From sparring to superstar

Chapter 106 104. The Correct Way to Open the Summer League
There were more than 3000 fans at the scene, most of whom were actually Lakers fans.

The popularity of the Lakers is already high. Just after winning the championship, the number of fans has surged.

Lakers regular season tickets are too expensive, but summer league tickets are cheap enough. Hurry up and buy the front row tickets for only 20 dollars, plus 2 dollars to buy a package with hamburgers or popcorn and Coke, and the last one You can even get a set meal for $10.

You can't see the OK combination, but you can also see the performance of the young players of the Lakers. What if they will play out in the future?
At that time, I can blow a wave-I have watched all the games of so-and-so when they were still rookies.

However, everyone's eyes on the scene today, including the Lakers fans, were all on Li Ao who entered the court, and by the way, he saw his round-headed rookie carrying two bags.

Unlike yesterday, the game is about to be played, and the communication between teammates and Li Ao has increased.

After getting along for a day, they found that Li Ao was not that scary, but could joke around instead.

The courageous Maggette is sometimes so pissed off by Li Ao that he can't help but reply, and the other party just keeps on replying.

The one who took the initiative to talk to Li Ao, apart from Big Q, was Jermaine O'Neal.

He didn't see Li Ao's brutal scene, but he just heard from his teammates that after getting along with each other, he actually felt better to get along with than those gangsters in Portland.

At least a reasonable person.

That’s right, watching Li Ao actively communicate with his teammates about the game, how to defend and how to cooperate with offense... Jermaine O’Neal felt——

This Tanhualang is overly cautious!

Little O'Neal was a little speechless, and said to Li Ao: "Leo, you may have overestimated the group of people opposite."

Li Ao: "Huh?"

O'Neal didn't explain either.

In California in summer, the sky is clear.

The scorching sun shone on the players, and Li Ao felt that it was a test for their physical strength. Fortunately, the court will pave the floor during the game, so as not to play on the concrete floor, it would be a terrible fall.

The game is about to start, and the combination of Li Ao, Kenyon Dooling, Big Q, Odom, and Jermaine O'Neal is on the field.

The system's game reminder came, winning 100 achievement points and losing 50.

Li Ao slandered, "The appearance fee is too cheap", and looked at the opposite side, becoming more cautious.

Point guard, Tyronn Lue in the 98 class.

Shooting guard, after losing the draft in 96, he went to Europe to play for 4 years. This summer, he signed Mike Pampesi with the Lakers with a minimum salary of $1 for one year. He was once a local genius in California.

Small forward, Devin George, the 99rd pick in the first round of the 23 session.

Power forward, Mark Madsen, was selected 29th in the first round this year.

Center, Medvedenko, Ukrainian center, 21 years old, signed up for the draft in advance this year, but lost.

On the bench, there is Sam Jacobson of the 98 class, a swingman of the forward and guard. Jacobson was traded away by the Lakers last season, and was waived before the end of the season. He returned to the Lakers this summer to find Work.

Tyrese Knight, a white center, is a true 96 player of the golden generation. He was selected by the Bulls with the 22th pick in the first round after graduating from college at the age of 29. He was traded to the Lakers that night. He performed well in his rookie season. His teammate was selected to the rookie second team at the same time, but he didn't expect that year to be his peak. He could only score 1.7 points and 2 rebounds last season. The Lakers did not renew his contract, but took him to play in the summer league and helped him find a job. .

There are also 7 NBA players on the opposite side, and 5 of them have playing experience in the NBA, all of whom are active!

The difference between the other side and their side is that the head coach of the team is the assistant coach of Zen Master. Li Ao met Charlie Rose once, but Zen Master himself did not come, so they went directly to the head coach.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, under the enthusiastic sunshine, the summer league match between the Clippers and the Lakers began!

O'Neal easily beat Medvedenko to win the jump ball, and the Clippers took the lead.

Kenyon Dooling broke through with the ball, and the Lakers shrunk without thinking. He turned his head, and sure enough, he saw a handsome face at the most comfortable angle of the ball, and immediately passed the ball.

Li Ao catches the ball from the baseline on the left side and makes a two-point shot...hit!
Hearing the cheers of the fans at the scene, a question mark popped up in Li Ao's head.

But I didn't think much about it, just play well.

When it came time for the Lakers to attack, Tyronn Lue held the ball and didn't let go. He rushed to the inside and made a throw and was interfered by Jermaine O'Neal. Odom grabbed the defensive rebound and pushed himself forward.

