On December 25, in Seattle, a small city with a highly developed science and economy in the United States, at noon on the day of the game between the Hawks and the SuperSonics, Liu Mang looked at the newspaper to see if there was any news today.

In terms of game news, O'Neal is about to make a comeback, the Lakers are seeing that they have fallen to seventh in the West, being surpassed by the Jazz, and O'Neal, who has gained five or six pounds, feels that he should play the regular season to lose weight, so he wants to come back.

In addition, it is also the news of Los Angeles, the Clippers broke out intra-team conflicts, the position of the big forward is overcrowded, and no one wants to play center, and even the small forward is stuffed with people, Odom applied for a trade, but this year's Odom's contract reached 3.7 million US dollars, which is more difficult to trade than last season's salary of 2.86 million US dollars, and now there is no room for teams that want to strengthen, and the Hawks are helpless, and the signing of Glenn Robinson blocked the space, Danny Ferry, who came back from the trade, also has a salary of more than 8 million, and although he does not have to pay luxury tax this year, he is also above the salary cap.

Although the Clippers are paid below the salary cap, they certainly don't want to eat garbage contracts, and their owner Sterling and Rockets owner Alexander are a pee who can save money, and they don't have to worry about making money anyway in Los Angeles.

Coach Krueger also saw the news, but now the Hawks have plenty of inside staff, and if you want to change Odom, the most suitable chip is Boozer plus a cheap backup center, but Odom has almost made it clear that he will become a complete free agent in the summer, and the owner will definitely not do a loss-making business.

However, with Boozer, this unexpected strong rookie, the Hawks have little need for substitutes at the two positions of big and small forwards, and need a backup point guard and center, and Coach Kruger does not have that deep thoughts about Odom for the time being.

Liu Mang continued to flip through the news, and saw the news two days ago, the NBA official really sent an invitation to himself and Carter to the slam dunk contest, and the official invitation will wait until the All-Star voting is over to determine the candidates for each event, just Liu Mang, Carter, Jason Richardson, Amare Stoudemire, Draymond Mason, Richard Jefferson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady...... After a dozen or so players were put on the shortlist, it was just a gimmick.

Sports news doesn't seem to have much to look at lately, just like the middle of the season when fans don't have much desire to watch the game, the players don't have no idea of doing things, January is often the most dull month in the NBA, and there is basically no record of being born in January, the biggest news in the past two days is probably that Rasheed Wallace threatened to strangle the referee and was banned for 7 games, almost a month of ban, and came back after the All-Star Weekend.

Liu Mang flipped to the entertainment version, but he didn't expect to find interesting news in the entertainment version.

"......" Liu Mang was speechless.

"Surprise! The next Kittels? The King of Technical Fouls Visits San Francisco Taoist ...... with His Wife

The headline of the standard American Globe gossip magazine section.

Liu Mang saw the news, Rashid Wallace, and really believed in Taoism!

Liu Mang didn't expect that he would say that casually, and Rashid Wallace actually took it seriously! Americans are too sincere!

Liu Mang thought back to two days ago......

……

On February 24th, that is, in the early hours of yesterday morning, after the Pioneers were besieged by reporters, Liu Mang returned to the hotel, it was already more than 1 o'clock in the morning, he had just taken a shower and was ready to sleep, there are still four games to play this month, and now the Hawks are 18-20, and they are about to return to the fifty-percent winning rate.

Before going to bed, Liu Mang took a look at his system panel, a lot of information that angered Portland fans, accidentally, Liu Mang really became the public enemy of Portland fans, and increased the value of hundreds of thousands of hooligans, basically all Portland fans became enemies.

The superstar value of the Trail Blazers rose by more than 1,700 points in this game, accumulating 14,900 points.

Nothing else.

Just when Liu Mang sighed that the road to superstardom was a bit long and was about to sleep, the mobile phone rang.

It's two o'clock in the morning, and Liu Mang is very puzzled who will call at this time?

He looked at his phone and yelled at Brother Rashid Wallace.

Liu Mang has a ghost in his heart, could it be that he came to Xingshi to ask for guilt?

Liu Mang still picked up the phone, Rashid Wallace is a good person, of course he has to maintain the relationship well, and the other party is angry? It doesn't matter, Liu Mang can fool things by mouth.

However, after answering the phone, the other party was unexpectedly calm and gentle.

"Ace, I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but I shouldn't have slept yet, right?" Rashid Wallace's tone on the phone was gentle and calm.

