NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 693: Pure delusion. (Daily chapter)
On Thursday, December 2009, 12, Christmas Eve, the Lakers visited New York in advance and enjoyed the annual Christmas.

Flying from the West Coast to the East Coast for the Christmas game, except for Kobe who wanted to "prove himself and defeat his arch-rival", the veterans did not have much desire for this game.

The same thing happened to Duncan. He wanted to fly over with his wife to celebrate the holidays together, but Amy chose to stay in Los Angeles because the children didn't like cold weather.

Feeling guilty, Duncan finally did not make things difficult for his family. On this important holiday, only basketball accompanied him.

In contrast, the Fisher family reunited in New York, and was invited by Li You to celebrate the holiday in New York with his good brother Matt Barnes.

Both families are very satisfied with this arrangement. Manhattan, with its strong Christmas atmosphere, is a great place to celebrate the holiday.

As a focus battle, the game will start at noon tomorrow. In order to get a better competitive state, Mamba will not spend much time with his family in the past two days and will focus more on practicing.

No one on the Lakers would deny Kobe's efforts, but it was hard for everyone to comment on the leader of the training ground. In an interview, Odom took the opportunity to praise his old teammate:
"God will definitely approve of your hard work!"

It is not clear whether God approves or not, but every time Odom reveals news about Kobe, it gets extra attention.

Since his flash marriage with Kardashian, he was "forced" to enter the entertainment industry. Odom didn't think there was anything wrong with it, and he even began to enjoy this "camera" life.

Khloe Kardashian also followed her husband to New York. A spin-off show is already preparing to launch a New York sequel, and the big-butt girls don't want to miss out on the attention.

New family members and newlywed life, for fans who love this reality show, Odom makes it even more interesting.

At the beginning of last month, after the fourth season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians was released, Khloe Kardashian made a shocking statement in the series, talking about her satisfaction with her newlywed life, and even proudly declared:
"We do it more than four times a night, the game won't affect Lamar."

When the spectators saw the content of the program on TV, in addition to calling it outrageous, they also felt very curious. The big-butt girls did not disappoint their fans, and family members praised the sisters' ventriloquism skills.

Bringing his family life to the screen has made Odom the envy of many NBA players. Judging from the level of discussion alone, he is the top player of the Lakers.

Big Brother is successful in love. Shannon Brown, who will get more playing time in the new season, also has a new love life. He is currently dating R&B singer Monica.

Although neither of them has acknowledged the relationship to the public, many media outlets have dug up photos of the two of them meeting each other.

Putting aside the championship, the Lakers' winning streak has indeed benefited everyone. Perhaps only Kobe doesn't like these off-court factors.

Mamba has never commented on these things, and everyone can see that the leader actually has strong opinions.

On Christmas Eve, Kobe still had no smile on his face when he returned to the hotel. Although he disagreed in his heart, he had learned to compromise and did not scold his teammates like he did in the past.

Phil Jackson was very satisfied with this. He had missed several away games and had become more low-key compared to previous years. The old KFC man didn't have any expectations when he came to New York this time.

He had a thorough understanding of the Knicks' home court. Phil Jackson did not think Kobe could carry the team, and was worried that he would lose his temper after losing like he did in the previous two years, so he found Mamba to talk in advance.

Noticing that Kobe was in a bad mood when he entered the room, Phil Jackson knew that he must be disgusted with those off-court events again. In response, Phil Jackson remained calm on the surface and comforted him with a smile:
"They are all adults, and everyone is responsible for their own lives, Kobe, you have to respect their personal choices."

"For tomorrow's game, I hope you can be yourself. This is just an ordinary regular season game. I don't want to give it too much meaning."

"Winning or losing is not a problem. I hope to see more game content. Remember what I said, the Lakers will not pursue 74 wins. Our goal is to enter the playoffs in a healthy manner."

This point was repeatedly emphasized in front of the media, but after the Lakers won a series of consecutive games, many fans forgot the words of the KFC old man and began to expect more.

Kobe frowned slightly, hearing the hidden meaning of his coach's words. He was a little unhappy as he was pursuing a winning streak. Before the game even started, Phil Jackson was not optimistic about him:

"I know, I just hope everyone can stay focused. With 20 consecutive wins, we have a chance to set a new record."

