basketball task

Chapter 289
Regarding the MVP rankings, ESPN columnist Lawrence wrote:

"I originally thought that the maturity of LeBron and Cameron, the joining of Kevin Durant, and the immortality of Paul Pierce would bring the NBA into a prosperous era of small forwards. I didn't expect that among the top ten players on the MVP list this season, Shooting guards are still the most.”

Su Qun, a well-known Chinese basketball commentator, also published an article:

"In the first ten years of the 21st century, we were lucky to witness the super four-point performance of East Isico, North Carolina and Nanmai. After scoring 20 points, Iverson was struggling in Denver after leaving Philadelphia, Tracy McGrady was sinking due to back injuries, all three of them lost their crazy magic, and Kobe was the only one left among the four shooting guards."

"But the NBA has never lacked young talents. Wade, the super scorer of the golden generation in 03, is at his peak. In 06, Brandon Roy officially stepped into the ranks of superstars in the third season of his career. Last year's rookie Channing Roy is even stronger, in the second season he played a super all-around stat of 27+6+5, Kobe, Wade, Roy, Channing, these are the four new generation of shooting guards in my mind, what do you think?"

The NBA in the 2008-2009 season was indeed in an inconspicuous stage of change. On the one hand, veteran superstars such as Kobe and Garnett had endured it for many years. On the other hand, James, Wade and other Mesozoic stars can't wait to take over and seize power. Years of successive defeats directly contributed to the behavior of reporting to the group behind James, and the reporting to the group in the Mesozoic Era is tantamount to giving Kobe and other older generations The peak career of a superstar has come to an end.

Of course, except for the two old guys Duncan and Nowitzki.

Another obvious change is the rapid rise of the new generation of stars. Roy in the third year of his career, Durant and Channing in the second year, and this year's super rookie No. 03 pick Rose. The bosses of the Trail Blazers, Philadelphia, Thunder and Bulls, no matter in terms of personal data or team record, the strength of the new generation of stars is not weaker than James' [-] golden generation, which also gives Lao Zhan a greater strength. pressure.

Before Kobe's Zijin Lakers and Garnett's Big Three of the Celtics refused to give way, Roy, Channing, Durant, Rose stepped on the wave, James, Wade, Anthony, Chris Paul, Howard These Mesozoic generations are a little panicked, because if this continues, there is really not much time left for them to develop.

After defeating the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers' team strength and self-confidence have greatly improved. After a day's rest, they all flew to Houston to challenge the Rockets away.

The star of the Rockets, Tracy McGrady, suffered from a serious back injury. He underwent surgery privately some time ago, and then announced that he would be reimbursed for the season. This made Morey and Alexander very dissatisfied.

"If I had known this earlier, McGrady and Yao Ming should have been traded away during the offseason. It would be a complete mess."

McGrady's absence, Yao Ming's departure, the Rockets fell from the peak to the bottom. Although Chauncey Billups, the new aid from the Pistons in the offseason, played very well, the Rockets' record was still a mess. As of 12 At the beginning of the month, they only won 7 games, ranking tenth in the West.

The poor record also made the Houston fans very angry, and they decided to vent all their anger on Yao Ming.

Yao is so smart. As soon as he entered Houston, he felt strong hostility. After communicating with Cheeks and Channing, Yao directly announced that he would take a rest for the game, citing some soreness in his left leg and ankle.

Facing the media cameras, Dayao lied without changing his face:

"The left leg is old and injured, and it will be repeated when it is fatigued or over-exercised. Recently, our team has a lot of away games, running back and forth, so when I was on the plane yesterday, I already felt pain in my left ankle. Some discomfort, according to the doctor's orders, I need more rest."

Chen Ning understands Yao Ming's thoughts. One is that the strengths of the two teams are very different. The Philadelphia team is the first in the East and is in full swing. There was another knife, so I found an excuse to take a break.

Houston fans didn't buy Yao Ming's rest. When Yao appeared on the Philadelphia bench in a suit, he was still abused by the audience.

Dayao pretended not to hear, but Qian Ning was very angry. He would never allow the most outstanding second boss around him to be bullied like this.

At the mobilization meeting before the start of the game, Channing gave instructions:
"Tonight, throw off your arms and do it all to me, beat them to death!"

The game starts soon.

The Philadelphia starting five are:
Point guard Kyle Lowry, shooting guard Channing, small forward Battier, power forward Channing Frye, center Ibaka.

Yao Ming took a rest, and the Philadelphia team's inside rotation was a bit stretched. Coach Cheeks decided to start with Ibaka and Channing Frye, Uncle Mu and Birdman Anderson as a substitute, and Channing Frye also got a very rare starting opportunity. .

The Rockets' starters are:
Point guard Billups, shooting guard Weaver, small forward Artest, power forward McDyess, center Gortat.

Compared with last season, Houston's team lineup has undergone earth-shaking changes. The three players Billups, McDyess and Gortat obtained from the three-way trade in the offseason occupied three starting positions respectively. It was Artest who was traded in the summer as the starting small forward. Four of the Rockets' five starting positions are rookies.

In addition to the starters, there are many acquaintances sitting on the bench of the Houston Rockets, such as Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Luis Scola, etc. on the inside, and there are also little black bean Brooks and streetball king Ralph Alston on the outside. and others.

In the new Rockets lineup, point guards and small forwards are the absolute strengths. After Billups left the Pistons, he was reused in Houston, especially after Tracy McGrady was reimbursed for the season. Puth is a reliable offensive point. Compared with last season, Billups' average points and assists per game have also increased a lot, and he can get about 19 points and 7 assists.

But obviously, from the poor record of the Rockets, it can be seen that Billups, who is getting older and older, can only be a good second-in-chief. It is really beyond the scope of his ability to let him be the boss of the team. Whether it is scoring and assist data, or shooting percentage and various efficiency values, Billups cannot be compared with first-line point guards such as Paul and Parker.

(End of this chapter)