On February 26, 2013, the Lakers faced the Atlanta Hawks at home after a day off.
The Atlanta Hawks currently have a record of 33 wins and 24 losses, ranking fifth in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks team led by Larry Drew is not weak. The team has Al Horford, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Devin Harris, Marvin Williams and other famous players.
However, Marvin Williams will not play in this game due to injury.
In short, this Eagles team is definitely not comparable to the Lakers' last opponent, the Timberwolves.
Because of the war of words between Phil Jackson and Coach D, and Coach D's "angrily scolding" Kobe for not being able to shoot 47 shots in the game, and asking Kobe to make sure to shoot in the next game.
Therefore, in this game between the Lakers and the Hawks, the focus of the nation's attention is whether Coach D is talking about it or is he serious.
Is it really so ruthless to lead Kobe with 1,747 to win? Is it true that he is not afraid that Kobe's high shooting percentage and leading the team to win will damage his prestige in the Lakers and the league?
To be honest, although Kobe was 8-for-31 in the last game, many professionals can see that Kobe's strength has not declined significantly. For a player like Kobe, he is likely to be 23-for-33 in the next game.
At that time, how will Coach D and the Lakers step down?
Many people said that after Coach D slapped Phil Jackson in the last game, it was enough. There was no need to gamble one's face, prestige and the future of the Lakers with Phil Jackson.
If Phil Jackson loses, at best he will be embarrassed and ridiculed by the United States.
If Coach D loses, the consequences will be serious.
In short, before this game begins, those who really care about Coach D must hope that Coach D will stop.
And those who hope that Coach D will lead the Lakers to collapse, hope that Coach D will be defeated, and those who hope that Coach D will get out, then they definitely hope that Coach D will continue to be angry with Phil Jackson.
Before the game started, Kobe was under a lot of pressure when he attended the pre-game press conference in the face of crazy questioning from reporters.
Of course he doesn't want Coach D to bring the Lakers down.
He does have a young mentality. Before playing against the Timberwolves, he did have the idea of proving his skills, but that was not for Mayfair, it was to prove himself to Coach D.
This season, without the blessing of the golden bracelet given to him by Coach D, he struggled every game.
This must have been a bit unbearable for him, who was stubborn. Coupled with Mayfair's column and the support from the United States, he took the initiative at that time and wanted to prove himself again.
At that time, he never thought that so many things would happen later.
At that time, he wanted to prove himself against the Timberwolves. If he could prove it, it would be even better, so that the coach could truly understand himself and know how much he had sacrificed for him.
If he couldn't prove himself, he would just accept his fate and do whatever he did before.
However, he really didn't expect that the coach would actually get angry with Feier.
Now Kobe feels like he's riding a tiger.
Is it really the coach?
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
The coach is not like that!
"Bryant, will you take 47 shots in this game against the Hawks?"
"Kobe, are you going to make 17 shots tonight?",
"Kobe, how do you view your role on the team? Are you destroying the chemistry of the Lakers now? Are you unable to coexist with the other four guards?"
"Bryant, will the four guard combinations fall apart because of you?"
"Bryant, what's your relationship like with Howard and Coach D?"
"Kobe, will you go undercover to lead the Eagles to victory in this game and give Coach D his first defeat in his life?"
"Bryant, I heard that Coach D will use you to take the blame for his first defeat. Is this true?"
…
…
At the press conference before the game, Kobe looked ugly the whole time when faced with crazy questions from media reporters.
In the end, he was asked and walked out.
"Bryant!"
Ignoring agent Pelinka's call, Kobe left directly after the press conference.
Seeing Kobe's back at this time, Pelinka behind him sighed.
Is this guy Feier sick?
Bryant is doing well with the Lakers, why do you say Bryant is unhappy?
The same goes for Coach D. This loser, Mayfair, is barking like a dog. Just ignore him. Even if Mayfair's remarks ruined the chemical reaction of the Lakers, didn't you already solve it in the last game?
Why create more pressure on Bryant?
During this pre-game press conference, he stayed with Kobe throughout the whole process.
Now the pressure on Kobe seems to be back to before.
When Kobe was so angry just now, he must have been thinking about the past.
Back then, Kobe played with OK under Phil Jackson.
His shots were inaccurate and he hit too many irons. Phil Jackson, the media, experts, and celebrities said that he shouldn't hit like this and that he should give the ball to O'Neal.
