Chapter 396 The selection of the fifty superstars begins
After playing Philadelphia, the Suns came to Chicago the next day.
Some media and industry insiders have commented on the Suns, which has won five games.
In an interview with the media, Heat coach Pat Riley was asked about the Suns' performance this season and said: "The wins in the current five games cannot explain the Suns' true strength. The next game against the Bulls will test them."
With its true strength, we can see whether this Suns team has the strength to compete for the championship. But judging from the first five games, we can still see a lot of things."
"What about?" The reporter asked the question.
Pat Riley smiled and said: "Let's talk about their weaknesses first. First, they can only use Wilkins as a substitute at the third position, and Wilkins is actually their starting shooting guard.
, This shows that the Suns are short of people at the third position. Once injuries occur, veterans like Wilkins are likely to be injured, and they will be short of people. Even the shortage of people at the third position will affect the situation.
The use of players at the second position.
Second, the second position is their most uncertain factor. What does it mean to have Wilkins play a fake starting position at the second position? It means that they do not have a main shooting guard who is really good.
Chapman is a role player, and he is a glass man. He can't even last thirty minutes, and Kobe is just a rookie, so the second position is the biggest weakness of the Suns at present. Once someone is injured, it will be difficult to deal with.
Now they have these two main weaknesses. With their lineup, it is difficult to make adjustments, because Wilkins and Chapman both receive basic salaries, and they cannot find good small forwards or shooting guards through trades.
Come and be the main force.
These two problems will not be solved for the time being. Unless Kobe, the rookie, can grow up, these two weaknesses will always exist. As for whether Kobe can grow up, this is an uncertain question."
"If there are weaknesses, then there should also be strengths, right?" the reporter asked.
Pat Riley nodded and said with a smile: "Their advantage still lies in the inside. Rasheed Wallace has become the main power forward and has performed very comprehensively in these five games. The offensive end can help Old K open up the defense.
The defensive end can follow out and let Old K sit under the basket, sharing a lot of defensive pressure.
Such an inside combination with excellent offense and defense is ranked among the top two in the league, and only the combination of O'Neal and Oakley can rival it."
"Coach Riley, what do you think of Old K's performance?" The reporter asked a new question.
"Old K? I know what you are asking. After the introduction of K's Law, Old K's performance this season is indeed very different from the past."
Pat Riley nodded and said while thinking: "The most lethal force is restricted by hitting, which prevents him from creating a powerful and terrifying deterrent to his opponents. His dominance has indeed declined a bit, which was not the case before.
Five games can be seen.
His data in the first five games should be 36 minutes per game, 30.4 points, 16.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.8 blocks per game."
"You know his data very well." The reporter said with a smile.
Pat Riley laughed and said: "Of course, even if such a giant beast is entrenched in the west, thousands of kilometers away, I can't ignore its existence."
Then he added: "From the analysis of this data, we can see a lot of changes about Old K. First of all, his shooting percentage dropped from 65.4% last season to 62%. There is no doubt that the K Law
The introduction has had an impact on him. But the impact is not as big as some people expected. It only dropped by less than 4 percentage points. This is still the first offensive efficiency in the league.
Analyzing from his shot area, the basket accounted for 45%, the last two points were 50%, and the two-pointers were 5%, which is back to the level of his rookie season. This is of course a change caused by the influence of the K Law.
The number of offenses under the basket has decreased, less than that of O'Neal. O'Neal is more flexible than Old K and is easier to attack the basket. In the first five games of this season, his proportion of offense under the basket is 54%, which is nine percentage points higher than that of Old K.
This is very high, much higher than the three super centers."
"Coach Riley, what specific impact do you think K's Law has on Old K?" the reporter asked.
Pat Riley said with a smile: "First, the ability to break double teams. In the past, he could use his strong and continuous sideways attacks to break away double teams, and even gained the reputation of a penalty area sweeper, but
Now he doesn't have such a strong ability to break double teams, and he is not as flexible as O'Neal. He should be slightly worse now. This is the main reason why his offense at the basket has decreased.
Second, after playing in the low post and restricting sideways play, his speed to get to the basket is not as fast as before, because in a complete back-up state, his turning speed is not as fast as O'Neal, and it should be slightly slower. This is why he
One of the important reasons for the decrease in basket attacks.
Third, and finally, without the powerful side-to-side attack, he also lost his powerful deterrent effect on his opponents. Opponents were more daring to double-team him, which is why his shooting percentage dropped.
