The Los Angeles derby in recent seasons has been extremely eye-catching.
Although the Lakers are old, their dominance is still there, and they have been strong contenders for the championship in these two seasons.
The Clippers have a vague tendency to become the new king of the league. Judging from the first four games, other teams simply cannot find a way to fight against the Clippers.
The Clippers beat their opponents by more than 10 points in every game. The reason why some did not win by 30 or 40 points was because the Clippers did not want to exert too much force and save face for the opponent.
For example, in the game against the Hawks, the Hawks really had no power to fight back. They only scored 77 points in the game. The gap between the two sides was too big.
The Clippers played casually at the end of the game, but if they continue to play hard and win by 58 points, it would be a bit ugly.
After all, the Eagles replaced their main force early and chose to surrender. If you surrender, you will lose half, so they can meet again in the future.
However, before this game, there were still many experts who were optimistic about the Lakers, because the Lakers were very strong against the Clippers in the regular season last season.
This season the Lakers have made great improvements in their lineup and style of play, breaking away from Phil Jackson's previous structure and abandoning the increasingly old and cumbersome triangle offense.
D'Antoni's arrival has put the Lakers on the path of rapid attack.
With Chris Paul at the helm, the Lakers' offense can be guaranteed.
Kobe is one year older, but he is still one of the best scorers in the league.
At the small forward position, Iguodala is in his prime. His off-ball style and tough defense fit perfectly with Kobe and Paul.
In the first five games of the season, the Lakers achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, ranking second only to the Clippers in the Western Conference.
After the lightweight reform, the Lakers' offense is sharper and their defense is more flexible.
The only loophole in the team is the fourth position. Jordan Hill has a very powerful name but is quite average in strength.
However, together with McGee, he meets D'Antoni's basic requirements for the inside.
The offense can take advantage of the pie, just hit one occasionally and don't occupy space or possession of the ball.
It's enough for Kobe and Paul to score the Lakers' ball.
Min Congda was sitting in the VIP room, watching the Staples Center full of people, and couldn't help but worry: "When the Huawei Center Arena is built in the future, the 25,000 seats will not be full, right? No, right?" "
Including this game, the last eight games played at Staples Center were all sold out.
The basketball market in Los Angeles can be said to be extremely hot, and tickets for the games between the two teams are really hard to come by.
It is said that on the black market, the price of the Clippers' 20-year season tickets has tripled, and there are signs of rising.
After all, these season tickets are issued only once, and if you buy them, you can really invest in financial products to increase their value.
Min Congda began to worry about what would happen in such a hot football market when the Huawei Center was built and the stadiums were full.
Of course, there are still at least two seasons until the Huawei Center Arena is completed, so it is a bit premature to worry now.
The game has begun, and the Lakers took the lead in launching an attack.
The Lakers have completely changed their offensive routine this season.
They followed the trend and also started using the pick-and-roll as a starting point.
The low-post offense inside has been basically abandoned, and even Kobe's number of low-post singles has been greatly reduced.
In the past few games, Kobe would only post up and play hard in the low post at critical moments of the game.
The Lakers' first score was easy. After Paul picked and rolled, he hit a mid-range jumper directly from the top of the arc.
Judging from the data of the previous few games, Paul's shots have improved compared to last season.
His offense was also quite determined at the beginning.
After the first ball was hit, the Clippers missed George's jump shot from the outside.
Paul slowly counterattacked with the ball, set a pick-and-roll screen with Jordan Hill, and took another mid-range shot, which he hit again.
Two mid-range shots were scored easily, and the Lakers took the lead at the start.
"D'Antoni's idea is quite good, strengthen Paul's offensive firepower this season, and appropriately reduce the scoring pressure on Kobe. Use Paul's pick-and-roll power, and Kobe will always remain a threat on the wing. But... you can't score points at critical moments. ah."
Min Congda carefully observed the Lakers' offense at the beginning, and he could feel the changes made by the Lakers compared to last season.
The Lakers had many stars last season, and Paul has been trying to integrate the team and create opportunities for the team.
The regular season effect was very good. The Lakers played a pretty good regular season and had a good record.
But in the playoffs, after the defensive intensity increased, such scenes of full team performance rarely happened.
The stars must stand up and solve the problem.
Facing the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals, Kobe's inability to make the final decision at critical moments was a key factor in their loss.
In the new season, the Lakers' lineup is getting younger, and the team's lineup structure is more reasonable and compact.
