NBA backer king

Chapter 203 11% chance of winning
After lunch in the cafeteria at noon, Wang Tiejun was called to Colangelo's office, and Westphal also came.

As the new core established by the team, Colangelo introduced him to the situation of the new season, and communicated with him about matters related to the team.

"Mosaic needless to say, they got Barkley and became the top team in the league. But they are not invincible. In fact, I don't think they are stronger than us last season." Colanger Luo said.

Westphal nodded and said: "They haven't moved much outside. The rookie Horry at the third position was traded to us. Their third position is not strong enough. They want to win this time, and I think they have difficulties.

Even if they make it to the finals, they will surely encounter the same situation as us, being blown up by the Bulls outside. "

Colangelo added: "Philadelphia has been rebuilt, last season's first scoring point Jose Hawkins and second scoring point Jeff Hornacek have been traded.

The Jazz introduced Jeff Hornacek from Philadelphia, so that they have a stable outside scoring point, and the postman's stable mid-range shot, coupled with John Stockton's organizational ability, I am afraid that they will also have a first-class ball in the new season strength of the team. "

"The Jazz has indeed become much stronger." Westphal nodded.

Colangelo added: "It was reported in the media that the Bulls wanted to introduce Alonzo Mourning from the Hornets, but it ended without a problem. In the end, the Bulls used a big contract to poach the main center of the Blazers, Clifford Robinson."

"Clifford Robinson?"

Wang Tiejun recalled this center player, but he didn't remember the name, but he was impressed with the main center of the Blazers, and he was very deep.

This is a center with long-range shooting ability, very light in weight, at most a hundred kilograms, and has excellent mobility. The reason why he is impressive is because he has been beaten by this center.

At this time, Colangelo continued: "This Robinson is 27 years old. He was the No. 89 pick in the second round of 9. He has played for four seasons. This time his rookie contract ended and he was poached by the Bulls with a five-year $5 contract. The Blazers did not follow this contract."

Westphal added: "Clifford Robinson was the Blazers' second scoring point last season, averaging 32 minutes per game, 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2 blocks.

If the Bulls get him, they will be very strong inside. The only weakness is that they have insufficient low-post confrontation ability and insufficient rebounding ability.But in general, the Bulls' rebounding ability has improved. "

At this time, Colangelo suddenly said: "I am very clear about Jerry Krause's thinking. Barkley went to the Mosaic team, so the Bulls' strongest opponent in the new season must be the Mosaic team.

Therefore, his requirement for the team's main center does not need such a strong confrontation ability, because once they enter the finals, the Bulls are most likely to face the big dream, not the old K, and do not need such a strong confrontation ability.

Although Dameng's confrontation ability is strong, I think that if the Bulls play the Mosaic team, they only need the offensive disadvantage of the fifth position to be not so big. With Jordan and Pippen's perimeter advantages, they still have an advantage in terms of overall strength. "

"The bull doesn't take us seriously?" Wang Tiejun was suddenly angry.

The two glanced at him and nodded at the same time. Colangelo said, "That's for sure. Without Barkley, we have lost a lot of internal strength."

"Then kill Mosaic, reach the finals, and surprise them." He said coldly.

His current speed has improved, and during the next regular season, he can improve a little bit. In the playoffs, he may be able to keep up with Clifford Robinson in terms of moving speed.

As long as he can follow up, with his defensive height, it will inevitably reduce his offensive efficiency, and on his own offensive end, he can blast opponents into scum.

If the Suns really make it to the Finals, they should be able to catch the Bulls by surprise. He really wants to prove that the Bulls' idea of ​​selecting a new main center this time is wrong, and it is correct to regard him as the main opponent.

But he also understands that it is very difficult to win the Bulls with the strength of the team, and can only be based on hard work.

"Sir, Jordan's father was killed, has he resumed training now?" He suddenly remembered this.

Colangelo nodded and said: "He really deserves to be the most determined person in the league. He has returned to Chicago long ago and has resumed training.

As long as there is him, the Bulls will always be the most watched team in this league and the most competitive championship-level team. "

In the next few days, all the teams in the league started the full training before the regular season, and also held their own media meetings for the new season.

