Chapter 480: The Old Enemy Begins Fighting

——Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

——Yao! Yao! Yao! Yao!

——Lakers! Lakers! Lakers!

——OH! Oh! Oh! Oh!

The scene echoed with deafening cheers, but there was no lengthy introduction. Not only was the SuperSonics not introduced, even the Lakers' own players did not make any pre-game introductions.

More than 20 people from the two teams just walked out of the player tunnel calmly at the same time.

But in this cold atmosphere of chilling the old enemy, the overwhelming enthusiasm of the fans at the scene was far better than those introductory words that were too pretentious to adjust the atmosphere, and instantly set the already extremely popular Staples Center on fire!

The Staples Center Arena has had an unwritten new rule since the OK team lost to the Sonics in the playoffs in the 2002-03 season, that is, there will be no foreplay when playing against the Sonics at home. …

This was the "special treatment" given to the SuperSonics by Lakers officials and the local Los Angeles media at the time.

They didn't prepare foreplay but prepared a grand celebration ceremony every time. They only brought it out after winning against the Sonics. As for when to cancel this 'special treatment', Lakers owner Jenny Buss said that' After defeating the Sonics in the playoff series and getting revenge.'

At that time, the Lakers thought that they could do it in the second year. It was not only a gimmick for local fans, but also a burst of excitement and motivation for the team. However, they did not expect that this slogan would last for three years.

What's even more unexpected is that this "no introduction" style that is unique to the SuperSonics and Lakers when they play at home at the Staples Center has created an unparalleled murderous atmosphere in this arena.

Whether they are fans at the scene or fans sitting in front of the TV, they all know the grudges between the two teams very well, and they can also feel the chilling atmosphere at this moment, which makes everyone unable to help but follow. The blood is boiling!

No beeps, no nonsense. Even the Sonics, who are always known for their harmonious and cheerful team atmosphere, are always silenced by the chilling atmosphere every time they come to Staples Arena.

The two sides entered midfield, and no one on either side said a word. Only Lin Dong and Kobe took a step forward.

The two were already old rivals, and they smiled slightly as they looked at each other.

Kobe has said things like 'I will beat you today' and 'We must be winners today' too many times, but his record of 5 wins and 22 losses really makes his words seem a bit nutritious.

So, thousands of words turned into just two words.

He hid his former edge, smiled and extended his hand: "Welcome!"

Seems...very confident.

Is it because of the lineup? Because there are special tactics? Or is it because of yourself?

Lin Dong also smiled and stretched out his hand: "Thank you!"

The two big hands held each other tightly and then separated.

beep!

The referee blew a very knowledgeable whistle, the substitute players from both sides returned to the bench, and the game was about to begin!

Lakers starting lineup: Point guard No. 17 Steve Nash, shooting guard No. 8 Kobe Bryant, small forward No. 1 Doug Christie, power forward No. 7 Lamar Odom, center No. 11 Yao Ming .

SuperSonics starters: Point guard No. 20 Gary Payton, shooting guard No. 11 Rukawa Kaede, small forward No. 23 Lin Dong, forward Iguodala, center No. 7 Tyson Chandler.

The SuperSonics did not announce in advance that Sakuragi Hanamichi was going to be with Haruko at home to give birth to her baby. After all, it happened suddenly. Therefore, except for some local fans in Seattle, most media only found out this morning. After all, the news came too suddenly. .

Although there were some sporadic reports today, the entire national public opinion is still mainly focused on the Lakers. In addition, the topic has not yet fermented, so most of the fans at the scene only noticed at this time that their son was not included in the SuperSonics lineup. The existence of super insider Sakuragi Hanamichi has replaced a Japanese who had been sitting on the bench before and could not even play in the main rotation.

——The red-haired monster didn’t come today?

——Absolutely a big event! I didn’t see it on the bench either!

——Isn’t that red-haired guy the core defensive core of the Sonics? Are you planning to give it up directly?

Most of the fans at the scene were surprised and happy. After all, many people have longed for the Lakers to defeat the Sonics. Today, the Lakers' lineup is unprecedentedly perfect, and if Sakuragi Hanamichi is not there, then today is simply stable!

Of course, there are a few who are dissatisfied.

——Fake, are the SuperSonics cheating? You know you can't beat them, and you know our Lakers lineup is strong enough this year, so why don't you just hide your weakness?

——Co-author: If they lose, is it because the main force didn’t come? But if they get lucky and win, they can beat us even if they lack a main force?

