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Chapter 79 The Real King of Force (14000 words updated daily! Begging for subscription!)
There are moments in life when you have to challenge greatness.

During the All-Star Weekend, Kobe promised Lakers fans that he would personally tear apart the darkness ahead for the Lakers and bring the Lakers back to the playoffs.

As it turned out, Kobe did it.

In the sprint stage of the regular season, in order to ensure his ranking, he played for more than 40 minutes in thirteen consecutive games with injuries.

After the All-Star Weekend, he has scored more than 50 points in games. (Here are only the technical statistics after the All-Star Weekend, and include two games with +)

One night, Nicholson, a famous Lakers fan, asked Kobe: "Hey, Kobe, why do you always score so many points?"

In response, Kobe's answer was full of helplessness: "Because I have to cut those points to get us back to where we should be."

Therefore, whenever Kobe took too many shots in a game, the media that always kept a close eye on his shot count changed their tone.

They were looking forward to Kobe scoring high in game after game, because everyone knew that only in this way could this down-and-out giant return to the playoffs.

For this reason, Kobe's teammate Brian Cook reminded the world: "People in Chicago say that Kobe is not a hero. But I want to say that if Kobe hadn't scored, we would have started our vacation early."

Monta Ellis expressed his support for Kobe, saying: "No one knows what he goes through every night. Since the beginning of the new year, he has been fighting with injuries every night, but he never complains, at least not like that bastard who uses 'foot injury' to prove that he is still at his peak all day long."

There is no doubt that such Kobe Bryant is worthy of respect.

From early March to April, the Lakers won one key battle after another under his leadership, and finally raised their ranking to seventh in the Western Conference before the end of the regular season.

Although they may still be squeezed out of the playoffs at the last minute of the regular season, compared to the despair at the beginning of the season, Lakers fans have already seen a glimmer of hope in Kobe.

April 4, evening, Staples Center.

When Kobe finished applying ice and walked from the locker room to the arena, the fans who were taking their seats immediately cheered "MVP, MVP" for him.

Assistant coach Brian Shaw immediately stepped forward and asked with concern: "Can your body last for 40 minutes?"

Kobe smiled and replied, "What night can I not last 40 minutes?"

Tonight, facing the Warriors visiting the Staples Center, the entire Lakers team is eager for revenge.

Because at the beginning of the regular season, the Warriors' Messiah used a buzzer-beater to snatch the night that should have belonged to Kobe from the Staples Center.

Even to this day, Kobe does not allow anyone to mention the 70 points he scored in that game in front of him.

Because in Kobe's eyes, it is neither worth showing off nor worth remembering.

Winner takes all, loser for Kou.

In Kobe's view, only a cowardly mediocre person would tell the world about his failure and tell the world that it was a great failure.

When does failure ever have anything to do with greatness?
Will Elgin Baylor tell the world that because he has made it to the Finals enough times, his runner-up finishes are also valuable? People shouldn't ignore his dominance in making it to the Finals again and again?
Just like now, even though he is about to lead the Lakers into the playoffs, Kobe still thinks he has nothing to do with greatness.

At the Lakers' halftime, Kobe took the basketball from Ellis and officially started his pre-game warm-up.

"Uu——!"

At the same time, as the person involved in "Good Night, Los Angeles", the whole stadium booed him as soon as he appeared on the court.

During the warm-up phase, someone was shooting amid boos, and almost every time he scored a goal, the boos would increase by a level.

Especially when he was interviewed by ESPN before the game, the fans at the scene immediately expressed their attitude to someone with the boos that resounded through the dome.

Los Angeles, I don't like you.

You're not welcome at Staples Center.

We, as Lakers fans, hate you.

"Look, how popular I am here?" Someone said this to the ESPN reporter during an interview.

Hearing this, the ESPN reporter, who felt like he was about to lose the ability to hear someone speak, smiled bitterly and said, "Please don't make my job any more difficult, Messiah."

Then, the reporter asked amid the harsh boos from the audience: "You are about to face the Lakers. Now you have secured the fifth place in the Western Conference, and the Lakers need a victory to secure their ranking. Do you think you will go all out as usual?"

Qin Yue nodded and said, “you know, I always go all out, especially in Los Angeles.”

