The Pacers also held a media meeting day on this day.

Ewing and Reggie Miller are more confident about this season than last season. Reggie Miller expressed to the media on behalf of the team his firm confidence in making it out of the Eastern Conference.

He said very firmly: "Rick Schmitz is back, we will have the Twin Towers, and we will have the confidence to defeat the Bulls... No, it is to defeat the Knicks. Believe us, we will definitely defeat the Bulls, no, it is the Knicks."

The Knicks.”

On the 30th, the Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Celtics also held their own media meeting days.

"What I want to say is that with Sabonis, we will officially launch an impact on the championship." Facing the media, the postman said with full confidence.

"It's time."

When David Robinson faced the media, his answer was quite simple, but very powerful.

"Old K, wait for me, Tim and I will fuck you up." Facing the media, Dameng said with great confidence.

During this period of time, after he and Duncan got to know each other and got to know Duncan's strength, his confidence was already overwhelming. He felt like he had just struck a lucky chord, found a treasure, and was thinking of competing for the championship.

He believes that together with Duncan, he can defeat any inside combination in the league, including Old K and O'Neal.

Like him, the Blazers, from owner Paul Allen to the management, coaching staff and players, are full of confidence.

Duncan told the media expressionlessly: "During the offseason, I seemed to have become a piece of garbage. I was thrown from the Lakers to the Suns, and then from the Suns to the Trail Blazers. This motivated me even more. I will pay tribute to those who look down on me."

People and teams prove that your choice is wrong."

On October 31st, the new NBA 97/98 season officially kicked off.

The alliance must have deliberately arranged it. The six first-tier teams from the Eastern and Western Alliances will fight against each other.

The Lakers play against the Jazz at home, the Knicks play against the Celtics at home, and the Pacers play against the Trail Blazers on the road.

There are 14 games on this night. These three games attract the most attention and are all broadcast live across the United States.

After training this afternoon, Wang Tiejun went home to have dinner. Now that his family is all here, he usually goes home to eat when he has time.

After dinner, the bodyguard provided by the Lakers came to pick him up. This man was Geas Locke, and the two left the villa.

Geas Locke was originally the security captain of the Lakers, responsible for home security. He is 40 years old, white, and a former detective of a Los Angeles police station. He has a very good ability to handle special and emergencies.

When we arrived outside the Great Western Forum Arena, it was already 6:30 in the evening. It was the opening game of the new season. There were so many fans and it was so crowded that it was like a sea of ​​people.

"Old K is here."

"Old K!"

Fans recognized his car and started shouting.

The car trudged forward and slowly approached the arena. It took twenty minutes before it entered the parking lot.

The game started at eight o'clock. Lao Wang was not in a hurry. He got out of the car and walked to the locker room while chatting casually with Locke.

Fei Ge and his parents will also come to watch the game tonight. Because he has Dabao, he will not sit below, but in the private room given to him by the Lakers.

At seven o'clock, he entered the locker room. His teammates and coaching staff had already arrived. He said hello and began to change.

After a while, Bass, West, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also appeared outside the locker room.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also joined the Lakers coaching staff a few days ago and taught Wang the big hook together with his master Bill Potka.

Old Buss always had a smile on his face. Just yesterday, the league announced the number of national live broadcast games for each team in the new season. The Lakers ranked second, only behind the Knicks. The Knicks had 56 games and the Lakers had 53 games.

This means that the Lakers can share a large amount of broadcast rights revenue.

A large number of live broadcasts across the United States will further attract sponsors and increase the Lakers' sponsorship income.

Tonight is the opening game, Lao Wang’s first show with the Lakers, and his opponent is the Jazz, a first-tier team rated as a championship level, so the tickets are extremely expensive, with an average price of 388 US dollars, and they are still sold out.

.

At this time, the Great Western Forum Arena was already full, and the most expensive front row was filled with celebrities and celebrities, the stars were bright and extremely dazzling.

At 7:30, the two teams announced their starting lineups.

Jazz: Sabonis, Karl Malone, Brian Russell, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton

Lakers: Wang Tiejun, Teresa Longhill, Chris Mullin, Richmond, Mark Price

Tonight's game will be broadcast live nationwide by TNT, and the commentators are the network's two ace commentators, Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan.

Albert said: "Six championship-level teams are on the field tonight, and the new season will definitely have a hot start.

Let's take a look at the ratings first. Wow, the game hasn't even started yet and it has already exceeded 25 million. I think tonight's game between the Lakers and Jazz will definitely break through 30 million.

For a regular season game, this is quite high. A few years ago, this was unimaginable, and the finals may not be able to reach this rating.

