I really play basketball

Chapter 175 Rodman Arrives

Lin Xing returned to the Bay Area with his Ferrari PGONE.

While waiting for the start of the second half of the season, he rubbed his own custom new car.

Because of this new big toy, Lin Xing didn't even drive the boat for the first team training camp back in the Bay Area.

He drove the custom Ferrari straight across the Bay Bridge.

Traveling long distances isn't really counted, but Lin Xing has to admit: the sports car is such a waste of waist!
"It's worse than fighting Charlize Theron for 300 rounds. This car shouldn't be driven too much..."

Why do you think of Theron?
Because after the All-Star Weekend, the Warriors' first game is to play away against the Lakers and Clippers.

Because he would spend two or three days in Los Angeles, Lin Xing called Theron before departure.

As for what was said on the phone? emmm, everything goes without saying...

Just when the Warriors were about to leave Los Angeles, the East of the United States, the Great Lakes District, and Chicago, the city of sin.

At the last moment of the trade deadline, the Bulls completed the deal.

Immediately, they officially announced——

"We've done a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers..."

The opening is the Blazers, Oakland Airport, Lin Xing, who was about to board the plane, looked at the beginning of this paragraph and secretly thought something was wrong.

"Did Otis Thorpe really go to Chicago?"

As a result, he looked down——

"The specific transaction situation is as follows: My team sent Corey Blunt and got Buck Williams from the Trail Blazers."

Lin Xing was stunned when he saw the last name that appeared: "It's actually Buck Williams?"

Aside, Mike Budenholzer, the team's video analyst, also saw the official report.

Hearing Lin Xing's surprise again, he shook his head:
"There's nothing strange about it. Buck Williams is 34 years old. It's not bad to trade him for a young player."

Lin Xing spread his hands, "But the problem is, Otis Thorpe is also 32 years old."

"The 32-year-old is better than the 34-year-old. As far as this season is concerned, Thorpe can still average a double-double per game. What about Buck Williams?"

Hearing what Budenholzer said, Lin Xing felt the same way.

However, Corey Blunt was replaced by Buck Williams, who averaged 9+9 per game this season. It can only be said that the Bulls seized their opportunity.

"Don't worry too much, Buck Williams is old, expecting a 34-year-old veteran to support the inside, the Bulls think too much."

Before boarding the plane, Budenholzer floated this sentence.

Lin Xing also thinks about it. In his previous life, it was the young Langley and the top blue-collar Rodman who supported the Bulls inside.

Now, is a Buck Williams who averages 9+9 per game really enough?
……

No sooner had the deal been completed than Buck Williams arrived in Chicago.

You ask him why so fast?Because the deal was finalized long before the All-Star weekend.

It's just that the two sides spent a lot of time for a second-round pick. The Blazers first asked the Bulls to add an extra second-round pick, but the Bulls firmly refused.

It wasn't until the last moment of the transaction deadline that the Blazers let go.

The main reason is that Buck Williams is too old, that is, the Bulls have too much demand for insiders.

Change the team, let alone the second round, even the young Corey Blunt, the Blazers don't even think about it.

When Buck Williams arrived in Chicago, Danzi also showed up to welcome him and gave him enough respect.

You know, Buck Williams was also an All-Star back then.

At the peak, he averaged 18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, and his debut was the peak.

And, in the late 80s, the Bulls had a chance to get Buck Williams.

It's just that the Bulls had no shortage of insiders at that time, and their bargaining chips were also a lot worse, so they missed it.

In a flash, five or six years have passed, and Buck Williams has reached the end of his career, and the two have become teammates instead.

Whether it is Buck Williams or Danzi, they are very emotional: things are impermanent!

In the Bulls training hall, Danzi held the hand of Buck Williams: "Remember, five or six years ago, we almost became teammates..."

Buck Williams also smiled slightly: "Of course, Mike, I can't forget that time, my dreams were all about wearing a Bulls jersey."

"Now, your wish has come true..."

"Unfortunately, it's too late."

"No, it's not too late, believe me, as long as you join, we have a great chance this season."

No matter when, Danzi looks extremely confident.

Only this time, it will take time to see how far his self-confidence can take them.

Anyway, Lin Xing is not optimistic. It has nothing to do with the era of the insider. It is really a big dream of the past two years.

