basketball kingdom

Chapter 65
Scott came to the locker room earlier than Xu Tian, ​​and was being interviewed by media reporters at this time. Similar to Michael Malone, he answered praise for the Nuggets.

Xu Tian was always the first player to come to the locker room. Usually, the equipment manager Maples was earlier than him. He was surprised to see Scott already in the locker room for an interview.But he didn't make a sound to interrupt the interview.

The interviewer was a tall reporter, about the same height as Scott, who had played in the NBA, about two meters.He heard movement behind him, turned around and saw Xu Tian walking into the locker room, ready to quickly end his interview with Scott and ask Xu Tian a few questions.

Seeing Xu Tian enter the door, Maples said in a low voice, "I prepared knee pads for you. Although it will affect your running, I think it will help you."

Seeing Maples holding two long white knee pads, Xu Tian walked up to him and took them, and asked in a low voice, "Is this the kind that Allen Iverson often wears?"

Maples shook his head, pointed to the knee pads and said: "This is the kind that Russell Westbrook often wears. The knee part is knee pads, and the rest is compression pants, which can provide protection for the knees without too much impact run."

After thanking Xu Tian briefly, he walked to the locker as softly as possible, and saw a few pairs of sneakers in front of Kobe's locker. After sighing in his heart that Kobe was rich, he began to change his jerseys.

Xu Tian has a protective sweater in his suit, so he doesn't have to shy away from reporters.

When the tall reporter finished his interview with Scott, he turned around and saw Kobe in a brown suit walking into the locker room. He gave up the idea of ​​interviewing Xu Tian and went to interview Kobe instead.

Tonight, the Lakers will wear a blue retro jersey. The logo on the chest of this jersey is no longer purple LAKERS, but Los Angeles in white Italian.

Kobe quickly finished dealing with the reporter, let him leave the locker room, then walked to the locker, saw that Xu Tian had already put on the retro jersey, and said: "You are not bad in this retro jersey, you are more handsome than wearing the Zijin jersey. .”

Xu Tian sat on the chair and put on the long knee pads that Maples had prepared for him, and said at the same time: "I'm already handsome, it doesn't matter what jersey I wear."

Kobe will not play the game, so he took a chair and sat next to Xu Tian, ​​and said, "Don't make jokes. After tonight's home game, there will be the devil's five consecutive away. That is the real test for the players. I think It is more difficult to win than at home, so the safest way is to fight this game down.”

Xu Tian knew the Lakers' schedule very well, and while wearing knee pads, he said: "I haven't played consecutive away games, so I don't know what it feels like, but I think the atmosphere of the away game is good, how can I put it..." He began to search for available words, but I can't think of them at the moment.

Kobe looked at Xu Tian, ​​who was trying to remember, and said, "I think you enjoyed the away game very much. When you played the Kings in Sacramento, you were much more excited than in Los Angeles."

Scott wanted to say something to Xu Tian, ​​but Kobe's presence made him a little hesitant. After hesitating for a long time, he still walked to the side of the two who were talking, and said, "Xu, Jenny will come to watch tonight's game, try your best." Play more offensively and try to win the game.”

Kobe was in a pretty good mood and said, "Byron, you can rest assured. Regardless of whether the game is important or not, Xu Tian only has victory in his eyes, so don't worry about his performance on the field."

Apart from daily training, Scott has little chance to get in touch with Xu Tian, ​​and he doesn't know much about Xu Tian's personality.But when he heard what Kobe said, he felt relieved and turned to leave the locker room to prepare for the game.

There is a Chinese saying that once the emperor is a courtier, although Scott is not a courtier, he must play a good record if he wants to keep his position in the context of huge turmoil in the management.

Tactics are the key to helping the team win.

Kobe watched Scott walk out of the locker room and turned his head to see Xu Tian wearing Wade's way. He said, "Xu, you have endorsed Li Ning for a long time. Haven't they made custom sneakers for you?"

While tying the shoelaces, Xu Tian said: "I met with Eric Miller, the designer of Wade Way. He has basically completed the design of the sneakers, and Li Ning has also put into production. But in order to deepen the impression , Li Ning asked me to wear the first custom sneakers during the Christmas game.”

Kobe shook his head and smiled, "You are really competent. They don't even make signature sneakers for you, and you only wear Li Ning."

After Xu Tian changed his jersey and shoes, he stopped what he was doing and said, "Compared to Klay Thompson, a spokesperson of my level is nothing."

Kobe laughed for a while, then recalled something, suppressed his smile and said, "I invested in BodyArmor brand sports drinks last year, do you want to be the spokesperson?"

Xu Tian frowned slightly, and said, "Gatorade is the official partner of the NBA. Players can only drink Gatorade or water on the sidelines. It seems that sports drinks are out of the question."

