NBA teams will play some games during the training camp, which is a warm-up game, and it is not important to win or lose, it is to practice and prepare for the official game, which is officially called a preseason game.

The official NBA game doesn't start until the end of October or the beginning of November. The official tournament is called the regular season and is played until mid-April of the following year, with each team playing a full 82 games.

At the end of 82 regular season games, the eight teams with the best regular season records in the East and West Divisions (eight each, a total of 16 teams) will compete in the playoffs to determine a championship!

To put it simply, there are four types of games in the NBA:

Summer League: Held in July, it is a game for rookies, undrafted and fringe players, for each team to pick marginal players and practice new players, usually led by assistant coaches.

Pre-season: Held in October, it is a friendly match and a warm-up match, and it doesn't matter if you win or lose.

Regular Season: November to mid-April of the following year, it is an official competition in which all teams participate, and will be ranked according to the winners and losers.

Playoffs: From mid-April to June, the top eight teams in the Eastern and Western regions of the regular season compete for the championship.

Because the preseason is a friendly game, winning or losing is not important, so Li Wei didn't care about how the schedule was arranged, and only remembered the first game against the Wizards.

Chuck Daley, who was next to him, saw Li Wei's expression a little confused, and gave him a schedule: "After playing the Wizards, we will play the Pacers, and it is the second game of our preseason." It's just a friendly match, don't take it personally. ”

Li Wei nodded. Is it any wonder that reporters keep saying that Larry Bird dared to beat the Pacers in the second game?

NBA teams are bound to bump into each other, even if they don't bump in the preseason, they have to bump in the regular season. Playing preseason games between rivals, you can also sell more tickets, this can be had!

Looking at the schedule, Li Wei found that this game was the home of the Knicks, and immediately understood that it was time to make big news!

Only if the game is hyped up as a hot topic will tickets for Madison Square Garden sell well!

So the young coach said: "You ask me about my attitude towards this pre-season? I am very responsible to tell you that Bird will pay the price for his hubris, and that the Indianaans will only hate Madison Garden! ”

"You're saying this New York team can win now?"

Li Wei said: "It's not just that we can win, we will stage a massacre, I seem to have heard Bird crying after the game!" ”

The reporters were overjoyed when they heard this: "Coach Li, do you think your coaching level is better than that of Bird?" ”

Li Weidao: "I just said that Bird is a very good coach who can be ranked in the top 30 in the league. But if he wants to beat Knicks-born coaches like me and Phil Jackson, he needs to work harder! ”

"Hahaha!" The New York reporters chuckled together.

A Knicks-turned-coach?

This guy first forcibly rivaled Lake and Kai, and now he puts himself and five-time coach Phil Jackson in the same gear!

It's so shameless!

However, the reporters are not too big to watch the excitement, what they want is this smell of gunpowder!

The more shameless Li Wei is, the more they like it!

The next day, the New York Knicks report was slaughtered.

"Knicks head coach thinks Bird should lead the team to play ABA!" 》

"The dwarf coach vows to slaughter the Pacers!" 》

"Li Wei: Bird can't beat me and Phil!" 》

Under the publicity of the media, the popularity of this preseason game was quickly hyped, and tickets for Madison Garden were sold out!

Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks!

Rival team, Coach Qiu Yun, peak showdown!

Don't miss it when you walk by!

Li Wei saw that the tickets were sold out, and suddenly felt a little entangled - the bull was blown out, and the tickets were sold, but if the game was lost, wouldn't it be very faceless?

Thinking about Bird's arrogant face again, he felt even more that he couldn't lose!

However, no one understands better than Li Wei how terrible this Pacer under Bird is!

The Pacers didn't make the playoffs last season, which looked terrible, but Li Wei's previous life, as soon as Bird arrived, this team changed dramatically!

They reached the Eastern Conference Finals three years in a row, and the finals in the last year!

There are only two famous coaches who can beat Larry Bird in the playoffs, one is Phil Jackson and the other is Jeff Van Gundy!

Even Jeff Van Gundy won and lost two defeats and one win with Larry Bird, and he didn't get a bargain. The only one who can really suppress Bird is Phil Jackson!

But even the Bulls led by Phil Jackson fought the Pacers for seven games!

If it weren't for Phil, Bird might have led the Pacers to the championship!

Having an opponent like Phil Jackson is both a blessing and a misfortune for Bird.

After another defeat to Phil Jackson's team in the 2000 Finals, Bird fulfilled his vow to resign without winning a championship for three years.

In just three seasons of coaching, he has reached the Eastern Conference finals three times, reached the finals once, and has also won the best coach trophy, which is beyond the reach of many coaches!

Larry Bird is such a formidable opponent!

"What do you think?" Chuck Daley asked with a smile when he saw Li Wei frowning.

"Oh, I'm thinking about the team's lineup." Li Wei said casually.

At this time, the Knicks' training camp has begun, and there have been many special training sessions within the team.

The Knicks' defensive system is still the old system inherited from Van Gundy and Jeff Nick, but the team roster changes, Garnett and others need to learn this system, and Chuck Daley and Brandon Malone also need to adjust the system according to the different characteristics of each person.

