NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Duncan announced his departure from Orlando just a few days after Lin Tian confirmed his joining the Knicks. During his four years in Orlando, Duncan did not have a smooth time. The team was always invincible in the regular season, but the playoffs were terrible and were always upset by other teams.

Duncan has also been dubbed by many as a "regular season star" and a "playoff softie".

After Garnett successfully broke through the Western Conference and reached the finals this season, Garnett, who was as soft as Duncan in both the East and the West, got rid of the label of a softie.

Only Duncan was left.

So this offseason, Duncan resolutely left Orlando!

There are also many teams that have been rumored to be interested in him. The teams that are pursuing him most fiercely are the Pacers, who just lost Lin Tian, ​​and his old team, the Spurs.

However, for various reasons, Duncan rejected both teams one after another. In the end, Duncan chose another team that had been coveting him for a long time and had tried its best to get him in the 1997 draft but failed in the end.

Boston Celtics!
This year's Celtics can definitely be said to have turned around overnight. They were struggling for a playoff spot last season, but not only did they get the second pick by luck, they also encountered Jordan's stupidity, and now they have gotten something for nothing by using the space to sign Duncan directly!
Overnight, they had the twin star combination of Pierce and Duncan, and the team also had Howard, a super star with unlimited hope and possibilities.

This time, Auerbach stopped scolding Stern.

The old man was so excited that he even lit another cigar.

His health has taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent years, and his health has become more and more of a problem for him, so the old man has quit drinking and smoking in the past two years.

But on the night when Duncan was signed, Auerbach couldn't help but smoke a cigar excitedly.

With Duncan leaving, Hill's health status next season unknown, and the team not having a high draft pick, McGrady no longer wanted to stay with the Magic, but his contract was still underway, so he applied for a trade.

He asked the team to trade him, otherwise he would not renew his contract with the team after it expires.

At this point, the team that the Magic had been building since 00, which had unlimited possibilities, was hailed by countless people as the "Galaxy Battleship" and was capable of carrying the league to the finale, and once had the super four giants of Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Karl Malone and Tim Duncan, has disappeared.

The results they left behind were absolutely terrible. They were defeated in the seventh, eighth and sixth rounds. Let alone the championship, they didn't even win a few series.

How glorious it was when the army was formed, how miserable and sad it is now when it is disbanded.

However, we still have to wait and see where McGrady will go. It is not easy to find the next home for this top scorer in the league in the short term.

Fortunately, McGrady's contract is long enough, and the Magic have plenty of time to deal with this matter.

Another is Alonzo Mourning. This indomitable fighter made a brief comeback last season, but after playing less than 20 games, he was attacked by kidney disease again and had to announce his season was over again.

But when the offseason came, this guy who refused to give in announced his comeback once again!
He can still fight, he will continue to fight!
He will continue with the contract he signed with the Nets last year, and he will continue to fight for the championship!

In addition, the Spurs, who unfortunately missed the playoffs last season, got the talented No. 2 pick JR Smith in the draft, and then they also made a trade.

The team sent Zach Randolph, the team's inside pillar last season who averaged 20+10 per game, to Portland.

They traded for Chris Bosh, a face-up power forward who performed well last season and had excellent shooting ability, and point guard Damon Stoudemire, as well as a 2005 lottery-protected first-round draft pick.

If Portland wins the lottery in 05, then the pick will be carried forward to 06 and become top-5 protected. If Portland is in the top five in 06, then the pick will be carried forward to 07 and become an unprotected pick.

The Spurs found a young power forward who can shoot and run pick-and-rolls for James, and also found the experienced Damon Stoudamire, a former talented guard who entered the league with Lin Tian.

Obviously, the Spurs' goal for next season is to at least make the playoffs!

As for the reason why the Spurs traded Randolph, there are many different opinions. Some say that they saw the potential of Bosh, some say that they saw the experience of Stoudemire, and some say that Randolph had a mediocre relationship with James and was unwilling to play pick-and-roll for James and only wanted to play one-on-one in the low post.

But no matter what the reason, the Spurs are on the road again!

Apart from these positions, there are currently no big fish in the free market, or any particularly explosive transfers or trades.

There is nothing worth talking about in the player market, but there is in the coaching position!

The Knicks' previous coach Don Cheney was ultimately unable to stay with the team, but he was originally just a temporary coach used by Dolan as a transitional coach. Dolan took a fancy to him because he asked for less, had a short contract, and was easy to control.

If he is fired now, no one will think Dolan did anything wrong.

