basketball kingdom

Chapter 64 The Immature Leader
The Nuggets' plane had arrived in Los Angeles the day before the game, and the players were gathering in head coach Michael Malone's room for an impromptu player meeting.

Michael Malone was promoted to head coach just before the start of last season, when the Kings hired him, giving him the head coaching job for the first time in his coaching career.Before that he was a teaching assistant.

Michael Malone is a more trusted coach of Cousins, but he had conflicts with the management and was kicked out by the Kings after coaching last season.On June 6 this year, the Nuggets signed Malone and let him serve as the team coach.

Michael Malone held a few data analysis sheets in his hand, but the content he dictated had nothing to do with the data sheet, "Julius Randle is suffering from an ankle injury and will not play tonight's game, so the linebacker The best players are to make sure Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic get the ball in their hands as soon as they get to the paint."

Jokic was the 2014st pick in 41, but he only landed in the NBA this year, so he is strictly a rookie.Jokic performed well in the first few games and has already shown signs of being able to squeeze out Nurkic.

The power forward of the Nuggets is Kenneth Faried. This 203 cm tall short inside player is a complete beast.

Mudiay was selected by the Nuggets with the seventh overall pick in the first round. Although he is still serving as Jameer Nelson's substitute, Malone has been consciously cultivating it. ball."

Michael Malone praised Mudiay with admiration, and then said: "The team's goal this year is to reach the playoffs. I admit that it is difficult to achieve this goal in the West, but we still have to try, so every game You have to work hard for the ball.”

Faried was the first to respond to his words, saying: "This year, the team has newly arrived Emmanuel and Nicola, and their strength is stronger than last year. They are expected to compete for a place in the playoffs."

Although Michael Malone is not satisfied with Faried's defensive ability, he appreciates his attitude on the field and agrees with what he said.

The Nuggets players have expressed their determination since then, and the players meeting went well.Malone didn't take much effort to twist the players into one rope, and he was bound to win the Lakers tonight.

Mudiay sat quietly on the side, more worried than excited in his heart.After all, he has played against Xu Tian several times in the CBA, and he knows exactly what kind of strength Xu Tian has.

The simple morning training arranged by the Lakers has ended. Most of the players left the Toyota Center and went home to wait for the start of the game.

There are only five people in the Toyota Center training hall, namely Magic, Kobe, Scott, Xu Tian and the newly appointed team general manager Rob Pelinka.

Xu Tian was the only one practicing, and the other four sat on the sidelines to discuss the general direction of the team.

The magician is the person with the highest position, and he is the first to express his opinion, "I talked with Xu, and both of us believe that we can't play badly. Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, we must strive to reach the playoffs."

Scott originally wanted to say that the team's record was not good last season, but when he realized that he led the team to play, he swallowed this sentence back and said instead: "Magician, one thing I have to mention is that Now the team is scattered and without team cohesion, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve results." He said this to leave room for himself.

Kobe knew why Scott would say that, and then said: "Don't worry about the atmosphere in the team's locker room. Jenny already has a plan. On the offseason, she will invite the players' families to the Toyota Center and have a party. Enhance mutual understanding and tacit understanding among players."

The magician attaches great importance to the team atmosphere, saying: "What Byron said is very important. Regardless of whether there is a result or not, we must ensure the harmony in the locker room."

Kobe turned his head to look at the magician, and said: "I can leave the atmosphere of the locker room to Ron (Ci Shiping) and me. The two of us will help Xu Tian control the locker room and prevent the disintegration from happening."

Pelinka waited until Kobe and Magic finished talking about the team atmosphere, and expressed his opinion, "In my opinion, the current lineup is difficult to make the playoffs. If you want to go further, you must trade. I'm afraid that the rumors flying all over the sky will affect the mentality of the players, which in turn will affect the record."

Xu Tian shot the ball in the most standard shooting posture, then turned his head to look at the four people sitting on the sidelines, and said: "What Robert said makes sense, even if you want to trade, try to avoid trade rumors .”

Both Magician and Pelinka agreed with Xu Tian.

Seeing that Xu Tian stopped talking, Scott said to him: "Xu, the game will start in a few hours, stop training first."

The magician stopped Scott and said: "Every player has his own pre-match habits. Bill Russell would vomit before the game back then. Xu Tian's habit is nothing."

Although Kobe agreed with the magician, he still said: "Xu worked hard enough, but the NBA season is long and difficult, and he still needs to protect his body."

