Chapter 203 11% chance of winning

  After having lunch in the cafeteria at noon, Wang Tiejun was called to Colangelo's office, and Westphal also came along.

   As the new core established by the team, Colangelo introduced him to the situation of the new season, and communicated with each other about the team.

"Needless to say, Mosaic, they got Barkley and became the top team in the league. But they are not invincible. In fact, I don't think they are stronger than us last season." Colange Luo said.

   Westphal nodded and said: "Their perimeter didn't move much. The rookie Horry at the 3rd position was traded to us. Their 3rd position is not strong enough. I think it is difficult for them to win the championship this time.

   Even if they make it to the finals, presumably they will encounter the same situation as us. "

   Colangelo added: "Philadelphia has been rebuilt, and last season's first scoring point Jose Hawkins and second scoring point Jeff Hornacek were both traded.

The Jazz introduced Jeff Hornacek from Philadelphia, so that they have stable scoring points on the outside, and the stable mid-range shooting of the Postman, coupled with John Stockton's organizational skills, I am afraid that they will also have first-class **** in the new season. team strength. "

   "Jazz has indeed become a lot stronger." Westphal nodded.

Colangelo added: "There was a media report that the Bulls wanted to introduce Alonzo Mourning from the Hornets, but nothing came of it. In the end, the Bulls poached the main center Clifford Robinson of the Blazers with a large contract. ."

   "Clifford Robinson?"

  Wang Tiejun recalled the center player, but did not remember the name, but he was impressed and deeply impressed by the main center of the Blazers.

   This is a center with long-range shooting ability. The tonnage is very light, at most over 100 kilograms, and his mobility is excellent. The reason why he is impressed is that he has been beaten by this center.

At this time, Colangelo continued: "This Robinson is 27 years old, the No. 9 pick in the second round in 1989, and has played for four seasons. This time, the rookie contract is over and he was poached by the Bulls with a five-year, $2,100 contract. Well, the Blazers didn't have this contract."

Westphal added: "Clifford Robinson was the Blazers' second-leading scorer last season, averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2 blocks in 32 minutes per game. level of strength.

  The Bulls get him, and the interior strength will be very strong. The only weakness is that the low post confrontation ability is insufficient and the rebounding ability is insufficient. But overall, the Bulls' rebounding ability has improved. "

   At this time, Colangelo suddenly said: "I am very clear about Jerry Krause's thinking, Barkley went to the Mosaic team, then the Bulls' strongest opponent in the new season must be the Mosaic team.

   Therefore, his requirements for the main center of the team do not need such a strong confrontation ability, because once entering the finals, the Bulls are most likely to face the big dream, not the old K, and do not need such a strong confrontation ability.

Although   Dameng's confrontation ability is strong, I think if the Bulls play the Mosaic team, they only need the offensive disadvantage of the fifth position to not be so big. With the outside advantages of Jordan and Pippen, the overall strength still has an advantage. "

   "The bull doesn't take us seriously?" Wang Tiejun suddenly got a little angry.

   The two of them glanced at him and nodded at the same time. Colangelo said: "That's for sure. We don't have Barkley, and we've lost a lot of strength in the inside line."

   "Then kill Mosaic, make it to the finals and surprise them." He said coldly.

   His speed has increased now, and during the next regular season, he can improve a little, and by the playoffs, he may be able to keep up with Clifford Robinson in movement speed.

   As long as he can follow, with his defensive height, his offensive efficiency will inevitably be reduced, and on his own offensive end, he can blow up the opponent into slag.

   If the Suns really make it to the finals, they should be able to take the Bulls by surprise. He really wants to prove that the Bulls’ idea of ​​selecting a new main center this time is wrong, and it is correct to regard him as their main opponent.

   But he also understands that it is difficult to win this Bulls team with the strength of the team, and he can only rely on fighting.

   "Sir, Jordan's father was killed, has he resumed training now?" He suddenly remembered this.

   Colangelo nodded and said, "He really deserves to be the most determined person in the league. He has returned to Chicago long ago and has resumed training.

   As long as there is him, the Bulls will always be the most watched team in this league and the most competitive championship-level team. "

   In the next few days, all teams in the league have started all-staff training before the regular season, and also held their own media conferences for the new season.

