Chapter 695

"How about it, Ace, this coffee shop is not bad!" James said with a little complacency.

"Wow, really, the environment here is great, the lake is outside the window, I have been here for several years and I didn't know there was this coffee shop, LeBron has yours." Liu Mang praised.

"Haha, I really like the comfortable environment here in Atlanta, so every time I come here, I will find interesting places here." James laughed.

Seeing people talk about people, talking about ghosts, James' social philosophy has become more comfortable after entering the NBA for almost a year.

Like Liu Mang, who is a traditional Chinese in his bones, who is not interested in drinking in the middle of the season, has two girlfriends who are not interested in going out and fooling around, and has a somewhat eccentric personality. James also chose to speak eccentrically. The method caters to Liu Mang Xijing's hobbies.

"In the future, I guess I will come here whenever I have nothing to do. There is still a membership card here? Then I have to get one." Liu Mang said after seeing the promotion of the membership card on the dining table.

"Ace, do you like this place? I've already applied for a membership card. I'll give you mine. I've filled it with money." James took out the membership card and handed it to Liu Mang.

"It's so embarrassing, I can just make one myself." Liu Mang said like that, without resting his hands, he grabbed the membership card and squeezed it tightly.

A drop of cold sweat was left in James' heart. This "only" membership card can be obtained by charging 2,000 dollars. This guy is simply enough! James doesn't know what kind of character Liu Mang is. According to media reports, in order to "please" his girlfriend, Liu Mang spent millions of dollars to buy a villa in Los Angeles. This kind of "little money" can actually be so picky.

After a bit of slander, James still had a smile on his face: "It's okay, I can't come to Atlanta a few times a year, next time I come, just call Ace and you can come with me..."

...

On the first day of March, the Cavaliers came to Atlanta, and tomorrow the two teams will play against each other for the last time this season.

James arrived in Atlanta in the morning, invited Liu Mang out for dinner at noon, found a coffee shop by the lake, the two had some steak or something, and in the afternoon, the two athletes with the highest endorsement fees for Nike went together to give Nike Some sneakers that are not signature shoes are used for publicity.

Endorsing Nike is not just to promote the pair of signature shoes every season. Signature shoes, in a real sense, are an extra 'honor'. Their endorsement contract is to endorse all Nike basketball shoes, and Bai Ninety-fifths of a basketball shoe, not a signature shoe.

Because of Liu Wei, Atlanta has gradually become one of the cities that the world pays attention to basketball. The basketball atmosphere here is getting stronger and stronger, and a large number of Asian fans choose to travel here, which promotes the local economic development. Related industries are paying more and more attention to this aspect. For example, Nike has held many new product release conferences in Atlanta.

In the afternoon, Liu Mang and James went to the new product launch conference together, which attracted the attention of many Asian media and American media. Seeing that the relationship between James and Liu Mang seemed to be very good, the media were also very surprised.

Didn't it mean that Liu Mang and James are direct competitors for the future No. 1 player in the league? The relationship is so good, what are you doing! How should they promote it?

I can't stand it! In this way, there is no way to find something that can do something to make news!

At the press conference after the promotional event in the afternoon, Liu Mang and James were interviewed together, and the media were ready to take the initiative to provoke trouble.

The reporter who took the initiative asked James: "Hi LeBron, Ace said that Wade is 5 cm shorter than Jordan, and he is the best player in your rookie class. Do you think Ace is right? ?”

Taking it out of context, taking it out of context properly, Liu Mang next to him was so angry that he almost interrupted, but it was Schwartz next to him who pulled him to calm down.

James was very calm, and said with a smile: "Dwyane is great, he is going to make the playoffs this year, I admire Dwyane a lot from this aspect, and my goal is to make it to the playoffs with my teammates. "

Schwartz patted Liu Mang under the interview table, meaning: Look at what other people say, and then think about what you say.

Liu Mang was also surprised by James' "maturity". What does it mean to be watertight? This is watertight!

