Chapter 491 The first battle, the dream is possessed
Pedestrians, also held a media meeting day on this day.
Ewing and Reggie Miller have stronger confidence in this season than last season. Reggie Miller expressed to the media his firm confidence in going out of the East on behalf of the team.
He said very firmly: “Rick Schmitz is back, we will have the twin towers, we will have the confidence to beat the Bulls… No, beat the Knicks, believe in us, we will beat the Bulls, no, the Knicks , Knicks.”
30, Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Celtics have also held their own media meeting days.
“What I want to say is that with Sabonis, we will officially launch an impact on the championship.” Facing the media, the postman said with confidence.
“it’s time.”
David Robinson’s answer to the media was quite simple, but very powerful.
“Old K, wait for me, Tim and I will blow you up.” Facing the media, Da Meng said with great confidence.
During this period of time, he and Duncan had run-in and learned about Duncan’s strength, and his confidence was bursting. He felt that he had hit the jackpot, found a treasure, and had the mind to hit the championship again.
He believes that with Duncan, he can blow up any interior combination in the league, including Old K and O’Neal.
Like him, the Blazers are full of confidence from the owner Paul Allen to the management, coaching staff and players.
Duncan said to the media with a blank face: “In the offseason, I seem to be a garbage, from the Lakers to the Suns, and then from the Suns to the Blazers, which motivates me even more, I will look down on me. The people and the team proved that your choices were wrong.”
On October 31st, the new season of NBA97/98 officially kicked off.
The alliance must have been deliberately arranged. The six first-tier teams in the East and West Alliance will fight against each other.
The Lakers play the Jazz at home, the Knicks play the Celtics at home, and the Pacers play the Blazers on the road.
There are 14 games on this night. These three games are the most attracting attention, and they are all live broadcasts in the United States.
After training this afternoon, Wang Tiejun returned home for dinner. Now that the family is here, he usually goes home for dinner when he has time.
After dinner, the bodyguard provided by the Lakers came to pick him up. This man was called Gyas Locke, and the two left the villa.
Gyas Locke was originally the security captain of the Lakers and was responsible for the security of the home court. He is 40 years old this year, white, and a former detective of a Los Angeles police department. His ability to deal with special and emergencies is very good.
Came outside the Great Western Forum Arena, it was 6:30 in the evening, the opening game of the new season, the fans were very crowded and crowded, like a sea of people.
“Old K is here.”
“Old K!”
The fans knew his car and shouted.
The car moved forward with difficulty, slowly approaching the arena, and it took twenty minutes to enter the parking lot.
The game started at 8:00, but Pharaoh was in no hurry, got out of the car, and went to the locker room while chatting casually with Locke.
Brother Fei and his parents will also watch the game tonight. Because there is a big treasure, he will not sit below, but in the private room given to him by the Lakers.
At seven o’clock, he entered the locker room. The teammates and the coaching staff had already arrived. He greeted him and began to change his clothes.
After a while, the old Bass and West, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Kareem also appeared outside the locker room.
Jabbar also joined the Lakers’ coaching staff a few days ago to teach Pharaoh a big hook with his master Bill Portka.
The old Bass always had a smile on his face. Just yesterday, the league announced the national live broadcasts of each team in the new season. The Lakers ranked second. Only after the Knicks, the Knicks had 56 games, and the Lakers had 53 games. This means that the Lakers can share a lot of revenue from broadcast rights.
A large number of live broadcasts in the United States will further attract those sponsors and increase the sponsorship income of the Lakers.
Tonight is the opening game. It is Pharaoh’s first show in the Lakers. The opponent is the Jazz, the first team that has reached the championship level. Therefore, the ticket price is particularly expensive. The average price has reached 388 US dollars, and it is still sold out. .
At this time, the Great Western Forum Arena was already full, and the most expensive front-row celebrities and celebrities were dazzling and extremely dazzling.
At 7:30, the two teams announced their starting rosters.
Sir: Sabonis, Karl Malone, Brian Russell, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton
Lakers: Wang Tiejun, Tyron Hill, Chris Mullin, Richmond, Mark Price
Tonight’s game will be televised nationally by TNT and will be broadcast by two of the station’s leading commentators, Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan.
Albert said: “Tonight, six championship-level teams will play together, and the new season will definitely have a hot start.
Let’s look at the ratings first, wow, the game hasn’t even started, it’s already over 25 million, I think tonight’s game between the Lakers and the Jazz will break through 30 million.
For a regular season, this is quite high, which was unthinkable a few years ago, and the finals may not be able to reach this rating.
