Chapter 1528 1527. Crazy Winning Streak! (Asking for Monthly Votes)
"Hello, Mr. Liu:
I am your loyal fan and I am currently studying at Arizona State University.
...
...
...James Harden."
A standard letter from a student, with a proper heading and signature.
The content is nothing special, just expressing admiration, wanting to meet, wanting to take a photo and autograph, and some of Liu Mang's performances that he admires, etc.
What Liu Mang cares about is the person who wrote the letter! Looking at the handsome guy in the photo of the California High School League 2006-2007 season championship cup and James Harden in the signature...
Liu Mang didn't expect that James Harden, who was born in Los Angeles, would go back to Los Angeles to send him a letter when he came to Los Angeles!
Liu Mang asked the team staff who handed the letter to him, and asked him to look at the photo of Harden without a beard, and confirmed that it was sent by Harden himself.
Liu Mang didn't expect that the JDZ king he admired so much was actually his fan!
It was a pity for Liu Mang that Harden couldn't get into the hotel because the team booked it, otherwise Liu Mang really wanted to meet Brother Deng.
After writing a letter to Xiao Deng and making an appointment to have dinner in Phoenix at the end of January, Liu Mang put this episode aside.
On the 29th, the three girls returned to their holiday villa with their two children, bodyguards and servants. The families of the players were also sent back to Atlanta by charter plane. Of course, those who wanted to stay for a few more days like Liu Mang's family could decide freely, but they were not allowed to bring their families to the next four away games.
Liu Mang and his teammates took a charter plane to Dallas to challenge the Mavericks.
…
The Mavericks, who were at their peak last season, can now only rank outside the top six in the West, hovering between seventh and ninth.
The Spurs, Nuggets, Hornets, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, and Rockets are the current rankings of the top seven in the West. The Mavericks have played 31 games, with 19 wins and 12 wins, temporarily leading the Trail Blazers by only one win and ranking eighth.
In fact, the Rockets, ranked seventh in the West, have made great progress this season and have a chance to hit 50 wins, and there is a high probability of getting 50 wins, but the top nine teams in the West have a high probability of getting 50 wins, which makes the Rockets' outstanding performance of the three young players who have made obvious progress this year not stand out.
The Hawks currently have 23 wins and 6 losses, ranking second in the league and first in the East.
Facing the Mavericks, both the record and strength have huge advantages.
The Mavericks played very averagely against the top ten teams in the league this season. When the Mavericks met the other eight teams in the top nine in the West and the top five teams in the East, they only had a record of 2 wins and 9 losses.
When playing against weak teams, the Mavericks can still rely on strong suppression with their lineup, but when playing against strong teams, they are used to singles and it is difficult to turn into a tactical team in a short time, which exposes their shortcomings.
Of course, the Mavericks can also restore their previous style of play and play star tactics, and their strength may be improved immediately.
But Coach Carlisle and Mavericks owner Cuban do not want to repeat their previous failures and want to make a big change, so the Mavericks can only continue to struggle.
Since the Mavericks have many stars and Coach Carlisle is well-known, the Mavericks fans are still very optimistic and think that everything will be fine after this season.
But Liu Mang knows that if the Mavericks really transform smoothly, it will not be a matter of one or two years.
Transformation smoothly does not mean fast, it can only be said that they are changing step by step according to Coach Carlisle's ideas.
Habits can be formed in a few months, but to change a long-term habit, it starts in three years...
On December 30, the Hawks defeated the Mavericks easily with a score of 115 to 103, a difference of 12 points in the last game of 2007.
There is not much suspense. With Wade, the Hawks' rotation lineup also has a sense of defensive pressure. Wade's fighting spirit can easily infect his teammates, and they are all evaluated by the system as Wade's talent and skills.
Liu Mang easily scored 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and the Hawks won three consecutive victories.
After playing against the Mavericks, the Hawks flew to Oklahoma City the next morning.
The reconstruction in New Orleans is in full swing, and the construction of the new arena of the Hornets has also begun. This is the last season of the Hornets in Oklahoma City.
Like last season, the Hawks are very popular in Oklahoma City. Before the Supersonics moved here, Oklahoma City did not have a home team, and the Hornets just liked it, but did not regard it as the home team.
With a good end to the old year, the Hawks certainly want a good start to the new year.
Paul is in tragedy again...
Durant is young, and he is excited when he sees Liu Mang, and wants to show his progress in front of Liu Mang.
Nowadays, rookies who enter the NBA after freshman year often have many defects. Durant's defect is that his hit rate is not high, but he has talent, which can be tolerated.
But Durant's biggest problem is his "naivety", too self-centered, and too concerned about external interference.
Liu Mang's casual interference has caused Durant to suffer a great impact.
However, this does not affect Durant's development, but makes Durant clear about how he should improve.
Durant decided that he should just follow the style of play that Liu Mang used to bully him! He is not stupid and has a high basketball IQ. He knows that Liu Mang's style of play is perfect for him.
The Hawks were already in good shape, and Paul had to endure the negative impact brought by his teammates' improvement.
Although the Hornets have been excellent this season, they were still suppressed by the Hawks.
122 to 106. With Liu Mang scoring 21 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds, Rondo scoring 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Wade and Kwame Brown both scoring 20 points, the Hawks defeated the Hornets with a 15-point margin. Won 4 consecutive victories and improved the record to 25 wins and 6 losses!
Liu Mang continued his strategy of drawing star cards every other game to experience the playing styles of each player and strengthen himself.
