Basketball UFO

Chapter 10 The First Game

In the days that followed, teammates looked at Carter with envy.

A real man is me, I am a real man.

"Damn it, focus your attention on the court. The regular season is about to begin. From now on, everyone must work hard. Our only goal is to enter the playoffs." Carter taught his teammates.

"Vince, will you still take us out to have fun?" Robert Parker was slightly stimulated, and he was still looking forward to the next time.

"As long as you win the game and you can rest the next day, I will try to take everyone out to have fun." Carter calculated that the consumption of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a year is still affordable.

To make a name for yourself in the league, in addition to polishing your skills, you also need the trust and support of your teammates, even if these teammates are rubbish.

"Did you hear that? Tomorrow we will play at home, we must not lose!" Cassel consciously assumed the position of the second child, and taught the younger brothers a lesson for the boss.

Kendall Gill wanted to say something, but didn't say anything. He was not a competitive player. When he was with the Hornets, he formed the "Hornets Double" with Larry Johnson. He was also famous, but he had no star status and was not popular.

The struggle for power gradually faded away.

Carter came over, "Kendall, the team needs your defense."

He is an underestimated defender. He has sharp steals, can score and dunk, and is relatively silky, but he can't break through the dribble.

"Take care of yourself first, it's not easy to be the boss." Kendall gave a blank look, and he still hasn't swallowed his breath when the young man is the boss.

Before the start of the regular season, TNT and ESPN have already built momentum.

After making various lists, the strongest team in the league is naturally the Chicago Bulls. They are still regarded as the biggest contenders for the championship, and then the Houston Rockets. After all, they have three veterans in charge.Followed by the Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz who reached the finals.

The Indiana Pacers are also considered to have the strength to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

After these teams, there is the Los Angeles Lakers. After all, O'Neal has just been selected as the top 50 superstars in 50 years, and he is the youngest player selected to the top 50.Then came the Spurs and Knicks, teams with super centers.

In terms of the rookie list, Iverson is the most promising. He has been strengthened by the 76ers. As the core training, Marcus Camby, as the core of the Raptors, will also hit the best rookie.Then the Grizzlies' core players Abdur-Rahim, Stephen Marbury and Antoine Walker also rank high.

According to predictions, Carter is ranked 7th, with Ray Allen in front of him. They are all higher than Carter, and they also have plenty of playing time.

In the first game of the new season, the Nets will face the Cleveland Cavaliers at home.There are no famous stars on both sides, and the attention is not high.

In the interview before the game, Calipari brought Carter out, "In the new season, the Nets will build tactics around Carter, and he will become a very good player."

There are also Kendall Gill and local Jason Williams on the team, and the way Carter was strengthened really surprised reporters.

"Preseason games are different from official games. Can Carter withstand the pressure?"

Carter looked at the critical reporter and smiled, "The NBA is the top league, and I'm ready. In the first game, I will lead the team to win. Our goal this season is to reach the playoffs."

Calipari's heart suddenly burst, this kind of thing, it's good to talk about it at home, but he said it in public.

The reporters immediately became energetic. They liked the topical rookie so much. "Last season, the Nets only won 30 games. If they entered the playoffs according to the 42-game schedule, the team would have won 12 more games. I am convinced." Can you lead the team to the playoffs?"

"The season hasn't started yet, so we can't say for sure, but we will move forward with our eyes on the goal." Carter took a deep breath, "As the team leader, I have to shoulder the responsibility. I don't value personal data and lead the team to win. That’s what matters most.”

Personal data is important, but winning is even more important.This is what Carter meant.In his rookie season, Iverson showed a strong scoring ability, and Marcus Camby also showed his personal talent. It is really not easy to grab the best rookie from among them.

Cavaliers head coach Mike Jafaroni is full of confidence, "The team has strengthened the lineup in the new season. We have selected a very good rookie. He will play an important role. Vince Carter? I don't care at all, he Haven't adapted to the rhythm of the NBA yet."

Nets fans are also looking forward to Carter's performance. In the preseason, Carter averaged more than 20 points per game and only played about 30 minutes. His performance was very good and even more exciting.

All the tickets for the first game of the new season are sold out, a rare scene.

"Although it is actually rubbish, we have always been rubbish. I hope they are rubbish than us. Let me see a victory." The fan muttered while chewing popcorn.