I remember the 1992 finals, when Jordan defended and won the championship, the ratings only reached 36 million, that has broken the historical record, it is not what it used to be! ”
“The development of the NBA league has indeed been very fast in recent years, as you can see from the increase in the salary cap.”
Harlan nodded quickly and continued: “Especially if the league’s two signature players have changed teams, whether their performance is still strong is very interesting.
Especially Michael Jordan, he will turn 35 in February next year. Whether he can play the peak performance of last season with the Knicks is worth looking forward to. ”
Albert smiled: “The Jazz introduced Sabonis, the king of Europe, the roof of the world, which not only made up for the height of the basket that the Jazz lacked before, but also increased the low-post attack, and at the same time, the ability to launch fast breaks has also been enhanced. Sabonis can provide a lot of reinforcements for the Jazz, so now this Jazz should really have the strength to hit the championship.”
Harlan nodded and said: “The Lakers are also quite strong, with the first player in active duty, Old K, even if the Lakers are equivalent to complete
However, with the leadership ability of old K, with his strength, and his almighty, we should be able to combine this Lakers team. Ridged and his stars are also here for the championship. I think they It should also cooperate with the old K. ”
Albert laughed: “The Lakers are the real rebuild. There were only three players left last season, and none of them had the strength to enter the main lineup.
I think the Lakers need at least half a season of running-in to really integrate everyone’s strengths together. ”
“Groom, then who do you think will win tonight?” Harlan asked.
“Jazz is more stable, I want to say Jazz, but I’m afraid of being slapped in the face by old K.” Albert laughed.
“Haha…” The two of them laughed in unison when they said this.
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili and Su Qun were also analyzing.
“Old K’s debut in the Lakers, I hope the game will start soon!” Su Qun said excitedly.
“Come on, the substitutes are starting to warm up.” Zhang Lili laughed.
“Director Zhang, the top six will compete for hegemony in the new season. There are three strong teams on the east and west sides. This season’s games should be quite good.” Su Qun laughed.
“This should be what Stern was expecting.”
Zhang Lili said with a smile: “However, the difference in popularity between teams is too great. Major markets like the Knicks and Lakers have 50+ live broadcasts in the United States, while a bottom-placed market like the Spurs has only two games this season. live nationwide.”
“The Spurs only have two games?” Su Qun said in surprise.
“Yes, the Admiral is gone, the team is rebuilt, it’s completely unattractive, the average ticket price for the Spurs is only $4.50, and the season ticket sales are very bad. Not one game, right? ESPN and TNT broadcasters each gave one game, and the other broadcasters didn’t give one game.” Zhang Lili laughed.
Suqun asked at this time: “Director Zhang, what do you think is the chance of the Lakers winning the championship this season? According to ESPN’s prediction, the six strong teams are all about the same.
Even Jordan, after having a monster like O’Neal, ESPN, who has always been optimistic about him, only gave a 19% chance of winning the championship. ”
Zhang Lili said: “It’s almost the same, everyone has a very strong lineup. Although Jordan has a low-post monster like O’Neal as his teammate, you have to see that the other five strong teams all have a strong interior combination, and they have a real chance of winning. It’s hard to say.”
Su Qun nodded and said: “The Pacers have Ewing + Rick Schmitz, the Celtics have David Robinson, the Lakers have Old K, the Jazz have Postman + Sabonis, and the Blazers have Big Dream + Duncan. Quite strong, whether O’Neal + Oakley can prevail, not sure.
However, David Robinson and Old K lost a little bit. The other four teams have strong interior partners, but the two of them do not. ”
“ladies and gentlemen…”
At this time, the starter began to play, the lights in the audience dimmed, and the voice of the Lakers live host Mones John sounded.
In the player tunnel, the two teams met in the starting lineup.
The relationship between Pharaoh and the postman is not like before, they used to start a fight when they had a disagreement, but now they nodded and said hello.
“Jeff, how are you doing now?” Pharaoh and Hornacek said hello.
“Alright.” Hornacek laughed.
Old Wang suddenly approached and said, “How long is your contract?”
“This season is the contract year.” Hornacek was startled and whispered.
“If you don’t win the championship again, come and help me.”
Old Wang said something, patted Hornacek on the shoulder, and went to say hello to Sabonis.
Hornacek was startled again and smiled.
The visiting team played next, and the Great Western Forum Arena did not boo them. The opening game of the new season gave face and some applause.
When it was the home team’s turn, the enthusiastic cheers and applause showed the enthusiasm of the Lakers fans.
“Let’s welcome The Rock…Mitch Richmond.”
