basketball never sleeps

Chapter 192 Win a real ring!

Author: I feel restless while bathing

Chapter 192 Win a real ring!

Time flies. On October 10, the only legal holiday in October in the United States, the Heat also ushered in the first preseason game of the new season.

They flew to New Orleans with last year's runner-up Spurs, where they will play an away game.

This is also a charity performance game temporarily arranged by the league.

Because the city's overall terrain is low-lying, New Orleans usually relies on levees, flood drains and giant pumps to fight floods. However, the hurricane destroyed the city's defenses and the city was soaked in floods a month and a half ago.

As one of the highest points in the city, this arena, which is full of devastation and has become quite dilapidated due to floods, carries the hope of the survivors who did not leave.

Unfortunately, due to flooding, this arena can no longer meet the needs of daily use. The Hornets were also forced to temporarily move to Oklahoma to borrow the arena there, and temporarily changed their name to the Oklahoma Hornets.

But there is no problem in laying a temporary floor and performing a charity performance.

But in this game called "Hope", it was not as exciting as imagined.

The Heat wanted to dedicate a hard-fisted game to provide some comfort to the victims in this ruined area, but the Spurs, Duncan, who was still alive and kicking before, suddenly sprained his foot the day before yesterday and could not come.

Originally, Popovich was relieved that Laettner was gone, because among the people left on the Heat, they were either good guys or bad guys who liked open and honest confrontation.

With Duncan's endurance, head-on injuries are nothing to him.

However, after the Heat's makeup photos leaked two days ago, Popovich thought about it and "let" Duncan get injured.

Among the dozens of pictures, there was a photo of Mo Wen and their rookie inside big man Tufte. In the photo, the two were wearing boxing gloves and posing quite seriously, "fighting" each other.

In other photos, he is either looking handsome or cool, and all of them are having fun, but this photo has completely changed his style.

What is your identity?

I bring a knife.

Are you a good person or a bad person?

I carry a knife!

Popovich: rbq, rbq!

However, even if they were not stunned, the Spurs still showed good resilience. They had a stalemate with the Heat's second team for half a game before finally losing.

Popovich: Bah, you have the nerve to say that you are the second team?

Mo Wen, Payton, Rasul, Haslem, Mourning.

Three championship starters plus two former All-Star veterans are called the second team. How can you be embarrassed?

Da Fan also wanted to be in the starting lineup, but he got all the starting lineups and only played half a quarter and opened up the score by 7 points.

Without Duncan, the Spurs' limit is the playoffs, and the scene will look the same as an NBA team playing in the NBDL.

The process can be described in two words: crushing.

The Heat didn't have a fast break, so they just rolled over slowly and leisurely.

When all five of them have the ability to attack and play hard, and they all have the awareness to distribute the ball, they don't need to steal points on fast breaks and just play Russian style——

Torrent of steel!

If you get stolen points by fast break, you will only feel annoyed.

But being trampled on by positional warfare is really nothing but despair.

The Spurs didn't do much to strengthen in the summer, and they didn't have the money to do so.

The Spurs' owner, Hotl, is a tractor seller with very little money and a net worth of only 80 million. He is in the same poorest bracket as Rockets owner Alexander.

But in addition to the team, Alexander is also involved in lending, so his net worth is of little reference value. After all, Hottel, an industrialist, is the only poor one among the league's bosses.

Throughout the summer, the Spurs renewed Horry's contract, introduced the waived Van Exel, and made no other big moves.

(The previous arrangement for Raheem joining the Spurs was a mistake, which has been corrected)

After the game, Popovich tried his best to pretend not to care about the result in front of the camera, showing that friendship comes first and competition comes second.

But he knew very well that the Spurs basically had no chance of winning this year's championship.

…

After the game against the Spurs, the Heat packed their bags and flew to China without stopping.

Star teams enjoy more broadcast rights and must contribute to expanding the league's influence.

Two Chinese games, one Japanese game, Yanjing, Yangcheng, Tokyo.

Three consecutive games, all against the Rockets, were arranged a long time ago.

It's not so much a pre-season game as it is an exhibition game.

Players on both sides also played the game as if they were all-stars.

However, the Rockets, who still had the "home court" last year, have become a mere foil this year.

After Mo Wen won the FMVP, the home team in the hearts of most domestic fans became the Heat.

