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

Chapter 67 Losing and Trading

In fact, apart from Durant's unshakable status, and the position of the best rookie this season is almost certainly in his pocket, everyone else is currently not as good as Li Chengming.

According to the current situation, the best rookie of the month in the East and West in the first month may be taken by the two of them.

After all, given enough time and possession of the ball, he was able to efficiently score 20+ points. The domestic media even lamented that Li Chengming did not go to a weak team like Kong Tianyi.

If the Bucks' Space Yi is replaced by Li Chengming, maybe they can average 20+ per game now, then Durant's best rookie is really unknown.

Then another reporter asked Howard how he felt when he just won the best Eastern Week. In the past week, the Magic won all three games. Howard averaged 20+15 per game, making him a well-deserved leader.

And the Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week was Kevin Garnett on the opposite side.

What's interesting is that the Western Conference players in the first two weeks of this season were McGrady and Dayao of Houston, who together led Texas Xiaoqiang to a record of 5 wins and [-] loss.

And last week, the best player of the week in the Western Conference was Iverson. The Nuggets double-gun attack composed of him and Carmelo Anthony was super powerful.

Listening to Howard's grinning answer to the reporter's question, Li Chengming couldn't help but think in his heart, when will he be able to get the best of the week?

Although the best players of the week divided into east and west are not as valuable as before, but for most players, this is not a small honor.

If there is the best of the month, let alone, there are trophies for this thing.

Then, as expected, the "highlight" came. Hearing the reporters talking about free throws, which was about to become a cliché, Howard's face became more serious, but he still said those words.

In fact, it's better to say more than to do it, but the problem with Howard is that he can't do it.

You must know that before that, in the three seasons starting from the first year of his rookie, Howard's number of free throws increased year by year, but his free throw percentage decreased year by year. The most accurate was 67% in his rookie year, while the first two seasons All less than [-]%.

This season seems to be good and bad at the moment. 73% of the free throws last week are considered a pleasant surprise.

After the press conference ended, Howard's expression was still very depressed, and he couldn't help complaining: "These guys just stare at the same topic all day and talk back and forth..."

Li Chengming secretly laughed in his heart, thinking that if you have no problem in this regard, why would people hold on to it?
Anyway, it was considered a win. If he lost this game, the reporters would not let him go so easily.

After a while, Howard asked him with a playful smile, "Hey, Lee, what did you say to that nigger?"

Li Chengming knew that he was talking about Garnett. As we all know, it’s okay for black people to say “niggers”, but if other people want to say that, it’s completely racist, so he just smiled and said: “It’s nothing, I just think It's time for him to retire, it's young people's world now."

Howard immediately nodded and echoed: "You are right, I think so too."

Li Chengming immediately rolled his eyes, but asked curiously, "Dwight, do you have any grievances with him?"

Speaking of which, even though they are in the same league, the stars all have their own personalities and preferences, and some contests will continue from the field to the field.

This is actually part of the charm of the NBA, because sometimes not only watching the game, but also the grievances and hatreds of the stars will also add a lot of leftovers to watch.

As I have always said before, the NBA has always focused on promoting stories. There are "chosen sons" such as James, who are highly praised by the league, and there are endless Jordan descendants launched for the continuous star-making of commercial interests.

In this regard, it is estimated that even Jordan himself is confused. From Grant Hill to Tim Hardaway, from Stackhouse to Kobe, it feels like a rookie in the backcourt can take over his class, but it can really be regarded as What was played is still a Kobe until now, Hill and Hardaway both fell due to injuries.

Of course, stories like Li Chengming's counterattack and "American Dream" are also indispensable.

And the interaction between stars often starts with a smell of gunpowder, such as the grievances between the Smiling Assassin and Joe's gang leader. It took Jordan several years from being blocked by the bad boy army to crossing this mountain.

(In contrast, the current alliance is too harmonious, and it feels less interesting than before)
In terms of Garnett's personality traits, it is really normal that he would not be liked by juniors like Howard.

It is estimated that when Howard first entered the league, even if he didn't like him, he would wear some idol filters, and then the match-up filter was directly shattered by Garnett's foul language.

And as an insider, Garnett can be regarded as a person who has experienced the era of the four major centers, and he is also a skilled person. I guess he doesn't like Howard, a rough guy who abuses his body.

In fact, Howard has always been questioned by these active or retired insiders. If he wants to shut them up, he can only show results.

For now, he can only be mouthed.

