One Guard

Chapter 257: Because he is Kobe

The Mavericks completed a 14-point comeback and won the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Yiyang and the Mavericks once again made headlines on various sports websites and newspapers. As for these things, Yiyang has long been familiar with them.

This season, the Mavericks have brought you too many surprises. From the 12-game winning streak in the regular season, to the excellent performance in the playoffs. People's perception of the Mavericks team seems to have been refreshing.

Now, the Mavericks can take away the victory with Kobe scoring 36 points, which undoubtedly accomplished another feat. And Yiyang, who blocked Kobe's game-winning shot, has also become the object of discussion.

In the past few days, because of Yiyang's popularity, even Vignali had to quietly change hotels. Because the house she used to live in was surrounded by reporters every day. If Vignali wanted to go out, she had to spend more than 20 minutes passing through the "human wall" formed by reporters.

The Mavericks lead 1-0, which is considered a scene. But the Los Angeles Lakers, which received the most attention, were completely silent on the second day after the game.

?Reporters gathered outside the Lakers' own rented training facility, hoping to interview a Laker player, or Kobe himself. But this time, "Zen Master" Jackson gave everyone a "seal order". Except for routine press conferences, neither he nor his players will utter a word in front of the media.

Therefore, no one knows what the state of the Lakers is now. In yesterday's press conference, Bryant criticized Artest by name, which undoubtedly made the reporters smell the smoke.

Who is Artest? That was the ferocious beast that fought against Kobe back then. Although he got along well with Kobe after coming to the Lakers, with Artest's character, he should be very upset when he was named and criticized by Kobe.

The reporters made all kinds of guesses in their hearts, but they couldn't find anyone to ask questions. As a result, all kinds of rumors spread quickly.

What is the discord between Artest and Kobe, what is the two fighting on the training ground. Without news, the ability of journalists to fabricate news can sometimes be more exciting than the truth.

Now, Jackson issued a gag order across the board, giving the reporters sufficient "evidence". Inside the Lakers, something must have gone wrong!

Rumors were flying around, but Jackson and the rest of the Lakers were in no mood to pay attention.

In fact, after Kobe named and criticized Artest, this "beast" immediately admitted that he was indeed not focused enough on the defensive end tonight. As for the conflict with Kobe and the fight with Kobe, it doesn't exist at all.

The reason why Jackson doesn't want to be bothered by reporters now is because he has more difficult things to deal with.

"At a critical moment, injuries are disrupting the situation again!" In the office of "Zen Master" Jackson, the tired white-haired old man threw several reports on the table in disappointment.

Those pieces of paper were the Lakers medical team's diagnosis report on Kobe. The examination proved that Bryant's ankle sprain had worsened, and the knee injury had also begun to spread. As for the fingers, there is still some time before they are fully healed.

"Our suggestion is that it is best for him to have a truce for two weeks!" This sentence is the summary attached to the report by the medical team.

This season, the Lakers are in very good condition after the All-Star break, playing a wave of 8 consecutive victories, and then a wave of 9 consecutive victories after losing to the Heat. At that time, they were only 0.5 wins away from the Spurs, the No. It is a pity that Kobe sprained his ankle in the penultimate game of the winning streak, and his knee injury became more serious, so he suspended the game.

As for Kobe's truce, the Lakers actually experienced a 5-game losing streak after the winning streak ended.

Despite the bumps and bumps, the Lakers still squeezed out the Mavericks and came to second place in the Western Conference. "Zen Master" Jackson was ready to show his talents in the playoffs, but what caught people off guard was that Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle for the second time in the playoffs!

This time, the Lakers will be miserable. But Kobe insisted on playing, defeated the "Queen Bee" Paul, advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, and scored 36 points in the last game with pain.

But it is precisely because of Kobe's hard work that now, his injury has become even less optimistic.

"Zen Master" took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. His eyes fell on the last sentence on the medical report.

"A two-week truce..." Zen master knew that when Kobe returned from a two-week truce, the Lakers might not know whether they were still in the playoffs.

It's not that Jackson doesn't trust his other players, but that Kobe's position in the Lakers, whether it's tactical or psychological, is really important.

"Is your opinion a truce?" Jackson looked up at the team doctors in front of him.

"If you insist on playing, the ankle and knee will become a chronic illness in Kobe's career. From a medical point of view, we can't take his career at risk." The doctors answered truthfully, and the truce was the result of everyone's discussions.

"But this season we are in a good situation. I think it is our best chance to create another dynasty..." Halfway through the talk, Jackson didn't continue. He knew that in addition to winning the championship, he was also responsible for Kobe's career.

"Okay, I understand, you all go to work." Jackson nodded and signaled the team doctors to go out.

After several people left, only "Zen Master" was left in the strange office. The old man sighed wearily, both he and Kobe seemed to be showing signs of aging...

※※※

On the training ground, Kobe and other teammates are doing the same training. It seemed that there was nothing serious about this guy, but all the Lakers team doctors looked at Kobe with monster eyes, because only they knew how much pain Kobe would endure when doing these actions.

"Bryant!" In the middle of the training, Jackson suddenly walked out of the office, and his yelling reached the ears of every player in the empty training hall.

Kobe stopped what he was doing and turned away with a smile. In fact, when Kobe saw several members of the medical team coming out of Jackson's office, he already guessed that Jackson would come to find him.

"Stop your training and go to the team doctor for treatment. For the next few games, I want you to take a truce!"

