God's hand behind the scenes

Chapter 443
The reports on the preseason game in the major media quickly disappeared. In fact, senior fans know what kind of intensity the preseason game is like. Being undefeated does not mean that this team will be able to compete in the regular season. Get good grades.However, Chang Wei and Brown have full confidence in the Pistons. In their view, if this fails, it is really unreasonable.

But in fact, the Pistons are not the favorites for the championship in the new season. The Lakers who have recruited Payton and Malone, the Spurs with a budding GDP combination, the Raptors with maturing twin stars, and the 76ers with very strong overall strength are the first choice of gaming companies.But Chang Wei knows that the seemingly powerful 76ers will soon fall apart. Reed's contract is about to expire next summer, and the team has not negotiated with him on the renewal of the contract. is a heavy blow.

So to a certain extent, this is the last season that they can use the championship lineup to hit the O'Brien Cup again. Regardless of whether they can win the championship or not, the players are destined to go their separate ways.Of course, they may also burst out with [-]% strength because of this, but Chang Wei does not believe that their new head coach Jimmy O'Brien can do this.

Naturally, the Pistons players will not feel discouraged because the team is not the favorite for the championship. They have long been used to being underestimated by others. At this time, the war of words is meaningless. As long as they can play a better record, it is enough to fight. someone else's face.Before the opening game, they were all struggling to prove themselves, and the first game against the Kings was a good opportunity.

The king's lineup has not changed much compared to last season, but their starting center Divac is one year older. As the team's most important hub, his state determines the king's overall strength.Coach Rick Adelman had to reduce Divac's playing time, while Brad Miller's playing time has been improved.

Now the king's leading scorer is Peja. This prolific shooter has entered the peak period of his career, and his shooting points are almost all inside and outside the three-point line.It's a pity that as a player who is not good at physical confrontation, he was completely confused when he encountered Prince's strict defense. The first three shots were all missed under Prince's interference, and he barely scored the fourth goal.

After a season of tempering, Prince has become the universal card of the Pistons' outside line. If there is no accident, the main scorer in the opponent's team will be his defensive target, and Brown is also very relieved of him.Even if Prince can't interfere with shooting, he can force them to choose to break through and score, and then hand it over to Ben, who guards the basket, to solve the problem.

When Peja misfired, the king, who had lost the most important firepower point, was suddenly a little unsustainable, and could only rely on the pick-and-roll of Webb and Bibby to score.Their efficiency is still very good, but almost 24 seconds are used up for each shot, not because they don't want to make a quick decision, but because the Pistons' defense is too annoying, and it is difficult to find a suitable shot.

The Kings are not a strong defensive team. They have been able to stay in the forefront of the Western Conference in the past few seasons because of their excellent offense, and the same is true this season.Obviously, Adelman did not emphasize the importance of defense to the players, which made it difficult for the Kings not only on offense, but also on the defensive end to limit the scoring of the Pistons.

With 3 minutes and 14 seconds left in the first quarter, Brown took the lead in changing his lineup and replaced it with a substitute lineup, and he was still going up and down, which made Adelman very angry. He thought it was a sign that his opponent disrespected him. .I have to say that he really thinks too much. Which coach in the league hasn't tried five ups and downs in a game?Who cares if it's respect or contempt?
Last season, the Pistons' bench score ranked 21st in the league, which is a very low level. In addition, they did not carry out large-scale reinforcements during the offseason, and Adelman did not put their bench lineup on the line. on heart.Unexpectedly, in the last three minutes of the first quarter, the Pistons hit a 15-5 scoring climax, instantly pulling the difference between the two sides to double digits. With the two starters present, they could only enter the second quarter with an 11-point disadvantage.

Adelman unbelievingly sent out the starter at the beginning of the second quarter, but it was just a tie with the Pistons' bench, and neither side could prevent the other.Especially the No. 3 made him tremble with fear. Every breakthrough can help the team score, whether it is a layup by himself or an assist to his teammates, he does not behave like a rookie at all.

There is also the big man with the number 32 on his back. This guy is obviously only the height of a small forward, but he can come and go inside freely.Although Webber is also known for his gorgeous inside skills, facing such a guy with the height of a small forward as a power forward is also a headache, not to mention that he can pull outside the three-point line to shoot from time to time. Almost collapsed.

In the end, this game, which was regarded as a strong dialogue before the game, became one-sided. The Pistons achieved a lead of more than 20 points at the end of the first three quarters, and finally beat the Kings 105 to 88 to get a good start to the new season. .Seven Pistons scored in double figures in this campaign, showing a completely different style from last season, which made it difficult for any team with aspirations for the championship. At least this game proved that the Pistons have filled the gap Their biggest hole last season.

For the Pistons, beating the Kings was just the beginning, and then they beat the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Celtics, Heat, Jazz, Knicks, Cavaliers, Supersonics and Nets successively, winning 10 consecutive victories At the same time, it is also firmly ranked first in the East.Although this may not last for them until the end of the season, 10 wins and 0 losses are also the best start to the regular season in team history, which is good news for the Pistons who only want to win the championship this season.

At the same time, the 10-game winning streak also gave the Pistons a reassurance. They are more confident in the future of the team. Even if they have the best record, they may only try their best to do it, instead of considering the possibility of success.

In these 10 games, both Wade and Diaw have played at the top level among the rookies of this year, and have been selected into the best rookie list in the first phase of the new season, in which Wade ranked second and Diaw ranked first five.Under their leadership, the Pistons' bench is no longer a weakness, and it can even be said to be one of their strengths.

(End of this chapter)