basketball purple front

Chapter 384 The Helmsman
In the past few days, there are only two things that Lakers players have been asked by the media. One is whether the Lakers can enter the playoffs this season, and the other is what they think of Kobe and Howard and who they support.Most of the people hesitated and evaded these two questions, but Ci Shiping spoke a little more bluntly, saying: "Of course, because we have a book lineup that the entire league envies, as long as we put an end to it." Injuries, once they have finished running in, they will definitely be a strong team at the championship level." However, when the reporter asked the second question, Ci Shiping stopped talking, because it was not convenient for him to directly express his opinion on this kind of question.

He really wanted to support Kobe, but Kobe's words made him doubtful.

The current record of the Lakers is so ugly, and they are nowhere near the eighth place in the Western Conference. Can they really rise strongly in the rest of the schedule?

Ci Shiping's doubts are well-founded, because the Lakers currently only have 17 wins, and if they want to enter the playoffs, they must maintain a winning percentage of more than 6% in the second half.And what does a 6% win rate represent?It means that the team needs to reach the top five strength standards in the West, and it means that the team needs to reach the top three strength standards in the East.No way, this season's Western Division is extremely miserable. The top five regular season winning percentages currently exceed 68%, and the Memphis Grizzlies, the worst, have a winning percentage of 68.3%.In this case, the risk of the Lakers advancing is very high.

So to a certain extent, he also felt that Kobe was talking big and talking.

Only by being in the maelstrom of the Lakers can we clearly understand to what extent the team has dispersed.

These 17 victories were actually obtained in a very mysterious way, not at all safe and secure.

Therefore, in order to win at least 42 of the remaining 28 games, Ci Shiping feels that his confidence is not strong.

He is not an outsider, and he feels even more helpless and powerless when it comes to the problems inside.

Faced with this kind of external pressure and the atmosphere within the team, the expression of No. 24 of the Lakers team was too gloomy all day long. Apart from practicing or practicing, he was unwilling to say a word.But at this moment someone stood up and opened his mouth and said directly: "This is definitely not a problem! Kobe is right, we will enter the playoffs, and we will definitely enter!"

As soon as Tang Qian's words came out, all parties began to discuss heatedly. Some people thought that he was trying to please the public, deliberately swaying popularity, and catching eyeballs. Arrogant, outspoken, unaware of how high the sky is and how thick the earth is.

TNT TV's basketball program "TNT Tiantuan" also had a big discussion, hotly discussing the Lakers, Kobe, and Tang Qian.

The final result is that no one is optimistic about the Lakers, Kobe, and Tang Qian, including Charles Barkley, who has always been pro-Tang, remained neutral tonight, and the audience did not speak much. ESPN's famous program First. Take also made a special discussion on whether the Lakers can enter the playoffs.Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless rarely agreed on the caliber. They both believed that the Lakers had completely failed this season, and the internal disintegration was the final fatal blow.

A team that is not united can never win a championship!
This is a famous saying in the history of North American sports. It doesn’t mean how good your personal relationship is. Like the Bulls iron triangle, Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, they seemed to have a tacit understanding on the court. In fact, according to their own answers , The off-court relationship is just ordinary friends, and even Dennis Rodman bluntly said in an interview with "NBC Sports" in 2011 that he and Jordan Pippen had never talked outside the court.This is of course an exaggerated trick of the "flower worm", but after digging out the water, it can still be seen that their private relationship is definitely not particularly harmonious.In addition to the Bulls Iron Triangle, there is also the OK combination in Los Angeles that is closer. They also have a poor relationship off the court, and they even have the same situation, but they become tacit teammates as soon as they go on the court.

To paraphrase Rodman's words, I joined the Bulls to help the team win, so I only need to speak with victory, and there is no need to communicate with my teammates off the court.

The fact is also the same, as long as you can cooperate sincerely and cooperate tacitly on the court, it doesn't matter what you do off the court.

For example, the OK combination during the three-peat championship was like this. Off-court conflicts would not be brought on the court, so they won the first three-peat championship in the new century and started the first NBA dynasty in the new century.But later, they gradually lost control of this speed and began to bring their personal emotions to the arena. In this way, the strongest "duo" in history may collapse.

Therefore, the "unity" mentioned above is not the unity outside the field, but the unity inside the field.

If there is no unity off the court but unity on the court, it is still possible to become a strong team and win the O'Brien Cup.

If there is no unity off the court and no unity on the court, then this team must be hopeless.

As for the unity off the court and disunity on the court, this situation has never occurred in the NBA for more than 60 years, so it cannot be referred to and discussed.

In this one-sided situation, the Lakers have gradually become the much-anticipated "Titanic", and people are discussing and discussing, when will it hit the iceberg?When did it completely sink the ship?
Except Kobe and Tang Qian.

