NBA: Top 3D talents to start

Chapter 389 The opening game of the new season, the queen bee returns home

(The modification has been completed on 9.8. You can continue to read. At most, all chapters can be changed tomorrow. Please be patient and it will be ready soon. I will add a few more changes in the next few days after the modification to express my apology.)
Time always flies by in a leisurely life.

Unknowingly, 2 months passed like this.

The time has come to September, and the preseason of the new NBA season will start in one month.

Wang Feng's two-and-a-half-month vacation ended and he flew to Los Angeles by plane.

As in previous years, the new NBA season will start in October, first with a one-month preseason game, and then the official regular season process will start at the end of October.

From now on, the development of history has been completely different from what Wang Feng knew.

In the time and space where he was originally, the regular season of the league under the epidemic did not start until January 21, 1. The entire regular season was divided into two seasons, and all season games could be completed on July 19.

But in this time and space, there is no epidemic, and all the schedules are going on normally. The new season officially starts in early October. The regular season is still 10 games for each team. The team's lineup is also messed up by the butterfly effect. At least this The season finals will definitely not be another space-time Bucks VS Suns.

The advantage of Wang Feng's foresight has become smaller and smaller with time, and even after more than a year, the time node will come to the time period he travels through.

But it doesn't matter, because Wang Feng's current strength no longer needs to rely on the advantage of the foresight of the traverser.

With an overall rating of 99 and holding 8 purple badges, he is completely dominant in the NBA arena and has the ability to rewrite the game situation by himself.

Wang Feng felt that if he continued to grow at this speed, he would be able to catch up with the legendary superstar Michael Jordan in just a few seasons!
……

Wang Feng, who returned to Los Angeles, arrived at the team to report, and the team started recovery training and running-in exercises with new teammates.

Although the Lakers left a lot of players in the summer and added a lot of fresh blood, the starting lineup has not been affected in the slightest. The running-in of the season has become more and more tacit.

Ingram, who has just signed a big contract, is eager to prove that he is worthy of the maximum salary contract. Kuzma and Lopez want to perform better in the new season and play more brilliant data so that they can get a contract year. big contract.

As for Butler, there is no need for any reason at all. His serious nature makes him go all out no matter in daily training or in games.

Although they have already won two championship trophies, the training atmosphere in the Lakers team is still very good, without any slack.

This also made the Lakers coach Walton very satisfied and delighted.

"Very well, it seems that everyone is ready. Our goal for the new season is very clear. There is only one goal, and that is the championship! We want to win three consecutive championships and create our own history. Enemy, defeat them all!"

The Lakers are full of confidence. When interviewed on the open training day, players such as Walton and Wang Feng were also outspoken when interviewed by reporters.

"Our goal is to win the three-peat!"

In the strength prediction list for the new season, the Lakers rank third, and the No. 2 is the formation of the Big Three, with Anthony and other veterans joining. The overall strength of the Los Angeles Clippers is extremely strong. No. 76 is Irving's return from injury. The Brooklyn Nets' Big Three with healthy players, the third is the Lakers' Big Three combination, and the Lakers are down, followed by the Bucks, Warriors, Pelicans, [-]ers, Nuggets and other teams.

Of course, strength predictions are strength predictions. Just like last season, the Lakers could only rank third in the strength list at the beginning of the game, but they entered the playoffs with the first record in the regular season and passed all the way. won the second crown.

Without much change in the main lineup, the strength of the Lakers must not be underestimated.

……

On October 10, the NBA 3-2020 regular season officially started.

The Lakers lost more than they won in several preseason games.

In this kind of game that is not included in the regular season record and only exists as a warm-up match, Wang Feng, Butler, Ingram and others did not play for too long. They usually start for a few minutes and then leave. Watching the bench players play on the field.

The two players with the longest playing time on the Lakers side are Kuzma and Jordan Poole.

Kuzma's offensive talent is outstanding, but because the Lakers' starting lineup is too strong, there are not many shots at all. Last season, he averaged only about 12 points and 5 rebounds per game.

In the new season, Walton wants to give more opportunities to this young player who is constantly growing and improving like Ingram, and according to Kuzma's performance on the field, the Lakers will also comprehensively consider whether to keep Kuzma The problem.

After all, if you want to keep Kuzma, you need at least an annual salary of about 1500 million. For the Lakers, whose salary space is already quite tight, this will mean a lot of luxury tax.

The Lakers have never been afraid to pay the luxury tax, they're just worried about wasting money.

As for Jordan Poole, it was because after Clarkson left the team, the team prepared to correct Poole's position under Wang Feng's suggestion.

Poole, who was a first-year rookie last season, didn't play very well for the Lakers. The Lakers' starting shooting guard was Butler, and Clarkson was Butler's backup, and Poole was Clarkson's backup.

Originally, Butler's playing time was the second highest in the team, second only to Wang Feng. Even if he occasionally moved from the shooting guard position to the small forward, as a substitute, Poole's playing time was pitifully small, basically nothing. nice play.

Speaking of which, Butler is good enough, and two Jordans will be used as substitutes for him...

Poole had no sense of presence last season, but Wang Feng, who is a traveler, knows very well that this is a player with higher potential than Clarkson. In the third season of his career, he can score 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists in the Warriors , The playoffs can even let Curry play him as a substitute. Although it is because of the Warriors' tactical arrangement, it also shows the team's trust in Poole.

In the new season, Clarkson has been poached at a high price. It is no problem for Wang Feng to let Poole replace Clarkson's original position, and Poole will definitely be competent.

This can be seen from a few performances in the preseason.

Although the Lakers lost most of the games due to a large number of substitute games, the performances of Kuzma and Poole are remarkable, especially Poole, whose excellent mid-range and long-range shooting and ability to run without the ball to find opportunities are better than those of the Lakers. Curry's younger brother Seth Curry in the Lakers team was even better this season.

