The 2004~2005 season, influenced by the Olympic Games, will officially start on November 2nd.

Unlike in the past, this season is also the first year of NBA regional adjustments.

The league will be divided into 6 regions with 5 teams each, and the New Orleans Hornets will move from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference.

The Knicks are still in the Atlantic Division, and the four teams in the same division are:

Celtics, 76ers, Nets, Raptors.

Compared with the past, there is not much change, after all, the division of regions still has to take into account the geographical location.

The Cavaliers are in the Central Division, while the Heat are in the Southeast Division.

The division winner will lock up the top three, which has both pros and cons, and the teams in the West are a bit more depressed than in the Eastern Conference.

In the Southwest Division, the Spurs, Mavericks, and Rockets are still together.

Over the years, however, the three teams have become accustomed to this result, and the best way to finish higher in the playoffs is to win the divisional title.

On October 1st, the media open day, there was not much discussion about the divisions among the teams, and the pundits did not continue to talk about the free market, but everyone looked to the future and thought that this season was the best time to win the championship.

O'Neal has rarely been interviewed since joining the Heat, and the local Miami newspaper broke the news that the Sharks were losing weight

Pat Riley may not be the head coach of the team, but the Heat are his horse, and everyone has to listen to him, and O'Neal is no exception.

The two are still in the honeymoon period, and Pat Riley's colorful pie has temporarily fooled O'Neal, of course, more because the Sharks want to prove themselves again, and he doesn't want to see the Lakers rise again in the new season.

Since mid-September, Lee Woo has been busy taking new makeup photos for his sponsors.

On the 1st, it was also the day when the Knicks took pictures, and since the team lineup had not changed much, the New York media was more likely to interview Fisher, who "threw himself into the enemy".

When he was with the Lakers, Fisher chose the No. 2 jersey, and when he came to the Knicks, he chose the No. 4.

No matter how much the Los Angeles sports media mocked him, Fisher had a great time coming to Manhattan.

He didn't feel awkward wearing a Knicks jersey either, and he smiled brightly in an interview:

"After these days of training, I've fully adapted to the team, and honestly, I know the Knicks very well."

"Maybe the fans in Los Angeles don't like this team, but I know that I'm fit to play here and I have the ability to contribute to the team."

Fisher really didn't lie, after all, he is an old rival, and the Lakers' video lessons have been dismantling the Knicks' tactics for many years, and he, as the starting point guard, naturally knows it very well!

Fisher didn't care about the substitution status, and the coaching staff had already reassured him that due to Hill's injury, Lee Woo would play in the No. 2 position at a certain time.

Such a rotation will increase Fisher's playing time, and playing 25 minutes a game should be the norm this season.

Players in the contract year naturally have to take a positive statement, and after undergoing minimally invasive knee surgery, Stoudemire did not relax his demands on himself, and his muscles swelled after a summer of training

Kurt Thomas has also gained weight as he has aged, but he is also ready, and he has managed his body very well for the sake of a big contract, and there is not a trace of fat on his body.

When the two were interviewed, they naturally had to express their confidence and compete for the same position, and everyone needs data in the new season.

Last year, the Knicks had a very small luxury tax, and after making money in the past few years, the Tarrytown training center has also been continuously improved.

The floor has been replaced, the basketball facilities have been replaced, the walls are no longer the original large white walls, and the ceiling has been repaired.

The old facilities that symbolize history have been eliminated, and the shiny training hall looks like a loss of technology.

The most eye-catching thing is a bunch of championship flags, and the division champions are hanging in the training hall, which is also the proudest point of the New York media.

Grant Hill was interviewed on the sidelines on crutches, and when asked about the new season, he could only smile wryly and shake his head:

"If all goes well, maybe I'll make it to the playoffs, but of course it depends on the diagnosis from the medical team."

"I want to be back on the pitch as soon as possible because the knee injury doesn't affect my physical condition."

The sports media surrounding Hill knew that this was a scene, and considering his age, his physical function would definitely decline after such a major injury.

On the other side of the basketball court, everyone in the atmosphere group is still training hard, and Raja-Bell feels that she has been favored by God, pie from heaven!

In the contract year, entering the starter, as long as you play beautiful data, the annual salary of one million is not a problem.

Although he didn't start practicing hard at 4 a.m., Raja Bell increased his daily shooting practice, and the big contract was in full swing

There are players in the team who are full of energy, and there are also players who are in average physical condition.

After the finals, he played the Olympics, and Gasol was visibly tired.

