Chris Paul gritted his teeth, and the fierce friction sound was clearly audible to the people around him.
"Damn Jack Fan, you will pay a heavy price for your contempt for me."
Chris Paul clenched his fists, and his little universe was about to explode.
He couldn't recall at all how much he had despised Fan Xi. Fan Xi just used 10% of his once condescending side to deal with him, and he couldn't stand it anymore.
St. Paul is really aloof and sensitive.
Beep!
The whistle blows and the game officially begins.
The Lakers fans at the scene were loudly cheering for the home team. This was their life and death battle. They were shouting the names of 'Chris' and 'Dwight'. The 20,000 Lakers fans eagerly hoped that these two superstars would win.
A superstar can take over Kobe Bryant's banner and take the Lakers to greater heights.
In terms of paper strength, even without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are still stronger than the Clippers.
However, book strength is often used to break through. What's more, Fan Xi is the superstar who is best at breaking through book strength in today's basketball world.
In the past two years, has Fan Xi personally created too many situations where the weak can overcome the strong?
Snap!
DeAndre Jordan defeated Howard again on the jump ball... DeAndre Jordan has an advantage in height.
Fan Xi got the basketball and slowly pushed forward.
The Clippers' starting lineup tonight is: Fansheed, Butler, Leonard, Nowitzki, and DeAndre Jordan.
Butler's growth rate in this series is amazing. He dared to play hard, and he gradually secured his starting position with the Clippers. This happened naturally, and the original starter Hamilton had no objection. He knew that this would happen sooner or later.
, he knew the day he joined the Clippers that he was here to be a support and helper.
The atmosphere inside the Clippers is very good.
The Lakers' starting lineup tonight is: Chris Paul, Webster, Matt Barnes, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard.
"Tonight, Paul finally has a platform to display his ambitions. He can fully display his talents, and he should show his dominance."
"He's surrounded by much better teammates now than he was in New Orleans," ESPN's Reggie Miller said on TV.
Paul stood in front of Fan Xi, with his arms spread wide and his eyes blazing, as if he wanted to fight Fan Xi desperately.
As Fanci said before the game, he did not regard the peak showdown with Paul as his top priority. He was not interested in defeating Paul at all.
He played according to plan.
Leonard and Butler set up a cross screen, and Fanshie passed the basketball to Leonard. Leonard easily used his back to get past Webster's defense and hit a jump shot.
Both Leonard and Butler have made great progress in the playoffs. If Butler has found a perfect outlet for his own energy, then Leonard's progress is more "internalized". In the process of defending Kobe,
, his own offensive energy has been greatly tempered. His ball-handling attack and his post-up singles in the mid-range have quickly reached the league's first-class level.
Therefore, eating Webster was just a trivial matter to him.
After all, Webster has always been a defensive colander.
After changing sides, Chris Paul dribbled the ball aggressively. He and Gasol completed a pick-and-roll in the high post. He rushed into the free throw line and completed the offense with a decisive throw.
After scoring the goal, he gritted his teeth and let out a deep roar.
Like an enraged beast.
"Without Kobe Bryant to restrain him, Chris Paul played extremely decisively tonight. I have a hunch that tonight will be the masterpiece of Chris Paul's career." McBrin couldn't wait to boast about Paul.
He always does.
After Paul scored, he stared at Fan Xi coldly, waiting for Fan Xi's reply.
However, Fan Xi still ignored him.
Fanci brought the ball to the frontcourt and then handed it to Nowitzki who was pulled up to the high post.
After Nowitzki made a triple threat to deceive Gasol, he quickly broke through, then made an emergency stop, and completed the jump shot independently.
Whoosh!
A signature offense.
Fan Xi reached out and gave Nowitzki a high-five.
As a porter, Fan Xi's style of play is very healthy and healthy.
He showed another dimension as a point guard, recuperating and allowing his teammates to play good isolation games.
For a point guard, assist data is not the only indicator, but allowing the team to run smoothly and efficiently is.
Whoosh!
Changing side to fight again, Chris Paul once again hit a mid-range jumper. He still passed the pick-and-roll, quickly got rid of the defense, and then made a sudden stop jumper.