——There’s no point in winning like this! Supersonic did it on purpose!

——Don’t be like this. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to us to be a soft persimmon?

——Hey brother, can you be a little ambitious? We are strong enough this season and don’t need to be weak! If you want to destroy it, you have to destroy the strongest supersonic to enjoy it! Otherwise, you won’t even have to brag about it!

——That is, wasn’t the Bobcat before the 11th? Not only is he a second-round pick, but I heard he is also a piece of trash who doesn’t even want a scumbag team like the Bobcats and will terminate his contract directly. Is he worthy of playing against us? Who are you looking down on?

——Hahaha, roll over No. 11! You are a ball!

The scene was buzzing with noise and uproar, and no matter whether it was gloating or cursing, the spearhead was undoubtedly directed at one person - Rukawa Kaede.

People usually pick the weak ones when they want to pick persimmons... The American people are actually the same.

After being in the NBA for so long, this is the first time that Rukawa Kaede has felt the concentrated attention from the scene on the court, and it was even in the most lively away game in the league...

My heart couldn't help but beat up, as if I suddenly felt the uneasiness and nervousness when I just joined the Bobcats and just stepped into the first game in the NBA.

Perform well, don't be nervous! You are no longer a novice, calm down quickly! Take a deep breath!

He took two deep breaths, but he still couldn't suppress the feeling of scalp numbness, lack of oxygen, and shortness of breath.

In fact, he had already started to be nervous in the locker room, and Lin Dong, Iguodala, Payton and others also encouraged him and did psychological preparation.

But some problems can't be solved directly by others giving you some encouragement.

More than a year of persistence and benching made him too eager to play and perform, but things in this world are often counterproductive. The more he wants to perform well, the more nervous and stiff he is.

And his deep breathing performance has obviously caught the eyes of his opponents.

Nash has been observing Rukawa Kaede's expression.

As one of the representatives of playing with his brain in this league, Nash's strength is not only his organizational ability, ball control ability and passing ability, but his control of human nature has long been perfect.

After all, it is the biggest opponent this season. Everyone in the Supersonics has been analyzed by the Lakers as a case.

The 197-centimeter guy in front of him can only be regarded as a second-rate shooter. His open three-pointer is quite accurate. This season's three-pointer hit rate is as high as 62.6%, but that is only because he did not experience high-intensity defense in garbage time, and he played less time and shot less, which is not enough to be a key reference data.

At the same time, his defensive ability is also a weak point, and even a loophole in the Sonics' defense, so he has not been reused by the team.

Now that the Sonics' main defensive gate is absent, is McMillan going to use his outside three-pointers to play against the Lakers? As for using him to defend himself, does he think that he only passes the ball and does not attack most of the time?

Anyway, it is impossible for other people to block his passes, and in the absence of Sakuragi, the Sonics cannot choose to double-team and play rotation defense against the ball holder, so they simply give up on defending themselves?

The Sonics' tactics are really laid out on the table without any concealment, but...

Nash's mouth curled up slightly.

To hit the snake, you have to hit it at its seven inches. Seizing the opponent's weakness is always the only way to win, so let's take this uneasy guy as the first move!

Beep!

While the two were thinking about it, the referee had already blew the whistle to start the game.

The basketball was thrown high into the air, and Chandler and Yao Ming jumped up almost at the same time.

Just looking at the height of Yao Ming's jump, even Lin Dong couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly.

I haven't noticed yet... Yao Ming lost weight? His jumping seems to be much better than last season!

Yao Ming at this time really looks different from the 135 kg figure of last season, and even more different from the figure that kept gaining weight in another world.

Since losing to the Supersonics in the Western Conference Finals last season, Zen Master Phil Jackson has made new adjustments for Yao Ming.

The most fatal factor of the several key reasons for the Lakers' loss in the Western Conference Finals was Yao Ming's physical strength problem. Therefore, strengthening physical training during this offseason is of course an indispensable part, and another more direct way to match it is the ultimate training goal set by Zen Master for Yao Ming: lose weight to 130 kg, but improve the bench press performance by 10-20 kg, and require him to be fixed and maintained!

Yao Ming gained weight in another world because the Rockets gave him the auxiliary position, hoping that Yao Ming would become a giant under the basket to compete with heavy centers like O'Neal, and to fight positional warfare.

But now the rise of the Supersonics has already significantly increased the number of outside shots in the league in the past few seasons. The traditional positional warfare has lost its former absolute advantage under the high-tempo running and gunning impact.