At this moment, Qin Yue had no intention of increasing the difficulty of the ESPN reporter interviewing him.

Because this season, in the games played in Los Angeles, whether facing the Clippers or the Lakers, Qin Yue's condition is always surprisingly good.

In the NBA, many stars have their own paradise, such as Stephen Curry who plays in Charlotte, and Michael Jordan who can always press the switch button of God in New York.

Although you cannot explain this phenomenon from a scientific point of view, Qin Yue did meet the second condition he set for himself before the game against the Lakers.

That is to say, having an excellent on-the-spot state.

"Oh my God, when you said 'especially in Los Angeles' just now, do you know how many fans were booing you here?" Looking at Qin Yue who finished the interview and returned to the bench, Brown hurried forward and asked with concern.

Qin Yue smiled and said, "I guess, about 20,000 people?"

Seeing this, Brown said: "Why aren't you worried that the boos will affect your performance?"

Qin Yue thought for a while and said, "Because playing under boos always makes me motivated."

At this moment, Qin Yue was not intentionally showing off his growing heart to Brown.

It started from college days.
He has become accustomed to playing amid the boos.

On the side, looking at Brown who looked unconvinced, Jack said: "Do you know how the Messiah's first nickname became popular in the ACC? He was a big shot who dared to shut up the 'Cameron lunatics' at Duke."

That's right, although the boos at the Staples Center tonight will indeed scare some players who have never played college basketball, compared to Duke's crazy home court, in Qin Yue's eyes, the quality of the Lakers fans tonight is a bit too high.

After the warm-up and entrance ceremony, both teams went out to play.

On the Lakers side, there are Mihm, Odom, Cook, Kobe, and Fisher.

On the Warriors side, there are Brown, Qin Yue, Artest, Richardson, and Davis.

In the jump ball round, Brown easily defeated Mim.

After Davis dribbled across half court, the Warriors players quickly positioned themselves around Qin Yue using a Flex tactical formation.

Recalling the beginning of the regular season, Warriors head coach Montgomery found it funny when everyone was confused when this tactic was implemented.

Since everyone on the Warriors had their own ideas at the time, no matter how hard Montgomery tried, he could not replicate the tactic that became famous in college basketball because of Qin Yue.

But it's different now.

After a season of running-in, the Warriors now have the conditions to launch the Flex tactic.

In the low post, Qin Yue switched positions with Brown and with the help of Artest's screen, he successfully went around the top of the arc to receive the ball.

At this time, he noticed that Odom did not get around the pick-and-roll in time, and immediately completed his first shot of the night.

A standard and elegant vertical three-point jump shot.

Although the basket in the Lakers' half of the court responded to Qin Yue's chic three-point shot with a "ding" soon after, Brown used his jumping speed to get the frontcourt rebound for the Warriors above Mim's head.

Moreover, because he retreated to the basket to fight for the rebound, Odom, who was no longer able to rush to the outside, could only watch Qin Yue receive the pass from his teammate and shoot another three-pointer.

Swish-!
This was Qin Yue's first three-pointer tonight, and he also opened his scoring account as he wished.

3:0.

"That was a good rebound just now."

"I've already told you that I'm ten thousand times better than that kid Ander!"

Qin Yue did not take Brown's behavior of deliberately stepping on his teammate after being praised to heart, but turned his attention to Kobe who was about to have a one-on-one match with Artest.

This Lakers team still lacks a core to launch the triangle offense, so the triangle offense they are launching at this moment is still a simplified version.

However, as long as it can help Kobe create a one-on-one environment, what's wrong with a simplified version?
On the right side of the court, after getting the ball, Kobe, who was hit by Artest's elbow, frowned immediately.

It is obvious that compared to Pietrus, Artest is more experienced in beating "snakes".

In this matchup with Kobe, Artest did not always cling to Kobe like Pietrus did, but only gave Kobe strength at critical moments.

In this way, Kobe's offensive rhythm can be easily disrupted by Artest.

This is a very smart way to defend.

But ordinary people definitely can’t learn it.

And
It’s best not to learn it.

Because given the intensity that Artest brought to Kobe tonight, if you were to imitate Artest in your daily play, you would definitely lose all your friends and become a true lone warrior on the court.

