Chapter 209

Why is Raheem willing to listen to a rookie?

In addition to the fact that this rookie seems to be a natural leader with an indescribable charisma, there is also Liu Mang's ability to learn. Every time he meets a superstar, he can learn something from his opponent. Raheem admired it.

In Rahim's view, Liu Mang has surpassed the theoretical limit of his frail body.

People you admire don't necessarily have to be stronger than yourself, and people who are strong in other aspects are equally admirable.

In this game, Rahim saw Liu Mang's progress again. A few days ago in the game, Iverson's sudden layup made Raheem hard to guard against. Liu Mang used that trick today. Yes, the sense of amazement given to Raheem is very special!

It's not Carter's flying dunks, but he learns what suits him when he sees it, and dare to use it in the game!

Raheem has seen Ratliff go 7-for-10 from the corner in practice, but never in games outside the paint.

Learning makes people progress, taking the first step boldly, Rahim learned this from Liu Mang.

So this time against Garnett, Raheem has been working hard to learn Garnett's defensive skills.

Actually, I can see something...

The second half of the game began, and when the Timberwolves lineup stepped onto the court, the fans started screaming!

Garnett, Anthony Peeler, Gary Tranter, Szczerbiak, Rasu Nesterovic.

Navigator Trant and Slovenian center Nesterovic, these two played, Garnett went to play point guard, the Timberwolves lineup is too tall!

Garnett playing point guard!

Liu Mang and Jason Terry, among the three Eagles, looked at each other and went to defend the shooter. Ratliff and Muhammad were guarding the basket. Fast, excellent ability to counterattack with the ball, very good at grabbing rebounds and running fast breaks. He once averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds per game under the old Nelson. He is very suitable to partner with Garnett, but he has no shooting ability. Muhan Mulder shrinks directly into the basket.

Raheem braced himself to meet Garnett.

In fact, the best choice for the Eagles to defend against Garnett is Raheem.

"Go away, slug with worms." Garnett began spouting his slang again.

With Billups gone, Garnett's aura that tortured everyone began to take effect again, but Raheem resisted it!

"I heard from Ace that the more you lack something, the more you love to show off, and the more you curse others, you have some flaws yourself. Are you soft?" Rahim responded unceremoniously.

Isn't it just scolding? Who wouldn't!

Garnett is so angry! The young people on this team are more annoying than the other!

Garnett didn't dare to shoot forcefully in the face of Raheem's equally slender body. Originally, Garnett wanted to shoot directly against the opponent's guard.

But breakthrough Garnett is also very good!

Raheem bullied Garnett and wanted to reach out to steal. A two-meter-one power forward can't be as stable as a guard no matter how well he dribbles!

However, Garnett's ball handling is so awesome! Before the serious injury in 2009, Garnett was an elongated version of Lamar Odom!

Taking advantage of Raheem reaching out, Garnett dribbled the ball from behind Raheem and went inside!

It has long been known that Garnett holds the ball to break through the terrifyingly strong Muhammad and jumps to the free throw line. Garnett passes the ball to Trant, who is in the air, and Trant rushes inside, attracting Ratliff's defense. Afterwards, Nesterovic was given a good point, and Nesterovic scored two points on the catch and throw!

Gary Tranter's impact, ball handling and awareness are all things the Timberwolves desperately need, but not for long.

Trant averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds per game with the Mavericks before February of the 1998-99 season. At the age of 24, he looked promising, but suffered a back injury in February and was reimbursed for the season. In the 99-10 season, he only played 10 games and was reimbursed. After he came back in the second half of last season, he had no chance to start. He was still a second-rate top small forward for several years.

If you really give Garnett a decent teammate, he will be able to run away! Just like getting madmen and aliens in the summer of 2003, Garnett became the MVP directly!

The Eagles attacked, Liu Mang moved to the frontcourt, and Garnett defended.

The King of Almighty Defense!

Liu Mang is under a lot of pressure! At this time, Garnett, in addition to O'Neal and Eddie Curry's huge fat, Duncan, and the Admiral's giant jumping type, Garnett can completely defend from one to five!

