When Fly sat down again, Jack Nicholson, the Oscar-winning actor and famous Lakers fan sitting next to him, looked him up and down through his sunglasses, then poked his shoulder.
"Kid, don't be nervous, they're just using the boos to put pressure on that bunch of softies from the Heat."
Taylor looked at Nicholson and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, it's Mr. Jack, why didn't you say something sitting next to us? I didn't recognize you at all, I'm so sorry..."
Nicholson shrugged and said casually, "Girl, I've had Lakers season tickets since the 1970s. I'm at almost every Lakers game. You didn't know before, so it seems strange to you..."
Taylor nodded, still holding respect for this senior figure in the entertainment industry.
Although Nicholson is from the film industry and she is from the music industry, strictly speaking, they cannot be considered the same circle.
But with Taylor's high emotional intelligence and personality that likes to network, she would still say the necessary pleasantries.
"Softies? Why are the Heat players softies? I think the Heat's roster this season is terrifying. The Big Three lineup has only been seen before with the Celtic a few years ago, and the key is that the Celtic' was an aging Big Three, while all three of the Heat's giants are in their prime. It feels like they can dominate the league for many years!"
Beckham took over the conversation. He had been in the United States for several years and naturally had a good understanding of the NBA.
In his opinion, the current Heat roster was practically cheating. Even if the Lakers had already won two consecutive championships, it would be difficult to defeat a team that simultaneously had LeBron James, Wade, and Bosch.
Nicholson curled his lip and said with an extremely disdainful tone, "Heh... it's precisely because those giants have teamed up that I say they are softies!"
"If all the teams in the league did what the Heat are doing, then there would be no need to watch this league. You'd only need to pay attention to the few teams with stacked giants, right?"
"Teaming up when you can't win, it's ridiculous. Just watch, the Heat Big Three will become a joke, not even Jesus can save them!"
Seeing Nicholson's annoyed look, Fly knew it was because the formation of the Heat Big Three practically signaled that the Lakers' pursuit of the second three-peat dynasty of the new century had failed.
After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that based on the roster, the current Lakers were no match for the Heat!
Lakers supporters like Nicholson naturally felt disgusted by the damned Big Three.
After hearing Nicholson's speech, Beckham awkwardly scratched his face, not knowing how to respond.
Because according to Nicholson's logic, his move to Real Madrid back then was also a softie move.
You know, that Real Madrid team at the time already had Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and Figo, three Ballon dOr winners, and defensive giants like Carlos and Casillas.
Later, superstars like Owen, Van Nistelrooy, and Cannavaro also arrived.
It could be said that a large portion of the world's top superstars were at Real Madrid at that time.
The absolute top ones were all snatched up by Real Madrid.
This situation was even more excessive than the current Heat Big Three!
So if the Heat Big Three are called "softies," how could Beckham escape that label?
Fortunately, football and basketball are not the same sport, and their reliance on superstars is not comparable.
In football, even if the whole team consists of 11 superstars, they might not necessarily win the game.
But in basketball, forget about having 5 superstars on the team, even 3 is already invincible.
Because in football matches, sometimes relying solely on superstars doesn't necessarily solve the game.
But in basketball games, sorry, it is essentially a sport exclusively for superstars. As long as your team has enough and strong enough superstars, you can win the game and the championship.
After the game started, the Lakers and Heat immediately got into their rhythm, with both sides playing at a fast pace.
Both LeBron James and Wade for the Heat, and Kobe and Gasol for the Lakers, were scoring points.
People who didn't understand the game might think the two sides were evenly matched, exchanging blows fiercely.
However, Fly could clearly feel that the Lakers were gradually unable to keep up with the Heat's pace and were in a passive situation from the start of the game.
The score difference also remained above five points, with the Lakers basically never narrowing the gap to within five points.
Taylor watched for a long time, basically just watching the excitement. When the Lakers scored, she cheered with the fans in the stands, and when the Heat scored, she stayed quiet.
For people in the United States entertainment industry, if they follow basketball, they are usually Lakers fans, followed by the Knicks.
Although Taylor didn't really support any team, she would pretend to be a Lakers fan.
Because supporting the Lakers was clearly more likely to attract fans than supporting the Heat, Taylor was extremely calculated in this regard.
"Hani, why do I feel like the Lakers can't keep up?"
