NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Chapter 272 In the last season of the 20th century, the new Pacers are back on the road!

This night, no one knew what Lin Tian and Dolan talked about in hiding after knocking on the ice, or what they were talking about, but what everyone could see was that this Both guys were so happy!

When they walked out of the room, their faces were all red, and the corners of their mouths couldn't help turning up.

Although the two people just reached a preliminary intention and briefly discussed some details and imagined the future, it is still unknown when the matter will be completed and when the reality show empire in their hearts will be built.

But now both of them are sure of one thing -

Those two will go down in the history books of the development of American television programs and enter the Hall of Fame!

Everyone in the future will have to mention the names of these two people when they mention the earth-shaking changes in television programs at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, which ushered in a new history!

Of course, in addition to these, there will also be countless green US dollars!

Dolan has even begun to think that he might as well go out on his own and change his last name!

You can completely set up a new family, a Dolan 2.0 family!

At that time, there is no need to look at the faces of the board of directors and those old men!

Be your own master and be as cool as you want.

As for Lin Tian, ​​he is also very satisfied. Although the contract with Dolan does not clearly explain how it will be developed and promoted, nor which project will come first and which project will come later, Lin Tian and Dolan are both very satisfied. We all know that this cooperation can definitely take shape again!

Because no one can compete with big dollar bills and world-wide acclaim, they continue to work together to gain and lose nothing!

After a few days of partying in New York, Lin Tian returned to Indiana in mid-September.

Therefore, his final choice is actually the Spurs and Heat.

Under such circumstances, this old bastard and ruffian who has played for Salt Lake City all his life, the number one villain at the No. 90 position in the 1s, the master of small moves and the king of black feet, finally chose to retire.

After another defeat in the Western Conference semifinals last season, Stockton felt deeply inadequate. The old injury on his ankle caused his condition to decline faster and earlier than Lin Tian knew in history.

For almost the same reason, it is impossible for Malone to go to the Lakers and Trail Blazers.

After the last championship of the 20th century was taken away by the Knicks, Lin Tian will never let go of the championship at the turn of the century!

Because the Trail Blazers have Pippen, whom Malone hates and hates, and the Lakers have just announced their new head coach: Phil Jackson!

For Malone, he feels that he can still play and has the ability to average 20+10 per game. Let him just hug the enemy's lap. Maybe it will be possible in a few years, but now? He really couldn't come to this.

In addition to Pippen joining Portland and Webb finally coming to Indiana, these things Lin Tian already knew.

And judging from Malone's intentions, it is obvious that he will accept a contract offer that is not high! He's not doing it for money, he's just doing it for the championship!

As soon as Malone made this declaration, the entire league was shocked!

Although he is at the end of his career, he is really an MVP-level player!

But it is a pity that Malone has his own ideas. Most of the teams were rejected by him without even being able to meet with Malone.

He announced that he will leave the Jazz to find a team that can truly compete for the championship!

Under such a busy situation, Lin Tian did not delay his training at all. His figure was not out of shape at all, and his game condition was also maintained in excellent condition! After all, he basically spent the first month training with young players in the training camp, and then went to play in the Asian Championships, which although not at a high level, allowed him to maintain a competitive level.

The most sensational thing in the entire offseason is the disintegration of Salt Lake City!

But when his old partner retired, the team's lineup was in decline, and it was only getting worse year by year, although Malone did not choose to retire directly, his choice made fans even more heartbroken.

There is only one week left before the official start of training camp.

Stockton's decision cheered the entire league!

Except for Salt Lake City, no one in this league likes Stockton. They will not send blessings, they will only feel that their ankles and knees have been blessed!

And that's not all that's heartbreaking for Salt Lake City fans.

The Spurs' sincerity still moved Malone's heart. Two days after he told Popovich that he needed to think about it, Riley called Malone almost at the same time.

He no longer chased the fading championship, but decided to leave the court.

Then supplement it with some low-intensity training to maintain your condition.

Malone, who had just ended his last career contract, almost without any hesitation rejected the Jazz's four-year, $4 million maximum salary contract!