Unlike last year, he contributed more to this year's finals, and on the international stage, Gasol also gave his all, and despite a month's break, the after-effects of too many games were still visible.

Gasol hasn't been given many tasks by the training team, but his fitness has been at a low point lately.

Both Lee and D'Antoni stood behind the basket in blue and orange training uniforms, watching the crowd be interviewed.

After the morning training session, the two chatted about their plans for the new season:

'There are only 13 games in November, so the schedule is not bad, and before Christmas, we can adjust appropriately.

'It's definitely a bad thing to play with a sense of exhaustion and Pau really deserves some rest.

After half a month of observation, Li Youneng was sure that Gasol was indeed tired.

D'Antoni didn't expect Hill to be injured in the Olympics, and when he heard Li You's suggestion, he couldn't help but whisper:

"We can increase the minutes of the rotation, lower the height of the squad and play a little bit faster."

Although D'Antoni will be in custody when he enters the playoffs, he will always be able to play some new tricks during the regular season.

The meaning of these words is to let Stoudemire play the No. 5 position, let Prince play the No. 4 position, go all out, don't defend, and stab each other all the way!

Li You patted D'Antoni on the shoulder and quipped with a smile:

"Crazy experiments, maybe the team will lose back-to-back games, and then the sports media in New York will not show mercy."

Accustomed to watching 70+ wins, accustomed to big home wins over opponents, and suddenly losing, New York fans don't buy it.

After two years in the city, D'Antoni also recognized the attributes of the fans, but he did not intend to give up on his experiments, instead whispering:

"We can add rotations and change lineups on the road, and as long as we don't lose at Madison Square Garden, the fans won't care."

Hearing the mustachioed chicken thief's plan, Li You didn't object, which is also a good thing for him, he really prefers to beat the blind chickens in the run.

When Artest saw the media reporter, he hugged him and greeted him cordially.

In the past few days, his follower team has expanded a little, and the gold chain has also been arranged

The New York media also gave face to the hometown players very much, and they also followed the X:

"Ron, your body looks amazing! The DPOY for the new season must still be yours. ”

Artest, who had been training his muscles hard, immediately smiled when he heard the praise of several people, and continued to blow X inflatedly:

"I'll take two more DPOY trophies, and I can go from No. 1 to No. 5!"

The Knicks are going to participate in this year's China game, and a total of 4 games are scheduled for this year's preseason.

After the two China games, the next two games will be against the Nets and the 76ers.

Since the Knicks need to leave early, Lee Woo won't be able to see the American League championship game this year.

On the evening of October 5th, Lee Woo took the chicks to the Old Yankee Coliseum in the Bronx to watch this year's league divisional game.

The New York Yankees, who finished No. 1 in the regular season, faced the Minnesota Twins.

The environment of the old stadium is a little worse, but there are many fans who drag their families to watch the game, and more than 55,000 people crowded into the stadium early.

Before 19 o'clock, the scene began to be agitated.

Since it was Tuesday, it was Scarlett and Christen Rit who accompanied Lee Woo to watch the game.

All three wore navy blue Yankee hats on their heads, and the outcome of the game didn't matter, anyway, coming here to watch the game was killing time.

Scarlett, who will be 20 years old in a month, seems to be in a rebellious period, and recently had a big fight with her mother because she rejected a movie.

Although he dyed his hair back to blonde, he hasn't been home recently, and he simply lives with Li You.

The pace of the baseball game is not fast, and the girl who eats M beans makes the corners of Li You's eyes twitch slightly, and he has to interrupt the other party's "eating", which makes Christen-Rit laugh coquettishly:

"Clay, she's been eating it for half a month, and it's not a big deal to eat it for another day, anyway, the meat grows on her chest!"

Scarlett, who was wearing a wide T-shirt, deliberately straightened her chest, and then got tired of Li You's side, raised her head and said:

"Honey, let's go around the world! I wanted to do that when I was a kid. ”

Li You has indeed had a great impact on the girls around him, but at present, the other party is obviously trying to escape from family conflicts:

"When our yacht is delivered, we can go to sea every year."

Hearing Li You's words, the girl knew that there was a drama in this matter, and immediately kissed generously, and the little attendant on the side shook her head slightly, she found that Scarlett preferred to show off operations in public

"Clay, we've spent a lot of money this year, and we've spent a lot of money just on renovating the estate."

Li You patted the girl in his arms, turned his head and responded indifferently:

"It doesn't matter, maybe it won't be a few months, we still have a fund in the account, and Peninsula Manor is a high-quality asset."

