He hasn't played in the NBA for more than a year, is Xu Yong still the Satan who makes opponents fear?

Choosing to make a comeback late in the season, will Xu Yong repeat the mistakes of Jordan back then?

If the alliance is a coalition of Durant, Leonard, and Curry, can Xu Yong beat them?

"I don't think it's the best time to come back, I think this summer will be more suitable, Xu needs better teammates, Durant can't succeed without Harden and Westbrook, Jokic is still growing, DeRozan is clearly not in that ranks."

In the latest episode of TNT, when O'Neal and Smith were both rejoicing at the Mavericks' announcement, Barkley analyzed it unusually calmly.

But despite these voices, after the Mavericks announced the news, it (Seo Yong's comeback) had an explosive and lasting impact.

First of all, the Dow Jones index rushed up at the beginning of the day, and AJ's stock began to soar like a rocket, including the stock price of the brand endorsed by Xu Yong.

This is the second time this year, the last time was Xu Yong's return to the NBA, but this time, their rally is significantly crazier.

And the news released by the Mavericks also announced Xu Yong's jersey number, he will not change the number like Jordan, nor will he change the number back to the 23rd in college, or will continue to wear the No. 6 jersey.

So at the same time as this news was released, the No. 6 jersey on the Mavericks' official website was emptied almost instantly, and soon the jersey became a hot seller in the scalping market.

Even the sales of the STX series sneakers, which have declined slightly in the past two years, have begun to explode.

The Mavericks' season tickets were sold out long ago when Xu Yong returned to the NBA, and now, because Xu Yong's comeback is on the road, all the tickets for this game for the Lakers are sold out.

You have to know that the Lakers' ticket sales this season are very poor, not to mention that Nicholson's Kobe Bryant has not been here since he retired, and many season ticket holders rarely come to watch the game.

After all, although the Lakers have James this season, not only is it not spectacular, but it is basically difficult for the team to make the playoffs this season.

In addition, there is another very interesting thing, the No. 2 star of the Lakers, a rising star who has been cultivated by the Lakers, and center Jaliel Okafor, who has averaged 20+10 per game this season, couldn't help but complain in front of reporters after learning the news: "I'm XXX, why did you choose us?" ”

Later in the day, ESPN, which hosts the NBA's regular season games, quickly announced a higher broadcast schedule, with the Mavericks broadcasting a massive increase in the number of games.

The mayor of Dallas then gave a personal speech, and one of his speeches became a classic: "Dallas will become the most attractive tourist city in the world." ”

This sounds like a black humor, you must know that Dallas has a bad reputation in the United States because of racial discrimination, not to mention the world, but now, he actually has the confidence to say such a thing, the key is that he said such a thing, and no one even thinks there is anything wrong.

With a lot of skepticism and a lot of madness, the Mavericks played the Lakers away after the All-Star break, and this game is considered to be not only seasonally rated, but also high-rated, and may even be the highest-rated regular season game in NBA history, which is about to kick off at the Staples Center.

"Boss, how many have you recovered?" On the plane to Los Angeles, Jokic covered his mouth with his hand, leaned over and whispered to Xu Yong.

"Seven to eight." Xu Yong told the truth, even if he has increased the frequency of training, after all, he has not officially competed for so long, and he has not even trained systematically, and it is still difficult to get it back all at once.

"But it's enough to hit them." Xu Yong then said lightly.

Originally, he wanted to play the Warriors and let himself quickly enter the state of high-intensity games, but this time he played the Lakers, although he failed to do so, but the game will be easier.

"LeBron is playing a lot of fun right now." Jokic said with a smile.

Xu Yong looked at Jokic suspiciously.

"When he played us, he only defended Deron (Wright) because he didn't attack much, and he didn't grab rebounds, but he was faster than Usain Bolt on the fast break, and we all called it [smart basketball]."

