From sparring to superstar

Chapter 165 163. The most popular team in the half
At 2:11 p.m. on February 5th, at the Palace Arena in Auburn Hills, Li Ao led his teammates into the stadium.

After entering the arena, Li Ao didn't hear many boos, but the voice of "Dumars out" was endless.

It's not easy to be a good man, and it's fully reflected in Joe Dumars.

Hill has long been interested in leaving, and it is certain that he will leave last summer when his contract expires.

The newly appointed general manager of the Pistons, Joe Dumars, chose an old teammate. He knew how tortured this teammate had been in Detroit these years, and sent him to the Magic team he wanted to go to.

Then Detroit fans blamed Hill's departure on Joe Dumars.

Seeing that Duncan is already so strong with Carter's younger brother, the Pistons fans are even more angry.

Because everyone believes that as long as Hill returns, the Magic will be as invincible as the Bulls of the last decade.

From the perspective of Pistons fans, the Magic have nothing and can form the Big Three. Why can't they hold Hill?

As for what Hill himself thinks, which superstar in Detroit is willing to come... and other objective factors, they are all subjective speculations, and they don't care about objective factors.

Ever since, the most famous thing at the Palace of Auburn Hills this season is that every time the Pistons play at home, the audience chanted 'Dumas dismissed'.

However, Li Ao remembered that Dumas eventually rewarded good people with good rewards.

This general manager was very successful as a player. He was selected to the All-Star team, the best team, and the best defensive team many times. He won two championships, one of which was the finals MVP.

And the character of the ball is good. Jordan hates the Bad Boys, but he is full of praise for Joe Dumars, calling him the best defensive player and the best opponent of his career.

The NBA Ethics Award was created for him.

When the good guy sent Hill to where he wanted to go, he returned the future insider pillar Daben.

Relying on his reputation among players for many years, he later successfully persuaded Billups to join, and he also had an outside core.

Boss Joe, who doesn't like Hamilton, gave priority to this player he respected when he sold Hamilton, and made a move.

Dumars also has a good vision for the draft. In the 02 draft, Prince was too slender. Although he performed well in college, the media generally believed that he could not adapt to NBA confrontation, but Dumars took a look at this defensive genius.

At 5:30 in the evening, the Clippers' away game against the Pistons started.

The Pistons sent Chucky Atkins, Michael Curry, Jerry Stackhouse, Joe Smith and Ben Wallace to the starting lineup.

The Clippers sent a starting lineup of Blevin Knight, Li Ao, Maggette, Odom, and O'Neal.

Gentry dared to send such a lineup because the opponent's perimeter defense ranks last in the league.

There are Joe Smith and Ben Wallace, both good defensive inside combinations, but the Pistons averaged 98 points per game, only the Warriors, Grizzlies, and Wizards were worse than them.

Atkins, Michael Curry, and Stackhouse have repeatedly refreshed people's perception of bad defense.

Blevin Knight turned the Pistons upside down, and Maggette's cut to the frame also made Ben Wallace miserable.

Stackhouse didn't even chase after being passed by. Maggette not only rushed at full speed when he cut into the frame, but he didn't have to worry about chasing the cap from behind. Even Ben Wallace couldn't stand it.

However, although Tanhualang defended tens of thousands of pokers, once the offense soared, it was really fierce.

Stackhouse averaged 30 points per game this season, second only to Iverson in the league, but his shooting percentage is a bit poor, hitting 39.8% so far.

快船队前三节稳步拉开比分，首节赢了5分、第二节赢了3分、第三节赢了4分，领先12分进入末节，结果前三节只拿到9分的斯塔克豪斯末节15分，率队打出了30比18的单节比分。

106 to 106, the Pistons dragged the game into overtime!
In the final quarter, the Clippers' main shooting performance was not good. Fortunately, their role players shot more tonight, and they blossomed. In overtime, Gentry let Li Ao take charge of containment and defense. Boykins, Big Q, Maggette In charge of scoring, Jermaine O'Neal protected the frame. This decision was done well. The Clippers scored 15 points in overtime, and the score in 5 minutes almost caught up with the score in 12 minutes of the final quarter.

That's Tan Hualang's three-point iron against Da Ben who rushed forward, otherwise he really caught up.