Although strictly speaking, this has no special meaning.

As a well-known psychological guru in the league, Riley's words are also simple and direct.

The Spurs showed full sincerity. Popovich and David Robinson came out again. Robinson got straight to the point and directly stated that he was willing to play as a substitute for Duncan and Malone as the sixth man. Popovich even promised It will give Malone unlimited rights to take action and allow him to continue to play the tactics he is most comfortable and best at.

Karl Malone averaged 23+8 per game last season and ranked among the top three in the MVP rankings.

He first directly pointed out that unless Malone is completely shameless, the only teams suitable for him in this league are the Heat and the Spurs, but the Spurs already have the Twin Towers. Even if David Robinson is willing to come off the bench, in the hearts of San Antonio people , 'The Admiral' will always be their king.

It's impossible for him to go to the Pacers. As far as his relationship with Lin Tian is concerned, he doesn't give up any dignity for a championship. What's more, the Pacers have just acquired Webber, and Malone can't even start there.

So instead, in the last 10 days before the start of the season, Lin Tian chose to rest and recover completely.

In the playoffs last season, Stockton was almost the breakthrough point for his opponents. He was beaten by all his opponents but was unable to fight back. In the playoffs, he averaged only 8 points and 5 assists per game, although his shooting percentage was still 48%+41. %, but everyone knows that this is not a sign of his high offensive accuracy, but a sign of his lack of confidence in his offense!

Except for the absolute open space and excellent layup opportunities, Stockton has almost lost the confidence and courage to take shots.

All this is waiting for the last season of the 20th century, or in other words, the opening of the first training camp of the 21st century!

99-00 season!

It must at least be a top contender for the championship and a team with a complete system, and it must be significantly improved after Malone joins, otherwise Malone will definitely not consider this team.

I no longer drink alcohol or stay up late. I just resume my regular routine and rest.

The Lakers, Spurs and Trail Blazers in the West, the Heat and Pacers in the East.

During these few days in Indiana, Lin Tian also studied and understood all the things that happened in the league during the offseason that deserved his attention.

But among these five teams, Malone actually has no choice.

He wants to compete for the championship, not work for nothing. There are only a few teams that he can like.

But Lin Tian just doesn't want to give up! Just want it!

Lin Tian was really busy this summer. He didn't even participate in brand activities and world tour business. But his exposure rate was really high enough. From the training camp to the Asian Championships, Lin Tian participated in almost every event. Active in everyone's field of vision at all times.

If the results are good, forget it. If the results are not good and the expectations are not met, then what awaits Malone is the defection of the entire city, and they will blame Malone.

As a result, almost half of the teams in the league took action after hearing the news. They all wanted to try to see if they could get this powerful inside player.

Looking at the entire league, there are actually only a few teams that qualify as strong contenders for the championship.

Except for these five teams, Malone has no idea about other teams at all.

Secondly, Duncan also plays at the fourth position. No matter what Popovich promised to Malone, it is difficult for two people who play at the fourth position to be together and will be very uncomfortable. People who like to play the five position appear on the court together. If the run-in is not good, who will the Spurs and San Antonio people support?

Is it a super talent chosen by the team who has just entered the league two years ago and still has at least 15 years of career left, or is it a mercenary who has come to seek refuge in the twilight years of his career?

Finally, the most important thing is that the Spurs' outside line was beaten by Jordan last year. If they face any team with a top outside line this year, don't worry, they will still be beaten!

Lin Tian, ​​Kobe, Iverson, Payton, and the Suns' "super backcourt" combination. As for the perimeter of these teams, which one can the Spurs withstand?

Come to the Heat! The Heat are well-balanced both inside and outside, with Mourning, the league's most defensive player, at No. 5, Mashburn, the strongest player in the league, at No. 3, and Leonard, the top shooter, at No. 2! I'm missing you! Coupled with you, the three top muscle sticks in positions 3-5 can wipe out all opponents!

Malone was also dubious about Riley's words. The first question he asked was: Where is Hardaway? Hardaway was great before, but now?

In last year's playoffs, he was definitely the most exposed player in the league, bar none! The Spurs' perimeter group was damn tough against Jordan twice!

