Chapter 1114 1113. Never Admit that I Am a Center Forward

When the Spurs came to the Phillips Arena, all the starters were booed, but Nazr Mohammed, who was on the bench, received applause from the fans.

After the players from the Hawks entered the court, the owner of the Hawks, Price, came out and sealed Mohammed's No. 2 jersey and gave it to him. Liu Mang gave Mohammed his second championship ring.

The Hawks' jerseys this season have changed from the previous red and white to red and dark blue, which means that Mohammed's No. 2 Hawks jersey and similar No. 2 jerseys will no longer be worn.

Of course, it is impossible to retire the jersey, but it is also a rare honor for a role player. Mohammed's sealed version of the jersey was placed in the Hawks' Honor Exhibition Room.

When the players who left the Hawks in the past two years returned to Atlanta to play for the first time, the Spurs were one of the few new clubs for former Hawks players, and they were not envious at all.

The three horses, Duncan, won two championships, and the other two brothers also won one each.

Liu Mang and Muhammad had a brief chat. He knew that after Muhammad switched from the most promising team in the East to the most promising team in the West, he was doing well. He had playing time and the team was disciplined. The Spurs were a very mature team at this stage. As a role player, he just needed to complete his tasks.

Yesterday, Muhammad did not come to the party, perhaps to avoid suspicion. The core of the team like the Troika did not need to worry so much. Muhammad has always been a good person and was famous for his leadership in the locker room. On the contrary, players like Muhammad have more things to consider. After all, there are many players in the Spurs who are full of hatred for Liu Mang.

After chatting for a while, Liu Mang returned to his own half and began to review the manuscript with the press officer.

At 8:25, the game was about to start in a few minutes. The live broadcasts of ESPN and Chaoting TV were now cut to the live screen.

Liu Mang took the manuscript that he had prepared with the team's press officer a few days ago, took the microphone, and came to the middle of the court. The spotlights and cameras were all aimed at him.

This time is different from the past three years. In the past three years, he was asked by the court TV station to record a blessing video for New Year's Eve and Spring Festival. This time is different. In addition to the New Year's Eve blessing and Spring Festival blessing that the court TV station asked him to record half a month ago, it was put into the live broadcast of "New Year's War"!

"Happy New Year, fans in front of the TV, I wish you all a prosperous Year of the Dog..."

The Eagles notified the fans who came to watch the game at the scene when they checked tickets for admission in the afternoon. When Liu Mang came to the center circle, the fans at the scene quieted down and let Liu Mang do this big thing.

Although... I don't understand...

Liu Mang felt a lot of pressure, and suddenly felt a kind of "homesickness", which was more nervous than returning to China in the summer to promote sneakers.

After the end, Liu Mang quickly fled back to the bench.

Whether they understood it or not, the fans at the scene blushed when they saw Liu Mang on the big screen. When Liu Mang gave his New Year's greetings, the laughter could not be stopped. Seeing Liu Mang's hasty escape, the scene burst into laughter.

Whether it was the fans in front of the TV or at the scene, no one thought that Liu Mang had this side.

Back on the sidelines, Liu Mang looked at the other team's ability rating.

"Tim Duncan, ability rating 96, offense 94, defense 90, rebounds 94, three-pointers 49, mid-range shots 90, layups 96, speed 81, strength 94..."

Duncan has really become a rookie. This is the worst season of his career so far. His ability rating has dropped to 96. Both offense and defense have declined to some extent. Offense is relatively good. Duncan has developed his mid-range shots to his personal peak. It is definitely not comparable to Nowitzki and Garnett's mid-range shots, and it is even more incomparable to some outside mid-range shooting masters. But he is a tough inside player with super top-notch single-player ability under the basket. His mid-range shots are top-notch, but the threat under the basket allows him to have more open mid-range shots in singles. When he is most accurate, his role is no worse than Garnett and Nowitzki.

The main decline is on the defensive end. From the ranks of those who could compete for the best defensive player before, he has become the edge of the top defense.

Ginobili still maintains his peak strength of 90, Parker has made great progress and has been upgraded to 88. The three horses are becoming more and more like a three-horse team. Liu Mang estimates that in the next season, the strength of the three horses should be the most balanced year.

However, except for Duncan's offense and defense, and no obvious weaknesses except free throws, Parker and Ginobili are two wheels, and their advantages and disadvantages are obvious.

Finley, a small forward, has an ability rating of 79, which is still worth fighting. The Mavericks gave up on him not because of his big contract. The buyout still costs money, just to straighten the two ugly ones.

Sprewell's ability rating is 80, a treasure found by the Spurs. If he hadn't had too big an appetite and had a falling out with the Timberwolves, the only team willing to give him a big contract, he would have been able to get a middle-class contract.

The bench also includes hard-working center Muhammad with an ability rating of 78, former All-Star Van Exel with an ability rating of 77, Nesterovic with an ability rating of 74, Bruce Bowen with a three-point ability rating of 88, and Slovenian shooter point guard Udrih with an ability rating of 75.

