NBA Building Cardinals

Chapter 48 Regular Season Opener
April 10

With the intensive training of each team, the regular season came as scheduled.

In the opening game of the first day, the league arranged a total of four games.

They are the Rockets and the Pistons, the Kings and the Mavericks, the Lakers and the Nuggets, and finally the Bobcats against the Heat, the favorite to win this season.

Liu Rui is very familiar with this arrangement of the alliance.

As the defending champion last season, the Pistons are not only strong, but also have accumulated good popularity. After all, the economy of the Motor City is also visible to the naked eye.

Due to the combination of Yao and Mai, the Rockets not only rose in popularity, but also had quite good comments on the strength list before the start of this season.

Even in the preseason, they lost an away game to the Bobcats, but experts agree that it was because the Rockets' main control, Sura, was injured and failed to make his debut.

In addition, the combination of Yao and Mai has further promoted Houston's economic interests for the alliance.

Coupled with the Chinese market behind Yao Ming, it would be really strange if there were no Rockets in the first round opener.

As early as the first round of the playoffs last season, the Kings and Mavericks met and fought each other.

In the end, the Kings led by Webber defeated the Mavericks and made it through.

Although Webber's performance against the Timberwolves in last season's playoffs was unsatisfactory, the duel between Webber and Nowitzki, two legendary power forwards, still attracted the attention of many people.

On the other hand, with the arrival of Kenyon Martin, the No. [-] pick who left the Nets, the Nuggets teamed up with Camby, the former best defensive player in the team.

Thereby further strengthening the team's inside defense ability.

And as Anthony matures, the Nuggets have begun to show a bit of edge.

As for the Lakers, this season has undergone a complete shake-up, and the famous f4 combination has completely disintegrated.

O'Neill travels east to the Heat to win the championship together with Wei Dezhi.

Glove Payton travels east to the Celtics. In the new season, he will assist rising star Pierce to see if the truth can be crowned.

Karl Malone, the former great in history, still failed to realize his dream in his later years, and finally retired with regret, becoming one of the strongest uncrowned kings in history.

Nowadays, only Kobe is left alone in the huge Los Angeles. Even with the assistance of Odom and Divac in the new season, he is still not favored by outsiders.

And that is indeed the case. In the previous life, the Lakers only ranked No. 34 in the Western Conference with 48 wins and 12 losses, and finally missed the playoffs.

Kobe, who initially left O'Neal, has also been widely discussed, and the topic of who is the thigh of the two has been discussed endlessly in the league.

As the newly promoted team of the league, the Bobcats have also been taken care of by the league, and a game was also arranged in the league's opening game.

But Liu Rui seems to be a background board for the Heat.

Liu Rui was quite helpless about this arrangement.

After all, everyone wants to bring the team a good start in the new season, and the Bobcats are now in high morale, and there is a great chance that they will work together to win the first game.

But since your league has come up, you have arranged for the Heat, the championship contender for this season? ! !

At the beginning of the new season, it was directly a nightmare difficulty, and Liu Rui was quite angry about it.

Although there is a big buffalo White in the team, it can greatly limit O'Neal's performance.

But after all, it is only a limitation for a character of O'Neill's level, if White can really defend the big shark one-on-one.

Then presumably White will not appear in the Bobcats' roster, but will definitely be sought after by all teams in the league.

"Guys, don't worry, let's play this game, because we are at a disadvantage from the beginning, and their salary cap is almost double our salary cap, so don't have any psychological pressure."

"Even if we lose this game, the media won't say anything about us, but if, I mean if, we really win, then our new season will really be considered a battle of the gods."

"So let go of your psychological pressure, don't have any tension, and show the level of confrontation you usually have in training."

"Although O'Neal has his strengths, he also has a fatal weakness. Although his dominance at the basket in positional warfare is terrifying, his biggest weakness is his speed."

"And it just so happens that we're one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league right now, because he's old and the future belongs to young people!"

"So maybe in this game, we can really overthrow the Heat. As for Wade, when you defend Robinson, try to distance yourself from him."

"Remember his three-pointer, we try to take a step, but we must focus on his breakthrough."

"Also, no matter how Wade drives in, remember he's going to end up with his layup on the right side for the most part," he said.

"If he lays up on the left hand side, you only need to give him some interference, because his left hand basket is not stable at all now."

"For Wade's lost step, remember what I said, Robinson, you must stick to the left and seal the right."

"His explosive power is usually mainly on the left side, but in the end it is on the right side to complete the breakthrough."

"And Wallace, you will be facing Haslem in this game. Remember, as long as he is in the middle and long distances, you can let him go and help defend Wade. Do you understand?!"

In the locker room of the Miami Arena, Liu Rui gave instructions to the players in front of him.

"Understood!! Coach!!"

The players were very excited, and there was no tension at all. It was a stress-free game, and if they won, they would become the darling of the media. It was really exciting! !
Facing the Heat in this game, it is a test for the Bobcats and everyone.

Now it's at the Heat's home court again. With the arrival of O'Neal, the enthusiasm of Miami fans has already been ignited by passion, and they can't wait for the start of the new season.

Under such circumstances, everyone in the Bobcats team will inevitably have a lot of psychological pressure, not to mention the players, even Liu Rui's pressure is not small at this time, but, as the head coach, Liu Rui can't show it at all.

And Liu Rui knows very well that although the current Heat team has Wade and O'Neal at the same time, two powerful stars inside and outside.

But they still have their own shortcomings, that is, the lack of shooting ability in the team.

In the Heat's team starting, Eddie Jones will be used as the team's starting number one.

Because Eddie Jones' defensive ability on the back line is very good.

Can maximize the defensive burden for Wade in the backcourt.

This is also my favorite lineup in the league right now.

In this era when superstars are particularly shining, they are playing superstars with personal heroism. They are as strong as Iverson. They have to be matched with a few blue-collars in the backcourt to share their defensive pressure.

(End of this chapter)