After all, Lin is here!
Then, less than a week after Dolan fired Don Cheney, the Knicks' new head coach was announced.

'Mad scientist' Don Nelson has been unemployed at home for a year!
It is said that this guy recommended himself. After the Knicks signed Lin Tian, ​​he came to the team with a thick stack of tactical notes and expressed his hope to become the head coach of the Knicks.

Dolan respected Lin Tian's opinion enough. He called Lin Tian and asked him what he thought of the old man and whether he wanted to have a chat with old Nelson.

Unexpectedly, Lin Tian was so straightforward. He nodded directly, indicating that it was him!
Things were much simpler afterwards. The veterans who had conflicts with old Nelson had retired long ago, and the only one still on the team was Charlie Ward. But Ward was not the kind of person who held grudges or caused trouble, and he did not raise any objections when old Nelson became the coach.

As for Ewing, Oakley and other team veterans, it was just a minor conflict about 10 years ago, and everyone has almost forgotten it.

Now that the team is expected to revive, they naturally won't have any objections.

After officially announcing Nelson, the Knicks did not make much moves in the free market. For the time being, they still want to play with the existing lineup and see what happens.

Of course, if Lin Tian is not satisfied with the lineup and wants to change some players, Dolan will definitely not hesitate and will directly say without blinking: No one in the team is not for sale.

The Knicks, who did not make any moves in the free market, did not lose too many players within the team. They renewed the contracts of minimum-salary players such as Matt Barnes at low prices, used a three-year, $3 million contract to keep Houston, a team hero who had suffered consecutive serious injuries, and then gave Ward a three-year, $1200 million contract.

Simply put, it is about making minor repairs to keep the team stable.

Then, let’s fight first!

That’s pretty much what happened in the NBA during the offseason.

But in the international arena, this group of people went all out!
"The strongest dream team in history? How do they compare to the Dream Team 1?"

《All troops attack! Elite troops assemble! The dream team is determined to win the world championship that has been lost for 8 years! 》

"No more world championships since 1996! American basketball has lost all its face!"

"The Redemption Team! This Dream Team focuses on redemption!"

《From the head coach to the players, the US team has put out the strongest lineup they can! 》

"Sniper China! The head coach of the Dream Team admitted in an interview that he is the challenger this time!"

"Finally lowering their heads and putting aside their fearless pride, can the Dream Team re-establish their position as the king of the world?"

"We are ready! Here are the five biggest rivals the US team will take revenge on this year!"

.........

You can tell from these reports and media headlines how confident they are this time!

Because as the above articles said, this time the American team really put out all their strength and all their elite troops!

Head coach: Larry Bird!

Assistant coaches: Rick Carlisle, Reggie Miller, Jeff Van Gundy, Kevin McHale

Center: Shaquille O'Neal, Emeka Okafor

Power forward: Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal

Small forward: Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Rashard Lewis

Shooting guard: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Michael Redd
Point guard: Jason Kidd, Baron Davis
Although this lineup includes several young players, it also includes the best center, best power forward, best shooting guard, best point guard, best one-on-one defender, best shooter, and best scorer in the league today...

Simply put, if you don't count Wade and Okafor, two young men who are obviously here to gild their resume and experience the atmosphere of international competitions, you basically can't find better people than the remaining 10!

Yes, top stars such as Iverson and Duncan were not selected, but Iverson and Duncan were both participants in the extremely unsuccessful Dream Team in 02. Both of them proved that they were not very suitable for participating in FIBA ​​competitions.

It is quite normal and understandable that they were not selected.

At least after this year's roster of players was released, almost everyone thinks: This is the strongest lineup the United States can currently come up with!

At the same time, the coaching staff is also quite strong. Although Bird was the head coach for only three years, he left many records that are difficult for later generations to surpass. It is just that he coached for too short a time and lost interest in coaching too early. Otherwise, he would definitely be a strong contender for the GOAT in the coaching world.

Among the three assistant coaches, Carlisle is responsible for offense, Van Gundy is responsible for defense, Miller teaches shooters how to shoot, and McHale teaches the team various small techniques inside.

More importantly, among the four assistant coaches, three are Bird's absolute descendants and have a very good relationship with him. Although Van Gundy is not Bird's direct descendant, everyone knows how obsessed with winning this small coach is. He can definitely work with the other four to create the most suitable offensive and defensive system for the current US team.

This lineup, which is considered the strongest lineup today from the coaching staff to the players, if they still can't win, then I really don't know who to blame.

