After the first week of games, the Trail Blazers have won four games and are first in the Western Conference. The Jazz have four wins and one loss. They are second in the Western Conference. The Lakers have two wins and one loss. They have played one or two fewer games than other teams and are temporarily ranked first in the Western Conference.
Four.
In the Eastern Conference, the Knicks have won five games, ranking first in the Eastern Conference and first in the league. The Celtics have four wins and one loss, losing to the Knicks, ranking second in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers also have four wins and one loss, losing to
Defeat the Trail Blazers and temporarily rank second in the Eastern Conference.
In terms of personal performance, Wang Tiejun averaged 48 points, 17 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 4.3 blocks, 2.1 turnovers and 2.9 fouls in three games.
After the first week, the league announced the official regular season MVP rankings.
Although the Lakers' record is average, Lao Wang's personal data is so outstanding. Not only is he versatile, but also in terms of scoring, it is simply admirable. He is almost close to Chamberlain in ancient times. In other words, he has only played three games.
It's not that big yet. If this data can be maintained for a season, it will really shock everyone's attention.
Relying on his strong personal performance, he climbed to the top of the MVP rankings.
No media or star dared to doubt the quality of his data. After all, among the Lakers' opponents in the first three games, apart from the weak Kings, the other two opponents were the Knicks and Jazz. This data is very valuable.
However, some media still doubted Wang Tiejun's third game data because he scored 49 points in vain. They seized on this and believed that Wang played too alone and could not make his teammates better, and even dragged down the performance of his teammates.
It makes teammates worse.
This argument that it cannot make teammates better, but can only make them worse, does have a certain market, because all along, no matter who plays next to Lao Wang, he will be suppressed.
For example, Kidd's statistics in the Suns are obviously not as good as those in the Mavericks.
And now Richmond has lost three consecutive games, which has become new evidence.
…
CCTV rented a two-story terraced building in Los Angeles, which served as both accommodation and workspace for Zhang Liji and five other people.
On the morning of the 8th, five people were busy sorting out some video recordings of interviews and competitions and preparing to send them back to China.
"Director Zhang, look, ESPN has updated their prediction of winning chances." Su Qun handed over a newspaper.
"The Knicks have gone up, and the Lakers have gone down, right?" As he said that, Zhang Lili took it and took a look.
Indeed, as he expected, the Knicks had 21% and the Lakers had only 16%, an increase or decrease of one percentage point from each other.
Except for these two teams, the Trail Blazers rose from 18% to 20%, the Pacers fell from 15% to 14%, and the Celtics fell from 13% to 12%. Among the six first-tier teams, the Jazz originally
If the ground doesn’t move, it’s still 16%.
"The media is really optimistic about the Trail Blazers. They are almost catching up with the Knicks. But they are really strong. Among the five main players, only the small forward is not good. The other four can all score 20+ points and have more offensive firepower than the Knicks.
Si is even stronger." Lao Zhang said.
Su Qun smiled and said: "It's probably impossible for four of us to score 20+ points. We don't have that many shots."
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "I'm just talking about scoring ability. The Blazers' current offense is focused on the inside. After all, the inside offense is more efficient. The outside scores of Flying Squirrel and Lydel have declined to varying degrees compared to last season.
And if you think about it, people's shooting touch fluctuates. If one of the four of them has a bad touch, or even two of them have a bad touch, the other two or three can step up, and the Blazers' offensive ability will not be reduced in any way.
Xiao, what a strong foundation of strength this is? The home team’s lineup is really too strong!”
Speaking of this, he said with some worry: "The Lakers are really having difficulties this season, it just depends on when Richmond will step up.
If the record is not good, no matter how good the Tiejun's data is, the MVP ranking will drop. This is a data that pays more attention to the team's record."
Su Qun nodded, took out the Lakers' schedule, looked at it, and said, "The first game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers is on December 8th, at the Blazers' home court. It will definitely be a battle between dragons and tigers."
"I hope it will be a battle between dragons and tigers, rather than a one-sided game. Just like yesterday, although the Knicks defeated the Lakers, the victory was not easy. Jordan and O'Neal did not have the strength to win steadily." Zhang Liji said.
Su Qun looked down the schedule and said: "The second game is the last game before the All-Stars, February 4th, at the Lakers' home court, and the third game is the first game after the All-Stars, the Trail Blazers
On the road, these two games are separated by only one All-Star. The fourth game is in March, and the two teams have four regular season games."
"How many live broadcasts do we have among these four games?" Zhang Lili asked quickly.
"Oh, there's only one game, the one before the All-Star Game." Su Qun sighed.
"What a pity." Zhang Lili shook his head.
