This Forward is Not Serious

"Of course I'm confident about tonight's game, we all are, we know our goal and this is a game we have to win."

This year's Christmas game was held in Los Angeles. During the press interview during the warm-up before the game, James was full of pride when facing reporters.

He has a reason for saying this, and he also has the confidence to say it.

Although Cousins ​​has always been exempt from playing, after a season of running-in, coupled with Davis's excellent attendance rate this season, the Lakers now have the league's first record.

That's right, they have won 2 more games than the Nets, who currently sit at the top of the Eastern Conference.

So even though what Paul Rich originally said failed to come true, he still regained his confidence.

Tonight was the night he strengthened that confidence, he believed in it.

In the stands, Nets President Walken Dean also came to the scene.

He had a sad look on his face.

One is because Prokhorov has communicated with him about his plan to sell the team in the future, which may be as soon as one or two years.

The average boss would not tell team employees about this kind of thing in advance. At most, they would just give a notice, but Prokhorov is obviously unusual in this regard.

The second is the Nets' game tonight.

Fans see the Nets' good record and feel that the Nets' strength is seriously underestimated.

But only he, the steward, knows about the changes in the Nets.

Lin Ying and Jokic are indeed very strong, even if their combination is compared with the previous "Texas Twins".

But then what?

Not to mention that the Nets do not have a third giant like Jokic before, the performance of the team's other role players has not improved.

Rose's form has declined a lot this season, especially on the defensive end where he is always being caught and beaten by his opponents;

Crabbe seems useless. He is indeed very good at catching three-pointers, and he is indeed capable as a defensive swingman, but he can hardly contribute in other aspects. If he is just asked to do these things, he might as well bite the bullet at that time. Re-signed Bradley;

Gay didn't know why, but he thought he could play the sixth man role by putting him on the bench, but his condition never recovered;

Carter is old, Anunoby is too young, Nene is faltering, and the Nets' problems have always been there.

It's just that Lin Ying and Jokic performed so well that these problems were covered up.

But it can be seen from the degree of collision in the Nets' victory that if there is a strong dialogue, these problems can easily become the winner of the game.

Because of this, he sent people to the trading market early to explore some possibilities.

But at the beginning of the season, there were not many teams that wanted to make changes. Even if they did, they were all trying to take advantage of the situation, and none could really help the Nets.

In other words, the Nets' current lineup will have to be maintained until at least around February before there is any possibility of change.

The next month or two will be very difficult.

Walken Dean reached out and rubbed his temples vigorously.

If you stay at a high place for a long time, your biggest worry is falling.

At that point, the higher you stand, the harder you fall.

This is what is called being cold at high places.

Prokhorov doesn't care about anything at all. This team started from when he selected Butler, and it has been built step by step until today. It can be said that he basically built it with his own hands.

Now that we are facing such a situation, the pressure can be imagined.

At this moment, a burst of cheers broke out from the fans.

It turned out that Lin Ying performed a 360° turn dunk during warm-up.

Walken Dean temporarily put his worries and pressure behind him and looked at Lin Ying with a smile.

At least Lin Ying is still there.

No matter who the new boss is, or whether the team is successful this season, as long as the team is built around Lin Ying, all problems will eventually be solved.

Just like Jordan did when he came back from retirement, as long as he is matched with some suitable players, three consecutive games after three consecutive games.

Thinking of this, his whole mood instantly became much more relaxed.

The warm-up on the field was almost in progress, and the scene immediately entered the opening ceremony, and the starting lineups of the two teams were also announced one after another.

For the Nets, Lu followed the previous starting lineup: Rose, Crabbe, Lin Ying, Tucker, and Jokic;

For the Lakers, Cousins' return is still far away. McGee moved from Oakland to Los Angeles and is still the team's starting center: Paul, JR, James, Davis, and McGee.

Amid the cheers of the fans, McGee's long arm moved the ball back to the Lakers half, and the Christmas Day game officially began.

This is the last game of this year's Christmas game. Before that, the Hornets defeated the Warriors and the Raptors lost to the Pelicans.

If this is a B03 between the East and West, then the two sides have already tied 1-1, and the game between the Nets and the Lakers will be the final decider.

