Chapter 395 The answer was struck by lightning and cried
On November 1, 1996, the NBA regular season of the 96/97 season officially kicked off.
In the first game, Danny Ainge showed his extremely bold coaching style and actually arranged for Kobe Bryant to play the main shooting guard.
When he announced the starting lineup in the locker room, all the players were stunned, including Wang and Kobe.
Wilkins is a little anxious. He still wants to win the championship. Stop messing around with your coaching staff. Kobe is just 18 years old and has no hair. How can he play the main role? You have ruined him. From now on, No. 2
Who will take the lead?
The same goes for Lao Wang. He doesn't support putting Kobe in the main lineup now. Kobe doesn't have that ability at all.
Kobe, on the other hand, looked eager to try, very excited, and looked at Danny Ainge with a look full of heroism.
However, Danny Ainge immediately explained, saying: "Don't think too much, the Lakers are in trouble anyway, we are just using them to train the newcomers."
Only then did everyone understand that it was nothing, as long as the coaching staff didn't mess around.
Wilkins and Lao Wang were also relieved. They were worried that the coaching staff would mess up and young people like Kobe who had not yet taken root could easily grow crooked.
The third-year Kidd expressed his disappointment. He is also a young man. Why not give him a chance to start? He touched his forehead. Could it be because of forehead wrinkles?
"Did you know that the Lakers will have a new stadium and the project has already been approved?" Lao Wang said.
"Old K, how do you know?" Kevin Johnson asked.
"Ceballos told me yesterday," he said.
His own k-era sports center is also under construction. The foundation has been laid and ground construction has begun. The construction period of the hotel will be a little longer, but the main construction period of the basketball stadium only takes one year. With decoration, it can be completed in 18 months.
Once it's completed and this season is over, he can see his own basketball gym when he goes back.
Night of the 1st, 8:15, Great Western Forum Arena.
Lightning also wanted to see what Kobe was capable of. Kobe worked very hard in training and had great talent. He was quite optimistic about Kobe, and because of Old K’s reputation, he went on the court and passed a lot of passes to Kobe.
.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Brush whoosh!"
After two consecutive three-pointers, Kobe shouted at the Lightning: "Kevin, I'm going to hit the next shot. I have a hunch."
"You brat, it's better to believe in Jesus than you." Lightning said angrily.
This couldn't stop Kobe. As soon as the ball came into his hands, it was like entering a black hole, followed by three more strikes.
"Kobe, you are such a little blacksmith! Go down and play as a substitute. Also, practice 300 more shots at night."
In the 8 minutes of the first quarter, Kobe made 0 of 5 shots and was held scoreless by Eddie Jones. Then he was kicked off the court by Pharaoh. By the way, he also received the first nickname of his career, which was personally presented by Pharaoh.
"I want to practice five hundred more times."
After failing in his first show, Kobe gritted his teeth angrily and went down. When he walked to the sidelines, he was unwilling to turn around and shouted to Lao Wang on the court: "Old K, I will succeed, I know."
The Suns finally won this game. Even if they didn't want to win, the Lakers had a broken inside lineup. They sold Divac, let Campbell go, and hurt Dream. Who else?
Rashid performed well here, scoring 15 points, 7 rebounds, a block, a steal and two assists.
After several years of hard work, Robert Horry has become more stable now. He made 2 of 4 three-pointers in this game. He performed well and scored 13 points. He has become a fairly stable scoring point for the main lineup.
Wilkins only played 11 minutes. With someone rotating and trying to train Kobe, he would not be allowed to play more in the regular season. Even if he started, he would only be a pseudo-starter.
Chapman played 30 minutes and was equivalent to the main shooting guard. He made 5 of 11 shots and a shooting percentage of 45%. He made 1 of 3 three-pointers and scored 3 free throws. He scored 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
His talent is limited and he can only be regarded as a role player. This is his normal performance. With his status in the team, he can only take this number of shots unless his touch is overwhelming.
The Lightning played for 27 minutes before going down. They were in pretty good shape and scored 13 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal, which was not inferior to last season's performance. This is good news for the team.
Kidd came on as a substitute and played 21 minutes, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 2 steals. His performance was not bad.
Lao Wang himself only played 32 minutes before leaving. When he left, the score difference reached 20 points. He scored 30 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul.
Including him, a total of 5 Suns players scored in double figures, which shows that this lineup has good offensive capabilities.
After beating the Lakers and returning home, the Suns faced Mosaic, Timberwolves, and the SuperSonics.
