Why would Raheem want to listen to a rookie?

In addition to this rookie who seems to be a natural leader, he has an indescribable leadership charm, and Liu Mang is good at learning, and every time he meets a superstar, he can learn something from his opponent, which is what Rahim admires.

In Rahim's view, Liu Mang has surpassed the theoretical limitations of his weak body.

People who admire don't necessarily have to be stronger than themselves, and they are also admirable in other aspects.

In this game, Rahim saw Liu Mang's progress again, a few days ago in the game by Iverson's layups with the same hands and feet made Rahim unable to defend against it, today Liu Mang used that trick, and the amazing feeling for Rahim is very special!

It's not Carter's flying buckle, but what he sees suits him, he learns it, and dares to use it in the game!

Raheem has seen Ratliff shoot 7-of-10 from the bottom corner in practice, but never shoots outside the three-second zone in the game.

Learning makes people progress, and he boldly takes the first step, and Rahim learned this from Liu Mang.

So this time against Garnett, Raheem has been trying to learn those defensive skills of Garnett.

I really saw some of the truths......

At the start of the second half, when the Timberwolves lineup stepped onto the court, the fans began to scream!

Garnett, Anthony Piller, Gary Tranter, Szzczebiak, Rasu Nesterovic.

Navigator Trant, Slovenian big center Nesterovic, these two play, Garnett goes to play point guard, the height of the Timberwolves' lineup is too terrifying!

Garnett plays point guard!

Liu Mang and Jason Terry, one of the Hawks' three small ones, glanced at each other and went to defend the shooter, Ratliff and Muhammad stayed under the basket, Trant, nicknamed Voyager, had a good defense, fast speed, excellent ability to counterattack with the ball, and was very good at catching rebounds and fast breaking, and had played an average of 16 points and 7 boards per game under Nelson Sr., which was very suitable for partnering with Garnett, but he had no shooting ability, and Muhammad shrank directly into the basket.

Raheem gripped his head to meet Garnett.

The Hawks' lineup has to defend Garnett, and in fact, the best option is Rahim.

"Go away, soft eggs with soft worms." Garnett began to squirt his slang again.

Billups was away, and Garnett's aura that tortured everyone began to work again, but Rahim was stunned!

"I heard Ace say, the more you lack something, the more you like to show off, the more you curse others, what flaws do you have, are you soft?" Raheem fired back unceremoniously.

Isn't it just scolding? Who wouldn't!

Garnett is so angry! The young people of this team are more annoying than the other!

Garnett didn't dare to shoot in the face of Rahim's equally slender body, and Garnett originally wanted to shoot directly in the face of the opposing guard.

But breaking through Garnett is also very good!

Raheem bullied and pressed Garnett to reach out and steal, a two-meter-one-one power forward, no matter how he can dribble, he can't be as stable as a guard!

However, Garnett is so awesome in possession of the ball! Before the big injury in '09, Garnett was an elongated version of Lamar Odom!

Garnett took advantage of Raheem's reach, and a backdribble swept past Raheem and into the inside!

It has long been known that Garnett holds the ball and breaks through the frighteningly strong Muhammad pounces to the free throw line, Garnett distributes the ball to the empty Trant, Trant rushes into the inside, attracts Ratliff's defense and has a good sense of giving it to Nesterovic, Nesterovic catches the ball and throws it to score two points!

Gary Alien's impact, ball handling, and awareness are all needed by the Timberwolves, but they don't last long.

Trant averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds per game in the Mavericks before February of the 98-99 season, when he was only 24 years old, he looked promising, but suffered a back injury in February, and then only played 10 games in the 99-10 season.

It's really to give Garnett a teammate who can still be seen, and he can go berserk! Just like getting madmen and aliens in the summer of '03, Garnett directly became the MVP!

The Eagles attacked, Liu Mang moved to the frontcourt, and Garnett defended it.

O king of all-round defense!

Liu Mang is under a lot of pressure! At this time, Garnett, in addition to the huge fat like O'Neal and Eddie Curry, and the giant jumping type of Duncan and Admiral, Garnett can completely go from one to five!

"Come on, Joker, use your foul on me!" Garnett took the initiative to declare war!

