Chapter 1039 1038. Boxing Pass
In the Phillips Arena, signs with "17-S.V" can be seen everywhere.
That means 17 consecutive wins! Hawks fans are looking forward to their team winning 17 consecutive games and continuing the winning streak.
However, in addition to these signs, there are also quite a few fans holding signs with slogans such as "Ace, can we change our shooting moves?"
In general, the fans at the scene are very happy now, and they don't care about booing the Supersonics. Their team is now in the best start in team history. Hawks fans are the happiest fans in the past two years.
The Hawks players are okay, but the fans have reached the point of being arrogant. They treat the fourth place in the West as a soft persimmon.
Hawks fans are not without arrogant people. Like fans of other teams or stars, there are rational ones and trolls, but they all defend the home team.
When Liu Mang was the last to enter the field, the scene had already heard the call of "MVP". Since December, Liu Mang no longer needs to play well at home, and there will be MVP calls when he appears on the field.
Liu Mang waved to the fans and smiled when the camera came. He felt very tired. Recently, the live camera was always given to him. Time Warner has begun to broadcast a large number of Eagles games in Georgia. After 10 consecutive wins, it has not missed a single game.
Since the price of state live broadcast is cheaper than that of national live broadcast, the Eagles have a very high local ratings. When Liu Mang was sitting on the sidelines, he was discussing tactics or chatting with his teammates. When the camera came, he immediately smiled.
This is the requirement of the team and the broadcaster to create a good image for Liu Mang.
Now it is time for Liu Mang to build his image. As a professional player, sometimes some seemingly unimportant details have to be maintained well.
LeBron James is the best one.
This game is broadcast live on ESPN, so Liu Mang must give face.
After dealing with the live camera, Liu Mang observed the opponent's players.
Francis, with an ability rating of 88, is still the same as before, with no improvement in technology. He has not made any progress since entering the NBA. He is the type who relies on talent to play. He will be 29 years old in February next year. He is at his peak. He plays in the Sonics, the team that suits him best. He is not marginalized like he was in the Magic. Now he has a good understanding with his teammates and a 70% winning rate, aiming for 60 wins.
The top five teams in the West all have the possibility of 60 wins. Liu Mang hopes that they can fight among themselves.
However, Francis has the greatest impact on the Sonics, but he is not the strongest player in the Sonics. Ray Allen is the strongest one.
Ray Allen, with an ability rating of 91, offense 94, defense 84, three-pointers 94, mid-range shots 93, layups 92...
The most special player, the closer to the basket, the lower the evaluation of the shot.
Ray Allen averaged 27 points per game this season with Francis passing the ball, the highest in his career. When he met Francis at his peak, Ray Allen played his best performance, averaging 27 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, that is, shooting, averaging 3.5 three-pointers per game.
Rashard Lewis, ability rating 85, offense 89, defense 77, three-pointer 93, mid-range 92, layup 83... A player with a strong shooting ability and no other ability except shooting, averaging only 5 rebounds per game as a power forward, but averaging 20 points per game by shooting, is also a very suitable player for Francis.
With three players above the first-class stars, the "Big Three" of the Supersonics this season are still powerful.
Liu Mang thought of his big brother Rahim, both of whom were players whose fate was changed, but his big brother's fate was a bit unfortunate.
In addition to these two three-point masters who fit in with Francis, there are also Luke Ridnour, Earl Watson, two outside shooters, and Damier Wilkins and other role players with good shooting.
This kind of team is difficult for opponents to deal with.
But for the Hawks, the advantage is still obvious.
Liu Mang is very confident. He has won 16 games in a row. It is impossible for him to be unconfident.
Liu Mang did not greet the other side. There was no acquaintance, and the relationship between the two teams was not very good.
After the people who were doing activities on the court left, the players of the two teams began the final warm-up preparations before the game.
Liu Mang took the ball and came to his own basket to try shooting.
First, he threw a few snipers. Sure enough, this action seemed to be magical. It quickly attracted the attention of the fans at the scene. The group of fans at the scene followed Liu Mang and swung together. The sniper actions that came one after another at the scene made a sound of "whoa..." at the same time.
It's really too much!
Originally, this action didn't seem so painful, but it felt really magical when the whole audience did it together!
The players of the Hawks and the Supersonics couldn't help laughing. Seeing that there were nearly 20,000 people at the scene, no matter adults, children or the elderly, they all joined in the fun. The scene was very magical and spectacular.
"It's been a few years? Why are you still making such a fuss? Isn't it enough to shoot accurately?" Liu Mang complained in his heart, and his originally hesitant heart became more determined.
"System boss, change to McGee's shooting bag."
The advantage of the shooting bag is that it will help Liu Mang to make the shooting action from the consciousness aspect, and whether the shooting is accurate depends on Liu Mang's own control of the ball. If a movement is not too awkward and too unsuitable for shooting and too unsuitable for Liu Mang's own strength habits, as long as he adapts to it, it will not be too bad.
Of course, if it is a shooting action like step-back, using a posture close to the standard shooting action like Kobe and Jordan, the speed is definitely not as fast as the step-back shooting without much pre-action like Harden and the ball, which is just pushed out or thrown out.
