Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 375: Hurry, hurry! Are the Lakers going to form a Big Three? ?

While everyone in the Nets was celebrating their victory, the Lakers, another favorite in the Western Conference, were sitting in front of the TV with an unsightly expression on their faces.

They had just played against the Pelicans a week ago.

Although the Lakers won that game, the process was quite bumpy.

They took the initiative in the first three quarters, relying on the personal abilities and experience of their stars to crush this group of rookies.

However, due to insufficient outside shooting ability, the Lakers' offensive power was cut off in the final quarter. The Pelicans seized the opportunity and shot an 11-2 wave, almost coming back.

Although in the end it was Zhan Mei's personal ability that won the victory, the single-digit winning margin is really nothing to be proud of.

It is precisely because of this that after watching the Nets' bloodbath against the Pelicans, the mood of the Lakers generals inevitably became heavy.

Head coach Vogel didn't want his players to be too nervous.

He stood up and said a few words briefly, and asked the players not to pay too much attention to the Nets, and to live one day at a time based on the idea that there must be a way from the car to the mountain.

Fortunately, the Lakers have received relatively good news recently.

Therefore, Wall, who finally regained his free agency, was very cautious in choosing his next home. After considering it for a week, he still did not make a statement.

The Lakers now have the strongest forward combination in the league, but what they lack is star-level guards.

The reason is that it is difficult for him to get star treatment in the Nets. Even if he wins the championship with the team, he is still a bastard, which will not benefit him from signing a big contract in the future.

Wall has been a ball-handling core since his rookie season.

"Signing Wall is crucial for us, and we hope he doesn't get intercepted by the Clippers."

If he paints too many cakes, Wall must feel that he is unrealistic.

Lakers general manager Pelinka also took the initiative to extend an olive branch to Wall according to James's wishes. At present, the two parties have not yet decided on the signing. The possibility of Wall joining the Clippers still exists, which makes other championship teams in the league also constantly Pay attention to market conditions.

Once Wall really joins the Lakers, their overall strength will be greatly improved. The Big Three consisting of Wall, James, and Big Eyebrow are still very bluffing, even more terrifying than the Heat back then.

But what he said didn't matter. Wall's own wishes were the most important.

Before the trade deadline approaches, they are expected to sign point guard star John Wall, who was bought out by the Wizards, through free signing.

Any shortcomings will be magnified infinitely, which is really stressful.

He also wants to win over Wall after the buyout. In order to gain trust, Pelinka has been making big claims in the past few days, even talking to Wall.

Wall's last appearance was in the 18-19 season. Last year, Wall underwent left heel surgery to repair the disease at the end of the Achilles tendon and the chronic Achilles tendon injury in the left heel. The surgery caused Wall to be reimbursed for the season and he will be sidelined for 6-8 months.

"The team must quickly determine this matter. Without Wall, it is impossible for the Lakers' lineup to defeat the Nets. At least in the best-of-seven playoffs, we have no advantage."

"Look at it this way, without Wall joining, it will be difficult for us to defeat the Nets even if we reach the finals." Davis said seriously. "If the outcome is determined by one game, we may have a chance to win with our talent and momentum, but in a best-of-seven game, we can only continue to strengthen the lineup if we want to defeat the Nets."

Although the position of the Lakers general manager is lofty, it is much more difficult to do it than other small-market teams.

Wall doesn't want to be reduced to a veteran's minimum salary early. He has been trying to return to the top after his comeback, so he does not consider the Nets, the league's number one favorite to win the championship.

Although I tried my best, I couldn't please three parties.

Because the Lakers and Clippers are both in Los Angeles, the geographical location is ideal, which is suitable for him to return to the fans' horizons after his comeback.

In Lu Yong's previous life, Wall, who was reimbursed for consecutive seasons, took a truce due to injury and began to serve as the team's assistant coach. During the offseason, he swapped clubs with Westbrook of the Rockets and joined the Rockets to join forces with Harden.

After watching the game, Zhan and Mei stayed in the video analysis room to continue discussing the game.

He has never played without the ball in the Wizards, and he was the well-deserved No. 1 point guard in the Eastern Conference at his peak.

Then in early February, the Wizards officially announced that John Wall accidentally slipped while taking a shower at home, resulting in a strained left Achilles tendon, and his return time was changed to an indefinite absence.

Pelinka shook his head and said truthfully: "The Clippers are following closely. They feel that Wall still has gas in the tank and are unwilling to give up fighting for people."

