Chapter 1024 1023. Military Morale

Relying on the easy schedule given by the league, the Hawks had a perfect start to the new season.

After a big win over the Grizzlies, the Hawks came to Orlando to play the Magic back-to-back.

The easy win against the Grizzlies yesterday gave the Hawks' main players a good rest.

Back-to-back, no time to reminisce with old teammates.

Moreover, with the relationship between Liu Mang, Jason Terry and Rahim, the first generation of the "Three Eagles", they have reached the point where they don't need to deliberately maintain their relationship. During the afternoon warm-up, they met and chatted, and then went to warm up and prepare for the game.

The warm-up was almost over, and Liu Mang took the scout report. There was not much time to read the scout report during the back-to-back game, and the opponent was not strong. The performance at the beginning of this year was not good, and there was no more time and energy to read the scout report. There was about an hour before the game started, and Liu Mang took the scout report to read it.

"Kwame, we are going to play against the first-round center of high school tonight. His data is better than yours!" Liu Mang took the scout report and moved to Kwame Brown.

Kwame Brown hadn't read the scout report yet, but after a quick look, it was true!

Dwight Howard made rapid progress in his sophomore year. He played seven games at the start of the season and averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds per game.

After Kwame Brown finished the game against the Grizzlies, he averaged 15.5 points and 12 rebounds per game, which was not as good as this sophomore!

I can't stand it!

Kwame Brown himself knows that his data has not improved much, mainly because his playing time is not as much as last season, because there is too much garbage time. He can average 15+12 per game, thanks to Liu Mang's shooting less this season.

Liu Mang averaged "only" 20.5 shots per game this season, averaging 31 points per game. In most games, he held the ball less, allowing others to hold the ball more, and chose to pass more, so that more teammates benefited.

Kwame Brown is also one of the beneficiaries, becoming one of the four players on the team who averaged 15+ per game.

However, when people face things, they often ignore some objective factors and choose to judge some things subjectively.

Now Kwame Brown is very upset with Howard, who is also the No. 1 center.

"Boss, can you pass me more balls tonight? I want to score more than that kid! My stats are better than his! I will be grateful to you forever! A once-in-a-lifetime request!" Kwame Brown looked at Liu Mang with eager eyes.

"..."

Liu Mang originally just wanted to stimulate Kwame Brown to kill Howard, but he didn't expect Kwame Brown to be a little wild!

It's come to this, a once-in-a-lifetime request... Wait, Liu Mang feels that this is a bit familiar!

"Kwame, you said that last year too!" Liu Mang said angrily.

"Uh..." Kwame Brown remembered, it seems that he did say... "Boss, this is not important, the important thing is that the kid scored 34 points, two more than my 32 points!"

Liu Mang took another look at the scout report, yes, Howard's career high of 34 points, created this season, Kwame Brown's best statistic is 32 points, but Kwame Brown had 20 rebounds that time!

Liu Mang said that he always felt something was wrong. Kwame Brown wanted to have better stats than Howard in this game. Why did he need his help?

So it was for this!

However, this kind of thing is not something that Liu Mang can do alone. He needs the cooperation of his teammates.

Looking at Kwame Brown's expectation, Liu Mang said helplessly: "Kwame, go and call the others, let's discuss it."

"Got it!" Kwame Brown immediately went to find his teammates.

After the teammates gathered together, they looked at Howard's performance at the beginning of his sophomore year. It was indeed a bit strong!

The key is age. Howard will only turn 20 next month, and this is 17+13!

Given that Howard is regarded as the core of the Magic, his data this season will not decline too much. Basically, it will be between 16 and 18 points, and 12 and 14 rebounds. This is quite impressive.

The last inside player who could get this data at the age of 20 was Shaquille O'Neal.

They are all centers of the Magic.

In Kwame Brown's expectant eyes, Liu Mang said that he wanted to help Kwame Brown beat Howard once.

Teammates responded one after another, and everyone was obliged to get the No. 1 pick! Even Howard's high school teammate Josh Smith wanted to see Howard suffer.

Why was Kwame Brown targeted by his peers? Why did other inside players of the same class enjoy stepping on him when he was in the Wizards?

The No. 1 pick is the original sin!

If the No. 1 pick is not strong, all the players of the same class will want to abuse him when they see him.

Seeing this atmosphere of unity, Liu Mang felt that it was not in vain to change his playing style since the preseason this season.

Liu Mang was ready this season to help his teammates perform well.

Liu Mang knew that with his playing style and skills, the data would not be bad. Now for the Hawks, the important thing is the enthusiasm of the team, and it is more important to maintain enthusiasm.

This is a "previous lesson", a lesson learned from the future 58 gods.