The Lakers advanced to the frontcourt, and Paul controlled the ball to the frontcourt. After seeing Lin Ying guarding Davis, he directly gave the ball to James and then signaled to pull away.

James hit Tucker with his back, hit him hard a few times, and then suddenly turned toward the baseline and shot backward.

James's set of combos was very beautiful, but Tucker's defense was also very good. He saw the right moment and reached out to interfere.

But James didn't panic at all. After turning around, he adjusted the arc of his shot in the air and made a high parabolic rebound shot.

"boom!"

The ball bounced steadily into the basket after hitting the board!

James helps the Lakers come out on top!

Although James has many dark spots, and even now he is terrified of Lin Ying, one thing you cannot deny is his self-discipline.

This also allows him to improve technically every season.

From when he first entered the league, he mainly relied on his body to play, to now the combination of body and technology, this is not only related to talent.

The Nets advanced to the frontcourt. Lin Ying saw that Davis was guarding him and directly reached for the ball and hit it.

He is a pull-up turnaround jumper after a breakthrough.

His technical moves were beautiful, but Davis showed his defensive ability with this ball and interfered with Lin Ying's shot.

It is worth mentioning that Davis has not become interested in games at this time and has not joined any gaming teams. In the past, he trained with James after returning from injury and maintained his condition very well.

It seems natural that the Lakers are ranked first in the Western Conference, but not everyone knows the reasons behind it.

"Dang!"

Lin Ying's shot hit the frame and McGee made an excellent position. James protected the defensive rebound and quickly passed the ball to Paul.

The Lakers launched a defensive counterattack. Paul advanced very quickly and was in the frontcourt with Rose in the blink of an eye.

Rose did not lose his defensive position, but Paul used a concealed elbow move before a layup to knock Rose away, and he flew past the board and scored a layup.

The scene was filled with cheers. The Lakers had a pretty good start tonight!

In the Nets' offense, Jokic caught the ball in the low post and hit McGee with his back. After getting out of the way, he met Davis to help defend. He passed the ball without looking at the person and threw it to Tucker in the weak side corner.

The ball was passed beautifully, and Tucker's point was also in the bottom corner. However, James' defense was quick and he flew to interfere before Tucker's shot. Tucker's shot failed to hit.

McGee jumped high and grabbed the defensive rebound. The Lakers advanced to the frontcourt. Paul and Davis played a pick-and-roll this time. Facing Rose who was coming around, he stepped back and took a mid-range shot.

"Uh-huh!"

The basketball falls steadily into the bag!

0 to 6!

The Lakers had a perfect start!

James was very excited after seeing Paul score and took the initiative to run over and give Paul a high-five.

Before the game, he only felt confident, but now he is extremely convinced that the Nets are no longer a match for the Lakers this season. This is his time!

"Bang!"

As soon as he thought this, Lin Ying surged past Davis in the frontcourt and smashed the ball into the basket before McGee could help defend!

You may be able to guard Lin Ying once, but you cannot guard Lin Ying all the time.

Davis was blocked in a wave of attacks in the frontcourt, and the rebound was picked off by the Nets.

Looking back, Jokic continued to hold the ball in the low post, deceived McGee with a fake pass to the middle, and then turned toward the baseline and hit the board with an outside hook.

After experiencing a short scoring drought at the beginning, the Nets also began to score more points.

The game also entered a stalemate stage.

The Lakers showed their current excellent game state, but the Nets also showed their dual-core power.

When the game reached 8 minutes, the two teams began to rotate.

Both players on the Nets team took a rest, and Davis on the Lakers team led the team on the court.

At this time, the advantage of having one more core becomes apparent. You can always keep one core on the court.

It was during this period that the Lakers took advantage under the leadership of Davis.

And in the second quarter, the Lakers replaced James to lead the team, forcing the Nets to let Jokic play in advance.

When both sides are online, the lineup advantage becomes an absolute advantage.

And before the decisive moment, even if Lin Ying's personal ability is stronger, it cannot directly determine the trend of the game.

After all, in a close matchup, a basketball game is more of a turn-based game, and there is only one ball.