Scarlett also spends a lot of money a year, and before she was a minor, her salary was managed by her mother, but after knowing Li You for a few years, it eventually became a life of swiping cards.

The two noticed that Li You didn't care, and they knew that these expenses were still in the plan.

Li You watched the baseball game and occasionally interacted with the two, but his mind flew to other places, and the crude oil market had a high probability of rising, but there was no corresponding special memory in his mind.

Scarlett noticed that Li You was wandering, and immediately leaned into her ear and said provocatively:

"I want to burn more calories tonight!"

Hearing the girl's invitation, Li You came back to his senses, felt the energetic body in his arms, and immediately left other thoughts behind:

"You still have to enjoy life, you can earn it!"

The preseason is about to begin, and teams are signing free agents again, which is the final reinforcement before the start of the season.

The Knicks don't have those problems, the 15-man roster has been confirmed, and the team has requested an injury exception from the league.

Once the application is successful, you will be able to sign a suitable free agent as soon as you meet the other party.

At present, the Knicks' salary has reached 69.79 million US dollars, and the team's salary structure is still very healthy.

The Mavericks' salary has been confirmed to exceed 90 million, and the Trail Blazers' salary will also exceed 80 million after getting the outdated Anfernee Hardaway;

The 76ers and Timberwolves are likely to have a salary of $70 million.

The top teams in terms of salaries have been in a state of spending money in recent years, and although the Knicks' salaries will skyrocket next season, they are still winning!

Compared to the Knicks, the Spurs are the most outrageous.

For the new season, Spurs owner Pete Holt has fulfilled his promise and filled the salary cap again!

According to sports media reports, the Spurs' salary for the new season should be as high as $47 million

Ginobili signed a multi-year contract with the team, and this season's salary has reached 6.6 million.

It's just that thinking of Ginobili's performance in the Olympics, everyone knows that the Spurs' signing is definitely a blood loss.

No matter how the outside world ridicules, the Spurs management has a stable group, the Lakers are disintegrated, and they will be the most likely team to reach the Finals in the new season.

Recently, Popovich has been shouting for Duncan again, although the Olympic defeat has been criticized, but as long as you hold your thighs, you can sit firmly in the position of head coach!

After being criticized by the sports media for a month, Duncan was naturally in a bad mood, and Popovich seized this opportunity and took the initiative to express his stance to the outside world:

"Trust me, Thiem will show his dominance in the new season!"

"The Spurs will make it to the Finals again under his leadership, and Tim deserves an MVP."

New York's sports media also commented on Popovich's shouting:

"Honor thief!"

Although Lee Woo has not been interviewed many times in the offseason, the sports media will not forget about him, and the debate about the best of history has been arguing for more than two months.

Lee and Michael Jordan are both very low-key, but their fans are high-profile, and debates often erupt on the Internet at the instigation of football critics.

Of course, in addition to the fans of the two, there are also fans who suddenly like Abdul-Jabbar.

The all-time scoring champion has been forgotten by fans for a while, but he didn't expect to suddenly gain a large number of fans this offseason.

On Monday, Oct. 11, the Knicks depart for Shanghai, where they will play two preseason games in China.

At the same time, the Rockets are also officially departing, and McGrady will make his debut in Shanghai.

The preseason has been preparing for many years in China, and the league has taken the opportunity to promote it, and the NBA has become the first American professional sports league to hold a game in China.

China's sports media have been promoting the two games for a long time, and Yao Ming's status in the hearts of fans goes without saying, and Li You and McGrady are also the favorite stars of many fans.

Although McGrady currently has no skin for the "White Horse Silver Gun", the hazy sleepy eyes and ecstasy calves are still there, and everyone can't wait to enjoy McGrady's one-handed ball

Lee You's summer trip to Asia only has BJ in China, and this time it makes up for the previous event, the tickets have long been sold out, and the fans are eagerly awaiting.

The Shanghai Sports Management Center wanted to hold an "original" NBA game, so it naturally made a lot of preparations.

Although it is a pre-season, for highly commercial, high-paid players, every game they participate in comes at a great cost to the organizers.

Fortunately, in order to further expand the Chinese market, the NBA league took the initiative to bear the basic costs, and with the cooperation of Li You, this was the game between the Rockets and the Knicks.

Ahead of the Knicks was the management of the NBA league, and David Stern took these two preseason games very seriously, leading the staff to complete the preparations early.

