Chapter 256: Successive Battles
November, the first full month of the start of the new season.
With the Kings winning two straight at home, plus the previous win on the road, the Kings have completed a three-game winning streak, and this is the first time that Kings fans have enjoyed the joy of victory since the Kings traded Chris Webber.
The entire Sacramento ball market has been shaken, with jersey, sneakers, and ticket sales all rising, and the team's revenue has also increased a lot.
Wang Mingming's transformation of the team is very far-reaching.
The tactical style of play is complex and varied, and the style of coaching is very different from the previous 76ers era.
With a court controller like Kidd, no matter how complex the tactics are, they can always be understood, and other players, as long as they understand their own part, can quickly gather into a fighting force.
The Kings are 4-1, and the media is paying more and more attention to the Kings.
This is the case in the NBA, when a team enters the rhythm of rebuilding, every day is a variety of failures, all kinds of skills are inferior, not only fans don't like it, the media will not report too much, and when a team becomes a strong team in the league, even if the team's own attributes are low-key, it is always concerned, such as the Spurs.
Everything is going in a good direction.
The Kings' schedule isn't actually good, and there are plenty of back-to-back games in the early part of the season.
After a three-game winning streak, the Kings rested for two days before heading to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on the road.
The Utah Jazz are the kind of low-key, but strong team that Wang thinks tomorrow thinks, and the Jazz have been the dominant team in the Northwest Division over the past many years, under the leadership of Sloan. It is also because Salt Lake City has no opponents in the Northwest Division, and Salt Lake City's record will not be lower than the top four at its worst, and it has home-court advantage in the first round every time, and even won the Rockets once in the playoffs.
Paul Millsap did not go to the Jazz, and Sloan relied more on the new generation of "Utah twins", especially Delon, who has averaged two double-doubles per game for two consecutive seasons, even close to the level of "20+10".
The 10 assists per game of the playmaking guard is more rare than the 10 rebounds per game of the interior player.
Interior players average 10 rebounds per game, which can be said to be an excellent rebounding beast, but it is also a basic standard for measuring the ability of an interior rim protector, but organizing guards, averaging more than 10 times per game, can be called rare, can be called a passing master, battlefield engine.
A league-recognized passing guru like Kidd has averaged more than 10 assists per game in his career only three seasons, and most of the time, he's only hovering around nine.
If the defender averages more than 6 assists per game, he is already qualified, and if he averages more than 8 assists, he is excellent.
Of course, there are some opportunities for the Jazz's style of play to be easier to produce statistics, but it is undeniable that unless you are focused on breaking through the ball or throwing the pot after 24 seconds, it is very difficult to easily brush up more than 10 assists, and assists have become the most difficult link among many players' triple-doubles.
"The Jazz used to be very strong, but this year they are not in good shape, with 2 wins and 3 losses."
Before playing with the Jazz, Wang Mingming learned that the former Northwest overlord now has some internal problems.
Mainly in Kirilenko and head coach Sloan.
The conflict between Kirilenko and Sloan has been going on for a long time, and even in the 07 playoffs with the Rockets, there was a gap between the two.
Kirilenko's wife Martha once said that there were some misunderstandings between Kirilenko and Sloan, and the reason for these misunderstandings was Kirilenko's bad English, and Kirilenko couldn't express himself correctly because of his poor English, and the Jazz team should have a translator for Kirilenko, just like Yao Ming who went to the rocket at the beginning.
It sounds a bit bizarre, but it's just the way it is, and the gap gradually turns into a contradiction, and in the end, some even look at each other.
In addition, Kirilenko and Delon also have conflicts, last season, Delon was blown up by rookie Rose, and after the game, Kirilenko and Delon quarreled in the locker room and had a serious dispute.
If Wang coached the Jazz tomorrow, he might have endured the pain and traded Kirilenko, but in the Jazz, trading players is not the decision of Sloan, the veteran coach who has worked for decades, so the Jazz are not stable at all.
The Kings visited Salt Lake City and defeated the Jazz 103-91.