On the court, Kobe's first shot missed, and the basketball bounced off the rim and fell into Brown's hands.

Tonight, in order to save energy, Qin Yue even gave the responsibility of protecting the backcourt rebounds to Brown.

In this regard, while Brown deeply felt the emperor's grace, he actually also wanted to know when would King Qin Yue want to score high next time?
Staples Center, Warriors' offensive round. The Lakers, who were not defeated twice by the Warriors with the same trick, successfully stopped the Warriors' tactics by switching defense.

However, Chris Mihm was also forced to switch defense in front of Qin Yue.

Facing the man who was called "the worst starting center in Lakers history" by the Los Angeles media, Qin Yue did not show any courtesy to him and started speeding up immediately after getting the ball.

If he was in a low position, Mim could still use his weight to carry Qin Yue.

But since Mim was brought to a high position by Qin Yue for the purpose of switching defense, his performance in this defensive round can only be described as vulnerable.

In the Lakers' interior, Fisher, who originally had the opportunity to assist Mim in defense, chose to give up after weighing the size difference between him and Qin Yue.

Bang, whoosh!

However, the next second, the Lakers fans imagined
That damn tomahawk dunk didn't happen.

Because Qin Yue, who only had his eyes on scoring tonight, would not waste his precious energy on this offensive round.

At this moment, looking at Qin Yue's particularly hot eyes, after smelling the same "stink" in his eyes that was the same as his own, Kobe immediately hinted to Odom with his eyes.

However, Kobe obviously overestimated his tacit understanding with Odom.

At this moment, what Kobe wanted to express to Odom with his eyes was to let Odom be careful of Qin Yue.

But from Odom's perspective, he thought Kobe wanted him to swing the ball in the next round.

So, relying on the permission obtained from Kobe, just after halftime, Odom confidently took the basketball from Fisher.

Moreover, he raised four fingers in a formal manner, which clearly meant:

Get out of my way! I want to fight alone!
Seeing this, even Kobe didn't know where Odom got his confidence from.

because
The next opponent that Odom will play against is Qin Yue.

One of the top candidates for this year's NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

However, to Kobe's surprise, Odom, who was reckless, dribbled the ball through Qin Yue's defense zone and went to the Warriors' basket alone to complete an incredibly cool layup.

"When we fought before, was this guy so fierce?"

On the court, the moment he completed the attack, Qin Yue was also confused.

Although Qin Yue did conserve his energy when defending tonight, it didn't mean that he didn't defend seriously just now.

Because when facing such a tough guy who dares to challenge him, Qin Yue will always give him enough respect.

But, the Odom just now, that was not Odom at all? That was clearly a bigger version of Magic Johnson!
From dribbling rhythm to starting acceleration, Odom was impeccable in almost every aspect.

That’s right, this was a forward’s one-on-one play with the ball that was even more textbook-like than in a textbook!

of course.

This perfect singles from Odom also had an unexpected effect at the same time.

That is, it successfully ignited the fire of jealousy in the chest of a very narrow-minded person!

Someone who was so intolerable that he could no longer tolerate it strode to the Lakers' half and took the ball from Davis.

Then, facing Odom who was ready to fight, someone made a tentative step threat with one hand, just like Jordan, and immediately released the ball and started to speed up.

At this moment, from Odom's perspective.
The image of a tank racing on the F1 track suddenly came to mind.

At the moment when someone was about to break through the defense, Odom tried to stop him by fouling him.

But the opponent didn't give Odom any chance at all, and after quickly jumping over Odom's defense zone, he rushed to the Lakers' basket with unstoppable momentum, and completed a retaliatory windmill shot over Chris Mihm's head!

On TNT, Barkley exclaimed at the same time: "Oh my God, if tonight was a dunk contest, I would definitely give the Messiah a 10 for this dunk!"

On the side, Smith echoed, "Windmill dunk! When he was dunking just now, didn't he pay any attention to the opposing defenders?"

Mim took the blame.

Because if it weren't for Odom's perfect singles just now, how could someone use his precious physical energy for revenge in the opening stage?
However, at this moment, Mim was not fighting alone.

Under the basket, looking at the guy who was still hanging on the basket rim to show off after dunking over Mim, the entire Staples Center immediately burst into sharp boos.