"."

Kobe never mentioned this in front of his teammates. This was also Phil Jackson's advice. Mamba just wants to continue winning, but unfortunately the old man has seen that most players don't have this intention.

Winning streak is sometimes a kind of pressure, just like now, the Los Angeles Times took the lead in praising the Lakers' new season status to the sky. After "loaning" the championship, fans are looking forward to this Christmas battle more and more.

Some people will turn pressure into motivation, while others will choose to just lie down and take advantage of the situation. The latter is more common among the Lakers. Even a "tough guy" like Bruce Bowen has no expectations for the away game in New York.

Kobe's attempts to motivate his teammates were basically in vain. Fortunately, the mature Mamba no longer "pressured" everyone this year, and the locker room became harmonious.

After hearing Mamba's heartfelt words, Phil Jackson remained silent and just listened quietly. Finally, he gave some inspirational words again:

"You know, Kobe, the Bulls had a chance to win all home games, but we failed, and Dunk inspired everyone."

"In addition to striving for victory, you also have the responsibility to stand with everyone regardless of victory or defeat."

"This is our best start in recent years. Tomorrow's national broadcast, you should enjoy the game. You have done well enough."

Kobe looked sullen and said nothing, but nodded again. He wanted to win, he still wanted to extend his winning streak. The key was the game, losing to his "mortal enemy" was unacceptable.

The Christmas battle will officially start at 25 o'clock on Friday the 12th. The schedule is very friendly. After the game, the players can go home and enjoy Christmas Eve.

The Knicks' "reality show" is still broadcast on time on game days. With eight consecutive championships, MSG is reporting crazily. Li You is also particularly devoted to this important trophy this season.

For the defending champion, the biggest problem is still health. There have been too many competitions in recent years and the body has been exhausted. Fortunately, this wave of welfare schedules has helped a lot and successfully passed the critical period.

At 10 o'clock, as Li You's low-key modified SUV appeared in the parking lot, a large number of media reporters began their work.

Because of the cold weather, Li You also changed into a thick coat. Seeing everyone coming up to him in high spirits, he smiled and jokingly greeted them:
"I promise, I won't work overtime on Christmas! We can go home early today." The ESPN sports reporter smiled. For tonight's game, the predictions were basically one-sided. Seeing Li You's confident look, he immediately asked the fans' questions:

"Lee, based on your current performance, you will have a great chance to win the Best Defensive Player award this season. What do you think of the new trophy?"

In order to build momentum for Li You, ESPN occasionally released some detailed matchup data in the program. The new generation of guards in the league were unlucky and all became background boards.

Derrick Rose has become the traffic star recently. This rookie could only play and fight hard in garbage time in the two games. Such performance hurt the hearts of many fans.

"This is a new challenge! For the Knicks, if we want to win eight consecutive championships, our biggest opponent is ourselves."

"The performance on the court doesn't lie, and the corresponding data can reflect our individual status."

"I want to send some messages through defense. This season we have veterans returning, which has led to the current winning streak."

"Trophies are nice, but I don't pursue these achievements deliberately. The championship is always our goal."

Although Li You said that he would not deliberately pursue trophies, Excel does not lie. Combining basic data and some advanced data, Li You is the best perimeter defender in the league during the past two months.

As for how it is calculated, that is not important. ESPN's columns have repeatedly explained it. As long as you keep it up, you have a great chance of winning DPOY.

After entering the player tunnel, the staff greeted each other. The Yahoo Sports reporter found an opportunity to ask again:

"Lee, the Lakers came to Manhattan early. Did Kobe reject your invitation?"

Old teammates got together, Li You invited Barnes and Fisher, and many people from the Lakers joined in the fun. People from the Knicks also joined in, and both sides came together to send warmth on Christmas Eve.

As a result, fans did not see Duncan and Kobe in this event, which made the commentators very happy. It was obvious that there was a big conflict between the two sides.

"This is old-school basketball. There's no need to over-interpret it. Christmas calls for exciting games. I like this tough attitude!"