According to D'Antoni's coaching style, the regular season is the same 8-man rotation.
Paul will definitely have to shoulder more scoring responsibilities on the offensive end.
But in the playoffs, Kobe is one year older. What should the Lakers do in critical moments?
At this time, the Clippers encountered some minor troubles in the first quarter.
Maybe the previous games went too smoothly, or maybe Curry just felt uncomfortable playing Paul in the regular season.
Four minutes into the game, the Clippers had yet to score in a sports game. They only relied on Gasol to draw fouls in the paint and score 2 points.
The Lakers beat the Clippers 10:2 at the beginning, leading by 8 points.
Curry went 0-for-3 from the field and missed both of his three-point attempts.
After Curry entered the league, his performance fluctuated every time he played against Paul.
It can only be said that Paul, a defensive veteran, is really annoying.
There were a lot of small moves on the hands, but the referee didn't call them much and turned a blind eye.
Pitchers like Curry sometimes rely more on rhythm.
Once small movements disrupt the rhythm, the feel will be affected.
However, Curry quickly made adjustments after the timeout.
He chose to hold the ball and attack Paul one-on-one, hit inside, and use floaters and mid-range shots to score over Paul's head!
After the timeout, Curry scored 4 points in a row, and the Clippers narrowed the score slightly.
After the first quarter of the game between the two sides, the Clippers trailed the Lakers by 4 points at 23:27.
This is the first time the Clippers have fallen behind in the first quarter since the start of the season.
This surprised Min Congda. He saw the potential and changes of the Lakers.
The most critical figure among them is Iguodala at the third position.
The presence of Iguodala has benefited the Lakers a lot on both offense and defense.
First of all, on the defensive end, his switching ability, single defense ability, and basket protection ability are all quite good.
To put it bluntly, it is a panacea. The third position is a panacea, and Iguodala is one of the outstanding ones.
The other positions of the Lakers have distinctive characteristics, but they all have obvious flaws.
The shortcomings of the inside line are that Jordan Hill's defensive ability is average and he is mediocre in all aspects.
McGee has excellent physical fitness and is very strong in assisting defense and blocking shots, but he has some problems with his awareness. Sometimes he is too active and lacks a sense of the overall defensive situation.
Kobe is getting older and his single defense ability has declined. Paul is too short and makes many small moves in single defense. His ability to assist defense and backcourt rebound protection is basically zero.
The good thing about Iguodala is that his presence can make up for everyone's shortcomings.
Hill's help defense is average, and Iguodala's help defense can make up for the loopholes.
McGee's defensive awareness is not good, and Iguodala can help protect the basket.
Kobe's one-on-one defense falls, and the task of dealing with the opponent's outside arrows is given to Iguodala.
Paul doesn't have the ability to protect backcourt rebounds, and he can't help defend. Iguodala can do the same.
Compared with last season, although the Lakers have Gerald Wallace and Artest, these two players have something in common, which is that they have entered a period of decline and move slowly.
Among them, Wallace is generally on the inside on the defensive end. In terms of assisting and individual defense on the outside, his condition has declined due to his age, and he is somewhat unable to do what he wants.
A very important reason why his condition declined in his early 30s is that he suffered a black elbow from Bynum in the game against the Lakers, which caused his lungs to shrink and his physical fitness to drop greatly. He has never been able to return to his old form. Peak state.
He was able to come to the Lakers and play with Bynum, all because he had to endure it for the sake of the championship.
As a result, he didn't win the championship. Of course, Wallace walked away without wanting to stay.
The Lakers also felt that keeping Bynum, a guy with an underdeveloped brain, would be a disaster, so they simply sent him away when he was valuable, in exchange for Iguodala, who was at his peak.
Obviously, Iguodala is the right choice for the Lakers.
Compared with Wallace, he also has a huge advantage on the offensive end, he has a pretty good three-point shot.
Last season, he shot 39% from three-point range and was quite a threat when shooting from the wing corners.
This is very important for the Lakers. They have really had enough of the traditional inside strikers like Ci Shiping, Wallace, and Hill who failed to hit fixed-point three-pointers in the early years.
In the first quarter, Iguodala hit two corner three-pointers, one on the left and one on the right, forcing the Clippers to expand their defensive area.
This gives Paul and Kobe more room to move in the mid-range.