On the side of the Pistons, Stackhouse was brave in the last quarter, and started to hit the iron again in overtime. He only scored 4 points in 3 shots. The offense of the Pistons team also withered, and the others only scored 3 points.

Li Ao played 41 minutes tonight. He didn't take many shots. The opponent's outside defense was poor, but he did a good job of restricting his shots. Even Ben Wallace and Joe Smith would expand to defend him.

He had predicted this before the game. The current defense of the Pistons can only target a certain player, and the most eye-catching thing about their Clippers is him.

He wanted to widen the score difference, make a wave of shots, and cheer up, but the opponent broke out first in the final quarter.

He made 11 of 5 shots, including 2 of 0 three-pointers and 6 of 5 free throws. He scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He didn't score many points. Very good, but at the end of the final quarter, Tanhua broke out too violently, and he went from 9 points in three quarters to 27 points in a single game.

Fortunately, his teammates scored more!

Maggette scored 20 points, Lamar Odom scored 15 points, Jermaine O'Neal, Big Q, and Boykins all scored 12 points. The Clippers scored more points and defeated the Pistons 121-112, winning 8 consecutive victories!

When the final whistle sounded, the Clippers players, who were in a cold sweat, cheered together to celebrate this near-miss victory.

8 straight wins!

They refreshed the longest winning streak in team history!
Prior to this, the Clippers had two 7-game winning streaks in history. One was when the team was first established in San Diego, and they had a 1-game winning streak. The other was after the All-Star Weekend in the 7-91 season. Brown took over the Clippers. After only 92 wins and 22 losses in the first half, he led the team to a crazy performance of 25 wins and 23 losses, including a wave of 12 consecutive victories.

That season, the Clippers were 45 wins and 37 losses, the best record in team history.

The most excited one is Gentry.

Refreshing the team history record of a team, of course the happiest as a head coach.

8连胜后，他们的战绩提升到了30胜22负，距离31胜21负的超音速队就差1个胜场了！

There are 30 games left, as long as they can maintain their current competitive state and break the best record in team history set by Larry Brown, it will be safe!
As for his dislike of iron-blooded defense... What offensive dreams do not dream, the most important thing is to win!

Only by winning can he secure the position of head coach.

Otherwise, no matter how hard he tries to build the team system and train new players, he will be picked by others.

Although he dislikes what Larry Brown does, and he can't understand Larry Brown's fondness for cursing players, but he has always been grateful for the experience of studying and working with Larry Brown. Expertise, he couldn't find a job as a head coach either.

...

2001年2月11号晚上10点27分，湖人队主场以115比91屠杀灰熊队，拿下本赛季第37场胜利。

In the absence of O'Neal, Kobe scored 18 points in the first quarter, 18 points in the second quarter, and 20 points in the third quarter. He made 34 of 21 shots, including 5 of 3 three-pointers and 12 of 11 free throws. The highest score in a single game in the regular season this season, clock in and get off work.

The first half of the regular season of this season has officially come to an end, entering the All-Star holiday.

The Kings temporarily top the league with 38 wins and 14 losses.

The second Lakers in the West, 37 wins and 15 losses.

After the fight with the Suns, the Trail Blazers ended the first half with a 3-game losing streak due to the suspension. They also had a record of 37 wins and 15 losses, but they were at a disadvantage because of their direct confrontation with the Lakers and ranked third.

In the East, the Magic has steadily achieved a record of 36 wins and 16 losses, with a winning percentage of nearly 7%, ranking first.

The 76ers followed with 34 wins and 18 losses.

After the first half, there were many hot topics among fans.

Duncan turned a team from a belly to a championship contender, and he did it when Grant Hill was reimbursed. His ability to lead the team is amazing.

The OK combination has often suffered injuries this season, and the Lakers' record has been ups and downs, but when O'Neal and Kobe played together, their winning percentage was an astonishing 83%. They won 30 of the 25 games they played together.

Among the 5 games lost, the situation of being upset by the Clippers was also included.

This season, the two made people really feel what it means to be the "OK combination number one in the world". When they saw the two playing together, what people thought was that the Lakers were going to win.

The Kings took off after strengthening the shortcomings of the shooting guard, and took the first place in the half, allowing an adjective that had disappeared in the NBA for a decade to reappear-gorgeous.

The last team described as 'gorgeous' was the Showtime Lakers.

Iverson's offensive performance this season is amazing, and he was named the second scoring leader in modern basketball.

