NBA: Magic Johnson opens the season, crowned MOP

Half a month later, in the Spurs' last preseason game, the third overall pick Joey finally had a big"outburst".

The reason was that a female reporter from FOX Sports Channel interviewed Damian Lillard, the sixth overall pick of the Trail Blazers who had just arrived in the Holy City, the day before the game.

When asked if he was confident of beating the third overall pick of the Spurs, Joey replied:

"Honestly, if it weren't for Anthony Davis, no one would know this so-called five-star high school student from Illinois. The so-called third pick selected this MOP who clings to his thighs, which is simply a question of the gold content of our draft.……"

"I will let him know why I have been ranked first in the rookie rankings of major authoritative media so far!"

Damian Lillard on the screen had a look of disdain on his face, and his cold look made people feel his strong self-confidence and strength.

This scene was broadcast to the homes of thousands of fans in Milijia through television. When people were excited to think that they were going to see a wonderful rookie showdown between the"No. 6 pick VS the third pick" -

Joey took the initiative to find head coach Popovich before the game and asked to start in this game. Pop just took a look at the 15-man roster of the Trail Blazers sent by the Spurs staff today. When he realized that the name of the Trail Blazers' starting point guard tonight was Damian Lillard, the wise old man instantly understood Joey's thoughts.

Before the end of the pre-game meeting in the afternoon, the old man conducted a"democratic vote" and raised his hands to agree to put Joey in the starting lineup for tonight's game.

As a result, except for Leonard and Duncan who chose to abstain from voting and did not participate in the vote, almost all members passed the proposal.

Finally, in the Spurs player list uploaded to the league's technical station at five o'clock in the evening, the name after the starting PG line was Joey.

The Spurs' unshakable starting point guard, the romantic French sports car just wanted to take this opportunity to relax with the new model lady before the start of the regular season.

So with Manu's cooperation, he teased a few words,"Our Spurs rookies this year are really scary to be competitive"、"When will the old man so easily agree to a rookie's starting request?"The two like-minded guys dragged Joey to the most famous local Chinese restaurant for a meal.

Joey thanked Parker for his generosity in person. The latter said it was nothing. Who let us have a rookie like you this year? The big brothers had to rank you in order. This time, just treat it as a gift from me, the big brother, for you to join the team.……

——————

At 7:45 pm, the last preseason game officially kicked off at the ATT Arena!

The Portland Trail Blazers came from afar to challenge the Spurs, the strong team in the Western Conference Finals last season!

More than 30,000 Spurs fans held posters of the Spurs players and cheered loudly to cheer for the home team.

TNT sent former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal and one of the pillars of the show, Charles Barkley, to comment on this game.

"Charles, have you heard that the starting point guard of the Spurs tonight is not the showy Frenchman!"

O'Neal held the microphone seriously and talked to Sir Barkley who didn't want to pay attention to him at all.

Feizhu glanced at the funny fat man and said unhappily:

"I see it. I see it.……"

As he spoke, he threw the pre-match team analysis report in his hand onto the commentary desk:

"The Spurs' starting lineup today is: point guard Joey, shooting guard Danny Green, small forward Kawhi Leonard, power forward Boris Dior, center Tim Duncan!"

"The Blazers' starting lineup is: point guard Damian Lillard, shooting guard Matthews, small forward Batum, power forward Aldridge, center Hickson……"

"Do I need to tell you in advance what color jerseys they are wearing today?"

Barkley rolled his eyes, causing O'Neal to laugh:

"Charles, your expression reminds me of the time when you kissed a donkey's ass on live broadcast, hahahaha……"

O'Neal brought up the past again, and Barkley gnashed his teeth:

"Okay, let's make another bet today!"

This aroused the interest of the great shark:

"How to bet?"

"It just so happens that today both teams' starting point guards are rookies this year, one is the third pick and the other is the sixth pick. There seems to be some grudge between the two.……"

"How about we bet on who will score more points today?"

O'Neal was stunned, then said happily:

"My bet is on that senior from Portland!"

"Then I'll bet on the MOP of this year's NCAA semifinals!"

Barkley regretted his words as soon as he said them - who in the United States doesn't know that he, the Flying Pig Sir, always loses bets against Chinese people?

It's as if the Chinese are born to restrain his gambling love.

And why didn't he say first that he supported the Trail Blazers' Lillard? You know, the latter averaged 19.6 points per game in seven preseason games this year, ranking first in this year's rookie scoring list!

