Chapter 278 Sign up for the draft

   After eating and sitting for a while, the five left and rushed to Salt Lake City to prepare for the live broadcast of the G3G4 battle.

  Pharaoh also drove to the headquarters of the Suns, ready to go to Salt Lake City.

   He is not going to let Yu Feihong go to Salt Lake City, a second-round series, there is no need to run back and forth.

   That night, the Bulls defeated the Pacers on the road, but the Magic lost to the Knicks on the road, and the big score was 2-1.

   But the Suns didn't sleep well, and the Jazz fans made all kinds of interference to help the home team get some home-court advantage.

At ten o'clock, there was no TV in the room in a private hotel with no influx. Zhang Lili and others crowded at the front desk just after watching the game and were about to go to bed when Lao Zhang's pager rang, and he borrowed the front desk phone to call. .

   "Hello, is Director Zhang?"

   "Ma Jian? Is it a pony?"

   "Yes, it's me, hello guide Zhang."

   "Ouch, you haven't contacted me for a long time."

   "That's right, Director Zhang, I signed up for this year's NBA draft."

   "Good thing, you have also played in the NCAA for two years, are you sure?"

   "This, it's hard to say, I don't pay much attention, and few scouts pay attention to me."

"Oh, if you don't pay attention, it won't work. Generally speaking, team drafts will only be selected based on scouting reports. Scouts even have to track time for several years. There are hundreds of pages of information. If you don't pay attention at all, no one knows about you. , the draft is very bad." Zhang Lili sighed.

   "That's it, Director Zhang, I just want to talk to someone." Ma Jian's tone over there was very disappointed.

Lao Zhang frowned. This Ma Jian can be said to be Wang Tiejun's hometown, or Wang Tiejun's senior in the provincial team. Both of them play in the United States, and their relationship should be well established, but Ma Jian doesn't know what to think. Not much contact with Wang Tiejun.

   He didn't know Ma Jian well either. When he left the national team coaching position, Ma Jian hadn't entered yet, but now that Ma Jian is on his head, he can't help but help.

"Xiao Ma, why don't you do this? Go directly to Wang Tiejun tomorrow night. He is a very talkative man and willing to help. If you have nothing to do, get in touch with him. There are a lot of media around him, and reporters surround him wherever he goes. He, he will introduce you, this attention will come," he said.

   "Is that so?"

Zhang Lili advised: "Don't hesitate. After the playoffs are over, the draft will be drafted. There is only a month left. How can you still have time? Let me tell you, you have already delayed the time. If you contact him earlier, the situation will be better than that. Better now. You look at the media, including the media in Utah, where is your news? You look like this, I won't lie to you, 99% of the time you will lose."

   "I haven't contacted him much before. When I look for him, I just want to help. I just feel a little embarrassed." Ma Jian was still a little hesitant.

   "What's the embarrassment? You and he are fellow villagers. If you don't look for him at critical times, you look down on him." Lao Zhang said.

   "Well, I'll listen to you." Ma Jiandao.

  May 12, the game day of the Western G3 game.

   At 9 o'clock, at the dinner table, Wang Tiejun looked at his teammates who were yawning, and he himself knew that there would be a tough match that far surpassed the G1G2 match tonight.

   "The Jazz will win! The Jazz will win! The Jazz will win..."

   At 1 noon, the Suns bus came to the Delta Center Stadium and was surrounded by hundreds of Jazz fans, with fans shouting everywhere.

   "Boom bang bang..."

  The bus was beaten by the fans, which made the players uneasy.

   "These bastards, we're going to **** them tonight." Pharaoh looked at the Jazz fans and cursed.

   "Calm down, don't let them affect us. Old K, especially you, you are the team leader, you must face everything calmly, and remember that it will not be smooth sailing on the road." Assistant coach Lewis immediately reminded.

   "I see." Lao Wang said.

   During the afternoon practice, the Suns also encountered various problems.

   For example, the locker room was cut off from water and electricity. The weather in May was already very hot, and it was suffocating inside. After changing clothes inside, one by one was already sweating and ran out impatiently.

   For example, during training, the floor was found to be slippery. Several people slipped to the ground during the return run. Substitute Tracy Murray accidentally injured his ankle.

   Injured one before the game even started, which made the Suns even more annoyed.

   "The floor is not anti-skid at all, they are doing shit." A staff member of the Suns said angrily after checking.

   Colangelo was furious, found the management of the arena, and asked what was going on.

   The management investigated for an hour, and the explanation given was that the warehouse staff made a mistake in the floor. Colangelo sprayed it in anger and forced the management of the arena to replace the non-slip floor immediately.

   But this delay, the Suns' afternoon training was basically in vain, and when the floor was changed, there was no time. In the end, they did a 20-minute warm-up activity, and there was no time for shooting training.