Instead of directly answering the question of who is better, but from the perspective of the playoffs, ignoring the topic of who is better, and answering the question of making the playoffs, and even if they want to make the playoffs, it is not It's about leading the team, but about being with your teammates!

This language art makes Liu Mang, who has inherited Chinese language art for thousands of years, feel ashamed.

This guy is a genius!

The media were a little frustrated, James, a rookie, didn't make it!

Then we had no choice but to aim at Liu Mang, and the reporter asked questions according to the questions he had prepared a long time ago: "Ace, you have created the best record since the new century, and you are confident to maintain this record. Is Duncan underfoot?"

James' language skills seem to be quite useful. Liu Mang almost blurted out something to follow, but the little Zhan Zhan seems to have such a high emotional intelligence. As a senior, how can he behave so mentally and be led by the nose by the media?

Liu Mang thought for a while and said, "Stamp on the championships of the past five years and the three MVPs? Brother, I haven't won a championship yet. It's still possible when I win at least four championships. It's just the regular season, our goal is the playoffs, and that's the regular season record."

In the end, Liu Mang was still arrogant, and he couldn't suppress his pretense.

However, this answer, even if Liu Mang pretended to be forceful in the end, frustrated the reporters.

This guy has been with James for a long time! The reporter was completely blown away, next time he must not interview these two guys together!

...

...

On the second day, the game day between the Eagles and the Cavaliers.

After a day off, the Eagles came to Phillips Arena to face the visiting Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers are now very "open-minded", and there is no hope for the playoffs. This year, they have not won close to 40 wins and cannot enter the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Cavaliers are now 25 wins and 34 losses, and there are 23 games left. It would be amazing to win 10 games in the remaining games, let alone 40 wins, so the Cavaliers are very relaxed and have no record pressure. After getting James, it is enough to cultivate a winning culture, and there is no need to be bad. With James, they can't be completely bad, because they can't be like Ricky Davis. It is impossible to be bad with James.

Therefore, the Cavaliers players, who have no psychological pressure, came to the Devil's home court of the Eagles, and they were not afraid of the frenzied atmosphere on the scene.

The devil's home game is mainly to psychologically suppress the teams with ideas and enthusiasm, suppress their self-confidence, and damage the morale of the opponent. The Cavaliers, who are barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, are just like the Eagles in Liu Mang's rookie season. No matter where you go, you don't hesitate even if you go to Salt Lake City where Shuangsha is still there.

And one more thing, Rasheed Wallace didn't play today, the hot atmosphere of the Eagles at home is just inertia, there is no absolute fanatical atmosphere driven by Rasheed Wallace.

Before the game, the old players of the first two seasons of the Eagles went to say hello and congratulate Newbell.

After the All-Star Weekend, because of his experience in strong teams and his partnership with Liu Mang and others, Newbell, who played more consciously and aggressively, secured his position as the main small forward in the Cavaliers. He averaged 10 points per game this season. With 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks, he got a four-year 15 million contract extension from the Cavaliers. As a former teammate, Liu Mang was also happy for Newbell and went up to congratulate him.

Since Newbell is in the Cavaliers, James and Liu Mang have a good relationship. Just like Liu Mang's visit to Philadelphia is very popular, James is also very popular when he comes to Atlanta, except that the entrance ceremony is given to the visiting team because of the Devil's home game. There were a lot of boos, and when the Eagles players went to Newbell to talk about the old days, and James took the initiative to greet and hug the Eagles players, the cheers on the scene rang out again.

After saying hello and reminiscing about the old days, Liu Mang went back to his half-court shooter and observed the strength of the opponent's lineup.

The top five starters played on the big screen.

"Zaidrunas Ilgauskas, ability evaluation 82, offense 83, defense 80, three-pointer 55, mid-range shooting 81, layup 87, speed 70, strength 93..."

"LeBron James, averaged 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, ability evaluation 84, offense 90, defense 70, three-pointer 60, mid-range shooting 65, layup 90, passing 85, speed 92, strength 85..."

Liu Mang feels unreasonable every time he sees James, and the progress is so fast! This is really a monster who can become a top star in the second grade, and he is more popular than others!

