The news of Andrew Bynum's comeback caused a lot of excitement in Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, within the Lakers, Bynum has been the golden boy of basketball since 2005, and he has a large group of supporters.
Fans believe that the current Lakers, coupled with Andrew Bynum, must be even more powerful and will definitely reach a higher level. This year's championship is guaranteed.
However, in the hearts of the Lakers players, there seems to be no particularly strong expectation for Bynum.
When a team is in the right and comfortable mode, it is unwilling to accept new changes.
What if it destroys the harmony and becomes even worse?
After the Lakers played against the Utah Jazz, they went to the Southwest Division, which frightened all teams in the league, for four away games. In fact, it can be said to be five consecutive games, because the fifth game back at home was against the Southwest Division.
The team competition is the Hornets led by Chris Paul.
There are a total of five teams in the Southwest Division: San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Hornets.
Four of these five teams are currently in the top eight in the Western Conference, and the San Antonio Spurs even rank first.
Anyone who can make it out of this division is a strong team among strong teams.
For every team, entering the Southwest Division is an arduous test.
The Lakers' four consecutive visits this time can be said to be a rare experience in the world.
Many sports media looked at the Los Angeles Lakers' road trip with "schadenfreude."
The Lakers' first away opponent is the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets are the NBA team that Chinese fans are most familiar with because Yao Wei has been working for the Rockets since he entered the league as the No. 1 pick.
The Rockets were once the home team of Chinese fans, and the value of the Rockets owner doubled as a result. Even the role players of the Lakers have followed the chickens and dogs to heaven. Many role players cannot get any advertising endorsements in the United States, but in China, they can
Enjoy the highly regarded celebrity treatment.
Yao Wei has been in a state of semi-retirement since he was injured in the playoffs with the Lakers in 2009. He came back and played five games this season, and then suffered a stress fracture. Some news is showing that Yao Wei is likely to...
He officially announced his retirement after this season.
This is a huge loss to the NBA, the Rockets, and Chinese basketball as a whole.
Fortunately, Fan Xi has risen rapidly this season.
Although he has not yet reached Yao Huang's peak game dominance, the noise he has created since entering the league has surpassed Yao Huang's.
Yao Huang has a conservative personality, but Fan Xi has a flamboyant personality and must avenge himself.
Moreover, Fan Xi entered the league as an undrafted player, which is different from Yao Shuan who entered the league as the No. 1 pick. Yao Shuan was highly anticipated at the time, and he would be criticized if he played poorly. Fan Xi did not.
This kind of "appearing in the end of the world", he has become a "blockbuster" from the moment he appeared on the scene.
Then he continued to create miracles.
So much so that his reputation quickly rose.
By this time, Phil Jackson and some media in Los Angeles began to worry: Fanci has been so prosperous during this period, but it will eventually decline, because NBA information updates very quickly, and every team has a huge
'Observation system', many videographers, editors and assistant coaches will conduct complex analysis on each player.
Then, quickly send the player handbook to the opponent before the game starts.
Goran Dragic and Kyrie Lowry received all the information from 'Jack Van'.
Data shows: Jack Fan has super ball-holding ability, excellent speed, amazing jumping, good body control, strong explosive power, and great open shots.
Their rating is: a.
In the Rockets' internal ratings, when an opponent reaches A, he is considered a star player.
This rating is not low at all. Among the ratings given by the Rockets to all Lakers players, they are second only to Kobe, Gasol and Andrew Bynum who did not play. Even Lamar Odom is only an A in quotation marks.
In the player's handbook, it is also pointed out that 72% of Fanci's breakthroughs are from the left side. The probability of Fanci passing the ball after a breakthrough is 69%. Passing inwards is much lower than passing out. Use screens.
The probability is lower.
I lack the confidence to shoot with the ball, and my posture is weird...
Every team will have this information.
Each team's countermeasures are different.
NBA is a huge system, and fierce competition is not only reflected on the court level.
…
Fan Xi received some welcome at the Toyota Center. Many Chinese people from Houston came to the stadium to cheer for him. They had cheered for Yao Huang before.
