Chapter 347 Cloth! cloth! cloth!

   The next day, on the 4th, Liu Changjiang, the Los Angeles branch, received news that the Chinese herbal medicines ordered from domestic pharmaceutical companies had arrived.

   On this day, the Mosaic team arrived in Phoenix, and Pharaoh invited the Big Three to dinner, but it happened that the Mosaic team had a meeting and there was no time, so it was changed to noon the next day.

   At noon on the 5th, Pharaoh called Kevin Johnson to eat hot pot with the Big Three at the K martial arts hall.

   "Is this stuff edible?" Da Meng looked at the tumbling pot of red soup and at the table full of all kinds of lettuce, feeling a little overwhelmed.

   "Look at them, do you think you can eat them?" Old Wang pointed to other tables, where twenty or thirty brothers in the martial arts hall were enjoying themselves.

  This hot pot is the base that I brought from China this time. It is not from the capital, nor from the northwest. I heard that it is from the mountain city, and it is not too spicy.

   When he first started to eat it, he was not used to it. He had never eaten it that spicy, but he got used to it after eating it a few times, but he didn't eat much, only once in a while.

  Da Meng took a look at it. Yes, it looked delicious, and I didn’t feel moved.

   "Come on, this mutton can be eaten." Lao Wang greeted.

  Kevin Johnson often comes to the martial arts hall for massage. He eats a lot here, and he is no longer afraid of spicy food. He immediately took a little lamb and tried it.

   "Well, not bad, it's super tender!" He praised it and held out his chopsticks again.

   "Eat!" Buckley and the other three couldn't wait to stretch out their chopsticks.

   "Hi, it's so hot!"

   "Shet, it's too spicy!"

   "Wow, damn, it's spicy, but it seems to taste really good.

   The three of them kept screaming while eating.

   "Charles, are there any restrictions on you under the new rules?" Pharaoh asked.

Referring to the new rules, Barkley immediately stopped his chopsticks and said angrily at Pharaoh: "The alliance is really not a thing, isn't it supposed to restrict you, how did the rules come out to restrict me? The **** Backing up for five seconds is too immoral, it almost limits half of my strength."

   "Haha, cough, special, cough..."

  Pharaoh laughed, one was not done properly, the chilli water choked into the trachea, coughing endlessly.

In the evening, in the locker room of the visiting team, Da Meng took his pants from the bathroom and muttered: "Old K is really not a thing, I think he did it on purpose, what hot pot should we eat, my **** is at least 120 degrees now. , it's almost on fire."

  Buckley and Drexler nodded again and again, they had the same feeling, it was like a red-hot iron rod was stuffed underneath.

  The rest of the Mosaic team looked at each other, what were the three bosses doing at noon, why did the three people's butts have problems at the same time?

   "What are you looking at? You just ate too much chili. Have you ever eaten chili?"

  Dameng realized that his teammates were all staring at his butt, and immediately roared.

   At eight o'clock, the two teams announced their starting lineups.

  Mosaic: Olajuwon, Barkley, Chuckie Brown, Drexler, Kenny Smith

  Suns: Wang Tiejun, Horry, Wilkins, Michael Finley, Kevin Johnson

  The game was broadcast live by ESPN in the United States, and CCTV also chose to live broadcast.

   Last season, CCTV broadcasted every week, and the ratings were very good, so this season increased investment and reached two broadcasts per week.

  Before the game, Zhang rationally analyzed: "Robert Horry is still the starter. He performed well in the game and continued to start. It can be seen that the Suns really have no one available."

Su Qun said: "Mosaic is really strong this season. The glider plays the second position. Last season's main shooting guard Vernon was traded to Philadelphia. He has a height advantage at the second position, and he has a height advantage when playing Jordan. And now Mosaic strengthens the outside line, balances the inside and outside, and can really hit the championship."

   Zhang Lili said with a smile: "In 1994, the finals failed, that is, the outside was blown up by Jordan and Pippen. The inside is an absolute advantage."

  Suqun smiled and said, "Old K and the others also used up their physical energy. And this time they poached the glider from the Suns. Anyway, they hurt each other. You won't let me be good, and I won't let you."

   "Haha..." Zhang Lili couldn't help laughing.