…
The Lakers' fourth game is still at home, against the Warriors on the 9th, and then there will be several away games, none of which are strong teams.
On the afternoon of the 8th, the team arranged an in-team training session.
Several coaches discussed tactical issues together. Now the Lakers' strength is not united, and it is all supported by Lao Wang. They need to solve this problem as soon as possible, especially activating Richmond, the established outside core.
Richmond is undoubtedly capable and is still at the end of his peak. As long as he is activated, the Lakers' strength will be improved.
As for how to activate it, it depends on how to cooperate with Lao Wang.
Kurt Rambis said: "Jordan and O'Neal work well together on the same wing. Each can attract defense for the opponent and create singles opportunities. Can we also let Mitch go to Old K's side?"
Old assistant coach Potka nodded and said: "This is a good idea, we can consider it. But Richmond went to Old K, so on the weak side, we lack someone who can back-cut.
Chris Mullin is getting older, so it may be difficult to implement the weak-side cutting tactic. He can only be a fixed-point three-point shooter on the weak side and cannot display his full potential.
If this tactic is used, I think Rick Fox is more suitable to start. He is faster than Mullin now. Moreover, he is good at everything and is very versatile."
Rambis nodded and said: "It would be good to let Mullin enter the substitute lineup. Both he and Fox are capable of playing the main role. They can be replaced."
Head coach Harris thought for a while and then said: "This style of play can indeed be tried. Putting Mitch and Old K on the wing should be able to create singles opportunities. We will try it later. In addition, I have an idea, if
Kobe can be moved to the starting lineup, and we can play a one-versus-three-guard tactic."
"Let Kobe be in the starting lineup?" Several other people were startled.
Nodding, Harris said: "Richmond and Mullin are both older. I want to lower the average age of the outside line and improve the vitality of the outside line. Mullin and Kobe are both the same height. Let Kobe start on the outside line.
There was no decrease in height either.
In addition, Kobe Bryant is faster than Fox, he can pass the ball suddenly, he can also play fast breaks, and he can do both offense and defense, and his singles ability is also good, right?"
Rambis said hesitantly: "But his experience is not very rich, and various technologies are not yet mature. I think Fox is more stable."
Potka reminded: "You can ask old K, this is his team, Kobe is his apprentice, and he knows Kobe best."
"Yes, we will ask Old K later." Harris nodded.
He actually doesn't really believe in young players, but Old K's status is too high, and he has to consider Old K's opinion, otherwise he won't get Old K's support, and the Lakers may change coaches.
In fact, the reason why he proposed to put Kobe in the starting lineup was because of Old K's attitude. During the communication with Old K, Old K made it clear that he hoped that the coaching staff would train Kobe more.
The coaching staff discussed for a while, called Lao Wang over, and first talked about Richmond's issue.
"Let him be with me?" Lao Wang pondered.
In fact, it's not bad. O'Neal and Jordan played very well together on the wing last night, otherwise he wouldn't have lost.
Rock cooperates with him on the flank. Rock is a weakened version of Jordan, but he is confident that he is an enhanced version of O'Neal, and the effect should not be bad.
"You can try it." He nodded.
Kurt Lambis, who made this suggestion, was very happy and said to Harris: "Del, if you agree, I will notify Mitch."
"OK, you inform him." Harris nodded.
Rambis immediately went to find Richmond, while Harris and other coaches continued to discuss with Lao Wang the issue of Kobe Bryant's starting position.
"Let Kobe be in the starting lineup and play a three-guard tactic? You can try it. If it doesn't work, put him back on the bench." After hearing this, Lao Wang immediately expressed his agreement.
After a season of suppression, Kobe's prolific shooting attributes have been worn away a lot, and his shots have become more reasonable. In the first three games, his number of shots has greatly increased, and his shooting percentage has also improved compared to last season.
Last season, he averaged 18 minutes per game, 7 shots, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks, and a shooting percentage of 42.3%.
In the first three games of this season, he averaged 28 minutes per game, 10 shots, 14 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 0.5 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 44.8%.
This performance was even better and more efficient than Richmond's sluggish performance in the first three games.
And as a shooting guard, his 44.8% shooting rate is already pretty good, not to mention a blacksmith, especially since Kobe is only a second-year player.
Among them, Kobe will rely on the application of playing skills in singles on the outside, which is an important reason for his efficiency improvement.
The second reason is to gain weight and improve his resistance ability.
Finally, his skills are more mature than last season.
However, Kobe still needs to hone, not only his offense, but also his defense. Now his defense is far inferior to Jordan's, and both offense and defense are outclassed by Jordan, who is almost 35 years old.
He hopes that Kobe will grow up as soon as possible. With his playing skills, he thinks Kobe's ceiling will be higher.
