From sparring to superstar

Chapter 183 181. Ambition on the Lower Gram

After the game, the Clippers opened the locker room for interviews. Reporters from major media packed the locker room to the brim, and everyone surrounded Odom and Li Ao.

Odom performed too fiercely tonight. The second half was mediocre, with 6 points and 6 assists. However, with 15 points and 12 assists in the first half, he led the team to withstand the Kings' defensive offensive in the first quarter, and even more so in the second quarter. The Kings varsity soared offensively.

Moreover, he had 8 triple-doubles and tied with Kidd again!
Although this game was not broadcast live, it received a lot of attention. The Clippers, which had 47 wins before the game, had a chance to win 50.

Like what the Clippers think, the outside world also believes that if the Clippers want to win 50 games, the two games against the Kings and the Suns are the key.

Odom turned into a magician in key games, raised the sails of the Clippers, and set sail for 50 wins!
The media is ready to attack the coaches of the teams again for not giving Odom a vote from the All-Star bench.

场均14+8+8+1+1，拿到8次三双的球员，不配一张全明星替补得票？

On Li Ao's side, the media were also very lively.

今晚他拿到25分6板6助攻2抢断2盖帽，是快船队另一个关键球员。

The defense of the Kings' last shot in regular time dragged the game into overtime. The first shot in overtime hit a three-pointer and protected the defensive rebound over Webber's head to help Boykins complete the counterattack. It was Li Ao who secured the victory from the start of overtime.

However, the media's enthusiasm for Li Ao does not lie in the game itself.

Originally, they thought that Li Ao might not score very high against the Spurs and Kings.

Li Ao and the Spurs played against each other in the first 3 times, and the scores were all low.

和国王队前3次交手，得分其实和打马刺队差不多，有1场15分、1场16分。

The Kings have the top pitchers and are good at defense.

But I didn't expect Li Ao to score 32 points and 25 points in these two games.

At present, Li Ao has played 72 games and scored 1797 points, averaging 24.96 points per game. There are still 3 games left. If Li Ao can score 3 points in each of these 26 games, he can increase his scoring average to 25 points. Become another rookie averaging 25+ per game since Jordan!

A rookie with an average of 25 points per game, not to mention the modern basketball era, even the ancient basketball era before 1976, most years did not exist, and there were at most 1-2.

At first, no one thought that Li Ao could average 25+ per game. To be precise, no one thought about it. After the game ended in March, Li Ao averaged 3 points per game.

当时人们的注意力放在李敖场均23.8分5.9板5.2助攻的20+5+5表现上，那已经是很疯狂的表现，NBA历史上只有大O和神能在新秀赛季拿到场均20+5+5。

Who would have thought that Li Ao averaged 4 points per game in 6 games after entering April, and now he is just short of averaging 37.5 points per game!

Another historical rookie is about to be born!

There is also a topic that made Li Ao popular again in the middle of the season-10 consecutive games with 20+.

Li Ao has scored 7+ in 20 consecutive games, and there are 3 games left. Is it possible to complete the lore and tie with the big dog, the answer, and the big basic skills?
...

Where there is praise, there are those who find fault.

The next morning, after Li Ao returned to Los Angeles, he saw the news that he was attacking him after the victory and defeat had been divided.

Recently, the skill of the golden bell cover iron cloth shirt has improved again, he just laughed it off.

Li Ao came to the backyard and looked at the old man who was mingling with the workers of the construction company and helping to deliver things, feeling a little sour.

He always smiles when he talks to everyone, but he is cold to him.

No, I have to go to my mother to get some eye drops.

When Li Ao went to Sacramento the day before yesterday, his father happened to come to Los Angeles.

Li Ao mentioned before that he wanted to build an indoor court in the backyard. In summer, he could train at home and spend more time with his aunt.

When Vivienne heard about it, she immediately found a construction company, demolished the original small warehouse, and built a large warehouse, which was divided into two parts. One half was used as a warehouse, and the other half was installed with windows, lights, air conditioners, and floors, and used as a stadium.

Iron sheet + thermal insulation + wooden appearance, the progress of the project is very fast.

Li Ao went back to the room and took out the little gold from the suitcase that he bought for the auntie and mother during the lunch break yesterday. As for the diamond brooch of the father, he pressed it for a few days and took it out when he returned to China.

After lunch, Li Ao left the house with the hospital assistant aunt in a happy mood after seeing the scene where his mother almost smashed the bowl after receiving the little gold, and sent the hospital assistant aunt to the school first.

Originally, she planned to take a long vacation, but after resting for a while, Vivienne still couldn't sit still, and planned to finish her class for this semester first.

