Chapter 1414 1413. The Yellow Mamba of the Future
Look to the future.
Brandon Roy looked at the motto posted on the inside of the closet, and he firmly believed that he would succeed one day.
At least he had a good start. After more than half a season of hard work, he successfully made the team determined to clean up the old generation of core members. He finally succeeded in counterattacking despite not being optimistic at the beginning and became the team's future outside core.
Roy now averages 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. At this point in the season, the data will not change much. There is no doubt that Roy is the strongest among this year's rookies.
It's time to play against the Hawks again. Roy is not in a particularly good mood. He can only use the motto he has always used to encourage himself to adjust his mood.
The Hawks are coming fiercely. When he came to the stadium in the afternoon, a large number of Hawks fans had gathered outside the stadium.
Defeating the Lakers twice in the finals has given the Hawks a lot of fans in Portland, which is a very sad thing for Roy.
Once upon a time, Liu Mang was once the "public enemy of Portland". After a few years, the Trail Blazers fell apart. The former star player went to the Hawks and won three consecutive championships. Now he is enjoying retirement with a lot of money. With the departure of Little Flying Squirrel, Pippen and others, the players who hated the Hawks and Liu Mang are no longer in this team. The strength of the Hawks, especially the victory over the Lakers in the finals, made the fans in Portland slowly forget the previous hatred.
This is difficult for Roy, who has an old-fashioned personality, to accept. When he was selected by the Trail Blazers, he gave himself a sense of mission, or the goal he set for himself, which was to lead the Trail Blazers to revive.
The Trail Blazers have never left Portland since they were founded in 1970. After acquiring Bill Walton in the fourth year of the team's establishment, they quickly became a super team, winning the first championship in the team's history in the 1976-1977 season. Then Bill Walton became half-disabled, and the Trail Blazers have been in a slump since then. Until Microsoft giant Paul Allen bought the Trail Blazers in 1989, the Trail Blazers made it to the finals again in 1990, opening the road to becoming a strong team in the West for more than a decade.
Unfortunately, after the Lakers dynasty destroyed their last chance of winning the championship at the beginning of the century, the Trail Blazers declined again.
Although Roy graduated from the University of Washington, just like Pierce is from Los Angeles but became the soul of the Celtics after joining the Celtics, Roy wants to become a superstar like Bill Walton who makes this team reach the top again, and wants to be the pride of this city.
But the Blazers don't have enough foundation after all. The basketball market in this city is about to "fall". A superstar who has humiliated them many times came to this city, and a team that "robbed" their star player came to this city. The fans actually went to the airport to pick them up and cheered for them outside the stadium. This made Roy very difficult to accept.
The last time Roy and his teammates went to Atlanta to play the Hawks, they were slaughtered by 34 points. The opponent didn't take them seriously at all. All they could do was double-team Liu Mang to prevent Liu Mang from scoring high points and humiliating them.
But now it's a little different. The Blazers seem to have cleared out a lot of role players with good data, but after clearing out those players, they got a record of 7 wins and 5 losses in the 12 games after the All-Star Weekend. Although the record is still only 27 wins and 40 losses, it is much better than before when they seemed to have a strong lineup on paper but poor strength!
Roy and Aldridge have improved, Randolph has become more honest after feeling the danger of being sold off, the "prison inmates" who used to occupy playing time and brush data but had side effects have left, and the marginal players with fighting spirit have played very hard after having more opportunities to perform, making the Trail Blazers look brand new.
"No matter what the result is, hard work will pay off!" Roy looked at the motto in the closet and encouraged himself in an old-fashioned way.
...
...
Looks like... a player from this "prison team".
This is Liu Mang's evaluation of Roy. This is the first time he saw Roy.
This is the third time Liu Mang met Roy.
The first time was when he was double-teamed and only scored more than ten points, and the team won by more than 30 points.
The second time was the All-Star Rookie Game. In the absence of Paul, Roy won the Rookie Game MVP with absolute dominance.
This is the third time.
From the beginning, Liu Mang felt that Roy was not only mature because of his skills and experience honed in four years of college, but also because he looked older...
"Does the people selected by the Trail Blazers look more than ten years older than their actual age? LeBron James is so suitable for this team!" Liu Mang stared at Roy and couldn't help complaining.
"Ace, what are you talking about?" McGrady, who was stretching next to him, asked curiously.
