NBA: Magic Johnson opens the season, crowned MOP

On the afternoon of November 29, all the Spurs players who had just arrived in Miami were tired because of the back-to-back games, especially the older Duncan and Manu. The back-to-back away games in the league regular season are definitely an inhumane competition system, and it is the most unfriendly to the Spurs, a team with a serious aging structure.

So for the game five hours later, Popovich decided to spend some money and led the Spurs players to the best professional sports health center in Miami, giving each person a one-hour liquid nitrogen chamber massage.

Relaxation before the big game is very necessary. The Spurs' current good locker room atmosphere and harmonious relationships between players are also difficult for other teams to achieve. The coquettish"French Magician" even asked the clerk if he could provide other services, and was almost kicked out by the clerk as a hooligan.

This little episode also relieved a lot of psychological and physical fatigue for Duncan and others.

As night falls, the lights gradually light up in Miami Long Beach, and people come and go. Fans wearing Heat jerseys, carrying various basketball symbols and handmade cheering items begin to pour into the American Airlines Center.

Miami is an important international metropolis on the south coast of the United States, and it is also the second largest city in Florida.

It plays an important role in the financial, commercial, media, entertainment, art and international trade industries in the United States.

The total population of this city exceeds 5.6 million, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the United States. It also has a large basketball market in the United States, second only to New York and Los Angeles.

The Heat, a team with three Eastern Conference championships and two O'Brien Cups, is also the most watched and most popular professional team in the NBA!

At 7:40 p.m., the Heat will host their 17th regular season opponent, the San Antonio Spurs.

Before the game, ESPN's famous reporter Britt McHenry, a beautiful and intelligent female reporter, got a chance to interview the Heat players privately.

Britt McHenry:"For tonight's game, are you confident that you can keep the victory at home?"

Sitting in the locker room, Dwyane Wade, with a big gold chain around his neck, looked cool:

"Nothing is more interesting to me than delivering a victory to the fans watching the game.……"

LeBron James:

"You know, the Spurs are a veteran Western Conference team. They have four championships and a strong culture of winning. Their star player, Tim Duncan... Yeah, you know, he's a very good basketball player! And Tony, Manu……"

Always praising his opponent to the skies, the next words of the greatest vice-GOAT in NBA history made people deeply appreciate his confidence as the best player in the league:

"But no matter what kind of opponent we face, I believe that victory will always belong to Miami!"

The domineering speech immediately fascinated the thousands of Heat fans who were watching the live broadcast.

They held huge cheering banners, painted their faces with all kinds of paint, and walked through the streets and alleys of Miami, showing off the Heat No. 6 jersey that made him feel extremely proud.……

"Victory always belongs to Miami!"

This sentence was shown to countless fans across the United States through the TV broadcast camera.

At this moment, even if some of them were not Heat fans, they could not help but feel excited by the domineering statement of the owner of this sentence!

This is the charm of the league's No. 1 player at this time-LeBron James! It has to be admitted that even ten years later, due to various off-court factors and excessive publicity from his own team, this superstar's"passerby popularity" among the fan community is extremely poor.

But at this time, the name"LeBron James" represents the NBA's greatest commercial value and box office guarantee!

Joey looked outside the bus that was gradually driving into the Heat's home court. Those fanatical and devout Heat fans surrounded the entire American Airlines Center. Even the electronic screen in the square outside the court was filled with crowds of fans...

Even if he had lived two lives, he couldn't help but be shocked by this crazy and thick basketball atmosphere. At the same time, the name that the fans shouted the loudest was...——"LeBron James"……

For the first time, the thought"A real man should be like this" came to Joey's mind!

——————

"Hey, rookie, don't be nervous!"

As soon as he entered the arena, facing the already crowded audience seats, Manu seemed to see that something was wrong with Joey today.

He put his arm around the latter's shoulders and tried to ease his nervousness with kind words:

"There is nothing to be afraid of. Miami's home court has indeed been the least friendly place in the league for away teams in recent years, but what does it matter?"

"Didn't you give their star player a good beating at Staples? Relax.……"

Manu's words did not cause any reaction from Joey, but Tony Parker, who was preparing to warm up with the help of the staff, rolled his eyes speechlessly after hearing it:

Lesson?

Look at this rookie fighting more professionally than playing basketball, that is really called"lesson", but not the lesson on the court, but the lesson that should appear on the ring...

Howard, lying in the most famous private hospital in Los Angeles:

I think so too! How can a basketball player fight more professionally than playing basketball?

Forty-five minutes later, as the referee blew the whistle, Bosh and Duncan jumped the ball.

The two are equally matched. I really envy Bosh for having the same"bounce" as the 36-year-old Duncan at such a young age.

The Heat fought for the first attack!

The starting point guard of the Heat, Mario Chalmers, controlled the ball across half court and immediately handed it to James, and then took the Spurs' Parker to the high right position according to the tactical running position.

