Chapter 1516 1514. Men Should Not Be Timid in a Fight
Wade's return will definitely strengthen the team, but will there be any negative effects?
Of course there will be.
It is mainly reflected in two aspects.
On the one hand, some players will definitely worry about their playing time being affected, Jason Terry and Rondo are affected in this aspect.
And the veterans... are a little complacent. The Hawks are strong to begin with, and Wade performed extremely well in the first confrontational training after his return, and they have a sense of self-awareness that the team is already invincible.
So, of course, the Hawks lost to the Magic.
On the 13th, when playing against the Raptors, the Hawks were still 11 points behind after three quarters. Relying on the three-eagle combination of Liu Mang, Jason Terry, and McGrady, plus the strength of Marion and Kwame Brown, they made a big reversal of 35 to 21 in the final quarter and narrowly defeated the Raptors by 3 points.
And it was fortunate that Joe Johnson's buzzer-beating three-pointer missed, otherwise they would have to fight to the death with the Raptors' new forces who were trying their best to win.
The strength of the Magic team was expected long ago. The four-star combination of Carter, Rahim, Howard, and Turkoglu performed very strongly this season. Before the Hawks played against them, the Magic team had temporarily climbed to third in the Eastern Conference, surpassing the Cavaliers and the Bulls.
The Magic team's group of shooters is really scary, Turkoglu, Carter, Nelson, Maurice Evans, JJ Redick, Carlos Arroyo, Brian Cook, Jarvis Hayes...
Turkoglu organizes the offense, Rahim is at his peak in the interior, and Dwight Howard, the strongest rebounder since the new century, is in a good mood. No one can stop him.
Liu Mang's fierce three-pointers led the Hawks to win three consecutive championships before, making the Magic team more determined to form a super gunner team to partner with two super interiors.
However, the Raptors' rise against the trend this season is really unexpected.
Lewis got 60 million for 4 years, which made many Raptors fans dissatisfied. They felt that 60 million was too expensive. Some media had the same view. After all, Lewis had no other use except spot shooting.
But Joe Johnson and Richard Jefferson were at their peak. Milicic, who entered his fifth year of career, became the second active super center with an ability rating of 95! With these three stars, Lewis and the least noticeable No. 1 draft pick Bargnani's shooting ability was greatly exerted!
Before the match with the Hawks, the Raptors played 24 games and got a record of 18 wins and 6 losses, ranking second in the East and third in the league, surpassing the Bulls, Cavaliers, Magic, and all Western teams except the Spurs, which was unexpectedly strong.
Unlike Wade, who did not trigger the "Ace Clause" under Pat Riley's deception and only took a new contract of 52 million for 4 years, Milicic's new contract is 74 million for 4 years. Milicic's salary this season is 17.83 million, ranking eighth in the league. Like LeBron James of the Cavaliers, he triggered the "Ace Clause" for the first year of his second contract. However, such a high salary in this era still makes fans and the media feel that this contract is worth it!
Averaging 21 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.5 blocks per game, except for rebounds, Milicic is like Garnett back then, with the strongest data in the interior! Almost all data at the center position are leading the entire league.
The game against the Raptors was narrowly won, but Liu Mang had a headache.
Milicic was already very strong in international competitions, and now Milicic, who has exerted his potential...
Liu Mang seemed to see an enhanced version of Gasol!
In the original time and space, Milicic, whose talent was buried, was not afraid of Gasol in the international arena...
But thinking optimistically, Liu Mang felt that if Serbia met Spain, the United States, and Argentina first, they would be the ones with a headache.
It is also good to be a little bit of an A Q.
…
After the first consecutive away and home games, the Hawks' record became 18 wins and 5 losses.
Losing to the Magic, one of the direct opponents in the East, is not all bad.
At least let the Hawks players know that they are not unbeatable.
Although the winning rate is still above 75%, it is a certain gap from the winning rate of 80% at the beginning.
Putting away pride and some small thoughts, the Hawks players tried to get themselves into the game and not worry about those extra factors for the time being.
If there is a chance to get first place, they will work hard.
The Spurs have 21 wins and 3 losses, which is very close to the Hawks' best start in history of 25 wins and 3 losses two years ago, but the gap between the Hawks and the Spurs is not far away, and there is still a chance to become the one who comes from behind.
Just to say that in terms of bullying, the Hawks are not as good as the Spurs at this stage.
But since there is a chance, of course we have to fight.
Besides, the Raptors, who have 18 wins and 7 losses, are still chasing so closely behind.
In the next 15th and 16th, the Hawks played back-to-back away games against the Pistons and Bobcats, and they won both games.
On the 18th, the Hawks played against the Jazz. Although they were behind at the start, they relied on Liu Mang and Rondo to organize the offense. The frontcourt combination of McGrady, Scola and O'Neal performed well in the mid-range. All three of them scored 20 points. Jason Terry on the bench also stepped up and scored 3 three-pointers. Liu Mang got a triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Rondo got 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. They defeated the Jazz led by Deron with 16 points and 10 assists, Boozer with 22 points and Ray Allen with 35 points, and defeated the Jazz 106-100 to win four consecutive victories.
From the Pistons on the 16th, to the Jazz on the 18th, and then the Pacers and Heat on the 20th and 22nd, the Hawks had a schedule of five consecutive home games.