His mid-range shooting has always been accurate.
Fan Xi's defensive pursuit was somewhat unable to keep up.
This is normal.
Fanxi did not overly pursue defensive quality, because facing superstars, you always have to get used to accepting that some balls cannot be defended. As long as there is no gap at the tactical level, some offenses can be left to it. Basketball is not football, football may
One ball determines life or death, but basketball is a long game. Choice is important wisdom.
The game just moves forward.
Fanshie does not participate in the team's direct attack.
In the first quarter, Nowitzki and Leonard were the main players, with Butler as the assistant.
In a single quarter, the Clippers scored 35 points.
The Lakers' main player is Chris Paul, who still plays like the Hornets, picking and rolling, assisting, passing, and counterattacking.
He scored 12 points and 6 assists in a single quarter, which was very efficient.
He has a strong sense of presence. If you look at the high-level data, you will find that he is the best in the game.
But in fact, the Clippers only had 30 points in the first quarter.
The Clippers lead by 5 points.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Fanshie even returned to the second position. Stephen Nash came on to control the ball, and Grant Hill, who had not played for a long time, was replaced at the small forward position. Nowitzki was still at the power forward, and Kwame was at the center.
Brown.
The Clippers' deployment of troops has always been known for their boldness and flexibility.
Mike Brown himself is a conservative person, but he and Fan Xi have been together for a long time, and he is also a bit romantic.
Chris Paul is angry.
He always seems to be angry.
He felt that the Clippers were humiliating him and not taking him seriously by putting up such a 'stupid' lineup.
His arrogant self-esteem believed that he was not treated as a strong person.
Therefore, he rushed into the paint area with the first ball in the game. He wanted to directly cause damage. However, he was taken a risk.
It was Grant Hill who impersonated him.
Old Hill looked senile, but he slapped Paul's basketball out of the court and flew very far.
It attracted bursts of cheers from the audience on the sidelines.
This intense stimulus stirred St. Paul, who raised his head and looked at Grant Hill.
Hill is now an educator. He has always been a humble gentleman. His eyes are very compassionate, and even have a bit of "Hey, boy, now do you know where you went wrong? Your layup should not expose the basketball in advance."
Come out with an educational atmosphere.
Paul became even more angry and gritted his teeth.
Also gnashing his teeth was Howard.
Howard felt really bad.
When he was in Orlando, he was a blue-collar player. At that time, he still had penalty kick rights, and he could occasionally do whatever he wanted.
But when he got to the Lakers, he still played blue-collar and was even deprived of the ball rights.
Before, he thought it was because of Kobe, but now that Kobe is gone, he is still playing blue-collar football, and Paul even went so far as to ask him to constantly offer to cover.
No superstar makes a living by playing screens.
It's not that Paul didn't do him any favors. He gave Howard three alley-oops, and he dunked very well tonight.
But at the end of the first quarter, Fanci said to him: "Think about it, what is the difference between you now and Tyson Chandler who was in the Hornets before?"
These words really hurt Howard deeply.
In Howard's mind, he is a super restricted area ruler who inherits the pedigree of O'Neal and the four major centers, but now, he is regarded as someone like Tyson Chandler, at best an upgraded version.
Tyson Chandler is actually very good, a top blue-collar guy.
But he's not what Howard is after.
He wants Chris Paul to give him the ball.
Paul was given a headache by him: I was fooled just now, you want the ball, you are deliberately embarrassing me.
But for the sake of team unity, he still passed the basketball to Howard.
Howard also learned his dream moves from Olajuwon, but...his tuition fees were basically in vain.
Howard's inside steps are ordinary. He usually relies on his strong upper body strength to force his opponent away, and then throws the basketball into the basket.
However, what he met was Kwame Brown.
Kwame Brown is also the top pick in high school. Although he has been criticized as a parallel import in the past, no one has ever denied his physical fitness.
Flexible, strong and fast.
These are Kwame Brown’s strengths.
Howard bumped twice but didn't get away. He took a step forward and made a half circle. As soon as he made a throw, a figure floated over... Bang!
