At this time, Oakley drove to the hotel to pick up Ben and prepared to find a restaurant for dinner.
"Ben, how's it going with the Suns?" Oakley asked as he drove.
"Okay." Ben said briefly.
"Are you used to position four?" Oakley asked.
"fine."
"Have you ever talked to Lao K?"
"Said."
"Asshole, can't you say one more word?" Oakley scolded with a smile.
"Okay, okay." Daben said quickly.
"..." Oakley choked.
"Remember, Ben, you have the opportunity to learn some skills from Old K. His low-post offense, rebounding, defense, I mean single defense, especially his post-up play. If you learn his power-generating skills, you can
That’s it.” Oakley warned.
"Well, he didn't teach me." Daben muttered.
Oakley glared at Ben and cursed: "He doesn't owe you anything, so why should he take the initiative to teach you? Just beg him, beg him a few times, and maybe he will be willing to teach you."
"Um."
Daben opened his mouth and suddenly nodded heavily.
But he suddenly reacted, looked at Oakley strangely and said, "Charles, you want me to learn offensive techniques from him?"
"..."
Oakley was startled, but he immediately realized, yes, there seems to be something wrong?
"Then learn defense and rebounding skills. If he didn't focus mainly on offense, the rebounding champion would be his and would not be taken away by Rodman," he said.
"Yeah." Ben nodded.
…
The 7th, match day.
"Old K..."
That afternoon, the Suns came to Madison Square Garden for training, and Ben suddenly came to Wang Tiejun.
"Want to learn defense and rebounding skills from me?"
Lao Wang thought for a while and nodded. Barkley also taught him these two techniques back then. Now he teaches them to others. It is normal for the old man to teach the newcomers.
Daben couldn't help but be stunned. Do you agree?
He was ready. If Lao K disagreed, he would ask Oakley for help. Unexpectedly, Lao K agreed directly.
From this day on, he officially began to learn defensive skills and rebounding skills from Wang Tiejun.
At the same time, the coaching staff asked him to add some weight. Sometimes he is required to defend against heavy-weight people. Now his weight is not enough and his strength is not enough. He needs to be increased to at least 240 pounds, close to 110 kilograms.
With his height and this tonnage, his muscle content will be very high, surpassing almost all inside players, and his strength will be highlighted.
So he also started crazy strength training and would lift iron whenever he had time.
That night, the Suns and the Knicks started a big battle.
Although they belong to the Eastern and Western Conferences, the Knicks are at home and definitely don't want to lose, while the Suns want to win even more because K wants MVP, so the game between the two teams is quite intense.
Wilkins' performance in the first two games was average, which was not in line with his wishes and his status as a veteran superstar. He had been holding his breath and this time it exploded.
Even if Oakley dropped him three times in the defense, as long as he got the ball, he would continue to attack the Knicks' penalty area. The iron-blooded defensive system created by Pat Wright could not stop his offense.
In the end, he scored 32 points and shot 49% from the field, which was a better performance than the previous two games.
When his teammates experienced an explosion, Wang Tiejun restrained his offense in the low post and focused on defense and rebounding. He only scored a double-double of 25 points, 21 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.
With the excellent performance of the two, the Suns defeated the Knicks and won their first three consecutive victories.
But in fact, the win was not much, only 6 points. If Wang Tiejun hadn't grabbed 21 rebounds, the Suns might have lost.
There were too many outside turnovers, reaching 17. As the main power forward, Horry's contribution in rebounding can be ignored. He only had 3 rebounds in this game, allowing Oakley to steal 14.
The Suns management also noticed one of the weaknesses of Horry as the main power forward. The team's rebounding was much less than when Green was there last season.
But without a suitable main power forward, Horry can only continue to play this position for the time being.
In the early morning, the team flew to Boston overnight to prepare for back-to-back games against the Celtics tomorrow, no, tonight.
The Celtics themselves are not strong enough. They tried hard to reach the playoffs last season and played very hard. This season, the management has made the decision to mess up the game for the sake of the 1996 draft.