In these three games, the Suns are still adjusting their lineup. The other four main positions are fixed, and they are adjusting the second position.
Chapman made one start and played 35 minutes. His efficiency was not good enough. His body could not last for such a long time. His efficiency dropped seriously in the next ten minutes, so the coaching staff immediately rejected the idea of handing him the No. 2 position.
My thinking is that we can only let him play as a substitute.
In the end, the coaching staff decided to let Wilkins play the pseudo-starting position at the second position. If it is an unimportant game, let Kobe play the first substitute, which will give him more playing time and shots. If the opponent is strong, let Chap
If Mann plays the first position as a substitute, Kobe will have fewer opportunities.
For Wilkins, his position is not just a pseudo-starter at the second position. Because there is not enough space, there is no way to find a good substitute at the third position, so he must also play the first substitute at the third position. This position has at least 10 games.
It takes 15 minutes to play, even longer than the second position.
Kobe did not start again and was honed in the substitute lineup. In most cases, he played the second position and occasionally guest-starred at the first and third positions, giving him an average of 24 minutes per game.
In terms of shots, excluding the first game, he made a total of 10 of 24 shots in these three games. He averaged 8 shots per game, which is not a lot. His shooting rate was 41.6%. His performance was in line with the level of a rookie, compared to his age.
, did not disappoint.
He now really practices 500 extra shots every night. He originally trained 1,500 times a day, but now he trains 2,000 times a day. This is a huge amount. Generally speaking, the daily shooting training volume of the main players is
About a thousand times.
His shots are not stable now, not only for technical reasons, but also because he is not heavy enough under confrontation. In the future, as his tonnage increases and strength training improves, his shots will be more stable.
The Suns won their first four games and secured first place in the Western Conference.
But there are many teams as strong as the Suns. The Jazz also won all four games, and the three first-tier teams in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls, Knicks, and Pacers, also won all four games.
After the first four regular season games, five teams have emerged victorious, and the media is shouting that this season will be a five-strong competition for hegemony.
…
On the 8th, the Suns arrived in Philadelphia. There are four away games next, and the next one is the Bulls.
On this day, injury news suddenly came from the Spurs. David Robinson was injured, and he was immediately reimbursed for his serious injury.
On the same day, bad news came to the Magic. Anfernee Hardaway, the newly confirmed core player, was seriously injured and reimbursed.
"Really or not?"
Lao Wang expressed doubts. Ever since Dameng was injured, he had lost confidence in the news about reimbursement for serious injuries.
"The news about the Magic should be true. The media reported that Hardaway has been admitted to the hospital. His agent said he is preparing to come to Phoenix for surgery and will arrive in two days." Lightning said.
"What about the Spurs? David Robinson is two years younger than Dameng. Is he really injured and reimbursed?" Lao Wang asked.
"Anyway, he is in the hospital, and reporters can't see him. We don't know whether it's true or not," Lightning said.
"Ignore them, let's fight our own way anyway. There are so many opponents of the same level this season, so we have to go all out," Lao Wang said.
Lightning nodded, he knew what Old K wanted, regular season mvp, championship, they all want it. Now that Old K is in his peak period, it is the time when he is desperately pursuing honors. As a brother, in order to get a few more cans of boy chicken,
To eat, he must support it, which is why he continued to train extra during the offseason.
This afternoon, the league officially announced the MVP rankings for the first week.
Jordan ranked first, averaging 32.5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0.5 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls per game.
Wang Tiejun ranked second, averaging 31.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3.4 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3.4 fouls per game.
In terms of shooting percentage, Jordan's shooting percentage was 49.5% and he was 62%.
In terms of offensive efficiency, he still ranks first in the league, higher than O'Neal's 61.5%. As an outside shooter, Jordan is even lower than that.
In terms of defensive efficiency, he is fifth in the league, and Jordan is third in the league.
In terms of personal efficiency, he ranks first in the league, and Jordan ranks second.
"How is this arranged? Is there a standard?"
In the hotel, Lao Wang was very dissatisfied after seeing the MVP rankings on TV.
Lightning just happened to come over and invite him to have coffee and said: "I should have compared your data from last season to this season. Your scoring data has dropped a lot. This must be the reason.
The MVP selection is based on comparison. If your performance has declined compared to last season, there is a high probability that the MVP will not be awarded to you.
But it’s hard to say, from a statistical point of view, you are better looking than Jordan, there is still a chance.”
Lao Wang nodded. Since the beginning of this season, he has indeed not played as hard as last season and has not taken as many shots.
