Chapter 743 [After the Transaction]
The Nets have become the focus of a mid-term trade, and neither the Heat nor the Lakers, who have been in a lot of trouble before, have changed their lineups. There were numerous rumors that the Big Three would break up and that the Lakers were going to send Pau Gasol, and in the end they all stayed.
The Heat really want to trade James, but no team can come up with the right chips, and exchanging James for ordinary players is brain-dead, not to mention that fans don't buy it, and it is difficult for the uniform team to accept. Like when the Grizzlies "assisted" the Lakers Gasol, it has not been seen once in 20 years.
The Lakers negotiated with several teams, but in the end, they all ended up because the Lakers wanted too much.
The Lakers hope to get back an interior player who is good at pick-and-roll, but no one wants to trade the star for Gasol. It's not that Gasol doesn't have the strength, but the Lakers are completely passive, they can get rid of Gasol and save money is success, no team is willing to give up the cornerstone of reconstruction, I wish the Lakers to win the championship.
After the All-Star Game, the Knicks lost one game to the Pacers. Multiple people participated in the Celebrity Weekend, and some were out of shape.
Hibbert and West combined to get a double-double, while Sam Porter also made three three-pointers.
Then, the Knicks lost to the Raptors by 2 points on the road. After Gay was traded to the Raptors, he scored 32 points in his first game, shooting well from the field, shooting 12-of-23.
After the trade, the Raptors formed a decent starting lineup. Inside Bagnani and Valranatius are all big men who can shoot, outside Lowry and Rose, who just won the slam dunk contest, can shoot suddenly, and DeRozan and Guy have no doubt about their strength.
The Raptors are showing signs of rising, and as long as they send Biederin away in the summer, they can bring in another good player, and Biedrins' expiring contract will be of interest to many teams.
The Knicks lost two games in a row, and fans around the world exclaimed that the East was about to change.
China's Tencent reporter interviewed Zhou Xuan after the game and asked: "The Nets have now put together the Big Six, and many people think that they have the strength to win the championship and threaten the position of the Knicks." The Knicks only tweaked their roster slightly in the summer and in the middle of the year, and without the help of their star teammates, would you feel depressed? ”
"I've said it many times before that my teammates are already great." Zhou Xuan smiled: "And I have absolute confidence to beat the Nets in the playoffs." ”
The reporter asked, "So will the Knicks make a big trade in the summer?" Now you still have room for salary. ”
"I don't know, we'll have to wait until the summer. If there are big-name stars who are willing to join and fit the Knicks' tactical system, we will welcome them. ”
The reporter asked: "What do you think of the Nets?" ”
"The new luxury tax regulations will be implemented next season, and they will dare to play like this, I really admire their boss, who has money." Zhou Xuan said with a smile.
After the news was released, there was a lot of talk on the Internet, and many people believed that the Knicks could beat the Nets. The first two seasons cleaned up the Big Three, nothing impossible.
Some people also think that Zhou Xuan is talking big, the Knicks are not trading well, and the playoffs will have to pay for their comeback. The Big Six and the Big Three are not a concept at all, and the Nets are much stronger than the Heat.
Bledsoe also completed his medical and was officially reported to the team, and everyone welcomed him.
That's bad news for Lin, as it means he's going to be a third bench again, and even if he plays as a two-back, he won't get much playing time.
In the eyes of the media, Bredsoe is a mini version of James, able to run and jump, talented, and previously voted the league's most physical athlete by the NBA, Bledsoe was undisputed as the first in his height segment. He showed those strengths in training.
D'Antoni arranged the style of play that Bledsoe liked, and he didn't have to worry about anything after defending the attack, and rushed directly to the front court, which can be heads-up. Leonard's speed is not slow, Zhou Xuan is responsible for a pass, no matter which of the two takes the ball, they can go directly to it, or they can share the ball with each other. That's a lot sharper than when Matthews was on the floor.
In addition to his amazing athleticism, Bledsoe also did a good job on the defensive end, with his terrifying lateral speed making it difficult for opponents to break through directly.
The coaching staff is happy, this guy is the next Monta Ellis. He is not good at organization, he has outstanding heads-up ability, and he can exert his power when he rushes. Bledsoe couldn't play with the Clippers because he didn't have as many balls as Ellis.
After training, D'Antoni rallied all the players and exclaimed: "I think everyone has seen the news. A lot of people don't think about us, thinking that we have a worse roster than the Nets and that the playoffs are not their opponents. What I'm trying to tell you here is that we're going to beat the Nets, they're not that big. ”
The crowd was silent, and D'Antoni continued: "Why do I say that? Because of the slow speed of the Nets, they have strengthened the interior and forward, but the point guards are Deron Williams and Kidd. Their interior line, Lopes and Garnett, can't get up fast, and as long as we play counter-attacks, they will struggle to defend. In the second half of the season, we must not relax, we must strive to ensure the best record in the league, and meet the challenge with home advantage! ”
"Victory!" Zhou Xuan shouted.
