Chapter 343

The Los Angeles Lakers took back a victory in the second game.

The final score was 108:105.

The point spread was not large, but the win was relatively smooth.

From the very beginning of the game, the Lakers maintained the lead. Despite the intense argument between Kobe and Paul after the first game ended, they remained united when it came to the match.

Furthermore, a distinct change in the first half was that Kobe began playing off-ball, frequently moving and running. He let Paul take over ball possession; Paul increased the tempo while Kobe drew away the defense for him, making his playmaking much more efficient.

Essentially, Paul is not a fast-break player, nor is he even a slasher; he is a more classical point guard who likes to run pick-and-rolls, finish in the mid-range, and dictate the flow of the offense himself.

In the first half, the Lakers played very smoothly; under Paul's control, the ball distribution was methodical and shared among everyone.

Chris Paul's impact was very obvious.

He is called the number one point guard, and it is certainly not an empty title. Any team on the edge of the playoffs can see immediate changes upon acquiring him.

However, he also has his flaws. Just as Kobe said, Paul is another type of selfish player; it is not selfless just because he orchestrates the offense and racks up assists. The fact that he holds the ball and constantly dictates play is, in itself, an invisible injury to other ball-dominant players.

Therefore, in the second half, Kobe began to play set offenses and attack the defense.

This was a consensus reached between Kobe and Paul; they each took a step back.

This saved the Lakers' lives, because in the second half, Fan Xi had intended to mess with Paul.

The Clippers played a standard game, but Fan Xi fell into foul trouble at the start, having three fouls called on him within the first five minutes.

At that time, Mike Brown even jumped onto the court in anger, loudly questioning the head referee about what they were trying to do.

The head referee gave him a technical foul.

But the officiating standard changed in the subsequent calls.

Fan Xi only played 32 minutes, the fewest he has played since gaining Chamberlain's stamina.

Nowitzki held down the fort, with Nash and Leonard standing by his side. Nash scored 15 points tonight, including three three-pointers. Leonard contributed excellent defense while also chipping in 16 points.

In comparison, this game was Nowitzki's Waterloo; his shooting touch was somewhat cold.

He only had 21 points on 20 shot attempts.

His efficiency was extremely low.

After the game, Nowitzki was very self-critical, saying that if only he had made those damn shots.

This is a normal phenomenon; games are influenced by many factors. Even historical superstars have games where they play poorly. As strong as Michael Jordan was, setting aside his highlight reels, he had many games where he needed his teammates to save him, and many failures he botched with his own hands.

Just win it back in the next game.

After all, from the beginning, Fan Xi never thought about sweeping the Lakers. He knew that was an impossible mission.

The Lakers are very strong.

Anyone who thinks this Lakers team is not strong enough is purely intellectually challenged.

"Kobe, you can't suppress Chris anymore. How about this, once this contract is up, why don't you come to the Clippers? Maybe you could win another two or three Grand Championships. Haven't you always wanted to win more Grand Championships than Jordan? The Clippers can satisfy you."

After the game, Fan Xi pulled Kobe aside in the player tunnel to talk trash.

Kobe said resolutely and righteously: "Don't dream, Jack. I will never leave the Lakers. I can surpass Jordan this year. And I will take back the Finals MVP that belongs to me."

Fan Xi laughed.

Kobe looks very cute when he gets angry. However, he still couldn't help but provoke Kobe to sow internal discord: "Actually, you know better than I do. Even if you win the Grand Championship this year, it will be very difficult for you to get the MVP. Furthermore, you still can't get past the Clippers."

Saying this, Fan Xi walked away.

Kobe knows Fan Xi very well.

He knows that Fan Xi said these things just to make him angry, just to make him have opinions about Paul, and just to sow discord.

But... what he said makes so much sense.

With Chris Paul's current stature, if they win the Grand Championship, can he not fight for the MVP? Dwight Howard would probably also compete for it with all his might.

Kobe felt restless for a few seconds, but quickly calmed down. After all, he is a superstar who has seen it all; his state of mind is more stable than most people's.

The top priority now is to unite all forces that can be united, take down the Clippers, and eliminate the 'annoying' Fan Xi.

As for how to distribute the fruits of victory after winning the Grand Championship, that can wait until they actually win it.

