Chapter 168: The key game leading to the top spot in Forbes, defeating Kobe at what he does best?
Kobe and Ryan are the two men most likely to win the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference this season.
Therefore, the game between the Nuggets and Lakers has always been on the fans' list of "most anticipated games".
Although the two sides have played each other once this season, the Nuggets were using the "Lottery Team Experience Card" last time, so the winner cannot be truly determined.
And this time, the Nuggets and Lakers can finally fight each other with their complete lineups!
Who is this year's Western Conference king will be revealed in this game!
Of course, Ryan also knows that the current Lakers are not actually a complete lineup.
Without my sister-in-law in the house, will the dumplings taste right?
The Lakers without Gasol are indeed very strong, but they are not complete after all.
So Ryan has to win even more. If he can't beat the Lakers without Gasol, then after Gasol joins, will the Nuggets take the lead?
This time, Ryan will settle the account from last time no matter what!
The last time Kobe Bryant won at the Pepsi Center, he was showing off his power and was arrogant and domineering.
Not to mention beating the Nuggets by more than ten points, after the game, he deliberately stared at Ryan on the sidelines during the interview and made harsh remarks.
Ryan didn't say anything at the time, because what he focused on was truth.
It's no fun to force someone from a distance, just fight and you'll know who is the real bear!
Ryan is excited about this trip to Staples.
Even though they won this game, the Nuggets still couldn't climb directly to the first place in the Western Conference.
But at least they can win first place in the Western Conference and prove their strength!
The day before the game, when Ryan and the others arrived in Los Angeles, they were treated like the Celtics.
Along both sides of the street, countless Los Angeles fans held up signs with insulting words and yelled at the Nuggets team bus.
Fortunately, the driving route of the team bus is basically in the city center, otherwise it would not be strange for excited fans to feed peanuts to the team bus.
All of Los Angeles hates the Nuggets this season. After all, the Nuggets are the defending champions and the biggest obstacle to the Lakers' return to dominating the Western Conference.
The existence of the Nuggets is a stumbling block to the rise of the Lakers.
Los Angeles fans have been waiting for too long. They have watched Ryan, a young man, do whatever he wants in the West over the years. They are also very jealous.
Now that the team finally has strength, it is natural to unseat the former king and regain the crown of the Western Conference!
On the night he arrived in Los Angeles, Ryan did not have dinner with the team.
Instead, he attended a business dinner under the leadership of Leon Rose.
There is no shortage of dinner parties like this in Los Angeles.
And dinner parties like this are often filled with all kinds of opportunities.
It would be such a waste to come to Los Angeles just to play basketball.
At the dinner, many manufacturers and brand owners expressed their interest in cooperating with Laing.
Although he said he was interested, he didn't mention the signing of the contract.
Can Ryan understand the thoughts of these vampire capitalists?
If you want to be rewarded for watching the live broadcast, why don't you go a little further?
Similarly, if you want them to sign you as their spokesperson, you need to show a performance that is explosive enough.
"Intention to cooperate" means that I want to see Ryan's performance in recent games!
In recent games, Ryan has played against strong teams, so if the Nuggets can win consecutive games, it basically means that Ryan does have a chance to win three consecutive championships!
At that time, these big guys will turn into licking dogs in an instant, begging Ryan to give him money.
The traffic of three consecutive championships is something that absolutely no one will let go of.
When Ryan's influence takes off, the brands he endorses will also explode in popularity.
It's the end of the year now. If Ryan wants to hit the top spot on the Forbes Sports list, he must win these key games!
Among them, the contract with Pepsi-Cola must be finalized.
Because Ryan's contract with Coca-Cola expired during his rookie season, Ryan is now free to choose a brand to join.
Pepsi-Cola was very willing to spend money, while Coca-Cola was still negotiating cooperation with Ryan with a conventional offer of 20 million over six years.
Pepsi-Cola has quoted 58 million yuan over 6 years!
If signed, this will become the largest beverage endorsement contract in NBA history!
The endorsement fee is close to 10 million a year!
Firstly, Pepsi-Cola wants to use Lane to enhance its global influence, and secondly, it mainly wants to develop the Chinese market.
PepsiCo wasn't just chasing Ryan during this period.
Almost all popular entertainment stars in the Chinese-speaking region are basically owned by Pepsi-Cola, which is simply an all-star lineup.
What about yellow chocolate, what about photographers, what about Aaron Kwok, what about F4, they are all spokespersons of Pepsi-Cola.
Of course, Dayao also signed a contract with PepsiCo early.
Their commercials are a throwback to Lane's time.
Now all it takes is one Ryan, and Pepsi's lineup will be completely invincible in China, and even in the entire Asia region!
Therefore, they must capture Ryan at all costs and put together this last and most important piece of the puzzle.
This is the last straw for Coca-Cola in the Asian market!
