American Airlines Arena.
After taking a shower, Lin Fei also changed into a pair of comfortable Anta sportswear and attended the Heat's post-game press conference with Wade and O'Neal.
After signing the contract with Anta for 500 million Tianchao coins, Lin Fei naturally fulfilled his responsibility as a brand spokesperson.
Whether it is the boots worn during games or at press conferences and some public events, Anta's equipment has been worn.
But it has to be said that the basketball shoes produced by Anta during this period are indeed far behind Nike and Adidas in terms of comfort and technology.
However, after Anta's chairman Ding Shizhong invested heavily in Lin Fei, he also spent a lot of money to open the first sports technology research laboratory in China, focusing on the research and development of sports shoe shock absorption technology and striving to develop his own technology patents.
Anta also promised to create the first personal signature basketball shoe for Lin Fei as soon as possible.
Lin Fei also shot the first endorsement advertisement for Anta during the offseason. Currently, this advertisement has been placed on many TV stations of Tianchao 5 and 1.
The famous Anta advertising slogan was also integrated with Lin Fei's image, and it quickly became popular among the Chinese fans:
"I am very ordinary. I have no extraordinary talent or the grace of fate. Reality separates me from my ideal. The world is unfair."
"But I know that there is an inner me who is unwilling to be mediocre, longs for freedom, and is omnipotent... keep moving and never stop!"
Just like he created the Showtime era of the Lakers in the 1980s, Pat Riley now wants to create a combination with the Heat that shocked the entire league, and O'Neal, Wade and Lin Fei are the foundation.
In terms of personal strength and influence, it currently seems that only O'Neal is worthy of the status of a giant. Wade and Lin Fei are only second-year rookies and do not have excellent personal honors.
But Pat Riley has a long-term view. He believes that Wade is fully capable of becoming a top three-point guard in the league. His breakthrough is a historical level and he will definitely have a chance to compete for the scoring title and MVP.
Lin Fei's three-pointers are at the highest level in history. As long as he remains stable, it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Reggie Miller and Ray Allen and becomes the league's historical three-point leader.
So now, O'Neal, Wade and Lin Fei are made into the three cores of the Heat, establishing the team's cultural totem and making the image of the Big Three deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
This will definitely be of great benefit to the Miami Heat's influence across the league and attract more fans.
I have to say that Pat Riley knows marketing, so after most games in the new season, Lin Fei will probably have to attend the post-game press conference with O'Neal and Wade.
In the long regular season, for an NBA team seeking multi-faceted development, many things are far more important than the outcome of the game.
O'Neal was still sitting in the center of the press conference, with Wade and Lin Fei sitting on either side.
"Dwayne, you and the Heat lost to the Pacers 2:4 in the second round of last season's playoffs. Is tonight's big win in the opening game considered revenge for you?"
"Compared to last season, do you think the Heat are stronger this season?"
Facing reporters' questions, Wade was in a good mood and smiled happily into the microphone:
"The importance of a regular season game cannot be compared with that of the playoffs. For me, eliminating the Pacers in a playoff series is the real revenge!"
"I'm proud of the team in the new season. Now I have teammates like Shaquille and Lin around me. They have injected the blood of winning championships into the team!"
"After all, these two guys have won 4 championships combined!"
The reporter then turned his attention to "Big Shark" O'Neal.
"Shaquille, as the league's number one center, only took 12 shots in the game tonight. Is this related to the Heat's tactics for the new season?"
O'Neill stared wide-eyed at the white reporter who asked the question, holding the microphone in his big hand as if holding a bottle of oral liquid, and responded domineeringly:
"If I want to take 30 shots on a certain night and beat the opponent's center, let alone Stan Van Gundy, even Pat Riley wouldn't dare to say anything!"
"But I still chose to give these young people more opportunities. Both Dwayne and Lin will be the future talents of the league. I see myself in them 10 years ago!"
