Champion, please stay!

Chapter 100, Question 98: Who can brag better than whom?
After the preseason games, the Knicks will have four days of rest before the regular season begins on the 30th.

The whole team has a day off on the 26th.

After getting up today, Yi Shui did some weightlifting and cardio in the apartment gym as her morning exercise.

He had commercial activities on all four rest days, but when communicating with the brands, he adjusted the time of four of the activities to today. On the three training days, he only arranged work at noon or in the evening so as not to affect the team's training.

It was still early, so he made himself a simple breakfast and ate while browsing the news.

The Knicks' preseason record is not discussed on major websites, but only on Knicks-related forums, local community websites, and local forums.

However, his personal performance has generated considerable buzz.

继前5场场均26分后，他打奇才队拿到20分10板7助攻2抢断1盖帽，打雄鹿队拿到28分7板5助攻2抢断2盖帽，打活塞队拿到26分5板6助攻1抢断2盖帽……

8场比赛场均25.5分7.8板5.3助攻1.8抢断2.4盖帽！（总计204分62板42助攻14抢断19盖帽。）
He saw him on the front page of major sports and basketball websites, and the New York Times and Associated Press even put him on the front page.

The New York Times praised him so much that he was almost embarrassed.

The headline is: "The Great Arrival".

The content all says how outstanding he is, and fans are fortunate to witness firsthand how he gradually became a legend.

The Associated Press, however, had a different purpose, listing the best rookies in the preseason over the past decade or so.

There are 5 players in total: Duncan, Okafor, Ben Gordon, Roy, and Yi Shui.

易水和邓肯被拎出来分析，邓肯在97年10月的季前赛上，7场比赛场均18分14.4板2助攻3.7盖帽。

Okafor, Ben Gordon, and Roy were all placed in the second tier.

The Associated Press concluded that college is the better cradle for developing players.

It feels like they took money from the NCAA.

Yi Shui noticed that another media outlet had linked him to Duncan.

"The next Tim Duncan? The new NBA superstar? This year's New York is something to look forward to." — Los Angeles Times

Besides the praise, there were also some reports that seemed to praise but were actually criticizing.

"At 21, a mature age, with three years of college experience and a mature playing style, Brook will begin his NBA career as a seasoned star." — ESPN

"Rookie of the Year already decided? The Huskies' ability to develop players has been proven once again, with Brook becoming another masterpiece for the Huskies." — Cleveland Plain Dealer

There are also those who try to ride the wave – the Oklahoma Weatherford Daily.

This media outlet from Goose Village compared him to Durant in their discussion.

However, it wasn't exactly a case of unfair competition, because the Knicks' home opener was against the Thunder, who had just moved to Oklahoma City.

Yi Shui opened the Thunder's official website to see which players the Thunder currently have, and noticed something interesting.

The Thunder have abandoned the SuperSonics' history, listing on their official website that they were founded in 2008 in Goose Village, but they have retained their championship record from the 78-79 season...

...

On the 27th, the Knicks began their final preparations for the regular season.

An intra-squad scrimmage was held this morning. Curry, DaQ, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Swift were on one team, while Duhon, Daniels, Wilson Chandler, Harrington, and Birdman were on the other.

Nate Robinson, Chalmers, and Jeffries are the candidates.

Watching Yi Shui and David Lee's balanced force, capable of both positional warfare and counter-attacks, pressuring the team led by Du Hong and Harrington, which primarily relied on counter-attacks.

D'Antoni said to Walsh, who was standing next to him, "I just wanted to try out this lineup in training camp, but I didn't expect it to perform this well."

Walsh replied, "Put Brook on the second team and replace Wilson or Marquez; their counter-attacks will be even better."

D'Antoni: "That's right, Brook is the key."

But replacing David with Chris on the first team would be more effective. Chris's passing, Brook and Stromile's speed, and Stephen and Big Q's shooting combine very well in fast breaks.

However, this lineup is not good for positional warfare. It needs David to provide close-range control and coordinate with other units in positional warfare to be effective.

I tried replacing David with Al to improve mobility and strengthen our counter-attacks. His individual performance was good, but his area of ​​activity overlapped too much with Brook's; there was space, but it was difficult to coordinate. Pairing Al and David in the paint also resulted in movement conflicts. Al's versatility became a burden for us. I thought of Dallas that year, with Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison on one team… such outstanding players, it's such a pity.”

Walsh felt a little guilty seeing D'Antoni's troubled expression. He had tried his best, but the players he could offer D'Antoni were limited at the moment. And D'Antoni was a bit stubborn, always wanting to do his best.

"Mike, you've far exceeded my expectations to get to this level. No coach could have built such an outstanding offensive lineup so soon after taking over the team.