Li Ao trotted from school to Memorial Stadium, where he practiced attacking the frame under the guidance of James Worthy.

I haven’t seen my teammates practicing more recently. I’m really not lazy. I didn’t even practice more with Big Q, which proves that the recent physical exertion is indeed heavy. I take a plane every other day, and the home and away games alternate consecutively, which means their team Most of the main players are under 26 years old, otherwise they will not be able to hold on physically.

Fortunately, they have reached the last 3 games. They are currently in good health, the team is also highly motivated, and there are no physical problems.

Gentry came to watch Li Ao's training for a while. During the chat between training sessions, he told Li Ao that tomorrow's game against the Timberwolves and the final game against the Suns will be broadcast live across the United States by TV stations.

This made Li Ao even more excited.

They originally planned to have only 3 live broadcasts in the United States this season, but added 6 games later, and this time with two more, the number of live broadcasts in the United States has doubled!
As an athlete, who doesn't love being on TV?

Anyway, he likes it, and he can feel that his teammates are more motivated every time the national broadcast is broadcast.

In the evening, Li Ao received a piece of good news—the Supersonics were blown away by Dirk Nowitzki, who scored a career high of 35 points. They lost to the Mavericks in overtime and suffered a two-game losing streak. The record became 47 wins and 33 losses. .

The media immediately calculated the confrontation between the Supersonics and the Clippers, home record, divisional record, divisional record, unplayed games... to get the answer, the Clippers with 48 wins and 31 losses only need to win again 1 game, you can lock the playoffs!
Of course Li Ao was happy with this news.

But he didn't relax because of this. What he wants now is not just the playoffs, nor just 50 wins.

On the next day, April 4, the Clippers' third-to-last game day of the season.

In the preparation meeting in the morning, Gentry expressed the same goal as Li Ao, and was cheered by the whole team.

The current record of the Timberwolves is 49 wins and 30 losses, go for him!

In the 8th place, you will meet the leader of the Pacific Division, one of the Lakers, Kings, and Trail Blazers.

But at No. 7, they met the Mavericks, the top player in the Midwest Division.

Playing against the Timberwolves head-on tonight, it must be won!

...

At 7:43 p.m., players from the Staples Center, the Timberwolves and the Clippers have entered the stadium to make final preparations before the game.

场均24.9分5.9板5.1助攻1.5抢断3.75盖帽的菜鸟……菲利普-桑德斯用手巾擦了擦鬓角，塞进胸口的口袋里。

This data, he really wants to target a wave.

It is a pleasure to snipe the birth of a 25+ rookie per game.

But no.

The opposite side has improved too fast. After the All-Star Weekend, their record of 18 wins and 9 losses is better than their Timberwolves, and they are better than them when the schedule is more difficult.

他也不想拿西部第8，这赛季他们与湖人队交手4次，2胜2负看起来好像旗鼓相当，但科比和奥尼尔同时登场的那两场，比分是86比106和88比102。

The Timberwolves players are also very focused and actively preparing for the game.

They are stressed out!
The Sonics lost the possibility of competing with them for No. 7, and they are very happy.

But the Clippers actually rushed from 11th in the West to 8th, and they still have a chance to overtake them.

The Clippers also focus on pre-game preparations, but their mentality is different from that of the opponent.

They have no fear in the pattern of down and up, they don't worry about what they will lose if they lose, they only think about what they can get after winning.

At 8 p.m., Garnett beat Jermaine O'Neal for a jumper and the game started, with the Timberwolves leading.

Clippers starters: Greg Anthony, Big Q, Li Ao, Odom, O'Neal.

Timberwolves starters: Trier Brandon, Anthony Peeler, Szczerbiak, Garnett, Nesterovic.

Trier Brandon advanced to the frontcourt, broke through the big Q in singles, rushed to the right side of the three-second zone, attracted Odom to defend, and scored the bottom line.

Li Ao defended to Garnett's side, and Garnett passed the ball behind his head.

Szczerbiak moved to a 45-degree angle to the right when Li Ao defended Garnett, caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...hit!
The defect of Big Q's "single defensive function" was exposed. Li Ao or Matt Harprin could make up for Szczerbiak in time. Big Q's movement is not bad, and his height is enough, but he's overly focused '.

But defense has trade-offs.

This season, Trier Brandon averaged 16 points per game and scored 30+ in a single game twice. He still plays with the ball and is more threatening than Szczerbiak, who averaged 14 points per game.

So Gentry made such a starting lineup adjustment.

The offense and defense were switched, and the big Q went to the frontcourt to actively fight with Anthony Peeler, moving against the opponent.

