NBA bench saves national team

In the face of doubts from the media and basketball experts, all members of the Lakers team have long been used to it.

They are on the cusp and are always questioned.

And what they like to do most is to break doubts. This kind of feeling of slapping someone in the face is really cool.

All the Lakers players can't wait for the new season to come soon, and then let the world see if the Lakers this season, as these media said, have no hope of winning the championship.

After ESPN launched the team leaderboard, it immediately launched a leaderboard list of the top [-] active players.

There is no doubt that Qin Feng still ranks first.

James ranked second for several years in a row.

Ranked third is Durant.

And Kobe Bryant, a veteran superstar, has been ranked 16th.

Not only did he not even make the top 10, he didn't even make the top 15.

For such a ranking, Kobe did not respond directly this time, but just posted a video on his social media.

In the video, there is wind and rain, lightning flashes, and the No. 24 jersey is hunting in the wind and rain.

Most people think that this is Kobe responding to this ranking.

Even though it is the 19th season of his career, Kobe still refuses to accept his old age.

He once said that if he felt that one day he would no longer be dominant in the NBA, he would choose to retire instead of staying on the court and letting these young players abuse him.

This is the paranoid and proud Kobe.

Since Kobe has not yet chosen to retire, it means that he thinks he is okay.

And those superstars who were in the same period as Kobe, some have retired, and some are still insisting on their love of basketball, playing as a substitute in a certain team...

Time flies.

Fast forward to early October.

The nba preseason begins.

In this regard, the Lakers officially announced early that they would not allow the three core players Kobe, Gasol, and Qin Feng to participate in the preseason.

The purpose of the Lakers preseason is also very clear, which is training.

After a summer of hard training, both Antetokounmpo and Butler have improved enough to play very well in several preseason games.

Especially Antetokounmpo, after completing his muscle-building goal, he seemed to be reborn, and he was like a rampaging beast on the court, completely unstoppable.

This surprised the media, and reported on Antetokounmpo's performance, which soon detonated Quanmi.

This is the market attention of the Lakers, and no team in the entire NBA can match it.

If the current Antetokounmpo is in the Bucks, he may still be a role player that no one pays attention to, and he will not become famous until he is fully grown.

But in the Lakers, Antetokounmpo was already very famous in his rookie season, and he was the most watched player among the current rookies.

And this season, as Antetokounmpo improves and his performance on the court becomes more and more explosive, he will get more attention.

With the outstanding performance of Antetokounmpo and Butler, the Lakers achieved 8 wins and 4 losses in about 4 preseason games.

After the preseason.

February 18th, US time.

The nba regular season officially kicked off.

On the opening day of the first day, NBA officials arranged a total of 3 games, namely Timberwolves vs. Lakers; Mavericks vs. Spurs; Magic vs. Pelicans (Hornets, has been renamed)

Each of these three games is full of highlights. Of course, the most anticipated game is the Timberwolves vs. Lakers game.

Because of this game, the new No. [-] pick Andrew Wiggins will officially debut in the NBA and usher in the first game of his career.

But the nba official is also bad enough.

Let Wiggins face the powerful defending champion in the first game of his career. It is somewhat difficult to play a good performance!

But I have to say that the official arrangement of the nba directly maximized the effect of the program.

Staples Center.

An hour before the game, the arena was already crowded with people, and there were no seats left.

The enthusiasm of the fans once again surrounded the arena.

After months of long waiting, I can finally see the Lakers game again!

This kind of excitement can only be understood by fans.

At this time, the players of the two teams were warming up before the game.

Wiggins also appeared wearing the No. 22 jersey and is undergoing warm-up training, with a trace of nervousness in his green face.

The spotlight shone on him and made him feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, man, you have to adapt to this environment. It will be like this every game in the future. At home we can enjoy the cheers, but on the road, we have to overcome this noisy environment."

Harden came over and patted Wiggins on the shoulder and said.

As the boss of the team, Harden saw Wiggins' embarrassment on the court, so he comforted him.

"Thank you! I really have to adapt to this kind of competition environment."

Wiggins said, grinning a little.

After watching it, Harden complained silently in his heart, buddy, you better stop smiling... This smile is really warm and innocent.

"Come on, don't feel burdened, you must know that we are facing the defending champion Lakers! They are the most powerful team in this league, and you are facing the strongest man in NBA history!"

Harden continued, running aside to warm up.

Wiggins: "..."

How could this be without a burden?

Brother, you might as well not say this sentence, after I finished speaking, I became even more nervous.

Wiggins thought to himself, looked at Qin Feng, who was warming up for the Lakers at halftime, a little excited, but more of awe.

Is the first game of your career going to be against the strongest player in NBA history?

What a special treatment!

beep.

A whistle sounded.

The pre-match warm-up is over.

The starters of both sides came on stage.

The starting lineup of the Lakers is Gasol, Antetokounmpo, Qin Feng, Kobe, Lowry;

Among them, Gasol, Kobe, and Qin Feng all made their first appearance this season.

Timberwolves starting lineup: Howard, Thaddeus Young, Wiggins, Harden, Rubio;

The team made adjustments to the lineup during the offseason.

Because of the vacancy at shooting guard, the head coach asked Harden to play shooting guard and mentioned Rubio as the starting point guard.

This can also liberate Harden, allowing him to concentrate on offense.

And if Rubio is allowed to start, it can also better activate the team's other superstar Howard.

Both sides jump the ball.

Howard took the basketball and the Timberwolves took the lead in attacking.

After halftime, Ruby played a pick-and-roll with Howard. After breaking through the penalty area, he hit the ground and passed the ball to Howard who followed up. The latter caught the ball and jumped up to complete a two-handed dunk.

Lakers offense.

After Lowry dribbled the ball for halftime, he passed the basketball to Antetokounmpo in the low post, who directly ate Thaddeus Young.

After gaining weight, the stability of Antetokounmpo's confrontation ability has been greatly improved. He almost ran Thaddeus Young to the penalty area, and then turned around and made a successful throw.

Timberwolves offense.

Harden held the ball from the outside and continuously changed direction and stepped back to shoot three-pointers.

The basketball arced high.

Swish.

Hollow into the network!

In the next few minutes, the two sides came and went, and the fight was very intense.

But the No. [-] pick Wiggins didn't have any sense of presence, he just ran back and forth, and didn't even take a shot!