The others shouted together: "Victory!" ”
The Nets' lineup has bluffed a lot of teams, not including the Knicks.
The atmosphere in the Nets team is also good now, especially Anthony and Delon, who are a bit of a serf to sing. The Big Four are still being suppressed by the Knicks, and now they see hope.
Anthony chatted with Pierce: "Paul, although he left the Celtics, it's not bad to be here, right?" We can create a dynasty. ”
"Go for it." Pierce said lightly, without much smile on his face. As an old Jianghu, he was a little disdainful of Anthony's optimism.
This has something to do with Anthony's experience, in the Nuggets, Anthony always felt that the helpers around him were not strong enough, and it was his own credit to be able to make the playoffs. When he arrived at the Nets, he suddenly felt invincible. With so many big names together, the offensive ability is super strong, and it seems that any tactic can clean up the opponent.
Pierce doesn't think so, he and Garnett are not young anymore, and how the ball is distributed is a big question. The offense revolves around him, Anthony, and Delon, and the others can't get a few shooting opportunities, Lopez can't be a blue-collar player, and Joe Johnson is only a fixed-point pitcher?
This group is full of offensive players, defending Joe Johnson and Garnett, and they are not as good as before. The Nets won't necessarily be able to beat the Knicks in the playoffs.
After Garnett arrived at the Nets, he didn't talk much, and he didn't have the domineering spirit he used to have. He was very quiet, although he didn't say it, he also felt that the Nets had shortcomings. The Heat's Big Three is the most obvious example of this, where their high-scoring games, bench and role players often don't play much. Bosh's 20+10 player stats have all declined and he has been forced to transform. At this point, what does Garnett have to transform into?
Aside from defense, Garnett's role on the offensive end may be the same as Yi Jianlian's, anyway, it is a high-level jumper after blocking and dismantling......
After the trade, the Heat were the most depressed.
The Heat have kept a low profile at the trade deadline for the past decade, and their only move has been to trade Peterman, an interior player who rarely plays the game, and a second-round draft pick for the Grizzlies.
The deal is inherently indispensable for their journey this season, with third-year player Pittman being a completely dispensable fringe figure on the lineup.
Pi Xiaopang has averaged less than 3 minutes per game this season, contributing 1. 5 points 1. With 8 rebounds, the Heat are happy that a player with such a performance can be given away as a trade chip in exchange for a trade exception. With this deal, the Heat not only got rid of Pittman without acquiring a new contract, but also added a lot of leverage to their recruitment during the summer truce.
The reason why the Grizzlies are willing to use the trade exception as a bargaining chip is purely helpless, after sending away the star Rudy Gay, the team that is still expected to make the playoffs urgently needs to replenish the interior strength, in the absence of a better choice, the 211CM tall Pitman can be used, after all, he has been with the Heat for nearly 3 seasons, and his salary this season is only a meagre 850,000.
It seems that the Heat have made a small profit, and it will not help their record this season, and they can only rely on "Birdman" Anderson, Bosh, Haslem, and Joel Anthony to prop up the interior line. The Heat's lineup has no advantage over last season, how can it compete with the Nets and Knicks? I'm afraid it's hard to get into the Eastern Conference Finals.
James is not thinking about how to win the championship at all, but how to leave the Heat as soon as possible and go to a strong team with championship hopes, and his heart is in turmoil.
On the 25th, Bledsoe played for the Knicks for the first time against the 76ers.
As soon as he arrived at the Knicks, he was immediately reused, came off the bench in the second quarter, and then formed a double guard with Zhou Xuan. Leonard also returned, and Jeremy Lin was on the bench. Simmons, who is on a 10-day contract, did not make the squad.
After Iguodala left, Holliday became the new core of the team, he belonged to the type of attack and defense, and was completely suppressed by Zhou Xuan. There were three swingmen on the 76ers court, and Wright, who played the No. 2 position, was 206cm tall and was overwhelmed by Bredsoe's speed.
In the three-and-a-half quarter, the Knicks led by 25 points and the game went into garbage time. Zhou Xuan played steadily with 20 points and 14 assists.
Bledsoe finished the first game with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. His prowess makes Knicks fans happy, and D'Antoni loves this type of player.
At the same time, in the West, Battier, who played for the Clippers, has no stats at all, and his offensive ability is not as good as Barnes. Stephenson, as a substitute at the No. 2 position, got more playing time than the Knicks, and his performance was good, which can be regarded as a gain for the Clippers. Overall, it's a win-win.
The Nets lost to the Grizzlies 83-87 on the day, which was a big surprise.
Just three games after the trade, the Nets are already showing problems with the ball. Garnett came off the bench with only 8 points and 7 rebounds.
Pierce only played 25 minutes, and his stats dropped dramatically, and he was good at attacking with the ball, overlapping with Anthony. Anthony plays the No. 4 position, and the offense has to wait for Lopez and Pierce, and he can't play a fast break. The group got together and didn't play unstoppable offensive basketball.
Nets fans are disappointed that the playoffs are approaching and there is not much time left for them to grind in.