Chapter 751 [Battle of Los Angeles, Unusual Taste]

In the second half, the Clippers also kept suppressing the Thunder.

Gay, Battier, and Danny Green battled to defend Durant, allowing him to take shots every time without interference. Even so, Durant still scored a lot of points and maintained a shooting percentage of 50%.

For a person with such an obvious body advantage, you can't help but accept it. Durant's height and wingspan, as long as he has a good touch, can almost cause misalignment when hitting anyone from the outside. His jump shooting ability is at a historical level.

Unfortunately, Durant alone could not lead the team to win. Westbrook maintained the same stability as when playing Paul and went crazy. He made 6 of 21 shots in the game, a shooting percentage of 28.6%, and 3 three-pointers. 0, 6 of 8 free throws, 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and six turnovers.

Durant, who had a high shooting percentage, only made 18 shots, hitting 9 goals, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws, and scored 23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Except for the second Shao, the Thunder only had substitute Kevin Martin who scored 15 points, and no one scored in double figures.

Six Clippers players scored in double figures. Griffin scored a game-high 28 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Paul scored 17 points and 11 assists. Curry scored 26 points. The three led the Clippers to a 116-84 victory and got off to a good start. .

In an interview, Yang Rui praised the core, saying that they are also the Big Three.

In the final quarter, the Clippers played with all substitutes, otherwise they would surely win by more than 40 points. Thackeray performed well in his debut, playing 8 minutes and scoring 6 points and 3 rebounds. Korver also made two three-pointers in the final quarter.

Draymond Green, Middleton, and Barbosa did not get a chance to play. Having potential does not mean that he will be reused immediately. There are too many outstanding players in the team. Except for Chandler, the Clippers only have Sacre as a human shield, so he entered the lineup earlier than Green.

After the game, the news media said: "The Clippers showed an invincible attitude at the beginning. They are fully capable of successfully defending their title."

There was also news criticizing Wei Shao. "If Westbrook doesn't leave, the Thunder will never win a championship. He doesn't care about winning or losing, he's just playing for himself."

On the Internet, even many Thunder fans feel that the Thunder management should send Wei Shao away and keep Harden. Wei Shao is a cancer who only knows how to play blindly. With him, there is no strategy.

In sharp contrast to the Clippers, the Lakers lost their first away game to the weakened Mavericks 93-99.

Pau Gasol made 8 of 19 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointers, 6 of 8 free throws, and scored 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

Dwight Howard made 8 of 12 shots, 4 of 14 free throws, 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Kobe made 11 of 14 shots, no three-pointers, no free throws, 22 points, 1 rebound, and no assists.

It can be seen from the data that Kobe wants to change and help his teammates perform. Since the 2008-09 season, many people have said that Kobe plays too independently every year. This year, many Los Angeles fans have begun to criticize Kobe as a cancer.

So in this game, Kobe switched to playing without the ball, running to catch and shoot. He didn't stick to the ball, and his shooting rate was very high. But except for the three stars, no one scored in double figures, and the Mavericks also used the "shark-killing tactic" against Howard.

The next day, the Lakers challenged the Trail Blazers in back-to-back away games and lost another game, 106-116.

The Trail Blazers did not select Lillard. Calderon and Jared Jack defeated the Lakers at No. 1. Calderon made 6 of 9 three-pointers and Jack made 5 of 8 three-pointers.

Together with Matthews, three members of the Trail Blazers scored 20+ points, six scored in double figures, and core Aldridge also scored 19 points and 3 rebounds.

Only the "Big Three" of the Lakers scored in double figures, and the role players collectively played soy sauce. No one even took five shots.

Howard made 9 of 15 shots and 15 of 19 from the free throw line, scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists.

Kobe made 10 of 20 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, 6 of 7 free throws, and scored 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Gasol made 7 of 14 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists.

The Lakers shot 50% overall and 44.4% of their 8-for-18 three-pointers, but they still lost. Their defensive performance was a mess, and they allowed people to break through at will.

The Lakers lost two games in a row. The "basketball experts" who were optimistic about their championship have changed their minds and found a lot of problems with the Lakers, such as lack of tacit cooperation, poor perimeter defense, lack of three-point offense, etc., just to explain the Lakers' loss as an afterthought. The reasons are listed here. The advantages of the Lakers' Big Three who have been enjoying the summer vacation have been overturned.

The Lakers do not have three-pointers. The strongest three-pointer is small forward Artest, who shot 34.4% last season. Although point guard Sessions had a high shooting percentage last season, he basically did not shoot three-pointers.

Sessions is a defender who relies on breakthroughs to distribute the ball, and his position overlaps with Kobe's. What's worse is that Howard has no shooting range and likes to stay in the low post. The opponent's center can also calmly help defend near the penalty area, making it more difficult for the defender to break through.

Kobe can barely be considered a three-pointer. At his peak, he averaged 6.5 three-pointers per game. Last season, he averaged 4.9, shooting 30.3% from the field. But when the team needs him to shoot three-pointers, his adjustment method is to cut inside. Even if he runs back, he will catch the ball and make a mid-range shot. He will never shoot three-pointers.

In doing so, Kobe's shooting percentage is very high. New coach Mike Brown is going crazy. He said that he wants to beat Princeton and wants the players to share the ball. But how can Princeton win without three-pointers?

On November 2, the Lakers' opponent in the third game was the Clippers. Although the Lakers were playing at home, everyone felt that the Lakers were about to suffer a three-game losing streak. This was a Los Angeles derby with a huge disparity in strength.

Funny thing is, when the Lakers lost, the person who was the most angry was Clippers owner Donald Sterling. He called both Yang Rui and Thomas Bentley and proposed that Facebook video monopolize except for national live broadcasts. In addition, live broadcast rights to all Clippers games.

What Sterling cares about most is making more money. The Clippers' ratings and stadium attendance last season have completely overwhelmed the Lakers, but the contract for broadcast rights is not as high as the Lakers'.

If it was just a private phone call, this would be a trivial matter, but Sterling, who suffers from intermittent neurosis, took his 31-year-old girlfriend Stiviano to the team locker room to discuss the matter openly with Yang Rui. It just seems so stupid.

What's even more stupid is that Sterling also likes to watch Stiviano tease players, so he often ran to the locker room last season.

Then, as expected, on November 1, Sterling’s plan to let Facebook monopolize the Clippers broadcast rights was exposed by the media. With so many people in the locker room, it would be too easy to get word out anonymously. It's also possible that Stiviano spread the word. This bitch is even more nervous, which is why she gets along so well with Sterling.

In Yang Rui's previous life, in 2015, Stiviano, an 18th-tier starlet, was interviewed by the media and said: "Before I came to this team, no one knew about the existence of the Clippers."

In the NBA, it's hard to find stupider remarks than this. The news is hot, and some crazy remarks can add fun to people's lives.

As soon as Los Angeles fans heard that Sterling did not want them to watch the game for free, they immediately criticized it online. Major websites also posted news exposing the dirty stuff about Sterling, which made fans want to curse even more.

Donald Sterling's lawsuit against former manager Elgin Baylor and former head coach Mike Dunleavy has been filed again. Others said that his private life was immoral and that he frequented romantic venues all year round. They teased that he was "more familiar with Los Angeles entertainment venues than the Clippers." It is said that Sterling himself has exhibitionism. His neighbors said that he "does everything naked."

There is even news that Sterling does not deserve to own the Clippers. If he had another owner, the team would have risen long ago.

Yang Rui smelled something unusual, and some people began to hope that Sterling would fall.