Especially when multifunctional inside players like Sakuragi Hanamichi began to become the new symbol of the league's inside line, and as long as they were paired with blue-collar centers like Chandler, they could immediately become the representative with the highest defensive efficiency in the league's inside line, and obviously restrain the traditional heavy inside tanks, it really brought a huge impact to all teams, and many old concepts were changing with each passing day.

Secondly, Van Gundy made Yao Ming gain weight in another world because McGrady's leadership ability was not enough, and his key ball handling was often unsatisfactory, which forced Van Gundy to cultivate Yao Ming as the most stable tactical core under the basket in order to execute some key ball handling.

But does the Lakers need it? Don't count too much on Kobe Bryant to pass the ball for the key ball.

More importantly, the Lakers' biggest opponent now is the Supersonics, not the Cavaliers. If Yao Ming continues to gain weight to defeat the Supersonics, he will only become a target to be dragged down by Sakuragi Hanamichi, which will also greatly shorten Yao Ming's career life...

Many reasons and considerations have contributed to the new Yao Ming.

226cm tall and 132kg in weight, Yao Ming looks strong and not bloated at all. Compared with the slightly fat in the playoffs last season, Yao Ming's figure now looks much more symmetrical.

This also releases another ability of Yao Ming - jumping!

Chandler and Yao Ming are 10cm taller and 4cm shorter in arm span, and 11cm shorter in standing reach. Fortunately, he could barely compete with Yao Ming in the jump ball last season with his jumping ability, but this time...

Tyson Chandler just jumped and felt that Yao Ming in front of him was like a rocket taking off. The two jumped at the same time, but when Yao Ming reached the highest point, he was actually a whole palm higher than him!

And if you look at the camera, with the same vertical jump, Yao Ming's feet are slightly higher than Chandler's!

Snap!

Yao Ming's big hand hooked the ball suspended in the air without any suspense, and then pushed it hard in the direction of Odom behind him.

Odom faced Iguodala, 198 cm against 208 cm, 10 cm height difference and 10 kg weight difference, making Iguodala look obviously smaller than Odom. For such a ball, Odom didn't even need to jump, and he could hold Iguodala behind him firmly.

Lakers' ball possession!

It's normal to lose to Yao Ming in a jump ball.

Iguodala's eyes instantly focused at this time.

He was just temporarily pulled up to defend the No. 4 position...

198 cm 94 kg, against 208 cm 104 kg, 10 cm height difference and 10 kg weight difference, it is impossible for him to defend the opponent from the front, he can only rely on entanglement!

Last season, he almost entered the second defensive team. It was not exaggerated. If he really went to the low post, Iguodala might not have a way to deal with Odom, but in this backcourt position, once the death coil was on, the gibbon-like arm span was enough to create a considerable ball control threat for Odom.

But Odom did not choose to dribble the ball, but immediately passed the ball to Nash.

Fast break?

Nash's offensive rhythm was flying.

The Sonics quickly retreated, but Nash did not run. He chose to control the ball steadily across the line. This was to hit a success rate first.

At this time, both players were in place.

In the paint area under the basket, Yao Ming faced Chandler. Compared with Sakuragi Hanamichi, Chandler's single defense ability was obviously not as good as a little bit. At this time, Yao Ming held him firmly. Rebounding position, receiving position... When Sakuragi Hanamichi was there, Yao Ming could only choose one, but now, he wants all!

After the ball was passed, Odom chose to sink quickly to the inside free throw area. The 10-centimeter height advantage made Iguodala look like a three-year-old baby in front of him.

The 2V2 in the inside was like two giants ravaging two delicate women. Even if you don't understand basketball, you can feel the huge advantage of the Lakers under the basket.

In addition, Payton targeted Doug Christie. One was a 90-year-old and the other was a 92-year-old. The veterans of similar stature and age were entangled together, and they were both good at defense. For a while, it was hard to tell who was stronger.

Lin Dong was led by Kobe to the weak side of the Lakers' attack on the left baseline.

A very obvious stripping tactic. If Sakuragi Hanamichi was on the court, such a tactic would be almost useless, because the rotation defense of the Supersonics could allow Sakuragi and Lin Dong to switch defense at any time.

But now that Sakuragi is not there, Lin Dong has almost no other choice except to follow up.

After all, with Kobe's offensive ability and big heart, no one in the current Supersonics can put any restrictions on him except Lin Dong.

The confrontation between the two aces is the top highlight of this game and the key to determining the outcome of the game.

As for the ball holding point...