Regardless of whether the opponent is a rookie or a superstar, Garnett treats the opponent equally and sprays the opponent to death.

If it were a black player, he would definitely be angry and angry, such as Rahim, who fought back, but in Liu Mang's opinion, this is not as lethal as the quarrel between the aunts in the vegetable market.

"Kevin, aren't you tired of guarding against Sharif and guarding against me?" Liu Mang asked as he dribbled the ball and looked for loopholes in Garnett's defense.

This is a bit heart-wrenching!

Liu Mang's words poked Garnett's little heart.

Can you not get tired?

He started playing center, played small forward in the back, and now he is playing point guard.

Murder and heartbreaking!

Sometimes a seemingly casual remark in someone can easily poke the softest part of someone else's heart.

"This rookie looks like a good guy!"

Garnett was distracted for a moment!

Liu Mang saw Garnett's small broken steps pause, and immediately grabbed the ball and raised his arm to hit Garnett's outstretched long arm.

At this time, Liu Mang and Garnett both reacted, and at the same time secretly screamed that it was not good!

Garnett was about to be fouled, and Liu Mang remembered that the referee didn't give the whistle last time he wanted to make Iverson foul!

Garnett's coffee seat is no lower than Iverson's! This is true both in terms of strength and popularity.

However, the referee gave the whistle this time!

Garnett actually reacted quickly and wanted to dodge, but he still reacted a little slower and didn't dodge Liu Mang's action of hitting him, almost the moment Liu Mang hit Garnett's arm, the referee gave the whistle!

Garnett fouled and made 3 free throws!

Garnett was so angry this time that he didn't have the heart to argue with the referee.

"What a fart! This rookie is so shameless! ”

The fans at the scene were in the same mood as Garnett, and their thoughts were the same in addition to denying that Liu Mang was a good person, this rookie was shameless!

Liu Mang stepped onto the free throw line amid boos, a little confused, why didn't he seem to be destroyed by the superstar whistle? The referee gave the whistle so decisively! Instead of being hesitant to give the whistle like Kobe and Carter before, and even not giving the whistle directly when playing Iverson.

This is thanks to NBA President David Stern, of course, because Liu Mang cannot be the main player of the NBA, it is impossible to give the future James that kind of treatment, the NBA wants to praise, but also praises American players, it is impossible to promote a non-American player to become the NBA's signboard, but it is still okay to give a whistle that treats everyone equally.

This is the selected plan of Stern's Chinese market strategy, the first plan is, of course, Yao Ming, who has been determined to enter the NBA and is invincible in the CBA, but a Yao Ming, Stern is not at ease, who knows what Yao Ming will do in the NBA, in case of water, there can also be Liu Mang, a star-like alternative plan.

Therefore, it is one of the plans of the NBA top management to let Liu Mang not be affected by the whistle.

Liu Mang still took advantage of his Chinese identity!

Liu Mang, who stood on the free throw line, hit two of the three free throws! It was offset by the score that Garnett had just organized to attack.

46 to 40, still a 6-point difference!

The Timberwolves attacked, and as soon as Nesterovic sent the ball to Garnett, Liu Mang posted it to steal! However, Garnett is really good at controlling the ball, just like Odom, he can act as the main ball handler, and compared to the outside line, the huge body can be steadily advanced by separating Liu Mang with his arms.

Liu Mang immediately ran back to his own half, he didn't fight hard if he couldn't do anything, he just tried it, but he didn't expect Garnett to control the ball as steadily as it looked.

Another beautiful breakthrough point, Garnett had the help of an impactful teammate like Trant, although he didn't get an assist, but Trant cut inside and gave Liu Mang to make up for the exposed Szzambiak, Szzambiak stepped on the three-point line and hit a long two-point shot.

Liu Mang pushed over and found that he had been replaced, and Garnett didn't come up to defend himself!

Are you scared?

Liu Mang denied this answer, although Garnett was jokingly called fighting and retreating, but it was just when he was fighting, Garnett was smart, and rarely fought on the court, firstly, he was so smart, and secondly, it was not cost-effective to be injured in a fight.

