Basketball K God

Chapter 253 Season Opener

On October 10, the Grizzlies ushered in their season opener, and they will face the Atlanta Hawks at home.

Xie Kai is very excited, because this game will be strictly speaking his first regular season game on behalf of the Grizzlies.He is looking forward to his season debut and hopes to give a victory to the home fans who support him.

It’s just that Xie Kai’s luck is not very good. In this game, Xiaojia’s wife was unfortunately injured during the team’s training. She will not be able to play in this game. Their opponents, the Eagles, had 53 wins and 29 losses last season, ranking No. 3 in the Eastern Conference. [-]. It is a low-key strong team.

Since the Grizzlies were thanked for their trade, their attention has continued to increase, especially the attention of hundreds of millions of fans from that ancient civilization in East Asia.

In an interview before the game, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said: "Mark's absence has a big impact on us. He is a beast inside. We will miss his rebounding and blocking shots. If Mark is not around, other players will have to step up and make up for his absence. The Atlanta Hawks are a strong team. They ranked 3rd in the Eastern Conference last season. This game will be a tough one. I hope the goddess of luck is on our side !"

Home team locker room.Xie Kai's wardrobe was used by Mayo before, but he doesn't care. It is normal for NBA team personnel to change. It is impossible for a team's wardrobe to be used by one person forever.He's excited, but not nervous, and after more than 100 games in this league, he's not easily nervous in situations like this.

Xie Kai once teased himself that he is already a veteran. You must know that he has played more than 100 regular season games. If he played in the CBA, it would have been 4 or 5 seasons. What is it if he is not a veteran?
Darrell Arthur is also very happy, one is because his college teammate Xie Kailai Grizzlies "renewed their relationship" with him, and the other is because of the injury of his sister-in-law, he will get the first prize in this game hair chance.

Arthur had 64 starting opportunities in his rookie season, but last season, he only got 1 starting opportunity, which completely fell off a cliff.

Arthur was also depressed for a while about his own ups and downs, and he also talked with Xie Kai, who comforted him a lot.

Xie Kai understands Arthur's feelings after losing his starting position, but sometimes there are many things in life that he can't decide by himself. When the strength or potential can't meet the team's satisfaction or can't give up, he will face being adjusted and sacrificed.

The FedEx Arena of the Grizzlies had a very high attendance rate for this game.A staff member of the arena sighed: "The arrival of Kane Xie has brought attendance!"

The increase in Grizzlies' attendance should not be temporary, but throughout the season.Because before that, the team's season ticket sales this season were almost 10 percentage points higher than last season.Although there is no evidence to prove that Xie Kai brought the increase in team attendance, there are many situations that show that his arrival has indeed driven the ball market. This has changed from the number of Grizzlies wearing the No. More than enough to see it.

The enthusiasm of the fans at the scene encouraged the Grizzlies players, and they also had a lot of energy during practice.Arthur was very happy, and compared Xie Kai's 3-pointer, of course he lost.

The team atmosphere of the Grizzlies is quite good, and everyone did not feel too nervous because of the strong opponent in this game.

Before the game, players from both sides will stand for a beat and then the national anthem will be sung.

Xie Kai will sing the American national anthem, but he has never sung it in this segment.He is Chinese, so no one blames him for this.

It’s not the first time the Grizzlies’ home opening ceremony has been opened, but it’s still very emotional to participate in this ceremony in front of more than 1 fans at home in the season opener.

As usual, Xie Kai is the 2nd appearance, while his former teammate and current teammate Arthur is the 4th appearance.

Black Bear Randolph is still the finale. He is the most famous and the oldest in the starting lineup. His finale appearance is expected.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Grizzlies at home is: center - Darrell Arthur, power forward - Zach Randolph, small forward - Rudy Gay, shooting guard - Xie Kai, point guard -- Mike Conley.

Because of the absence of the little sister-in-law, Arthur replaced him in the starting lineup and served as the center.

The starting lineup of the Eagles for the away game is: center - Al Horford, power forward - Marvin Williams, small forward - Josh Smith, shooting guard - Joe Johnson, point guard - Mike Bibby.

Although the Eagles' center Horford is 208cm, their small forward Josh Smith is 206cm tall and good at blocking shots, so their penalty area defense is still among the best in the league.

The commentators for this game are TNT's ace commentator Kevin Harlan and Steve Kerr who joined TNT again.

Steve Kerr entered TNT after retiring, but he left TNT in the summer of 07 to take over the management of the Suns and became the new general manager of the Suns.

On June 6 this year, according to the "Arizona Republic" news, Steve Kerr will no longer serve as the head of basketball operations and general manager of the Phoenix Suns next season.Shortly after his contract expired on June 16, he announced that he would rejoin TNT as a full-time commentator.

Many players become coaches or commentators after retiring, and some become TV or radio hosts.As long as they are engaged in basketball-related work, professional players still have some advantages over those non-professional players in certain aspects.

"Steve, welcome back to the world of commentary!" Kevin Harlan said with a smile.

Steve Kerr also laughed: "Kevin, you have said this many times. I announced my comeback in June. You said it at that time. Now it is October, and you said it again."

"I'm so happy! I can partner with you in the commentary again. Alas—I said earlier that you would be very tired as the general manager of Phoenix, and the commentary is the most suitable for you!" Kevin Harlan continued to say with a smile.

"Kevin, that's not what you said!" Steve Kerr seemed to be recalling, and then said uncertainly.

"Okay, the game is about to start, let's start the commentary!" Kevin Harlan immediately changed the subject, sitting upright, making Steve Kerr on the side even more suspicious.

Amidst the cheers of the fans at the scene, Arthur and Horford stood near the middle circle and prepared to jump the ball, and the game was about to start.

Not only the fans are very excited, but also the players and commentators are very excited, because the new season is really about to start!

(End of this chapter)