On the 20th, the Hawks ushered in their fourth consecutive home game against the Pacers. As the saying goes, old comrades have tears in their eyes after not seeing each other for many days. This time, they really had tears in their eyes.
It was a bad luck. In the game against the Pacers, O'Neal was fouled by Jamal Tinsley as soon as he came on as a substitute. O'Neal was so hot-tempered that he kicked back and knocked Tinsley to the ground. Tinsley twisted his ankle when he was kicked down. From the crisp sound, it can be guessed that he had a broken bone somewhere...
That's fine. The key point is that the Pacers surrounded him, and Liu Mang, Jason Terry, McGrady, and Kwame Brown, who played with O'Neal, also surrounded him on the Hawks side. The two sides started pushing and shoving...
Someone on the Hawks bench also stood up and wanted to go in to help, but the Pacers bench was quiet...
There was no fight. The referee reacted very quickly. It was so fast that he sent off the other four players on the Hawks except Jason Terry. Who said that the Hawks looked more aggressive in fighting.
The main reason was that the person who started the fight was O'Neal, a "habitual offender", and the one who fell to the ground looked very injured. In order to avoid the situation from escalating, the referee made the most severe call.
After watching the replay, Rondo and Brad Miller, who stood up when the conflict occurred on the Hawks side, were also sent off.
There were a total of 13 players on the roster, and the Hawks were sent off 6...
The Pacers were wailing and holding their feet, and three people were sent off, but it was better than the Hawks.
87 to 99, the Hawks' four-game winning streak was ended.
The referee whistled decisively to avoid the escalation of the conflict, and made the fight that might have broken out disappear. Although the Pacers started the fight first and the Hawks suffered, fortunately, when the league announced the punishment the next day, Tinsley was given a flagrant foul, which was considered to be a little compensation.
Ankle fractures are season-ending, but the flagrant fouls that should be made up should still be made up.
After studying the video footage, the league made a ruling that McGrady was given a technical foul, O'Neal was suspended for 5 games and fined $50,000, Rondo and Brad Miller who stood up from the bench were given a technical foul, Liu Mang and Kwame Brown were not punished.
O'Neal kicked him again, and he would definitely be suspended. McGrady was the first to rush up to help O'Neal push Foster away. He was directly ejected at the time and was given a technical foul after the game.
This kind of thing can be big or small. The league chose to downplay it. The Hawks also contacted the media with good relations to guide public opinion. There was no appeal. Only three technical fouls were received, and only O'Neal was suspended. The Hawks management and coaching staff felt very lucky.
And O'Neal did cripple his opponent.
To be honest, the Pacers were even more unlucky. They really didn't want to win...
After winning the Hawks, the Pacers' record became 6 wins and 22 losses, surpassing the Heat with 5 wins and 23 losses, and came to the second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference, "falling behind" in the competition with the Heat for the last place...
...
...
December 21, 2007, Phillips Arena training ground.
Since only O'Neal was suspended, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his teammates were not implicated.
If his teammates were suspended because of him, he would probably have a mental breakdown after experiencing the Auburn Hills Palace incident, but he was the only one suspended for five games, so he felt much more relaxed. The fine of 50,000 US dollars was a small problem for him who was now receiving an annual salary of 18 million from the Pacers for nothing.
O'Neal was a little excited when he thought about using the Pacers' money to play against the Pacers' players. Since no one else was suspended, O'Neal was very happy. He had been unhappy with Tinsley for a long time. O'Neal was talking to several teammates about the conflict yesterday in a very arrogant manner.
The conflict between O'Neal and Tinsley has a long history. Since the Pacers and the Pistons had a fight at the end of 2004, the relationship between the Pistons' major stars has gradually deteriorated. They complained that it was each other's fault, and the resentment has been deep in the past few years.
Just like Artest's rejection of Liu Mang's invitation, it is hard to say that it has nothing to do with the Hawks signing O'Neal.
Fighting... If the consequences are serious, you will definitely regret it, but if there is nothing too bad about yourself, it is something that may improve the unity of the team.
No man wants to lose in a fight.
If a team has a player who is bullied, and the others watch the bullied teammate fight five people, there is no reason to stay in that team, unless they are offered much more money than other teams that cannot be refused.
The consequences are not serious now. The coaching staff only criticized O'Neal and McGrady for being too impulsive and the players who stood up from the bench. Liu Mang and Kwame Brown were also scolded.
O'Neal, Brad Miller and McGrady are old hands. They just listened and passed it. They were excitedly discussing O'Neal's kick yesterday.
With 21 wins and 6 losses, the Hawks are in good shape. Liu Mang was very upset because he was sent off and lost yesterday, but now is not the time to be upset. Something dispelled that upset mood.
After listening to the coach's nagging, Liu Mang got good news!
As the Christmas game is coming soon, the coaching staff is ready to let Wade return!
Next, the game against the Heat on the 22nd will let Wade adapt to the official game first. He will rest for two days on the 23rd and 24th. After playing the Heat, the Hawks will go to Los Angeles to prepare for the game.
O'Neal was suspended, resulting in the Hawks missing an important substitute in the interior, so they must start from the outside.
Wade has been training with the team in the past 10 days, and his condition has been improving. When they go to Los Angeles to play against the Lakers on the 25th, if Wade can reach the best condition he can currently achieve, it will undoubtedly be a huge benefit for the Hawks!