Except for the two of them, there is stubborn hope.

……

On January 1, Tang Qian came to Hollywood, Los Angeles with agent Zhou Zhiru, preparing to shoot the advertisement for the endorsement contract GOAT.

This is Tang Qian's first commercial shoot, so he is inevitably a little nervous, and according to Zhou Zhiru's words, he is not alone in today's commercial, and there is a female model who will shoot with him.Thinking about it, in Tang Qian's memory, GOAT seems to have been focusing on women's clothing before. Although men's clothing is also available, it is extremely niche and not the main product.Therefore, to be on the safe side, it would be most appropriate to use a man and a woman to shoot the advertisement, which would have a buffering effect on the audience.

But as soon as he entered the scene, Tang Qian was stunned, because he actually knew the female model who was going to shoot an advertisement with him.

"Hi~ Hot, long time no see, do you miss me?"

Look at this tall figure, slender figure, and fashionable attire, who is it but Karlie Kloss?

"Why are you? Wait... You didn't ask GOAT to sign with me for this advertising contract, did you?" Tang Qian opened his mouth and asked as if he had thought of something. "This is a repayment to you, thank you for letting me see the real face of that man in advance, and..." Karlie Kloss said with a mysterious smile: "Didn't Taylor say that you and Bill Sagat are competing?" , I did my best." "Taylor told you all this?" Tang Qian was a little surprised at first, and then he remembered that these Victoria's Secret models are Taylor's close friends, and she told them this, It is also commonplace.

"Then why didn't you tell me the last time you ate?"

"lol~" Karlie Kloss stuck out her tongue and said, "Didn't I forget about the emergency last time, it's not too late to tell you now, just treat it as a surprise~"

The process went smoothly, because the subjects were acquaintances, so Tang Qian was not as stiff and nervous as before.Furthermore, Karlie Kloss gave him a detailed explanation of many things that he didn't understand, including how to swing, how to make a concave shape, how to face the camera, etc. It really opened up a new world for Tang Qian that he had never touched. .

However, there are a few movements that Tang Qian still can't do smoothly, such as some intimacy and caressing movements, doing so under the watchful eyes of dozens of people, he is unexperienced, it is inevitable that it is a bit unnatural.However, Karlie Kloss still took him by the hand, letting him gradually enter the state.

After nearly 5 hours, Tang Qian finally finished the 1 minute and 39 second commercial shooting. For the first time, he began to admire these actors and models.Sure enough, there are bitter tears in each line. It took 5 hours to complete a shot of less than 2 minutes. Tang Qian asked himself that he could not do this kind of thing.

In the evening, Karlie Kloss invited him to dinner, but Tang Qian politely declined because of the match tomorrow.

"Okay, it's hot, but there is another advertisement, I must not refuse it next time." Karlie Kloss looked up at Tang Qian and said, honestly speaking, the man who can make her wear high heels and look up , In this world, it is rare.Moreover, Tang Qian was also the tallest and largest among the men she had worked with.Women are born with the dependence of a small bird, combined with the invincible height and domineering skills that day, Karlie Kloss somehow, the initial attitude of gratitude seems to have changed slightly.

But she also knows that her best friend Taylor Swift likes this man, so...

This is something for later, let’s not show it for the time being, Tang Qian received a call from Kobe when he came back from filming the commercial.

That's right, it was Kobe Bryant's phone number. You must know that although he saved Kobe's phone number, the two parties basically never contacted each other individually.And this call was made by Kobe on his own initiative, so Tang Qian felt a little unbelievable.

"Hello~" Tang Qian answered the phone.

"Is it hot?" Kobe's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Well, it's me, what's the matter?" Tang Qian asked.

"The Bass family is hosting a banquet tonight, and I want to take you with me." After Kobe finished speaking, he added another sentence: "It's a private banquet, so not every Laker player can go." "Private banquet? The Bass family? W, what?" Tang Qian was confused when he heard the words, and thought: The Bass family?The Bass family?Are the real powerhouses of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Buss family?
"But, Ke Bryant, why did you call me? I'm not familiar with the Bass family." Tang Qian thought for a while, and choked out a sentence. "No reason." Kobe said succinctly: "I just think I should take you there to have a look. How about it? Are you going?"

going or not?Isn't this nonsense?Of course I want to go!The famous Bass family, the legendary head of North American sports, Jerry Bass, he has always wanted to see it with his own eyes.So Tang Qian said to the phone: "Okay, I'll go, when and where?"

"The time is 8 o'clock in the evening. I won't say the location. Just tell me where you are now, and I'll ask someone to pick you up." After finishing speaking, Kobe added, "Remember to dress formally."

