After three games in four days, the Clippers got two days of rest.
The next morning, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles, and Li Ao went to school to have a packed lunch with his aunt.
Today, Saturday, the hospital assistant aunt was working overtime. After understanding the reason, Li Ao felt that he could buy two houses in the school district now. If he wanted to invest in a shop, he could start making preparations now.
Between Thanksgiving and now, the Internet bubble has been completely punctured.
When the building was about to collapse, WorldCom Group, the second largest communications company in Eagle City, made a killing move. After raking in tens of billions of dollars from shareholders, it skyrocketed to nearly $100 billion in half a month. The market value peaked, and then quickly collapsed and headed directly to bankruptcy and liquidation.
This Internet company, which claims to have 180 million users, announced in early November that it would subsidize US$1 billion and conduct Thanksgiving promotions—that is, online shopping.
Tens of millions of people said on various online platforms, "I want to go to XX website to buy something on Thanksgiving Day." On Thanksgiving Day, the Internet in many places was almost paralyzed. Hundreds of millions of purchase screenshots appeared on various forums and social networking sites.
So in three days after Thanksgiving, the market value of this company rose to nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars. Countless netizens ushered in the last wave of carnival, selling iron and mortgage loans to buy the company's stock... After the stock price reached its peak, the capitalists' All the stocks have been sold, and investors can't sell their stocks even if the price drops...
As the logistics industry, which had been cheated and freed up freight resources for the next month, issued a joint condemnation, WorldCom Group's stock price collapsed and the stock became waste paper.
In addition, Gallic Chicken imposed antitrust penalties on Intel on behalf of the European Union, with a fine of US$1.04 billion.
The stock prices of Yingjiang computer-related companies, Internet and hardware companies all collapsed. The most severely affected was Amazon, which also engages in online shopping. It encountered an unprecedented crisis of trust, and capital was withdrawn. The stock price plummeted 95% in a few days... Theirs The boss took the opportunity to buy back stocks frantically, stabilizing the stock price and taking back absolute control.
The Internet bubble was completely burst, and the Yingjiang stock market also collapsed rapidly.
This has a great impact on the School of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, mainly in terms of enrollment, employment, funding, etc.
Dean Teng was mentally prepared, but he was still troubled by this matter.
The Bund was a little too thorough, and it was still a little bit bad in the first few months.
However, the computer science major is not directly related to the Internet bubble. It can even be said that they are two completely different industries. Therefore, what USC needs to do now is to do public relations and deal with public opinion issues.
Dean Teng is very busy now. Vivian, as a hospital assistant, has also started to work overtime, adjusting the budget report for the coming year, and trying not to cut too much funding. The conventional routine of reducing individual expenditures and increasing 'necessary expenditures' items is reasonable. The base asked the school board for money.
There is also a 'real' hospital budget plan, and we must prepare for a 'tight' life in the next few years.
The School of Computer Science is used to spending a lot of money. This year, I am not used to it, but I will get used to it in the future.
We originally made an appointment to watch a movie in the afternoon, but Vivian was too busy. After lunch, she coaxed Li Ao for a few words and then continued working.
Li Ao had no choice but to come to the Memorial Stadium to continue training.
To his surprise, he saw several teammates coming to practice extra!
Playing the Suns the day after tomorrow, the odds of winning... Anyway, Gentry only arranged a preparation training for tomorrow afternoon to let the players who have just played three games in four days have a good rest.
Li Ao had a casual chat with a few teammates and found out why they were practicing extra.
Some want to seize the opportunity that arises - big Q, and are practicing three-pointers on both wings.
Originally, Big Q wanted to practice defensive footwork, but the team did not have professionals in this area.
Some have had their starting positions robbed - Piakowsky wants to work hard to win back the coach's trust.
Some saw Big Q's active and hard-working defensive attitude win him the starting position, and they wanted to work hard for it.
Some are worried about being traded.
As we approach the middle of the season, each team has almost finished showing its strength. It knows what it lacks and what it has in excess. There may soon be a wave of mid-term trades.
Most players in the NBA will not think of changing teams. Changing teams means an unknown future and a lot of expenses. Moving people and jobs is a low-probability event.
And, this is Los Angeles!
Stars yearn for the Lakers and role players yearn for the Clippers. This has been a common thing since the 1980s.
Although the Clippers have never given a player an annual salary of more than $5 million before, O'Neal was the first, but the Clippers are one of the few players to have given multiple million-level annual salary contracts in the 1980s. In the late 1980s, the Lakers had only three contracts with annual salaries over one million, including Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Worthy. The Knicks and Bulls also had only two, but the Clippers had four. There is a big gap between...
