Malone saw the rookie and wanted to bully him.
As a result, if someone dares to fight back with a small move, forget it. He appreciates the toughness of the rookie. If the rookie is a softie, he will bully him even more.
But he couldn't even talk trash... It wasn't like he couldn't be sprayed with trash. He was so trash-talked that he became autistic.
He chose to shut up, not look for anger, and increase the intensity of confrontation!
Li Ao also fought against the opponent risking his life.
He firmly believes that giving in will not guarantee peace.
Ever since, everyone at the scene saw a big spider and a muscle monster pushing and shoving towards the front court.
The referee noticed the two men at the beginning and was now ready to blow the whistle at any time.
At the home court of the Salt Lake City Devils, the standard of whistleblowing is very loose. Although the actions of Ma Long and Li Ao are not small, they are not enough to warrant whistleblowing.
The referee was worried that Ma Long would not be able to live up to his reputation and would be cruel, or that Li Ao would be young and energetic and beat the old man.
Unlike the referees Li Ao met in the preseason, this one loved to watch those miscellaneous news, and was deeply impressed by Li Ao's beating of a 122-kilogram center until he was carried directly to the hospital.
However, until the two entered the three-point line and separated to do their own things, no further action was taken.
The referee muttered "two silver coins" and paid less attention to these two people.
The Clippers started teamwork and soon encountered difficulties!
The Jazz defense is so good!
The lineup has an average age of 35. It doesn't move very fast, but it is quick to change defenses and cuts off passing routes extremely well.
Especially Alden Polynice, who seemed the most useless. He stayed in the three-second zone the whole time. Malone walked to the baseline, and Polynice moved to the free throw line.
This inside combination cut off the left and right sides of the three-second zone!
Facing the Jazz's defense and positional attack for the first time, Li Ao understood why Pippen's passing performance against the Jazz in the Finals was cut in half, and Jordan's frequency of singles shots in the Finals was more than double that of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Jazz's defense is designed to restrain the wing offensive organizers.
Seeing that the attack time was running out, Li Ao went around to the right side of the three-second zone and leaned on Byron Russell to receive the ball. He turned around, grabbed the ball with one hand to protect it, adjusted his breathing, and jumped directly to avoid Byron - Russell's interfering hand lifted the ball.
During the confrontation, he failed to take off with all his strength, but he couldn't control it. He used his wingspan advantage to force the shot...
A picturesque pull-up mid-range shot!
Li Ao retreated quickly after scoring the goal, and the Clippers players rushed back to the backcourt to celebrate with Li Ao excitedly.
Malone's teammates are used to Malone competing with each other, but for the Clippers, one of their teammates dared to play hand-to-hand with Malone without suffering a loss. This stimulated their excitement.
'Pumper Level 1' also had the greatest effect.
When the Jazz attacked, they found that the opponent's defense was much more active than in the previous round. Malone and Stockton's pick-and-roll, Malone was blocked, Malone distributed the ball to Byron Russell, and Odom actively switched defenses. Byron Russell passed a pass to Polynice, who mentioned the free throw line, and Greg Anthony, a small defender, dared to press closely...
The Clippers' visible fear of the top teams in the last round is gone!
The ball finally came to Malone, and Li Ao switched defense in front of Malone.
Looking at Li Ao's open arms, Ma Long didn't dare to force the shot.
What a huge spider covering this area!
He chose to break through!
Malone's breakthrough rhythm was very good, his control of the ball was steady, and his strength was exaggerated. Li Ao was only one pace behind, so he could only stick to Malone, unable to block it, and there was a high probability that he would be called for a defensive foul if he fell.
O'Neal let Starks shrink back, Greg Anthony actively pounced on the right side of the three-second area, Malone scored the ball...Polynics went down the free throw line!
Little O'Neal had just retracted quickly, stopped his feet, and then turned around to block the defense. Malone was full of joy and thought he was going to get an assist... "Pa"... Li Ao turned around and took a step to take off. He stretched out his long arm and slapped the 36-year-old slow-handed player. Polynice's layup was slapped away!
Although the Jazz players collectively messed up, their defensive discipline was excellent. Starks interfered with Greg Anthony's ball at the first time. Others interfered with the fast pass when they should, and ran back when they should run hard.
