Chapter 257: The New Season Begins
The Knicks eliminated last season's sworn enemy, winning all seven games in the preseason and becoming the only team in the league to remain undefeated in the preseason, although two of these games were against the weak chickens, and the other five NBA teams were only the Magic and Bulls, but the New Yorkers' offensive power this season is still eye-catching for the entire league.
On October 20, the Knicks returned to the United States from their trip to Asia, and the team naturally understood the psychological and physical needs of the players, so they had a special two-day holiday, and the team will officially gather on the 23rd to start reserving physical fitness for the new season.
During the two days of rest, Emperor Wu was destined to not be able to rest, and there was still a group of hungry tigresses in his harem waiting for him to hand over seeds.
To be honest, if Emma Watson hadn't been in New York for such a long time, if Emma Watson hadn't sent Wu Huang a shameful little yellow picture of her and Kristen Lily all day long to seduce him, Wu Huang would even think that these two girls who are in need would dye his head a little bit under hunger and thirst.
So he is not so relieved about another very hungry Taylor Swift, who has been following the news of the little singer all this time, and thanks to the day and night tracking of the European paparazzi, he let go of his unnecessary worries.
Taylor Swift said that she was even more worried about Emperor Wu, who was purely shameless herself, so she often thought of others as unbearable as him.
After two ridiculous days, D'Antoni looked at the group of players who were weak and began to carry out the recovery training that had been prepared for a long time, which was used to help the players who had been drained to regain their energy, and at the same time use the last four or five days before the start of the regular season to adjust their mental and physical condition.
Before the start of the regular season, ESPN announced the team power list for the new season, and the New York Knicks rushed into the top three without any suspense.
No. 1: Los Angeles Lakers
Is there reason to believe that next season's Lakers aren't the best team in the NBA? They have the best talents, the best coaches, and the best players.
Kobe Bryant was plagued by injuries last season, including a knee injury and a ruptured ligament in his fingers, but the result? The Lakers are still defending their championship. It's the offseason, and while Kobe Bryant is resting well, the Lakers are also bringing in new members, and the Purple and Gold have once again set ambitious goals and worked hard.
The addition of Steve Blake, Theo Ratliffe, Matt Barnes, Devin Ibancos, Derrick Carrey Cotter and others has made the Lakers a mix of old and new, vitality and experience.
The Lakers first recruited Blake in the summer, and his arrival was to ensure victory, Blake, who was once known as Nash Jr., can fit perfectly into the triangle offense, and his value is also a salary that the Lakers can accept. Matt Barnes can be the biggest addition to the two-time championship Lakers, his toughness on the defensive end is nothing short of words, the defensive stalwart who turned down the Knicks' high-salary offer was able to unite the bench players, and he will be substituted in the regular season when Kobe Bryant and Artest need to rest.
All in all, every move for the Lakers this summer is a guarantee of future title defense, and everything they've done has convinced people that the 2011 NBA championship will still be Los Angeles.
No. 2: Miami Heat
The Heat's Big Three has changed the way fans used to think of competition, and when it comes to the Heat, the saying "if you can't beat, join in" has turned out to be true. Whether you like the Heat or not, there's no disputing that the Heat have signed a contract with the Big Three for at least five years, during which time they will all be championship seeds.
One LeBron James is enough to ensure that the Heat can advance to the playoffs, so with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, wouldn't it ensure that Miami can enter the Finals? No one dares to say anything about this, the chemistry is a problem, and the team has to plan for it. The big question is, are these big-name stars willing to dim their own light to illuminate others? The Heat are a team that has no shortage of talent, but it remains to be seen whether they can maximize their strengths and integrate the supporting characters around them into the team.
No. 3: New York Knicks.
Wonder what LeBron James means to Cleveland and how important Hugo is to the Knicks. He is everything to the Knicks, no matter which star is poached in the new season, the Knicks want to challenge for the championship, and they have to count on him in the end.
