From sparring to superstar

Chapter 300 298. Big bamboo pole fight, big spider takes the blame

The Lakers' defense was so poor that Li Ao was shocked.

He originally thought that the Lakers' role players would be too poor offensively this year, which would screw up the OK combination.

Unexpectedly, the defense collapsed!

But now that I think about it, the defense should have collapsed.

Although Kobe is still outside the ranks of dominant players, his regular three-point ability has improved a lot and his scoring skills have become more sophisticated. O'Neal will definitely be able to slim down and return to his peak state in the playoffs. With these two people together, no matter how bad the Lakers' offense is, The top five levels in the league.

要是能维持住前三年的防守，不至于1比4被马刺队干掉，01年季后赛和02年季后赛，湖人队打马刺队比分是4比0和4比1。

The feeling given to Li Ao by the Lakers' defense tonight was similar to the one he played against the Timberwolves and SuperSonics last season. They had super strong defensive points, but the overall defense was incredibly poor.

Li Ao was very sad to see the veteran role players who had won two consecutive championships with the Lakers looking like they were dying.

Most of the veterans who have made great contributions to the Lakers' two consecutive championships have reached the time to withdraw from the league.

Horry shot 00% from the field in the 01-38 season and averaged 5.3 points on 5.2 shots per game. However, in the summer of 01, he was competed by the two major teams in Angel City, the Magic, Nets, and Pistons, and finally the Lakers. Keep him at a price of $2 million over two years, but this is just an example. Not everyone has Horry's incredible key ball ability.

The two teams made personnel adjustments, and the Clippers sent a combination of Yalic, Li Ao, Jordan, Odom, and Campbell.

The Lakers fielded a combination of Brian Shaw, Ronald Murray, Kobe Bryant, Mark Madsen, and O'Neal.

Zen Master is ready to fight against OK combination.

In the opening game, I definitely have to give it a try.

Master Zen is feeling bitter now. During the training camp, he knew that their defense would decline sharply this year, but he didn't expect that it would collapse immediately!Even before Jordan and Odom came up on the opposite side, they were already unable to guard them.

But it's not that they don't have a chance to win. As long as they can take advantage in this rotation stage, O'Neal can be given a break later... Although the situation is unfavorable, the Zen master is very calm and takes steps to figure it out.

In the second half of the first quarter, Jordan was fierce, beating Ronald Murray and Rick Fox who came on the rotation.

Jordan opened up the situation with a single, and Odom successfully connected the team's offense.

Yalic showed his excellent tactical sorting ability in his debut. He always appeared at the right tactical connection point to complete the shooting or second pass, making the Clippers' triangle offense more smooth!
The one who benefited the most was Li Ao. Li Ao had never felt that the triangle offense could be played so easily. He didn't have to do any trouble on the offensive end. He just led Kobe to find the receiving position and seize the rushing opportunities.

In the past month, Li Ao had thought about whether it was necessary to replace Yalic, a point guard who had just won the World Championship, with an experienced shooting veteran point guard. Now this idea has been eliminated.

Is this a European tactical point guard?

Loved it!

The OK combination was also very fierce. With Li Ao and Campbell playing, Shark went crazy and led the team to score another 17 points in half a quarter.

The Clippers scored 15 points and trailed the Lakers by two points 32-34 at the end of the first quarter.

After the first quarter and entering the intermission, Gentry hugged each player and praised their performance.

Facing the full-power OK combination, they only lost two points in a single quarter and the goal was exceeded.

On the other side, the Zen master is still calm. Isn't this a 1 point lead? He will attack hard at the beginning of the second quarter. As long as he can gain an advantage, he will be able to slow down in the second half of the quarter. Don't be anxious, just take it one step at a time, slowly. Picture of...

The OK combination's firepower declined in the first half of the second quarter. The Lakers only scored 11 points in the first half of the quarter, and were scored 16 points by the Clippers.
The Clippers entered the official timeout with a 48-point lead over the Lakers 45-3.