In the 2017-2018 season, theoretically speaking, Liu Mang felt that the Warriors and Rockets were the two best teams in that season. The results of that season were not important. What was important was the new season. The boss of the Rockets took all the benefits. On the Warriors' side, the three Tsunami brothers are willing to give up power and help their teammates get good data. It seems that the data has become mediocre, but this has eliminated some of the hidden dangers of the three championships in the previous four years, such as impetuosity, such as He concealed his desire to be independent and succeeded in winning three consecutive championships to establish a dynasty.

As the boss and soul of a team, Liu Mang knows that he has to do more than just play well. The Eagles don't have that background, so he has to establish a team culture for the team.

At this stage, the important thing is to eliminate the hidden dangers that are about to be in the slack period after two consecutive championships.

From the current point of view, Liu Mang's plan is successful. When playing against weaker teams, he takes fewer shots so that his teammates can play happily; in key games, when his teammates are unable to do it, he Get the ball back and lead the team to victory.

Liu Mang learns various techniques and doesn't just put them aside. Like when he was playing against the Heat, the opponent's inside line was too strong and he had no chance to get down low. O'Neal was such a big guy, so getting down low would be a recipe for death. He used high post plays and outside breakthroughs. Choose the offensive method according to the opponent's defense, and use your own personal ability to attack when the team cannot open up.

Selective paddling and letting his teammates play will be very beneficial to Liu Mang in motivating his teammates this season for his third consecutive championship.

And it didn't appear to be very deliberate. Liu Mang didn't make any shots that he should have made. He just reduced the number of strong shots that he shouldn't have taken in games where the opponent was not that strong. The team's tactics were still executed stably. Liu Mang's efficiency also became better because of his teammates. Well, once he had better opportunities to shoot, his numbers didn't drop that much.

but……

Liu Mang felt a little bored after only half a month of this kind of day.

It's great to help teammates score, but I always feel that something is missing and I need to do something!

The last time Liu Mang scored 53 points, the fans felt that it was normal. He seemed to be unable to make any noise when he made troubles. The fans were used to his excellence. In this case, they helped his teammates to make troubles!

There are so many insiders for the No. 1 pick... Just Kwame Brown, you can come one by one...

When his teammates responded positively, Kwame Brown smiled like Michael Jordan, with a smug look...

Liu Mang also thought it was quite fun. The key is that if something like this is done, the teammates will be happy and cohesion will be enhanced. If it fails... everyone works hard together. If it fails, it is a failure. Just try it again next time.

Sometimes, people shouldn't think too much. As soon as Liu Mang's thoughts came out, the system immediately followed up...

"Ding...because the host takes the initiative to build team culture for the team and individuals, the special mission: military morale is triggered."

"Military spirit: The host needs to create a good team atmosphere and enthusiasm for the championship for the Hawks in the second consecutive season of defending the championship. Mission reward: Title buff: Atlanta Hawks team soul. Failure penalty: None."

"Military Spirit Series Missions: Kwame Brown's Expectations Triggered."

"Kwame Brown's expectations: The host needs to help Kwame Brown score at least 35 points in the next game against the Magic. Task reward: Kwame Brown's points exceeding 34 points are multiplied by 1000. Failure penalty : When Kwame Brown scores less than 35 points, 3,000 superstar points will be deducted for every 1 point less.”

"I'll go!" Liu Mang just wanted to cause trouble, so why did he end up with a mission?

…

…

At 7 o'clock in the evening on November 12th, a highly focused game in the Southeast Division is about to begin.

The Eagles play the Magic, which is a lot to watch.

The duel between Tracy McGrady and Raheem, the champion small forward pair, and Liu Mang's two helpers before and after, both helped Liu Mang win the championship. When partnering with Liu Mang, one won the assists king and the other the rebound king. Since last season, the two have been compared.

In terms of lineup matching, Rahim is more suitable for Liu Mang, but there is no doubt that McGrady is stronger, but Rahim is not weak either. It is too normal for the two to be put together.

The direct confrontation between Kwame Brown and Howard, the No. 1 high school center pick, has a lot to watch.

For example, data, Howard is only in his second year, and his data has surpassed Kwame Brown in almost all aspects.

In fact, Kwame Brown has only achieved his worth in the past two years.

In addition to these two pairs of opponents, the two teams also have popular stars like Liu Mang and Grant Hill, which are a lot to watch.

T.N.T Sports Channel broadcast the game live. When the players of the two teams entered the stadium, Charles Barkley ignored the TV screen and cut to the commentary desk. He hated the bosses of both teams, and both had championships. , he chose to ignore it.

Kenny Smith introduced the highlights of the game to the fans very professionally.

…

For the Eagles, coach Kruger has laid out the tactical framework for dealing with the Magic. The specifics depend on the players' operations.