……

The next day is another back-to-back, and the Magic will go to an away game against the New Orleans Hornets.

If there is a comparison of the difficulty of the schedule in the season, the Magic will definitely be the most difficult part, not to mention the most difficult. With so many back-to-back and away games, plus flying back and forth between the East and the West, it will be a great test for the players. .

Not to mention that the most difficult thing for them back to back is that the two teams they are facing are the top teams in the East and West.

But this can't be blamed on the league's arrangements, because the Green Army is an offseason deal. No one in the Hornets could have imagined that they would be able to reach their current position before the start of the season.

With the growth of the team's core point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets, which were still on the verge of the playoffs in the past two seasons, have become a new force in the Western Conference after the start of the game. Judging from what they have played so far, they have The ability to stir up the situation in the playoffs.

Their offensive efficiency is only ranked in the top ten in the league, and they rely more on defense, especially the inside Tyson Chandler. With his excellent jumping ability and defensive awareness, he built a ban for New Orleans. fly area.

And Paul's own defense is also highly respected. With a height of 183cm, he can gain a foothold in the NBA where there are many people. His ability is beyond doubt.

But in this game, the Hornets couldn't stop Howard's ravages inside. Chandler was good at defending but he wasn't the type Howard was afraid of.

On the offensive end, his means are also extremely lacking, except for eating cakes or eating cakes. This is even Li Chengming who is not afraid of him at all.

With Li Chengming, a rising star, the Magic's opponents are paying more and more attention to him. Although this will inevitably make Li Chengming's living environment worse, from the perspective of the entire team, especially Howard Look, this is a good thing.

Because the existence of Li Chengming can reduce Howard's defensive pressure in the penalty area, which is even better than Lewis's pulling space.

This time Li Chengming played 17 minutes and didn't take many shots. He made 7 of 6 shots and 4 of 3 free throws to get 15 points and 10 rebounds. He finally completed this rebounding task by accident.

The Magic almost ended the game in the first quarter, playing a 36:17. The result was similar to the last game against the Celtics. In the second and third quarters, the Hornets began to chase points.

After all, they are not a weak team. They may not have entered their own game rhythm at the beginning. After all, they are relatively younger and inexperienced teams than the Magic. Still able to stand firm.

But the Hornets have a fatal problem today that Paul did not play.

The absence of the team's core point guard is like a person who has temporarily lost his brain, not to mention Paul's steady contribution of 20+ points per game, which makes the Hornets' offensive power plummet.

And without Paul, the Hornets rely on the pick-and-roll to punish the opponent's inside, the most effective scoring method, and the power is halved.

So even if the Magic's feel fell slightly in these two quarters, relying on the defense with Howard as the pillar, it still limited the Hornets' counterattack wave.

And in the fourth quarter, the state of Lewis and Nelson recovered, and Li Chengming was able to lead the substitutes to stabilize the situation in the transition period. The Magic won the game without any risk.

At 99:88 in the final, the Magic won by 11 points.

Howard once again got a good data of 20+15, and the Hornets' highest score was Peja's 21 points.

They went to San Antonio two days later to challenge the defending champion Spurs, and finally lost again, ending their winning streak.

……

Before the game against the Spurs, in fact, there was another thing that happened to the Magic. It might be a small thing for the team, but it was a big thing for Li Chengming. Ariza was traded away.

That is, the day after the victory over the Hornets, the team reached a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sending backup small forward Trevor Ariza, and getting Brian Cook and Maurice Evans from the Lakers. .

Li Chengming actually knew the news before the news was announced, because Ariza came to him after the game, and the two got along well during this time. Although Ariza was not as dazzling as Li Chengming, he also got some opportunities to play.

It doesn't matter how deep the friendship is, but the teammates who have been together day and night will suddenly leave one day and go to another team to become future opponents. It is inevitable to feel sad in my heart.

This is also the first time Li Chengming has felt something about the essence of this alliance.

Father Li also saw that he was in a bad mood, and he knew the reason why, but he didn't say anything. It's better for him to figure out this kind of thing by himself.

"Dad, do you think I will have such a day in the future?"

Father Li chuckled, and just said: "It's enough to play well, now what to do with these things that you don't have to do, isn't it just worrying about the sky and asking for trouble?"

Li Chengming sighed and nodded, "Yes, as long as I play well..."

As long as you are strong enough, it's not that the team wants to trade yourself, but you choose the team yourself.

(End of this chapter)