  The game started at 8:30. When it was almost 8:00, the Delta Arena was full.

   At this time, a tall and strong Chinese youth found the visiting team's locker room and told the staff outside that he was looking for Lao K.

   Lao Wang came out and saw that it was Ma Jian.

   This morning, Lao Zhang contacted him and said that this fellow would come to him and ask him for help. Of course, this is ok.

   "Brother Ma, long time no see, how are you?"

   "We haven't seen you for two years, old K, you've made a name for yourself."

   The two met at the All-Star Weekend in 1993. Zhang Lili took Ma Jian to meet Pharaoh at a restaurant. The All-Star was also in Salt Lake City that year.

Ma Jian was very emotional. He didn't see him for two years. He didn't expect that this little fellow has become the top star in the NBA, a superstar earning tens of millions of dollars a year, and his team has become one of the most powerful contenders for the NBA championship. , The strong Jazz team can't breathe, and sometimes it feels incredible to think about it.

   "Brother Ma, what community college are you still in?" Pharaoh asked.

   Ma Jian quickly said: "No, I only played there for half a year, and then went to the University of Utah to play the NCAA."

Nodding, Lao Wang has no NCAA complex, and doesn't pay much attention to this college league that is hotter than the NBA. Lao Zhang didn't mention Ma Jian playing in the NCAA. Ready for the draft, right?"

   Ma Jian nodded and said, "Yes, I have already signed up."

  Old Wang said: "That's okay, you follow me during this time, and I will show you the exposure."

"real?"

   Ma Jian's eyes became hot when he heard it.

In the 1994/94 season, he played the main force at the University of Utah, and his performance was not bad, but in the 1994/95 season, his position was robbed by Van Horn. It is estimated that there will only be losers.

   Now that Old K is taking him, he has more exposure opportunities, and maybe some scouts will pay attention to him. Even if he still loses the selection, he will have more opportunities to go to some NBA teams for trial training in the future.

  I came to see Old K today. He also mustered up his courage and wanted to try his luck. Before he could speak, Old K offered to take him, which moved him very much.

   "Old K, can you introduce me?"

   Team reporter Hammers Larry didn't understand it for a long time, because Pharaoh and Ma Jian spoke Changshan dialect.

"Oh, this is my hometown Ma Jian. He used to be a member of the China G National Men's Basketball Team. He played in the NCAA for two years at the University of Utah. He is a power forward. He has signed up for the NBA draft this year. He is very strong and focuses on defense. There is also a hand shot, similar to the style of the postman." According to a little information about Ma Jian introduced by Zhang Lili, Lao Wang said.

   "Crack Kacha!"

  Hammers Larry first pressed the shutter at Ma Jian a few times, and then asked: "Ma, can you also rely on the skill of old K?"

  Ma Jian is very happy, as soon as he found Lao K, there is immediate media attention, and the effect is immediate!

   But when he heard this question, he couldn't help but complain wildly in his heart, why do I have his low-post post-up skills, and the position can be taken away by Van Horn? As far as Van Horn's bamboo pole is concerned, I am afraid that it will not be hit directly.

   "Hey guys, let me introduce, this is Ma Jian, you can call him Pony. He has already reported to the draft..."

  Pharaoh then brought Ma Jian into the locker room. There is nothing to visit. This is the visiting team's locker room, not Phoenix. He introduced Ma Jian to a teammate of the Suns.

  …

   At 8:00, the G3 battle between the Spurs and the Mosaic team started, and the two teams here also announced the starting list for tonight.

  Sun: Wang Tiejun, AC Green, Drexler, Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson

  Sir: Karl Malone, Tom Chambers, David Bennott, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton

   "Have you heard, Winston, the hotel where the Suns stayed last night was very quiet." Carter Oldman grinned in the ESPN commentary booth.

   "The fans' off-board moves are understandable, but the small tactics of the Delta Arena are not very particular." Rollin shook his head.

   "What did you hear?" Oldman asked quickly.

   "The arena replaced the wrong floor with a non-slip floor. The Suns injured a bench in the afternoon training, and the training time was also delayed." Rollin said.

   Oldman laughed: "The floor needs to be anti-slip treatment in the factory. This is a necessary process. This excuse is too outrageous."

  Rorin nodded and said, "Who knows?"

In the CCTV commentary booth, Zhang Lili said: "Tonight the Suns have to be careful, the Jazz can't lose this game again. If they lose the series, it's basically over, so the defensive action must be very big. This is their home court again. The whistle must have been biased towards them."

   "Don't get hurt." Su Qun said.

   At this time, in the player tunnel, ten starters from the two teams were standing against the wall with a team of security personnel, waiting to play.

  No one spoke, and the atmosphere was depressing.

