basketball kingdom

Chapter 33 Regular Season Opener
At 10 o'clock in the evening on October 28th, Los Angeles time, the Lakers will kick off the new season at the Staples Center at home. The opponent they will face this time is the Minnesota Timberwolves, also from the West.

The swap between No. 18 and No. [-] took place two days ago. Xu Tian has already completed his physical examination, successfully joined the Lakers, and will appear in tonight's game.

The Lakers have always been a team that is more popular with domestic fans, so this regular season opener will be broadcast live on CCTV and Tencent Video.

After 7 o'clock in the evening, the sky began to rain, but this did not affect the lively scene around the Staples Center in the slightest.

Local fans in Los Angeles have been hearing rumors about Xu Tian all summer, and they are looking forward to this issue.Now that they have spent a long offseason, they are naturally very excited to finally be able to come to the scene to watch the game.

Now a reporter from CCTV is randomly interviewing a fan outside Staples who did not buy a ticket. This fan is wearing the No. [-] jersey, but the place where Russell's name is printed on the back is covered by a rough tape , there is a Xu written on it with a marker pen.

For such a jersey, the fan didn't feel embarrassed at all. When facing the camera, he turned around and showed it proudly.

Three black lines appeared on the reporter's forehead, but this did not affect the progress of her interview. After all, the profession of a reporter requires a strong heart, and she can still handle such small things.

In front of the locker room door, Kobe pulled Xu Tian who was about to go to the player tunnel.Xu Tian was a little confused, but he stopped to see what Kobe had to say.

"Xu, you should also understand. The regular season is different from the Summer League and preseason games you experienced before. Every regular season game is a war, and every point, every assist, and every steal will be recorded. In the career statistics." Kobe looked at Xu Tian who was unresponsive, and after a while, he continued firmly, "Welcome to the NBA, and you are also welcome to the Lakers!"

Xu Tian shook his head and smiled, "I haven't reached the point where I need encouragement, but thank you anyway."

Because the game time was approaching, neither of them spoke any more, and walked towards the inside of the stadium.

First of all, the players have to warm up for shooting. After the warm-up, there is a routine appearance introduction in the NBA. Players in the league attach great importance to this ceremony, and the leading stars are usually introduced at the end.

The Staples host first introduced the visiting Timberwolves, and the first player to be introduced was Karl-Anthony Towns.

"6-foot-11 Karl-Anthony Towns, a center out of the University of Kentucky."

……

"Forward from South Carolina, 6-foot-11 Kevin Garnett." That was the last Timberwolves player's name uttered by the host.

Kevin Garnett, nicknamed "Wolf King", was selected by the Timberwolves in 1995 and became the first player under the age of 20 to enter the NBA as a high school student.

Before joining the Celtics in the 07-08 season, Garnett played for the Timberwolves for 12 seasons. His most brilliant record was leading the team to the Western Conference Finals without winning a championship.

Garnett has a very perverted achievement in the Timberwolves, that is, he has swept the top of all basic data (points, rebounds, assists, steals, etc., which are called basic data) in team history. Only from these data, it can also be seen that he Almighty.

After 07, Garnett experienced the glory of the Celtics and the confusion in the Nets. He gave up his trade veto last season and returned to his parent team, the Timberwolves. The person who won the finale of the Timberwolves.

After a brief introduction of the visiting team's players, it is the home player's appearance ceremony that fans are more looking forward to.

"Now, I want to introduce yours—the Los Angeles Lakers!"

The host's voice fell, and at the same time, the lights on the scene dimmed.

There was a burst of cheers from the fans, something they had been looking forward to all offseason.

Xu Tian was scheduled to be introduced first, which was the instruction of Byron Scott.

"A 6-foot-7 guard from Shanghai, China, Xu Tian!"

Accompanied by the voice of the on-site host, the spotlight hit Xu Tian's position. He stood up from the bench and accepted the cheers of the fans.

Next was the introduction of the rest of the players in the team. Because he was the first to be introduced, Xu Tian clapped hands with these unfamiliar teammates one by one.

After the penultimate player Nick Young played, only Kobe was left on the bench.

When introducing Kobe, the voice of the live host became extremely loud, "The last player to play is the 2008 MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, five championships, from Lower Merion High School, 5 feet 6 inches Guard, No. 6, 'Black Mamba' Kobe Bryant!"

Staples burst into the loudest cheers. This player who has spent his entire career with the Lakers is the king of this venue.

Kobe got up from the bench, high-fived his teammates one by one from the small channel formed by the players, and then waved to the audience, ending the appearance ceremony amidst cheers.