Defensively disciplined!
Li Ao thought of the SuperSonics, a veteran team that was famous in the mid-to-late 1990s. They were excellent in this regard. The difference was that Payton lost his Rain Man, while Stockton's Malone was still there.
Li Ao didn't waste any energy and quickly got down. He couldn't move forward and ran slowly forward... Ma Long moved towards him again and continued to fight.
How could Li Ao be cowardly? He fought hard and started to fight back with his mouth: "You are so old and you have the nerve to attack the frame. Why don't you just be a softie and make a mid-range shot? It's just a trick."
Who are you scolding? Who are you scolding?
Li Ao's words sounded like he was mocking Polynice, but how could Ma Long not hear the implication?
etc!
Malone responded: "Aren't you a CIC softie?"
Oh, I'll rub it! Li Ao didn't expect that the postman would have the intelligence to occupy the high ground.
But he immediately found a counterattack point: "Do you admit that you are a softie in CIC?"
Ma Long shut up in anger. In this confrontation, the two were evenly matched. When they arrived at the scene and fell into a positional battle, the two separated again in a tacit understanding, waiting for the next time to compete with each other to see if they would be tougher with their mouths or muscles.
A Yanye pull-up + a block, Li Ao fully activated the momentum of his teammates, and he played very hard in this offense.
But it's a pity that O'Neal Jr.'s baseline mid-range shot was perfect, wasting the wing support that Li Ao finally completed.
When the Jazz attack, the horror of the double pick-and-roll tactic begins to show.
The pick-and-roll breakout is just a way of playing in the opening and critical ball stages. In regular offense, they rely on unlimited ball movement!
In this group of veterans, except for Malone who moved in a large range as a key threat point, the other players had a very small range of movement. However, relying on tacit cooperation, extremely perfect tactics, and using the transfer of the ball, the Clippers players were exhausted.
After multiple passes, Stockton received the ball again at the free throw line and passed low.
Li Ao moved in anticipation and rushed towards Polynis who cut in from the left side of the three-second zone, but the target of Stockton's pass was Byron Russell, and Piakowski, who switched defense and shrank to the basket, also Going to block the center, Byron Russell caught the ball and hit a layup.
The attack was completed in 22 seconds. Li Ao thought of Stockton calmly making a passing choice with 4 seconds left... The historical assists king is really not for nothing!
Li Ao ran forward and before he could get out of the three-point line, the confrontation came. He burst out decisively and started another confrontation with tough words and muscles.
As the game progressed, the "hard duel" between Li Ao and Malone went back and forth. However, despite the high spirits and motivation of the Clippers players, they still inevitably fell into a disadvantage.
The Jazz are too strong. The Lakers, whose two main players, O'Neal and Fisher, are injured and are just beginning to experience the pain of losing Glenn Rice, can't compare with them.
By the end of the first quarter, the Jazz had a 4-point lead.
This has a lot to do with Li Ao being replaced after playing 7 minutes in the first quarter, but the main reason is that the Jazz's stability is so good.
In the second quarter, Gentry even tried to let Li Ao, Boykins, and Piakowsky play in a small three-person team. Yes, they copied the Trojans' tactics.
That tactic is more suitable for the NBA, so there is no problem in using it.
However, Boykins and Li Ao played well, and Piakowsky started to miss shots after playing many positions with the Jazz.
The Clippers' cooperation finally led to a 7-4 run. When the Jazz began to ignore Piakowsky and contracted to attack Li Ao and Boykins, this tactic could not be used.
In the first half, the Clippers relied on their momentum to hold on to the score 51-54, but in the third quarter, the Jazz sent Stockton, Starks, Donyel Marshall, Malone, Danny... After Manning's combination, the Clippers were beaten 24-14.
Although the Clippers relied on their youthful momentum in the final quarter to score a 24-15 quarter, they ultimately lost.
93 to 88, relying on Malone's 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Stockton's 11 points and 14 assists, the Jazz narrowly defeated the Clippers by 5 points!
In the last quarter, the Clippers relied on the counterattack launched by Boykins, Big Q, Maggette, and Li Ao, which really shocked the Jazz. After holding on to the victory, the Jazz players were very happy.
