Chapter 168 The ‘Gift’ of the Two Evils of Utah

Salt Lake City, named after the Great Salt Lake, is the capital and largest city of Utah. It is not a big city and ranks in the middle of the league, but it is better than the lower reaches of Charlotte, where the Hornets are located.

Because Li Shengli was traded, Hornets fans were disappointed, while Jazz fans were elated. The local media even printed the word "welcome" in the morning newspaper. Although Li Shengli doesn't read the news very much, this "welcome" is more This is to tell the entire Salt Lake City fans...the Jazz storm this season is about to sweep across the league.

Utah Jazz!

You say it is strong, but there is only so much strength. The best result was in the Western Conference Finals in the 1991-92 season and was sent home by the Trail Blazers 4:2, but you cannot say it is weak. After all...since 1983 Starting from the beginning, the regular season winning rate was 50%+ every year, and it was really not impossible to reach the playoffs for ten consecutive years.

Not enough compared to the top, but more than enough than the bottom.

This is a strong Western Conference team without a championship, hanging in the playoffs and unable to make its mark. However... after this transaction, this situation seems to be changing. Jazz fans are waiting for it. The debut of Li Shengli No. 1 was a farewell battle with his old club, the Hornets.

…

Early morning on the 28th.

Li Shengli arrived at the Salt Lake City Airport and was picked up by his agent Turner. Because they were pressed for time, the two of them first sent the salute to their temporary residence and then rushed to the Jazz to report.

There was nothing wrong with the physical examination, it was a routine matter, and then he chose the jersey number... Fortunately, no one in the Jazz grabbed Li Shengli's No. 33. You must know that the two uncles, Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both had No. 33, so he was targeting 33. It's a tribute to the two uncles.

After finishing all the messy things, it was already afternoon after dinner.

Because there was a game the next day, Li Shengli, a new player, had to put aside his personal training first. The top priority was to get in touch with the team, and the Jazz's afternoon training became a group match.

…

Head coach Jerry Sloan issued a military order to Larry Miller for this transaction, and everyone can see that he attaches great importance to Li Shengli. As for the leading players of the Jazz, Malone and Stockton... ...Their attitude towards the little brother Li Shengli is even more enthusiastic than Jerry Sloan.

There is no way, the two brothers can guarantee the team's playoff qualifications by joining forces, but as NBA players, the championship is what they want, but the Jazz are always in a position of neither getting better nor worse, no matter how hard they work, every time Not falling behind in every game, the team's results still haven't changed much.

And now... Li Shengli's joining will be an opportunity for the Jazz to take off.

With the coach's high regard and the welcome of the two bosses, the other Jazz players will naturally not feel uncomfortable and play tricks on the newcomers. In fact... even without these factors, given Li Shengli's past record, they would not dare to take the lead.

As a result, after the Jazz lineup changed, the overall atmosphere was unusually harmonious, and after Li Shengli briefly introduced himself... the other Jazz players also shook hands with Li Shengli one by one.

…

Needless to say, Utah has two bad guys, as well as small forward Tyrone Corbin, who started three of them. The real changes for the Jazz are the center and shooting guard.

The first is the shooting guard.

Jeff Malone has left the team, and Jan Verhenris has become a regular as a backup and is expected to start. He expressed a great welcome to Li Shengli's arrival. As for the center position, Mark Eaton is in the process of handing over to Mike Brown, but due to the addition of Li Shengli... this handover process may be interrupted, and both of them will serve as center substitutes.

As for other teammates, Li Shengli has always been face-blind, and his name and person cannot match each other. He can only wait to get familiar with them later.

…

Until mid-afternoon.

After the group match, because the intensity of this intra-team match was not high and it was intended to allow Li Shengli to adapt to the Jazz's style of play and rhythm, there was nothing that could be seen...

"Li, welcome to join!" Taking advantage of the break, Li Shengli sat on the sidelines. Stockton smiled and handed him a bottle of water. As the head of the Jazz, this is definitely the highest etiquette for him to treat newcomers.

"You...it's not like I don't know you. Why are you being so polite with this kid?" Malone glanced at Stockton with disgust. After all, it was only half a month since the last All-Star game we met. And he sat down next to Li Shengli, "Li, I heard that you beat Johnson before leaving and also gave the Hornets a ticket?"

Ma Long may have deliberately acted familiar to make Li Shengli feel more relaxed, and Li Shengli also felt his kindness, but... he was still worried about the ticket incident of Wong Xie Mo killing the donkey.

"You also know?" Li Shengli glanced at the two of them and asked.

"Nonsense, this is not a secret. The Hornets management has issued a notice." Malone curled his lips, "To be honest, they did this clearly to stabilize Larry Johnson, a loser. But you don't have to worry. , I will prepare a surprise for you tomorrow, treat it as a gift for you to join the Jazz."

A surprise?

The gift of joining the Jazz?

Because the person mentioned on the front foot was Johnson, Li Shengli used his butt to figure out what Ma Long meant... Was he planning to drag Johnson out and have a good meal as a gift for him to join the team?

"Don't...let him go inside tomorrow, I will do it myself!"

"Are you kidding? Johnson, this loser, is the gift I prepared for you."

"I'm used to solving my own affairs by myself..."

"Boy, now that you have joined the Jazz, this matter is none of your business!" Malone rolled his eyes. "Ask John how Thomas provoked him when he scored 42 points on his head. How did I help him cripple Thomas? Let me tell you, our Jazz is like this, I don’t need to know what the problem is, and I don’t need to know who the opponent is. Anyway, if there is trouble... leave it all to me!"

"Shit, you bastard, can't we not mention this?" Stockton was depressed to death because Malone always used him to raise chestnuts, and Li Shengli was suddenly stunned... I felt that these words were a bit familiar, wasn't this? Do you have your own lines in the Wasp?

Thinking back to when he first joined the Hornets, Bogues clamored to hug his thigh, but he never imagined that when he got to the Jazz, Malone's hairy thigh would be so proactive. However...does he need thighs?

On the Jazz side, Thomas taunted Stockton, and Malone elbowed him and required more than 40 stitches. But in the Hornets... Laimbeer ruined Gill for a season, and Li Shengli ruined Laimbeer's entire career.

"Johnson is not a problem, I still have to deal with it myself!"

"You kid is ignorant." Ma Long waved his hand, "Okay, whatever you want, you can let that loser into the paint for tomorrow's game, but I have to take off a layer of his skin first!"

"You can do whatever you want, just don't touch anyone else, especially...Curry and Bogues!"

"Of course, our target is Johnson, the loser. I'm not interested in anyone else."

The two became teammates for the first time and reached a consensus for the first time, but Stockton suddenly felt a little uneasy in his heart. One Karl Malone was wild enough, paired with Li Shengli, a newcomer with a strong record... So what will the Jazz be like this season? !

Unexpectedly, in tomorrow's game, the first blow of the Jazz's new lineup will definitely be on the head of the Hornets, and thinking of Larry Johnson... Stockton prayed for his opponent for the first time in history.

On the front foot, Ma Long peeled off a layer of his skin!

On the back foot, Li Shengli picked off his bones!

The power of the skinless and boneless duo will soon be on the NBA stage. This is definitely a hell-level inside combination.

As for Stockton, he is not afraid that his team's status will be threatened by Li Shengli. On the contrary... he is now very optimistic about Li Shengli, a little brother who looks kind and fights to death, and what he has to do is to give this newly built hell The inside team will give you a knife, a boning knife that can dismember any opponent.

As for how sharp this knife is, it depends on how hard the Hornets' bones are in tomorrow's game.