This rookie season is not over yet, and he has already averaged 20+6+5 per game!

Liu Mang has become more urgent to be promoted to a top star after this season, otherwise he will be suppressed by a second-year player, and it would be too embarrassing!

James' progress is indeed terrifying. In the original history, he averaged 27+7+7 per game since the second grade, which stunned those veteran stars. He really looks like the next Jordan.

This time because of the extra pressure brought by Liu Mang's existence, and the fact that the Cavaliers lack Boozer, he must grab more rebounds, score more points, and improve faster. With more than 20.5 points, he is now almost averaging 21 points per game, and his rebounds are almost one more than before, which makes Liu Mang's sense of threat even deeper!

It's just that James' helper is really not good. Except for the quasi-first-class level of Big Z, in the Eastern Conference, he may be able to rely on the overall strength of the Eastern Conference to make one or two All-Stars. Most of the others are not even up to the starting standard. .

The other three starters, the small forward Newbell's ability rating is 72, the average level of the starter is a little higher, the 29-year-old Newbell is already at the peak of his career; use Ricky Davis to trade the short power forward obtained from the Celtics Eric Williams, with an ability rating of 69, is below average as a starter; the shooting guard is a second-round pick of the 96 golden generation, and Jeff McInnis, acquired from the Trail Blazers, has an ability rating of 67.

James, who has taken over the Cavaliers who have experienced a perennial mess, is really unlucky to come to this ruined team, but he must face all this with a smile on his face, because he is the leader of a new generation of American basketball players Delegates, cannot show frustration at this situation.

Liu Mang thinks this is entirely the problem of the Cavaliers themselves. In the past two years, Ricky Davis was promoted as the boss, and then he was asked to serve as a rookie's second-in-command immediately. How could such a mentality change be reversed all at once? Otherwise, James has a quasi-first-class star outside helper. The Cavaliers may not be much worse than the Heat. Up to now, they are only six or seven games away, but these six or seven wins are enough to make the Cavaliers miss the chance. playoffs.

...

After the end of the game in February, I forced myself to do it. After the Heat got 50 wins by one vote, the Eagles came to March, facing another 16 games, two back-to-backs, and one more than one day off. There is no schedule, and he is forced to start a rotation.

In order to get the first record since the new century, and the two-month schedule is the hardest in the league after the Lakers and Rockets, and they pay more attention to the regular season record than those two teams, so they have been playing Very tired, even Raheem, who has only missed 10 games in the past seven years, showed fatigue and had to take a rest.

And March is the scariest month for the Eagles. The top five teams in the Western Conference will all come to Atlanta to challenge the Eagles this month, and the Pacers and Pistons will come to Atlanta. A total of seven difficult games, So the Hawks had to take a massive rotation while they played another nine games.

In addition, the playoffs will start next month. Although the regular season record is important, the playoffs cannot be delayed for the sake of 68 wins.

Fortunately, this month, the Eagles have a total of 12 home games and only 4 away games, which is also very good for the players to recover their physical fitness.

The starting lineup sent by the Eagles for this game is Liu Mang, Prince, Barnes, Boozer, and Ratliff.

Seeing Raheem and Rasheed Wallace in suits, Liu Mang knew that the burden of this game was heavy! Ratliff may not be able to play for a long time, so we have to solve the game quickly while Ratliff is guarding the inside line!

The Cavaliers sent a starting lineup of James, McGinnis, Newbell, Eric Williams, and Big Z.

It was another jump ball battle of "too close to win". Big Z and Ratliff came to the middle circle to jump the ball. Big Z relied on his height advantage and barely won the jump ball from Ratliff's head by bouncing on a matchbox. The Cavaliers The team goes first.

