Chapter 470 This Is Los Angeles

Li Liang still remembers when he was in the Lakers, after training every day, he and Kobe played one-on-one training.

At that time, he was still very diligent in training, he was not late or left early, and he was quite serious.

Now he has become a strange man who can keep improving in the eyes of coaches and teammates who often do not train.

Of course, only Li Liang knows how hard he trains behind the scenes.

It's like those good students who don't study all day in school, except for listening carefully in class, and laughing and joking after class.

You think he doesn't study or read at ordinary times, but in fact, he secretly lights up the lamp to read after returning home at night.

As a result, you played with him, and when it came time to take the exam, you failed and he was the first.

Dumbfounded.

Li Liang is such a "good student", and his training is done in private.

And even after leaving the Lakers, Li Liang basically spends more than an hour every week in the [Personal Training Center], consuming his anger points to conduct one-on-one training with Kobe.

First, Kobe is relatively cheap, and Jordan is too expensive.

Secondly, Kobe is still playing in the league after all, and he has the opportunity to use it in actual games after practicing too much.

Thirdly, in terms of purely technical movements, Kobe's is more complicated, and there is more for Li Liang to learn.

Follow Kobe, Kobe will guide you in the system to do this first, then that, and finally that.

Follow Jordan to learn, and the content of Jordan's instructions in the system will be "You just need to do this, if you can't do this, then don't learn."

So Li Liang would rather find Kobe as his teacher.

Of course, as a teacher, Kobe doesn't know in reality that Li Liang has almost studied himself thoroughly.

And it was Kobe in his peak period, and he was in the years from 2006 to 2009.

Now that Kobe has come back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, although he has the help of bruise pills, he is not as good as before.

After gradually returning to form, the Lakers' record has improved.

The backcourt composed of Kobe and Nash still has a strong power.

After all, both of them had taken Li Liang's pills, and there were faint signs of rejuvenation in the recent competition.

It's just that the new coach D'Antoni's use of inside players is too rough.

Whether it's Gasol or Dwight Howard, their functions in the system are marginalized.

Especially Gasol, the current season is one-third over, and Gasol, who almost won the best sixth man last season, has already had conflicts with the Lakers management this season.

He was dissatisfied with D'Antoni's quick offense, which allowed him to pull outside and shoot three-pointers.

"I'm not Bruce!" Once in training, Gasol even complained.

That's right, he is not Li Liang, he has his own playing style and way of playing.

But D'Antoni is desperate for a sword and uses him as a shooter who stretches the space, which is really reckless.

At present, the Lakers are still struggling on the edge of the playoffs, ranking tenth in the Western Conference.

The Lakers' current strategy is to try to make the playoffs before the All-Star Game.

After all, it would be too shameful for the defending champion not to make the playoffs.

If there is still little hope for the All-Star Game, the Lakers may choose to play badly to fight for next year's high-ranking pick.

Of course, this strategy is currently highly controversial.

Sitting with Kobe and Howard, not even making the playoffs and still playing poorly, that is really embarrassing.

And it is really unheard of for Kobe to be bad. In a recent interview, Kobe made it clear that the Lakers will never be bad!

Li Liang's thought when he saw this news was, yes, there is no need to make it bad, it is really bad.

But on the night of January 10, the Lakers lineup was complete. In the interview before the game, Kobe said that this game must be won.

Prior to this, the Lakers had won three consecutive victories, and Kobe scored more than 30 points in three consecutive games.

Their record has also risen from 13th in the West to 10th in the West, 4 wins away from the Dallas Mavericks at No. 8 in the West, and only half a game away from the Timberwolves at No. 9.

If the Lakers can win this game, they can rush to No. 9 in the Western Conference and start to attack the playoffs.

Although the Lakers are away in this game and the Clippers are at home, it is estimated that half of the people present tonight are Lakers fans.

The Clippers' influence in Los Angeles is growing, especially among the young kids.

But among adult fans, the Lakers' status is still unshakable.

For the Clippers, this is another home game that looks like an away game.

The game was about to start, and the air defense siren sounded over the arena, and it was another eye-catching battle.

Of course, the grievances between Li Liang and the Lakers cannot be ignored.

But more important is the head-to-head confrontation between him and Kobe.

