I'm not really a role player

Chapter 242 The New Knight in the Opening Match
Time quickly came to October 10, the day when the 30-2008 NBA season opened.

The Bobcats arrived in Cleveland after a two-hour flight from Charlotte.

As soon as the plane landed, Li Ke felt the excitement of the new season.

In the terminal of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, there is a huge poster hanging. The protagonist of the poster is undoubtedly LeBron James.

But to his left stood newcomer Mo Williams, and to his right stood Zarunas Ilgauskas.

One is a new addition to the Cavaliers, and the other is a Cavaliers veteran who is older than LeBron.

It was Xiao Mo who made Li Ke feel emotional. Although Xiao Mo has a black name called Mo Bu Chuan, his outside shooting and one-on-one singles ability all meet Le Bang's needs.

For the Cavaliers, this is a big help. The Cavaliers in the new season are different from last season.

"This Cavaliers team cannot be underestimated, and I don't know if the United Arab Emirates can start..."

During the China game, the Bobcats played against the Cavaliers. In that game, the UAE was the starter.

However, considering the particularity of the Chinese game, it is really unknown whether the UAE can start in the official game.

However, Li Ke sorted out the Cavaliers' roster. After thinking about it, he never thought that the Cavaliers would have a third Zhengyin power forward besides Alian and rookie JJ Hickson.

The UAE's pick must be higher than Hickson's. If the UAE doesn't start, the Cavaliers will only have two options left.

"Either the twin towers, or LeBon can only be a guest power forward."

Considering that last season, the Cavaliers twin towers were blown up by the Bobcats' counterattack, so the Cavaliers' choices changed from three to two.

"Either the United Arab Emirates will start, or Lebon will be a guest power forward, I hope it's not the latter."

It's not that he looks down on Ah Lian, it's just that Lebron in the fourth position will do more damage to the Bobcats.

On the highway from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to downtown Cleveland, Li Ke also saw some large posters in different styles.

There are also posters featuring Alian as the protagonist. I saw Alian wearing the No. 9 Cavaliers jersey and looking forward confidently.

Li Ke smiled, and understood more and more why the Cavaliers would add a draft pick to Xiao Mo's deal in this time and space, and they would also get the United Arab Emirates.

"The Cavaliers also want to get a share of the Chinese market..."

The bus quickly drove through the neighborhoods of Cleveland, and finally stopped at the InterContinental Hotel in the center of Cleveland.

The Bobcats checked in, and Sam Vincent also announced that they were free to move until [-] pm, and then assembled and set off for the Quicken Loans Center arena.

Speaking of which, this season, the Bobcats have also become generous.

In the past away games, they always returned after the game and never stayed in the away game.

This season, with two consecutive away trips at the beginning, the night in Cleveland must be spent in a hotel. This expense is indispensable for the team.

But for the next away game, the hotel in Miami, the team has already booked the hotel.

The Bobcats are generous, but in the final analysis, it is also because the team has a surplus.

Last season, the Bobcats played a complete playoffs, from the first round to the finals, and finally won the championship.

The Bobcats have already made a lot of money for the tickets, not to mention the income from broadcasting, playoff bonuses and so on.

Therefore, last season, the Bobcats made a lot of money.

In the new season, although there are two big contracts of 2000 million yuan from Lao Sha and Lao Ai, and a big contract of nearly [-] million yuan from Hua Laoer, Boss Qiao still signed the contract with a basic salary, restrained himself, and did not pay taxes.

Then off the field, the Bobcats received multiple advertising investments from across the ocean and continued to increase their income.

All in all, the Bobcats are already one of the top teams in the league in terms of profitability, and the only teams that can compete with the Bobcats are the Lakers and Rockets.

……

Although Li Ke kept avoiding the reporters, the moment he set off from the hotel, he was seized by the group of reporters and besieged in front of the hotel.

"Sheldon, tell me what you think of this opening game. Last season, you were always able to beat the Cavaliers easily. Will you still be able to do this in the new season?"

Now that the reporters had already arrived, Li Ke did not remain silent, opened his mouth, and replied, "Of course!"

"But the Cavaliers in the new season are no longer the Cavaliers from last season. They introduced Mo Williams and Yi..."

"So what? They have signings and so do we."

"But the Bobcats' signings are far worse than the Cavaliers."

"The gap between the Cavaliers and us cannot be made up by Morris and Yi."

"..."

