December 24th was a day for family reunions in America, and Durant naturally spent the holiday with his beloved mother.
"Stop watching those boring basketball shows and come help. Your grandma will be here soon. I've invited a lot of people over tonight. Even if you're making money, you can't forget the friends who helped us, and put down your phone!"
Wanda Pratt saw her son still glued to his phone during the holiday, watching only basketball shows, and immediately got angry.
"OK! Let me finish this episode. I'm about to sign a big contract, Mom. There's no need to cook dinner yourself anymore; we can go to the best restaurant in Oklahoma City."
Durant, sitting on the sofa, turned his head to explain, then continued watching the TNT program.
"You'd better come help quickly! Cooking dinner ourselves shows our sincerity. I don't want to hear anyone say we've forgotten our roots now that we're successful. Your grandma agrees with me!"
Wanda Pratt began to nag her son.
Durant was intently watching the TNT report on the Thunder, automatically ignoring his mother's nagging.
"After a brief review of the Eastern Conference teams' performance, let's look at the Western Conference situation. The Thunder are 24-4, currently ranked first in the West. They are one game ahead of the Lakers. Charles, it seems all your previous opinions were wrong."
Kenny Smith laughed and teased his partner again.
"I admit, my predictions are as terrible as ever, but I still maintain that jump shots don't win championships. The Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers played a wonderful game, but no one can maintain such a high outside shooting percentage indefinitely."
"They have no low-post offense. They don't even have a big man who can consistently score in the paint. I'm not optimistic about the Thunder's current roster contending for a championship. The front office still has a lot of work to do."
Charles Barkley, as an old-school interior player, naturally disliked the Thunder's tactical style of play.
"Buddy, you didn't think they'd make the Playoffs before, and now you're saying you don't think they can contend for a championship. Don't be too hard on young players; they are still rookies, and a championship isn't achieved overnight."
Kenny Smith continued his role as the 'good cop.'
"No, no, no, I think the Thunder trio has gone beyond the scope of ordinary rookies. Kevin Durant, in his third season, scored 30+ points in games against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. He is already a star player."
"Russell Westbrook, in his second season, is currently averaging 20+5+5. This season, he is fulfilling his potential. Look at his defense; it has improved significantly from last year. I think he has also moved beyond the scope of ordinary rookies."
"Finally, let's look at the core of the Thunder, Kayce. I don't even want to use simple statistics to explain how strong this guy is. He scored 26 points against the Los Angeles Lakers and put up a huge 20+12 double-double against the Phoenix Suns."
"Statistics cannot fully reflect Kayce's role on the court. He is the Thunder's rhythm setter; he makes the Thunder's offense more reasonable and efficient!"
"With this kind of performance, I no longer want to hold him to rookie standards. Kayce has become a core player of a team, so we need to raise our standards. The Thunder are very young, but they play high-level basketball."
Charles Barkley seriously praised the Thunder trio.
"You have a point, but do you really think Kayce is the core of the Thunder? You might need to look at Kevin Durant's stats this season. I think Durant can win the scoring title this season; he's become efficient and consistent recently."
Kenny Smith immediately changed the topic and started stirring up trouble.
"I will stick to my point. We discussed this last time; Kayce is the catalyst that makes the Thunder better. As for Kevin Durant, I firmly believe he will become an excellent scorer, but I don't see leadership qualities in him."
"Championship teams need to build a good locker room culture. Kayce's selfless playing style can allow him to successfully lead this team."
Charles Barkley actually just didn't like Durant's playing style. A big man player shooting threes from the outside, in his opinion, was a soft style of play.
"I disagree with your point. A super scorer can also help a team win a championship. Buddy, you haven't won a championship, but you must know what a super scorer means to a team."
Kenny Smith immediately retorted his partner.
"Shit! I haven't won a championship, but I know an excellent locker room culture can unite a team!"
When Durant saw this, his expression turned ugly, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart:
"Team's highest scorer, offense and defense combined, I am the team's core. Leadership qualities? Everyone likes me too! See you on Twitter, Charles Barkley, with your terrible opinions!"
"Kevin!! Hurry up and help, stop watching those boring basketball shows! Your grandma is here!"
"I'll be right there, Mom!"
His mother's shouting made Durant abandon his plan to log into his Twitter alt account and start ranting directly. He could only secretly swear in his heart:
"After Christmas, I'm going to rally the discussion group to tweet you to death!"
Although Kayce had been in America for many years, he was still indifferent to Christmas, especially having to prepare gifts for the girls around him every Christmas. For him, it was torture.