As soon as "Zen Master" said this, everyone in the Lakers team was taken aback. In the playoffs, let Kobe Bryant truce? That guy is the spiritual pillar in everyone's heart. If Kobe is not there, everyone will feel out of their minds.

"I feel good." Bryant still maintained a smile, he is not willing to compromise to the injury!

"No, you're terrible Bryant. We need you later. Now, I want you to rest and go to treatment." Jackson knew Kobe's stubborn temper, and he didn't intend to make Kobe obedient immediately.

Kobe twisted his ankle, his knee, and moved his fingers. "You think these things can stop me, Phil? No, as long as I can play, I'm going to play!"

"What humans don't know the most is their own body... Believe me Bryant, I feel the same way as you. We all hope that you will play the game earlier. After all, this is a critical moment. We need your defensive and offensive skills. Ability." Jackson knew that Kobe and Bryant can't just be hard, you have to be soft. "I don't want to ruin your career in a hurry, you are not that high school kid now, Bryant, we can't be too hasty..."

"But I don't want to miss the Western Conference semifinals. I don't want to sit on the bench in a suit and watch my brothers fight while I can't do anything!"

"Nobody thinks, Bryant, that's why we need you to rest and play big games."

"But the Western Conference semifinals are also a key game. Can you guarantee that we will be able to break through the Mavericks!?" Kobe's smile gradually disappeared, and he became sincere, serious, and serious.

This time, "Zen Master" Jackson did not answer Bryant's question. Everyone in the Lakers experienced the strength of the Dallas Mavericks yesterday. Beat 'em without Kobe? Not impossible, but hard, really hard.

Jackson also knows that after two weeks, all the Lakers' games this season may be over.

"If you let me be eliminated because of this, it is irresponsible for my career." Kobe Bryant's last sentence made Jackson compromise.

The white-haired old man shook his head. "You goddamn guy, I have only one request, less physical contact, less risk of injury."

"I can add one more condition, win the game!" Kobe's smile returned to his face. Don't his ankles, knees and fingers hurt? pain!

How can this guy still laugh?

Because, he is Kobe Bryant.

※※※

Neither Carlisle nor his players are aware of the problems facing the Lakers. Because Kobe's performance yesterday was so good that he didn't look like a person with an injury at all.

Carlisle looked at the players practicing tactics on the court. He only hoped that in the next game, the Mavericks would not fall behind by more than ten points and then overtake. Carlisle's heart can't stand such a test. What he expects to see is the Mavericks' control of the entire situation.

The academic coach's eyes fell on Yiyang, although the Mavericks had just slightly changed their offensive thinking, allowing players to focus more on jump shots. But Yiyang didn't have any discomfort. He was able to send the ball to the place where it should be served quickly, allowing shooters such as Terry and Peja around him to score comfortably.

At this point, his speed is almost as fast as Kidd.

Three-pointers, this is what Carlisle will emphasize in the next game. The Mavericks have a lot of guys with good long-range shooting ability, but for the first time in the series, this advantage has not been played out.

So in today's training, Carlisle worked hard outside the three-point line, and all shooters will take turns to play to ensure the continuity of firepower.

Judging from the performance on the training ground, the Mavericks' offense has indeed improved.

The team's good training status allowed Carlisle to announce the end of training at four o'clock in the afternoon. Everyone can go home early, have a good rest, and prepare for the second game tomorrow.

Carlisle stayed alone in the office, studying tapes of the Lakers game that played a role.

After re-watching the video today, Carlisle discovered a problem. Although Kobe scored 36 points yesterday, he did not make many breakthroughs.

Most of the time, Kobe solves problems with shots. It’s just that Kobe has too many shooting tricks, such as emergency stop, retreat, back, back... so many methods, let you see that Kobe’s offensive methods seem to be very rich, but in fact, they are all based on COSCO The distance jumper is the main one.

Throughout the game, the number of Kobe breakthroughs can be counted on one hand. And one of them was blocked under the joint efforts of Yiyang and Chandler.

Why did Kobe play like this? This can only illustrate one problem, Kobe's physical condition is not as good as it appears on the surface!

He wants to drive, but doesn't have the ability to hit the rim. So shooting became Kobe's only choice.

Thinking of this, Carlisle seemed to have found a key, a key to defeat the defending champion!

Carlisle didn't know how long he had watched the video, but when he walked out of the office, the sun was almost setting.

When this guy walked out of the arena with his briefcase, he happened to see Yiyang passing by in his own Ford pickup.

"You practiced again?" Carlisle was no stranger to this. As long as Yiyang controls his extra training time, Carlisle has no objections.

"Yeah, practiced in the weight room for a while... want a ride, boss."

"No, I'll take a taxi by myself. You go back early to rest, tomorrow...tomorrow, I may let you continue to play against Kobe." When Carlisle knew that Kobe's physical condition was not good, he had this idea. Maybe it's really not impossible to contain Kobe this time.

"Oh, I will try my best. Then, I'll go first, boss." Although Yiyang's expression was still cold, Carlisle vaguely saw that there was a little expectation in the eyes of that boy Yiyang!

The Ford pickup slowly moved forward against the setting sun, getting farther and farther until it disappeared.

??After waving goodbye to Yiyang, Carlisle stood alone in the American Airlines Center arena under the setting sun, looked up to the west, and admired the setting sun for a while.

"It's so beautiful..." Carlisle, who was looking at the sky, suddenly felt emotional, and he didn't know whether he was talking about the sunset or the future of the Mavericks... 8)

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like