To deal with James, Liu Mang decisively closed the door to defend against the attack of Barnes and Prince. Liu Mang guarded McGinnis himself, and zoomed in to bite the little Zhan Zhan! Boozer went to guard the slow-moving big Z's mid-range shot, and Ratliff was alone at the basket. Eric Williams and Newbell were scared when they saw Ratliff as the king of shot blocks, and they didn't have COSCO Ratliff guards the basket with one hand covering the sky. Newbell's three-point shooting rate is 10.3% this year. He has played 200 games in his career and scored 16 three-pointers. Eric Williams hit The rate is not bad, 33%, but this year, a total of 30 three-pointers were shot, that is, only 10 were scored. The two ran outside and ignored them. Overwhelmed by this defense of the Eagles!

James watched Prince and Barnes attack together, and almost spit out a sentence stuck in his throat.

Do you want to go too far!

You called your brothers yesterday, but today you treat your buddies like this?

unacceptable!

In the face of two people's pincers, just Barnes, a guy who keeps making physical contact, is difficult enough to deal with, and Prince...

James' best outside pitcher, McGinnis, was stared at by Liu Mang. The Cavaliers didn't have a good tactical system. Off-ball pick-and-rolls were basically blind picks. Coach Paul Silas hadn't had time to formulate the team's strategy. As for the offensive system, when he first took over the Cavaliers, he chose a high school student. Although James was very famous, there was Kwame Brown just two years ago. Before the regular season started, the Cavaliers did not Determine whether to continue to perform badly or start rebuilding immediately. This is also the main reason why the overall progress of the Cavaliers is not so fast this year.

In general, it is still a big problem with the management!

Being pinched by Prince and Barnes, James was treated at the level of Kobe and Tracy McGrady. James' passion for passing the ball couldn't be suppressed, and he passed it to the open Newbell.

Newbell caught the ball from the middle distance, feeling cold in his heart. He was a teammate with Ratliff before, and he knew how strong this guy's ability to block the basket was. He hesitated and made a mid-range jumper...

"Kang..."

Liu Mang immediately retreated to the basket to grab a defensive rebound.

Without Raheem and Rasheed Wallace, Liu Mang is more active in grabbing rebounds. With his wingspan and the advantage of bouncing, he can still grab rebounds. He has averaged 3.7 rebounds this year.

After Liu Mang grabbed the rebound, Ratliff didn't move, and stood in the three-second zone, because Liu Mang took the rebound and immediately counterattacked!

Liu Mang rushed to the frontcourt quickly, and the Cavaliers could only keep up with James. When James retreated to the center line, he tried to block Liu Mang. However, although James has a good attitude now, his defense is really urgent, which is only average. In fact, until the 2008 Olympic Games, James' defense was so-so. Liu Mang made a fake move and James threw it out. Then Liu Mang made a change of direction and threw James behind him. Solo riding level 5 triggers, and his speed soars to 99.

James couldn't even catch up if he wanted to!

Liu Mang rushed to the frontcourt and gently dunked the ball into the basket. He didn't dunk hard or anything to avoid affecting the touch. Although the opponent is not good today, he can't be fooled. He has to be very focused!

James looked at Liu Mang's completely different expression from the previous two fights, and James felt like he was being stabbed by a needle.

It's brother! Do you want to be so serious!

James has seen Liu Mang's expression before, only when he was playing with the Nets!

However, James was still a little happy in his heart, which proved that Liu Mang attached great importance to him.

The Eagles took the lead in scoring first.

It was the Cavaliers attack again. James received Newbell's serve and pushed forward. This time he learned his skills. He saw Prince and Barnes directly preparing to pinch. He started to accelerate just after halftime. Regardless of James' current size A little thinner than Barnes, but full of muscles, and full of explosive power. When James accelerated to the three-point line, Prince and Barnes attacked, but they couldn't stop it!

James rushed into the inside, and Ratliff could only back away from James who was fully sprinting. This guy was too fast and too fierce, even if he pulled down, he would have to pay a foul, and James who was fully sprinting couldn't stop him.

James rushed to the basket and dunked with one hand in response to Liu Mang's dunk.

Liu Mang went back to the basket and was ready to receive the serve. When James yelled to return to defense after dunking, Liu Mang clapped his hands and said to James, "Very good, very good, it's up to me next."

Seeing Liu Mang's expressionless expression, James was puzzled when he retreated: "What does this mean?"