"Come on, clown, use your fouls against me!" Garnett took the initiative to declare war!

Regardless of whether the opponent is a rookie or a superstar, Garnett treats the opponent equally and sprays the opponent to death.

If it was a black player, he would definitely be angry and angry. For example, Rahim fought back, but in Liu Mang's view, this is not as lethal as the quarrel between the vegetable market aunts.

"Kevin, aren't you tired of guarding me after defending Sherif?" Liu Mang asked while dribbling the ball while looking for Garnett's defensive loopholes.

This is a bit worrying!

Liu Mang's words pierced Garnett's little heart.

Can you not be tired!

He played center at the beginning, small forward in the back, and now point guard.

Murder!

Sometimes a seemingly inadvertent sentence from someone can easily poke the softest part of the other person's heart.

"This rookie looks like a nice guy!"

Garnett was distracted for a moment!

Seeing Garnett's short steps stop, Liu Mang immediately grabbed the ball and raised his arm to hit Garnett's outstretched long arm.

At this moment, both Liu Mang and Garnett came to their senses, and at the same time secretly yelled that it was bad!

Garnett was about to be fouled, but Liu Mang remembered the last time he wanted to foul Iverson and the referee didn't give a whistle!

Garnett's position is no lower than Iverson's! This is true no matter in terms of strength or popularity.

However, the referee gave the whistle this time!

Garnett actually reacted quickly and wanted to dodge, but he still reacted too slowly and did not dodge Liu Mang bumping into him. Almost the moment Liu Mang bumped into Garnett's arm, the referee gave a whistle. !

Garnett made a thug foul and made 3 free throws!

Garnett was too angry to argue with the referee this time.

"Good guy! This rookie is too shameless!"

The fans at the scene were in the same mood as Garnett, and they also thought the same except denying that Liu Mang is a good person. This rookie is shameless!

Liu Mang stepped onto the free throw line amid the boos, a little confused, why didn't he seem to be devastated by the superstar whistle? The referee gave the whistle decisively! Instead of hesitating to give the whistle like Kobe and Carter before, or even not giving the whistle when playing Iverson.

This is thanks to NBA President David Stern. Of course, since Liu Mang is unlikely to be the main player in the NBA, it is impossible to give James that kind of treatment in the future. A non-American player becomes the hallmark of the NBA, but it's okay to give a non-discriminatory whistle.

This is the selected plan of Stern's China market strategy. The first plan is of course Yao Ming, who has already decided to enter the NBA and is already invincible in the CBA. But Stern is not at ease with Yao Ming. Who knows that Yao Ming will play in the NBA? What will happen, in case of water, there is still an alternative plan like Liu Mang, who is quite a star.

Therefore, it is one of the plans of the NBA executives to let Liu Mang play his worth without being affected by the whistle.

Liu Mang still took advantage of his Chinese identity!

Liu Mang made two of three free throws at the free throw line! Offset the score that Garnett organized the offense just now.

46 to 40, still 6 points difference!

The Timberwolves attacked, and as soon as Nesterovic sent the ball to Garnett, Liu Mang posted it to steal it! However, Garnett is really good at handling the ball, just like Odom, he can act as the main ball handler. Compared with the outside line, his huge body can push Liu Mang steadily with his arms separated.

Liu Mang immediately ran back to his own half. He didn't fight hard when there was nothing he could do. He just tried it. He didn't expect that Garnett's possession of the ball was as stable as it seemed.

It was another beautiful breakthrough and scoring. Garnett had the help of an impactful teammate like Trant. Although he didn't get an assist, Trant cut into the inside and gave it to Liu Mang to make up for the exposed Szeby. Yake, Szczerbiak made a long two-pointer from the three-point line.

Liu Mang pushed forward and found out that he was defending his substitutions, and Garnett couldn't come up to defend!

Are you scared?

Liu Mang denied this answer. Although Garnett was jokingly referred to as fighting and retreating, it was only when fighting. Garnett was smart and rarely fought on the court. Firstly, he was so smart, and secondly, he was injured in fights. It's not worth it.