Listening to Jokic's description, Xu Yong couldn't help but laugh out loud, smart basketball? It's a bit catchier than Smart basketball.

"Hasn't he always been like that?" Xu Yong asked rhetorically.

Jokic was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

yes, they've all forgotten when James started playing like this.

On Feb. 23, the Staples Center was crowded.

In the front row of the audience, all Hollywood movie stars, and even Nicholson, who had not appeared for a long time, also came to the scene, and the main reason for his arrival was because Kobe Bryant was also there tonight.

Although the strength of the Lakers is not what it used to be, in terms of influence, it is still a standard traffic team.

Of course, the moment Xu Yong appeared in the players' tunnel wearing the No. 6 jersey, all the spotlights hit him, and the scene instantly erupted in overwhelming cheers.

Xu Yong waved and greeted the fans with a smile, and then hugged Kobe Bryant who was walking towards him with a smile.

"I said you were the only one who could be that hero." After hugging, Kobe Bryant said to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong laughed and punched Kobe Bryant in the chest, and then both of them laughed.

After greeting everyone else, Xu Yong looked at the familiar scene around him that he hadn't seen for a long time, and he also felt some irrepressible blood surging.

Although he hasn't set foot in this arena for more than a year, his body doesn't lie.

After more than a year of separation, just like Xiao Biesheng's newlywed, he is now full of interest.

Then, there was an unprecedented scene on the scene.

When Xu Yong stepped on the field, the camera of the scene kept focusing on him and did not leave for a second.

Whether it's Dallas or Los Angeles, there's only one protagonist tonight.

Outside the camera at this time, James looked at the familiar figure above his head with his hands on his hips.

The distance between him and Xu Yong is only half a court, but now the distance between him and Xu Yong is like he can only look up at the big LED screen, which is out of reach.

After the pre-game warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

Xu Yong was the last of the Mavericks to appear.

Because it was an away game, there was no background music, but the on-site host chose the longest appearance introduction.

"Now! 7-time NBA All-Star Vote King, 4-time NBA Scoring Champion, 3-time AMVP, 4-time MVP, 5-time FMVP, 5-time Championship Winner, 6'9", from Arizonada State University, No. 6, Satan ~Seo~~ Yong! ”

When the tone of the host fell, Xu Yong got up and high-fived his teammates one by one, and the Staples Center fell into a boiling and carnival.

It's back, Xu Yong is back, their NBA is back!

The starting lineups of the two teams, Mavericks: Wright, DeRozan, Xu Yong, Powell, Jokic;

Lakers: Lonzo Ball, Kentavios Cardwell Pope, James, Kyle Kuzma, Okafor.

Jokic turned the ball back into the Mavericks half, and the game officially began.

Xu Yongyi did not attack with the ball when he came up, but looked for a feeling on the court first.

However, as Xu Yong and Jokic said, the Lakers are not strong.

Don't look at a 20+10 center on the inside, there are the top five supergiants in the league, and the outside line is the list + 3D, the lineup configuration is reasonable and potential.

But the defensive problems of this lineup are not ordinarily big, except for Pope Ling, who can't even find another defensive level above the league average (James is, but has no defensive will, which means none).

Jokic came up and held the ball in the low post and scored an easy one on Okafor.

Okafor has improved on the defensive end over the years, and it can be seen that he is trying hard to play Jokic, but Jokic has gradually adapted to the new scale, and then he is much more flexible than Okafor compared to flexibility.

The Lakers' offense, James arrived in the frontcourt and found that Xu Yong was defending him.

James consciously stood aside with his hands on his hips and motioned for Ball to organize an attack.

Xu Yong's reaction to him was not surprising at all, not just the smart basketball that Jokic said, but James would not have chosen to come to a rebuilding team like the Lakers if he still had a little ambition.

Ball dropped the ball to Okafor, who singled Jokic and turned around with beautiful footwork to score with a hook hand.