The shots were accurate and the scores were high. The media and Mayfair said that O'Neal was unhappy and his teammates were unhappy. He was asked to pass the ball. He shouldn't score so many points by himself. Even if he won, the game shouldn't be played like this.
Even though Kobe used this style of play to win three championships for the Lakers, Mayfair, the media, reporters, experts, celebrities, and even the fans never trusted Kobe.
In the minds of these people, as long as Kobe plays like this, no matter how accurate he is, he will be iron-clad, and in the end he will definitely cheat the team.
In the minds of these people, Kobe is not worthy of playing like Jordan.
As long as Kobe plays like Jordan, no matter whether it is accurate or not, Kobe will be laughed at, and the ugly duckling will also want to compare with Jordan.
At that time, everyone was laughing, and O'Neal led everyone to laugh together. As the head coach, Mayfair did nothing, and even...even acquiesced in O'Neal's creation of public opinions that ridiculed Kobe.
As the head coach, Mayfair's default at that time was support.
Phil Jackson is even more hateful than O'Neal, like those teachers who watch their students being bullied.
In order to fight for power with Jerry Buss, Phil Jackson could only support O'Neal because Jerry Buss doted on Kobe.
Maybe Jerry West would still be here and things would be different, but...
It can be said that the shadow and tragedy of Kobe in those years are unimaginable.
He was Kobe's agent and experienced it all.
He knew this was the thorn and shadow that had always been in Kobe's heart.
Even after Mayfair entered the palace for the second time, he recognized that Kobe could play like Jordan and play Jordan's triangle offense like Jordan.
But this thorn was not pulled out of Kobe's heart, it was just hidden.
Once the critical moment comes, this thorn will come out.
Get on the court and play the Trail Blazers.
In the first quarter, Kobe made 2 of 9 shots. In the second quarter, Kobe immediately stopped taking shots, not even once.
This is the shadow caused by that year.
The shadow caused by being ridiculed by teammates, coaches and the world's media.
Even if the ugly duckling that wanted to become a white swan eventually turned into a white swan, the damage caused by being an ugly duckling has not been eliminated.
Kobe is very stubborn.
Kobe was very eager to be recognized by the world and recognized that he was indeed a white swan who could play like Jordan.
However, he has never received such recognition.
Even though he has won five championships.
The whole world says that he shoots too much, and he will not attack out of anger. The whole world says that he should not pass the ball, and he will attack like crazy out of anger.
Kobe himself has never been so confident. He cannot be confident enough to ignore it all like Jordan.
The way he plays is not chosen by himself, it is dictated by others.
Kobe may not even know it, but he is always being dominated by others.
In the last game against the Timberwolves, Kobe was so fierce, and the media is so mocking now, so he followed Kobe's previous playing habits.
He didn't know how to attack against the Eagles, so he started passing the ball and getting angry. After the game, he would either continue to be criticized by these people or slap them in the face.
Even though Fei'er entered the palace for the second time, he didn't take care of such problems.
Fei'er, who entered the palace for the second time, can no longer control Kobe.
In other words, I dare not care.
Because this was the root of the disaster he planted back then.
If he could have encouraged Kobe to be himself regardless of Kobe's iron or accuracy, and even asked O'Neal and his teammates to support Kobe to be himself, and stand behind Kobe to help Kobe fight against the public opinion of the world, I believe Kobe can play like Jordan.
So……
That OK will never collapse, and it will definitely be more than just three championships and a dynasty.
But this time...
"Coach D must let him attack!"
Bystanders are confused by the authorities.
Coach D is going to completely destroy Bryant.
still?
Pelinka's eyes flashed.
"is there time?"
…
…
The game between the 32-25 Lakers and the 33-24 Hawks must be considered a strong dialogue.
But this game isn't live nationally.
Live broadcast across the United States is the Kings' home game against the Heat.
But before the game between the Kings and Heat ended, TNT switched the live broadcast signal.
The overtime game between the Heat and Kings will not be broadcast live.
Directly broadcast the game between the Lakers and Hawks.
Things about Phil Jackson and Du Kang, as well as things about Kobe.
The excitement of this game between the Lakers and the Hawks is still explosive.
So the TNT trio that was scheduled to broadcast the Kings didn't go to Sacramento at all.
Since the rise of Coach D and the Lakers' formation of four major guard combinations, the Heat have fallen out of favor.
At the very least, TNT defected and focused on the Lakers and Coach D. As for James and the Heat, let ESPN continue to support them.