Not to mention Mo Wen, Aopang, who has a people-friendly style, is almost more popular than Dayao.

"Is it an illusion? We haven't seen each other for a few months, and Yao seems to have softened a lot." After the game, Aopang found an opportunity to ask Mo Wen.

"He lost 5 kilograms and you gained 5 kilograms, what do you think?" Mo Wen rolled his eyes.

"Shaq, have you ever heard a joke?"

"What joke?" O'Neill tilted his head.

"If there's a guy who falls without being touched, it's Divac;

If there's anyone who just touches it, it's Ginobili;

If someone was hit hard and fell down, it was Yao Ming;

If someone gets hit so hard that it seems like he's going to collapse, it's Allen Iverson;

If someone is hit hard and doesn't move at all, it's Ewing;

If someone is hit hard and the person who hit him falls first, he is..."

Mo Wen said and patted Ao Pang's belly.

"Oh, haha, I got the punchline of this joke, so who is that person?" Ao Pang raised his head and patted his belly half proudly and half proudly.

"Isn't it you that Mo is talking about?" Wade, who was standing next to him, looked over in confusion.

"No, what Shaq is asking is, who can't think of hitting him!"

Originally, the Heat should have been crushed in the exhibition game. O'Brien, who has gained weight, has regained some of the dominance he had during the Lakers era on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, his legs are now "rooted" and passive, and he is unwilling to enter the paint.

Out.

Dayao's shots from the outside were ignored. O'Pang was too shameless and was afraid of being photographed. When he saw Dayao receiving the ball from the outside, he didn't choose to guard him, but just retreated half way.

Step sideways and block.

As long as I don't defend, Yao Ming can't shoot me.

The most outrageous thing is that this purely lazy behavior was regarded by Chinese fans as a sophistication.

Basically no one laughed at Ao Pang's defense, but instead praised his "high emotional intelligence".

After Yao Ming recovered from his leg injury, he followed Mo Wen's advice and has been practicing hard on mid-range and long-range shots. So far, the effect seems to be pretty good.

The efficiency of COSCO shots is definitely not as high as hitting the basket, but the advantage is that it is easier to catch the ball and there are more opportunities to take shots.

After Dayao refused to renew his contract in advance, his status not only remained unshaken, but actually improved slightly.

Although McGrady still has the initiative to hold the ball, Dayao's shots have increased significantly in these preseason games. I just don't know if this trend can be maintained into the regular season.

The Heat players had a great time on this journey.

Even though there are many celebrities among them, they have never been so popular.

Ao Pang complained on the return flight that his fingers had suffered worse than twisted toes in the past two days.

Really, my hand cramps when I sign in.

Wade, Walker and Payton are slightly regretful.

They originally wanted to try Chinese roast chicken, but Mo Wen had no intention of showing them the world.

In Miami, Mo Wen can treat anyone he wants because there is an industrial chain there. As long as he pays, there will be no other problems, and the Heat players are not so popular that they are constantly being followed.

But in China, not to mention that Mo Wen, a good law-abiding citizen, has no chance. With the popularity of the Heat players, if he goes out to eat snacks, he will make news. If he calls chicken, reporters may come to his door together with the police. .

Although the poached eggs in Macau were tempting, Mo Wen had no intention of giving himself a "hero" title.

Returning to Miami, after two days of rest, he played three preseason games with several neighboring teams. With a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, the Heat finally ended their preseason tour.

Before the start of the regular season, the prediction process is naturally indispensable.

Various sports media have made predictions and assessments of the strength of each team in the new season.

Not surprisingly, the Heat topped the lists of various media.

It is true that the Heat, with many veterans, seems to be a bit of a reverse version, but last season the Heat proved that in the face of absolute strength, the so-called version is nothing more than that.

Aopang is one year older, and his weight loss results last year have been replaced by deliciousness and indulgence, but the two outside twins from the 2003 class have also matured further.

Coupled with the arrival of a group of strong reinforcements who can knock out the champion starting lineup and replace the bench, the Heat's only remaining Achilles' heel is the fast break.

However, the Suns, who were regarded as the Heat's biggest opponent in the new season a month ago, fell out of the top three in this list.

because……

Stoudemire was injured.