Then, James knew what Liu Mang meant.

Liu Mang advances to the frontcourt with the ball, playing singles from outside the three-point line, and the Cavaliers have the best outside defense. Newbell, Liu Mang is too familiar with Newbell's defense.

Newbell is more familiar with Liu Mang's strength in singles!

Is it time to retreat and prevent breakthroughs? Still want to defend three points? Or an emergency stop jumper? The more you know Liu Mang, the more painful Newbell's defense will be!

Although Liu Mang is not omnipotent, he is too comprehensive in individual singles!

Liu Mang suddenly accelerated to the right, and Newbell, who was in panic, subconsciously took a few steps back. Liu Mang immediately retracted, took a three-pointer and swung the sniper...

Continuing the fiery three-pointer from the previous game, Liu Mang hit a three-pointer with a sniper shot!

5 points in a row!

It was the Cavaliers' offense again, and James continued to choose a strong attack. This move was really unsolvable. Without Raheem's mid-range defense, Barnes and Prince were both single-defense types. It is very effective when facing singles with the ball. Facing James' rampant style of play, he is not as strong as when Raheem was there.

The Cavaliers clung to the score at the beginning, 4 to 5, and did not let the score break.

But when the Eagles were attacking, Liu Mang took advantage of Newbell being frightened by the three-pointer, let Boozer come out to pick and roll, and then went down to the inside. Both Newbell and Eric Williams rushed towards the basket. Liu Mang came over, and Big Z also blocked him ahead of time. After Liu Mang attracted three people to attack, he immediately gave the ball to Boozer who cut in from the left side of the basket after a pick-and-roll. Boozer caught the ball and easily dunked and scored two points. .

Liu Mang and James started a confrontation!

After playing in the NBA for almost a season, James, who is more and more able to use his physical advantages, has a high basketball quotient. After finding a way to score, he always chooses to accelerate from the center line and forcefully squeeze two defensive players to attack the basket. The power of this trick is really incomprehensible. After the game started, he shot 6 of 8 shots. In addition to being interfered by Ratliff who missed two shots, it also caused Ratliff to make a 2+1 and made a free throw. Yes, the start scored 13 points in a row, showing the potential of a superstar!

In addition to attracting more and more defenses, James also got 2 assists in the first half of the quarter, helping the Cavaliers score 17 points in seven minutes!

The Cavaliers' offensive efficiency exploded at the start!

But the Eagles kept scoring. James understood what Liu Mang said.

After Liu Mang dunked a basket at the beginning and made a three-pointer, he attracted a lot of defense, and then began to cooperate with Boozer in the pick-and-roll, and began to create opportunities for his teammates. The air-cut Boozer and Barnes, outside Prince, who was waiting to catch the ball, and Ratliff, who was crouching under the basket, were all Liu Mang's targets for passing!

After Liu Mang scored 5 points in a row, he sent out 5 assists in a row! Forcing the Cavaliers to choose single defense again, Liu Mang faced Newbell's defense and fired again from the three-pointer!

Liu Mang scored 12 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes, helping the Eagles lead the Cavaliers by 7 points 24-17!

This oppression made James feel breathless!

He has already tried his best to break through against the two defenses, and he has to face Ratliff who is ready to defend in advance. He has only played for seven minutes. The number of breakthroughs by the two defenders has already reached ten times! There are more games like this than he usually plays in the whole game!

The rhythm of the two teams is too fast, because the defense of the Eagles is not as oppressive as usual, so the rhythm is very fast! There are many shots and the score is frighteningly high.

...

After the official timeout ended, the Eagles began to make substitutions. Liu Mang and Jason Terry played, and the lineup of Barnes, Muhammad, and Kwame Brown played.

James continued to play for the Cavaliers. He averaged 41 minutes per game in his rookie year. James is not easy. Without Ricky Davis, Boozer is not their team. James must perform better To have a chance to win, James played with a lineup of Kevin Ollie, Newbell, Diop, and Tony Batty.