There will inevitably be gaps on the opponent's flank, and Gentry arranged a war of attrition.

Li Ao didn't go to fight with Szczerbiak, but the Timberwolves ticket salesman was as strong as Matt Harprin.

But he has another way. He came to the right side of the free throw line and asked for the ball against Szczerbiak!
Szczerbiak deserves to be the 'worst small forward in single defense'. He actively pressed up on Li Ao, and Li Ao turned around and easily left Szczerbiak behind.

Li Ao cuts in to catch the ball, Nesterovic makes it up to the sideline of the three-second zone, Li Ao sends out a lob, Jermaine O'Neal makes an alley-oop and fills the basket with both hands!
Philip Sanders didn't have a temper at all when he saw this scene. Their team's inside line has been scared by Spider-Man.

In fact, Li Ao has only dunked one player from the Timberwolves, but he has dunked in the first 1 matches, and every time he looks exaggerated, he can directly jump up and dunk when the wolf king sticks to the basket.

But the bigger problem is Szczerbiak's single defense. Li Ao feels that this opponent's defense is worse than that of a big dog.

The big dog has no attitude, but he does a good job of standing up, pressing up on the defense to shoot, withdrawing from the defense and turning around and rushing in. It's just that he only takes one shot.

Szczerbiak has neither consciousness nor ability.

When it came time for the Timberwolves to attack, they followed suit with the previous round of offense.

Trier Brandon made a sudden pass to the bottom line. After Odom defended Trier Brandon, he actively moved two steps laterally to block the passing line between Garnett and Szczerbiak between.

Garnett got the ball all over his head, so he quickly grabbed it to death. Li Ao reached out to grab it. Garnett reacted quickly and turned around to protect the ball in his arms.

Szczerbiak moved to the corner, and Odom followed in time.

The defensive captain on the sidelines stopped staring at the abyss and nodded in satisfaction.

Garnett watched the passing line being cut off, and decisively played back.

Li Ao stuck to the defense, and Garnett didn't turn around and charged forward. Instead, he hit him, turned over, and took off to make a shot... It's iron!
Li Ao didn't take off, and continued to press up. Garnett turned over and didn't get rid of Li Ao, and was seriously disturbed when he took off!

Garnett's eyes widened. Seeing O'Neal accept the defensive rebound, he quickly retreated.

The Timberwolves retreated quickly from the outside, including Szczerbiak. Although he is not capable, he has a positive attitude.

Li Ao saw that there was no chance for a quick break, so he followed Garnett and said, "Your method of defending against Weber's back attack is really useful, thank you."

Garnett opened his mouth and wanted to scold his mother, but he caught sight of the couple on the sidelines. Before the game, Li Ao stood in front of those two like a baby, so he held back.

It hurts to be beaten.

Why can't he see that Li Ao is learning from him?
He never takes off in back-up defense, keeps confrontation, and uses his super long wingspan to interfere with shooting. This is exactly his way of back-up defense.

In fact, he was a little proud when he heard Li Ao's words. Restraining Weber was one of the things he was most proud of in his career.

Webber has killed all directions this year, and he is omnipotent on the offensive end. Even Duncan can't defend him. On the Lakers side, even with the help of O'Neal and Kobe, Horace Grant was blown to pieces.

However, he, the Wolf King, has always been able to overwhelm the opponent when he met Webber since the second grade. This season Webber entered his peak period. He played against the Kings 4 times, preventing Weber with an average shooting rate of 39% per game. He can still reach 40+ in a single game.

Webber has averaged 23 points per game so far in his career. He and Weber have played against each other 15 times. Weber only averaged 19.2 points per game.

Under his leadership, the Timberwolves played against the Kings 4 times this season with 3 wins and 1 loss.

Tianke!

Especially against Weber's back attack, Weber doesn't dare to back hit him now.

Li Ao imitated him, and he was also a little proud. Being learned by such a genius is very prestigious.

But just learn it, and actually ran over to show off!

Stepping back inside the three-point line, Garnett saw Odom push forward, put away his complacency, and got a headache, he pressed out to defend Odom.

Odom passes the ball to Greg Anthony and moves to the left baseline of the paint.

Garnett followed Odom to the bottom line on the left, turned his head and saw Li Ao leaning on Szczerbiak to catch the ball, turned around, and poked his upper body toward the bottom line, Szczerbiak immediately took several steps back.

Garnett turned his head away in disgust, and didn't watch it again. As he expected, the fans at the scene chanted "Spiderman".

Li Ao turned around to catch the ball with his back and made a shot!

This ball, shot preparation is complete, and the action is picturesque!
He even triggers the 'catch and shoot specialist'!
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(End of this chapter)