All-round Athlete

Chapter 912 The Lakers have won ten consecutive victories

On February 20, one day before the trade deadline, the Lakers finally completed a final deal. They traded veteran Steve Blake for Kent Bazemore and Marshan Brooks from the Warriors.

The Warriors sent Jack away last year, so they need a point guard with a certain organizational ability; and the Lakers have not much value because of Zhang Guan, so it is better to try their luck with two young people. Everyone is still paid a basic salary, which can reduce the total salary of the Lakers.

This trade was a one-for-two exchange, so the Lakers had more than fifteen people, so before the trade deadline, the Lakers announced that they had cut forward Sean Williams. I was working part-time for the Lakers, but I also made a debut for a while, and then was waived by the Lakers. Not long ago he just signed a 10-day short contract with the Lakers. According to NBA rules, if Sean Williams has not been waived by the Lakers before the trade deadline, he will be able to stay until the end of the season. However, this one-for-two deal allowed Sean Williams to return to the Development League again.

After the deal ended, the Lakers ushered in another piece of good news. Meeks and Farmar's injuries have recovered and they can play. The return of these two people has basically allowed the Lakers to survive this wave of injuries. At present, only Kobe, Nash and Nick Young are left with injuries on the Lakers.

The return of Meeks and Farmar has made the Lakers' perimeter look a little bloated. Marshall must be the most affected. His playing time will inevitably be greatly reduced. He needs to compete with Farmar for position.

Meeks returned to the starting lineup and formed the Lakers' backcourt with Zhang Guan.

Compared with the previous season, Meeks has made great progress this season, and all the statistics have set a new career high. Since Kobe was injured, Meeks has replaced Kobe and has become the Lakers. Starting point guard. With an average of 15 points per game and a three-point shooting rate of more than 40%, he became the second only scoring point in the Lakers starting lineup after Gasol.

The current Lakers, the starting lineup has become Kaman, Gasol, Wesley Johnson, Meeks and Zhang Guan. It can also be regarded as an upper-middle level.

On the bench, Jordan Hill, Farmar, Marshall, Bazemore, and Ryan Kelly are all available. If Nick Young returns, the Lakers can be regarded as a group of "bench bandits" ".

...

On February 21, the Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics in a bloodless home game.

At the end of last season, the Celtics traded Garnett, Pierce and Terry to the Nets for Gerald Wallace, Humphries, three first-round picks and two other picks. role players.

Ken wants first-round picks, and there are still three, which shows that the Celtics have officially ended the era of the Big Three and entered the stage of reconstruction. In this season, the Celtics' leading scorer became Jeff Green. As for Rondo, he has already shown the attitude of a glass man. Not to mention that he has not played a full game for four consecutive seasons, and he has played fewer games than a season. Last season, he only played 38 games. This season is also injured. Stop, next season will suffer even more.

At the same time, the Celtics are also suffering from injuries. The team's second scorer Bradley and third scorer Jordan Crawford are now both injured.

The current record of the Celtics is 19 wins and 36 losses, the third from the bottom in the East, only a little better than the 76ers and the Bucks. Such a team is used to losing, so facing the Lakers in an away game, they handed over their guns and surrendered after a symbolic resistance.

Then on February 23, the Lakers defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets.

Before the start of the season, many teams had high hopes for the Nets, because the Nets' lineup looked very strong.

Center Brook Lopez, power forward Garnett, small forward Pierce, shooting guard Joe Johnson, point guard Deron Williams, this is simply an All-Star lineup, and there are several All-Stars The starter.

On the bench, the Nets also have Terry, Kirilenko, Thornton, Brac, Livingston and others, all of whom are well-known outstanding players in the NBA.

But the current record of the Nets is very disappointing, only 25 wins and 28 losses, the winning percentage is less than half, and it is still in the East. A team with only this kind of record in the East will definitely be at the bottom of the list if it is placed in the more competitive West.

The Nets visited Los Angeles today, and the personnel was not neat. Lopez, Garnett and Terry all stayed in Boston due to injuries. The Celtics could only send the freshman Plumlee and the old Kid Lilenko, partner inside the starting lineup.

As a result, the combination of Gasol and Kaman easily destroyed the inside of the Nets. Although Deron Williams scored 30 points and Paul Pierce scored 25 points, they still lost the game.

Zhang Guan led the Lakers to a six-game winning streak at home. Immediately afterwards, the Lakers flew to Indianapolis to challenge the Indiana Pacers, who are in the limelight in the East.

The current Pacers are 42 wins and 13 losses, beating the Miami Heat with the Big Three and ranking first in the Eastern Conference. In the entire league, this record is second only to the Thunder.

Last season, the Pacers have already shown the strength of the championship team. In the playoffs, the Pacers narrowly lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, the Pacers' lineup has been slightly strengthened compared with last season. Paul George and second-hand Stephenson also played the best data. At least in the regular season, the Pacers are only stronger than last season.

On February 25, local time in the United States, the Pacers played against the Rockets at home.

Pacers coach Frank Korver stood on the sidelines, his face full of helplessness.

