The Godfather of Basketball

Compared with last year, this year's transactions can only be regarded as small troubles. It is a little surprising that the Cavaliers sent Artest away. But his real role is in the playoffs.

The new Cavaliers management does not seem to realize this.

At the end of the trade deadline, the Thunder lineup was reduced to 14 people, and Jones quickly contacted Livingston.

Tang Tian's thoughts were the same as before, and he planned to directly sign a three-to-four-year long-term contract with Livingston, but Livingston seemed to expect more than the basic salary, and only agreed to sign the contract until the end of the season.

Such a result was a bit unexpected for Tang Tian, ​​but he could understand it. After all, every player has a different heart. Thinking differently, if he was once the favorite of heaven, he would not be willing to keep receiving the basic salary.

In the end, the Thunder and Livingston reached a one-year deal that would last until the end of the season.

As a result, the team lineup has also undergone some changes.

Point guard: Westbrook, Livingston

Shooting guards: Kidd, Harden, Sefolosha, Bazemore

Small forwards: Durant, PJ Tucker, Middleton

Power forwards: Diaw, Collison, O'Quinn

Center: Ibaka, Brown, Turiaf

The new lineup, but without the rotation, basically had no impact on the Thunder.

Tang Tian was not in a hurry to let Livingston play, and the backcourt was still a rotation of Westbrook, Kidd and Harden.

But keeping Sefolosha, Tang Tian also gave him some playing time accordingly, letting him find his game status.

Time flies, and a week passed in the blink of an eye. The Thunder team achieved a record of 3 wins and 1 loss this week, continuing to consolidate their position as the number one in the Western Conference.

"Let Livingston play tomorrow's game." After a week of training and adaptation, Livingston adapted much faster than expected, and Tang Tian also began to consider putting him in the rotation.

The next day, the team got on a plane to Los Angeles, where they would meet the Lakers for the third time this season. The Thunder beat their opponents in the previous two games.

This was originally just an ordinary regular season. For the Thunder, inspecting Livingston may be their most concerned point in this game.

It's just that before the game, the Los Angeles media, which always likes to be lively, was not idle. They moved out the previous FOX Sports report and Howard's response. During the pre-match training, they also interviewed Howard.

"I like this kind of game, we will win the game, this game means a lot to us." Howard is still very straightforward, facing the media and said without hesitation.

In fact, the Lakers are in a good situation. The recruited Artest is old and strong, averaging 12.4 points and 5 rebounds per game. He also helped the Lakers sweep away the previous decline and ushered in a wave of 3 consecutive victories.

The reports from the Los Angeles media still seemed aggressive. Apart from Howard's remarks, they even continued to tease Brown, saying that he could continue to survive in the NBA only by relying on Tang Tian's protection.

An ordinary NBA game was hyped by the local media soaringly, and the fans who always liked to watch the excitement became more and more excited. Apart from the fact that the Staples Center was full of seats as usual, the excitement on the faces of the fans was visible to the naked eye.

At the opening ceremony before the game, the cheers on the scene were deafening.

For the Thunder, the team maintained a regular starting lineup, with Westbrook and Kidd on the outside, Durant and Diaw on the front line, and Ibaka at center.

On the Lakers side, Nash and Kobe are on the outside, Artest and Pau Gasol are on the front line, and Howard is the center.

On paper alone, the strength of the Lakers is not lost and may even be stronger than the Thunder.

"Hey, man, you actually asked Ibaka to play against Howard?" Before the game started, the commentator on the scene couldn't help complaining.

"I admit that Ibaka's confrontation has improved a lot this season, but you have to face Dwight Howard!" The guest commentator also echoed.

The two sides jumped the ball, Howard jumped and beat Ibaka, and the home team got the chance to attack first.

Nash's frontcourt organization, Kobe used Gasol's pick-and-roll to come out and catch the ball.

"Shua!"

Bryant's mid-range lead for the Lakers.

Although he is 34 years old, although he changed from playing with the ball to playing without the ball after Nash took over, he adapted quickly. So far, he has shot 46.9% from the field, the second highest in his career.

The Thunder's offense, Dior's support at the top of the circle, distributed the ball to Durant, who made an empty cut, and the latter made a steady mid-range hit after an emergency stop.

Nash and Gasol's mid-range drive after the pick-and-roll.

After receiving the ball, Westbrook also made a layup that broke through Nash.

After the opening, both sides maintained a very good touch.

The game lasted more than 7 minutes, and the score on the field was 17 to 14. The Thunder took a slight lead.

At this time, D'Antoni made substitutions and adjustments. Jamison and Blake replaced Gasol and Nash.

This is the current status of the Lakers team. The players are too old, and the substitutions and adjustments come earlier than the average team.

Seeing the adjustment of the Lakers, Tang Tian also got up and signaled to Kidd to play more inside.

Kidd's frontcourt organization, Ibaka pulled Howard out of the penalty area, Durant and Westbrook made consecutive cuts to the basket on both sides, Kidd made a second pass, Westbrook caught the ball and threw Blake away, and made a direct shot One-arm dunk.

The entire Thunder bench was boiling.

In the Lakers' offense, Kobe caught the ball and was double-teamed, turned around and fell back and missed.

The Thunder played a fast break, and Durant made a three-pointer after receiving a pass from Diaw.

The Thunder played a 5-0 offensive.

Blake did not fight, and Jamison did not make a three-pointer from the outside.

Because of the age of this Lakers team and the fact that the coach is D'Antoni, the overall defensive quality is not good. They basically use offense instead of defense.

The Thunder attacked in the frontcourt. When Durant cut without the ball, the referee called Howard's blocking foul.

Howard jumped up at once, pulling the referee to keep signaling that he hadn't fouled.

Because of the three offensive points of Nash, Kobe and Gasol, Howard's status in the Lakers and Magic is not the same. Basically, he is the defensive core plus the fourth offensive option. He didn't shoot until now in the first quarter. After one time, I was not very happy at first, and then I was called a foul, which was a bit explosive.

D'Antoni yelled for a long time on the sidelines, and Kobe also came over for a while to prevent Howard from getting the T, but he still looked unhappy.

He said before the game that he would beat the Thunder, but he played for more than half a quarter, and he didn't feel any presence on the court.