NBA Dynasty Sniper

Chapter 360 Barkley Reimbursed for Serious Injury
The postman went down to treat the wound, and Philadelphia brought in backup forward Toni Kukoc.

The former Bulls champion, once the best sixth man in the league, is still strong. He has played more than ten games in Philadelphia. As a substitute, he can still contribute 12 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists steadily. Sending out a steal, he has a comprehensive performance on both offense and defense.

However, he couldn't show his abilities against the more versatile Zhao Dong. Within 5 minutes of coming off the bench, he was blown away by Zhao Dong on both offense and defense.

Until the 9th minute of the first quarter, when the postman returned to the court, at 20:12, the Knicks had already led by 8 points.

The two sides went to the bench.

For the Knicks, Zhao Dong continued to play and led the bench to fight. The others were Barkley and Willis, and Madman and John Wallace played point guard on the outside.

For the digital team, Postman and Iverson continued to play, and the other three were Tyron Hill, Larry Hughes, and Kukoc.

Zhang Lili said with a smile: "Now the American media is saying that the Knicks' bench lineup is not good. In fact, if Barkley and Willis play well, this rotation lineup is not bad.

It's just that Barkley seems to have gained a lot of weight this season. With injuries, he can't jump at all, and his speed is also slow. His condition is really not good.

Willis is almost a 38-year-old veteran, and his state has also dropped a notch this season. With two partners, the Knicks' backup insider really didn't perform well. "

Su Qun said: "I think this is a hidden danger. The Knicks management should choose to trade. Anyway, these two veterans have basic salaries, so there is no problem with laying them off. Willis is really in a bad state, and Barkley's injury is unknown. When it exploded, he gained weight and put a greater load on his body."

As soon as his words fell, Barkley, who was jumping up with the postman to grab a rebound, suddenly let out a painful cry, and fell to the floor hugging his left thigh.

"Charles, can you still stand up?" Zhao Dong ran over and held out his hand to Barkley.

"Damn it, Flying Dragon, I'm so regretful, I shouldn't have gained weight." Barkley, who was sweating profusely from the pain and was about to roll over, shook his head, expressing regret.

"Are you gaining weight? You just didn't keep your mouth shut, and you've grown fat." Zhao Dong said angrily.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." Barkley said hastily.

"Come on, look where you hurt? Your quadriceps is swollen, and the lightest thing is a tear. You should be mentally prepared to retire."

Pointing to Barkley's left thigh, Zhao Dong directly dispelled his illusions with one sentence.

He remembered that in his last life, Barkley retired this season because of a ruptured left quadriceps muscle. Otherwise, it would be no problem to play for two more seasons. strangeness.

"Hey, Feilong, don't give up on me, I can still do it, I still have gas."

Barkley wanted to forcefully get up, but his left thigh hurt so badly that he couldn't move at all, and a slight movement was a sharp stabbing pain.

"Don't worry, Charles, I'll give you a quota of 500 million, and then you can retire and become a commentator. Anyway, you also have a ring, and your career is complete." Zhao Dong said.

"Really?"

Barkley couldn't believe it.

Zhao Dong and Willis helped Barkley down. The team doctor looked at it from the sidelines and judged that the quadriceps muscle in his left leg was ruptured.

The quadriceps are the big muscle on the front of the thigh. To strengthen the thigh, you must exercise that muscle, which is very important.

"It's over!"

The word break directly chilled Barkley's heart.

"Feilong, you said, 500 million quota, I'll send you the money right away." He immediately yelled at Zhao Dong.

"I won't forget, don't worry, I will take care of your family." Zhao Dong waved his hand.

"Fuck you, I'm going to the hospital, not hell." Buckley scolded with a smile.

"You can still laugh, Barkley looks in a good mood." Hubie Brown teased.

"Maybe it's just a minor injury," Cook said with a smile.

Barkley was sent away and went straight back to New York for surgery, and Nelson was replaced by backup striker Gary Trent.

"Nair, we need trades and reinforcements, both inside and forward." After the game resumed, the old Nelson said to Grant.

Grant nodded and said, "Don, what is the bargaining chip you can allow?"

Old Nelson thought for a while, and said helplessly: "Three defenders, you can choose a deal, and Kevin Willis, his condition is not good, you can figure it out, we have no other bargaining chips."

Nodding his head, Grant began to calculate in his mind.

In this game, the Knicks finally lost, 100:108, losing by 8 points.

Even though Zhao Dong played 48 minutes and scored 40 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists, the Knicks' backup insiders couldn't hold up. Willis is still old and his condition is obviously not as good as last season.

Iverson also scored 48 points in 42 minutes and hit 53% from the field. He was in a very hot state, which was significantly higher than other games.

But the digital team won not because of Iverson, but because of the bench lineup.

The digital team's substitute players scored 31 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, while the Knicks' substitutes only scored 14 points and 11 rebounds, which is a big difference.

