The NBA started with helping Iverson win the championship

Chapter 316

"Of course I have the confidence to lead the Raptors over the Mavericks."

"The Raptors are not what they used to be."

"I think we're definitely the top seed to win the title this season."

There is still a week before the game against the Mavericks. At the post-match press conference, facing the questions raised by reporters, James said with confidence.

Bosh on the side had a slightly strange expression on his face.

He didn't like the word leader that James said, because in Bosh's view, he was the boss of the Raptors.

I have played for the Raptors for nearly ten years, and the Raptors are all covered with my brand, and the Raptors have become Bosh's shape.

As a result, James has only been here for a few days, and he even said that he would lead the Raptors to defeat the Mavericks.

Let alone whether they can beat the Mavericks, even if they can, it should not be said to lead, but to help the team beat the Mavericks.

Bosh is an extremely sensitive player, fans should be very aware of this.

Just a single word has already caused dissatisfaction in Bosh's heart.

"I think whether we can beat the Mavericks depends entirely on our performance."

"The Mavericks have Li Xun, the best forward player in the league, bar none."

"If we want to defeat the Mavericks, in addition to suppressing Li Xun's offensive end, we also need to crack Li Xun's defensive end."

"If we can't do that, it will be very difficult for us to beat the Mavericks."

"But I believe LeBron can do it."

Bosh, a scheming boy, directly brought James out with his words. If the Raptors lose, it goes without saying who will take the blame.

Little Jordan on the side didn't have so much scheming. When he heard Bosh's words, he definitely thought that Bosh had underestimated Li Xun.

Can Li Xun be restrained with James' defense?

He is still grateful for Li Xun's kindness until now, feeling that Li Xun made his career perfect.

If it wasn't for Li Xun, he might have already sold a car in a certain 4S shop, or worked as an intermediary in a certain real estate agency.

Many NBA players are engaged in these two industries when they are not mixed well.

The main reason is that these two industries do not require any professional ability. NBA players can be regarded as familiar faces and celebrities. They have natural advantages in this industry and generally do well.

James felt that something was wrong, and Bosh's words were equivalent to putting himself on the stake.

I haven't played against Li Xun once or twice. Over the years, I have never won even once in a matchup.

According to what Bosh said, if he really lost to the Mavericks, wouldn't he have to take the blame?
He said just now that he was confident of winning against the Mavericks. That was a complete cliché. He has said this countless times in his career.

For example, I want to win seven championship trophies for the Heat.

For example, if I participate in the slam dunk contest, I will definitely win the championship.

Like I never have to dive.

For example, all No. 23 jerseys should be retired.

For example, I am the greatest player in history, I am GOAT.

For example, I have never joined a strong team.

Li Xun also saw James' rhetoric on the news, and couldn't help but be amused.

He didn't know where James got the confidence to say that he could beat the Mavericks.

The current Raptors are indeed not weak, but during the offseason, in order to get James, the Raptors' salary space was greatly affected. Now there is almost no bench depth in their lineup.

The biggest influence is DeRozan.

At that time, Bosh pulled his old face and begged Li Xun to sell DeRozan to the Raptors. It happened that during the offseason that just ended, DeRozan reached the contract renewal period.

James just came again.

The Raptors' salary space can only sign one of DeRozan or James, and the result is obvious. DeRozan ran to the Spurs as a free agent.

If DeRozan didn't leave, then this Raptors is still quite terrifying.

Now that Bosh is not injured, everything looks pretty good. After all, they have a seemingly perfect frontcourt combination of Jordan, Bosh and James.

In case Bosh is injured, or if the pulmonary embolism is premature, the Raptors are actually not competitive at all.

For a pure blue-collar player like Jordan, the more powerful teammates he has around him, the stronger and more efficient he can be.

"Boss, I'm dreaming right now."

"In four years, I changed three teams. Those who didn't know thought I was a cancer in the locker room."

The Mavericks' opponent in the next game was the Spurs, and DeRozan became bitter after seeing Li Xun.

The two once won the championship side by side, and Li Xun can also be said to be DeRozan's only friend in this league.

When encountering many things, DeRozan would call Li Xun, the big brother, and ask him to give his advice.

Because of Li Xun's company all the time, DeRozan's mental state is very good, and it is estimated that he will not suffer from depression again.