The Clippers have already taken the initiative, but the Zen master is still looking like he is nagging - he did not lose too much, only 3 points. Let the Sharks take a rest first. As long as they beat their opponents in the third quarter, it is still possible. If you can win, Xu... Xu Xu will figure it out!
Then, the two teams scored 13-7 in the second half of the second quarter.

Li Ao finally faced off against Kobe on the defensive end. He prevented Kobe from making 5 of 2 shots in the half, no free throws, and only scored 4 points. The Lakers only scored 7 points!
After halftime, the Clippers led the Lakers by 61 points 52 to 9!
The Zen master cursed wildly in his heart - shameless Spider-Man!
First let Gerald Wallace and Yalic fight for their lives to consume his Black Mamba. After continuously consuming the Black Mamba for half a quarter, the evil Spider-Man came out to pick peaches!No shame at all!

No matter how unhappy he is, Zen Master thinks this defensive strategy is still very good, simple but effective.

And you have to have that ability to pick peaches. Let Yalic and Gerald Wallace continue to guard Kobe. Kobe's performance in this half of the quarter cannot decline that much. Li Ao relied on his ability to guard Kobe in this half of the quarter.

Entering the halftime break, Master Jackson returned to the locker room and shut himself up for more than ten minutes. In the end, he still did not adjust his playing style.

The opponent is too familiar with their style of play, the defense is also very specific to them, and their role players are all outdated.

Slowly...Slowly!
Apart from expecting the Black Mamba to explode based on the Sharks' stable performance, he couldn't think of any other way.

He could only pretend to be calm, maintain his integrity, and give his team members confidence...

In the second half, Kobe did not break out. He scored 11 points in the half, plus 23 points in the first half. He played 45 minutes and scored 34 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.

奥尼尔打了38分钟拿到30分13板3助攻2盖帽。

The game reached 9 minutes and 11 seconds of the fourth quarter when Jackson gave up, and the point difference had reached 15 points.

The Clippers have retained the main lineup of last season. There are 11 players with rich experience in playing against the Lakers. They are fully prepared tactically. The players are in good condition and the young players are becoming more courageous as they play...

李敖拿到24分6板3助攻2抢断2盖帽、乔丹19分4板1助攻、毕比17分5助攻、小奥尼尔9分9板、奥多姆10分7板5助攻、杰拉德-华莱士7分3板1抢断1盖帽、马特-哈普林12分、大Q9分……

112 to 101, the Clippers easily defeated the Lakers in the opening game for the second consecutive year!

...

"The Angel City battleship and the Purple and Gold Army will change their offensive and defensive types from this moment on!"

The next morning, Li Ao looked at the scene on TV of him being interviewed by the Imperial TV station after last night's game. He was tearing out the three rooms and one living room and rolling around on the bed...

In fact, the English subtitles attached when ESPN forwarded the news were not so good, and simply translated the meaning - Los Angeles is the world of the Clippers.

But the original voice of what he said was shown on the news...

But it was a matter of picking his own feet. He had been thinking about saying this for a long time, and he had no regrets about his second grade this time.

In the opening game of the defending season, on the night when championship rings were awarded, he defeated his next door neighbor. If he hadn't said those words, he would have gotten up and beat his chest in the middle of the night.

After rolling over, Li Ao reviewed last night's game.

Taking the NBA's overall defense as a reference last season, Li Ao feels that the Lakers' defense is less than 50 wins based on last night's defense.

The dominance of the OK combination is exaggerated, but O'Neal's injury risk must also be considered. Li Ao analyzed it and found that the Lakers may hit 50 wins at most, but they may not be able to win 50 wins.

Really - teammates in CBA.

And the Lakers have become immutable!
Two years ago, the Lakers had just won their first championship, and those role players were enough to get back the second pick in a young year.

Now, for other teams, this group of veterans only has the role of making room for their expiring contracts.

If other teams want to create salary space, they will not trade with the Lakers.

Unless a team has a fateful relationship with the Lakers, it will be willing to take over a bunch of middle-class contracts to help the Lakers make room.