Riley chuckled: As long as you come, there will be no Hardaway in our team! I will continue to upgrade the lineup and pair you and Mourning with a truly top-notch, in-form point guard to deal with our opponents!

After saying this, Riley added another sentence that was very tempting for Malone.

"I'm the only one in this league who has ever led a team to defeat Lin and his team in a series. I know it's because of the lack of personnel in the Pacers, but look at Lin's performance in the tiebreaker. I know how to restrict him! As long as there are more of you, even if the Pacers have full personnel next season, we can kill them!"

This sentence really spoke to Ma Long's heart.

After a brief thought, the biggest fish on the free market decided to travel east and bring his talents to the south coast! Signed a one-year, 1 million full mid-level contract with the Heat!

For a time, the entire Eastern Conference was shaken. The "big muscle tyrant" inside combination of Malone and Mourning had terrifying strength on both offense and defense! With a scorer at the level of MVP and scoring champion, plus a defensive expert at the level of best defensive player and shot-blocking champion, the Heat's inside line suddenly became the best in the league!

And the storm set off by the Heat doesn't stop there!

Just a week after Malone arrived in Miami, the Heat announced another major trade!

The Heat sent the team's leading guard Tim Hardaway, veteran Dan Marley and three first-round picks to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for the Sonics' leading guard 'Glove' Gary Payton. And the team just signed sophomore Ruben Patterson, who has not yet been used!

This transaction is also seismic!

Hardaway has been the league's top point guard in the past few years. It was just that he was so badly exposed in the playoffs last season that Riley lost all trust in him. In addition, Hardaway returned again in the summer. Through injuries and surgeries.

Judging from his age and playing style, Hardaway's glory has passed!

With the team focused on chasing the championship, Hardaway, the former absolute strength, has become a burden to the team, so Riley traded him out without hesitation!

In exchange for Payton, he is also one of the best point guards in the league in the past 10 years. He is also one of the best defensive point guards in the league. He is the only No. 1 player in the entire NBA history to win the Defensive Player of the Year. .

Coupled with his top offensive power and court vision, this guy is obviously more suitable for the Heat than Hardaway!

Even though he was actually beaten by Lin Tian many times and was given the humiliating nickname of 'fingerless gloves', in today's league, if you want to find someone who can limit Lin Tian to the greatest extent possible and strengthen the Heat. After searching the entire league for the No. 1 position, only Payton was suitable!

As for second-year student Ruben Patterson, who was added to the deal, it was Riley who asked him to be included in the deal.

As for the reason, it's because Riley heard a lot of rumors about Patterson's time with the Lakers last season.

This guy had a very bad relationship with Kobe. He had tit-for-tat with Kobe many times in training and even almost got physical!

Riley's informant in the Lakers told Riley: Although this guy is not very strong, he can definitely gain a foothold in the NBA! He also has very good defensive ability and is good at biting and irritating opponents. He is a bulldog-type player!

If his relationship with Kobe hadn't been so bad, the Lakers would never have let him leave the team like this.

That's why Riley took him, hoping that Patterson can become the answer to the team's second position!

After this transaction, the Heat formed a starting lineup of four muscular men: Mourning, Malone, Mashburn and Payton. Each of the four was more fierce than the last, and each was tougher and better at defending. With the four of them working together, Next, the Heat's defense next season will definitely be the best in the league!

As for the only No. 2 position that is vacant for a top defender, Riley has already thought about it. If Patterson can surprise himself, let him take the position. If Patterson is not worthy of his name and only has a mouth, then let him sit on the bench and let Leonard continue to start.

Anyway, the real core target of this deal is Payton! As long as Payton can work happily with the two insiders, the Heat will definitely scare the entire league next season!

It is worth mentioning that in addition to sending away Payton, the core of the team, during the offseason, the Sonics have not renewed the contracts of two other team heroes: Schrempf and Jose Hawkins!

These two people also left the team as free agents! At this point, the group of people who helped the Sonics reach the Finals in 1996 have all left the team!

The Sonics officially begin rebuilding mode!

