On November 2, 1999, the new NBA season officially began, and on this day, the Knicks sat at home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the start of the game, the team held a grand championship ring presentation ceremony!

Team owner Lowe finally showed up this time, presenting the award at Madison Square Garden on her doorstep, and it was not the same thing for her to continue to stay at home. In addition, there is another shareholder of the team, President Xia Cuirong.

David Stern, the league's president, began by congratulating New York and mentioning the city's 26-year desire for an NBA championship!

The first ring, Stern presented to the team owner Luo Wei, and the second to Xia Cuirong.

Mike Brin asked Lowe to give a speech, and Lowe only said four words: "Thank you!" ”

Mike Brin had no choice but to ask Xia Cuirong to say a few more words. Xia Cuirong said it well, and finally said that the Knicks team will work hard to defend the title this season!

Next, Vice Presidents KC Jones, Chuck Daley, General Manager Dennis Johnson, and the team's coaching staff took the championship ring from David Stern.

As a member of the coaching staff, Li Wei was the last to appear, and the 20,000 fans at the scene cheered enthusiastically, and some fans shouted "Basketball Emperor!" ”

Li Wei gave a signature bow to the fans!

Then came the players, and after everyone wore championship rings, Alan Houston gave a speech on behalf of the players!

Then, the music sounded and the third championship flag in the team's history was raised over Madison Square Garden!

Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson, who came with the team to play on the road, sighed when he saw the Knicks' championship banner.

Last season, the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs due to the team's star Sean Kemp becoming fat in the offseason, and then the NBA's first African-American general manager, the scheming Wayne Embry, was fired!

Jim Paxson actually admires Wayne Embry very much, and he doesn't think he has any business mistakes at all, if he has to find a mistake, it can only be to sell Big Z's business.

But in the deal of selling Big Z, the Cavaliers robbed a main point guard from New York, a potential rookie, and it was also a lot of money at that time!

However, it may be this deal that left unhappiness in the hearts of the Cavaliers owner, and now the team's record is not good, and the general manager has been fired.

It's not easy to survive in the NBA, you have to take every step right or risk losing your job. Especially in trading, don't make a decision easily if you don't make blood, otherwise once you hit the eye, it will be a dead end!

Jim Paxson is very envious of Li Wei because this guy has wayward power!

I'm afraid he's the only guy in the NBA who doesn't worry about losing his job!

In addition to the general manager, the head coach of the Cavaliers has also changed, with Mike Flatlow being fired and Randy Whitman taking over.

Randy Whitman is a player-turned-coach who played for the Hawks, Kings, and Pacers as a player, and after retiring, he spent many years as an assistant coach with the Pacers, Mavericks, and Timberwolves.

After a short celebration, the game began.

The Cavaliers' starting five are: playmaker Blevine Knight, shooting guard Bob Sula, small forward Cedric Henderson, power forward Sean Kemp, and center Marcus Camby.

Last offseason, the Raptors sold Camby, the Knicks didn't pick up, and the Cavaliers picked up a big bargain, which was another shrewd business for Wayne Embry. However, Camby was unable to save the team and failed to prevent Wayne Embury from stepping down.

The Knicks' starting five are: playmaking guard Steve Nash, shooting guard Alan Houston, small forward Tracy McGrady, power forward Kevin Garnett, and center Da Yao.

When the referee threw the ball in the middle of the field, Marcus Camby immediately jumped up like a rocket and snatched the ball from Da Yao's hand!

The Cavaliers get the ball, and Brevine Knight organizes the offense!

Although Garnett was very thin, the fat Kemp didn't want to squeeze at all, and showed off a mid-range shot from afar, and the ball bounced out of the basket!

The Knicks attacked, played a No. 63 tactic, and Garnett made a mid-range jumper!

0:2, the Knicks, who are playing at home, lead.

Mike Bryn: "Garnett hit a beautiful shot!" Walter, now the major media are not optimistic that our Knicks can defend the title, what do you think? ”

Walter Fraser said: "Which media outlets are not optimistic about us? ”

Mike Brin said: "For example, USA Today, do you know what our ranking is in the latest edition of their power rankings? ”

Fraser said: "How many? ”

Mike Bryn: "It's 10th!" ”

Fraser said: "God, they must be crazy, we are the defending champions, no matter how we rank, we can't get to 10th!" ”

Mike Brin said, "It's true, the newspaper is still in my hand." They believe that the strongest team in the new season is the Spurs, then the Jazz, and the third is the Pacers! ”

Fraser said: "The Pacers are our underdogs, so why can they be ahead of us?" ”

Mike Brin said: "Because Charlie Ward, Big Bo, and even our MVP Stephen Jackson are all gone, they think we're going to be down. ”

Fraser said: "Well, even so, then we should be fourth!" ”

Mike Brin said: "No, their fourth place is the Trail Blazers, fifth is the Heat, sixth is the Lakers, seventh is the Kings, then the 76ers and Pistons, and the 10th is us!" ”

Fraser said: "I think the experts who came up with this ranking can die." The 76ers were swept out of the tournament by us last season, so how can He De be ahead of us? ”

Mike Brin said: "I think we should be grateful to this expert for not putting the Hornets and Raptors ahead of us!" ”

Fraser said: "Haha, are there any experts who rank the Hornets and Raptors ahead of us?" ”

Mike Brin said: "Of course, the Hornets started worse than us last year, but after trading to Eddie Jones, they were only one win short of us, and our Finals MVP went to the Raptors!" ”

"Oh, that's, I don't think these teams are better than us!" Fraser shook his head.

As the two talked, Alan Houston scored a three-pointer, and the Cavaliers still did not score, with a score of 0:5.

Next, the Cavaliers ate two defensive fouls in a row, the first being Henderson pulling man when Maddie went around the screen, and the second being Brevine Knight pushing with his forearm when Nash broke through.

The new season, the new rules, and a tighter whistle have meant that players will have to be more careful when defending and will no longer be able to play as casually as before.

And without the brutal defense, the Knicks' cover and running have become smoother!

At the end of the quarter, the Knicks pressed the Cavaliers, and at the end of the quarter, the score was 20:30, and the Knicks led by 10 points!

Madison Garden reporter Al Trau tweeted that he came to interview Li Wei during the break: "Coach Lee, many people say that you are a slow-burning coach, in the 97-98 season, we started with a terrible 21 consecutive defeats, and in the 98-99 season, we are not so exaggerated, but we also have 8 consecutive defeats, how many consecutive defeats are you planning to start this year?" ”

Li Wei said: "You people, too young, too simple, do we have to lose in a row?" This year we are not losing streak, we are going to win on a winning streak! We have been shouting the slogan of 21 consecutive wins for many years, but it has not been realized, and we must achieve it this season! ”