lakers championship

Chapter 367

Before the Lakers won the Warriors and Rockets in a row, even if they won 26 consecutive victories, they never ranked first in the power list of major media, just because the Warriors lineup is too strong and the record is too good, other teams are really difficult to compare.

The Lakers have now proved that they have the strength to fight tough battles, and finally won the media's recognition.

But the ranking of the power list is a gimmick. It is essentially a topic provided by the media for fans to discuss after dinner. It can neither improve the team's record nor increase the team's income. It is far less than the impact of the MVP ranking on the hearts of fans and players.

Just on the morning of the 25th, the NBA officially announced the latest MVP rankings. Tianyang rose from second to first, Harden slipped from first to third, and Westbrook remained second.

That night, the Lakers faced the Timberwolves at the Staples Center.

Just like the pre-match analysis, the Timberwolves, ranked 8th in the league, intentionally or unintentionally regarded the Lakers as their opponents in the playoffs, and the whole team was as excited as if they were fighting chicken blood.

Coupled with the leadership of a big brother like Butler who is not good but has a tough style of play, the Timberwolves caused a lot of trouble for the Lakers. They tried their best from the first offense, even if they were like Wiggins. The "goji berry tea" type of players who only broke out when they played against the Cavaliers also worked hard.

But Thibodeau did not bring out the power of the Timberwolves' two No. 6 picks plus an All-Star. When encountering the Lakers' unlimited defense changes, the Timberwolves' offensive tactics completely disappeared from the sixth offense, and there was no trace of coordination. Either Teague Singles, either Butler singles or Wiggins singles, the team's offensive efficiency was extremely low, and only scored 19 points in the first quarter.

After the start of the second quarter, although Thibodeau didn't know how to improve his offense, he knew that after the three-man singles of Teague, Butler, and Wiggins, he also arranged a few low-post singles for Towns.

I thought, given the opportunity, Towns is completely useless. He can't stand the big center Lopez, but even the thin McGee can't stand it. , 5 consecutive shots and only hit 1 goal.

The Lakers seized the opportunity to launch a wave of fast breaks and directly expanded the point difference to 18 points.

Thibodeau took a look, where is this going?Hastily arranged for Butler to play singles again, successfully controlling the point difference to around 15.

But never expected that during a defense change, Rondo and Butler had an argument.

Butler mocked Rondo's low salary, and Rondo responded that Butler would never be the team leader.

The more they talked, the more excited they became, and finally they started to fight, but they were both sent off.

Losing a Rondo has little impact on the Lakers, but losing Butler is a disaster for the Timberwolves. Towns and Wiggins can't support the Timberwolves' offense at all.

Under the Lakers' high-pressure defense, the Timberwolves were defeated in three quarters, trailing the Lakers by as many as 24 points, but Thibodeau still did not intend to give up. Tatum, Kuzma, and Hart took the opportunity to compete for three-pointers.

Coincidentally, the three-man three-pointer feels surprisingly good, hitting 5 in a row, completely defeating Thibodeau's last psychological defense, so that Thibodeau can only obediently send the third team players and admit defeat in advance.

……

After the game, the reporters couldn't find too many good questions about the massacre, they could only ask SkyOcean's opinion on the MVP ranking.

Tianyang replied: "I don't care much about the MVP rankings. I care more about the team's record. Personal data and results rank second."

Originally, this was an official standard answer, but ESPN likes to fabricate and distort it. After the news interview came out, it just changed to "Tianyang accused of brushing data, or satirized Westbrook." "

Anyone with a little bit of sense understands that this is EPSN's deliberate provocation, but it can't hold back the fans.

As a result, Westbrook fans and Tianyang fans started arguing like last year.

After all, the core point of view of Westbrook side is: "William Westbrook is the MVP, who are you Sky Ocean?", while the core point of view of Sky Ocean side is: "Triple doubles can't improve the team's record, it's just a stat brush, MVP days This year is decided!"

In the off-season, the Thunder acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony successively, together with Westbrook and Adams, formed the famous "cry all league" combination, which was unparalleled in the limelight for a while, and was regarded by fans as a white warrior, changing The best teams of the NBA finale.

Regrettably, after 32 games, the Thunder only ranked fifth in the Western Conference, with a very mediocre record.