Liu Mang quickly thought about it, Garnett had already committed three crimes!

I see!

Liu Mang dribbled to the three-point line, and Trant defended it, given that Liu Mang had already made 8 free throws in the previous half, Trant had a good sense of defense and good physical fitness, and he could advance or retreat one step away.

Liu Mang did not choose to step back and shoot because of this, he saw Garnett go to defend Rahim, and immediately beckoned Rahim to come over to block the demolition.

Raheem cooperated very well and came over to help Liu Mang block Trant, Liu Mang rushed inside, his speed skyrocketed, not at the basket, but at Garnett, who was retreating to the free throw line!

Garnett hesitated and dodged, Liu Mang was a little regretful, but did not stop and continued to rush into the three-second zone, Nestrovic made up for it, Liu Mang threw the ball to the left side of the basket, and Ratliff on the left side of the three-second zone jumped in and pressed the ball into the basket.

Garnett committed three fouls, and the Timberwolves' defense fell into passivity!

In the process of retreating, Liu Mang called Rahim and Jason Terry together, and only said one sentence, making Garnett foul!

When it came to the Timberwolves offense again, Garnett made his own shot this time, hitting a long two-point shot from outside the free throw line, and the iron began to be accurate and entered the state.

Garnett, who enters the state, will be more difficult to deal with, so Liu Mang and the other three small ones, who have the opportunity to face Garnett head-on, will stick to Garnett, but Garnett can see the opponent's sinister intentions from the first time Liu Mang wants to make him foul, and the defense is dodging to play.

In this way, although Garnett's foul crisis has been temporarily alleviated, without his ubiquitous and overwhelming defense, the Timberwolves' fast-paced defensive rotation has collapsed!

Liu Mang is not in a hurry, it is not bad to score against the opponent in this way, the score difference of about 5 points is still maintained, it is a big deal to fight a tug-of-war, and if he has the opportunity, he will beat Garnett.

The score finally began to look like a game between a shooting team and a counterattacking team, and in the eighth minute of the third quarter, both teams finally broke 60, and the Hawks led the Timberwolves by five points at 67-62.

As the saying goes, only a thousand days to be a thief, how can there be a thousand days to prevent thieves, Garnett then restrained the urge to make up for the defense, or there is a time to relax, after another Liu Mang and Rahim's blocking, this time Trant chased Liu Mang around the block and dismantled very quickly, to avoid Liu Mang to find Garnett, but Liu Mang gave Rahim, Rahim took the initiative to hit Garnett, Garnett was just about to make up for Liu Mang but saw that Trant chased up and came back to block Rahim, and was hit by Rahim on the way in, Raheem caused Garnett's fourth foul of the game!

Coach Sanders called a timeout with a blank face and replaced Garnett with Billups.

……

If the Timberwolves had shot accurately in the first quarter, and if Liu Mang had been serious about the Timberwolves' defense at the beginning, the Timberwolves would not have been chasing points.

But there was no if in the game, as a strong team in the West, after Jordan completely retired from the Bulls, the strong teams in the West did not look down on the Eastern teams, and the same was true for the Timberwolves, and then the Hawks seized the opportunity to beat a wave hard, and the Timberwolves never stood up again.

Garnett made four fouls and then switched to another master of the field, Billups, but Billups led the team alone, and Garnett was really not in the same grade! He needs a team of blue-collar workers to do what he is told, and the requirements for the lineup are actually more demanding than almost all playmakers who can control the field! The main reason is that Billups's own personal ability is not a superstar, even if he is at his peak, he is at the level of a first-class player, and he has never reached the level of a top star, and he needs a lineup and system that is suitable enough for him to give full play to his power of control.

After Garnett went off the court, the Eagles occupied the absolute again, Liu Mang had no disadvantage in the face of Billups, and he couldn't play Billups' calm control ability when he ran up, and the Eagles replaced Ratliffe to play a fast break and quickly pulled the score away.

After Garnett came up in the fourth quarter, he was chased by the Hawks to make fouls, Garnett was so angry that he continued to roar at the referee, and the vocabulary of the American imperialist players was completely exposed, either the whole Hawks team was a clown, or they directly spewed slang words, which finally angered the referee, and two technical fouls sent Garnett off the court!