Currently, the Lakers only have seven players with an annual salary of more than $2 million, while the Clippers have eight.
Although O'Neal and Kobe's combined salary is higher than that of the entire Clippers team...
But what role players care about is not how much money the top players get, but how much money they themselves can get.
And now that the boss has changed, the benefits have also kept up. The sports investment company named by the CEO of Microsoft has allocated funds with the goal of providing better benefits than the Lakers.
Another very important thing is to play with Spider-Man and gain exposure!
In Li Ao's case, no matter what the reason is, it's a good thing that his teammates are starting to work hard anyway!
Hearing Big Q and defensive coach Norm Nickerson talk about the lack of good defensive trainers, he thought of a candidate.
The two people just talked about it and didn't pay much attention to it. Norm Nickerson was used to the team being short of people here and there. Now the team is expanding its manpower and supplementing its benefits bit by bit. He is already very happy and will not When it comes to making requests, Big Q is very quiet and dare not speak out. General manager Wally Walker has been in office for more than three months and has fired a lot of people.
But Li Ao has no scruples in this regard...
After practicing until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Li Ao came to the blacksmith room.
Seeing that Kobe was already warming up, Li Ao joked: "Hey, you were reluctant at first, but now you're here on your own initiative before I even call you..."
Before he finished speaking, a ball flew towards Li Ao's head.
He caught it with one hand, ran to the free throw line and passed the ball to Kobe. Kobe said no nonsense, let's start practice!
…
"I know you are loyal and will not forget the brothers who won the championship together when you live a good life!"
"No, I just recommended you to them because of your professional ability. Whether you can win this job depends on your academic performance in further training and the effectiveness of coaching team members in training."
"Hahahaha, I know, I won't let this opportunity go. It's so hard to join society! I envy you so much. Your family is so rich and you are talented in whatever you do. Studying, playing ball, acting..."
"Don't be envious. You can't envy things like being handsome."
"Yes, yes, of course you have the final say if you are handsome..."
Seeing Shelby Jordan still looking carefree, Li Ao was speechless, but very satisfied.
As a trainer, you need to make your players obedient to train, or you must have rich resumes, such as the Lakers trainers who have coached Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Or maybe he's like Sam Hayes, cold and inhumane, looking very majestic.
If you don't have either, then choose a trainer who is capable but has a messy personality.
Shelby Jordan's excellent defensive skills and messy personality fit the bill perfectly.
Li Ao heard that Shelby Jordan had not been doing well in the past six months, and he no longer had the coolness of his student days.
He didn't get into the European leagues, and others thought he didn't have a good shot. When A-A recruits foreign players, they need all-around scorers, and the salary in Australia is too low...
Shelby Jordan and his girlfriend Lisa, despite having a very hard life, often living in abandoned houses in the suburbs and doing odd jobs to make a living, have always stayed together.
Shelby Jordan would have been better off if he didn't raise Lisa; and after Lisa gave up her previous killer look, Li Ao realized that she was a very beautiful girl, but she didn't kick her away either. Shelby Jordan goes to find a rich man or work in some gray industry that makes money...
Of course Li Ao wanted to win over his old teammates, but it was mainly because of Shelby Jordan's ability.
He just asked the general manager for an interview opportunity as a trainee trainer after finishing his sparring session with Kobe the day before yesterday.
It was Shelby Jordan who showed the basketball professional ability that satisfied Wally Walker and got the opportunity to intern and study at the School of Sports Management of the University of Southern California.
Today is December 11th, the two rest days have ended, and another competition day has arrived.
Today's opponent is the Suns!
After finishing training in the morning, he made an appointment with Shelby Jordan for dinner at noon. In the afternoon, Li Ao took a nap for an hour. After recuperating, he looked at things other than the game in the scouting report.
After seeing the salary situation of the Suns, he felt that the Suns were purely hindered by injuries, otherwise they might shake up the OK combination earlier than the Kings.
Gugliotta, in the 1997-98 season, the 29-year-old averaged 20.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. The Suns acquired him with a six-year, $58 million contract after the lockout. .
Anfernee Hardaway, in the shortened season of 1998-99, played in all 50 games, averaging 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Although his scoring ability collapsed, his skills were comprehensive and his defense was online. He failed to play in the Magic. After receiving the maximum salary, he signed and then joined the Suns for $86.68 million over seven years. This was the maximum salary contract under the salary cap at the time.