Liu Mang just said it in Chinese, McGrady didn't understand. Liu Mang didn't expect that he actually spoke out loud. He looked at McGrady and said casually: "Nothing, I just thought that the owner of the Trail Blazers is really rich, and the stadium has been renovated again."
"The owner of the Trail Blazers seems to be the richest owner in the NBA. He can buy the entire NBA." Grant Hill next to him interrupted.
Liu Mang thought that with the current market value of NBA teams, this seems to be possible.
But who would have thought that in another ten years, the market value of NBA teams would increase several times...
"Do you want to try to buy a team before the price increases? If the price increases, you won't be able to afford it, but American officials probably won't agree..." Liu Mang thought for a while: "Maybe I can buy it for Avril Lavigne, Beccas If that brat likes to play basketball when he grows up, let him make money for Avril..."
Liu Mang was thinking wildly and looked away from Roy. Roy's body, which had been tense, could finally relax.
Liu Mang's scrutinizing eyes gave Roy too much pressure.
Yesterday was the Trail Blazers' rest day. They had just returned to Portland after playing consecutive away games. Their teammates were all resting at home. Roy came to the arena after returning to Portland and secretly watched Liu Mang's training.
When he arrived at the arena at three o'clock in the afternoon, the staff told him that Liu Mang would arrive at about one o'clock. When he finished training at five o'clock and was about to leave, Liu Mang was still there...
At night, Roy was really curious. Although he thought it was impossible, he still came to the arena to take a look, and then saw that the lights at the away team's training ground were still on...
It wasn't until 9 o'clock in the evening that he saw Eagles coach Lon Kruger come to the arena to ask Liu Mang to go back to the hotel.
I inquired with the staff and found that except for the Eagles trainer who came to deliver dinner to Liu Mang at 5:30, Liu Mang had been practicing shooting and footwork...
This touched Roy very much!
He makes leaps and bounds every year. He doesn't just happen. He is more talented than him and works harder than him!
…
The game was about to start, and Liu Mang took a look at the abilities of the Trail Blazers players.
"Brenton Roy, ability evaluation 84, offense 90, defense 81, three-pointer 82, mid-range shot 88, layup 91, speed 90, strength 87..."
"Zach Randolph, ability evaluation 90, offense 97, defense 65, rebounds 96, three-pointers 71, 90 mid-range shots, layups 96, speed 82, strength 97..."
"LadeMarcus Aldridge, ability evaluation 75, 82 offense, 70 defense, 51 three-pointers, 84 mid-range shots, 85 layups, 80 speed, 88 strength..."
"Jarrett Jack, ability evaluation 82, offense 80, defense 81, three-pointer 77, mid-range shot 81, layup 83, speed 90, strength 81..."
"Travis Outlaw, ability evaluation 79, offense 85, defense 62, three-pointer 81, mid-range shot 70, layup 89, speed 91, strength 79..."
"Jamal Magloire, ability evaluation 75, offense 69, defense 79, rebounds 90...speed 77, strength 93..."
This is the ability evaluation of the Blazers' six strongest players, and they are also the only six players whose ability evaluation exceeds 70, but the core structure is indeed very good.
Jack... Liu Mang could not describe this player. He would not let him become his teammate no matter how hard he was killed.
Roy's progress has been huge, or he has completely integrated his college abilities into the NBA. He is similar to those high-ranking rookies in the 1980s and 1990s. He was already very mature when he entered the NBA, and his statistics are not as good as those of the past. James, but his role is similar to Anthony. He has the ability to lead the team to win in his rookie season.
Randolph is extremely strong, averaging 23 points per game this season, but he has no willingness to defend. Aldridge is also full of talent at the same position. It depends on how the Blazers choose. Liu Mang himself thinks Aldridge is not at his peak. Not as good as Randolph.
Randolph averaged 23+10+2 per game and was extremely destructive at the basket. He could easily hit 20+10 for a long time during his peak period. With that, Aldridge would be hard-pressed to match him no matter how he played. However, Aldridge’s career Attitude, Liu Mang believes, will be the key to the Blazers' decision.
At 7 p.m., the game between the Eagles and Trail Blazers started.
The Eagles sent out a starting lineup of Rondo, Liu Mang, Granger, Marion, and Kwame Brown today.
McGrady and Jason Terry are taking turns today. The Hawks feel that the only thing the Trail Blazers can cause trouble for them is the inside.
The Trail Blazers sent out a starting lineup of Jack, Roy, Amy Uduka, Randolph, and Joel Przybilla.