The Heat's lineup advantage is very obvious, that is, the firepower of the backcourt and outside line combination is the best in the league. Therefore, in the Heat's games, people often see James and Wade taking turns to exert their strength. The ball is basically in their hands. As long as one of them can lead the team to play a wave of climax offense, then relying on the point difference advantage and the help defense on the front line (3-2) can always limit the opponent team to a low score.

At the same time, their weakness is also easy to see through, that is, the weakness of the inside line.

Popovich, who regards the Heat as a big enemy, is very clear about this, so at the beginning of the game, he asked Danny Green to decisively put down the defensive player and double-team James.

In this game, Leonard was promoted to the starting lineup in order to limit James on the offensive end.

Seeing that Green on the weak side decisively chose to double-team the ball holder, James did not choose to force the attack, and quickly passed the ball to Chalmers in the high position. Bosh had already come up to cover.

Defending pick-and-roll has always been the weakness of the French sports car. He failed to switch in the first time, and Chalmers had an open shot——

""Bang!"

Unfortunately, he missed his first shot after coming on the court. Duncan protected the rebound and Parker pushed for a counterattack.

When Duncan got into position, the latter quickly signaled to play tactics.

The Heat did not dare to neglect it.

Fearing the Spurs' military-like tactical cooperation, they played a 2-3 zone defense.

With a crotch rhythm, he shook off Chalmers.

Parker retreated to prepare for a shot.

Chalmers rushed over, but Parker was just pretending to pray.

He quickly broke into the basket.

James, who was in a high position on the side, rushed out halfway and wanted to steal the basketball.

The French sports car did not give him a chance with a small jump shot.

Facing Haslem's backup defense in the interior, he made a jump shot!

Parker used tactical gestures to deceive the entire Heat team and used his strong personal singles ability to take the lead for the team.

2:0.

In the next round, James, who gradually developed his back to the basket, played against Leonard. Under the double team of Duncan and Leonard, he passed the ball to Wade in the bottom corner.——

""Swish!"

Uncle Wei broke through Green's defense and scored from mid-range in one step inside the three-point line.

The Spurs' offensive round was unfavorable. Duncan's back-turn was intercepted by James who came to assist in defense, and the Heat quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

Wei Jiu received the pass from James, pushed through Dio's defense, and made a strong"2+1"!

"So fast?!"

Joey on the bench frowned. The whole process should take less than 5 seconds, right?

Damn!

Dio, who was pushed out of the baseline, pounded the floor in frustration. After being pulled up by his teammates, he indicated that he should be more decisive and pull Wade down directly.

Duncan touched his head and said it was okay.

In fact, if the peak"French Magician" had scored this goal, Dio, who was also one of the core members of the"Flying Bombardment Team - Suns" back then, would not have been able to block Wade's shot, at least he would not have been able to make a good shot like"2+1" for him.

You have to know that Dio at that time was not the flexible fat man now. Back then, he easily defeated the little bully Stoudemire in slippers and became the team's tallest"bouncing monster".

Being able to play five positions off the court and defend from one to five is not just talking about"AK—47" and James, and this"French magician" who always scores 10+5+5.

Wade scored the free throw.

The camera on the court was now focused on the silver-haired old man in the VIP box, who was dressed in a suit and had a backcombed hair like the Godfather.

Pat Riley, one of the few Hall of Fame champion coaches in NBA history who can stand on equal footing with Popovich and Red Cardinal, created the Lakers'"Show Time" era, the Heat's two consecutive championships.

He and Popovich looked at each other from a distance, and the two legendary coaches seemed to have reached some kind of ideological convergence at this moment. They were both foxes of a thousand years, and they understood each other better than anyone else.

Joey looked at Coach Spoelstra on the opposite side, and he could actually guess the Heat's offensive and defensive tactics today.

Popovich could naturally see it.

The Heat's lineup is very strange. There is no traditional center guarding the basket, so being blown up and weak inside defense are very serious consequences.

I believe that many team coaches can see this, but few teams can hit their"pain points".

Why?

In Popovich's words, their strong perimeter defense is enough to make it difficult for the perimeter players of any current NBA team to even enter the paint area. When top breakthrough players like Parker, Westbrook, and Durant finally break through the defense of their opponents, they will find that there are Wade, James, Battier, Haslem... and even Juwan Howard, these forward-sized defensive players waiting for you.

So far, the Heat's average points lost in the paint area are only 17.7 points per game, which is second in the league, second only to the Memphis Grizzlies, who will lose a layer of skin when they meet.

No one really thinks that it is thanks to Wu Huang's"CBA teammate" Chris Bosh, right?

And their oppressive defensive counterattack after the outside blockade is also one of the team's top"killer moves".

Because no team in the league today has a more efficient outside combination than LeBron James and Wade in attacking the basket.

If there is, it is in a dream...