"Before the game, many people said that Coach D might be setting off a smoke bomb. Coach D has been under a lot of pressure to win recently due to being targeted by coaches across the league, so he wanted to use a smoke bomb to attack these people."
"Kenny, I've also heard from many people that Coach D has been under a lot of pressure to win recently and knows that he can't continue to lead the team to win, so he needs to find someone to take the blame. Isn't Kobe the best player in the history of the NBA? The pot?"
"Hahahaha, Charles, I've heard this saying too. Kobe's pot is indeed very useful. Didn't Shaq and Mayfair use it very skillfully back then?"
Being laughed at by Barkley and Kenny Smith, O'Neal was also giggling there.
I have to say that the program is really effective.
"Kobe's style of play determines it. He is the best player to take the blame. If the shot is not accurate, the blame is his. If the shot is accurate and it affects the offense of his teammates, the blame is still his."
"This is why many people say that Jordan's style of play is not suitable for everyone. Kobe is not worthy, and the current Westbrook is also not worthy."
"So, Shaq, do you think this is possible? Coach D is going to let Kobe take the blame for his loss?"
"Of course, apart from this, I can't think of any other possibility. If Kobe continues to play like Jordan, no one can lead Kobe, not even Phil and I, and even less so Coach D and the Lakers. , maybe Kobe will be accurate against the Hawks in this game, and maybe the Lakers will win, but as long as Kobe plays like this, sooner or later he will trick the Lakers and Coach D to death. Man, Mayfair and I were not scapegoating back then. But Kobe really hurt the team."
"So, winning is yours, losing is Kobe's, hahahaha..."
"Isn't it? Hahahaha..."
"Shaq, do you have any different opinions about Kobe's contribution to OK?"
"I guess there is or there isn't, hahahaha..."
"Of course it's yes or no, hahahaha..."
After O'Neill finished speaking, he also laughed.
The effect of the show is really explosive!
The audience in front of the TV was mesmerized, and everyone was laughing along.
In front of the TV, Westbrook gritted his teeth and watched the trio of O'Neal and TNT.
Why do you say I don't deserve to play like Jordan?
And am I going to play like Jordan?
I play ball like Kobe!
Damn it!
They kept talking about Kobe, why did it sound like they were talking about him when he listened?
In the Thunder, isn't he the one who takes the blame?
The winning is Durant's and the losing is his.
but……
Seeing O'Neal laughing loudly at this time, Westbrook was still very moved.
It was very miserable for Youke to meet a boss like O'Neal.
But he was lucky enough to meet KD.
KD has always supported him to be himself. When the whole world laughed at him, when the head coach put him on the bench at critical moments and let his substitutes play critical moments, KD always stood behind him and supported him.
KD is not O'Neal, the person who stabs his teammates in the back!
"So, I will not compromise with the world, and I will not be broken by you like Kobe. Except for KD, I will not listen to what anyone in the world says. I will always be myself!"
"Except for KD, no one in this world can change me!"
"I will only change for KD!"
…
…
In this game against the Eagles, Du Kang changed the starting lineup of the game.
Howard is still the starting center, but Yi Jianlian is the starting power forward, Tracy McGrady is the starting small forward, Kobe is the starting shooting guard, and Iverson is the starting point guard.
After the pregame shooting practice, players from both sides returned to the bench.
Only one person did not come back.
That person is Kobe.
Kobe was still practicing shooting on the court at this time.
This is the first time Kobe has done this since Du Kang coached the Lakers.
Looking at Kobe practicing shooting on the court at this time.
Other Lakers players are worried.
Kobe Bryant.
Favorability towards you: 95 (why?)
"I feel confused about everything right now, what should I do?"
Du Kang smiled.
After assistant coach Clifford finished planning the game.
The Lakers' starters are ready to take the court.
"TMC, Allen, please wait a moment."
Du Kang whispered in the ears of the two of them.
Both of them looked at Du Kang in surprise.
Although they were surprised, both of them nodded seriously in the end.
Du Kang smiled and patted the two of them on the shoulders.
"Go ahead."
…
…
As one of the two major focuses of this game.
Kobe Bryant did not return to the bench before the shooting practice before the game. This matter must not have been discovered.
"It seems that Kobe has discovered Coach D's plan to make him take the blame."
"Hahahaha, Kobe has been taking the blame for Shaq and Phil Jackson for so many years. This moment is just like that time, facing such a similar scene. With Kobe's IQ, it would be strange if he couldn't find it. "
"Charles, let me correct you again. That Kobe Bryant really hurt the team, hahahaha..."