Blame Lin Tian and Hua Xia for being too strong?

How shameless must one be to say such a thing.

However, many Americans are certain of one thing.

That is, if such a team cannot beat Lin Tian and his Chinese team this year, then if they want to regain the world championship, they will have to wait until Lin Tian retires or ages.

If they lose again this year, no matter how proud Americans are, they will have to lower their heads and admit it.

In basketball, their best sport, they were beaten by Lin Tian and the Huaxia team, completely beaten!
The Chinese team is still very confident that they can beat the American team!

They are filled with extreme self-confidence from top to bottom, and they believe that this time the victory will still belong to them!

The track and field team also has the same confidence as the Huaxia team.

Especially the sprinting part!

Yu Weili has two trump cards in his hand this year!

Lin Tian, ​​who dominated the 100-meter race, is undoubtedly the number one favorite to win the 100-meter sprint. All the contestants this year are challengers. Many people even think that Lin Tian, ​​known as the '100-meter Caesar', is not here to compete for the championship this year, he is here to break his own record!
After all, at least up to now, let alone surpassing it, no one in this world can come close to the number that Lin Tian ran, no one!
Lin Tian's world record of 9.59 was like an insurmountable gap, separating Lin Tian and all the other sprinters into two parts.

Two parts that are totally not on the same level!

After all, who made it so that after Lin Tian's 9.59, until now, there has not been a single person in the world sprinting world who can run 9.8? 0.2 seconds may seem like a fleeting moment, but in a sprinting arena, it is an insurmountable gap!
In addition to Lin Tian, ​​Yu Weili’s second trump card is Liu Xiang!
Throughout 04, Liu Xiang has demonstrated extremely excellent and perfect competitive form. He has become the brightest new star in the 110-meter hurdles event and is also one of the strong contenders for this year's Olympic gold medal!

If these two people can win gold medals, then this year's Chinese track and field team will really set many records at once and achieve at least two breakthroughs of zero!

Yu Weili is now so proud and confident!

God help me! I thought that being able to train a Liu Xiang was already a great success, but I never expected that there would be another Lin Tian!
What kind of luck is this?
The exact opposite of Yu Weili are those from the boxing team.

Wang Guojun and Li Qingsheng were full of complaints.

This year Lin Tian couldn't help them with boxing.

Because the fight between Lin Tian and Tyson was recognized as a professional match by the International Boxing Federation, even though it was just an exhibition match and did not involve the fight for a gold belt or anything like that, and even the two men did not fight according to boxing rules, but people still recognized it as a professional match. Who made you take the appearance fee?

If you have played in professional games, you are a professional player.

If you are a professional player, you cannot participate in the competition!
Li Qingsheng complained and protested many times, and argued for a long time, hoping to get Lin Tian to come back and play again, but unfortunately, every protest and complaint fell on deaf ears. Finally, with the approach of the Olympics and the end of all the qualifying competitions, the two could only accept reality.

.........

On the evening of August 8, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games officially began!
It is worth mentioning that Lin Tian once again refused the honor of being appointed as the flag bearer.

His reason this time was that he had a shoulder injury and could not hold up the flag, which would affect the subsequent games.

Although everyone knows that this guy is talking nonsense, there is nothing we can do about it. Who can blame him for his good grades, high popularity, and high status?
The world's number one player in popular events, he led his team to win two consecutive world championships.

At this moment, Lin Tian didn't even want to carry the flag. Even if he said he didn't want to attend the opening ceremony and wanted to sleep in the Olympic Village, the higher-ups would consider it and agree!

I still say that, you have good grades, especially in two events, and these two events are among the most watched events in the Olympics. If you don't want to be a flag bearer, then don't be one.

So... Yao Ming happily became the flag bearer.

However, this guy obviously didn't know that Lin Tian had refused to be the flag bearer before he accepted it, so Yao Ming felt embarrassed and walked over to apologize to Lin Tian.

"Brother Lin, do you want to be the flag bearer? They chose me, otherwise I will refuse and give it to you."

Look...it's just like swearing!
Do I, Mr. Lin, need you to give me what I want?

Anyway, Lin Tian gave Yao Ming a kick and told him not to add to his drama.

Compared to the flag bearer, Lin Tian was more curious about whether he had any special play in Greece, an ancient and mysterious place with countless legends and history, a holy place in the hearts of countless people, and the origin and symbol of Western culture?
For example, some Athena cosplay, Trojan Horse, or Forgiveness of the Dawn Goddess?

if so……

Let’s communicate!
Lin Tian has always been curious and eager about the customs and cultures of various parts of the world.

