Chapter 39 Warm-up (12)

Author: Tiamo the Withered

Chapter 39 Warm-up (12)

"No, you look down on us so much?"

Today is the weekend break, and the McGilton family is naturally resting at home. Li's father invited them to have a barbecue at home to thank them for taking care of Li Chengming.

After eating and drinking, Li Chengming followed Jon to watch TNT's evening program, which mainly focused on predictions about the new NBA season.

In fact, during the offseason, even as early as after the finals, the media began to look forward to the new season in large numbers.

Then, as the draft and the trading market changed, these predictions became more frequent, closer to reality, and more diverse and specific.

Including the record and ranking of each team in the new season, the performance and ranking of players in the new season, as well as data on various teams and players. Professional websites will even launch sets of predictions, and some places will also offer quotes.

mouth.

Li Chengming doesn't pay much attention to other things, because there are only two things that concern him, one is the Magic's prospects for next season, and the other is the performance of the rookies.

This year, because of the presence of Oden, Durant and others, this draft has high expectations. Although overall, it is not an absolute draft year. It cannot be compared with, for example, 96, 03, etc., but the media has high expectations for the top draft.

Rookie evaluation is quite high.

Even Kong Yi, who seems to be underperforming at the moment, is still expected to be successful. After all, his draft template is Nowitzki, although there are many elements touted by the domestic media.

And being able to reach 60 to 70% as a driver is enough for him to gain a foothold in the NBA. Even if the American media no longer dislikes the German tank, he is still the star of the Mavericks and the leader of the playoff team.

However, Oden just underwent minimally invasive surgery on his right knee last month. Judging from the current situation, there is a high probability that he will be reimbursed for the season. His career has been cast a shadow before it even begins, so he is getting the most attention now.

Durant became the second choice.

There is a saying that has been circulating in the draft, called "The No. 2 pick must be a loser." Before, many people thought that the loser would be Durant. After all, his body is too thin and he is not good at confrontation. But now Oden is suffering from injuries.

, maybe it’s a good thing for Durant.

As for Horford, Conley, Noah, Jeff Green and others behind him, including Kong Yi, they all have good prospects.

However, the media had nothing good to say about the second-round picks, whether they were the two from China or Spain, Gasol Jr., the younger brother of Grizzlies star Pau Gasol, especially Gasol Jr. and Li Chengming.

These two fat guys, although they both have good basic inside skills, are not very favored due to various reasons.

Of course, Li Chengming's situation is actually better than that of Gasol. Not only because the latter cannot log into the NBA, but also because the media believes that based on his performance in the preseason, he is still qualified to serve as the Magic's substitute in the new season. Although this

It is also based on not having much expectations for the Magic this season.

Although Lewis, one of the "Seattle Double Guns", joined the SuperSonics, he did not prove himself much in the SuperSonics. The media believes that it is indeed a strengthening for the Magic, but the Magic are not yet able to compete for the championship, especially with the competition in the Eastern Conference this season.

fierce.

The Celtics, Cavaliers, and Pistons are predicted to be the top three, and the Magic are even ranked behind the Wizards.

This is understandable, after all, the Magic only managed to squeeze into the playoffs in eighth place last season. Apart from Lewis, there are no other important signings this season, and some people have even left.

This also makes Magic general manager Otis Smith still have the idea of ​​​​trading and wanting to further strengthen, because just squeezing into the playoffs is obviously not enough for him.

In the West, the Spurs led by Duncan and the Hornets led by Paul are at the top. As for the Lakers, the media believes that Kobe may be able to make it to the playoffs, but as long as the lineup remains unchanged, it will be difficult to achieve anything, and even the playoffs are in danger.

There are also the Jazz, Texas, Mavericks, Nuggets, etc. in the playoff ranks. Generally speaking, the West is still very competitive, but the East may become Boston's standout.

In terms of individual players, Kobe was naturally mentioned first by them. Although the Lakers' record in the past two years was poor, Kobe himself performed very well. Everyone agreed that as long as Old Buss operates well, for example, he can become a player like

With a deal like the Green Army's, maybe the Lakers can also turn around.

Not to mention, Hu Kai, as an old enemy for so many years, saw that the Celtics were making a big move. There was also a lot of movement in Los Angeles. Recently, there were obviously more trade rumors. This may be to retain Kobe.

On the other hand, I really want to take action and don’t want to be outdone by my old rivals.

However, because the Lakers failed to form F4 that year and the Sharks later traveled east, many media believed that Kobe wanted to seize power and forced the Lakers to give up O'Neal, and then O'Neal left in frustration. Last year, he won the championship with the Heat, which is considered a minor

A slap in the face to the Lakers and Kobe.

