Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 321 321. Luke Worth Over [-] Million!This guy could even buy a team! !

"Damn it, the Grizzlies have found a loophole in the "illegal pick-and-roll" rule. From the original strong-side two-on-two to the current strong-side three-on-three."

"This guy Lu is really cunning. I think the introduction of the new rules has become meaningless."

"President, what should we do next?"

"Do you want to continue making changes to the rules?"

New York, NBA headquarters building, Adam Silver, assistant to current league commissioner David Stern, said.

From the moment the decision was made to roll out the new rules, the league knew that sooner or later the Grizzlies would find a way to regain dominance.

What the league didn't expect was that the Grizzlies made adjustments to the "illegal pick-and-roll" rule in such a short period of time.

And the adjustment is very small. It just changed from the original strong side two-on-two to the current strong side three-on-three. The tactical framework has not changed at all, and it looks more like playing the face of the league's rules department.

The league chose to bear the infamy and introduce new rules at this juncture, in order to limit the occurrence of the Grizzlies' dominance.

Now, the Grizzlies have found a way to break the new rules, which makes the league vice president Adam Silver a little anxious.

According to Adam Silver, instead of working harder on Grizzly, it is better to threaten Luke in private.

After all, the entire league knows that the Grizzlies are today because of the man named Luke behind them.

However, Xiao Hua's proposal was quickly rejected by President David Stern. It seemed that Stern had reached some kind of agreement with Luke in private, and this matter was not as troublesome as it was at the beginning.

Interrupting Xiao Hua with a wave, Stern signaled Xiao Hua to be calm.

"That's the end of this matter. At the beginning, more than [-] other teams in the league jointly put pressure on me to ask the league to introduce a rule to limit the dominance of the Grizzlies."

"I have fulfilled their requirements. As for the Grizzlies finding a way to crack the "illegal pick-and-roll", I can only blame the Grizzlies for having such strength."

"Don't deliberately target the Grizzlies. I have arranged some things in private, and let the next things develop on their own."

"After all, I've done what I should do, and it's no longer suitable to step in this muddy water."

Different from Adam Silver's slightly anxious expression, David Stern didn't look surprised at all at this time, and even revealed a relaxed atmosphere on his body.

Although I don't know what agreement Stern and Luke reached in private, Xiao Hua was obviously relieved seeing David Stern like this.

"Okay, President."

"I know what to do."

Pulling down the tie that was stuck around his neck, Xiao Hua turned around and gently closed the door, leaving this place that he envied.

…………

Throughout December, the Grizzlies once again found the key to winning through a strong-side three-on-three approach.

This system not only perfectly avoids the "illegal pick-and-roll" whistled by the referee, but also maximizes the threat of the Grizzlies' current lineup.

There is no doubt that the strength of the Grizzlies this season cannot be stopped by an "illegal pick-and-roll".

Since the launch of the new rules, other teams in the league have not had time to go crazy. As a result, the Grizzlies have found a way to crack the "illegal pick-and-roll". Such amazing efficiency undoubtedly made all teams panic.

At present, the most hotly discussed issue in the outside world is no longer which team can steal the championship from the Grizzlies this season.

It's about whether the Grizzlies have a chance this season to break their best record of 76 wins and 6 losses just set last season.

This question is a question that everyone deliberately avoided before the start of the season.

After all, the Grizzlies experienced a lot of changes in the lineup during the offseason. Even the finals MVP Zach Randolph chose to test the free market.

According to normal logical development, it is impossible for the Grizzlies to play a more dominant performance in the new season, so before that, no one discussed whether the Grizzlies could reach new heights in the new season and achieve a record more shocking than 76 wins and 6 losses .

But now it seems that the dominance of the Grizzlies in the new season is undoubtedly at the historical level, even stronger than the Grizzlies last season.

At present, less than half of the regular season has passed, and the record of the Grizzlies is 31 wins and 2 losses. According to this rhythm, the Grizzlies are likely to break the best record in history set by themselves again.

Even if the difficulty is a challenge for the invincible Grizzlies, Grizzlies coach Luke has created miracles along the way since the moment he entered the league.

No one dared to comment on the next performance of the Grizzlies, and everyone stayed on the sidelines in a neutral state. After all, no one wanted to be slapped in the face by Luke one after another.

As a basketball coach, the outside world can't understand the mystery that Luke keeps. To paraphrase the words of Charles Barkley:
"I have never seen any coach who can make such a big wave in the league like Lu. It seems that wherever he is, he can always become the focus of the league inexplicably!"

