I am the Warden Chapter 9 First, take down O'Neal
Liu Xiu spent a day at the homes of Derek Anderson and Dale Davis.
The direction of learning from Derek Anderson is to master the basic skills and basic techniques of an open-position player as a high-quality role player.
Limited by Derek Anderson's strength, the feedback Liu Xiu received from the system and the training methods he learned from Derek Anderson were unable to reach an excellent level. 79 was the limit.
But this is enough for him at the moment.
Otherwise, Derek Anderson's "all-round talent" cannot be learned with just 3,000 healing points.
For example, Randolph's excellent post-up play at that time cost him 1,500 healing points.
Today, Liu Xiu started to learn quickly on the defensive end with Dale Davis. He spent 1,000 healing points, but in fact he only started a part of the "meat grinder" - the backup defense for players who break through or cut in. In the morning he thought Derek Anderson was too expensive, but now he knows that the buyout price is really cheap.
I haven't started learning about double-teaming, switching defenses, contraction and expansion...etc.
Nothing happened on the night of the 8th. Liu Xiu woke up on time at 7 o'clock the next morning and received a system prompt.
"30 minutes of elbow defense simulation training has been completed, and 46 minutes of dribbling and shooting simulation training has been completed. 104 healing points can be used to extract. Do you want to extract?"
Liu Xiu said no in his heart.
"The results of the simulation training have been stored and can be retrieved at any time. Note: There is no upper limit to the storage of simulation training results, and they must be retrieved all at once."
After the system was upgraded and all functions were opened, Liu Xiu discovered that the simulation training had a new function for storing simulation training results.
He had tried it once before, accumulating and storing the results of simulated training for a week...it tasted sour and he never wanted to try it again.
Now……
"Yesterday, I received more than 500 healing points from Anderson and Davis, and the coach also received more than 100 healing points. It's strange. These two coaches usually give 30 to 50 healing points a day, but why do they complain more after a day off?"
"Save these healing points first. Once you have enough healing points, you can learn all of Davis' meat grinder defense training methods!"
…
At 7:58 in the morning, Liu Xiu arrived at the parking lot of the Rose Garden Arena, put down five $1 tips, and put the keys in the car. When the security guard said thank you and ran over, Liu Xiu had already rushed into the employee passage at his fastest speed... At 7:59:55, Liu Xiu entered the training ground.
With 5 seconds left on the countdown, Derek Anderson stared in amazement at Liu Xiu, who rushed in with his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. He saluted and only reacted when the hour struck.
"This rookie... is really interesting... You have time to get dressed at home and drive out. Why don't you leave a few minutes earlier?"
Derek Anderson firmly believed that Liu Xiu left home on time.
but……
Even if Liu Xiu was not punctual, Derek Anderson would not say anything.
The team has scheduled two training sessions today, one at 10 a.m. and one at 2 p.m., both lasting 40 minutes.
Most teammates will arrive around 9:30, and the training session is scheduled to start at 10 o'clock, but in fact it often does not start until 10:30. This is the norm during the season after training camp. The old players understand this, and the new players will also understand it after a few experiences.
So the one hour of teaching guidance every day that Derek Anderson promised will be given during this time.
Since it is teaching guidance, the training volume will not be very large, so we can teach with or without competitions, as long as you are not too tired and can get up.
In Derek Anderson's opinion, it doesn't matter if it's a few minutes early or late... Mainly, he doesn't care if it's a few minutes late, as long as it's not too late.
But being on time made Derek Anderson naturally happy.
Seeing Liu Xiu's heavy breathing gradually slow down, Derek Anderson asked, "Take a break?"
"No, I can start learning after I stretch my body."
"no problem."
After a while, at 8:15, Derek Anderson's teaching guidance began.
Today, we are still training the basic skills - turning.
When Liu Xiu was learning post-up tactics with Randolph, he also learned turning techniques, but big players and small guards are always different, so when learning with Derek Anderson, Liu Xiu first learned how to shoot after dribbling, and then turned around.
Liu Xiu's self-position awareness - organizing the offense well and being a special player to complete singles at specific moments.
The former is his talent, and the latter requires him to constantly improve his strongest offensive means.