Li You smiled and spoke for his old rival, and repeatedly praised Mamba and Duncan's winning streak. It sounded fine, but many reporters felt that the Lakers would be in trouble in a while.
Finally, watching Li You wave his hand and leave, the TNT reporter put down the recording equipment and thought of Kobe's perfunctory interview attitude recently, and couldn't help but complain again:
"It is said that Kobe is going to pursue MVP? No one will vote for him. This guy always gives us the cold shoulder!"

"Lee would never do this"

Many people agreed. It was not because they were paid, but simply because Li You was recognized by his personal charm. When several people discussed the DPOY trophy, the Fox Sports reporter also flattered him:

"Why does this award always go to big men? It's time for a change, Lee is better defensively than Howard!"

"This trophy should have been awarded to Lee a long time ago."

Everyone was praising him from all angles, and the young reporter from Yahoo Sports twitched his eyes slightly. If he remembered correctly, these sports media in front of him questioned Mamba every day.

It's unrealistic to expect Kobe to be nice to them.
From the descriptions of these people, they became victims. Kobe's arrogant attitude hurt everyone. When thinking about the selection of the DPOY trophy, the young people of Yahoo Sports secretly took a breath:

“Has Lee taken control of the mainstream media?”

At 12 o'clock, Madison Square Garden was packed. Before the game started, the noisy arena made veteran Joe Smith secretly shocked.

The veteran was very happy to participate in the Christmas game in New York for the first time in his career. In addition, he also participated in the fan activities yesterday. Joe Smith couldn't help but have an idea in his mind:
“This is the holy land of basketball!”

Compared with Los Angeles fans, what stands out about New York fans is their loyalty. The City of Angels only questions and criticizes, while the Big Apple "loans" every day. The basketball atmosphere on both sides is completely different.

Before the game started, during the final warm-up, there were even New York fans cheering for them, but most of the Lakers players who had experienced the playoffs had sullen faces, and only Joe Smith smiled.

Odom saw the veteran's doubts, and while Li You and Barnes were greeting each other, he immediately approached Joe Smith and whispered a suggestion:

"Trust me, no one wants to play away at Madison Square Garden"

Although Joe Smith is an experienced veteran, he has never experienced the Madison Square Garden in the finals. When he heard his teammates' words, he just raised his eyebrows. He has always wanted to play here, but just couldn't find the opportunity.

Noticing the attitude of his teammates, Kobe breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the old man from KFC was right and he shouldn't be too strict.

It’s just that the winning streak is related to the MVP. As long as he can defeat his “arch-enemy” in this game, maybe he will be at the top of the MVP rankings next month.

So far in his career, Kobe has only won the AMVP. He is so eager for this award that when he talked with Phil Jackson, he didn't say what was in his heart. He just wanted this trophy!

The bustling arena made Kobe more focused. For Li You, this might just be an ordinary regular season game, but for Mamba who wanted to pursue the trophy, this was a "direct dialogue with the MVP."

Before the game started, the two sides had a friendly exchange and Fisher was smiling. Old Fish had a very happy Christmas and the relationship between his family and good brother became closer.

The same goes for Barnes. After entering the starting lineup, the Lakers' winning streak allowed him to completely establish his foothold in the team. In addition, since Mamba is not making trouble in the locker room, his life has been very good recently.

Among the five people, only Duncan and Kobe remained silent. Chandler, who was standing in the center circle, saw his opponent's reaction, laughed softly and shook his head, and when the referee threw the ball, the two jumped up with all their might.

Chandler still pushed the ball to the half court. Li You received the ball and saw Kobe who was guarding in front of him at the first moment. He slowly accelerated and did not forget to tease his old rival:
"You don't think you can get the MVP by winning this game?"

Kobe slid quickly. This was the first communication between the two since he came to New York. Mamba showed a ferocious expression and responded in a deep voice:
"I am entitled to all the honors! If I win the game, the trophy will be mine!"

Li You, who was protecting the ball sideways, did not respond. He just smiled again when he made a tactical gesture. The familiar scene made Kobe furious. He could not control his emotions and cursed:
"Damn it! You always do this! You insult basketball."

(End of this chapter)