  The media commented on each team, and some of the strong teams were the top priorities.

  ESPN also released its own prediction rankings for each team's championship odds in the new season before the start of the season.

   Jordan's Bulls are still at the top of the list, with a 46% chance of winning.

The reason given by ESPN is that the Bulls have reinforced the most critical No. 5 position, and their interior strength has changed in quality. Jordan, Pippen and Clifford Robinson will form a new iron triangle, and the Bulls will win the championship. thing.

  The second place is Mosaic, with a 41% chance of winning, only five percentage points lower than the Bulls.

The reason given by ESPN is that the combination of Big Dream and Barkley will be a nightmare for all teams in the league. This combination of superstars will sweep the league on both offense and defense. If not as good as the Bulls on the outside, Mosaic will book a new season. champion.

The third place is the Knicks, this iron-blooded division built by Pat Riley. Although it was eliminated by the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals last season, it is still one of the most powerful teams in the league. Its chance of winning the championship is 28. %.

   And last season's championship Suns, the probability of winning the championship did not enter the top five, only ranked eighth, ahead of the SuperSonics, Pacers, Jazz, Spurs four teams, the probability of winning the championship is only 11%.

The reason given by ESPN is that without Barkley, the Suns lost most of their offensive firepower inside, and more seriously lost their inside defense, which allowed their opponents to arbitrarily enter the paint area, causing huge damage. At the same time, it also improves the quality of its attack.

  The media also mentioned Kevin Johnson, believing that he has aged and his strength will continue to decline after last season.

But the important reason why ESPN is not optimistic about the Suns is because Wang Tiejun believes that he has no ability to help defense, let alone defending, and now without Barkley's help, the Suns' paint area will become a piece of fat for opponents to do whatever they want. Meat.

I even think that the Suns will be in a situation of attacking and not defending, and the defense will win the championship. Such a Suns, which gives an 11% chance of winning the championship, is already based on the Suns’ overall ranking last season. The face of the champion, or single digits are possible.

  …

  On the 28th, Chicago, the Bulls' new season media meeting was held. The media reporters below were crowded, all of them were big media, and half of them were from all over the world. It can be seen that the Bulls are still the most concerned team in the league.

   "Michael, what are your goals for the new season?" a reporter from The New York Times asked.

"champion!"

  Jordan looked serious and spit out the word that brought him to tears in the last Finals.

   "So which team do you think will become the Bulls' strongest opponent for the championship in the new season?" the reporter asked.

   "Mosaic." Jordan said without hesitation.

   "Michael, do you want to say something to your father?" The second reporter's target was Jordan.

  Jordan's eyes suddenly flashed with uncontrollable sadness, but his tone was extremely blunt: "Championship, I will give it to my father."

The third reporter's questioning target was Jordan, and asked: "Michael, Clifford Robinson is only 102 kg, Grant is only 98 kg, neither of them have the ability to fight in the low post, and they do not have the ability to play from the low post, you How likely is it that such an insider combination can hold up the super combination of Big Dream and Barkley?"

   This question made Jordan think for a while, and then said: "Yes, they should be a pair of interior partners that have never appeared in this league. Their style is very different from the current interior style, and they do not have the ability to fight in the low post and play from the back.

   However, they have a very strong ability to open and cut inside. Phil calls their inside line a space inside line. I think they are competitive when facing Big Dream and Barkley. "

   "Space-type insider?" The reporters below said silently.

The fourth reporter finally stopped asking Jordan, he asked Jerry Krause, the general manager, "Mr. Krause, you brought in a center like Clifford Robinson, not a meat shield. Center, what are you thinking about?"

Krause said briefly: "Our main championship competitor has changed in the new season. Management believes that our opponent in the last finals, the Suns, will not be our opponent in the next finals. For this reason, we don't really need meat shields. Of course, we also have them.

   Moreover, what Old K is the worst at dealing with is a center like Clifford who can pull off. He was beaten by Clifford last season. "

   The fifth reporter asked Phil Jackson on the head, "Coach Jackson, will Clifford Robinson be one of the Bulls' new triangle?"