In addition to the huge move made by the Heat, another big event in the league is that Chuck Daly announced his retirement!

Daly, who coached the Magic last season but was eliminated in the first round, was obviously a little disheartened. This meritorious coach who once coached the Pistons to two consecutive championships and coached the Dream Team has won two consecutive games in Orlando. After an unsuccessful season, I finally felt completely exhausted and bored, and announced that I would retire from the NBA stage forever.

He wants to go back home and enjoy his retirement life.

The departure of this veteran coach once again tells everyone: the glory and memories of the 80s are slowly fading.

This offseason is definitely a huge change for the league. The Magic, Jazz, SuperSonics and other top players in the league in the past 10 years have begun to rebuild. Jordan, Stockton and others have officially left, and the famous coach Chuck... Daly also left the league.

Among the top teams in the league today, the Spurs, Trail Blazers, Pacers, Lakers, Heat and other teams are all born in the 70s or even in the 75s. Duncan, Stoudemire, Rasheed, O'Neal, Kobe, Mourning ...These people all entered the league after 90!

And the latest rising teams in the league, such as Iverson and the 76ers, Garnett and the Timberwolves, Marbury and the Basketball Team, Ray Allen and the Bucks, Kid Hardaway and the Suns, Hill and the Pistons …

The leading players of these teams have all become newcomers without knowing it.

An era belonging to players born in the 70s has officially begun.

After Lin Tian sorted out the changes in the entire league, the training camp for the new season has officially begun!

In late September, Lin Tian drove his classic 9 Corvette sports car to the Pacers training facility as usual.

"Hey! Lin, my favorite guy! How long has it been since we last met? It's been half a year!" The first guy Lin Tian met was the reinforcement that the team spent a lot of money to introduce this summer. Although he didn't Chris Webber joins the Kings, but also has the nickname "King"!

Today, Webber has a bright face, a signature smile, and has obviously lost a lot of fat on his body. The top handsome guy in the NBA is back!

At least from the outside, this guy has gotten rid of the bad form of last season and returned to his peak form.

"How much weight have you lost?" Lin Tian asked curiously after high-fiving.

"30 pounds!" After saying this number, Weber couldn't help but shuddered and said: "It's really a nightmare offseason! Do you know how I spent this offseason? I lost weight every day! I Almost turned into a rabbit!" "I gained 11 pounds this offseason!" Weber had just finished speaking. He had a more exaggerated afro than last season, and his face was scarier and colder, but there were obvious muscles all over his body. Big Ben also walked into the locker room: "Larry said that I need to start this season to make me stronger! I think I can satisfy him!"

This guy can be considered very proud. He signed a three-year minimum salary contract with the Pacers that year. In the last year, the Pacers had a team option, which means that if he does not play well, the Pacers can always He can be waived this summer.

In the past two years, when this guy has performed well defensively, Bird did not hesitate and took the initiative to end the contract and re-signed a four-year, $4 million contract extension with him. The last year was Player options!

For this price, Daben is of course very happy! Especially since he received one less year of basic salary and earned one more year of money! This contract not only allowed him to be directly promoted from a marginal person who was just a precarious person who could disappear completely in the league at any time to a multi-millionaire!

More importantly, he became a multi-millionaire a year ahead of schedule!

Bird is so interesting, how could he not train himself to death in order to repay the kindness of knowing him?

Because of this initiative to renew his contract in advance, Ben almost didn't go anywhere this summer. He just worked hard in the gym to train his body so that he could perform perfectly in the new season!

Of course, if Ben asks Lin Tian what he means, Lin Tian will definitely tell him that you have been fooled! Bird, this bastard, has more dirty water in his stomach than all the muscles in your body!

His early contract extension allows you to get a high salary a year in advance, which is good, but if you continue to improve this year, by next summer, he will face competition from the entire league!

If some lunatic offers Ben a four-year contract worth $4 or more, will Bird match it or not? Shouldn't he be worried to death by then?

After all, Bird took the initiative to renew his contract one year in advance to save money!

Old fox!