Looking back at the changes of the Knicks in the offseason, the New Yorkers really earned it, while losing a big man, they won Stoudemire, which is equivalent to trading David Lee for Xiaos, and their selected No. 6 pick also has a bright future, the New Yorkers not only mastered the present this summer, but also invested in the future, which may be the most successful summer in Knicks history.
On the defensive end, the Knicks also brought in Tony Allen, Evans, Collins, Turiav and other excellent interior and outside defensive engineers, and now their bench is full of energy, and there are at least two qualified players who can play at each position, especially these fierce sapper players, it is really a challenge to attack other teams, and the Magic team has experienced the power of this group of blue-collar workers with a base salary not long ago.
People are infinitely optimistic about this Knicks, who are perfect on the offensive end and talented on the defensive end, and they will definitely use Hugo as the axis to build a game system that suits him, now and in the future. As long as the NBA's most handsome man can score 30 points per game and regularly cut triple-doubles, the Knicks' championship hopes will grow.
New York fans can rest assured that Hugo, Stoudemire, Iguodala, and Gallinari will bring them a visual feast in the playoffs, and the gradual improvement of these players can reduce the pressure on Hugo, and will also make the team more comprehensive, and everyone can score double-doubles.
The only problem is defense, and despite the fact that the Knicks have a lot of defensive giants and two defensive second-team perimeter players, they haven't shown true collective defense, and if they want to go one step further in the playoffs, they have to get everyone moving and let everyone's talents come together so that the Knicks' third championship is not far from them.
No. 4: Boston Celtics
The Green Shirts are old, but they are still out of the game.
Ray Allen had a crazy performance in the finals. No one knows what level of physical condition the wolf king is, and it seems that he can play a few more playoffs and continue to help the team move forward. Paul Pearce is naturally the most reassuring of the Big Three. Of course, we can't forget that Rondo, the new giant who really dragged the Big Three forward last season, his ceiling determines the ceiling of the Celtics, and the lower limit of the old Big Three determines the lower limit of the Celtics.
The main framework of the Green Army's championship is still there, their hunger for a championship is still there, and the energy and confrontation may not be as good as the Heat and Knicks, but at least they have and proved it. They're playing team basketball now, and there's a lot of chemistry on the court, and the team itself is full of confidence.
Rondo is the key and X-factor, he's becoming more savvy and mature, and a point guard of his age rarely has the same results as he does. With Pierce in the field this season, it is entirely up to him how far the Green Army can go in the new season. If he could play as well as he did in the Finals, the team would be in much better shape.
Unfortunately, often in the regular season, it takes a long time for Rondo to find form. But when it comes to big games, Rondo will definitely step up. But for now, Boston isn't a top-three team in the league, at least in the regular season.
No. 5: Chicago Bulls.
Putting the young Bulls in this position this season is bound to cause a lot of controversy, but Chicago has put a lot of thought into the roster this summer. Frankly, they have moved out of mediocrity and are moving towards a high level.
First, the Chicagoans poached the Jazz's Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, which was the beginning of their Plan B. Of course, Plan A was to sign with James, preferably with Bosh, but the plan apparently fell apart.
Fortunately, the candidates for Plan B are still acceptable, with Noah, Boozer, Gibson, and Rohr Dundo in the frontcourt, which is enough to withstand any team in the NBA, including the incredibly talented Heat and Knicks.
If Noah and Boozer are perfectly combined, there don't seem to be many teams in the NBA who can match them, and Noah is the kind of player who can create opportunities for others, and the same is true for Boozer. Luol Deng is also the most underrated star player, who has made a lot of contributions to the Bulls but has been criticized by the outside world.
Of course, where the Bulls team is on the line, in the end depends on how far Derrick Rose can go, but the preseason game against Hugo obviously made him lose a lot of points, compared to Rose who scored 30 points in a single game but lost, Bulls fans should prefer Rose, who averages 20 points per game and plays more reasonably.
