NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 468 "Do you want to get the starting position?" (Daily Chapter)

On Thursday, October 2006, 10, as the preseason progressed, the conditions of NBA teams once again sparked discussion among basketball analysts.

Pat Riley didn't confirm he would continue coaching the Heat until training camp officially began.

The greasy-haired boss did not explain to the media why he had delayed until now, but after the preseason started, many people saw the clues.

During the offseason, the Miami Herald would occasionally emphasize O'Neal's condition: the Shark has lost weight, and "Superman" is back!

In the several preseason games, O'Neal did appear to be smaller as reported by the media, but unfortunately, the fat man's athletic ability seemed to be declining.

The impact of last year's injuries was greater than the critics imagined. It was only then that many fans realized that the 34-year-old O'Neal had begun to decline.

The 35-year-old Michael Jordan lost the championship and his statistics were the worst in his career. Now it is O'Neal's turn, and the fat man has to give up the position of the first center.

The biggest feeling that fans have gotten from several games is that the once swift O'Neal is beginning to show signs of aging. Considering that the fat guy didn't practice during the offseason, he will most likely use games as training during the regular season.

On TNT, Charles Barkley rarely failed to tease O'Neal, and ultimately gave his assessment of the possible decline:

"No one can fight against time. O'Neal's biggest opponent is himself. I hope to see him in better shape in the opening game!"

"."

In the Heat team, not only O'Neal was in poor form, but Payton and Mourning also performed poorly in their limited playing time.

Jason Williams has not fully recovered after surgery. We thought the Heat would be able to make a comeback, but now it seems that they may fall behind early.

Many basketball critics sighed when they thought of the once powerful teams in the Eastern Conference. Ten years later, only the Knicks have become stronger and stronger and enjoyed more dividends.
In the preseason, the Knicks played two exhibition games in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then one in Las Vegas.

In the three games, Li You once again showed an excellent state, while JR Smith was the opposite.
The newbie who just joined the team was obsessed with practicing "small ball" during the offseason and was exhausted by the New York nightlife. He scored 0 points in three games!
Although New York fans have almost forgotten JR Smith, seeing such outrageous data, everyone started a criticism meeting:

"Incompetent players are not welcome in New York!"

On Friday, October 10, at the Tarrytown Training Center, after the morning training session ended, JR Smith sat in the audio-visual room with a dazed look on his face, motionless.

The newly renovated audio-visual room dedicated to video classes is equipped with comfortable sofa chairs, but at this moment JR Smith sat up straight, as if he has not yet recovered from the blow of the past few days.

I thought joining a championship team was a good thing. After arriving in New York, JR Smith squandered his meager salary and indulged in the care of various big-butt girls.

But as the training camp officially opened, he was ruthlessly DNPed due to his extremely poor condition. In the third game against the 76ers, he only got 2 minutes of playing time in garbage time.

JR Smith still wanted to show himself, but Barea didn't even look at him. The 60th pick basically just took the ball and did what he wanted, winning the love of fans with his active performance.

10 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, in the fierce competitive environment, JR Smith gradually realized that his future might not be as good as he imagined.

This is not a Hornets team that is short of players. He needs to compete with Grant Hill, Raja Bell and Michael Finley for playing time.

If his performance is not as good as the three, he will be eliminated.
His extremely poor condition also made no one on the Knicks pay attention to him. There are too many players like this who indulged in alcohol and sex and eventually faded out of the league.

After the guaranteed rookie contract ends, perhaps JR Smith will disappear from the public eye.

Assistant coach Mike Malone saw that JR Smith had good talent, but thinking of the news he had seen sporadically during the offseason, he sighed in his heart and stepped forward to pat the isolated newbie:

"You are an adult now and need to be responsible for your actions. I want to see you fulfill your talent, and to do that, you must now work harder."

Thinking about the fact that he has not been able to integrate into the team in the past few days, JR Smith felt sad. He was the boss in the Hornets, but now no one cares about him:
"I understand, coach, I will work hard and I want to play here."

Mike Malone patted the newbie on the shoulder again and didn't say anything more. Even if JR Smith worked hard in training, it would not be easy to get more playing time.

The coaching staff was very satisfied with the depth of the team's lineup. When Mike Malone led the new players out of the room, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
"No wonder Mike studies ties every day."

On October 10, the Rome Film Festival, which received strong support from the local government, officially opened.

Billboards advertising the festival were plastered all over town, and city buses were decorated to impress, carrying festival-goers to and from the Via Veneto and the auditorium.

Unlike Venice, the inaugural Rome Film Festival was the brainchild of self-appointed culture czar Mayor Walter Veltroni, as evidenced by its budget of more than $1500 million.

Italy's big stars are still the most popular. At the red carpet ceremony in the afternoon, a group of people surrounded Monica Bellucci and clicked cameras frantically.

Although she is already an older actress, Bellucci, wearing dizzying high heels and a low-cut red dress, is still the favorite of many men.
Many big stars dressed up carefully for the party in the luxurious villa at night, and the onlookers burst into screams from time to time.