   In the player notification, the three giants of Mosaic are staring at Pharaoh, looking like they want to fight.

   "Old K, you poisoned us." Da Meng gritted his teeth.

   "What's the matter?" Pharaoh asked inexplicably.

   "I..." Da Meng was about to say, but was pulled by Buckley.

  Buckley's eye circles seemed to darken, and he said weakly: "Old K, what kind of chili is in that hot pot, the three of us are about to get dehydrated."

  Pharaoh laughed and said, "It doesn't matter, I'll invite you to eat next time. Eat a few more times, and your stomach will get used to it."

   The faces of the three of them are ashen, but they still eat?

"cloth!"

   At this time, Da Meng suddenly let out his breath. Barkley and the others responded quickly, as if they had been trained, and immediately covered their noses and walked away.

   "Nima's, what did you eat so stinky today?" Old Wang took a step slower and scolded angrily.

   "You don't know what to eat?" Da Meng said angrily.

   "Damn it, you haven't finished pulling it for so long?" Old Wang cursed as he ran out.

"cloth!"

   Buckley began to deflate.

"cloth!"

   Drexler also began to deflate.

   The entire player tunnel was filled with a faint, "fragrant" breath, and ten players rushed out one after another and ran into the stadium in a swarm.

   After half an hour, the game started.

"Snapped!"

   Jump ball, Da Meng, who is full of anger, can jump, grab Pharaoh's head and swipe the ball away.

"cloth!"

The moment    landed, he couldn't hold back his breath and burst out.

  Pharaoh reacted very quickly this time, and the first moment he heard the sound, he immediately retreated to defend.

   Big Dream went to the basket and was blocked.

  Pharaoh's absolute strength has not increased, but his tonnage has increased and his mobility has increased, which makes it more difficult for opponents to enter the basket.

  Da Meng came to the low position on the left wing, and Lao Wang was behind.

   "Damn, didn't you pull it out? Why don't you change your underwear first?" He asked worriedly.

"boom!"

  Shy and angry, Da Meng’s backhand was an elbow, and then he took the opportunity to lift a step to the waist to catch the ball, then turned left, took one step into the paint area, took off, and faced the basket with a flying dunk.

"boom!"

  Between the basket trembling, the Mosaic team advanced a goal.

   "Old guy, getting more and more fierce!"

   Seeing the performance of Da Meng, Lao Wang had to be amazed.

  Dameng is almost 33 years old. A center can still maintain such a peak state at this age. He really deserves to be a super center. His physique is amazing and he is absolutely durable.

He knows that if he maintains his current style of play, he may not be able to achieve the dream. longer peak period.

   Returning to the offensive end, he came to the low post on the left wing, and Da Meng took a step and stood in the paint.

   "Be careful with the three-second test." He reminded after waiting for a while.

  Da Meng was stunned, he really forgot, hurry out.

   But at this moment, Pharaoh started and rushed in from the big dream in one step.

   At this time, Lightning's ball came in, he caught the ball and burst into a dunk with one hand, knocking over Mosaic's basket.

   "This sly guy!" Da Meng was so angry that his teeth hurt.

"Beautiful! Old K returned a dunk to Da Meng. He hit a time difference and suddenly entered the paint area when Da Meng came out. The opportunity was just right. This shows that he has more experience and has stronger control over the game. Yes." Su Qun said excitedly.

  Mosaic attacked, Drexler got the ball and singled Michael Finley on the 3-point line on the right wing.

  Rookie Finley's defensive attitude is nothing to say, and the team has always asked him to strengthen his defense, so his defensive attitude is positive.

   But he was facing a veteran superstar, a glider that could compete with Jordan and Wilkins, so he was nervous.

   "Rookie, is old K very dissatisfied with you?"

   Drexler snorted trash while holding the ball.

  Finley's eyelids twitched. Old K wasn't dissatisfied with him, but he had never praised him these days, so he wasn't sure if Old K was satisfied with him.

   Just when he was distracted, Drexler initiated a breakthrough, and one step passed.

   Horry, who was next to Barkley, hurriedly moved two steps laterally, preparing to make up for the defense, when the glider made a sudden stop jumper and hit a two-pointer.