The Spurs' lineup is even better than last season!

But...Liu Mang thought about the Spurs' appearance ceremony today. One of the starting big men was named Fabricio Oberto. Liu Mang looked at the No. 21 opposite who refused to admit that he was a center. He is obviously a center this season, but he still dares to say that he is a power forward. Under that honest face, there is full of greed for the All-Star starter.

Oberto is a famous pseudo-starter this season. Ginobili's teammate of the Argentina national team, the 31-year-old rookie, has an ability rating of 71, averaging 4 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.

Liu Mang looked at this inside man who was probably about the same height as Prince and said he was a center. Who would believe him?

But this team was really a troublesome opponent. Liu Mang observed the opponent and went to the technical table to apply magnesium powder.

After Liu Mang's pre-game activities ended, the game, which would not end until 11 o'clock at night at the earliest, was about to begin.

Little Jimmy, who came to the sidelines to watch the game, looked at Prince dancing in an increasingly arrogant manner as the lights dimmed, and thought to himself: "Is this what Brother Ace said, no matter how high your heart is, people will be How cool? Should I learn to dance?”

…

Following Rasheed Wallace's roar, Liu Mang threw magnesium powder into the air when the lights came on, and the two teams started.

For the Eagles, all the main players are on the field today. They played against the Timberwolves in the last game. Revenge against the Timberwolves is only a secondary purpose. The main purpose is to get used to the playing style of all the main players in this game with the Spurs.

Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown started.

For the Spurs, Parker, Sprewell, Finley, Fabricio Oberto, and Duncan started.

Kwame Brown hit another No. 21 with a double-20 the day before yesterday. He was very excited today and came to the center circle to prepare for a jump ball.

Liu Mang looked at the completely different expressions of the two insiders. Liu Mang felt that his younger brother was a bit embarrassed...

Just when Liu Mang was looking forward to what kind of performance Duncan would have in the Spurs' team's style of play that has shifted from inside offense to outside offense today, the system prompt came.

"Ding... the hidden characteristics of the born king: trigger smoothly, every time in his career when the team system changes and his own style of play is forced to change, he will progress very smoothly and always maintain the king's posture in his position. From Tim Duncan. "

Duncan's basic skills, as well as his hard-working training that doesn't like publicity, allow him to remain stable every time when the team undergoes major changes, as always, until he can't play anymore!

Liu Mang was very impressed. In 2015, the Spurs had a poor regular season record and finished seventh in the Western Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. People thought the Spurs were doomed. However, in the 2015-16 season, Duncan led the Spurs to 67 wins. The best record in the team's history...but unfortunately was killed by the mid-range shots of the Thunder's two young men.

To be too old to die is to be a thief!

Liu Mang saw that Ginobili had let himself go and showed off his Mediterranean hairstyle. He felt that this guy was too evil!

jump ball!

The referee came to the center circle, blew the whistle to start the game, and threw the ball into the air.

Duncan's face was expressionless, but his heart was probably in turmoil. After all, the opponent was the only opponent he had ever lost in the finals. He jumped up hard...

Time is cruel. Duncan, who is about to turn 30, has a slower bounce than last season. Kwame Brown easily won the jump ball from the top pick.

The Eagles attack first!

Liu Mang received the jump ball and advanced to the frontcourt, and Sprewell immediately moved towards Liu Mang.

That rough defensive action was even more exciting than the Timberwolves' defense!

The key is that the referee didn't call it!

Seeing Sprewell's ferocious look like a wild dog pouncing on food, Liu Mang did not give in. He protected the ball with his right hand and pushed Sprewell forward with his left shoulder. Liu Mang wanted to move to the right side of the top arc and reached the goal. His favorite pick-and-roll position, however, Sprewell squeezed tightly to Liu Mang's right side. Liu Mang found a gap on the left, swung the ball toward the back right with his right hand, quickly turned 270 degrees, and turned from left to left. Move sideways.

Liu Mang quickly stepped into the three-point line, and Sprewell caught up. After Liu Mang stepped into the three-point line, he suddenly took a step to the left and jumped to a 45-degree angle on the left. Sprewell was caught by Liu Mang. With his sudden turn and step back after the breakthrough, he swung directly towards the baseline.

A total joke!

The fans at the scene watched Liu Mang's series of moves knocking Sprewell away, and they were all cheering. Liu Mang's ugly retreat step that everyone is used to is about to come...

but!

Just as Liu Mang retreated to a 45-degree angle, Parker was already blocking him!

Liu Mang caught the ball at the left midfielder and was almost intercepted. Fortunately, he held it firmly with his left hand and immediately passed the ball with his left hand to Prince in the left corner. Prince received the ball and shot a three-pointer. …

It was a bit surprising today, Prince made his first three-point shot!

He got an assist, but Liu Mang felt strange when he retreated. The opponent's defense... what was going on?