At the end of the red carpet, Leonardo Dicaprio, dressed in a black suit, was not with the crew. While looking at the famous actress, he joked with Li You next to him:

"It's easy for Hollywood to make money. If I were you, I would never accept Marvel's stock. 6500 million, you are crazy!"

Ever since American gossip reporters broke the news that the Marvel board of directors had an internal struggle over casting and ultimately chose the cheapest drug addict Robert Downey Jr., this matter has become a laughing stock among industry insiders.

In addition, the well-known producer Alavi is suspected of cashing out his stocks and leaving early, and Marvel’s stock price has started to fall slightly recently.

Although Leonardo Dicaprio knew that Li You was very rich, he still felt heartbroken when he thought of 6500 million. It was a huge sum of money for anyone.

Thinking of the old Kou who was clinging to power, Li You cursed in his heart. Although the poisonous dog could not be trusted, his memory told him that this was the beginning of success:
"If you want to make a little money in the future, you can buy some stocks and wait until the movie becomes a big hit. You won't make as much money if you invest again."

Superhero movies mean popcorn and no chance of winning awards. Last year's "Begins" was an exception, and Christopher Nolan did make it better.

Leonardo Dicaprio looked up slightly at Li You beside him, a little surprised.

In recent years, he has put part of his money in Ax Capital and earned very good returns. Thinking of this, he also began to think about buying at the bottom.

"The Departed" has just been released in Italy, and attending the film festival not only promotes it, but also makes a little money.

When Leonardo Dicaprio noticed Scarlett, he wanted to continue joking, but soon frowned again.

Scarlett, wearing a white low-cut dress, deliberately tied up her curly hair, simply replicating her movie look. She noticed the gazes of Li You and the other man, and her eyes flickered.

Rebecca Hall, who was wearing a black dress, met Sam Mendes halfway and the two had a happy chat.

Scarlett, who was holding Li You's arm, looked at Leonardo Dicaprio who was frowning, then looked at Rebecca Hall who was happily chatting with the famous producer, and gossiped meaningfully:
"Mendez admires Rebecca. What are you thinking? Maybe they are just good friends."

Kate Winslet and Mendes just got married not long ago. Leonardo didn't want to gossip, but he still felt uncomfortable seeing this scene
It was not easy to show his emotions in front of the media, so Leonardo finally smiled and whispered to the two of them:

"I will help you sell champagne. If you have the chance, please keep an eye on Miss Hall for me."

Li You didn't expect that Leonardo, who only loves young girls, would help the older actress Kate Winslet. The three of them walked slowly, and Scarlett, who was in a gossiping mood, agreed immediately:
"Rebecca and I are good friends. I'll take care of this matter."

After almost a year of struggle, Li You finally acquired Armand de Brignac from Sovereign Brands.

At this film festival, Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni accepted this champagne, and the shiny Ace of Spades will soon appear at the subsequent parties.
After turning from Italy and returning to the United States, Scarlett's advertising video will also follow. This emerging brand will be gradually promoted starting from New York.

As if she felt that the US dollar was starting to come to her, Scarlett Johansson hugged Li You tightly, wishing she could have a live show. Nicole Kidman, who got married in a low-key manner a few months ago, was happily holding her husband Keith Urban's arm. When she saw the three people, she immediately smiled and waved.

Giving Li You a big hug, the older actress happily introduced her husband and said with a sweet smile:

"I just saw Mr. Veltroni showing off a new wine, Lee, is that a recently acquired brand?"

Li You smiled and nodded. The news had just been revealed that because of the bidding dispute with Jay-Z, this matter attracted quite a bit of attention in New York.

Scarlett has her own profits from this champagne, which is Li You’s birthday gift to the little ones. The young mother quickly integrated into the crew and began to cooperate with the mayor to promote it.

The party hadn't officially started yet. Leonardo DiCaprio took advantage of everyone's departure and couldn't help but whisper again:

"How did you do it?"

Leonardo found it outrageous that Li You and his whole family lived together after confirming that it was true, and he secretly asked about it more than once.

"Why is there such a problem? We love each other so much!"

"."

Li You was busy earning money for milk powder and did not participate in the next two preseason games. LeBron James, who led the US team to win the bronze medal, was in great form again.

10月26号星期四，106:86，骑士队客场大胜76人队。

霍华德经过国家队的磨炼与科技加持，也开始兑现自己的天赋，这场季前赛怒砍17分15篮板1助攻2盖帽3失误的大号两双。

The Philadelphia fans at the scene were already numb. Looking at Howard shouting and jumping around after the game, they were in no mood to boo their opponents for a while.

James, wearing the Cavaliers' away training suit, kept high-fiving his teammates to celebrate. After two months of adjustment, he has completely recovered from the failure.

Although it was just a preseason game, James showed a serious look during the interview and summarized the game seriously:

"We have become more tacitly matched, the quality of pick-and-roll is better than last season, Dwight has learned a lot from the national team, and I think we can go one step further this year."

"What we have to do in the regular season is stay healthy. Coach Van Gundy is right. We have the talent to challenge the defending champions."

