NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 90 Kobe's Bold Statement (55)

The next morning, everyone arrived at the Staples Center.

Staples Center is home to both the Clippers and the Lakers.

But all the glory and praise of this arena belongs only to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Clippers are more like adopted children in Los Angeles.

When he arrived at the Staples Center, Lin Chuan discovered that there were many bronze statues at the entrance.

Five of them were wearing Lakers jerseys, and one was sitting in front of a table engraved with the Lakers logo, wearing headphones.

Looking at so many bronze statues, Lin Chuan suddenly felt envious from the bottom of his heart.

It would be so cool if one day my famous scenes could be made into statues and placed in front of the entrance of a stadium!
Durant saw the envy in Lin Chuan's eyes, smiled and said,
"When we won the championship in the summer, I also thought, if we keep playing, winning many championships and dominating the league, 20 or 30 years later, will the team customize bronze statues for us and put them at the entrance of the arena?"

Lin Chuan said slowly,
“It’s like a symbol of an era.”

"Yeah, it's a pity..."

Durant didn't finish his words, but Lin Chuan knew what he wanted to express.

The dream had just taken the first step when Harden was traded, making everything they talked about in the stadium in London that night seem ridiculous.

"Don't think too much, just play well."

Lin Chuan patted Durant on the shoulder.

"The Lakers came with bad intentions today. They were in high spirits and vowed to win this game."

"It's us who are coming."

"right."

In the pre-game interview, Kobe Bryant was wearing a training jacket and listening to reporters' questions about the game.

"Kobe, as we all know, the Lakers lost their starting point guard Steve Nash at the beginning, and your winning rate so far this season is still less than 50%. Today, you will face the Thunder, the No. 1 team in the league and the team that has won eight consecutive games, at home. What are your expectations for the game today?"

Hearing the reporter look down on them, Kobe raised his eyebrows and said domineeringly,
"That's right. Although we have been plagued by injuries at the beginning of the season, I don't think we are weaker than any other team. Moreover, not only to celebrate Pau Gasol's comeback today, but also to avenge the Olympic Games, we will definitely beat the Thunder in this game and break their unbeaten streak!"

"No matter who's on the other side, I'm going to score 50 points in this game and defeat the Thunder!"

Kobe's domineering remarks made the media exclaim, he is worthy of being the former No. 1 player in the league.

But 50 points, can Kobe really do it?

You know, with Pau Gasol's return and the addition of Dwight Howard, these three stars will have to share the ball.

Would Mike Brown have let Kobe take so many shots?

Howard was also blocked by reporters for an interview and was asked about his opinion on Lin Chuan.

The man who claimed to be the best center in the league was very dismissive and said indifferently,

"You mean the Chinese center on the Thunder? I know him. To be honest, I don't think he's that good. He's pretty weak. They have so many stars on their team, it's normal for them to win a close final."

"But he also defeated the invincible US Dream Team in the Olympics."

The reporter continued to ask.

"Oh, that's because I'm not here!"

Howard was dismissive.
"He just beat up Tyson Chandler, not that powerful. His fighting style was so soft. If I hadn't been injured and joined the Dream Team 10, he wouldn't have had any chance at all."

"Just wait and see! I'm going to beat that genius center you guys are talking about!"

When Pau Gasol, who was sitting not far from him, heard his words, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, which was immediately caught by the sharp-eyed reporter, who stepped forward to interview the championship power forward who had just returned today.

In response to the same question from the reporter, Gasol spoke in a serious tone.
"I have played against several star players on the other team. Among them, although Durant is very good at scoring and can single us out without distinction, and Westbrook's impact is also very strong, often violently dunking in the fourth quarter, but in my heart, the most terrifying person on their team is Lin Chuan." "His appearance made me realize that a center who masters all offensive means is far more terrifying than an outside player and cannot be defended at all."

Howard, who was sitting not far from him, found Gasol's exaggeration ridiculous and shook his head before putting on his jersey and preparing to warm up.
-
"Ding! Temporary mission: teach Howard a lesson for his stubbornness."

"Task requirement: Make Howard's stats in this game lower than 15+10."

"Reward: Bounce +3."

The mission is coming?

Before Lin Chuan had time to ask about the situation, he heard Durant's voice.

"Lin Chuan, Howard said you are a loser, looked down on you and said he would beat you up."

Durant laughed and walked towards Lin Chuan.

"Tsk, Howard? A high-level blue-collar guy thinks he's so strong."

"If he gets 15+10 in this game, it will be my loss."

Lin Chuan shook his head and didn't take Howard's provocation in front of the media seriously.

In his eyes, this jumping guy who only relies on his body is not worth mentioning at all. He is not as good as a tall and thin inside player who can shoot.

Sitting in a chair in the locker room, Lin Chuan checked Twitter and couldn't help laughing.

"See, Durant, Kobe said he would take us down by 50 points."

Lin Chuan pushed the message to Durant on his phone.

"What a joke! How can we be afraid of him? We even beat the Spurs, who are stronger than them. It's no wonder that we beat the old, weak and disabled Lakers."

Durant said disdainfully,

"50 points? Based on his efficiency, their team would have lost by 20 points."

"mad!"

Lin Chuan gave a thumbs up in admiration.
"This game depends on your performance, Kevin Durant, number one on the MVP list."

"Easy as a piece of cake."

Durant waved.

That’s right, just this morning, the league officially released the first MVP list of this season.

As the leader of the league's top team, Durant, who has excellent record and statistics, has undoubtedly come to the first place.

So far, Durant is averaging 28 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Although his scoring has declined compared to last year, this is because the team has a rising player, Lin Chuan, who has taken up a lot of ball rights. This also allows Durant to defeat his opponents without too much effort, which can be seen from his super high hit rate of 54%.

Because of this, Durant also slipped to second place on the scoring list. Topping the list is Knicks leader Carmelo Anthony, who has played in 7 games so far, averaging 47 points per game with a hit rate of 31%. However, since his hit rate is not much different from that of the guards, Lin Chuan always feels that he is a bit of a fake.

Lin Chuan himself was ranked seventh by the NBA.

In the eight games so far, Lin Chuan averaged 8 points, 20.1 rebounds and 11 assists per game. His near triple-double data made him the only non-team leader in the top ten of the MVP list.

Westbrook only received a nomination.

So far this season, Westbrook's statistics have dropped to an average of 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game, which is nearly 3 points less than last season.

After Lin Chuan's rise, although Westbrook's team scoring is still ranked second, everyone can see that his original second place in the team has moved more towards the third place in the team.

But Westbrook himself doesn't care much. After winning the championship last year, his goal this season has been to defend the title, and his desire for data has also decreased a lot.

The pre-match interview was over, and there was only half an hour left before the game. Everyone took off their clothes and prepared to go to the stadium for the final warm-up.
(End of this chapter)