If the starting lineup of the Cavaliers still has some strength on the offensive end, such as Newbell and Eric Williams cut when James broke through, helping James attract Ratliff's defensive attention and let James start 6 for 8, then Diop and Tony Batty... It's completely negative.

The two have almost no awareness of running positions and no shooting ability. In addition, James' style of play is really tiring, and the second half of the first quarter is obviously exhausted! James continued to forcibly attack the flanking defense of Liu Mang and Barnes. This time James didn't even have an outside shooter, so Liu Mang could go to the flanking attack. James could force Liu Mang and Barnes to rush into the interior at the beginning. , but even if he rushed inside, seeing Kwame Brown, Muhammad and even his own teammates Tony Batty and Diop crowded under the basket, James didn't know how to play, teammates too blind! Anyway, open up the space!

But if they had that kind of awareness, Tony Batty would not be given up by the original team, and Diop would not have such good physical fitness. He was still the No. 8 pick, and he only averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds per game in the third year of his career. .

James forced a few times and hit the iron, and the Cavaliers' offense finally broke!

On Liu Mang's side, he swung his arms and threw his body into the air. When the team's rebounds fell, he tried his best to grab them every time he defended them. He received several rebounds in the second half of the first quarter. Rebound and counterattack, with Barnes, Muhammad, and Kwame Brown following up with three strong teammates, the Eagles' cavalry tactics started!

Liu Mang and Jason Terry's backcourt double wave combination started to chase three-pointers continuously. You throw one and keep throwing it. If not, you have to increase your speed.

Originally, the Cavaliers wanted to send two high towers to suppress the fast tempo on the field, but even Big Z and Ratliff couldn't slow down the tempo. These two are the third and fourth centers in other teams. Guys come up, it's a burden!

The Eagles played a 16-6 scoring shock wave in the last five minutes of the first quarter!

40 points in a single quarter!

The Eagles led the Cavaliers by 17 points 40 to 23 after the first quarter!

The Cavaliers scored 23 points, which is basically not much different from their season average of 93 points per game, which means that the Eagles did not really limit the Cavaliers' offense.

But the Eagles' own offense is on fire!

Liu Mang scored 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the first quarter! Liu Mang, who was completely focused today, carefully studied the Cavaliers' offense and defense before the game, and took advantage of the Cavaliers' weaknesses to help the Eagles play almost the best single quarter of the season!

Apart from looking for opportunities to constantly trigger skills, Liu Mang didn't use any small tricks, which was not necessary for the Cavaliers. He also respected James and used a double attack. Other than that, he didn't have any other excessive defense.

But that's it, Liu Mang's performance was so terrifying that he didn't expect it!

If it is 18 points and 6 assists, this is okay. 18+6 in a single quarter is indeed a bit amazing, and it is not too much. There are many people who can get such data, but there are still 5 rebounds. James is almost done in a single quarter. The performance of the game!

The first time I played against James like Liu Mang played James, James played so badly, I didn't feel too much panic.

But today, James looked at Liu Mang, who was acting according to tactics and using his strength to perform this kind of performance, he was not good!

This guy is terrible!

Compared with McGrady who scored 8 three-pointers in a row with contemptuous eyes last time, Liu Mang brought James' pressure this time, no worse than McGrady!

Of the six "Jordan successors", James has already played against the other five.

Unlike Kobe, who is completely disdainful, the Lakers are too powerful, and the Cavaliers are completely unstoppable. Kobe's proud way of playing for only a few minutes before resting is different; it's different from Carter riding a big Z dunk and dancing back to defense and telling him to let him do the same. The mentality of playing is also different from that of McGrady. He scored more than 40 points in one game and scored 8 three-pointers in one game with McGrady's disdain. The casual attitude of "Ace is better" is different; it is different from Iverson's crazy attitude of using speed to transfer him who is still playing point guard to a rookie and be honest after his comeback.

Liu Mang's performance today made him look extraordinarily different among NBA players!

Today's Liu Mang made James feel very different!

James also thinks that Liu Mang is very different among "Jordan's successors"! Instead, I am that normal person!

(The 8,000-character chapter is here, ask for a monthly ticket)