Chapter 3 3. Basketball at the Beginning of the Century

Chapter 3 3. Basketball at the beginning of the century

51 to 47, this score, Liu Mang didn't look at the game time, he thought it was half time, but when he looked at the game time, it turned out that three quarters were almost over...

I have to say that the game at the beginning of the century was simple, and the rhythm is really not slow. The Hawks and Rockets are both fast-paced teams, but the defensive strength is really scary. Even Jason Terry dared to use his weak The body goes to defend Francis forcefully.

And one thing is very important, that is, defense can be mastered these days!

As long as you don't hit your hands, you don't push or pull people directly, and the referee doesn't care if your hands seem to be just "riding" on the opponent's offensive player.

A strong sense of déjà vu from watching basketball documentaries in the 1980s and 1990s appeared in front of Liu Mang.

For the old generation of basketball, people are usually willing to watch the games of the 1980s and 1990s, and the games of the new era, and they are willing to watch the games after the prohibition of overhand defense in 2005. With 6 championships, I think these three teams are the only ones in this era. After all, from 2000 to 2005, these three teams won all the championships.

But in fact, the game confrontation in these years is more exaggerated than in any era.

Compared with most players who were born in the 1960s and 1970s and played in the 1980s and 1990s, the average physical fitness of this era is due to the rapid development of world trade after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Life has improved, and the average physical fitness has increased. Compared with ordinary players The 1980s and 1990s were too strong, and the rules of the 1980s and 1990s still exist, and the confrontation is terribly strong. This is why in recent years, except for the Lakers, no team can stop the Spurs and Pistons. Improve physical fitness, use a relatively civilian lineup to play a murder game to watch the game, and then defeat the opponent.

This is also the reason why a group of scorers ran wild like wild horses after the defense was not allowed to start in 2005, and it is also the reason why the Spurs and Pistons began to decline.

Liu Mang watched the game on the court. He said that he was used to watching the Warriors and Cavaliers' easy three-point games. Watching this game is really eye-catching, and the shooting is so awesome. This confrontation.

Liu Mang didn't compliment Jason Terry on other things, but he really respected his attitude towards playing. Because the point guard fouled too much, it was his turn to defend Francis, and he was directly attacked by sticking to Francis. An elbow, and then stick it up.

Francis's style of play used to be the style of Admiral David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal, swinging his body and chiseling.

Looking at the two major point guards, Dean Holloff and Jacqui Vaughn, who have already committed three fouls, and Emma Noor Davis, a high-quality undrafted backup shooting guard of the 96 golden generation, has also been committed two fouls. Instead, Liu Mang was praying for Terry.

Yes, pray.

"Terry, please don't foul! Don't! Master Guanzizai Bodhisattva, Lord Jesus, bless you!" Liu Mang was silently praying for Terry, if Terry was also shot down, it would be his turn.

Just now I played in a state of ignorance, fearless... a woolen yarn, I was almost scared to pee just now, thanks to the fact that I played with Rahim at the last point of the first half, and Raheem went to defend Francis. Now it's his turn! Rahim is the core, how could he risk fouls to defend Francis in the crucial second half, it must be his turn as cannon fodder!

Liu Mang prayed and unconsciously read it in Chinese.

"Hey, Ace, what are you talking about? Is it Chinese?" Kukoc, the Croatian power forward of the Bull Dynasty and the current pensioner, asked strangely.

Kukoc is the most disappointing reinforcement for the Eagles fans. He was exhausted in the preseason. He thought he could form a powerful inside combination with the shot-blocking king Ratliff, but he came here for a big contract to retire. Eagle made a fool of himself.

Fortunately, the existence of Kukoc provided Muhammad with technical guidance, otherwise the 24 million would have been completely wasted.

Overseas players don’t have much say in the NBA these days. Role players from the Bulls dynasty like Luke Longley and Kukoc are already one of the best overseas players. Although Qi was favored by many teams and finally joined under the lure of the Eagles' big contract, in fact he was rejected by most of his teammates, who felt that he had a lot of money but was useless at all.

And Liu Mang, an Asian, has a lower sense of identity in the NBA, which makes Kukoc feel that he is related to the same disease. He still takes care of Liu Mang. After all, although Kukoc is rejected, but fortunately, his status Putting it there, apart from the fact that Liu Mang seems to be getting the attention of the coach, Liu Mang is completely looked down upon in other aspects.

"I'm praying for Jason, I hope he won't foul." Liu Mang replied honestly.

"Ace, you are such a good person. The two of you have always had a bad relationship. I never thought that you would pray for Jason." Kukoc is obviously a little bit straight. This era has not yet been bombarded by the Internet, and has not yet entered the era of information explosion. People are still relatively simple... Of course, it's just about chatting, there are good people and bad people at any time, and it doesn't necessarily mean that there are fewer people than there are now.

At this time, there was a voice that Liu Mang hated: "There is no need for you, a useless guy, to pray for me."

While Liu Mang was chatting with Kukoc, Terry was finally fouled by Francis for the fourth time and was sent off.

Liu Mang turned his head and saw that Terry returned to the bench with an unlucky look on his face, as usual with a proud and annoying look.

