Reborn NBA Gao Fushuai

Leaving Dallas, sitting on the team bus, the atmosphere seemed very depressing. They didn't beat a strong opponent at all, and everyone seemed to be preoccupied with the joy after winning a victory.

The quarrel between Kobe and Vujacic in the locker room wiped out all the good mood after winning the game. Although most of them were on Kobe's side, they also knew that if Kobe and Vujacic's If the conflict continues like this, then only the team's performance will be affected.

Kobe wore a headset, closed his eyes, and looked very quiet, but his ever-changing expression clearly told everyone that he was not asleep.

In contrast, Vujacic was about to relax a lot. He fell asleep shortly after getting in the car, as if nothing happened just now. Now he just wants to seize all the time to rest and let his body Relax your body and nerves, and at the same time restore your physical fitness as soon as possible.

In the regular season of the new season, the Lakers' first back-to-back opponent is the New Orleans Hornets. This team is a product of the NBA's expansion in 1987, but their name was still the Charlotte Hornets at that time.

At the beginning of entering the NBA, the Hornets had a poor record like other novice teams. Until 1991 and 1992, the Hornets selected Larry Johnson and Mourning consecutively. However, in the 1992/1995 season, the Hornets lost these two powerful stars at the same time, and also lost the opportunity to enter the playoffs again.

Later, the joining of Glenn Rice made the Hornets regain their leadership in the Eastern Conference. In the 1996/1997 season, the Hornets created the best record in team history with 54 wins and 28 losses. The core Glenn Rice even played in the All-Star Game. In terms of performance, Michael Jordan, the god of basketball, became the most valuable player. His single-season average of 26.8 points per game ranked third in the league.

In the 1997/1998 season, Rice led the Hornets to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Although they lost to the Bulls, they made two victories at the United Center Arena in Chicago, which made the Bulls a false alarm.

But the excellent performance of the Hornets was short-lived. In the 1998/1999 season, the Hornets suffered successive losses. Center Divac went to the Sacramento Kings, and Glenn Rice went to the Los Angeles Lakers. Ernes died unexpectedly again, and the Hornets experienced the most difficult period, but the Hornets miraculously won 16 of the last 14 games in the regular season and finally entered the playoffs, but it didn't help.

In the 2000/2001 season, the Hornets ushered in the opportunity to rise again. Mashburn and PJ. Brown came to the Hornets and became the new core of the team. Young players Baron Davis, Eddie Robinson and Mag Leuer and Hornets veterans Wesley and Campbell together formed the Hornets lineup. That season, the Hornets were only one step away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the 2001/2002 season, with Mashburn injured, Baron Davis became the new core of the team. The Hornets entered the playoffs and defeated the team led by Tracy McGrady 3:1 in the first round of the playoffs. Orlando Magic, Baron Davis became the fifth player in NBA history to hit consecutive triple-doubles in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Hornets were eliminated by the Nets in the second round.

The 2002/2003 season was a critical page in the history of the Hornets. They chose to move out of Charlotte and came to New O'Neal. In their new home, they had a fabulous start. In the first game against the Jazz, they Winning by a big score, the season started with an 11-game winning streak at home. However, due to injuries, the Hornets had a mediocre record and finally entered the playoffs as the fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, they lost to the Philadelphia 2ers 4-76 in the first round .

Last season was the last time the Hornets appeared as an Eastern Conference team. Davis and Magloire became the most dynamic "duo". When they met the Heat, both teams won at home, but it was a pity that the Hornets lost again with 3:4.

In the new season, the Hornets can be said to have a bad start. Mashburn was injured again and was basically reimbursed for the season. The Hornets were relegated to the West because the Bobcats from their hometown started to play in the NBA. In the highly competitive West, the Hornets want to advance The playoffs, obviously, are very difficult.

How the Hornets will perform in the first season after being assigned to the Western Conference will test the coaching ability of head coach Scott. Scott changed from a player to a coach. Before that, he played in the NBA for 14 years, won three championship trophies with the Lakers, and was a personal participant of the famous "Show Time" of the Lakers.

Before Scott came to the Hornets, he worked as a coach for the Nets for three and a half years, with a coaching record of 149 wins and 139 losses. Before he coached the Nets, the Nets ranked fourth from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. The team became a strong contender for the championship and led the team to the finals twice.

It's just that in the two finals, he lost to the Lakers once and the Spurs once. Later, he was fired by the team's management because of conflicts with Kidd. Now he needs to start again with the Hornets.

