Back in the locker room, I saw Wang Tiejun was a little crestfallen. He stopped taking a medicinal bath and was sitting there in a daze. Kevin Johnson comforted him: "Old K, don't be depressed. The Magic played the Hornets the day before yesterday. In the first three games, they averaged 39 points per game. O'Neal, who scored points, was defended by Mourning and made 6 of 15 shots. He only had a 40% shooting percentage like you, and he only had 19 points including free throws. His performance was no better than you."
"You're right, Kevin, my confidence is back.
Hearing that O'Neal had suffered a loss from the double-teaming, Lao Wang felt instantly relieved. He nodded, patted Kevin Johnson on the shoulder, stood up and went to take a medicinal bath.
Liu Changfeng had already put a lid on the medicine bucket, leaving only his head exposed. After putting a towel on his neck, there was no smell of medicine coming out. He no longer had to hide in a utility room to soak, he could just soak in the bathroom.
In this game, Wang Tiejun thought he would be bombarded by the media, but he was wrong. Most of the media did not target him. Instead, they attacked the management, accusing the management of giving up Barkley as a stupid decision.
As for him, he was double-teamed or triple-teamed by two superstars who took turns double-teaming him. Although his performance was low, many media praised him.
The Los Angeles Times published an article by the famous basketball commentator Max on the front page of the sports section. Max said in the article: "Barkley and a human shield teamed up to surround Old K, and when Big Dream frequently assisted in weak-side defense, he mobilized Half of the team's defensive strength only shows one problem, Lao K is very strong on the offensive end.
The reason why the Suns lost so badly is that Old K, who is the core of the team, naturally has a lot of responsibility, but the biggest responsibility should be borne by the coaching staff. They did not come up with a response in time and just sat back and watched Old K being double-teamed and defeated. The team lost and did nothing."
The Suns have another away game, against the Warriors on the 16th. The team is scheduled to leave for San Francisco in the afternoon and will stay there for three nights. Wang Tiejun asked for leave after breakfast and went to Houston's Chinatown with Liu Changfeng.
He came here once last season and bought some CDs. This time he also purchased a batch of Chinese medicinal materials for refining medicinal oil and taking medicinal baths. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the team arrived in San Francisco.
He tried to make an appointment with Roberts, but to his surprise, the girl actually agreed. The two of them went to the private hotel where they had a private meeting. "Old K, can you win the championship this season?" After a lot of ups and downs, Roberts lit up. He picked up a cigarette and asked casually.
He hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "The Bulls have such a strong lineup now. Even if we make it to the finals, we will be defeated from position one to position three on the outside, and the advantage on the inside is not as big as last season. It's difficult.
And even in the West, if we wanted to rush out, the Mosaic level would be very difficult. We just lost a big defeat to them.
"Then you shouldn't trade Barkley at all," Roberts said.
"There is no way. The team wants to train me, and Barkley is not old yet. How can he be willing to be a green leaf? If he wants to stay, he is clearly asking me to step on him. Just like you, you are willing to give a small star Do you want to play a supporting role? No matter how good our friendship is, it won't work." He laughed.
"Looking at how confident you are in front of the media, it turns out that your acting skills are so good now? Tell me, which woman in Hollywood taught you this?" Roberts joked.
"Who else could it be? The beautiful Roberts."
He laughed and said: "Although there is not much hope for this season, we still have to work hard. What if we succeed?" Even though he said this, he was really not sure.
Judging from the current start, the team's lineup is both good and bad.
Kevin Johnson, the No. 1 player, is in pretty good shape, even a little better than last season. It’s worth noting that he did extra training during the offseason and is in very good shape.
At the second position, Dan Marley's potential is limited. He averages 16 points per game and cannot improve. He is a top-notch main player.
At the third position, whether it is Ceballos or Horry, their strength is average. No matter how good they perform, they cannot meet the standards of stars, but only the level of role players.
At the fourth position, AC Green is currently the starter. His playing attitude is indeed very hard, but his talent is only average. He cannot play to the level of a star on both offense and defense. Moreover, he is too light and cannot help him much on the defensive end.
And he himself is still a little green. When he encounters a super insider combination like Dameng and Barkley, or even just double-teaming by Barkley's human shield, he will be blinded.
The substitute lineup is a bit stronger than last season, with Oliver Miller and Otis Thorpe on the inside, one of Ceballos and Horry on the outside, and Danny Ainge, so it's not too weak.
But with such a lineup, it is difficult to successfully defend the title, and it is even difficult to break out of the Western Conference.