Since they are all professional athletes, they know what time it is to go to bed after the game, so Rasheed Wallace will still call at this time.

Liu Mang heard Rashid Wallace's tone was very calm, and it seemed that he was not here to ask the teacher about the guilt, so he let go of his hanging heart and asked, "What's wrong Rashid?" ”

"It's nothing, I was punished by you again today, and I'm a little depressed." Rasheed Wallace said with a grudge.

"......" Liu Mang feels that this guy doesn't play cards according to the routine! I thought I wouldn't mention it, but I didn't expect that he was still asking the teacher for the crime so calmly, Liu Mang decisively and forcibly quibbled: "Even if there is no me, Rashid, you will be blown for technical fouls at both ends in three days!" ”

"Yes, Ace, you're so right!" Rashid Wallace actually agreed with Liu Mang's statement! "Ace, just now Avidas came to me for a drink and talked to me, and told me about it, but I really don't know what to do, whenever I get on the field, once I encounter something that doesn't go my way, I will be very irritable, Avidas asked me to find a way to regulate my heart, I can't think of it, so I want to ask Ace you, you are smarter."

“…… Rashid, you wait a minute, I want to think about it. ”

Liu Mang suddenly didn't like the adjective smart at all at this time, just because the master was smart, so he called in the middle of the night?

However, as a return for the apology of this friend, Liu Mang began to think, how can he calm down Rashid Wallace?

Shouldn't this be Sabonis' thing? Why did it finally fall on the master's head!

Liu Mang thinks about it, how did Rashid Wallace become so calm? At least the matter of fighting the referee has become calm?

Regulating the heart, that is, cultivating one's self and cultivating one's character, becomes better.

Self-cultivation ...... As if Rashid Wallace would believe in Jesus in the future? That is, to become a believer, or let Rashid Wallace believe in Jesus......

Wait, Liu Mang had a flash of inspiration, why did he let him believe in Jesus, isn't it the same self-cultivation to believe in Taoism!

Inherit Chinese culture!

Well, Liu Mang's bad taste is here again.

"Ahem, Rashid, are you still there?"

"Here, Ace, have you figured out a way?"

"Wait, Rashid, I have a question for you, what are your dreams?" Liu Mang incarnates a man who can never grab the headlines.

"My dream is to win an NBA championship! Enter the Hall of Fame! "Rashid Wallace still has a drop of ambition.

"Uh...... Champion," Liu Mang thought for a while and asked tentatively: "Rashid, do you know Daode Tianzun?" ”

"Daode Tianzun? Is it a very moral big man? There was a negative and curious voice on the other end of the line.

"I don't know, that's good...... No, then what, Daode Tianzun is a very famous immortal in our Asia, his name is Li Er, does Taoism know? Got it! You actually know, oh, I've heard of it, just know it, Daode Tianzun is called Li Er, also called Lao Tzu, and the name is a bit weird? No wonder it can be a fairy! Isn't it strange to see your Jesus in Europe and the United States? You know Phil Jackson, right? That's right, 9-time champion coach, first in history, do you know his Chinese nickname? His name is Zen Master! The Zen master is a Taoist ...... You say that Zen masters believe in Buddhism? No, no, no, you haven't heard of it! Buddha is the Tao, and Buddhism is a branch of Taoism. ”

"The Zen master has learned the cultivation of Buddhism and Taoism in my country, and you see that every time he encounters something, he is so calm, just because he began to practice meditation, what is meditation? It's the way you want to cultivate your sentiments, you always feel that the referee blows the penalty unfairly to you like a stupid X, right, according to Taoism, you don't argue with them, they are stupid X, you shouldn't curse them, they will punish you, you should praise them, make them feel that they are right, let them become stupid X......"

……

After Liu Mang said nonsense and said that Rasheed Wallace was dizzy, he was almost dizzy, and then he woke up and completely forgot about it, and came to Seattle yesterday afternoon and saw that Rasheed Wallace was banned for seven games, and he couldn't play until the All-Star weekend, and he didn't care too much, this big brother made a clear distinction between the game and the things outside the game.

But unexpectedly, the news in the entertainment sector said that after the ban, Rashid Wallace did not play until February 19, that is, twenty-five or six days of "unpaid vacation", Rashid Wallace and his wife received the ban yesterday, and went to the headquarters of the American Taoist Association in San Francisco, California, where they were located, to announce their joining of the Taoist ...... That's too fast, isn't it? Are Americans so efficient?

