NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 761 The day has finally dawned! (No protagonist chapter)

On Monday, October 2010, 10, the Lakers, who were participating in the NBA's European tour, flew to Berlin to play an exhibition game with the Timberwolves.

The defending runner-up still had a lot of fanfare, and the tickets for that night were sold out early.

The Knicks were very popular in Milan yesterday. Italian fans surrounded Li You outside the hotel. The Lakers were not so popular. Kobe's reputation here was poor and he was not warmly received.

At 19 p.m. that night, 2 fans poured into the O1 World Arena. The atmosphere gradually heated up after the game started, and the Lakers' new core player Amar'e Stoudemire entered the game state early!
In the middle of the first quarter, as Raymond Felton sent a ground pass after a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, Stoudemire, who was running down the middle, took the ball and took off, cheers instantly resounded throughout the arena:
"Oh!!"

With a step forward, Stoudemire jumped into the air, ignoring Kevin Love under the basket, and dunked with one arm towards his opponent!

The basket rang loudly, and amid cheers, Stoudemire pounded his chest and roared loudly. His passionate performance made Byron Scott on the sidelines smile, and the new head coach kept clapping and encouraging:

"Good job!"

“Pay attention to the pick-and-roll initiation position.”

When he was coaching the Hornets, the pick-and-roll between Chris Paul West and Varejao was the team's most common way of initiating offense. Now the Lakers have replicated this system, and the new players have performed very well.

Felton, who was retreating, also clapped his hands. He also liked this kind of tactical play. It was always more comfortable to have the ball in hand than to squat in the corner and wait for an open position. The coach magnified the function of the point guard, which was what he wanted to see.

The new head coach of the Timberwolves is Kurt Rambis. He felt bad watching his old club which was full of vigor and vitality from the sidelines. He was supposed to be the head coach but he lost the position because of internal strife.

When he thought about the chaos in the Lakers management, Rambis felt that leaving was not a bad thing, but he was still a little disappointed that Mamba did not speak for him.

When Luke Ridnour came to halftime, he once again felt the positivity of his opponent, and with Kobe sidelined due to injury, the new version of the Lakers played exceptionally smoothly.

Vujacic kept defending Martell Webster, and Barnes did not give Wesley Johnson an easy chance to catch the ball. Noticing that the Timberwolves wanted to attack from the low post again, Stoudemire also worked hard to defend.

Kevin Love made a turnaround jump shot from the low post on the left side but missed. Odom grabbed the rebound and immediately advanced with the ball. The left-handed Magic also showed his passing skills, with a precise long pass that once again broke through the opponent's defense.

Barnes ended the transition offense with a one-handed dunk. The championship forward jumped up and down and celebrated happily. This was the rhythm of the game he was familiar with.

The two teams played lively, and the frequent slam dunks brought constant cheers from the audience. However, Kobe, who was sitting on the Lakers' bench, had a sullen face. The Mamba was a little unhappy because this was not the team he was familiar with.

As time went by, Kobe looked more and more familiar with the game. Under the guidance of Byron Scott, the Lakers became a "copy of the Knicks."

With one inside and four outside, the guards instigated the offense. Frequent pick-and-rolls allowed Stoudemire to break through and shoot from outside. In some rounds, he would even hold the ball and play one-on-one. He performed very well in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves were in poor form, and their turnovers and missed shots made it easy for the Lakers to launch a transition offense. Everyone was running actively, which was completely different from the situation in the past few years.

At the end of the first quarter, Vujacic, who was substituted off the court, was sweating profusely, but his mood was extremely high. He kept high-fiving his teammates and flattered them when he returned to his seat:

"Great! The new system developed by the coach has completely activated the team!"

"Hey, behave yourself."

Derek Karakit, who was selected in the second round of this year's draft, also smiled on his dark face after hearing the encouragement. The atmosphere in the Lakers locker room is not as bad as rumored by the outside world. The rookie feels it is pretty good at the moment.

Seeing Kobe's long face, Karakort walked to the sidelines and muttered to himself:
"It would be better if there wasn't this old spoilsport!"

"."

The Lakers, who took a double-digit lead early on, suppressed the Timberwolves throughout the game. In the second half, Stoudemire and Odom became more efficient. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were already leading by 20 points.

In the end, head coach Byron Scott achieved his first victory as coach, and when the game officially ended, he had a bright smile on his black face and anyone could see that he was in a good mood.

92:114, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves.

On the bench, Stoudemire stood up early and kept high-fiving his teammates. Everyone had a smile on their face, except Kobe, who was in a bad mood and still had a expressionless face.