The game has entered the last five minutes. The current score between the two sides is 114 to 109, and the Pacers are behind.

A difference of 5 points is nothing in the NBA. Let alone five minutes left in the game, even if the game has the last minute left, there is a chance to catch up. But what worries Coach Korver is the Lakers' current scoring ability.

Zhang Guan has scored 30 points, which is not a very high number for Zhang Guan. Gasol scored 15 points, Meeks 13 points, which can be regarded as relatively standard performance of the two.

But a guy named Bazemore on the Lakers bench scored 25 points. What's going on? The key is that Bazemore also grabbed five rebounds, sent three steals, and added four assists.

The Lakers already had Zhang Guan and Gasol, and now there is another guy with 20+ points, defense and assists, and this has suddenly become the "Big Three" model! And the balance of victory began to tilt towards the Lakers.

As a coach, the last thing Korver wants to see is this kind of situation. A player who looks at the drinking fountain suddenly appears from nowhere, but plays at a star-like level. will change accordingly.

Bazemore participated in the 2012 NBA draft, but was not selected. Later, he signed a two-year basic salary with the Warriors, and then watched the water dispenser for two years. He was traded to the Lakers not long ago.

The Warriors have a good vision for picking rookies. Curry, Thompson, and Green all later became superstars. It's just that in the Warriors, it is very difficult for rookies, especially outside players, to get up. The Warriors have never been short of outsiders. The team will not have too many opportunities for rookies. The strength to play, but not the time to play.

Bazemore is also such a player. His strength can be played in the game, but in the Warriors, he has too many competitors, so he can only get limited playing time. Not good data. In the Warriors, he was even called the cheerleader. After coming to the Lakers, he was once considered to compete with Thackeray for the title of "Towel Man".

When he came to the Lakers, Bazemore seized the opportunity. Before Nick Young came back, Bazemore was the second choice for the back line, second only to Farmar. He averaged at least ten points per game. A few minutes of playing time. For a capable player, ten minutes is enough for them to prove themselves.

In this game against the Pacers, Bazemore proved himself with his strength. He came off the bench and made consecutive flank breakthroughs and made fouls, which achieved very good results. The Pacers' backup center Mahinmi, Therefore, he sat on the bench for a long time, which relieved a lot of pressure on the Lakers' bench.

In history, Bazemore also played his worth in the Lakers. At least from a marginal man who may be cut at any time, he became a guaranteed rotation player, and even became the starter of the Eagles later. After arriving at a four-year contract worth 70 million US dollars, he became a model of counterattack in the NBA.

In this game, Bazemore became the surprise soldier of the Lakers. His sudden outburst caught the Pacers by surprise. The Lakers defeated the Pacers 127 to 118, and Bazemore became famous in the first battle.

...

The Lakers will move to Memphis in the next game and challenge the Grizzlies away.

The Grizzlies have always been a strong team in the Western Conference since the Black Eight Miracle, and they reached the Western Conference Finals last year. The current Grizzlies have a record of 31 wins and 24 losses, which is pretty good, but in the fiercely competitive West, they can only rank seventh.

The Grizzlies are one of the best defensive teams in the league and one of the worst three-point shooters. This season, the Grizzlies averaged only 14 three-point shots per court, the lowest in the league. In comparison, the Warriors, who are good at three-pointers, averaged 24.8 three-pointers per game, and the Rockets averaged 26.6 three-pointers per game. The Lakers under D'Antoni's training also averaged 24.8 three-pointers per game, which is the same as the Warriors.

So the Grizzlies are the kind of team that is afraid of confrontation with the opponent, because the three-pointer is too bad, and the confrontation will definitely lose. And as long as the opponent's hand feels better and the three-pointers shoot up, the Grizzlies will undoubtedly lose. For the Grizzlies, it is very important to limit the opponent's score to less than 100 points.

The games that the Grizzlies have lost this season are basically the Grizzlies scoring less than 100 points, while the opponent scored more than 100 points. It is normal to score less than 100 points in a game, and their scoring average is only 96.1 points per game. But if you allow the opponent to score more than 100 points, it is not far from losing.

The Lakers obviously started off offense. D'Antoni is a master of running and bombing, and he is not very demanding on defense. The arrival of Zhang Guan has greatly strengthened the Lakers' offense. Now the Lakers are like a sharp spear.

The Grizzlies are obviously a solid shield, and the contest between the Lakers and the Grizzlies has also become a contest between spears and shields.

...

Facing the Grizzlies, the Lakers made the first three-pointer with determination. Except for Gasol, the starting players are basically able to shoot three-pointers and never shoot two-pointers.

Under the leadership of Zhang Guan, Meeks, Wesley Johnson and Bazemore, who was just mentioned as the starter, all scored three-pointers. On the bench, Farmar and Marshan Brooks also made several three-pointers.

Marshan Brooks was traded together with Bazemore. He used to have the nickname "Little Kobe". However, this kid only learned the style of play of a superstar, but did not learn the strength of a superstar. In terms of independent offense, Marshan Brooks is indeed very good, but his assist ability is almost zero, his shot selection is extremely poor, and his defense is completely lacking. Marshan Brooks is less efficient and less athletic than Nick Young.