The conversation between Li Ke and the reporter who kept asking questions was a bit like a quarrel.

And when Li Ke saw the reporter's card clearly, he confirmed that it was a quarrel, that's right!

"Okay, Mr. Brian Windhorst, it's time for us to go."

The team's press officer pulled Li Ke onto the bus, and then asked the driver to close the bus door.

More than ten minutes later, the Bobcats entered the Quicken Loans Center arena.

The players all sat in their seats and prepared to go out. Sam Vincent finally entered the locker room and closed the door of the locker room.

Then, began to specifically arrange the tactics of this game.

Like Li Ke's thinking before the game, Sam Vincent also considered the possibility of Lebon's guest role at the fourth position, so he buried his back.

"In this game, we need to change the starting lineup. Allen and Shelton form the backcourt. Gerald plays as a small forward. The power forward position is used as a guest at the fourth position to prevent LeBron James. Vladimir, in this game, you start, the center remains the same, and Shaq continues to start."

In the opening game, the Sharks will still not be absent, and Radmanovic will replace Chris Humphries in the starting game, which can be regarded as a change made by Sam Vincent after consideration.

No matter who the Cavaliers play at the [-]th position, the Bobcats will be able to deal with it directly without substitutions.

Needless to say about the tactics, since it is a lineup similar to one big and four small, then in this game, the Bobcats must play fast.

The core lineup has not changed, and the tactics have not changed, so Sam Vincent doesn't need to emphasize anything.

Opening the door of the locker room, Sam Vincent shouted: "Okay, boys, the new season has begun, warm up first, and then win a victory on Cleveland's territory, make sure to do this, OK?"

Sam Vincent extended his right hand, high-fiving every player who came out of the locker room.

Li Ke nestled in the back, feeling a little emotional: "After winning the championship, Sam Vincent became more confident, really like the godfather of a champion."

……

In the Quicken Loans Center, the Bobcats are already warming up.

Li Ke was stopped by Kenny Smith and Barkley behind the technical stage, and had a chat.

"Sheldon, your performance in the Olympics was fantastic."

Barkley explained Li Ke's Olympic journey throughout, and he gave a thumbs up.

Li Ke shook his head: "So what? We still lost."

"If you join the dream team, you can't lose."

Kenny Smith seemed to mean something, but Li Ke tilted his head: "Joining the dream team will not lose? That's not necessarily the case."

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about the Olympics, let's talk about the new season, you had a perfect rookie season, then, Sheldon, do you have any expectations for your sophomore season?"

Li Ke made an embarrassing expression, frowning: "So, is this a pre-match interview?"

"No, it's just a private chat. Although, I don't rule out that I will mention these in the commentary."

"Well, if you look forward to the new season, I hope I can become the most improved player."

"Most Improved Player? Are you expecting..."

Barkley gave a thumbs up. The most improved player is not a top personal honor, but if a certain group of players get this honor, there are many hints hidden.

新秀赛季场均20.5分3.3个篮板2.2个助攻1.6个抢断0.5个盖帽的李恪，如果想要拿到最快进步球员这项荣誉，就需要各项数据暴涨了。

Think about it carefully, what kind of data can Li Ke get after the skyrocketing data?
Average 28+5+5+2 per game?

Or average 27+5+8 per game?

In short, if Li Ke gets the most improved player, it means that Li Ke is also a regular season MVP player.

Amid the sighs of Kenny Smith and Barkley, Li Ke returned to the court and continued to warm up.

The Cavaliers also appeared at this time, and Lebron's own domineering spirit attracted cheers when he appeared on the stage.

Before the match, he and Li Ke didn't have much communication, they just touched their fists.

After a brief warm-up, Lebron stood in front of the technical stage, holding a handful of chalk, and threw it over the Quicken Loans Center.

Fanatical cheers from the Cavaliers fans kicked off the game by the way.

After a brief opening ceremony, the starters of the two teams appeared on the court.

"The game is about to start, look at the starters on both sides...Ah, Ah Lian didn't start..."

Yang Wu, pay attention to the starting lineup before the opening. Li Ke's starting position will not be shaken in any way. The eyes of Yu Jia and Director Zhang are all on the Cavaliers.

To their disappointment, the United Arab Emirates did not appear in the starting list of the Cavaliers like the Chinese game.

"Mo Williams, Delonte West, Wallis Zerbiak, LeBron James, Zarunas Ilgauskas, this is the starting lineup for the Cavaliers."

