Chapter 677 [Cause of Weakness, Assist Record]
Paul played the entire quarter and scored 5 points, 1 rebound and 9 assists. Under his organization, all Clippers players scored.
Kobe personally scored 16 points and 1 assist. The two led the team in different ways.
In the second quarter, the Lakers sent Fisher, Shannon Brown, Matt Barnes, Landry, and Odom.
The Clippers sent Curry, Neal, Gay, Dunleavy, and DeAndre Jordan.
The Lakers' bench is recognized as strong, four of them have championship experience, and Shannon Brown has the physical attributes to compete in the dunk contest, at least on the surface.
Unfortunately, the only active defensive players on the Lakers are Barnes and Brown, and the other three are defensive holes.
Curry and Neal relied on screens to find opportunities to shoot three-pointers. The shots looked casual, but the point difference continued to widen. Fisher couldn't guard Curry or Neal well, so a one-on-one challenge was an opportunity.
On the Lakers bench, there is also point guard Aaron Brooks, who was given up by Byron Scott this season.
Scott is too old-fashioned. He must have a specific type of player to achieve good results. To put it bluntly, he is a player who can organize and drive the whole team, such as Kidd and Paul.
When he arrived with the Lakers, Scott was regarded as a good nanny for the stars and would no longer deliberately explore Brooks' potential.
Brooks suffered an injury last season and can no longer regain the feeling he had in the 2009 playoffs. His running speed is still very fast, but he has lost his excellent shooting touch.
Of course, if he plays, the Lakers still can't guard him. Even Brooks at his peak is far inferior to Curry. No coach will arrange for him to face Curry.
Recently, Brooks is also preparing to submit a trade request and strive to leave the Lakers before the trade deadline, so that he can see hope. He will only have a chance to get a big contract if he plays good data in the second half of the season.
In terms of signing, few players are more unlucky than Brooks. In Yang Rui's previous life, his rookie contract lasted for four years and he received close to the minimum salary. Brooks won the Most Improved Player Award in 2009-2010, but it was a team option and he could not get out of the contract. Then he was injured in the contract year, his data declined severely, and he was unable to get a big contract.
The worst thing is that Brooks encountered a league lockout during the contract year, which prevented him from signing a contract smoothly. He joined the Chinese CBA and played for one season but failed to win the championship. Later, he returned to the NBA and could only be a marginal player.
Now, Brooks is not even as good as in his previous life, and Scott usually gives Fisher time as a substitute.
After playing only 4 minutes, Fisher was replaced and Kobe returned to the court.
Yang Rui did not make a substitution and asked Gay to defend Kobe. Kobe felt good today. Tony Allen could not block the shot in single defense. Now it would be good to change the defensive method and disrupt Kobe's offensive rhythm.
Neither Gay nor Kobe disappointed Yang Rui. Gay was good at using his height and wingspan to interfere with shooting, while Kobe, as always, focused on jump shots and missed three consecutive shots due to interference.
Since Gay defended well, Yang Rui did not make any substitutions. Six minutes later, Paul came on the field to replace Neal and play double guard with Curry.
The Lakers replaced Love and partnered with Odom. Landry was replaced early.
Landry had a successful season in Yang Rui's previous life, with a peak of 16.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. He was traded to the Kings as a bargaining chip in exchange for Kevin Martin.
The Lakers didn't need Martin, a shooting guard, so Landry stayed with the Lakers and his data continued to decline.
What's worse is DJ White, who has been reduced to a marginal player after two injuries and currently has no ball to play.
The Clippers led 74 to 47 at halftime, almost sealing the victory.
The Lakers played an ugly game that was broadcast live on many radio stations around the world. The team was completely disorganized. Only Kobe was still shining. He scored 26 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in the half, the highest score in the game.
Paul sent out 4 assists in a single quarter, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 13 assists and 1 steal. His scoring could not compare with Kobe, but he led the team far ahead.
During halftime,
Yang Rui went to the locker room to praise the players and formulate tactics.
"Chris (Paul) has to play the full game in the next quarter. After receiving his pass, all players should try their best to take action immediately, give him assists, and help him break his career single-game assist record. On the defensive end, continue to guard Kobe alone and guard against others. people."
The two sides are in a direct competitive relationship. Giving the Lakers a disastrous defeat will be beneficial to the development of the Clippers. Yang Rui will not hold back. With a big lead, what he wanted was not to win more points, but to help Paul get super statistics.
Stars with super statistics are more attractive to fans. Yang Rui has arranged this when leading several previous teams.
Paul has no reason to refuse. His goal this season is the regular season MVP. To achieve his goal, it doesn't matter if the playing time is too short or the data is too poor. He has a very strong desire to perform.
In the second half, Yang Rui replaced Gay and sent Tony Allen to defend Kobe alone.
The Lakers players all stood in their positions, Kobe attacked with the ball, and several others caught the ball and shot.
Luol Deng has the ability to play in singles, Nash can play pick-and-roll, and if Love has the ball, he is a powerful inside man with 20+10 abilities, but none of them can be used.
Kobe continued to score under tight one-man defense, but the Lakers' defense was even worse, unable to defend, and the point difference continued to widen.
Kenny Smith commented: "The Lakers players cannot bring out their full strength when they are put together. Many people say that Byron Scott is not as good as Jerry Young is the reason for the Lakers' weakness, but I think it is more because of Kobe. Don’t trust your teammates.”
Barkley said with a smile: "The strongest time for the Lakers was in the 2009 playoffs when Kobe was absent. Yao Ming was with the Lakers last season, and they could reach the Western Conference Finals. It will be difficult for the Lakers to reach the playoffs this season. Kobe has never Not a good leader, and he proved it himself."
Kobe is a very contradictory person. He doesn't want his teammates to be stronger than him, and he doesn't want those who are weaker than him to lose his trust.
Kobe not only hopes that the team's overall lineup will be strong and win the championship, but he also wants to produce the most luxurious statistics and win all the honors.
This is an endless cycle. It’s hard to find teammates who are dominant, don’t steal honors, and are willing to take the blame.
As long as the Lakers have Kobe as the core, ambitious players will leave because of Kobe's existence, leaving behind those who can't catch the ball and want to go around passing the ball to Kobe to complete the task.
The Clippers led by 39 points entering the final quarter. Paul sent 7 assists in a single quarter, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 20 assists and 1 steal.
In the home Christmas game, the Lakers didn't want to lose too much, so the starting lineup continued to play, with only Odom resting.
Odom not playing is a symbol of the Lakers' best efforts. Now his defense is too poor and he often loses focus. After this season, it is impossible for the Lakers management to execute Odom's third-year contract. If any team wants to bet on Odom and trade with the Lakers, it will be unlucky.
Yang Rui also sent Paul to continue playing, and the other four were Korver, Gay, Dunleavy, and DeAndre Jordan.
In order to better attack and open up space, Tony Allen did not play again. Gay was slightly inferior to Kobe in single defense, but he could play more roles on the offensive end. After receiving a pass from Paul, he can immediately take action and add assists when he scores.
Seven minutes later, Kobe, who scored another 14 points, was replaced. He made 20 of 43 shots, 2 of 7 three-pointers, 9 of 10 free throws, and scored 51 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Paul also came off the court immediately and scored another 5 points and 4 assists. He scored 18 points, 3 rebounds, 24 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes of playing time.
Paul broke his personal assist record in a single game. Coincidentally, the last time he played was against the Lakers, he scored 19 points and 21 assists in the 2007-08 season.
The Clippers beat the Lakers by 46 points 129-83.