Rose has never been a super scorer like Hugo, his style shouldn't be like that, every game, every season, you have to figure out why the ball is in your hands, how you have to deal with the ball, continue to play, activate teammates, disrupt the opponent's rhythm is what he should do, the roles of Wu Huang and Kobe Bryant are not suitable for everyone, Wade and James are the role models of the Bulls and the key to the Bulls' road to the championship.
On October 22, the NBA2010-2011 regular season schedule was released, as Wu Huang expected, the Knicks' schedule this year is much easier than last year, with only 15 back-to-back games throughout the season, and the schedule at the beginning of the season is tighter, but the schedule after the All-Star break is more relaxed, which is the favorite ups and downs of all teams.
After a summer of rest, players are generally not in good shape at the beginning of the regular season, and a tight schedule can help players get into shape faster. Before the All-Star break, the players should also be more physically fit than after the All-Star break, when the schedule is tighter and less prone to injuries. But after the All-Star break, the players' fitness reserves will gradually decline, and the schedule will gradually become easier, which is a great way to greatly reduce the risk of injury for players.
The new season is about to begin, all kinds of media are speculating about the strength and results of each team in the new season, and the spinach dogs are struggling with which team to put their full worth on, at present, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat are the two most optimistic choices for the mass media and fans, while the Knicks, who are not weak on the battle power list, are not favored in the odds of winning the championship, neutral fans believe that the Knicks can play a record that surpasses the Lakers and the Heat in the regular season, but they do not believe that they can finally win the championship.
The famous betting website "Bovada" opened the latest NBA championship odds on the 23rd.
The Miami Heat, who won the triumvirate of James, Wade and Bosh in the summer, are ranked first in the odds to win the championship, although many people think that the Heat may not win the league in the new season, and there is never such a thing as a predetermined champion in the NBA. But the essence of the professional game is not only about winning or losing, but also about the topic, and the Heat have done the best of it.
Do fans still remember when Real Madrid formed a luxury team, the head of Florentino once said emotionally: "The reason why I want to form such a team is not only to win the championship, but also to give everyone who loves football a dream." Many years later, people still remember the star-studded galaxy that had its strengths and weaknesses, and that's what the Heat are doing for their fans today, and they're 3 to 1 to 3.
Defending champions Los Angeles Lakers are second in odds to win the title, retaining key players for two consecutive championships in the summer and bringing in a couple of role players who fit their game, but they are not as good as the Heat's Big Three, at 3.5 to 1, although all Purple and Gold fans believe they can create another Lakers dynasty.
The reason why the Lakers are not as good as the Heat in terms of odds is that some fans are worried about the age of Kobe, Gasol and Odom. No matter how strong a player is, once he is over 33 years old, it is easy to decline quickly, Kobe Bryant is 33 years old, can he still maintain his form last season? Even if he could, would Gasol, who had been in decline last season, still be able to fight Duncan, Nowitzki, Garnett, or even the younger Bosh, Smalls, and Howard in the East?
The important point that neutral fans think the Lakers are inferior to the Heat is: If the Lakers and the Heat finally meet in the Finals, how will the gap in athleticism between the two teams be bridged?
The Celtics are in third place in the odds to win the title, and the Big Three have reached the Finals twice in three seasons, winning once and losing once, which is enough to give people enough confidence in this team.
But the problem is that this season's Green Army can't afford to have key players injured, and that's exactly what Celtic can't avoid. As long as one of the three old giants misses the playoffs, the chances of the Celtics trying to reach the Finals again are not too great. However, if you want the three veterans to stay healthy all the time, there is more of an element of luck in this, followed by the quality of Rivers' rotation and whether the role players can help the big three share the pressure during the regular season.
The biggest trouble for the Green Army this season is age and injury, as long as they can enter the playoffs in full health, then it is not a luxury to see the two giants face off in the Finals again, but unfortunately this probability is not too big, so their odds to win the championship are only 1 to 8, which is several times higher than the Lakers and the Heat.