The first is Michael Jordan, the god of basketball.

But the 76ers' second half of the season cast a shadow, and the road ahead of the playoffs is unpredictable.

And the hottest topic at the moment-the Clippers set sail!
In the last 12 games, the Clippers have 11 wins and 1 loss, only losing in the game against the Kings.

The Clippers have attracted attention from the very beginning of this season. Compared with the past few years, the record has been greatly improved, but it has only attracted people's attention. By the way, the two big holes of bad management and unclear core of team building have been filled.

Halfway through the regular season, they only had a record of 20 wins and 21 losses, and they were struggling on the road to pursuing a [-]% winning percentage.

At that time, there were still people who complained about the Clippers-put the Eastern Conference, the Clippers entered the playoffs, and they should be regarded as a playoff team.

Of course, some people said that luck is also a part of strength. If you are in the West, you should judge whether it is a playoff team based on the ranking in the West.

No one thought that since then, the Clippers have started a wave of madness!
When the Clippers tied the Nuggets and entered the ranks of the playoffs, it has already attracted people's attention.

Then people saw that the Clippers kept winning and winning, surpassing the Nuggets, tying the Rockets, and surpassing the Rockets... Now that 52 games have been played, the Clippers have a record of 30 wins and 22 losses, approaching the Timberwolves and the Super League. Sonic team!

The Western Conference playoffs are divided into three tiers. The Kings, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are in the first tier; the Jazz, Mavericks, and Suns are in the first tier. Teams, Clippers, Rockets, Nuggets.

But no matter which gear it is, they are collectively referred to as the strong western teams.

Because even the third-tier team has the possibility of hitting 50 wins!
The Clippers have made amazing progress from being last in the league last season to rushing to the ranks of the strong teams in the Western Conference.

加上李敖半程场均23.7分5.5板4.7助攻1.7抢断3.7盖帽、还拿到了单场51分……

The Clippers have become the most discussed team among fans right now!

On February 2th, a new week has arrived.

In the morning, the NBA officially announced that Li Ao and O'Neal won the latest player of the week award together!

Last week, Li Ao scored 51 points in a single game and O'Neal Jr. scored 20 points and 21 rebounds in a double-20 performance. The Clippers won 4 wins and 0 losses. This award is given to them, and there is little controversy.

The only controversy is that Kobe scored 56 points last night to refresh the league's highest score this season.

However, although the Lakers also won all 4 games last week, Kobe only played two games. In one game, when O'Neal was confronted by Brad Miller, he rushed into the court from the bench and was expelled + suspended.

In the other game, he was forced to put on a suit by the Zen master because of muscle tension in his thighs, so he was unable to play.

Li Ao and Jermaine O'Neal won the player of the week award, pushing the popularity of the Clippers to a new peak!
...

"The award should go to Lamar and Jermaine, who put up the paint.

Lamar's improvement on the defensive end is very great. He is everywhere, changing guards and centers, and he bravely stands in front of opponents.

If possible, I hope Lamar can replace me in the All-Star Game. He didn't get a single vote. He doesn't seem to be dissatisfied, but I can't accept it.

Zhou Best can also be given to Matt. He is our leader. His joining has accelerated the construction of our defensive system. Didn’t the president of Microsoft say that Matt is a role model for players in his mind and is not for sale.

He didn’t have me as a non-sale product in his mind, oh, forget it, who made me just an ordinary rookie, I didn’t get the first score in a single game, and I didn’t get the first block list..."

On the afternoon of February 2th, after returning to Los Angeles with the team, Li Ao accepted an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated.

When asked about winning the player of the week award for the second time this season, his answer at the beginning surprised the reporter—is Spider-Man changing his temper?
The reporter didn't find it strange that Li Ao praised his teammates.

He has interviewed Li Ao quite a few times, and he has been following Li Ao's other news. He often sees Li Ao praising his teammates, but this is the first time he has seen Li Ao boasting so seriously.

Until the end, Li Ao's style of painting changed suddenly, the reporter's idea of ​​calling the police was finally dispelled, and his fists began to be clenched.

It's still him!That wretched Spider-Man!

As a rookie, he ranks second this season with 51 points in a single game, and is second in blocked shots but not far behind the first, and the first has already been reimbursed. There is a high probability of overtaking, what else do you want?
(End of this chapter)