That is to say, a little-minded guy like Big Ben will not only not get angry, but he will also treat Bird as a bastard!

Then Davis, Christie, Carter, and others walked into the locker room one after another and greeted each other with smiles.

Looking at everyone's body shape, Lin Tian is very satisfied. He has obviously not stopped training for several offseasons. Everyone has maintained a good body shape. At least no one needs to waste a lot of time trying to lose weight!

Soon, the locker room was full. Because it was a training camp, there were 7-8 new players with non-guaranteed contracts present. They had to fight for a chance, a chance to stay on the team. try best! To show yourself, to impress the players and coaches, so that you can stay in the league!

After everyone arrived, Lin Tian stood up first and said loudly: "Let's go, our new season has begun!"

Amidst a burst of cheers, the players followed Lin Tian, ​​and a group of No. 20 people walked toward the training ground in a mighty manner.

Waiting for them there were the Pacers' coaching staff, team doctors and physical therapists. Under the leadership of Bird, these people had obviously been waiting for a long time!

Lin Tian, ​​who has sharp eyes, spotted a familiar face among the coaching staff at a glance.

Well, no, from the current perspective, it should be a strange face.

Rick Carlisle!

The future meritorious coach of the Pacers, the future top NBA coach who led the Mavericks to win the 2011 championship!

Bird seemed to notice Lin Tian's eyes and introduced directly: "Let me introduce to you our new chief assistant coach: Rick Carlisle. He was once my teammate in the Celtics. We won the championship together. champion."

"He has been an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers for the past few years and has done a very good job! This year I spent a lot of effort to lure him from the Trail Blazers!"

Looking at Carlisle, Lin Tian knew very well that this guy was basically the next head coach of the Pacers. Bird obviously wanted to train his successor and then concentrate on shining in the management.

For Bird, he still couldn't hold on to the position of coach for a long time. His body and serious back injury made it impossible for Bird to travel long distances and sit on the sidelines for many years to coach.

Well, of course, based on Lin Tian’s understanding of Bird, the reason why this guy is anxious to find a successor is that he is most likely still bored, tired of playing, wants to concentrate on being a general manager, and wants to change his way of playing. .

It seems that Bird's days as head coach are numbered. In one year or at most two years, he will definitely give way and run away.

However, Carlisle is also one of the top coaches in the NBA anyway. There is not much difference between his coaching and Bird's coaching.

After the initial meet and greet session, the team immediately got into training!

This season, the Pacers' personnel has changed a lot. Many players have been traded or left. Coupled with the new arrivals and changes in the starting lineup, the players need to adapt to the Pacers' training camp. There are really a lot of things!

Fortunately, the main structure of the team has not changed, and the team's style of play will not change either. It is still based on offense, offense-defense transition and quick attack. After joining Webber, the most versatile and gorgeous power forward in the league, , the Pacers' offense is destined to be even more gorgeous and elegant than last season!

They have made all preparations for the league to see how strong this new Pacers team with the flames of revenge is!

It is worth mentioning that Lin Tian did not see the team's only acquisition in June's draft in the training camp: Manu Ginobili.

Lin Tian also asked Bird specifically. It turned out that Bird, after watching the video of Ginobili in the Italian League, admitted that Ginobili's talent is indeed not bad, but he is indeed a bit young and has various abilities. It’s also a little bit different.

In addition, Ginobili himself also wanted to hone his skills in the Italian League, so he did not join the team this year!

Lin Tian had nothing to say about this. If you want to practice, then practice! Anyway, the team has no shortage of people on the outside now. It is indeed more appropriate to wait until Mullin retires and Miller's condition further declines to come back!

During the one-month training camp, the players sweated profusely, trained hard, became familiar with the tactics and playing styles assigned by the coach, improved their weaknesses, and strengthened their strengths.

The main players are trying hard to adapt to the new style of play and new tactics, and the fringe players are working hard, just hoping to find their place in the team. As for the coaches, they are equally busy with their work, and they have to try new things at the same time. Tactics, while adjusting and changing one's own tactical system based on actual drill conditions.

