Liu Mang is on the headlines again!

He scored 5 points and 1 assist in the last two minutes. He was a strong carry and was not soft at all at critical moments. In addition, he even scored and provided support in post-up situations, especially the no-look-pass that was played according to the established tactics.

It ranked first among the five best shots of the day.

Although it was not as imaginative as Weber's pass in the third quarter when he was double-teamed and intercepted in the middle, that sultry pass led the team with the ball, his teammates cooperated tacitly, and Ratliff picked and rolled in a timely manner.

After getting rid of the defense, Boozer accurately came to the receiving point for a mid-range shot. It was very similar to the cooperation between Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, except that one was a mid-range shot and the other was a big sky hook.

What especially made Liu Mang praised repeatedly by the media and online forums is that he actually has some back hitting ability. Although some professionals later analyzed that Liu Mang just caught Christie off guard with his unskilled back hitting, but at least he had it.

!

Didn’t you see that Jordan and Olajuwon became gods by playing from behind?

With 27 wins and 24 losses, the Hawks' record surpassed that of the Wizards who had just lost, and officially ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference. They were only one win away from the Magic, which was overtaken by the Hornets and directly fell to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

After ending their nine-game losing streak against the Kings, the Hawks didn't have a chance to celebrate with a drink. They flew to Salt Lake City the next morning and rested in Salt Lake City for a day. Then there was another back-to-back, playing the Jazz first, and then

Going back to California to play the Warriors back to back again.

Sacramento is only a 40-minute flight from Salt Lake City. At 10 noon, the Eagles arrived at their hotel in Salt Lake City.

"Did the person who arranged the schedule for the league get his head in the seawater while swimming in the summer? Can't we just play three games in California first?" Liu Mang couldn't help complaining after finally getting warm after entering the hotel.

"You can never guess what the people in the league who arrange the schedule are thinking." Kevin Wesley, who has a career of nearly 20 years, is very used to it.

After Kevin Wesley returned to the Eagles, he lived a life that was unrestrained and comfortable. His dressing style was very exposed in the Eagles, and the fashion brand he established became popular all of a sudden. Not only

It only sells well in the United States, and agents from Asia are starting to come to him for negotiations.

Riding on Liu Mang's popularity, every Eagles player has made a lot of money. For example, Matt Barnes, who obviously had no chance to perform, signed contracts with several Wolf underwear brands because of his good figure.

Liu Mang, who also signed a two-year, US$500,000 endorsement deal for the brand, was embarrassed to shoot a commercial with him. With his muscular body, Liu Mang looked like a skinny monkey.

, Barnes is too strong, and he is worthy of being a player who can play power forward even if his speed is slow in the later stages of his career.

Several members of the Eagles complained a few times and went back to their rooms to put away their things. Some rested, some played cards, some worked out, some played billiards, and some even braved the cold and went out of the hotel to explore the snowy scenery of Salt Lake City.

Liu Mang went back to his room and took a bath. After his body was completely warmed up, he went to the gym to warm up and practice the strength of his waist, abdomen and back. He found that to practice the back kick well, the core strength of the waist, step and back was very important.

, if these things don’t work, you can even knock yourself down.

After practicing for almost an hour, it was almost 11:30. Liu Mang was just going to go back to the room to take a shower and then eat some nutritious meal. A few hours after exercising is the best time to absorb food. Eat some fiber, which is high in nutrition.

Protein foods make your muscles grow much longer.

It's definitely not enough to do it once or twice. The effect will be obvious only if you persist for a period of time.

Just as I was putting away the fitness equipment, the phone rang. It was Stockton.

Liu Mang answered the phone: "Hi, John."

"Hi, Ace, are you free? Come out for lunch?" Stockton's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh, great, I'm just getting ready to have lunch, where are we going?"

Someone is treating me! Of course Liu Mang was disrespectful, but he didn’t feel guilty at all. Someone was treating me, so he saved lunch money!

On match days, the team has to provide lunch and dinner. If it is not a match day, they have to eat by themselves. Of course, there must be breakfast, which is included in the room rate.

"You live in the Central Hyatt, right? Carl and I will pick you up..."

…

…

Liu Mang returned to the room, took a quick shower, dried his body, and put on thick clothes. Ten minutes later, Stockton drove his large pickup truck to pick Liu Mang up.

Looking more and more like an ordinary middle-aged man, Stockton, and this pickup truck full of rustic flavor, Liu Mang couldn't connect this attitude to life with an NBA history assists leader that almost no future players can surpass.

stand up.

There was no time to lament that there was no heating in the parking lot and it was too cold! Liu Mang hurriedly got into the car and couldn't help but exclaimed: "OH, John, the winter here is too cold, how on earth have you lived here for 19 years!"

"

"Ace, how are you? Salt Lake City is not bad. Look, the streets are so quiet. You don't have to worry about people taking photos when you go shopping." Stockton smiled and started the engine.

"If you are not afraid of being secretly photographed, those paparazzi will also cherish their own lives." Liu Mang complained.

"Haha, Ace, you are so interesting. In fact, Salt Lake City is pretty good. You will know if you come and play more..."

…

The hotel where the Eagles are staying is in the city center. Salt Lake City is quite small. How small is it exactly? The urban area of ​​the domestic imperial capital is more than 1,600 square kilometers. Salt Lake City is less than 300 square kilometers, and it also includes various villa areas.

The big hotel is right in the city center.

After driving for a few minutes, we arrived at the restaurant we had reserved. It was a restaurant in a fitness club. Ma Long had already ordered a meal and was waiting.

After sitting down and chatting, the waiter in the restaurant saw that everyone was here and started serving food.