"This Nets makes me feel energetic. They are all too young. Hey, I hope they are better than last season."

There are also some fans who came to see Carter, "I hope this year's draft will be more relevant. I think Vince Carter is much better than Ed O'Bannon. O'Bannon is the No. 9 pick. He was directly traded by the team and he didn't make it out. .”

"Carter is quite handsome and full of masculinity." The female fan's eyes were shining.

Warming up before the game, Carter ran the basket, which aroused cheers from the female fans.

The Cavaliers have also arranged the strongest lineup. Obviously, there are no players who can show it. The two teams are pecking at each other.

This year's 12th overall pick, Vitali Potapenko, was sitting on the bench, looking at Carter who started the game with a bit of envy.

The starting lineup is on the stage. For the Cavaliers, the starting center is veteran Mark West, a rookie in 1983, with a height of 208, and the power forward is Tyron Hill, who is 206 in height.The small forward position is Chris Mills, with a height of 198, and Mills has been staring at Carter.

The shooting guard is Bob Sura, who was a college classmate of Cassel.Of course, because of Yao Ming, Bob Sula got attention that didn't belong to him.

Point guard Trier Brandon, although only 180 tall, has a strong scoring ability. He averaged 19.3 points and 6.5 assists per game last season.

For the Nets, Calipari also arranged the strongest lineup.

"This game must be won!!!" Calipari was worried.

Carter saw his uneasiness, "Don't worry, coach, I won't let you lose the first game of the new season."

Calipari's heart suddenly settled down, and he couldn't tell why.

For the Nets, the starting point guard is the "alien" Sam Cassell, who looks very ugly. Because of his ugliness, standing with Carter makes Carter look very handsome.

The starting shooting guard is Kendall Gill.At the power forward position, Jason Williams serves as the starter, showing off his strong muscles.

At the center position, Bradley started.

Carter played last, appearing at the small forward position.He can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions.

Mills looked at Carter, snorted, and prepared to give him a good look.He and Bob Sula looked at each other and smiled, "It seems that we have to teach the rookie a lesson today."

"It's funny, I like to teach rookies a lesson." Bob Sura joked.

So what if the Cavaliers' rookie Potapenko, the No. 12 overall pick, wasn't beaten to death by them, and now he doesn't even dare to speak loudly.

The referee goes to the middle circle arc, ready to jump the ball.Sean Bradley and Mark West stood face to face.West jumped up suddenly, Bradley was not playing fast, and the opponent took the lead, and the ball was shot away.

Trier Brandon controlled the basketball and advanced past half court, and Hill came out for a pick-and-roll inside.Carter defends Mills.Unexpectedly, Mills took advantage of Hill's retreat to turn around and cover, catching the ball and shooting a jumper.

Hit smoothly.

"Rookie, welcome to the NBA." Mills yelled, twisting his shoulders.

On the Cavaliers' bench, Potapanko's face was gloomy, "That's how they bullied me, and even pulled my pants and flicked my brother, Gan, one day, I will kill these bastards."

Carter couldn't stand this kind of anger, "It's kind of a one-on-one match, you trash, you still have to rely on pick-and-rolls."

Cassell controlled the basketball and handed it to Carter before the three-point line.

When the boss is provoked, he needs to stand up, defeat the opponent, and stabilize the morale of the army.

Jason Williams wants to come to the pick-and-roll, "Go back to your position and pull away."

Look at Mills, stand at a 45-degree angle, grab the ball with one hand, hook your fingers.Mills squatted down, ready to defend.

Carter suddenly stepped forward and passed Mills in one step.In Mills' impression, rookies like to show off their ball-handling skills, which is useless. I didn't expect Carter to be more mature than ordinary rookies.

Dribbling once to pass someone, and dribbling again, he had already passed the inside player Brandon.Brandon didn't know the details of Williams, so he pulled him out and couldn't keep up.

Mills followed from behind, but Carter had already taken off.He jumped high, ready to block Carter's shot beautifully.

Carter flew in the air, raised his arm back, almost straightened it, and swung it.

The ground-breaking dunk gave the Nets the first point.

After a moment of silence, all the fans burst into cheers, "What a beautiful dunk."

"Wow, it turns out that this is Carter's strength. His physical fitness is so amazing."

After Carter landed, he ran back to the half court without looking back. When he saw Mills coming again, he said, "If you have the ability, score another one."

