The next day, the 4th, news came from Liu Changjiang of the Los Angeles branch that the Chinese herbal medicines ordered from domestic pharmaceutical companies had arrived.
On this day, the Mosaic team arrived in Phoenix, and Lao Wang invited the three giants to dinner. However, the Mosaic team happened to have a meeting and did not have time, so it was changed to noon the next day.
At noon on the 5th, Lao Wang called Kevin Johnson and had hot pot with the Big Three at the K-Martial Arts Hall.
"Can this thing be eaten?" Da Meng looked at the boiling pot of red soup and then at the various lettuces on the table, feeling a little at a loss.
"Look at them, do you think they can be eaten?" Lao Wang pointed to other tables, where twenty or thirty brothers from the martial arts school were eating happily.
This hot pot is made with ingredients brought from China this time. It is not from the capital or the northwest. I heard it is from the mountain city and it is not too spicy.
He was a little uncomfortable eating it at first, as he had never eaten anything so spicy, but after eating it a few times, he got used to it, but he didn't eat much, only once in a while.
Dameng and others took a look at it, yes, it looked delicious, and they didn't feel excited.
"Come on, this mutton is ready to eat." Lao Wang greeted.
Kevin Johnson often comes to the martial arts studio for massage. He eats here a lot and is not afraid of spicy food. He immediately picked up some mutton and tasted it.
"Yeah, not bad, super tender and smooth!" He praised and stretched out his chopsticks.
"Eat!" Buckley and the other three couldn't wait to hold out their chopsticks.
"Hiss, it's so hot!"
"Shet, it's so spicy!"
"Wow, damn, it's spicy, but it does taste good.
The three of them screamed strangely while eating.
"Charles, do the new rules impose any restrictions on you?" Lao Wang asked.
When he mentioned the new rules, Barkley immediately stopped his chopsticks and said angrily to Lao Wang: "The alliance is really not a thing. Didn't we agree to restrict you? How come the rules are restricted to me? What the hell?
It's so immoral to keep my back for five seconds, it almost limits half of my strength."
"Haha, cough, cough, damn, cough..."
Lao Wang burst out laughing, but he couldn't do anything right. The chili pepper water got into his trachea and he kept coughing.
In the evening, in the visiting team's locker room, Dameng came out of the bathroom with his pants lifted and muttered: "Old K is really not a thing. I think he did it on purpose. Please treat us to some hot pot. My anus is at least 120 degrees now."
, it’s almost burning.”
Barkley and Drexler nodded repeatedly. They had the same feeling, as if a red-hot iron rod had been stuffed underneath.
The rest of the Mosaic team looked at each other in confusion. What were the three bosses doing at noon? Why did three people have problems with their butts at the same time?
"What are you looking at? I just ate too much chili pepper. Have you never eaten chili pepper?"
Dameng noticed that his teammates were all staring at his butt and immediately yelled.
At eight o'clock, the two teams announced their starting lineups.
Mosaic: Olajuwon, Barkley, Chucky Brown, Drexler, Kenny Smith
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Horry, Wilkins, Michael Finley, Kevin Johnson
The game will be broadcast live across the United States by ESPN, and CCTV will also choose to broadcast it live.
Last season, CCTV broadcast it once a week, and the ratings were very good, so this season it increased investment and broadcast it twice a week.
Before the game, Zhang Lili analyzed: "Robert Horry is still starting. His performance in the last game was average and he continues to start. It shows that the Suns really have no one available."
Su Qun said: "Mosaic is really strong this season. Glider plays the second position. Last season's main shooting guard Vernon was traded to Philadelphia. He has a height advantage in the second position, and he has a height advantage against Jordan. But now
Mosaic has strengthened the outside line, balanced the inside and outside, and can really compete for the championship."
Zhang Lijia laughed and said: "The reason why we failed to win the championship in 1994 was because we were beaten by Jordan and Pippen on the outside. We had an absolute advantage on the inside."
Su Qun said with a smile: "It was also because Old K and the others exhausted their physical energy. And this time they poached Glider from the Suns. Anyway, they are hurting each other. If you don't let me do well, I won't let you do well either."
"Haha..." Zhang Lili couldn't help laughing.
In the player notice, the three mosaic giants were glaring at Lao Wang, looking like they wanted to fight.
"Old K, you poisoned us." Dameng gritted his teeth and said.
"What's going on?" Lao Wang asked confused.
"I..." Dameng was about to say, but was stopped by Buckley.