"
The reporter asked again: "So Coach Riley, do you think Old K will be ordinary?"
Riley laughed twice and said: "You heard that string of data just now. Do you think that a super beast who can perform such an all-around performance in 36 minutes will be an ordinary person?"
The reporter nodded unconsciously, and Pat Riley continued: "Judging from the first five games alone, Law K did have some impact on him, but he cannot be left to be ordinary.
Of course, he still needs to be tested by more powerful opponents, especially against super centers of the same level and centers with strong defenses. Otherwise, we will not be able to determine the true impact of K-Law on him.
But judging from his current performance, without his most powerful attack, his low-post offense has become more flexible and versatile than before.
He is proficient in back-up and sitting-down attacks, and is also proficient in finishing skills such as hooks, throws, and rebounds. Under the care of the K Law, he is still a killer in low-post offense, number one in the league.
The offensive efficiency fully illustrates this point.
I would like to criticize O'Neal here. Even though you have 9% more offense at the basket, your offensive efficiency is not as good as that of Old K. This shows that in terms of shooting in the last two points, you are still a little behind Old K. Old K's nearly two points
The shooting percentage can reach 55%, but you only have 43%, a huge gap of twelve points."
Speaking of this, he said with some emotion: "The introduction of Jordan's Law back then can be said to have made Jordan great. Today's introduction of K's Law is still difficult to say. The time is too short. We need more time to observe, but
Based on his current performance, Old K is likely to perform the same as Jordan."
"Will he be as great as Jordan?"
The reporter was a little surprised at first, but immediately nodded in agreement and said: "Based on his performance of 40 per game in the regular season last season and his great performance in the 1995 Finals, he can indeed be called great."
Then he raised another question and asked: "Coach Riley, the league has celebrated its 50th anniversary. I heard that the selection of the top 50 superstars will be launched in the near future. What position do you think Old K will occupy in it?"
?”
This question made Pat Riley think about it for a moment, and then he said: "You just said that based on his performance of 40 per game last season and his great performance in the 1995 Finals, his status is among the super players like Big Dream."
Among the center forwards, one is in a kind of detachment.
Yes, transcendent, with his performance in the past few seasons, he has surpassed super centers like Dameng and others, so I think his historical status among the top 50 superstars should be higher than Dameng and the others."
…
It was also a coincidence that when the Suns arrived in Chicago, it was exactly noon, and the NBA officially held a grand press conference to officially announce the selection of the top 50 superstars.
The NBA official seems to attach great importance to the selection of the top 50 superstars. It has promoted it very hard. It has been promoting it from last year to this year. Today's media conference has invited almost all heavyweight media, and even invited a large number of overseas media to live broadcast this event.
There were dozens of TV stations hosting the press conference.
David Stern personally announced that the event will start on November 15th and be completed by the end of December, lasting one and a half months.
The specific selection method is that the league invited 13 of the most famous NBA basketball reporters and NBA commentators, as well as 37 retired players and coaches (players cannot vote for themselves) to form a selection team of 50 people.
The purpose of selecting such a selection team is to prevent active players from gaining a greater advantage under the pursuit of the media, so only 13 media people were selected to participate in the selection.
The selection team will be based on the player's All-Star times, All-Star amvp, various data kings, best team times, best defensive team times, regular season mvp times, championship times, finals fmvp times, peak season data, and career
Statistics and other honors will be selected, and the league official will hold an award ceremony during the halftime break of the 1997 Cleveland All-Star Game.
In addition, the top 50 superstars will not be ranked in order and will only be selected in five positions.
In the hotel, as soon as he settled in the room, Lao Wang turned on the TV, sat down on the end of the bed, and watched the live broadcast of the press conference.
"I looked back from last year to this year, and it finally started."
He was a little excited and excited, hoping to get a good ranking in this selection of the top 50 superstars.
As for whether he can enter the top 50, he doesn't know much about NBA history. In fact, he is not very clear.
But according to many media reports, it is generally believed that he will definitely be selected into the ranks of the top 50 superstars. Out of respect for the media, he naturally believes that he has firmly entered the top 50. The only problem is his ranking position.
.
"Hey, old K..."
At this time, Lightning pushed open the door and walked in, sat down next to him, and said with a smile: "I bet your seat must be in front of Dameng."
"That's for sure." Lao Wang laughed.
