Chapter 80: First Victory in the Opening Game and Interview
The Warriors' opponent in the opening game, the New Orleans Pelicans, is not a strong team in the league. Even its predecessor, the New Orleans Hornets, only had a best playoff performance in the second round during the Chris Paul era.
Later, after Paul left the team, the Pelicans' record plummeted and they were awarded the No. 1 pick, signing big-browed Anthony Davis.
Davis' talent is undoubtedly the top level in history. It took three years to finally pull the Pelicans out of the bottom of the league. Last season, they entered the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, they were defeated in the first round.
The Warriors were swept out without any suspense.
In the opening game of the new season, the Pelicans naturally want to win the game and avenge last season's playoffs.
But the strength gap between the two teams is really too big.
Curry, who won the MVP and FMVP last season, was very proud of himself. It was when he was most confident. In just the first quarter, he took 13 crazy shots, hit 9 goals, and scored 24 points on 4 of 7 three-pointers!
Although the Pelicans had Insmail Smith on the bench, he stepped forward and scored 11 points on 5-for-5 to help the team bite the score. In the first quarter, they only trailed by 4 points at 39:35 entering the second quarter.
But in the second quarter of the game, the Warriors began to shrink their line and strengthen their defense. The Pelicans' offense immediately ran into problems, scoring only 14 points in a single quarter.
For the Warriors, Curry took a relatively long rest in the second quarter and only took 5 shots. The ball was concentrated in the hands of other players.
Unlike Curry, who has a hot touch, Thompson had a mediocre touch in this game. He failed to hit several shots in the first quarter. Green's situation was similar.
This instead gave Wang Feng a chance.
In the first quarter, Wang Feng only took 2 shots from the outside and hit 1 three-pointer. However, in the second quarter, he got 6 shot opportunities, 2 of which were from the outside and 4 from inside the three-point line.
In these 6 shots, Wang Feng hit 4 goals and scored 9 points in a single quarter.
Relying on Wang Feng's 9 points in a single quarter, the Warriors scored 26 points in the second quarter, widening the point difference to 16 points in one fell swoop.
Then, during the intermission, in the third quarter of the game, Curry appeared again after a rest.
At this time, Curry's touch dropped significantly compared to the first quarter, hitting 3 goals in 6 shots, maintaining a 50% shooting rate, and scored 11 points in a single quarter.
But this was enough, because Wang Feng also hit 3 goals in 4 shots in this quarter and scored 7 points.
In the third quarter, the Warriors reached 31 points in a single quarter, while the Pelicans only had 26 points.
With a score difference of 21 points, the Warriors' three-quarter check-in mission was basically completed.
In the fourth quarter of the game, several starters barely played, and they faced the Pelicans with a full bench lineup.
Unwilling to be reconciled, the Pelicans also wanted to use their main players to take advantage of the opportunity to chase the point difference, but three minutes later, their head coach replaced Anthony Davis and other main players.
In just three minutes, the Pelicans discovered a desperate fact...the Warriors' entire bench lineup is very strong.
The Warriors' bench, led by Ying Guodala, Barnes, and Livingston, had excellent scoring and defensive capabilities. They were not even at a disadvantage in this three-minute contest.
You can't even beat the substitutes! How can you play in this game?
The Warriors relaxed and got off to a good start in the new season.
117:95! A score difference of 22 points, this is a big victory.
Curry showed extremely strong dominance in his first game, scoring 40 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in 33 minutes of play!
Wang Feng also performed well. He made 8 of 12 shots and scored 22 points in 26 minutes. He was the second-highest scorer on the Warriors.
This result is slightly surprising, because the only relatively efficient players on the Warriors are Curry, Wang Feng and backup blue-collar center Festus Ezeli who made 6 of 10 shots.
Clay Thompson, the second in charge of the Splash Brothers, only scored 9 points on 3 of 8 shots.
Draymond Green scored 10 points on 3 of 12 shooting.
Harrison Barnes, the original starting small forward for the Warriors, came off the bench in this game, but played nearly 30 minutes, and only scored 8 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Although the Warriors' victory made the fans happy, it was also a bit baffling. Is it possible to win like this?
Most people didn't take the outcome of this game to heart.
The Pelicans are never a match for the Warriors. They were swept by the Warriors 4-0 in the playoffs last season. It is normal to lose.
The poor touch of Thompson and Green is a trivial matter. Few players will maintain a hot touch forever. As the season progresses, they will definitely get back to their game state.
As for Wang Feng, who scored 22 points in the opening game, he also did not attract too much attention.
Wang Feng showed his explosive scoring power last season. Once he gets a chance to use his super accurate three-pointers, it would not be surprising to score 30+ points.
The American media still focused more on Curry, who scored 40 points, while only the Chinese media reported extensively on Wang Feng's 22-point performance in the opening game.
Domestic portal websites also struck while the iron was hot and worked overnight to produce Wang Feng's exclusive interview video.
…
"Hello Wang Feng, it's a great honor to interview you. I am a reporter from XX Network."
"Hello."
Facing the camera, Wang Feng acted very calmly and responded with a smile.
"Hello friends from XX.com, I am player Wang Feng."
"We all know that you just led the Chinese men's basketball team to win the Asian Championships not long ago, thus gaining a ticket to the Rio Olympics. Congratulations."
Wang Feng shook his head slightly. "The Chinese men's basketball team is not led by me. It is a team, and I am one of them. Winning the championship is also the result of the joint efforts of the whole team."
As a time traveler from 2022, Wang Feng is very aware of how many people are full and have nothing to do, and they only like to do things that are nitpicking and nitpicking.
For winning the Asian Championship, as long as they are not blind, everyone will know who has made the greatest contribution, and there is no need for Wang Feng to compete for it.
At present, he is still in the development and rising stage of his career, so he must reduce unnecessary troubles as much as possible. Besides, being low-key and humble is a virtue that Chinese people should have. If he says this, he will attract more fans.
"The Rio Olympics will not start until August next year. Before that, you will have to play in the NBA for one season. I think many fans are looking forward to your performance in the NBA in the new season. Could you please tell me about your performance in the new season?
And target?”
Faced with this question, Wang Feng paused slightly.
At this moment, he hesitated whether to tell his plan and goals.
After all, these goals are not difficult for him who has the golden finger of the system, but in the eyes of others, they may seem a bit arrogant.
But... after hesitating for a moment, Wang Feng still chose to speak!