I just want to play healthy basketball

Chapter 311 The Olympic Games begins, the first match of the group stage

On August 8, the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games officially kicked off.

Together with the Chinese delegation, He Li walked slowly into the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

What makes He Li feel a little pity is that he can be said to be the most famous athlete in the delegation, but he is not the standard bearer of the delegation.

As the Chinese delegation, the Chinese men's basketball team is the only team participating in the men's big ball event, and has the honorable opportunity to choose players to serve as the delegation's standard bearer.

It's a pity that Yao Ming is much taller than He Li, and he is also bigger. As a standard bearer, he can make people feel more eye-catching and majestic.

After all, the Olympic spirit is to be taller, faster, and stronger. Yao Ming is taller and stronger than He Li, at least on the surface. As a man, it is not a good thing for He Li to act too fast.

Of course, the most critical factor is that Yao Ming was trained by the country, and He Li picked it up halfway.

Officials arranging the Olympic delegation were unsure of He Li's character.

When participating in a major national event such as the Olympic Games, the standard bearer representing the face of a country still needs to be someone who knows the basics and has a solid foundation.

He Li also expressed his understanding of this.

Closer to home, after participating in the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games, it is only a few days before the men's basketball group stage begins.

After just two days of training, the time came to August 8th. The Chinese men's basketball team finally ushered in their first opponent in the group stage-the Spanish men's basketball team.

In the previous group draw, the Chinese men's basketball team and the Spanish men's basketball team were drawn in the same group - Group A.

At the same time, the participating teams in Group A also include Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina, New Zealand and the Italian men's basketball team.

In the "warm-up match" of the Diamond Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team has already competed with the Serbian and Montenegro men's basketball team, and more than once.

In addition, I have also intersected with the Argentine men's basketball team and obtained some useful information.

Although the performance and results of the Diamond Cup does not mean that such a record can be achieved in the Olympic group stage.

But if they have played against each other in advance and know each other well, then the next group stage will be much easier to play.

Perhaps it was also the reason for winning the Diamond Cup. The game hadn't even started yet, but during the pre-match interview, the men's basketball team leader Li Yuanwei, Director Li uttered harsh words that this year's men's basketball team would surely win the top eight.

Director Li is only the team leader in this men's basketball team, and he doesn't look like a big official. In fact, Director Li is the leader of the basketball management center. Judging from the resumes and achievements of his predecessors and successors, this is the only one who has done something decent.

Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, those who are truly capable of playing in the NBA are basically under him. It is also because of his pioneering spirit that domestic players rushed to North America one after another, fighting more and more courageously in an unfamiliar environment.

Then after he abdicated, there was no more.

Having said that, He Li is currently leading the men's basketball team, and he is the NBA's three-time FMVP. To be fair, if he only wins the quarterfinals in the Olympics, this is too much to look down on He Li's ability to lead the team.

When He Li came back to play in this Olympic Games, he just rushed to get a card.

However, the men's basketball team has its own national conditions, and there are some things that cannot be said too much in advance.

At least the expectations for the domestic people should not be too high, or if something unexpected happens, who will take the blame?

We must know that since the Chinese men's basketball team reached the top eight of the World Championships in 1994, "top 8 in the world" has become the goal for 10 years.

The top eight of the World Championships will be desperate, let alone the top eight of the Olympic Games.

In the last two Olympics, the Chinese men's basketball team broke out of the group stage in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and became the top eight men's basketball team in the world.

As for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, it regressed and only won the 10th place.

Although the decline in performance does not mean the decline in strength, in fact, the strength of the Chinese men's basketball team has been increasing in recent years.

Not to mention He Li, a monster born out of nowhere, but Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming, and Battelle have successively entered the NBA and played in the highest level league in the world. The overall strength of the Chinese men's basketball team has suddenly increased a lot.

However, it is one thing to have strength, and another thing to have a record.

In order to prevent the level of domestic coaches from being not high enough to have an international perspective, with the bold support of Director Li, two foreign coaches were specially hired this year.

In the past, the men's basketball team lacked experience in international competitions. Now, with Harris and Jonas, two experienced coaches in international competitions, who can guide the men's basketball team in training and playing, the men's basketball team can avoid many detours.

In this way, the men's basketball team's lack of experience in international competitions has also been compensated to a certain extent.

With the help of Harris and Jonas' ability to read and grasp the game, the men's basketball team will not make too many low-level mistakes in on-the-spot combat, at least not being led by the nose by teams from other countries after suffering losses.

Under such circumstances, how can the men's basketball team have such an NBA three-consecutive FMVP to lead the team and share winning experience and championship experience with other players on the team.

The men's basketball team will have greater confidence to win more victories in this Olympic Games.

However, in previous years, the men's basketball team played too hard in the Olympics, and there were too many poor days. Although this year they are fighting for prosperity, they still can't help being afraid of one or two.