"Good deal, this is really a good deal. It is really not easy for the Lakers. Switching to Iguodala, the team's outside offense and defense have been greatly improved. And Iguodala also has certain key ball ability. He added With Paul and Kobe, I might be able to teach the Clippers a lesson in the playoffs this year!"
Min Congda watched the Lakers' outstanding performance in the first quarter. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't help but pick up the wine glass and take a sip, which was quite enjoyable.
"Hey, Manager Min, are you...are you okay?"
Yang Ruosi on the side looked at Min Congda's excited look and asked curiously.
"Ah? I...I'm fine, I'm fine. How about this pizza? Is it delicious? Authentic Italian pizza."
"It's delicious, very good. But I think your team is lagging behind. Why do you seem so happy?"
"Really? Am I very happy? You are wrong. I just think the game is exciting and worth watching. What do you think? Is basketball interesting?"
Min Congda looked at him and Yang Ruosi nodded and said: "It's not bad. It's very quiet watching the game in the private room, but it's a bit far away. Can I ask, how did you become the general manager of the team? I understand. I took a moment and looked at the news, but it seemed that no news clearly explained how you became the team manager."
Yang Ruosi has been very curious about Min Congda these days, so she searched for relevant information on the Internet.
Upon further investigation, I found out that this guy is really famous and has been on the headlines countless times.
And he seemed to be a complete devil in the NBA circle. He scolded the officials, the league president, hit the referees, made rude remarks, and was diagnosed with mania and was forbidden to watch the games on site. The richness of it surprised her.
But after getting to know him, I felt that he was obviously a very ordinary person, his speech and behavior were normal, polite and even a little humble.
There is no thorny feeling in my whole body. I am gentle and calm. When I talk to people, my mind seems not to be on them, and I don't care much about anything.
She remembered that when she first met him, she looked a bit prickly, and she felt a little embarrassed.
It turns out that this person is the real big thorn, and it turns out that the real thorn doesn't bother with small tricks.
However, after looking at various news contents, Yang Ruosi found that all reports ended in June 2009.
The first report about him was "Chinese manager airborne to Los Angeles Clippers", followed by a series of related speculations, but no report clearly stated what Min Congda did before.
Her curiosity was suddenly piqued and she started searching article after article.
Then I discovered that there were reports that Min Congda was an orphan who came to the United States to work undercover. He was scouted by Sterling on the basketball court, and finally won the trust of his boss and became the team's general manager.
This content looks like it was made up, it's too unreal, and it's not a legend.
In short, after consulting the information for a long time, Yang Ruosi even went to the Berkeley library to look for some newspapers and periodicals, but there was still zero information.
Not only are there no relevant reports about Min Congda in the United States, there are also no words related to him in domestic databases.
A strange sense of mystery shrouded Min Congda, and Yang Ruosi couldn't help but ask him face to face.
Min Congda had heard this question many times and replied smoothly: "My parents passed away very early. When I was 15 years old, I was deceived into working in the United States. I washed dishes and took out the trash in a restaurant in Los Angeles. At that time, I The only entertainment I had was playing basketball. I was good at basketball. Later, I met Sterling. He admired my skills very much. Later, he often went to the restaurant where I worked to eat, and we became familiar with him as soon as we went there. He often invited me over. I went to the Staples Center to watch games. Until 2009, one day he suddenly came to me and said that he no longer wanted to manage the Clippers. He thought I was a good management material and asked me to try it. Then, I took office. ,Until today."
Min Congda briefly repeated what he said to the psychiatrist, which was similar to what Yang Ruosi had seen in some reports.
Min Congda has also polished the specific details carefully, and it is basically foolproof, with no loopholes, and no one will delve into it anyway.
If someone digs deeper, the system will fool him.
Of course, there is indeed a big loophole in it, which Min Cong has not fixed until now.
Yang Ruosi asked: "You said you can play basketball and you are very good at it."
Min Congda was stunned for a moment and said: "Uh... yes, I can play basketball. Let me tell you, my basketball talent is very high. If I had received formal basketball education earlier, maybe I could enter the NBA."
The only loophole is here. In fact, Min Congda can't play basketball at all.
Two and a half years later, he has become a super keyboard warrior and a top theoretical guru in the basketball world.
However, he really can't play basketball.
After saying these words to Yang Ruosi, Min Congda suddenly thought that maybe he should learn to play basketball.
Otherwise, this lie will not come true in the future, and I will still brag about being a "butter bomb" on the street.
(End of chapter)
