From today on is the king

Chapter 1382 1381. The courtesan is hooking up with opponents again (Happy New Year)
After playing against the Bulls, the Eagles flew to Orlando that night.

There was back to back the next day.

4 consecutive games of 50+, tying Liu Mang's own record of the second longest consecutive 50+ in history.

But... don't talk about reminiscing about the 50+ consecutive record, and even think carefully about the reasons for the loss to the Bulls. I don't have time. I started to sleep on the plane, and continued to sleep in the hotel. On the morning of the 20th, I was called to the hotel conference room for a meeting.

26 wins and 15 losses, the record is not unacceptable, it is still much better than the 24 wins and 19 losses of the Raptors.

The outside media did not attack the Eagles players because the Eagles lost to the Bulls. The Eagles played well overall, and Liu Mang scored 50 points. The media's argument is that the Bulls who got Garnett are really strong!
It is true that there are no offensive players. The best offensive players are Luol Deng and Du Hong. They are not first-class offensive players, but they are strong overall.

On the Eagles side, Liu Mang scored 50 points, which proved that the Bulls are not without weaknesses, but just want to defeat their weaknesses. It is not enough for one person to score 50 points, and more help from his teammates is needed.

In this game, Liu Mang also felt the shortcomings of the team, the feeling that he could not win even if he tried his best, which gave him the desire to become stronger!

The Hawks played half of the schedule with only 26 wins and 15 losses. The fans are not used to it, but from their perception... this is normal!
The previous three seasons of the Eagles, mainly the second and third seasons, are too abnormal. Which team can win 70 after 68 wins, and then get 73 wins the next year?
The Eagles' record of struggling after winning consecutive championships makes people feel that this is reasonable.

McGrady's defensive seriousness has decreased, defensive Kwame Brown's offensive performance has declined, Jason Terry is tired and often out of shape, rookies and second-year players have bright spots and obvious shortcomings, and there is a superstar among superstars. Liu Mang carries the team forward...

This is what a defending team should have after consecutive championships.

And the record of 26 wins and 15 losses has not fallen behind, and it is still the record of the first echelon this season, which is not easy.

Now for Liu Mang, the trouble is the characteristic of wolf fear.

This season is almost certain to play against the Bulls in the playoffs, either in the second round or in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Compared with the Cavaliers, the Bulls are more difficult to deal with, and the team has a feeling that they can't beat the Bulls...

There was a voice in Liu Mang's heart telling him: The Bulls are terrible!
Liu Mang believes that other players on his own team also have such thoughts. Obviously, this is the negative psychological impact brought about by the characteristic of "wolf fear".

Liu Mang himself has the characteristic of "cold blood", which will not have any impact, but his teammates are different.

Gotta figure out a way to beat the Bulls once.

There is also the task just obtained - grudges!
"Grudges: The host and the Chicago Bulls have become mortal enemies. Every time they play against the Bulls, the players of the host's team and the Bulls will enter a state of excitement and try their best. Mission objective: Defeat the Bulls in the playoffs, with no time limit. Mission reward: Kevin Garnett's 06-07 season star card. Failure penalty: To be determined."

For this task, if it was a previous season, Liu Mang would be willing to have a BUFF-like task of "resentment" with all teams, but now, it has become a constraint for Liu Mang to beat the Bulls!

Garnett + the Bulls' super role player group, just like the 2008 Big Three combination in the original time and space, has become a super powerhouse in the East.

Although there are not as strong offensive players as Pierce, their role player group is several grades stronger than the original Big Three of the Green Army!Even the Eagles in previous years cannot compare with them.

For the Bulls, Liu Mang has a different view: "Maybe there is a new way to build a team, and choose a group of role players to enter the playoffs and attract a superstar to the top?"

This Liu Mang feels very feasible!Liu Mang believes that the Bulls may also become a template for other teams to build teams.

The quest "A Gift to Chicago" has been terminated.

This mission... before the Bulls disintegrated, they ushered in superstars and became a more stable team, so when Liu Mang's winning streak against the Bulls ended, the mission was terminated.

"It is said that the birth of a dynasty means that everything has to be restarted. Although the situation of the young master is not as bad as the restart, it is almost the same..."