“…the Left Hand of God…Chris Mullin.”
Following the host’s shout, Tyron Hill and Mark Price also appeared one after another, and finally it was Old K’s turn.
“Now, let’s welcome the first active member of the Alliance, the greatest behemoth, the restricted area sweeper, the conqueror Caesar…”
As the host Mones John shouted out the nicknames of the old kings, the Great Western Forum Arena erupted with huge shouts, like waves of waves crashing on the shore, sweeping the hearts of countless people .
Wang Tiejun stepped out of the player tunnel with his head held high, high fives with two fans, and high fives with his teammates waiting on both sides.
“Dad, Daddy…”
In the private room, Dabao, who was jumping on Wang Aiguo’s lap, pointed at the huge hanging screen above the court with his little finger and kept shouting.
At eight o’clock, the game officially started.
“A new start.”
Standing on the sidelines, Pharaoh took a deep breath and stepped onto the court.
The Jazz jumped the ball with Sabonis. His partner Hill was only 206 cm. He had to make the jump ball himself. Pharaoh stood in the middle circle.
“Snapped!”
As the ball was thrown, Sabonis couldn’t jump at all, the ball was moved to Mark Price’s position by him, and the Lakers attacked.
The postman is very experienced. Knowing that Sabonis can’t run fast and can’t retreat quickly, he immediately blocked Wang Tiejun so that his partner could retreat in time.
Pharaoh entered the paint area from the free throw line, and Sabonis, who had already retreated to the basket, blocked the front. He immediately turned around and took a position one step below the free throw line, while observing the condition of the ball holder.
“no chance.”
Seeing that Mark Price was entangled by John Stockton and the ball could not come in for a while, he turned around and ran to the left wing low.
Right wing, Teilon Hill took two steps out of the paint.
He doesn’t have the ability to shoot long distances, he has one shot, but his shooting rate is only 38% for two points, and the shooting rate for the last two points is just 30%, so he has a certain ability to pull off, but it is not high enough, and from his shooting rate Look, he’s not shooting enough against defenders.
So the postman let him take two steps and stood at the waist, most of his energy staring at the left flank.
At this time, Mark Price passed the ball to Chris Mullin on the left wing beyond the three-point line, and Pharaoh, who was low on the left wing, immediately carried Sabonis to take the ball.
“The position is very stable, Sabonis can’t stand Old K. Got the ball!” Su Qun shouted.
“Be careful of the weak side team!” Zhang Lili shouted at the same time.
On the right wing, the postman turned around and rushed to the left wing at the moment of passing the ball, implemented a weak side assist defense, and came close to the bottom line to double-team.
Because of the timely assistance in defense, the moment Pharaoh received the ball, he was already behind Sabonis, completely blocking the possibility of Pharaoh slipping.
But at this moment, Pharaoh took a swing, turned around and slipped, and after continuing to attract Sabonis and the postman, he suddenly took another swing, turned up, and between dribbling, a fierce and fierce With a quick sprint, he entered the paint area from the waist.
The three steps of the plum blossom walking step, swinging step, to deal with the opponent, and striding step, to make a rapid advance.
Swinging steps, mainly flexible and sudden changes, and taking steps, like a stabbing steel gun, fast and fierce, killing to the end.
The current plum blossom step makes his movement speed not only more flexible and changeable than the previous bear step, but also faster and fiercer.
When he entered the paint area, Brian Russell, who came from the top of the bread, reached out and intercepted the ball, and he was half a step slower, and he could only watch him burst in and fall behind.
One step into the paint area, the next moment, he stepped on the ground, and a behemoth weighing 135 kilograms flew to the basket.
“So fast!”
The postman and Sabonis were stunned, they could only watch Old K fly up.
At this moment, the mouths of all Lakers fans opened wide, and the fingers of all media reporters after the bottom line began to frantically press the shutter.
“boom!”
With the violent smashing of baskets, the entire Great Western Forum Arena roared, and the boiling cheers were like an erupting volcano.
“Kacha Kacha…” The media footage behind the bottom line is also flickering frantically.
“Woooooooooooo…”
On the live commentary booth on the sidelines, a live commentator roared in excitement, simulating the sound of a bomber.
Another on-site commentator then shouted loudly: “This is a low-altitude behemoth bomber belonging to the Lakers. Let’s give him a new nickname. He needs a new nickname belonging to the Lakers. How about calling it the Behemoth bomber?”
“The Beast Bomber! The Beast Bomber…” The Lakers fans in the audience shouted one after another.