Now, Fan Xi is fully taking over Yao Huang's influence in the NBA, and league officials are also secretly promoting this. They don't want to lose the huge market in China.
However, there is something unexpected.
Fan Xi not only took over Yao Huang's influence, but also took over the commercial value that Yao Huang did not have.
The news that PepsiCo signed Fanci for US$30 million quickly made headlines, coupled with the previous unprecedented deal with Nike.
Some American sports media started using words like 'rob'.
It seems that only American athletes making money from Chinese brands can be called fair, while Fan Xi making money from American companies is called an "unequal treaty."
These are some people who are hypocritical to the extreme. They pretend to be elegant gentlemen in normal times, and even assume a condescending Virgin attitude. But when others look at them as equals, they will feel offended, and then they will tear up and show off.
Show a crazy attack stance.
In the past two days, Fan Xi has seen media people commenting on him in newspapers more than once, saying that Jack Fan is far inferior to local American stars and that brands should not give him such generous endorsements.
Fan Xi felt ridiculous about this.
He is full of expectations for himself to become stronger, and he wants to trample all these people's "arrogant and ugly" faces under his feet.
"Hey Jack, did you see the news?"
Before the game started, Lamar Odom came up and asked Fanci: "Scarlett actually has your initials tattooed on her arm."
Um?
Fan Xi was startled.
Lamar Odom claims to be half of the entertainment industry. Since he married a woman from the Kardashian family, he has first-hand information on a lot of gossip news.
"Don't you know? A paparazzi photographed Scarlett in a famous tattoo shop in Los Angeles. She had a tattoo of the letters JK. The owner of the tattoo shop also said... what she said at the time was Jack Fan." Lamar
Odom said with joy.
"When did you get the Hollywood sex goddess? She is the dream lover of many NBA stars, including that bastard Kevin Durant. This guy actually wants to drink Scarlett's bath water..."
Lamar Odom chattered.
Fan Xi frowned. When he thought of Scarlett, he remembered the craziness during the All-Star halftime. He even felt that he was 'tainted' by Scarlett at that time. This was Jack Fan's unprecedented passivity.
However, it was indeed crazy and left him with endless aftertaste.
'Didn't we agree not to disturb each other?'
Fan Xi murmured to himself, although he often missed Scarlett during this period and couldn't help but think of those crazy scenes in his mind.
However, he really thought it was just a misfire in his life.
In the United States, this kind of thing happens all the time, and everyone has a tacit understanding to exit with dignity.
But now, is Scarlett trying to show me some affection?
"jk is not necessarily me. Maybe she is a fan of the author of Harry Potter? And the Chinese abbreviation of jk is not necessarily me. Maybe she likes a person named 'Liberation'."
Fan Xi said innocently.
…
The game starts soon.
Kyle Lowry is the starter tonight.
Kyle Lowry is a very strong point guard. He joined the league in 2006 and was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 24th overall pick. He was then traded to the Rockets.
At the beginning, he competed with Brooks for the team's starting spot, and was even suppressed by Brooks on the bench.
But then he played better and better. Before the start of this season, he even got a four-year, $24 million mid-level contract extension from the stingy Rockets owner, which shows how great he is.
On the first ball of the matchup, Kyle Lowry pounced fiercely. He is known for his fierce playing style. Now he is a classical defender with a playing style similar to Billups. His movements are wide open.
Together, he is very strong in fast break and grabs offensive rebounds fiercely. Although he is not good at long-range shooting, he is tough in defense, resolute in breakthroughs and stable in organization.
Fancy was disturbed by him. To a certain extent, he was similar to Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson.
However, there are differences.
He is smarter.
Fan Xi was caught off guard at that time and quickly passed the ball.
Kobe took over the ball.
The Rockets' starting five are: Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Chuck Hayes.
On the Lakers side: Fanci, Kobe Bryant, Dunleavy Jr., Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol.
In terms of lineup, the two are very different.
Kobe soon dominated Kevin Martin and easily completed a fadeaway jumper.