While Liu Xiu was studying with Derek Anderson, Maurice Cheeks and Kevin Pritchard were watching secretly.
When they heard yesterday that Liu Xiu went to find Derek Anderson to learn, they immediately understood Liu Xiu's idea and were very happy, but then they thought of Liu Xiu's previous "efforts", complained about it together for a while, and did not have too high expectations.
I didn't expect that Liu Xiu would come to train early this morning!
Is there hope?
It turns out that it’s right not to have too high expectations for some things.
At 11:20 in the morning, after the Trail Blazers' team tactical training ended, many players stayed behind for additional training.
However, it seems that Liu Xiu, who tried hard, did not...
Kevin Plitt saw Liu Xiu leaving after the team practice and said to Maurice Cheeks: "He must be saving his energy for tomorrow's preseason game!"
Maurice Cheeks didn't say anything, he felt that it was more important to see the performance in the game.
On the afternoon of the 9th, when the Trail Blazers were having their afternoon training session, the Los Angeles Lakers came to Portland.
When Liu Xiu learned the news, he was excited for a long time before he calmed down and completed the team's tactical running training well. After the team training, he went to Dale Davis's house to learn the contraction and expansion training of the "meat grinder" defense.
This one is cheaper, quick to learn, 500 healing points...
…
…
On October 10, 2003, the Trail Blazers will host their first game of the new season at home...a preseason game.
Although it is only a preseason game, the attention paid to this game is staggeringly high!
The Rose Garden was bustling with activity all day long.
However, all this excitement has little to do with the Trail Blazers.
All this excitement belongs to the Trail Blazers’ opponent – the Los Angeles Lakers!
Yesterday, when the Lakers came to Portland, the media and fans went crazy.
A large number of fans gathered in Portland from all over the United States. The average price of a preseason game ticket was $25, but the front row tickets were sold for more than $3,000 each. Even the tickets that originally cost $5-10 in the stands had to cost hundreds of dollars to buy from ticket scalpers.
I spent so much money to watch a preseason game just to see the debut of the super foursome of O'Neal, Kobe, Malone and Payton!
…
After the morning pre-game meeting, pre-game training, interviews and other sessions, the Trail Blazers players got a few hours of rest and gathered to start training at 5 pm at the latest.
The Trail Blazers prepared nutritious meals for the players, but few people ate them...at least Liu Xiu and Randolph didn't eat them.
Travis Outlaw was a good kid who followed the team's instructions, but when his two older brothers called him, he dared not disobey.
Matt Carroll and Reuben Bontger have been hanging out with the trio.
"Ugh," Randolph complained as he waited for his meal at a restaurant near the arena. "Everyone keeps asking Bryant, Bryant, Bryant. Can't they ask O'Neal?"
"Bryant just turned 25 and should be entering his prime. O'Neal is already in his 30s. O'Neal's popularity has long been surpassed, and his strength is almost unmatched... Ouch, Zach, don't kick my ass..." Travis Outlaw answered the question honestly and was kicked by Randolph.
Travis Outlaw quickly changed his position, moving away from Randolph.
These two bosses, one likes to talk, the other likes to do things with his hands. It's so difficult to be their little brother!
Randolph glared at Travis Outlaw and asked Liu Xiu, "Jace, what do you think?"
What do you think? Liu Xiu thought Randolph was not happy with Kobe, but he didn't expect it was because he was not asked about O'Neal.
Looking at Randolph's expectant eyes, Liu Xiu responded: "Because we are the Portland Trail Blazers."
“…”
Randolph choked.
He was expecting people to ask him if he was a fan of O'Neal, and then to "unexpectedly" answer that he was not. Travis Outlaw was still young and his emotional intelligence was not high. Randolph could understand, but Liu Xiu pretended not to understand!
Matt Carroll then asked, "Why are they asking us about Bryant because we're the Trail Blazers?"
Travis Outlaw and Reuben Bontjie were quite interested in this matter and stared at Liu Xiu. Randolph also stared at Liu Xiu after choking.
"We're the prison team! Bryant almost went to jail in Eagle County, and the reporters think we should know him well."
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The four friends were collectively speechless.