After halftime, Lin Ying scored 26 points, the highest score in the game, and Jokic also scored 14 points.

But after halftime, the score on the court was 50 to 62, and the Nets trailed the Lakers by 12 points.

It can be seen from the scoring statistics that other members of the Nets have made too little contribution.

This has been the norm for the Nets this season, and it's unlikely to change in tonight's game.

"The overall strength of the Lakers is obviously stronger than that of the Nets. Unless Lin can score 50 points, no, 60 points, the Nets may have a chance to win."

Over at the commentary box, Smith was still doing rational analysis.

This time, Barkley next to him did not refute, because it was indeed the case.

And what's more critical than the current game is that it's just a game. If it's a series, the Nets will lose in all likelihood.

At halftime, both teams were making midfield adjustments.

In the Nets locker room, Lu left after making arrangements. The atmosphere in the locker room was a bit dull, and Lin Ying sat there without speaking.

After all, a basketball game is a sport for five people. The help that others can give him and Jokic is too limited. It seems that he must explode in the second half.

After a while he suddenly smiled.

On the bright side, he has a lot of scoring records, but his single-game record in the Christmas game is not high, and he might even break it tonight.

Just as he was thinking this, Lu returned to the locker room again.

"We need change."

As soon as Lu opened his mouth, everyone was shocked, including Lin Ying.

Because there is not much time left for the intermission at this moment, Lu's posture is to overturn all previous arrangements.

But Lu obviously knew this. He didn't leave much time for others to think about it and directly started the new deployment.

Lin Ying was a little confused at first, but after waiting for Lu's new deployment, which was almost at the buzzer, he suddenly felt that Lu was really a goddamn tactical genius.

Of course, whether it can work depends on the changes in the second half.

…

After returning from the break in the second half, the on-site photographer kept taking shots of the players on the field.

The Big Three of the Lakers were even proud of themselves, and even Cousins, who was sitting off the court, was smiling all the time.

Originally, he would not consider the Lakers after his contract expired. After all, the Lakers have Paul, whom he hates the most.

Regarding the history of grievances between Cousins ​​​​and Paul, a documentary can be edited.

But James, as a super social butterfly, successfully convinced Cousins. For the goal of championship, Cousins ​​​​reluctantly came to Los Angeles.

Facts have also proved that this is the right choice, especially now. Judging from his appearance, he is not in a hurry to come back, and may even win a championship while lying down.

The fans' mood is also very relaxed. Although they don't agree that James is the new Lakers totem, who doesn't want to witness the purple and gold glory again?

But as soon as the second half started, the Nets gave everyone an unexpected surprise.

Lue once again made an adjustment to the Nets' starting lineup, and this time it was surprising.

Lu directly asked Caruso to replace Rose as the starting point guard!

Moreover, he only made this one substitution adjustment.

Although this is just a substitution adjustment, it is very subversive.

Because Lu's tactics in the Nets are to give the ball to the core of the team.

There are three offensive strong points on the field, which is somewhat similar to a triangle tactic. They can contain each other. Even if there is coordination between two, the opponent's weak side will not dare to attack easily due to being contained.

This is why even if Rose is not in very good condition this season, Lue always lets him start.

But now, Lu's substitution is tantamount to negating the tactical system he has always adhered to.

This is also the reason why Lin Ying reacted like that in midfield. Not every coach has this kind of courage.

Of course, this was an accident, and the reaction from the Lakers was not big.

After all, Caruso is only a third-year player.

Although Caruso is in very good shape this season, standing out from the competition with McAway and becoming the team's backup point guard, no matter how good he is, he is only a third-year player.

Can such an adjustment make a huge difference?

The game starts immediately, and the starting players of both sides have already arrived on the court.

Caruso still seems a little nervous. Three years ago, his dream, like most people, was just to play in the NBA. He probably never imagined that one day he would play the starting point guard for a giant like the Nets.

To use a popular American saying: It was like being in a dream.

On the bench on the sidelines, Lu picked up his water bottle and took a sip of water. This was a sign of his nervousness.

This is not only a concern about Caruso's performance, but also a series of changes that this adjustment will bring.

If it works, the Nets will be much stronger than their original strength without making any adjustments to the lineup.