am i proud?

Chapter 194 The opening game is a stepping stone?

On September 9, all members of the Pistons arrived for training. Previously, in the summer league in July, Boozer and Okur performed very well. One averaged 20+7 per game, and the other averaged 20 three-pointers per game.

Don't look at Okur's big and thick, he is not exactly a meat shield center, he is a long-range high-speed turret that can fire outside the three-point line, which is very rare in this era!

Not to mention Boozer... Originally, there were only 10 players in his rookie class who averaged more than 7 points per game in the first season, and he was one of them, and his average playing time was the least among these 7 players.

If you only talk about his rookie season's immediate combat power, Boozer is indeed much better than Prince, but it's a pity that this guy's character is not good, otherwise he wouldn't get the nickname "Rebel Boy".

Fortunately, his "rebellion" is a few years later, and now he does not have the opportunity to perform this scene.

After the players practiced together for a few days, Carlisle specifically discussed with Big Ben, Wang Dalin and Hamilton. He decided to let the three of them play only one quarter per game in the preseason, and let the new players play as many games as possible.

Especially the starting point guard McGinnis, the first center substitute Okur, and the first power forward substitute Boozer. These three are very capable and must work with the team more.

And Big Ben just finished playing in the Men's Basketball World Championships, so he definitely needs to rest more... If he hadn't had to get in touch with the new players as much as possible, Carlisle even wanted him to stop playing in the preseason.

So the defending champion played very mediocre in the preseason, winning and losing half of the 6 games.

On October 10, the 29-2002 NBA regular season officially kicked off. There were only three games on the first day of the opening game, namely the Spurs vs. Lakers, 2003ers vs. Magic, and Cavaliers vs. Kings.

Five of these six teams were strong teams in the playoffs last season, especially the Lakers were still the "general runner-up", so the attention of fans is still very high.

Due to O'Neal's absence due to injury, the Lakers can only rely on Kobe to provoke the team's mainstay. He struggled in this game and only hit 29 goals in 9 shots, including 2 of 1 three-pointers.

Bryant's shooting touch couldn't be more iron, and he only made 12 of 8 shots from the free throw line, and his 66.7% shooting rate was significantly lower than his usual level.

The performance of the rest of the Lakers is also very hip. Apart from Kobe, they only have Stanislav Medvedenko and Devin George scoring in double figures.

If it weren't for the Lakers' defensive strength at the playoff level, it is estimated that they would have been beaten by the Spurs long ago, but defense alone is still not enough. In the end, they regrettably lost 82:87.

Tim Duncan on the Spurs side is also amazingly iron, and he only made 14 of 3 shots... In the impression of many fans, "Stone Buddha" seems to have never been so iron, right?
But he is not the most iron, "French sports car" Tony. Parker made 10 of 0 shots in the game and scored 2 points only by free throws.

再看看吉诺比利，“潘帕斯雄鹰”替补上场20分钟，9投3中得到7分2篮板3助攻4抢断1盖帽，他的NBA首秀还真是不错。

The Kings won the Cavaliers without bloodshed, and the strength gap between the two sides is indeed too great.

骑士队的新科状元杰伊.威廉姆斯上场33分钟，9投6中得到13分7篮板7助攻1抢断，他的表现不愧自己的状元之名……可惜队友太拉胯，而且国王队太强了！

However, the No. 5 pick still has flaws. He made [-] free throws and didn't make any of them... Just one game has exposed his biggest weakness.

In the original time and space, Jay Williams' free throws were indeed inaccurate. His career free throw percentage was only 64%, which is really not like the free throw percentage of outside players.

The game between the 76ers and the Magic was very intense.

尤其是休赛期刚加盟76人队的小前锋基斯.范霍恩，他全场15投6中外加罚球11投7中，得到19分10篮板2助攻2抢断。

In addition, Aaron McGee also had outstanding contributions of 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

不过球队老大阿伦.艾弗森明显手感冰凉，他全场25次出手仅命中7球，而且三分线外3投全失，加上罚球也只得到18分3篮板4助攻2抢断。

魔术队老大麦迪的表现就猛多了，他全场24投13中，其中三分球5投2中，罚球5投3中，砍下31分4篮板5助攻4盖帽。

The Magic also had a former superstar Grant Hill. He performed very well in this game. He made 10 of 5 shots and 9 of 8 free throws. He scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists efficiently.

If it weren't for the damn injury, the Magic's striker duo would have a chance to become one of the strongest duos in history... Both of them have talents that are enviable to the world, but it is a pity that they have not been able to fully realize their talents.

In the end, the Magic defeated the 95ers 88:76 and won their first victory of the new season.

On October 10, the league has scheduled 30 games, among which the game between the Pistons and the Knicks is particularly eye-catching.

During the Pistons offseason, the core point guard Billups first left the team, followed by the three rotation players Gates, Cardinal, and Alexander.

Rioku and Boozer did perform well in the preseason, but it was only a preseason after all, and these two rookies still had to prove themselves on the court in the regular season.