This season is no better than last season. Both the Bulls and Mosaic have strengthened. Relatively speaking, the Suns have weakened. They have risen and fallen, and their strength has been distanced.
The next morning, the two were in love again, and then they left the hotel and went their separate ways.
The 16th, match day.
At 7:30 p.m., both sides announced the starting lineup.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, AC Green, Horry, Dan Malley, Kevin Johnson
Warriors: Victor, Alexander, Chris Webber, Billy Owens, Latrell Sprewell, Avery Johnson
The Warriors did not make it to the playoffs last season. They were lucky in the lottery and got the No. 3 pick. They completed a trade with the Magic in the draft and got No. 1 pick Chris Webber.
This is a talented inside player. His current skills are very comprehensive and gorgeous, and his golf IQ is quite high.
The Warriors originally had great confidence in this season, but unexpectedly, before the start of the regular season, Tim Hardaway collided with his teammates in a team training game and tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee. There was no way.
They could only get young general Avery Johnson from the Spurs to serve as the starting point guard.
But overall, the Warriors are still confident in the playoffs, and their lineup is not bad.
This game was not broadcast live across the United States, and CCTV did not broadcast the game. It was only broadcast in San Francisco. The two on-site commentators were Swale, Doug and Film and Rambis.
Doug said at this time: "In order to compete with the two behemoths O'Neal and Old K, to be precise, to compete with Old K, because O'Neal is in the East and has little to do with us, unless we can reach the finals, so the team let
Alexander gained weight and we got our own human shield.
The Mosaic team limited Lao K's performance very well through the containment effect of the human shield. I hope we can also limit him tonight.
Rambis smiled and said: "I believe in the tactical ability of Old Nelson, a master tactician. He is better than his opponent tonight by more than a hundred meters.'
"Haha...from laughing out loud.
At eight o'clock, the game officially begins.
Wang Tiejun and Alexander stood in the center circle, preparing to jump the ball.
Alexander is 206 centimeters tall, and his original tonnage was 120 kilograms. In a few months, he gained weight to 130 kilograms.
He was the 11th pick in the first round of 1991, but his strength and potential were average, and now he has become a human shield for the Warriors.
In fact, meat shield players also need to be talented. First of all, your knee joints must be strong enough and your feet must be solid enough. Otherwise, you won't be able to sustain such a heavy weight for long.
A player like Alexander will definitely not have a long career after gaining weight. The Warriors are simply squeezing his potential value and there is a high possibility that he will be lost when his potential value is used up. Anyway, the NBA is never short of people. There are countless people who want to enter this league and make big money.
.
"post!'
The whistle blows and the referee throws the ball up.
"Crack!"
The tonnage was too big, and the pressure was so great that Shang, who had no jumping talent in the first place, could not jump at all. Wang Tiejun successfully pushed the ball away.
AC Green opened up on the right wing, and No. 1 pick Webber learned from Dameng's defensive strategy. He took a step back and stood one step outside the right waist of the paint area, retaining the opportunity to return to the basket.
On the left wing, Horry ran back and forth on the three-point line. Billy Owens let him go and kept one step away from Wang Tiejun in the low post on the left wing.
Low on the left, Alexander takes top defense.
Zhang Lili and Su Qun were in the media box behind the baseline. The former whispered: "Judging from the Warriors' defensive formation, Nelson copied the Mosaic team's defensive strategy."
"Bring it on doctrine!" Su Qun complained.
"It just works.
Shaking his head, Zhang Lili added: "But it is impossible for the Warriors to copy the Mosaics' defense. No. 1 pick Webber is not a big dream, and small forward Billy Owens is not Barkley.
Especially Owens, who is responsible for the main defense against double teams. Like Chris Mullin, he is a swingman at forward and guard. Although he is 203 cm tall, he weighs only 100 kilograms.
With such a tonnage, I want to double-team Wang Tiejun. Think about the Mosaic team's main small forward Mario Elie, who broke his ribs in the last game. He is also 100 kilograms, so Owens might end up like that."
"It's possible, hehe
The two were discussing in low voices, and the attack on the field had already begun.
When the ball at the top of the arc flew to the low left wing, the Warriors' double team began.
On the weak side, Weber quickly returned to defend the basket according to tactical requirements to prevent Wang Tiejun from sneaking up to attack the basket.
On the strong side, small forward Billy Owens, who was only one step away from Wang Tiejun, quickly pounced, reaching the target in one step and double-teaming quickly.