"Of course, the important thing is that we won the game, and we beat the Pacers by a big margin!"
After asking O'Neal a few more questions, the reporters finally turned their attention to Lin Fei.
"Lin, you made 7 three-pointers tonight with a 100% shooting rate, and you also performed well on the defensive end. How would you evaluate your first game with the Heat?"
Lin Fei smiled, touched his new hairstyle, and calmly spoke into the microphone:
“It’s a fantastic start to the new season, both for me and the team!”
"Running tirelessly on the court and then being ready to catch the ball at any time is the role I play in the team!"
When Lin Fei was with the Timberwolves last season and played in the Olympics in the offseason, he always had short hair on his head.
Now that the Heat has ushered in a new season, Lin Fei has also changed to a three-dimensional broken hair, and paired with his original handsome facial features, he looks more sunny and handsome.
O'Neal also suggested that Lin Fei dye his hair brown-red, but Lin Fei doesn't like the flamboyant hair color style. Overall, he still has a low-key, calm personality and a ruthless person who doesn't talk much.
Without dyeing his hair or getting tattoos, Lin Fei is roughly the same as Dayao and Yao. He represents the self-discipline and restraint of Chinese players and has become a breath of fresh air among the many black players in the NBA.
At the same time, it has also set a good example and idol image for more domestic young fans.
"Lin, last question, compared with Dwayne and Shaquille who are around you now, and your teammates Kevin, Latrell and Sam in the Timberwolves last season, which side do you think is stronger? "
Faced with the reporter's tricky question, Lin Fei also responded calmly:
"Whether I am with the Heat or the Timberwolves, I have the best teammates in the league, and they are equally strong!"
"If there is really a winner, I think you will know the answer in half a month. Please pay attention to the game between the Heat and the Timberwolves!"
The press conference ended,
That night, Lin Fei, Wade and O'Neal also came to the villa. Song Yang's sister-in-law had already cooked three kinds of dumplings and asked the nanny to fry some dumpling dishes.
He has been playing for the Heat for more than a season, but this is Wade's first time visiting his villa. Coupled with the fact that O'Neal is the number one player in the league, he and Song Yang are naturally flattered.
This is all because of Lin Fei.
Tonight, he roughly played as a substitute for the Heat. He played 16 minutes and scored 5 points and 2 rebounds on 2 of 4 shots.
Although the statistics are not eye-catching, being able to play for 16 minutes is enough to show that the performance on the defensive end is not too bad, especially the offensive foul caused by Artest, which impressed the Heat fans.
O'Neal has not yet signed a contract with Li Ning at this time, so he has never been to China, but he has always been interested in China's culture, especially its food.
When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal often went to Los Angeles' Chinatown with Kobe and others to eat Chinese food. From then on, he fell in love with dumplings and roast duck.
Seeing O'Neal holding small chopsticks in his big hands, he picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the soy sauce and vinegar in the saucepan, and eagerly put it into his mouth. Lin Fei and his wife smiled and gave O'Neal a thumbs up.
Although the movements are a bit stiff, the fact that a foreigner can use chopsticks to this extent shows that he must have practiced a lot.
"Well, these dumplings are more delicious than the ones I had in Chinatown, Los Angeles!"
O'Neill also gave a thumbs up to his wife, picked up the chopsticks and put one into his mouth carefully.
Wade, who was sitting aside, saw that Lin Fei, Shou and O'Neal were all able to use chopsticks. Naturally, he couldn't help but try it, but he always couldn't hold it properly, and the chopsticks would fall off when his hands shook.
Lin Fei couldn't help but laugh and said: "Dwayne, you'd better use a fork. Before you could learn it, we would have already finished the dumplings!"
O'Neal also raised his eyebrows and said proudly: "Dwayne, don't force it, I learned it after practicing for half a month!"
Wade persisted for another three minutes and finally gave up. He left a pair of chopsticks on the coffee table and puffed out his cheeks helplessly, with a look of despair on his face.