Taoism was introduced to the United States from the end of the 19th century, it has a history of more than 100 years, and the Continental Taoist Association has been established for nearly 50 years......

Liu Mang looked at Rashid Wallace's face, wearing a robe, and his wife was also wearing a robe, and he was very happy, Liu Mang felt weird, co-authored, Rashid Wallace became the first NBA player to inherit and carry forward traditional Chinese culture?

Depend on! I and Yao Ming, Battle, and Wang Zhizhi, four Chinese players, are not as good as a roaring Tianzun?

The point is that Rashid Wallace would have started to have faith, and then his heart became much calmer, although the style of play was still irritable, but the technical fouls began to become less, from believing in Jesus to believing in Taoism, there was no difference, so Liu Mang didn't even get the reward.

Of course, Liu Mang said that he was definitely not sorry because there was no reward, but as a Chinese, he was unhappy that he did not take the lead in carrying forward traditional culture, and it was definitely not because of the reward!

……

……

In the evening, the Eagles went to Seattle's Key Arena, the same Boeing-sponsored arena, to take on the SuperSonics away.

After the SuperSonics traded away most of the main players in the team's lineup, they actually played well after the trade!

In the last dozen games, the SuperSonics finally began to win, although the winning rate is not good, 5 wins and 7 losses, but it has finally given Seattle fans hope, Ray Allen, Rademanovic, Rashad Lewis, Brent Barry's four-pitcher lineup, the shot can be super-god, of course, because there is no organizational core, most of the time it is Ray Allen who is organizing the offense, Ray Allen has a certain organizational ability, but is obviously not competent to be the organizational core, so most of the time the pitch is a bit wave.

But these four people are really accurate, and Langtou also has a 5-7 record, and it looks like a core point guard is just short of taking off!

So the SuperSonics don't have the heart to mess up, so many top pitchers, it's not suitable to mess up, it's better to show free agents the strength of their team, and tell those point guards whose contracts are about to expire that they have their own pitchers to let you take off!

And SuperSonics has two first-round picks this year, and it really can't be traded, it looks like the future of SuperSonics is bright, and their boss has temporarily extinguished the idea of moving out of Seattle, mainly because as one of the richest cities in the United States, the tax is too high, the Seattle metropolitan area has a population of more than 4.7 million, and the total income has reached 320 billion US dollars, especially in Seattle, where there are more than 700,000 people and an annual income of more than 100 billion US dollars, so the local tax rate here is much higher than that of most places in the United States, A lot of stars don't want to play here.

But with such a lineup, and two first-rounders, whether it is a trade or a sign-and-trade, it is very attractive for some star point guards who aspire to win the championship, with five or six percentage points more taxes, and championships, many stars are still willing to pay some more.

Of course, five or six percentage points is a lot of weight for NBA team owners, so if they don't win the championship, without more box office and sponsorship, SuperSonics will move away one day.

After Liu Mang entered the court at the Aerokey Center, there wasn't much boos this time because Payton was gone.

If the SuperSonics want to trade Payton, there must be a rhetoric, Payton has a high status in the history of the SuperSonics, second only to Dennis Johnson, who led the SuperSonics to win the championship in the 1978-1979 season, Dennis Johnson is the only MVP in the history of the SuperSonics, and Payton has played the longest in the history of the SuperSonics and has a very high popularity.

So the superSonics claim is that Payton took the initiative to leave, relieving the pressure on the team to be blamed by fans.

The SuperSonics team is similar to the Magic team, and the stars of the house finally broke up, like Dennis Johnson, the strongest performer in the history of the SuperSonics, after winning the championship, because of contract problems, he was sold to the Celtics the second year after winning the championship MVP, but after Dennis Johnson's jersey, the SuperSonics did not retire him, but Dennis Johnson's jersey was retired by the Celtics, and he won two more championships with the Celtics......

Fans are always easily guided by public opinion, just like the Magic team "forced out" O'Neal, Payton returned to Seattle to play away after being traded, and was booed, and fans thought they were abandoned by Payton.

As everyone knows, Payton also has the feeling of being abandoned by the fans, and he has struggled here for 14 years!

So Liu Mang, who originally came to Seattle last season and was booed, didn't receive any boos this time.

The Hawks and the SuperSonics are one in the West and the other in the East, and there is no chance of a team in the Finals in team history, mainly because the Hawks have not had much to say after the 50s.