Local sports reporters also ignored Mamba and interviewed the new core of the Lakers directly after the game. Stoudemire was very satisfied with this and shared his championship experience again:
"The atmosphere was great! I'm glad to play a great game for the German fans."

"You know, I've been pursuing a championship, and this time joining the Lakers, with the support of Coach Scott, I'm very happy to continue to share my championship experience."

"This is a new Lakers team. The inefficient basketball of the past is history. Under my leadership, everyone needs to participate in the offense."

"This is what I learned from Lee. Everyone should do what they are good at. We will not serve the star players. This is the right basketball."

"."

Kobe, who was walking towards the player tunnel, was completely ignored by the fans on both sides. Only a few young people were shouting his name loudly.

Mamba feels a little uncomfortable with his experience. He is being ostracized by the entire team. This is the price he pays for using his trade veto power. Everyone knows that there is no place for him in the Lakers' future.

The staff was a little worried about Kobe. When they saw Mamba quickly returning to the locker room, they looked at each other in bewilderment. The team was about to change.
Returning to his seat, Kobe pursed his lips and said nothing. He once again realized the harm of "championship experience". Stoudemire's ability to form cliques was seriously underestimated!

Odom still remembered the old friendship, and when he returned to the locker room the second time, he saw Kobe staring at the floor alone, with a helpless look on his dark face. He leaned over and whispered to comfort him:
"Bro, stop competing with everyone. No one likes a teammate who has a stern face every day."

"When you get to Barcelona, ​​remember to come to the dinner, Kobe, I don't want to see you leave Los Angeles."

Seeing the concerned look in his old teammate's eyes, Kobe was silent for a moment and then began to shake his head. He still firmly believed that his basketball philosophy was correct and continued to question:
"Playing like this! We have no chance of winning the championship. They are just trying to get stats!"

"I just want to pursue the championship. I have to win once. Sooner or later, these 'self-righteous' lazy people will find out that I am right."

"."

He started talking about the harms of "team basketball" again. Kobe almost said that Stoudemire's behavior of dividing data was a blatant fraud. Odom stopped refuting and finally whispered:
"Not every player craves a championship, Kobe, statistics can help them get a big contract."

Mamba glared subconsciously, wanting to refute but not knowing what to say. Seeing everyone returning to the locker room talking and laughing, Kobe fell silent and secretly made a vow in his heart:
"No one can stop me from pursuing the championship!"

-

On Tuesday, October 10, many teams in the league ushered in preseason games. Unlike several teams on tour in Europe, the Heat's first game was played at home, and ESPN broadcasted the entire game! The Big Three officially debuted tonight, and the opponent was the bottom-ranked Pistons. The game pressure was not great. During the press conference in the afternoon, head coach Spoelstra rarely boasted:

"Everything is perfect! The Heat will become a historic team!"

"I know everyone is expecting us to break all kinds of records, but I want to be honest, this is still too difficult for young people."

"Lee has created too many miracles. It is difficult to surpass miracles. Our only goal is to win the championship. The first championship in team history has an extraordinary meaning for Miami."

Many reporters noticed that Spoelstra was no longer modest and seemed to have more confidence in the championship. In response, an ESPN reporter curiously asked:

"Have James, Wade and Bosh fully adapted to the new tactical system?"

As if thinking of the performance of the boys in the training class, Spo couldn't hold back the smile on his face and began to sing praises for his disciples:
"Good players will adapt to the situation. All three of them made sacrifices, but the chemistry was outstanding!"

"The new Heat team has both offense and defense. Everyone can look forward to tonight's game."

Due to the closed training camp, sports reporters have no way of knowing the specific situation of the training sessions, but everyone is familiar with the tactical system.

On the day of the media open day, Pat Riley once again boasted that this Heat team is his "dream team."

The dream of playing for the five forwards has come true this season. The oily head once again talked about his advanced basketball philosophy and painted a big picture for all sports media:

"The Twin Towers will be a thing of the past!"

As we all know, the Knicks seem aggressive but are very conservative in the playoffs, and the twin towers are the basic guarantee of the team.

Many teams wanted to follow suit, and the Mavericks were one of the imitators. Unfortunately, the level of Dallas' backcourt was not very good, and they ended up with a mess of skills, making it difficult for them to return to the conference finals.

Now the Heat coaching staff is praising the team, the sports media’s expectations are at full blast, and many people want to witness the “future of basketball”!
At 19:30 p.m. that evening, the American Airlines Center was packed. Although it was just a preseason game, with the support of the Big Three, Miami fans burst into great enthusiasm.

When the DJ on the scene loudly called on the players, the cheers could not be stopped. When LeBron James, wearing a white training suit and a headband, came on the court, the sound waves almost broke through the stadium.