There are indeed many teams in the NBA that have a fateful relationship with the Lakers, but they hate them to death.

In terms of hate value from his opponents, Jordan is dwarfed by the Lakers.

If the Clippers meet the Lakers again in the playoffs, the Clippers will have allies all over the world.

In the eyes of other teams, the Lakers are like the hoopoe in the eyes of animals in the Middle East...

Li Ao browsed the forums online for a while. Many people were also analyzing the Lakers' defensive collapse. There was also a more popular topic - Jordan playing sixth man.

Jordan actually wanted to talk about being a substitute as soon as possible and win the title of 'outstanding veteran' as early as possible.

But a certain spider told him and Gentry not to talk about it in advance. In the opening game, they could blame the Lakers... No, it could cause a bigger sensation.

Jordan, who has always been pushy, agreed.

The effect was very good. It caught the Lakers off guard and made the opponent's adjustment of the starting lineup for Jordan useless... although it was of little significance.

Jordan suddenly came on the bench without warning, and the fans' response was particularly strong.

Jordan played 23 minutes and scored 13 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Just after the first game day of the new season, fans began to discuss the best sixth man...

There is also hot news - parallel import champion Yao Ming.

尼克斯队揭幕战打勇士队，5投1中外加2中2的罚球只拿到4分7板。

With this performance, playing in New York, he was booed by the home team fans without any suspense, and was criticized wildly after the game.

Li Ao felt that the big bamboo pole monster was unlucky. He originally encountered the inside combination of Artest, Harrington, and Brad Miller in his career debut.

Here we encountered the inside group composed of Dampier, Foyle, Troy Murphy, and Danny Fordson. The Warriors were very good at everything else, but their inside group, O'Neal shook his head when he saw it, and they gathered a bunch of centers. Waiting to exchange draft picks and continue to scratch lottery tickets.

After resting all morning, Li Ao came to Memorial Stadium in the afternoon to attend the team preparation meeting.

After the meeting, Li Ao looked at the upcoming schedule and complained: "Aren't we the defending champions? Can this schedule be any more difficult?"

After the opening game, there will be two days of rest, followed by back-to-back home games against the Pistons and Cavaliers.

After that, there were four consecutive away games in the Eastern Conference, playing the 4ers, Nets, Magic, and Heat respectively.

The next three consecutive games were against the Magic, SuperSonics and Kings...

In the first month, most of the opponents were strong teams, the top strong teams.

Gentry smiled and said: "This schedule is just right for us. We have retained the championship lineup. At the beginning of the season, we have played against strong teams continuously, which is conducive to our progress. Moreover, the opponents are strong but there are few games, not counting yesterday's opening game. There are only 11 games in November 30 days, and only one back-to-back, so we have plenty of time to prepare."

Li Ao wondered: "Alvin, according to your analysis, the schedule seems to be good, but is the league so kind to arrange such a schedule specifically for us?"

Jordan on the side complained: "How could the old Jewish man be so kind as to consider this? He just took a fancy to your and my popularity and arranged for us to have strong enemies to compete with the NFL for ratings. The Magic last season and the 76ers last season The team has also played such a role...but Alvin is right, this schedule is just right for us at the moment."

After the three chatted for a while, they came to the training ground to prepare for the game against the Pistons the day after tomorrow.

As for the Cavaliers, our opponent in the second back-to-back game, they have not made any preparation arrangements. In Li Ao's words - even if we want to lose, they will not let us lose.

The Cavaliers' goal this season, as everyone knows, is Sima Zhao's goal, which is headed for five-star high school student LeBron James.

The Clippers players are very active in preparing for the game. They want to know how good the Pistons are with the qualitative reinforcement of the back line.

After the afternoon training, when Li Ao was receiving physical therapy massage from Jack, Big Q came to find him.

"Oops, boss! That big bamboo pole from your flower gardener hit someone!"

...

At around two o'clock in the afternoon on October 2002, 10, at the home team's training ground at Madison Square Garden, a madman continued to insult Yao Ming during training.