This sentence made Tang Qian understand that No. 24 of the Lakers values ​​tonight's banquet very much.

Otherwise, he wouldn't say to make himself dress more formally.

After much deliberation, Tang Qian decided to change into a suit, tie and leather shoes, because in the United States, this seems to be the most traditional and formal way of attending a banquet.

Not long after the address was sent, someone drove up to his door. After Tang Qian got into the car, the car went straight to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

For this direction, Tang Qian is not surprised at all, because as the top wealthy area in Los Angeles, the law and order here is the best, and it is also the most private and secretive, so there is no need to worry about being followed by outsiders and reporters.It is collectively referred to as the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles together with Billel and Holmby Mountain. This is the most common and most common area where the top rich, stars, and celebrities gather in the entire United States.

After entering Santa Monica Boulevard, the car went north without any hesitation, because there is an unspoken rule in Beverly Hills, which is to use Santa Monica Boulevard as the boundary. At the same time, the scenery is beautiful.

After driving for another quarter of an hour, the speed of the car slowed down. Although Tang Qian has been in Los Angeles for more than a year, he has never had the opportunity to enter the real interior of Beverly Hills.This place is different from the Chinese mansions in his impression. There is no luxury that can be seen at a glance. Instead, most of the villas have closed doors and are surrounded by tall trees.For example, the house Tang Qian enters now is just like a castle, except that it is equipped with a tall black painted iron gate. After closing the door, outsiders can never see the sporadic inside, and... there is actually a long private driveway.

This... this Ni. Ma is really low-key and luxurious.

Damn U.S. capitalism.

"Okay, Mr. Tang, you can get out of the car." The driver stopped the car steadily and said to Tang Qian in the back seat.

"Oh, okay, thank you." Tang Qian pushed open the door and said.

"It's okay, Mr. Tang, I wish you a good night." After speaking, the driver closed the door and disappeared into the private driveway.

"Tan, are you here? Come up with me." It seems that Kobe has been waiting here for a long time. He and Tang Qian are dressed very similarly, with suits and leather shoes and bright clothes. If you don't know someone, you may think he is a A business tycoon, or a corporate star.

Walking past the fountain square, there was a white man like a servant who helped Kobe and Tang Qian open the door, and then led them in.

To be honest, Tang Qian thought that the place he lived in was already pretty good.But compared with this place, it's like a chicken coop compared to Wangcheng, the gap is not as big as usual.After walking for about 10 minutes, they gradually heard human voices. Kobe subconsciously adjusted his clothes, and then moved on: "Meet Mr. Bass, please be polite."

Kobe has such respect for the Bass family?Tang Qian did not expect this.

However, he still thought about it, because what Kobe really respected was not the Bass family, but...

Along the way, all kinds of celebrities who were familiar to him were chatting casually, in small groups, some greeted Kobe, while others turned a blind eye.This is the rule of real celebrity gatherings in Los Angeles. Because most of the people who come here are of high status, it is very likely that the two parties have had a grudge. After all, the upper circle can be big or small.Therefore, in order to take care of the host family's face, even if the enemy meets, they will temporarily tolerate it and choose to turn a blind eye, otherwise they will directly conflict, and it is easy to be permanently blacklisted in the high society gatherings.

Kobe was in Los Angeles, many people liked him, and many people hated him, so the scene just now appeared is extremely normal.

The number 24 has long been taken for granted.

He is now over 34 years old, and he has long since lost the green and immature 17 years ago.

Kobe seemed to have his own destination, so he didn't stop at all along the way, leading Tang Qian around, and he didn't slow down until he entered a room guarded by 4 people.Those four bodyguard-like figures all seemed to know Kobe and knew that Kobe was coming, so after nodding, they said to the neckline. Tang Qian had sharp eyes and saw that they were all wearing a small black shirt object.After a moment's thought, he understood what it was.

What a big battle, the miniature walkie-talkies are all out.

What's in here?It can't be a treasure map, can it?
Just as Tang Qian was thinking wildly and diverging his thoughts, the door was opened, and the four people made a gesture to Kobe to come in, and then the latter took Tang Qian and walked in slowly.

"Remember what I just said, when you meet Mr. Bass, be polite." Kobe repeated in a low voice.

Seeing that the "Black Mamba" was so serious, Tang Qian immediately nodded seriously.

Not long after the two walked, they heard someone say, "Kobe, are you here?"

This is an old, deep, and gentle voice.

But this voice, Tang Qian heard, seemed to be short of breath, with a feeling that dusk was approaching.

PS: Thank you Knight Apprentice 555 for your big reward~Thank you~
There are a lot of things going on in the company recently. Xiaozi is too late to go home, so I can’t add more. After a few days, it will explode. Thank you for your support~
(End of this chapter)