At the three-point line, Horry opened his hand for the ball, but it was empty, but his action was ignored by Wang Tiejun.
‘Bang!’
When Owens rushed forward, Wang Tiejun's left foot did not move, and his right foot suddenly moved outward, and a fierce Tieshan back strike made the former groan. Under the powerful force and reaction force of the strike,
The 100 kilogram body was thrown directly backward.
"Good job!" Su Qun shouted excitedly after the baseline.
"Bang!
In the second iron mountain hit, Wang Tiejun knocked away the human shield Alexander
After gaining space to shoot, he no longer attacked the basket. He stood up and hit a frontal hook. Alexander, who was knocked away, failed to make a defensive move.
"brush!
Almost open, the ball fell into the basket very accurately.
"Billy, are you okay?'
Old Nelson shouted from the sidelines.
"It's okay." Owens climbed up with some difficulty.
He felt tightness in the right chest where he was hit, and had to open his mouth wide to breathe, but the bone should be fine, and there was no stinging sensation like a broken bone.
"Just do your job," Nelson instructed.
He nodded, and the head coach canceled his double-team.
The Knicks regret copying the Mosaic team's defensive strategy. He does not have Barkley in his hands, and Barkley is so fat that even if he is hit by Old K, it is difficult to be injured. Moreover, he has too much defensive experience and is too slippery to be able to
Easily give Old K a chance to hit him.
But ordinary small forwards are too light to double-team someone like Old K who relies on playing a particularly ferocious role. He will suffer a lot. If he is not careful, he will get injured. Owens is lucky this time, but if he continues to play, he might be injured next time.
Will be injured.
"Chris, be careful." He shouted to Weber again.
This is telling Weber that we should not work too hard on defense. We should focus on offense. If we use offense to overwhelm the Suns, we can still win.
Under this guiding ideology, the two sides began an offensive war.
Alexander, the human shield, only played 23 minutes in the game and committed six fouls. He was defeated by Wang Tiejun. The Warriors became increasingly weak inside, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.
But Webb was worthy of being the No. 1 pick. He actually made 9 of 12 shots on Green, with a shooting percentage of a terrifying 75%, and scored 21 points.
Including Webb, a total of four Warriors scored 20 points. The future madman Sprewell scored the Warriors' highest 23 points. Small forward Owens also blasted Horry and scored 22 points. Junior general Avery
Johnson made 9 of 15 shots and scored 20 points.
Together with Alexander's 4 points, the five of them combined to score 90 points. Future Hall of Famer Chris Mullin came off the bench and scored 14 points.
But the Warriors are a strange team. Not counting Chris Mullin as a substitute, the other five substitutes played a total of 29 minutes of playing time. They made 0 of 5 shots. Three of them did not get even one shot. Five of them jointly contributed zero points.
.
In the end, 116:104, the Warriors, whose substitute lineup was too rubbish, lost the game at home. No matter how strong the main lineup was, they could not save the fate of defeat.
Wang Tiejun made 13 of 20 shots in 45 minutes, with a shooting percentage of 65%. He attacked the basket 10 times, reaching 50% of the total. He made 8 goals and missed two. He took 10 shots in the past two points and hit 5 goals.
Not bad either.
Including 6 of 11 free throws, he scored 32 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in this game.
With 5 wins and 1 loss in the first 6 games, the Suns are ranked third in the Western Conference, second only to the Mosaics and SuperSonics who have won 6 games.
Next, the Suns will return to Phoenix for four consecutive home games, including a back-to-back, with the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers on the 19th and 20th.
On the morning of the 17th, Comrade Wang and Roberts had another date, and then boarded the plane with the team in the afternoon.
On the 19th, the Suns defeated the bad Trail Blazers, but in the back-to-back games on the second day, they failed to perform well and lost to the bad Cavaliers. They won 2 losses and were still third in the Western Conference.
Mosaic has 7 wins and 1 loss, ranking second in the Western Conference.
This team had just lost to the Knicks on the road. Barkley returned from an old injury and only played 23 minutes. The two teams played overtime. The Knicks' Starks hit a three-pointer at the last moment.
, absolutely killed the opponent.
Last season, the Suns' opponent in the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics, won eight games and was still first in the Western Conference.
Payton, who is in his fourth year, has become more mature, and his offensive and defensive strength has improved rapidly. In addition, he has introduced German insider Schrempf, and his strength is stronger than last season.
In the east, the Bulls were all over the place and also won eight games.