The New York Knicks are only fourth on this list, and due to their excellent preseason record and the combination of Wu Huang and Xiao Si, many are optimistic that they can make it to the Eastern Conference finals this season, and even have a chance to reach the Finals. But the possibility of winning the championship should not be too great, the Knicks' odds to win the championship are only 1 to 10, which shows that the majority of betting dogs have no confidence in the Knicks, even if their lineup is more balanced than the Heat and more talented than the Lakers, but they just don't make people feel the championship halo.
Some Knicks fans, especially Wu Huang fans, also believe that D'Antoni's practice of blindly strengthening the offense while ignoring the defense is too much of a hidden danger in the playoffs, and it is easy to become a straw that crushes them in the playoffs. The Suns have failed too many times before, and D'Antoni's path seems to be impossible, but he still stubbornly wants to realize the ideals in his heart, although the spirit is commendable, but in the end he becomes a loser, and no matter how lofty the ideals are, they can only become a reason for fans to complain.
In addition to these four most favored teams, the Dallas Mavericks are not bad either, and their question is how much can Chandler play? Has his injury threat been lifted? What about the team's chemistry this year? In the eyes of owner Mark Cuban, transfers are like a woman's wardrobe, with one less piece of clothing ever missing. Last season's Mavericks were no different, they still have the ability to bring in big-name players, but whether these people are in tune with the team's founding ideas and deserve to be called the "final piece of the puzzle for the championship" is open to further debate. Until the above questions are figured out, the Mavericks are always an insurmountable chasm away from the championship
In addition, the biggest problem of the Mavericks is Nowitzki, the embarrassing performance of the Germans in 07 has to be taken into account, and the current German tank has not gotten rid of the "soft egg" label on the body, people are more at the moment comparing him with Gasol and Yao Ming, fans generally feel that he is not up to the level and height of Duncan and Garnett, and the Dallas people's odds to win the championship are therefore only 1 to 15.
In sixth place is the San Antonio Spurs, who are priced at 19 to 1 to win the title, and the era of GDP may be over, but they don't seem to want to admit that they are gone. The Spurs stubbornly maintained a core lineup that never seemed to change, kept a very important role player in the rotation, and even brought in a good enough helper for Tim Duncan on the inside - Thiago Split. But what can be done with this? The Spurs are still a strong team to be reckoned with, but they are moving further and further away from the championship.
If it weren't for a miracle, the Duncan-centered Spurs might never be able to win the championship again, and even this season could be the end of this dynasty team. No one knows what the future holds, but there really isn't much to look forward to in this aging team.
On October 24, the NBA player roster was officially announced, and the Knicks' 2010-2011 regular season roster -
PG: Wu Huang, Ralph Alstom.
SG: Iguodala, Tony Allen.
SF: Danilo Gallinari, Danny Green, Landry Fields.
PF: Amare Stoudemire, Reggie Evans, Radmanovic, Ronnie Turyaf.
C: Shaquille O'Neal, Greg Monroe, Jason Collins.
The Knicks have $64 million in salary space for the new season, surpassing the $58 million league salary cap, but they won't touch the luxury tax red line for the next two years. Even if the Knicks renew Wu Huang with the highest salary two years later, his team salary can be maintained at around $60 million, and it will not easily touch the luxury tax trigger line. Unless they give Gallinari another 10-million-dollar contract in 11 years, the Knicks' salary will exceed $70 million, and perhaps they will have to pay the luxury tax.
But that's where the New Yorkers are shrewd, Evans, Rademanovic and Turiaf all have five or six million dollar contracts, and all of them are in the final year, and if the team doesn't meet expectations this season, they can free up $15 million next season after clearing these three, and then they can seek another trade or reinforcement.
On October 26, the league's first game day of the new season will be played in three games, but none of them will be played by the Knicks, and their first game is scheduled for the 27th against the Toronto Raptors.