The media commented on the various teams, among which several strong teams are among the top priorities.

Before the start of the season, ESPN announced its prediction ranking of the probability of winning the championship for each team in the new season.

Jordan's Bulls still top the list, with a 46% chance of winning.

The reason given by ESPN is that the Bulls have strengthened the most critical No. [-] position, and their internal strength has undergone qualitative changes. Jordan, Pippen, and Clifford Robinson will form a new iron triangle. The Bulls' victory will be a matter of course.

Ranked second is Mosaic, with a 41% chance of winning, only five percentage points lower than the Bulls.

The reason given by ESPN is that the combination of Dameng and Barkley will be a nightmare for all teams in the league. This combination of superstars will sweep the league on both ends of the offense and defense.

No.3 is the Knicks, the iron-blooded team built by Pat Riley. Although they were eliminated by the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they are still one of the most powerful teams in the league. Its winning probability is 28%.

The Suns, the champions of last season, did not rank in the top five in terms of probability of winning, but only ranked eighth. There are four teams in front of them, the Supersonics, Pacers, Jazz, and Spurs, and their probability of winning is only 11%.

The reason given by ESPN is that without Barkley, the Suns lost most of their offensive firepower inside, and more seriously, they lost their inside defense, which allowed their opponents to enter the paint area wantonly, causing huge damage while improving their own offensive quality.

The media also mentioned Kevin Johnson, believing that he has aged and his strength will continue to decline after last season.

But the main reason why ESPN is not optimistic about the Suns is because Wang Tiejun believes that he has no ability to help defend, let alone defend, and now without Barkley's help, the Suns' paint area will become a piece of fat for opponents to do whatever they want.

I even think that the Suns will use him as the core to build tactics, and they will fall into a situation of offense and no defense, and the defense will win the championship. Such a Suns team has an 11% chance of winning the championship.

……

On the 28th, in Chicago, the Bulls held a media meeting for the new season. There were a lot of media reporters below, all of them were big media, and half of them came from all over the world. It can be seen that the Bulls are still the most watched team in the league.

"Michael, what is your goal for the new season?" The New York Times reporter asked.

"champion!"

Jordan looked serious and spit out the word that made him cry in the last finals.

"So which team do you think will become the Bulls' strongest opponent for the championship in the new season?" The reporter asked.

"Mosaic." Jordan said without hesitation.

"Michael, do you want to say something to your father?" The target of the second reporter who asked the question was still Jordan.

Jordan's eyes suddenly flashed uncontrollable sadness, but his tone was unusually blunt: "The championship, I will give it to my father."

The target of the third reporter's question was still Jordan, asking: "Michael, Clifford Robinson weighs only 102 kg, and Grant only weighs 98 kg. Neither of them has the ability to fight in the low post, and they don't have the ability to play in the low post. How likely do you think this kind of inside combination can carry the super combination of Big Dream and Barkley?"

This question made Jordan think for a while, and then said: "Yes, they should be a pair of inside partners that have never appeared in this league. Their style is very different from the current inside style.

However, they have a very strong ability to open and cut inside. Phil called their inside line a space-type inside line. I think they are competitive when facing Big Dream and Barkley. "

"Spatial insider?" The reporters below said silently.

The fourth reporter finally stopped asking Jordan. He asked Jerry Krause, the general manager, "Mr. Krause, you introduced a center like Clifford Robinson instead of a tank-type center. What are your considerations?"

Krauss said briefly: "Our main championship competitors have changed in the new season. The management believes that our opponent, the Suns, in the last finals will be less likely to become our opponent in the next finals. For this reason, we don't need meat shields very much. Of course, we have also prepared meat shields.

Moreover, what old K is least good at dealing with is also a center like Clifford who can pull away. He was beaten by Clifford last season. "

The fifth reporter asked Phil Jackson, "Coach Jackson, will Clifford Robinson be one of the Bulls' new iron triangle?"

