The Lakers are basically unchanged from last season.
The only change is that they finally sent away Parker, the "god of death who may kill their own core", and welcomed old general "Old Fish" Fisher.
But in essence, even with Kobe at his peak, this Lakers team is still a team on the edge of the playoffs.
In ESPN's predictions, they are ranked next to the Nuggets, and the two teams are close in strength.
However, this game, which ESPN considers to be a "rookies pecking each other" game, has attracted considerable attention.
Here in the United States, the golden double gun VS the peak Kobe, this does not need publicity at all, the stars are shining!
Over in China, fans were a little excited after watching Yi Jianlian's debut yesterday, and they are naturally looking forward to Lin Ying's debut.
After all, judging from his performance in the preseason, Lin Ying is more stable than Yi Jianlian!
Of course, at this time, Kobe's popularity in China was also extremely explosive.
It’s only one year away from the classic “10-second shot” of the Olympic Games in history!
With 81 points in a single game, two consecutive seasons of crazy scoring, and a picturesque style of play, Kobe's domestic popularity has surpassed that of Tracy McGrady.
The attention of this game is no less than that of the previous Asian Championship finals, and it is also comparable to the Rockets playoffs.
The day before the game, the Nuggets arrived at Staples Center.
It was morning when the team arrived, and Karl only arranged training in the afternoon.
During their training, they attracted the attention of many media reporters.
Lin Ying also experienced the scene where reporters were waiting for him during training for the first time since the semi-finals.
And, obviously, more.
Carl looked a little unhappy.
He couldn't arrange tactical training while reporters were there.
The opening game is very important for every team, and he does not want to expose his tactics to his opponents before the game.
But he couldn't drive away these reporters.
So in the end, he could only keep a straight face and let O'Connor lead the team in basic training on the court.
After the training was over, reporters swarmed over.
Iverson and Anthony were surrounded by reporters.
But besides that, there is Lin Ying.
There are many Chinese people in Los Angeles, and they had tried to select Lin Ying through trade before, so the media here also paid a lot of attention to Lin Ying.
It's good to be noticed, but reporters in Los Angeles are battle-hardened and not so easy to deal with.
"Lin, do you have any plans to play for the Lakers in the future?"
It starts with a death torture.
"Lin, who do you think has a better chance of becoming the MVP this season, Kobe or Anthony?"
This one is more cruel.
"Lin, will you perform better than Yi yesterday?"
Another multiple-choice question about death.
"Lin, do you think the Nuggets are the stronger team tomorrow night?"
There really is no easy problem.
Lin Ying turned over the minutes of the meeting half a year ago in his mind.
Above is a sample response from Rick Barnes when asked by reporters.
"I only care about the game in front of me now. This is my NBA debut."
"Your question is like asking me who is more of a tough guy, Dwayne Johnson or Jason Statham."
"It depends on how much playing time the coach gives me."
"I think our looks are better."
…
Rick Barnes is not a famous coach in the NCAA, but he really taught Lin Ying and Durant a lot.
In dealing with this wave of media, Lin Ying can be said to be flawless.
Then, these reporters became a little unconvinced. They are rarely so "embarrassed" by rookies.
So I kept asking questions, and other reporters also came over after hearing the news.
As a result, the interviews with Iverson and Anthony were over, and he was still surrounded by a bunch of reporters.
This scene also made the two big guys look at each other in a daze.
Likewise, they have never seen this kind of battle after being in the NBA for so long.
"He is very popular."
Iverson smiled and rubbed his nose.
He had a crush on Lin Ying before the Asian Championships. The more he got to know Lin Ying, the more interesting he found him.
Anthony said nothing, his expression looked a little strange.
…
At the end of the interview, Karl came over and drove the reporters away.
He knew that Lin Ying had to practice extra at night.
"You have to learn to say no."
After driving the reporters away, Karl spoke.
Lin Ying nodded.
In fact, he also wanted to refuse, but after going through this journey, he knew how difficult it was to get access to these media.
At this point, he still admires James a little.
Sure enough, being too popular is not a good thing.
…
That night, he went to the Staples Center training hall to practice more.
What he didn't expect but made sense was that Kobe had trained there earlier than him.
When the two people looked at each other, Kobe smiled and asked him to warm up first.
The first time, you may feel a little embarrassed because you have no experience.
But the second time, once you are familiar with the road, it will be very smooth.
This is the duel between Lin Ying and Kobe Bryant.
After the basic training was over, the two people started a one-on-one duel.