"On the Bobcats side, Iverson, Li Ke, Gerald Wallace, Radmanovich and O'Neal, except for the new aid Radmanovich, the remaining four are the Bobcats' AWSL quad-core."

Li Ke saw Delonty West in the second position and felt disrespected.

Of course, before the game started, he didn't know whether Mike Brown's disrespect was aimed at Hua's second child or him.

If it was Li Ke, then Li Ke would strike hard.

The referee is no longer Dick Bavetta, who controls the field, because he has retired.

The caller for this game was Joe Crawford, another whistler with a great reputation.

A whistle sounded, and the basketball was thrown into the air.

Big Z and Lao Sha staged a jump ball performance where the chickens pecked at each other, but in the end it was the clumsy Lao Sha who squeezed away Big Z and called the basketball.

"O'Neal won with a jump ball, and the Bobcats got the ball at the beginning!"

The moment the game started, there was a burst of cheers from the Quicken Loans Center.

Not cheering for the visiting team to win the ball, just cheering for the start of the new season.

In the new season, the league has arranged three opening games, except for this one between the Bobcats and the Cavaliers, the other two are the Lakers against the Rockets, and the Suns against the Spurs.

The Bobcats and Cavaliers are the only opener held in the East, which takes advantage of the time zone, so they will start playing first.

It is worth mentioning that Madison Square Garden was abandoned for the opening game of this season.

It is true that David Stern, the mecca of basketball, did not participate in the opening game. Who made the Knicks so bad?

In previous years, David Stern would watch the opening game at Madison Square Garden. This year, he appeared at the Quicken Loans Center.

Watching the Bobcats win the ball in the opening game, Mr. Si in the private room of the stands watched with great interest as Lao Ai galloped all the way to the frontcourt.

"Michael, let me guess, your offense should be the same as last year, right? Will Allen Iverson make a shot to end this goal?"

What else could Boss Qiao say sitting next to Mr. Si?He could only nod: "It should be so."

On the court, the Bobcats did play like this.

Li Ke, Radmanovich, and Hua Er Er pulled away, leaving a gap.

Lao Ai took advantage of this space to play singles, and went in with one step, which was a jumper with an emergency stop.

Xiao Mo's defense is very average, so the opportunity is out.

Lao Ai's shot of the basketball was outrageously missed, and with a bang, the basketball hit the frame heavily and popped out.

Faced with this situation, Li Ke can only say one thing: no surprise.

In the team's confrontation training, similar to this kind of ball, Lao Ai lost too much.

Not surprisingly, Li Ke, who was outside the three-point line, rushed to the basket immediately and joined the competition for the rebound.

But the big Z is too high, accurately judged the landing point of the rebound, got stuck on the old shark, and as soon as he stretched out his hand, he took the rebound into his arms.

"Return to defense, return to defense!"

Watching Lebang take the basketball from Big Z, Li Ke immediately shouted and retreated quickly.

This wave of offense at the beginning made Li Ke confirm that it was Hua's second child who the Cavaliers disrespected, not him, because Lebron had always been the one defending Li Ke.

On the other hand, it was Li Ke who defended Lebron at the fourth position.

In this way, Li Ke and Le Bang matched up on both offensive and defensive ends.

This made Mr. Si in the stands very happy.

What he wants to see is that Li Ke can play a role in promoting Le Bang, whether it is good for Li Ke or Le Bang.

Even Mr. Si believes that this set of matchups will become a set of classic matchups after Li Ke completes his growth.

"The knight's counterattack has been contained, positional battle, look at Li Ke's defense..."

Lebron did his part to catch the ball in singles, but outside the three-point line, his position was blocked by Li Ke.

If we say that in the Olympic arena, Lebron took on the heavy responsibility of the Dream Team defending Li Ke, which proved that he is the most suitable player to defend Li Ke who is in trouble.

In turn, Li Ke is also the most suitable player to defend Lebon.

Whether Lebron is paddling or going all out...

Although the one-on-one was very stuck, Lebron still found an open space by relying on a pick-and-roll.

A quick breakthrough was delayed by Hua Er Er's delayed defense.

But turning his head and passing the ball, Xiao Mo on the wing rushed out quickly, caught the ball and made a throw.

Swish-!
"Beautiful pass and cut, the Cavaliers scored first!"

(End of this chapter)