Liu Mang will draw a star card every other game this season. If he draws it, he will use it. If he doesn't draw it, he will use the star card he drew before that he thought was useless to experience the playing style of each star, even if it is the one he drew before. Liu Mang also used Doc Rivers' star card, hoping to find a suitable playing style from each player's playing style to make him stronger.
Just like after using the Durant star card, Liu Mang's pull-up jump shot has undergone some changes than before and he shot better.
Of course, when playing against strong teams like the Lakers and Spurs, Liu Mang relies more on his own strength.
For Liu Mang, the bonus effect of star cards is getting lower and lower. Instead, it is more effective for Liu Mang to feel the playing styles of other stars and find some unique playing styles that suit him. Be stronger.
After comforting Paul, who still lost the game after scoring 15 points and 15 assists, Liu Mang had to continue his consecutive road trip with the Hawks on the second day after playing the Hornets.
…
On the day of the game against the Hornets, Liu Mang also won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for December. The Western Conference Player of the Month award was taken away by Allen Iverson. This was the first time Iverson won the award since the 2004-05 season. He helped the Nuggets climb to second place in the Western Conference before the end of 2007 and won the Western Conference Player of the Month.
As for Liu Mang winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, it is a matter of course that no team in the Eastern Conference can catch up with the Hawks, and only the Spurs in the Western Conference with 28 wins and 4 losses have a better record than the Hawks.
On January 3, the Eagles came to challenge the Cavaliers away from home.
The Cavaliers played the first game of a back-to-back at home with the Nuggets, and immediately welcomed the Eagles in the second game of a back-to-back.
The Cavaliers are having a tough time this year!
Originally, they got Billups who was very suitable for them, and their strength was greatly enhanced.
But the Bulls, Raptors, and Magic have all become stronger. The Cavaliers are currently ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference, one head above the Bulls, but still behind the Hawks, Raptors, and Magic.
With 20 wins and 12 losses, the Cavaliers' current record is still very good, and they are tied with the fourth-place Lakers in the Western Conference.
But in terms of strength, the Cavaliers are definitely not as good as the Lakers at the moment.
They just lost to the Nuggets yesterday, and today they played the Hawks, and the Cavaliers were abused again.
This game is definitely recommended by the league, and it is also the focus of fans' attention. 23VS24, James vs. James vs. James, Liu Mang vs. Peja, Kwame Brown vs. Chandler, Rondo vs. Bee. Lupus...are all highlights.
But the game was one-sided...
The Eagles are in great shape right now!
Since Wade's comeback, the Hawks have entered a very good state, a state where the Eagles coaching staff is deliberately suppressing the main players' playing time.
Of course, it has to be a sure win. If you are anxious, you still have to use all your main players like you did against the Lakers.
Wade, Rondo and the returning O'Neal became the protagonists of the game. Wade had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Rondo had 8 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, plus O'Neal's 20 points, 5 rebounds and Jason- Terry's 16 points, the Eagles' bench defeated the Cavaliers!
Even if the Cavaliers' main lineup is there, they can't stop the outstanding performance of the Eagles' four major substitutes!
Liu Mang played 25 minutes and was replaced after scoring 14 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 block.
McGrady and Kwame Brown didn't play long either.
The Mavericks have learned from the past. Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown and others who have been in too good shape recently have been consciously suppressed by the coaching staff.
In fact, reducing playing time is the best way to suppress the state.
The Mavericks were in a state of collapse in the playoffs last year. In the final analysis, the fundamental reason was that they worked too hard for the record in the regular season. When they saw the regular season championship in the playoffs, they relaxed and could no longer maintain their previous state. .
Of course, the Warriors' style of play that completely defeated the Mavericks was the main reason why they were able to beat the Mavericks.
122 to 99, the outstanding Hawks defeated the Cavaliers with a huge 23-point difference, sending them to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls were lying in the top four.
26 wins and 6 losses! The Eagles won five games in a row!
James is really getting more confused as he plays in the Eastern Conference, which is very different from what his management team expected!
It is said that the Eastern Conference is weak. Indeed, many stars from the Eastern Conference were sent to the Western Conference by the Hawks. The Cavaliers themselves also picked up a lot of bargains. However, the older generation of stars left, and the new generation of stars began to shine early because they got opportunities in advance. fever.
And the enemy on the opposite side, the team and the individual are getting better and better!
On January 5th, the first game of back-to-back games at home and away, the Hawks came to Indianapolis to challenge the Pacers.
Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien can't afford to win. He is afraid that he will fight with the Eagles again and "injure" all of O'Neal's former teammates. The Pacers will face the challenge of the Eagles with 7 players...
Eight players were "injured". The Hawks were stunned when they entered the court. There were only two players on the opponent's bench who were not wearing suits!
There was no other way. The Pacers needed a high draft pick. They would lose as much as possible. Larry Bird himself sat on the bench to "supervise" the team's loss.
Larry Bird specially asked scouts to investigate Westbrook provided by the Hawks and found that this guy was really special! He could only sigh at the Hawks' "draft team" while trying to play badly.
The Pacers were so tragic that they almost couldn't get five players on the court. After their center Foster and shooting guard Kareem Rush left the court with six fouls, there were only five players left to play. Marquis Daniels, one of the former Dallas duo, also had four fouls.
79 to 115, the Pacers were slaughtered by the Hawks with a huge difference of 36 points without any suspense.
After avenging the defeat more than ten days ago, the Hawks ended their five-game road streak. Together with the victory over the Heat before the start of the five-game road streak, the Hawks won six consecutive games!