The Christmas game is an old tradition of the NBA, and it is also an old tradition unique to basketball. Basically the whole West has a holiday that night, so it is necessary to have a fierce game, or even a "SHOW".
To put it bluntly, the four major leagues in North America are not purely competitive leagues. From the perspective of Yahoo Sports reporters, the four major leagues are the four major commercial sports leagues. If you want to join the game, you must first prove that you can make money.
However, many people may not know that the "Christmas Game" is basically the NBA's ironclad signature. Although the NLF also has this gimmick, if Christmas is not a weekend that year, it is a pity that the NLF will cancel the so-called "Christmas Game".
"War". The reason is that the NFL only has games on weekends, and the schedule is not as tight as the NBA. Not to mention ice hockey and baseball. Basically there is no such explanation. It's not that their league president doesn't want to do it, it's just that they want Americans to go there on Christmas Day.
Work is really not an ordinary workload. If it is not traditional, if you are not a strong-arm president, if you are not famous enough, sorry, no one will pay attention to you, the players union will first "talk" with you. For example, this year's Christmas
, it’s not the weekend, so among the four major North American leagues, only the NBA broadcasts games.
This is really the only "big cake".
Jealousy? Jealousy is useless! Because the NBA has always had the tradition of the Christmas game from the beginning to the present. Since the NBA was officially founded in 1947, except for the first year and 1998, there has never been an interruption in the Christmas game. So history and
The foundation is far stronger than the other three major leagues, and it has basically formed a Christmas habit for American sports fans.
The United States is a country with a very short history, so they attach great importance to tradition and history. The NBA Christmas Game has been around for nearly 70 years, which is considered very important in the history of the United States. There are also many records about the Christmas Game, such as the Christmas Game Singles
The highest score in the game was scored by Bernard King, with a total of 60 points. Unfortunately, the team lost in the end, losing to the Nets by 6 points. Kobe's previous highest single-game score in the Christmas game was 42 points
, the time was against the Miami Heat in 2004, well, it was the first year after O'Neal transferred to Miami. Kobe led the team alone and fought like crazy, but in the end they lost to the "Shark" and "Flash" by 2 points. It's a pity.
Defeat. Tonight, the opponent is Miami again, but the opponent has changed from O'Neal + Wade to the "Big Three", and around Kobe, it is not much different from 2004.
There are too few helpers. If we get rid of Tang Qian, it will even be worse than the first few years of flying alone.
Kobe successfully replaced Oscar Robertson in the Christmas game last year and became the total scorer on December 25. Kobe's current "Christmas total score" is 383 points. If he can score more than 17 points tonight, he can surpass himself.
The "Total Christmas Score" has increased to 400+, which is definitely a very good milestone.
The original time and space? I'm sorry, the original time and space Kobe did not do it. Continuous injuries caused him to miss consecutive games. He finally came back in 2015, but only scored 12 points, and his "Christmas total score" stayed at
With 395 points, this is not a big regret. And tonight, coincidentally, is also the 16th Christmas game in Kobe's career, exactly the same as the original time and space. Tonight is the second Christmas game for Tang Qian, the first season
He only joined the NBA on February 9th, so he missed the Christmas game of that season.
In last year's Christmas game, the Lakers lost. Kobe Bryant scored high points, but he still couldn't lead "F4" to win. The five-game winning streak was ended. I don't know if there will be any changes this season. Tang Qian
He performed well in the last Christmas game. He scored 0 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks and 1 assist even though he was not the team's main center. This is satisfactory enough.
This season he has been corrected and has more playing time and opportunities, so the fans have more expectations for him.
However, compared to the Heat's 6-game winning streak, the current situation of the Lakers is not satisfactory. They have just suffered 2 consecutive losses after their 17-game winning streak ended, and their third position in the Western Conference is in jeopardy. The battle in the Western Division is also called this year.
It's brutal. Looking at this trend, it is very likely that we will catch up with the 2009-10 season. Without 50 wins, your playoff tickets are not guaranteed.
The difference in the number of games between the top eight is not particularly big, especially starting from the third or fourth place, it is almost 1 to 2 games. If you accidentally start a losing streak, it is very likely that you will suddenly start from the upper division.
Falling into the lower division, and even being directly kicked out of the playoffs. This is a very cruel season, and for the Los Angeles Lakers, it can be said to be frightening.
If they lose this game again, they will fall from third place in the Western Conference to fourth in the Western Conference. If they lose two more games, they will fall directly to sixth place in the Western Conference. Compared with the first group, second group, and third group in the east, the differences are clear.
The West District is like Shura Hell.