Liu Mang quickly recalled that Garnett has committed three crimes!

I see!

Liu Mang dribbled beyond the three-point line, and Trant defended him. Considering that Liu Mang had already got 8 free throws in the previous half, Trant had a good defensive awareness and good physical fitness. Advance or retreat.

Liu Mang did not choose to take a step-back jumper because of this. He saw Garnett go to guard Raheem, and immediately beckoned for Raheem to come over for a pick-and-roll.

Rahim cooperated very well and came over to help Liu Mang block Tranter. Liu Mang rushed inside, his speed skyrocketed, not at the basket, but at Garnett who was retreating at the free throw line!

Garnett hesitated and dodged it. Liu Mang was a little regretful, but he didn't stop and continued to rush into the three-second zone. Nesterovic made up for it. Liu Mang threw the ball to the left side of the basket, which was on the left side of the three-second zone. Ratliff jumped in from the side and pressed the ball into the basket.

Garnett committed three fouls, and the Timberwolves' defense fell into a passive state!

During the retreat, Liu Mang called Raheem and Jason Terry together, and only said one sentence, causing Garnett to foul!

It was time for the Timberwolves to attack again. Garnett made his own shot this time. He made a long two-pointer with a step outside the free throw line.

Garnett will be more difficult to deal with when he is in the state, so Liu Mang and the other three, whoever has the opportunity to face Garnett head-on, stick to Garnett, but Garnett tried to foul him for the first time since Liu Mang It can be seen that the opponent's sinister intentions are avoided on the defensive end.

In this way, although Garnett's foul crisis was temporarily alleviated, but without his ubiquitous supplementary defense, the Timberwolves' fast-paced defensive rotation collapsed!

Liu Mang wasn't in a hurry, so he scored well against the opponent. The point difference of about 5 points was still maintained. At worst, it would be a tug-of-war, and he would beat Garnett down if he had the opportunity.

The score finally began to look like a game between a shooting team and a counterattacking team. In the eighth minute of the third quarter, both teams scored 60 points. The Eagles led the Timberwolves by 5 points 67 to 62.

As the saying goes, there is only a thousand days to be a thief, how can a thousand days to defend against a thief, Garnett restrained the urge to make up for the defense, there is still time to relax, after another pick and roll by Liu Mang and Raheem, this The second time, Trant chased and defended Liu Wei very quickly around the pick-and-roll, preventing Liu Wei from going to Garnett, but Liu Wei gave it to Raheem, and Rahim took the initiative to run towards Garnett. Defense Liu Mang saw Trant catch up and come back to block Raheem, and was hit by Raheem on the way in. Raheem caused Garnett's fourth foul of the game!

Coach Sanders called a timeout blankly and replaced Garnett with Billups.

...

If the Timberwolves shot more accurately in the first quarter, and if Liu Mang played the Timberwolves' defense more seriously at the beginning, the Timberwolves would not have been chasing points.

But there was no if in the game. As a strong team in the West, after Jordan completely retired from the Bulls, the strong teams in the West did not look down on the Eastern teams, and the Timberwolves were the same, and then they were beaten by the Eagles. The Timberwolves never got up again.

After Garnett made four fouls, he was replaced by Billups, another field control master, but Billups led the team alone, and he was really not at the same level as Garnett! He needs a team of blue-collar workers to work for him as ordered, and the requirements for the lineup are actually stricter than almost all organizers with the ability to control the field! The main reason is that Billups's personal ability is not a superstar. Even in his peak period, he is only at the level of a first-class player. power.

After Garnett left the court, the Eagles had an absolute advantage. Liu Mang had no disadvantage against Billups, and he couldn't play Billups' steady field control ability when he ran up. The Eagles replaced Ratliff and played fast. Attack, quickly opened the score.

After Garnett came up in the fourth quarter, he was chased and fouled by the Eagles. Garnett was so angry that he continued to yell at the referee. The vocabulary of the American players was completely exposed. The referee was finally angered by spouting slang words, and two technical fouls sent Garnett off the court!

