In the United States, there are many people in the media who are unhappy with Wang Feng.
Although Wang Feng did not win three consecutive championships with the core of the team, it is an indisputable fact that he has shouldered important responsibilities for each championship.
Especially winning the championship with the Cavaliers was a slap in the face to many media who thought Wang Feng would be useless after leaving the Warriors.
Wang Feng was replaced by Durant, which should obviously be a stronger configuration. Why did the Warriors fail to defeat the Cavaliers? Even though many people thought that Curry was injured unexpectedly in the last game and was unable to play, Durant had just joined the team and was not very good yet.
There are various excuses such as integrating into the team, but the facts are the facts.
Wang Feng helped the Cavaliers defeat the Warriors, which offended fans who supported the Warriors. After the Cavaliers won the championship, he turned around and went to the Lakers to get a big contract, which offended James and Cavaliers fans, especially after Wang Feng left.
Irving also made a fuss and left the team, and the Cavaliers instantly woke up from the joy of winning the championship.
The Cavaliers' lineup in the new season is in disarray. It is difficult to say whether the lineup of James, Love and Isaiah Thomas can produce a good chemical reaction.
A few people attribute the Cavaliers' problems to Wang Feng.
The Cavaliers are in such a miserable state, do you, Wang Feng, still want to live a good life?
In addition, Wang Feng showed off his prowess in the Rio Olympics and single-handedly competed with the American Dream Team, which also made many people feel unhappy. Why should a player who can't even be the boss of the team in the NBA dominate the Dream Team?
All the star players of the team are playing?
Wang Feng was still not the boss in the Cavaliers before, but now that he came to the Lakers, he obviously came to be the boss. These people have already targeted Wang Feng. As long as Wang Feng's performance in the Lakers is even slightly unsatisfactory, it will definitely lead to a lot of verbal criticism.
These people obviously couldn't imagine how much Wang Feng had changed in just one summer.
…
On October 19, 2017, the NBA regular season officially started.
The Lakers' opponent in the regular season opener is the Clippers, their old rival in the same city.
In recent years, the Clippers have obviously performed better than the Lakers. Under the leadership of Chris Paul, who was traded from the Hornets, and the No. 1 pick Blake Griffin, the Clippers have been in the playoffs every year.
A powerful team, the name of the city of alley-oops is getting louder and louder, and it is gradually becoming more and more likely to surpass the Lakers of the declining dynasty.
It's a pity that the Clippers have been competing for several seasons, but have never been able to make a step forward in the playoffs. Paul's dream of playing in the Western Conference Finals has never been achieved.
The Clippers management lost patience and decided to completely rebuild the team in the summer, so they traded Chris Paul to the Rockets. Now only two star players, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, are left in the team. Green
Fin is now also involved in trade rumors, and the Clippers are not shy about putting him on the shelf.
But even though the Clippers have fallen to this point, most people still think that the Clippers are stronger than the Lakers.
This is indeed the case. Even if the team's lineup undergoes a major overhaul, even if the Clippers trade their star Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons in the middle of the season, the Clippers' final record will still be better than the Lakers, with 42 wins and 40 losses.
The winning rate even exceeded 50%.
But that was without Wang Feng.
Now that Wang Feng has landed with the Lakers, the media is more optimistic that the Clippers can win the regular season opener, which makes him a little unhappy.
"What do you mean? Do you think I am air?"
…
"Charles, what do you think when you see Wang Feng again after a long absence?"
In the TNT studio, O'Neal looked at Barkley and asked with a smile.
"Feelings? Haha, I don't have any thoughts." Buckley said with a smile.
As we all know, in last season's finals, Wang Feng suffered a big loss for Barkley, which directly caused Barkley to streak around outside the TNT building.
"I have to make it clear, Shaq, the bet I made with you was on the outcome of the Cavaliers and Warriors. The reason why the Warriors lost was because of LeBron James' superb performance.
You don’t think it was Wang Feng who led the Cavaliers to defeat the Warriors, right? So, why should I feel something when I see him?”
Barkley was obviously being tough.
In last season's finals, although James won the FMVP with an average of 33 points, 11 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game, without Wang Feng's 29.8 points per game and without him choosing to come off the bench to turn the tide in G4, the game would have been completely different.
different.
"So, you still think Wang Feng is not good?"
After hearing Barkley's words, O'Neal keenly captured the meaning and asked straightforwardly.
"Of course, there are too many players in the league who can do it, like the role he played with the Warriors and Cavaliers before. Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Brad Beal, CJ McCollum, these players can all do it.
Easy to do."
O'Neill: "..."
The players Barkley used as examples were all All-Stars last season and all averaged more than 20 points per game. Is this belittling Wang Feng?
"Okay, okay, in short, your point of view is the same as that of most media now. You think it is not feasible for Wang Feng to leave Curry and James and other top stars to become the first core of a team, right?"
"This is obvious." Barkley shrugged. "Everyone knows that Wang Feng's technical characteristics are too single. Although he is very accurate in long-range shooting, his ability to break through with the ball is very average. He lacks lethality at the basket. Once the opponent is against
If he arranges targeted defense, there is nothing he can do.”
"In the Lakers, when he encounters trouble, there is no Steph or LeBron to clear the way for him. He has to solve all the troubles by himself. Do you think he can do a good job?"
"Oh oh oh, it's really hard to say..." O'Neal smiled and shook his finger. "Charles, do you want to make another bet? Just bet on Wang Feng's regular season personal data this season."
"Are you coming again?"
Buckley didn't think twice and was about to agree, but when he opened his mouth, his expression suddenly stopped.
"No! You guys, do you know something? This is a trap!"
"Tch." Seeing that Barkley was not fooled, O'Neal curled his lips, "Forget it, it's okay to tell you. According to my reliable gossip, Wang Feng's ability to break through and attack the basket with the ball has improved greatly, and he can even rank first in the league.
At the top level, coupled with his long-range shooting, there are not many people in the entire league who can be better than Wang Feng in terms of scoring ability!"
"Are you kidding?" Barkley looked at O'Neal in shock.
The source of O'Neal's so-called gossip is actually easy to guess. After all, this big shark once won three championships for the Lakers and created a dynasty. His statue is still outside the Lakers Arena.
Therefore, it is not difficult for O'Neal to obtain some information from within the Lakers. He can even ask the team's general manager Earvin Johnson or Kobe directly.
"Of course it's true! This is what the guy said himself. Not many players can be recognized by him. Just keep your eyes open and watch this game carefully!"