……

On the trade deadline, the Bulls' deal blew up this originally quiet league.

Although Buck Williams is old, he can be regarded as an above-standard insider.

Some people are worried, and some people think that the Bulls have gone to the doctor in a hurry.

But in any case, the strength of the Bulls has been strengthened.

In the first game after the All-Star break, the Bulls won a clean victory against the Nets, which had abused them before.

Buck Williams had 11 points and 9 rebounds in his debut, which looked mediocre.

But the inside line, his frame protection, and his rebound protection made the Bulls' inside line stunned.

With a qualified helper on the inside, Danzi's shooting on the outside will not be so frightening.

On the whole, a qualified insider will help the Bulls a lot.

One deal, and the Bulls are alive again.

It was also a deal that came alive, and the Rockets.

At the beginning of February, they got the glider and formed a combination of inner and outer double stars.

After that, the Rockets went on a winning streak.

But in fact, during this period of time, the Rockets' winning streak has little to do with the glider.

The main reason is that Dameng became stunned, and his state is not as bad as it was at the beginning of the season.

Reflected in a specific game, it is probably the first game after the All-Star Weekend, the Rockets vs. the Spurs.

面对上将+蒂龙·希尔，大梦掠下37分14个篮板6个助攻2个抢断3个大帽，完虐之。

You know, in the first half of the season, the two teams played against each other once, and the general even slightly suppressed Dameng.

The two games in the first half of the season and the second half of the season, the same opponent, and different results, prove one point——

How terrifying is the big dream of getting back to the status...

In Los Angeles, Lin Xing, who had Charlize Theron in his arms, also noticed the two games between the Bulls and the Rockets.

His feeling is—

"Even if Danzi doesn't retire, these two years should be the two years of the big dream."

……

Back to the Warriors themselves, the first game after the All-Star break.

Facing the Lakers in the playoffs, the Warriors were not upset.

Instead, they suppressed the Lakers and won easily in the end.

林星27分11个篮板12个助攻3个抢断1个大帽，又一个三双到手。

After that, the Clippers fought back-to-back against weak opponents, and Nelson took turns to rest Mullin.

Moreover, when the suspense of the game ended early, Lin Xing only played two and a half quarters.

However, with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals, he still had a triple-double.

Then came the third game, back home, and the Warriors played the Suns again.

Like before the All-Star break, the Suns have been plagued by injuries this season.

In this game, Barkley was not there, only Danny Manning, obviously unable to stop the fiery Warriors.

林星25分14个篮板11个助攻2个抢断2个大帽，继续三双。

In the fourth game, the Warriors continued to fight at home against the Celtics.

In this game, the state of the Warriors team is not very good.

But on the defensive end, they also froze.

So this game turned into a fight with iron, and Lin Xing also seized the opportunity to set a new career high in rebounds.

他掠下22分19个篮板8个助攻3个抢断2个盖帽，虽然连续三双断了。

But 19 rebounds still made Lin Xing feel at ease.

You know, Rodman is coming back soon...

In the fifth game, the Warriors continued to fight at home.

面对开拓者，林星27分15个篮板11个助攻2个抢断3个大帽，重启三双之路。

Lin Xing played perfectly, and the Warriors received another victory because of this.

After this victory, the Warriors won a 7-game winning streak.

The state is hot and continues to rank first in the league.

However, the weak opponents during this period of time are also the key to the Warriors' continuous winning streak.

Therefore, after defeating the Trail Blazers, the Warriors are about to usher in a wave of "home and away games against the Magic, then back-to-back games against the Heat, and finally return to the Bay Area from far away Florida, and play against the Spurs at home", which looks much more difficult.

The first is the Magic. As far as this season is concerned, the Magic can be regarded as one of the top teams in the league.

So far this season, they have a record of 38 wins and 13 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference.

Compared with the Warriors, who are now No. 40 in the league with 10 wins and [-] losses, they are not much worse.

Although last season, the Magic was a strong team with 50 wins in the regular season.

But last season's 50 wins is not considered a top-ranked record in the entire league.

This season, the Magic will play to the end of the season with the current momentum, and they will be one of the teams with the best results.

In the East, only the Knicks can compete with them.

