am i proud?

Chapter 171 I, Barkley, Are Back Again
On the morning of March 3th, when the Pistons players were fighting in groups in the training hall, a strong black man walked in from the door and shouted loudly, "Hi... guys, I'm back, I'm so happy to see you!"

Everyone looked at him one after another, and everyone was shocked.

Of course they all know the person who came here. After all, this guy has been famous all over the world more than ten years ago. Everyone in the entire alliance knows everyone. They are surprised...why is this guy so thin?

The person who came was Charles Barkley, one of the 50 greatest stars in NBA history. Since he joined the Pistons more than a month ago, he has been training alone with Cannon Baker, the trainer hired by Dumars for him...Of course, his main task is to lose weight.

Wang Dalin remembers that when he first joined the team, he was completely obese...he is 198cm tall and weighs 142kg, which is more than ten kilograms heavier than the later "fat tiger" Zion Williams!

But the Barkley in front of him has obviously lost a lot of weight. To the naked eye...he is not much fatter than before he retired!
"Hey, look who's here?" Robinson walked up to Barkley with a smile, patted his shoulder and said, "Old man, if you walk in front of reporters like this, I'm sure their jaws will drop!"

Barkley smiled triumphantly: "That's right! Don't even look at who I am, I'm the 'great Sir Charles', how can it be difficult for me to lose weight?"

Carlisle smiled and asked, "Charles, how much weight have you lost now?"

Barkley glanced around at the crowd and asked with a smile, "You really want to know the answer, don't you?"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "Okay, don't be fooled, tell everyone quickly!"

Barkley said with a smile: "Okay, I will satisfy your curiosity. Listen to me, my uncle's current weight is 268 pounds... What's the matter, you can hardly believe it, right?"

It's no wonder that everyone was stunned, because this number is really amazing.

They all know Barkley's weight when he first came to the team to report to the team. At that time, he weighed 315 pounds, which is 142.9 kilograms.

In just over a month now, he has lost 47 pounds, which is more than 21 kilograms!
Wang Dalin is well aware of how difficult it is for a fat person to lose weight, because in his previous life he was a happy fat man, with a height of only 173cm and a weight of 86.5KG.

At that time, he also tried many kinds of weight-loss pills and teas, but he lost a few pounds at the beginning and then quickly rebounded... A lazy and fat nerd, of course he would not exercise to lose weight!

"Charles, how did you do it?" Of course Wang Dalin was curious as to why Barkley lost so much fat so quickly.

Of course he knows the volume of more than 20 kilograms of fat. Barkley has lost such a big lump in just over a month. One can imagine how much his appearance has changed.

Barkley smiled and said, "What's so special about this? Isn't it just a scientific diet and a lot of training!"

What he said was very simple, but Wang Dalin knew that he could do this because he must have undergone extraordinary and cruel training.

How many weight loss centers are there in China in later generations?
Losing more than 20 kilograms in just over a month, what kind of grade is this kind of achievement?
Wang Dalin didn't know, but he knew that this kind of training must be very unbearable for Barkley, a 39-year-old veteran.

Robinson smiled and said, "Charles, you are here today, are you going to practice with us?"

Barkley turned to Carlisle with a smile and said, "Coach, I am now formally applying to join the team's joint training, please approve it!"

Carlisle squinted his eyes and looked at him again, smiled and said: "Okay, I agree, you can join the team to practice together, but I still won't include you in the squad until your weight drops to 265 pounds!"

Barkley said with a smile: "It's only 3 pounds, what a joke, I can reach this goal in a few days at most!"

Carlisle said sternly: "Charles, I warn you, don't engage in those dirty tricks of dehydration, it will definitely not benefit you!"

Barkley said with a smile: "Don't worry, how can I make fun of my body?"

In fact, as Carlisle worried, losing 3 pounds would be very simple for a normal person, as long as you take some drugs that facilitate bowel movements...in fact, laxatives.

Normal people only need to pull up a few times, and it is really easy to lose one or two kilograms.

……

With the addition of Barkley, the group confrontation training in the Pistons suddenly became much more lively.

This guy is a tough guy who has fought all the way since the 80s. Even in training, he will greet his teammates with various small moves.

For a while, the players of the Pistons complained, not to mention young players like Wang Dalin, even a veteran like Robinson couldn't stand Barkley.

"Hey, Charles, what are you doing? Are you pinching my waist?"

"Fuck! Charles, are you serious about this elbow?"