The starting small forward is Uduka, who Liu Mang has never heard of, and the starting center is Przbilla, who averages 2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game... This is what the Trail Blazers poached from the Bucks last summer for 30 million in 5 years. Yes, Liu Mang really doesn't know what the Blazers management is planning, so he can only stop it now.
The game was pretty much what the Hawks expected, with the Trail Blazers focusing on Randolph.
And unlike the Trail Blazers, who were a completely bad team before the All-Star Weekend, this time the Trail Blazers did not give up on themselves like last time and tried not to let Liu Mang score. The players played very seriously.
But there are many problems. Randolph's style of play is too unique. The ball ends in his hands. Of course, he is very strong and Marion can't guard him. Kwame Brown and Marion double attack, and Randolph still has hundreds of points. His shooting percentage is in the early 40s, which is quite strong, and even though he is about the same height as Marion, his offensive rebounding is very strong, causing a lot of trouble for the Hawks inside.
But on the other hand...even if the Hawks don't have Tracy McGrady or Jason Terry on the outside, they still play the Trail Blazers on the outside.
Liu Mang appreciated Roy's desire to fight with him, and under Roy's defense, he scored 15 points in the first quarter, including three consecutive three-pointers.
On the offensive end, Roy made very prudent choices. He passed the ball when there was no good opportunity and shot when it was time to take the shot. His steady and down-to-earth style of play prevented Roy from being so miserably guarded by Liu Mang.
Originally, Liu Mang was quite good at restraining Roy, an opponent with relatively less explosive physical fitness, but Roy handled the ball very cleverly, allowing him to avoid all the disadvantages of being inferior to Liu Mang except for his strength being equal to Liu Mang and a slight advantage in height.
But that was it.
Liu Mang scored 15 points in the first quarter, which was inseparable from the extra shooting practice yesterday. Today, his shooting was very stable, scoring 27 points in the first half, including 5 of 7 three-pointers in the first half.
Indeed, the starting substitute combination of Randolph and Aldridge in the Trail Blazers' interior put a lot of pressure on the Hawks' interior, which was also the key for experts and commentators to believe that the Trail Blazers had a chance to beat the Hawks.
But the Hawks were also well prepared. The first game of the consecutive schedule of fighting every other day was obviously the one with the most complete tactical preparation for the Hawks. On the basis of sending the main interior to try their best to limit Randolph's explosive personal offensive ability, Liu Mang was the main scorer on the outside, and Rondo controlled the ball, easily taking the lead from the offensive end.
At the end of the first half, the Hawks led by 11 points, 59 to 48, and established a lead of more than 10 points.
Roy tried very hard to lead his teammates, but unfortunately, he was just a rookie, and the lineup was cleaned up. The Blazers did look brand new, but the substitute lineup was extremely bad. They won 7 of the past 12 games, all relying on the main players. The only two strong players on the bench were Otero, a thin attacker, and Aldridge, a rookie. It was really difficult to play against a strong team.
The Blazers barely managed to avoid being beaten in the first half, but in the third quarter, Randolph, who scored 22 points with 8 of 18 shots in the first half, began to show the fat man's usual fatigue characteristics, and his performance began to decline.
The role player lineup of Battier, Swift, and Kwame Brown played beautiful team basketball in the third quarter under the leadership of Rondo and Grant, beating the Blazers 24 to 15 in a single quarter, and widened the score difference to 20 points in one fell swoop.
In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers could only rely on Roy. Roy exploded in the third quarter, scoring 11 points with 4 of 8 shots in a single quarter, but the others had no choice but to make 1 of 12 shots in total...
After three quarters, the Hawks led the Trail Blazers 83 to 63.
The game was no longer suspenseful. Although Roy's performance of 21 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists in three quarters was very outstanding as a rookie, and Roy did not leave the court even in garbage time, Coach McMillan wanted him to play more with the substitutes of strong teams. After the whole game, Roy scored 30 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists.
Randolph scored 30 points and 12 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds. The short, strong and flexible fat man is really hard to defend.
However, on the Hawks side, Granger, as the second offensive point today, also scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. There was also Rondo with 0 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Grant Hill steadily sent out 8 points and 5 assists. Of course, Liu Mang's devastating 5 three-pointers in the first half were the key among the keys.
The Hawks finally defeated the Trail Blazers 108-99 and won five consecutive games.