As far as the West is concerned, only the Warriors, Supersonics and Spurs have a record comparable to the Magic.

There is still a huge gap between the top ranks of the league and the middle reaches of the league.

Why has the Magic improved so much this season?simply put--

Last season, the Magic were a Sharks-only team.

All tactics revolve around him. Whether they can win or not depends entirely on whether the Sharks can blow up the opponent's penalty area.

This season, the Magic has become a team of inside and outside Gemini.

Penny has not only grown into an All-Star, but also Danzi's hand-picked successor.

Like the Magic, the combination of internal and external stars, plus a group of high-quality role players is rarely seen in the entire league.

The only one who can compete with the Magic in terms of lineup composition may be the Rockets who have just recently traded the glider.

Several strong first-line teams with top records have more or less problems.

For example, the Warriors, old problems, lack of top insiders.

Don't think that Rodman can solve all the problems. In fact, in the playoffs this year in the previous life, General Rodman couldn't stop Dameng.

The Warriors' inside problems still exist.

Another example is the Supersonics. They are also a lineup composed of internal and external double stars, and they also have a bunch of high-quality role players.

But the problem is, they don't have super giants like Shark and Lin Xing.

Or the Jazz, the same inside and outside double star, Malone can also be called a super giant.

But the problem is that these days, the ability of power forwards to influence the game is far worse than that of centers.

Therefore, this season, the magic is strong, it is really strong.

The original historical line, this season, they reached the finals.

Although it was abused by the Rockets 4-0, after all, the Rockets are also a combination of internal and external double stars plus a bunch of high-quality role players.

Losing to the Rockets is too normal.

Who hasn't lost to the Rockets in the playoffs in the past two years?

The Magic, which is very strong in home and away games, is very important to the Warriors.

Only Lin Xing looked indifferent.

It's not that he underestimates the enemy, nor is he invincible, but——

Lin Xing felt that these two games were not as difficult as he had imagined. Among other things, with Penny, the Warriors would not be able to lose these two games.

Lin Xing doesn't have that much of a psychological advantage in beating others, but he can say: I have never lost before beating pennies!
As for the seemingly unsolvable shark inside...

Emmm, during the two days that the Warriors were waiting for the Magic to challenge, the person the Warriors were waiting for finally came.

It was a training day, and Lin Xing arrived at the training hall early by boat as usual.

As usual, he pushed open the door of the locker room and prepared to change into his training clothes.

As a result, he saw a colorful man.

"Dennis... Rodman?"

Lin Xing was stunned for a long time, but it wasn't that he didn't know Rodman.

He really didn't expect Rodman to come so quietly.

"Yeah, it's me, Sta... Lin?"

Rodman, who had green hair and was naked to the waist, revealing the gaudy tattoos all over his body, turned around and smiled, and stretched out his right hand towards Lin Xing.

Seeing Rodman's benevolent look, Lin Xing knew that this guy was in a good mood, so he also extended his right hand with a smile.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Warriors, Dennis!"

"Although I heard Downey say that you will join the team at the end of February, I really didn't expect you to arrive at the team's training hall today..."

Lin Xing welcomed Rodman's joining and explained his surprise.

Rodman didn't care, and waved his hand: "I did come back early..."

"Tired from playing?"

"No, it's my woman. She hopes to see the reappearance on the basketball court, sweating and fighting hard. She thinks that I am the most handsome me."

"Your woman?"

"That's right, she has a famous name, it will scare you when you say it..."

Lin Xing opened his mouth wide: "Could it be Madonna Ciccone?"

"Hey, how do you know? The relationship between me and her has not been announced to the public?"

Rodman looked surprised, but then he shook his head: "But it doesn't matter, soon, the whole world will know that Madonna and I are a match made in heaven..."

Lin Xing gave a thumbs up and said, "Indeed!"

In any case, Rodman returned four or five days early.

Moreover, on the training day, Old Nelson took him to do a physical test, and the result was——

"He's in great shape and can go straight to the game!"

Lin Xing asked: "Will he play Magic?"

Old Nelson's answer was: "Of course!"

"Don't you need to run in?"

"Running in? It's almost the end of the season, so there is still time? Let's use the game instead of training!"

(End of this chapter)