The Asian third pick of the Spurs is indeed a good player, but his strengths are obviously in controlling the game and organizing, and he hasn't shown much scoring skills.……

"Okay, what's the bet?"

O'Neal showed a malicious smile on his face, which made Jazz Flying Pig flustered.

"Whoever loses will spread rumors under the rookie's Instagram account that the other side supports: You are the greatest rookie in NBA history!"

Barkley thought about it and finally came up with a"bet" that didn't seem too embarrassing."

""Okay!"

O'Neal agreed readily. Losing is not a shameful thing anyway, and it is possible to use this opportunity to attract some attention to TNT. Why not?

………

As the players of both sides finished their warm-ups, the game officially began.

The old but strong Duncan won the first attack from Ade, and the ball was pushed to Joey's feet.

The latter received the ball and dribbled across half court steadily.

Looking at the guy who was half a head shorter than him, Joey did not dare to underestimate him.

Although he knew his purpose today, he was not in a hurry to shoot himself.

He passed the ball to Duncan in the paint, who received the ball, made a fake move, turned around, rushed to the basket like he was greased, and made a small hook shot to score

"Tim! Tim! Tim……"

Waves of voices, one higher than the other, rang out from all directions, shocking people with Duncan's appeal in this city! In the Trail Blazers' round, when Lillard, who was advancing with the ball, saw Joey, who had retreated one step into the three-point line, he basically understood the other party's purpose.

Coincidentally, the eldest cousin, who was arrogant and looked down on Joey, was still in the"leveling period", which further inspired him to compete with the former - starting from the same rookie class, they wanted to create their own legends in the NBA step by step!

The two sides who met each other did not hold back at all. Lillard thought Joey didn't know his style of play. Seeing that the latter gave him a big step, he pretended to break through, and then pulled up and shot - snap!

The crisp sound of cutting the ball rang out, and before Lillard could react, the ball that had just been closed was cut away.

He watched Joey take the ball away, and then quickly made a fast break and dunked in front of the empty basket!

0:4!

"nice shot!"

""Excellent defense!"

The audience cheered. They had already noticed this high-ranking rookie selected by the home team this year.

Lillard was a little confused - he was just a few steps away, how could he teleport in front of him?

Perhaps only Joey, who had already retreated, could answer this question for him -

Copper Death Coil slightly enhances the player's mobility instantly, and coupled with Joey's observation ability far beyond that of normal players, he knew every shot of Lillard in the team meeting before the game.

This led to the ball that caused Lillard's mistake!

Lillard, who had seen Joey's defensive ability, did not dare to be careless again. In the next round, he found Ade and made a hand-to-hand cut after the screen.

Lillard's ball-handing ability is unique among this year's rookies, and his off-ball speed is also very fast. At least now Joey has some difficulty in completely locking him down...

But, it's just a little difficult!

In the next game, Lillard and Joey went back and forth, and the two of them seemed to be fighting, scoring for the team in various ways.

"Swish——"

This was Lillard's second three-pointer in the game, and he scored against Joey's defense, and the score came to 31:32.

The first quarter ended.

The highest scorers of the two teams were Damian Lillard and Duncan, with 14 points and 9 points respectively.

Joey scored eight points with continuous defensive counterattacks, and assisted his teammates on the offensive end, contributing 5 assists.

It can be said that the most eye-catching performances of the two teams were not the bosses or All-Star players in the team, but these two rookie players who had just entered the professional league for less than a month.

After a simple personnel adjustment on the field, Pop patted Joey and said:

"You should take a rest, kid. Tonight is different from the past. You are the starter. You need to play the whole game and save your energy for the next game!"

Without allowing Joey to refute, he replaced Neil.

"Hey, I knew that you, a rookie, are capable!"

Manu, who was warming up on the bench and preparing to play in the second quarter, joked.

Recently, he is the one who has the best relationship with Joey in the team. Only when facing him, Joey will become more lively:

"I don't want to lose to the No. 0 on the other side!"

Shaking his head, Joey said seriously.

Following his line of sight, Manu saw Lillard on the bench of the opposite Trail Blazers, thinking:

"I'll help you beat him, rookie...but you have to wash my jersey for a week afterwards!"

Joey rolled his eyes and ignored him. Leonard, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke up:

"That No. 0 is very good, at least he is much better than you on the offensive end!"

Joey:"……"

The atmosphere within the Spurs is always so weird and harmonious, as if all kinds of mental illnesses have gathered together.