Ma Long raised his chin toward Li Ao in a sultry tone, but Li Ao had no choice at this time.
It's nice for a winner to criticize you, but if you criticize someone again after a loser, you'll only be regarded as a sore loser.
However, in this game, the Jazz team left a deep impression on Li Ao.
Not only did Li Ao dare to play "provoke each other" with Ma Long, but Li Ao's personal performance on the court even surprised them.
For example, Polynice, Ostertag, and Manning narrowly held on to victory. Other teammates were thankful and happy, and the three of them were relieved.
The three of them were so frustrated on the offensive end that they didn't even want to go to the basket.
When they get to the basket, they can see a handsome guy rushing in with his arms open, and they have a psychological shadow.
Now that Li Ao is approaching them, they all want to shout: "Don't come over here!"
What Shuangsha cares about is Li Ao's personal performance. It's a pity that this rookie is not on their team.
Li Ao made 8 of 21 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws. Li Ao scored 21 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks.
He may be a bit tough, but as long as he dares to throw, his shooting talent and awareness of finding opportunities can always be developed.
Moreover, they are tough and not timid, have strong tactical concepts, are active in defense, and have good talent...the most important thing is their mouth, which can make up for their lack of trash talking ability.
How could such a player be taken advantage of by a small boat?
Stockton and Malone murmured a few words and confirmed the reason why they missed such a talent - it was because they had such a good record leading the team that they had not had a single lottery pick teammate in more than ten years.
Sloan on the sidelines looked at Li Ao with envy, but he didn't have Shuangsha's weird thoughts.
He thought of a Bear forward who might not be as outstanding as the one in front of him. He had shooting talent and the ability to compete with the inside. That forward didn't have it, but he was already very good. His contract with the original club will expire next year. Coming soon.
Shuangsha's current condition is better than that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the same age, and he should be able to survive for another two or three years...
…
In an interview after the game, when asked about the almost comeback, Li Ao took the blame: "It's my fault. I missed too many shots. If I could have made one more shot, the situation might have been different."
He meant what he said. He really felt that it would be better if he scored two more goals.
Although my teammates made an astonishing 2 of 12 three-pointers from the wing tonight, when it comes to critical goals, you can trust your teammates, but you cannot rely on them.
In Li Ao's view of basketball, if a role player's teammate scores, it is his credit. If he does not score, he cannot be blamed. He is just a role player.
You can ask for better teammates, but you can't blame others for this kind of thing.
If you lose, you will always be frustrated.
However, the Jazz, a team that has been ridiculously stable for more than ten years, has a low probability of being upset without absolutely strong personal ability. This was something he thought of before the game.
It's just about playing a game. When you step on the court, even if you are outnumbered, you must try your best to win.
No, in the last quarter they almost won due to their momentum.
Just a little bit different.
Fortunately, there is some comfort after the game. Of course, it is not the comfort that if you win, hundreds of achievement points will become a consolation prize of 100 achievement points.
But...
"The host has completed his career debut. The consolation reward for failing in his debut is: 1 basic attribute point and 3,000 achievement points.
I hope the host will not be discouraged, but will be brave after realizing his shame. "
He added this attribute point to explosive power.
After adding it, he had a question and asked the system.
"If the host wins the first show, the reward will not change, and the end of the prompt will become: I hope the host will guard against arrogance and impatience, and keep up the good work."
"Hey! I'm still sad that I didn't win and the rewards will be reduced! I'm sad for nothing!"
…
The next day, a new month arrived. At noon, Li Ao returned to Los Angeles with the team.
He drove back to the apartment and picked up the newspaper downstairs. He flipped through the newspaper casually and felt very complicated.
He dominated the rookie section, which was not unexpected.
On the 30th, Kenyon Martin scored 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls. Not to mention the difference in statistics, he seemed to want to defend his title of No. 1 pick. He made 4 of 16 shots in singles without thinking. All 4 of his goals were fed by his teammates. He scored 8 goals in 11 singles and made 3 mistakes.
This performance was worse than that of Olowokandi back then. Olowokandi made 5 of 9 shots in the opening game and scored 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Mike Miller performed well. He played 19 minutes, made 4 of 8 shots, scored 1 three-pointer, and scored 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Magic team's opening game was very lively after that, and no one cared too much about Mike Miller's performance, because Duncan blinded everyone's eyes.
