Chapter 77 Really use your brain

The 2003-04 season was the last glory of the Kings. In the summer of 2004, Divac returned to the Lakers and announced his retirement. Then there was a struggle for power in the team, and the two core players, Chris Webber and Peja, were sent away one after another.

The former "Gorgeous King" finally only had "White Devil" Mike Bibby left. As the core of the old team was continuously sent away, the Kings' regular season record dropped again and again. Even with the arrival of Artest and Kevin

-Martin's growth has not stopped the downward trend.

The Kings went 33-49 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

In the new season, the Kings have not made many moves in the summer and have maintained their original lineup. Their record is not optimistic. They currently have 5 wins and 8 losses in 13 games, ranking 10th in the Western Conference. With 10 wins and 3 losses, they still rank first in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are far behind.

Normally, a game with such a large gap in strength would not be of much interest, not to mention that the Kings do not have any popular stars. But now because of the war of words between Artest and Li Wan, a lot of media are paying attention to this game.

During the warm-up, Odom went to say hello to Artest and tried to make final adjustments. Unfortunately, as can be seen from his "bitter face" before returning to the Lakers bench, the effect was not ideal.

Artest glared at Li Wan fiercely and shook his fist at him. Since entering the NBA, Li Wan has never seen such an arrogant guy, and he saw it today.

The starting lineup of the Kings is: point guard Bibby, shooting guard Kevin Martin, small forward Ron Artest, power forward Brad Miller, and center Mickey Moore.

This lineup lacks a big center who can stand up in the civil war.

Brad Miller is nicknamed "The Big White Bear". In his early years, he relied on his thick body and small moves in confrontation to become a good interior defender. However, as he grew older and was affected by injuries, his defensive attitude changed.

He has changed, he is no longer so active, and he is slow in pace. As a result, he has completely become a big loophole in the Kings team.

Mickey Moore is willing to fight, but he is 2.13 meters tall and only 103 kilograms. He is nicknamed "Snake Man". He is "all attitude but no body".

The Lakers made offensive arrangements to target the Kings' big hole in the paint, and gained an advantage from the beginning. Bynum, who had taken a breath due to the criticism, turned into a real "little shark" and caused all kinds of troubles in the Kings' paint.

At 7 minutes and 16 seconds of the first quarter, Bynum scored 7 points alone, helping the team take a 6-point lead. He was so excited that he watched Mike Bibby dribble the ball across half court and, for the first time, move towards his teammates.

Shouted: "Let us hold on to this goal and score more points!"

Kobe turned his head and glanced at him, with admiration in his eyes. Bynum participated in the draft at the age of 18. Although he entered the NBA in 2005, he is actually only in his early 20s now. Suddenly he knew how to shout on the court to boost the morale of his teammates.

, Kobe feels that this is proof of maturity!

Even looking at his appearance, I found him a lot more pleasing to the eye.

"Li, it's your turn!"

Li Wan, who had been watching carefully on the bench, was called by Phil Handy's name. He stood up and walked towards the player waiting area. When he stood up, there was a loud cheer at the scene.

This was the spontaneous cheers from the fans at the scene when they saw Li Wan coming on the field, and it also meant to cheer for Li Wan.

Fisher sat back on the bench like a transparent person. He was replaced only five or six minutes into the first quarter...

This makes him more and more convinced that Phil Jackson is making a temporary transition.

As the former best defensive player, Artest also made the All-Star bench in 2004. Compared with the ones Li Wan faced before, this is a real star player. The league's outside scorer.

Even Kobe Bryant would have a headache when meeting him. Although according to rules tonight is Li Wan's "super god" day, there is still a question mark as to whether he can continue his form.

When Li Wan came on the court, Artest shook his head, picked up his jersey, and looked like a "beast pouncing on food."

"Boy, you will soon know that the NBA is not as simple as you think!" he shouted towards Li Wan.

Li Wan also yelled back: "It's really not easy. After all, there are people in this league who can't beat the other team's players, so they just go and beat the other team's fans!"

When he was sitting on the court just now, Artest ran up to him several times and made provocations. He had been holding back this tone for a long time.

Everyone was stunned by the naked irony. Odom subconsciously wanted to hold his head. He knew that Li Wan had a bad mouth and spoke all kinds of rubbish, but he didn't expect that this guy would do it in front of Artes.

Te's face actually dared to mention the "Auburn Hills Palace" incident.

That can be said to be the watershed in Artest's career. Before the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Artest averaged a career-high 24.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. However, he ended up beating a fan.

Artest was suspended for the entire season. When he came back, he was no longer in the same state as he was at that time. He averaged no more than 20 points per game in two seasons.

Odom knew very well how much Artest regretted his impulsive behavior at that time. Even though he had a good relationship with Artest, he didn't dare to joke about it.

Look at Artest again after hearing Li Wan's response. You can't hide the look in his eyes. Artest has that look now.

Li Wan was not afraid at all, he took the ball in the backcourt with a calm demeanor and slowly dribbled the ball across half court.