"Nimma, I wanted to take the city of Philadelphia, but I didn't expect to be killed instead." Zhao Dong was also helpless.

Of course, he also saw the shortage of the substitute lineup, but the team still has spots and can continue to strengthen, so he is not too worried.

At this time, Iverson was interviewed at the scene.

"Allen, what do you want to say most about defeating the Knicks?" a local reporter asked.

"The Knicks are nothing special." Iverson blurted out.

"Does that include dragons too?" asked the ABC reporter.

"I can beat him this time, and I can do the next game," Iverson said.

Next to him, the postman was also being interviewed. Although his brow bone was broken by Zhao Dong's elbow, he was in a good mood after winning the game.

"Postman, what does winning this game mean to you?" a local reporter asked.

"This victory can motivate me, we can continue to win until we win the championship." The postman said excitedly.

"Postman, did you get so excited after winning a game with Dragon?" asked a New York reporter.

The postman's face froze, and he said bluntly: "The victory of any game excites me, and I am eager to win."

An hour later, the Knicks' press conference was held.

"Flying Dragon, do you have any thoughts on the team's lineup? Will you ask the management to make a trade?" a New York Times reporter asked.

"Barkley is likely to retire. He is an important member of our rotation. We are short of people now. I certainly hope that the management will make some reinforcements, and the management will do the same. I don't need to ask or do anything. " Zhao Dong said.

"At the beginning of the season, you said you had 100% confidence in winning the championship, but now?" The New York Athletic reporter asked.

"One failure can't shake my confidence." Zhao Dong said.

"Next, the Knicks will play consecutive away games against the Spurs, Mosaics, and Lakers. How many games do you think the Knicks can win?"

asked a local Philadelphia Athletic reporter.

"There are some difficulties. We will try our best to win more games. Specifically, Mosaic should be fine. We will try our best for the Spurs and Lakers, and we still have a chance to win." Zhao Dong said.

"Don't you have the confidence to win?" the reporter asked in a teasing tone.

"Of course we have the confidence to win, but the competition is accidental. Who can be undefeated? You?" Zhao Dong said coldly.

"this?"

The reporter was at a loss for words by Zhao Dong.

After the press conference, back at the hotel, Grant called Zhao Dong to his room and asked him what he thought of the lineup.

Grant first talked about the meaning of the old Nelson, and then said: "I mean to trade Ginobili. He is a rookie. He is still not suitable for the NBA. The statistics are average. I trust the other two more. What do you think?"

Zhao Dong thought for a while and said, "All three are good, you can decide for yourself."

He still sticks to his bottom line and tries not to interfere with the team's operations so as not to make everyone look ugly.

In addition, these three are indeed good, and it is a loss for the team to trade any one, but if it is really necessary to trade, there is no way.

Grant nodded and said: "I will try my best to strengthen first. If it doesn't work, I will make a trade. But before the trade and reinforcement, the record may be affected."

Zhao Dong nodded and said nothing.

He will definitely not give up in the regular season. This is related to whether he can win the MVP for three consecutive seasons. If the team's record is not good, no matter how good his personal data is, the league might not give him this honor.

After leaving, Zhao Dong went directly to Old Nelson's and needed to discuss some matters.

"Tang, I hope that in the upcoming matches, even if the team has no reinforcements, we will try our best to win." Zhao Dong said directly.

"Why?" Old Nelson asked suspiciously.

He has even decided that before the team's lineup is strengthened, some unimportant games should be given up.

For example, the game against the West, this time against the Spurs, Mosaics, and the Lakers, will not affect the Knicks' record in the East, and it can be given up.

With the Knicks' current lineup, even without trades or reinforcements, they can easily make it to the playoffs.

And if too much physical energy is wasted in the regular season, the main players consume too much, and even cause injuries, it may affect the performance of the playoffs.

Zhao Dong said softly: "Because I don't want to give up."

What he said was very simple, but the firmness revealed in the words, old Nelson felt it immediately.

Taking a fixed look at Zhao Dong, Old Nelson didn't think much about it. The Knicks were Zhao Dong's team, so he could only agree.

Zhao Dong wanted to fight desperately for victory, and no one could stop him, including him, the management, and boss James Dowland.

The team leader is the soul and core of a team, unless the management and owners choose to rebuild.

Zhao Dongdao: "I will play more time, and the rotation of others will remain the same, so as not to get injured."

Old Nelson reminded: "Feilong, you must not be injured."

Zhao Dong nodded and said: "I know this."

He said again: "Let's leave the outside to the three of them. Fortson and I will be on the inside, and Willis will be on the bench. Don, I think our lineup is actually okay, as long as the bench can be strengthened, what do you think?" ?”

Old Nelson said with a smile: "I think so too. Of the three guards, Ginobili is still in the adaptation period. I think the other two are mature All-Star guards, at least at the quasi-All-Star level. The difference between us is only three guards." The height of the number position.