"Mum Hippy! Charles, are you playing ball or people?"

But Barkley smiled contemptuously and said, "What's the name of each one? You bastards, you bastards, you can't even stand my level of confrontation. How can you play in the playoffs?"

To everyone's surprise... this time, Carlisle sided with Barkley.

"Charles is right!" Carlisle said with a serious expression. "Don't think that we can sit back and relax because we played well in the regular season. In the playoffs, you are all far behind! It will be mid-March soon, and we have to prepare for the playoffs!"

Of course, the four brothers Wang Dalin, Da Ben, Hamilton and Billups who were made to complain by Barkley have always been tough.

Especially Daben, the insider pillar, is extremely strong, and he even enjoyed Barkley's little tricks... Sometimes Wang Dalin felt that his "big brother" was a masochist!
On March 3, the Pistons played against the Pacers at home.

Before the game, the outside world generally believed that the Pistons would easily win the game, because the Pacers' current record is only 30 wins and 32 losses, which is far from the Pistons' record of 45 wins and 15 losses. The strength of the two teams is not at the same level.

But the process of the game surprised everyone. The Pacers showed a very strong desire to win from the very beginning. Their offense played brilliantly, and their defensive strength was comparable to that of the playoffs.

O'Neal scored 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in the first half. For a center with mid-range shooting ability like him, Daben was quite awkward in defense... Rather than facing this kind of "soft guy" who floats outside and shoots, he is probably more willing to fight hand-to-hand with O'Neal under the basket.

There is another person on the Pacers who played very well, and that is Ron Artest, who was just traded from the Bulls this season.

There is one thing to say, since joining the Pacers, Artest has played better and better, and has gradually entered the peak of his career.

If there was no brawl that occurred at the "Palace of Auburn Hills" on November 2004, 11, perhaps Artest's career would have been even more brilliant!
When he was at his peak, he was suspended for 73 games, wasting almost an entire season. Even a genius would have to spend a lot of time to get back the feeling of the game, not to mention that Artest is not that kind of genius player.

本场比赛上半场阿泰斯特砍下12分3篮板2助攻，并且送出了3次抢断……其中2次断掉了王大林的球！
The Pistons' starting players all performed abnormally, even Billups who was touched by Wang Dalin on the head... Although "touch your head" is an S-level star skill, when the players themselves are in a slump, the effect of this skill is negligible.

Wang Dalin has no outside touch, and can only rely on breakthroughs to cause damage to the Pacers inside. This is also the reason why he made 3 turnovers in half the game.

If it's just jump shots in the middle and long distances, how can there be so many mistakes?
At the end of the half, the Pacers led the Pistons by 47 points at 40:7... It can be seen from the score that the Pacers adopted the same defensive strategy as the Celtics, and they slowed down the rhythm.

The Pistons can't open the outside line. As long as the Pacers shrink their defense, their offensive efficiency will naturally be very low.

In the third quarter, Wang Dalin's touch improved slightly, and he finally made a three-pointer. This was his fifth shot from outside the three-point line in this game. One can imagine how determined he is tonight.

If his touch can be fully recovered, of course the Pistons may turn the game into victory, but he can only be regarded as promoted from "Ice Shooter" to "Little Blacksmith" in the second half, which is far from enough!
Wang Dalin's performance was sluggish, and "second brother" Billups was even more sluggish than him. This guy only made 17 of 3 shots in the game, and there was no sign of being touched at all.

Only Hamilton is slightly better on the Pistons side, but his shooting percentage is not high, only 12 of 5 shots in the game.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the Pacers suddenly speeded up, and the Pistons were caught off guard for a while. Not only did they fail to seize the opportunity to increase the pace of the game to play their iconic quick counterattack, but they were hit by the Pacers. In the last 4 minutes, Carlisle saw that the situation was over and had to replace all the main players.

100:89, just looking at the score, it seems that the Pistons didn't lose too badly. In fact, the Pacers had no intention of fighting in the last garbage time, otherwise they would definitely lose more than 16 points.

The Pistons finally lost!

Their winning streak stopped at 16 games!
Perhaps for the Pistons, this is just an ordinary loss, but for the media, this is a major news worthy of a special book.

Overwhelming reports swept across the United States for a while, and the major media hyped the Pistons' 16-game winning streak... This is the sixth-longest winning streak in NBA history, and it is certainly worthy of their hype!