The floor was provided by the NBA, and the hoop had to be able to withstand the impact, and the hoop had to be able to withstand a few hundred pounds of hanging.

The NBA league wanted to use designated international brands, but in the end it compromised with the organizers, and domestic brands with excellent quality could meet these requirements.

In terms of player treatment, although Li You did not ask for it, the Knicks were not polite, and they did not let go of the details from towels to bathrooms.

The team did not compromise in this regard, and James Dolan simply moved the brand that the Knicks worked with.

The details are easy to solve, but the stadium seats and boxes are a big problem that requires the approval of multiple departments.

In an NBA game, the best spectator seats should be in the back rows of the seats of the coaches and players of both teams close to the court.

In addition to these front seats, dozens of small boxes must be set up.

At that time, this kind of seating arrangement had never been seen in a sports competition in Shanghai.

In the end, after negotiation with the public security and fire departments, an exception was made, which also made the price of the front row ticket soar to 3,000 yuan, and the price of the box was as high as 10,000 yuan.

Compared with the ticket price of the fan event held by the hook for Li You, the price has increased several times, and the leeks are properly cut!

It's just that the high ticket prices can't stop the enthusiastic fans at all, and after the sports media reports, fans queued up to buy tickets, and finally sold out early.

On the plane, everyone on the Knicks team also discussed it when they saw the relevant reports.

In the offseason, everyone saw Li You's terrifying popularity in China, and Artest looked at the hat and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Lee, in China, are there a lot of people who like the Knicks?"

Li You felt that Chinese fans still won more games, but when he heard his teammates' questions, he still gave a positive answer:

"Of course, Chinese fans also like championship teams, we have won six championships, and we have a deep fan base here."

"In short, this preseason, the team will be more popular than you think!"

Artest grinned and regretted that he should have taken his followers with him, and that this was a good time to pretend to be X.

In this year's Olympic Games, Spain defeated the Chinese team, and Gasol also played against Yao Ming again.

"Looks like we're going to have to play faster, I don't want to continue to play against Yao!"

When encountering a super center, playing the No. 5 position is naturally a chore, Gasol's words made everyone applaud, and in the exhibition game, everyone wanted to appear on the stage and pretend to be X.

Not only the players and management were following the two teams, but also the girls with the cheerleaders.

The cheerleaders don't make much, but the Knicks have been able to reach the Finals in recent years, and their salaries are the highest in the league compared to any other team.

Sweeping opponents every year has allowed the Knicks cheerleaders to earn $2,000 per game during the playoffs, and they are rewarded when the team wins.

Although there is a question of skin color to consider, there are still more blondes in cheerleading in recent years, which is considered a personal preference of James Dolan.

The curly-haired boss, who flew to Shanghai in advance, has also been listening to Grunfield's "report" recently, and he has not thought carefully about the salary issue:

"Why can't there be three salary caps for the team? We don't have to worry about luxury tax at all. ”

After a few days in the hotel, Grenfield did not let go of his work, and he already sensed that something was wrong:

"Of course we could offer three max contracts, but that means the salary cap will be taken up by three players."

"There won't be problems with the team in the short term, but as the players get older and the risk of injury increases, the competitiveness of such a squad decreases."

"Once a player has an injury, it's even hard for us to make effective reinforcements, and if we don't trade in time, when the contract expires, the big contract will eat into the salary cap."

"There's a good chance we'll even run into problems like the Bulls did back then, and when Lee turns 30, one person might take half of his salary."

James Dolan still didn't care about this, looked at the hard-working general manager, and casually drew a big pie:

"It doesn't matter, as long as there is Lee Zai, everything is not a problem, and besides, I also believe in your ability, we will always appear in the finals!"

“.”

The curly-haired boss was dressed casually, wearing a blue T-shirt from the Knicks, and went out with a plump blonde girl in his arms, Glenfield shook his head secretly, and finally sent a text message to his own girl as well.

Thinking of failing to sell Wright for two seasons in a row, Grunfield felt he should relax as well.

Looking at the energetic appearance of the young chick who walked through the door, Glenfield patted his thigh and left his worries behind:

"Anyway, Li doesn't care about this, I should enjoy it too!"

On October 14th, the China Championship was held as scheduled at the Shanghai Gymnasium.

David Stern didn't expect the game to be so hot, and according to the pre-game agreement, he and the league staff would sit on the side of the podium, but now the place is gone

The main leaders of SH City came to watch the game, and the number of people far exceeded expectations, and all the seats on the rostrum were full before the start of the game.

