Chapter 507 Welcome to the era of "telling the truth is black"
"They're coming."
James understands that the final challenge has arrived.
During the regular season, the Sonics had a record of 2 wins and 1 loss against them with an incomplete lineup.
However, the Sonics have never played against the Lakers after the trade deadline.
Since then, the Lakers have maintained the highest winning percentage in NBA history and have only lost two games so far, both of which were unexpected overturns during the regular season.
After entering the playoffs, the Lakers had no losses and averaged 18 points per game, surpassing the SuperSonics last season and becoming the team with the most points per game in the playoffs so far.
The arrival of Antawn Jamison and Mike Miller made the Lakers the strongest offensive team in the modern era.
When James and Kobe join forces, the Lakers have both space and incredible hard-hitting ability. At the fifth position, they also have the traditional inside support of Xiaojia, who has developed three-pointers after losing weight. Kobe and Hamilton are on the outside as substitutes. Sitting at the table was Miller.
The Lakers' offensive firepower can no longer be summed up in one word.
Their firepower was so powerful that it overflowed.
The SuperSonics may overturn and lose to the Spurs, but the Lakers' hard power is so strong that as long as they deal with it seriously, it is impossible to lose to an opponent that is obviously inferior to them.
This is why they are the favorites to win the championship.
However, when the war came, James did not have the belief in revenge to crush Yu Fei to ashes.
The longer he spent in Los Angeles, the more he felt like he was becoming Kobe's "subordinate."
Unlike in Cleveland, here, James can't say his favorite "I'll take so-and-so under my wing."
This is what Kobe should say.
Even though he, a strong external support, would not be disrespectful to Kobe, he could not give orders.
Because everything around shows that the Lakers are still Kobe's team.
James once used passes to take care of Bynum in exchange for the other party's return, but this job only lasted half a season, and this person was traded due to force majeure.
James was alone again.
Big Z, who joined the team with him, was crushed to death on the bench by Marc Gasol, and shooter Eddie House was completely reduced to a marginal figure after the arrival of Mike Miller.
His confidants were unable to enter the team's main rotation, and his voice was indirectly reduced.
Not long ago, he was selected to the first team and first defense together with Kobe, which was easy for him.
However, the most important regular season MVP has nothing to do with him.
The last MVP simulation prediction list ranked Kobe first, Yu Fei second, Dwight Howard third, Tim Duncan fourth, and Dirk Nowitzki fifth.
Sixth is James.
As long as you don't rank first, it doesn't matter where you rank.
After all, no one will remember who voted where.
But James believes that this is not the ranking he deserves.
He admitted that the Lakers were Kobe's team and accepted Kobe's election as the MVP. However, as another core of the Lakers, he averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game. In addition to scoring, he surrounded Kobe in all aspects. He is an important reason why the Lakers won 72 wins, but the media treats him like this?
Not in the top five in MVP voting?
It is said that the West Coast media has a firm control over the voice and voting power of professional basketball, but there is no evidence of this in this matter.
Like him, Kobe is a "shortcut taker" who puts aside his prejudices and takes the initiative to join forces. Why is he the only one who is targeted?
This kind of resentment is rootless. James knows that he can't blame anyone. Since the "decision", the media has looked at him through colored glasses.
Even if you win the championship, the disparagement of taking shortcuts will not stop.
On the afternoon of the Western Conference Finals, James seemed to be in a good mood.
Before practice started, he and Kobe had a joke.
However, when the training games began, James' subconscious desire to prove himself made him very excited about everything.
He chased Mike Bibby on the defensive end and was called for a foul.
He lost his temper and was extremely rude to assistant coach Brian Shaw.
Such an offense to the assistant coach is actually an offense to the head coach.
Phil Jackson stood up: "LeBron, there is no replay here, you have to accept this penalty."
In Cleveland, James' words are the golden rule. Whether it is fouls in training games, timeout tactical arrangements during games, or the final shot of the game, the Cavaliers' coaching staff are just James' tools.
Coaches are supposed to be the most powerful people on the court, but within a given team, their power is often fleeting.
However, this is not the case for the Lakers.
Phil Jackson has had many ups and downs, and has become one of the few powerful coaches in the NBA with his excellent experience. There is a natural conflict between James' own ball-holding core system and the triangle offense. Their ideological battle continues to this day, and Jackson has not convinced James.
James still believes that the triangle offense is not suitable for them.
The Lakers' way out should be to concentrate the ball in the hands of the person who can dominate everything like the Sonics did.
Why is the Lakers coaching staff unwilling to do this? At first he thought it was Jackson's idea, but now he thinks it's because someone doesn't want him to hold the ball a lot.