Many fans saw this scene and chanted "Left-handed magician".

In Los Angeles, Odom is popular, and the Clippers relied on him to sell tickets last season.

Odom came to the top arc and began to dribble continuously under the crotch.

Defensive Mark Madsen felt like he was going to spiral.

Is this picture serious?

A guy taller than him can dribble faster than the opposing point guard!

Odom crossed and changed direction, easily passed Mark Madsen and broke into the inside.

Li Ao saw the defensive movement of the opposing player and cut in decisively. When he reached the right side of the three-second zone, the ball came!
Odom attracted Medvedenko to block the defense in one step from the free throw line and gave it to Li Ao.

Li Ao caught the ball and smashed it into the basket with one hand!
After Li Ao scored the goal, he immediately turned around and retreated. On the way, he gave Odom a high-five to thank him.

When he clapped his hands, he glanced behind him, and quickly ran back.

After Li Ao dunked, Tyronn Lu immediately called Medvedenko back to serve, and quickly attacked, trying to hit the opponent with an unstable foothold.

The Clippers retreated very loosely this time. Tyronn Lue surpassed O'Neal, Odom, Big Q, Kenyon Dooling all the way, and rushed into the opposite three-point line.

Only Tanhualang on the opposite side retreated to the basket!

Tyronn Lu became excited, he rushed towards Li Ao, and jumped to meet Li Ao, he wanted to abuse the rookie!

He has already seen the headlines of him dunking a rookie!
"Snapped"

Li Ao slapped the ball with a precise slap, and even led the ball to knock Tyronn Lue who was holding the ball to the ground.

He glanced at Tyronn Lue who was lying on the floor in confusion, and then ran straight to the front court. The ball he slapped was caught by the big Q running back.

Tyronn Lu, who was lying on the ground in a daze, saw Li Ao 'stepping' towards him, and quickly moved to the side.

It's okay not to move, Tyronn Lu moved just in the direction of Li Ao's turn, and when he moved, he lifted his buttocks and his head jumped up.

Li Ao saw a head bumping towards his head, so he quickly jumped and avoided it.

Then, laughter and booing broke out at the scene.

Li Ao jumped over Tyronn Lu's head!
The expressions of the two are very exciting, especially Tyronn Lue, who wants to die.

He just saw the light reflected from the lens!

It might have been photographed!

...

There was no conflict between Li Ao and Tyronn Lu, so Li Ao couldn't be blamed for this.

As a result, the ashamed and angry Tyronn Lue played even more alone.

After several rounds, Li Ao finally understood what O'Neal meant.

In this year when the development league has not yet been established, the level of the summer league is quite poor. The players participating are mixed. When each team selects players as sparring partners, there is no game record as a reference.

Every player who plays in the NBA comes here and plays casually. Most of the opponents he meets are players who have not been drafted, played in low-level leagues, and some players from other countries' national teams who are not very strong... Tyronn Lu His style of play is really capable of quacking random kills.

But their Clippers have never talked about martial arts. They couldn't win the game in the regular season, so they came to the summer league to find their presence. Both Odom and Olowokandi were sent out. O'Neill, even more brutal.

Although the opposite Lakers also sent 7 NBA players, these people did not cooperate on the offensive end. From Tyronn Lue to Jacobson, they all went it alone when they got the ball, wanting to show their abilities.

On the defensive end, no one plays for anyone, they all rush to the person with the ball, wanting to steal and block shots.

The few NBA players on the Lakers are mostly rookies, players who have just finished their rookie season, and at most finished their second season with little playing time. They are all star players in college, and most of them are teammates who help them on the defensive end. Don't worry, in the summer league, there is no OK combination, not even a starting player, they all want to be uncles.

Therefore, Li Ao played more actively!
On the offensive end, at the beginning, he moved mainly to support and catch the pot, but now he has actively moved to ask for the ball to shoot.

Gentry has asked other people to give Li Ao more chances to perform, which can be regarded as a test of Li Ao's actual combat ability.

Several NBA players of the Clippers, Chris Mihm, had no chance at all, no problem.

Odom didn't care about summer league games, he played like a game.

Maggette and O'Neal have demonstrated their abilities in the previous few games, rattling and killing.

Big Q unconditionally supports.

Kenyon Dooling thought about Li Ao's catch-and-shoot style of play. Passing the ball to Li Ao, the best mid-range shooter in the team, was equivalent to an assist, and he had no objection.