It’s no wonder Terry is so proud this year. He averaged 20+3+6 per game as a sophomore last season, and became the superstar Elton Brand and left-hander Elton Brand who entered the NBA in 1999 except for entering the NBA. Magician Lamar Odom, just him and the opposite Francis are another supernova of the younger generation.

Why did Terry fight Francis so desperately in this game? It was because he wanted to overwhelm Francis, but in terms of strength, Francis was really much stronger than Terry, and Francis made four fouls alone in the three quarters.

Originally unable to beat Francis, Terry was aggrieved after being fouled for the fourth time, and then came to the sidelines and heard the conversation between Kukoc and Liu Mang, and immediately taunted him.

For Francis, Terry really had nothing to do, the difference in physical fitness between the two was too great, but for Liu Mang, Terry was unhappy with this kid, and he couldn't figure out why this guy could stay on the team.

Well, Liu Mang is not as knowledgeable as this big mouth... The main reason is that the status of the team is too far apart. In addition to the only superstar Raheem, the Eagles also have Ratliff, the patron saint of the basket. Terry has the highest status, and Ratliff is an honest man, he is very polite to everyone, and Raheem does not have the heart of a superstar, so Terry is the most "big name" in the Eagles now, and it is not a good thing to conflict with him.

Liu Mang pouted and turned his head to head coach Ron Kruger. Seeing Liu Mang ignoring him, Terry snorted to express his displeasure.

Just now it seems that my side called a timeout. The number of fouls by the Eagles exploded today. Terry wants to overwhelm Francis. Just like Terry, Francis also wants to overwhelm Terry.

Francis, who was in the second grade last season, also played a phenomenal performance. Rudy Tommyjanovich gave him all the ball rights. His performance of 20+6+6 per game in the second grade last season was ridiculously strong, except for the Magic Outside the division, no point guard has ever played such a strong and comprehensive performance.

The Eagles look good outside, but how can they stand up to the devastation of Francis, who is now 25 years old and at his peak, after four years of college and entered the NBA?

Although the Rockets had less than 60 points at the end of the third quarter, Francis alone scored 30 points, plus 6 rebounds and 8 assists, almost taking the scoring of the entire Rockets.

Three quarters of 30+6+8, Liu Mang was amazed to see Francis' data on the big screen above the court. Before James entered the NBA, Francis was the only one who could easily play such data.

Luckily for Liu Mang, Coach Kruger didn't replace him in the last two minutes of the third quarter, but let Demar Johnson, the No. 6 pick in parallel imports in 2000, go up for two minutes.

The year 2000 is indeed the year known as the worst draft year in history. Demar Johnson averaged 4 points and 2 rebounds in his rookie year and shot 35% from the field. He actually played 16 minutes of playing time. At the beginning of the season At most, he averaged 20 minutes per game, and then dropped down because he played really poorly.

Liu Mang watched Demar Johnson play desperately. He fouled Francis consecutively. The number of fouls by the Eagles reached the free throw stage within a few minutes of the second half. DeMar Johnson came up to send free throws.

Seeing that DeMar Johnson played two minutes in the third quarter, made one turnover, two fouls, and one non-stick, Liu Mang's heart skipped a beat...

After three quarters, the Rockets played a wave of 6-0 when the Eagles were in foul crisis in the last two or three minutes, opening the point difference to 10 points, 64 to 54, and the Rockets led by 10 points to end the third quarter.

As expected!

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, it should be replaced by a rotation lineup, allowing Terry and Dean Grove to rest in the backcourt first, but Jacqui Vaughn performed poorly, and DeMar Johnson performed even worse. disaster!

So, Liu Mang's bad premonition came.

Coach Kruger called Liu Mang over: "Ace, get on the field! Receive the pass from Sharif and throw the ball in! Don't foul, if you can't stop Francis, you can lead him to the inside to solve for Theo! Ace, Emmanuel, Sharif, Ira, Theo, you go on the court to tighten the score! Don't let the score be stretched!"

Liu Mang looked at Omanuel Davis, Raheem, Ira Newbell, and Ratliff who were about to play. His whole body was broken. Was he tortured to death when he went up? Shouldn't he be cut after the first regular season game!

It's going to be exposed when you go up!

Seeing Liu Mang's dazed look, Coach Kruger called him over: "Don't give up on yourself just because you are frustrated in the draft. You must seize every opportunity. Opportunities can't be given to you all the time... I can't always give you opportunities !"

Liu Mang felt two heavy pats on his shoulders, which seemed to contain great expectations.

Liu Mang is very strange, the big forehead coach seems to be too kind to him!

But now, Liu Mang is completely unable to think carefully, because he saw that the boss Fu who he knew because of Yao Ming was taking the serve after the referee blew the whistle and dribbling towards the Eagle. .

The Rockets attack first in the fourth quarter, and Liu Mang will defend Francis when he comes up!

Francis pushed forward and saw that he was guarded by a yellow-skinned tall and thin defender wearing a No. 1 jersey. He let out a disdainful snort, and then directly ran over the opponent.

"Damn!" Liu Mang felt Francis' crushing power, and he felt bad all of a sudden.

It's over! To be cut!

Liu Mang's head was full of panic. At this moment, he seemed to see that he played too badly. He was originally a second-round pick, and then he was cut...

Suddenly, a voice came out of Liu Mang's mind.

"The rogue system is being activated, the host please wait..."

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