NBA backer king

Chapter 613 Lifting the Ban and Comeback + All-Star Ticket King

At the end of October, Lao Wang's family of three returned to Phoenix.

The new season started on the 28th, and after rushing back to Phoenix on the 27th, he went to the headquarters immediately.

Colangelo Jr. made a deal during the offseason. In order to make room for Joe Johnson at the No. 04 position, he traded Anfernee Hardaway to the Knicks in exchange for a [-] second-round pick, two role players, and some cash.

"Old K, there is no major change in the lineup, and the team's transaction is very difficult." Little Colangelo said with an ugly face.

But he said: "But I think our current lineup is not bad, a little stronger than last season."

Lao Wang took the list and looked at it, and there was indeed no major change.

Center: Wang Tiejun, Scott Williams, Jack Voskull,
Forwards: Stoudemire, Marion, Zhu Fangyu, Tom Gugliotta, Beau Outlaw, Jumaine Jones

Guards: Nash, Joe Johnson, Josh Howard, Howard Ellis, Randy Brown

Colangelo Jr. said: "There are 14 people in total, and there is one quota left to be filled."

He went on to say: "You are not here, the center position can only be replaced by Williams and Voskull, but I have discussed it with D'Antoni and the others. He hopes that when you are away, he will play real small ball tactics and use less centers. What do you think?"

Lao Wang began to think about this issue. Once a team’s tactical style is fixed, it is difficult to change. Once it is forced to change, it will definitely cause some unexpected consequences. Can it be changed back?Or maybe he can adapt to the small ball style?
He asked cautiously: "Then what does he mean after I come back?"

Colangelo Jr. said: "Of course it's about you, playing last season's tactics, this is impossible to change.

Don't worry, old K, we had such a good record in the playoffs last season, if the league didn't suppress us, we would definitely win the championship, so I won't let him mess around, and neither will the boss.

In addition, I have talked with him several times, and he will come over soon. You can talk to him and have a communication. "

Not long after, D'Antoni came.

Lao Wang talked with him and determined his tactics after he came back.

Of course, he is still a little worried. When he comes back, the team should have an adaptation period, hoping that it will not affect the playoffs.

The three talked about the situation of the new season of the league together.

Jr. Colangelo said: "In the west, the Lakers have strengthened the postman, and the Blazers have strengthened Payton. Their strength has been greatly improved, but we have no strong reinforcements. The new season will be more difficult for us than last season. many."

D'Antoni said: "In the East, the Pistons got Rasheed Wallace and should be stronger, while the Nets got Mourning. Mourning's state is still not good. Generally speaking, the west is still strong and the east is weak."

"Old K, what do you think of the situation in the new season?" Little Colangelo asked.

Lao Wang asked, "How about Kobe's lawsuit?"

"It's far from over." Little Colangelo shook his head.

Lao Wang thought for a while and said: "Although the Lakers got the postman, but Kobe is involved in lawsuits, how much energy can be devoted to the game is a question.

In addition, Shaq also did it. The relationship between O'Neal and Kobe must be very bad. It should be difficult to tolerate, right?Such a Lakers should not have much competitiveness. "

Hearing the words "Shaq did it too", Colangelo Jr. and D'Antoni laughed at the same time. The former said: "There are media reports that O'Neal's foot injury still exists, and he didn't train during the offseason. According to the photos taken by the media, his weight should have lost control again."

"Then we are in the west, and there is only one real opponent, the Blazers." Old Wang said.

"Payton joined the Trail Blazers. The Blazers should be strengthened to a great extent, but they traded the trolls. I don't know what to think." Colangelo Jr. said.

Lao Wang thought: "It's okay to say inside, but the outside is more troublesome. Payton's defense will definitely limit Nash's performance. We need to be more cautious when facing the Blazers."

D'Antoni quickly reassured: "Old K, don't worry, after you return, we will definitely still play last season's tactics, focusing on positional warfare, defensive counterattacks and fast breaks, so that if you hold the rhythm, we will not lose control.