Compared with defense, Okafor's greater progress still comes from the offensive end, after the cancellation of the [vertical jump rule], of course, the more important thing is to be next to James, and he can still win 20+10, which cannot be done on the inside line without any ability.

Looking back, Jokic was caught in the low post again, and the Lakers' defense was not very good, but head coach Walton still had requirements for defense.

Xu Yong played a cover tactic with DeRozan at this time, DeRozan cut into the basket and took away the defender after dismantling the ball, and Xu Yong took the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot.

Jokic's passing ability is very strong, and Xu Yong's chance to catch the ball is very good.

Catching the ball, bending the knees, jumping, and plucking the wrists, Xu Yong's dry pulling rhythm can be said to be exactly the same as before retirement.

That kind of training for more than ten years is engraved in muscle memory and even engraved into DNA.

The cheers of the fans also sounded in advance at the scene, and many people will, but they haven't seen this elegant action for almost two years.

But it's a pity that Xu Yong's shot didn't hit this time.

After seeing the basketball pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, who was there tonight, Xu Yong's face did not have too many ripples.

This is an expected situation, but you still need to find a feeling.

Speaking of which, Jordan's comeback was quite a sensation back then, and the 55-point performance in Game 5 was praised by fans, but not many people remember the debut that was selectively abandoned by the media: 7 of 28, 19 points.

Xu Yong's preparation was actually not much sufficient, so he was mentally prepared.

The game played for a few minutes, and the court turned into an offensive battle between Okafor and Jokic, DeRozan and Xu Yong were not in good shape, and the Mavericks could not pull away the score.

"As I said, it's not a good time to come back." On the commentary bench, Barkley reiterated his previous statement.

At this moment, there was a detail change on the court, James reached for the ball, and motioned to pull away to single.

Tonight's game was definitely highly anticipated, and the official ratings had already broken a record high at the opening ceremony.

In this kind of game, if he could, he would like to be the center of attention.

But after so much experience, he started cautiously, because this one is not careful, it will become a golden backdrop.

However, at this time in the game, even he was sure that Xu Yong's comeback was hasty and out of shape, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

Of course, there is another point, the boss of the Lakers can only be him James, this kind of high-profile game, Okafor is a little bit of stealing the limelight from him.

Seeing James holding the ball, Xu Yong also felt that his eyes lit up.

Positional battles look at the feel and state, but the defensive end is relatively not very good.

And since his debut with the Bulls, he has played under Thibodeau, and defending and countering is what he does best.

After his teammates pulled away, James dribbled the ball in his crotch on the spot, and then changed direction to break through with the ball from the right side.

Xu Yong blocked his route with a sliding step, and cut the ball directly.

This cut was fast and accurate, and the key point was that James completely misjudged Xu Yong's ability on the defensive end.

"Smack!"

With a crisp sound, Xu Yong turned sideways again, and had already controlled the cut ball and directly buried his head in the fast attack.

On the Lakers' side, Pop was being pinned down by DeRozan, and when others were not conscious enough to react, Xu Yong was already out of the three-point line.

James spread his hands and looked at his teammates, and his expression was clearly blaming his teammates for not being active in making up for their defense.

Xu Yong ran on the field, and the cheers of the fans exploded in his ears.

When he was about to attack the frontcourt, he slowed down slightly, and then kicked off with his right foot in the air, and the person turned directly in the air.

The best at it, and at the same time the best at 360° turn dunk.

At this moment, his pores opened, and the feeling of the wind whistling by made his body feel more familiar.

"Bang!"

The basketball was smashed into the hoop like a bombshell, and the loud muffled sound ignited the Staples Center like a lead.

On the large LED screen, the playback was given at the first time.

In the broadcast screen, this shot is also being slowed down repeatedly.

This was the first goal scored by Xu Yong after his comeback, and it was also his most iconic goal.

Of course, it is also the Nth reappearance of Xu Yong's classic steal of James + fast-break dunk!