"I'm going to take a pair of chopsticks home in a while, practice secretly, and then surprise all of you next time!"
At this time, the TV was playing the opening game between the Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers at home.
Before the game started, the Timberwolves players also received last season's championship rings at home, and league president David Stern personally came to the Target Center Arena to present them to the players.
As the leader of the team, Kevin Garnett also gave a speech on receiving the championship ring. At the same time, he is looking forward to leading the team to achieve greater glory in the new season and complete the defense of the championship.
The Timberwolves' championship ring is very exquisite. It was made by a famous Italian ring designer hired by owner Glen Taylor at a great expense.
The ring has the Timberwolves' benchmark, as well as the name and number of each championship-winning player, and is also inlaid with 74 sapphires, representing the Timberwolves' 58 wins in the regular season and 16 wins in the playoffs last season.
The cost of each championship ring is as high as $120,000, which shows Glenn Taylor's excitement for the Timberwolves to win the first championship in team history.
Seeing the familiar faces on the TV receiving championship rings, Lin Fei, who was sitting on the sofa, was also a little ready to make a move.
At the same time, I also recalled fighting side by side with these Timberwolves teammates in the Western Conference Finals and Finals last season.
Wolf King, Madman, Alien, Szczerbiak, Trenton Hassell, Olowokandi...
Except for Lin Fei, the Timberwolves basically maintained the main lineup that won the championship, and also made certain reinforcements on the point guard and inside line.
"Lin, the boss of the Timberwolves is still very generous. It seems that we will have an away game against the Timberwolves next month, right? I envy you that you will get a championship ring soon!"
Wade ate the dumplings with a fork and looked at the TV with envy on his face.
Lin Fei also has a ring, and Ao Pang already has three. When will he get his own championship ring?
Naturally, he is even more envious, but he doesn't dare to think about the championship ring at all now. He is thankful to God that he can keep his rotation position on the Heat's bench.
Lin Fei watched the TV and exclaimed: "It's the best feeling to be able to receive a championship ring with my teammates in my home opener!"
"When I go to the Timberwolves' home court again, it will be fine if these fans don't boo me!"
O'Neal said proudly and confidently: "Why did I come to Miami? Of course it is to lead you guys to win the championship!"
"At this time next season, let us stand together at the American Airlines Arena to receive championship rings. By then, I will be the fourth one!"
Lin Fei also echoed: "I am the second one!"
Wade: "..."
There was not much suspense in the opening game between the Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Timberwolves playing at home were still strong and beat the Lakers without O'Neal by 17 points.
Although Kobe scored a game-high 29 points, his efficiency was not high, making only 11 of 27 shots.
The Lakers' predicament this season is not only the separation of the OK team, but "Zen Master" Phil Jackson also chose to leave due to conflicts with the management. Therefore, the Lakers could only bring in former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich temporarily. Coaching.
Kobe, Butler and Odom had conflicts over ball rights and did not have a complete tactical system to coordinate. "Old fish" Fisher also went to play for the Golden State Warriors.
In the other opener, the Houston Rockets take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Chinese fans are also paying attention to this focus battle. The combination of Dayao and Tracy McGrady makes the fans full of expectations.
But in the end, the Rockets lost to the Knicks led by Marbury 79:95. McGrady scored a mediocre 21 points, and Dayao performed poorly with only 8 points and 10 rebounds.
It can be seen that Dayao played too conservatively in this opening game and took the initiative to give up a lot of ball rights to Tracy McGrady. The Rockets' new lineup needs to be further adjusted.
Judging from the ratings of Tianchao 5, even if it is two simulcasts, the number of fans watching the Miami Heat game is one-third more than the fans watching the Houston Rockets.
This also clearly reflects a problem. With Lin Fei’s continuous god-level performances in last season’s finals and the Olympics,
Coupled with the more infectious and entertaining style of play as a defender, Lin Fei's popularity and influence among the entire Tianchao fan group has quickly surpassed Dayao's.