O'Neal is laughing.
But in my heart, I kept giving praise to Mayfair Jackson.
What is a master of psychological warfare? Feier is a master of psychological warfare!
Coach D is nothing more than a psychological warfare master!
Compared with Mayfair, he is really just like a younger brother!
…
…
"Based on what I know about Kobe, he will not take action in this game. After this game, the gap between him and Coach D will not be bridged!"
"Mayfair, you are the most powerful head coach I have ever seen. You are the one who should be the godfather of the Lakers!"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
…
…
On the court, the starting positions of both sides have been determined, and the game is about to begin.
The five starting players for the Hawks are Pachulia, Al Horford, Josh Smith, DeShawn Stevenson, and Jeff Teague.
They were all secretly curious about Kobe.
As for the Lakers' starting players, except for Howard, everyone looked at Kobe with worry.
And Howard, at this time, he was really as excited as he wanted to be!
My tool coach is so smart!
He actually used his trick to turn the attack that Phil Jackson and Kobe had conspired against him into taking the blame for Kobe!
This is so beautiful!
"From today on, I must perform well on the court. I must not let anyone catch me. I must not be the one who takes the blame for losing!"
"Hahahaha, let Kobe take the blame, he is familiar with it!"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Well, Howard, who was about to jump the ball on the court, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Except for Kobe, everyone else looked at him.
Cough cough cough cough...
Well, some of them are not very interesting.
But, it’s so damn cool!
Howard, who is so happy, certainly cannot fail in the jump ball with Pachulia.
The Lakers got the first offensive opportunity of the game.
After Howard jumped the ball to Iverson, Iverson passed the half court and immediately hit the ball to Kobe.
"Coach D really still wants Kobe to control the ball and shots!"
"Coach D really wants Kobe to take the blame!"
"The Hawks are not the Timberwolves. This season, the Hawks only allowed their opponents to average 97 points per game. They are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA!"
This season, the Hawks have Pachulia Al Horford in the paint. One of the two can cover people, and the other can help defend.
At the small forward position, Josh Smith averages 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, and can assist or defend alone.
It can be said that the Eagles' basket is not so easy to get in.
At the same time, Jeff Teague of the Hawks, although his defense is not first-rate, is very fast. When you cannot break through to the basket, his speed can catch up with the offensive players, preventing the offensive players from getting open opportunities.
This Eagles team is indeed very integrated. Maybe they won't be able to make it far in the playoffs without a super giant, but in the regular season, this Eagles is very effective.
Since Du Kang said in this game that Mr. Ke must make 47 shots.
The Lakers players on the court will certainly do what Du Kang asks.
Iverson gave the ball to Kobe as soon as he passed half court.
Seeing Kobe take the ball, the Lakers fans at the scene also applauded Kobe.
But Kobe, who was aggressively attacking in the last game, did not intend to attack himself after receiving a pass from Iverson. Instead, he passed the basketball to McGrady and squatted on the baseline.
Seeing Kobe like this, Eagles coach Larry Drew's eyes lit up on the sidelines.
"Kobe really can't attack in this game!"
"Kobe is having an internal fight with Coach D!"
"Thank you Phil Jackson!"
"I'm going to take Coach D's first win!"
Seeing Kobe squatting in the corner, Larry Drew even sat up from the coaching bench excitedly and ran to the sidelines. He excitedly directed Stevenson to pass an ashtray to Kobe who was smoking in the corner. Be sure to serve him well. Okay, we must not let Mr. Ke feel dissatisfied at all!
Without Kobe's contribution, could the Lakers, a group of old, weak, sick and disabled teams plus a mentally retarded team win over his Hawks?
joke!
McGrady, who was in the left waist position, looked at Kobe, who was standing in the left corner, and shook his head. Holding the ball with one hand, he slightly raised the ball to avoid Josh Smith's steal, and then looked at Kobe and sighed. Take a breath.
"..."
Damn it!
Taking advantage of McGrady's distraction, Josh Smith, who failed to grab the ball, was dumbfounded at this time.
Do you look down on me so much?
I'm one of the best wing defenders in the NBA right now!
Facing my defense, you still have time to sigh!
He actually still had time to care about Kobe, who was ruined by Coach D!
Josh Smith feels like he can’t stand this anger!
Anyway, with Mai Banchan's speed, he is not afraid of him breaking through at all. If he fails to grab it once, he can still grab it a second time!