Once he holds the ball a lot, his data will skyrocket, and then the owner of the Lakers will change.
This idea of taking a hundred turns and finally turning to the battle for the boss is not well known.
Now James is acting like a winner at every turn.
He continued to protest against the penalty, strongly expressing his dissatisfaction and slowing down the entire training rhythm. At this time, ordinary coaches simply cannot handle it.
Normally, Jackson would let the referee's assistant blow a balance whistle back to James, but today, Kobe, who was ready to prepare, did not want the training game to be disrupted.
James is responsible for playing Yu Fei in the training game. The responsibility can be said to be heavy, but what is he doing now?
"Shut up, LeBron!" Kobe said, "That's a foul, move on to the next ball!"
The storm subsided and everyone trained normally.
That night
Staples Center
The Los Angeles tabloids once joked about the Lakers, saying that whether the Lakers' games are important depends on the gold content of the stars on the sidelines.
Tonight is only the first game of the Western Conference Finals, but there are many superstars from other sports industries gathered at the scene.
Such as Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps who are being treated for sex addiction.
There are even more people coming from Hollywood, especially actors related to Marvel.
Clash of Empires is a rare major sports event in recent years. Many people want to come and enjoy the popularity. These people who have cooperated with Marvel are all here for Yu Fei in name.
In addition, there are the old faces from the Lakers' home court.
When Yu Fei and his teammates entered the stadium, there were fierce boos.
"Dog Master" Snoopy, who has sparred with Yu Fei many times on the spot, jumped up and cursed: "This time you are finished, my Nicos are not what they used to be, I will beat you to death this time, understand Nico~ ~!”
Yu Fei ignored him.
Yu Fei originally wanted to say hello to Kobe and the others first, but when he saw Robert Downey Jr. and others, he walked straight away.
Alongside Downey, there is Scarlett Johansson. Today's Scarlett's external image is the same as the Black Widow in "Iron Man 2" to be released this summer. Her appearance and figure are both in peak condition. Worthy of being called an angel with a face and a devil’s figure, of course, the height doesn’t matter
Scarlett has recently been separated from her husband Ryan Reynolds due to a quarrel. Some tabloids speculated that it was Yu Fei's relationship.
Yu Fei has always ignored such disgusting tabloids. He has been very restrained recently. Not to mention Scarlett, there are not many people of the opposite sex who can get close to him.
However, being so close to Scarlett in her prime and dressed up is a challenge for any man.
The good thing is that Fei is used to it.
"Are you and Ryan okay?" Yu Fei asked casually.
Scarlett is called a goddess. The interesting thing is that she knows that she is a goddess, so she has the arrogance of a goddess. When she heard that Yu Fei was refusing to open a pot, she said back: "Thanks to you." , very good.”
At this time, Durant, who was behind Yu Fei, was about to suffocate.
There are two kinds of aesthetics in the black world. One is the appearance aesthetic that follows the mainstream of the world. However, there are still a considerable number of blacks who are just like Jews who reject women of other skin colors. Just like James, he has been insecure since he was a child and has been wary of white people, let alone realizing a human connection with a white woman, which is unimaginable to him. Durant grew up in the suburbs of D.C., but outside the suburbs, it was a gathering place for middle-class white people.
His aesthetics has been alienated since he was a child, and just like OJ Simpson back then, he did not exclude white people at all.
And the Scarlett in front of him was the most beautiful woman he thought he could ever see.
He originally wanted to follow Yu Fei to say hello to James and the others, but he didn't expect Yu Fei to come here and bring him to the most beautiful woman on earth.
In this situation, he was careful even to breathe, but Yu Fei actually started "flirting" with the other party.
While talking, Yu Fei introduced Durant to them, "This is KD. You should all know him."
"I've watched Kevin's games." Downey took over. "I've also heard people say that Kevin has a greater chance of becoming Frye than Frye himself."
This seemingly natural sense of humor struck Yu Fei.
He laughed.
"Nice to meet you." Downey's joke gave Durant an opportunity to get into the role. "I hope you have a good time here."
Downey smiled and said: "Then you guys have to win."
Scarlett smiled and her rose-red lips made Durant swallow his saliva: "Don't be Frye, he is not a good person."
Durant responded reflexively: "I listen to you."
Scarlett smiled when she saw Durant's fascinated look on his face. She was already used to it.
Yu Fei takes Durant away before he makes more fools of himself.
"Have you never seen a woman?" Yu Fei patted Durant's face gently, "Sober up!"