Before the regular season comes to an end, no team dares to pat its chest and say that it will be stable.
Well, maybe the Spurs have the capital. After all, it’s been who knows how long since they didn’t make the playoffs last time. They are an exception.
Since the "Christmas Game" is the NBA's signature exclusive, it is something that must be done to heighten the atmosphere and exaggerate the hype.
This day is also the only day among all NBA games that are broadcast regardless of platform or media. Even the playoffs and finals do not have this treatment. On December 25, all platform media that cooperate with the NBA, including ESPN, T.N.T, ABC, etc.
, will be online at the same time and broadcast in real time. Therefore, the NBA Christmas Game is the largest regular season stage besides the finals and playoffs. If you want to become famous in one battle, this place is a good entry point.
Lakers VS Heat is naturally the "darling" of the Christmas war and the one that attracts the most attention.
After all, there are too many gimmicks and attractions.
&'s official website, columns and Twitter, a large amount of data and "grievances" were put on the table, allowing fans to talk and argue.
The groups that attract the most attention are:
How many points will Kobe score tonight? Can he become the first player in NBA history to score over 400 points on Christmas Day?
Can James complete a triple-double in the Christmas game again? Become the player second only to Oscar Robertson?
Can the Big Three successfully suppress Kobe? Can Kobe perform the miracle of a lone hero?
Can the Chinese Football Team surpass Jordan, the single-game block leader in the Christmas Day game tonight? Can the Chinese Football Team continue their strong performance of 20+ rebounds?
This is all concerning.
Then comes the pre-game press conference that the NBA must arrange for the Christmas Day game.
You must know that in normal times, this pre-match press conference is dispensable and not a system, but on December 25, sorry, this has become a fixed event. Every team must participate. And Stern
The "Christmas Game" cake is getting bigger and bigger. In the past, I occasionally worried about NLF games. Basically, there were only 2 to 3 games a day. Starting in 2008, Stern announced that the NBA Christmas Game will be all-weather, which means that it will be an all-weather game.
Starting from this year, NBA games will be broadcast live throughout the day.
Invisibly, this day has been branded even more with the NBA.
In the future, the NBA has completely won the big cake of "Christmas Game". In the past, it would temporarily modify the game time due to conflicts with the NFL schedule. For example, the Christmas Game in 1999, and even more so in 2004 and 2005.
It was directly arranged to noon and afternoon. However, all this began to reverse in 2008. By 2015, the NFL originally planned to arrange the "Christmas Game" on "Christmas Day", but finally changed it to Christmas Eve. It was the first time that football avoided
Opened up the edge of basketball.
You know, in the past, this was something that was unimaginable.
There is no way, the president of the NFL is too stupid, and has always kept the old traditions of the NFL. Not to mention the Christmas game, even the signature Thanksgiving game has become a fading trend, and is gradually not as famous as the NBA's Christmas game. Because
Why, because the NFL's Thanksgiving Day game is held in a fixed place every year, that is, Dallas, basically not giving other cities the opportunity to hold it. As a result, over time, it is far less advantageous and representative than the NBA's home and away games.
In addition, there are too few games in the NFL. It is impossible to arrange them to be broadcast throughout the day like the NBA, and the number of games cannot keep up. Therefore, the NBA, which originally learned from the NFL’s Thanksgiving game, has had a Christmas game since 2008.
A comprehensive overtaking trend.
The positive broadcast time is a signal.
I can’t stop sighing here. Stern is the true god of the NBA. Without him, the NBA would not have its current global status.
The Heat were the first to speak out:
They are not afraid of the Lakers at all, because their goal this season is to win three consecutive championships and become a new dynasty in NBA history.
Bosh also had some grudges with Tang Qian, so when a reporter asked him if he would compete with the Lakers No. 29, "Bo Yiban" replied like this:
Don't compare me to blue-collar players! I'm an All-Star big man!
Faced with this kind of statement, the Lakers also gave some official answers. D'Antoni said:
The Heat are very strong and we will do our best.
Kobe was not so polite. He never spoke very politely, saying:
How many championships does Miami have? 2? 3? Sorry, my memory is not very good. Anyway, I don’t have as many championship rings as I do, right?
This counterattack was really beautiful, and combined with Kobe's "serious" face, the audience immediately started writing furiously, for fear that they would miss something.