As for the physical therapists and team doctors, they are also working hard to seize every opportunity and time to recover and observe the players to prevent them from being injured or suffering from severe fatigue due to the sudden increase in training volume.

A month passed in a blink of an eye. In late October, the one-month training camp finally came to an end. All the players could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The hard work of the training camp was not just physical fatigue.

Players also have to constantly adapt to new teammates and new tactics, and memorize the new tactical manual issued by the team. For some players, these things are much more difficult than training!

But fortunately, it's all over.

On the last day of training camp, Bird announced the team's final 15-man roster for the new season!

This guy who always likes to cut through trouble quickly did not wait until the end of the preseason to announce the roster like most teams in the league. He felt it was unnecessary.

After training camp, Bird has been able to clearly see who is suitable for the team and who is not.

Rather than giving false hope to those marginal players, it is better to let them go a week in advance and give them a chance to find a new team and try again!

After Bird announced the roster, naturally some people were happy, some were sad, and some were excited and cheered loudly, thankful that they had successfully stayed on the team and kept their jobs.

But more people still lamented, sitting on the ground for a long time unwilling to move, unable to believe that they were unemployed.

Similar scenes are destined to continue to be played out among all teams in the league in the next week.

A few people achieve their dreams and become regular NBA players, but more people fail to pursue their dreams and look for opportunities overseas or in the Development League.

What’s even more cruel is that even among the few who have achieved their dreams of becoming NBA players, more than 80% have no playing time at all. They can only spend night after night in garbage time and on the edge of the bench, and then suddenly, in He just disappeared into the alliance without anyone noticing.

This is the most real and cruel side of the NBA.

After Bird announced the Pacers' final roster, the Pacers' 15 players are as follows.

Centers: Ben Wallace, Sam Perkins, Zahn Tabak.

Power Forwards: Chris Webber, Rashard Lewis, El Harrington, Dale Davis.

Small forwards: Doug Christie, Chris Mullin, Derek McKay.

Shooting guards: Reggie Miller, Vince Carter.

Point guards: Lin Tian, ​​Greg Buckner, Tyus Edney.

The main lineup of this lineup is not much different from last season. Except for replacing Schmitz with Weber, the main structure of the team can be said to have not changed at all.

The most important people on the team are: Lin Tian, ​​Miller, Christie, Webb, Ben, Carter, Davis and Mullin. If there is no accident, these eight people will also play the most time for the Pacers in the new season. of 8 people.

In addition, Buckner will most likely eat up the team's point guard time when Lin Tian is off the court, while Lewis and Ellington will compete with their lives for the remaining time at positions 3-5!

In addition to these 11 players, it is difficult for the remaining players to get too many performance opportunities, whether they are Perkins who was forcibly pulled back by Lin Tian and promised to give him a championship, or several newcomers.

Especially in terms of role players and players at the end of the bench, the team has made a lot of changes. Hoiberg, who performed well in the first two years, went to the Bulls and got a pretty good contract. Both Bohannon and Pope A guy who performed poorly in last year's playoffs failed to continue to appear in the league after his contract expired, and he didn't know where to find a job.

Their NBA careers are probably over.

The team has newly recruited shooting guard Tejus Edney, who has played in the NBA but has been working in overseas leagues for the past two years. This guy is only 2 centimeters tall, but he has good speed and can shoot well. Germany will strengthen the team's firepower during Lin Tian's rest.

In addition, the team used part of the cash to buy a center who was a second-round pick this year, Zahn Tabak. This is a white center with a height of 2 centimeters. His characteristic is that he is tall, but otherwise he is unremarkable.

And Bird also recalled the team's former veteran Derek McKay, who was once a pretty good defender and scorer, but is now old and can form a senior team with Sam Perkins. , a veteran in the late stages of his career.

With this lineup now, both Bird and Lin Tian are very satisfied! The team has changed, but not much. The main framework has not been changed, and there is no problem with the tacit understanding between the players. As for the role players, there is also a combination of old and new, with experienced veterans and energetic newcomers!

Especially these two guys, Lewis and Harrington, have shown very good vitality and progress in training camp, and both of them are expected to officially become part of the team's rotation this year.