  Pharaoh doesn't want to say anything harsh. He didn't sleep well last night, and now he doesn't want to waste his energy off the court, and beat them up when he gets on the court.

   "Shhh!"

   When he came out, the shocking boos suddenly burst out, and if something tangible came to him, he couldn't help but suffocate his breath.

   "Old K, get out of Salt Lake City!"

   "Chinese, this is Jazz's territory!"

   "Asshole, the postman will teach you a lesson."

   The Jazz fans on both sides of the aisle cursed loudly, and there were many small gestures on their hands, and even a lot of debris was thrown.

  Pharaoh calmed down and ran forward unhurriedly.

   Several Suns staff protected him on both sides to block those sundries for him.

   At 8:20, the warm-up is over.

   When Pharaoh came off the stage, he ran under the east stand and greeted Ma Jian who was sitting in the second row.

There were several University of Utah players sitting in that row, and head coach Rick Meijers was among them. The NCAA season ended at the end of March. Several players here signed up for the draft and came to watch the game specially. For exposure.

  The most popular is the main power forward Keith Van Horn, a 208 cm 100 kg big bamboo pole, the draft prospect is a hard lottery pick, and his position is very high.

   His strength is very good, otherwise he would not have taken Ma Jian's position as soon as he entered the University of Utah. He has good shooting skills and can shoot three-pointers, similar to the Bulls' Clifford Robinson style.

   Thanks to the Bulls' opening tactics, the league has begun to pay attention to the inside line with very strong opening ability like him. ESPN gave him the draft position even the top three in the first round.

   "Ma, you and K are very familiar with? How come I never heard you mention it?"

   Seeing Old K waving to them, he was still a little shy, and he was even more surprised when he saw Ma Jian stand up.

   "Ma, why didn't you say you knew old K?" Coach Rick Meijers also asked curiously.

   "He and I are fellow villagers. We used to be teammates. We have contact in private." Ma Jian fooled.

   "You and he used to be teammates?" Several people from the University of Utah were startled.

   "Coach, I want to take some time off. Old K invites me to watch his next game." Ma Jian said to Meijers.

   "OK!"

  Mejers nodded and said, "If you can train with him for a period of time, it will be of great benefit to you. You must cherish this opportunity."

   "I see, thank you, sir." Ma Jian nodded.

   He is really grateful to Meijers. If it wasn't for this coach, he would have returned to China long ago, and he would never have had a chance to play in the NCAA.

   Now he only regrets not contacting old K more. If he trains with him often, his strength should be much stronger than he is now.

   At least every summer vacation he should go to see the old K, wasting too much time and opportunity.

  …

   At half past eight, the game started.

   Jump ball, Sun attack.

  Wang Tiejun ran towards the basket, the postman was pulling and pulling on the right side. He rushed two steps from the free throw line into the paint area, suddenly stopped and turned around, stretched his arms, stuck the latter behind him, and began to ask for the ball.

  The postman didn't dare to let it go, and then he went to the basket. He could only die in the back.

   Kevin Johnson made a sudden back move + lateral move, flashed past John Stockton and passed the ball in.

"Snapped!"

  The ball is in hand, and before Tom Chambers' double-team comes in, his back play begins.

   "Boom!"

   A ferocious backward strike knocked the postman's center of gravity a little bit.

   In the next instant, he turned right and bumped the postman with one step, and with the second step, his figure became violent.

   The postman waved his hand and took a foul tactic, directly pulling him down with the ball.

   "Di!"

   The referee blows the whistle, pulls a foul, and takes two free throws.

   "Guide Zhang, are you going to cut down the old K? It's not very cost-effective, right?" Su Qun asked.

"It's really not very cost-effective, especially if you use an absolute core like the postman to cut, a total of six fouls, how many times can he cut? He got two fouls in the first quarter, and he won't even think about playing well in today's game." Zhang Lili nodded.

  Su Qun said: "Even if it is free throw shooting, Old K is not lower than the regular season in the playoffs, more than 60%. The hacking tactics are of no use to him at all."

   Zhang Lili thought for a while and then said, "Jazz should have no choice but to foul if he can't watch the iron army dunk.

   The last time the Iron Army attacked the basket aggressively, one heavy dunk after another, it hit Jazz's morale particularly hard. Jazz should want to avoid this from happening. "

"boom!"

   Missed the first penalty and was short.

"What's the matter, is this group of **** playing this idea? If you can't kill you tonight, I will read the words backwards." Old Wang shook his hand. In the afternoon, he threw 20 or 30 balls, and his hand hadn't warmed up yet. .

"boom!"

   The second free throw was missed again. With too much force, the ball slammed into the basket and bounced off the board. Chambers got it.

  The Jazz attacked, the players were very active, and they were constantly doing pick-and-roll tactics with each other.

