Wizards, the translation of this strange name is very special, although it is a product of that specific scene in the era when the NBA just began to spread in China, but the historical atmosphere it reveals is still deeply rooted in the hearts of many fans.

Judging from the team logo, the symbol of the Wizards should be a wizard holding a basketball, chanting spells, and magical power is about to erupt.

However, the word WIZARD has many meanings and many meanings, which eventually led to this beautiful misunderstanding when translating the team name.

A similar situation also appeared in the Mavericks, which is clearly a horse's head, but is called the Mavericks, which makes many old fans laugh dumbly when they hear the name of this team for the first time: Is this Maverick a knockoff of the Bulls?

In the MCI Center Arena, fans are entering one after another.

On the pitch, players from both teams were warming up, and looking down from the top of the stands, it was clear that the two teams had completely different tactical styles.

On the 76ers' side, the standard inside and outside configuration, on the next side of the basket, Webb and Chen Mu are conducting one-on-one offensive and defensive drills under the basket.

On the other side, the outside players are practicing their best moves. Korver walked through the Yang in 100 steps, and the bullet was not missing. Iguodala, Salmons, Louis Williams and other players do all kinds of passing and receiving cooperation with each other, and use various techniques to attack the basket.

Iverson, on the other hand, is constantly shooting near the bottom left corner, his best shooting hot spot, looking for the best shooting rhythm.

This scene is a very common warm-up scene for NBA teams, with the players doing their jobs and practicing what they should be doing the most, and everything seems to be in order.

On the other side, in the Washington Wizards' half, the situation was a little incomprehensible.

Receiving the ball outside the three-point line, the super offensive dual-energy position, the team's core Gilbert Arenas's iconic upper body is straight, his forearms are slightly depressed, his wrists are quickly shaken, and the basketball falls into the basket crisply.

Receiving the ball outside the three-point line, the team's No. 2 position, a versatile attacker, and a certain degree of offensive opportunity creator Caron Butler jumped in style, and the basketball crossed a graceful arc and drilled into the net with precision.

Receiving the ball outside the three-point line, the team's starting small forward, Jamison, a strange swingman who had scored back-to-back 50 points, shot half-toe, leaned forward slightly, and the basketball hollowed into the net.

Receiving the ball outside the three-point line, Jeffries, the team's nominal starting No. 4 and actually swapping positions with Jamison in the game, took a shot after aiming for a long time, and the basketball slammed into the basket and crawled forward slightly, and then went into the net.

Outside the three-point line, the team's important bench handler Antonio Daniels, veteran Atkins, and Jarvis Hayes, who may be the least noticeable of the top 10 picks in the 03 class, lined up, all of them received a pass and shot a three-pointer, and the basketball drilled into the net one by one, making a crisp sound.

Under the basket, starting center Haywood diligently practiced a series of hard work such as card positions and rebounds with other interior players, grabbed the flying basketball and sent it out, and the cycle continued.

Even together with the "poet" Etang Thomas, who was the inside, and Blatche, who later joined the Philippine national team, they continued to catch and shoot the ball in the middle and long distances, without the slightest intention of fighting hard under the basket.

"That's weird, isn't it......!"

In the halftime of the 76ers, Chen Mu also saw this wonderful scene, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing: "Seeing is believing, the Wizards team was really a pile of shooters during the Three Musketeers period, which is even more terrifying than the outside group of the Suns!" ”

"Hehe, you just saw the appearance, don't be fooled by their warm-up performance and lineup."

Webb, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, stepped forward, stretched out his hand to put his hand on Chen Mu's shoulder, pointed to the Wizards' half-court and said: "That's right, they have a lot of shooters, whether inside or outside, there are quite a lot of players who can shoot outside the three-point line, and they are forced to shoot and hit unreasonably." ”

"But this season, their three-point shots, shots, and shooting percentage are just in the middle of the league, and three-point shots are not really killer and conventional weapons for them."

The truth that Weber said also evoked Chen Mu's memories, and he carefully recalled the few Wizards games he watched this season (there were not so many NBA viewing options in China at that time), and there were indeed no large number of three-point shots, and the three-point scene was like rain.

More often than not, it's Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, who keep hitting the inside, and then split the ball, hit hard, or make fouls.

"The Wizards' three-point shooting is very strong, it turns out that the game data and the personal ability of some players are too rebellious, which is a mental illusion caused by ......!"