Therefore, when Li Ao played more proactively, his teammates began to be responsible for passing the ball, and Li Ao was responsible for killing shots!

On the defensive end, Li Ao also figured out the opponent's style of play, and took the initiative to shrink the pinch to clear the data.

He played a lot of time, playing 8 minutes in the first quarter, 7 minutes in the second quarter, 9 minutes in the third quarter, and 5 minutes in the final quarter. In summer league games, each quarter was 10 minutes.

In 29 minutes of playing time, his teammates passed the ball vigorously to Li Ao. He made 24 shots and made 24 of 15 shots, including 6 of 2 three-pointers and 10 of 8 free throws. He scored 40 points!
In addition, he also got 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. The opponents are one by one. The second leader is not strong, but he has learned the second leader's disease. If you want to be more independent, he can easily get a 3+3 defense. data.

In this game, his only regret was the rebounds. Odom, O'Neal, and Mihm were so good at robbing, and Mark Madsen, who averaged 9+ rebounds per game in college, had no temper, let alone him.

Gentry looked at the 98-76 score and didn't care much about it.

40分4板2助攻3盖帽3抢断。

awesome!
It's the first time to play an NBA game. Although it's the summer league, the opponents are all adults. The starting age is 21+. Their Tanhualang has no stage fright!

The offensive awareness is shown, the opponent's defense is bad, but there are not many people who can run to the appropriate shooting position every time.

In addition to the lack of experience, over-activeness and too many fouls in defense, for a rookie, it is difficult for Gentry to pick out faults in Li Ao's personal defense.

In fact, what impressed Gentry the most was that after Li Ao developed a three-pointer, he really dared to throw it when he had the opportunity.

At first, he was actually inclined to Baylor's argument that their No. [-] pick was a waste, and it was just a business.

But now he recalled that the Lakers almost got the second pick and snatched him away, and he broke out in cold sweat, it was too dangerous!

He almost missed this Tanhua Lang!
...

This year, the saying that all rookies are parallel importers has begun to prevail.

Li Ao hadn't participated in the summer league before, but there are already rumors that he will be a parallel importer, and there are still many people who support it.

Because Li Ao has not participated in the competition yet, those who hold a negative attitude cannot refute it.

Gentry confirmed in an interview yesterday that Li Ao will participate in the game today, and many fans are waiting for the result of the game.

A lot of people are looking forward to Li Ao's death. It's better to see other people's misfortune than to see them build tall buildings.

If Li Ao is also in the water, then this rookie will be interesting.

As a result, Li Ao scored 40 points in a single game!
Just talking about 40 points is not that amazing, after all, it is the summer league.

At the age of 17, Kobe also scored 36 points in the summer league.

Jamal Crawford also scored 33 points this year.

But Li Ao's efficiency is too high. According to the reporter at the scene, most of Li Ao's points were scored by mid-range shots.

It is quite rare for a rookie to use CIC as the main scoring method.

The main reason is that there is a comparison. Li Ao scored 24 points with a 15-of-40 shooting percentage when other players either had poor statistics or a poor shooting percentage.

Some media even put Li Ao's 40 points in a single game on the front page of sports news!

The picture used - Tyronn Lue fainted in the toilet.

Another day later, on July 7, the Clippers played a game with the Canadian national team.

101 to 77, the Clippers won without any suspense.

In the two Southern California Summer Leagues in 97 and 99, the Clippers were all victorious. They had too many high-ranking rookies, and all first- and second-year players who did not speak martial arts.

这场比赛李敖出场27分钟，21投14中，其中三分球4中1，外加5中5的罚球，拿到34分5板1助攻3抢断1盖帽。

He has learned the proper way to open summer league.

Swipe and you're done!
Big Q listened to Li Ao's words, and actively ran air cuts and made fast breaks. He also performed well in this game, scoring 19 points.

Odom didn't care, Maggette had already killed enough, Jermaine O'Neal's attitude of "I'm here to be the boss" let the two rookies, Dooling assisted and rattled.

On July 7, the Clippers played the last game against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

In this game, Li Ao did not continue to kill randomly. O'Neal, Mihm, and even Odom were all interested.

Li Ao took the initiative to discuss with them. He was in charge of passing the ball, and the three of them were in charge of hammering Swift.

After playing two more games, Swift's data improved slightly, averaging 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks per game in 1.5 games.

Just as Tyronn Lue saw Tanhualang wanting to abuse each other, the inside trio of the Clippers also wanted to abuse each other when they saw the No. [-] pick.

