the rest, only noise

Chapter 940 The battle for the top spot
People who follow the NBA should have a feeling.

It seems that after the All-Star break, those outstanding rookies can always play like star players.

You can often see such words in some teams' season previews describing future stars who are about to enter their second seasons "Last season, after the All-Star break, he averaged... (significantly improved from the season average)".

The same thing happened to Yu Tiancan.

After the holiday, Yu Tiancan, who had been indifferent before, seemed to have adapted to the NBA game. He averaged double figures in 7 consecutive games.

The "New York Times" couldn't help but exaggerately commented: "Sometimes, Yu's role can even be compared to Ewing. When Ewing is sitting on the sidelines, the coaching staff can rest assured inside, because Yu's performance on both offensive and defensive ends is no less than Ewing."

From these evaluations, we can see how unpopular Ewing is.

How did this guy get his reputation like this?
Anyway, pointing to a rookie who eats dumplings in a row and saying that his role is similar to that of the top three centers in the league?
Louis threw cold water at the first time: "This is why I hate the Times. Except for Dave Anderson, I can't see a conscientious media person in this media."

For Louis, the New York media has always dared not speak out.

Before Louis came to New York, he was at odds with them. After coming to New York, many people predicted that the New York media would make Louis achieve nothing in the Knicks.

The power of public opinion is neither big nor small.

But Louie silenced the media with his excellent grades.

A very unequal relationship developed between them.

Louie has long had a condescending attitude toward the media.

It's the same this time.

However, Yu Tiancan's active performance also affected another person.

That is Chinese center Wang Zhizhi of Abraham Lincoln High School.

They are also centers from China, equally talented, and both attended Lincoln High School. Comparing Wang Zhizhi and Yu Tiancan is a common practice in the media.

The result of the comparison is that Wang Zhizhi clearly wins.

Because Yu Tiancan at the same time was just an inconspicuous foreign student.

Before his height skyrocketed, he did not enter the media's attention at all.

On the other hand, Wang Zhizhi is already very strong now.

Although he is only in the ninth grade, he is the inside core of Lincoln High School. He has averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game so far this season.

Some college scouts even compared him to Chicago's hot pepper chicken, Kevin Garnett.

But in terms of style, he is more like Rasheed Wallace in Philadelphia.

A ninth-grade center forward was compared with a super talent that attracted the attention of the United States. This was something Louis could not have imagined before Wang Zhizhi came to the United States.

Looking at it now, perhaps it was Wang Zhizhi's achievements in his previous life that made him underestimate the other party's talent.

Many domestic fans like to compare Wang Zhizhi with the two.

A Scola, a Dirk Nowitzki.

It was not uncommon for Wang Zhizhi to log in to the NBA a few years ago, and the Mavericks had nothing to do with Nowitzki before he retired.

Louis thinks that Wang Zhizhi may only have fulfilled 30% of his talent, but it's fine to compare him with Nowitzki.

Blowing should also pay attention to the basic law.

However, compared with Scola, Louis is very interested.

The same emphasis is on offense and light defense, Scola is helpless, but Wang Zhizhi is slanting his sword.

When Louis was looking for a CBA template for Zhou Qi, he checked all the players in the history of the CBA league and found that the only player who was similar to Zhou Qi was Wang Zhizhi.

In Wang Zhizhi's first professional season, he averaged 3 blocks per game, and then dropped year after year. The invincible Bayi team in the league made him lose the motivation to constantly break through and pursue the limit like the fat man in the Blue Association who can't play.

The most intuitive manifestation is the lowering of his self-requirements.

The defensive end was the peak when he debuted, and has been declining year after year since then. Although the offensive skills are impeccable, how much effort has he spent on these skills?

In the end, the Wang Zhizhi that fans saw in the NBA is an ordinary character who flies a kite on offense and defends an ATM.

Those losses, those mistakes, and those irreparable corruptions can all be made up for in this life.

In addition to paying attention to Wang Zhizhi's performance, the focus of Louis' life is still the NBA.

Kevin McHale finally got permission from the team doctor and attending physician to participate in confrontation training and official games.

The Knicks' roster suddenly had 16 players.

Although Wang Mukong and Matt Steinga have played in the Development League for a long time and do not occupy positions, but now that McHale is going to come back, they must lay off a player.

This candidate was easily selected.

Matt Steinga is the only "parallel importer" that Louie has picked in the 15 years since he entered professional basketball.

The definition of parallel imports does not mean that he has a high ranking.

Rather, Louie "finally" drafted a dud.

Although it was Zhao Yuanzheng's suggestion to choose him, the decision was made by Louis.

Since Zhao Yuanzheng's credit for correct suggestions in the past has been recorded in Louis' name, now that something is wrong, Louis will also be responsible for it.

The Knicks didn't give up on Steganga completely because the contract they signed with him was a non-guaranteed contract.

Therefore, the contract can be terminated at any time.

After the contract with Steganga was terminated, the Knicks signed him to a development contract.

Because of Louie, the Development League came out ten years ahead of schedule.

In addition to the 15 players on the big list, each team also has 8 development player contract places and 4 short-term development player contract places.

These contracts are not included in the salary cap, but the maximum salary cannot exceed 50000 US dollars. When the team encounters a wave of injuries, players from the Development League can be transferred for emergency.

Steganga went to the Development League team under the Knicks. Whether he can return to the Knicks depends on personal struggle and luck.

The state of the Knicks is improving, but the internal problems have not disappeared.

It's just that all the contradictions are cleverly stuck in a sensitive place that is about to erupt but never seems to be erupted by Louis.

Winning can suppress internal conflicts to a certain extent.

Then, the Knicks returned to No. [-] in the Eastern Conference.

After the Heat stayed at the top of the division for 2/3 seasons, they were overtaken by the Knicks.

But on March 3th, the Knicks will start a rematch with the Trail Blazers, and the Heat's opponent is the Timberwolves, the underdog in the West.

Although it is not a head-to-head confrontation, this is also a battle for the top spot.

The Knicks can only continue to rank first in the league if they win the Trail Blazers.

(End of this chapter)