I thought we'd end up like the SuperSonics... oh, they changed their name to the Thunder. I thought we'd have to do what they did this season: develop young players and tank. But your performance has made me start looking forward to the playoffs.

D'Antoni's lips curled up when he heard this: "In the West, it's impossible for us, but in the East, I think we can give it a try."

Seeing that his new partner, though demanding, wasn't obsessing over minor details, Walsh breathed a sigh of relief and said, "By the way, speaking of Brook and Al's compatibility, I watched Brook University's games again these past two days, and I was reminded of one of his college teammates. They had a very interesting pick-and-roll tactic on the wing."

Yi Shui's college teammates? D'Antoni had studied Yi Shui University's games several times in May and June. He was amazed by Yi Shui University's performance, but what concerned him even more was their exaggerated rate of improvement. They could see obvious improvement almost every two or three weeks. He tried watching the video of the first game of the division and then immediately watched the video of the final. He felt that apart from their playing style, they were completely different players.

D'Antoni thought for a moment and came up with a name—Johnson Bird.

The Arizona Wildcats and the Sun Demons are both teams in the PAC-10 conference. Bird, who performed exceptionally well in California high school basketball, was one of the key high school talents that both teams were vying for in 07.

Mike D'Antoni, who was coaching the Phoenix Suns at the time, had naturally heard about it. He later learned that Johnson Bird had not stayed at a university in the far west of the United States, but had gone to the Northeast.

During his lunch break, D'Antoni was watching Yi Shui University game videos in his office. When he was watching the videos before, he didn't pay attention to the cooperation between Yi Shui and Johnson Bird. As a freshman with average immediate impact, the latter had too few appearances and playing time.

After studying it carefully this time, he found it quite interesting! Worth a try!
However, he did not act immediately, and the afternoon training proceeded as planned.

A team that has been rotten for so many years, they have a well-established roster right from the start, and the rotation lineup has gradually been determined in the preseason, so they can't make blind changes...

...

The date is the 29th, the last day before the regular season.

The Knicks are focused on preparations, just like they have been for the past two days.

This kind of attitude towards preparation is something we haven't seen in this team for many years.

On one hand, Walsh 'swept through' the previous roster and brought in many new players, but the most important reason that got the players focused was that they won the preseason games and played well.

After a day of team training, Yi Shui finished his extra practice and dragged his tired body back to his apartment.

Although he was tired, he was very excited. Tomorrow, his NBA career would officially begin!

Before going to bed, he turns on his computer and reads the news.

Yesterday, the Thunder came to the city from Goose Village. At noon today, he had coffee with Westbrook, whom he had faced once in college. They were just chatting casually, but the conversation turned to whether they should start a streetwear brand together. He even agreed to invest money and do promotion in New York without really understanding what was going on.

Afterwards, he seriously suspected that Turtle had deliberately tricked him, but he still sought help from Bartelstein and senior students at the school to contact Turtle.

Streetwear + Westbrook, him + New York, he only needs to invest some money and time in advertising to "make money".

A new topic has emerged, fueled by the Thunder's arrival in New York – comparisons between him and Durant.

Upon opening the portal website, Yi Shui saw the name of their head coach, as well as the name of the Thunder's head coach.

In an interview with CNN, PJ Carlesimo commented on him: "Brook has outstanding talent, but Kevin is a once-in-a-decade talent. Comparing Brook to Kevin is unfair to Brook. After a year of development in his rookie season, Kevin is already a superstar. He will be as good as Kobe, Dwyane, and LeBron."

A second-grader comparable to Klay Thompson and LeBron James? Yi Shui didn't even care about the reporter's question about evaluating him. This is such a boast, how can a schoolboy even believe it?
But when he saw the interview video of his own coach, Yi Shui was so engrossed in his own coach that he could only scratch the ground with his toes and his mustache was even more exaggerated!

"Do I need to explain Brook's talent? Anyone who has seen him play knows what an incredible player he is. I don't want to compare anyone to him. If I had to say who he's like, I would say he's a combination of Dirk, Amare, and Kevin."

Feeling a little embarrassed, Yi Shui watched it several times before turning off the computer and going to sleep.

He had just lain down when a system notification popped up!
"Your career is about to begin. You have one wish. Would you like to use it?"

Yi Shui instantly snapped out of her daze and asked herself, 'What is the wish for?'

"Make it to the playoffs."

After a brief moment of thought, Yi Shui decisively chose to take out a loan!

"You promised to lead the team to the playoffs in the 2008-2009 season. Congratulations on receiving your reward in advance: Inside Dominator (Talent) because you lack the ability to initiate offense in the paint."

(End of this chapter)