In this game, the SuperSonics team has no pressure, they can now enter the playoffs, or not, anyway, the draft pick is in the more than a dozen picks, this lineup is impossible, no matter how bad, you can't get the top five picks, the top ten picks are enough, whether you can enter the playoffs or not, the edge of the lotto looks like, so their head coach Nate McMillan has the idea that if he can win, he can't win, and it's right to cultivate a winning culture.

The main reason is that the Suns and Rockets are really fierce this year, fighting to the death for the eighth and ninth positions in the West, and the SuperSonics really can't compare with these two teams with a clear core.

Liu Mang drew a level 4 task before the game, a task that has little to do with the outcome of the game, and among the players involved in this game, the number of three-pointers thrown is the largest.

After the start of the game, Liu Mang watched the supersonic swing away four pitchers and blindly threw a few shots, Liu Mang decisively gave up this task, the record is important, if it was last season, Liu Mang would have just been with them, but not now, I can only endure it.

As an NBA player, sometimes it's just so helpless.

Sure enough, it's good to play steadily in the end, the supersonic three-pointers are too awesome, in the last 12 games, Ray Allen averaged 3.1 three-pointers per game, Barry averaged 2 three-pointers per game, Radmanovic averaged 1.5 three-pointers per game, Lewis also averaged 1 three-pointers per game, and the superSonics averaged 11 three-pointers per game during this time, the first in the league, more than the Celtics, Mavericks, Bucks, and Hawks who exploded in the same period, none of these four teams averaged more than 9 three-pointers per game.

Today, the SuperSonics made eight three-pointers in the half, and the Hawks mainly defended Ray Allen, and Barry's five three-pointers in the half scared the Hawks.

Fortunately, this kind of wave shooting without an organizational core has obvious shortcomings, when the Hawks replaced the cavalry company lineup with strong impact, strengthened the confrontation when defending, and played defensive counterattacks, the supersonic could not hold on, there was no powerful big man, no organizational core, this year the supersonic over-pursuit of three-point play is not feasible, the Hawks fell behind by 8 points at halftime 51-59, in the third quarter in one fell swoop, the supersonic three-point was stopped, and the third quarter was 79-72 overtake, The three-point shot that curbed the SuperSonics' survival with a strong physical confrontation forced the SuperSonics to score only 13 points in the third quarter.

In the end, the Hawks had the last laugh, winning 103-92 over the SuperSonics, winning two straight games and improving their record to 19-20.

Liu Mang shot 8 of 17 from the field, 3 of 7 three-pointers, got 25 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, and unfortunately lost to Barry's 6 three-point shots, but it was good to win the game.

After the game, the first generation of the pioneer officer Lei Allen, who had a bright future and was in a good mood, came to Liu Mang to exchange contact information, although Liu Mang's 1+1 contract renewal method also caused a lot of discussion at the time, and also temporarily stopped the idea of other teams to poach him, but there is always a chance that it is not.

……

……

After playing the SuperSonics, the Hawks' five-game road trip is finally over, and then they will return to their home court to play one game and then have a two-game road trip, and the January schedule will be over.

It's just that this game the next day, home and away, is no longer much different for the Hawks, back in Atlanta, the family is already packing up things, and they will move on February 1.

In addition to Liu Mang's clothes, a hard-working bicycle, it seems that there is really nothing, Alexia said to help Liu Mang clean up, Liu Mang is also happy to relax, he has been tired recently, the psychological kind, so he rests every day when he has time to rest, such as reading books in the hotel, playing games, watching TV, watching video clips, even if he is dozing off on the sofa, he doesn't want to work, and psychological fatigue can only be relieved by quiet rest.

Back in Atlanta for a night off, the Hawks welcomed the Portland Trail Blazers, who had just deepened their hatred again.

Speaking of hatred, there is no hatred between the players of the two teams, a team loses more games in a year, even if it is the strongest year in the universe, the regular season has lost 9 games, and the invincible bulls have also lost 10 games, if it is not for fights, brawls, black feet, malicious injuries and so on, winning or losing will not make hatred between players, at most hostile, next time revenge or something, this kind of bickering, hatred, mainly among fans.

Overall, the "hatred" between the Hawks and the Trail Blazers is mainly due to Liu Mang and Portland fans.

It seems that the hatred between the Eagles and all the teams is almost all Liu Mang VS other team fans, Liu Mang has become the focus of firepower, and he has always been painful and happy.