I remember in the 1992 Finals, when Jordan defended his title, the ratings only reached 36 million, which already broke the historical record. It’s not what it used to be!”

"The NBA has indeed developed rapidly in the past few years. You can tell by looking at the increase in the salary cap."

Harlan nodded quickly and continued: "Especially since the league's two signature stars have changed teams, whether their performance is still strong is very attractive.

Especially Michael Jordan, who will be 35 years old in February next year. Whether he can perform at the peak of last season with the Knicks is worth looking forward to."

Albert smiled and said: "The Jazz introduced Sabonis, the king of Europe and the roof of the world, which not only made up for the height of the basket that the Jazz lacked before, but also increased the low-post offense. At the same time, the ability to launch fast breaks has also been enhanced.

, Sabonis can provide a lot of reinforcements for the Jazz, so now this Jazz should really have the strength to compete for the championship."

Harlan nodded and said: "The Lakers are also quite strong. They have the first active player in the game, Old K. Even if the Lakers are completely

reconstruction, but with Old K’s leadership, his strength, and his versatility, he should be able to bring this Lakers together. Richard and the other stars are also here for the championship. I think they

He should also cooperate with old K."

Albert smiled: "The Lakers are truly rebuilding. There are only three players left last season, and none of them has the strength to enter the main lineup.

I think the Lakers need at least half a season to work together before they can truly integrate everyone's strengths."

"Groom, who do you think will win tonight?" Harlan asked.

"Jazz is more stable. I want to say Jazz, but I'm afraid of being slapped in the face by Old K." Albert laughed.

"Haha..." When the two said this, they burst out laughing in unison.

In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili and Su Qun were also analyzing.

"Old K's first show with the Lakers, I hope the game starts soon!" Su Qun said excitedly.

"Come on, the substitutes are starting to warm up." Zhang Li said with a smile.

"Director Zhang, the top six will compete for hegemony in the new season, with three strong teams from the east and west. The games this season should be quite exciting." Su Qun said with a smile.

"This is what Stern expected."

Zhang Lili said with a smile: "But the difference in popularity among the teams is huge. Big ball markets like the Knicks and Lakers have as many as 50+ live broadcasts across the United States, while bottom ball markets like the Spurs only have two live broadcasts this season."

Live broadcast across the United States."

"The Spurs only played two games?" Su Qun said in surprise.

"Yes, the Admirals ran away, and the team was rebuilt, which was completely unattractive. The average ticket price for the Spurs was only $4.50, and season ticket sales were very bad. If the broadcaster could provide two live broadcasts across the United States, it probably depends on the league's reputation. It cannot be

You won’t give one game, right? The two broadcasters, ESPN and TNT, gave one game each, and the other broadcasters didn’t give one game.” Zhang Li said with a smile.

Su Qun asked at this time: "Coach Zhang, what are the chances of the Lakers winning the championship this season? According to ESPN's predictions, the six strong teams are not much different.

Even Jordan, after having a monster like O'Neal, ESPN, which has always been optimistic about him, only gave him a 19% chance of winning the championship."

Zhang Lili said: "It's almost the same. Everyone has a very strong lineup. Although Jordan has a low-post monster like O'Neal as a teammate, you have to see that the other five strong teams all have strong inside combinations, and they have a real chance of winning.

It’s hard to say.”

Su Qun nodded and said: "The Pacers have Ewing + Rick Schmitz, the Celtics have David Robinson, the Lakers have Old K, the Jazz have Postman + Sabonis, and the Trail Blazers have Big Dream + Duncan. They are indeed all

It's quite strong. It's really not certain whether O'Neal + Oakley can have the upper hand.

But David Robinson and Old K lost a little, the other four teams all have strong inside partners, but they two don't."

"ladies and gentlemen……"

At this time, the starting lineup began to appear, the lights dimmed, and the voice of Lakers host Mones John sounded.

In the player tunnel, the starting lineups of the two teams met.

The relationship between Lao Wang and the postman is not like before. They used to start fighting when they disagreed. Now they nodded to each other and said hello.

"Jeff, how are you doing now?" Lao Wang greeted Hornacek.

"It's okay." Hornacek smiled.

Lao Wang suddenly came closer and said, "How long does your contract last?"

"This season is a contract year." Hornacek was startled and whispered.

"If you don't win the championship, come and help me."

Lao Wang said something, patted Hornacek on the shoulder, and then went to say hello with Sabonis.

Hornacek was startled again and smiled.

The visiting team came out next, and the Great Western Forum Arena did not boo them. They were given some applause for the opening game of the new season.

When it was the home team's turn, the enthusiastic cheers and applause showed the enthusiasm of the Lakers fans.
To be continued...