One reason is the influence of K's Law. He was double-teamed more often, so he distributed the ball more often.
In addition, he must also take fewer shots and can no longer take as crazy shots as last season.
In fact, he still wants to compete for mvp this season. He averaged 40 points per game last season, and it's not like he has no ability to surpass him. Now he has entered his peak period in terms of physical fitness, technology, and game experience. There is no competition at this time.
When to fight?
It's just that he also knows that because of the existence of the K-law, his overall efficiency has declined, so he needs to take more shots, and the data of his teammates will decline.
In the regular season last season, he averaged 25 shots per game. Based on the current shooting rate of 62%, if he wants to reach 40 points, he will have to average about 27 shots per game.
27 shots, which is a very scary number of shots. With the main lineup this season, this is simply impossible.
Teammates are not puppets. Everyone needs data, otherwise his personal value will be greatly reduced, and his identity will also be reduced. He can't steal his teammates' shots for himself. Over time, there will definitely be internal strife, the team will split, and the record will seriously decline.
, let alone compete for the championship.
The reason why he took so many shots last season was because he didn't attack very much and took up the shots in the fourth position. This season is definitely not going to work. This season, his shots have remained around 20 to 21 times.
What should I do if I can't take action and still have to compete for MVP?
There is no way, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
With a strong lineup, if he still wants to produce such explosive statistics, he would have to ignore the thoughts and interests of his teammates and act like a brush, unless he disregards the interests of the team, but he cannot do that.
…
The 9th, match day.
"Old K."
"Um."
In the players tunnel, Lao Wang saw Iverson again.
"Old K, you can call me Answer, this is my nickname." Iverson said excitedly.
"Rookie is the common nickname for you little guys. Now you don't even have names, let alone nicknames." Lao Wang said.
"Pfft!"
There was uncontrollable laughter from behind, it was Horry and Wilkins.
Iverson's face fell, "Old K, I'm going to mess with you today."
A minute later, the two teams came on stage one after another.
"I will definitely surpass him in the future."
When Kobe Bryant saw Iverson, a competitive light flashed in his eyes.
His debut was not successful and he only scored two points, but Iverson, the No. 1 pick, had an extraordinary debut. Against the Bucks, he made 12 of 19 shots, a shooting rate of 63.2%, and 2 of 4 three-pointers.
, made 4 of 6 free throws, effectively scoring 30 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls.
Comparing the two, he was ignored by the media, while the other was praised highly by the media, which caused some problems in his mentality.
He glanced at Lao Wang. He didn't want to recognize this cheap master anymore. He didn't buy him any time. He kept suppressing him and making money from his hard-earned money.
Iverson also saw Kobe, who boasted a lot during the draft, but now he is just a substitute.
And he has been an unstoppable main force since the first game. In the first game, he took 19 shots. The team did not limit his shots at all.
Now he really understands what David Frank said. If he was in the Suns, he would be like Kobe, sitting on the bench, taking only a few shots for ten minutes at most. In which year can he grow up?
"Kevin, have fun with that kid Iverson." Before going on the court, Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Leave it to me." Lightning smiled and nodded.
At the beginning of the game, two power forwards, Rasheed Wallace and Derek Coleman, jumped the ball and the Philadelphia team attacked.
Iverson took the ball and faced the Lightning. He made a fake shot, but the Lightning predicted it.
"Crack!"
Lightning stole the ball, launched a fast break, and succeeded in a layup with Iverson chasing him, and hit a goal.
"Rookie, welcome to the NBA." Lightning said with a smile.
"Kevin, I'm afraid he can't get to the basket. Please help me later." Lao Wang shouted from the backcourt.
"Okay." Lightning smiled.
Iverson was so angry that his eyes were blazing. After receiving the ball, he rushed forward to hit a fast break.
Lightning is chasing next to him. He is a little taller. He has a tonnage advantage of at least ten kilograms now. Although he is old now and does not have the lightning speed when he was young, he can use the tonnage advantage to squeeze Iverson and slow him down.
The effect was obvious. Iverson only took a few steps, but his speed was slowed down. The ball almost lost control. He finally advanced to the frontcourt. The Suns were already in position. The fast break was not available. His speed advantage was not there.
Bring it into play.
"Rookie, look behind me. Rasheed Wallace and Old K are all waiting to kill you. Just vote here." Lightning started talking trash.
Iverson glanced inside and saw that this was indeed the case. He didn't believe in evil, gritted his teeth, bang bang bang, after dribbling continuously under his hips, he suddenly took the first step, changed direction and broke through from the right side.