Bird actually has high hopes for these two guys. He hopes that they can play well. In this case, the team can use Dell Davis this year to see if they can get another one. What better fit for the player.

Even if it can't be exchanged, Davis, who is in a contract year this year, will definitely not ask for a low price during next offseason. With the Pacers' current salary situation, it is really hard to keep Davis as a substitute for a market price of 8-900 million. It's a bit luxurious.

Only if Lewis and Harrington grow up quickly can the team continue to maintain the vitality and combat effectiveness of the team's No. 4 position when Davis is likely to leave.

Another very difficult and difficult thing to decide on Bird's mind is the team's starting No. 2 position.

He fell into the troubles of happiness.

In the training camp, Carter obviously did not slack off this summer. Not only did his breakthroughs become more rapid and fierce, but his ordinary three-pointers last season also showed obvious improvement!

If it were on another team, Carter could definitely be trained to become the team's top player, but in Indiana, he obviously still has to compete for a starting position.

Because the player at the same position as him is called Reggie Miller!

Miller, who returned from injury, showed a pretty good performance. Although Bird could feel that this guy had changed his shooting posture due to his wrist injury, and his accuracy had also declined. Coupled with the issue of age, Miller was actually Putting it on the bench is the more sensible and correct choice.

But this is Indiana after all, and he is Reggie Miller after all. Putting him on the bench, Bird, who has always valued friendship, is somewhat unable to do it.

We can only take one step at a time, and as the season progresses, we will slowly study how to balance the position, time and team status of these two people.

In the training camp, Bird presided over many training games. It has to be said that Webber's arrival has indeed greatly improved the Pacers' strength!

His comprehensive offensive skills, first-pass passing skills, and best-in-class vision in the paint give the Pacers an additional top-notch ball-striking point besides Lin Tian!

This makes the Pacers' tactical system more rich and changeable, and also makes their offense more difficult to guard against!

And more importantly, although Weber's defensive ability is not very good, his sense of rebounding is very good! He can grab a lot of rebounds, and at the same time, he can find teammates who are about to go down the field the moment he grabs the rebound!

His first passing ability is definitely one of the best in the entire league! Except for Kevin Garnett, there is no third insider who can match his passing ability!

The combination of Weber's first pass and Lin Tian's fast break ability is an absolutely perfect chemical reaction! Coupled with Christie's snake oil attributes, Miller's shooting, and Carter's impact, if the Pacers want to play fast and push back with all their strength, I am afraid no team in this league can stop them.

The dual-core driver is definitely enough to disdain the entire league!

By the way, it is worth mentioning that after Lin Tian’s draft, he told Bird that he wanted several MVP-level veterans to come to the team. Just look at the Pacers’ lineup and you will know that Bird I didn't take it to heart at all and didn't do anything about it at all.

After all, Lin Tian's request was too ridiculous, and he didn't know what Lin Tian wanted such a veteran to do, so he decisively chose to ignore it.

As for Lin Tian...

Well, he actually forgot about it, but he wasn't angry at all.

Because at the end of the training camp, he took out his designated skill/talent card and tried to poke Bird.

it works!

The system obviously recognizes that the coach is also a member of the same team!

Allow Lin Tian to use this thing on Bird!

Therefore, Lin Tian no longer waited and hesitated. As for the Pacers, who else could bring Magician, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the like to the team as assistant coaches? Or can O'Neal or Kobe be traded to the team?

Obviously unrealistic!

Therefore, when Lin Tian is not planning to transfer, Bird is the best candidate for Lin Tian's card!

After returning home in the evening, Lin Tian took a bath and changed clothes, burned incense and worshiped Jesus. He muttered a few words in a very ungrateful way. He had an idea: anyway, it would be a random signature skill/talent of the other party, as long as Bird's trash-talking ability was not randomized. , I earned it with my own blood!

Anything else will do!

"Is the host sure to use the designated skill/talent extraction card on Larry Bird?"

"Sure!"

"The target has been locked on Larry Bird! Skills/Talents are being drawn..."

"The host has been successfully extracted!"

(End of this chapter)