Yao Ming endured the first wave, and he endured the second wave, but he didn't respond.

When the madman started to insult for the third time, Yao Ming slapped him with a big-eared scraper, knocking him over. Then he pressed down on the madman with several big-eared scrapers. Yao Ming's huge tonnage of more than 130 kilograms made the madman struggle hard but completely break free. No, he was slapped until he begged for mercy again and again.

During this period, no other Knicks player stepped forward to stop him, they just watched.

Some were unwilling to help the madman at all, and some were reminded of that terrible memory... In the end, it was Knicks head coach Don Cheney who went up and pulled Yao Ming away with the determination to die.

This matter was quickly exposed by the New York media, causing a sensation in the sports circles of the two countries in just a few hours.

The next morning, Li Ao received a call from Yao Ming.

Yao Ming first expressed his annoyance, scolding himself for being too impulsive, and then dissed the madman, saying that the madman had been targeting him after he reported to the Knicks. He did not perform well in the opening game, and the madman took the opportunity to constantly insult him. He couldn't help but take action.

"So why do crazy people only bully you? Haven't you found the reason within yourself?" Li Ao spoke on the phone in a very unfriendly tone.

Li Weidong, who was watching the phone call between Li Ao and Yao Ming, had a strange expression when he heard this. What logic is this?

Yao Ming on the other end of the phone also had questions in his head, what kind of victim guilt theory is this?

But the seniors had said so, so Yao Ming thought it would be better to find him. He thought for a while and said, "Maybe I talk too little and tolerate everything. He thinks I'm easy to bully?"

"Isn't that what it is? The more you let that kind of person, the more he will bully you. He deserves it."

Yao Ming was confused and asked: "Spider-Man, are you in a bad mood?"

"Otherwise? If you get scolded when I fight, will you feel better?"

"Uh……"

Yao Ming on the other end of the phone was embarrassed.

After beating someone yesterday, he returned to the hotel where he was temporarily staying. He was worried for a long time. Schwartz comforted him to relax, but he was still uneasy and felt that he had caused a big trouble.

But the development of things was different from what he thought... The sports media in both countries were attacking... I can't say attacking, they were all making fun of Spider-Man.

Yao Ming put himself into Li Ao's perspective and immediately understood why the other party's tone was so harsh.

If it were him, he would have rushed at me. Without scolding him, it was already a sign of care for him.

When Li Ao first heard from Da Q that Yao Ming beat a madman, he didn't pay much attention to it. What a big deal, wasn't he just beating a villain?

As a result, when he came home and saw the news, everyone said that Yao Ming was imitating him!
He quit then.

The Chinese national men's basketball player at the beginning of this century, do you need to learn from Spider-Man about fighting?
The national men's basketball players of this period did not necessarily win games, but they never lost in fights. Every time a fight broke out, their opponents fell to pieces.

After venting his dissatisfaction with Dazhugan for a few words, Li Ao's depression disappeared and he said: "The madman is targeting you. This should be my problem, but you don't have to worry, you are the champion, perform well in the next game and prove yourself .”

Hearing Li Ao's comfort, Yao Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that this incident would cause knots in Li Ao's heart. Legend has it that Spider-Man has a broad mind and a very strong memory.

After heaving a sigh of relief, Yao Ming thought of something and said in an aggrieved tone: "Jeff just called me to inform me that the team has suspended me for two games."

"If you make such a big fuss, you will definitely be suspended. It doesn't matter. If you think about it better, you can reduce your salary for two games to the Blue Association. Aren't you much happier? If I were you, I would be more cruel. , trouble Dolan every day and ask him to deduct all the salary from your rookie contract."

"..."

Yao Ming was speechless for a moment, but don't tell me, he was still a little excited!

No, that's not the point!

"Spider-Man, my first game after my suspension is against the Lakers on the road."

"Uh... I wish you peace... It's a pity. I seemed to be playing on the road at that time, so I couldn't go and watch how O'Neal tortured you."