This contest is completely closed! The Timberwolves were defeated after Garnett's foul crisis, and in the second half of the fourth quarter, the Hawks stretched the margin to more than 15 points and sealed the win!

In the end, the Hawks defeated the Timberwolves 93-85 away, ending the journey in January! The last five consecutive games in January have a 4-1 record.

After an incredible three-month season, the Hawks are firmly in first place in the East before February!

……

……

On the evening of January 31, the NBA headquarters in New York.

Tomorrow is the time to announce the results of the All-Star bench that coaches voted for.

After that, there are a series of things such as makeup photos, as well as all-star promotion, all-star weekend public welfare activities, and so on.

David Stern, who is about to turn 60 this year and has contributed the most to the NBA and to basketball, was discussing the details of this year's Philadelphia All-Star Weekend with Reno Vanderwich, vice president of the publicity department, when another vice president, Adam Silva, who is still with long hair, knocked on the door and entered.

"David, the coach's vote is out." Adam Silva simply explained what he wanted to report.

Adam Silva, born in '62, joined NBA headquarters at the age of 30, became special assistant to David Stern and NBA commissioner at the age of 35, became the vice president and chief executive officer of the NBA's commercial department at the age of 38, and became one of the 100 most influential business people of the year published by Time magazine last summer.

Stern took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "Reno, just do as you say!" The prize money for all competitions is announced first, and the players win the prizes and then donate them to charity, so you can get busy first. ”

“OK。” Rino Van de Wywich knows his boss very well and knows that there are things to talk about that he can't let know.

After Reno Vanderwicz left, Stern took over the All-Star bench from Adam Silva.

"Sure enough, the coach is still so conservative, all of them are old faces." David Stern sighed regretfully.

Adam Silva certainly understands what the boss is saying, if it were just this list, he wouldn't be here, without the name the boss wants in it.

"David, the Raptors have just made an official announcement that Vince Carter is going to have knee surgery for a recurrence of his left knee injury from a 2000 injury, and announced that he will be reimbursed for the season." Adam Silva said what he really wanted to tell his boss.

"Carter's season reimbursement?" David Stern stood up in fright.

Don't do that! Carter is another popular king in the league after Jordan, although he can't hold it anymore, and he doesn't have the dominance of Jordan, which makes the league executives a little disappointed, but the benefits he brings to the NBA are really not much worse than Jordan in this era when income is rising year after year.

Of course, this has to be Carter's constant ability to buckle and maintain such popularity.

"There's no way around it," Adam Silva said, "Carter has had knee problems since he was injured by the Spurs in 2000, and he rested more than a dozen games last season, and Carter almost got into a fight with Bowen the other day. ”

"Spurs, Bowen, Popovich." Stern hated it!

If he knew that there would be a piston in two years, he would probably be angry.

After calming down for a moment, David Stern suddenly thought of one thing, and he also figured out why Adam Silva was here: "Okay, Carter's All-Star spot is vacated, what does Adam have to suggest?" It's too difficult to pick an All-Star frontcourt player in the East. ”

"David, how about I write the name you have in mind?" As he spoke, Adam Silva took out his notebook and wrote it down.

David Stern took a look at the name and had a crush on Adam Silva!

"Okay, Adam, that's a good suggestion, just do what you say!" David Stern thinks that if there is a Chinese market, it is not a big deal for Carter to have a tendency to fall, and the United States is not without superstars.

The corners of Adam Silva's mouth twitched, I wanted to curse! Is this my suggestion? It's obviously what you want!

If you don't die old, you're a monster! I don't want to take any responsibility!

But as a subordinate, isn't it just used to find a way when the boss is out of line, and the boss wants to catch it decisively when he wants to shake the pot, otherwise what does the boss want you to do?

Adam Silva wrote two names on the injury slots and alternates on the All-Star bench application paperwork and handed them to the president to sign.

The substitute selected by the coach must also be signed by the president, and of course, according to the rules, the president must also sign.

Adam Silva looked at David Stern, who was written in the president's signature position, and thought that one day the name written in this position would be himself!