Liu Mang looked at the plates of "forage" that were served one after another. He was so desperate! He didn't expect that when he went out to make an appointment for lunch, it turned out to be a nutritious meal!

Stockton and Malone are older, and they need a more reasonable diet to maintain their condition. The diet of young people like Liu Mang is more demanding. They have not eaten junk food in the past three or four years. Young people

I can still eat it once in a while, but in recent years I haven't been able to touch it, and carbonated drinks are even more insulated.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Forget it, at least someone was treating him, so Liu Mang still ate quite a lot.

When we were almost done eating, the waiter removed the plates and brought out black tea and vegetarian sugar-free snacks after the meal.

The three of them started chatting after the meal.

"How about Ace, the snow scene in Salt Lake City is pretty good," Ma Long said, looking at the silver-covered town outside the window.

The restaurant is on the fourth floor above the gym, which is considered a relatively high place in the surrounding area. Most cities in the United States have low-rise buildings. Except for the top ten major cities, most of them don’t have high-rise buildings. Of course, compared with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen,

.

It’s this question again. Liu Mang had just complained to Stockton in the car. What the hell is Salt Lake City? Don’t you have some comparisons in your mind?

Liu Mang looked out the window and said, "The snow scene is nice, but it's too cold. I'm from the south and I'm not used to it here."

"Haha, Ace, you will get used to it if you stay here for a long time. You can come and play more when you have time. You might just like it here." Ma Long said with a smile.

"Probably..." Liu Mang felt that these two old men had been partners for a long time and had the same awkward chat skills.

After chatting awkwardly for a while, Malone suddenly said a little sentimentally: "Ace, I'm very worried now. If John and I retire, will anyone come to Salt Lake City?"

Salt Lake City is called a small city of ice and snow. It is not a name given casually. The winter here is indeed too cold and long. Because it is located on a plateau and is surrounded by mountains and rivers, the winter weather is very unique. It lasts for three to five days at first.

The heavy snowfall, often accompanied by small tornadoes, dropped the temperature to minus 20 degrees Celsius, or more than minus 30 degrees Celsius in the extreme. Then it didn't rain or snow for more than half a month, and the snow couldn't melt. It was so cold.

It is unbearable, but the snowfall season in Salt Lake City begins at the end of November or early December, which is not long after the start of the NBA regular season. Then spring begins to arrive in mid-March. Now at the end of February,

It is no longer the coldest time in Salt Lake City. The temperature is at least a dozen degrees below zero. The coldest time is close to about minus 30 degrees. In the event of a snowstorm, it can get even colder, possibly more than minus 30 degrees.

That is to say, for most of the regular season, Salt Lake City is covered in ice and snow, which is almost the same as Toronto, the northernmost city in the NBA. The key point is that Salt Lake City is still a small city. It has just hosted the Winter Olympics for a few months, and there are no tourists here.

Already.

Without tourists, there would be no popularity. Without popularity, only local people would buy tickets. Tickets are naturally not expensive, and the Jazz would not make much money. The Jazz would not make much money, and the salaries paid to the players are often low

It will be the highest level in the league. Players who are not popular will not have much extra income, and then no stars will be willing to join. Without stars to join, there will be no new fans to like the Jazz. Without new popularity, there will be no income, creating a vicious situation.

cycle.

Liu Mang thought that since the Jazz was founded, no superstar in his prime has joined the team. Even young free agents with outstanding talents have not been considered by anyone for this traditional strong team.

Even in the future era of information explosion, the impact of the difference in city size on the size of the ball market will become smaller and smaller due to advanced communication technology, and no star will be willing to join the Jazz.

It is probably mainly because of the weather here and the rare entertainment activities here. It is so cold that most people stay at home, except for people like Kevin Wesley who want to find clothing inspiration everywhere. The temperature is more than ten degrees below zero.

The kind that runs out to collect news.

Liu Mang could see that today, these two old men who were about to retire were recruiting him!

Well, I respect and am very grateful to the two seniors Liu Mang, but Liu Mang will not make a commitment that is not in line with his heart just because of something related to his career.

Liu Mang organized his words and said: "Future generations will have their own blessings. John, Carl, you don't have to worry about this city. There will be a group of people who will appear after you retire to make this team reach a greater level than what you created."

When it was glorious.”

The rejection was so tactful. Malone and Stockton looked at each other and smiled. They didn't have high expectations, but they were still rejected. There was nothing they could do about it.

That's Atlanta! It's been almost two years since Liu Mang joined the Hawks, and the Atlanta football market is getting better and better. Atlanta is already the ninth largest city in the United States, and the NBA market has not yet been fully developed, so its popularity can only get better and better.

Well, nowhere can it compare to Salt Lake City.

However, this young man is really polite and refuses in such a cultured way. As the saying goes, future generations will be blessed. Americans who don’t understand Chinese culture feel so cultured when they hear this.

Liu Mang looked at the two helpless and free-spirited seniors. They wanted to recruit him, so he had to show some respect, right? Reciprocity is a courtesy!

"John, Karl, look, you don't have much chance to win the championship. Do you want to consider working hard for another year next year and come to Atlanta so that we can win the championship together?" Liu Mang tentatively recruited.

Liu Mang suddenly wanted to try to solicit, but the language was not as tactful and "cultured" as the response he had just carefully considered.

Malone and Stockton immediately lost their temper. Damn you brats, why are you so direct? We two old guys have persisted for 19 years and have not left, but we still haven’t won the championship. There seems to be no hope this year, but we see through it.

Don’t you know if you don’t tell me?

"No, I won't go to the east." Ma Long refused directly.
Chapter completed!