This time, although Lin Ying still couldn't beat Kobe, the pressure on Kobe on both offense and defense was obviously greater.
After the game was over, Kobe suddenly felt a little melancholy.
This was the first time Lin Ying saw his expression, although this was only the second time he saw Kobe.
"Mitch told me that he tried a lot, but in the end it just didn't work."
Kobe was talking about the draft.
Iverson has a good impression of Lin Ying because he saw his former self on the court.
Kobe looked at Lin Yinghui in a different light because he saw his own shadow on the training ground.
Then, after he really felt Lin Ying's progress now, he did feel a little regretful that the team did not select Lin Ying.
Because he knew that Lin Ying, who was as training-mad as himself, would definitely be able to fight in the end.
"That may be because he didn't work hard enough."
Lin Ying thought for a while and said.
Kobe was stunned for a moment, his emotions were all in place, but Lin Ying's words made him burst into laughter.
You are so naughty.
But he still nodded.
There is nothing wrong with this. If Bynum was not regarded as a treasure, the Lakers would have been on the road to the championship last season.
It’s not like he is still working as a “nanny” for Bynum.
If Kupchak hadn't invited Jerry West out in the summer and promised to find him help before the trade deadline, he would have really gone to Chicago.
Even talking about the draft, if Kupchak traded Bynum to the Bobcats for the No. 8 pick, would that man not agree?
Once you have the No. 8 pick, it will be the Nuggets who are dumbfounded.
If you don’t work hard enough, this is actually quite accurate.
The two chatted for a while.
Lin Ying suddenly remembered the last time Kobe pulled him into training in the middle of the night.
Just like he would eventually ask Durant who Rachel was, his curiosity was still quite strong.
So taking this opportunity, he asked anyway.
"Is that important?"
Kobe did not answer directly, but asked Lin Ying a question.
"It doesn't seem to be very important."
Lin Ying thought for a while and nodded.
"You don't have much time, so don't think about unimportant things."
Kobe said and motioned to Lin Ying to get up and continue the duel.
It was impossible for him to say that it was because all his teammates had been harassed by him and they all consciously turned off their phones.
…
Game day.
The Nuggets conducted closed tactical training in the morning.
After the training, Karl also announced the first game.
Iverson, JR Smith, Anthony, Martin, Nene.
The purpose of Karl's arrangement of Smith was to prevent Kobe Bryant.
Originally, veteran Adrian Griffin was brought in from the Bulls to serve as a defensive point guard for the opponent.
Griffin was a defensive champion throughout his career. He once reached the Finals with the Mavericks and performed well on the defensive end.
Unfortunately, he was injured during the training camp, and he had no choice but to use Smith.
He can't let old Carter play against Kobe, or let Anthony take care of offense while also guarding Kobe, right?
Returning to the locker room after training, Smith looked a little excited.
He only came to the Nuggets last season and was stable when he first came here.
But not long after Iverson arrived, he became a substitute, and he couldn't go back after he became a substitute.
There is a big difference between NBA and substitute, especially since this is still his contract year.
If he seizes the opportunity today, maybe it will be the same in the future!
"JR, originally I was ready to compete offensively and defensively with Kobe, but if the coach arranges for you, you have to work hard."
Anthony said, patting Smith on the shoulder.
Only by playing against Kobe many times can you realize how terrifying Kobe is.
Although Smith is with him, he still needs to be reminded of what needs to be done.
"Don't worry Melo, Kobe and I are 50-50."
Smith looked confident.
Anthony rubbed his head.
Smith is good at everything, but his brain is not very good.
"I can do everything he can do, and I can do better dunks than him. He is just Kobe, not the real Michael. I can handle him quickly."
When Smith saw Anthony's reaction, he thought Anthony didn't believe him, so he immediately followed up.
"I'm going to take a shower first."
Anthony didn't say anything, got up and went directly to the shower room.
Lin Ying couldn't help but take another look at Smith.
JR, as expected of you.
And just now, he unconsciously translated the content of Smith's words, which can be roughly summarized into this sentence:
It's just Kobe, he can come back as soon as he goes!
…
On game day, the attendance rate at Staples Center exceeded 80%.
Although the Lakers' record in the past two years has not been good, first of all, Los Angeles is a metropolis, and secondly, having Kobe is enough!
In addition, tonight's match is against the Golden Double Gun, with three extremely popular players gathered together. It's hard to imagine whether the popularity will be high.
Of course, because of Lin Ying's relationship, quite a few Chinese fans came tonight, including many female fans.