  Phil Jackson immediately shook his head and said: "There is no such statement in my triangle tactics. The triangle is never fixed. Every player may become one of the triangles. Only in this way can sufficient changes be achieved.

  Clifford is good on offense, and Grant's cutting in and his rebounding are what we need, and they will both be an important part of the triangle offense. "

  On the 26th, Zhang Lili and Su Qun arrived in Phoenix with a three-person camera team, a group of five.

   They are CCTV reporters stationed in the United States this season, specializing in NBA interviews.

CCTV still did not purchase the copyright of the regular season on a large scale this season, but after careful research, they decided to purchase part of the regular season of the Suns and Bulls. They bought a total of 12 games, which is about an average of one game every two weeks. Eight games, four for the Bulls.

   There is no way to do this. It’s not that CCTV doesn’t want to buy more copyrights, but the country’s foreign exchange reserves were only 19.4 billion last year, and in 1993 it was not much more. Even if CCTV wanted to buy more copyrights, it didn’t have that many dollars in hand.

   CCTV will broadcast the first game of the new season of the Suns in real time, which will also be the first time that CCTV will broadcast the regular game of the NBA in real time.

   They landed in Los Angeles at noon, arrived in Phoenix in the evening, and were taken home by Wang Tiejun.

   "Changfeng, we meet again."

   Zhang Lei greeted Liu Fengchang in a friendly way and asked, "Are you still used to it here?"

   "Brother Zhang is good, I'm used to it, I'm still used to it." Liu Changfeng said quickly.

   The two met frequently at the Iron Army Training Center and were already familiar with each other.

   "Are you in charge of cooking? I'll help you." Seeing Liu Changfeng running into the kitchen, Zhang Lili hurriedly followed.

   "I just learned, and the craftsmanship is average, that is, I can cook it." Liu Changfeng, who was frying the steak, smiled honestly.

   "It doesn't matter if you're not familiar, NBA players, including your cousin, are half-baked." Zhang Lili laughed.

  Liu Changfeng smiled and said: "Tie Jun rarely eats at home, I just make my own food, I'm not used to eating half-baked."

  On the 28th, the Suns also held a media meeting for their new season.

   At 9 am, the media gathered in the news hall of the Suns headquarters, Zhang Lili and Su Qun and their five-member team also arrived.

  The players then entered the scene and the media started taking pictures.

  Last year, the C position was the core of Barkley and Kevin Johnson. At that time, Wang Tiejun was still working hard in New York. Today, he stands on the C position of the Suns and is baptized by all media cameras.

  Kevin Johnson stood on his left. This year's Suns are also the two cores inside and outside.

   "The core, it took a year to become the core, the old K did a great job!" Su Qun said excitedly.

"The Suns want to cultivate their own stars. This is what league teams generally do, and they value the people they cultivate. The people who are traded are just passers-by. One of the important reasons is that the stars who are traded are definitely not old. I’m young, and the people I train are definitely not young, and once they are trained, they can play for many years.” Zhang Lili explained in a low voice beside him.

  Suqun nodded and said, "No wonder the Suns gave up on Barkley."

   Zhang Lili said with a smile: "If the Suns continue to focus on Barkley, it will definitely affect the growth of the Iron Army. Once Barkley gets old and the Iron Army fails to grow again, the Suns will die, so this decision is reasonable."

   After taking the photo, there was a question-and-answer session. The host, Miss Molly, gave the first opportunity to ask questions to a local sports reporter who was also a team reporter, Hammers Larry.

  Larry's questioning target was Wang Tiejun. He asked: "Old K, when you know that you have become the new core of the team, is your first feeling excited?"

"responsibility."

He said seriously: "When I got the news, I knew I couldn't be like last season, I was the one at the front, not just behind Charles and Kevin. Honours It's about me, but so is the shame."

   "So for the new season, do you have your own goals?" Larry continued to ask.

   "Of course, any championship team, his goal must be to defend the title, my team and myself are no exception, we will strive to defend the title." He said.

   "ESPN ranks the Suns seventh in the championship odds, with only an 11 percent chance of winning the championship. What do you think about this?" Larry asked again.

