pinnacle of basketball

Chapter 321

At 19:30 in the evening, the game started on time.

During the offseason, the Lakers made personnel changes at the center position and successfully caught big fish in the free market. The league’s top center Isaiah Brady, the three-time rebounding champion from Washington, was destined to cause an earthquake in the league from the moment he entered the free market. 3 teams successively offered him an olive branch. The Los Angeles Lakers were not the highest bidder, but the team’s high-quality center tradition successfully impressed Brady and recruited him with a two-year contract of 23 million. This price is not an astonishingly big contract in today's league, and it is a full 2 million less than other teams.

The purpose of Brady coming to the Lakers is not for money, he desires the championship.

The 28-year-old Brady has been in the league for seven years. During these seven years, he has won almost all possible personal honors, but there is no championship. The best result of his Washington Wizards is only the second round of the Eastern Conference. The team's record cannot match his data.

So he decided to leave the team he had played for for 7 years, end the seven-year itch, and test the player market. For this reason, he also bears the title of "traitor", and even some extreme fans burned his "15" jersey among them.

Losing the Wizards' No. 15 jersey, Brady successfully put on the purple and gold "15" and successfully started the new season.

The reason why Brady was able to lead the rebounds three times in a row is that in addition to his explosive physical fitness, his excellent mind is also outstanding in the paint. He is even rated as the big man with the highest ball quotient in NBA history.

Brady is different from traditional centers, relying on his body to make ends meet in the paint. He uses his excellent mind to complete the task of rebounding while avoiding physical contact with the opponent as much as possible. Of course, Brady's physical fitness is also strong enough, but he is not the kind of player who purely relies on his body to play.

This is also one of the reasons why the Lakers fancy him. Injuries can be said to be the biggest enemy of a player or even a team. Many players have a "destructive" impact on their careers due to the high-intensity confrontation in the NBA.

Although Brady has been injured in his 7-year career, they are all minor injuries. He has never suffered a serious injury. The most serious injury only returned after only 3 games. This is a player with a 7-year career.

Brady is the most important piece of the championship puzzle for the Lakers. The combination of him and James is expected to allow the Lakers to reproduce the dynasty of the "OK combination" that year.

Brady used his shrewd mind to successfully jump to the ball. His strength and explosive power are obviously not as good as the opponent's, but he can successfully control the ball, which shows how powerful he is.

At the beginning, the Lakers were fully fired. James fired the first shot of the opener with a three-pointer, and then the two teams entered a long tug of war.

The offense and defense of the two teams were extremely fast, and they played 2 rounds in less than 8 minutes, and the shooting rate was terribly high. This kind of performance is worthy of the title of the opener.

As a meeting ceremony for joining the Lakers, Brady dominated both offensive and defensive rebounds, and only took half a quarter to harvest 5 rebounds. He deserved his name as the league's number one center.

No. 1 James in the league did not perform too well. Except for the opening shot, the possession of the ball was basically handed over to the point guard in the team. Of course, he does not need to stand up when his teammates can solve the problem. He is more like a blue-collar player.

During the offseason, the lineups of many teams have changed, some have been strengthened, and some have been weakened. The Nuggets are the one whose strength has been weakened, and the loss is the team's star player, small forward Alexander.

The success of the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals has caused the value of many players in the team to skyrocket, especially Alexander, the only core member of the team. His value has doubled directly, and he just caught up with his contract year. Big brother like him.

Alexander is no different from the backbone of the team. After losing him, the Nuggets need to find a new star. After failing in the free market, they decided to build a star from the team.

Cameron Hunter, as the leader of the young generation of the team, was successfully selected as the goal of the Nuggets to make a star. Last season, Hunter averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds per game. This is quite a good result for a second-year rookie.