On the 24th, Kayce was numb. Britney and Anne had been staying at the Oklahoma City mansion for several days. He didn't notice anything last night after returning home, but this morning, seeing the two beautiful girls cuddling in bed, he immediately felt something was off.
"How did you two end up sleeping together? Britney, move your hand down a little."
Kayce, who woke up on time, originally planned to call Britney for breakfast, but as soon as he entered the room, he saw a jaw-dropping sight.
"It's only a little past 8. Let us sleep a bit longer. We've been exhausted these past few days decorating the room. The ingredients are bought, and we can make Christmas dinner this afternoon."
Britney groggily continued to hug Anne next to her, burrowing her head into her embrace.
"Alright, get up. And call home, too. We still need to go out later to get more ingredients. Ah! Take your hand away! You hooligan!"
Anne was speaking seriously one second, and the next, after being ambushed, the two burst into laughter and playful fighting again.
Kayce always felt things were getting weirder and weirder, as if he was in the Hulunbuir Grassland, and all he could see was green.
This year's Christmas was a fruitful day for Kayce. The songs he plagiarized and created, after being packaged and released by his agent Chapman, all made it into the top ten on the Billboard charts.
The promotional video for "I'm Yours" garnered over 100 million views on YouTube in just a few days. Although a lot of money was spent on data manipulation, overall, it was still a huge profit.
"Shape of You" achieved 230,000 digital sales in its first week. Although this data also had some moisture, his agent Chapman told him to just wait to count the money, as this song had the potential to become globally popular.
Kayce had no interest in what records the songs could break or what awards they could win. He just wanted to get the green dollars. With money in hand, he wouldn't panic.
Even if the Dutton Family encountered financial problems later, he could at least help.
After a busy afternoon, the Christmas dinner was finally complete. Kayce looked at the table full of his favorite foods and was deeply moved. The two girls had indeed prepared it with care.
"Aren't you going to open the gifts? I carefully selected these two gifts and put a lot of thought into them."
Kayce indeed didn't lie. These were the most thoughtfully chosen Christmas gifts he had given in many years.
"Of course, we'll open the gifts tomorrow morning! Enough about that, let's eat quickly, I'm starving."
Anne first rolled her eyes at Kayce, then immediately gestured for them to start eating.
"Don't rush, let's have a toast first. This is the happiest Christmas I've had in years. Tonight, we drink until we drop!"
Britney's eyes darted around, coming up with another mischievous idea, and began to encourage the two to drink.
"Then cheers!" "Cheers!"
Kayce was in a great mood. After clinking glasses, he chugged his drink. Having two beautiful girls celebrate the holiday with him felt really good. It's just that the more he drank, the dizzier he became, and the hazy night had only just begun.
The NBA Christmas War is the league's main event every year, and this year's 23 vs. 24, LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant, had all fans eagerly anticipating it.
And this year was also a grudge match, as O'Neal had joined the Cavaliers this season, and before the game, many media outlets brought up the old stories of O'Neal and Kobe again.
They tirelessly explained the collapse of the Lakers dynasty to new fans. Kobe's fan base in America was definitely not small, as evidenced by his Twitter.
When Twitter first launched in 2006, Nike moved all the stars from its camp onto the platform. Kobe himself rarely used Twitter; it was always managed by staff, but his follower count continued to rise.
Nike's operations staff were ecstatic; they could gain followers just by posting ads every month, which was quite outrageous.
To attract traffic, the NBA frantically created buzz before the game, constantly hyping various topics. As a result, the attention on this nationally televised Christmas War soared.
However, the outcome of this game was a huge surprise, as the home team, the Lakers, were completely dominated by the Cavaliers at Staples Center.
With a score of 102 to 87, the Cavaliers easily defeated the defending champions, the Lakers, on the road. Star player LeBron James shot 9 for 19 from the field, 6 for 11 from the free-throw line, finishing with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 7 turnovers, playing a decent game.
The Lakers, on the other hand, performed poorly, or rather, Kobe once again entered his mamba mode, taking an insane number of shots during the game, but the results were terribly off-target, shooting 11 for 33 from the field for an inefficient 35 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 turnovers.
Although he achieved a near triple-double, the game was indeed ruined by Kobe alone. The Lakers' team field goal percentage was only 36.5%, and their Twin towers also failed to utilize their advantages. The grudge match truly affected Kobe.
This game almost caused all Kobe fans to collectively break down, while James fans were ecstatic.
Kayce, however, did not pay attention to this Christmas War. He had been having sex for the past two days, and the chaotic night almost broke his back from exhaustion. It wasn't until the Thunder's practice on the 26th that he gradually recovered.