   On the contrary, the players of the Suns were not very excited, and they were not very active in the follow-up, which continuously allowed the Jazz to get the vacancy.

"brush!"

  Jeff Hornacek made a mid-range shot, not only hit a ball, but also caused a foul by Drexler, making it a two-plus-one.

  0:2, Jazz lead.

   "Beautiful, the death light gun kills with one shot, the Suns want to sweep us, absolutely impossible!"

   "Jeff, you did a great job! Look, your three little princesses are cheering for you..."

   On the sidelines, the two live commentators shouted loudly.

  The live camera is also very powerful, aiming at the seat next to the Jazz bench.

There sat Hornacek's wife, Stacey, and his three daughters. At this time, the three little girls were cheering for their father on the field. The youngest daughter, little Abby, had just turned one year old. Little hands, babble babble.

   Seeing a close-up of his wife and daughter appearing on the overhead screen, Hornacek smiled and blew a kiss to his wife and daughter on the sidelines, and then started free throws.

The   Jazz have two players whose free throws are well-known and unique in the league, and Hornacek is one of them.

   He stood at the free throw line, and after receiving the ball, he dribbled it three times, and then gently stroked his right cheek with his right hand three times, from top to bottom.

   This is his unique free throw method, which was formed after the youngest daughter took the shot. He dribbled the ball three times and touched his face three times, representing him and three precious daughters.

When he touched his face, on the ESPN commentary booth, Rollin jokingly read along: "This is touching the big daughter Ryan, this is the two daughter Taylor, this is our cutest little Abby, all in Hornace. K's face, haha..."

"brush!"

  The water splashed, and the free throw was added.

   "Jeff's free throw percentage is as high as 88.2% this season, and the free throws made with love are really accurate." Carter Oldman laughed at the ESPN commentary.

  0:3, Sun attack.

  Pharaoh insists on going to the basket, so he doesn't believe that the postman dares to foul again. If the postman dares to commit a second foul in the opening game, he will be able to play the Jazz in two quarters today.

  Forcing the postman is the first reason, and the second reason is that he wants to get closer to the basket and the success rate of shots is higher because the warm-up is not enough.

   The confrontation between the two was still very fierce. The postman who committed the first offense was even a little unscrupulous, his elbows were on the same level, and he even came out to hug and throw.

  Under this kind of confrontation, Wang Tiejun wanted to get to the position within three seconds. To be honest, it was quite difficult. He had to leave the basket first and go to the low post on the left wing.

   The referee was on the side, turning a blind eye to some of the postman's rough moves.

   On the ESPN commentary booth, Rollin said: "This is home field advantage. The Postman has to fight, he can't get the home whistle, and it is impossible for the Jazz to win the Suns in this game."

   Oldman said with a smile: "He won. The league is the last thing that wants to be swept."

   On the CCTV commentary booth, Zhang Lili reminded: "The postman moves a lot, and Tiejun needs to control his emotions to avoid being targeted by the referee. But be careful not to get hurt."

  The left wing was low, Wang Tiejun suddenly turned around and slipped, and under the bear step, he stepped inward and stepped into the paint area.

At this moment, the postman quickly retreated from the defense, and he reacted immediately, his feet froze instantly, the six forces combined into one, and his right shoulder slammed into the former's chest with the most ferocity. .

   "Boom!"

The moment    was hit, the postman's body weighing 127 cm was uprooted directly backwards. He was in the process of retreating, and he had no ability to resist, and there was no room for him to exert his own strength.

"Oh!"

  In the center of the delta, countless jazz made a huge exclamation.

"boom!"

   The next moment, the violent explosion made them dead silent, and only the cheers of the Suns were left in the arena.

  Tom Chambers was standing not far from the basket. He went back to defend the basket just now, but he didn't dare to block Old K's attacking basket.

   "Hoohooho..."

   The postman gasped with his mouth open. He was still lying on the floor, the feeling of being crushed in his chest was still there, and the huge force still seemed to hover over his chest.

  Wang Tiejun stood next to the postman's head, surrounded by Kevin Johnson and others, shouting at him excitedly.

   He was also panting, because he didn't sleep well last night, and he had some physical problems. This kind of high-explosive punching was very exhausting.

  He looked down at the postman on the floor with a sneer at the corner of his mouth, and suddenly shouted at his teammates: "Brothers, follow me and kill the Jazz tonight!"

   "Kill Jazz!"

   Lightning and others responded sharply in excitement.

   "Don't think about it!"

   The postman who was pulled up by his teammates roared angrily.

  Wang Tiejun was walking forward. Hearing this, he looked back at the postman and said coldly, "But you can't stop it!"

"asshole!"

  The postman was furious.

   (end of this chapter)