Wu Huang couldn't figure out why the league would arrange such a matchup, and was there anything special about their game against the Raptors? Although I can't figure it out and the opponent is relatively weak, it is still necessary for the Knicks to show a strong team style in their debut in the new season. If you lose to such a leaderless fish belly, you can only laugh and be generous when you mention winning the championship.
The Toronto Raptors have been around for more than ten years, and there have been two glorious periods in history. One is that when Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady were on the team, the Canadian Air Force was known as the world's most powerful; The second was the 2006-07 season, when Sam Mitchell won the Atlantic Division with a group of players with mediocre strength on paper, and the league awarded him the Coach of the Year trophy in recognition of his achievements.
Behind the second period of brilliance is the careful operation of managing director Brian Crangillo. He is a strong advocate of a European style of play, with the likes of Jorge Gabajosa, Andrea Banyani and José Calderón coming back from Europe, as well as homegrown players like Anthony Parker. They are characterized by their range, their ability to shoot and score from anywhere on the court, and their tactical execution is a cut above that of NBA teams.
To be fair, Crangillo Jr. built his team in a European style, which is a tailor-made approach. The Raptors are located in an extremely cold place, and the taxes are higher than those in the United States, so they are already struggling to compete for stars. In addition to patiently accumulating high-quality rookies, building an international army that is not picky is also a very practical way out. Heaton Turkelou chose the Raptors over the Trail Blazers last summer, even if it was a good fight for a small team in the transfer market.
But the problem is that this approach has its limitations, and European players, despite their discipline, are ultimately less talented, and if the Raptors are just a team that targets the playoffs, they have the ability to surprise from time to time. The media world also loves the story of a team with mediocre qualifications that pushes its limits and does what no one else can. But in Chris Bosh's view, he is in his playing years, and what he wants to pursue is not as simple as going to the playoffs, and even if Crangillo Jr. has the ability to go to heaven, it can't change the current situation that the Raptors are too weak.
The biggest name on this year's Raptors team is Andrea Banjani, followed by DeRozan, an alumnus of Wu Huang, and Fry, who just moved from the Knicks. It is worth mentioning that the big man from New York is a good fit for the Raptors, and Frye averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game in eight preseason games, playing the best performance of his career.
But it would be a bit too fantasy to contend with the Knicks with these three people, who didn't give their opponents any chance in the first game of the new season, even if they were playing on the road, they still ended the battle in only three quarters, easily entering the fourth quarter with a 24-point advantage, and turning the game into garbage time early.
Wu Huang and Xiao Si only played three quarters, and the Knicks didn't play any high-level routines today, just simple small-scale coordination and high-post blocking, plus a lot of singles, but the Raptors have no way to take this simple offense, although they score not less, but after the Knicks players hit a few waves of explosions with talent, the Raptors are out of line, which is the crushing of overall strength and talent.
The final score was 119:102, and the Knicks beat the Raptors by 17 points.
Wu Huang played 26 minutes in the first game of the new season, scored 21 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals, shot 8 of 14, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws. And last season, if the Knicks were to finish off opponents in the third quarter, his stats had to look good.
Xiao Si also played 26 minutes today, cutting 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist, shooting 6 of 10 and 4 of 6 free throws. But given the power of these two men's "normal play", if the Knicks' inside and outside core plays at the level they deserve every game like they should today, then there are only a handful of teams in the league that can beat them.
Wu Huang also seemed a lot more mature than last season at the post-match press conference, mainly reflected in the fact that he began to talk nonsense, which is a skill that every star must master.
The Knicks' next game will be against a heavyweight opponent – the Boston Celtics.
Wu Huang feels that this should be their first game of the new season, the Knicks lost more than they won against such a top team last season, and if they want to become a veritable strong team this season, they must improve the winning rate of the strong dialogue.
The resources of this league are limited, and the rise of any strong team is to step on the shoulders of others, if the Knicks want to rise, they must step on the Celtics, if they can't even get the first place in the division, then what are the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals? (To be continued.) )