"You know, this is my 4th season. I'm no longer a rookie. My body has fully adapted to the league!"

The reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer looked at LeBron James' strong figure and felt a little envious for a moment. Compared with the Cavaliers, the 76ers seemed to be completely finished.
After winning all the games in the preseason, Jeff Van Gundy regained his championship coaching demeanor. Under his shiny forehead, the red scarf on his chest became even brighter:

"The goal for the new season? Of course the championship. I think you have all seen Dwight's growth. I think in terms of rebounding, he has surpassed O'Neal."

"The excellent inside line is the guarantee of our success. You will see the strength of the Cavaliers after they realize their talent!"

The team failed to send away former steals leader Larry Hughes during the offseason, and Gooden was almost poached. Fortunately, the championship coach relied on his extraordinary charm to eventually maintain the lineup.

Van Gundy is very satisfied with this. The defensive system he built has achieved some results after several years of polishing, and his confidence, which had been hit, has returned!

Thibodeau knew that Van Gundy's trading rights had been revoked, but there were not many changes to the teams during the offseason. The consecutive victories also made him feel relieved, and the chemistry was indeed getting better and better.

The Cavaliers celebrated by high-fiving each other and returned to the locker room with laughter. Soon, Howard was dancing in front of everyone and kept saying loudly:

"Cleveland! Champions!"

On October 10th, as the opening game officially starts tomorrow, the Knicks began to get nervous and started to compete in groups in the afternoon training session.

Rajon Rondo has been silent most of the time in the team, and the newcomer has been competing secretly.

In this kind of training game, Li You usually brings the substitutes and the atmosphere group, which gives Rondo the opportunity to practice with the main lineup.

Since Li You had not participated in many joint training sessions before, most of the training was focused on physical recovery. Rondo, who was born to be strong, would occasionally imagine that he had received a special script:
"Beat up Li You, win the coach's trust, and reach the peak of life from now on!"

Fantasy is beautiful, but reality is extremely cruel. Rondo's defense is getting worse and worse. He always feels that Li You is playing tricks on him and is not playing seriously at all.
In the previous round, Rondo's pass was too low, Chandler dropped the ball under the basket, and Gazuric stole the ball and threw it to Li You.

This was an opportunity for a quick counterattack, but Li You did not rush forward and instead waited for the defense to get into position.

Under normal circumstances, Artest is mostly responsible for defense in training games, but Rondo, who wanted to show himself, refused to help and insisted on demonstrating his defensive level.

When Mike Malone on the sidelines saw Li You coming to the right wing, he began to loudly remind Chandler in the paint to pay attention to his defensive position:
"Tyson, come out and defend!"

Gazuric wanted to continue moving, but when he noticed Li You waving, he simply stopped in the right blocking area. Rondo noticed the movement behind him and hurriedly stepped up to defend him again.

Amid the jeers of the atmosphere group, Li You suddenly stopped and dribbled the ball behind his back, switched to his left hand, and immediately lowered his shoulders to accelerate.

He did not sprint at full speed. With the help of the ball protector, Li You easily gained half a body position, broke through to the right elbow area with Rondo, and then suddenly stopped and took a large step back.

After being attacked many times with the same offensive method, Rondo slid and stared with his eyes wide open while trying his best to defend.

Li You just took a step back with his body leaning back, and changed to shooting with his left hand. In the end, Rondo only hit his right arm, and after landing, he heard the cheers of the crowd.

The basketball went into the net, and Rondo felt even more depressed after he heard the coaching staff loudly remind him not to foul.
At the end of the training game, as Li You repeatedly made fancy jump shots near the free throw line, the basketball went into the net again and again. Rondo completely broke through the defense and finally smashed the ball hard, and he was beaten.

Unlike Artest who was making a fuss, Grant Hill thought the newbie just wanted to show off, so he took the initiative to step forward and patted the other person on the shoulder:

"Don't be discouraged. In fact, the effect will be almost the same no matter who defends. Your pass is very good!"

"."

Rondo forced a smile on his face. He discovered something a little outrageous. The Knicks' tactical routine was simpler and more brutal than he had imagined.

Li You was moving his body and bumping fists with his teammates. Gasol was not here, so in the next few months, he would have to go to another venue with the physical therapist to complete his recovery training.

David Lee turned into a flatterer again, showing off the results of his one-season study:

"Left-handed shooting, God! Lee is still improving, look at his mid-range pull-up jumper, it's as efficient as a layup!"

"Those media can only make up fake news. Li is even stronger. He has never relaxed his requirements on himself. He is obviously working hard in the off-season!"

As the flattery continued, Rondo felt more and more uncomfortable. He was now out of tune with everyone because he couldn't flatter. Even JR Smith, who was handing out the towel on the other side, shouted several times:
"David is right!"

Li You responded with a smile, and noticed Rondo lowering his head. He squeezed next to him, put his arm around his shoulders, and asked in a gentle voice:

“Man, you wanna get the starting spot?”

"."

(End of this chapter)