The difference is that these three brothers can really abuse each other every time they are taken out!

The 21-year-old Mim, 213 centimeters tall and 118 kilograms, can't touch Swift offensively, but he squats under the basket and Swift has the heart to cry.

And Swift's defense against Odom or O'Neal can be described as tragic.

He really wanted to tell the coach that he was going to the center position, but he didn't dare, he couldn't admit that he was wrong, he was the second best in the list.

Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe saw Swift being abused, and chose to let him continue to play against those two, and he had to hone his skills.

But Sidney Lowe was still very upset. If Bibby participated, would they be so miserable?

But Bibby refused to take the rookie to level up in the offseason.

李敖在这场比赛中小露了一手传球，8投5中，其中三分球1中1，加上4中4的罚球，拿到15分4板5助攻2抢断2盖帽。

靠着小奥尼尔的22分、奥多姆的21分、李敖的15分，快船队以98比67吊打榜眼秀斯威夫特率领的灰熊队，拿下8连胜。

On July 7, the Clippers will face the Nuggets in the final game of the summer league.

The Nuggets have suffered bad luck this year and have selected two big centers with a height of 213 cm and 110+ kg, but neither of them has the ability to play in the NBA.

In college, relying on the lack of defensive three seconds and the cooperation of teammates, the defense looks very good, and it has been revealed in the summer league.

Li Ao knew that he was looking forward to playing the Nuggets, but James Posey was a defensive pitcher, and the Nuggets didn't bring him to the summer league.

As a result, Li Ao started the random killing mode again, and his teammates rattled for assists.

It was the last summer league, and their boss only signed up for this summer league in order to save money. Li Ao played hard.

出场31分钟，28投16中，其中三分球3中1，加上5中4的罚球，拿到37分6板2抢断1盖帽，接到球不传了都。

102 to 88, the Clippers easily defeated the Nuggets and won three consecutive Southern California Summer Leagues!
Although he felt a bit ashamed, Li Ao and his teammates won the trophy and he was still quite happy to see O'Neal win the MVP with an average of 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3 blocks per game.

In these 4 games, the role of exercise, Li Ao didn't feel that there was any exercise.

In terms of harvest, 4 achievement points in 400 games, and there is no reward for winning the championship. This harvest is enough for his body physiotherapy function for 4 days of competition.

But it’s great to be involved!
He has a deeper understanding of several rookie teammates, quasi-second-year teammates, and teammates who have officially started their careers.

...

On the 26th, Li Ao returned to Los Angeles with the team. When he arrived at the training hall, Gentry announced his disbandment and vacation. See you next season.

There is no team celebration banquet, don't ask, if you ask, the general manager will not reimburse you.

Gentry bought the team dinner tonight out of his own pocket. He spent the money, so he didn't want to hang on to the team's name.

When the team members heard that there was a free dinner, they immediately went home and took their families with them.

Gentry doesn't care either, this time only 6 official players of the team and 1 Tanhualang who has not yet signed a contract came back. The rest of the summer league team ended this summer league and went to the next summer league. The Las Vegas Summer League kicks off at the end of the month. This year, the scale is unprecedentedly large, with as many as 21 teams participating, and there is no Clippers among them. The entry fee and travel expenses are more expensive.

Li Ao called the car and was about to leave, but was stalked by Gentry and forced him to sign a contract.

"Sign tonight, I said yesterday that I will definitely sign the contract, why don't you believe it!"

"I believe, but I can't wait."

"My manager is not here!"

"I called him and he's here."

"..."

The head coach's face quickly thickened, and Li Ao couldn't help it. He waited for the agent and the Clippers management to sign the contract, and stayed in the training hall for lunch.

Not to mention, the Clippers don't have a nutritionist in the summer, so lunch is quite delicious.

This made Li Ao understand one thing-the team did not give employees lunch subsidies.

Everyone pays for their own meals, and the electricians in the engineering department are free part-time cooks because of their good cooking skills.

He thought that the boss of this team was very picky, but he didn't expect to be picky to this extent.

After lunch, Schwartz hurried over with his legal counsel, as did the Clippers owner and Baylor.

The conditions to be negotiated have been negotiated, and the signing went smoothly.

Li Ao's attention has been on Sterling, and he always feels that the other party's Yintang is black, which seems to be an ominous omen.

He kindly wanted to remind him, but was stopped by Schwartz.

Now that Li Ao opens his mouth, he is afraid!
　Tonight there will be more monthly tickets for 200 tickets ~ around 12 o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)