The circles under Buckley's eyes seemed to be getting darker, and he said feebly: "Old K, what kind of chili peppers did you put in the hot pot? The three of us are almost dehydrated."
Lao Wang laughed and said: "It doesn't matter, I'll treat you to it next time. Eat it a few times and your stomach will get used to it."
The three of them have pale faces, but they still want to eat?
"cloth!"
At this time, Dameng suddenly deflated. Buckley and the others reacted quickly, as if they had been trained, and immediately covered their noses and walked away.
"Damn it, what did you eat today that smells so bad?" Lao Wang took a step slower and cursed angrily.
"You don't know what you're eating?" Dameng said angrily.
"Damn it, you haven't finished it after taking so long?" Lao Wang cursed as he ran out.
"cloth!"
Barkley started to deflate.
"cloth!"
Drexler also began to deflate.
The entire player tunnel was filled with a faint, "fragrant" atmosphere, and ten players rushed out one after another and ran into the stadium in a swarm.
Half an hour later, the game started.
"Crack!"
When it comes to jumping balls, Da Meng, who is full of anger, is particularly good at jumping. He can get ahead of Lao Wang and knock the ball away.
"cloth!"
The moment he landed, his breath couldn't be held back and burst out.
Lao Wang reacted very quickly this time. The moment he heard the sound, he immediately retreated to defend himself.
Big Dream went into the basket and was blocked.
Lao Wang's absolute strength has not increased, but his tonnage has increased and his mobility has increased, which makes it more difficult for opponents to get into the basket.
Dameng came to the low position on the left wing, and Lao Wang was behind.
"Damn it, you didn't pull it out, did you? Why don't you go change your underwear first?" He asked worriedly.
"Bang!"
The ashamed and angry Dameng used an elbow with his backhand, then took the opportunity to step up to the waist to catch the ball, then turned left, entered the paint area, took off from the first step, and hit the basket with a flying dunk.
"Bang!"
As the basket trembled, the Mosaic team scored the first goal.
"Old guy, he's getting more and more aggressive!"
Seeing Dameng's performance, Lao Wang couldn't help but admire him.
Dameng is almost 33 years old. For a center to be able to maintain such peak form at this age, he truly deserves to be a super center. He has an amazing physique and is absolutely durable.
He knows it in his heart. If he keeps his current style of play, he may not be able to achieve the dream. There is only one way. Try to practice the plum blossom step, change his style of play, and reduce physical consumption. Only in this way can he prolong his career and maintain his career.
A longer peak period.
Returning to the offensive end, he came to the low post on the left wing. Dameng took a step forward and stood in the paint area.
"Be careful with the three-second Wei rule." He reminded after waiting for a moment.
Dameng was startled, he really forgot, he came out quickly.
But at this moment, Lao Wang started to move and rushed in from Dameng's side.
At this time, the lightning ball came in. He caught the ball and hit the basket with a one-handed dunk, knocking over the mosaic basket.
"This cunning guy!" Dameng was so angry that his tooth ached.
"Beautiful! Old K returned the dunk to Dameng. He made a time difference and took advantage of Dameng to suddenly enter the paint area when he came out. He seized the opportunity just right. This shows that he has more experience and has stronger control over the game.
Got it." Su Qun said excitedly.
The Mosaic team attacked, Drexler took the ball and singled Michael Finley on the right wing three-point line.
Rookie Finley's defensive attitude is nothing to say, and the team has been asking him to strengthen his defense, so his defensive attitude is positive.
But he was facing a veteran superstar, a glider who could compete with Jordan and Wilkins, so he was very nervous.
"Rookie, is Lao K very dissatisfied with you?"
Drexler was controlling the ball while talking trash.
Finley's eyelids twitched. Old K was not dissatisfied with him, but he had not praised him these days. He was not sure whether Old K was satisfied with him.
Just when he was distracted, Drexler activated his breakthrough and broke through in one step.
Horry, who was facing Barkley below, quickly took two steps laterally to prepare for defense. At this time, the glider suddenly stopped and shot a jumper, hitting a two-pointer.
"The pull-up jump shot is the simplest and most practical way to score. It can allow the attacker to get rid of the defense to the greatest extent. This is also the offensive method that Jordan and other perimeter players are very good at. If an outside shooter does not have a pull-up jump shot, then it is an unqualified outside line.
Zhang Lili exclaimed in admiration.