In fact, it is very simple to achieve the goal of "entering the quarterfinals". Under normal circumstances, the Chinese men's basketball team only needs to win two games in the group stage.

The two teams of Serbia and Montenegro and Argentina, the men's basketball team has already seen it in the Diamond Cup.

Not surprisingly, the men's basketball team can win all of these two games.

As for the New Zealand team and the Italian team, they are relatively weak in Group A. Even though they haven't played much before, the men's basketball team is still relatively sure of winning.

Then the problem remains with the Spanish team, which is today's opponent.

Of course, judging from the entire schedule of the group, winning or losing today, regardless of the result, will not affect the men's basketball team's goal of reaching the quarterfinals.

In the five games in the group stage, with the strength of the men's basketball team, it is quite normal to win three games.

It is also because of this that Director Li dared to boast in front of the media reporters before the game that he can return to the top eight in the world this year.

There is finally one of the three major ball events in China that can be played.

But whether you can play or not, it doesn't matter what you say before the game. You will know after the game is over, how much the men's basketball team is.

"Paul, don't worry, I won't show mercy to you.

As a friend, I can only remind you, be ready to accept failure!

If you try to beat me, I'll make you face it. "

Warming up before the game, He Li took the initiative to greet Pau Gasol.

He Li and Gasol are good friends, and they often met in training camps during the offseason.

This time at the Olympics, even though we have to fight each other, we can't lose our peace.

Big deal, competition first, friendship second.

"Beat you? I'm not ready to enter the finals! I'm here to prove that I'm the real Western All-Star center!"

Gasol made a joke with He Li, because Yao Ming has too many All-Star tickets, and the center position is relatively crowded. It is difficult for Gasol, who is still a rookie, to become an All-Star center in the West.

And Gasol, as the head of the Grizzlies, does not belong to Yao Ming when he does not lack the ball.

Now it's the Olympic Games, the Spanish team is dominated by Gasol, and the whole team helps Gasol succeed. It is still possible to find some face on Yao Ming.

As for wanting to defeat the Chinese men's basketball team led by He Li, this seems unlikely to Gasol.

"Can you really win? I don't believe it myself." Gasol thinks so.

Not long after the Diamond Cup was played, it actually received a lot of attention as a warm-up match for the Olympics. This also means that it is not difficult to find videos about the Diamond Cup on the market.

Before the start of the group stage, Gasol naturally knew the current situation of the men's basketball team and He Li's current state.

It has to be admitted that the men's basketball team is flourishing. Although the quality of the bench is not high, the offensive points inside and outside are excellent, and the defensive end is not good. However, He Li is a master of defense and can improve the overall defensive quality of the team.

Gasol has mainly played in the NBA for the past three years, and has less contact with domestic players and less cooperation.

In the past two or three months, the tacit understanding and cooperation between each other have not been as good as before, so it may be difficult to beat a seemingly flawless team like the men's basketball team.

Therefore, Gasol lowered his expectations for playing the game early on. Gasol just wanted to find some confidence from Yao Ming, and that was enough.

He Li heard some truth from Gasol, and he was relieved immediately.

In He Li's memory, Gasol in his previous life beat Yao Ming up in this game. Yao Ming was so angry that he had nowhere to vent his temper. He scolded Battelle enough, and then Battelle disappeared from the men's basketball sequence.

But this time, what is the strength of the men's basketball team? Yao Ming is not under so much pressure, and he is not expected to score alone on the offensive end. Yao Ming has more energy for defense or other things.

Gasol is uncomfortable looking for Yao Ming blindly, and I am afraid that he will steal the chicken and lose money.

Without further ado, the game will start soon.

Perhaps because of the first game of the Olympic Games, Yao Ming was still a little nervous, and the jump ball failed to jump over Gasol.

After the Spanish team got the ball, the offense was also very fast. Originally, outside players rushed into the interior, but halfway through, facing He Li's help defense, they directly scored the ball to Gasol at the basket.

Gasol feinted a bit when he received the ball, but Yao Ming had the advantage of height and was bigger, so he didn't want to shake it. Instead, he spread his hands and pressed on it.

Gasol watched Yao Ming press up, turned his back, and then turned his back again, trying to squeeze Yao Ming and sneak to the basket to complete a layup.

But after all, Yao Ming has played in the NBA for two years, and he has encountered dozens of inside players. It is not to say that he has never seen such offensive methods and methods.

Yao Ming's defense is very solid and experienced. First, he took half a step back to adjust the direction of defense, and then he stretched out his hand to cover it without jumping.

Although in the end, Yao Ming still failed to block the shot, but under Yao Ming's interference, Gasol just made a layup.

In this way, the Spanish team's first attack ended in failure.

As for the rebound, it was grabbed by Yi Jianlian.