Jordan lost three consecutive championships and failed to create a dynasty. In addition, his father was shot and killed by two gangsters. Under the double stimulation, this season was murderous from the beginning. He averaged 35.6 points per game in the first eight games, ranking highest in the league.
First.
He won the seventh scoring title last season, but only averaged 32.6 points per game. This season, he has a stronger desire to score. No one knows what records he will set this season as he is stimulated.
On the 24th, after four days of rest, the Suns faced the challenge of the Nuggets.
I had rested for several days and should have been in good shape, but I was too relaxed and played too casually. I just made wasteful shots when I got the ball, which ended up losing the game.
Kevin Johnson, who had always had a good start, suffered a huge defeat in this game. He only made 5 of 16 shots and only scored 12 points and 6 assists.
Dan Marley also made 3 of 14 shots and only scored 8 points.
They were all shooting from the outside, and the pace was too fast. Wang Tiejun ran around in vain, wasting energy in vain, and didn't get many opportunities. He made 8 of 14 shots, plus 4 of 6 free throws, and just scored 20 points.
Coach Westphal was furious and rarely got angry in the locker room.
His ability is average, but he is very gentle in handling relationships with players, but this time he was really angry, and even team leader Kevin Johnson had some harsh words from him.
He asked: "Kevin, did you know that you only had three breakthroughs in the game, and the other 13 were all outside jumpers? Have you forgotten what you are good at? Did you practice extra during the offseason just to make random shots on the court?
?Can't you see Old K asking for the ball inside?" "Coach, I will pay attention next time.'
Kevin Johnson blushed and immediately admitted his mistake
Westphal questioned Marley again, asking, "And you, Dan, what's your shooting percentage tonight?"
Danmarli choked: "About...30%.'
"No, it's only 21.4%. Even at my age, it's more than that," he mocked.
"I know." Dan Marly's head almost dropped to the floor.
Westphal yelled at Robert Horry again: "Horry, you got seven passes from Kevin tonight, only one time you gave it to Old K, and the other six times you took the shot against the defender yourself.
, but only hit two.
Now tell me, are you hungry for shots? Who allowed you to take shots randomly? Don’t you know what your abilities are? What you are good at is open jump shots, not strong attacks with the ball.'
Horry's face was dark and the color could not be seen, but his head was just like Danmar's, almost reaching the floor.
But he complained aggrievedly in his heart, "Can you blame me? After K got the ball, he would rather be double-teamed than give it to me. He didn't trust me at all. I was redundant in the starting lineup."
"Green, you are sleepwalking tonight. Do you want to see a doctor?" Westphal sprayed Iron Man Green again.
Green had nothing to say, he was really out of shape today.
"Today I want to praise the substitute players. You played well. Some people who play hard should be rewarded... Otis, Ceballos, you will start next game.'
Seeing that the attitudes of several starting players were good, Westphal let them go and began to praise the substitutes who performed well tonight.
"Yes, coach." The two replied excitedly.
The two people who were removed from the starting lineup lamented in their hearts that if this continues, they don't know when they will be able to come back.
"hey-hey
Seeing that the head coach didn't say anything about him and several other starters were scolded, Comrade Lao Wang smiled proudly.
"Old K, why are you laughing?'
Seeing his smile, Westphal became angry again and immediately shouted: "As the core of the team, as the leader cultivated by the team, when you saw your teammates making wasteful shots, did you stop them? Did you say a word?'
Lao Wang was speechless, does the core want to do this job? But when Barkley was here, he never did any of this.
He has only been a core player for a few days. He doesn't know how to be a core player and no one teaches him. In fact, Barkley and Kevin Johnson are not qualified leaders either. Everything is still being explored.
The core of the team is very important to the team.
A leader with average leadership ability cannot unite the entire team, no matter how strong the team is, but a leader with top leadership ability can unite the entire team and stimulate the team's morale.
For example, Jordan was the top team leader, and Pippen grew up under his pressure and trash talk.
However, Ewing of the Knicks is far inferior to Jordan in this aspect. The leader of the team is actually the villain Charles Oakley.
Even David Robinson couldn't handle Rodman, and his leadership skills were only average.
Colangelo was observing the players on the side, and he discovered a problem. Some of the older players' playing attitudes were no longer as good as last season, and they were a little slack.
But this is also what a team should see after winning a championship. After winning the honor, some players just want to hang around after getting big contracts.
With 6 wins and 3 losses, the Suns are still third in the Western Conference, but tied for third. The Jazz also have the same record.
Exactly, the Suns will face the Jazz challenge at home on the 27th.