Moreover, the team's main center, Big Ben, participated in this year's Men's Basketball World Championships, and did not get enough rest. His state in the preseason was somewhat sluggish. The team's boss Wang Dalin only played about 10 minutes per game in the preseason, which was completely paddling.

Can you imagine that last season's FMVP averaged only 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists... This is the answer sheet Wang Dalin handed in in the preseason!
Many reporters speculated that Wang Dalin's injury hadn't completely healed at all, so he played quite conservatively in the game and didn't even dare to do any drastic moves.

Before the Pistons' opening game, the home team first held the awarding ceremony of the championship ring.

Wang Dalin and his teammates all received their own rings. This ring used a lot of platinum and diamonds. The color, team badge and championship trophy complement each other. Not only is it expensive, but it also looks amazing.

All the Pistons players were full of excitement. Most of them had worked hard for this ring for a whole season. Now that they can wear the ring on their hands, they all feel that their wishes have been fulfilled.

However, Wang Dalin, Hamilton and Da Ben obviously had natural expressions on their faces. Obviously they are not satisfied with only one ring...they will win more in the future!
……

The game finally started. The Pistons' starting five were point guard Jeff McGinnis, shooting guard Richard Hamilton, small forward Wang Dalin, power forward Clifford Robinson, and center Ben Wallace.

For the Knicks, the five starters are point guard Charlie Ward, shooting guard Alan Houston, small forward Shandon Anderson, power forward Kurt Thomas, and center Osella Harnington.

Harnington is 206cm tall, and he is obviously taller when he stands next to the same "height 206cm" Da Ben, but Daben won the jump ball.

(Big Ben: I said earlier that my height is 206cm, everyone has seen it, he can't jump me at all!)
McGinnis dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, Wang Dalin was defended by Anderson, and the opponent made a lot of tricks... He didn't continue to pester Anderson, and ran directly outside the three-point line to receive the ball.

Anderson settled into a defensive position, about one meter away from Wang Dalin.

He obviously made a defensive mistake this time... If he was in front of Michael Jordan, he would have no problem even stepping back a bit, but in front of him was Wang Dalin, the most accurate three-pointer in the league last season!
Speaking of Shanton Anderson, how many fans still remember the scene when he wore the same hairstyle as Akira Shindo and followed the Jazz's second elder brother against Michael Jordan?
In fact, he can be regarded as an excellent perimeter defensive engineer in the league, and he also has a three-pointer on the offensive end, and he is quite accomplished in breaking through and scoring.

How could Knicks head coach Don Cheney have arranged for him to defend Wang Dalin if he hadn't made a move?
After Wang Dalin received the ball, he froze for a moment... Fuck, what kind of operation is this?Do you look down on my long-range shooting skills so much?

So he took the shot without hesitation... Anderson only had time to jump forward. With his height of 198cm and relatively short wingspan, he basically did not interfere with Wang Dalin's shooting.

With a sound of "shua", the basketball entered the frame, and the Pistons hit a three-pointer on the first attack in the opening game.

The Knicks didn't panic, they were obviously prepared for this situation...it's normal that they can't guard against Wang Dalin, as long as we can score, isn't it all right?
Soon Alan Houston forced the Pistons to switch defenses through the pick-and-roll, and McGinnis hit a mid-range shot in the singles.

Looking back, Wang Dalin broke through Anderson and rushed into the inside lane, jumped high, grabbed the ball with his right hand and swung it round, and it was a one-handed windmill dunk.

This momentum was like a tiger descending the mountain. Harnington, who came to defend, didn't even dare to take off.

After the strength reached 85, Wang Dalin's breakthrough was obviously sharper.

And since September 9, he finally resumed high-intensity training. Over the past month or so, his close-range shots, in-situ dunks, back-up hook shots, mid-range shots, free throws, ball control, passing accuracy, catching ability, blocks, interference shots, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, lateral agility, acceleration and jumping ability have more or less improved, and even his physical strength has increased by 20 point.

Now Wang Dalin finally has the feeling of playing like James in the future... It's so cool to be able to rush in and dunk directly at high speed, isn't it?
The dunk was so domineering that there were two exclamations in the TNT broadcast room.

Barkley, who returned to TNT again, laughed after exclaiming: "Kenny, I knew Darling was paddling in the preseason. His injury must have healed!"

Smith nodded and said: "That's right, to be able to complete such a violent dunk, if anyone dares to say that Darling Wang's injury has not healed, it is purely shit in his head!"

Barkley said with a smile: "Old man, it seems that you don't dare to bet with me today. In Darling's state, I'm sure he can beat the Knicks to pieces!"

Smith hesitated and said: "But the game has just started, isn't it too early for you to draw such a conclusion now? I think you can observe again, the Knicks are not without strength!"

Barkley said with a smile: "Kenny, you haven't been teammates with Darling, so you don't know how terrifying energy this kid has in his body! I must tell you, when he is in such a hot state at the beginning, I have never seen the Pistons lose!"

"Really?" Smith said stubbornly. "But you have to know that Alan Houston is not a vegetarian, and Kurt Thomas. Their combination of inside and outside is very powerful. They definitely have the strength to fight against the Pistons!"