The arena lights up again, and soon, the Lakers-Timberwolves game will begin.

The starting lineup for this game has been released.

The Timberwolves' starting five are: point guard Ricky Rubio, shooting guard Kevin Martin, small forward Andrew Wiggins, power forward Kevin Garnett and center Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Lakers' starting five are: point guard Jordan Clarkson, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Nick Young, power forward Julius Randle and center Roy Hibbert.

No matter how you say it, Xu Tian is still a rookie, and not long after he joined the Lakers, Scott did not dare to delegate too much power, so Xu Tian was not allowed to start this game.

Sitting on the sidelines is ESPN's chief NBA commentator, Mike Breen. When scoring a goal, "bang!", "Knocks it down!", "Puts it in!", etc., all come from this commentator.

He was partnered with Yao Ming's second coach, Jeff Van Gundy, also known as Little Van Gundy. His iconic Mediterranean style was particularly bright under the lights of Staples.

The former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who often explained with Mike Brin, and Van Gundy Jr. are both relatively fixed partners of Mike Brin.

"It seems that the little guy who has a little bit of trouble with us didn't get the chance to start." Mike Brin looked at the starting list given by the technical station, and used this sentence as the opening commentary of the game, and then he asked Looking at his partner, "Jeff, you have been the coach of the Rockets for a while, what do you think of the player Xu?"

Little Van Gundy laughed, "It's been more than 10 years, and I can't comment. But since Magic Johnson thinks Xu is more valuable than D'Angelo, then I think he also has his own shining points."

"Did you ignore the first-round pick that the Rockets sent?" Mike Breen laughed.

Little Van Gundy wasn't too disgusted with Xu Tian, ​​so he didn't answer, and covered it up with a laugh.

Byron Scott heard about Xu Tian's work in the Summer League, and asked Xu Tian to sit beside him to see what he had to say about the situation on the court.

Because it was relatively close to the commentary booth, Xu Tian heard the words of the two commentators, but he didn't care.He is only grateful for the Rockets. If it weren't for this team, he still doesn't know where he is now.

Kobe and Garnett said hello before the jump ball. The two were drafted in 95 and 96. They have spent many years in the league together and respect each other.

Standing in the middle circle is Roy Hibbert. This person is a big center with a height of 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 meters). He has an amazing height, but his speed is indeed slow enough.

Fans of the Heat's Big Three period must have been impressed by him. The Indiana Pacers led by Hibbert, David West and Paul George could always meet the Heat in the playoffs in those years. It can be called a strong enemy.

However, the glory of the past has rolled into the dust of history, and what Hibbert has to do now is to help the Lakers win the first offensive ball.

The player who jumped the ball with him was the No. [-] pick of the Timberwolves, the main center Towns.

There is a certain height gap between the two, and Towns was a little distracted when jumping the ball. The basketball that flew into the air was photographed by Hibbert and came to Clarkson's hands.

Clarkson was a rookie last year, 196 cm, 88 kg, wearing the Lakers No. 6 jersey, and a tall point guard.After he dribbled the ball across half court, he immediately handed the ball into Kobe's hands.

Kobe is 198 centimeters tall and weighs 96 kilograms. He has the most standard figure among shooting guards. He is facing the opposing shooting guard Kevin Martin.

Kevin Martin is 201 centimeters tall and weighs 93 kilograms. He sounds mighty, but his style of play is soft. He was Harden’s previous touch king. He wants a foul every time he takes a shot. His defense is below average. Relatively It is said that the Timberwolves have one of the poorest defenses.

Kobe was in a 45-degree position on the right, and he controlled the ball and asked for a post-up single. This is a position he is familiar with.

Fadeback jumper, hollow into the net.

Lakers 2-0 Timberwolves.

Garnett went for a throw-in, put the ball into the hands of point guard Rubio, and Rubio led it through half court.

Rubio was the No. 09 pick in 5. He became famous at a young age and was nicknamed the "Golden Boy".His organizational and defensive abilities are excellent, and logically speaking, he can become a star, but his poor shooting and injury factors have led to him still being an ordinary starter, but he still has no pressure against Clarkson.

Kevin Martin borrowed a screen, came to the top of the key to receive the ball, and met Nick Young who came to defend.

Nick Young's premature jump allowed Kevin Martin to seize the opportunity. When shooting, he leaned forward and leaned forward actively.

It was a wild shot, but it didn't matter because the referee's whistle blew.

Nick Young made a defensive foul and Kevin Martin made two free throws.

Timberwolves small forward Wiggins walked to the left of the free throw line with his hips on his hips. This is his usual style.

(End of this chapter)