The main focus is on being willing to blend in with cultures from all over the world.

However, this time Lin Tian miscalculated. It was not that the customs and culture of Athens disappointed him, but that he underestimated his popularity in Greece.

This city located at the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, like most countries in the entire Balkan region, loves basketball very much. The people here love basketball as much as football.

Therefore, it is not difficult to guess what kind of treatment Lin Tian will encounter in Athens.

On the first day the team arrived in Athens, he still thought about going out for a walk.

Unfortunately, from the moment Lin Tian set out on the road, there were countless video cameras, cameras, and mobile phones pointed at him. Although he was not directly surrounded by a group of people, causing traffic jams or paralysis, the Greek people still used their meticulous and ubiquitous gazes and salutes to forcibly change Lin Tian's route.

Even someone as thick-skinned as Lin Tian couldn't suddenly sneak into some brothel when there were hundreds of people staring at him and following him at all times.

Think about it, if Lin Tian really did this, what would newspapers all over Greece write about it the next day?
"Caesar conquers Greece again! Lin Tian bombards Athens!"

"Athens fell! Lin Tian conquered Athens in 2 hours and 18 minutes!"

"How did it feel? Lin praised the experience after coming out of the room and said he would come again next year!"

"With his heart pounding and his clothes in disarray, Lin Dian Dian's first stop turned out to be here!"

"Hong Romance thanks Caesar for coming to guide the work in person and said that Lin will be upgraded to a permanent VVIP and will always be given a 50% discount!"

hiss……

Terrible!
Lin Tian can’t afford to lose this person anyway, so whoever can afford to lose this person, let him go!
I, Mr. Lin, can only visit places like the Parthenon, the Acropolis, and the Temple of Zeus and take some photos. After all, I can't just go back like this, right?

However, Lin Tian's understanding of his own popularity is still a little off.

Because on the evening of the opening ceremony, when Lin Tian and the Chinese delegation walked into the stadium together, the camera on the scene couldn't wait to find Lin Tian and focus on him.

The tens of thousands of spectators at the scene immediately burst into tremendous cheers and shouts.

The shouts of 'MVP' resounded throughout Athens!

Such a loud noise even scared Lin Tian himself.

Faced with the camera almost touching his face, Lin Tian could only choose to keep posing, smiling, and making gestures to show that he received everyone's enthusiasm.

Then?

Then Lin Tian's face froze. He felt that the camera and the big screen on the scene had been dangling in front of his face for at least one minute.

Finally, it was estimated that the next team had already appeared, and it was inappropriate to continue filming the Chinese team, so the camera reluctantly left Lin Tian and went to film the team after the Chinese team.

Lin Tian didn't know if there was any relevant Guinness World Record. If there was, Lin Tian felt that he could become the 'athlete with the longest exclusive close-up time in the history of the Olympic opening ceremony.'

He really used all the poses and smiles. If the camera hadn't moved away, Lin Tian would have subconsciously raised his middle finger.

Because all the fingers that can be extended and posed have been shown, only the middle finger is left useless.

.........

After this little episode, starting from the next day, 202 athletes from 11099 countries and regions will fight hard for a total of 28 major events and 301 minor events in order to win a medal for their country or create a new record.

The Chinese team was placed in Group B in the Olympic basketball competition, together with Spain, New Zealand, Italy, Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro.

This group is full of old friends. Spain has Gasol, Argentina has Ginobili, and Serbia and Montenegro were still called Yugoslavia in the last World Championships, and they fought hard with the Chinese team in the final.

But this time they can only be called Serbia and Montenegro, and many players in their team have become players from Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and other countries, and can no longer compete together.

Simply put, in this group stage, the Chinese team is far ahead!
In other words, except for the American team from the next group, which sent out all its forces, the other teams are not on the same level as the Chinese team!
In the first match of the group stage, the Chinese team defeated New Zealand, the weakest opponent in the group, by 110 points with a score of 64:46, and easily got off to a good start.

Then the Chinese team was in great form in the second game, defeating their strongest opponent in the group, Spain, by 101 points with a score of 70:31. In this game, Yao Ming also scored 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, and beat his partner Gasol in the Nets.

Then the Chinese team finally encountered some difficulties in the group stage. Facing the Argentine team led by the golden generation of Ginobili, Scola, Oberto and others, the Chinese team only led the opponent by 7 points in the first two quarters. The two sides fought back and forth in the first half!
Ginobili, who returned from injury, performed bravely, scoring 16 points and 6 assists in the first half of the game. He was the number one contributor to Argentina's close score.