Liu Mang felt that he couldn't hold on to the complacency of 'I'm number two in the world is dead'. After being killed by Shuang Niu and the Lakers this time, his team's deterrence would definitely be greatly reduced, and the team's deterrence would have to be re-established...

……

By five o'clock in the afternoon on the 20th, the Eagles' second consecutive back-to-back game was about to start.

The Hawks had two back-to-backs in six days, and they had just played a defensive game against the Bulls yesterday. Liu Mang played 48 minutes and scored 50 points, which made the Magic players very excited!

Especially Howard, what he wants to win most is the Eagles!
He didn't know why the Eagles targeted him since he entered the NBA. Liu Mang even triggered a wave of super dunkers wanting to dunk him. Liu Mang, Kobe, McGrady, Carter, James White, Ginobili, Wade, James... a group of people have dunked him.

Unlike Duncan's "passive skills" that are unwilling to avoid being accidentally dunked, the super dunkers followed suit and dunked Howard after Liu Mang dunked Howard, which made Howard hate the Eagles to death.

In addition, Kwame Brown, the top center of the Mesozoic era, competes with Howard for the position of the strongest center of the younger generation. Kwame Brown, Howard, Chandler, and Milicic, the four major centers are hostile to each other. The dual motivation makes Howard crazy about wanting to win the Eagles.

Liu Mang just played the whole game yesterday, Howard is very motivated today!

When the match was about to start, Liu Mang looked at the opponent's ability evaluation.

The Magic has two old friends of Liu Mang, one is Raheem, and the other is Ariza. Ariza was sent to the Magic in the trade at the end of December before, playing the fourth and fifth striker, and still struggling at the bottom of the league.

Raheem, with an ability rating of 91, has just turned 30 years old. Raheem's ability rating has declined slightly compared to last year. Although he has maintained a good state, his physical fitness has also begun to decline when he is 30 years old.

Howard, with an ability rating of 88, is stronger than Kwame Brown on the offensive end. He has a certain singles ability by relying on explosive power. The main offensive method is the second offense. Single defense is not as good as Kwame Brown.

What surprised Liu Mang the most is that Grant Hill has maintained good health this season, and has not been injured again until now. He has maintained an average of 11 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

From the video footage of the Magic team researched by Liu Mang, it can be seen that Grant Hill's style of play is relatively closed, and he is still afraid of injury.

But Turkoglu is still miserable. Without Van Gundy, he still cannot be reused, and he is put on the bench for Hill and Raheem as substitutes.

The Magic's frontcourt is composed of Raheem, Howard, Grant Hill, and Teg Crew, so strong that it explodes!

Their backup centers include Tony Batty, Pat Garrity, Bo Outlaw and others.

"Give me such a frontcourt, and I can win four consecutive championships... No, I can't think like this, Mai Mama, Xiaoshou Kwame, and Gibbon are actually not bad..."

After the start of the game, the players of the Magic team wanted to launch a fierce offensive from the very beginning. To describe the Magic team's strategy today with martial arts, it can be described as opening and closing.

The Magic wanted to play fast, to crush the Hawks with a ferocious frontcourt trio, and the Magic wanted to take advantage of the Hawks' physical weakness.

Yesterday in the fourth quarter when the Eagles played against the Bulls, apart from Rondo, who came off the bench, the Eagles could help Liu Mang break through and attract the attention of the opponent, allowing Liu Mang to score 17 points in a single quarter in the final quarter, and the others could hardly score!

And Liu Mang played the whole game yesterday, and played back-to-back after less than 24 hours of rest today. The Magic wanted to take advantage of the Eagles' physical problems.

but……

After playing fast, Liu Mang found the feeling of playing in the starting lineup of the Suns, Nuggets, and Supersonics...

The Magic's defense is also good. Raheem and Howard are two favorites in the best defensive team. Grant Hill's defense is also good. Although he is afraid of injury, he is not slowing down.

They are all teams that rely on defense. After the Bulls defeated the Eagles, they temporarily ranked first in the Eastern Conference. The Magic barely ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. Their record is not much better than that of the Wizards and Nets.