…………

Under the chaos of the outside world, on December 12, the NBA Christmas game officially came.

This year, the league has arranged a total of three games on the day of the Christmas game, but the most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the defending champion Grizzlies against the league giants Los Angeles Lakers.

The reason why the league arranged for these two teams to face off on the day of the Christmas game is because the Lakers were upset and eliminated by the young Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals last year, resulting in the failure of the two teams in the playoffs. meet.

And this has become a regret in the hearts of fans.

Although the two teams played against each other at the beginning of this season, and the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers without any suspense in that game.

But Christmas is the most important festival of the year in the United States. On this day, the match between the two teams will be very meaningful.

Even though the Grizzlies had an approval rating as high as 86.1% before the game, crushing the Lakers without any suspense, but with star Kobe Bryant in charge, the Lakers have always been one of the most interesting teams in the league.

In addition, Pau Gasol, who chose to leave the Memphis Grizzlies this summer, also joined the Lakers, forming the Big Three with Kobe and Odom, which can be regarded as the most exciting news in the offseason.

Of course, the main reason why Pau Gasol joined the Lakers is that the contract offered by the Lakers management is too generous.

The maximum salary contract is something that the Grizzlies cannot provide to Pau Gasol. Once this maximum salary contract is provided to Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies' reinforcement space during the offseason will be compressed very narrowly.

In desperation, Luke could only reluctantly let Pau Gasol go, and watched Gasol return to Kobe's side again to complete the joint in the city of Los Angeles.

Fortunately, the Grizzlies were a blessing in disguise. Although they lacked the giant Paul Gasol, they dug Tim Duncan from the Spurs, which can be regarded as intermittently strengthening the team's interior.

Before the game started, Pau Gasol came to the Grizzlies bench. Looking at Luke, who was relaxed and eating oranges with Bill Lambert, Gasol showed a look of helplessness on his face.

"Coach, can you be more merciful in this game?"

"After the last loss, I was almost sprayed to death by online fans, saying that I didn't know what to do, but chose to leave the Grizzlies during the offseason and join a bad team like the Lakers."

"Hey, I really regret it now. I shouldn't give up such a good playing environment in the Grizzlies just to covet the salary of the Lakers."

"After joining the Lakers, I feel that the pressure on myself in every game is huge. Whether it is on or off the court, that feeling is simply too tortured."

Although Paul Gasol left the Grizzlies this summer for a maximum salary contract, his relationship with Luke has always been very good in private.

Leaving the Grizzlies is just the most correct decision for a professional athlete to make in his golden years. After all, the average lifespan of an athlete is very limited, and it is always the best policy to make more money while young.

Although he knew that Pau Gasol was joking, but seeing his brother's depressed face, Gasol Jr. couldn't help laughing.

"Now I know I regret it, let you leave me alone to join the Lakers, this is the consequence of you abandoning me, hahaha."

As Pau Gasol made a few jokes with everyone on the Grizzlies side, he turned around and returned to the Lakers camp to start shooting warm-ups.

Thanks to the head coach of the Lakers who is also Luke's former disciple Dwayne Casey, Paul Gasol can come to the Grizzlies like an old friend to chat with the Grizzlies.

Otherwise, Paul Gasol's scene just now would definitely turn his head coach's face black with anger, just like Byron Scott who watched Luke and Paul stand shoulder to shoulder on the sidelines.

Although the Lakers introduced Pau Gasol in the offseason this season and found a very good helper for Kobe, the team's overall lineup is significantly worse than that of the Grizzlies.

Due to the butterfly effect instigated by Luke, compared with the previous life, this Lakers lacks Artest and "Little Shark" Bynum.

At present, the Lakers' starting center is still the "Polish legend" Gortat. Gortat's personal ability is not bad, and he is considered above-average in the center position.

However, compared with the more explosive "Little Shark" Bynum, Gortat's personal ability is obviously half a grade worse.

This also caused the inside twin towers composed of Pau Gasol and Gortat to not be as fierce as in the previous life.

Even if this pair can hit more than 80% of the league's insiders, it is still very difficult to match Tim Duncan and Marc Gasol.

In the first match between the two sides this season, a large part of the reason why the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies by 26 points was that the inside twin towers were suppressed by the Grizzlies.

If this problem is not improved, even if the two sides play against each other a hundred times, it will be difficult for the Lakers to win the Grizzlies.