After the loss, the Pistons players seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden, and they soon won again in the game against the Cavaliers at home on March 3.

这场比赛王大林打得非常积极，他里突外投全场19投11中，其中三分球7投3中，罚球8投6中，砍下31分的同时还送出了11个篮板、7次助攻、1次抢断和1个盖帽。

After the touch returned to normal, Wang Dalin was so puzzled that the Cavaliers double-teamed him in the second half, but it still didn't help... Wang Dalin's height, even in double-teams, can always pass the ball to open teammates.

On March 3, the Pistons played against the Jazz at home.

For the Jazz Carlisle, don't dare to take it lightly. Don't look at their performance this season, but if you underestimate them because of this, you will probably be punished by them!

卡尔.马龙依旧老当益壮，截至到现在他场均可以轰出22.9分8.7篮板4.4助攻1.9抢断0.8盖帽，投篮命中率45%，罚球命中率80%。

Of course, this performance cannot be compared with his peak period, but he can still be regarded as a top ten inside player in the league this season.

A veteran who is about to turn 39 years old can still play close to 20+10+5 per game, which in itself deserves everyone's respect...Of course, it's just about his skills, not his character.

约翰.斯托克顿本赛季至今场均可以送出12.4分3.1篮板7.9助攻1.8抢断，投篮命中率高达49.9%。

You must know that this guy is older than Jordan, and he will be 11 years old in 40 days... Such a white player is short in stature and not fast, but he can occupy the two lists of NBA history in assists and steals. Many people will wonder how he did it?
Even Wang Dalin didn't know the answer, because when he started watching NBA games in his early years, he didn't pay much attention to this legendary point guard.

Maybe it's because Stockton's style of play is so unpretentious that many fans completely ignore his existence, and suddenly realize when they look at the data... This guy turned out to be the history of assists and steals?

Wang Dalin is more concerned about Stockton's shooting choices this season. As a small guard, his shooting percentage can reach 49.9%, which is quite difficult!
This season, Wang Dalin's shooting percentage is just over 50%. He is almost the most accurate shooting small forward in the entire league!

It is conceivable how reasonable Stockton's shot selection is this season. He should be the perfect template in Zhang's mind, right?

"Utah's two elders" are still old no matter what, but this season the Jazz has a strong new force, and he is Andrei Kirilenko from the fighting nation!

In fact, as early as 1999, the Jazz selected him with the No.20 fourth pick in the first round, but because of the buyout fee and other messy things, he didn't officially land in the NBA until this season.

本赛季基里连科场均上场时间只有25分钟，可以贡献出10分4.8篮板1.1助攻1.4抢断1.9盖帽，他在防守端完全就是个大杀器！
Many defensive players can't reflect their value in terms of statistics, or some people have good statistics, but they are obviously a brush on the court... Marcus Camby: Are you talking about me?

基里连科和他们都不一样，因为他是既能打出实质效果又能兼具亮眼数据的那一类……换算一下吧，把他的场均上场时间增加到36分钟的话，他的数据就会变成15.2分7.3篮板1.7助攻2.1抢断2.9盖帽。

Looking at it this way...it's really almost the same as his peak data!
From this perspective, Kirilenko should also be regarded as "the rookie is the pinnacle". His rookie season data is not impressive enough purely because of too little playing time.

At 3:15 on the evening of March 19th, the game between the Pistons and the Jazz started as scheduled.

The league arranged for a nationwide live broadcast of this game... Due to someone's sudden comeback, TNT had no choice but to invite "Big Bird" Larry Bird, who is currently idle at home, to partner with Smith.

"Larry, which side of them do you prefer?"

"What else is there to choose? Of course I am more optimistic about the Pistons!"

"But Karl and John are still very powerful. You fought against both of them back then, so you should be very clear about this, right?"

"Really? Why don't I think how powerful they are...Well, it should be because I am too strong, so they can only be embarrassed every time they meet me, right?"

"Hmm... so... what do you think of Darling-Wang? I remember you personally presented the award to him during the All-Star Weekend this year!"

"I like Darling Wang very much. He is very capable, just like me back then. The only shortcoming is that his personality is too low-key, which is far behind me! Hahahaha..."

"So what do you think of my original partner? We already know that the Pistons have included him in the game tonight. It seems that he has a chance to make an appearance tonight!"

"You mean Charles? Hehe, to be honest, I'm surprised that he actually managed to lose weight, but his current state should not meet the standard for playing. I heard that he still weighs 265 pounds, which is 15 pounds heavier than before he retired!"