Even if it is the rebounding ability mentioned by the media, with you and Fortson inside, our rebounding is not weaker than any team. "

Zhao Dong nodded and said excitedly: "If we strengthen the bench, we are still the most competitive team in the league."

At this time, Grant was contacting owner James Dowland.

"Boss, the team needs reinforcements, maybe they need to pay more luxury tax, what's your opinion?"

"Luxury tax?"

Dowland in New York has a headache. If it was before, he wouldn't care at all. With the Knicks' profitability, no amount of luxury tax would be fine, and he wouldn't have to pay for it himself.

But now, he and his family have lost a lot of money in the U.S. stock market. As the U.S. stock market continues to fall, the market value of listed companies is rapidly evaporating. In the past three months, his net worth has shrunk by 20% , less than [-] billion US dollars.

Now what he thinks is to get money from the Knicks, make up for his losses, and let him pay more luxury taxes, he is a little hesitant.

Grant felt Dowland's hesitation, and Gordon groaned in his heart, wondering what the boss is doing?It wasn't like this attitude before.

If the team doesn't strengthen, how can he explain to Zhao Dong?
When Zhao Dong renewed his contract, the boss promised that no matter how much luxury tax he paid, he would not refuse.

The salary cap for this season is 3400 million U.S. dollars, and the team has now far exceeded this amount. Zhao Dong, Madman, and Stackhouse alone have reached 3600 million U.S. dollars, plus other salaries. The Knicks paid $1500 million in luxury taxes, and with salary, the Knicks spent nearly $3000 million more.

His idea was to trade one or two nice guys in and spend another $1000 million or so.

And with the Knicks' operating income, it can fully bear this expense. There is no need for the boss to take money from his pocket, but there is no profit.

While he was thinking wildly, Dolan over there said, "Nell, just do what you think, what I said before counts."

"OK, that's great!" Grant was stunned and said excitedly.

Dolan over there gave a wry smile. He also figured it out. Even if he could scrape some oil from Knicks, it would not cost much. If he offended Feilong or forced him away, the loss would be immeasurable.

On the 24th, the team arrived in San Antonio.

In this year's draft, the Spurs were unlucky. They selected Kirilenko with the first round pick, but they would rather not play in the NBA than come to the Spurs, and only love the Jazz.

In fact, Popovich has some headaches, because this season is Duncan's contract year. If he offers a maximum salary contract for Duncan, then he will not be able to reinforce it.

The Spurs were beaten by the Knicks in the finals last season and lost the championship. This is the first time the two teams have faced each other after the finals. The media has different opinions on this.

But most of the media are optimistic about the Spurs.

After arriving at the hotel, at the request of the media, the Knicks held a press conference.

"Coach Nelson, how is Barkley's injury?" a reporter asked.

"Oh, it's very troublesome. The quadriceps muscle was ruptured. An operation has been performed, but the operation was successful." Old Nelson said.

"Will he come back?" the reporter asked.

"This, he decides for himself."

The old Nelson did not speak out, but Barkley has notified his new agent, that is, Jordan's agent David Falk, that he is retiring, and he has also notified the Knicks general manager Grant, but it has not yet been officially announced.

"So for tomorrow night's game, how many chances do you think the Knicks have to win?" the New York Athletic reporter asked.

"Our main lineup is complete, and we will do our best to win without reservation." Old Nelson said after glancing at Zhao Dong.

Just half an hour after the Knicks' press conference, in New York, Barkley's new agent, David Falk, held a press conference to announce his retirement on behalf of Barkley.

As a superstar, Barkley's injury and retirement has considerable influence in the United States. Many media expressed regret, and many stars sent blessings.

ESPN moved quickly. This afternoon, they adjusted the championship prediction rankings. The Knicks, who had been No.1, fell directly to No.3. The Spurs were first, and the Lakers were second. The probability of winning the championship was only 40%.

"ESPN has been acting pretty amateurish."

In a telephone interview with the media, Zhao Dong expressed his attitude towards ESPN's adjustment, which was very ironic.

On the evening of the 25th, the Spurs are at home and the game is about to start. At 07:30, the two teams announced their starting lineups.

Knicks: Zhao Dong, Fortson, Sprewell, Stackhouse, Ginobili

Spurs: David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Jeremy Kersey, Mario Eli, Avery Johnson

In the TNT live broadcast seat, Bill Walton analyzed: "Although Barkley is injured, he is only a substitute, and this season his state is obviously not as good as last season, and his weight is not well controlled. Very dangerous, especially as an inside player.

Therefore, in fact, the Knicks' loss of strength is not great. As long as their main players play a little more time, they can offset the loss caused by Barkley. "

Matt nodded and said: "But the Knicks still need to strengthen the bench as soon as possible, and can't consume too much physical energy of the main players in the regular season."

(End of this chapter)