After Kobe finished speaking, he called Xu Tian to the sidelines and asked him to rest for a while.

According to Kobe's suggestion, Xu Tian has strictly implemented the diet specially formulated by the nutritionist, coupled with scientific and systematic training and intentional enhancement of floor flow play, which can help him avoid injuries.

James has not had any major injuries in his career. In addition to his superhuman physical fitness, effective maintenance of his body is also an important reason.

The conversation started with the magician, and he also ended it, saying: "Let's not waste time here, each go about his own business, and strive to win tonight's game."

Afterwards, Magic and Pelinka returned to the office, and Scott went to Madsen to discuss tactics.

Xu Tian and Kobe walked out of the Toyota Center slowly. On the way, they talked about tonight's game.

Kobe said: "In the game against the Nuggets tonight, there is a high probability that the inside offense and defense and rebounds will be blown up. You need to mobilize more outside players."

Xu Tian knew what Kobe said made sense, and said with a smile: "Then you will help me mobilize when watching the game tonight, and give the team's defenders a shot in the arm."

Kobe was talking to Xu Tian, ​​walked to the parking lot unknowingly, saw Alice waiting for Xu Tian in the car, and asked in a low voice, "Are you and your girlfriend serious, or do you just want to have fun?"

Xu Tian didn't understand the meaning of Kobe's question, and said, "It's serious."

"Since it's serious, hold the wedding as soon as possible. It can make you more mature." When Kobe walked to his car, he stopped and said, "You are a bit willful now, which is a bit inappropriate for the team leader."

Xu Tian laughed and said, "I don't think maturity has anything to do with marriage, it should be experience that makes people grow."

Kobe opened the car door, put his left hand on it, and said, "LeBron and Dwyane both had children before they entered the league. big."

Xu Tian nodded noncommittally, and after chatting with Kobe for a while, he went to find Alice who was waiting for him.

Alice waited for Xu Tian to sit in the co-pilot and asked, "What did you tell Kobe just now?"

Xu Tian leaned his back on the back of the chair, stretched his legs as much as possible, and replied: "It's about the game. He asked me to mobilize more outside players."

Alice asked, "Then why are you looking at me while you're talking?"

Xu Tian lied, "He said that he would try not to let you wait in the parking lot in the future, girls are not safe here."

Alice started the car, held the steering wheel and said, "This sentence really makes sense. The next time I come to the Toyota Center, I won't wait here."

After the car drove on the asphalt road, Alice focused on driving, while Xu Tian fell asleep comfortably on the back of the chair.

Media reporters came to Staples earlier than the fans and players. They wanted to interview the coaches of both sides before the game, and routinely asked them about their views on the rival teams.

Xu Tian rested at Alice's house for the whole afternoon. Before the game started two hours later, he put on the newly bought Zegna black custom suit and walked out of the jewelry store with Alice, Li Lang and Boss Jin.

Li Lang had the best driving skills, and he was the driver. The group of four set off for the Staples Center.

Alice and Xu Tian sat in the back seat, the aroma from her hair reminded Xu Tian of the scene when he first arrived in Los Angeles.At that time, he was still a candidate player who could not control his destiny at all. He never thought that he would become the boss of the Lakers in a few months.

The visiting players arrived earlier than the home team, so reporters stopped Michael Malone to answer clichéd questions.

Michael Malone's answer appeared on sports.com a few minutes later, turning into a headline "Nuggets Coach: Lakers Are Strong, We're Ready to Lose."

No one will think that this is Michael Malone's heartfelt words, this news can only pass the fans' time.

The magician, Jenny Buss and Pelinka came to the Staples Center together to watch the Lakers-Nuggets game live. This is the first time Jenny Buss came to the scene after becoming the team owner.

The Lakers management has experienced a lot of turmoil. Although Scott was not fired immediately because of his relationship with the Magician, he has always had a strong sense of responsibility as the team coach during the tenure of Jim Buss and Kupchak. sense of crisis.The arrival of Jenny Buss virtually made his sense of crisis even stronger.

Xu Tian carried an empty Louis Vuitton brand briefcase and wore Occidental black sunglasses, and stepped into the Staples Center with great momentum.Reporters who had been waiting for a long time on both sides of the player tunnel recorded photos and images of him entering the venue with cameras for use in subsequent columns or magazines.

Compared to Xu Tian, ​​Kobe kept a low profile today.He was wearing a brown fit suit, without sunglasses, earphones, briefcases and other fashionable things, and walked slowly into the arena.

(End of this chapter)