"Satan is back!" Barkley, who was in the commentary seat, also got up and shouted excitedly, and even his eyes turned red all of a sudden.

In the time without Xu Yong, his traffic plummeted, and his status as the first brother of TNT was about to be robbed by O'Neill.

But he knew that Xu Yong would come back eventually, like a real king.

It's just that what he didn't expect was that this scene would come so quickly.

After retreating to the defensive end, Xu Yong looked at James with a smile, and came back with the feeling, as well as the restless heart.

"Thank you, brother." He looked at James and expressed his gratitude.

James began to have a question mark on his face, but soon realized what Xu Yong meant.

His face turned blue all of a sudden, he hadn't seen him for more than a year, and Xu Yong was still so cheap!

However, the eldest husband can bend and stretch, and after being robbed once just now, he gave up and continued to attack Xu Yong.

If I don't fight, can you continue to steal me?

James's move can be described as very accurate, and when James does not hold the ball or even receive the ball, it is indeed impossible for Xu Yong to steal him again.

However, stealing was not Xu Yong's purpose in the first place, and he was not grateful for James's steal.

Because after defending against a wave of attacks from the Lakers, after the two sides were in position, after glancing at Kuzma in front of him, Xu Yong reached out to ask for the ball.

The crowd began to cheer.

What kind of away away becomes home, all fans tonight have only one layer of identity, that is, Xu Yong's fans.

Kuzma was a little panicked at this point.

Originally, he was a strong offensive and weak player, if it weren't for Wharton's arrangement, he wouldn't want to play against Xu Yong in this kind of game.

He instinctively turned his head to look at the position of the assistant defender behind him, but at that moment, he felt something fly over his face.

Looking at it, Xu Yong had broken through to the three-second zone, and a light low-hand layup sent the ball into the basket.

From breakthrough to scoring, Xu Yong's whole process is extremely coherent and silky, and it is completely impossible to see that he is a person who has just returned to play after a year and a half of rest.

The whistles and cheers of the scene came and went.

Xu Yong's opening shot made fans think that he would repeat Jordan's mistakes, but it turned out that their fears were unfounded.

Okafor continued to basket singles, but the Mavericks contracted their defense this time, and Okafor didn't make a timely shot to hit the iron.

Xu Yong has already started to run tactics in the front court.

As the head coach, Malone has a much richer tactical system on the offensive end than Thibodeau.

Especially with Jokic, a passing master who can be used as a pivot at the three-point line, his tactical system can be used to the fullest.

That is, of course, that the Mavericks have a second point of attack that is enough of an offensive threat.

Before, DeRozan was not in the state to play the role of bad, but now Xu Yong is here.

Xu Yong took advantage of the cover to cover a beautiful backcut to the basket and received a precise feed from Jokic to attack the basket directly.

Both of his attacks were accurate in their selection of targets, which were to attack the basket.

Although his physical sensation has been found, his touch has not fully recovered, and in this case attacking the basket is a better choice.

This time, though, Okafor shrank to the basket.

Jokic is not Adams, he is not only defensive, but also a lot worse than Adams in defensive details like the Cardiners.

And with such a small space under the basket, Xu Yong's pass was also easy to be interfered with, and finally Xu Yong chose to jump, and after gliding sideways from Okafor's side in the air, a lever threw the ball to the basket from the opposite side.

It was a difficult shot, but the ball crossed a high-speed spinning parabola in the air and landed precisely into the net!

The Staples Center was in complete boiling.

Even Kobe Bryant showed an exaggerated expression of "wow".

Since that dunk, Xu Yong has scored 6 points in a row.

Xu Yong is not only back, but as if he has never left!

Xu Yong's body was a little out of balance in the air, but the moment he landed, he stood firmly.

At this time, he happened to face James, who was on the weak side with his hands on his hips, and he continued to smile on his face:

"You know, in fact, I came to the west because of you, good brother, to be together all the time."

(End of chapter)