"Director Zhang, Wilkins seems to be not so good, right?" Su Qun asked with a smile.
Zhang Lili was startled, and couldn't help but nodded: "He mainly focuses on breakthroughs, and he is also good in low-post singles. In the low-post, he mainly turns around and makes layups, or turns and jumps. He also has pull-ups and strong pull-ups from the outside.
There are also pull-up jump shots, but they are not used as much as Jordan and Drexler, and they are not the main offensive method."
In the low post on the left wing, Wang Tiejun wanted the ball.
The Suns' three perimeter players, namely Finley, has some three-point shooting skills, and Horry has some inside skills, but none of them are as accurate as Dan Marley and Drexler last season.
But the Suns still have to use their three-pointers, otherwise they will be completely unable to open up, and the low post will be tightly suppressed.
Now on the left wing, on the three-point line, is Michael Finley. Drexler, who is guarding him, has let him go some distance away. The defensive formation has shrunk so much that he can turn around and double-team Wang Tiejun at any time.
On the weak side, there's Wilkins inside and Horry in the right corner.
Their defenders Chucky Brown and Barkley also stayed away from each other. Like the Glider, the defense shrunk.
At this moment, the lightning at the top of the arc suddenly started. With Kenny Smith not guarding the breakthrough but not the shot, he broke through in a different direction, bypassed the opponent directly, drew an arc, and rushed from the left elbow area to the paint area.
.
This was a big surprise to the opponent, because the Lightning rarely broke through last season and always passed the ball to the low-post veteran K first. Now he actually chooses to break through when he is guarding against breakthroughs but not shooting. This is unexpected.
beyond his expectation.
As the Lightning broke through, Mosaic's defensive formation was instantly compressed, leaving the Suns with an open space on the outside.
Dameng was forced to defend, and then Lightning passed the ball to Lao Wang.
When Wang Tiejun got the ball, Drexler, who was one step away from him, made timely defense and was already at his side. Dameng, who was guarding Lightning, also pounced over, forming a pincer attack.
"Whoosh!"
With a backhand pass, he passed it to Horry, who was open in the left corner.
When Robert Horry takes the ball, there is no wave in his eyes. His natural big heart makes his shot very stable.
"brush!"
The basketball goes hollow into the basket.
"Not bad." Lao Wang praised.
"Boss, I really practiced more."
Horry wasn't excited when he was shooting, but he shouted excitedly at this time.
"What does a ball mean?" Lao Wang said angrily.
Looking back, Barkley singled out Horry on the right wing. His big ass magic was activated, which made Horry pee. Then he used a turn-over jumper and hit a two-pointer.
When the Suns attack, the Lightning still uses the offensive method he is best at, which is also an offensive method rarely used after the poor condition last season, penetrating with the ball.
Through his penetration, he destroys the opponent's defense and then creates openings and mismatch opportunities for his teammates.
In this way, the ball will be completely controlled by him, and the control will be stronger than last season.
This is determined based on his training status. If the status is good, he will control more of the ball and play more actively. Wang Tiejun will control the rest of the ball to share the pressure for him.
The two of them are the only two people in the main lineup who have the ability to distribute the ball. The other three can only play without the ball.
At the ninth minute of the first quarter, the score was tied at 20:20.
On the Mosaic team, after the start of the game, Dameng's three players were very angry, but their physical fitness was a bit lacking and their desire to attack was not strong. Especially Barkley, who ate the most at noon, and after playing one ball, he no longer asked for the ball.
As for the Suns, Wang Tiejun didn't play much and didn't exert any force.
He is the leader of the team and the core on the court. He has the responsibility to help new members integrate into the team. He also has the responsibility to help the rookies grow. He distributes a lot of balls to Wilkins and Finley. He also wants to see what Horry can do.
Pass the ball to him too.
Horry performed well today and got a lot of open shots. He made 3 of 5 shots in the first quarter, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 8 points.
Finley shot from the outside and had a few open shots. He made two goals and performed normally.
Wilkins' performance was average, because he couldn't open up the perimeter and Mosaic shrunk his defense. As long as he broke through, a discus would immediately form in the penalty area. Even though he was good at getting through people's gaps, his efficiency was not high. He made one of three shots in the first quarter.
, there were two mistakes, one was intercepted after conceding the ball, and one was a pass error after being double-teamed.
Both sides replaced some of their main players and substituted substitutes.
For the Suns, Wang Tiejun and Kevin Johnson have both come down. They are the absolute main players and they will not be beaten to death in the regular season.