Mills didn't get the ball, and Bob Sura passed the ball inside, allowing Te'lon Hill to single out Williams and score smoothly.

Carter received the ball again and passed it to Cassell inside. Without a chance, it was passed back to Carter.Carter suddenly accelerated, using the same trick, and passed Mills again.

Successful pick-up basket.

"Aren't you defensive?" Carter looked at Mills, rubbing salt in his wound.

Bob Sula quickly reminded Mills, "Calm down, he is just a rookie and will lose strength after a while."

When a rookie plays, he just wants to hit his head. When his head gets hot, he will either score consecutively or not, so he can just let it go.Let him cool down naturally.

Bob Sura dribbled the ball consecutively, turned inside, and made a layup.

Carter shook off Mills, flew up, and swatted the basketball directly from behind, hitting the backboard and rebounding.Williams takes control.

Hurry up to Carter, Carter has turned around and is running in the frontcourt.Williams is smart, throws the ball long, and the basketball flies right inside the three-point line.

"Wow..." The fans at the scene became excited.

Carter took a half-step to the three-point line to catch the ball without dribbling, and there was no one behind him to follow.

He took a step forward and took a step inward from the free throw line.

The whole person flew in the air, faced the basket, and dunked again with almost a straight arm, which was earth-shattering.

Three possessions, two dunks.Carter made the fans feel the crazy atmosphere as soon as he debuted.

The basket shakes violently.Carter landed, arms spread wide, signaling for the fans to chant.

"Vince..."

The enthusiasm of the fans was instantly ignited, and they shouted Carter's name frantically, "Carter... amazing Carter."

"Super blast, Carter!"

"This is a fucking game, working on the rim." Many fans threw down their popcorn, stood up, waved their arms, and gave exciting dunks.

The two sides played very open and the scores were getting higher and higher.At the end of the single quarter, the Nets led 28-19 by 9 points, and Carter scored 10 points alone.

"Good job, keep it up." Calipari's emotions were also mobilized. Carter seldom dunks in training, but he didn't expect to be so explosive after appearing on the court.

Think about it too, fans are not familiar with the team and Carter, the fastest way for fans to remember is crazy performance on the field.

Carter's dunk has conquered Nets fans, and they began to recognize Carter's status and cheered for Carter.

After gaining confidence, other Nets players started to play, shooting as hard as they wanted, and suddenly the Cavaliers were blinded.

At halftime, the Nets led 53-39, almost sealing the victory.The Cavaliers' continuous scoring ability is very weak, and no star steps up when the team needs it.

This team is similar to the Nets, without a star, and now that Carter is taking on the heavy responsibility, the Cavaliers have yet to find their own king.

Carter made another sudden shot and scored 8 points in the third quarter. By the end of the three quarters, he had scored 24 points and was the team's leading scorer.

By the way, he grabbed 4 rebounds, sent 5 assists, and 2 beautiful blocks, stealing Mills before halftime.

"I didn't expect Carter to be so strong. He didn't look like a rookie at all. His performance was too good." Calipari was excited. "There are still weaknesses, but his athletic ability covered up his weaknesses and he played great."

"It doesn't look like a rookie at all. Instead, he looks like a veteran who has been playing for many years." Assistant coach Jason was also excited.If Carter can perform like this every day, the team will have hope in the playoffs. Of course, it is only against the weak Cavaliers. It will be difficult to perform like this against a strong team.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Carter faced Mills again, still holding the ball with one hand.

The fans have already remembered this action, how handsome it is.

Mills learned the lesson this time and took half a step back to guard against Carter's breakthrough.Unexpectedly, Carter saw Mills retreat and suddenly shot from outside the three-point line.

Today he shot from outside the three-point line for the first time.

Swish!Still accurate, hitting the bullseye directly.

Increase personal score to 27 points.Carter shrugged, "You have no defense, keep going."

"This hateful rookie." Mills was beaten hard today and only scored 10 points. He was no match at all.

The Cavaliers' confidence has collapsed and they cannot organize a decent offense.Carter once again appeared outside the three-point line, and Mills and Bob Sula came up to double-team.

Unexpectedly, Carter suddenly jumped from the two and made another three-pointer.

"It's still tough at this time, who does he think he is..." Cassel was dissatisfied.

(End of this chapter)