But these two people were fine before coming to the Suns. After arriving at the Suns, they immediately suffered from injuries.
These two are the Suns' highest-paid players. The Suns have a salary of more than 53 million US dollars this season, and these two brothers account for 20 million.
Under such circumstances, the Suns still have 13 wins and 7 losses, a winning rate of 65%.
Li Ao saw a piece of information in the scouting report that others might not pay attention to - in order to improve the injury situation, the current general manager of the Suns, Brian Colangelo, hired a sports medicine major from the American Airlines through his father's matchmaking. The great Thomas Carter, Carter Medical Studio will officially take over the Suns team medical department starting from the 1st of next month.
It turns out that the miracle doctor went to the Suns at this time! Li Ao felt some sympathy for Pian Pian and the former Wolf King.
If Colangelo Jr. had asked his father for help earlier, Pence might not have seriously injured his knee again last season, and Gugliotta's toe injury might not have worsened to the extent it did now.
Fortune plays tricks on people!
…
At 7:40 pm, Staples Center, after the warm-up, Li Ao and his teammates came to the home team's tunnel and looked at Clifford Robinson, Shawn Marion, and Jack Chakari who came on the scene one after another. Dis, Mario Elie, Kidd... Before the game even started, Li Ao felt the defensive pressure coming towards him.
"Jack Tsakaridis, 21 years old, 218 centimeters tall, 129 kilograms in weight, overall rating 69..."
Li Ao looked left and right, and he saw that this player at the end of the first round of the same class as him was not very good.
However, the NBA has not yet implemented the three-second defensive rule. With such a white man-shield center at the basket, he can protect the frame very well. With Marion and Kidd helping him outside, Chakaridis’ defensive efficiency is quite good, with a rate of 100 per 100. The round only allowed the opposing player to score 95 points.
There are very few centers who are better at protecting the rim than Tsakalidis. Duncan limited his opponents to 94 points per 100 possessions, Mourning was 93... and O'Neal was 98.
But even if the three-second defense is cancelled, Li Ao estimates that this giant center will not have to worry about work. The shark effect is still on the rise.
Little O'Neal felt a look of sympathy, and suddenly the feeling of sympathy disappeared. At the same time, he saw Li Ao running out of the player tunnel and knew who was sympathizing with him.
He's also in pain. How come every strong team in the Western Conference has a big center?
Fortunately, Chakaridis, a giant center who seems to be made up of lumps of muscles, has poor physical strength and can only play more than ten minutes in a game, so the impact on him is not that big.
At the end of the entrance ceremony, Li Ao and the cameraman on the court stage found Pian Pian in a suit for a photo, and Pian Pian happily accepted.
Li Ao was in a good mood and his face was tense.
After he was lifted from the ban, the court arranged for him to be accompanied by a team photographer. This photographer was a Pence fan. He learned that Pence would come to Los Angeles with the team this time and asked for his help.
He thought it was a photographer who wanted to take a photo with Pence, but it turned out that he just wanted to take a photo with him.
Although the work only overlapped during competitions and training preparations, Li Ao became quite familiar with the cameraman, and he agreed to the other party's request.
However, before taking a photo with Pence, he was still a little worried. His reputation as a "stadium thug" has become too loud recently.
The cameraman was very excited and took photos of the two of them from multiple angles. As he was taking photos, an alien-like head came into the frame, which scared him so much that he screamed.
Sean Marion saw the cameraman's reaction and moved away in shock, but was pulled back by Li Ao.
When the cameraman saw Li Ao's actions, he realized that he had hurt others by shouting subconsciously, so he quickly continued to take a few more pictures, and pretended that nothing happened, directing Marion's position.
Kidd on the side was very disgusted with the performance of his two teammates.
Forget about pennies, it's normal for talented rookies to take the initiative to ask for a photo to enjoy the benefits of the glory of a former superstar.
Marion, you entered the NBA at the same time as this Spider-Man, or in the same position, and you are so embarrassed to touch the camera?
Show your face!
But the team’s exclusive cameraman… I’m so jealous!
The last rookie to receive such treatment was Grant Hill.
Moreover, what does it mean to only ask for pennies for a photo?
Are you looking down on him and not attacking him?
…
After the entire group of photos was taken, the photographer took the initiative to ask Marion for his address and contact information. After the photos were developed, he sent them to Marion.
His approach eliminated the remaining knot in Marion's heart.
But the cameraman didn't ask for contact information.
After returning to his bench, Li Ao asked: "Brother Lang, why don't you ask Hardaway for his contact information? This is a good opportunity. He will definitely give it to him. Don't you admire him very much?"