"..."

Yao Ming no longer has any anxiety or depression.

This agent signed well!When Schwartz saw that he had been distracted, he asked him to call Spider-Man and talk to him to adjust his mood. It was true!

Now he just wants to follow the phone line and find Spider-Man to fight in real life!
...

In all the peaceful years, there are people who are carrying the burden forward, and Li Ao became the one carrying the burden this time.

The main reason is that Yao Ming's operation is too similar to that of Li Ao. When provoked by a villain with a bad record, he will beat the opponent violently in anger and establish his authority in the team.

Not only the domestic media and fans think that Yao Ming is imitating Li Ao's start, but American fans also think so.

What else can Li Ao do? Just admit it.

During the day's training, he was ridiculed by his teammates as expected. He could only look up to the sky and sigh, "My reputation is a little bit bad again."

In the evening, Li Ao came to the Staples Center to watch the game between the Lakers and the Pistons.

From today to the day after tomorrow, the four teams playing here in the three nights are all back-to-back.

The Lakers now play the Pistons and Cavaliers back-to-back at home tonight and tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night and the night after, the Clippers play the Pistons and Cavaliers at home.

Although they are both back-to-back, it seems that the Pistons and Cavaliers are worse...

At 7:40, the Pistons and Lakers entered the court one after another.

Looking at the outside combination of Billups, Ray Allen, and Artest, Li Ao couldn't help but be speechless.

For this outside combination, Li Ao mourned for Snake.

However, Artest's defensive style has always been ineffective against Kobe, who loves physical combat.

He has to be a small forward with the height, wingspan and mobility of Prince, who is better at defending against Kobe Bryant. But now Prince is still a rookie. With a body size of 206 cm + 90 kg, he looks like a skinny monkey. .

During the draft, he looked even thinner. Li Ao remembered that the information posted on TV at that time seemed to be only 86 kilograms.

Li Ao's moment of silence for Kobe was the Lakers' perimeter defense.

The Pistons start these three guys, plus Atkins, Collis Williams, Jon Barry, Michael Curry on the bench...Snake is really going to play one against seven tonight.

The Lakers have a huge advantage inside. Ben Wallace's inside partners are rookie Mehmet Okur, not-so-excellent meat shield Selke Rebrasha, and the aging Danny Manning.

In order to introduce Ray Allen, the Pistons' strongest defensive interior combination in the league was dismantled, leaving only Ben Wallace.

After the game started, just as Li Ao thought, the Pistons' perimeter group suppressed Kobe.

Billups is too comfortable playing the Pistons' slow-paced style of play, and although his ball holding rate is not low, it does not prevent Ray Allen and Artest from displaying their singles ability and being good at running and receiving. After the ball-shooting Joan Barry came on as a substitute, he was able to break out and organize the offense very well.

Li Ao felt Carlisle's courage. With the team having the rapidly rising strength of Artest and the long-established Ray Allen, Carlisle chose to let Billups lead the offense. This is not a choice that ordinary coaches dare to make. .

But Kobe is Kobe, and Prince, the Pistons' Kobe nemesis, is still in the growing stage. Although he can't lead his outside teammates to defend the Pistons' outside group, he can still rely on offensive firepower to make the disadvantage less severe.

As for the inside, the Lakers... no, it was O'Neal who took advantage and beat the Pistons inside.

As the best defensive player, Ben Wallace’s defensive ability is undoubted, but he is not a low-post defensive player. He is too short. He only dares to brag that he is 206 centimeters tall, although his shorter stature is worthy of his weight of 109 kilograms. , the actual tonnage is okay, but in front of O'Neill, it is almost nothing.

Although Okur is talented, he is still a loser. Rebrasha is just a good-looking human shield. He got a three-year, US$125 million contract with his 3 kilograms of tonnage. Joe Dumas now thinks of 1000 I still regret the contract I gave in Xia Tian.

Ben Wallace's 99-point defensive ability, combined with these two, can almost achieve 80-point interior defense.