Even if Nash is limited by Payton, with his speed and ball-handling ability, it is impossible for the old Payton to completely lock him up. He can still pass you the ball. "

He also thought very clearly that he played so well in the playoffs last year, but unfortunately there was an accident in the Western Conference Finals. Otherwise, the hope of winning the championship is very high, so he also hopes to make a comeback this year and replicate last year's playoffs.

"That's okay." Lao Wang nodded.

With Nash's ability, even in Jordan's peak period, it is impossible to prevent Nash from passing the ball to him. Payton can at most limit some of Nash's organizational functions.

"By the way, old K, did you know that the Lakers have changed their general manager?" Little Colangelo said suddenly.

"Did Jerry West not do it?" Old Wang asked a little surprised.

"No, the new general manager is Mitch Kupchak, a former NBA player. West went to the Grizzlies as director of basketball." Colangelo Jr. said.

"Why did West leave the Lakers? The Lakers have created a dynasty in his hands." Old Wang asked gossipingly.

Little Colangelo said with a smile: "It's hard to tell the specifics. Several heirs of the Bass family are having a lot of trouble. Kupchak was pushed to power by Jim Bass."

Old Wang ignored this matter, and suddenly thought of a question, and asked, "Bryan, how is our operation this season?"

Little Colangelo shook his head and said: "You are not here. In the first 48 games, we only had 5 live broadcasts in the United States. However, since the 49th game, that is, the game when you came back, we have 34 live broadcasts in 25 games. Several broadcasters made it clear that they are the games arranged for you."

"30 games, barely enough." Old Wang nodded.

After chatting for a while, the three of them went to the parking lot, because today the team is going to San Antonio, and the Suns' opener is an away game against the Spurs, and they are about to leave.

Lao Wang didn't follow him to the away game. He was suspended and severely punished. He was not allowed to enter the stadium, and he was not allowed to play at home.

"Zhu Fangyu, you have to seize the opportunity and work hard on the field, understand?" When sending his teammates to the bus, he stopped Zhu Fangyu and told him.

"I will, bro, don't worry." Zhu Fangyu patted his chest and said.

"Old K, don't worry, I will pass the ball to Zhu." Nash promised.

"Goodbye boss, we'll wait for you to come back to compete for the championship." Before getting into the car, Stoudemire and others waved and shouted.

Watching the bus leave the headquarters, Old Wang secretly decided that the more the alliance wants to suppress him, the more he must let them understand that in his era, no one can suppress him.

After staying in Phoenix for two days, Lao Wang's family of three left and returned home via Los Angeles.

Time passed slowly, and on December 2003, 12, Pippen announced his retirement and ended his career.

At the end of the month and at the end of the year, two months have passed since the 03/04 season, and the Suns have completed 32 regular season games.

The Suns lost the old king, but unexpectedly, the record is ranked third in the West, better than last season, only behind the Trail Blazers and Timberwolves, and still above the Lakers, Mavericks, and Kings.

The Suns played an amazing run-and-bomb tactic, attacking every 7 seconds, sacrificing half-court positional defense, and greatly improving the rhythm of offensive and defensive transfers.

Its main lineup does not have a real center, with Stoudemire and Marion as the inside combination, Marion playing power forward, Joe Johnson and Nash partnering in the back line, and two rookies Zhu Fangyu and Josh Howard take turns as the main force and substitute at the third position.

Nash and Stoudemire began to shine, one fed the cake, the other ate the cake, and the dunks continued.

In the first two months, Nash averaged 15 points and 11.5 assists per game, while Stoudemire averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds, making him the team's first scoring point.

Others also performed well. Marion scored 19 points and 11 rebounds, which was the team's second scoring point. Joe Johnson scored 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, which was the team's third scoring point.

Josh Howard started 14 games, averaging 23.7 minutes per game, the main position is the third position, and occasionally substitutes the second position, averaging 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1 steal and 0.8 blocks per game, shooting 43% from the field and 30.3 from the three-point field %.