This Christmas fight is a very good example.

Throughout the game, Lakers star Kobe Bryant's touch was very hot. Even though Luke sent Marion to defend Kobe one-on-one, Kobe still scored by turning over and jumping one after another.

Under Kobe's tenacious continuous scoring, the Lakers have always clung to the point difference between the Grizzlies and the Grizzlies, which made the Grizzlies unable to take the game away.

However, this scene only lasted until the second half of the second quarter. When Kobe's offensive efficiency declined due to the loss of physical strength, the Lakers, whose overall lineup was at a disadvantage, were quickly pulled away by the Grizzlies.

Although Paul Gasol wanted to stand up and take over the game, facing Tim Duncan's defense, Gasol couldn't play the same personal dominance as last season.

Even if Pau Gasol tries his best, he can only draw with Tim Duncan at most, and he can't take advantage of Duncan at all.

The "Polish legend" Gortat was obviously a bit miserable when facing Marc Gasol. As the best defensive player of last season, Gasol directly prevented Gortat's offensive efficiency so much that he couldn't bear to look directly at it.

The inside strike again and again simply caused the Lakers coach Casey a headache.

But Casey also knows very well in his heart that the gap between Gortat and Gasol Jr. is simply a world of difference.

Struggling against Marc Gasol, the best defensive player, seems to be a very normal thing.

After all, the Lakers want to win, and it is impossible to pin their hopes on Gortat anyway.

However, the mediocre performance of the inside twin towers made it harder for Kobe to play outside. When the Grizzlies began to focus more on Kobe's defense, the Lakers quickly fell into a disadvantage in the score.

"Left-handed magician" Odom intends to stand up and act as a hero, but when the Grizzlies played a wave of 11:0 in the third quarter and widened the point difference to 20 points, the Lakers gradually began to despair.

The breath of despair enveloped every player, even Kobe, who has always been tough, bowed his head and fell into silence, unable to say a word of chicken soup to encourage his teammates.

As the Grizzlies were still unstoppable after returning from a timeout, the Grizzlies directly took the game away in the second half.

At the end of the game, the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 34 points at home, almost winning the Christmas game with a crushing advantage.

In the whole game, Kobe scored 42 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, showing his best side.

However, the lineup configuration between the Lakers and the Grizzlies is huge. Even if Kobe is super god alone, he will not be able to lead the team to win this victory.

After the game, Kobe, who fell at the feet of the Grizzlies again, looked a little lonely, especially when he looked at the joyful Chris Paul, Kobe asked himself in his heart more than once.

"Was the decision to reject the Grizzlies great or stupid?"

…………

After winning the Christmas game, the Grizzlies' record not only came to 32 wins and 2 losses, but head coach Luke still maintained the record of zero defeats in the Christmas game.

It is not difficult to maintain this record, but it is incredible to be able to lead the team to the Christmas game almost every year like Luke, but never lose.

For the next period of time, the Grizzlies still maintained a very good competitive state.

As of the end of January 2010, the Grizzlies had only lost three games in total, with a record of 47 wins and 3 losses.

With the Grizzlies' strong and unsolvable dominance on the field, the outside world is too lazy to discuss the ownership of the championship.

No one thinks that the Grizzlies will lose this year's championship trophy. Instead of entangled in the championship, what fans are most interested in is the news that Luke sold the Grizzlies shares not long ago.

According to Memphis gossip, Luke and Grizzlies major shareholder Heisley seem to have reached some kind of agreement. The two parties will change their equity after the end of this season, and also signed an interesting contract.

According to the terms of the contract, if Luke leads the Grizzlies to win the championship this season, Heisley will acquire 20% of the team's shares in Luke's hands in proportion to the total value of the Grizzlies.

And if the Grizzlies fail to win the championship this season, Heisley will take back the shares from Luke at a price below the market price.

In a sense, this is a bet between the two.

Even if the result of this bet is simple and clear, Heisley will eventually become one of the beneficiaries of the team's championship.

According to the pricing of the previous evaluation company, if the Grizzlies can win the championship trophy again this season and build a dynasty, the market value of the team will be fixed at about 11 billion US dollars.

This also means that 20% of Luke's shares will be worth 2.2 million!

This news undoubtedly shocked the fans. After all, no one thought that Luke, as the head coach, had reached such a value.

Even as long as Luke wants to be the boss, with Luke's current worth, he can buy his own NBA team this summer!

(End of this chapter)