On the offensive side, Li Wei and D'Antoni are currently tossing and turning - at least in the eyes of other coaches.

Chuck Daley has no objection to Li Wei and D'Antoni tossing, anyway, the team needs to be rebuilt, and young people need to hone more to grow. He believes that Li Wei and D'Antoni will grow up.

"The squad line-up? Do you want to put Steve in the starting lineup? Chuck Daly asked.

In Li Wei's heart, Steve Nash must be the Knicks' starter, but in the eyes of everyone, the situation is just reversed.

Except for D'Antoni, who took Nash in the summer league and has a good impression of him, every assistant coach believes that the starting point guard of the Knicks in the new season must be Charlie Ward!

What level of player is Charlie Ward?

Let's put it this way, if there is only one person who is a ball game genius in the Knicks, then that person must be Charlie Ward!

In college, he was the brightest football star in the country, leading Florida State University to the national championship, and Ward himself won the Heisman Award (the highest honor for a college football player, the equivalent of an NBA MVP)!

Many fans know that Iverson played rugby very well, but he only played well in high school and stopped playing in college, and Charlie Ward is a real master of rugby and basketball duothlon!

If the NBA were to organize a football team, the quarterback would have to be Charlie Ward's, and Iverson would have better play the running back!

In addition, Charlie Ward's tennis is also very good, having shined at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Championship!

Rugby is the number one sport in the United States, and Charlie Ward gave up football to play in the NBA, much to the surprise of many fans. To this day, many New York fans are still saying that the best quarterback in New York is not with the Jets, nor with the Giants, but with the Knicks!

(The New York Jets and the New York Giants are both NFL teams based in New York.)

How is Charlie Ward's basketball?

Of course, it's also very good, otherwise the Knicks wouldn't have used the first-round picks to select him, knowing that he might play football!

In the past three years, he has been a potential newcomer carefully cultivated by the Knicks!

If it weren't for the time travel back from his previous life, if he didn't know that Nash had huge potential to tap, Li Wei would have regarded Charlie Ward as the team's first choice for point guards like everyone else!

"Haha, Chuck, do you see what I mean?" Li Wei said with a smile.

Chuck Daley said, "Your preference for Steve, anyone with eyes can see it." But David, I don't think Steve should have started. ”

"Steve is a very good player, and although he has some problems defensively, he can make up for that gap in offense. ”

Chuck Daley said: "Maybe you're right, but Charlie still has to start. ”

Li Wei asked, "Why?" ”

Chuck Daley said: "Although you reconciled with Charles, the Knicks' veterans still have doubts, and you need to show them care.

Charlie has been with the Knicks for three years, gets along well with everyone, and is Herb's little brother. Steve is too young, just a new sophomore, and he didn't show any higher ability than Charlie in the training game, and he didn't work as hard as Charlie on the defensive end. Let him play the starter and ignore Charlie, and all the old Knicks will be chilled when they see it. ”

Li Wei sighed: "But Steve really has potential, I believe he is the future of the team." ”

"You can give him a little more minutes, but this season, don't start him," Chuck said. Charlie gave Kevin the number, and his mood was a little low, and he needed a starting guarantee at this time. ”

Kevin Garnett's previous number was No. 21, but after arriving at the Knicks, someone wore this number, and that person was Charlie Ward.

Later, Ward gave up the number and changed to the No. 17 shirt, but to say that there is no pimple in his heart, it is impossible. After all, Garnett is not a superstar yet, just a goal for the team to cultivate.

Who wants to give their numbers to the public?

"Let Charlie play the starter and Steve play the bench?" Li Wei blinked.

It is true that you can't just look at ability, and interpersonal relationships are also a very important part. Nash is no better than Ward right now, and if he squeezes out Ward as a starter, it will indeed cause locker room problems.

So let Nash play off the bench with a second team and be Ginobili?

But Nash is not Ginobili, he loves to pass the ball too much, and he doesn't like to attack on his own. The second lineup itself lacks firepower, and it doesn't feel like the right way to send a passing to lead the team!

Wait, we're going to mess up this year, it doesn't seem like we need to play too reasonably!

If it's too reasonable, how can you lose?

Thinking of this, Li Wei nodded and said, "Okay, let Charlie start, but in terms of playing time, I will give more to Steve." ”

"That's fine." Chuck Daly nodded.

Next, Li Wei spoke with Charlie Ward and Steve Nash about their roles on the team.

Charlie Ward thought his starting spot was secure when Childs was traded. But in the two days of the training camp, he found that Li Wei preferred Nash, and he was always uneasy.

Nash is just a sophomore and barely played time last season, so how can you start with him? It's crazy!

Now that he was promised to start, Ward breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, the face is saved.

Nash originally planned to become the Knicks' first bench, and if he rashly started the game, he was a little unsure. Charlie Ward's popularity is too good, he doesn't want to have conflicts with others, he is not the kind of person who likes to fight for the ball and status.

Now that Li Wei said that he was playing the sixth person, he was also relieved.

Little by little, the young coaches and young players got to know each other, grew up, and in a blink of an eye, it was October 4th, and the first pre-season game began!