…
As expected, they lost. Roy had been prepared for a long time, but he only rested for four minutes in the second quarter and played the entire second half. The opponent finally replaced the pure first- and second-year lineup. Roy tried his best to break through and pass the ball in garbage time, but only narrowed the score difference to within 10 points in the last ten seconds.
The gap in strength was obvious. Although he was mentally prepared, Roy was still very uncomfortable.
Seeing the Hawks players celebrating the victory with a "it's just like that" expression and clapping their hands indifferently, Roy was stopped when he was about to turn around and leave.
"Brandon, wait."
Roy turned around and saw that it was the Chinese superstar who had made him feel scared just by training yesterday.
"Hello, Mr. Liu, what's the matter?" Roy was very familiar with Liu Mang. In recent years, no basketball player was not familiar with Liu Mang, especially in American universities and high schools. Too many young players wanted to imitate Liu Mang.
However, Liu Mang didn't want to talk to the Trail Blazers players after the last match, and didn't talk to Roy. Liu Mang left before the rookie game was over, worried about the traffic jam in Las Vegas.
This was the first time Roy had a face-to-face exchange with Liu Mang.
"Mr. Liu..." When Liu Mang heard this title, he remembered the first time he met LeBron James, and the other party also called him that.
"Just call me Ace, I'm not much better than you." Liu Mang asked Roy to change the title.
Mr... Seeing a guy with forehead wrinkles comparable to LeBron James calling him "Mr.", Liu Mang felt that he was old.
"Okay, Ace, do you have something to talk to me about?" Roy changed the title.
"Nothing, I just saw your playing style and wanted to remind you..."
Before Liu Mang finished speaking, he saw Roy's eyes light up!
Liu Mang felt that Roy was very excited!
This... Roy couldn't help but be excited. There was a rumor among the young players that the young players who were "guided" by Liu Mang had made great progress afterwards. As the founder of "Snake Studies", Liu Mang had guided Wade, James, Josh Smith, Iguodala, Boozer... and other young players, and these people quickly became the best among the new generation of players.
However, it was rumored that Liu Mang's temper was always very strange. Roy could see it from the fact that Liu Mang didn't know why he wanted to go against Kobe.
Liu Mang's obsession with the Lakers, mainly Kobe, has always been an unsolved mystery in the NBA.
As a rookie, he was able to get the guidance of Liu Mang, a superstar who was being discussed as to whether he was the best player in the league, and not the best player in the league in terms of strength, but whose historical status was the best player in the league compared to Duncan and O'Neal. Even a proud Roy could not help but feel excited.
Duncan was the only player in the league to win two consecutive MVPs, and he had a brilliant record of at least 55 wins in all seasons except the lockout season. O'Neal and Liu Mang were equally matched in winning three consecutive championships and three consecutive FMVPs. They were the only players in the league who could compete with Liu Mang for historical status.
Liu Mang obviously did not have such awareness of this.
"Mr. Liu, is there anything wrong with my playing style that needs to be improved?" Roy's address changed back to...
"Mr.... here it comes again... forget it."
Liu Mang complained in his heart, but he would just say it directly. He was not familiar with him. He just saw Roy and was in a good mood after winning the game and clocking out at halftime, so he just reminded him.
"Brandon, your style of play hurts your knees too much. I think you should pay attention to it and try to adjust some details of your breakthrough and emergency stop jump shot to reduce the pressure on your knees. You can study it carefully with your shooting trainer. I think your movements are a bit awkward. If you can adjust it a little better, it will reduce the probability of injury. If you have problems with your knees, don't be stubborn." After Liu Mang finished speaking, he patted Roy on the back and turned away.
That's all. If things are still the same as in the original time and space, Liu Mang can't do anything about it.
Indeed, many people say that his shooting movements are awkward. It's not ugly, but his waist and knees are out of sync when he plays, and it's not limited to emergency stop jump shots or fixed-point shots. His two-handed fast dribbling also makes people look awkward.
Of course, this does make him very difficult to defend, but the slightly unphysical force movements make him very easy to get injured.
If someone else said this, Roy wouldn't take it to heart, but Liu Mang... that's different.
Roy thinks... Liu Mang must have studied him!
This makes Roy feel very excited! He was just a rookie, but Liu Mang actually studied him!
"Does Liu think of me as a future opponent like Kobe and Odom?"
Liu Mang could never have imagined that this was what Roy was thinking after hearing what he said...