Defeated by the Kings who were still fish belly last season, the Jazz broke the news of internal contradictions after the game, and there were rumors that Delon and Kirilenko had a "big fight" in the locker room, and the contradictions between the two sides have been irreconcilable to a very serious point.
In this regard, Wang Mingming also smiled bitterly.
Every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, so this is why he seeks the right to operate the player, only this right is also on him, he has more weight in the team, and it is easier to suppress these millionaires or even multimillionaires.
The Kings are on a four-game winning streak, with 5 wins and 1 loss, second in the West, behind the Rockets.
This is especially surprising to many, the progress is too great, from the bottom of the league to the second in the West!
In the new edition of the league power rankings, the Kings ranked 5th, you know, at the beginning of the season, the Kings were the third lowest in the league, and the rising speed was the same as the Rockets.
The Kings won back-to-back games and won back-to-back home games to win 120-107.
Warriors rookie Steve Curry started the game with just nine points and four rebounds, while DeRozan scored a career-high 17 points, including a shocking dunk that put the ball into the basket after the Warriors' Biedrins was named the top 10 of the day.
"Coach Wang Mingming really has a good sense of people."
The elder Nelson was full of praise for Wang Mingming after the game, and admitted that Wang Mingming has the strength of the league's top coach, "He is a real coach of the first army, and the players have played a gorgeous transformation under his leadership, which is his ability." ”
On a day off, the Kings host the Thunder.
With a five-game winning streak, it unstoppably led the Thunder by more than 20 points at halftime.
I thought it was an out-and-out slaughter, but I didn't expect the sudden change in the situation, the young Thunder team set off a counterattack in the second half, Westbrook and Durant played how to have it, and they caught up with the score.
In the fourth quarter, the score was tied and the two sides entered a tug-of-war.
It wasn't until the final minute that the game was decided, with the Kings relying on a crucial two-point run from Chris Bosh to ultimately win 101-98 over the Thunder.
The Kings are on a six-game winning streak.
On this same day, the Rockets lost to the Dallas Mavericks away, and the Rockets lost to the Mavericks by 18 points 103-121, giving up the first place in the West because of the winning percentage.
At the same time, the Eastern Cavaliers also lost games, and the Kings not only ranked first in the West, but also ranked first in the league.
Chris Bosh won his first career Western Conference Player of the Week award with a double-double of 22.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game this week.
Tyson Chandler stopped and stopped, but Wang Tomorrow has already set off countless waves with the combination of Kidd, Artest and Bosh.
The "low-profile" Big Three is far more powerful than imagined in the league, plus a bunch of shooters on the bench, the Kings lineup is unpredictable, and the tactical style is also unpredictable.
On Nov. 13, the Kings host the Rockets.
It was a focal point battle that represented the battle between the newly promoted No. 1 and No. 2 in the West.
At the same time, Wang Mingming's die-hard disciple, Paul Millsap, also visited Wang Mingming.
There was an indescribable fit between Paul Millsap and Yao Ming, and chemistry quickly developed between the two. For example, Millsap added Yao Ming's weak offensive rebounding characteristics, Yao Ming can help Millsap defend against tall players in the restricted area, Millsap and Yao Ming shoot accurately, and can pass the ball to each other.
Two players with high ball quotient met together, supplemented by Wilson Chandler, Gallinari, Brooks, Battier and other outside giants, although the Rockets lost Artest and Maddy, but the overall strength increased, Adelman took out a Princeton system, and the entire Rockets seemed to be alive.
The king is not sure if Adelman is a blind cat and a dead mouse, but there is no doubt that the Rockets have become the king's greatest enemy in the West.
So in this game, Wang Ming also attaches great importance to it and has made a lot of preparations before the game.
"Coach, Yao Ming is really a very humorous player, and it was very interesting to play with him." Leaving the 76ers, Millsap is still an All-Star player, and now he is partnering with Yao Ming to lead the Rockets to play and prove himself, and he has been in a good mood.
Yao Ming came to visit Wang Mingming with Millsap, and when he heard Millsap's praise, he couldn't help but smile, but he still said modestly: "Paul is praising me again, I feel that since he came, I have been receiving little red flowers." ”
"What does it mean to receive little red flowers?" Millsap asked, puzzled.
