As time goes by, the new NBA season has arrived as scheduled.
The first thing to come is of course the preseason.
Taking into account the changes in each team's lineup after the season, the NBA specially set up preseason games to warm up for the new season. The appearance of preseason games can not only run in the team's new lineup, but also allow substitute players to get more opportunities.
Each team has about 8 preseason games. In these games, the team's main players generally play no more than 30 minutes.
In order to expand its influence in this preseason, the NBA also continued to carry out the "China Tour" activity. As the favorite team of Chinese fans, the Minnesota Timberwolves naturally have to go to China to play two preseason games.
Going with them was the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One is the Eastern Conference champion last season, and the other is the championship last season. The strength of these two teams cannot be underestimated, and because of this, their duel attracted enough viewers.
Both teams haven't even started yet. Tickets for China's Mingzhu Stadium where the game will be held have been sold out, and many fans even couldn't buy them at a higher price.
After determining the specific time, the Timberwolves and the Cavaliers set off for the Pearl of China. On the third day after landing, the two teams went to the competition venue on Saturday afternoon to prepare for the first game of their respective pre-season games.
Mingzhu City Gymnasium.
Before the game officially started, the place was already packed with fans. Although many people did not buy tickets, they still came to wait outside the arena. When they saw the NBA players on the bus, these fans cheered and shouted excitedly and waved at the players.
As the number one player in Chinese basketball, Zhao Feiyang has naturally received the most attention.
At the entrance outside the arena, countless fans shouted his name and shouted various slogans such as "MVP" to express their support.
Zhao Feiyang stretched out his hand and high-fived the passing fans one by one.
"Feiyang, how is your injury? Will you play in this game?"
"Feiyang, although I didn't buy a ticket, I will still watch your live broadcast outside... Come on, idol!"
"You are the pride of our Chinese people!"
The shouts of the fans fell into Zhao Feiyang's ears, and he could only sigh helplessly in response to everyone's expectations. Although his ankle seems fine now, for future considerations, he still does not plan to play in this year's preseason.
Not only that, he rarely participated in previous training, all just to restore the ankle to its previous level as soon as possible.
After everyone entered the locker room, the Timberwolves began to get excited.
Although Zhao Feiyang has not fully recovered, everyone else is in good condition.
Dwight Howard, who was out for the season last year, has recovered. Now he looks very healthy. Although the abdominal muscles on his stomach have turned into fat, his bulk is still there. Given time, he will definitely be able to return to last season's performance. That state.
Derrick Rose and Zach LaVine both had minor injuries at the end of the season, but they were not serious. They had already recovered and were in better shape than last season.
"Guys, you have to play hard today! This is our first game of the season!"
"Of course, it's still the same old rules. I will give the substitutes more opportunities...but the main players can't be lazy. I hope a long summer has not destroyed your self-discipline..."
Head coach Eric Stotts said before everyone walked out of the locker room.
The players' reactions were also very happy, and some even made a little joke with Coach Eric.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Cavaliers' locker room was obviously not as harmonious as the Timberwolves' side. Ever since Kyrie Irving was traded away, the Cavaliers' Big Three have been shattered. Now only LeBron James and Kevin Love are left. No one knows whether these two giants can still sustain the game!
More importantly, Isaiah Thomas, who was traded to the Cavaliers, is not as settled as his teammates imagined.
This was only the first game of the preseason, and a little situation occurred within the Cavaliers.
Thomas was the last one to enter the locker room because he went to the bathroom. As soon as he entered the locker room, he walked towards LeBron and Love, but at this time the seats beside them were gone, and the closets were occupied by JR Smith and Iman Shumpert respectively.
Little Thomas glanced at the two of them, then walked towards Iman Shumpert, "Hey, Iman, this is my position!"
Shumpert was stunned for a moment when he heard this.
He looked at JR beside him and immediately guessed what Thomas was thinking.
JR is LeBron's knife-wielding bodyguard. His status in the team is not comparable to his, and his statistics are much better than his own. The reason why Thomas chose his position was simply that he was not as good as JR, and he did not want to offend JR.
Thinking of this, Shumpert felt somewhat unhappy.
"Hey, Isaiah, this isn't your place! I sit next to Kevin the whole time...your place might be somewhere else..."
Shumpert pointed to a position far away from LeBron, which was close to the door of the locker room. This is a position for substitute players or even marginal players in the locker room.
Although the position of the locker room does not represent everything, the position of the core players is indeed better than that of the substitute players.
Everyone knows this.
“Iman, are you kidding me?”
Thomas Jr. asked Shumpert with a look of arrogance, "Man, you only averaged 7.5 points per game last season. You are not even a fraction of what I averaged per game. What qualifications do you have to sit here?"
This question made Shumpert look very ugly.
Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game last season, which is a complete underperformance from the data point of view. Strength has always been a priority on the court, and it is really impossible to show off his data.
"So...get out of here! I don't have any more patience to keep you going..."
Shumpert was originally ready to give up his position, but Thomas suddenly said this. As soon as he said this, Shumpert's face suddenly changed, and his steps that were originally about to move away stopped moving.
Standing 1.96 meters tall, he stood there and stared down at Thomas, who was 1.75 meters tall. He also said coldly to him, "Get out of here! Little dwarf!"
"This is not the Celtics, this is Cleveland..."
Little Thomas had an unruly character, and being treated in this way by Shumpert, who was far inferior to him, made his anger suddenly burn.
In just a moment, Thomas and Shumpert suddenly made the atmosphere in the Cavaliers' locker room tense.