Phil Jackson immediately shook his head and said: "There is no such thing in my triangle tactics. The triangle is never fixed. Every player may become one of the triangles. Only in this way can sufficient changes be achieved.

Clifford is good at offense, and Grant's cutting and rebounding are what we need, and they will both be an important part of the triangle offense. "

On the 26th, Zhang Lili and Su Qun rushed to Phoenix with a three-person camera team, a group of five people.

They are CCTV reporters stationed in the United States this season, specializing in NBA interviews.

CCTV still did not purchase the copyrights of the regular season on a large scale this season, but after careful research, it decided to purchase a part of the regular season between the Suns and the Bulls. It bought a total of twelve games, which is about one game every two weeks. The Suns accounted for eight games and the Bulls four games.

There is no way around this. It’s not that CCTV doesn’t want to buy more copyrights. It’s that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were only 194 billion last year. In 93, there was not much more. Even if CCTV wanted to buy more copyrights, it didn’t have that many dollars in hand.

CCTV will broadcast the Suns' first game of the new season in real time. This will also be the first time that CCTV will broadcast a regular NBA game in real time.

They landed in Los Angeles at noon, arrived in Phoenix in the evening, and were taken home by Wang Tiejun.

"Changfeng, we meet again."

Zhang Lili greeted Liu Fengchang familiarly, and asked, "Are you still used to it here?"

"Brother Zhang, I'm used to it, I'm still used to it." Liu Changfeng said quickly.

The two often met in the Iron Army training hall, and they were already very familiar with each other.

"Are you in charge of cooking? I'll help you." Seeing Liu Changfeng running into the kitchen, Zhang Lili quickly followed.

"I just learned it, and my skills are average, that is, I can cook it well." Liu Changfeng, who is frying steak, smiled honestly.

"It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with them. NBA players, including your cousin, eat half-baked food." Zhang Lili laughed.

Liu Changfeng laughed and said, "Tie Jun seldom eats at home. I just make my own food. I'm not used to eating half-baked ones."

On the 28th, the Suns also held their own media meeting for the new season.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, the media gathered in the press hall of the Suns headquarters, and Zhang Lili and Su Qun's team of five also arrived.

The players then entered the field and the media began taking pictures.

Last year, the C position was Barkley and Kevin Johnson, the core inside and outside line. At that time, Wang Tiejun was still working hard in New York, but today, he stands on the C position of the Suns and accepts the baptism of all media shots.

Kevin Johnson stands on his left. This year's Suns also have two cores inside and outside.

"Core, you have become a core within a year, old K has done a great job!" Su Qun said excitedly.

"The Suns want to cultivate their own stars. League teams are generally like this. They value the people they train more. The people who are traded are just passers-by. One of the important reasons is that the stars who are traded are definitely not young. I'm young, and the people I train must be young, once they are trained, they can play for many years." Zhang Lili explained in a low voice beside him.

Su Qun nodded and said, "No wonder the Suns gave up on Barkley."

Zhang Lili smiled and said: "If the Suns continue to use Barkley as the core, it will definitely affect the growth of the Tiejun. Once Barkley gets old and the Tiejun fails to grow, the Suns will be left behind, so this decision is reasonable."

After the photo session, there was a questioning session. The host, Ms. Molly, gave the first opportunity to ask questions to local sports newspaper reporter and team reporter Hammers Larry.

The target of Larry's question was Wang Tiejun. He asked: "Old K, when you knew that you became the new core of the team, was your first feeling excited?"

"responsibility."

He said very seriously: "When I knew the news, I knew that I could no longer be like last season. I became the person standing at the front instead of just standing behind Charles and Kevin. The honor is related to me, but the shame is also related to me."

"So for the new season, do you have your own goals?" Larry continued to ask.

"Of course there is. For any championship team, its goal must be to defend the title. My team and myself are no exception. We will strive to defend the title." He said.

"ESPN ranked the Suns' championship probability at seventh place, with only 11% chance of winning. What do you think of this?" Larry asked again.

He sneered: "Does anyone remember ESPN's ridiculous championship probability rankings last season? They even stupidly persisted until the finals before the G6 game, but the results tell us that even if you ask a random person on the street, his answer is more professional than ESPN."