But in the second half, when the Chinese team changed their defensive position and let Lin Tian defend Ginobili, and after Lin Tian defended Ginobili throughout the court, Ginobili's efficiency and influence on the game immediately took a sharp turn for the worse.

整个第三节，吉诺比利4投0中只靠着罚球拿到2分，只送出1个助攻的同时还有3个失误入账！
When the team leader and the core player played like this, Argentina naturally could not put on any good performance in this quarter. They were only 7 points behind in the first half, but they lost 14 points in this quarter and were already 21 points behind at the end of the third quarter.

The suspense of the game almost ended. Although Argentina caught up with some points in the second half of the fourth quarter when the Chinese team replaced the main players with role players, it was no longer relevant to the overall situation.

108: 99!

The Chinese team narrowly escaped any danger and defeated Argentina with a 9-point advantage!
After winning consecutive games against two strong teams, Spain and Argentina, the Chinese team basically secured first place in the group. After that, they defeated Italy and the fragmented Serbia and Montenegro with a huge advantage of more than 30 points.

The Huaxia team won all five group matches, scoring over 5 points in each game and beating their opponents by an average of 100 points per game!
They are the undisputed kings of this group!
But he is only the king of the group.

Because in the next group, the strongest dream team also beat their opponents to a pulp!
This inspirational revenge-seeking American team also won all five games, and their average net score over their opponents reached 5 points per game! This score ranks first among all the Dream Teams! It surpassed the Dream Team's average of 44.6 points per game!
Considering the rapid progress of world basketball in the past 12 years, the strength of this Dream Team is probably not much inferior to that of the Dream Team !

At least judging from the group stage, this team really deserves the title of 'Redemption Team' and 'Strongest Team'!

There are even some media and fans who are looking for trouble and have directly named this team the Dream Team II!
They’ve kicked out the past few teams.

Except for the Dream Team I and this 'Dream Team II', all the remaining teams are just American teams.

At the same time, almost all fans are looking forward to the peak showdown between the American team and the Chinese team!

These two teams, which are ranked first in their respective groups, will meet again in the final unless there is an upset or loss in the knockout stage!

This is the first time the two teams meet again after 4 years.

Four years ago, the Chinese team was a challenger that no one was optimistic about. Today, four years later, the challenger has become the dream team!

When the atmosphere has been built up to this point, when everyone wants to watch another peak showdown, both the Dream Team and the Chinese Team will naturally not disappoint the fans and everyone!

At the same time, the Chinese team, which was suppressed by the United States team in terms of goal difference in the group stage, went all out in the knockout stage!

It seemed as if they were going to have a long-distance showdown with the American team!
Before meeting, you must make every effort to gain the advantage in momentum!
In this way, the teams that compete against the United States and China will become the unlucky ones.

In the quarterfinals, the Chinese team defeated Puerto Rico in the first match, defeating the Puerto Ricans led by Arroyo. In the end, the Chinese team defeated Puerto Rico by 55 points, winning their biggest victory since this Olympics!
Then the American team next door was merciless, facing the Italians, they not only scored 120 points, but also suppressed the Italians' score to only 61 points, a big win of 59 points!
Then in the semi-finals, the Chinese team met their group stage opponent Spain again. This time they beat Spain even worse. Lin Tian scored the highest 44 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals in this Olympics, leading the team to a 44-point win over Spain!
But this time, the American team failed to keep up with the Chinese team.

Facing the strongest Argentina in history, the US team fought with their opponents for three full quarters, and at the end of the third quarter they only led by 3 points.

Even in the fourth quarter, Ginobili and Delfino made two 3-pointers from the left and right, narrowing the gap to 7 points!
That is, the US team finally raised its intensity again in the subsequent games, and brought out a five-man team of Kidd, Kobe, Battier, Artest and Garnett, playing a full-court press!
Thanks to the crazy defense and full-court fighting of these five players, the Argentine team finally couldn't hold on. They didn't score a single point in the next 6 minutes and were blasted by a 1:15 offensive frenzy by the American team.

The US team thus secured the victory, but they ultimately only beat Argentina by 27 points.

In the long-distance confrontation with the Chinese team, the American team was temporarily at a disadvantage.

But obviously, this only made the American team's popularity before the final slightly lower than that of the Chinese team.

These two teams finally met in the finals!
The peak battle between China and the United States is about to begin! (End of this chapter)