Telling you not to play seriously is a distraction!
Then, Josh Smith scrambled and got blindsided!
"Is there really a god in this world who can distract himself?!"
He, one of the best defensive players on the wings in the league, actually couldn't take down Tracy McGrady, who had been watching Kobe and sighing!
"TMC can attack, but he keeps teasing Josh Smith. What is he going to do?"
"It's almost 24 seconds, what is the TMC doing?!"
The Lakers fans at the scene were crazy.
Just now Kobe was squatting in the corner.
Now McGrady is not attacking, he is just teasing Josh Smith like a pet.
What happened to the Lakers?
"Fake! You're a good Laker, won't you really be ruined by Mayfair?!"
Just when the Lakers fans at the scene were going crazy.
Maddie finally moved.
Once again, he turned around coquettishly and avoided Josh Smith's attack. McGrady passed the ball from behind his head to the baseline.
The ball was fast and flat, almost grazing Josh Smith's scalp as it flew toward Kobe.
"Fuck!"
Is this pass too high?
TMC's previous passes were very arrogant and overbearing, but can it be so arrogant and overbearing? !
Not only did it fly close to Josh Smith's scalp.
And it just passed the fingertips of Stevenson, who wanted to steal, and came to Kobe's hand.
He looked at the basketball in his hand and looked at the timer.
Kobe felt like he didn't want to attack.
but!
The ever-beating red time.
There is only one defensive player in front.
His blood was burning.
Buzzer + single defense!
He is Kobe Bryant, how could he not attack!
Jump, fall back, kick, take action!
Kobe's picturesque shot caused the Lakers fans at the scene to exclaim again.
This is the Kobe they like!
"Teacher Ke's shooting is so beautiful!"
Bang!
The Lakers fans who had just exclaimed at the scene exclaimed again.
This is the Kobe they like!
"Teacher Ke looks good when he's making iron!"
Because Kobe's sudden move was too sudden.
Therefore, the reaction of the Eagles players under the basket did not keep up.
But Howard, who was sure that Kobe would take action and knew how to strike, reacted quickly.
Although he couldn't get this offensive rebound because of Pachulia's position.
But I got it right!
"Damn it, Howard actually gave Kobe the offensive rebound point!"
"Did the sun come out from the west?!"
Kobe looked at the basketball in his hand, gritted his teeth, and stopped attacking or passing the ball to McGrady.
This guy Maizi can’t be trusted now!
It was a buzzer-beating pass!
Kobe took a step forward and threw the ball to Iverson.
14 seconds for the second attack.
After Iverson deceived Jeff Teague through a butterfly, he didn't even make a pull-up jumper.
Instead, he pulled it back and once again butterfly pierced Jeff Teague!
"Fuck! What is Iverson going to do?!"
"Isn't he just like Tracy McGrady?!"
Just now McGrady failed to attack when he had the opportunity.
Now Iverson doesn't attack even if he has the chance!
"Damn it! Iverson actually took the blame at the buzzer!"
The Chinese audience at Penguin Live were shocked!
Are the Lakers showing off?
In this game, do the Lakers really not want to win, but just want to show off, and just want to impress Kobe?
What shocked the audience in the Penguin live broadcast room even more was that Coach Xiao Du on the sidelines actually stood up and applauded Iverson's pass after the show.
"Coach Xiao Du seems to be saying, give Mr. Ke a shot!"
Damn it!
Hey Mr. Ke, let’s strike iron!
Kefan, you little black guy Amy, you understand Kobe!
On the court.
Another buzzer beater.
There was another clang!
Kobe looked at the young Lakers coach on the sidelines.
"Coach, is this really the case?"
Kobe chewed the jersey on his chest.
"Ding, your player Kobe's favorability towards you has been adjusted to 94."
"Ding, your player Kobe's favorability towards you has been adjusted to 93."
"Ding, your player Kobe's favorability towards you has been adjusted to 92."
"Ding, your player Kobe's favorability towards you has been adjusted to 91."
"Ding, your player Kobe's favorability towards you is adjusted to 90."
It kept beating until 90 and then stopped.
Du Kang smiled.
Looking at the smile on Du Kang's face at this time...
"Coach, you forced me!"
"Coach, you underestimate me!"
"I will never take the blame for this game!"
Kobe spits out the jersey off his chest.
Tonight, whether it's Peter Pan or Black Mamba, let's kill!
…
…
This is the first update today.
(End of chapter)