朱方雨首发18场，场均29.2分钟，场均9.2分5.2篮板1.6助攻1.7抢断0.5盖帽，投篮命中率47.5%，三分球命中率40.5%。

Lao Wang has been paying attention to the team's performance. He is really surprised by the team's record. D'Antoni's running and bombing tactic is really beautiful.

But he also realized that this tactic of giving up defense, that is, it can be played in the regular season, once it enters the real playoffs, it will not work.

In the past two months, with the excellent record of the Suns, the media has also hyped up some remarks.

For example, the old K is useless, without the old K, the Suns' record is better than last season, and last season was fourth in the Western Conference.

For example, the selfish theory of old K's play style, old K is not there, the statistics of other Suns players are on the court as a whole, which is a level higher than last season. It is old K who suppressed the performance of all Suns players.

Some media even suggested that the Suns should trade Old K, not only to get rid of the burden of an annual salary of 2000 million, but also to strengthen the lineup.

Lao Wang was a little worried that the coaching staff and teammates blindly believed in the running and bombing tactics, which would affect his comeback, but for some reason, he did not contact the team about it.

Fortunately, Little Colangelo is very clear-headed, because he knows Mrs. John's attitude too well, and he also knows the strength of Old K. Due to his influence, D'Antoni also maintained a certain level of calmness.

But now D'Antoni, with the success of the running and bombing tactics, his self-confidence is also skyrocketing.

In addition to paying attention to his own team, Lao Wang is of course also paying attention to several other major opponents.

For the Eastern Nets, Mourning only played 12 games, and his condition was not good. Then he had a physical problem and was reimbursed again for the season. Affected by this, the record of the defending champion team was not very good. It was third in the Eastern Conference. It was very difficult for Dayao to defend his title.

Pistons, after getting the troll, he found that the team's defense is really strong, and the competitiveness may even surpass the Nets. It is currently second in the Eastern Conference.

The No. [-] team in the Eastern Conference is the Pacers, an old strong team. O'Neal has grown up. Artest, Al Harrington, Reggie Miller and others have joined forces, and their strength is very strong.

In the West, after the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, and Suns, there are the Lakers, Kings, and Mavericks.

The lineup of O'Neal, Kobe, and Postman Malone is currently maintained somewhat reluctantly. The three giants rarely play games at the same time. Either O'Neal is rested due to injury, or Kobe is absent from the game due to attending the trial, and Postman Karl Malone is also due to a knee injury. Sick and missed half of the game.

The Timberwolves got Sam Cassell and Madman Sprewell, plus Garnett, to create a three-headed monster lineup, the most powerful Timberwolves ever.

Lao Wang analyzed it. The main opponent in the West this season is still the Trail Blazers.

Although the Timberwolves are currently performing well in the regular season, as long as he returns and suppresses Garnett, the Timberwolves should not be a big threat.

And the Lakers depend on the performance in the future. If the OK combination can't be united, it's useless to add the postman, and the postman won't work either.

The three teams that are most likely to reach the finals in the Eastern Conference are the Pacers, the Nets, and the Pistons. In his opinion, the overall strength of the Eastern Conference this season has improved compared to last season.

In 04, on January 1st, the league announced that the All-Star voting began.

This time, China's online voting channels were not opened.

A week later, the voting came to an end, and when the first week of voting ended, David Stern was very upset.

In his mind, the channel in China was closed, old K was suspended, and there was no old K in the official announcement, so even if Kobe, the most popular, had an accident, the top voter would not be the old K, and the other three major points Wei, but the facts told him that the prediction was wrong, and the king of votes in the first week was still the old K.

Lao Wang won 102 million votes in the first week, lower than last year's first week of 121 million votes, but still far higher than the second Carter. It is expected that the number of votes will exceed 300 million during the one-month voting period.

Half of the votes came from Arizona and half from Japan and South Korea.

Vince Carter, one of the four major shooting guards, had 62 votes in the first week, and it is estimated that it should be possible to break 200 million in a month.