Kobe Bryant is not as popular as he was in his original time and space when he went solo, but he is definitely a popular Mesozoic superstar. One of his famous points is... he is narrow-minded!
What if Kobe heard this?
The four friends suddenly felt that it didn't matter if they were heard! Getting beaten on the court... it didn't matter!
Fighting... emmm...
Just when the four friends didn't know what to say next, Liu Xiu looked at Travis Outlaw, which made the high school student very uncomfortable.
"Jace, there's something on my face?"
"No, no, no, I just think you're a burden to us."
"What's wrong?" Travis Outlaw was confused?
"Because of your name! I think the reason we are called the prison team is largely because of your name."
"I'm still a rookie! I just turned 19! I haven't even played a preseason game yet, what does it have to do with me!"
Liu Xiu looked at the high school student who stood up and roared, and felt that it was great to be young and full of energy...
…
…
Looking at the present from the perspective of ten or twenty years later, Liu Xiu initially did not think that the Big Four of the Lakers were so special. After all, it was a failed combination.
When evaluating historical combinations, successful and failed combinations are often used to judge their influence at the time.
There is no shortage of failed giant combinations in NBA history, and this combination will always be stepped on in the future.
Although the Lakers dominated the hot news , and even O'Neal and Payton going out for a drink could become hot news, Liu Xiu did not pay special attention to it, but focused on his own affairs.
Other people’s affairs are, after all, other people’s affairs; your own affairs are the most important.
but!
Now that they are actually fighting, Liu Xiucai clearly feels how huge the influence of the four superstars of the Lakers is!
Although he is on the Trail Blazers, Liu Xiu actually gives interviews quite often.
But when the Lakers came, he truly understood what a super popular team and a super popular superstar meant.
Usually, his teammates would take advantage of him for interviews, but today, many media outlets that didn't get interview opportunities with the Lakers came here to interview him.
This feeling is very special...Yesterday, Liu Xiu could hear some envious and jealous remarks within the team. He did not say anything similar, but in fact, he was also jealous.
At 7:40 p.m., at the Rose Garden, the game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers was about to start, and players from both teams entered the court.
Preseason game, live broadcast across America tonight!
Time Warner Cable Sports, CNN Sports, and TNT Sports, the three top sports TV stations, will all broadcast this game live!
As soon as he entered the court, Liu Xiu felt the murderous gazes from the opposite side. These gazes came from Kobe Bryant!
"Bryant almost went to jail in Eagle County," Liu Xiu's words during lunch were exposed by the restaurant waiter!
Liu Xiu was a little upset when the person involved found out that he was saying bad things about someone behind his back...
However, Kobe responded after learning about Liu Xiu's remarks during an interview - "Jace Liu? Who? Oh, I remember, the Hollywood actor selected by the Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in the first round, right? I know the mentality of a player like him who has no strength. He wants to rely on me to get more exposure and sleep in the same bed with more Hollywood actresses..."
Sarcastic and harsh in his words, this is consistent with Liu Xiu's impression of Kobe at this stage.
Things have come to this, and Liu Xiu has accepted it. Anyway, he is not afraid of playing ball or fighting. The win or loss in the former is certain, and the win or loss in the latter is also certain.
…
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Trail Blazers' first preseason game against the Lakers at home kicked off.
Lakers starting lineup: Payton, Kobe, Rick Fox, Malone, O'Neal.
Trail Blazers starting lineup: Damon Stoudemire, Reuben Patterson, Travis Outlaw, Randolph, Rasheed Wallace.
In the team's first game of the new season, Liu Xiu was not the protagonist. He sat on the sidelines and watched others play.
The sense of disappointment that Randolph was worried about Liu Xiu would feel has now come true!
Compared to Randolph at that time, Liu Xiu was better prepared mentally, but this kind of psychological gap was inevitable.
However, as the game started, feeling the manic atmosphere on the scene, Liu Xiu's negative emotions slowly disappeared, and he wanted to play!
Although the Trail Blazers have been gradually declining in recent years, the team's strength has been declining, and the fan support has been getting lower and lower...but if the opponent is the Lakers, it's different, the fans at the scene are very crazy!