“No, no, no, Sabonis is slow, he can’t control old K, he can’t control the beast, Jazz can’t beat old K, still can’t beat old K…”
In the TNT live broadcast booth, the groom Albert roared excitedly.
Kevin Harlan, his partner next to him, also said excitedly: “No, it’s the old K that is a little faster, no, it’s the old K that is more flexible, his pace has improved, and the rhythm under his feet is faster.”
“Anyway, he is faster and more flexible, and it seems that his ability to combine the ball and the ball is better.” Albert laughed.
“Yeah, it makes him stronger and more dominant in the low post. Oh god, haven’t seen him in a few months, old K is getting stronger again, and he’s still getting stronger after two years in his prime. ?” Harlan growled in surprise.
“Yes, he doesn’t want O’Neal to live. Poor big shark, he’s been chasing old K, haha…” Albert laughed.
In the CCTV live broadcast booth, Zhang Lili said excitedly: “From the point of view of this ball, compared with last season, Tiejun is a little different.
Through the bottoming action, he attracted the defense of the Postman and Sabonis downwards, and then suddenly turned up, which let him completely get rid of the two double-teams, the action rhythm was too good, the action under the foot was not redundant, clean neat.
He could also play like this last season, but his pace is not as good as it is now, so the rhythm and speed of the attack are not as good as this one, and it is easy for defenders to keep up with him.
But this is only one attack, let’s look at Tie Jun’s next performance, I hope he can play more such attacks, because this kind of attack can make him reduce a lot of confrontation, and the wear and consumption of the body will be smaller. There will also be less. ”
At this time, Hornacek made a small open three-pointer by blocking and folding, and missed. Pharaoh carried Sabonis and grabbed the rebound on the postman’s head, and the Lakers attacked.
“Mitch, watch out for pick-and-rolls.” Del Harris quickly reminded Richmond when he lost Hornacek.
The Lakers advanced to the frontcourt, and Mark Price gave the ball to Richmond on the right wing, who singled Hornacek with the ball.
Richmond’s breakthrough is not as fast as before. When it comes to the Kings, especially when he is 30 years old, he mainly shoots from the outside, and the three-pointer is particularly accurate.
When he and Chris Mullin were in the Warriors before, under the training of the old Nelson, he became a breakthrough player, and after becoming the core of the king, he became the most terrible three-pointer in the league.
Now what the Lakers require of him is to hold the ball to attract defense, to open up space for old K, to shoot from the outside, and he doesn’t need to break through, which is also suitable for his current ability and age.
When Richmond got the ball from beyond the 3-point line on the right wing, the Jazz’s defensive formation immediately moved to the right wing.
The left wing was low, Sabonis entered the basket, but Wang Tiejun was not in a hurry to go in.
“Whoosh!”
At this time, Richmond suddenly passed the ball.
“Old K!”
At this moment, the postman on the right wing and Sabonis, who had just entered the basket, reacted. The former turned around and rushed into the paint area, and the latter also rushed to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh had the ball in his hand, Sabonis was already in front, and the action of stealing forced the right hand to give way back, and the next moment, his attack began.
“Squeak!”
Once again, he swayed down, turned around and slipped to the bottom, followed by Zafa, who was advancing fiercely, and rushed forward sharply. Sabonis took a step down and was slow, and he rushed in.
The postman had reached the reasonable collision zone and stood in front of him, but he suddenly slid close to the postman and turned around.
Turned around. This was a swing step to deal with the enemy, and then between the dribble and one step back, suddenly passed between the postman and Sabonis.
Retreat is the step of retreat, used to get rid of the opponent and to shift the direction of the attack.
Under the step, he not only got rid of the Postman and Sabonis, but also shifted the direction of the offense. From the left side of the basket, he went around to the front of the basket, then stood up, put a pad on his feet, and picked the basket to easily put the ball. Put in the basket.
“what?”
The postman and Sabonis couldn’t believe their eyes, how could an old K, who was as huge as them, accomplish such a dexterous action?
“yeah!”
The audience cheered, and the narrator’s excited roar sounded again.
“Is this a dream possessed?”
Suqun’s eyes widened, and his face was incredulous.
“No, no, no, big dreams may not be able to do this. This is the action of the outside line hitting the inside line, and the inside line doesn’t have such a pace.” Zhang Lili also had a face full of disbelief.
In the TNT live broadcast booth, Albert still had a shocked look on his face, and said in surprise: “This is the change of old K?”
“A 135kg heavy behemoth with the pace of a big dream, coupled with his original low-post attack, how strong will he become?” Harlan said in surprise.
“Is this the peak old K?” Albert murmured.