The number of Chinese in Los Angeles is not comparable to that in Austin.
They held Lin Ying's poster high. Don't ask why it wasn't a big-headed KT poster. They felt that it was not worthy of Lin Ying's appearance.
At the end of the warm-up, the photographer on site also gave Lin Ying several shots.
Lin Ying's popularity in Los Angeles is a little high.
And because there were so many shots, some fans noticed that Lin Ying was wearing Adidas Tma-3 on his feet in his debut.
When the warm-up is over, the lineups for both sides will be announced.
The Nuggets are the same as what Karl announced before.
As for the Lakers, the old pairing of Fisher and Kobe are on the outside, Luke Walton and Odom are on the forward line, and Bynum is the center.
The game started immediately, with Bynum and Nene jumping the ball in the middle circle.
Lin Ying was sitting on the bench wearing training clothes.
NBA bench seating is very particular.
Generally speaking, the head coach and assistant coaches sit closest to the technical table, making it easier to quarrel or, oh no, protest.
Then the coach moves to the five-man group, and then moves to the side in order of rotation.
Those on the fringe basically sit at the position closest to the basket, and sometimes they even have to sit on the ground when there is not enough space to sit.
Lin Ying was sitting at the closest position at this time.
This represents Karl's trust in Lin Ying.
Although you can't fight, you are now the sixth man.
"beep!"
The whistle sounded on the court.
Lin Ying also looked at the field.
This is his first time to watch a game live in the NBA. The location and the viewing angle are perfect, and it is indeed VIP enough.
No, as soon as the Lakers got the ball, Fisher advanced to the frontcourt to play a triangle offense, Walton pulled the corner, and Kobe was in a better position.
Then he looked up and saw Kobe beating Smith on the back, with details of his movements and even facial expressions visible.
Smith's defense is actually not bad, especially at this stage of his career.
Although his defensive awareness is not particularly good, his physical condition is good, and his wingspan is not slow in confrontation.
However, he was facing Kobe.
Anthony wanted to double-team, but Kobe faked a pass to the corner and forced Anthony back. He then turned to look at Iverson, who was a little far away from him at the three-point line, and turned around to break through.
It turned so fast that Smith stumbled a little.
But at any rate, I followed.
However, just when he thought he was following, Kobe made a pull-up jumper.
Beautiful as picturesque.
"Whoosh!"
Basketball hollow bag.
There are a hundred million points of cruelty.
Lin Ying was not idle either. As he watched, he thought about how he could make Kobe Bryant's shot less comfortable in this round.
Playing as a substitute has the advantage of being fully prepared before going on the field.
Kobe scored first here, but Anthony from the Nuggets quickly responded, facing a triple threat from Walton and scoring a goal.
Then, the second round of Kobe VS Smith.
This time Smith turned around to the free throw line while preventing Kobe Bryant.
Then Kobe was even more decisive, turning around and leaning directly toward the baseline!
Smith pounced hard, and then Lin Ying saw the replica version of Jordan.
Really, I'll wait until you fall down before I take action.
"Whoosh!"
Two consecutive hits in the opening game!
Kobe's touch looked pretty good tonight!
Smith felt a little uncomfortable this time.
To defend against shooting, you break out, and to defend against shooting, you shoot, there is no way to play like this!
Then, when the offense and defense transitioned, he wanted to respond. It was originally a tactical transition. He received the ball from outside the three-point line and shot it.
"Dang!"
The sound of striking iron is clear enough.
Lin Ying turned around and glanced at Karl, and found that Karl reached out and rubbed his forehead.
The coach should probably regret letting Smith go now!
Odom grabbed a defensive rebound, and the Lakers directly pushed for a defensive counterattack.
As expected of Lin Ying's template, Odom's pass went up quickly, and the Lakers reached the Nuggets' hinterland in an instant.
Fisher held the ball in the middle and broke through Kobe who followed up from the wing.
Kobe caught the ball and made a fake move to look at the frame, then took the ball and rushed to the basket.
This time Smith showed his excellent physical reflexes to keep up.
But Kobe's determination to break through was much stronger than he imagined, and the two of them were at the basket in an instant.
Then……
"Bang!"
Kobe suddenly jumped up with force, fought sideways in the air, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand through Smith!
Moreover, Smith jumped for a confrontation and was called for a defensive foul!
Fast break 2+1!
Good guy, Kobe Bryant at his peak, so scary!
Carl finally couldn't sit still anymore and got up and called old Carter up.
At this time, Lin Ying recalled what Smith said in the locker room.
Chapter completed!