Especially the Lakers team. After they won three consecutive championships from the 1999-00 season to the 2001-02 season, no matter where they played away games, there would always be a bunch of fans grabbing away tickets and cheering for them on the road... It even caused a post-match brawl among fans at the TD Garden, which stimulated the Trail Blazers fans. The louder the cheers for the Lakers players from the Lakers fans who came, the more violent the boos from the fans at the scene.
Even the enthusiasm for their own team was picked up by the Trail Blazers fans tonight. The fans' enthusiastic cheers brought great encouragement to the players!
This made Liu Xiu, who was about to step onto the real NBA stage for the first time, feel excited. The fighting spirit on his face even infected his teammates sitting next to him!
The Trail Blazers are an interesting team. You can't even say that there is discord within the team. The relationship within the team can be described as chaotic. However, on the court, everyone works very hard.
Moreover, no matter what kind of conflicts there are off the court, even if it comes to the point where a fight is necessary, on the court, neither will deny the other's strength.
This is due to Maurice Cheeks' unique coaching style...
Liu Xiu is not a likable person in the team, but he has not done anything really bad. Liu Xiu's passionate fighting spirit has made some teammates realize that this rookie is not as lazy as he looks. At least on the court, this rookie should be quite motivated.
The reason why the league arranged the Trail Blazers as the opponent for the debut of the Lakers' Big Four is because the stars of the Trail Blazers are a perfect match for the Lakers!
The strongest opponent the OK combination faced when they won their first championship was the Trail Blazers of that year.
If you change to another team, you might be directly scared by the four superstars of the Lakers.
It is indeed very likely given that the Lakers' Big Four have not played a single game yet.
Kobe Bryant played in all the games in the 02-03 season, averaging 30 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, and was selected to the first team.
O'Neal played 67 games in the 02-03 season, averaging 27.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, and was selected to the first team and second defense.
Payton played 80 games in the 02-03 season, averaging 20.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was an All-Star.
Malone played 81 games in the 02-03 season, averaging 20.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
The combined scoring average of the four of them last season ranked sixth in the league!
When the Zen Master coaches a weak lineup, he will only use the stars to their full potential.
But coaching a lineup of superstars is really amazing.
Before the start of the season, although the Lakers F4 was highly praised, there was one saying that remained popular - the Lakers might be experiencing a lack of coordination.
Because neither Payton nor Kobe are good at pick-and-roll.
In the first preseason game, this problem doesn't seem to be a problem...
In later generations, some people criticized this lineup for its internal strife, some criticized Kobe for disrespecting veterans, some criticized Malone for molesting his teammates' wives, and some criticized Payton for not wanting to humble himself because of his personal grudge with Kobe...but no one really said that their lineup did not play well or had poor coordination.
However, even though the Lakers' lineup looks terrifying, there is not much problem in running-in. The Lakers stars played very well in the first preseason game... But the Trail Blazers did not back down and fought back and forth with the Lakers!
Randolph was not afraid of O'Neal's iron elbow and rushed forward actively.
Rasheed Wallace, who is usually not active in defense, had an eye-catching performance in the low post defense tonight. After Dale Davis replaced Randolph, Rasheed Wallace and Dale Davis strangled O'Neal in a singles.
But the Lakers are really strong. After the first quarter, the Trail Blazers were 19 to 23, 4 points behind the Lakers.
The Trail Blazers held on to the situation, relying not on offense but on defense, physical combat, and confrontation... It was like this from the beginning. Therefore, Travis Outlaw, who was a rookie like Liu Xiu but got the chance to start, was replaced after only playing for a few minutes at the beginning.
At the start of the second quarter, Liu Xiu was still not substituted.
Although a little depressed, Liu Xiu still sat obediently on the bench, watching his teammates on the field struggling against the Lakers.
Only by focusing on the game itself can Liu Xiu better avoid the blow to his morale caused by not being able to play.
It was obvious that the Trail Blazers' disadvantage became even greater after the start of the second quarter.
The Lakers gave people a very casual feeling at the beginning. It was only after playing for a few minutes and feeling the rough confrontation and fierce style of play of the Trail Blazers that they started to play seriously. Even then, the Trail Blazers could not hold on.
In the second quarter, the Lakers' physical movements became more intense.