Stoudemire, who had just signed a big contract with the Suns, was admitted to the hospital due to knee discomfort on the second day of training camp.

After diagnosis, Stoudemire's knee needs surgery. Including the recovery period, it will take four months at the earliest to return to the game. The prognosis is not certain whether the problem will occur again.

Normally, the team will conduct a physical examination before signing a big contract, but the Suns omitted this step out of so-called respect.

There is actually nothing we can do about it. Stoudemire, who is about to enter his contract year, often flirted with the Lakers during the summer.

The Lakers also announced that they have locked in four targets, Yao, Stoudemire, Garnett and Nowitzki, and one of the four must be chosen.

Both Garnett and Nowitzki are under contract, and it is difficult to trade with super-large contracts. It is different for Dayao and Stoudemire. They are restricted free agents in the contract year, so they have a lot of room for operation.

Although Dayao refused to renew his contract in advance, he still coyly said that he liked the city of Houston.

Stoudemire has said many times that he likes to cooperate with Nash, but he is also very realistic and has never expressed the idea of renewing his contract.

The sun is very anxious.

Life is so dramatic, if you don't follow the procedures, you will be punished.

Stoudemire's knee has been uncomfortable all summer, and then the problem broke out on the second day of training camp. You say it was a coincidence...

Nash is the irreplaceable core of the Suns. How can Stoudemire, the efficient scoring leader of the team, be an arrow that can be easily replaced?

The Suns, who have a six- or seven-man rotation, are missing one of their team's leading scorers. This is just a joke.

Johnson was let go, Stoudemire was lying on the hospital bed again, and the new owner Sarver suddenly traded the outside three-point turret Big Q to the Knicks...

Last season's five starters suddenly left Nash and Marion. Some defensive players came in, but the Suns don't rely on defense to win.

ESPN ranked the Suns sixth just to give Nash face. In other media's predictions, the Suns sometimes fell out of the top eight.

In the official strength list, the Spurs are ranked second. They are ranked here mainly because of their stability, and their core and role players have not changed much.

The third place is the Pistons. Originally, the Pistons could be ranked second, but after they changed their offensive coach Sanders, they still don't know whether they can produce a chemical reaction, so they are temporarily ranked third.

The top three are okay, they are all acquaintances, but if you go out of the top three, there will be a lot of controversy.

The Rockets occupy fourth place.

Top guard Tracy McGrady + top insider Dayao who has entered the mature stage + wild beast forward Swift, the seemingly reasonable configuration combination gives everyone a lot of room for imagination.

The fifth is the Cavaliers. Stern worked hard...oh no, it was the Cavaliers management team that worked hard. Reed's arrival solved the problem of the Cavaliers' second scoring point.

James + Reed + Big Z, look at it, look carefully, does it look like the configuration of the Heat's Big Three?

James' performance in the regular season is no worse than Mo Wen in the playoffs... How bad is it?

Reid's shooting is also better than Wade's, and his breakthrough is 100 million points behind, but with A'Zhan here, he doesn't need to work hard; Big Z can't beat O'Brien, but he is also one of the top ten insiders in the league, and his attendance rate is super high.

The chain will not fall off at critical moments.

This future is quite rideable!

The Pacers, who had won two games against the Heat before, were ranked seventh. After Artest left, people also put a question mark on their defense.

The Lakers, who did not have any major reinforcements in the summer, climbed to tenth. Their lineup is quite suitable for the version, but there is still a question mark as to whether several potential players can play.

…

On November 1st, the Heat will play their old neighbor, the Magic, in their home opener.

This can be regarded as a benefit arranged by the league for the Heat. The first four games of the season are played at home.

Today, there are more important things than the opening match itself.

——Hand out rings and raise flags.

O'Brien, who was the first to appear, quietly took away his fourth ring. In order to further stimulate someone, he also wore the three Lakers rings on his hand today.

He repeated the action he did when he won the championship.

With the OK gesture, the three outstretched fingers were all wearing Lakers rings. When handing out the rings, he popped out his index finger in front of the camera and asked Riley to put it on.

After putting on the ring, Aopang retracted the three fingers, leaving only his index finger swinging back and forth between the camera and his big face with a narrow smile, pointing.

Zen Master, who was watching the live broadcast at home, sighed. The sum total of "OK"'s ambitions is not as big as the eye of an inflatable basketball needle.