The "Decision" did not cause the Chosen Ones to receive too much criticism, and many commentators even gave them high praise. After all, the three of them really took a pay cut for the championship.

When the lights came on, James took off his coat and kept making complicated gestures with his teammates. He came to the technical table, took the magnesium powder, applied it simply, and immediately made a throwing motion.

"Oh!!"

Such a cool scene made the fans at the scene excited. At the other end of the court, Wade was also showing off, grabbing the basket with both hands and doing pull-ups. After landing, the Flash smiled confidently and patted his chest in front of the camera.

In contrast, Bosh did not make any impressive moves. The outdated Dragon King came to the center of the court early, put on black braces, showed a determined look, and seemed to be particularly devoted to the game.

McGrady, who failed to start the game, was also pretending to be cool at this time, constantly high-fiving his teammates and loudly instructing starting point guard Randy Foye.

When the game was about to start, McGrady returned to his seat with a smile in his sleepy eyes, kept chewing gum, and acted like a superstar.

ESPN's camera kept following the four people. The heated atmosphere made Wilson Chandler of the Pistons secretly curl his lips, while Richard Hamilton had a blank expression on his face and adjusted his headband in a low-key manner.

Rodney Stuckey had an envious look on his face. He had to admit that the players on the other side were really good at showing off. The Pistons were really lame.
Charlie Villanueva and rookie Greg Monroe partnered up in the interior, the noise in their ears grew louder and louder, the former raised his eyebrows helplessly, and the latter tugged at his jersey nervously.

The preseason game had this kind of standard, which the newbie had never expected, so much so that during the jump ball, Monroe jumped early and Bosh easily passed the ball away.

In the first offensive round, the Heat showed their team basketball. Facing the active defense of the Pistons, they quickly found opportunities by continuously dribbling and breaking through.

After patiently passing the ball, James on the left wing passed Chandler in one step, Monroe over-assisted defense, and Bosh at the top of the arc got the chance, received a pass from his teammate and made a three-point jump shot. The scene instantly boiled!
On the defensive end, Wade disrupted the sideline pass, the ball was kicked out, and James made a direct steal. As the Flash sprinted, the basketball flew across half court.

Wade successfully chased the ball within the three-point line and slammed it down. The fans in the front row stood up one after another and, stimulated by the cheers, the Flash pounded his chest and pretended to be cool before slowly retreating.

It seemed that the Heat did not expect to work so hard, and rookie Monroe either disappeared or made mistakes in the next few rounds.

Head coach John Kuster on the sidelines loudly reminded his players, but Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey were also silenced one after another under the pursuit of the two All-Stars.

A familiar scene soon appeared, with continuous transition offense and the Pistons' big men running back and forth.

When Wade casually threw the ball to the back during a fast break and James followed up with a dunk, the Heat's home commentator Eric Reed shouted excitedly:

"Wade--James!!"

"It was a wonderful game. The future of basketball has arrived. The boys showed their dominance!"

The "Big Three" madly pressured the ball handler and were holding their energy. Their condition got better and better after they took the lead. At the end of the first quarter, James' consecutive three-pointers further expanded their lead.

With inside and outside shots, the Pistons collapsed in one quarter. At 18:38, at the end of the first quarter, the American Airlines Center was completely boiling. After losing for so many years, the day is finally coming!

Some old fans also high-fived each other. Many people have forgotten that when Li You first entered the league, the Heat's championship dream was shattered. The scene of kidney fighter Mourning crying broke the hearts of many fans.
McGrady, who made his debut, did not disappoint the fans. His calves were still in great shape, his pull-up jump shots were graceful, and his breakthrough assists were leisurely. The outdated "second man" looked in great shape!

The rest of the game turned into a carnival moment. The Pistons surrendered early, and the fans at the scene twisted their bodies to the music and cheered loudly for the Big Three's first victory.

In the end, the score was fixed at 88:121. Coach Spoelstra couldn't help but straighten his chest. They crushed their opponents tonight!
Bosh scored a game-high 20 points. He followed his two partners and kept waving to express his gratitude to the fans. When ESPN interviewed the three of them, everyone was smiling.

"I feel good, but I think we can do better! Wade missed a few easy shots"

James laughed and teased Wade next to him. Wade also laughed after hearing this, tilted his head and boasted:
"I saw some people were worried about our inside line, but Chris proved tonight that he can do anything!"

Bosh, with his hands on his hips, smiled happily, hugged his two partners, and said confidently:

"I know the preseason can't tell us much, but the future of basketball has arrived! I hope everyone can pay attention to the Heat's performance."

(End of this chapter)