If it weren't for Maurice Cheeks' timely adjustment, replacing Randolph and Damon Stoudemire during the 3:14 timeout in the second quarter, the score difference would have been widened to double digits with Randolph's wild shots and 8-4 rush.
At the official timeout in the second quarter, the score was 31 to 38, a difference of 7 points.
Once again, the official timeout has begun and Liu Xiu is ready to sit on the bench in the first preseason game.
In the first half of the game, except for Travis Outlaw, all the players on the court were old players of the Trail Blazers last season.
The inside rotation is directly a trio of Randolph, Rasheed Wallace and Dale Davis.
Unlike what they expected, the Trail Blazers needed to win this game! Even if they didn't win, they had to show their spirit and make a good start for the new season.
Liu Xiu didn't know why this happened. Perhaps, in the original time and space, the Trail Blazers' opening opponent this season was not the Lakers?
Anyway, this is the current situation, and Liu Xiu chose to accept it.
But... just as the official timeout began, Liu Xiu's name was called by Maurice Cheeks.
"Healing value +33, from Jeff McGinnis."
"Healing value +47, from Damon Stoudemire."
"Healing value +11, from Derek Anderson."
Before he could be surprised, Liu Xiu heard Maurice Cheeks' question: "Jace, your teammates are playing very differently than usual, right?"
When Liu Xiu heard this, he thought of Randolph, Rasheed Wallace, and Dale Davis, who were like ferocious beasts when facing Malone and O'Neal on the court. He didn't think anything of it when watching the game, but now thinking back, they were really ferocious!
Without waiting for Liu Xiu to answer, Maurice Cheeks continued to ask: "In these few dozen minutes, have you understood how your teammates play?"
Liu Xiu nodded.
Maurice Cheeks also nodded, without asking any more questions, and made personnel adjustments and tactical arrangements. Liu Xiu, Reuben Patterson, Wesley Person, Randolph, and Dale Davis were substituted in!
…
Liu Xiu tried hard to calm down and walked onto the court.
What a surprise! He was ready to sit on the bench for this game!
However, the moment he stepped onto the court, his mood quickly calmed down, and his face unconsciously showed the fighting spirit for the upcoming game.
There were bursts of booing from the audience, and they came from the Trail Blazers fans, but Liu Xiu didn't care.
If they had known this would happen, Bonzi Wells would have traded him, and Trail Blazers fans were very unhappy.
After calming down, Liu Xiu immediately thought of the reason why Damon Stoudemire, who seemed to have played well just now, was substituted - he made only 1 of 4 shots!
With Randolph's offensive rebounding explosion this time, Damon Stoudemire had the opportunity to pass to the wing, but he chose to do it himself.
Just now, the Lakers made a mistake in their offense and the ball went out of bounds. After the timeout, the Trail Blazers attacked. When Liu Xiu received the serve and pushed forward, he had already drawn up the offensive route map for the next attack in his mind.
On the other side, the Lakers players on the court were Fisher, Kobe, Devin George, Horace Grant, and O'Neal.
Fisher was quite surprised to see the other team replacing a rookie point guard at this time. On the Lakers side, the Zen Master wanted to establish an advantage in the first half, so he replaced the team with a more familiar lineup for critical moments. The Trail Blazers were obviously the team that started the "battle" earlier, but they actually sent out a rookie point guard at this time.
but……
This means that his chance to bully the weak has come! How rare!
When Liu Xiu advanced to the three-point line, Fisher pressed forward immediately and made a pressure steal... Seeing Fisher pressing forward so uncalmly, Liu Xiu did not dodge. He dribbled away from Fisher's hand, pressed forward actively, took the lead in gaining a half-body advantage, and crushed Fisher to advance to the three-point line!
Liu Xiu didn't expect Fisher to defend like this, but when the opportunity came, he naturally had to fight... Kobe is here too!
Liu Xiu didn't think too much about it. He saw Kobe coming over and reacted immediately by passing the ball!
Wesley Person received the ball and shot a three-pointer ... It was a good opportunity, but unfortunately it didn't go in and the ball bounced high!
When Wesley Person received the ball and shot, O'Neal, Dale Davis and Randolph had already started fighting under the basket.