Because Rashid Wallace was banned, it had a great impact on the Trailblazers, in the past, Rashid Wallace was sent out at most, the ban was still very small, and the attendance rate was above 90% every year, because there is no ban clause for technical fouls in the current technical foul regulations, so Rashid Wallace can create a "glorious record" of 40 technical fouls in a single season, and it is estimated that no one will be able to break it in the future, in the new version of the collective bargaining agreement in 2011, after 15 technical fouls, the ban will begin.

Rasheed Wallace was undoubtedly the core of the Trail Blazers' offensive and defensive ends, and he couldn't play, the Trail Blazers plummeted, and the Hawks sat at home and won the game without much effort.

Liu Mang scored 14 points, 10 assists and 3 rebounds, helping the team easily win the game 97-85, while also completing a level 2 daily task assist double-double and getting 2,000 superstar points.

Liu Mang thinks it's really good to pit Rashid Wallace once and for all, and this year's game with the Trailblazers relied on pitting Rashid Wallace, hey, he won both games.

At this time, Rashid Wallace, who was reading those incomprehensible Taoist texts translated into English in San Francisco, sneezed inexplicably, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said to his wife who was dozing off next to him: "Rosa, let's travel to China in the summer!" Visit their true Taoist shrine! ”

Rashid Wallace's wife, Rosa Wallace, instantly sobered up, traveling, what woman doesn't like to go out and dress up and walk around, immediately agreed.

Originally, Rosa just couldn't resist this husband who was rough on the surface and childish in her heart, and she came to chant the scriptures together, and at the same time, she really wanted Rashid Wallace to be "good", don't be blown for technical fouls all day long, that's all money!

I didn't expect to get a trip abroad, so Rosa agreed without hesitation.

For Americans, China has always been very mysterious, this is the only country in the history of the world that has not broken the inheritance, and other ancient civilizations have long had nothing to do with the original ancient civilization......

……

Returning to Atlanta to play a home game, teammates Hawks players, in such a schedule, it is no different from playing away, they are all staying for two nights and then flying away, but it is also good to see family members who have not seen for more than ten days.

The day after beating the Pioneers, Dinah and Alexia, who were already on winter vacation, came to the airport to see off Liu Mang.

Liu Mang looked at the cute doll wrapped in a big red down jacket, he was really a little reluctant to stay for a day and leave, it seemed that another Chinese New Year's Eve was coming, and when the two guests returned, it was about to be the New Year.

Because they have learned Chinese and learned a lot about Chinese culture, the three girls in the family have learned a lot of Chinese customs and thoughts, so they are very curious about the New Year, because the Chinese New Year is still very different from their "New Year", that is, Christmas, so now the big red clothes are all on.

Liu Mang was very reluctant to drag his suitcase out of the parking lot to the VIP channel, this time he went out and came back, that is, to move, and then ...... Moving to a new home for the New Year? Thinking of this, Liu Mang still has a little expectation!

……

When he arrived on the plane, Liu Mang was very happy to see his teammates, and he was also happy.

After the double kill of the Trail Blazers, the Eagles' record finally returned to 5!

20-20, more than a month, finally caught up with the record, and is now in tenth place in the East, behind the 22-22 Washington Wizards, and has surpassed the 19-24 New York Knicks.

It's tough!

Moreover, Liu Mang feels that thanks to the relaxed schedule in late December and the first half of January, it gave the Eagles a chance to catch up with the record.

However, the next February and March schedules are treacherous and difficult, so Liu Mang and the Eagles players and coaching staff are very clear that they must win all the next two games! Leave as much room as possible for the fierce battles in February and March!

After playing in February and March, maintaining a winning rate of more than 50 percent, the Eagles have a chance to make the playoffs in the last nine games in April!

And Liu Mang, in addition to his desire for the playoffs, also wants to end the schedule before the New Year with a wave of consecutive wins and have a happy New Year!

After a few hours of flight, the Eagles arrived in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.

Stephen Marbury, the proud son of the 96 golden generation, as Liu Mang's predecessor in the same university, is not so friendly to Liu Mang.

As soon as he arrived in Phoenix, Liu Mang saw the local news, and Marbury said that Liu Mang was not worthy of being a candidate for Jordan's successor, he was the one who was more qualified!

Unlike Ray Allen, who has no pursuit of this thing, Marbury fired at Liu Mang because of this, plus previous grievances!