Chapter 881 880. Before the War (There Will Be Another Chapter Later!)
Before the game started, Liu Mang felt like he couldn't help but rush. He was so excited to play against the Suns.
The fans at the scene became excited after the players of both teams entered the stadium.
Although there was a strong enemy at the moment, the fans were more excited than worried about seeing the Hawks play against a strong enemy. After all, they were the defending champions.
With the championship in hand, Jordan returned to the age of 33 and brought the invincible Bulls. They were not afraid.
The relationship between the two teams was really good. Kwame Brown and Stoudemire were actually born in the same year. The two even played a game in Monte Cristo.
When Liu Mang knew about the relationship between the two, he felt that the world of American players in the NBA was really small. In the original time and space, Hamilton and Kobe faced off in the 2004 Finals. Who would have thought that they were good friends in high school.
"Amare, come here." Liu Mang sent Kwame Brown away and called Stoudemire aside.
"Boss Ace, what's wrong?" Stoudemire came over happily.
Liu Mang is five months younger than Kwame Brown, two months older than Stoudemire, and entered the NBA a year earlier. Although Liu Mang dunked on him twice, their relationship is not bad. They are rivals.
When Liu Mang won the scoring title, MVP, and championship, the players of the same period were far behind Liu Mang. Stoudemire, like some players of similar age, called Liu Mang "big brother".
"Was Kwame good in high school?" Liu Mang was very curious about this. He was embarrassed to ask Kwame Brown, so he asked Stoudemire knowing that Stoudemire and Kwame Brown had played against each other.
Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry were speechless. They hated the Hawks because the Hawks "resurrected" Kwame Brown, and Liu Mang could not lower his face to please them.
"Wow, Ace, don't you know how good Kwame was in high school? He was the first high school student to be the first pick! I knew he was not a slacker. He scored 47 points in that match with me." Stoudemire recalled the glorious years of the past.
"How about comparing with you?" Liu Mang felt that Stoudemire was not the kind of person who would give in.
"I scored 50 points." Stoudemire casually touched his round head that had just been trimmed in the afternoon.
"..." Liu Mang was speechless. It turned out that he was using Kwame Brown to show how good he was.
...
"Long time no see, MJ." Liu Mang said to Joe Johnson next to him while applying magnesium powder.
"Ace, how many times have I said that I am J-J, not M-J!" Joe Johnson responded helplessly.
"Okay, I know MJ."
"..." Why did Joe Johnson feel so tired talking to this second-round pick of the same class?
Liu Mang looked at the helpless face of the contemporary Jordan, which was too interesting.
Joe Johnson saw that Liu Mang was very interested, and the uneasy feeling he had in the past three years came back. Liu Mang is the MVP! And there is also McGrady, a candidate for assist king. Joe Johnson feels that their outside line is going to be finished tonight.
However, Joe Johnson felt a lot more at ease when he saw Nash and McGrady bickering near the center circle.
It is true that the opponent has the MVP and assist king favorites this season, but they also have them! And they are the MVP and assist king favorites in one!
What Nash brought to the Suns is not only victory, but also confidence! Just like Liu Mang's arrival on the Hawks transformed the Hawks, the Suns also transformed. Through nearly half a season of continuous winning, the Suns have accumulated confidence!
…
With a roar from Rasheed Wallace, the fans at the scene got excited!
Liu Mang sprinkled magnesium powder into the air, walked to the court, and stared at the data of the two teams' starters on the big screen.
On the Hawks side, Liu Mang averaged 36.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, McGrady averaged 14.6 points, 11.5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, Prince averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, Rasheed Wallace averaged 10.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, and Kwame Brown averaged 14.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
The Hawks sent out the strongest lineup of Liu Mang, McGrady, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown.
The Suns also sent out the strongest starting lineup, Nash, Quentin Richardson, Joe Johnson, Marion, and Stoudemire.
Liu Mang looked at the data of the five starters of the Suns on the big screen: Nash, who averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds and 12 assists per game, Stoudemire, who averaged 26 points, 9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.6 blocks per game, Marion, who averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, the contemporary Jordan, who averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, and Quentin Richardson, who averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
Not only Nash can pass the ball, but the Suns are actually good at passing the ball. With Nash's ball possession so concentrated, the other four starters have an average of 9 assists per game. This team is not like people imagine that it depends on Nash to pass the ball to others and shoot. Their entire starter can provide assists to their teammates.
The gorgeous Suns are not just Nash in the impression. Liu Mang has watched a lot of Suns' game videos this season and is very clear about this.
But Nash is definitely the most critical person. As soon as he stepped onto the court, Liu Mang heard the system prompt.
"Ding... The talent skill Son of the Wind is triggered at level 5, from Steve Nash."
"Son of the Wind: Steve Nash's innate skill, comparable to the vision of a football player, is the key to Steve Nash's organization of offense. All teammates who meet the rhythm required by Steve Nash will have their abilities greatly improved."
"Playing with Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire's ability rating increased from 88 to 90, Shawn Marion's ability rating increased from 90 to 92, Joe Johnson's ability rating increased from 82 to 85, and Quentin Richardson's ability rating increased from 77 to 81."
Except for Shawn Marion, who was so strong that he was already an All-Star player before meeting Nash, the other members of the Suns almost all improved to a higher level when they met Nash!
"Ding...Steve Nash's innate skill Son of the Wind feature: Homecoming is triggered."
"Homecoming: As long as Steve Nash is on the court, the Suns players are not afraid of any opponent, offsetting the pressure of the Hawks' devil's home aura."
It's really amazing!
Seeing the Suns players who were so full of vigor and vigor after playing under Nash's leadership, compared with the team led by Marbury in the past, it was not only the improvement in strength, but also the change in spirit.
However, if it were not so, Liu Mang would feel boring. The most gorgeous running and gunning team in the legend, this is what it should be!
This is not a team made up of a group of stars, but a frustrated point guard and a group of frustrated young players. From a team that just lost an unprotected first-round pick No. 7, it was directly promoted to the first place in the league. If there were no surprises, Liu Mang would be disappointed.
"Tracy, this game is a bit difficult to play." Liu Mang raised his eyebrows to McGrady next to him.
"Oh?" McGrady has been Liu Mang's teammate for so long, and it has been the 40th game. This is the first time he has seen Liu Mang so serious.
Just like most players and teams who look down on the Suns' running and gunning style and Nash who was abandoned by the Mavericks, McGrady thinks that the Suns are a powerful team, but they are just a "lucky" team. It is precisely because most teams hold this mentality when they play against the Suns for the first time, and are defeated by the Suns, that the Suns players accumulate confidence. Later, the Suns, who want to suppress their confidence, have no choice, because the Suns have really become one of the top teams.
McGrady's mentality before was like that, but seeing Liu Mang so serious, he has become more interested in Nash's "grudge" except for the assist king. There are not many teams that Liu Mang is really afraid of!
Liu Mang is observing the Suns, and Nash is also observing the Hawks on the Suns side.
Nash has a positive outlook, a clean style of play, strong strength, a good image, and a gentlemanly demeanor... He is a good person in all aspects, too good. Just like now, he is only thinking about the game, not as much as Liu Mang thinks.
This makes the basketball of the Suns quite pure, just like taking offense as a belief.
Fortunately, his opponent today is the Hawks, a cunning, sinister, fierce but not dirty opponent. Liu Mang is also looking forward to enjoying the game with the Suns, looking forward to a big battle with a team that believes in shooting!
There will be another chapter later~