"I'm betting on the top twenty. If you win, Mr. K, you'll treat me to baby chicken ten times. If you lose, I'll treat you once." Horry ran in, laughing and joking.
"Haha, Robert, I'll invite you ten times." Lao Wang was very happy, with a smile on his face.
But Stern immediately announced that the selection would not be in order of ranking, which made him put away his smile and said angrily: "If you don't rank for a long time, then what's the point of judging?"
"It's good to be selected into the top 50, how about you let me?" Lightning said angrily.
"Haha, that Kevin, I'll treat you to chicken chicken ten times." Lao Wang said with a genuine smile.
"I knew you couldn't bear it." Lightning smiled.
…
On the 11th, the Suns challenged the Bulls away from home.
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Rasheed Wallace, Robert Horry, Wilkins, Kevin Johnson.
Bulls: Rick Schmitz, Rodman, Pippen, Jordan, Ron Harper
The game was broadcast live across the United States by TNT, and the commentators were Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan.
Albert analyzed: "The Bulls don't have many reinforcements. Clifford Robinson did not renew his contract with the Bulls after his contract ended. He went to the Trail Blazers. West got their main force from the Pacers for eight seasons.
Center Rick Schmitz, they have Ewing and there's no room for Schmitz."
Kevin Harlan said: "Rick Schmitz was the second pick of the Pacers in 1988. He is 30 years old this year and is very good. He averaged 177 points per game last season, which is no worse than Clifford Robinson."
Nodding, Albert said: "And he is 224 centimeters tall. He has no height disadvantage against Old K. He has comprehensive skills and good physical fitness. However, he only has a tonnage of 120 kilograms and does not have enough resistance.
But now that K’s Law has been introduced, Old K’s strong confrontation ability has been restricted and his lethality has been reduced. He is luckier than Clifford Robinson.”
Kevin Harlan laughed a few times and said: "Don't underestimate Clifford Robinson. The Bulls suffered so many inside injuries at the hands of Old K. He was the only one who saved himself. In the matchup with Old K., he
Played very smartly."
At this time, in the player tunnel, the starting lineups of the two teams met.
After greeting Jordan, Lao Wang began to tease Pippen and asked: "Pi Lao Er, if Jordan goes to the Knicks, you can be the boss. It's a pity that he didn't give you this opportunity."
Before Pippen could speak, Rodman, who was next to him, turned his head and looked away, obviously not interested in what Lao Wang said.
"I'm very satisfied now." Pippen snorted.
"Old K, don't provoke us." Jordan said dissatisfiedly.
There are indeed some problems in the Bulls locker room now. Rodman is dissatisfied with Pippen and wants to compete for the second place position. He often misses training. The locker room has accumulated a lot of conflicts and problems, but he doesn't want to make a big deal and expose it to his opponents.
, trying to resolve the conflict within the locker room.
Moreover, the relationship between himself and general manager Jerry Krause not only did not ease, but actually got worse, because the fat pig actually wanted to trade Pippen, but fortunately he stopped him.
Lao Wang looked at the Bulls and the guys, seemed to understand something, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" Jordan said angrily.
"Jordan, are you fighting among yourself?" he asked curiously.
"Huh?" Lightning and the others looked over in surprise.
"Don't talk nonsense, our locker room is more stable than iron." Jordan opened his eyes and told lies.
"Haha, listen to me, Jordan. Beat the disobedient guy half to death and he will become obedient. This is my suggestion to you." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Michael, don't listen to him." Rodman said hurriedly.
"Ha ha……"
Lao Wang laughed even more and said jokingly: "You are just asking for it, big insect. It seems that you yourself think you are disobedient?"
"snort!"
Rodman turned his head and didn't even bother to quibble.
"This guy?"
Looking at Old K leaving the stage, Jordan looked very serious.
This season's Suns, although there are still some problems with the configuration of the second position, the inside combination is obviously more reasonable than last season, and the Mosaic Big Three are no longer there. The only ones in the West that can stop the Suns are the Jazz and SuperSonics.
, after they reach the finals, they are likely to face the Suns again.
He met the Suns in the Finals twice in 1993 and 1995, and was defeated twice by Old K. The memory was still fresh in his mind and he did not dare to be careless.
In fact, he did not admit defeat to Barkley. The most regrettable thing was that he failed to defend the three consecutive championships in 1993. The main reason was that no one in the Bulls could stand up to Old K. The person who decided the winner of the finals was not Barkley at all.
