Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

When the agreed date arrived, Qi Tian came to the arena early to wait. To his surprise, someone in the arena had already arrived first.

A figure wearing No. 24 training uniform is practicing jump shots.

"24th?"

When Qi Tian saw the man's name, he had a guess in his mind.

Hearing the noise, the man caught the basketball and turned around.

Handsome looking, with hazy eyes that look like he hasn't slept, and the standard height for a forward, he is none other than the second-year rookie, Paul George.

"Are you the new Qiba?"

Unexpectedly, when Paul George saw Qi Tian coming, he was the first to extend his hand.

"Welcome to the Pacers, I'm one class ahead of you, you can call me Paul."

"Hello."

Qi Tian put down the backpack in his hand and shook hands with George.

The two chatted in a low voice for a while, and then George, as a second-year rookie, accepted Qi Tian as his younger brother.

Soon, the team's third youngster also arrived, none other than Lance Stephenson.

Unlike George, who showed outstanding abilities in the playoffs, Stephenson violated team rules and was suspended for the last two games of the regular season and the entire playoffs. He missed his first playoff trip in his career.

It's just that he is careless and doesn't care about these things at all.

It is easier to make friends with carefree people, and the three of them quickly became familiar with each other.

When Hansbrough, Price, Collison and others arrived, the arena immediately became lively, and Granger accurately opened the door at the last moment.

"Brother!"

George, who was still showing off in front of Qi Tian, ​​immediately reached out and waved to Granger. When he saw the person behind him, he immediately became quiet.

Granger was followed by three people, and the middle-aged man walking in front was Vogel.

Vogel successfully renewed his contract with the team in the summer, and officially became the head coach of the Pacers from the interim head coach.

He turned around and introduced this year's new players, David West and George Hill, to the team members.

"I hope everyone can live in harmony and work hard for the future of the team."

Vogel said some tricks and let the two new players return to the team.

Standing in the corner, Qi Tian could keenly sense that the original starting power forward Hansbrough and starting guard Collison felt alienated from the new players.

In last season's playoff game against the Bulls, Hansbrough had difficulty guarding the opponent's power forward. Now that West has arrived, his starting position is obviously no longer guaranteed.

Collison's idea is much more complex.

Although he, like Hansbrough, was a first-round pick in 2009, Collison started as Paul's substitute and gradually made a name for himself.

Later, in a big deal involving four teams, he came to the Pacers and became the starting guard.

In the playoff matchups, he was not as good as his opponent Rose, but he also had something to say:

"He was the No. 1 pick in 2008, but I was just an ordinary 21st pick in 2009. Isn't it normal that I can't beat him?"

George Hill, acquired by the Pacers in a trade, is a combo guard, but Collison knows that the new head coach prefers defense and prefers players with strong defensive abilities.

Although George Hill can swing to shooting guard, Collison's sense of crisis has not diminished at all.

If you are not careful, you can easily lose your starting position like Hansbrough.

And Collison, who originally worked his way up from the bench, naturally couldn't accept the gap of returning to the bench seat.

Vogel did not pay attention to the psychological quality of the players. On the first day of the team's training together, he set high standards and strict requirements to increase the intensity.

"This is already a shortened season, and we must be prepared for a tough battle in advance!"

His thoughts coincided with Granger's. The 28-year-old Granger was naturally not satisfied with the first round of the playoffs and wanted to go further.

"Very good, let's have a training match after the break!"

Vogel looked at the sweating players in the arena with satisfaction and began to order his troops.

Unexpectedly, Vogel did not dismantle last season's starting lineup. Collison, Duntay Jones, Granger, Hansbrough and Hibbert formed a team, while George Hill, Stephenson, George

, West and Fesenko formed the first team, and Price, Qi Tian, ​​Amandelson, Foster and Pendegraf formed the third team.

The starting lineup headed by Granger is naturally very strong, and the second team of George Hill and West also performed well. After a few rounds, they were able to compete with the starting lineup.

Vogel and many assistant coaches stood nearby and watched the game, taking in the performance of both teams.

Jim Byrne, the assistant coach in charge of the team's offense, whispered to the head coach and also to the new chief assistant Brian Shaw:

"The original starting lineup only had one strong point: Granger. It was a bit difficult when facing players with strong defense."

"And West's inside attack will definitely liberate Granger. When the time comes, coupled with Collison and Hill's back line, we will definitely be able to transform ourselves in the new season."

Dan Bock, the assistant coach in charge of defense, said "tsk":

"It would be great if we could replace George with him."

George's growth obviously exceeded everyone's expectations. In the second grade, he was already able to play back and forth with Granger.

"Probably not."

Vogel was the first to retort:

"George's stability needs to be tempered. He is not as good as Granger in this regard."

Brian Shaw turned to look at Qi Tian who was sitting on the bench. His third team was not performing well enough because of its poor overall strength and lack of a suitable shooting guard.

An idea struck him and he turned around and asked:

"Why don't we move George to the shooting guard position to maximize the team's defense."

Vogel was also a little moved, but still said:

"The rotation of the lineup can wait until the regular season to hone it. Now, our task is to train and get back into shape through preseason games. The matching of the lineup is something to consider in the regular season."

The assistant teachers nodded.

Seeing Vogel's performance, Brian Shaw determined the focus of his next work:

Find new people and develop them.

…

"Have you heard, there is another yellow man in the NBA!"

"real or fake?"

The summer of 2011 was very harsh for Chinese fans. Yao Ming, who was reimbursed due to injury, finally announced his retirement at the age of 31.

In the NBA arena, the Chinese only have Yi Jianlian, who only averaged 5.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game with the Wizards last season. There is a question mark as to whether he can continue to play in the NBA.

At this time, the appearance of another yellow man really made the fans very excited.

"Hey, what's the use? You couldn't even hold the ball in the preseason. You played three games and only played 20 minutes in total, right?"

"Do you know Jaguar?"

The first person to speak immediately retorted:

"The preseason is definitely about seeing if anyone can be included in the rotation, and the main players will go on the field to find their form."

"Ha, you mean that Qitian has become the main force now? Do you dare to take a gamble with me?"

"Just bet!"

…