Dayao became famous during his time with the Sharks in the Magic City. After being selected as the No. 1 pick in the NBA, he made steady progress and cultivated a large fan base.
But Lin Fei's sudden emergence has already soared into the sky. In just a few months, he overtook others and became the most popular basketball player in China.
After Anta Group signed Lin Fei with a sky-high price of 500 million, its brand image and popularity have also been rapidly improved, and sales of sports shoes and clothing have steadily increased across the country.
After defeating the Pacers at home, Lin Fei and the Miami Heat will play three consecutive away games.
The opponents are the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets.
The Magic and Heat are both in Florida, which is also O'Neal's first old club.
Returning to Amway Arena in Orlando as a Heat player, O'Neal once again received boos and "cheers" from the home Magic fans.
Selected by the Magic as the No. 1 pick in 1992, Shaquille O'Neal can be said to be one of the greatest No. 1 picks in NBA history.
And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the No. 1 pick in 1969, Magic Johnson, the No. 1 pick in 1979, Hajime Olajuwon, the No. 1 pick in 1984, Tim Duncan, the No. 1 pick in 1997,
They are also known as the most successful number one picks in NBA history.
In his second season with the Magic, O'Neal scored 29.3 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. In his third season, he led the team to the Finals.
It's a pity that the Magic's management is so stupid that they let O'Neal go in order to correct "Penny" Anfernee Hardaway, which also created the Lakers' OK dynasty.
The Magic's move to send McGrady away this offseason was equally illusory. Even if Dwight Howard was selected, the team's strength this season is obviously not up to the playoff level.
Tonight's game between the Heat and the Magic has been hyped by the media as a contest between the No. 92 pick and the No. 04 pick. "Warcraft" is even hailed as the league's No. 1 center in the future.
During the warm-up session before the game, the host also interviewed O'Neal and asked him what he thought of the new No. 1 pick Dwight Howard.
O'Neill's mouth seemed to have a look of disdain, and he bent down and spoke domineeringly into the microphone:
"I have never had a good impression of players who have entered the league since high school. If they can hone themselves in the NCAA, they will definitely have a higher ceiling!"
"Dwight deserves to be the No. 1 pick this year, but he is just a kid in front of me. I can totally knock him out with one hand!"
O'Neal's words were somewhat personal. He not only mocked Howard, but also eliminated his old teammate Kobe.
Garnett and James even expressed their innocence.
Maybe it was returning to the old Magic home court, or maybe it was facing the boos from the fans.
Tonight, O'Neal rarely put away his funny image in front of the media, and became a little more domineering and fierce.
After the opening game, some media deliberately hyped up, saying that O'Neal was no longer at his peak. Now the Heat is Wade's boss, and O'Neal is willing to assist.
This has also affected O'Neal's emotions to some extent. You must know that he is the well-deserved number one player in the league today.
He was willing to give up his position to Wade because of the needs of the team and to win the championship again, but if the media reporters said this, it was absolutely intolerable.
Tonight, with the help of his old club's home court and Howard, the top pick in the center who is hailed as his successor, O'Neal is determined to break out.
As the Heat's head coach, Stan Van Gundy, as well as teammates Wade and Lin Fei, are also ready to assist O'Neal tonight.
"Shaquille, I just heard Dwight Howard say in front of reporters that you are old and he will grab at least 15 rebounds on your head tonight!"
After Lin Fei finished shooting, he deliberately came up to watch the excitement, not caring about the big deal, and provoked Ao Pang with a serious look on his face.
O'Neal's eyes widened and he turned to look over. Sure enough, Howard was smiling and talking in front of reporters. O'Neal was so angry that he suddenly became furious.
Speaking more calmly in front of reporters also made it appear that O'Neal was not as experienced as a newcomer, but in private in front of Lin Fei, how could O'Neal tolerate a rookie yelling at him?