In terms of players, the head star is undoubtedly the shooting guard Baron Davis, who was picked in the 1999 NBA draft and has gradually grown into the backbone of the Hornets. He can be said to be the fastest player in the NBA. Even Iverson He and Kobe, and now Vujacic, are ashamed of themselves in front of him, but speed can't solve all problems, and height has become his bottleneck, preventing him from becoming a super player.

The second leader is the team's power forward PJ. Brown, a very good defensive inside player, who has excellent performance in setting screens, pulling off the ball, and other details. On the offensive end, he has a good low position Offensive ability, of course, is not only in the low post. Like Uncle Huo, Brown also has precise mid-range shooting skills. In the 2000/2001 season, he joined the Charlotte Hornets at the time and quickly became an indispensable part of the team. main players.

Center Magloire has made rapid progress in recent seasons. When he first joined the Hornets in 2001, he averaged only 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. After all, he has become the absolute main center of the Hornets last season. His physical fitness is very good, and his ability to control rebounds often makes people associate him with Rodman. At the same time, he also has a very good low-post shooting ability. .

Point guard David Wesley, in the Hornets, he has always been the absolute main force, and his position cannot be shaken, which shows his importance in the team. Vujacic’s influence on Wesley is mostly due to his role in the Rockets At that time, but at that time, he had completely become a pure outside shooter, but now, Wesley in the Hornets is an all-powerful star player, so on the court, he can create opportunities for himself by relying on With jump shots, layups, and fast breaks, the shots are very accurate.The perimeter combination with chubby Baron Davis is also a smash hit in the East, and he also has good passes and assists. He is a player who plays with his brain.

The main lineup of the Hornets is not luxurious, but it is absolutely practical, and once they are in shape, few teams can control them to score.

In addition to the main force, the Hornets' bench lineup is also worth looking forward to. Although there are no stars, there is absolutely no suspicion of making up the numbers.

Chris Anderson, nicknamed "Birdman", has a super jumping ability. He also participated in the slam dunk contest in the 2004 All-Star Game. He can play power forward and center. He was a very important player for the Nuggets last season. The inside substitute player has played for the Hornets before, and this time he has entered the palace for the second time.

Armstrong, since he entered the NBA in 94, Armstrong has been playing for the Magic until he switched to the Hornets last season. The 36-year-old Armstrong has rich experience and is the kind of point guard who puts the team first.

JR. Smith, the rookie selected by the Hornets this season, the Hornets' uniform team seems to have a unique vision in selecting rookies. Vujacic clearly remembers that JR. Smith will also win the best sixth man once in the future. Excellent, full of impact, super athletic talent, but corresponding to his talent is his brainless life, he is in trouble almost every second, he is a famous bad boy in NBA.

David West, a second-year student of the Hornets. In the 2003 draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected David West with the 18th pick. For a while, there were boos all over the scene, even overshadowing Applause, it's like the Indiana Pacers chose Reggie Miller with the 10th overall pick. People don't know what's the use of choosing a scrawny pure shooter. Similarly, people don't know that the Hornets choose this ball. The wind is simple and unpretentious, with a somewhat paralyzed face, what are the shy and restrained seniors doing here.

Indeed, West was very dull in the draft, so dull that he looked like a bystander.

In his rookie season, West did not disappoint the media who laughed at him. 4 points and 4 rebounds seemed to be a standard soy sauce statistic. They began to bombard the Hornets' original choice, questioning West's ability, ridicule, irony, all came.

If things go on like this, then West is a bland, cookie-cutter NBA player.

However, after a person arrived, all the comments about him changed. Everyone knew that "a person" referred to Chris Paul.

West is the kind of big man who needs the ability to grasp the rhythm of the game and has a selfless point guard. It's a pity that the Hornets don't have such a person now, and West's ability is naturally unable to be used.

After Paul arrived, West's scoring average suddenly rose to 17 points, and his shooting percentage was not too much, exceeding [-]%. Some people say that West is to Paul, just like Malone is to Stockton , Boozer is to Deron, without Paul, an academic boy, West's data is bound to be bleak, and he can only become a substitute.

However, if you think that under the bright appearance of West's bright data, it is Paul who is helping him as the mastermind behind the scenes, and West is a marionette?Vujacic found this remark ridiculous, extremely ridiculous.

Later, in the glorious seasons of the Hornets, people were praising Paul's performance and how hard he trained, but they forgot West, who was also the core of the Hornets' offense.

The Hornets are nothing without Paul, and the Hornets are nothing without West.

