From today on is the king

Chapter 682 681. Stockton's exclusive honor!

"Ace, are you serious?"

During pre-match training, when the team submitted the starting roster, Liu Mang took the initiative to go to coach Kruger and said that he was going to give up the starting position for this game to Stockton.

Originally, coach Kruger wanted to put Prince on the bench for a while. Since Ratliff is taking a break today, coach Kruger is going to let Boozer and Rasheed Wallace start together in the interior, and play double evil tactics when they come up.

But Liu Mang offered to give up
Hearing Stockton's words, Liu Mang responded, "Ah... that's right!"

Stockton, who has been moved by the enthusiasm of the Salt Lake City fans for the past two days, was moved, and said in a hoarse voice: "Ace..."

"Damn! John, you are over 40 years old, why are you still so hypocritical!" Liu Mang complained in disgust.

"Haha! Alright, Ace, for today's friendship, I must help you train a substitute before leaving the Eagles!" Stockton patted Liu Mang on the shoulder and laughed.

"What? That's cool, by the way, John, who are you going to train to be my backup? Is it Willie?" This repayment was better than any repayment, and Liu was very excited.

Is it to train Willie Green?This guy's physical fitness is really good, and he fell to the second round entirely because of his attitude. With a celebrity like Stockton to guide him, he might be able to win back. After all, this guy is purely physical. He has averaged 10+ points per game.

"No, Lang asked me during the All-Star Weekend, who is more suitable to be my replacement and then I will be your substitute in the future. I chose Jose. Maybe the team is about to trade. We need a third big center." Stockton didn't care at all because his words might change the fate of the two.

This is the cruel part of the NBA. Sometimes a word from a player with league status can cause a player to be waived.

"Calderon..." Liu Mang thought of the guy who can be crushed to the ground by the opponent even when he holds a ball. It's not that Calderon has no potential, but that Calderon is not the kind of player who is suitable for playing in the NBA early.

Some players are suitable to enter the NBA early to shine and improve themselves in the best league, but some players need time to let their bodies reach the level of confrontation in the NBA.

This is not something that can be done through training, but it really needs to be at the peak of his physiology to have that ability. Some players just don’t have such good physical talent, and they forcefully strengthen their confrontation. They can definitely become stronger through training, but they may lose their original flexibility, speed, and soft touch.

Calderon is that type of player. He can make a positive contribution in the NBA, that is, during the peak seven years from the age of 25 to 31, he averaged 12 points and 8 assists per game.

Hearing Liu Mang's questioning voice, Stockton smiled and said, "No problem, he is the same as me back then, and I will let him be your backing just like me."

"...You are a teacher, you have the final say..." Liu Mang said this, but he started to brainstorm in his head, what are the legacy point guards in this year's draft?

Calderon will be very powerful in the future, and he has received an annual salary of tens of millions, but in the past two years, Liu Mang has really disliked this guy. He is too thin, even thinner than Liu Mang himself when he first entered the NBA. He weighs 80 kilograms, which is lighter than Iverson, who is ten centimeters shorter than him.

……

……

Stockton may be returning to Salt Lake City as a visiting player for the first and only time in his entire career, and the Energy Solutions arena is full for the first time this season.

The box office of the Jazz this year is quite miserable, mainly because they want to get a high draft pick. Sloan was forced to start badly in advance. Originally, their lineup, not to mention entering the playoffs, can still get more than 30 wins. At least it will not be so ugly. The season was a complete mess.

The reason why he didn't have any doubts about the Stockton disciples was because Liu Mang saw Arroyo's progress after studying with Stockton for a year!
Arroyo was almost out of play, and was signed by the Jazz with a minimum salary. Not only did the Jazz suffer at the box office, but the city was also miserable. There were not many sports clubs, and no big-name stars were willing to come, so they had to pick up an Arroyo to train.

Then Arroyo averaged 12+3+5 per game this year.

Therefore, the attendance rate of the Jazz dropped directly to the bottom of the league this year. Even Malone was not fully seated when he returned.

But Stockton came back, and the Energy Solutions Arena was detonated again!

Compared with Malone defecting to the Lakers, Stockton went to his apprentice to be the leader of the town, and the fans can understand it better.

And the Salt Lake City fans love Liu Mang even more today!

In the past, it was only because Liu Mang and Boozer played the pick-and-roll, or it was the pick-and-roll under the guidance of Stockton, which made Jazz fans have a mysterious love for Liu Mang.

But today, when the starting lineup was displayed on the big screen, the fans of Salt Lake City loved Liu Mang even more!
Stockton replaced Liu Mang as the starter of the game!

It's not that the bullying Prince is in the second grade, but that Liu Mang personally made him the starter. This has a very different meaning!
However, since it is the enemy, the fans gave Stockton the highest respect!

When Stockton, as the "boss" of the team, was the last to enter the field, violent boos broke out at the scene!

The last time this kind of booing happened was in the finals of Shuangsha VS Jordan!
Liu Mang was wearing a training uniform. As soon as Stockton, the first and last player, clapped hands, the boos erupted, and the system prompts followed.

"Ding... The Devil's home court triggers, from the fanatical fans of the Jazz Energy Solutions Arena, the excitement of the Jazz players has greatly increased, and the Jazz players have greatly offset the negative emotional impact caused by the suppression of the team where the host is located."

The Devil's Home is such a good thing!Liu Mang had no doubts about this.