But Marshan Brooks' three-pointer is still good, as long as you don't give him the ball, let him be a fixed-point shooter, and shoot immediately after catching the ball. Immediately-Brooks can also provide some outside firepower.

For the Grizzlies, Mike Conley was completely blocked by Zhang Guan today. In the first half, he made 1 of 6 shots, only 1 assist, 0 steals, blocks and rebounds.

Therefore, the Grizzlies are still the "black and white bears" who mainly play inside, especially Randolph, who has gotten more shots.

Conley is not as good as Zhang Guan in terms of body and athletic ability, so it is very difficult to defend Zhang Guan, so the Grizzlies also used their defensive killer Tony Allen in time to deal with Zhang Guan.

Tony Allen's defensive ability is the top in the league, with strong upper body strength and stable footwork, able to carry out physical confrontation, outstanding defensive awareness, willing to work hard, good at grabbing the floor, even if he is as strong as Durant, in Tony Allen - Under Allen's defense, it is also quite a headache.

Tony Allen is best at defending against people without the ball. He often creates opportunities for himself to steal, such as giving the opponent without the ball a certain space and creating a gap. When the opponent passes the ball, Tony Allen would snap the ball off like lightning. In the face of players who are taller and stronger than him, Tony Allen's defense around the front can always make the opponent exhausted.

But Tony Allen's ability to defend the ball holder is a level lower than that of defending the ball holder, especially when the ball holder's personal ability is more prominent, Tony Allen can't reflect much value. Just like LeBron James, Tony Allen has never been able to guard against him. With James' physical strength, he is willing to confront Tony Allen head-on.

Today's Tony Allen also encountered a hard stubble, that is Zhang Guan.

...

"Zhang Guan! Facing Tony Allen, throwing high, the ball scored! This shot was beautiful! Facing Tony Allen's defense, he was able to score the ball." The commentator made a voice of exclamation.

Tony Allen rubbed his chest, he was hit hard just now.

"Is this guy Zhang Guan a monster? He just pushed me into the three-second zone! This is the first time I met such a guard, and I feel that his strength is stronger than LeBron!"

Tony Allen is confident that his body can stop any defender in the world, but today he discovered that there are really defenders in this world that he can't handle.

Zhang Guan's breakthrough was nothing fancy, just a head-on confrontation, simply using his strength and body to force Tony Allen. Both of them were about the same size, but Tony Allen was pushed away by Zhang Guan time and time again.

The referee has never blown the whistle. Among the defensive players, Tony Allen's movements are relatively clean. Lun is this kind of player who defends purely by strength.

Tony Allen's offensive ability is relatively average. The role of his appearance is mainly to limit the opponent's main scorer. If he is restricted, both sides will lose one scoring point on the offensive end, which is not a disadvantage for the Grizzlies; If you can't stop, it means that the Grizzlies have lost a scoring point for nothing, but the opponent has none. So in many cases, Tony Allen is more like a seven-injury punch, killing one thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred.

But now, Tony Allen can't limit Zhang Guan's scoring, which is equivalent to using seven wounds but not hitting the enemy. The Grizzlies are also being eroded by the Lakers a little bit in terms of score.

Randolph, Gasol Jr. have been scoring goals, Courtney Lee also hit two points one after another, Mike Miller, Koufos and James Johnson on the bench also scored, but The score of the Grizzlies is slowly starting to fall behind, and the more they fall behind.

This is also something that can't be helped. A goal scored by the Grizzlies is two points, but the Lakers have been fighting for three-pointers.

In the whole game, the Lakers made a total of 35 three-pointers and hit 17 of them. Nearly 50% of the three-pointers were hit, which can be described as super-level performance. The Grizzlies only shot 8 three-pointers in total, less than a quarter of the Lakers, and hit 3. Although the shooting percentage is still reasonable, there is a difference of 14 three-pointers, which is equivalent to a difference of 14. point.

The final score between the two sides was that the Lakers won 107 to 98. They did not score more than 100 points and their opponents scored more than 100 points. This is a typical "Grizzly" losing mode.

The Lakers also returned to Los Angeles with two away victories.

Since Zhang Guan joined the Lakers, he has won 8 consecutive victories. If you count the two consecutive victories before Zhang Guan came, the Lakers have already achieved a record of 10 consecutive victories.

In the NBA, any team that can achieve 10 consecutive victories is a record that cannot be underestimated, not to mention that the Lakers are still in the highly competitive Western Conference, and the gold content of 10 consecutive victories is even more.

Although the current record of the Lakers is 26 wins and 32 losses, the winning percentage is still not more than half, and it is still far from the threshold of the playoffs, but this ten-game winning streak has made all teams in the league start to face the Lakers.

The entire NBA league knows that the current Lakers are no longer the last bottom team!

Two-in-one chapter, thank you Fatty H, colorful mud, xsf9800, Thai-style old man Zhang, Bubble 2016, old Amu, flying to see cotton candy, killing gods and demons, and Lao Guo 003 for your rewards!