West's CIC can be regarded as the top in the league, and his stable number of appearances and state of ups and downs are admirable.

Of course, West is not without shortcomings. First of all, his height and weight are flawed, his offensive methods are single, and his confrontation is not strong. His style is similar to that of Scola, who later became famous in the Rockets.

But the flaws do not conceal the advantages. West's nimble footwork, outstanding shooting touch, and stability are still very worth looking forward to. Unfortunately, he is still just a small supporting role in the Hornets.

Generally speaking, the strength of the Hornets is not weak, but it is a pity that they were included in the Western Conference this year. Among the Western powers like wolves and tigers, it is more difficult to enter the playoffs than to reach the sky. There is no doubt that The goal of the Hornets this year can only be the playoffs, but even this seems difficult to achieve.

If in the East, with the strength of the Hornets, it is entirely possible to enter the top four. Davis's speed is top-notch, and Magloire has become the most improved center. Weak frontcourt, the joining of "Birdman" Chris and Rogers also enhanced the team's offensive firepower.

The main problem lies in the backcourt. Davis and Wesley are both small players, and neither is particularly suitable to play the team's organizers. The rookie JR. Smith has talent, but unfortunately he is only 19 years old, too young , to take on the heavy responsibility, there is still time to wait, and this guy's head is sick, and he is still in the rookie season. He has only played a few games, and he has conflicts with Scott. Armstrong is a good substitute, but He is already old, and at the age of 36, he cannot play for too long.

Moreover, the Hornets house leak happened overnight rain, Mashburn suffered a knee injury, and was reimbursed for the entire season. Davis was dissatisfied with the Hornets and wanted to switch to another team. Although it failed in the end, the Hornets' morale had been shaken. New coach Scott achieved good results when he was in the Nets, but his ability to manage the army is quite questionable. Kidd's rebellion is the best proof. Such a Hornets team in his hands may hardly have good results.

The Lakers bus drove directly to the entrance of the hotel. As soon as the bus stopped, Vujacic woke up. This kind of ability made Butler who was sitting with him envious.

After entering the hotel and assigning the room, Vujacic threw the salute aside, and then fell asleep. Everything in the outside world has nothing to do with him.

He slept until three o'clock in the afternoon, and Vujacic woke up naturally, took a shower, let his body relax completely, then went downstairs to eat, and waited for his teammates to gather by the way.

But it is obvious that most people do not have such a good mentality as Vujacic. Back-to-back games are a double pressure on the players' body and mentality. Who can really relax and have a good rest after a fight.

Except for the old fritter Divac, everyone else still looked tired. Brian Xiao, who was sorting out the game plan, couldn't help shaking his head when he saw it.

"Man! If they just play like this, I think it's much better to declare surrender directly!" Although Brian Shaw was joking, it was not completely true. Instead of accepting a defeat after more than two hours of competition , It is better to surrender directly to save the players' physical energy.

Jackson is also frowning again and again. He is very dissatisfied with the state of the players. After all, the Lakers are a mature team. They are already very proficient in dealing with back-to-back schedules. Due to the impact of what happened, he didn't adjust his state at all.

But it was too late to say anything at this time. It was impossible for Jackson to punish Vujacic for strict military discipline. He also needed the Slovenian rookie to score on the court and help the team win as much as possible.

After the assembly, the whole team got on the bus and headed towards the home court of the Hornets. In the locker room, Jackson seized the time to hold a short team meeting. What happened last night was not mentioned. What he said There are only a few issues to be aware of in today's game.

Then stepping on the field and warming up, Vujacic still looked out of place, just dribbling and jogging on the sidelines.

"That kid has been completely abandoned by the whole team, and now no one is even willing to talk to him except Caron Butler!"

Jackson looked gloomy: "That's not what I care about, what I care about is whether he can play a role on the court!"

Jackson's expression was clearly insincere.

Brian Xiao curled his lips, and continued: "Dude! Don't hold on, I know you want to kill that brat now, but, buddy! I think we should have prepared earlier, instead of waiting for the team to change It’s a mess, it’s better to hurry up and maximize the interests of the team before he gets into big trouble!”

Although Brian Shaw didn't say what he was going to do, his meaning was already very clear. Since Vujacic refused to accept the key point and couldn't resonate with the core Kobe selected by the Lakers, he simply traded him out to win the Lakers the most. Benefit.

Jackson didn't speak, but fell into deep thought. It was obvious that Brian Shaw's suggestion had reached his heart.