Russell had a very enjoyable Christmas, and his training enthusiasm was unprecedentedly high, which forced Coach Brooks and the coaching staff to frequently call timeouts. He was too excited and kept forgetting tactics during play.
By the time the tactical training session ended, Russell felt that his good brother Kayce was still out of sorts, and couldn't help but ask with concern:
"Kayce, was there a problem with Christmas? You didn't argue with Britney again, did you?"
"Ah! No, we're fine. It's just that the past two days have been a bit tiring, but I'm much better now. Don't worry, I'll be fine for tonight's game."
Kayce immediately responded with a smile. Tonight, they would host the Charlotte Bobcats, the first home game after Christmas, and its importance was self-evident. After all, Oklahoma City had not yet fully emerged from the holiday spirit, and a loss at this time would certainly disappoint the fans.
"Then I'm relieved. Kevin is getting better and better, so we have to work hard too!"
Russell patted Kayce on the shoulder and immediately returned to the sideline to continue his shooting practice.
The Charlotte Bobcats achieved a record of 35 wins and 47 losses last season, ranking tenth in the Eastern Conference and failing to make the Playoffs. Therefore, they made personnel adjustments this season.
They traded away their former starting shooting guard, Jason Richardson, and welcomed Stephen Jackson, along with Gerald Wallace. The new Charlotte Bobcats improved their roster's toughness this season.
Before this game, they were 11-16, ranking 9th in the Eastern Conference. Although their record was not ideal, considering they had recently achieved a three-game winning streak, they were still not to be underestimated.
Ford Center still retained many Christmas elements today, distributing Thunder-themed blue Santa hats to fans entering the arena. It was still a full house tonight, and Oklahoma City fans were very satisfied with the home team's performance.
Most of the audience arrived early, and the warm-up activities on site were continuous. Even before the game started, the viewing atmosphere became increasingly enthusiastic.
In the Thunder's locker room before the game, Coach Brooks was making tactical arrangements:
"Kayce, pay attention to defending Stephen Jackson. In the recent games, he's been in hot form. Don't easily give him opportunities to break through, and also watch out for his mid-range shots after screen-and-rolls."
"Guys, keep the ball moving. Their defense is very mobile, and their wing players can almost switch indefinitely. We need to make good use of off-ball screens. Green, Kostić, pay attention to the quality of your screens."
"This is our first home game after Christmas. I hope we can use this victory to give Oklahoma City fans a belated gift! Let's go!"
"Yeah! One, two, three, family!"
As the lights in Ford Center went out, the live DJ started screaming, and the home team players entered the arena. Coupled with the highlights shown on the big screen in the middle of the court, the roar from the crowd made it impossible for Kayce to hear his teammates.
"This is going to be insane! Oklahoma City fans are too passionate!"
Home commentator Twin also began to introduce the visiting team's starting lineup:
"Head Coach Larry Brown still did not use big players in this game. The starting backcourt is Raymond Felton and Stephen Jackson, the forwards are Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw, and the center is Nazr Mohammed."
"Wow! The tallest player in the Charlotte Bobcats' starting lineup is only 208cm. I'm already looking forward to how our boys will perform tonight."
The game was about to begin. The players from both sides exchanged simple greetings. Kayce's brow furrowed when he saw the height of the opposing lineup; it was even shorter than he had imagined, looking like one guard and four forwards.
"The game begins! Kostić won the tip-off for us. Go, OKC!"
On the Thunder's first possession, after a few simple passes on the perimeter, Jeff Green and Kostić executed a cross-screen on the baseline. Seeing Kostić successfully establish position, Kayce immediately threw a lob pass.
The latter received the ball, faced Mohammed's defense, backed him down twice, got close to the basket, and then spun around for a left-handed hook shot.
"Swish!" The two-point shot easily went in.
"Oh! Ah!"
The audience at Ford Center immediately erupted in a huge cheer. After many days without watching a game at home, Oklahoma City fans were eager to release their enthusiasm.
The Charlotte Bobcats spread their offense out very wide. After Raymond Felton's high pick-and-roll on the perimeter, he immediately passed to Mohammed at the free-throw line. At this point, Diaw was already in the low post, calling for the ball.
With a simple high-low post combination, Diaw, after receiving the ball, used his weight advantage, backed down twice, then made a nimble turn and scored with a left-handed layup.
Kayce, observing this situation from the side, immediately felt that this game would definitely not be an easy win. The Charlotte Bobcats' interior play seemed to counter the Thunder.
"Flexible big guys are the hardest to deal with. I feel bad for Jeff Green; he always takes the beating for the Thunder."