Wharton was very surprised by Poole's performance in the preseason, and was also very surprised by Wang Feng's understanding of the team members.

To be fair, as the head coach of a team, even Walton didn’t know that Poole has such a level. After all, in daily training, Poole’s shooting is not as accurate as Seth Curry, and his athletic ability and dribbling breakthrough are not as good as Clarkson. Sometimes he felt that it was a waste to sign Poole with a first-round pick or even a late first-round pick.

I didn't expect that Poole, who seems to be inconspicuous, has such a level. This is definitely a surprise. Originally, Wharton also planned to consider making Butler and Kuzma the two main players in the starting lineup if the team's bench lineup is not strong enough. Play more in the substitute period to lead the team.

Now it seems that it is not necessary.

Wang Feng's playing time in the new season will be set at about 40 minutes. This is Wang Feng's own request. The reason and purpose are very simple, in order to keep the team competitive enough to compete for three consecutive championships.

The league's top superstars such as Jordan James, Kobe Bryant, and Iverson have all averaged more than 40 minutes per game in a single season.

Considering Wang Feng's excellent physical fitness and the physical fitness he showed in the playoffs last season, Wharton thinks that Wang Feng can try. Of course, this must go through a period of investigation and strict control.

Everyone knows what an injury means to a player's career. The Lakers management will not let Wang Feng be too tired to induce injuries.

The situation in the preseason did not cause any significant changes in the strength rankings of the teams.

Because everyone knows that the preseason is just a warm-up match for the team to adapt to the new lineup, and no team will take it seriously in the preseason.

But the regular season is different, especially the opening game of the regular season. Usually, the league will arrange more intense and interesting opening games for some stronger teams, so as to mobilize the fans' interest in watching and provide NBA The regular season made a name for itself.

The Lakers' opponent in the opening game is one of their formidable opponents, the New Orleans Pelicans, who have just formed a Big Three lineup and are in high spirits.

The feud between the Pelicans and the Lakers began last season.

Wang Feng first got involved with Brother Nongmei because of the All-Star MVP matter, and then taught the arrogant Zion Williams a lesson.

This summer, the Pelicans directly poached the Lakers' rotation player Clarkson with a premium contract. Later, Stud took a big gamble and exchanged the Thunder's Paul to form a Big Three configuration.

Even though Paul is 35 years old, as a point guard who focuses on passing and organization, Paul's strength will not change significantly due to his age and decline in his competitive level.

Especially last season, after being traded to the Thunder by the Rockets, the Thunder, which had more than a dozen draft picks in their hands, was ready to rebuild under the leadership of Paul. Brook's rocket is even higher.

Seeing that the Rockets were ruthlessly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, many people finally began to realize that the Rockets were the strongest and at their peak, that is, the two years when they fought against Cosmic Brave and won the Best Resistance Award, haha Deng certainly contributed a lot, but Paul's role is absolutely decisive!

At this time, people didn't know that in another time and space, Paul once again showed strong dominance in the Suns, leading the Suns to become one of the Western Conference powerhouses and reaching the finals once.

Although the first core of that Suns team is Devin Booker, Paul's personal data can only be regarded as mediocre, but this is Paul, and his contribution on the court cannot be reflected by pure data.

Wang Feng has every reason to believe that after Paul returns to the Pelicans, the strength of this Pelicans team with Paul, Big Eyebrows and Zion Williams at the same time must not be underestimated. This opener is not easy to play.

……

In the opening game between the Lakers and the Pelicans, the main highlight is the duel between the strongest active player Wang Feng and the strongest rookie Zion Williams.

Affected by injuries last season, Zion Williams, who played only a dozen games, averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. As a first-year rookie, this data can be regarded as quite outstanding , at least looking at recent years, only last year's best rookie, Luka Doncic, who averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game, is slightly better in statistics.

In his rookie season, Doncic's shooting percentage was only 42.7%, but Zion reached an astonishing 58.3%. The lethality at the basket is extremely terrifying, just like a smaller O'Neal.

It's a pity that he played too few games, only more than 20 games, which also led to the 2019-20 rookie of the season being awarded to Ja Morant of the Grizzlies.

In the new season, the Pelicans after forming the Big Three are full of confidence, especially for the healthy Zion Williams who has strong confidence and expectations in the new season.

Even before the opening game of the regular season started, many Pelicans fans had already shouted the slogan of shame.

Last season, Zion Williams was unilaterally suppressed and blown up in the matchup with Wang Feng, and he played poorly. Pelicans fans very much hope that Zion Williams can face Wang Feng in the opening game of the new season Have a good performance and avenge last season.

……

On October 2020, 10, the home arena of the New Orleans Pelicans was packed, and a large number of Pelicans fans poured into the stadium to watch the regular season opener.

"Chris! Chris! Chris!"

Before the game started, the arena was filled with Paul's cheers.

After nine years, Chris Paul returned to New Orleans. For many New Orleans fans, it was really a memorable time.

Therefore, Paul's cheers even surpassed Davis and Zion Williams on the field at this time, and the two didn't mind at all, and even took the initiative to give up the stage to Paul, letting Paul hold the microphone and talk to the fans at home They interact affectionately.

The players of the Lakers watched coldly on the bench on the other side.

"They don't think that with one more Paul, they are invincible? Hehe..."

Ingram sneered twice with a half-smile.

He has a grievance with Paul. That was when the Rondo Paul boxing incident happened. Ingram, who was still very young and energetic at the time, rushed up and gave Paul two punches, completely ignoring the chairman of the players union. Here, it is true that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.

"It's okay, let them be lively, and we will see the real story on the field soon after the game starts." Wang Feng was noncommittal.

(End of this chapter)