It's similar to the Zen Master of the Lakers.

Mike Woodson's defense arrangement is much more specific, mainly in details. The Hawks' defensive system began to become clear in Liu Mang's second season in the NBA. It was perfected in the third year, mainly to deal with the defense of Magic players. detail.

After the tactical arrangement, Coach Kruger watched Liu Mang bring his teammates together to discuss the specific details of the offensive end. Coach Kruger and Stockton arranged the tactical framework, and Liu Mang discussed the details with McGrady, Iguodala, and Calderon, four players who had more ball possession. This is the offensive tactical play that the Hawks have determined this year.

Although Calderon does not play much, he is really smart. A player who relies on his brain and touch to play, he is very proficient in tactics.

Liu Mang has a new task. Although it is a bit tricky, it is enough to complete it. He now has 292,197 superstar points. He urgently needs to complete the task to supplement the superstar points and collect one million points for the lottery!

The Hawks are very motivated and united to help Kwame Brown with advice. The atmosphere on the Magic side is not very good this year.

Rahim did not have as good a time this season as last season. It is not because he has less ball possession and plays badly.

He is the kind of player who rarely gets injured as long as he is willing to play. He is very durable. Except for suspension, he has never missed a game due to injury.

He has more shots this season, averaging 22 shots per game in the first seven games of the season, a career high.

He averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game, a career high in assists.

But his shooting percentage dropped to a career low of 42%, which is the lowest shooting percentage at the beginning of all seasons in his entire career except for the shortened season.

The main reason is that Grant Hill has seriously declined this year, which is beyond the expectations of everyone in the Magic.

Grant Hill played more than 60 games last season, averaging 13 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, and performed well, but this season his state has plummeted, like an avalanche.

It's not that Hill didn't fight hard, but that he really couldn't stop the decline in strength. He can still get more than 10 points per game and have four or five rebounds, but his offensive organization has declined rapidly.

He averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and four assists were reduced.

It's not as simple as eight points, but Grant Hill doesn't have the energy and ability to organize the offense!

The Magic started much worse than last season, with only 3 wins and 5 losses. Rahim and Howard, a sophomore, became the only two pillars of the Magic.

If it weren't for Rahim's 25+8+4 and Howard's 17+13, which helped the Magic defend the rebounds, making the Magic the third in the league in terms of average rebounds per game, second only to the Heat and the Clippers, it would be difficult for the Magic to win.

Since the start of the season, the Magic has averaged 90 points per game, the third from the bottom in the league, and 92 points lost per game, the second in the league, second only to the Spurs. The defense is very good, but there is no offense! Averaged 44.5 rebounds per game, if it weren't for a large number of offensive rebounds, they almost became a team with less than 90 points with the Rockets and the Trail Blazers. So far this season, only the Rockets and the Trail Blazers have an average score of less than 90 points per game, and only 5 teams have an average score of less than 95 points per game. The Spurs have an average of 97 points per game.

If you play well, the team atmosphere will be good, because if you play well, it proves that the team's arrangement is right. There is a reason for players with more playing time to play, because they can help the team win.

But if you play badly, everyone will complain, especially the players who don't get so much playing time, they will start to complain and become dissatisfied.

Grant Hill has only played 10 games this season, but he is visibly old. The key is that Grant Hill is paid 16 million US dollars and has a maximum salary for one year, which is higher than the 14.9 million US dollars this season for Rahim, who also has a maximum salary!

Rahim doesn't mind this. He took the initiative to sign a six-year contract and didn't get the biggest contract in order to help the Hawks get McGrady.

But others are different. Just like the Rockets players in the future will obey Harden's contract but not the chairman of the guild, the contradictions within the Magic team began to arise.

Like Turkoglu, he feels that he can completely replace Hill as the starter, but the head coach doesn't give him a chance.

Rahim saw a group of people on the other bench chatting happily, and looked at the cold atmosphere on his side...

The road was chosen by himself. Rahim had prepared for the worst. Although he missed the past days, he was reluctant to let go of the feeling of playing as the strongest player in the team.

Rahim, who will be 29 in a month, doesn't want to be a younger brother to others when he is at his best.

But... Rahim looked at the only player in the team who was still smiling. Why is his best teammate this guy!

...

The pre-match preparation time ended, and the starting lineups of the two teams came on the court.

The Magic sent out the starting lineup of Nelson, DeShawn Stevenson, Hill, Rahim, and Howard.

On the Hawks side, Liu Mang, McGrady, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown appeared in the starting lineup.

Howard, who had been smiling all the time, suddenly felt a chill after he came on the court. He came to the center circle and found that everyone on the Hawks was staring at him. It felt bad!