I hope Kobe didn't watch the live broadcast, otherwise... the Lakers locker room will have to add a lot of pressure.

In fact, at this moment, there is a team that is more uncomfortable than the Lakers, and that is the Magic who are witnessing it with their own eyes.

In the past, the Lakers were separated from Orlando by an American distance. As long as you turned off the TV, you couldn't see them.

But now, 0 distance.

Lao Wang next door live broadcast face to face.

Wade, who appeared second, also received a lot of cheers. Although he lay down for one game due to injury, it was an injury he suffered while working hard for the Heat.

Mourning came on for the third time. He kissed the ring, the jersey, and the court floor.

Then came Haslem... Rasual... Doleak... Kenyon Doolin who changed into a Magic jersey... Steve Smith who officially retired and showed up in a suit...

"Finally, let's invite that man -"

"He is a magician from the East——"

"He is Ares (God of War) who purged the alliance——"

"He is Poseidon dancing wildly in the tsunami——"

"He is the FMVP you can always trust——"

“More——Win!!!!”

Amid the roars of the old DJ at the American Airlines Arena, Mo Wen smiled awkwardly and clasped his toes. Amidst the cheers that echoed throughout the world, he slowly walked out of the player tunnel and slowly came to the stage. He took over the design and it was not outstanding.

Wearing the second ring on her finger, she raised her arms high with a confident smile.

"roar--!"

"WIN!!!"

"Stay!" "Stay!" "Stay!"

Amidst the cheers, there were also many voices begging Mo Wen to stay.

Many fans, including those in the front row, also held signs asking for Mo Wen to stay.

Mo Wen turned a deaf ear to this, and not promising was his last tenderness.

Suddenly, Mo Wen seemed to have thought of something. He put down his hand, touched the hairband on his head, found its position, turned the hairband inside out, and revealed a few letters——

"Again"

Then he stretched out his bare third finger and raised it to the sky again.

This is one of the few promises he can give.

There is no Mo Wen's voice in the microphone, but this picture is more inspiring than any sound or any promise.

"Mo!" "Mo!" "Mo!"

"Again!" "Again!" "Again!"

There were constant cheers, and Mo Wen bowed twice before becoming silent for a short time.

Finally, when the atmosphere reached its climax, under the watchful eyes of all the Heat players, the two owners, Pat Riley and Arison, pulled together to raise the flag symbolizing the championship into the sky above the American Airlines Arena.

"That's great."

Payton, who was hiding in the players' tunnel, slightly poked his head out and squinted his eyes to appreciate everything.

He controlled his eyelids and kept the scene in front of him hazy, so that he could put it all into the arena in his mind.

That is a dream within reach.

At that time, he was very high-spirited and thought that one failure was nothing and that he still had a lot of time to waste.

But in the blink of an eye, 10 years have been wasted.

Exactly 10 years.

He withdrew the last amount of money from the time bank and emptied the account.

In the few days left, this is his only chance.

The exciting session is over.

The big screen above the stadium also played a documentary about the Heat's championship.

The Heat players temporarily returned to the locker room to calm down.

A few old birds without rings, like curious babies, picked up other people's rings and looked at them again and again under the light.

"They say the boss is rich, but this ring only looks like this."

Payton smacked his lips. He borrowed O'Pang and Mo Wen's rings, and shamelessly asked for Steve Smith's first ring (which he got when he won the championship with the Spurs in 2003). From 2000 to 2005,

The ring has been strung on one hand by him for six consecutive years.

"Things that are scarce are valuable; if there are more of them, they are naturally worthless."

This time, the excitement in Mo Wen's heart faded faster than when he got the Pistons championship ring, even though this ring meant far more to him than the one from the Pistons.

"Damn poor thing, you have no goals to strive for at such a young age. Let me think about what you will do next, get a big contract, live a life of debauchery, and live the life you want. Hehe, I seem to see another asshole.

Born!" Payton, who was pretending to be a face, said sincerely "blessings".

Several people nearby also laughed when they heard this.

"Don't treat everyone as a camp, old guy." Mo Wen smiled and shook his head, reaching out to take the ring. "Only after you win the championship will you realize that the championship is not the end."

"babble--"

Payton pouted, as if watching your performance (filling the cup).