He sneered: "Who remembers ESPN's ridiculous title odds rankings last season? They even foolishly held out until G6 of the Finals, but the results tell us that even if you ask anyone on the street, his answer is better than ESPN is more professional."

"Ha ha…"

   Immediately below, the reporters burst into laughter.

   "Damn old K, can't you not mention what happened last season?" An ESPN reporter at the scene mumbled awkwardly.

At this time, he continued: "Charles said that ESPN is the most unprofessional sports media in the world, so I would say, congratulations to ESPN, with your unprofessionalism, you will never be able to get the live broadcast rights of the NBA Finals. , because NBA management is unlikely to hand over the most important series to a non-professional sports media.

   At the same time, I would also like to congratulate the media of TNT, you will not win the competition with ESPN, because ESPN will kill itself. "

"Ha ha…"

   He made fun of ESPN, which once again caused the scene to laugh.

  …

  The time entered November 1993, and the opening game of the new season started on the 5th.

  The league's schedule is a bit strange. As the finals teams last season, the first regular season games of the Suns and Bulls were arranged on the road.

  The Bulls are away to the Hornets, and the Suns are away to the Lakers.

  At noon on the 4th, the Suns set off for Los Angeles.

   "Old K, what are you doing with this iron basin?"

   "What are you doing with this thing?"

   "Old K, do you want to make soup with it?"

   "This thing makes soup, and all of us in the team can't finish it all together."

   Headquarters, looking at a steel basin that Wang Tiejun unloaded from the pickup truck, no one guessed its purpose.

   The diameter of this thing is one meter two and the height is only fifty centimeters, but it can actually be stretched out. It is one hundred and thirty-five centimeters high when pulled out, and it is a bucket.

   This is a custom made by Wang Tiejun who asked his agent Hoxman to help him in the United States. It can be heated by electricity, and a brazier needs to be stuffed under the medicine bath, which is more convenient.

   His medicines are also prepared in advance, and he prepares several medicines for a few days away to save trouble.

   Colangelo also came over and asked, "Old K, are you going to put it in the locker room? Isn't there a bucket in the locker room?"

   "No, sir, I'm not going to take an ice bath. I have to take a medicated bath every day. The medicated bath needs to be heated, which is more convenient." He said.

"Medicated bath?"

   Everyone was shocked and felt incredible. What is a medicinal bath?

   "Just keep the water temperature at about 41 degrees, there will be some Chinese herbal medicines in the water, and the medicated bath can make my body rejuvenate faster..."

   He explained it reluctantly and said, "I want to take this bucket with me, and I will use it on the road. Can I take it, sir?"

   Colangelo nodded and said, "Of course there is no problem."

Wang Tiejun pointed to Liu Changfeng who moved the steel drum with him and said: "Sir, this is my cousin, he will be my personal massage therapist in the future, he needs to massage me every day after the game, I hope he can ride the ball. The team's special plane, I will pay for the ticket."

Colangelo glanced at Liu Changfeng, thought for a moment, nodded and said: "OK, old K, in the future your cousin can take the team's special plane, and I will give him an ID card of the team masseur. , so that he can be with the team.

  The airfare is fine, but for his room and board on the road, you need to pay to the team privately, and I will arrange for him to share a room with you. "

   "Of course, thank you, sir." He quickly thanked him.

   Colangelo nodded, walked aside, and called the chief trainer Aaron Nelson and team doctor Andrew John over.

   "Do you think there is something wrong with the medicated bath in old K?"

  Although he agreed, he was not at ease with the medicinal bath, but it was the first time that Old K made a personal request, and he didn't want to object.

   The two looked at each other, and Andrew John thought for a while and said, "I haven't heard of medicated baths, but Old K has a kind of medicated oil. He often uses it during massage, and it seems that there is no problem."

   Aaron Nelson said: "Old K has some magical means, such as Kevin Johnson's shoulder, we can observe it first and not rush to a conclusion."

   Colangelo couldn't help but nodded. The old K healed Kevin Johnson's shoulder in one second, which really shocked him. Looking back on it now, it's incredible.

   Afterwards, the team went to the airport. Wang Tiejun's steel drum was stuffed into the luggage compartment of the bus.

   (end of this chapter)