"Idiot, if I don't beat this guy tonight, my last name won't be O'Neal!"
Feeling the terrifying murderous aura emanating from O'Neal, Lin Fei turned his head and looked at Howard on the other side of the court again, already beginning to feel pity for the little monster.
As brightly as this guy is smiling now, I'm afraid he will be crying fiercely during the game later.
The time soon came to 7pm, and with the cheers of the fans on site, the game officially started.
The starting five for the Miami Heat are:
Point Guard (PG): Damon Jones,
Shooting Guard (SG): Dewayne Wade,
Small forward (SF): Eddie Jones,
Power forward (PF): Udonis Haslem,
Center (C): Shaquille O'Neal.
The starting five for the Orlando Magic are:
Point Guard (PG): Steve Francis,
Shooting Guard (SG): Cuttino Mobley,
Small forward (SF): Grant Hill,
Power Forward (PF): Hedo Turkoglu,
Center (C): Dwight Howard.
The Magic's starting lineup looks pretty good on paper.
After all, Francis is the starting point guard in the Western Conference for three consecutive years, and Mobley is also a guard averaging 20+ per game.
The two scored 20+ points at the same time in a single season during their time with the Rockets. This is also the only backcourt combination in NBA history to have both 20+ points.
Grant Hill is the former successor to Jordan. He is in good shape after recovering from injury, averaging 19 points per game.
Coupled with the inside combination of Turkoglu and Howard, the overall look is no worse than the Heat.
But this season's Magic team mainly has a problem with the coaching staff. Without a systematic strategy, Howard also needs a season or two to hone.
At the beginning, O'Neal gave the new No. 1 pick a powerful start. He went down to the low post to receive a pass from Wade, turned over and hit Howard steadily with a hook.
"Uh-huh!"
Because the matchup between the two No. 1 centers was so eye-catching, the head coach of the Magic did not arrange a strict double-teaming tactic against O'Neal in the low post tonight.
Instead, try to let Howard face O'Fatty alone, so as to test the quality of the new No. 1 pick in high-end games.
He was beaten to a pulp by O'Neal at the beginning, but Howard still smiled like a child, completely unable to predict what would happen next.
The ball transitions and the Magic attack.
Francis dribbled the ball forward and faced the unknown Damon Jones. He didn't call any pick-and-roll screens, just relied on his physical fitness to crush him, and easily shook off his opponent with an acceleration and change of direction.
"Whoosh!"
Seeing Francis dribbling the ball into the penalty area in one stride, O'Neal's natural first choice was to come up to cover the defense, but Howard's strong body blocked O'Neal, preventing him from squeezing over in the first place.
Although O'Neal is proud, he has to admit that Howard's physical talent is really strong, and his upper body strength is terrifying.
The fleeting time difference was enough for Francis to get to the basket, leap up directly, and deliver a violent tomahawk dunk.
"Boom!"
Magic fans at Amway Arena cheered and applauded Francis.
Although McGrady is gone, fans do not think Francis is worse than McGrady. After all, this guy has been selected as the Western Conference All-Star starter for three consecutive years with Kobe Bryant.
At his peak, Francis' physical fitness was really explosive, and he was full of explosive power. He lived up to his reputation as the "King of Soaring". He could dunk with Carter, and his talent was as good as Wade's.
But it was precisely because of this style of play that he laid the groundwork for injuries to Francis, ending his short career hastily.
In Lin Fei's view, Francis, Wade, Rose and Westbrook are all players with similar styles, and their careers have also been greatly affected by injuries.
"Lin, I feel that the physical talents and playing styles of Dwayne and Francis are too similar. Will Dwayne be as strong as Francis in the future?"
Listening to the question from Tony Allen sitting next to him, Lin Fei smiled and replied:
"Tony, are you underestimating your boss? Dwayne's target is not Francis, but Kobe and Jordan!"