Kobe knows what is important and what is urgent.

The Lakers defended their home court in the second game, and the media praised them, saying 'The sleeping lion has awakened.'

The Miami Heat subsequently also defended their home court in the second game, taking down the Bulls. Suddenly, the media also praised them: The shark on the South Coast has been awakened, and the scent of slaughter is spreading everywhere.

The media often likes such exaggerated vocabulary.

Rose talked to Fan Xi on the phone on the plane back to Chicago; he was heavily restricted in this game, with James defending him the entire time.

James is a First Team and First Defensive Team player this year, and his physical fitness is quite formidable.

When LeBron James is willing to give up offense to come over and do the dirty work, personally marking Rose, the spearhead, one can see how much James wants to win this year.

"James is hard to drive against, and small-on-big is very difficult; he is a monster. Even though he gained weight this season, he is still so agile and flexible. Isn't it said that his balance is bad and he often travels while holding the ball?"

Rose complained to Fan Xi on the phone.

Derek Rose is the type of guy who only says such things in front of familiar, close people.

He has also been plagued by trouble recently.

A call girl sued him, his brother, and his bodyguard, saying she was forced by the three of them in a villa.

Women here in the US are incredibly money-minded and love to sue celebrities; it's a case of taking a shot in the dark. Lawyers are also willing to take such cases; if they succeed, it's a sky-high compensation, and even an out-of-court settlement is a significant sum.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this accusation is fabricated, because if one can go to Rose's mansion, it must be a paid service. As for whether there was a group activity, that... is not very clear.

However, based on Fan Xi's understanding of Rose, it is highly likely there wasn't.

"James traveling while holding the ball is a problem of ball-handling coordination, and defense doesn't require ball-handling coordination," Fan Xi said irritably. "Now Miami's interior is rich; with a near-elite veteran like Marcus Camby, James doesn't need to stay in the paint, so he can free up his hands to defend you."

"Therefore, I think the key to solving this problem is not you, but the interior. In the next game, you must take Marcus Camby down as soon as possible, strengthen the attacks in the paint, and let your teammates fight. You just need to be responsible for mobilizing the defense."

Fan Xi analyzed with Derek Rose.

Rose also gave Fan Xi some suggestions, such as suggesting that the Clippers just play fast breaks and drag the Lakers down in one wave. Let the Lakers' four giants hang there and wait for nothing.

Rose is a person with incredible speed; for him, robbing a jewelry store is just taking a hammer and smashing it, then grabbing it and running; anyway, no one can catch up to him.

If the Clippers had five players as fast as Rose, then there would be no need to think; just run, and run the Lakers to death first.

Before the third game of the Western Conference Finals arrived, reporters photographed Fan Xi going to the hospital to visit Phil Jackson, carrying a thick stack of documents.

He stayed in the hospital for three or four hours, and at one point even called Leonard over to chat for an hour.

This was a piece of news that was neither big nor small.

Basketball media judged that Fan Xi went to seek tactical support from Phil Jackson. After all, the head coach who understands the Lakers best in the world is not D'Antoni, but Phil Jackson.

Moreover, Phil Jackson is very good at playing tough games; he has proven himself countless times.

Fan Xi's visit to seek advice from Phil Jackson was very wise and correct.

This brought great pressure to the Lakers' top management.

From Jean Bas down, every executive, including members of the coaching staff, was deeply worried about it.

Jean Bas even thought pessimistically: Is it possible that we are really going to lose this season to two people we swept out the door?

She called Phil Jackson to ask, and the Zen Master told her in a very weak voice: We didn't discuss tactics; we just chatted about Victoria's Secret and talked about Leonard and Jordan.

The Zen Master was very sincere.

But Jean Bas didn't believe a word of it; she knew Fan Xi too well. Phil Jackson might have had a craving to chat about Victoria's Secret, but Fan Xi absolutely wouldn't; he is very upright.

As for Leonard and Jordan, that is even more nonsense.

Jean Bas wouldn't dream of connecting Leonard and Jordan together.

As Phil Jackson said he was tired and didn't want to talk anymore, he hung up the phone.

Jean Bas made a judgment: The Zen Master has betrayed us; we must be prepared.

She told this judgment to the coaching staff and the locker room.