Wang Mingming listened and laughed.
Yao Ming explained: "In our country, primary school students who perform well will be rewarded with little red flowers by their teachers. ”
When Millsap heard this, he was immediately happy, and his laughter was very low, and he laughed out loud.
Wang Ming saw that although Yao Ming's expression was excited, there was a rare trace of tiredness between his eyebrows, and looking at his figure, he seemed to be a little burder than last year, so he couldn't help but be a little worried, and asked.
"Da Yao, you weigh ......."
"Coach, I know you are for my good, but I really want to fight, my trainer told me that maintaining 135 kilograms will not cause too much burden on my body, if there is no corresponding weight, the deterrent effect of the forbidden area, it really drops a lot......."
Wang Ming fell silent, he knew that what Yao Ming said was right.
"Your body, you must pay attention, the body is the most important thing, you are 29 years old, next year will be 30 years old, for a player, it is the most critical stage, if you can't even guarantee your health, how can you achieve results in the playoffs?"
Wang tomorrow persuaded him, and he was sincere.
Millsap didn't understand why Wang Ming had to persuade Yao Ming to pay attention to his body, in his opinion, Yao Ming's body was very healthy, and there was no problem playing 35 minutes per game.
Subsequently, Wang Ming will talk about Yao Ming's hidden injuries tomorrow.
Yao Ming has experienced many injuries in his career, and each time it has been a major injury, including osteomyelitis of the big toe of his left foot, a fractured tibia bone in his right knee, and so on.
"Paul, with Yao Ming's weight, is extremely susceptible to major injuries, so during the game, I always hope that Yao can reduce the game time to 30 minutes, so that some stressful injuries can be avoided." Wang Ming explained.
Millsap immediately paid attention, he hoped to enter the finals with Yao Ming and create a great cause, but he couldn't let Yao Ming get hurt, so he said solemnly: "Yao, I think what the coach said makes sense." ”
"Last season was different from this one, last season was mainly based on the three of you, but this season you have also seen that we have brought in a lot of young people, and there are Luis (Scola), Chuck [Hayes] and others in the bench, so I think you should listen to the coach.
Yao Ming took the words of the two to heart and nodded that he would communicate with Coach Rick.
After a while, he suddenly joked and said, "Coach, you let me play time drop, won't you be afraid that I will blow up your inside line tonight?" ”
Wang Ming was stunned, and then burst out laughing.
It's very easy to chat with Yao Ming, some of the words Yao Ming said have their own comic attributes, just like his emojis, so such an optimistic and open-minded person is easy to make people feel good.
At night, the Sacramento Arco Arena was packed.
The second in the West is coming, and the fans want to see the team beat the opponent, so they all buy popcorn and Coke, clear their throats, and prepare to shout and cheer.
This has become a new project in Sacramento over the past few games.
The Rockets are menacing, and this game has become a national live broadcast.
Adelman looked serious, and until the starters came on the field, he was still making arrangements, and obviously took this game very seriously.
The Kings started the same and Tyson Chandler continued his routine of playing at home with a break from the road.
Rockets starters at No. 1 through No. 5: Aaron Brooks, Wilson Chandler, Sean Battier, Paul Millsap and Yao Ming.
Yao Ming and Chandler jumped in the center, and Yao Ming took the lead in the basketball.
A roar of defense sounded at the scene, and the momentum had the atmosphere of the home field.
Of course, it can't be compared with the frenetic atmosphere in Philadelphia, when Wang Tomorrow looked around, he was already somewhat satisfied, these fans are the key to creating a home atmosphere, as the record gets better and better, the fans like the team more and more, the home atmosphere will become more and more intense.
Wang tomorrow remembered the Cavaliers and Celtics, who have the home court of the league devils.
The so-called devil's home stadium and the record complement each other, a good record can form the devil's home field, and a good home atmosphere can the players be motivated, and it is possible to play a better record.
Sometimes you are used to losing, like the Knicks, you don't know when the last time the home fans cheered for themselves, and the players are not surprised to lose.