Chapter 499 I Am Me, Kobe Bryant

Chapter 499 I am who I am, Kobe Bryant

By the end of March, the regular season had already been a matter of debate about the places for the playoff teams.

The record in the West was a mystery. The Sonics, who were recognized as the strongest, did not take the top spot, but the Spurs ranked first with a record of 61 wins and 14 losses.

Although the Sonics ranked second with 60 wins and 15 losses, they also had a win-loss record in the three encounters with the third-ranked Lakers.

The 3-point confrontation training for the players in December, January, and February did greatly affect the feel of the Sonics' outside line, and more importantly, Lin Dong was in a state of invisibility for a long time in the game, which put more pressure on the Sonics' outside line, which further led to the deviation of the Sonics' overall performance.

Anyone in the league who had a little bit of insight could see that Lin Dong was preparing for the league's whistle in the playoffs, and most Lin fans obviously agreed with this view, but for Lin haters and many neutral fans, this was the most direct manifestation of Lin Dong's declining dominance.

This undoubtedly gave many Lin haters a reason to celebrate, and also gave more people the confidence to challenge the Supersonics.

On the contrary, the Lakers, when Kobe suddenly went crazy and grabbed the ball, and only chose to play normally when facing the Supersonics, the Lakers' performance once even dropped to fourth in the West. But since the All-Stars in mid-February, Kobe's style of play has suddenly changed, and he has turned to concentrate on playing the No. 3 position and various receiving positions. It seems that he has walked out of the shadow of being defeated by Lin Dong, and the Lakers' overall lineup seemed to be rejuvenated at that moment, so that they immediately played a wave of 17 consecutive victories, and recovered from fourth in the West to third in a minute, only one win behind the Supersonics.

Although the Lakers challenged the Supersonics again in an away game at the end of March, the Lakers still lost the game. However, the Lakers' blockade of the Supersonics' outside line was extremely effective throughout the game. Kobe and Doug Christie's restrictions on Lin Dong in the fourth quarter were also very effective. The tactics were quite successful and they saw the hope of winning several times. However, they only lost by 2 points because of Lin Dong's magical buzzer-beater.

But this battle alone was enough for American fans to see the hope of the Lakers defeating the Supersonics, and also made the Lakers return to the main force of the three kingdoms hegemony that was focused on this year.

In addition to these three teams, the results of the Western Conference were like a fault. The fourth-ranked Mavericks only got 53 wins and 22 losses, the fifth-ranked Denver Nuggets had 50 wins and 25 losses, the sixth-ranked Phoenix Suns had 48 wins and 27 losses, the seventh-ranked Memphis Grizzlies had 46 wins and 29 losses, and the eighth-ranked Los Angeles Clippers and the Grizzlies also had 46 wins and 29 losses, but they were ranked behind by a small score.

Further down, the gap is even more serious. The ninth-placed Kings have less than 40 wins. With only seven games left, the playoff tickets for the West have almost all been booked, and only one or two other teams have a theoretical chance of qualifying.

The strong ones are extremely strong, and the weak ones are extremely weak.

In contrast, the situation in the East is similar.

Currently, the Cavaliers are still firmly in the first echelon with a record of 69 wins and 6 losses, the best record in team history, and the only one in the entire league.

And below, there are the Pistons with 56 wins, the Heat and Wizards with 53 wins, the Philadelphia 76ers with 51 wins, the Pacers with 47 wins, and the Bulls and Bucks with 45 wins, which are not at the same level as the Cavaliers who are at the top.

Therefore, there are even Cavaliers fans who want the Cavaliers to win the remaining 7 wins and catch up with the Supersonics' previous best record of 76 wins and 6 losses.

This is actually not difficult. The last few opponents in the Cavaliers' schedule are all Eastern Conference teams. Even the Pistons can't stop the current Cavaliers. As long as the Cavaliers want to win, the 76 wins are almost certain.

During the entire regular season, the Cavaliers have been the talk of the town. Although they were questioned after being defeated by the Supersonics at the start of the season, it was precisely because of that battle that the Cavaliers became extremely competitive. Even without LeBron, they only lost two games to the Supersonics, one to the Spurs and one to the Mavericks, and created the best 28-game winning streak in team history.

After Artest joined, the Cavaliers, who were missing the main forward position, became unstoppable again.

There were almost no defeats in the second half of the season. The extra two losses were due to O'Neal's habitual lameness and relaxation, or even absence from the game.

