After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, the Wizards returned to Washington without stopping.
Everyone is in a hurry, afraid of staying in Minnesota for a second longer!
The main reason is that the temperature in Minnesota in January is too low, and it has snowed recently, which makes it even colder, so that the Wizards players have no interest in enjoying the away game.
After returning home, they still had nearly a day's rest. The next day, the Wizards played at home against the Raptors, who had moved south from Toronto to escape the cold.
In addition to meeting his good brother Elliott Williams again, there is another thing that makes Li Kaiming happy, that is, Yi Jianlian fully recovered after two weeks of rest.
In fact, Yi Jianlian's injury this time was an ordinary ankle sprain, which could be cured in a week or so, but Sanders still let Yi Jianlian rest for a few more days just in case.
This is not because Sanders is asking for help now, but he has also discovered that since the start of the All-Star voting, Li Kaiming's state has risen to a level. With Li Kaiming in this form, Sanders has an impact on the team's record. Full certainty!
And the facts have indeed developed as Sanders expected. Under the leadership of Li Kaiming, the Wizards without Yi Jianlian still maintain a high winning rate, and their current record ranking has not fallen out of the top three in the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, Li Kaiming also received text messages and phone calls from Elliott Williams before the game.
[Brother, I will try my best to give you an impressive failure this time! 】
Damn, this guy talks so well, his tone sounds like the protagonist in some comics...
Li Kaiming smiled and shook his head, then typed a few words on his phone.
【Get ready to be beaten tonight! 】
The game started on time at seven o'clock in the evening. The last time they lost to the Raptors, it was because the Wizards players were in poor condition. Now the Wizards are on the right track and are in a strong momentum. How can they lose to the third-worst team in the Eastern Conference? Raptors?
As for the hot pot Li Kaiming promised his good brothers before the game, he will certainly not forget it.
Tonight, he showed unprecedented defensive concentration after Williams came on the court, and finally gave Elliott Williams two big blocks during the limited playing time of both sides!
Williams was so angry that after the game, he hit Li Kaiming on the chest with a "small fist" as big as a sandbag!
Li Kaiming spread his hands innocently, "Who the hell asked you to send text messages to provoke me before the game?"
"What text message? Why didn't I know?" Williams immediately began to pretend to be crazy. "It must be my cousin secretly playing with my phone and waiting for me to go back and beat him up!"
Li Kaiming couldn't help but rolled his eyes. Damn it, you are really thick-skinned. Where did your cousin come from with the special code? Cousin of the Void, right?
It was not easy for Williams to come here, and the necessary hospitality was still required, but neither of them really liked drinking while eating, which was a good thing for Li Kaiming.
Williams, a non-drinker, must be a "good boy" in the eyes of his uncle and aunt!
But the reason is actually that this guy is allergic to alcohol...
After defeating the Raptors at home, the Wizards' next few opponents are insignificant. It's not that these opponents are not strong, but because there is little attention.
In the process, the Wizards won two of three games and basically maintained their season average winning percentage.
Of course, Li Kaiming's attention is still as high as ever. The main reason is that as long as there is a Wizards game, this guy will be on the top five highlights of the next day, unless there are fans who hate him very much and get the special broadcast of the top five. Change the channel, otherwise Li Kaiming will be the biggest "conspicuous package" of NbA during this period...
This situation lasted until January 22, as the final results of the All-Star voting were getting closer and closer, and Li Kaiming's heart gradually grew.
Although he is very confident in his performance, voting is not something he can decide after all. It is possible that the final result is one vote away and he will not be able to enter the starting lineup. By then, he will have no place to cry!
So Li Kaiming set his sights on the second showdown with the Celtics on the 22nd!
In the last duel between the two sides, the Wizards not only lost the game, but also gave up the first place in the Eastern Conference. What made Li Kaiming grit his teeth the most was that in the interview after the game, the Wizards even made a show of comparison. !
How can this be tolerated? As a player whose goal is to be the first player in history, Li Kaiming can't bear to see someone stepping on his head to show off!
And it just so happens that hard special can be regarded as an appetizer on his way to the All-Star starting lineup. Now there are two reasons to come together. He has to show his spirit in this game!
At the same time, the opposite Boston Celtics were also focusing all their thoughts on the upcoming game. Head coach Doc Rivers shook his round head, with a trace of confusion in his eyes from time to time. It feels like standing on the edge of the training ground directing the Celtics players to run tactics.