This is also the reason why he supports Kobe Bryant in the starting lineup. He takes advantage of the regular season time to practice and hopes that the playoffs can help him more.
Both ideas were supported by Lao Wang, and the coaching staff breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shall I go to Old K's place?"
Richmond was very happy when he heard it.
With Old K on the wing, he will face much less defensive pressure on the offensive end, which will be beneficial to his performance. He will definitely be able to get a lot of open spaces.
To be honest, he had been quite depressed and under great pressure these past few days.
Although he came here to hug his thigh, his performance was too poor. What if it dragged down Old K's thigh? He couldn't be scolded by Lakers fans?
At this time, the coaching staff found Chris Mullin and communicated with him about the issue of putting Kobe in the starting lineup and him in the bench.
Although Mullin is sorry, for the sake of the championship, the substitutes should be substitutes.
After communicating with Mullin, the coaching staff notified Kobe.
"Should I start?" Kobe was stunned and didn't react immediately.
"Kobe, this is just a tactical attempt. You may return to the bench at any time." Harris said seriously.
The one who is really disappointed is Rick Fox. This guy who wants to be an actor every day, feels that his contract is too low, so he is not taken seriously?
If he gets a multi-million contract, do the Lakers still dare to let him play as a substitute?
Well, now he is a little frustrated. In the Green Team, he was the unbeatable main force and the team's third scoring point, but in the Lakers, he is not even qualified to be the sixth man.
What I can comfort myself with is that he is a swingman at the forward and defensive positions and can play as a substitute at the second and third positions, so he will have a lot of playing time.
He looked at Lao Wang, then at Kobe, and sighed to himself, it's good to have a backer!
"Kobe."
The old Dynasty Kobe Bryant waved, and Kobe quickly ran over and said with a smile: "Old K, I'm starting."
"Remember, don't waste your shots. The nickname Blacksmith is not nice. Forget it. What you have to pursue is efficiency. You have to be like Jordan. If you can't do it, I will put you back on the bench immediately. Do you understand?"
Lao Wang's tone was quite serious, both an exhortation and a warning.
"Don't worry, old K, I haven't been a pro for a long time. I gave Mickey the nickname of blacksmith. My efficiency is higher than him now." Kobe shouted happily.
"Damn boy!" Richmond yelled angrily from behind, and then Kobe was almost pushed to the floor.
"Ha ha!"
Kobe broke away, laughed and ran away to prevent the rock from bothering him any more.
"Mickey."
Lao Wang put his arm around Richmond's shoulders and said: "Relax a little, we have just cooperated and are not very familiar with each other. I believe you will get better and better as we continue to play."
"I believe so." Richmond nodded and smiled.
Old K's attitude was quite good, which made him relieved.
The team leader's status is too high, his strength is too strong, and his performance is not good, which really puts a lot of pressure on him.
Thinking about old K's statistics, old K's efficiency, and then thinking about his own performance, he is too embarrassed to mention any outside core now, it will only make people laugh.
The next day, on the 9th, the Lakers defeated the Warriors at home and achieved a record of three wins and one loss.
Kobe played 30 minutes, made 7 of 14 shots, 50% shooting, 0 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws. He scored 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, and 3 fouls. His performance was good, and his key efficiency was
very good.
When he plays singles on the outside, he still takes a lot of action and relies on playing to gain breakthroughs and space for shots.
Without assisting defense, unless there is enough tonnage and strength to withstand Kobe's rely on play, ordinary shooting guards, even if they have good defensive skills, will have a hard time dealing with this style of play for the first time.
Richmond also performed well in this game. He played 33 minutes and made 8 of 15 shots. His shooting percentage was as high as 53.3%, which was higher than his career average. Among them, he made 2 of 5 three-pointers.
, made 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 2 fouls.
In addition to the two of them, Mark Price scored 8 points. Fox and Mullin scored 11 points and 10 points respectively on the bench. The five main perimeter players and important substitutes scored 69 points together. They performed very well.
Te Yinlong Hill also scored 8 points and 10 rebounds, shouldering a lot of pressure and tasks inside for Lao Wang.
Substitute power forward Danny Fordson still has an old problem. He commits too many fouls, some of which are meaningless fouls, which affects his playing time. Otherwise, Pharaoh would have wanted this rookie to play the main fourth position.
His teammates generally performed well, so Lao Wang did not go all out. Facing a weak team like the Warriors, the team was leading by a big score. He only played 28 minutes and scored 26 points.
To be honest, for such a weak team, if he scores too many points and then scores 40+50+, the media will really say that he is brushing up the data, and he doesn't even bother to do that.