Yi Jianlian's body is not as generous as another inside player of the Spanish team, but his bounce is better.

After grabbing the rebound, Yi Jianlian was a little anxious and immediately passed it out, which was a little bit away from Liu Wei's position. Fortunately, Liu Wei caught up with the ball in time.

Seeing this, He Li immediately turned around and made a fast break. Although the Spanish defender followed closely and ran up, he was not tall enough after all.

Soon He Li ran across the half, and Liu Wei also passed the ball.

In the past, He Li directly chased and shot a three-pointer. Anyway, the Spanish team's small guard basically couldn't cover him.

But after all, this game is the first group match of the Chinese men's basketball team. The game has only started now, and the two teams have no points.

Whether it is one point, two points, or three points, in short, the men's basketball team has to win the prize and get the points first.

Ever since, He Li didn't stop outside the three-point play, but rushed to the basket non-stop.

Climbing to the sky in one step, splitting Huashan Mountain.

Easy two points!Men's basketball morale boosted!Especially the bench players on the scene!
I used to watch TV, watch the Olympics, and see this kind of defensive counterattack and fast break, it was all done by the opponent!

The men's basketball team is always beaten into such a fast break by the opponent because of mistakes.

Now under the leadership of He Li, with He Li's personal participation and completion, the men's basketball team has played such a familiar scene from the very beginning, but it was done by its own people.

It's not easy, it's exciting!
Li Nan on the bench was quite moved.

However, the pace of the game was very fast. After the Spanish team saw that the score was behind, they were unwilling to see the Chinese men's basketball team focusing on the front.

The Spanish team played a fast break, trying to gain a foothold in the men's basketball team while the men's basketball players were still happy and celebrating.

It's a pity that He Li has rich experience and returned to defense at the first time, faster than Liu Wei, a defender.

He Li entered the penalty area and occupied the auxiliary defense position. The Spanish team may not succeed in the fast break, so they can only switch to positional warfare, hoist the ball into the interior, and continue to let Gasol single-play Yao Ming.

Gasol played more cautiously this time, and tried to hit Yao Ming with his back first, but Yao Ming's lower body was too stable to hit him.

So what to do, Gasol passed the ball back decisively, and then pretended to go out to cover his teammates.

In fact, it was a hand-off from a teammate, and he turned to the basket with the ball.

Gasol is going to use his striker-like speed to bully the slower Yao Ming.

After all, Yao Ming is a big center. It is normal for him to be unable to keep up with his footsteps, let alone gaining weight in the past two seasons.

And Gasol is protruding from the sideline to the basket, and He Li is near the free throw line. He wants to cross three or four steps and directly stop in front of Gasol, which is not realistic.

Then, when Gasol rushed to the basket, Yao Ming could only be forced to take off and was dunked by Gasol.

This scene happened to be in Gasol's plan.

However, the decision Yao Ming made at this moment was different from what Gasol thought.

Yao Ming did move, but he didn't rush to Gasol in a panic.

Yao Ming just adjusted his position, facing Gasol head-on, and then stood still.

It was too late to say it, but Gasol didn't think too much about it. If Yao Ming's defensive adjustments were taken into account, Gasol could be sure and turn to the middle to dunk.

But before, all he thought about was how to block Yao Ming to show off his power, so he went straight to Yao Ming's people.

At this time Yao Ming couldn't jump, Gasol got up and dunked, but first hit Yao Ming's whole body.

Yao Ming's lower limbs are strong and his weight is not light. Gasol used his inertia to charge up quite fiercely, but he only knocked Yao Ming into the air two steps away.

And the original plan for dunking was naturally in vain.

Because, Gasol was blocked by Yao Ming with a dribble.

It is said that Gasol started two rough offenses and gave the Chinese men's basketball team the ball twice.

In the second possession of the ball, with the help of He Li and Yi Jianlian's tactics, Yi Jianlian made an empty cut to the basket and made a layup, and the men's basketball team advanced the score to 4-0.

However, the Spanish team gained wisdom by eating everything, and then did not let Gasol continue to attack, and finally relied on the defender to rush to the basket and make a layup.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Wei dribbled the ball and was forced to steal it. Gasol made up for it and returned to the defense quickly.

Fortunately, He Li is also experienced. After taking off and landing, he ran directly out of bounds, pretending to be over the head, and was not blocked by Gasol who was chasing him from behind.

Otherwise, He Li might lose a lot of face for the three consecutive FMVPs.

Having said that, the Spanish team quickly tied the score to 4-4, which forced the men's basketball team to play more seriously.

The biggest problem for the men's basketball team is that once the opponent gets stronger, they may lose the ball due to physical disadvantages.

Such mistakes are actually rare in international competitions.

In fact, the men's basketball team can also avoid it, but it needs to focus more on the game.

Instead of seeing the score lead, I feel a little relaxed.

(End of this chapter)