The reason why I say this is because O'Neal is no longer as brave as he used to be, and there is still a big controversy over free throws in this finals.

Even FMVP Wade, who was the first to win the championship in the 2003 generation, was nicknamed "Body Hair" in China.

After the lawsuit and the disbandment of F4, Kobe's reputation has never been very good. In addition, he has an unruly personality and does not like the media very much. Therefore, although his popularity is very high at this time, his reputation is not very good.

If it weren't for the fact that he was with the Lakers and had the help of many media in Los Angeles, I would probably have been as blackmailed as O'Neal was when he just left the Lakers.

Of course, Kobe has proven his personal strength with two seasons of scoring titles, but the reputation of "without the Sharks cannot win the championship" has not been removed, so the media predicts that he may still focus on personal data in the new season.

Unless the team makes a big move.

Naturally, the scoring title should be Kobe's.

As for the assists king, Nash has the best chance of retaining the previous assists king, but the possibility of Paul and others is not ruled out.

In terms of MVP, people like Duncan, James, Nash, Paul, Howard and even Kobe have a chance to win. Nowadays, many strong teams in the league have a hero. It is not an exaggeration to say that the NBA is a competition for hegemony.

There are other personal data, large and small, as well as some individual awards, including Best Rookie, Best Rookie Team, etc. Of course, Li Chengming was not included in the statistics. Obviously, except for the local media in Orlando, the outside world

No one thinks highly of him.

TNT not only followed up with some rankings, but now this program must be effective, so classic faces such as Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, who are TNT's contracted sports commentators, appeared on the TV screen.

.

"I don't like this fat guy..."

Hearing Li Chengming's words, Jon glanced at him subconsciously, and then curiously asked: "Why?"

Li Chengming asked: "Do you know Shao Ming?"

"Deadly?"

"Yes, that is my compatriot and the pride of our country. He was ridiculed by this guy in his rookie season. Although he admitted defeat, I still don't like him very much."

Jon immediately shrugged and said, "That's such a coincidence, I don't like him very much either."

I don’t know if he is sincere or if he just agrees with Li Chengming.

But when I saw Barkley and others talking about the rookies of this class first, Kenny Smith didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional. He focused on the three Chinese rookies of this class and asked Barkley to do it.

an evaluation.

Barkley seemed to have suffered a loss from Yao, and he actually seemed more cautious this time. He implicitly explained that if Kong Yi's age is not a problem, he is still optimistic about his potential. Of course, it is not easy to adapt to the NBA.

After all, many talented international players have fallen into this trap.

When it came to the two players in the second round, he bluntly said that, leaving aside the fact that Sun Dasheng had not yet entered the NBA, he was quite unfavorable about Li Chengming.

He also bluntly said: "I think there is a problem with his playing style. He obviously has such a huge advantage in size and strength, but he likes to float outside and shoot. He is too soft, and it is much tougher than him."

"But he's still young..."

"I know he is still young, but young players should not think that you have room to grow because of your young age. In the NBA, the team will not give you so many opportunities. If you cannot seize the opportunity, you will naturally be eliminated.

.

"I'm not targeting anyone. All rookies are the same, including me back then..."

Barkley was the fifth overall pick in 1984. He averaged a double-double in the playoffs in his first year as a rookie and made the second team in his second year. He is certainly qualified to say this.

And speaking of it, Li Chengming has a similar style to him. They are both shorter when playing inside, but have an advantage in terms of tonnage. However, Barkley's physical fitness is even more powerful.

Feizhu, who is 198cm tall, has a terrifying wingspan of 218cm and a bounce of 92cm. This makes up for the lack of defensive size brought by his height to a certain extent, making him unable to face the tall insiders of the 1980s and 1990s.

Weakly defeated, and even won the MVP.

But times have changed. To be honest, Li Chengming doesn't think there's anything wrong with him "playing while floating". His shots are accurate and he can't take more shots?

What's more, he also performs a lot in the low post, just because his position in the team is different. If he is the core, he will definitely have more singles opportunities, but he is only a role player now, so sometimes he just pulls aside or gets stuck.

A blue-collar rebounder.

But it was obvious that Barkley was not targeting him, but that he himself had a bit of... contempt for players who focus on shooting. It can even be said that Li Chengming was affected.

"Hey, don't mind, Lee."

Jon thought he was unhappy and wanted to comfort him, but Li Chengming smiled freely and said: "Fortunately, he didn't bet with Kenny again. I guarantee he will lose."

Kenny Smith was also uneasy and well-intentioned. He had laid so much groundwork to dig a hole for Barkley, but Barkley did not fall for it this time. He only said that he was giving advice to all rookies and was not targeting Li Chengming.

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Chapter completed!