Durant thought of the conversation with Scarlett just now, and felt an unknown secret in his heart.
She talked to me, she smiled at me, she told me not to be Fry, she didn't like Fry
Although she is married, she and her husband have separated.
I might have a chance?
"I have never seen such a woman." Durant said, and said the words that made Yu Fei almost lose his balance, "She is so beautiful, I am willing to drink her foot washing water."
Yu Fei sneered and said: "If you have the ability, send this sentence to your Twitter."
Durant said happily: "I will."
He's crazy.
Then, they met Kojan in the center circle.
Kobe Bryant said harsh words in a formal manner, but James did not look at Yu Fei seriously.
Durant is still thinking about Scarlett.
Yu Fei discovered that he and Kobe may be the only two normal people here. No, Kobe is not a normal person either.
Can a person who works as a waiter while recuperating in a hotel be considered a normal person?
In other words, none of the three King Kongs promoted by Nike are normal people.
Yu Fei returned to the backcourt and thought, if the world is not normal, then normal people like him may be the abnormal ones.
This thought continued for a while, and then the lights dimmed.
The Lakers' home DJ loudly announced the starting lineups for both teams.
But when the DJs announced the Lakers, they played a soundtrack familiar to fans: "Sirius," the intro from Alanparson's project album.
This is the opening song that introduced the starters at home for the Jordan-era Bulls.
As soon as the song started playing, the audience at Staples Center seemed to see the KJ combination winning many championships for the Lakers in the years to come.
Moreover, compared to the DJ at the United Center, the DJ at the Staples Center is more middle-class. He adds nicknames when announcing the names of the players.
Matador Garfield, "Silky" Hamilton, "Downtown" Jamison, King James and Black Mamba Kobe.
This doesn't sound like an NBA game.
The DJ successfully fooled the audience into thinking they were watching a live broadcast of WWE.
In terms of momentum, the scene has already given enough, and the Lakers are determined to win.
Tyronn Lue took a deep breath, he was too familiar with the Staples Center.
This was the starting point of his NBA career, but now things have changed.
Some Lakers fans teased him that his most famous moment with the Lakers was being stepped over by Allen Iverson after being knocked down in the Finals.
They forget that he actually defended Iverson very well that night.
Iverson was ineffective most of the time, but it only took one moment for the superstar to kill all his efforts.
The scene was noisy, and Lue told himself to calm down as the starting players gathered around him.
Lue thinks back to when Carr was coaching.
If Karl, will he tell you anything here?
"Play a good game and let the audience shut up!" Lu decided to do whatever he wanted. He was not Karl. He had his own style. His style was to provoke players' emotions like Rivers.
A jump ball at the beginning, and Xiaojia won easily.
The Lakers attacked quickly. James quickly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed directly to Jamison without confronting Yu Fei.
Jamison catches and shoots.
Missed, but the rebound landed exactly where Kobe was.
Kobe vs. Anthony Morrow, this is an absolutely advantageous matchup.
Because of the SuperSonics, Morrow has become a well-known marksman in the league after shooting 40% of his three-point shooting for two consecutive seasons, but his defense is not his strong point.
When Kobe Bryant hits him, there is no need for complicated operations. He just dribbles the ball and pulls it out.
2 to 0
The Lakers want to play fast, but the Sonics don't mind.
Yu Fei also wanted to see who of the two sides was better at playing fast-paced games.
Just after halftime, the Lakers' defense was also unsteady.
Like the Sonics, the Lakers also have two defensive holes in their starting five.
One is Hamilton and the other is Jamison.
As soon as Durant was in position, Yu Fei passed the ball.
The ball was passed quickly and with great speed.
Durant and Yu Fei have been teammates for almost three years, and they immediately realized that Yu Fei wanted him to take action immediately after catching the ball.
However, Hamilton did not lose his position.
Durant's mind flashed to Scarlett's red lips - no matter what, just cum!
Durant took action decisively.
Hamilton never thought he would dare to do this.
This is the Western Conference finals, he actually plays like this? Frye allowed him to do this?
Hamilton didn't have time to think too much, because the shot flew from his head and hit the basket.
This feels right.
Durant believes that he is in good condition, and Yu Fei has found the former's current game template through Hamilton.
Although Durant entered the league with Yu Xia Mai's amazing draft template, the ball-handling ability he showed in the first three years of his career made it impossible for him to become a team player at this age like Yu and Mai. The ball-holding core inside.
Durant in the first two seasons was like the future Michael Porter Jr., specializing in catching and shooting.
This season, his dribbling and ball-protecting skills have improved, and he has begun to know how to use his long legs to get past opponents in the third position.