The Celtics currently rank first in the Eastern Conference with 33 wins and 9 losses, while the Wizards rank second in the Eastern Conference with 31 wins and 11 losses.
Coincidentally, the second matchup between the two sides was still between the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference and the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, but this time the two sides changed positions, and the Celtics were the team with the better record.
The American and Chinese media began to exaggerate this powerful matchup. After all, the game between the first and second teams in the same division is not something that can be seen very often. A full game in a season is only 4 Game, if you want to watch it again, you have to wait until the playoffs, and the two sides may not meet in the playoffs!
What's more, there was a final "misjudgment" incident in the last game between the two sides, and the quarrel after the game made this game full of excitement.
So at the press conference before the game, a large number of Emerica reporters and reporters from China came to the press conference. All kinds of equipment were set up, waiting for the main player to enter!
At six o'clock in the afternoon, as the players and coaches from both sides entered the press conference, the reporters who had almost lost their patience immediately became restless.
Coach Sanders used the Force and pressed his hands in the air. The reporters waiting in front of the Wizards table immediately fell silent.
Sanders nodded with satisfaction, and then asked kindly, "If you have any questions for me, you can start asking me!"
As soon as Sanders finished speaking, the entire scene was extremely quiet, but no one raised their hands to ask questions. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Waiting any longer would only make things more awkward, so Sanders gave up the microphone to Li Kaiming.
When the reporters saw that they could finally interview Li Kaiming, they immediately became restless again!
This made Sanders sitting next to him blush and turn white!
Hello! You bastards! I'm the coach! coach! Why don't you interview me?
Li Kaiming looked at these crazy reporters, cast a comforting look at Sanders, and then said, "If you want to ask me anything, you can raise your hand!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the reporters present raised their hands. They were completely different from when Sanders was interviewing just now. You can hardly imagine that these are the same people.
Sanders on the side wanted to strangle these reporters to death. What the hell do you mean? Why did everyone pounce on this guy without asking the coach?
Reporters: We mainly think that no matter who takes your position...
Li Kaiming selected a reporter to ask him a question. The latter stood up and asked, "Li, do you think you will win this showdown?"
"Of course, there is no doubt that we lost the last matchup. After that, our team lineup changed a lot. Some people left and new players joined. This team and It was completely different before, and we are very eager to win tonight!" Li Kaiming replied, putting away the smile on his face.
"Lee, do you think the Wizards' strength has increased or decreased after that deal?" The second reporter asked a question.
Hearing this question, Li Kaiming sneered at this guy. How did you get your press card? Just ask such a rubbish question if you get the chance, right?
If he answers that the team is stronger, it shows that he has a grudge against the players being traded. If the answer is lower, it means disrespecting the work of the team management and distrusting his current teammates.
So he chose not to answer this pitfall-filled question. Even if he did break up with Arenas, he couldn't directly criticize the other person in front of the media.
Making conflicts public will only intensify them but cannot resolve them.
"Li, what do you think has changed between your team and the last time they played against each other?" The third reporter's question was so good that even Li Kaiming nodded secretly.
Look at people! If you don’t know how to ask questions, why don’t you go learn how to ask questions? You’re so low-level at digging holes!
"Our style of play is completely different from the previous one. We pursue more shots from outside the three-point line. We can hit the opponent's defense from further away, causing them to change their defensive strategy. We have lost an excellent player. Guy, but we also got a new killer. We are united as one, and everyone’s goal is to win.” Li Kaiming did not completely use Chelulun’s words to deal with reporters this time, but he also said something practical. As for this How many real things there are is a matter of opinion...
Of course, this reporter will not let go of the Celtics, especially since Garnett had previously expressed his opinion on Li Kaiming's All-Star votes. Under such circumstances, how could the reporters forget to interview the hard special!
"Kevin, do you think the Wizards have changed from before? How are you going to make changes on the defensive end?"
"There's no doubt that their lineup has changed, and Coach Sanders has done a great job. They were limited inside, so they added more outside shots, which made it difficult for us to guard them. Their three-pointers We need to pay more attention, too many teams die on their three-pointers." Garnett replied seriously with his eyes wide open.
"Before, you said that Li Kaiming's All-Star votes would be overtaken by Paul Pierce, but after the last results came out, Li's vote count has been close to yours. Are you worried that you will be overtaken?"
Although Garnett was already dark enough, it was still obvious that his face suddenly turned dark.
Which pot won’t be opened?