With this year's contract assistance of nearly 10 million yuan, plus the Wal-Mart endorsement contract given by the real financial backer behind the Nuggets owner.
Ryan surpassing Tiger Woods this year is no longer a fantasy!
However, Leon Rose has clearly told Ryan more than once that all of this will only fall into Ryan's pocket after capital sees the prospect of three consecutive championships.
Therefore, Ryan cannot lose the game against the Lakers and Green Kai.
Because both of them have beaten the Nuggets by double digits, and they are also the biggest obstacles for the Nuggets to win the championship.
One may be the opponent in the finals, and the other may be the opponent in the Western Conference finals.
If they can't beat them, the Nuggets' three consecutive championships will be in vain, and capital will no longer be optimistic about Ryan.
It is the No. 1 position in the Western Conference and the temptation of being No. 1 in Forbes.
Ryan will definitely give it his all against Kobe in the game against the Lakers!
The next day, the game started that night.
Ryan and Kobe both entered the room with solemn expressions.
Taylor Swift once again appeared on the sidelines. She happened to be in Los Angeles today to discuss the filming of MVP with the director, so she took the time to come over in the evening.
But in Los Angeles, where the stars are twinkling, Swift's light seems much dimmed.
Jack Nicholson, who was carrying a glass of beer, looked at the young girl next to him and said hello politely.
Everything was normal at first, but after saying hello, Nicholson changed the subject:
"Girl, when you cry later, I won't hand you a tissue."
Swift was a little surprised, but quickly realized
I very bravely wore a Nuggets No. 0 jersey today and sat in the front row of Staples Center!
And Nicholson is a die-hard Lakers fan.
As entertainers, they maintain basic courtesy.
But as fans, the two people's positions can be said to be irreconcilable!
So Swift responded to Nicholson with a smile: "In G4 of the first round of the 2006 playoffs, Kobe Bryant was defended by Ryan and missed 1 point at halftime. So, we'll see, Jack. I hope Kobe won't do that again tonight." It’s time.”
Jack Nicholson didn't expect that this little girl was so familiar with this kind of data!
In fact, Swift accidentally saw this data when she was checking Ryan's information online.
Of all Lane's opponents, there were three that impressed Swift the most.
Kobe scored 1 point in the half, and Kidd scored 0 points in the whole game.
And Ajan, who is particularly humiliated in almost every game he plays with Ryan.
From this perspective, James' reputation is indeed equal to Ryan's!
After finishing with Nicholson, Swift yelled at Ryan on the court: "Go ahead, my lion!"
Lakers fans cast unfriendly glances one after another. They were arrogant, so arrogant!
But that's okay, they didn't mind watching a female singer walk out of Staples crying!
At this time, the referee signaled the starters of both teams to gather towards the center circle and the game was about to begin.
Kobe walked to the midfield line without a smile, his eyes filled with the cold blood unique to the Predators.
The Black Mamba has exposed its fangs. If Ryan is not careful, he will be killed on the spot due to the poison!
Bird and Zen Master must have also found ways to deal with each other.
Ryan took a deep breath. This game was destined to be a meat grinder-like war.
The Lakers' starting lineup is in place. Without Gasol, the Lakers' starting lineup is Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Odom and Bynum.
This lineup is already strong even without Gasol, because this lineup has two differences compared to its original history.
That is, neither Ariza nor Bynum was injured!
Although the statistics of these two people this season are not very good, the series of butterfly effects caused by their absence are precisely the reason why the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the Finals.
Bynum's absence forced the Lakers to move Gasol to the fifth position.
Gasol wasn't tough enough at that time, and he was facing the Celtics who had a "fight and bring the ball" style, so he was so guarded that he didn't even dare to look at the basket.
Ariza's absence has forced the Lakers to use Radmanovic as a small forward.
The result was that Pierce won the Finals MVP.
No matter how strong Kobe's defensive ability is, he can't guard Ray Allen and Pierce at the same time.
As long as there is Ariza to help share the pressure in the finals, the Lakers will not be so embarrassed.
Therefore, both Ariza and Bynum are healthy in this history, which has greatly improved the Lakers' combat effectiveness.
Because of their existence, this Lakers basically does not have any major shortcomings.
It's really difficult to beat the Lakers!
Kobe, who had been staring at Ryan for a long time, finally spoke:
"You're really lucky, Ryan. You weren't here last time I beat the Nuggets, so you had an excuse to lose.
You were lucky enough to score a three-pointer at the last moment of the last game, making the whole world think that you won the second place in the Western Conference with hard power.
But today, your good fortune will no longer extend.
Tonight, you will know why I am number one in the Western Conference! "
Kobe felt that Ryan's victory in the last game was due to luck. If the Warriors can force the Nuggets into overtime, then the Lakers will definitely win the game easily!