In the new season, Hunter has become the absolute core of the team, and the tactics and style of play revolve around him. The change of status made Hunter unable to adapt for a while. His performance in the preseason was not impressive, but the team is willing to give this young man time. It is really difficult for a second-year rookie to quickly grow into a star who can play his own role. The Nuggets plan to give this young man a chance in three years.

In other words, Alexander's departure allowed the Tunneling team, which was still in the Western Conference Finals last season, to quickly enter a rebuilding period.

The game between a team in the rebuilding period and a team that was aiming to win the championship naturally did not have much suspense. The Nuggets played well in the opening stage, and the Lakers were very tight. But as the game deepened, the gap between the two teams gradually became apparent. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Nuggets 35:18, and the suspense of the game seemed to have disappeared.

This is the score when the Lakers "give up" James Bryant to the opponent. In the first game of joining the Lakers, Brady handed over an excellent report card of 8+8+3 in the first quarter, successfully breaking the doubts that he might be "unacceptable" from the east to the west. Facts have proved that he perfectly fits any tactical system and lineup.

It is really a good deal for the Lakers to sign Brady at a "cabbage price".

James Bryant, another big man in the team, has a not so good report card. Only 3 points are accounted for, and the rest of the data are "0", but this does not mean that he is a bastard on the court. In ESPN's efficiency value, James' number is +26, ranking second in the entire Lakers team, second only to Brady's +32.

It perfectly confirms the statement that "data does not represent everything".

The Nuggets couldn't match the performance of the Lakers at all, turning the highly anticipated opening game into a one-man show for the Lakers. After halftime, the Lakers extended their lead to 30 points.

Brady also successfully got a 20+20 super double-double. He also became the second fastest player in NBA history to get a double-20+, and the first in the history of the Lakers.

The atmosphere of the Lakers bench is relaxed and full of laughter, which shows that the atmosphere in the locker room is also very good. During the halftime break, they did not even return to the lounge, but stayed on the sidelines to interact with the fans at home.

The home DJ used rhythmic music to mobilize the atmosphere of the fans, and the fans also followed the live DJ to respond one after another, and the interactive effect was full marks.

There is a tradition at the Lakers home court, that is, during the intermission, there will be a "one shot million" fan interaction session. The big screen will "sweep" the fans at will. The selected fans only need to hit a three-pointer at the midfield to get a "100 million" reward.

Of course, each fan gets only one shot.

Only three lucky spectators will be selected for each game.

Mid-line shooting is almost impossible for an amateur player who has not undergone any professional training. To get the 100 million can only rely on luck. Therefore, this "one shot million" link is only regarded as an entertainment program in the eyes of most fans. After all, only one hit can take away 100 million US dollars.

Of course, there are also some people who will practice mid-line shooting specifically, hoping that one day the pie will hit their heads, make a "stunning" shot on the field, and then take away 100 million.

The first spectator selected by the live camera was a middle-aged man with a big beer belly and a beard. He looked like a fat man who was not very flexible. He couldn't even shoot. Of course, he didn't make a shot, and he didn't even touch the basket. The DJ on the scene even "laughed" that he should lose weight.

The second spectator was a tall beauty, dressed in sportswear, with the Lakers logo printed on her chest. She was a loyal Lakers fan at first glance. As a result, the beauty's shot drew the audience to sigh. The movement was very standard, the trajectory was accurate, and the strength was enough. It was a pity that the basketball finally knocked on the rim and failed.

The first two audiences failed to invest, which was expected. After all, it was a million dollars, so how could it be so easy to get in.

The selection process for the third spectator was a bit long. Since it was the last place, the photographer also pushed the atmosphere of the audience to another climax. He scanned the camera all over the audience, taking pictures of almost every corner of the arena. Wherever the camera went, there would be screams like mountains and tsunami. In the end, the movement of the camera slowed down, and everyone waited with bated breath for the lucky one.

The camera stopped at the position between Mu Chenfeng and the fans next to him, and after shaking slightly for a few times, it landed on the person next to him. Just when the fan was about to stand up and show his skills on the field, a dramatic scene happened. The camera suddenly shook and landed on Mu Chenfeng's body.

