From today on is the king

Chapter 1340 1339. Liu Papi (45)

"Xiao En, how do you feel?" Liu Mang asked Marion.

"Great, I've fully recovered." Marion smiled brightly.

Marion's smile really made Liu Mang feel... that he could join the NBA's Big Five. Just as Sprewell disappeared in the NBA, Marion could join.

"But Sean, you definitely won't be able to fight for a long time today." Liu Mang reminded.

Marion nodded to Liu Mang and said, "It's okay, as long as I can play and contribute, if I don't play well, I'm ashamed to play."

Feeling Marion's personality traits as a player who has never had conflicts with any teammates, not even Stephen Marbury, in his entire career, Liu Mang felt that getting Marion...is no worse than getting Garnett after Marion was injured this time.

Possibly getting Garnett, does make the team better right away, but what effect does Garnett have on the Hawks' team culture...

Liu Mang estimated that the negative effect is greater than the positive effect!

From what Liu Mang knew about the original time and space, whether Garnett was in the Timberwolves or the Celtics, he did not help establish any effective team continuity.

On the contrary, players like Marion have set a good example for the teammates Liu Mang will recruit in the future.

……

……

The Eagles played against the Cavaliers for the first time this season, and the attention is overwhelming.

This season, the Eagles have a good record so far. They are still No. [-] in the division, but they have lost their dominance over the past few years in the regular season.

Especially this season, the league and the media are praising the Cavaliers, mainly James, hoping that he can defeat Liu Mang as a representative of American players.

It is very important for James to defeat Liu Mang and break the unbeatable tragedy against Liu Mang. James has never defeated Liu Mang once in the regular season, playoffs or national team games.

Cavaliers fans and James fans can't wait to see James stand up in front of Liu Mang, and can't be a younger brother forever.

For many Americans, the Lakers' victory over Liu Mang is not considered as American basketball defeating Liu Mang, because the Lakers have two core non-American players, Yao Ming and Gasol, both of which are the top basketball stars in the world.

Although the Cavaliers also have Peja from Serbia, Peja was abandoned by the Kings. He performed extremely poorly last season. He came to James this season and averaged 3.5 three-pointers per game, ranking second in the league. It is 3 higher than Ray Allen's average of 0.5 three-pointers per game, second only to Liu Mang, who averaged 3.8 three-pointers per game, and his three-point shooting rate is as high as 40.00%.
Peja averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, and James' breakthrough points contributed a lot.

James represents the American dream of the NBA. His background in a slum makes him the most suitable representative of the American dream advocated by the media, and also a representative of the positive image of the NBA.

……

Before warming up in the afternoon, the Eagles were still having a headache defending James' candidates.

James performed better this season, averaging 1.7 three-pointers per game, and he is good at stepping back three-pointers from a long distance.

Coach Kruger and Mike Woodson couldn't do anything about it. It was okay before, and they could pinch James, but this season with Peja, he averaged 3.5 three-pointers per game. Damon Jones also became more accurate in the contract year, averaging 1.9 three-pointers per game, the second highest in his career.

"Coach, let Sean guard James." Liu Mang suggested.

Battier stood up and said, "I'm fine, I'll try."

"It's not you," Liu Mang was a little embarrassed, "I'm talking about Sean Marion, Marion!"

Battier was also embarrassed, but relieved, sat down with a smile.

Coach Kruger thought Liu Mang asked Battier to defend James at first, and was taken aback. The last time he played against the Spurs, Battier defended Artest...it was bloody, and the position was right, but he couldn't hold it when he rushed in.

"Me?" When Marion heard Sean's name, he also thought it was Battier, but he didn't expect it to be himself.

"Yes, we all believe that you can do it!" Liu Mang said in a very sincere tone. Before speaking, he turned on the head of state mode...

So sincere, so trusting in him who has just returned from injury, Marion feels a little happy!
This sense of trust is not available in the Suns.

Just like being used as a bargaining chip for O'Neal in the original time and space, the Suns had the opportunity to get Josh Smith and Calderon, and they took the initiative to use him as a bargaining chip without hesitation. After playing for the Suns for seven years, he didn't feel that he was valued at all.

But when he came to the Eagles, Marion gradually felt that the Eagles valued him. Although his scoring dropped a lot, the coaching staff has been trying to find a way to integrate him into the team, instead of giving up when he found it difficult to integrate into the offensive end. They didn't just think of him as a coolie.

This feels great to Marion!
"I understand, I will do my best to defend against James!" Marion nodded solemnly.

Coach Kruger and Mike Woodson then remembered that there was Marion, mainly because Marion had been used as an insider when he came to the Eagles, and the outside manpower was sufficient. Then they remembered that Marion is also a striker against strong ability!

Moreover, Prince is tall enough to defend against Gooden's mid-range shots. The Cavaliers have James, so they won't let Gooden go inside for singles. The efficiency is not as good as James himself.

There is a way to deal with it!

Mike Woodson immediately figured out a defensive strategy to deal with the Cavaliers, and the Eagles practiced urgently after warming up...

Liu Mang has been thinking about how to defend against James. He still remembers the shocking Mavericks overthrowing the Heat's Big Three in 2011. The Mavericks relied on Marion and DeShawn Stevenson to defend James on the outside, and Kidd and Barea on the inside to defend James.

Although Deshawn Stevenson and Barea are famous, Marion, who averaged 35 minutes per game in the finals, and Kidd, who averaged 37 minutes per game in the finals, are the key!

Marion is recovering from a finger injury. He hasn't practiced shooting with his right hand for nearly half a month. He just started recovery shooting training the day before yesterday. Apart from cutting to attack the basket, Marion can't expect much from open shots.

But... the finger is injured, but other places are not injured, right?
Make the best use of everything!
(End of this chapter)