Looking back, Kyle Lowry rushed into the penalty area with a brazen attitude. Fanshey tried his best to fight, but was unable to stop Lowry's pass. Kevin Martin ran without the ball to catch the ball and hit the shot.
Going back and forth, Fan Xi found that he seemed to be a little restrained by Kyle Lorrick.
There is a feeling of powerlessness.
Especially when Kobe is on the court, it is difficult for him to let go and compete with Kyle Lowry.
Moreover, the Lakers don't need Fanci to let go and challenge Kyle Lowry.
Therefore, Fan Xi simply restrained himself. After passing the ball to Kobe, he ran quickly.
Kobe easily solved the defense.
Fan Xi's running next to him can also contain the defense.
This is a very smart play.
The Lakers' offensive efficiency is very high.
Because Fan Xi not only has outside shooting ability, but also can quickly pass the basketball to open opponents, and can further attack with the ball.
As the team's third transfer station, Fanshi's abilities are more than sufficient.
The game lost suspense from the first quarter.
In the past 10 years, the closest the Houston Rockets have come to the Lakers was in the 2009 playoffs. That year McGrady was injured and Yao Huang led the team in a crazy offensive. He single-handedly suppressed Bynum and Gasol.
Two people.
If Yao Huang had not been injured that year.
If only the Rockets' morale had been stronger that year.
Maybe, the Rockets who defeated the Lakers would have a chance to win the championship. After all, it was the Orlando Magic who represented the Eastern Conference that year.
The Rockets have always been accurate when playing against the Magic. As the saying goes, Dwight Howard is the number one center in the league, and Yao Wei is the center who dominates the number one center.
After the second quarter, the point difference between the two teams widened to 19 points.
Then, at the beginning of the second half, Fan Xi stopped playing.
Phil Jackson is practicing tactics, and he wants to make the rotation stronger.
The game finally ended with 109:89.
The Lakers easily won their first victory of the Southwest Tour.
Fan Xi played 19 minutes and scored 9 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds.
It was his most sluggish game since he entered the league.
He did not defeat Kyle Lowry in a one-on-one situation, nor did he suppress Dragic in a one-on-one situation.
On the one hand, this is because opponents are studying him more and more deeply, and on the other hand, because after Kobe's return, some tactical priorities are inevitably tilted towards Kobe.
Kobe liked Fan Xi very much and was willing to give Fan Xi a chance to show himself. However, it is difficult to change the habits accumulated over the years.
The most important thing is that you can win if you play like this.
This is the ‘disadvantage’ of super strong teams.
In the NBA ecosystem, strong teams often do not train new players. They only need to supplement the immediate combat capabilities of the tactical system.
It can be said that Fanci has created a miracle in the NBA in so many previous games. Of course, this is also due to the objective conditions caused by the injuries of Bynum and Kobe.
Now, everything seems to be returning to normal, and Fanci exists as a "strengthening shot" for the Lakers' No. 1 position.
…
The 'law' of strong teams not cultivating rookies does not apply to the Spurs. The Spurs have always been a super strong team since Tim Duncan joined.
However, they can often find super energy from newcomers, even low-ranking newcomers.
The best sixth man Ginobili, Finals MVP Tony Parker...etc. were all selected with low picks.
Popovich remembers Fanci fondly.
After he returned to San Antonio, he often watched videos of Fanci's games, and he had an in-depth study of Fanci.
He believes that Fanci will become the biggest key factor in this year's Lakers playoffs, and he also thinks that Fanci has a good chance of becoming a superstar.
Therefore, he even showed his kindness to Fan Xi before the game started. "Jake Fan is the best rookie in my mind. Yes, although John Wall's talent is amazing and Blake Griffin is a regular in the top five, but
…I just love Jack Van.”
"If the Lakers are willing to trade Jake Fan, I'm willing to send Tony Parker and George Hill."
Popovich is a master of psychological warfare, and when he says these words it is difficult to guess his true intentions.
Maybe just to inspire Tony Parker and George Hill to fight?