But even so, someone still couldn't get rid of the hatred in his heart and still chose not to give in.

The next second, in front of nearly 20,000 Lakers fans, someone put his left hand to his ear and pretended to listen.

On the sidelines, Nicholson, a famous Lakers fan, said with an unhappy look on his face: "Hey, you damn bastard, do you want to declare war on Los Angeles?"

Upon hearing this, someone rolled his eyes at Nicholson and said, "Shut up, the war has already begun, you idiot who has played with women and taken drugs and has made his brain stupid!"

There is no doubt that even Chris Mihm was furious at someone's retaliatory response.

Because this is Los Angeles, this is the Staples Center, where the dome is hung with fourteen championship banners and legendary jerseys.

At this moment, facing such an arrogant and domineering person, if any Lakers players on the court were cowardly, cowardly, or knelt down, how could they be worthy of the jerseys they were wearing, how could they be worthy of this jersey full of honor?

In the NBA, even the most mediocre and incompetent Lakers players would not choose to kneel down to someone at this moment.

On the Warriors bench, seeing this, Murphy turned his eyes to Dunleavy Jr. with a puzzled look on his face, "Mike, if the Messiah wants to score high points tonight, then according to common sense, shouldn't he provoke his opponents on the court?"

Looking back at Murphy, Dunleavy Jr. said, "What's the point of scoring so high? A true hero must face the opponent's anger and use a perfect scoring performance to appreciate the opponent's incompetent rage after the game."

Yes, the war has already begun.

On the court, after Fisher dribbled across half court, Kobe, as the master of the Staples Center, used his iron elbow to block Artest and then made a pull-up shot.

And since the referee didn't even call a technical foul for someone hanging on the rim, Kobe naturally had to respond with a standard throat-slitting salute.

On TNT TV, Barkley suddenly felt his blood, which should have cooled down long ago, begin to boil. "Kobe Bryant has presented his throat-cutting gift to the Messiah of the Bay Area. How will the Messiah respond next?"

How to respond?

On the court, after using brute force to push Odom away, and withstanding Mim's completely out-of-bounds defensive move, someone made a layup before falling out of the court!
Then, someone quickly stood up and gave Kobe a standard throat-slitting gesture.

On TNT TV, Smith laughed and said, "This is the NBA game we want to watch! Listing this regular season game as a nationwide live broadcast is definitely the wisest decision made by the league this year!"

The smartest decision?
In fact, it may well be the decision Stern regrets most.

Because the nature of this game has violated Stern's principle that the NBA should not teach children bad things.

But so what?
Won't the kids who grew up watching Teletubbies learn bad habits in the future?

Basketball is a sport that requires blood.

Because its rules determine that without its bloodiness, it is destined to become boring and dull.

At this moment, Mark hurriedly comforted Stern and said, "David, I don't think you need to worry. Since the children back then grew up watching Michael play basketball, why should we worry about the children of the future?"

After a pause, Mark added: "And in this game, Kobe and Messiah were just competing in the game, not fighting directly like before.

Do we have to erase the personalities of the stars in order to avoid teaching our children bad things? "

Hearing this, Stern suddenly came to his senses and said, "I think you're right, Mark."

Mark is right, of course.

Because no matter how much money Adam Silver can make for the NBA in the future or how much territory it can expand, the NBA 20 years from now will use its declining ratings to tell you how important the blood and personality of the sport of basketball are.

Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant rushed towards the Warriors' half with murderous intent.

The next second, Qin Yue, who blocked Kobe's jump layup with his own hands, launched a transition attack and broke into the Lakers' hinterland, but was knocked to the floor by Chris Mihm and Lamar Odom.

This was the first foul the referee called tonight.

The referees' decisions since the start of the game have determined that they will not be the protagonists of the next war.

So, after complaining to Odom and Mim that they fell too lightly just now, Qin Yue immediately walked to the free throw line.

And amid the boos, he made both free throws.

Now, Kwame Brown believes it.

What Qin Yue said to him before the game was indeed not pretense.

Because even Larry Bird, in Brown's eyes at this moment, can only be called a physically weakened version of Qin Yue.
……

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(End of this chapter)