Compared to last year, this year's trade can only be regarded as a small fight, and it is a little surprising that the Cavaliers sent Artest, who has not performed well this season, averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, but he is really playing a role in the playoffs.

The new Cavaliers management doesn't seem to be aware of this.

At the end of the trade deadline, the Thunder shrunk back to 14 players, and Jones quickly reached out to Livingston.

Tang Tian's thoughts are the same as before, and he is ready to sign a three- or four-year long-term contract directly with Livingston, but Livingston seems to expect more than the basic salary, and only agrees to sign until the end of the season.

This result was a bit unexpected by Tang Tian, but he could understand it, after all, each player's mood is different, empathy, if he used to be the pride of the sky, he would not be willing to take the basic salary all the time.

Eventually, the Thunder and Livingston agreed to a one-year contract until the end of the season.

As a result, there have been some changes to the team's lineup.

Point guards: Westbrook, Livingston

Shooting guards: Kidd, Harden, Soflosa, Bazemore

Small forwards: Durant, PJ Tucker, Middleton

Power forwards: Dio, Collisson, O'Quinn

Centre-forwards: Ibaka, Brown, Turiaf

The new lineup, but no rotation, basically had no impact on the Thunder.

Tang Tian was not in a hurry to let Livingston appear, and the backcourt was still a three-man rotation of Westbrook, Kidd and Harden.

However, leaving Soflosa, Tang Tian also gave him some playing time accordingly, so that he could find the state of the game.

Time flies, and a week has passed, and the Thunder have a 3-1 record in this week and continue to consolidate their position in the first place in the West.

"Let's play Livingston next year." After a week of training and adaptation, Livingston adapted much faster than expected, and Tang Tian also began to consider putting him in the starting lineup.

The next day, the team boarded a plane to Los Angeles, where they will meet the Lakers for the third time of the season, having won the previous two meetings with the Thunder.

It was supposed to be just an ordinary regular season game, and for the Thunder, looking at Livingston was perhaps the main focus of their game.

It's just that before the game, the Los Angeles media, which has always liked to be lively, was not idle, and moved out the previous FOX Sports report and Howard's response, and they also interviewed Howard during pre-game training.

'I love this kind of game, we're going to win it, it's going to mean a lot to us.' Howard is still very straightforward and does not shy away from saying in the face of the media.

In fact, the Lakers are in a good situation, and the recruited Artest is old and strong, averaging 12.4 points and 5 rebounds per game, and he also helped the Lakers sweep away the previous decline and usher in a wave of 3 consecutive wins.

The Los Angeles media reports are still aggressive, and in addition to Howard's remarks, they even continue to ridicule Brown, saying that he can continue to survive in the NBA by relying on Tang Tian's protection.

An ordinary NBA game, which was hyped by the local media, soared, and the fans who have always liked to watch the excitement became more and more excited, and the excitement on the faces of the fans was visible to the naked eye in addition to the fact that the Staples Center was as full as ever.

At the opening ceremony before the game, the cheers from the scene were deafening.

On the Thunder's side, the team maintained a regular starting lineup, with Westbrook and Kidd on the outside, Durant and Dior on the front, and Ibaka at center.

On the Lakers' side, Nash and Kobe Bryant on the outside, Artest and Pau Gasol on the front, and Howard at center.

On paper alone, the Lakers are not inferior or even stronger than the Thunder.

"Hey, man, you even asked Ibaka to play against Howard?" Before the start of the game, the commentators on the scene couldn't help but complain.

"I'll admit Ibaka has improved a lot this season, but you're going to be playing against Dwight Howard!" The commentator also echoed the words.

The two sides jumped the ball, and Howard jumped to win against Ibaka, giving the home team the opportunity to attack first.

Nash's frontcourt organization, Kobe Bryant borrowed Gasol to block and pick up the ball.

"Huh!"

Bryant's mid-range gave the Lakers a lead.

Despite being 34 years old, and despite switching from on-ball to off-ball since Nash's arrival, he has adapted quickly and has shot 46.9 percent so far, the second-highest of his career.

The Thunder's offense, Dio's top of the circle, distributed the ball to the empty cut Durant, who also hit the mid-range with a quick stop.

Nash and Gasol pull in from mid-range after blocking.

Westbrook received the ball and scored a layup on Nash's breakaway.

Both sides maintained a very good hand after the opening.

The game played more than 7 minutes, and the score on the court was 17-14, and the Thunder led by a narrow margin.

At this time, D'Antoni made a substitution, and Jamison and Blake came on to replace Gasol and Nash.

This is the current situation of the Lakers team, the players are older, and the substitution adjustment is earlier than the average team.

Seeing the adjustment of the Lakers, Tang Tian also got up and motioned to Kidd to let him play more inside.

Kidd's frontcourt organization, Ibaka took Howarddra away from the penalty area, Durant and Westbrook cut the basket on both sides in a row, Kidd passed in a second, Westbrook received the ball and threw off Blake, and directly hit a one-arm dunk.

The entire Thunder bench was boiling.

On the Lakers' offense, Kobe Bryant was caught in the ball and turned back and didn't score.

The Thunder played a fast break, and Durant hit a three-point shot from a pass from Dior.

The Thunder went on a 5-0 run.

The Blakes didn't play, and Jamison didn't hit a three-pointer from the outside.

Because of the age of this Lakers team and the fact that the coach is D'Antoni, the overall defensive quality is not good, basically replacing defense with offense, and Nash's departure has made the Lakers' offense somewhat stagnant.

The Thunder attacked in the frontcourt, and when Durant cut without the ball, the referee blew for Howard's blocking foul.

Howard jumped to his feet and pulled the referee to signal that he had not committed a foul.

Because of the existence of Nash, Kobe and Gasol, Howard's status on the Lakers and the Magic is not the same, basically the defensive core plus the fourth offensive option, he has only shot 1 time in the first quarter, and his heart is not very happy, and he was blown a foul again, which is a bit explosive.

D'Antoni shouted on the sidelines for a long time, and Kobe Bryant also came over to pull for a while, so that Howard didn't take this T, but he still looked unhappy.

He said before the game that he wanted to beat the Thunder, but he played more than half a quarter, and he didn't have a sense of presence on the court at all.