"Forest."

After the training, McGrady took the initiative to find Lin Ying.

"Would you like to have dinner together?"

Under Lin Ying's confused gaze, he followed up by extending the invitation.

Lin Ying nodded.

Lin Ying was a little confused at first as to why McGrady was looking for him.

But after eating, he came to his senses when he heard McGrady congratulate him and Yao Ming for winning the championship, and then talk about his past with Yao Ming in the Rockets.

This is, the trick is almost here.

It is understandable that even if Tracy McGrady is in good form now, he is only a rotation-level player in the league.

It is a very routine operation to be close to the core set of the new team.

After finishing the meal, Lin Ying had a better impression of McGrady.

If he can keep his attitude so low, it shouldn't be a problem for McGrady to integrate into the Suns in the new season.

Of course, there are also some emotions.

The four major shooting guards, one of Stern's favorites in the past, were the same for a while, but in the end they could only do so due to injuries.

The cruelty of the NBA and past glory are worthless.

Every season is a new challenge. If you don't work hard, you will be eliminated.

…

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the NBA preseason for the new season has begun.

At this time, the most watched team in the league is the Knicks.

Whether they beautify it or deny it, the top three giants cannot run away if they take the initiative to join forces.

In addition, James has previously announced that he will switch to point guard in the new season, so it is difficult not to attract attention.

The Knicks' first preseason opponent is also interesting, the Thunder.

Originally, Stern's arrangement was just a showdown between James and Durant.

But because of the previous trumpet incident, Durant and James were on absolute opposite sides.

This happened during the preseason, so it was an incredible scene. Madison Square Garden was basically full for the preseason.

And over at the live broadcast booth, Barkley came over to join in the fun.

This kind of attention for a preseason game, from a business perspective alone, it is quite reasonable for these three giants to receive it.

Lin Ying is also watching the live broadcast of this game.

As the main opponent for the championship, this game must be watched.

Of course, Lin Ying was not watching alone, Xiao Si was next door, and the two of them sat directly together.

There was no opening ceremony in the preseason, and the two sides quickly appeared on the live broadcast.

Thunder: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Jeff Green, Cole Aldridge

Knicks: James, Wade, Gallinari, Gooden, Bosh

Both sides have full lineups!

It seems that the league has told both teams to heat up the field at the beginning of the season!

But this should also be the result the Knicks hope to see.

The game was about to start, and the camera showed the Knicks bench.

It was at this time that Lin Ying couldn't help but slap his thigh.

Seconds!

No wonder James wants to switch to point guard!

The current head coach of the Knicks is D'Antoni!

For D'Antoni's team, what could be more suitable than playing a point guard!

Of course, there is something that many people may overlook here. James actually played point guard.

When he first entered the league, the leader of the Cavaliers was Ricky Davis. Davis was playing small forward, so James could only play point guard.

The jokes "He is here to help me" and "Why don't you just feed me the ball" all come from this.

So it’s better to say it’s a change than a change back.

Coupled with the bonus of D'Antoni's system.

Sure enough, every step James takes is shrewd!

The surprise before was still too shallow.

After the game started, this was further verified.

Because of the large concentration of ball rights, James basically directly determined the position of the boss of the Big Three.

Historically, when their brother came to the Heat for the third time, there was a long running-in period at the beginning of the season.

At that time, various aircraft player meetings were actually held to determine who would be the core player.

The main thing is around Wade and James, should you be my Pippen, or should I take the initiative to assist you.

The later story is that Wade took the initiative to give up the ball because James had to bear the biggest infamy when he went to the Heat, and everyone had to make sacrifices.

But now that history has changed, this stage has been skipped.

I want commercial value, I want the championship, I want the team boss, I want them all!

This wave is no longer a matter of shrewdness, it is directly in the atmosphere!

However, this is also a good thing for the Big Three, because unnecessary stages are skipped and their running-in will be faster.