Bynum actively asked for the ball. After observing for a while, Li Wan still chose to give the ball to Kobe. Kobe faced Artest on the flank. After a series of steps, he shot against Artest, and the ball popped out with a "bang" sound.

, Bynum grabbed the offensive rebound, completed the second attack, and scored the ball!

"Hoo!"

Bynum beat his chest hard, and the entire atmosphere was ignited. When he returned to defense, he looked at Li Wan and asked him with his eyes: Why didn't you pass the ball to me just now?

Didn't you see that I'm in such good shape?

It seems that what Fisher said is indeed true!

Bynum became increasingly convinced that Li Wan was deliberately targeting him to make him unhappy.

The Kings played a "hand-off" tactic at the 1st and 3rd positions. Luke Walton failed to make up for it. Li Wan could only intercept Artest for him, preventing him from directly attacking with the ball.

Possibilities at the basket.

And that's exactly what the Kings think.

Seeing that Li Wan was successfully replaced in front of him, Artest shouted: "Pull away, pull away, let me show this bitch some color!"

Li Wan looked at his proud look and recalled the information about this guy.

By studying Artest's game videos before the game, Li Wan has long been familiar with his technical characteristics.

Compared with his excellent personal defense ability, Artest's performance on the offensive end is somewhat lackluster. His offensive methods are mainly mid-to-long-range jump shots.

His breakthrough ability is limited by his speed and jumping, so he can only rely on his body to attack.

Compared with him, Li Wan's disadvantage is his body, so he is very sure that Artest will break through. He made a gesture towards Odom and Bynum under the basket to cover up.

The Kings have a certain scoring ability under the basket. Brad Miller averages 13.4 points per game and Mickey Moore averages 8.4 points per game. However, Artest is more accustomed to passing the ball to the outside when he breaks through, and he does not pass the ball inside.

internal ability.

Bynum saw his gesture, pretended not to see it, and complained disdainfully in his heart: You don't give me the ball, and you still want me to cooperate with you? Dream on!

Odom was more focused and prepared to make up defense.

Between the younger brother and the younger brother, he finally chose the younger brother. Firstly, the younger brother was unreasonable; secondly, the younger brother was on the same team as him.

Artest didn't let Li Wan guess wrong. After two dribbles of the ball, he started to drive inside.

Li Wan was not afraid. He moved sideways and stood in front of Artest.

In terms of pure strength, Li Wan is definitely not as good as Artest, but his smart point is to block the defensive position in advance.

Artest lacks explosive power and has not fully started at this time, so the impact is not that strong.

Although he still let Artest push away.

But his goal was achieved.

Odom immediately made up for it. Artest had already joined the ball and started to move. He could only choose to pass the ball or push forward against the defense. His passing vision was completely blocked by Odom. He had no choice but to force the move.

Li Wan chased him from behind and slapped his layup away.

The ball hit the basket, and there was a loud "bang" sound. It spread along the loudspeaker on the backboard and spread to the entire audience. Cheers came from all directions, but Li Wan had no time to respond to them. The pop-up

The basketball was caught in Odom's hand. He took it from the side and carried it to the frontcourt.

Artest was desperately chasing after him. Li Wan glanced at him from the corner of his eye, dribbled to the three-point line, and suddenly jumped up in front of him to shoot. Artest, who wanted to catch up with Li Wan, didn't expect that he would suddenly jump up.

, failed to stop the car and crashed directly into Li Wan. Li Wan lost his center of gravity, staggered when he landed, and eventually fell to the ground. The referee's whistle sounded, signaling three free throws!

Li Wan, who was lying on the ground, tapped his temple with his fingers: "It turns out that you still have to rely on your brain to play basketball!"

Artest looked even worse now.

Li Wan, who scored all three free throws, became more confident.

When Artest is emotional, he often defends aggressively and writes his intentions on his face. Li Wan successfully took advantage of this.

"Give me the ball!" Artest asked for the ball directly from Mike Bibby. He was blocked and fouled again just now. He was very humiliated and was eager to get back on the court.

Mike Bibby actually doesn't want to give him the ball. With Artest's current mentality, I'm afraid he won't gain anything by continuing to attack.

But he understands Artest's temper. If the ball is not passed to him, his head will be in danger.

Artest got the ball as he wished, faced Luke Walton, and shook his elbow fiercely with the help of the triple threat cover. Walton, who was originally close to him, instinctively tilted his head and avoided the blow.

His body subconsciously stepped back. Although the blow just now did not hit him, the elbow wind made him dare not think about the consequences if it hit him.

Artest took the opportunity to dribble the ball and start to break through, but Luke Walton did not dare to step forward.

Li Wan blocked it from the side.

Looking at his calm and unflustered face, Artest was furious and took the initiative to seek confrontation. Although Li Wan was knocked away again this time, he did not lose his position.

At this time, his wingspan advantage began to show. Artest held the ball and his whole body was covered by him.

Li Wan's small movements on his hands continued, hitting his ball-protecting hand from time to time. He could clearly see Artest's dirty hand towards Walton just now.

If you want to play dirty, then play dirty!

Because the two were so close to each other, the referee could not see the movements of Li Wan's hands at all.
To be continued...