In this game, the Suns easily defeated the Green Team, which was neither strong nor willing to fight, and won the first four consecutive victories.
Wang Tiejun clocked in three quarters and only played 29 minutes, scoring 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls.
"Old K, the No. 11 league will officially announce the MVP rankings for the first week. What are your expectations for this?" a reporter asked after the game.
"We still have one more game. I hope the Raptors will be stronger and my data will be better," Wang said with a smile.
"You will see your former teammate Oliver Miller in the Raptors. Now his tonnage is as high as 150 kilograms. Do you want to say something to him?" the reporter asked again.
"Oliver? Haha, he ate too much again. I want to tell him, control your stomach quickly. It's best to cut off half of it."
Thinking of the Oliver Miller who had targeted him many times, Lao Wang laughed twice. However, after his strength improved and he became the new core of the team, Oliver Miller did not dare to mess with him anymore.
The contradiction is gone.
When there is competition, there are conflicts. When there is no competition, there are no conflicts. It's that simple.
…
On the 9th, the Suns came to Toronto, Canada.
There are at least 1.5 million Chinese in this country. Toronto is the largest city in the country and the fourth largest city in North America. There are 2.5 million people. There are quite a lot of Chinese people. It is said that it has reached 500,000 people.
The total population of the Phoenix metropolitan area is larger.
On the night of the 10th, a large number of Chinese faces appeared in the arena.
This newly formed team got off to a good start, and then lost three games in a row. Its current record is one win and three losses, and it is at the bottom of the league.
Facing the Suns tonight, facing one of the most terrifying behemoths in the league, the entire team played very low morale.
Especially the team's main center Oliver Miller, who was eliminated by the Suns. It was Old K who competed with him in the Suns. Facing Old K's powerful offense, even with a tonnage of 150 kilograms
, he was also beaten until his face turned pale.
Wang Tiejun moved faster, turned more nimbly, hooked, hit the board, and dunked, directly defeating this former competitor.
He only did not use the most powerful iron mountain to fight, because Oliver Miller's tonnage is indeed large enough, heavier than O'Neal. He has been the league's top tonnage for the past two seasons, and he is only 206 centimeters tall and has a relatively small chassis.
It's so low that it can't be bumped easily.
Wang Tiejun played 35 minutes in this game and scored 32 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls.
Now Horry plays the main four position. He plays outside and rebounds very little. The team does not have enough rebounds. He has to devote part of his energy to rebounding, so the offensive aspect is reduced.
With the victory over the Raptors, the Suns won their first five consecutive games and ended their three away games.
At 9 o'clock in the morning that day, before the Suns had even left the hotel, the league officially announced the MVP rankings for the first week of the new season.
In the first five games, Wang Tie averaged 34.8 minutes per game, scoring 33.8 points, 16.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1 steal, 3.6 blocks, 1.8 turnovers and 2.8 fouls.
He is temporarily ranked first in scoring and rebounding. He is also first in the league in personal efficiency, offensive efficiency, and win-loss value.
The defensive efficiency ranks first in the team and tenth in the league.
At the same time, the Suns have won five games in a row, and like the Bulls, the two teams are tied for first place in the league.
However, his personal data is better than Jordan's, and he is temporarily ranked first in this week's mvp rankings.
Lao Wang paid attention to Jordan's statistics, 33 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, 2 turnovers, and 2.4 fouls. This is also a very strong data. His scoring average is three points higher than last season, and his shooting percentage is also three points higher.
The percentage reached 52.5%. At Jordan's age, it is really unprecedented that he can still produce such all-round statistics.
You must know that Jordan is almost 33 years old. Look at the Lightning who is less than 30 years old. The gap is too big.
After the two, ranked third is David Robinson of the Spurs, then Karl Malone of the Jazz, fifth is Big Dream, and sixth is actually Penny Hardaway of the Magic.
Without O'Neal, Penny Hardaway led the team to a record of one loss and four wins, averaging 26 points and 7.4 assists per game. He has a strong position in the top position. Under the publicity of the Orlando media, the limelight of Jordan's successor is getting stronger and stronger.