And Lin Ying noticed a detail: James should have lost a certain amount of weight, and he should also have practiced ball control.

It seems that his previous judgment was correct. After experiencing setbacks, James evolved as he has in history.

Although the directions of evolution are different, there is no doubt that they have become stronger.

However, the Knicks' problems are not without their problems. Their defense is very D'Antoni.

In addition, Gooden and Bosh are not good at defense, so the two teams basically ran around the court and fought against each other.

And this is also the rhythm that the Thunder likes,

Therefore, the scene is quite lively and highly enjoyable to watch.

After halftime, the Knicks led the Thunder 58 to 51.

Basically, this is all the real preseason games. In the second half, both sides will train their substitutes and explore rotations.

After watching this, Lin Ying began to use his data analyst skills and began to evaluate the strength of the Knicks.

In the end, he came to the conclusion that this Knicks team is very strong!

As a time traveler, he knows that even if the Thunder youth team officially starts to rise this season, it will directly enter the Western Conference Finals.

But the Knicks suppressed the Thunder in their first game together.

This will be scary once they get used to each other.

Then comes the detailed analysis.

System: Spoelstra refers to the Dream Team's defensive counterattack system and D'Antoni's run-and-gun system.

There is no good or bad system, only whether it is suitable or not. The former has proven to be very suitable in history, and the latter also proved its suitability in this preseason game!

In terms of attack, compared to talent, the three brothers 03 are really not afraid of anyone.

And although the team's defense is average, due to the excellent individual defense capabilities of Wade and James, the Knicks' outside pressure is at the top level in the league!

This is also in line with the characteristics of D'Antoni's system where individual defense drives the team's defense.

Space: At this time, Bosh has not yet drifted to the outside, but Gallinari and Gooden are both space-oriented forwards, so the space is already large enough.

Whether James or Wade breaks through with the ball, the threat is greater than that of the Heat team.

"Did we play too hard last season?"

Stoudemire also saw that the Knicks were not easy to play, and couldn't help but say after watching half of the game.

Lin Ying coughed dryly.

"Unless we lose, they're going to play together no matter how we win."

This is a true statement.

The Suns' gentleman sweep actually changed direction and gave James a step down.

If it were another extreme 4-3 win, James' departure might be more tortuous.

But no matter what, James's ambition determines that he cannot always accept failure.

"Are you motivated yet?"

Lin Ying then spoke.

Xiao Si nodded.

The people on the Suns team are extremely competitive.

When you see a high mountain, you want to conquer it!

…

Throughout the preseason, the Suns were in very good shape.

And if you look at the Suns' lineup, you will find that last year the Suns still had players like Collins and Gerald Green who were not capable of playing in the rotation.

But this year, even Oberto, who is the deepest on the bench, is fully capable of playing rotation!

The competition within the Suns will be fierce this year!

This kind of competition is also the biggest difference from last year's Lakers team.

The difference between dead water and living water.

So on paper the change is not particularly big, but the Suns' competitiveness is not necessarily worse than last year, and may even be stronger.

Just after the preseason, ESPN conducted the team strength ranking for the new season as in previous years.

First, the Knicks

Although it has received a lot of infamy, no one can deny the strength of this Knicks team, and its outstanding performance in the preseason has raised people's expectations.

The only question is, will this be another dynasty team after the Lakers?

Second, the Lakers

The Lakers made a big decision for them this past summer. They let go of veteran Fisher.

Obviously, this is because of the experience of the Western Conference Finals last season.

Fisher was beaten by Lin Ying in various ways. The Lakers must make adjustments if they want to defeat the Suns.

Then the Lakers made adjustments by signing LaGar Bell for 10 million in three years and Delonte West for 5 million in two years!

The contract between these two people is a full mid-level split.

Yes, you read that right, they all played for the Cavaliers last season. With James leaving the team, the Cavaliers have begun to fall apart.