Ryan did not swallow his anger, but responded to him head-on: "I do need a little bit of luck to defeat the Warriors, but to defeat you? No need at all!"
The two venomous people were not convinced by each other, and other players couldn't believe what kind of sparks they would create today.
After the game started, the Lakers attacked first.
Kobe is not holding the ball. During this period, he has learned to let go of the ball.
But even without the ball, Kobe immediately got into trouble.
Because the Nuggets are using Artest to deal with Kobe!
Artest pushed and pulled roughly, and his wrestling-style defense made Kobe very uncomfortable even when he was running without the ball.
While pushing, Artest also spat trash talk at Kobe: "You just stole the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference during our suspension, you weakling!"
Kobe saw that he couldn't hold his position in the mid-range, so he finally chose to turn around and cut inside. Odom also immediately supported Kobe from the high post for a layup.
But the moment Kobe made a layup, there were at least three or four arms across the basket in front of it!
This is the Nuggets' defensive strategy today, allowing Kobe to challenge Artest in the mid-to-long range, and then trying their best to block Kobe's breakthrough!
Of course, Bird knew that Kobe's mid-range skills were superb, and he was almost the closest person to that braised egg.
But Artest is not a decoration after all. Under Artest's persistent pursuit, Kobe's shooting touch will definitely be affected, and it is not easy to score goals.
Blocking Kobe's breakthrough at this time will definitely put him in a tough fight!
No, Artest had just made Kobe Bryant struggle in the mid-range.
Therefore, in the mid-to-long distance, Artest is the only defense.
Once Kobe breaks through, the whole team shrinks!
This contraction was very timely. Kobe tried to pull the lever despite multiple interferences, but in the end he still couldn't escape Birdman's pursuit.
Birdman slapped Kobe's layup away, and Kobe's first attack failed embarrassingly!
Ryan picked up the basketball and started attacking!
But the Lakers have also set up a dragnet for Ryan!
After Ryan received the basketball from outside the three-point line, he discovered that the Lakers were defending a zone!
It was Ariza who stood up to lead the defense against Ryan.
Although Ariza has never been selected for defense in his career, his defensive ability is recognized as strong.
As a defensive wing, Ariza suffers because he cannot withstand heavy forwards.
Therefore, the Lakers prepared a zone defense for Ariza!
Once Ryan gets deep below the free throw line, the whole team will shrink to flank Ryan!
No, Ryan wanted to eat Ariza this time. He knew Ariza couldn't stand him.
As a result, as soon as Ryan entered, he felt that the surrounding area became extremely narrow, filled with players wearing yellow jerseys.
The entire Lakers team has shrunk!
Ryan immediately passed the ball and found Artest in the bottom corner.
But as soon as Artest made a three-pointer, Kobe immediately pounced out and completed the block!
Artest's shot is very slow, so he can't hit it in the blink of an eye.
As long as Kobe is focused enough, he can control Artest's scoring!
The Lakers' zone defense shrank, making Ryan swallow.
Today, it is impossible to play elegantly and handsomely.
This was indeed a bloody melee!
After the first round, neither Kobe nor Ryan scored.
Jackson and Bird also tested each other's defensive strategies.
In fact, the strategies they used were surprisingly consistent.
Although the details are not as good as before, it can be basically summarized as follows: first block other players, allow the stars to make mid- and long-range shots amid interference, and do not allow them to attack the frame.
In other words, who can win this game depends on who can score more points in the mid-to-long range, Kobe or Ryan!
From the beginning, this is destined to be a showdown between stars!
Kobe is confident in his mid-range ability, Ryan? He's not big enough to fill the gap between his teeth!
The tone of the game was set from the very beginning.
Senior commentator Mike Breen also saw the situation of this game.
Therefore, after the first round of testing, Mike Breen shouted meaningfully:
“This is going to be a superstar night.
but
One of the superstars will fall bloody! "
Kobe naturally saw this too, fighting for the mid-range? It’s so funny, I haven’t lost to anyone in the middle distance!
So after Ryan hit the iron, Kobe spread his hands: "Okay, this is the time when your score is closest to mine in this game. After this, my score will be leading until the end of the game!"
Comparing mid-range with the best mid-range player in the league?
Haha, I want to completely destroy Ryan tonight!
Ryan looked at the arrogant Kobe and just smiled without saying a word.
In terms of the diversity of mid-range skills, Ryan is indeed not as good as Kobe.
After all, Ryan doesn't have many mid-range talent fragments. His drifting and leaning back are average, and he's not very good at backing up.
But facing Ariza, Ryan has his own way to deal with him!
Go crazy, be as crazy as you want.
When you are defeated in the field you are best at, you will know what deep despair is!
Today’s 10,000-word update is here! I am a conscientious old man, please kneel down and beg for a monthly ticket!