LeBron James, who he focused on, got 20 votes in the first week, which made him very happy.

James really deserves to be a talented player who emerges once in 20 years. He has just made his debut, and he has hit the peak data of his debut, with 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks. He is just around the corner to enter the All-Star.

"I hope this young man can take the place of old K in the future."

……

"Old K, 102 million votes in the first week, what do you want to say most about this?" Phoenix TV interviewed Lao Wang by phone.

"I'm not in the alliance, but I'm in the alliance again, haha!" Old Wang laughed.

At the end of the second week of voting, Pharaoh won another 98 votes, and the number of votes in the two weeks just reached 200 million, which is still higher than the number one. This shows his influence.

February 1th, New Year's Eve.

Lao Wang's family of six didn't go back to their hometown, they celebrated the New Year in the capital, the eldest went back to her husband's house in Tianjing to celebrate the new year, and the second girl stayed at her husband's house in Cang*zhou.

In addition, Brother Fei quietly became pregnant with her third child, and it has been four months since she was due to give birth in early June. She has already shown her pregnancy. This is also the main reason why she does not go back to her hometown for the New Year.

The 04 All-Star Weekend is on February 2th and 14th. With the approach of the All-Star Game, the day of Lao Wang's comeback is coming soon. He will come back in the 15th regular season game. On January 49st, he will challenge the Knicks away.

So after the Chinese New Year, on the 28th and the seventh day of the lunar new year, I boarded a plane to Los Angeles alone, and arrived in Phoenix on the 29th.

With his return to the United States, a lot of media attention and topics quickly shifted to him.

"There is no game for half a season. Although there are media reports that Old K still maintains systematic training, no one can guarantee his state. Relevant experts suggest that the Suns continue to maintain the current lineup and tactics. There is no need to change because of Old K. Because without Old K, the Suns' record is better than last season. His impact on the Suns is negative." The New York Times.

"Suns players be careful, the person who snatched your data is back." New York Sports News.

"boom!"

When Lao Wang saw the New York media reports, he said that his anger was false, and he was so angry that he smashed the water glass in his hand.

The first game of his comeback was against the Knicks, and he wanted to use the Knicks as a bully to tell the New York media that he should not offend anyone.

On the 30th, the league's All-Star voting ended. Lao Wang was elected as the All-Star vote leader in 375 with 04 million votes. Vince Carter was second with 217 million votes, and his popularity was also very high.

Kobe Bryant, who was in the lawsuit, won more than 170 million votes, and Dayao won more than 140 million votes.

Dayao did not win the starting position of the Eastern All-Star center, because Ben Wallace received nearly 200 million votes, and his popularity was quite high. This was Big Ben's highlight moment.

Surprisingly, as the champion of last season, none of the Nets became an All-Star starter.

Eastern All-Stars: Ben Wallace, O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Iverson.

Eastern All-Star Subs: Yao Ming, Kenyon Martin, Kidd, Michael Redd, Paul Pierce, Artest, Baron Davis.

Western All-Star main players: Wang Tiejun, Duncan, Garnett, Kobe, Steve Francisco.

Western All-Star Subs: O'Neal, Ray Allen, Brad Miller, Peja, Nash, Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire.

At ten o'clock this morning, the Suns gathered at the headquarters.

"Boss, welcome back!"

When Lao Wang appeared, everyone shouted.

"Brother, you are finally back." Zhu Fangyu shouted happily.

"Everyone played well!" Lao Wang applauded after patting Zhu Fangyu on the head.

He then smiled and said, "Amare, Steve, I didn't expect the league to be so generous this time, allowing the Suns to have three All-Stars."

Nash laughed: "I'm also surprised, isn't the league targeting us?"

"Steve, you have such a beautiful idea!" Stoudemire laughed.

"Let's talk in the car, the time is almost up." At this time, Colangelo urged.

Next, everyone boarded the car and rushed to the airport.

(End of this chapter)