After the confession failed, I went to the NBA to play and lose weight

Chapter 389
There is no doubt that Van Gundy is generally satisfied with the lineup for the new season, and even a little bit happy.

Compared with this time last season, he now even has to worry about the overflow of the team's starting offense.

This is actually a problem that existed at the end of the regular season last season, but this season is even more prominent, because an obvious problem is that Li Chengming can no longer play as a substitute this season, he must play the starter.

When did you ever see an All-Star, maybe even an MVP-caliber player play off the bench all year round?
Last season was still his first year as a rookie. The status of the team was not enough, and there was nothing to say about the honors.

The contract cannot be changed, but the status must be changed.

Although Li Chengming himself did not speak, his team did.

Of course, the good news is that he hasn't spoken through the media yet, but just communicated with the general manager, and then Smith came to inform him.

He thought about going over to Li Chengming to discuss this matter, but he gave up halfway through thinking about it, because he couldn't find any reason to persuade Li Chengming to continue playing as a substitute.

That's right, if Li Chengming can continue to play as a substitute, then the Magic will not only have the league's first echelon starting lineup, but under the leadership of Li Chengming, they may have the most luxurious substitute lineup - Li Chengming alone can It's a group of people.

However, what is good for the team and maximizes the benefits, it is Li Chengming's personal interests that are compromised.

If he keeps playing as a substitute, it will be inconvenient for him to fight for many honors, and there will be impacts such as commercial interests.

In fact, the domestic influence is not that big, but Li Chengming is playing in the United States after all, and he also needs to seek the recognition of the market here. After all, there are more opportunities to make money, and who would think too much money?
Moreover, after evaluation, the team members also believe that his market in the United States and even Europe needs to be developed, but this must involve the issue of his status in the team.

Whether it is the boss of the team or the core of the team has a great influence.

In fact, Li Chengming is tantamount to telling the team that he wants to be the boss.

At worst, it has to be a dual-core.

The Magic hadn’t made it clear before. If we really want to say, there is only Howard as the core. Last season, it was Howard’s team by default. Even from the playoffs to the finals, Li Chengming may be the one who performed better.

They also have reasons to say that Li Chengming must be more beautiful in terms of statistics, because he is right to dominate the team's offense, but Howard silently did a lot of dirty work behind the scenes.

In fact, this is not wrong. Last season's championship was originally the result of everyone's concerted efforts. Of course, Li Chengming and Howard contributed the most. Coach Van Gundy also contributed, and everyone else contributed their own strength.

Even Osti Smith, who finally brought Li Chengming to Orlando, although there was an element of luck, but sometimes luck is also strength.

But after winning the championship, Li Chengming had to think about himself and his team members.

What's more, it doesn't mean that you can't win the championship.

To put it bluntly, why must it be oneself who sacrificed?

The status of the team still has to be won by strength, not by others. Li Chengming obviously has this strength, and he should get his own starting position.

As for how to coordinate, that is the matter of the coaching staff.

Of course Howard couldn't move, and Li Chengming didn't conflict with his positions, so there were only Lewis and Turkoglu.

Lewis is more likely to be replaced, because he can do what Li Chengming can do.

But the question is, would it be too extravagant to have a Mr. Billionaire as a substitute?
Moreover, no matter how gentle and refined Lewis' personality is, he will definitely fight for this kind of thing.

In the end, even if you can't compete, a thorn will be planted in your heart, and that will be a landmine in the locker room.

As for letting Li Chengming or Turkoglu switch to the second position, this kind of lineup can indeed be used to close the game at critical moments, but it is also easy for opponents to target, and it is impossible to maintain the starting situation for a long time.

And when there is still no conclusion on the Magic side, the outside world has also begun to prepare to discuss their defending problems in the new season.

"In the past few seasons, since the suspension of the Lakers dynasty, we have not seen a team that can complete two consecutive championships. Maybe the Spurs had the opportunity to create such an opportunity, but they encountered the Mavericks in the second round of 06. The tie-breaker lost, regrettably failed to defend the title, and won the championship again after a year, missing the opportunity to establish a three-consecutive dynasty for the first time in team history.

"There are also the Pistons in 04, the Heat in 06, and the Magic this year. So can the Magic break the spell next year and complete the defense?"

"Li Chengming's position in the Magic in the new season - I think this is a very important issue that must be resolved, which may affect their way to defend the title."

In the NBA Insider program, Barkley watched the excitement and said with a big smile: "I think we can look forward to the new season, Li Chengming or Howard, who can establish the sole leader of the Magic team."

Kenny Smith touched his bald head and asked, "Why can't it be dual-core?"

Of course, Magic fans are most concerned about this topic. They support Li Chengming, Howard, and of course the Magic, so they are more inclined to Kenny Smith's opinion.

But sensible people know that this is not realistic.

Magic fans in domestic forums also discussed this: "If it were you, who would you choose as the speaker?"

"I choose Li Chengming, no one in the Magic is more patriotic than him."

"I pick Howard, 'Superman' can take us to the moon!"

"Can't you talk about people?"

"How can anyone play basketball without wearing a helmet? Crazy line!"

"Lewis said I can talk too, I can be patriotic too!"

"Howard is a DPOY and MVP candidate, Li Chengming is an FMVP, what are you Lewis? Take your vacancy outside!"

……

Unknowingly, the time has entered October, and the schedule for the new season has also been released, as well as the arrangements for the preseason.

The plan of the Magic team for this preseason is to focus on training, and the main players will play, but the main thing is to play for more than [-] minutes, and play casually for performances, mainly for the fans to see.

Of course, I don't care about winning or anything, and this will not affect the regular season record.

And for the main players who have won the championship, it is really difficult for them to work hard in the preseason.

In the end, the Magic still achieved a record of three wins and two losses in the preseason, which is quite satisfactory.

The main force didn't play much, but the newcomers Pietrus and others played bravely, and Van Gundy also tried to arrange as much playing time as possible for them.

Pietrus' three-pointer definitely surprised the fans, because the Magic has Li Chengming and Howard inside, and the shooting ability of the outside three-point shooter is very important. Now it seems that this signing perfectly meets the requirements.

As for backup point guard Anthony Johnson and rookie forward Mbah a Moute, their performances are relatively average, but Mbah a Moute's vitality still makes fans like it very much.

Especially with the outstanding performance of Li Chengming last season, although it is reasonable to know that it is impossible to miss the next pick for two consecutive years, but there are still expectations. After all, Mbah a Moute's physical condition looks better than the original Li Chengming was even better.

However, technically, he is much rougher than the naked eye, and he can only start from the blue-collar defense. If he can practice shooting and become 3D, he can still have a place in the Magic.

In fact, it's not just the Magic. Everyone played relatively loosely in the preseason, and there was no indication of their strength.

After all, Li Chengming made 11 of 2 shots in a game. Does everyone think that his strength has dropped sharply because of this?

It's just that he didn't take it seriously, or it wasn't that Li Chengming didn't take it seriously, but that he was deliberately practicing another way of shooting.

Still outside the three-point line!
You must know that among the 11 tentacles, 7 times were two steps away from the three-point line, and only hit one goal, which was still blind.

Li Chengming decided to practice this kind of three-pointer, not because of a whim, nor just because he thought it was fun, but during the Olympics, it made him feel that if he could extend his shooting range to farther, it would definitely be a huge challenge to the opponent's defense. destruction.

What's more, it is difficult for him to make any progress in areas such as the low post and mid-range, so of course he has to make a fuss about the range and tricks.

(End of this chapter)