"That's right, rookie." Webber nodded: "Before the game, in addition to the opponent's video, you should also look at the statistics. The statistics are not necessarily comprehensive, but they are not deceiving. ”

After saying this, Weber patted Chen Mu's shoulder meaningfully, and then turned around to continue warming up.

What is the Wizards good at this season? Why was he able to win more than 50 percent in the Southeast Division and end up playing six games against LeBron's Cavaliers in the playoffs? How did a group of players with equally obvious strengths and weaknesses make it to the ranks of playoff teams? And how did you do it, ranking third in the league in points per game this season?

The answers to these questions will be gradually revealed in front of Chen Mu in the next two hours or so.

Half an hour later, the MCI Center arena was almost full.

This arena is the third largest arena in the entire NBA league, shared by teams from three different leagues, and the overall style is very atmospheric.

Everything was as usual, Chen Mu sat on the bench, his eyes staring carefully at the situation on the court, ready to take a closer look at what the inside opponents he was about to face, Jamison and Jeffries, were capable of.

The game begins.

Haywood won the ball for the Wizards, and Arenas got the basketball, unhurriedly dribbling to get the ball forward and start the Wizards' first offense.

In the midst of the cacophony, Arenas appeared very calm, constantly observing the 76ers' defensive set-up, while the rest of the players began to play around the half.

Outside the 45-degree three-point line on the weak side, Butler was in place, Arenas instantly sent a pass, and the former received the ball and went inside, and then made a pull-up jump shot.

The basketball landed accurately in the basket, the fans erupted in cheers, and the 76ers began to attack.

"There's nothing special about it......"

Chen Mu frowned slightly and shook his head, never quite understanding what the strength of the wizard was. This tactic is very common, with the main attacker on the perimeter holding the ball on the strong side and pulling the defensive line. The all-round backcourt deputy intersperses the running position, receives the ball in the empty position on the weak side and shoots down the middle.

In the 76ers' offensive tactics, there is a similar tactic, Iverson is Arenas, and Iguodala is Kaloon Butler.

"Let's see, maybe the next round will make a different routine."

Chen Mu continued to watch the game intently, paying a little more attention to the Wizards' offense, for fear of missing any details.

The 76ers attacked, Iverson shook out of space after a single, and shot in a quick stop.

Back on the defensive end, the Wizards advanced with the ball and ran exactly the same position, and Caron Butler received a pass from Arenas on the weak side and continued to go down.

"He's going to hit!"

Chen Mu on the field judged so, and Hunter on the field also judged this way, and immediately took a step forward in front of Butler, raising his hands high.

However, Butler did not shoot, but twisted his body as Hunter lifted up, drilled over to the side, and then made a layup under the basket against Hunter's long arm.

"Beep"

The referee's whistle blew and the ball didn't go in, but Hunter was called a defensive foul.

"Hmm...... Don't...... No way. ”

Seeing that Butler hit both free throws, Chen Mu frowned slightly, and it seemed that some wonderful idea was about to pop up in his heart, but he was denied by himself.

The 76ers tried to attack quickly without success, the Wizards counterattacked, Arenas advanced quickly with the ball, and a meal outside the three-point line, causing Iverson to rush forward and rush, for fear that Arenas would shoot three points.

Arenas seized the moment of defensive misalignment and rushed past Iverson.

Under the basket, Hunter raised his hands high, and he didn't even have time to get to the front court in the attack just now. And it is precisely because of this that he is given enough time and space to defend and make up for Iverson's leaks.

Arenas was a stocky man who rushed inside like a small steel cannon, rubbed on Hunter, and then made a layup.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle again, and under Hunter's surprised eyes, Arenas fell to the ground, and the basketball arced through the air, bumping several times on the basket before reluctantly getting into it.

“WOW！！！ ANDONE！！！ AgentZero！！ ”

The DJ shouted Arenas's nickname, and Hunter, who had been fouled, slapped his head twice in anger, seemingly unhappy with his poor performance. The crowd cheered in for Arenas' performance.

Arenas, on the other hand, sat on the ground staring at the basket, gently rubbing his wrists, as if still searching for a feeling.

"Another foul!"

On Chen Mu's side, head coach Cheeks frowned, glanced back at the bench, hesitated, but still pointed at Chen Mu and said, "Chen, go up and replace Hunter!" ”

"Yes!"

Chen Mu got up and prepared to play, and when he passed by Cheeks, he heard the latter still muttering and complaining:

"Steven is really, he committed two fouls in just over 1 minute in the opening game, how can he play in the next game? It's a wizard's spell ......! ”

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At 8:10 p.m., there is a third watch, don't forget to come and see it!

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