutely refused to give easy running positions or opportunities to catch the ball. Knowing that Mills could not defend, they still played Tianyang singles. .

Tianyang was not polite either, he changed direction continuously, dizzying Mills, adjusted his posture calmly, and shot steadily.

The height difference of 13cm allows Tianyang to do whatever he wants.

The basketball went into the net hollow, and the Lakers scored 3 points.

The Spurs attacked again, Mill dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, and Gasol stepped forward to pick and roll.

Cousins ​​switched defenses, deliberately keeping a step away.That thought, Mills didn't intend to break through at all, but took Cousins ​​all the way to the right, and when the basket was wide open, he immediately passed the ball in.After receiving the pass, Gasol seemed very worried about Tianyang's steal, so he directly held the ball with both hands for a layup.

Randall assisted in the defense, but to no avail. Gasol relied on his height and abruptly put the ball into the ring.

The Lakers attacked again, Tianyang dribbled the ball to the right wing, but the Spurs still blocked others from receiving the ball.

Mills also took a step back, which made Tianyang feel like "the other side wants to bet that I don't feel good".

The Spurs dared to bet, and Tianyang dared to shoot. He adjusted his posture and made a two-stage shot.

The basketball 'bang bang bang' bounced back and forth a few times before finally falling into the hoop, giving the Lakers a 2-point lead.

……

In a blink of an eye, the first quarter of the game entered the second official timeout, and the Lakers trailed by 4 points.

There was no major problem, except that Tianyang's shooting percentage dropped and he missed 2 shots.

The Spurs relied on pick-and-rolls and used their height advantage to score goals one after another.

In the TNT commentary, O'Neill frowned, as if he was thinking about something, and when Ernie called his name, he said, "The situation is not good. If we continue to fight like this, regardless of winning or losing, Tianyang may be exhausted first. The rest of the Lakers players have to take a nap."

Barkley nodded, "I also discovered this problem. The Lakers' style of play tonight is not aggressive at all. I don't know why they suddenly changed to another style. Is that rumor true?"

Kenny curled his lips, "It shouldn't be, playing the Rockets so hard, playing the Spurs turned into a lamb, what about the Lakers' offensive and defensive transition? What about the Lakers' oppressive defense?"

……

On the court, the Lakers bench.

Wharton just finished talking about tactics, flipped the tactics board over, and asked inertially, "Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads to say no, but Cousins ​​raised his right hand.

"What's your problem?"

"Coach, we should play Tianyang's tactics. If we drag on like this, the chances of winning are too small!"

Cousins' voice fell, and the entire bench fell into deathly silence.

If there were a reporter by his side, he would definitely write a new report on the feud between the Lakers generals with the headline "The ticking time bomb finally exploded, Cousins ​​helped Tianyang seize power".

　Another month has passed, thank you for your support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)