O'Neal, who entered the second phase at the beginning, dragged the game to the last moment, creating a stage for Kobe to compete with the opponent's outside stars for key shots.

Both Billups and Ray Allen have very good key ball abilities, but they have too little experience in this kind of game.

Kobe Bryant scored two goals in the last minute to help the Lakers win.

奥尼尔38分14板3助攻4盖帽、科比32分6板6助攻3抢断1盖帽，湖人队以106比103险胜活塞队。

Although the Pistons lost, Li Ao looked at the performance of Billups with 21 points, Artest with 18 points, Ray Allen with 34 points, and Jon Barry with 12 points... The pressure of tomorrow night's game is coming.

If it weren't for the fact that the two interior positions of the Pistons only scored 13 points combined, and only one-third of O'Neal, the Lakers would not have won at all.

If there's another center who can protect the rim, and an interior who can help Ben Wallace's tandem defense... Well, wouldn't this be Clifford Robinson and Brad Miller.

If you keep two insiders, you won't get Ray Allen. If you exchange for Ray Allen, you have to remove the insiders. If you replace Li Ao, he will also choose Ray Allen.

If you miss such a top outside line, you really miss it. The inside puzzle is obviously easier to find.

I just don’t know if we can still see the double Wallace combination. In the original time and space, the Pistons were able to get Tianzun because Paul Allen broke up the team and gave away people for nothing. As a middleman, Price, the owner of the Eagles, couldn’t see it. On Tianzun, Joe Dumars went to show his face, and the Pistons used two expiring big contracts to get Tianzun back.

Now that the Trail Blazers have the twin towers of Tianzun and Sugarman, Li Ao is very curious whether Paul Allen will split the team, and where will Randolph go...

...

The next day, November 11, the Clippers' second game day of the new season arrived.

傍晚5点半到晚上7点55分，斯台普斯中心先打了一场比赛，湖人队背靠背以102比95击败骑士队。

By 9:10 p.m., the Pistons and Clippers entered the stadium one after another, and the scene had been changed to the Clippers' red and white colors.

Ray Allen looked at the group of people across from him and cursed the league's schedule in his heart.

The Pistons and Cavaliers were the first lucky ones to taste the 'Angel City Two-Heroes Package', and they were back-to-back!
Seeing the Clippers beat the Lakers in the opening game, Ray Allen thought they would be good against the Lakers. After playing a game with the Lakers, he realized that the Clippers would be good against the Lakers.

When I played against the 76ers in the opening game, I didn't feel how weak the inside line was. When I met O'Neal...

Tonight, there is O'Neal on the opposite side.

Ray Allen looked at O'Neal, a high school student in the same class who was eager to try, and then turned to look at Ben Wallace.

Sure enough, the big boss who failed in the same session is now very angry!
Ben Wallace was furious. He was the best defensive player, but the high school student he led actually regarded the inside line he led as a weakness!
The Clippers sent out a starting lineup of Bibby, Li Ao, Gerald Wallace, Matt Halprin, and O'Neal Jr.

The Pistons sent out a starting lineup of Billups, Ray Allen, Artest, Ben Wallace, and Okur.

The game starts at 9:[-] pm!
The advantage of height and wingspan is still very important. O'Neal narrowly beat Ben Wallace to win the jump ball, and the Clippers attacked first!
As the Pistons expected, Bibby and O'Neal Jr. launched a pick-and-roll attack.

O'Neal broke open and ran over Billups to cut in. Artest on the wing shrank to block O'Neal, but Billups noticed something was wrong and rushed towards Li Ao to prevent Li Ao from catching the ball around the pile, but failed to stop him.

After Li Ao circled the pile, Bibby delivered the lob accurately to Li Ao.

Li Ao faced Billups and turned around to shoot...but Billups threw him to the ground.

With the referee's whistle, the ball fell into the frame.

2+1!

Li Ao Liyu jumped up and high-fived Little O'Neal who ran out.

You must make good use of your inside advantage, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be inside scoring!

(End of this chapter)