Then the Lakers took advantage of the expiration of the contracts of Fisher, Farmar, Shannon Brown and others to acquire Steve Blake for 16 million in four years, and then signed Matt Barnes with a minimum salary.

Except for Blake, these players all have excellent individual defensive abilities.

Obviously, this is an offensive and defensive type, and the Lakers began to target the Suns.

After making such adjustments, coupled with the experience of losing last season, the Lakers are well within reach of regaining the championship.

Third, the Suns

Nash is another year older, which will make many people think that the Suns have become weaker, or some people still think that they are just a flash in the pan of the old boy.

But it must be noted that they did all of this without Caron Butler.

This summer, they also introduced T-ma and others on the basis of retaining the championship lineup.

And it is obvious that last season's playoffs allowed them to successfully complete the transfer of power, and young Lin Ying will become the new leader of this Suns team.

If you have underestimated the heart of a group of old boys competing for the championship, then please don't underestimate the heart of a championship.

Fourth, Magic

The Magic management made the most correct choice in the past summer, which was that they traded Turkoglu back.

Perhaps after last season's loss, they only know the beauty of loss.

Fifth, Rockets

Sixth, Mavericks

While the fans' attention is attracted by the Big Three in New York, the Dallas people are also making very targeted reinforcements.

They only used Dampier as the main bargaining chip to trade Tyson Chandler from Charlotte!

Chandler helped the Bobcats reach the playoffs for the first time in team history last season, but he was traded like this!

This is a terrible thing for Charlotte fans, and the only consolation for them is that Jordan purchased the Bobcats for $275 million and officially became the owner of Charlotte.

Dallas is also in the market to sign Peja Stojakovic, who is on an expiring contract.

Although the older average age makes it difficult for the Mavericks to become the favorite team to win next season, the success of the Suns makes everything less absolute.

Seventh, Celtics

Eighth, Eagles

Ninth, Thunder

Although they failed to win the championship, Durant and Westbrook became the two best-performing Dream Team players in the World Championships in Turkey, especially Durant's ball-holding skills became more refined.

And compared to Portland, a very important quality they have is that they still stay healthy.

Their new season may bring some surprises to fans.

*The teams from 10 to 16 are: Bulls, Spurs, Nuggets, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Pacers, 76ers.

…

The Suns' opponent in the opening game will be the Nuggets.

Stern, a little bad.

Anthony Xia Tian wanted to leave but failed, so in the end he had to reluctantly stay.

And because the Suns are the defending champions, they will hold a championship award ceremony in the opening game.

This meant Anthony needed to be there to witness the ceremony.

This may no longer be a matter of eating shrimps and pig hearts, but a public execution!

But why would Stern care about Anthony's emotions? What he wants is something to watch.

Anthony is still with the Nuggets, so he naturally wants to make the most of it.

So, October 28th, American Airlines Center.

The venue was packed with seats.

Although it has been a whole summer since the Suns won the championship, the fans' enthusiasm has increased again because of tonight's award ceremony.

Because in addition to giving out rings during the award ceremony, the championship flag will also be raised in the arena!

That would be a historic moment.

Barkley also put on a suit and came to the scene.

According to news released before the game, the Suns will award Barkley a special championship ring in recognition of his "outstanding contribution" in last year's playoffs.

What is the highest state of fun!

But doing so is of great significance to both the Suns and Barkley.

Especially for Barkley, this should be the only way for him to get a championship ring after he retires.

The faces of the Suns players were also beaming with joy.

A championship ring is something that a player dreams of all his life!

McGrady looked at the championship ring already placed in the center of the field, his eyes full of yearning.

I wonder if he can have it in the end!

In contrast, the Nuggets players only had envy and... resentment in their eyes.

If Anthony had magic, his eyes would be frozen.

In anticipation of the fans, the live lights focused on the center of the schedule.

The light shines on the diamond-encrusted rings, and the reflected light is dazzling.

There is a reason why gemstones are a luxury item.
Chapter completed!