Kobe denied Xu Tian's words and said: "Sports drinks don't have too many competitors, and there is still hope for success. And before Michael did not endorse Nike, Nike couldn't compete with Adidas at all, but now Nike is not the only one in the field of basketball shoes."

Xu Tian knew that Kobe was very business-minded, so he didn't discuss the prospect of sports drinks, but initially agreed to endorse BodyArmor.

After Kobe and Xu Tian roughly settled the topic, they shifted the topic to pre-match preparations, "You should do something during the pre-match preparation phase to relax your mind and prepare for the game in your best state."

Xu Tian got up and began to do warm-up exercises, and said, "I don't need anything spiritual, I just need to move my body."

Kobe didn't interfere with Xu Tian's personal habits anymore, picked up his sneakers, and quietly began to appreciate them.

The Lakers players gradually came to the court, and the locker room became lively.

As soon as Nick Young entered the door, he saw the retro jersey hanging, and asked Maples loudly: "Carlos, what day is it today, why are you wearing a retro jersey?"

Retro jerseys will be worn on commemorative days, and this kind of jersey is generally not worn, so Nick Young asked this question.

Maples is simple and honest, and replied honestly: "It doesn't have any special meaning, I just want to sell more jerseys."

The jersey peripherals and broadcast contracts account for the majority of the NBA team's profit channels, so when the sales of a jersey stagnate, the team must launch a new jersey.For example, the 76ers' black meteor jersey and the Magic's dark jersey are both popular with fans, but they will inevitably be replaced by new jerseys.

This is done for nothing but to make money.

Xu Tian heard Maples' blunt answer and said with a smile: "Carlos, you are so blunt, aren't you afraid that someone will inform you? If you offend the management then, you will be laid off."

Maples hurriedly said: "I treat you as brothers, you won't betray me like D'Angelo?"

D'Angelo Russell recorded a dashing video of Dwight Howard on the road that somehow ended up in the hands of TMZ and was uploaded online last night.

This incident had a great impact, making the Rockets' already bad locker room even more tense.Many celebrities have stood up and criticized Russell, thinking that this approach will make his teammates lose trust in him, which is worse than Xu Tian's blatant seizure of power.

Domestic Rockets fans had full confidence in Russell. After this incident, they also began to criticize him.

That's exactly what Maples said.

Nick Young felt a little guilty when he heard what Maples said.He once bragged to Russell about his affair after drinking, and now that this incident happened, he worried that Russell would have a recording of that time.

Xu Tian didn't have any concerns about his private life, and said: "I believe there is no such person in the Lakers locker room. If there is, the magician will let him leave the team the next day."

Hibbert was a little uncomfortable hearing Xu Tian's words, but he is in a bad situation now and he is not in the mood to speak.

Ci Shiping looked at the cheerful atmosphere in the locker room, and gave Kobe a look, asking him to stop this kind of conversation.

Kobe didn't think there was anything wrong with such a joke, ignored Ci Shiping's hint, and sat quietly on the chair.

After Xu Tian and other players who could play put on their warm-up suits, they said in a volume that overwhelmed all the voices in the locker room: "Brothers, be quiet, I want to say a few words before entering the stadium."

The locker room quickly became quiet, and the players all looked at Xu Tian.

Xu Tianzuo glanced at his teammates in the locker room, and said: "Julius, Roy and Kobe will not be able to play tonight's game. Players who can play must move more and communicate more, and strive to win the game."

Louis Williams is not very familiar with Xu Tian until now. In order to gain some sense of presence, he took the initiative to say: "Xu, our internal strength is far behind that of the Nuggets. I am afraid it will be difficult to beat them."

Xu Tian looked at Louis Williams and said, "Don't worry. The Nuggets' outside strength is not as strong as the inside. As long as the guards can stand up to relieve the pressure on the inside players, we will not lose."

Clarkson didn't understand how Xu Tian could always be full of confidence, and asked, "Xu, why are you so confident?"

Xu Tian looked at Clarkson firmly, and replied: "The hard training every day has given me enough confidence. This confidence can help me defeat any opponent, even if he is taller, faster, and stronger than me, he will still No exceptions."

Since the popularity of small ball, Hibbert's fighting spirit has been affected. He has not trained hard for a long time, resulting in a lack of understanding of tactics, and his performance on the field has plummeted.Hearing Xu Tian's words, I felt a little shocked.

Nick Young said: "Training hard is not enough. If I have your court vision and dribbling ability, I will not be afraid of any opponent."

Seeing Scott walking into the locker room, Xu Tian knew that it was time to enter the venue, and said in conclusion: "No matter what thoughts you have in your heart, I hope you can fight for the [-] spectators who came to watch the match. Let them leave the stadium happy."

Nick Yang stretched out his hand happily, and other teammates put their hands on his hand one after another, and shouted cheers before entering the stadium.

(End of this chapter)