At least he can take the initiative to pour out his bitterness tonight, it doesn't look like depression.

"It can only be said that you are out of luck."

"Are you still used to it at the Spurs?"

Li Xun asked curiously.

DeRozan shook his head, "I'm not used to it, Greg's temper is too rough."

"I miss Mr. Rudy very much now."

Li Xun laughed straight away. Popovich really yelled and scolded the players, even the young Duncan scolded him like his grandson.

The average player really can't stand Popovich.

DeRozan misses the gentle Tang Shuai very much now.

Tang Shuai's treatment of players can only be described as spring breeze, and he has hardly seen him lose his temper.

Of course, it may also be that the Pistons had such a good record at the time that they had no chance of losing at all, and there was no reason to get angry.

"If I knew I was trying to earn less than 2000 million, I would just join the Mavericks."

DeRozan said regretfully.

During the offseason, DeRozan had the idea of ​​re-entering Li Xun's arms.

Of course, the Mavericks are also very interested.

What a joke, DeRozan has averaged about 24 points per game in the last two seasons with the Raptors. Except for the three-pointer, he is definitely a classic shooting guard with no faults.

But the problem is that the Mavericks have no money.

Li Xun and Nowitzki occupy the top salary, Kaman still has an annual salary of 800 million, Terry still has 600 million, plus other scattered contracts, can the Mavericks give DeRozan a salary? Only about 1400 million came out.

On the other hand, the Spurs can offer DeRozan a maximum salary contract, and he can get a four-year contract of about 8000 million.

In the end, Li Xun couldn't stand it anymore, and directly persuaded DeRozan to accept the maximum salary.

After all, the championship has already been obtained, and now DeRozan does not have to win the championship, and there is no need to lose more than 2000 million US dollars in vain.

With DeRozan's personality, he can't get too many commercial contracts, and more than 2000 million is not a lot.

Most importantly, the Mavericks have no shortage of shooting guards.

Clay is the shooting guard, Middleton is the shooting guard, and there is nothing wrong with even saying that Giba is the shooting guard.

In addition, Li Xun can also play shooting guard.

There is really no shortage of shooting guards in the Mavericks, otherwise Li Xun would not be ready to sell Middleton.

"Don't ever have this kind of thinking again, just play hard in the Spurs."

"Practice more three-pointers at ordinary times. Even if Popovich can make you shoot less, you have to keep shooting."

"There is definitely no harm. In a few years, if you don't have the three-point ability, you will suffer a lot."

Li Xun admonished him, he didn't want DeRozan to continue to follow the old path.

DeRozan is actually quite tragic. It is well known that he has no three-point ability in the early stage of his career.

At the same time, this is where he was criticized.

In the last season of the Raptors, that is, the 17-18 season, he has been seriously aware of this problem and began to desperately make up for his three-point shortcomings.

The average number of three-point shots per game has reached 3.6, and the shooting percentage has also reached [-]%.

This is a big improvement compared to previous seasons.

Even the great Pyrenees Gasol can practice three-pointers, there is no reason why DeRozan can't practice three-pointers.

Maybe give him another two seasons, and he will really be able to practice three-pointers.

As a result, at this point in time, he was traded to the Spurs.

After arriving at the Spurs, Popovich didn't know that he felt that the Spurs could stand aloof and win the championship without shooting three-pointers.

Or did he deliberately indulge DeRozan and promised him not to shoot three-pointers.

In DeRozan's first season with the Spurs, his average three-pointers per game changed from 3.6 to 0.6, almost as if he didn't shoot three-pointers.

It is equivalent to saying that all the three-pointers practiced before were for nothing, self-destructing the foundation.

After playing for the Spurs for three seasons, DeRozan's three-pointers have not improved at all.

After all, he didn't shoot three-pointers in the game, so how could he improve.

After leaving the Spurs and joining the Bulls, DeRozan really recovered the three-pointer.

Throwing the best season of his career in 35.2-point shooting, hitting [-] percent of his shots.

Of course, such a shooting rate cannot be said to be very good, but it is already at the average level of the league, at least it is not a small threat outside the three-point line.

And DeRozan has truly rejuvenated in the Bulls.

"Boss, I've been practicing three-pointers."

"But now the Spurs don't need me to shoot too many threes."