The Lightning were too experienced and quickly took a step back, sticking to Iverson's left side, and then pushed him outside, preventing him from getting closer to the paint area and away from the basket.
Iverson couldn't move after two steps. If he took another sudden move, he would lose the ball, so he could only force a jump shot.
"Bang!"
Lao Wang protected the rebound.
The Lightning slowly advanced to the frontcourt, saw Iverson on the defensive, and waved one hand, making a gesture of pulling away. This was preparing to play a game against the No. 1 overall pick.
At the top of the arc, Iverson suddenly stepped forward and made a gambling steal.
He wanted Lightning to know that although he was a rookie, he was not someone to be bullied. Today he was going to kill Lightning.
"Bang!"
But just after he grabbed the ball, the Lightning suddenly turned around and dribbled past him, directly past him, and passed the top of the key. Through center Scott Williams who was returning to the basket, there was a rusher two steps away.
Stop throwing and hit a ball.
"Rookie, welcome to the NBA. By the way, this is what Mr. K said." Lightning turned back and smiled at Iverson.
Iverson’s fists were clenched tightly, these old guys were so bullying!
"Come again! Iverson, don't be discouraged." With a loud shout, Lao Wang encouraged Iverson.
"I won't let you down." Clenching his fists, Iverson nodded.
"Where are you from?" Kobe muttered on the bench.
Iverson monopolized the ball and attacked with the ball again.
This time the Lightning still slowed down through rich experience. When Iverson broke into the three-point line two steps, Rasheed Wallace's help came, and he was forced to force a shot when he was caught by Rasheed.
DeWallace gave the hat.
"I just said he can't attack me." Lao Wang chuckled and shouted loudly: "Iverson, don't be discouraged, come again!"
"Our boss has rebelled!" Kobe muttered on the bench.
Looking back, the Lightning hit again, overpowering the rookie and hitting a mid-range shot, which Iverson couldn't guard at all.
The commentator for this game was Magic Johnson, a newcomer among the ABC commentators. At this time, he laughed and said: "I think Iverson may not know the Lightning. This was a super player who was qualified to compete with me in his peak period.
Point guard, he is an offensive point guard. In terms of scoring ability, to be honest, he is better than me. With his state tonight, Iverson will probably be beaten to tears tonight."
It was true as he said, in this game, Iverson was reduced to ashes by lightning.
The Lightning played for 42 minutes and made 13 of 22 shots, with a shooting percentage of 59.1%. They actually made 2 of 2 three-pointers, which they rarely took. In addition, they made 8 of 8 free throws, scoring a team-high 36 points and 3 rebounds.
Data of 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.
The opponent Iverson was hit hard. He only played 30 minutes before leaving the game. He made only 3 of 15 shots and a shooting percentage of only 20%. He made 1 of 5 three-pointers and 1 of 2 free throws. He only scored 8 points. 2
Data of rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.
By the time he hit the back, Iverson had been completely overwhelmed by lightning. He couldn't score on offense and couldn't defend himself. Both ends of the offense and defense were blown away. When he hit the back, he no longer dared to take action, and he didn't know how to defend on the defensive end.
.
In order to protect Iverson, head coach Davis took him off the field early. He sat on the bench, covered his face with a towel, and tears really flowed from his eyes.
Magic Johnson laughed and said: "This is how an old bird welcomes a rookie. Old K was lazy today. The Lightning faced the No. 1 pick and gave him the opportunity to perform. The Lightning took up the offensive banner of the Suns. As a result, Ai
Ferson was hurt, this kid is so pitiful!"
Seeing what happened to Iverson, Kobe was a little lucky. He had not experienced such a welcome ceremony yet. Playing as a substitute could avoid this problem. Generally, the substitute players of the opposing team did not have the strength of the Lightning.
He was also a little disdainful. If it were him, a little blacksmith in Phoenix, so what if he made 3 out of 15 shots? Keep throwing, you might just throw it in. What would you do next?
At the end of the game, Lightning became the best player in the game and accepted an on-site interview.
"Kevin, did you play for such a long time today to welcome Iverson?" the reporter asked.
"Oh, I was just in really good condition today. I was a little too excited to meet the new guy, so I played a little longer. It's not specifically aimed at Iverson." Lightning said with a smile.
"Isn't this intentional?"
The reporter cursed in his heart and asked: "Kevin, what do you think of Iverson?"
"Excellent talent, but now he is still very weak." Lightning said with a smile.