"Let me ask you, do you know how many ways to write the word win?" Mo Wen raised his lips and asked.

"Huh?" Payton raised his eyebrows, a little confused. He looked around confusedly, "How many more are there?"

Aopang, who got his master's degree in the summer, pretended to be an ostrich after just a little thought.

"You guy, don't talk about those words with us, Brother Ni only plays real things (real niggas do real things!)" Walker, who was not well educated, said next to him.

Mo Wen didn't hang on to them and held out four fingers.

"Four kinds——"

"Win a ring! (Win a ring)"

"Win a real ring! (Win a real ring)"

"Win all——rings! (Win all the rings)"

Mo Wen's tone was unpleasant and everyone could hear it clearly.

Listen clearly to what he says.

Listen to his thoughts clearly.

Listen to his... ambitions.

Everyone's eyes widened when they realized what Mo Wen said.

Good guy, good boy.

At best, others are coveting Danzi's position.

The craziest thing to do is to say to Danzi's portrait: He can take his place!

Once it reaches your mouth, it wins everything.

Moreover, judging from Mo Wen's expression, this boy didn't look like he was joking!

No, this must be a joke, because this kind of self-confidence cannot be possessed by one person.

Does he know how many talented people there are in this league? Winning them all is simply a dream!

"Wait a minute, these are not just three, but is there another one?" Putting out his hand to support his trembling brain, Payton pointed to the remaining finger and asked.

"Right here, Win more." Mo Wen chuckled and turned the finger to point at himself.

Two seconds later, laughter and applause erupted in the locker room.

Payton took a deep breath, then rubbed his face vigorously, and patted his weak knees.

"Farke, man, if you could have been born ten years earlier, I would be your Pippen for the rest of my life!"

Wade bit his lip and turned his head away.

Stop talking, stop talking, I'm hesitating, I can't hold on anymore!!

…

There is no suspense in the game against the Magic. The second-year Warcraft already has qualified inside strength, but it is still far from enough to face the Austrian Fatty.

His little muscle and strength had no advantage over Ao Pang, and his poor technique and shallow experience were completely crushed.

Speed is his only advantage, but the Magic's fast breaks don't have the clear directionality of the Suns, and are more of a chaotic battle.

In the middle, Mo Wen stole the Magic twice in a row, so they had to slow down their pace.

Once the rhythm of positional warfare fell into place, it only took a few rounds for Warcraft to widen the points gap.

Whether on the offensive or defensive end, the Heat's five star starters showed strong pressure.

In fact, it would be better to put Walker on the bench. With Haslem on the bench, the Heat's mobility and impact will be improved.

But, what the Heat play is momentum.

Putting this kind of lineup on the court is a psychological oppression and torture for the opponent.

Think about it, you simply play ranked in the Korean server, and when you enter, you see that the opponent's mid laner is Guapi, the bottom laner is Uzi, the top laner is Shy Man, the jungler is 7-chan, and the support is mata.

Regardless of whether you are strong or not, just ask if you are afraid.

Anyway, the Magic only lasted for half a half, and the second half was basically training time for both teams.

Originally, the Heat also recruited a bunch of veterans this season, including Walker, Bai Qiao, Payton, Posey...

As a result, Posey and Bai Qiao were troubled by injuries at the beginning, and O'Brien also entered the few days of rest that he has every year. The team could only crawl forward amid Wade's reunion and Walker's twerking shots.

With a lot of tactics and tactics, he couldn't fix the locker room, so he had to resign and go home to take care of the kids, moving Riley's position.

But Mo Wen's existence helped Da Fan take care of everything.

The team's management feels that Da Fan is a little too salty and doesn't listen to anything. What role does he have?

But the team has been winning, and they can't say what Da Fan did was wrong.

Mo Wen is very aware of the characteristics of his teammates, and he distributes them easily. He may be a little biased at times, but the characters of the new players are all good people. As long as they can help them win, they will not care much about the statistics.

Payton may have been the only thorn in the side, but he was quickly conquered by Mo Wen and became the Heat's second-best licker after Fan.

He is much better than him in any aspect, including his skills, tactical awareness, dirty tricks, trash talk, cup-holding, and handling of relationships with teammates.

For Payton, Mo Wen is almost a perfect person!