Yesterday he played against the Bulls with the strongest defense, and today he played against the Magic... Liu Wei felt as if the opponent had no defense!
It's too easy, fouls at the basket, mid-range jumpers, outside waves...

Although the rest of the Eagles only scored 5 points in the first quarter, Liu Mang scored 22 points in the first quarter alone!Help the Eagles beat the Magic 27 to 25 in the first quarter!
The Magic's defensive strategy is based on the Hawks' physical crisis. It is mainly to prepare for the physical decline of Liu Mang, who has played more than 40 minutes in each of the past four games and played 48 minutes yesterday.

But the Magic players couldn't tell that Liu Mang played for 48 minutes yesterday, and he was even more aggressive today than yesterday!

Magic coach Brian Hill took it for granted. He thought it was an opportunity, but it turned into Liu Mang's opportunity!

Liu Mang scored 22 points in the first quarter, allowing his teammates to pass the most exhausting stage. After helping his teammates through the weak period at the beginning of the second back-to-back game, the Eagles began to show off...

McGrady had 6 assists in a single quarter in the second quarter. Granger and Battier, who came off the bench, scored two three-pointers each. Gortat and Kwame Brown scored successively. Although Liu Mang was strictly guarded in the second quarter and only scored 4 points, the Eagles played a wave of 33 to 22 in a single quarter, widening the point difference to 13 points in one fell swoop!
After the Eagles players recovered, they began to vent their grievances about yesterday's loss to the Bulls on the Magic.

The Eagles played better and better, and the Magic's tactical arrangement of trying to squeeze the persimmons became an absolute failure!

Following 22 points in the first quarter, 4 points in the second quarter, and 13 points in the third quarter, Liu Mang scored 15 points in the final quarter, making 31 of 19 shots, 11 of 5 three-pointers, 12 of 11 free throws, and scored 54 points!
The Bulls were powerless to stop Liu Mang from scoring, let alone the Magic!
Compared with the Bulls who can rely on the overall defense to cut off the connection between Liu Mang and his teammates and put pressure on Liu Mang, the Magic's defense suddenly became messy after a strategic error. Liu Mang's scoring is like cutting melons and vegetables.

Although Howard scored 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kwame Brown also had 12 points and 15 rebounds, which is not a disadvantage!

最终，在刘莽打了44分钟拿到54分3板3助攻2盖帽的表现下，老鹰队118比99，19分的分差干掉魔术队！
……

Magic fans make a quick exit after the game.

That's horrible!
Just like Liu Mang made clear the gap between himself and the Bulls after the Eagles lost to the Bulls, Magic fans knew the gap between their own team and the first-class teams. This gap is too obvious. Their insides have a certain advantage over the Eagles, but the outside line has been blasted to pieces.

After the whistle sounded at the end of the game, Liu Mang took the initiative to find Grant Hill.

It can be seen that Grant Hill is in a much better mood in the past two years than before. He played 59 games last season and 47 games last season. He is in good health. Although he has not played back-to-back games this year, he is still in good health through half of the schedule.

When Liu Mang hugged Grant Hill, he said, "Grant, your contract is about to expire this year."

Liu Mang obviously felt Hill tremble, and heard a soft doubt in his ear: "Ace, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing interesting, just... I want to teach you to win the championship." Liu Mang's tone was firm.

"You can't care less about winning the championship, and you're still so confident?"

"Confidence? No, no, no, I was born to win the championship..."

After Liu Mang finished speaking, he let go of his hug and looked at Grant Hill.

What Grant Hill heard just now felt incredible: "What kind of self-confidence is this?"

The key people have done it!
"It's unlikely that the Eagles will win the championship this year, but it's very possible next year! And it's even bigger than ever!" Grant Hill admired Liu Mang's strength, and immediately thought of it.

"I'm still a Magic player." Grant Hill responded with a smile.

Liu Mang was a little puzzled, but he reacted immediately: "That's right, we are not teammates yet."

No more talking, just stop here!
As he walked towards the player tunnel and returned to the locker room, Liu Mang thought: "Since we have a relationship with Hill, why don't we talk to Van Gundy too? Woodson is leaving, and there is no defensive assistant! Are you looking for Thibodeau?"

(End of this chapter)