"I feel that the Spurs are quite suitable for me. I really like this kind of team with a more retro style."

DeRozan seems to have joined the Spurs after some careful consideration.

He is known as the last glory of the classical shooting guard, and the Spurs are almost the last glory of the classical team.

If it weren't for Popovich's really rough temper, DeRozan might think that the Spurs are his dream team.

Li Xun nodded, "Anyway, don't abandon the three-point training, because you don't know if you can stay in the Spurs forever."

……

The two chatted for a long time, after all, they hadn't seen each other for a while.

We talked until the referee blew his whistle.

The average age of the Spurs is really old enough now.

However, their record is really good this year, and their record is currently in the West, which is only weaker than the Mavericks.

It's a pity that the lineup gap between them and the Mavericks is still quite large.

In this game, Li Xun was stationed directly at the basket and confronted Duncan head-on.

Popovich didn't want to waste too much energy of veterans on the Mavericks at all. He knew very well that even if he won the Mavericks, the veterans in his team would probably have to retreat.

Moreover, the probability of winning the Mavericks itself is not high.

Popovich will definitely not do such a thankless thing.

So Duncan only played 15 minutes, and then he was off.

When Duncan left the field, the Spurs' inside line became empty directly, and Gobert could hold the Spurs' penalty area alone.

Li Xun directly pulled out to the outside line and started to match up with DeRozan.

After the game, the Mavericks continued to win at home.

It seems that the Mavericks this season are no different from last season, and even look stronger.

The main reason is that the newcomers in the team have become more mature and stronger than last season.

Middleton's performance has attracted more and more attention from all teams in the league.

There are more and more teams offering offers to the Mavericks, and their sincerity is getting stronger.

Whenever he received an offer, Nelson Jr. would immediately inform Li Xun to see if he was interested in the offer.

Middleton also knows that now that he has made some names, he has become more confident.

Self-confidence is certainly not a bad thing, but if it is too self-confident, it is easy to cause some troubles.

In the Mavericks' internal training game, Green and Middleton were in a group.

Middleton asked Green for the ball one after another, but Green refused to give it. The two turned their faces on the court and choked each other. If it wasn't for his teammates to stop him, they might even fight.

Green doesn't think much of Middleton. He thinks he is the main force of the team at the same level as Clay and Giba.

Especially last season, Middleton stuck to the water dispenser, which made Green look down on him.

And this season, Middleton has stabilized the team's starting lineup, and his statistics are overwhelming. This kind of gap makes Green a little unacceptable.

It is difficult for many people to accept the fact that a person whom they looked down upon suddenly sits on top of them.

In the training game, he turned a deaf ear to Middleton's request for the ball.

Anyway, it's not the main game, and Li Xun is not here, so Green can do whatever he wants.

Middleton is very angry. I am now the hottest first-line shooting guard in the league. What do you mean Green doesn't pass the ball to me?
It was precisely because Li Xun was not there that Middleton boldly tore up with Green.

In the afternoon, when Li Xun heard the news, he was speechless.

This kind of thing actually rarely happens in his team.

But this may not be a bad thing, at least now there is a reason to trade Middleton without appearing too abrupt.

As for Green's actions, Li Xun felt that it was necessary for him to have a cup of tea and chat with him.

In Li Xun's mind, the most intolerable thing for him is infighting within the team.

If Green knows his mistakes and can correct them, that's okay.

If you still don't realize your mistake, then Li Xun will be punished.

As a result, Green was quite sensible, and he didn't need Li Xun to say anything, so he took the initiative to go to Li Xun to "confess".

This guy doesn't look very smart, but he still has sharp eyesight, and he knows where Li Xun's bottom line is.

"Donnie, hasn't Boston responded yet?" Li Xun was about to put Middleton's trade on the agenda.

"Answers were given, but they were unwilling."

Little Nelson said speechlessly.

Because in his opinion, Li Xun didn't really want much.

That's right, now Li Xun is focusing on the first-round picks that Lukai got from the Nets, and wants to use Middleton to exchange these first-round picks.

Not to mention all in exchange, but in exchange for two, it is acceptable.

The unexpected result was that Lu Kai refused.

This is very suspicious, and Li Xun has an idea in his heart. If this idea is true, then the Nets are really innocent.

(End of this chapter)