The cameraman named Li Lang responded: "I just admire the penny in my heart. He may be different from what I imagined. Just like you, when I received the task of following you, I had already done a good job for you." You prepared to call me into the hospital when you were angry. When my colleagues sent me to the airport, it was like they were saying goodbye to me... It turned out that you were completely different from what I expected. You helped me arrange a closer residence and even helped me drive away. The little gangsters who robbed..."
After explaining, the cameraman stepped aside and continued shooting outside the baseline.
Li Ao felt that the cameraman had a good attitude towards his idol.
Also, he discovered that the real top player didn't seem to care that much about his 'one against seven' incident.
Payton, Ewing, Marbury, Bibby, Raheem... all are like this. On the contrary, some players who don't focus on playing the game themselves are particularly concerned about his title of "court thug".
Originally, he was worried that his image in this aspect would affect his ability to find experienced babies... No, it was about making friends, but now he is relieved.
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to start the game, threw the ball into the air, and the Clippers' home game against the Suns began.
O'Neal Jr. beat Chakaridis to win the jump ball, and the Clippers struck first.
Li Ao's fast break failed, and Marion immediately followed him.
He came to the frontcourt and waited for Greg Anthony to advance to the top arc before starting to run, but failed to get rid of Marion's active pursuit.
He came to the wing and walked inside, but Marion didn't care. He saw Chacaridis under the basket...went around and was blocked by Mario Eli. Marion returned to him. beside.
Seeing that Li Ao couldn't get a chance, failed to mess up the opponent's defense, and couldn't cooperate tactically, Odom pulled to the middle distance and relied on Clifford Robinson to receive the ball. He turned around with his back and threw a ball from close range. Hit!
In the transition between offense and defense, Kidd received the ball and advanced quickly, and Marion and Clifford Robinson quickly came down from the wings!
Clifford Robinson's speed is completely unlike that of a 34-year-old veteran, and Marion's speed is comparable to that of most point guards. The Clippers players quickly retreated.
After Clifford Robinson passed the center circle, he secretly slowed down and moved to the left sideline. As soon as he reached the three-point line, Kidd's pass arrived.
But Li Ao came to him almost at the same time and reached out to take out the ball!
Thanks to Clifford Robinson's quick reaction, he immediately grabbed the ball and reached behind his back to avoid Li Ao's steal. However, he was immediately pressed against Li Ao and could not move. Although he was 208 centimeters tall and weighed 102 kilograms, He was crushed to death by Li Ao!
In addition to suffering from physical confrontation, he also felt a strong sense of oppression.
It seems like if he just moves and dribbles, he will be forced out of bounds!
Kidd quickly ran up to receive the ball, and Clifford Robinson passed the ball out before getting out of the suffocating pressure.
Kidd also breathed a sigh of relief, he almost made a mistake!
When has the defensive cooperation of Little Broken Boat been so good? Odom retreated to the basket to protect the frame, Big Q interfered with Marion's ball, and Li Ao blocked Clifford Robinson from the outside...
Especially that big spider, it was outrageous. A 203 cm small forward actually surrounded a 208 cm tall power forward with a 221 cm wingspan!
Chakaridis dragged his huge weight of 129 kilograms and slowly entered the three-point line. When he reached the left side of the three-second zone, Kidd suddenly started a breakthrough from the outside!
Big Q defended very steadily and kept up with Kidd in time. Kidd took the initiative to withstand Big Q, and still completed the dribbling movement under his hips freely during the confrontation, changed direction, squeezed Big Q into the three-point line, and got stuck. Taking advantage of his position, he rushed forward from the middle!
Chacaridis on the left side of the three-second zone pressed inside, and on the right baseline, Marion cut in to contain Odom, and Li Ao was pulled to a 45-degree angle on the right by Clifford Robinson.
O'Neal Jr. showed his top defensive awareness. He first hit Chacaridis, and then immediately rushed towards the center, but Kidd threw the ball before O'Neal Jr.'s two-end defense was in place... hit!
The onlookers Li Ao's eyes widened when they saw it, Yao Shoulat, Jibu Gong's breakthrough was so sharp!
Li Ao didn't know that Kidd's breakthrough during this period was quite powerful, but he didn't expect it to be so powerful.
Change of direction during the confrontation, starting after the confrontation... He is 193 centimeters tall, weighs 95 kilograms, and has a top-level speed of 90, which is a bit fierce! The comprehensive evaluation of the system of 96 is really not given randomly!
But the most important thing is the utilization of the big center.