In the past few days, Li You has once again entered a state of greeting with a smile, and the major leaders have seen it all over the place, except for the group photo, which is autographed.

McGrady didn't expect to be so popular in China, and after a few days, he couldn't stop smiling, and his skills really conquered the world.

The China game completely restored the feeling of the NBA scene, and the Knicks' DJ also followed.

In order to highlight the compulsion of basketball, he is the only DJ in the league who plays sound effects live to drive the atmosphere

The cheers of 10,000 fans resounded through the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, and as David Stern sat in the makeshift extra work seat, the atmosphere was better than he expected.

This is the home court of the Rockets, and McGrady, who has not yet appeared on the court, saw Li You waving his hand, and the scene boiled, and he couldn't help but feel pantothenic acid in his heart.

Although he has only been the "second man" for one season, McGrady feels that he is no worse than Li You, and his former teammates have dragged him down

The girls of the cheerleaders began to dance hotly, and D'Antoni on the sidelines did not arrange tactics, although he held the tactical board in front of everyone, but what he said was chicken soup for the soul:

"You know how to show the fans here what a champion team looks like!"

On the other side of the Rockets' bench, Mike Brown has high expectations for the current team.

The core of the team has been determined, although the backfield has collapsed a little, but the overall strength of the team has been greatly improved.

Tyronn Lue was the starting guard tonight, when Li You crossed Kobe, he was just a melon eater, and naturally no one remembered the small role.

Wandering in the league for the past few years, Tyronn Lue has assisted many stars, but he prefers a stable contract.

Even though it's a preseason, he won't let up his demands on himself, and he still has to do his best to show himself!

With Yao Ming's successful jump ball, the game officially began, and cheers instantly resounded in the stadium.

Raja Bale, who got the starting position, was a little nervous, but saw Li You clapping his hands to direct the defense, and quickly stabilized his mood.

Artest, who wants to express himself, will naturally not release water at this time.

Tyronn Lue dribbled across the half-court and had just given the ball to McGrady, and Artest immediately defended it.

Constantly interfering, slicing the ball continuously, protecting the ball on the right side of his body, McGrady, who maintained a three-threat posture, did not get off the ball easily.

After looking at the defensive position, he put the ball on his right hand and when he was sideways to protect the ball, McGrady called for Tyronn Lue to fake cover.

did not give the ball to Yao Ming's hands, McGrady, who wanted to show off the operation, moved sideways, and after seeing the cover, Li You directly changed the defense, and immediately came to his senses.

Waving his hand to direct Jim Jackson on the right wing to move to the bottom corner to open up the offensive space, McGrady lowered his center of gravity and began to dribble under his hips in succession.

The first round was the alignment of the core players, and the fans were thrilled to see McGrady's beautiful dribbling moves!

Continuously dribbling under the crotch, trying to mobilize Li You's defensive center of gravity, the moment he switched to his left hand, McGrady's body shook to the left front, and then dribbled under the crotch again.

Trying to get rid of the defense with the explosiveness of the first step, McGrady, who was holding the ball in his right hand, accelerated with his shoulders heavy and took the initiative to fight.

Lee Woo easily anticipated the opponent's attack, and although he had only touched the ball recently, his physical condition was excellent.

After the collision, the breakthrough route was blocked, and at the moment when McGrady swung the ball's protector's body back slightly, Li You suddenly gave force at his feet, jumped forward violently, and sliced the ball vigorously with his left hand.

The moment he reacted, McCready lost control of the ball, and then was savagely squeezed by Li You

Before he could pull it, Li You took advantage of the situation to lead the ball forward, and in the blink of an eye, he got rid of McGrady behind him.

“Wow！”

Amid the cheers of the fans, Lee Woo rushed faster and faster, and the front-row fans under the hoop stood up one after another, watching Lee Woo jump with his feet in the paint area.

After a short stay in the air, he completed the crotch change hand, grabbed the ball with his left hand, and after stretching his body, Li You easily smashed the ball into the basket!

"Hold the grass!"

"Oh!"

The head was flat and the crotch changed hands to dunk, which made the fans in the front row scream, and then the cheers broke through the arena, and they couldn't stop for a while.

After landing on the ground, Li You smiled at the fans in the front row, patted his chest, then shook his head and laughed loudly:

"Don't dribble fancyly in front of me"

McGrady, who was chasing from behind, heard the laughter of the fans in the front row, his face was a little ugly, and he looked at Li You's back, and immediately scolded in his heart:

"Hell! It's an exhibition game! ”

(End of chapter)