After watching the "inferior" game between the Spurs and the Bulls at night, the Timberwolves players slept significantly more soundly.

And after seeing the strength of the Bulls and Spurs now, Wu Dao was full of confidence in his team for a while. Championship or anything else, their Timberwolves must go to this year's playoffs.

In his first year as a rookie, he entered the playoffs with the team, which is also a very important thing for martial arts.

You must know that when evaluating a player's historical status in the future, the player's ability to lead the team will be an important criterion.

Whether a player plays as a substitute or as a main player in his rookie season has an impact on the player's historical status. At the same time, the results of leading the team will also affect the historical status of this player.

Ah Tan's fans always like to use Ah Tan to touch the porcelain mamba, and the most favorite point of hitting is the OK combination period, Kobe's ability to lead the team.

To this end, they were even able to abandon the dual-core argument and invent a series of new words to distinguish between the eldest champion and the second champion, so as to consolidate the historical position of Ah Tan.

But whether it is the eldest champion or the second champion, his champion is always one more than Ah Tan, and there is no way to make up for this absolute gap by relying on words, so no one compares Ah Tan and Mamba anymore.

But later, Ah Tan fans began to compare Ah Tan and primary school students with the same words.

At the same time, Curry, the absolute core of the Warriors' team, was placed in the position of the second child and placed under Durant to prove the historical status of Atan.

But it's a pity that Dream Chaser has a good saying - "Before you came, we were already champions." ”

Therefore, the status of the primary school students' team has become unshakable, and at the same time, the boomerang has also hit Ah Tan himself.

Because at the beginning of the game, Ah Tan and Bosh and others were wearing training uniforms and surrounding Wade in jerseys to motivate themselves, and even the general manager of the Heat at that time said "Thank you Wade for bringing us the championship to the Heat" after winning the championship.

This makes fans of the alliance's prodigal son Ah Tan fall behind everywhere when they are on the Internet and people.

There are even fans who borrow the words of a foreign fan to mock Ah Tan and his fans: "LeBron, go win a championship that truly belongs to you!" ”

It can be seen that in the NBA, in the eyes of fans, the gold content of the championship and the championship is also decisively different.

Otherwise, Sam Jones, who holds 10 championship rings, would not have been unattended by no one to include him in the discussion series of the top 10 players in history.

The content of a role player's championship ring is completely different from the main force and the absolute core.

No one would ever think that Sun Dasheng's NBA career was more brilliant than Da Yao, did he?

After entering the Timberwolves, Wu Dao played well in the first two games, but it was not enough, and he also needed to become the undisputed core player of the team as soon as possible, and even the leader of the team.

Only in this way can the Timberwolves be considered his team!

Only in this way, when the media reports on the Timberwolves, they will use "martial arts lead the Timberwolves" as the headline "starting style", instead of using words such as "Garnett leads" or "Tom leads".

The NBA is such a place that even the most indifferent to fame and fortune will think about this kind of thing.

Because your status in the team will be directly related to your voice in the team and your salary.

If Wu Dao wants to play his own comfortable basketball according to his own wishes, and his comfortable basketball, he must jump off the table and become a chip that cannot be easily shaken.

Only in this way will he not be tossed around like a chess piece.

Nothing was said all night.

The next day, after waking up from his sleep, he did some stretching after breakfast, and then met Coach Phillip, who was an early riser in the lobby, and was told that the Rose Garden Arena would be open to the Timberwolves at noon.

Allow the Timberwolves' players to acclimatize to the court in advance.

Martial Arts, who learned the news, also gave up some low-intensity workouts he had originally planned to do, leaving his physical fitness for the afternoon warm-up in the arena.

After lunch, the Timberwolves players got on the bus and headed to the Rose Garden Arena.

The Rose Garden players at the home of the Trail Blazers are a new arena, which was only officially completed at the end of '95, and when it was put into use for just two years, this stadium cost $262 million and can accommodate 20,000 people, making it one of the largest arenas in the NBA league today, and one of Portland's iconic "ugliest urban buildings".

Before the expansion of the Timberwolves' target center arena in 04, the capacity was basically around 18,000 people, and from the opening of the stadium in 90 to the present, seven years have also added a bit of "vicissitudes" to the target center arena.

Therefore, when the Timberwolves came to the Rose Garden Arena, they couldn't help but sigh that the Trail Blazers owner was very "hoy".