"I don't think so, are you interested in making a bet?"

"Hehe, Kenny, are you infected by Charles? When did you become so fond of gambling? I remember you weren't like this before?"

"Hehe, you're so accurate, I was infected by that guy Charles... Don't talk about these useless things, just say whether you dare to bet or not?"

"What dare I, Larry Bird, dare not? Tell me, how do you bet?"

"If Charles can play tonight, you will lose a championship ring to me. If he doesn't play, I will also lose a championship ring to you. How about it?"

"Hey... are you all betting so big now? The championship ring is also used to bet?"

"Hehe, don't make such a fuss, this is just my daily operation with Charles!"

"Damn it! I took YOU! ... Well, I agree, isn't it just a bet on the championship ring? I have a lot of this stuff!"

……

After the start of the game, the Pistons immediately played a mercury-like offense.

In response to this situation, the Jazz began to shrink their formation to defend against the Pistons' breakthroughs, but Wang Dalin, Billups and Hamilton frequently fired shots from the outside, which made the Jazz feel a bit overwhelmed for a while.

Facing a team like the Pistons with accurate outside shots, the old coach Jerry Sloan's defensive method of shrinking formation is obviously useless.

The reason why the Jazz were able to succeed is that they relied on the offensive and defensive system tailored for them by Jerry Sloan. Therefore, they were able to make the playoffs every year and competed with the Bulls for the championship twice.

But in recent years, they have always failed in the playoffs, and it is precisely because of Jerry Sloan's offensive and defensive system... No matter how strong the tactics are, they are not invincible. The old man Sloan is stubborn and does not think about flexibility, so he can only swallow the bitter fruit of not being crowned for life.

At the beginning of the second half, the Jazz set off a wave of strong counterattacks. It was not Malone or Stockton who led them to charge, but the 21-year-old Kirilenko.

In the third quarter, Kirilenko frequently hit the inside of the Pistons and hit two jumpers on the wing.

他单节7投5中，外加罚球4投4中，砍下14分5篮板2助攻2抢断1盖帽，表现堪称炸裂。

However, Wang Dalin was not to be outdone and scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter. Relying on his strong performance, the Pistons finally withstood the Jazz's counterattack.

At the final stage, Coach Sloan saw that the situation was over, so he withdrew all the main players and surrendered.

At the same time, Carlisle also replaced all the main players and replaced them with a bunch of bench players... Well, one of the "bench players" is a bit famous!
Barkley finally set foot on the court floor after two years, what a beauty in my heart!
Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he ran to the camera with a big grin and said, "Kenny, have you seen it? Not only can I sign with the Pistons, but now I can play. Are you full of envy and hatred?"

Bird and Smith couldn't help being speechless for a while, and could only let out dry laughter of "hehe".

Barkley then raised his left hand and shook it in front of the camera, and said with a smile: "Kenny, I'm playing with your two rings, don't you feel honored too?"

Bird was furious and said to Smith, "Well, you kid, how dare you play the 'empty glove white wolf' trick with me? Charles won both of your rings, what are you betting on?"

Smith laughed and said, "Don't be angry, Larry...Don't worry about whether I'm an 'empty glove wolf', just say whether you lost this bet? Are you trying to renege on your debt?"

Bird was speechless for a while, and said after a while: "Okay, I will lose this time! You boy, remember to me, I will win the ring back sooner or later!"

Smith smiled and said, "Hahahaha...Okay, I will definitely give you a chance to win back, but now you have to cash in on your bet, remember to bring the ring next time you come to the live broadcast room!"

Bird: "I... I bought a watch last year!"

……

Barkley showed off in front of the camera for a long time, until the referee called him for the second time, and then hurried into the court.

He came to his defensive position with his hands on his hips, and watched the Jazz players slowly advance to the frontcourt. He couldn't help but burst into pride, and shouted on the spot: "The unknown men of the Jazz team on the opposite side, come here, I, Sir Charles, am back!"

　Thanks for the monthly ticket encouragement from "Maple Juan @火尚"!
　　Lao Wang went to get the new crown vaccine this morning. After he came back, he felt dizzy and wanted to sleep, but he still insisted on writing this chapter... I really can’t hold on anymore. I will sleep for a while and see the situation at night. If I still feel uncomfortable, I will only have this update today. I am really very sorry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)