This year, the Eagles only lost 4 games at home, one was lost when the Devil’s home game was not open, and two games were lost when Rasheed Wallace was suspended and Liu Mang was also suspended.
It's just that the devil's home court of their own is only available through Rasheed Wallace, and there is still a big difference from the Jazz's strong background that has been gradually established for more than ten years.

Liu Mang felt that he still had a long way to go.

But right?Always maintaining the hunger for honor is the first motivation for Liu Mang to maintain his original intention after winning the sky-high endorsement contract.

……

The game started.

Hawks Stockton, Prince, Raheem, Boozer, Rasheed - Wallace's starting lineup.

The Jazz sent Arroyo, Harprin, Kirilenko, Geron Collins, Ostertag's starting lineup.

Liu Mang is sitting on the sidelines, let's watch Stockton perform today!Looking at the love of the Salt Lake City fans for Stockton, Liu Mang thought it was pretty good.

Jaron Collins and Rasheed Wallace came to the middle circle to jump the ball.

Compared to his elder brother Jason Collins, who is a master of back-up defense with meat piles, Jaron Collins is a manic physical fitness man with excellent physical fitness, and beat Rasheed Wallace to win the jump ball.

The Jazz players are very excited today. Firstly, Stockton came back, and secondly, there was the most fanatical voice of the season. The Jazz players knew that the gap with the Eagles was too big, but they still didn’t give up. They just came up and did it!
Also, when Stockton came back today, in addition to giving a big hug, Sloan also made a targeted defensive arrangement for Stockton.

In other games, you can lose at will, but in today's game, Sloan doesn't want to give up directly, but wants to just go ahead!
Stockton is also very excited about this. This year he is no different from last year. He is still one of the best pure point guards in the league. The Jazz beat the Eagles for a few rounds with morale at the beginning, but Stockton was not in a hurry and signaled his teammates not to panic.

When the Jazz used Kirilenko to defend, Stockton played pick-and-roll with Boozer calmly and bit the score.

Moreover, Coach Sloan of the Jazz knows Stockton very well, and Stockton also knows Arroyo very well. This is his apprentice who taught him!
Playing and playing, Stockton found the feeling and began to suppress Arroyo on both offense and defense. Morale can make players perform at a super level.

Halfway through the first quarter, after Liu Mang replaced Prince, the Jazz had no room to resist.

Stockton, Liu Mang, and Boozer's double-bad tactic made the Jazz, the origin team of this tactic, unstoppable.

The fans at the scene seemed to be dreaming back to six years ago. Stockton had good teammates. Although he was old, his shooting ability and passing ability did not decline significantly. When he was physically fit, he was still the performance of a top point guard.

It's just that it's not their own team that performed like this, but their opponents!

Except for the Jazz leading in the first 3 minutes of the first quarter, the Jazz never had a chance to lead after that.

When Stockton was tired, he went to the bottom corner to wait for Liu Mang or Jason Terry to pass the ball. Liu Mang and Jason Terry came up in turn. Jason Terry was either a spot-up shooter, or he was the ball holder like Liu Mang. When Stockton rested, he continued to lead the offense.

Fans were already in tears at the scene!

At halftime, no fans went to the bathroom or bought snacks for the second half, etc., because the owner of the Jazz saw that the tickets were sold out before the game, and it was one of the only two U.S. live broadcasts of the Jazz this season. jersey!

Unlike other teams that sign a contract one day before the veteran retires, the owner of the Jazz is so different. When Stockton was still playing in the NBA, he announced that he would retire Stockton's jersey, and he would erect a statue for Stockton after Stockton won the championship!
It's that direct, the Jazz owner personally supports the Eagles to win the championship.

As for possible fines, the boss of the Jazz agrees!Whether it is supporting the Eagles to win the championship or retiring Stockton's jersey without submitting an application, league rules do not allow it.

And Jazz fans, at least this season, also regard the Eagles as the "home team"!
This treatment is far from the indifference of the audience when Malone comes back!

The other players on the court looked at Stockton’s treatment and envied them as much as they wanted. The only ones that the Eagles have the opportunity to retire are Liu Mang and Ratliff. One is a quasi-MVP and the other is the best defensive player.

And he retired his jersey without retiring. This is the only one in NBA history!
……

Stockton was surprised and delighted to get the second highest honor in a team and the promise of the highest honor. Stockton, who scored 11 points and 4 assists in the half, played even harder in the second half after crying.

Still giving the Jazz enough face, coach Kruger asked the players to relax their defense, you have a ball and I have a ball, playing very happily.

Coach Sloan didn't do anything deliberately, and he didn't expect that his boss would be so impulsive, retired the jersey for Stockton who was still playing, and expressed his support for the Eagles in his jersey testimonial.

This gave the Eagles a chance, and Coach Sloan was unwilling to fight forcibly. On the one hand, it was one thing to provoke hatred. The most important thing was that this was his best disciple!

Although Malone is better and stronger, Malone didn't discuss with him before leaving the Jazz, but Stockton communicated with him several times. He doesn't mind his disciples trying to hug their thighs in the last year, but people have likes and dislikes.

In the end, Liu Mang scored 26 points and 3 assists, Jason Terry scored 22 points, Boozer, Kwame Brown, and Rasheed Wallace scored 44 points together, Stockton played 48 minutes and scored 20 points, 11 assists and 4 steals. For the first time this season, and possibly the only time 20+10, the Hawks beat the Jazz 117-106 and won five consecutive victories.

It didn't make the game so ugly, and played a beautiful offensive battle.

But... Liu Mang was very embarrassed today, because the fans kept shouting "Shuangsha successor..."

(End of this chapter)