On the court, the Heat attack.
Cuttino Mobley, who is at the peak of his career, is obviously better defensively than the 39-year-old Miller and Tinsley in the Pacers' backcourt.
But even so, Wade's lightning breakthrough was still sharp. Facing Howard's defense, he quickly gave the ball to O'Neal.
O'Neal caught the ball and attacked the basket head-on, directly facing Howard with a powerful shark dunk.
"Boom!"
This was a hard collision between centers. Even though O'Neal felt the strength and momentum of the young man, he still gritted his teeth and delivered a hard dunk.
At the same time, he also uses this front buckle to prove to all fans who like him or hate him,
O'Neal, even though he is 32 years old, is still the well-deserved number one center in the league.
"Beep!"
Howard was also stunned by O'Neal's dunk, and the referee's whistle sounded, 2+1.
The young monster spread his hands and once again showed an ignorant smile on his face.
This expression seems to be saying: Old guy, is it necessary to be so serious?
But when O'Neal stepped to the free throw line, he spat out trash talk at Howard:
"Kid, I hope you can still smile after the game is over!"
"Uh-huh!"
O'Neal, who stepped to the free throw line, also made extra free throws and successfully scored 3 points.
Heat (5): (2) Magic.
O'Neal scored the team's first 5 points, making tonight's game return to the 1990s when the inside was king.
Looking back, Howard was a little embarrassed. He held O'Neal in the low post and asked Francis for the ball. He obviously wanted to return the favor to save face.
But Howard's low-post skills in his rookie season were too rough, and there was no way he could compare with the experienced O'Fat.
O'Neal's collision from behind made Howard, who lacked strength in the bottom plate, very uncomfortable. His reluctant shot was accurately predicted by the shark.
"Snapped!"
Amidst the loud noise, O'Neal roared and jumped up, his big hands like five-fingered mountains, and hit Howard's head with a violent blood cap.
Wade rushed to the front with quick eyes and hands, picked up the basketball and flew down quickly, facing Francis who was overtaking at the corner, and made a layup to score two more points.
"Uh-huh!"
In the next offensive round, Wade played a pick-and-roll with O'Neal in the high post, broke through Warcraft in a misplaced position, and after a rhythm pause after reaching the basket, faced with Warcraft coming up to defend,
The fake fake dunk, with the help of O'Neal's low position, caught the moment of World of Warcraft's hesitation, suddenly jumped up from the spot, and directly sent an explosive dunk to the new No. 1 pick.
"Boom!"
The image of Wade dunking over the center was so shocking that many Magic fans at the scene couldn't help but exclaim.
Howard, who was dunked continuously, was completely stunned, and his face no longer had the smile at the beginning.
After completing the violent dunk, Wade also beat his chest after landing and roared at the confused Howard:
"Man, that's it? You want to get 15 rebounds on Shaquille?"
Lin Fei played as usual in the second half of the first quarter. During an offense by the Heat, he also used O'Neal to cover the top of the arc.
Accelerating to a 45-degree angle on the right side, O'Neal's huge body has completely blocked Mobley, and rookie Howard was obviously slower when switching defenses.
Lin Fei received Wade's quick pass, faced Howard who was coming to defend him, bent his bow and arrow, and shot a decisive shot.
"Uh-huh!"
After all, Howard is a rookie. The ball was changed slowly but his body was not contained, completely violating Lin Fei's shooting cylinder.
"Beep!"
The ball goes in and the buzzer sounds, 3+1.
Lin Fei also followed Wade's example at this time, spreading his hands to Howard and saying:
"Dwight, that's it? Do you still want to get 15 rebounds tonight?"
Being continuously abused by the Heat's Big Three, Howard looked so helpless and aggrieved that he almost cried!
Such a cute new top scholar, if you slap him twice, he will definitely cry very loudly...
(End of chapter)