Tang Qian also opened his mouth and said:
It's good that I'm a blue-collar player, but I'm also an All-Star inside. If Bosh is a big center and comes to the West, I will definitely let him taste the taste of being my substitute. Just like Dwight Howard. Besides, now I also
He averages 10 to 11 points per game, right? How many points does Bosh average? Do you still think you are in the era of 20+? Wake up, it is the end of 2013, and you can only average 16+ per game~
Not to mention rebounds and blocks, I'm afraid I'll offend him by saying it~
This effect is also what David Stern wants. As long as the grudges and confrontations are within a reasonable range, he will accept them all. The more the better. Because the more there are, the stronger the hype will be, and the more people can arouse people's attention.
The desire to compete. The Christmas game with the highest ratings in NBA history was achieved with the help of the "grudge card". After the separation, the K vs. O, after a lot of media "hype", actually surpassed Jordan's last year (here refers to
The Christmas Eve ratings of the 1997-1998 season soared to 7.3! You must know that Jordan’s last Christmas season only had a ratings of 5.5. It has never reached a 7+ rating in any subsequent year, so,
The love and hatred card and the grudge card have become necessary magic weapons in the Christmas war.
After Bosh heard this, he responded:
Tonight, he will let the Lakers No. 29 know what it means to be a true All-Star, not a pseudo-blue-collar All-Star.
As soon as this sentence came out, Bosh almost offended a group of people, including Mutombo and Ben Wallace, a group of retired NBA stars who publicly spoke out or tweeted:
A fake blue-collar all-star? This kind of person has never reached his peak, otherwise he must be taught how to behave! I hope Teng will play well tonight and defend the majesty of the blue-collar all-star!
The game was scheduled for 7:30, and the Staples Center was already overcrowded at around 6 o'clock. It was hard to get a ticket for the Christmas game. Basically, if you didn't hold a season ticket, if you wanted to buy individual tickets for a single game, you could only use super tickets.
Buying at a high price is unaffordable for ordinary people. Don’t think it’s an exaggeration. A regular season game usually costs an average of 400 to 500 US dollars. The lowest ticket (if you can get it) is about 80 to 130 US dollars. What about the Christmas game?
?Basically it’s doubled. Whether it’s the average ticket price or the lowest or highest ticket price, it’s calculated at double the price. The most expensive one can reach 10,000 US dollars. That’s right, it’s 10,000 US dollars, which is close to 70,000 RMB!
The average person in the United States spends 30,000 to 40,000 US dollars a year. If he spends so much money to watch the game, unless he is wealthy, he is just a die-hard, or his brain is caught in the door.
But for some celebrities and celebrities who want to be on camera or take advantage of the camera, this little money is nothing.
It's worth it if you can capture a few pictures among the stars.
Well, and Los Angeles has never been short of so-called celebrities.
Although Tang Qian rejected "so-and-so", it does not mean that "so-and-so" will not come to watch the game on their own. This little money is a drop in the bucket for them. The poorest one is Karlie Kloss.
He is also a rich person, at least much richer than ordinary people.
So they all had a tacit understanding and arrived at the scene.
Of course, it's still the same, they don't sit next to each other, but each sits in his own place and looks at his own thing.
During the warm-up before the game, James and others came over to chat. This is also the trend created by the "03 Platinum Generation". It is said that they are enemies on the court and friends off the court. And unlike the previous "courtesy", they really "play" like this.
Tang Qian doesn't like this very much. He still likes the spirit and old-school thinking of people like Kobe, Iverson, McGrady, and Jordan. Whether they are enemies on the court or not depends on their mood.
It is by no means necessary and necessary.
They were so friendly and clocked in to work, which made Tang Qian uncomfortable.
Kobe was not very comfortable either. He had always been repulsive to this kind of "new ideas" and "new spirit," so James and others only said a few words before turning around and leaving, returning to their own half of the court.
"Why, don't you like this feeling too?" Kobe looked at Tang Qian and suddenly asked.
"Well, I don't like it very much. You can be polite, but as good friends, hehe, let's forget it." Tang Qian said: "I'm afraid I won't be able to be cruel then." Kobe also laughed when he heard this and said: "
Yes, opponents are opponents. Let’s talk about friends when I leave the NBA and the court.”
"It's too early now."
"Yeah, it's too early." Tang Qian said: "Now between us and them, there is only victory or defeat, only victory and defeat, nothing else."
Kobe threw a standard fadeaway and said, "That's right."
"There are only wins and losses tonight, only wins and losses."
Brush~
The basketball accurately penetrated into the net, like a flying knife, cutting through the atmosphere of Christmas Eve.
The Lakers' 29th game of the regular season, the Christmas Day game, kicked off.
PS: Although Xiao Zi is not feeling very well, she still insists on updating every day and breaks out when she has time. Don’t doubt this~ Well, if you want to hit Xiao Zi, just use your ticket to hit Xiao Zi, hehe~