The old Hill made another miracle, slapping the basketball onto the backboard, rebounding, and was easily picked up by Kwame Brown.
He quickly handed the basketball to Stephen Nash. Nash ran wildly with the ball, and the old chasing boy was still cool.
And the cooperation between him and Fan Xi was very smooth. When Fan Xi reversed and found space, he quickly passed the ball over, and Fan Xi caught the ball and shot... Whoops!
Three point hit.
Scoring is that simple.
Matt Barnes looked at Fanshi helplessly. He had no choice at all just now. If he chased and defended Fanshi, Fanshi would definitely pass the basketball to Grant Hill, and Hill would take advantage of the situation to complete a layup or dunk.
.
D'Antoni sat on the bench. He couldn't figure out why the Clippers were so smooth and why he and the Lakers were so talented but had such a difficult time.
He is indeed the top offensive coach in the league.
Chris Paul also deserved to be named the league's No. 1 point guard during his peak period.
There is no doubt that Howard is the number one center in the league.
But the cruel fact is: they have never proven themselves in the top competition.
D'Antoni had never played in the Finals before joining the Lakers.
Chris Paul had never even touched the floor of the Western Conference Finals before joining the Lakers.
Howard did make it to the Finals, but most of the credit should be attributed to Van Gundy and the pattern of the Eastern Conference that year. Moreover, he was defeated by Kobe in the Finals and was helpless.
In other words, three losers who have never proven themselves, although they seem to have attractive talents and have abundant natural resources on their books.
However, they are still not good enough to prove themselves in such a top and cruel competition.
Although the Clippers appear to be relatively weak, they are rich in experience, their young people are full of resilience and tenacity, and Fanci is a standard winner.
The moment Kobe was put in a cast, Fanci had already eaten up the game.
Therefore, no matter how confident Chris Paul said before the game, Fan Xi would say calmly: It doesn't matter, and neither do you.
In this game, Chris Paul will score the most beautiful statistics of his career in the playoffs, the most perfect high-level statistics, and he will even be called an honorable loser. However, he will not be able to win.
The game continues.
Chris Paul and Pau Gasol played a cooperative game. Gasol used his flexible steps to get into the paint, but after he finished his first fake move, Kwame Brown had already swooped up and forced the basketball away from him.
Take it from your hand.
Kwame is very vicious.
Pau Gasol is helpless.
Magic Johnson, sitting behind the Lakers bench, finally had a realization at this moment.
The Lakers' ability to win three consecutive championships in the past three years did not rely on these championship puzzle pieces. They relied on Kobe Bryant's tenacious fighting spirit. He was like a villain with a long whip. Although he was notorious and inefficient,
But without him to fight the bad fight, without him to drag the game into the meat grinder, we can't win the game just by relying on these flowers.
The overall feeling last year was that Fanci won the game. Fanci is a player who truly possesses Kobe’s blood-fighting spirit. He is among the winners.
There will be many top superstars in the NBA, but there are very few people who are born with winning genes. These people will infiltrate their thinking into all aspects of the game. Maybe he has shortcomings of one kind or another, maybe he is not even a team player
The first attacker, but as long as he is there, the team's foundation will be solidified.
Magic once again fell into regret. He was thinking how brilliant the Lakers' history would have been if Van Hey had not been traded. Four consecutive championships, five consecutive championships, and six consecutive championships are all opportunities, right?
Magic Johnson couldn't help but feel sad when he thought of this. He stared blankly at the championship flag flying above his head for a few seconds, and then he shook his head sadly.
This scene was broadcast to TV sets around the world via ESPN footage, and all fans who support the Lakers tasted the same loss and regret in this scene.
Everyone knows that the Lakers are finished tonight.
But ESPN's Mike Breen is still bragging, praising Paul and Howard, claiming that they will definitely save the best result tonight.
Whoosh!
Stephen Nash assisted Nowitzki on a jumper.
The score difference widened further.
Fan Xi did not compete with Paul in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Stephen Nash, the former first point guard, even tended to overpower the first point guard St. Paul.
Is this humiliating me again?
St. Paul was angry again.
He was so angry that his eyes could even spit out fire.