Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The All-Star Game is over.

Li Shengli returned to Charlotte the next day, stepped up training, and devoted himself to the regular season schedule. However, one thing is worth mentioning, and that is that the trade deadline of this season is approaching.

Generally speaking, the trade deadline is Thursday, the 16th week after the start of the regular season. In the week before this day, the NBA trade market is turbulent, with various trade news flying all over the sky, among which the most disturbing What people are paying attention to is the trading trend of the Charlotte Hornets.

This year's All-Stars, Larry Johnson and Isiah Thomas were suppressed so ugly that even the audience could see the signs, let alone the management of each team, and among them... Let's not talk about Thomas first. The conflict between Li Shengli and Johnson has intensified to a certain extent.

Gill, the main backcourt player, is injured, the two main inside players are at odds, and the bench has no depth.

All of this has made the Hornets, who originally had hopes of making the playoffs, become precarious. As far as the Hornets' management is concerned... there are only two options.

The first is to ignore it and turn a blind eye, which is equivalent to a disguised form of messing up and taking this year's draft lottery pick. However, this choice treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Even if you can get a good rookie, the problem of disharmony between the main players in the interior is still here. .

Therefore, the management of the Hornets is more inclined to use the scalpel of trade, giving one to Li Shengli and Johnson in exchange for the opportunity to strengthen other positions. After all... this is the first time since the Hornets built their own team to join the league. To qualify for the playoffs, the management doesn't want to give up.

For a time, the Hornets, who had confirmed their intention to trade, became the hot cakes that the entire league was chasing. Each company's trading plan was handed over to the Hornets management board. After all, acquiring either Li Shengli or Johnson would be a compensation. Strong insider choice.

…

The outside world was turbulent, and the Hornets also felt this strange depressive atmosphere.

Head coach Alan was heartbroken. After all, cutting off any one of them would affect the Hornets' record and his coaching rating, and Curry and Bogues were even more uncomfortable.

Trading Johnson is of course a good idea, but if Li Shengli is traded, the two brothers will definitely be disappointed... Gil will be reimbursed for the season, Li Shengli was traded midway, and the two of them are the only two people in the Hornets who have a good relationship.

However, the NBA is a business league, and transactions are so common that they have no way to influence the management's decision. They can only wait patiently for news before the trade deadline on February 25.

…

Due to the All-Star Game, the regular season schedule was put on hold for a few days, so the next games are obviously a bit rushed. The schedule is very tight, and the Hornets have five games before the trade deadline. The first three games are Back-to-back away games, the last two games were at home.

Until the 23rd of the month.

Played four out of five games, with 2 wins and 2 losses, with a total record of 22 wins and 24 losses. The fifth game will be on the 23rd. The Hornets will play the Houston Rockets, a strong team in the Western Conference, at home. After the game...the 25th is the trade deadline. There won't be another Hornets game until the 26th.

…

The night of the 23rd.

Charlotte Hornets VS Houston Rockets!

In the Charlotte Arena, home of the Hornets, ever since Li Shengli shined in the All-Star Game, his fans in Charlotte have been growing day by day. No one would have thought that an Asian-faced, foreign player would be so popular, and today This game... was of great significance, and the seats in the stadium were rarely full.

On the one hand, the opponent is the Rockets in the Western Conference. The Hornets' ace center Li Shengli meets the Rockets' superstar Olajuwon. It is destined to be a fierce confrontation between the old and the new.

On the other hand, because the Hornets' management has launched a trade plan, one of Li Shengli and Johnson will leave the Hornets, and this game will be the last game for one of them.

Li Shengli has already accumulated a group of fans, but so has Larry Johnson. Hornets fans came to support the game more because they wanted to witness the final game of a team lineup change.

…

After both sides came on stage and warmed up, the game started quickly.

The Hornets' starting lineup remains the same, with Li Shengli as the starting center, Larry Johnson and John Newman as the starting forwards, and Curry and Bogues as the starting points and point guards.

The Rockets' starting lineup includes center Hakeem Olajuwon, power forward Otis Thorpe, small forward Robert Horry, point guard Kenny Smith, and shooting guard Vernon Maxwell.

…

Different from the Hornets' 22 wins and 24 losses, the Eastern Conference rankings are hovering outside the top eight.

The Rockets currently have a record of 30 wins and 17 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference. Only behind the Phoenix Suns, they are the favorite team to compete for the championship in this game, and unlike other teams... the Rockets' main lineup has tended to be stable. There are players who can be used in every position and are very competitive.

First, there is Olajuwon. As the head player of the Rockets, he averaged 26.1 points + 13 rebounds + 4.2 blocks per game this season. He also had 3.5 assists. This shows his importance in the Rockets. He can attack and protect the basket. , and can also coordinate teammates and connect internal and external lines.

Of course, it is difficult for Olajuwon to do this alone. Power forward Otis Thorpe is his gold medal assistant. Together with him, he supports the Rockets' inside sky. He is a green leaf who works hard and is willing to dream big. .

It's just the opposite for the Hornets.

Larry Johnson has been suppressed since the All-Star Game, and now he has received the trade news released by the Hornets management, which makes him intensify his efforts. He ignores both offense and defense, ignores Li Shengli at all, and just plays his own game.

…

Jump ball at midfield.

In the All-Star Game, Li Shengli and Olajuwon played on the same court, but at that time it was Olajuwon and O'Neal facing each other. Although the defense was lethargic, O'Neal was beaten in the face on the offensive end.

The two stood in midfield and didn't say much.

Although they have met each other, the relationship only ends there. After all, there are as many as three to four hundred players in the NBA, and no one knows anyone. It does not mean that those who have met each other are friends, otherwise this friendship will be too worthless.

The referee tossed the ball high.

Olajuwon seized the opportunity and took off immediately. Although he was 5 centimeters shorter than Li Shengli in height, his timing was good and his bounce was amazing. Li Shengli's rare jump ball failed, and the Rockets took the lead in the first round.

But the jump ball has little impact on the game, and no one cares about it.

The Hornets' defense was in position. Rockets point guard Kenny Smith pulled to the three-point line and shot the Rockets' first offensive three-pointer in front of Bogues.

Uh-huh!

The basketball drew a perfect trajectory and successfully hit the net.

…

Just hit a three-pointer?

Boggs was a little confused and looked a little bad because Kenny Smith didn't take his defense seriously at all. He was 1.9 meters tall and 1.6 meters tall, and he shot jumpers easily... Boggs was real. There is no way.