A man like Tsakalidis would most likely be treated as a 'trash' if he changed teams. He would only be used to consume O'Neal's physical shield in the game against the Lakers. However, Kidd actually used him as an offensive partner. Easy to use!
Before the game, Li Ao wondered how Kidd could shoot a career-high 64% from close range this season, an increase of 14 percentage points from last season. He averaged 2.6 shots from close range per game, which was also higher than last season. Turned over.
He has watched some videos in the past two days, but the editor rarely cuts the scenes of Kidd scoring. They mainly edit how he organizes the offense. The only few scenes may be due to the angle, and it is difficult to see the trick.
Now playing against each other on the court, the feeling is very intuitive.
Worthy of being the 'god of active point guards' in Popovich's words, Kidd seems to have taken advantage of all the favorable conditions on the offensive end.
When it was the Clippers' turn to attack, Li Ao used the fastest running speed that could ensure the stability of catching and shooting to deal with Marion's pursuit... and failed again.
This is the first time since he entered the NBA that he has faced an opponent that he can defend so well in one-on-one defense!
"Sean Marion, 22 years old, 201 cm tall, 221 cm wingspan, 101 kg weight, comprehensive evaluation 85...speed 92, strength 89...averaging 16.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.4 blocks per game..."
In addition to being a little shorter and shorter than him, Marion's physical condition is better than him in terms of weight, speed, strength, etc.!
Li Ao gave up his running position and came to the right side at a 45-degree angle and two minutes to open up the space.
Kidd, who was guarding Greg Anthony from the top of the arc, glanced at Li Ao in surprise. The rookie scorer who averaged 24 points per game was honestly pulling away?
He doesn't believe it!
But later, Li Ao stood obediently to open up the space. After Greg Anthony and Odom broke into the pick-and-roll, Li Ao moved to the free throw line in cooperation, bringing Marion to a "retractable double attack" position. Marion did not double attack. , Li Ao was ready to retreat and defend quickly.
Kidd was very strong in one-on-one defense, and Clifford Robinson also did a good job in switching to the point guard for a short time. Chakaridis had the physique to stand in the three-second zone and did a good job of protecting the frame. In the end, O'Neal was Forced to face Clifford Robinson's interference, he shot a close-range jump shot... It felt good, and he made a strong shot!
Kidd has been glancing at Li Ao from time to time during this round, noticing Li Ao's positional movement. In addition, other members of the Clippers team really tried to contain Li Ao by shooting. He was sure that Li Ao was really selfless in playing. calm.
And very smart!
Not only does it give teammates enough freedom, it also saves energy!
Such a rookie... makes him very unhappy!
In addition, Xiao Po Chuan was not nervous at all when facing their 'championship team'!
This made him even more unhappy. What was the deterrent power of his superstar?
Can't even scare a little broken ship?
Kidd just misunderstood the Clippers.
It is precisely because of his strong leadership ability that the Clippers have no psychological pressure.
The Clippers players want to win now, but the strength gap is so big that they have trouble winning against the Nets. It's useless for them to think about being nervous. They might as well relax and play. If they win, they won't be in a good mood. For several days.
Kidd advanced to the frontcourt with an unknown fire, and saw Li Ao and Odom switching back, and Odom went to guard Clifford Robinson.
He keeps that in mind, and there might be an opportunity there with Clifford Robinson.
Odom was famous for his frequent distractions during his rookie season.
After paying attention, Kidd continued to break through the big Q in singles!
Kidd wanted to score another one, but O'Neal Jr. directly released Chacaridis to make up the middle.
Kidd grabbed the ball at the free throw line and turned it into a lob. The ball was very comfortable. Tsakaridis, who couldn't bend down to catch the pass, received Kidd's pass as soon as he entered the basket. The ball comes, jumps, dunks with both hands... "pop" "bang"...
Li Ao let go of Marion, who was cutting in from mid-range from the baseline, quickly retracted, and slapped Chacaridis' dunk on the rim with one palm!
'Siege Level 3' is triggered, speed +3, his starting point is increased to 92, and his speed is increased to 93. He can shrink and cover defense so fast that even the opposing Marion is shocked!
The ball hit the basket and bounced high. Li Ao, who had completed the block, immediately turned around and rushed toward Kidd, covering Kidd's head. O'Neal took a step back to the inside, blocked Marion, and collected the defensive rebound.
Kidd:? ? ? ?
I'm attacking the frame and you don't come to help me. I'm standing here and you're going to defend me from grabbing the board?
Several meanings!
(End of chapter)