O'Neal created a lot of pressure.
After this list was announced, the Orlando Magic management held a meeting to once again discuss the core dispute between Hardaway and O'Neal.
But there is still no result. After all, it is only the first week, and Hardaway's subsequent performance is still difficult to say.
But during the meeting, more people expressed greater concerns about O'Neal's injury.
They are afraid that serious injuries will occur after making O'Neal the core of the Magic's future, because once the center's knee is injured, injuries are likely to follow.
Moreover, O'Neal is also a monster center, and the pressure and wear on his knees are far greater than that of other centers. Injury factors will be more important.
In short, the Magic management has reached a consensus. Because of this injury, they believe that O'Neal cannot be put in the same level as Old K. Old K's ability to resist injuries is obviously stronger than O'Neal.
At this time, Jordan was also talking to David Frank about MVP and scoring titles.
The agent wanted to argue, but he knew Jordan didn't give his all, but Jordan refused.
Jordan said: "I didn't give my best, and neither did Old K. He didn't win the mvp last season. Do you think he will compete for it this season?
I don't lack an MVP, nor do I lack a scoring champion. My goal is only to win the championship.
Although my physical fitness is good, I can't compete with him in the regular season.
Besides, do the Suns have the absolute strength to reach the finals? Not necessarily.
I guess Old K’s biggest goal this season is mvp. If I compete with him for mvp, he will definitely try his best in the regular season.
Therefore, the team record can be contested, but personal data is not necessary."
…
Back in Phoenix, Wang Tiejun arrived at the martial arts gym. The medicinal materials from Los Angeles had been shipped here and were all packed. The ingredients for medicated baths and meals came in packages, and the medicated oil came in a bottle of 100 ml.
On this day, the three-month physical training was completed, and he was promoted to two levels. He had already been promoted to level 101 this time, and his potential level was 103. However, the limit of improvement for medicinal baths was 105, which meant that he
You can also upgrade to level 4 through medicinal baths and physical training.
Now he still has the last 200 points in his hand. After thinking about it, he did not redeem the physical training card. He wants to compete for mvp this season. Although he has 101-level physical fitness, he does not need to waste it on training, he must use it in games.
On the night of the 12th, the Suns defeated the Warriors at home and won their sixth consecutive victory. There were no games in the next two days and they rested at home.
…
On the night of the 14th, Rodman was sidelined due to injury and the lineup was not complete. As a result, the undefeated Bulls unexpectedly lost to the Magic without Shaq.
Jordan made only 8 of 20 shots and 4 of 7 three-pointers. His shooting percentage was higher than the overall shooting rate and his lethality was not enough. He only made 4 of 5 free throws and got 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Pippen's efficiency was even worse, making only 7 of 20 shots and 1 of 6 three-pointers, a 16.7% shooting rate.
However, Jordan's successor Penny Hardaway played extremely well against Jordan. He played 40 minutes and made 12 of 18 shots, with a shooting percentage of 66.7%. He even made 4 of 7 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 66.7%.
57.1%, plus 8 of 9 free throws, scored 36 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Facing his draft model Jordan, he had a very strong desire to attack. He did not have a single assist in the game, but made four turnovers. This was also the shortcoming of this game.
However, his performance made the Magic management very excited. O'Neal's team was eliminated by the Bulls in the last playoffs, but now Hardaway led the team to defeat Jordan's Bulls. This made them discover that even without O'Neal, Hardaway can lead the team.
The team had a great record and could beat the Bulls.
As a result, O'Neal's status in their minds fell again. The last decline was due to O'Neal's injury.
If it is because of the emergence of Old K that the Magic management valued O'Neal more, but as O'Neal's agent called out the big seven-year, 150 million dollar contract, and then O'Neal suffered serious injuries,
In the minds of their management, O'Neal is on the same level as Hardaway.
Now, Hardaway's outstanding performance has begun to raise his status in the hearts of the Magic management, and the balance has begun to tilt in his favor.
…
On the night of the 15th, after two days of rest, the Suns lost to the Nuggets and suffered their first loss of the season.