Suddenly, the Lakers were in a state of panic.

Chris Paul and D'Antoni took the opportunity to announce: Since that's the case, why not just make a complete break with the past?

The third game arrived quickly.

This is the Clippers' home court.

Although it is still held at the Staples Center.

The only difference is changing the Lakers logo in the center of the court to the Clippers logo... Interestingly, the Clippers are currently seeking a new design; they want to change this Sterling-era logo and replace it with a new one, signaling the arrival of a new era.

Generally speaking, an NBA team changing its logo is a matter that affects the whole body and will attract a lot of opposition. However, the Clippers have full support.

A team without historical heritage and without a glorious past is like this; it has no historical baggage, and it's easy for a small boat to turn around.

Mike Brown declared before the game that they would use a brand-new tactic tonight.

But he denied that it had anything to do with Phil Jackson, and even more so denied that it was any kind of Triangle Offense; it was a newly designed style of play.

Such a statement, in the eyes of Lakers supporters, is like saying "there is no silver buried here."

Some angry guys even suggested that the NBA should have a non-compete agreement, stipulating that head coaches cannot engage in related professions within five years after leaving their jobs.

This is pure nonsense.

"The Clippers' fanatical fans seem to be more numerous than the Lakers'; look, there are even guys who painted themselves with paint, and people who brought gongs and drums into the arena..."

Before the game started, several commentators on TNT were chatting nonsense, waiting for the whistle to blow.

Although they are willing to call it pre-game analysis.

"There are actually no Jack Girls here tonight; I thought they would come to join in the fun. After all, a large group of Hollywood stars came; look at those post-90s female stars; for Fan Xi, this is like shopping in a vegetable market," Kenny joked.

Then, Charles Barkley suddenly remembered something and said: "Hey, have you paid attention? TMZ released a teaser saying that they will announce an unprecedented scoop next Friday. This scoop will blow up the entire entertainment industry. It will make Hollywood female stars crazy, and it will make more than 3 billion people fall into discussion..."

Before Barkley finished speaking, Earl Johnson on the side said dismissively: "Come on, these entertainment media always like to create such gimmicks. If they have such information, why not report it so quickly? They have to wait until next Friday? By next Friday, the Finals will have already started."

TMZ is the largest entertainment website in the United States; it always gets a large amount of first-hand gossip scoops, and many explosive news stories are announced from them; it is a paradise for gossip fans.

This time, they made such a big scene, attracting a large crowd to watch, and many people speculated what kind of melon it was that could make TMZ make such a harsh statement.

If the thunder is loud and the rain is small, wouldn't they be smashing their own brand in the end?

Beep!

The whistle blew, and the game began.

The Lakers' starters tonight are Howard, Gasol, Webster, Kobe, and Chris Paul.

The Clippers' starters tonight are Yao Ming, DeAndre Jordan, Leonard, Arenas, and Fan Xi.

Another unprecedented starting lineup.

The Clippers even made the Western Conference Finals feel like a preseason game, changing three starting lineups in three games.

People who don't know might think it's a Victoria's Secret fashion show.

Slap!

DeAndre Jordan defeated Howard with a slight advantage; this is a good start.

Fan Xi got the ball and slowly pushed forward.

After arriving in the front court, Yao Ming did not fall into the low post, but moved to a position further out from the free-throw line.

Paul thought Fan Xi would use Yao Ming's screen.

Who knew Fan Xi would directly pass the basketball to Yao Ming and quickly run into the paint.

Paul was caught off guard.

Yao Ming quickly passed the basketball in, Fan Xi grabbed the basketball, jumped up directly, and completed a two-handed dunk.

At this time, the Lakers' interior defense was empty.

Fan Xi caught them off guard at the start.

Chris Paul is very smart and reacts very quickly; he hurriedly asked his teammates to inbound the ball and increase the tempo; he wants to use speed to play against Yao Ming.

But Boss Yao's retreat was faster than he imagined; Boss Yao has lost weight very successfully now, and his own speed is not slow... He just has poor physical fitness, a problem he hasn't solved throughout his career.

But now, he doesn't need to shoulder the team's system; he only plays for four or five minutes, so running is no problem at all.

What's more, he has a top-tier blue-collar partner by his side, DeAndre Jordan.