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On December 17, the Raptors faced the Los Angeles Lakers at home.

Billups carried the offensive banner, scoring 31 points and 6 assists with Kobe from the outside.

Without Christie, McGrady, and Carter, the Raptors' swingman position was weakened. Facing the defense of Halprin and Reid, Kobe made 14 of 29 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and 11 of 11 free throws, scoring 40 points. 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

O'Neal made 12 of 17 shots, 4 of 11 free throws, and scored 28 points and 8 rebounds.

However, the Raptors still tenaciously won the game 111-104, with six players on the team scoring in double figures.

O'Neal Jr. had 14 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Mark Jackson scored 12 points and 18 baskets, and the Raptors completely beat the Lakers in rebounding.

In addition to the "ok combination", the Lakers only had one person who scored in double figures. Rick Fox scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Isiah Leder, who had high hopes in the summer, only played 10 minutes, made 0 of 4 shots, did not score a point, and got 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

Leder's decline has been devastating. He has gone from a 19.3-point star to an average of 7.6 points per game as a substitute. The only thing worthy of praise is his 37% three-point shooting rate, but he only averaged 0.5 three-pointers per game. .

After this game, the Lakers' record was 16 wins and 10 losses, which was worse than the Raptors. They trailed the Spurs, Kings, and Mavericks in the Western Conference, ranking only fourth.

After the game, some media broke the news that a conflict broke out in the locker room between the "OK group", and O'Neal accused Kobe of being too independent.

The Lakers were swept in the finals last season, and O'Neal didn't win the regular season MVP. He won nothing except a scoring title. As he gets older, he begins to value personal honors. When he receives the ball in the new season, he attacks the basket frantically, hoping to make his data even better and compete for mvp this season.

Kobe was eager to prove that he was a superstar on the same level as Carter, and he also began to compete for the ball. At the beginning of the game, he averaged 22 shots per game, a career high, 0.5 more than O'Neal.

The two of them accounted for more than half of the Lakers' shots. How could their teammates get the ball? Leder averaged only 7 shots per game, so it is reasonable for his data to plummet.

Coach Phil Jackson hopes that Kobe can play like he did last season, controlling his shots to less than 18 times or even less to ensure efficiency, but Kobe's desire to attack can obviously no longer be suppressed. He had been O'Neal's little brother for four years, and he was so suffocated that he was about to explode.

Both of the two championship teams predicted by the league before the game had problems.

Of course Yang Rui will not despise the Lakers because of this. In his previous life when the Lakers won three consecutive championships, except for the 2000 season when O'Neal won the MVP, the Lakers performed poorly in the regular season in the other two years. The super lineup only achieved 56 and 58 wins.

The Lakers broke out as soon as they entered the playoffs. They will naturally unite and play in a more reasonable way for the championship. They only lost one game in the 2001 playoffs, and also swept the Nets in the 2002 finals.

On the 19th, the Raptors defeated the Jazz at home 103-95.

Halprin became the highlight of the team, scoring 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists in the first start, beating veteran Brian Russell, who only had 2 points and 3 rebounds in the game.

Reed faced veteran John Starks, who joined the Jazz in the summer, and also had the upper hand, scoring 17 points.

After defeating the Pacers again on the 20th, Vince Carter returned at home, and the Raptors defeated the Hawks back-to-back 92-78.

On Christmas Day, the Raptors defeated the Bulls 103-93 at home.

McGrady returned to Toronto, the fans did not boo him, and he even received his championship ring before the game. The game was exciting, with many great dunks from both teams.

Less than a day after the fans were happy, the Raptors faced the Timberwolves in back-to-back away games. Although they won the game 107-100, Billups injured his right foot and left the game in the first quarter.

After the game, he was diagnosed with a fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, scientifically known as "Jones fracture." This kind of injury is quite common in the sports world. In Yang Rui's previous life, in April 2006, Yao Ming suffered this kind of injury during a game against the Jazz. In addition, brothers like Jordan, Gasol, Durant, Bibby, Brand and Lopez have also suffered similar injuries. There are many factors that can cause this kind of injury, such as sprained foot, being stepped on by someone else, or being kicked by something.

When Billups broke through, he had physical contact with Terril Brandon and sprained his foot. As soon as the results came out, the doctor proposed surgery and he would be absent for 4-6 months.

Billups was going crazy. "I just touched it lightly. You said I have to rest for 4 months. Are you kidding me?"

"This is no joke. Four months is the ideal situation. This injury requires surgery and cannot be treated conservatively." The team doctor sighed. This is very bad news.

Yang Rui felt his head was spinning. He had heard about this injury. Durant had to rest for half a season. What was even worse was that the 76ers' No. 1 pick Ben Simmons was reimbursed for the 16-17 season and did not play a game in the regular season. beat.

Without Brad Miller, there are still three big men on the inside who can serve as substitutes. Without Billups, the team is left with Boykins and John Crotty, both of whom have defensive problems. Curry's guest point guard is tall enough, but he is poor at dribbling. Let alone organizing, it is difficult for him to dribble the ball through half the court.

Yang Rui was very careful when using Reed and Halprin, worrying about their injuries, but he forgot that Billups was also a glass man in the early stages of his career. He was reimbursed for his two seasons with the Nuggets and only started when he went to the Timberwolves. Getting better gradually.

On the 28th, Brad Miller returned. The Raptors relied on inside organization to beat Princeton and beat the Nuggets for their seventh consecutive victory.

On the 30th, the Raptors lost to the Suns 103-109.

The last time the two teams met, Billups performed as well as Kidd, played reasonably, and his height and weight were not afraid of dislocation after the pick-and-roll. This time Boykins was allowed to start, but Kidd bullied him.

The Suns entered the NBA out of the draft. Paul McPherson, a backup guard who is 193cm tall and weighs 95kg, also showed his strength in the face of Curry and scored a career-high 20 points.

Entering January, the Raptors can still win games relying on the triangle offense of Carter, O'Neal Jr., Miller, and Reid, but there is an obvious weakness at the 1st position.

In order to ensure the offensive firepower of the bench lineup, Yang Rui started John Crotty. He dribbled the ball past the half court and stretched out outside the three-point line waiting for the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot. Although Crotty has poor defense, he has good long-range shooting ability and has enough game experience.

The Raptors only lost three games this month, with 34 wins and 12 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference behind the 76ers with 34 wins and 11 losses. At the end of the month, they relied on five members of the team to score in double figures, and they had more success. The offense defeated the 76ers.

In early February, Carter was elected the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for his stable performance in January.

The team's record began to improve, but Yang Rui was not happy at all. He actually didn't take teams like the 76ers and Bucks to heart. There was only one opponent in his mind, and that was the Lakers.

He knows very well that because Billups is out for the season, the current depth of the lineup will definitely be a disaster against the Super Lakers. Billups is just right to deal with the Lakers, and now his strength has become his weakness.

Yang Rui found Glenn Gruward during the holidays to discuss a mid-term trade, and try to replace him with a point guard who is good at defense without giving away the core.

Unfortunately, this is difficult. Other teams are not stupid, and the management is also competing with each other. Everyone knows that the Raptors are short of guards. Unless they bleed a lot and send out young players with potential, they will not let the Raptors get their wish.