This game is completely closed! The Timberwolves were defeated after Garnett encountered a foul crisis. In the second half of the fourth quarter, the Eagles opened the point difference to more than 15 points and sealed the victory!

In the end, the Eagles defeated the Timberwolves 93 to 85 in an away game, ending the journey in January! The last 5 consecutive away in January achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

After three months of unbelievable season progress, the Eagles have secured the No. 1 position in the Eastern Conference before the arrival of February!

...

...

On the night of January 31, NBA headquarters in New York.

Tomorrow is the time to announce the results of the All-Star bench voted by the coaches.

Afterwards, there will be a series of things such as makeup photos, as well as the All-Star promotion, the process of public welfare activities for the All-Star Weekend, and so on.

David Stern, who is about to turn 60 this year and has made the greatest contribution to the NBA and basketball, is discussing the details of this year's Philadelphia All-Star Weekend with Reno Vandeweghe, the vice president of the publicity department. Another vice president, Adam Silva, who is still with long hair, knocked on the door and came in.

"David, the results of the coach's vote are out." Adam Silva briefly explained what he wanted to report.

Adam Silva, born in 62, joined the NBA headquarters at the age of 30, became David Stern's special assistant and WNBA president at the age of 35, became the vice president and executive director of the NBA's business department at the age of 38, and became the "Time Magazine" last summer. One of the annual top 100 most influential business people announced.

Stern took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "Rino, just do as you say! The prize money for all games will be announced first and then donated to charity organizations. Go ahead."

"OK." Reno Vandeweghe understood the boss's thoughts very well, and knew that there were things that he could not let him know.

After Leno Vandeweghe left, Stern took over the All-Star bench from Adam Silva.

"Sure enough, the coach is still so conservative, full of old faces." David Stern sighed regretfully.

Adam Silva certainly understands what the boss is talking about. If it was just this list, he wouldn't be here. There is no name that the boss wants in it.

"David, the Raptors have just made an official announcement that Vince Carter will undergo knee surgery for a recurrence of his left knee injury in 2000, announcing that he will be reimbursed for the season." Adam Silva said he really wanted to tell the boss things.

"Carter is reimbursed for the season?" David Stern stood up in fright.

Don't do that! Carter is another popular king in the league after Jordan. Although he looks like he can't be praised no matter how much he praises, he doesn't have Jordan's dominance, which makes the league executives a little disappointed, but the benefits he brings to the NBA, in this income year after year The age is really not much worse than Jordan.

Of course, this has to be that Carter has always maintained such a deduction and popularity.

"It's impossible," Adam Silva said. "Carter has had knee problems since he was injured by the Spurs in 2000. He also rested for more than a dozen games last season. A few days ago, Carter almost Fight Bowen."

"Spurs, Bowen, Popovich." Stern really hated his teeth!

If he knew that there would be another piston coming out in two years, he would probably die of anger.

After calming down, David Stern suddenly thought of something, and he also wanted to understand the reason why Adam Silva came here: "Well, Carter's All-Star position is vacant, Adam, do you have any suggestions? ? It is too difficult for the Eastern Conference to pick an All-Star frontcourt player."

"David, how about I write down the name you also want?" Adam Silva took out his notebook and wrote it down.

When David Stern saw this name, his favor for Adam Silva increased greatly!

"Okay, Adam, your suggestion is good, just do what you said!" David Stern thought about it. If there is a Chinese market, Carter's tendency to fall is not a big deal. It is not that there are no super popular superstars in the United States. .

The corner of Adam Silva's mouth twitched, wanting to curse! Is this my suggestion! Obviously it's what you want, okay?

Those who are old and never die are monsters! I don't want to take any responsibility!

But as a subordinate, isn't it used to find a way when the boss has no choice, and to catch it decisively when the boss wants to throw the blame, otherwise what the boss wants you to do.

Adam Silva wrote two names on the injury quota and alternate candidates on the All-Star substitute application document and handed it to the president for signature.

The substitute chosen by the coach must also be signed by the president. Of course, according to the rules, the president must also sign.

Adam Silva looked at the David Stern written in the president's signature position, and wished that one day the name written in this position would be his own!

Ask for tickets~