What's worse is that the Thunder's lineup is not ideal. Anthony no longer has the strength to start, and he really wants to play. In addition, Donovan can't use people. As a result, the Thunder can beat the Warriors and lose to the Kings. The lower limit is extremely low.

Westbrook also became the target of non-Thunder fans' crusade for fun because of several reckless actions at critical moments.Therefore, what SkyOcean fans said was true to a certain extent, and it also stabbed Westbrook fans in the heart.

Fortunately, the next day, the Thunder won the Rockets, Westbrook got a triple-double, and Westbrook fans got a chance to breathe.

……

On the 27th, the Lakers played against the Grizzlies at home. All the media agreed that the Lakers won.

Just because after the employer coach Fizdale was fired, the little *** known as the "tactical genius" became the interim coach of the Grizzlies. Considering this guy's past "smart operations" and Conley's injury reimbursement, it is really hard to find him. To the reason why the Grizzlies won the game.

Wharton decisively arranged for Tianyang and Randall to take turns, and found a name to replace them within 2 minutes of playing.

No one thought that something would happen in such a change.

Perhaps because they felt underestimated, Evans and Marc Gasol exploded into the strongest form. They did whatever they wanted inside and outside. Fortunately, the Grizzlies couldn't stop the Lakers from attacking at all. A wave lays the foundation for victory.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 109 to 101.

……

On the 29th, the Lakers defeated the Clippers again.

Randall performed well, scoring 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Griffin, who was facing him, only scored 11 points and 5 rebounds, and also occupied the ball 17 times, which can be described as a blast!

After the game, WOJ broke the news that the Clippers owner Ballmer was very dissatisfied and held an impromptu team high-level meeting. Coach Rivers also participated as the president of basketball operations. The final conclusion was to consider trading Griffin for reconstruction.

The news seems a bit exaggerated, because the Clippers have just completed a five-year, $5 million contract extension with Griffin. It is not possible to trade now.

But combined with Ballmer's behavior of buying the Clippers for $20 billion when he bought the Clippers, he has the character of looking for it and doing it.Now that the Lakers have completely completed the reconstruction, it is impossible for the Clippers to dominate in Los Angeles.For the Clippers, it is the best choice to get rid of the big contract and rebuild, and then cooperate with the team's home relocation.

On the 31st, the Lakers went to the Toyota Center to challenge the Rockets.

Throughout December, the two teams have played against each other twice, and the Rockets lost both games.

In the third matchup, the Rockets had no reservations and went directly to G7 in the finals on the spot.

The reason is simple. If they lose again, the two teams meet in the playoffs, and the Rockets will lose a bit first in terms of momentum.

The two teams battled for 47 minutes and 55 seconds, and the Lakers led 115 to 113.

In the last 5 seconds, Harden fouled Tianyang from outside the three-point line and made all three free throws to complete the lore.

The penalty for this ball was extremely controversial, which caused debate among fans of the Lakers and Rockets after the game.

This debate was not like the SkyOcean fans were overwhelmed by one side. The fans of the two teams continued to argue.

During this period, many NBA celebrities also expressed their opinions, but the support rate of both sides is still [-]-[-].

It wasn't until New Year's Day that Westbrook tweeted that Harden should get a free throw, and the debate began to be one-sided, and more and more people supported Harden.

But that night, in the Lakers' away game against the Timberwolves, Tianyang scored 51 points and 12 assists in a large double-double, which won the support of more neutral fans and virtually reversed the situation.

Unexpectedly, on the morning of the 3rd, Harden tweeted his support for Westbrook's Lianzhuang MVP.

Regarding Harden's behavior, some Chinese fans wrote: "Things have developed out of control. Maybe they didn't do it intentionally, but the second and third brothers have joined forces, and Tianyang's life is sad."

But just 10 minutes after Harden tweeted, the NBA officially announced that Tianyang won the title of best player in the Western Conference in December.

Won the Player of the Month in the Western Conference for two consecutive months, allowing Tianyang to rank first in the MVP rankings.

What's exciting is that Westbrook has the opportunity to change this result immediately, because on the night of the 3rd, the Lakers challenged the Thunder away.

　Sorry for the late update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)