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Chapter 277 The Real Monster

Why is it difficult to win consecutive championships in the NBA.

Because on the road to winning the championship, there will be various unexpected changes.

First of all, we must ensure that there is no major change in the team that wins the championship. This championship lineup is the foundation of a team. If the complete lineup cannot be guaranteed in the second year, then the championship is out of the question.

Secondly, it is necessary to ensure that the opponent's lineup will not pose a major threat. If the opponent forms a strong lineup, the road to winning the championship will also be difficult. This matter is out of my control.

There is also the issue of the players' mentality and state.

Before winning the championship and after winning the championship are two completely different situations. Maybe some role players will greatly improve their self-confidence, and it is also possible that some main players will completely relax.

Consummation has been achieved, money has been earned, the championship has also been won, and the status in the world and history has been obtained.

It is definitely inappropriate to speculate why the two big men didn't come, but such thoughts linger in everyone's heart. On the first day of the training camp, it got off to a bad start.

After the first day of training, George Karl got in touch with the two leaders of the team.

It turned out that Payton was trapped at his home in Jinzhou because of a flight delay, and he didn't deliberately not come to the training camp.

It was not the first time that Uncle Kan was late. After the coach said it, he agreed.

Two days later, the entire Sonics team was in place.

Compared with last year, the changes in this year's team players are very small, and all five starters are there.

Sam Perkins, Aaron Williams, and Eric Snow were also on the bench. The more powerful substitute players who left were Michael Smith, David Wingate, etc., and veteran Nate McMillan announced his retirement.

McMillan is an absolute veteran of the Sonics. Although his status in the Sonics declined sharply last season, and it can even be said to be very marginalized, everyone respects him very much.

Since being selected by the Sonics with the 86th pick in the second round of 2, McMillan has been playing for the Sonics. He has never been to other teams in his career. He has worked hard for 6 years and is a typical representative of one person, one city.

McMillan is 34 years old this year. He is actually younger than Sam Perkins. However, he had some injuries last season. In fact, his combat power has declined very obviously. After winning the championship, he simply retired.

The decommissioning ceremony was not prepared until after the formal labor negotiations ended this month.

Retiring is the most glorious moment for a player.

From the moment of being selected in the draft, the starting point of the career, to the end of the career at this moment, the end of the career, the years are silent, the years are getting old, looking back on the glory of the year, the past comes to my mind one by one.

Some people choose to retire silently and low-key, while others choose to hold a lively ceremony.

McMillan originally planned to retire in a low-key manner, but Payton and others felt that this was a major event in the history of the Sonics and that it should be done in a more glamorous manner. Therefore, they finally planned to hold McMillan's retirement ceremony in the first game of the regular season of the new season while awarding the championship ring, so as to give the veteran the greatest glory when he retires.

Rumors about Qin Fei have never stopped.

After the players meet, they also communicate in private.

For example, Peyton took the initiative to ask Qin Fei what he thought.

"I really don't know wow, I will now put all my energy into the new season's game and try to win a second championship for our Sonics."

amount

Peyton corrected: "It's the third one."

"That's right, it's the first two consecutive championships, brother, you know, two consecutive championships. Since the establishment of the NBA, there have only been so many teams that have completed two consecutive championships. As long as you complete two consecutive championships, then you are a boxing trapeze and kicking magician!"

Qin Fei's bragging made Peyton feel a little flustered.

He thought about it too, why bothering about Qin Fei's stay?Anyway, Qin Fei's rookie contract hasn't expired yet, as long as the team doesn't initiate a trade, then at least this year, Qin Fei will still stay with the Sonics.

Payton has maintained a good state since the offseason, and he still looks strong. Obviously, he did not fully let himself go during the offseason.

Kemp's figure changed a bit seriously. As soon as he joined the team, George Karl found that Kemp's body fat percentage was seriously exceeded.

George Karl was furious and mobilized several coaches to help Kemp recover.

"If you can't lose weight, don't participate in the competition!"

George Karl, who has always been relatively mild, was very strict this time, forcing Kemp, who is already a billionaire, to strictly control his diet and exercise more every day.

NBA players are beasts, and Kemp has become so fat. After two weeks of devil training, his body returned to normal level.

I don't know how much it has declined in terms of explosive power, strength, speed, etc., but on the surface it still looks like a brutalist.

In fact, this incident was reported to the outside world, which once caused controversy.