Duncan no longer uses his quick first step to throw off his opponent and attack the frame, nor does he follow up with a counterattack. Now his style of play is a bit like... O'Neal!
In the game against the Pacers, Duncan hit hard in the low post and dunked Dale Davis three times!
However, unlike O'Neal's violent gouge, Duncan felt thicker, using brute force and weight inertia to gouge hard. When the Pacers sent out the 218-centimeter Brora Sandford, Duncan was 'cowarded' , pull it to a 45-degree angle to make a mid-range shot.
At this time, Duncan shocked people again!
He averaged only 4 shots per game from close range last season. Yesterday afternoon, he threw 6 shots from the free throw line. Because the opponent let him go, he shot an astonishing 3-for-6.
Duncan made 12 of 21 shots and scored 29 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks. In addition to his eye-catching 5 of 11 free throws, his performance was simply brutal.
What caught Li Ao's attention was McGrady's performance - 17 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.
He also expected Timmy to compete with Duncan for power and make a few blind shots from outside... It was really not Kobe at all.
Other rookies, such as Jamal Crawford, who performed well in the summer league, and Donnell Harvey, the former No. 1 high school student in the United States, all showed their true colors in the regular season opener, even more so than in the preseason. Pull down.
In Li Ao's impression, the future stars of the same class, Magloire, Turkoglu, Mason, Reed, etc., did not perform as well as Mimu, who had 4 points and 5 rebounds, and Big Q, who had 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals last night.
Thinking of rebounds, he felt a little pain in the balls. These teammates were so good at grabbing them that it was not his turn at all.
His Tan Hwarang performance of 21+3+6+1+4 was a sure win for him.
It's just that this version is so domineering that it makes him feel weird.
News content, summed up in one sentence - the Clippers lost, Spider-Man did not lose.
Inexplicably a little ashamed...
…
Li Ao's little depression of losing ended with the result of the defending champion's opening game.
When he returned to the hotel yesterday, he went to bed and didn't pay attention.
Now I see it, the Lakers lost!
89 to 96, the Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers at home.
The environment is very important. Li Ao heard about the Sugar Man before. This guy was beaten several times in Portland, and then played extremely aggressively in the preseason.
In the opening game, Sabonis gave up the starting position to Olowokandi. The parallel import No. 1 pick did not lose his chain, scoring 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, with the highest rebounds in the game!
He showed better rebounding and shot-blocking abilities than any of the Trail Blazers' interior players.
After Li Ao's depression of losing was relieved by the depression of his neighbor who also lost, his expression became weird again.
With his set of boxing combinations, can he help Sugarman open up a whole new world?
Taking the elevator upstairs, he did not go to the hospital assistant's aunt's house. The Clippers left Salt Lake City early in the morning. The hospital assistant's aunt who took the old man's private plane should still be there in Salt Lake City. He remembered the chat before the game last night. The old man said he would come back this afternoon.
He came to his small suite and opened the door...
Suddenly, a man with a pumpkin head and about 175cm tall jumped in front of him and said "Wow".
Li Ao raised his arms and immediately reacted. He was so frightened that he took a step back and screamed strangely.
Pumpkin Head put away her movements, and even without taking off the hood, you could feel her speechlessness from her body movements.
Vivian took off her hood, pouted and said depressedly: "Leo, if you are perfunctory, I should be more serious!"
"Don't blame me. Aunt Vivian, even if you wear a hood, your figure is too good. It's not scary at all."
"Huh, okay, I reluctantly accept this statement."
"By the way, why are you back so early? Isn't it the afternoon flight?"
"I told McHale I wanted to scare you, and he immediately changed the time."
"Thank you so much!"
I ordered takeout at noon and had a quick meal. In the afternoon, Li Ao went to the Memorial Stadium for additional training.
Unlike the NCAA competition, which has so many preparation days, I played the game yesterday, returned to Los Angeles today, and will face the next game tomorrow - the opponent Grizzlies!
The 'Battle' of the top three picks!
There will be an extra update tonight for those with over 800 monthly tickets, please vote!
The update is finally finished, Xiaofeng can relax tomorrow, huh huh...
(End of chapter)