They played on the Warriors' home court, when the Warriors' Oakland arena had not yet been renovated and could only accommodate 15,000 people.

At the beginning of the season, the Warriors' Oakland Coliseum was finally renovated, and its capacity skyrocketed to 19,000.

In the NBA, every arena means a piece of team history.

When the players play at home, they will more or less get some mental "bonuses".

This feeling is the same as during the 08 Olympics of the Chinese people, and the mental outlook of the athletes on the field is indeed completely different from that when they are playing away.

The Timberwolves spent more than two hours at the Rose Garden arena to familiarize themselves with the arena.

After a short break in the players' lounge, after an early dinner at four or five o'clock, I returned to the stadium.

In the evening, the media channel opened, and a group of media also entered the stadium one after another.

In the players' lounge, sitting on the stool, just about to tie his feet, when he was preparing for the game, the door of the lounge was opened, Coach Philip pushed the door open, his eyes fell directly on Wu Dao's body, and shouted towards Wu Dao:

"Hey! Martial arts! ”

"Come over here and join me for a pre-game interview."

Pre-game interviews, this kind of thing has not been encountered before in martial arts, Coach Philip is either with Tom and Garnett, or with Garnett and Marbury.

Even after the game, Wu Dao did not participate, this is the first time.

"Hurry up!"

"After the interview, I still have to prepare for the competition!"

Philip was a little stunned when he saw Martial Dao, and shouted loudly.

Hearing this, Wu Dao also hooked the slippers with his feet, snapped the big slippers, and walked towards Coach Philip.

“.”

Philip looked at Wu Dao's unobtrusive look and was speechless for a while.

The pre-match interview was conducted in the corridor, there was no scene booth, and Wu Dao followed Coach Philip for a few steps before he was blocked by a large group of reporters with "long guns and short guns".

Some media people seemed to be seeing Martial Arts for the first time, and looked at the young man standing behind Coach Philip.

Very tall, very shapely, and very handsome.

At this time, Wu Dao stepped on slippers, giving people a sense of uninhibited freedom.

"Thank you Coach Philip Saunders for speaking with us."

"This team member next to you should be a high school rookie from Oak Mountain Academy, martial arts, right?"

"Hello, Mr. Martial Arts! Thank you very much for your time. ”

A young reporter was talking, holding the microphone in one hand, and after shaking hands with Philip with the other, he handed his hand to Martial Arts.

"Hello."

Under the camera, Wu Dao nodded calmly, and then shook the reporter's hand.

After a brief greeting, the reporter also began to cut to the chase and began to ask Coach Philip what his plans were before the game; Is there any preparation for a team like the Trailblazers? What are the Timberwolves' goals for this season? And so on.

Philip is also an old fritter, and when he answered, he humbly and calmly, praised the strength of the Trail Blazers, and euphemistically expressed that the team's goal is the playoffs.

After hastily dealing with some routine questions, the media lost interest in Philip and instead turned the conversation to Martial Arts:

"Mr. Martial Arts, you played well against the Warriors and against the Hornets before."

"So to speak, you're the best of all the rookies in '97."

"How would you rate the opponents you've faced before?"

"What do you think is the reason why you scored 40+ points in both games?"

The reporter's question seemed ordinary, but Philip instantly smelled the pit, and couldn't help but turn his head sideways to look at Wu Dao, and just wanted to take over the conversation, he heard Wu Dao say with a smile:

'I'm very happy that the fans were able to recognise my performance.

"You know, the Warriors and the Hornets are great teams, and both teams have a long history of team culture."

"The players I'm playing against are also very active on the pitch and cause me a lot of problems."

"They're all respectable opponents and as a rookie I've learned a lot from them and hopefully I can play them again if I get the chance, so I'll learn more."

"As for why I got 40+ points in both games, of course, I have to thank the team and my teammates for having enough trust in me."

"Gave me plenty of shots."

"You know, I've taken over 20 shots in the last two games, and I've made a lot of three-point shots."

"It's obviously impossible without the trust of my teammates and the support of the coaching staff."

'In my opinion, I just scored the goal I should have scored and that's it.

"If you had my number of shots in every game, you would have been able to get 40+."

Wu Dao had a faint smile on his face when he was interviewed by reporters, he was not arrogant, and he said stupid things like "I am gota", and he attributed the credit to others.