But when Kemp passed the test, the controversy naturally disappeared as soon as others saw his appearance.

Many people think that Kemp has completely degenerated after the lockout period, but this is not the case. He degenerates every offseason, but his body is really good, and he can recover every time.

What really beats him is age. This year, he is just 30 years old and can recover.

After he can't recover in any offseason, he will really be cold.

Qin Fei didn't know either, he only heard that Uncle Kan's physical talent was wasted by all kinds of drunkenness, but the exact time was unclear, and he thought it was the suspension of the year, didn't it look like it?

During the photo shoot for the new season, the three rookies greeted all the seniors.

In the middle is a very thin black teenager, somewhat silent and timid.

Rashard Lewis, a rookie selected by the SuperSonics in the second round this year.

Kemp liked this kid very much, and kept pulling Lewis to talk, and Lewis nodded frequently during Kemp's questioning.

Lewis is just 20 years old this year. He didn't go to college and came to the NBA directly from high school.

He actually wanted to go back to his hometown to play, but the Houston Rockets, which had four draft picks, did not select him in the first round, which made the boy very sad, and at one point shed tears.

The Sonics are willing to give Lewis a chance.

Lewis is the kind of long-armed striker that the Sonics like. The biggest problem is that his body is too thin, his offensive methods are not rich, and his defensive awareness is weak.

In short, aside from physical fitness, Lewis has a lot of problems.

In George Karl's lineup, Lewis is now ranked second to last, not even like Gerald McCony, who was selected in the second round. At least McCony's weight is there, and the defensive end is a little more reliable.

The Sonics have no old players who like to tease rookies. The only one who is "high-spirited" to rookies may be Payton, but Payton has a loud voice, and he looks like he wants to quarrel with anyone he talks to.

Payton is the new FMVP, the boss of the team, and the best point guard in the 90s. Who dares to refuse to accept that he should lift his shoes and buy water and water. He is very busy.

"Give our Qin a towel."

Peyton arranged for the young man to do something again.

"No, no, I'll do it myself."

Qin Fei quickly stood up, he didn't have the habit of letting people do things for him, if he could do it himself, he would never bother others.

Qin Fei is really easy to get in touch with, so the relationship between the three rookies and Qin Fei is pretty good.

The best relationship may be the first-round pick, the last reported Georgia center Vladimir Stepanya.

The 23-year-old Fora is the first NBA player selected in the history of Georgia. He has leopard eyes and a tiger beard. Judging from his appearance, he is very fierce.

But no matter how fierce he is, he is only a rookie now.

Like Lewis, Vladimir had no residence when he first came to Seattle, and his agent was slow. Qin Fei helped them contact the residence, which moved them both and kept this good deed in their hearts.

A few days later, in the name of meeting new players, Qin Fei made a heads-up appointment with them respectively.

Although they were very tired after the heads-up, they had nothing to say about Qin Fei's skills. They couldn't defend him in the heads-up!

"The first lesson I want to tell you is that in the NBA, there will be all kinds of dislocations. You may be facing an outside player. There are many ways for outside players to attack. At that time, you will encounter a one-on-one situation. How to limit outside players in one-on-one is what every inside player should learn, especially a team like ours that likes to switch defenses."

Qin Fei won the heads-up, sucked attributes, and let him say all the good things. The three rookies were very grateful for this.

Advice from seniors!

Senior is really easy to talk to!

He's really a nice guy

Before Lewis came to the Sonics, he had many fantasies about the NBA.

He thought there would be a formal meeting, and the players would be polite, and then the coach would make a formal introduction, so that they could get to know each other, and then join the team to start training.

I didn't expect the first step to be so difficult. No one regarded the three of them as pot dishes, so Qin Fei seemed to be easy to talk to, and everyone else seemed to be indifferent to answers.

too difficult

It is even more difficult when the team is training intensively.

In Lewis's first training session, he faced veteran Sam Perkins.

Perkins would not be polite to a rookie in the second round. He came up with a shoulder, then turned around and elbowed him. Lewis gave way in pain, and the opponent easily hit the rebound and shot.

"Isn't this a foul?"

Lewis glanced helplessly at the assistant coach who was in charge of whistleblowing.

"Is this a foul?"

The assistant coach glared at Lewis.

The two communicated silently, and Lewis's three views collapsed.

This is training, brother, there is no need to be so aggressive, right?

Lewis rubbed his aching chest, gritted his teeth and ran forward.