The image of Mu Chenfeng was projected onto the huge LED display screen at the scene. The audience was quiet and no one spoke. I don't know if this is the final result, and maybe there will be changes.

When the DJ announced that Mu Chenfeng was the third lucky one, the audience cheered again.

Seeing the third "lucky guy" James, an "unreasonable" smile rose from the corner of his mouth.

"With me?" Mu Chenfeng confirmed to Felix.

"That's right, it's you." Felix pushed Mu Chenfeng away from the seat, passed through the crowd, and Mu Chenfeng walked onto the court, and the camera moved with him.

It was the first time for him to face so many spectators, so he was naturally a little nervous. There was never such a large audience in any competition in China. He was the focus of the audience at this moment.

"Isn't this Mu Chenfeng?" Someone in the audience was able to call out his name.

"Yeah, he's a super rookie at UCLA," someone echoed.

Did Mu Chenfeng realize how famous he was in Los Angeles? Ever since UCLA won Duke University, the names of Oscar, Mu Chenfeng, and Felix have dominated the headlines in Los Angeles. The limelight can compete with two NBA teams.

James walked towards Mu Chenfeng slowly, "You have become stronger again."

"Thank you for your ticket." Mu Chenfeng responded.

"Ready to wow the crowd?" James asked.

"Not yet." Mu Chenfeng replied.

"There's only one chance."

"I try my best."

James personally relaxed the younger brother. He could clearly feel Mu Chenfeng's muscles tense, accompanied by slight tremors. While massaging, he incited the fans to cheer and shout, hoping that this would give Mu Chenfeng strength and make him temporarily forget about his tension.

"Is this kid really okay?" The staff on the side asked James.

"Are you questioning my vision?" James replied.

"Today is the opening game. The boss said that the bonus must be given away. That's why I gave you a spot. There are so many NBA stars present today. You didn't choose, but you actually chose this yellow-skinned kid."

"Aren't those NBA players earning enough money? Besides, I trust him."

Mu Chenfeng stood in the middle circle and took the basketball from the staff. In order to cheer him up, James stood directly under the target basket. Mu Chenfeng could see him as long as he looked up.

There was $100 million in cash on a nearby table.

Mu Chenfeng glanced at it and never looked again.

"Come on, Mu Chenfeng." Felix seemed even more nervous off the court than Mu Chenfeng.

Mu Chenfeng didn't make a shot, but turned his body 180°, with his back to the basket.

"He turned around?" The audience couldn't believe Mu Chenfeng's operation. Although the rules did not require the shooter to face the basket, most people would choose to face the basket because they could see the basket and make adjustments easier.

"Are you sure you're doing this?" the staffer asked, "Everyone else is shooting towards the basket."

"So? Did they enter?" Mu Chenfeng responded neatly.

One sentence made the staff speechless, Mu Chenfeng insisted on his own thoughts, and shot with his back to the basket.

Mu Chenfeng bent his knees to accumulate energy, and held the bottom of the basketball with his right hand. There was no way to maintain a precise shooting action when he shot with his back to the basket. Once, Mu Chenfeng chose to use the way of tossing the ball, which can not only stabilize the trajectory of the basketball, but also use enough strength.

I saw Mu Chenfeng's body trembled, and the strength went up from the soles of his feet, his body became straight, and with a swipe of his right hand, the basketball drew a very high arc and flew towards the basket.

"Enter!"

"Enter!"

"Enter!"

The audience booed, and they wanted to see someone take away the 100 million more than scoring a goal.

James watched the trajectory of the basketball's flight, and slowly emerged a color of joy. He stood directly under the basket and clearly saw the basketball appearing above the basket, and the strength and angle were very precise.

"Yes." James said as the basketball fell into the hoop.

One shot of a million, one shot into the soul.

(End of this chapter)