The two sides were tied during regular time and played three consecutive overtimes.
This was also the first time Wang Tiejun played in three overtimes, but the result made him regretful and he lost the game.
The Nuggets played an explosive game. One player had 30, three players had 20, and three players had 10. A total of 7 players scored in double figures. The team scored a total of 137 points and defeated the Suns with a gorgeous offensive performance.
The Suns' offense also played well, scoring 131 points, and even substitute guard Person also scored 18 points.
Unfortunately, they allowed their opponents to score more points and therefore lost the game.
Wang Tiejun played 58 minutes and only rested for 5 minutes. He scored 55 points and 25 rebounds. His shooting percentage was 53%, which was the lowest data of the season. He was honored as the free-scoring king in this game.
His teammates on the outside couldn't get away. The Nuggets contracted their defense and created a suffocating defensive system with Mutombo as the core of the defense. They used ants to attack him in a pinch defense, which was the main reason for his decline in efficiency.
reason.
Dpoy Mutombo last season played the best defensive performance in this game and sent out 7 blocks. Lao Wang had three blocks by himself. This is also the most important reason why the efficiency of this game dropped sharply.
.
In addition, rookie Finley made 3 of 12 shots in the game, a poor shooting percentage of 25%, and 0 of 5 three-pointers, which fully demonstrated the rookie's unstable quality.
Although Wilkins scored 25 points, his shooting percentage was only 40.5%. At the same time, his opponent scored a Nuggets-high 32 points. The offensive efficiency was low enough, and the defense completely failed.
As Wang Tiejun's inside partner, Horry's rebounding has become the biggest weakness in the Suns' main lineup. He only grabbed 5 rebounds in this game. If it weren't for Wang Tiejun, the Suns would never have been able to delay overtime.
It will be solved by the Nuggets within time.
After the game, the Suns' perimeter defense and rebounding were criticized by the media.
The game was broadcast live on TNT TV station. Commentator Dort said after the game: "The Suns' loopholes on the outside are the most important reason why the Nuggets scored 137 points. Once such a Suns team enters the playoffs, it will be the first time they hit the playoffs."
The wheel is very troublesome.
Moreover, the quality of rebounds is also worrying. Robert Horry is only suitable for playing small forward or as a substitute. He cannot grab rebounds at all. At the same time, he cannot contribute to the team's low defense in the low post. He is more suitable for defense outside the penalty area.
"
Letem also criticized: "The team must adjust the starting lineup, strengthen perimeter defense, and improve the quality of rebounding at the fourth position.
In addition, the addition of Wilkins made it impossible for the Suns to play the same tactics as last season. In other words, he completely destroyed the Suns' tactical system last season, and rebuilding the tactical system is not something that can be completed in a short time.
, I think the team can put him on the bench to serve as the team's sixth man, which may be a good try."
Dot said in surprise: "Letem, are you crazy? That is the essence of human movies. How can he be a substitute?"
Letem shrugged and said: "This is just a thought. If he wants to win the championship, he should make some sacrifices, just like he signed a three-year minimum salary contract with the Suns."
At the scene, Wang Tiejun, who looked like he was fished out of the water, was stopped by a group of reporters in the player tunnel and answered three questions.
"Old K, what do you think of your teammates' performance tonight?"
"Although we lost the game, everyone worked hard. Sometimes it's like this, we work hard but get no results. But losing a game does not hinder our pursuit of goals for the entire season."
"What kind of adjustments do you think the Suns need?"
"Oh, I'm just a player. Can you ask the coaching staff and management this question?"
"What is your evaluation of Mutombo's performance?"
"He is very good. He is currently the top defensive center in the league."
After bidding farewell to the reporters, the exhausted Wang Tiejun returned to the locker room with his teammates.
Although he didn't say anything when answering reporters, in his heart, he actually believed that the team's main lineup should indeed be adjusted.
As for how to adjust, he doesn't know. Anyway, he feels that the current configuration of the main lineup makes him very uncomfortable and is far worse than last season.