Barkley waved his hand and said, "I'll just put my words here... the Knicks will definitely lose by a big score tonight. If you don't accept it, come and bet!"

Smith blurted out: "Okay, just bet, what's the bet?"

Buckley pointed to the suit on his body and said, "We haven't seen each other for so long, let's start with a smaller bet... I'll bet on taking off my clothes today, and whoever loses will be topless during the next live broadcast. Do you dare?"

Smith breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, this bet is not outrageous! But we still have to reach an agreement... What kind of point difference is considered a 'big score loss'?"

Barkley smiled, "What do you think?"

Smith thought for a moment and asked, "30 points...what do you think?"

Barkley said almost without hesitation: "Okay, just 30 points! Tonight, if the Pistons finally beat the Knicks by 30 points, you will be shirtless when the next game is broadcast live. If you don't reach 30 points, even if it is 29 points, I will live broadcast topless!"

"Okay, it's a deal!"

……

During the period when Barkley and Smith confirmed the bet, Hamilton and McGinnis of the Pistons scored a goal each, but Alan Houston of the Knicks stepped forward and scored two goals in a row, giving an extremely strong response. The score of the two sides came to 9:6, and the Pistons temporarily led by 3 points.

It was the turn of the Pistons to attack again. They succeeded in all four previous offenses, and the players showed a good offensive state.

Using Wang Dalin's cover, McGinnis directly accelerated and broke through Charlie Ward. His height and strength were obviously superior to Ward's.

Thomas hurried over to defend, but he was only trying to delay McInnis's breakthrough, Ward quickly chased back and reposted McInnis.

McGinnis turned his head to look at the moon, Wang Dalin caught the ball from outside the three-point line and shot... again!
In just over three minutes of the game, the Pistons made 5 shots and scored 12 points, of which Wang Dalin scored 8 points alone.

The head coach of the Knicks, Don Cheney, obviously frowned... The Pistons are in such a good state tonight, isn't it normal?
And this Darling-Wang, didn't he just come back from injury?Isn't this too fierce?
Looking back, Allen Houston ran around the screen to catch the ball without the ball. A three-pointer narrowed the difference between the two sides to 3 points, but Hamilton also returned a three-pointer in the same way, and the difference between the two sides was opened to 6 points again.

Although McGinnis has no long-range shooting ability, he is 193cm tall and he does have an advantage against Ward. As long as he can get within the three-point line through the screen, he may end the battle with a pull-up at any time.

McGinnis' completion rate at the basket is 56.9%, which is not a good statistic, but his close-range two-point shooting percentage is 48.5%, mid-range two-point shooting 45.9%, long-distance two-point shooting 40.5%, and the overall shooting percentage within the three-point line has reached 47.2%. This offensive efficiency is not low!
So the Knicks will always have players coming to help Ward defend, and then the Pistons will definitely have opportunities in other positions.

Dumars was able to sign McGinnis, and Carlisle was so satisfied.

After the team lost Billups, he originally thought that the point guard position was the weakest part of the team, but McInnis made up for it perfectly. Of course, he still can't compare with Billups last season, but at least he has [-]% of Billups' strength, right?

For a while, the Pistons' offensive routine was quite similar to that of the previous Jazz. Jeff Niss held the ball and used the pick-and-roll to break through the three-point line. If you help defend, I will pass the ball.

On the Knicks side, Alan Houston experienced a fiery feeling after the opening, and finally the feeling gradually cooled down, but the Pistons' offensive momentum has already picked up.

With Hamilton hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer, the first quarter ended and the Pistons led by 37 points 21:16.

After Wang Dalin scored 8 points in the opening game, he never made another shot. He just frequently set up pick-and-rolls for McInnis. Even if he received the ball, he immediately passed it to a teammate in a better position. After this quarter, he sent out 5 assists.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Big Ben stepped on the foot of the Knicks' backup center Tyrese Knight while fighting for rebounds, and fell to the ground with a sprained ankle on the spot.

Don't look at Da Ben who didn't get up for a long time, but an ankle sprain of this degree shouldn't be a serious problem. Da Ben is obviously acting.

However, it was obvious that Knight was stepping on purpose just now. Wang Dalin was so furious that he rushed forward and pushed him. Knight was pushed back several steps by him.

The players on the field surrounded him, and the referee hurriedly blew his whistle and rushed over... Maybe because he felt that he was in the wrong, Knight quietly hid behind his teammates, and did not have a direct confrontation with Wang Dalin.

"You dirty bastard, you will definitely get what you deserve!"

As the referee quickly separated the players from both sides, Wang Dalin had no choice but to speak harshly at Knight.

The referee did not add fouls to Knight, but Wang Dalin pushed Knight just now and directly let him get a T.

With the help of the team doctor, Daben stood up, limped with his right hand on the team doctor's shoulder and walked back to the locker room... Although the sprain didn't look serious on the surface, it still needed to be checked carefully.

Wang Dalin's face was as cold as ice... "You despicable bastards actually stepped up in the opening match, so don't blame me for being rude!"

　Thanks to "Chen Chen Shen Chen Chen" for the monthly pass encouragement!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)