Talking about the good words of teammates and coaches, for martial arts, there will be no less piece of meat, and it can also win the favor of others, why not do it?

Seeing that Wu Dao's answer was quite decent, the reporter smiled and praised a few words, and after asking some painless questions, he hastily called it a day.

In fact, even the reporter didn't expect that Wu Dao's words also left a dark hole.

"If you had my number of shots in every game, you would have been able to get 40+."

If such a sentence is heard by Jordan and his fans, I am afraid that they will jump up.

Because in yesterday's game, Jordan made 43 crazy shots with three points and only scored 29 points.

Looking at the departing reporters, Wu Dao's face also showed a bright smile, and he thought, soon, the fans and the media will be able to come back to their senses!

What's the fastest way to gain fame in the NBA? Play honestly and wait for others to discover your "treasure"?

Joke!

The best way to do this is, of course, to step on the stars!

Who is the most high-profile player in this era? Jordan without a doubt!

Even if martial arts is hot, it must rub Jordan's heat, isn't it?

The media lives by popularity, the popularity of a rookie, no matter how good you are, in Lao Mei, no one knows you, if you don't know you, there will be no popularity, and the media will be lazy to bird you.

An outstanding rookie slapped Jordan in the face, this heat, it is completely different!

Lao Mei doesn't know martial arts, but she knows Jordan!

At that time, whether it is Jordan's sunspot or fans, they will cast their eyes on martial arts, and then often compare the performance of martial arts with Jordan, hoping to humiliate the rookie who does not know the height of the sky with the performance of "God".

How did you meet Jeremy Lin at that time?

How many games in a row has he performed?

Truth be told, when he scored 25 and 28 points with the Knicks, winning against the New Jersey Nets and the Utah Jazz, he didn't feel anything.

It wasn't until Jeremy Lin scored 38 points on Kobe's head and overpowered Kobe's 34 points that a large number of reports about Jeremy Lin began to appear on the Internet.

The popularity that superstars can bring is far from being comparable to ordinary stars, how can the popularity of All-Star Deron Williams be compared with the number one celebrity in the league at that time?

After finishing the interview and returning to the players' lounge, Takemichi calmly made pre-match preparations.

After being reminded by the staff, the Timberwolves players got up and left the lounge, walked through the players' tunnel, and entered the arena.

When the Trail Blazers players entered, the on-site commentary was enthusiastic, and the fans in the stands screamed.

When the Timberwolves players entered, the tone of the on-site commentary was flat, but when they introduced that they had cut 40+ martial arts in the previous two games, the tone was a little different.

But the fans at the scene let out a burst of boos when the Timberwolves players entered.

The home fans of the Trailblazers are really "true temperament"!

In the midst of the boos, the Timberwolves players entered the court one after another to start warming up, Garnett looked left and right when he warmed up, obviously affected, and the young Marbury was similar, and he frequently hit the iron when he warmed up and shot.

Tens of thousands of people booed one after another, and the pressure was quite terrifying.

Soon, the warm-up time passed, and the two starters entered the pitch.

The starting lineup on the Timberwolves' side has tended to be fixed, with Tom, Marbury, Garnett, Cherokee Parkes, and Martial Arts.

On the Trail Blazers' side, Kenny Anderson (183cm/76kg) is in the No. 1 position, Isiah Ryder (196cm/98kg) in the No. 2 position, and Brian Grant (206cm/107kg) in the No. 3 position (206cm/107kg; No. 8 pick in the first round of '94), Rasheed Wallace (211cm/104kg) at No. 4/5, Arvidas Sabonis (221cm/127kg) at No. 5.

When the player was in place, Brian Grant stood beside Takemichi, glanced at Takemi, and suddenly said with a smile:

"First-year, I know you."

"In today's game, your opponent is me, on my head, you can't score points, I won't give you such a chance!"

Hearing this, Wu Dao glanced at Brian Grant with slanted eyes, and his mouth opened: "What kind of stinky fish and rotten shrimp are you?" Worthy of guarding me too? ”

Brian Grant, you're familiar with martial arts!

In the 04-05 season, in the Lakers, with an annual salary of $13.23 million, second only to Kobe's annual salary of $1418, he played as a substitute, played an average of 16 minutes per game, and scored 3.8 points!

Acquaintances!

Wu Dao felt that he could also earn the money from his "acquaintance" Brian Grant.

(End of chapter)