The NBA's offensive and defensive rhythm is too fast. He only took one look at the assistant coach, and his teammates had already rushed to the frontcourt, and before he came to the ground to play tactics, his teammates had already "slapped" two dribbles, and shot against the defense.

"Isn't this fucking a wave cast?"

Lewis complained endlessly in his heart, and as expected, he failed to make the goal.

There was a bang, and he had no time to grab the rebound, but the opponent easily accepted it.

But something happened that broke his three views again. The head coach George Karl, who was watching the game, actually applauded and said "good shot"!

Is this wave shot a good shot?

Lewis was dumbfounded, and when he looked back, several main players of the red team rushed over like tigers, including Qin Fei, who he had contacted before.

Qin Fei's speed was too fast. When he turned his head, he was still a few steps away from him, but he ran ahead of him in the blink of an eye.

Lewis was very confused on the court, not knowing which player he should defend.

But the opponent had already sent the ball at this time. Qin Fei, who had just stepped into the three-point line, received the ball in front of Lewis, then glanced at Lewis, and directly hit the basket.

Lewis gritted his teeth and rushed over, ready to seal Qin Fei.

Qin Fei suddenly slowed down in the second step.

hey hey?

Lewis couldn't stop the car and hit Qin Fei directly.

Is this also slowed down?

Lewis was about to collapse. The opponent seemed to have lost his balance due to his impact, but he threw it crookedly, and the basketball hit the basket and went into the basket.

"beep--"

The whistle sounded and Lewis was called for a foul.

Lewis:

"Don't be so soft, don't let him layup so easily if you want to foul!" When Sam Perkins passed by Lewis, he gave advice as an old-timer. This may be the second player to give Lewis advice.

But Lewis was so dumbfounded that everyone else was knocked to the side by him. Is this still an easy layup?

On the sidelines, the assistant coaches were laughing. Every year when a rookie enters the team, it is very funny.

Bob Withey felt that Lewis still had some advantages.

"The speed and reaction are very fast. In the third and fourth positions, it should be considered relatively fast, but the confrontation is not good, and the playing is not smart enough."

"You can't ask for more, he's just a 20-year-old."

"Look at what you said, isn't there a 21-year-old young man in the team? When he was 20, he was much smarter than this."

"Don't compare someone who has played in a professional league with a rookie who just graduated, this is not equal in itself."

The assistant coaches who talked a lot are actually more interested in Lewis.

The three new rookie insiders have their own characteristics. Relatively speaking, Lewis is the most consistent with the characteristics of the Sonics.

The last time the Supersonics chose a high school insider, they still chose Kemp!

"Move faster and run!"

Qin Fei and Lewis said loudly.

"Yes!"

Lewis echoed, and ran forward with his head covered.

He was actually quite puzzled. Didn't he say that in the new season, many NBA teams will play offensive positions? Why did the Sonics do the opposite and prepare to run and bomb?

"That's the normal offense for the Sonics."

Lewis thought about it just now, and Sam Perkins said it in his ear, as if he had read what he was thinking.

Hell, are there mind readers?

Lewis was so frightened that he quickly shook his head, not daring to think about it anymore, lest the bank card password be read by others.

This is indeed the normal offense of the Supersonics, but the fast break has always occupied a relatively high proportion of the normal offense of the Supersonics, and a student player like him who has just been promoted from high school may feel that the pace is fast after experiencing ordinary NBA team training, let alone the top-level Supersonics in the NBA.

On the other side, the players were surprised by Qin Fei since the new season.

After a summer, Qin Fei's various abilities have undergone new changes. The last time they fought side by side was half a year ago.

Qin Fei's arsenal has become more comprehensive, not only the mid-range step-back jumper, but also the rhythm of attacking the basket has become more varied, and he even has more skills in throwing shots.

No one in the Supersonic team can defend Qin Fei. The only one who can defend Qin Fei is Payton, but Payton basically plays on the same team as Qin Fei and helps Qin Fei share the offensive pressure. How can he defend Qin Fei.

"The feel of the shot is better and the movement is more consistent."

Bob Weixi is the first assistant coach who studied Qin Fei. He only watched half of the training, and he knew that Qin Fei's improvement and breakthrough this time was not small, and he solved many of Qin Fei's previous imperfections on the offensive end.

A talented player is not scary, and a player who is good at using his talent is not scary. A player who can slowly make up for his talent is the real monster.

(End of this chapter)