Except the skin is not dark...

After all, Aopang has some problems.

Because of O'Pang's weight and health, his playing time in the regular season should be as short as possible.

Mo Wen doesn't want O'Pang to sink into a state of constant minor injuries throughout the season like he did in history.

Because of Ao Pang's age, there's no telling whether that minor injury will turn into a major injury.

The Heat's lineup is very luxurious, but the inside attack depends on O'Fatty.

They discussed limiting O'Pang's playing time to 30 minutes and trying not to let O'Pang play in back-to-back games.

Although Aopang was a little unhappy and felt that he was not a man enough and was too cautious, but Mo Wen and Da Fan were 2:1, so he could only obey the majority.

In November, the Heat were like a god of death, easily harvesting victories in the Eastern Conference.

In the first half of the year, the Nets caused them some trouble. They assembled a quartet of Kidd, Carter, Jefferson, and Raheem, and their impact was quite good.

But it just dragged the game into the fourth quarter.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Mo Wen put away his health-preserving style of play. He pressed on the weak inside line of the Nets three times in a row, and twice suddenly pulled up with the ball on the outside. In addition, Wade used his strength and puffed up his cheeks, two times.

Individuals scored 15 points in four minutes, taking away the game in one wave.

In the second half of November, the league consciously reduced the number of whistles used by the Heat in their 10-game winning streak at the beginning, but the Heat, who always have someone to step up, cannot be affected by just a few cricket whistles.

There were too many clocks in the third quarter, and Finley and Walker offered to sit on the bench.

Because the substitutes' playing time is more than their playing time.

Although they accepted a contract with a significant salary cut, they still don't want to disappear from people's sight so quickly.

In November, the Heat won consecutive games, and all 15 teams in the East and West were included in the Heat's winning streak.

The 15-game winning streak directly tied the Rockets' opening winning streak set in 1993.

However, everyone knows that the Heat's record breaking is just the beginning.

Because he tied this record, Mo Wen, who averaged 23 points, 11.3 assists and 8 rebounds per game, was named Player of the Month for the first time.

Mo Wen's statistics have not increased much. One reason is that there are more stars in the team, and the other reason is that there is less playing time.

He often clocks in three quarters, and Mo Wen doesn't bother to brush up on statistics. The current balance within the Heat team is good, and he can enjoy his leisure time.

Of course, this data is quite scary in this era.

Nash, who ranks second in the assists list, only has 20+10.5, and his average playing time per game is 7 minutes more than Mo Wen.

Wade's statistics are also good, averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

But a lot of Wade's data came from garbage time.

Considering that Wade will have to hold the ball again next season after Mo Wen leaves, Wade takes over the job of leading the bench.

If nothing else, in terms of efficiency, Mo Wen completely wrapped up Wade.

Mo Wen shot 51% from the field, 45% from the three-point range, and 92% from the free throw line. He became the second person after Larry Bird to enter the 180 club while averaging 20 points per game.

The Heat's winning streak lasted until mid-December. After winning an unprecedented 23-game winning streak, O'Brien, who had some discomfort in his legs and feet after playing back-to-back games with the Pistons, chose to rest.

The Pistons, who were coached by Sanders, did not decline. Instead, they kept singing. They only lost 4 games in the past 22 games. Their performance was no worse than under the guidance of Larry Brown, and the games were much better.

The Pistons players are very happy with this change, except Ben, whose offense is so bad that Sanders no longer regards him as a treasure, but instead criticizes him every day.

Ben is still dominant on the defensive end, but Sanders ignores his defensive contributions just like Larry Brown ignored Milicic's offensive talents.

Ben, who was holding his breath, transformed into Spider-Man in this game, flying around within the three-point line.

Scored 20 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 2 steals.

The Heat players who wanted to rush in and play were completely blinded.

Leading the Heat by 12 points entering the fourth quarter.

When Mo Wen wanted to step forward and turn the tide, Sandese speeded up at the right time.

Coupled with the referee's double-standard connivance towards the defensive actions of the Pistons players.

The Heat finally stopped their opening record at 23 wins.

"I told you a long time ago that I want to set a record in Detroit - there is no way, hahahaha!"

"Chauncy."

"Um?"

"I remember we still have two fights to go?"

"...WTF, look, that beauty is so real!"