Especially the two wins over the Lakers, and the Lakers and the Supersonics had a record of wins and losses... This was when LeBron did not return to the team, which made the fans more optimistic about the prospects of the Cavaliers. It is generally believed that the Lakers are slightly better than the Supersonics, while the Cavaliers are completely better than the Lakers.

Supported by the record, and Nike's unremitting promotion of LeBron's special training in Japan because of the dispute over shoes and reputation, the Cavaliers' call for the championship has now reached an unprecedented height.

After all, the Cavaliers' schedule is too good.

There is no rival for them in the East, and the two biggest opponents are still in the West. They just need to steadily win the East, break through the East Finals, and then wait for the exhausted Western winner in the finals.

It is generally believed that the West is likely to be the Supersonics and the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and the Lakers seem to be slightly better than the Supersonics, and the match between the two teams will definitely be a bloody battle.

Maybe the victory is 50-50, or even 40-60, and the Supersonics still have a little advantage, but facing the Lakers' determination to win, it is not a very low probability for the Supersonics to lose.

Even if the Sonics win, the Game 7 with the Lakers is enough to make them exhausted. Then when the finals come, the Cavaliers, who have the advantage of time, place and people, will be ready to take the championship!

——This year's championship belongs to the Cavaliers!

——Finally, there is some hope. The Sonics are not as dominant as they were last year. Their outside line has too much fluctuation.

——Pah! It's the league whistle that is targeting the outside line of the Sonics!

——Yo, who does the league call with the same penalty standard now? Do you think it's just you Sonics? Are you special?

——If you can't beat them, you can't beat them. What the hell are you talking about? You're not satisfied after three consecutive championships? Do you really think that Lin Dong is Michael Jordan?

——I seem to have seen this online name...Aren't you the guy who shouted in Gargamel's House that you can buy a pair of ordinary flash shoes for $1,200? Hahaha, you support the Cavaliers, but you still buy our Under Armour sneakers?

——So I buy the ordinary ones, I don't want that Lin Dong series! Shoes are shoes, people are people!

——Hey, hey, hey, why are you talking about the Cavaliers and the Supersonics? We Lakers are also strong, okay? We are the champions!

——Children should not interrupt when adults are talking, just stay away!

The Lakers fans who are ignored despite being one of the favorites to win the championship are not just the ones on the Internet.

Bang!

Kobe Bryant turned off the computer monitor.

The Lakers just won the last game of the regular season yesterday, and finally ranked third in the West with a record of 66 wins and 16 losses.

The playoffs will start in about six days on April 25, and the first game will be against the Phoenix Suns, who are ranked sixth in the West.

That is obviously not a challenge for the Lakers now. The real challenge is the second round. They will meet the second-ranked Supersonics in advance in the Western Conference semifinals.

Although these netizens on the Internet say that "the Lakers are also one of the three kingdoms", when it comes to the championship, they often "ignore" the Lakers, or even just regard them as "thugs" who help the Cavaliers to consume the supersonics...

"Hey!" Kobe Bryant couldn't help but curl up his lips slightly.

Not because of anger, but because of disdain.

Two years of hard training made him go astray, but Lin Dong's words made him get back on track in time.

With the same accumulation of years, other people's breakthroughs may be natural, but his own breakthrough is based on Lin Dong's guidance.

But no matter what, it is a breakthrough after all...

When he began to enjoy the joy of basketball offense crazily after two years of frustration, it was as if he used these to wash away all the dirt on his body, and also washed away his inner demons when facing Lin Dong and the obsession and entanglement of the past two years.

This made him feel an unprecedented state, a state that can bring state 3 to the fullest!

Even in the last game between the Sonics and the Lakers in the regular season, when they were defeated by Lin Dong, Kobe felt that he had not used 100% of his strength.

This would have been impossible for Kobe in the past. He would have fought for every victory like Michael Jordan, even if it was some insignificant games.

But now... he really didn't care about the outcome of that regular season game.

Compared to the outcome of a game, he would rather keep this strength until the Western Conference semifinals to surprise Lin Dong!

That might even affect the outcome of a game and bring infinite possibilities to the team!

In comparison, is it really important to win Lin Dong once in an insignificant game?

Letting go is sometimes difficult, but sometimes it is also very simple.

Lin Dong is right. It is meaningless to focus on surpassing the opponent, and it is even a futile internal consumption.

When Kobe sees those online comments like "Kobe is not as good as Lin Dong" now, he can keep an absolutely normal mind.

I am who I am, Kobe Bryant!