"Ha ha……"

Immediately below, the reporters laughed.

"Damn old K, can't you not mention what happened last season?" An ESPN reporter muttered embarrassingly at the scene.

At this time, he continued: "Charles said that ESPN is the most unprofessional sports media in the world, so I want to say, congratulations ESPN, with your non-professionalism, you will never be able to obtain the live broadcast copyright of the NBA Finals, because it is impossible for the NBA management to hand over the most important series to a non-professional sports media.

At the same time, I also want to congratulate the media like TNT. In the competition with ESPN, you will win without fighting, because ESPN will kill itself. "

"Ha ha……"

His teasing of ESPN once again aroused the laughter of the scene.

……

The time has entered November 93, and the opening game of the new season started on the 11th.

The league's schedule is a bit strange. As last season's finals team, the first regular season games of the Suns and Bulls were both arranged away.

The Bulls played away against the Hornets, and the Suns played away against the Lakers.

At noon on the 4th, the Suns set off for Los Angeles.

"Old K, what are you doing with this iron basin?"

"What are you doing with this thing?"

"Old K, do you want to use it to make soup?"

"This thing makes soup, and all of us in the team can't finish it."

At the headquarters, looking at a steel basin that Wang Tiejun unloaded from the pickup truck, no one guessed its purpose.

The diameter of this thing is 1.2 meters, and the height is only 130 centimeters, but it can be stretched out. When it is stretched out, it is [-] centimeters high, which is a barrel.

This is what Wang Tiejun asked his agent Hawksman to help him customize in the United States. It can be heated by electricity, so it is more convenient to save the need to put a brazier underneath when taking a medicinal bath.

His medicine is also prepared in advance, so he prepares a few medicines for a few days in the away game to save trouble.

Colangelo also came over and asked, "Old K, are you going to put it in the locker room? Isn't there a bucket in the locker room?"

"No, sir, I don't prepare an ice bath anymore, I want to take a medicated bath every day. The medicated bath needs to be heated, which is more convenient." He said.

"Medicated bath?"

Everyone was shocked, feeling incredible, what is a medicated bath?
"It is to keep the water temperature at about 41 degrees. There will be some Chinese medicinal materials in the water. The medicinal bath can make my body recover faster..."

He reluctantly explained, and said: "I want to take this bucket with me, and I will use it on the road. Can I take it, sir?"

Colangelo nodded and said, "Of course there is no problem."

Wang Tiejun pointed to Liu Changfeng, who moved the steel drum down with him, and said, "Sir, this is my cousin. He will be my personal masseuse in the future. He needs to give me a massage every day after the game. I hope he can take the team's special plane. I will pay for the ticket."

Colangelo glanced at Liu Changfeng, thought for a while, nodded and said: "OK, old K, your cousin can take the team's special plane in the future, and I will give him an ID card of the team's masseur so that he can accompany the team.

The airfare is fine, but you need to pay the team privately for his board and lodging expenses in the away game, and I will arrange for him to share a room with you. "

"Of course, thank you, sir." He thanked quickly.

Colangelo nodded, stepped aside, and called chief trainer Aaron Nelson and team doctor Andrew John over.

"Do you think there is something wrong with old K's medicated bath?"

Although he agreed, he was not at ease about the medicated bath, but it was the first time that old K made a personal request, and he didn't want to object, so he had to figure it out.

The two looked at each other, and Andrew John thought for a while and said, "I've never heard of medicated baths, but old K has a kind of medicated oil, which he often uses in massages, and it seems that there has been no problem."

Aaron Nelson said: "Old K has some magical means, such as Kevin Johnson's shoulder, we can observe it first, and don't rush to draw conclusions."

Colangelo couldn't help but nodded. That old K healed Kevin Johnson's shoulder within a second really shocked him. Looking back now, he finds it unbelievable.

Afterwards, the team went to the airport, and Wang Tiejun's steel barrel was stuffed into the luggage compartment of the bus, stretched together, and it didn't take up much space.

(End of this chapter)