America on October 6, local time, in Dallas, Texas.
After about a month of being deserted at the American Airlines Center, home of the Bulls, with the start of the new NBA season, the flow of people at the American Airlines Center has returned to normal levels again.
However, today's popularity is even more than usual, because today is the Bulls' first preseason game and the first game after all members gather.
Last season, the second place in the Western Conference was beaten by the Spurs. Dallas fans desperately hope that their home team can make a comeback!
Facing the menacing No. 1 pick and the Wizards, the home fans were not polite at all. The American Airlines Center, which can accommodate 80,000 people, was almost 80% full.
The pre-season press conference is relatively simple. Basically, some major media such as ESPN, CBS and TNT conduct interviews with both sides. It is not as formal as the regular season or even the playoffs.
However, some media still pay special attention to today's interview.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle is a bald white man with a cold face and looks a bit like Jim Carrey without hair.
At first glance, he looks like a character who has something to say.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Carlisle has a strong desire to control his players. He is more like an NCAA coach working in the NBA.
Faced with the reporter's question "How will he defend the new No. 1 pick Li Kaiming?", bald Jim Carrey smiled slightly and his words were impeccable.
"I won't give too many specific tactics, but defense is not just a matter of one thing. We need the whole team to cooperate."
Compared to Carlisle, reporters are more concerned about the thoughts of Bulls star Dirk Nowitzki.
An ESPN reporter asked Nowitzki, "Dirk, what do you think of the matchup between yourself and Li Kaiming?"
Nowitzki showed the same smile as King Silver Horn, but he just held a gourd in his hand and shouted, "I call you, do you dare to agree?"
"He is a very special guy. I have watched his highlights. He is very good and very talented. Our matchup will be a very interesting matchup!"
Nowitzki is still relatively low-key in front of the media. After all, at this time, he is still labeled as a "softie". If he still behaves inappropriately in front of the media, it may be because he doesn't have enough negative fans... …
Listening to Nowitzki's extremely abundant answer, the reporters at the scene also sighed helplessly.
Now these players are smart, which makes their job very difficult...
The Wizards' pre-game interview was relatively dull, but a reporter from China Radio asked a question that had nothing to do with Li Kaiming.
"Will Sun Yue and Yi Jianlian get playing time today?"
Sanders nodded and smiled charmingly, "They are all very good players. If the time comes, I will let them play!"
The Chinese reporter recorded the interview results and prepared to send them to the country after the game.
All preparations were in place before the game, and the audience at the American Airlines Center took their seats one by one. The starting lineups of both sides were already displayed on the big screen.
Dallas Bulls, point guard Jason Kidd, shooting guard Jason Terry, forward Caron Butler, power forward Dirk Nowitzki, center Tyson Chandler.
Washington Wizards, point guard Gilbert Arenas, shooting guard Nick Young, forward Al Thornton, power forward Kaiming Li, center Andre Blatche.
Today's referee is the famous Tony brother, wearing referee uniform No. 25.
Blatche stood in the center circle and jumped the ball with Chandler. Brother Tony stood between the two of them, holding the ball with his right hand. He first raised his left hand into a palm, indicating that the technical table was ready to start timing, and then picked up the whistle hanging around his neck with his right hand. Put it in your mouth.
After waiting for a few seconds, Brother Tony threw the ball up. The basketball flew vertically from his right palm, and at the same time, the whistle in his mouth also sounded!
beep!
Li Kaiming watched the two Blach jump the ball from outside the center circle, so he could see clearly that Chandler's take-off speed was obviously much faster than Blach, so the ball was taken by the Bulls.
Tyson Chandler was the second overall pick in 2001. His natural physical attributes were not on the same level as Blatche at the end of the second round, so he easily succeeded in jumping the ball.
Although he averaged only 6 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block per game last season, which seems not as good as Blatche, no one would think that this is because of Blatche's talent.
After the Bulls got the ball, they handed it directly to point guard Jason Kidd.
The point guard nicknamed "Basic" was selected by the Bulls with the second pick in 1994. The top pick that year was Glenn Robinson, nicknamed "Big Dog."
So far, Kidd has been selected to the All-Stars 10 times, 6 times in the All-NBA Team, including five times in the first team and once in the second team, 9 times in the All-Defensive Team, including four times in the first team, five times in the second team, and has won 5 assists. , his strongest season averaged 16 points, 10.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Yes, in the history of the NBA, except for the guards who have won the MVP, no guard can surely surpass Kidd in terms of honor and strength. He is bound to enter the Hall of Fame.
But Kidd's biggest problem is that his offense is too poor, especially when his defense and organization are full, it becomes even more obvious that his offense is stretched!
In his peak period, he could easily shoot astonishing shooting percentages of 1 for 17 and 3 for 18. His true shooting percentage never exceeded 50%, ranking him at the bottom among all All-Star guards.
On the contrary, after the end of his career, Kidd's open three-pointers from the outside gradually became more and more popular. Last season, his three-point shooting rate even reached 42%. This shooting rate is considered an excellent shooter in the entire NBA!
After Kidd held the ball, he quickly came to the frontcourt, and it was Arenas who defended him.
Kidd's height of 1.93cm, coupled with his strong body, can crush most opponents at the point guard position.
Even Arenas was not immune. Kidd didn't even bother to pick and roll, so he directly protected the ball to the wing, and then started to push in with his back!
Seeing that he was about to enter the penalty area again, Li Kaiming, who was defending on the line, immediately shrank in, but in fact he was just trying to scare him and did not dare to cover it.
Because letting Nowitzki double-team Kidd is a stupid idea no matter from which point of view.
Kidd's passing makes him not afraid of being double-teamed at all. He even wants you to double-team. Nowitzki, who is left open, may be the most accurate mid-range player in the league.
Li Kaiming's defensive fake action did not make Kidd panic at all.
Just kidding, he has been in the league for more than ten years, is it possible that he doesn’t even have this bit of experience?
There was no way, Li Kaiming couldn't double-team, so he had to let others do it. Elsodon in the opposite corner moved in, let go of Caron Butler, and rushed directly to Kidd!
But Kidd seemed to have expected it. He suddenly turned and half-turned, and before Thornton surrounded him, he made a long pass to the ground. The basketball almost pressed against the bottom line and bounced into the hands of Caron Butler who was open in the corner!
A superb pass!
Kidd is indeed a passing master!
Caron Butler was the 10th overall pick in 2002. At his peak, he averaged 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He made two All-Star appearances and was a very good off-ball player.
Even though this guy averages so high steals per game, he is actually a mess in one-on-one defense and likes to gamble for steals.
In fact, Caron Butler is a forward who is very suitable for Li Kaiming, but I don't know what the Wizards management thought. They directly packaged him with Rodrigo Beaubois and Brendan Hayward and sent him to the Bulls.
Caron Butler, who was still wearing a Wizards jersey last season, immediately shot a three-pointer after receiving the ball. El Thornton had no time to defend, so he had to watch the former score a three-pointer!
The tens of thousands of fans at the scene burst into cheers!
The first goal of the new season, although it is pre-season, but it is also a good start!