Davis also joined the force and cooperated with James' pressure: "No team needs to pay a price to win the championship. As long as there is a good result in the end, all comebacks are worth it."

James feels that his business ability is poor and the fans think he is a waste. He can't even sign a player with the Lakers behind him.

"We have no time. We must get someone before the trade deadline. This is the team's last hope for the championship!" James said with a serious face.

In addition, the Lakers and Clippers are still the most promising teams in the league besides the Nets, and the main point guards are not stars. They can form the Big Three immediately after joining.

"If we get Wall, we are sure to win out of the Western Conference. Even if we meet the Nets in the Finals, we don't have to worry too much."

However, instigated by the butterfly effect, Wall was directly bought out by the Wizards management this time. He is currently in contact with many teams in the league, hoping to join a team that is expected to win the championship and allow him to be valued as a starter. .

The Wizards recognized his efforts, so they were willing to buy him out and let him go.

When Wall was bought out by the Wizards, James, who was eager to win the championship, immediately contacted the team management, hoping to sign Wall to strengthen the depth of the lineup and make it easier to compete with the defending champion Nets.

According to Washington media reports, Wall's two favorite teams after being bought out are the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

James frowned and kept urging Pelinka to make contact with Wall.

"Now our lineup is already very strong, but Wall is the last piece of the puzzle."

The Lakers' only bargaining chip to attract Wall is the big market and James, and James' core style of play makes Wall worried.

"And Wall is also very cautious when considering career prospects. If it weren't for the Lakers' extremely high historical background, he might have signed with the Clippers long ago. Now we rely on our past honors and market to dominate the competition with the Clippers. There are some advantages, but the whole thing is still inevitably at a stalemate.”

As the general manager, it is also difficult for him to be caught between James, the fans and Wall.

截止到18-19赛季，沃尔场均还能贡献20.7分3.6篮板8.7助攻1.5抢断，即便受伤后状态有所下滑，在买断市场里也非常受球队欢迎。

Pelinka sat aside a little embarrassed.

James nodded, recognizing what Davis said. He turned to general manager Pelinka and asked: "How far has the signing matter progressed? How is the progress?"

"Manager, I hope you can communicate more with Wall and let us all work together to settle the matter as soon as possible."

When Pelinka heard this, he felt a headache sitting on the chair.

Although the difficulty is not small, Shuangxing has already said this, what else can he do?

We can only bite the bullet and do it!

"Okay, I'll go talk to Wall tomorrow morning."

"I believe he also wants to join the Lakers. No matter what, we are truly No. 1 in the Western Conference and should have a better chance than the Clippers." Pelinka said.

Shuangxing nodded, there was no point in rushing the matter, they could only wait for the good news.

Two days later, the Nets, who had been pushed all the way, welcomed their next opponent, the Portland Trail Blazers, at the Brooklyn Arena.

Before the game, Trail Blazers coach Stotts made it clear that the team would do its best to win this victory.

The reason is that halfway through the season, the Trail Blazers are currently only ranked ninth in the Western Conference.

If they want to hit the playoffs, the Blazers must try their best in the few remaining games and strive to win every game.

Every next game is about the Blazers' playoff spot.

Therefore, the Blazers have a reason to fight tonight. As for the Nets, the players naturally do not want to lose to a team that has been shut out of the playoffs and charge towards the best record in the regular season.

Even if Portland's two guns were defeated in this game, the Nets, which have stronger overall strength, were not frightened.

This is indeed the reality. After the game started, the Nets quickly let the fans see what a championship team is.

It's almost impossible for the Trail Blazers to challenge the Nets.

It was Cousins ​​​​who took the lead.

Facing the defense of data-scrubbing 'Big Whiteside' Whiteside, he scored 8 points in a row in the first quarter and penetrated the Blazers penalty area. Whiteside had no way to test his skills.

Subsequently, Durant and Brunson also successively showed their respective offensive firepower.

First, Durant caught the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side and hit Ariza for a three-pointer.

Then, Brunson performed a folding lever in the counterattack, avoided Lillard's block, and completed a backhand layup.

In just five minutes, the Nets hit an 18:5 shock wave!

This start immediately made the Blazers coach's face darken, and he called two timeouts in a row.

However, the Nets' momentum was not interrupted by the timeout.

After coming back, Mitchell immediately completed the steal on the defensive end, quickly got down with the ball, and assisted Porzingis to hit a three-pointer from the left side at a 45-degree angle.