Wilkins also went off, Finley stayed on the court, playing the three position, and Horry.
On the Mosaic team's side, Dameng stayed on the court for the time being, while Barkley and Drexler took a break, and alien Sam Cassell and last season's main small forward Mario Eli were added to the outside.
After the first quarter, at 32:27, the Suns were 5 points behind at home.
The second quarter continued the same lineup as the first quarter. The Suns did not rush to replace the main players because they fell behind. There was no need for it in a regular season game.
Westphal's coaching ability is getting better and better, and he won't be so impatient just because there is a little problem.
However, Wang Tiejun still wants to win. The Mosaic team is so strong this season and he wants to compete for mvp. Dameng is one of the strongest competitors.
And defeating competitors head-on is the best way to prove yourself, whether it is an individual or a team.
In the fourth minute of the second quarter, with the Suns trailing by 9 points, he requested to play and was granted.
He partnered with veteran Tisdale in the post. This veteran was able to steadily average 10 points and 3 rebounds per game last season, so even though his annual salary was more than three million, Colangelo Jr. did not trade him because of the inside
A stable substitute is needed, and no one can take his place for the time being.
On the outside, Horry is at the third position, and the guard combination is Person and Perry.
On the Mosaic team, Da Meng went to rest, Barkley and Drexler came on at the same time, the three giants took turns to rest, and the other three were still the original substitute lineup.
"Bang!"
Wang Tiejun received the ball, directly pushed away Barkley and substitute center Mark Bryant, dunked the ball, and caused Bryant's blocking foul, making the score a two-plus-one.
"The players haven't adapted to the new rules yet, and the substitute center didn't jump up to defend just now," Zhang Lili said.
"He can't even guard against Old K when he jumps. The height of his shoes is only 208 centimeters. His main position is power forward, and center is just a part-time job." Su Qun said with a smile.
Zhang Lili analyzed: "He is just a role player. Dameng averaged nearly 40 minutes per game last season and is very capable. Mosaic does not need a real center substitute. He can just let the role players step in and save space."
.”
"Boss, you want to save money?" Su Qun said with a strange expression.
"Haha, yes, it's just about saving money. If you can, save it. Now, it's much more difficult to find a good center than a good outside line. The price is very high, and it's also difficult to find." Zhang Lili said with a smile.
"The Suns' Tisdale cost more than three million, and the Suns are still reluctant to trade him," Su Qun said.
"brush!"
Wang Tiejun hit the extra free throw and did not waste the opportunity to score two plus one.
Looking back, Barkley singled out Tisdale. After a few shots, he directly knocked Tisdale to the ground. He made another jump shot and hit a goal.
"Hey, Barkley was pretty accurate today? He made two out of two shots in the first quarter. This was his third offense and he hit them all. He just took too few shots and rarely asked for the ball. He wasn't very excited about the game." Zhang Lili said.
smiled.
"No, Tisdale can't get up. He's holding his left leg. Is it hurt?" Su Qun said in surprise at this time.
On the field, Wang Tiejun ran to Tisdale, saw him holding his left knee, and asked hurriedly: "Waiman, is your knee injured?"
"No, Old K, I injured my left ankle." Tisdale said helplessly.
Lao Wang also smiled helplessly, turned around and made a substitution gesture towards the bench.
"It's really injured. The first substitute inside was injured at the beginning. The Suns seem to be unlucky this season. However, last year there were constant injuries, and the Lightning missed more than 20 games. They should be able to survive." Su
Qun said.
On the Suns bench, Westphal could only choose generals among the dwarfs. Ben Wallace and David Wood were the only two substitutes at the fourth position. Choose one of the two, and the remaining inside substitute was Jock.
Ryan is a pure center and cannot play the fourth position.
David Wood is almost 32 years old and is a veteran. He was a marginal player in his prime and is still a marginal player now. There is no possibility of training, so he chose Ben Wallace. This young man has some training value.
"Stand up to Barkley's big ass, don't let him enter the paint area, and then go to grab rebounds or provide offensive screens for Old K. This is your job."
When he came on stage, Westphal warned.
"I know, coach." Ben replied in a muffled voice.
"I heard that Ben Wallace competed with Ma Jian. In the end, the Suns selected him. I don't know if he has any ability." Su Qun said.
"I didn't perform well in the last game and didn't leave much of an impression. Let's watch this one. I hope it will be of some use," Zhang Liji said.