The two sides met for the first time at the beginning of the season, and Kobe did not play due to injury.

Kobe stands on the floor of Staples tonight, and Li Liang will compete with Kobe as an enemy.

Before the game started, Li Liang walked up to Kobe and said to him, "Old Ko, don't pass the ball to me during the game."

Kobe smiled, "There are so many players who have been teammates and opponents with me. You are nothing special."

After Kobe finished speaking, he looked at Li Liang contemptuously.

Li Liang shrugged, "It's nothing special, I robbed you of an FMVP and let you win a championship while lying down."

Kobe didn't say anything more, the smoke between the two had already emerged.

The Lakers' starting lineup tonight is Bryant, Howard, Gasol, Nash and Wesley Johnson.

Nick Young has been completely abandoned after playing the starter for a period of time. His defense is really not enough to support the responsibilities of the starter. It is better to be a substitute to grab points.

Ci Shiping was placed on the bench by D'Antoni as the sixth man because he did not meet D'Antoni's requirements for the use of strikers.

Judging from the lineup, except for the loss of one Li Liang, the Lakers are still quite strong.

So many fans can't understand why the Lakers suddenly plummeted, from a 60-win championship team to a mid-range team struggling on the edge of the playoffs?

Is Li Liang's role really that important?

Yes, it is that important.

In addition, psychology, injuries, tactics, and age issues that cannot be ignored have all led to a cliff-like decline for the Lakers.

But for this game alone, the Lakers are definitely not easy to deal with.

Their desire to win is strong, and Kobe's fighting spirit is high.

The Clippers started the same as the previous game, with Collison starting instead of Paul.

Bledsoe has recently been involved in trade rumors, and the Clippers are likely to use him in exchange for a more defensive and taller point guard to enhance the Clippers' backcourt height.

The Clippers have too many short guys in the backcourt. People like Paul, Collison, and Crawford can't protect the backcourt rebounds on the court.

In modern basketball, the center no longer takes care of the rebounds.

When it comes to key games, every player must participate in the protection and fighting of rebounds.

Even if you are a point guard, as long as you work hard, it is entirely possible to get the most and most handsome rebounds in the team.

Jordan and Howard jump the ball, and the game begins.

Howard took the lead to dial the ball, Nash got the ball, and the Lakers launched the first offense.

After D'Antoni came to the Lakers, the biggest change he brought to the Lakers' tactics was simplification besides speed.

D'Antoni pursues "simple basketball", fast, efficient, and concise, which is the basketball philosophy he inherited from Europe.

Therefore, the Lakers completely lost their versatility and elegance on the offensive end last season.

It's not because of how ingenious Mike Brown's tactics are, but the Lakers last season. With the help of Li Liang, the catalyst, several offensive masters have combined the offensive essence of their careers together.

They are terribly efficient in the positional offense, which is why they can go forward in the playoffs.

A year has passed, and the sea has changed.

The Lakers opened the first ball, and Gasol faced Li Liang behind the basket after receiving the ball from the wing.

Then Gasol returned the ball to Nash, and Nash took the ball and shot a three-pointer from the outside.

The Lakers' starting style last season will definitely be a pick-and-roll, and then look for changes, not this simple three-point shot.

But Nash had a good start and hit a three-pointer!

The Lakers scored the first goal of the game.

Next, the Clippers hit Griffin at this point.

As a result, Griffin was surrounded by Gasol and Howard, lost in the black and white forest of the long arm.

The ball came out, to Li Liang, Li Liang then to Collison, Collison made an emergency stop after breaking through and missed a jumper.

The Lakers counterattacked, and Kobe took a pass and made a layup.

Then the Clippers still missed the offense, Kobe continued to counterattack with the ball and assisted Howard for a dunk at the basket!

The Lakers played very well at the beginning, with a high degree of concentration.

On the contrary, the Clippers looked a little absent-minded.

When Li Liang received a pass from Griffin and missed a three-pointer, the Lakers counterattacked again. Kobe quickly changed hands and made a layup, helping the Lakers start a 9:0 start, the Clippers called a timeout.

The audience is still cheering?

Please, tonight is the Clippers' home game!

But sorry, this is Los Angeles.