Looking at Taylor whispering beside him, Fly stroked her little head and said calmly, "Yeah, the Lakers really can't keep up. The difference in roster strength between the two sides is too big. I even feel like the Heat aren't putting in much effort."
For some reason, Fly always felt that his good brother on the court wasn't sweating much and easily extended the lead to double digits.
"Kobe, jump shot... oh, the ball bounced off the rim, what a pity... Kobe took that shot very decisively! This is Kobe, this is a superstar! That was a reasonable shot!"
On the other side of the Pacific on December 26th, Weiping Bryant, the commentator for hanger TV Station's NBA broadcast, was commentating passionately.
Yu Jia, who was beside him, felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say.
Because as the first half was about to end, Kobe had only made 4 of 13 shots and barely reached double digits in scoring through free throws. He didn't know how to praise him.
In contrast, the opposing Big Three were performing well: LeBron James made 5 of 10 shots for 13 points; Bosch had 12 points and 6 rebounds in the half, playing excellently; and even Wade, who had a poor shooting touch, had 8 points.
The score between the Heat and Lakers was already 45:36, and the difference was about to enter double digits.
If the Lakers didn't make adjustments in the second half, this game would be decided.
Like Fly, Yu Jia also saw that the Heat weren't really exerting themselves in this game. The Lakers were playing very hard but were trailing the entire time.
It had to be admitted, the Heat's roster was simply amazing. The Big Three combined for 33 points in the half, accounting for three-quarters of the team's total score.
Role players just needed to make open shots, basically without any pressure.
"Sigh, this Heat roster is simply too overpowered, no one can beat them!"
Thinking that the Lakers' two-time championship lineup was being beaten like this, Yu Jia felt that the outcome of the championship this season was already without suspense.
The Lakers couldn't beat them, and the Celtic Big Three couldn't even beat the Lakers, so they had even less chance against the Heat.
As for the old powerhouses from Texas, the Spurs and Mavericks, they were a bunch of old guys, completely out of contention!
As for the Chinese people's favorite NBA team, the Rockets, those who understand, understand...
Yu Jia wasn't like those foolish domestic media outlets who constantly hyped up the Rockets' invincible roster and claimed they were aiming for the championship!
Nor was he like those overly self-delusional fans who thought the Rockets players were all usable stars and could win the championship under Yao's leadership.
He knew very well that the Rockets owner, Alexander, was a super stingy person. He wouldn't spend a lot of money to bring in reinforcements for the Rockets.
What he wanted to do was ruthlessly exploit Yao's value. After all, domestic capital was indeed rich, and through Yao as a bridge, he could easily harvest domestic 'leeks'.
In this situation, how could the Rockets possibly win the championship?
They don't have that capability, understand?
"Kobe played very well in this game. Although there's a gap compared to his explosive performances, it's still a height that other players can't reach..."
Listening to larry beside him endlessly praising Kobe, Yu Jia was completely speechless.
Kobe was clearly playing like garbage in this game, but in larry's mouth, it became a "superstar performance."
Yu Jia didn't bother arguing with larry and just pretended not to hear, nodding along as if agreeing with larry!
Just then, the broadcast camera during the halftime break focused on Fly and Taylor.
At this time, the young couple was chatting with other Hollywood celebrities.
The first moment Weiping Bryant saw Fly, he immediately exclaimed, "Oh, isn't that Fly? Isn't he playing football in the United Kingdom? Why is he at the Staples Center?"
Yu Jia knew what was going on and came out to explain, "larry, there was a major cold snap in the United Kingdom. The entire Premier League has announced a two-week suspension, so Fly came back to the United States for Christmas."
Hearing this, Weiping Bryant suddenly understood.
"Oh, I see. I didn't expect Fly to come and cheer for Kobe in person. This is the mutual appreciation between top players. As a top football player, Fly must have a feeling of heroes appreciating heroes towards Kobe, otherwise he wouldn't have traveled all the way to the Staples Center to watch the game."
As soon as he said this, Yu Jia was completely stunned.
larry, you probably don't know that Fly and LeBron James have a good relationship, do you?
Those two call each other brothers on Twitter and even took a photo together years ago. They are well-known "good brothers"!
As for Kobe, I've never really heard of him having any connection with Fly.
Even if Fly came to the Staples Center to support a player, he would be supporting LeBron James, supporting the Heat!