However, attacking with the ball cannot be achieved quickly. Although Durant has mastered the trick, it will take several years to evolve to the state that Yu Fei has seen in his previous life.
Therefore, Durant at this stage is actually no different from the previous two seasons.
His style is like Richard Hamilton at 208 centimeters tall.
He can attack with the ball, but shooting is still the key.
Because of his height and wingspan, he has the ability to shoot over anyone's head. It is the upper limit difference brought by this talent that determines the gap between Hamilton and his likes.
"That's a good shot." Yu Fei teased, "If you continue to cast like this, I will ask Scarlett to give you a basin of water for washing your feet."
Durant rolled his eyes at Yu Fei unhappily.
Yu Fei's frivolous tone completely destroyed the beautiful fantasy in his heart.
Subsequently, the Lakers moved the ball in a wide range, and Durant used his long arms to destroy the pass.
It looked like this was a counterattack opportunity for the Sonics, but the broken pass fell into Hamilton's hands.
Hamilton took the ball and glanced at the basket. Durant's defense had not yet returned to position.
"!#@￥@#!￥"
In the Staples Center, the fanatical fans used their voices to unite into a will, allowing Hamilton to take a three-pointer.
Same hit!
This is the certainty of a shooter with a 40% three-point shooting rate.
Durant actually only gave Hamilton half an open space. If he concentrated, he could have interfered strongly, but the opponent shot too decisively.
Yu Fei looked at Hamilton who was retreating, and remembered that the Lakers still had Mike Miller and Eddie House sitting off the court. By the standards of small balls (three-pointers + space), the Lakers' shooter resources are too good.
If Hamilton is not accurate, let Miller come up. If Miller is not accurate, you can also try House.
It's rare for three marksmen to misfire at the same time.
However, it can also be seen that the Lakers, in pursuit of space, invested too much team resources in shooters.
This leaves them with insufficient room to acquire a full-sized wing with stiffness and strength.
As a master of contemporary one-star shooting, Yu Fei knows one thing very well. No matter how great a shooter he is, if the opponent shortens the number of rotations, improves the intensity and hardness of defense, and only allows you to take half-open shots, then how many shooters can be like that? Did Hamilton seize the opportunity just like that?
Yu Fei doesn't think Morrow of his team can be trusted in that state. Even Hamilton, in that case, your guaranteed 36% shooting rate is extremely accurate.
Therefore, the Lakers' excessively rich shooter resources may seem desperate, but it may also lead them into a pit.
The premise is that they cannot be allowed to take advantage of the situation.
There is no one on the basketball court who is more bully than a shooter.
Once the situation is smooth and they can take action without any psychological burden, the accuracy is unimaginable. This is why the Small Ball Warriors often take away their opponents with a wave of critical hits when they are just born.
"Kevin, don't be too relaxed."
Yu Fei said: "Give me some pressure."
Durant hummed slightly.
Then, Yu Fei handed the ball to Morrow and asked him to dribble across the half court.
Morrow dribbled the ball cautiously and saw Yu Fei gesturing just after halftime.
I saw Yu Fei in the frontcourt setting up a pick-and-roll for Moreau. This unconventional cooperation made the Lakers dizzy for a while.
James didn't understand for a moment, Yu Fei suddenly turned around and cut inside, Morrow threw the ball into the air, and the rest was the exclamation of the entire audience.
They didn't expect that Yu Fei would get rid of James in an instant, run into the basket, pick the ball in the air with one hand in a cool gesture with no blind spots, and smash it towards the basket.
"BOOM!!!"
"You are a weakling who can even get distracted on defense. No wonder he is not in the top five in the MVP voting."
Yu Fei's casual trash talk unexpectedly hit James' heart.
The emperor began to heat up, why did he fall to this point? Why? He didn't blame others, he blamed Yu Fei. If it hadn't been for Yu Fei, if it hadn't been for this person who pushed him to a dead end, he wouldn't have made that choice, and he wouldn't have left Cleveland.
The world said he had no reason to leave there, and he thought so. But he left anyway, because if he couldn't defeat Yu Fei, there was no point in doing anything.
This is all he can do in order to defeat Yu Fei. It's worth it.
Now, he has no way out, and the culprit is still here making sarcastic remarks?
Yu Fei returned to the backcourt, unaware that he was carrying so many sins.
He saw James dribbling over with an ugly expression and thought
Wouldn't anyone really be offended by his casual words?
Isn't what he said true?
Oh yeah, this is the age of social media.
Commonly known as the "telling the truth is black" era.
(End of chapter)