In the next round, Porzingis relied on his shooting deterrence to attract double-teams from two Blazers players.

Porzingis took the opportunity to distribute the ball and delivered the ball to Durant with a precise 'miracle'.

The next moment, Durant faced him with a pull-up.

"Shh!"

A two-meter shot from beyond the three-point line was hit steadily, helping the Nets continue to expand their lead.

The Nets made a strong start, which directly destroyed the Trail Blazers' confidence.

In subsequent games, Lillard also led the team to try to counterattack, but the effect was not good.

As time passed, the difference between the two teams continued to widen.

In the second half of the third quarter, the Nets' lead had reached 31 points!

What really defeated the Trail Blazers was Mitchell's shocking dunk!

In the last two minutes or so, McCollum singled out Mitchell and made a pull-up jumper from the outside.

The ball hit the side of the basket and bounced out.

Robinson stuck Gabriel behind him and grabbed the rebound.

Then he passed to Mitchell to launch a counterattack.

Lillard saw this and hurried forward to block Mitchell.

After all, Mitchell has scored 35 points in this game, and his hand feels hot.

But Mitchell's physical fitness was so explosive that even though Lillard returned to defense immediately, he still didn't block it.

Ariza, the strong forward on the weak side, retreated with all his strength and tried to take off in the three-second zone to block the shot. However, before he could jump up, Mitchell grabbed his shoulder first and flew over his head to complete a shocking separation. buckle! !

This was a copy of the dunk action of 'demigod' Vince Carter, which directly ignited the passion of the fans at the scene!

"OMG!!"

"God, this ball spike is so brutal! Ariza seems to have seen that he is too big!"

"This is Mitchell, the lottery pick handpicked by Coach Lu!"

The fans were instantly excited.

Mitchell's amazing dunk received cheers and shouts from the fans.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Mitchell raised his hands high like a king, walked to the technical stage, and waved his wrists at the fans to cheer up the atmosphere!

As the atmosphere at home broke through the sky, the Trail Blazers playing away games instantly became weak.

The point difference between the two teams has reached 36 points, but Mitchell's performance is not over yet.

In the transition between offense and defense, Lillard held the ball for half the game and prepared for the final attack.

He waited until the last eight seconds before taking action.

But what Lillard didn't expect was that his breakthrough was blocked by Brunson in advance, and he used a backhand move to complete the steal.

After stealing the ball, Brunson rushed toward the Trail Blazers half.

At this time, the number on the timer only has 3 seconds left.

Brunson looked back and glanced at Mitchell, the winger who passed the ball. The latter caught the ball, took a step forward, and then shot two meters away from the three-point line!

The fans' eyes lit up.

If anything, the buckle just now was an unexpected surprise.

So this goal is completely a test of Mitchell's personal ability.

McCollum, who was out of position on defense, was desperate and could only watch the basketball draw a wonderful arc and fly straight to the basket.

"Shh!"

The basketball didn't even hit the board, it went straight into the net!

As the basketball entered the net, the red light on the timer also turned on.

The ball went in and the light came on. Mitchell made a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the last moment, raising his personal score to 40 points! !

After scoring the goal, Mitchell smiled and smiled at Lu Yong on the sidelines.

Tonight he went absolutely crazy, and Poland's two guns were suppressed by him alone. Nothing can boost morale more than this!

Lu Yong smiled and nodded, giving him a thumbs up in affirmation.

As the only lottery pick selected by him after Durant, Mitchell really did not embarrass him and has a high probability of being selected for the best second team this year.

His teammates all looked at him with smiles on their faces, and celebrated noisily when he came off the field.

At the end of the three quarters, the Nets entered the final quarter with a 39-point lead.

The following game entered a period of garbage time without any suspense. Although the Trail Blazers resisted tenaciously, they were unable to make any waves under the big hole that could not be filled.

Ding Yanyuhang got enough playing time in the final quarter.

Xiaoding was in excellent form, making 5 of 3 three-pointers from the corner, scoring 9 points and 2 rebounds in a single quarter, and had a good personal performance.

At the end, the Nets beat the Trail Blazers 146-99 at home by 47 points!

After this battle, the Nets also continued to refresh their chances of breaking historical records.

According to expert analysis, the Nets' chance of winning 75 games in the regular season has exceeded 80%. Lu Yong is leading the team to create history!

(End of this chapter)