Even in the worst of times, there was never a time when Knicks tickets couldn't be sold.
Not to mention that they are at their best now. Li Yan's performance has ignited the enthusiasm of New York fans. It is now difficult to sell out Madison Garden.
The match between the Knicks and the Lakers is unprecedentedly popular, and the showdown between the two traffic teams is a battle between the new and old kings, Li Yan and Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers' record is very stable. After Gasol joined, their running-in has gradually improved, and they are currently ranked first in the Western Conference.
After a 10-game winning streak, the Knicks have also opened up a considerable gap with the fourth-ranked Magic. They are only two games behind the second-ranked Pistons.
Li Yan was warming up on the court, and the fans on the sidelines continued to cheer him warmly.
After taking the Knicks away, Li Yan has become a new idol in New York. He has amazing popularity.
During the long regular season, the players on both teams were a little tired.
Li Yan and Kobe Bryant are the most dedicated players in the league. So far, they have not had a game off.
"Taylor Swift" also came to the scene. Today she was wearing a bright red coat and tight jeans that showed off her tall figure.
Although the two slept together last night, "Taylor Swift" decided to come over and declare her sovereignty.
After Li Yan finished warming up, he went to the sidelines to chat with "Taylor Swift" for a few words.
The female fans in the front row were very disappointed. With "Taylor Swift" around, they couldn't be today's lucky spectators.
At the same time, the warm-up for the Lakers also ended.
Li Yan saw Kobe and walked up to say hello. Shubao Pavilion
"Hi, Kobe, how are you doing recently?" Li Yan high-fived Kobe and hugged him.
"It's okay, your current condition is incredible." Kobe smiled: "You are all in the news."
"Hahaha." Li Yan joked: "Kobe, are you afraid? I will beat you up."
"Huh?" Kobe pretended to be surprised: "Boy, do you know who you are talking to?"
"Too many people wanted to beat me up, but I ended up beating them to tears and went back to find my mother."
Kobe said: "I advise you to change to an easier target. How about Derek Fisher?"
"Hahaha." Li Yan was amused by Kobe. He saw that Fisher always thought of those memes on the Internet.
"I like challenges, and the labor and management team is elite." Li Yan said with high spirits: "I feel like I can get a high score today."
"Boy, you can search online. Who is the man who scored 81 points? 66 points is not enough for me." Kobe said:
"Prepare yourself mentally and prepare to be blown away by me!"
Li Yan smiled and pushed Kobe away: "Sorry, I don't have time to search for these boring news."
…………
After the appearance ceremony, the main players of both sides stayed on the court.
Knicks: Li Yan, Quentin Richardson, Ron Artest, Yi Jianlian, Zach Randolph;
Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum.
The Lakers have a three-high lineup, and the current NBA has not yet entered the "small ball era" in the future. The strength of the inside is crucial to a team.
The game starts soon.
Compared with the first time they met, the Lakers had a completely different look.
From the beginning, they gave the Knicks a great sense of pressure.
Pau Gasol's support in the high post gave the Lakers more offensive changes, and Kobe Bryant also played more reasonably.
Kobe doesn't take many shots in the offense. The Lakers focus on the inside. "Baby Shark" Bynum has a big physical advantage over Zach Randolph.
Gasol is also much more mature than rookie Yi Jianlian, and the Lakers have taken quite the initiative in the paint.
Kobe put most of his energy into the fight with Li Yan, and he gave Li Yan a great sense of oppression.
Kobe's physical confrontation and defensive experience are top-notch. Li Yan was made a little uncomfortable by Kobe at the beginning.
The Lakers went on an 11-3 spurt, and Isiah Thomas was forced to call a timeout.
Falling far behind at the start is not good news.
After returning from the timeout, Li Yan adjusted his playing style in time. He used more pick-and-rolls to dismantle the Lakers' defense.
Although Randolph and Yi Jianlian are at a disadvantage on defense, their characteristics are equally distinctive on the offensive end.
The Knicks took advantage of the weak lateral movement abilities of "Little Shark" Bynum and "Old Fish" Fisher to make a fuss.
Li Yan repeatedly used one-and-five pick-and-rolls, looking for Yi Jianlian who shot outside and Randolph who followed down.
In addition, Richardson and Artest also frequently received passes from Li Yan and fired from the outside.
The Knicks quickly stabilized their position, leaving Kobe very helpless.
In Kobe's view, in terms of personal offensive ability alone, Li Yan is similar to Dwyane Wade. They are both extremely impactful super guards.
However, their shooting ability is not as good as mine.
The real strength of Li Yan lies in his ability to dismantle defenses. He is always able to create easy scoring opportunities for his teammates.
This is what Kobe envies most about Li Yan. This kind of ability is something Kobe does not possess.
Kobe felt that Li Yan was like a combination of "Magic" Johnson and Wade, and his team-leading ability was terrifying.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Knicks by 3 points, 28-25.
Li Yan scored 8 points and 4 assists under Kobe's targeted defense.
This kind of single-quarter data is actually pretty good, but when it comes to Li Yan, it seems very average.
"We originally thought this game would be a scoring battle between Kobe and Lee, but now it seems that is not the case at all."
"Kobe and Li Yan were facing each other the whole time, and they were frantically replacing their physical strength."
"Kobe only scored 7 points in the first quarter, but Li Yan only scored 8 points."
"But this is not good news for the Knicks. If Kobe and Li Yan are removed at the same time, the Lakers will be a stronger team."
The commentators are also analyzing the content of the first quarter. Relatively speaking, they are still optimistic about the Lakers playing away games.
After the start of the second quarter, the Lakers continued to control the rhythm of the game.
Kobe stepped up his personal attack, and he consumed Li Yan crazily on both offense and defense.
Due to Kobe's entanglement and the Lakers' strong rim protection inside, Li Yan's offensive efficiency was not high.
In fact, under Li Yan's full defense, Kobe's scoring efficiency was not very high, but the Lakers with the "Twin Towers" suppressed the Knicks in rebounding.
"Baby Shark" Bynum grabbed a lot of offensive rebounds, which gave the Lakers a lot more fault tolerance.
As for the Knicks, once the offense hits the ground running, it basically means the end of the offense.
The advantage on the boards allowed the Lakers to have more offensive possessions.
At the same time, the Lakers also began to use rotation players to consume Li Yan.
With Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, and Sasha Vujacic, the Lakers have a better lineup than the Knicks.
For Li Yan, who has an oversized "power bank", his physical exertion is not the most terrible thing; what is terrible is that Kobe gets a chance to breathe.
Under Kobe's defensive pressure, Li Yan's personal offense was restricted to a certain extent, and his style of play was somewhat closer to his state with the Nuggets last season.
It's just that the Knicks' current lineup cannot be compared with the Nuggets.
When Li Yan was unable to exert suppressive force, they were at a disadvantage.
At halftime, the Lakers led the Knicks by 9 points 56 to 47.
Although Li Yan was targeted, he scored 15 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal at halftime.
The Lakers showed that they are better than the Knicks, and they have been suppressing the Knicks.
Li Yan was troubled by Kobe Bryant, and his game rhythm was also affected.
Yi Jianlian also fell behind in the contest with Gasol. After hitting the iron several times, Yi Jianlian was a little afraid to take action.
The Knicks are in trouble at Madison Garden.
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