After changing the shooting bag, Liu Mang repeatedly appeared in his mind.
Liu Mang received the ball thrown by Prince at the top arc, patted the ball, and then grabbed the ball with one hand and held it in front of his face.
You want to change a new shooting posture, right!
Then let you open your eyes!
Liu Mang felt the attention of the whole audience, and suddenly, his elbow turned inward, his forearm was almost parallel to the ground, and he shrugged his shoulders and threw the ball out in an extremely awkward posture.
"Bang..."
This was the first time Liu Mang personally experienced this shooting bag. Although he shot accurately and had excellent control of the ball, he still deviated a lot and almost missed it.
That posture of exerting force was simply amazing!
But this is not the point. The point is the expressions of the fans and the players of both teams who were watching Liu Mang. It was so wonderful!
Can it be uglier?
I thought the flick shot had reached the peak of ugliness, and it could compete with Rick Barry's urine pot free throw and Shawn Marion's 38-style shot for the ugliest shooting action in history. Unexpectedly, Liu Mang's shot was ugly to a new level this time!
Originally, people just wanted to follow Liu Mang when he practiced the flick shot, and even some players followed him. After all, the topic of Liu Mang's shooting posture has been popular for several days recently.
But I didn't expect to see this scene!
It's so eye-catching!
When Liu Mang tried to use this shooting action with a step back, the fans at the scene wailed...
"Ace, I was wrong, the flick shot is still very beautiful, don't torture me!" The fan next to the basket couldn't help but yelled at Liu Mang.
That voice scared Liu Mang.
However, Liu Mang made a spoof and felt much more comfortable. He switched back to the flick shot and tried two step backs to get the feeling back.
At this time, people found that... the flick shot... was not so ugly... at least not as ugly as the previous one!
Coach Kruger was speechless when he saw Liu Mang's prank.
Can't he be more mature!
The game was about to start. Coach Kruger called the players together and made the final tactical arrangements. The referee reminded the two teams that the game was about to start and they should do the opening moves quickly, mainly targeting the Hawks.
...
With Rasheed Wallace's roar, Liu Mang sprinkled magnesium powder into the air. The fans who were originally relaxed and happy and disgusted at the scene immediately got into the state, and the devil's home court started!
Liu Mang played with McGrady, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown.
Francis started with Ray Allen, Damier Wilkins, Lewis, and Wilcox.
Kwame Brown came to the center circle and stood with Wilcox, the No. 8 pick in 2002 who was dug from the Clippers by the Supersonics, to prepare for the jump ball.
Wilcox, with an ability rating of 77, is a wild power forward. When he arrived at the Supersonics and had Francis pass the ball, his data soared from the level of about 7+4 to an average of 14+8 per game. As a center in the Supersonics, his height of 2.08 meters was barely enough.
Kwame Brown is very familiar with Wilcox. They were high school opponents. Wilcox was from South Carolina and Kwame Brown was from North Carolina. They played against each other many times in high school. Kwame Brown knew the physical talent of the opponent. When he arrived at a team with a good point guard, Wilcox, who was only 24 years old like Kwame Brown, broke out this season.
Facing his old opponent, Kwame Brown showed no mercy. After the referee threw the ball into the air, Kwame Brown quickly bounced up and pushed the ball to the back.
In terms of physical fitness, Kwame Brown is too good.
Liu Mang received the ball, and the entire Hawks team pressed in quickly.
The speed of the Supersonics is not as fast as that of the Hawks. They mainly play fast when attacking, shoot decisively and quickly, and the rhythm of offense and defense transition is average.
Liu Mang seized the opponent's speed weakness from the beginning and quickly advanced to the frontcourt.
Liu Mang felt that Francis's defensive awareness was really poor, and he didn't block the defense well. Liu Mang accelerated to the right side of the midline and passed Francis in one go.
When Liu Mang was about to reach the three-point line, Ray Allen came to make up for it, and Liu Mang quickly passed the ball to McGrady who cut in.
The Supersonics immediately double-teamed McGrady. After Francis was passed by Liu Mang, he did not chase Liu Mang, but chased McGrady. After Liu Mang passed the ball, Ray Allen immediately went back to defend McGrady.
Francis was not blocking the defense, but a tactical mistake!
However... McGrady punched the ball when he was about to receive the ball, and the ball bounced back to Liu Mang!
Liu Mang received the ball on the right side of the top arc, and almost didn't react. He shot quickly after receiving the ball!
Quick Shooting Master Level 5 is triggered!
Liu Mang's three-point shooting speed after receiving the ball is 30% faster than his own shooting after dribbling. Before Damir Wilkins switched defense and rushed over, Liu Mang had already shot the ball!
Liu Mang continued his hot hand in the past 16 games and hit a three-pointer at the beginning!
The fans at the scene exclaimed, not for Liu Mang, but for McGrady!
What a wasteful pass!
McGrady did not pass the ball after receiving it, otherwise he would be double-teamed and the passing route would be disturbed, so he punched the ball back to Liu Mang.
This ball is full of imagination! And the confidence in his passing ability and the tacit understanding with Liu Mang!