"Pull-up jumper, the easiest and most practical way to score, can get the attacker out of the defense to the greatest extent, and this is also the offensive method that Jordan is very good at outside. If a perimeter does not have a pull-up jumper, it is an unqualified perimeter. Zhang Lili said in admiration.

   "Director Zhang, doesn't Wilkins seem to be doing well?" Su Qun asked with a smile.

   Zhang Lili was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't help but nodded and said: "He mainly makes breakthroughs, and the low-post singles are also good. The low-post is mainly for layups after turning around, or turning and jumping shots, and there are dry pulls and strong rises from the outside.

   There are also pull-up jumpers, but they are not used as much as Jordan and Drexler, and they are not the main offense. "

  The left wing is low, and Wang Tiejun wants the ball.

   The Suns have three outside lines, that is, Finley has one point and three points, and Horry has a point in the inside, but they are not the kind of gods, not as good as Dan Marley and Drexler last season.

   But the Suns still have to use their three-pointers, otherwise they will be completely unable to pull off, and the low post will be tightly suppressed.

   The current left wing is Michael Finley on the three-point line. Drexler, who was defending him, put him at a distance. The defensive formation has shrunk so much that he can turn around and double-team Wang Tiejun at any time.

   Weak side with Wilkins inside and Horry in the bottom right corner.

   Their defenders, Chucky Brown and Barkley, both put some distance, and like the gliders, the defense shrank.

At this moment, the lightning at the top of the arc suddenly started. Under the circumstance that Kenny Smith was not blocking the shot, he made a breakthrough, bypassed the opponent directly, drew an arc, and shot from the left elbow to the paint area. .

This is far beyond the opponent's expectations, because the Lightning rarely made breakthroughs last season, and they all passed the ball to the low old K first. Now he still chooses to break through when he is not guarding the shot. This is unexpected. to his surprise.

   With the breakthrough of the Lightning, Mosaic's defensive formation was instantly compressed, and the Suns got a space on the outside.

  Da Meng was forced to make up for defense, and then Lightning passed the ball to Pharaoh.

  When Wang Tiejun got the ball, Drexler, who was just a step away from him, made up the defense in time, and he had already defended his side, and the big dream of supplementing lightning also rushed over, forming a pincer attack.

   "Whoosh!"

   backhand pass, he passed to Horry who was open in the left bottom corner.

  Robert Horry took the ball without any turbulence in his eyes. His natural big heart made his shot very stable.

"brush!"

  The basketball is hollowed into the basket.

   "Not bad." Lao Wang praised.

   "Boss, I really have practiced."

  Horry was not excited when he shot, and shouted excitedly at this time.

   "What does a ball represent?" Pharaoh said angrily.

   Looking back, Barkley singled Horry on the right wing, his big **** magic started, and Horry was smashed, and then used a rollover jumper to hit a two-pointer.

  The Suns' offense is still the Lightning's best attacking method, and it is also an attacking method that is rarely used after last season's poor form, with the ball infiltrated.

   With his penetration, he disrupts the opponent's defense and then creates open and dislocation opportunities for his teammates.

   In this way, he is in complete control of the ball, more than last season.

   This is determined according to his training status. If he is in good condition, he will control part of the ball and play more actively. The rest will be controlled by Wang Tiejun to share the pressure for him.

  The two of them are the only two people in the main lineup who have the ability to distribute the ball, and the other three can only play without the ball.

   hit the ninth minute of the first quarter and tied at 20:20.

  Mosaic team, after the start of the big dream three people, although the anger is strong, but the physical strength is somewhat insufficient, and the attacking desire is not strong, especially Barkley, who eats the most at noon, after playing a ball, he no longer asks for the ball.

   On the Suns side, Wang Tiejun didn't play much and didn't exert his strength.

He is the leader of the team and the core of the court. He has the responsibility to help new members integrate into the team, and also has the responsibility to help the rookies grow. He has scored a lot of goals for Wilkins and Finley, and also wants to see what Horry can do. Pass the ball to him too.

   Today, Horry's performance was not bad, he got a lot of open space, and he made 3 of 5 shots in the first quarter, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 8 points.

  Finley shot outside, also had a couple of open spots, hit two balls, and played well.

Wilkins' performance was average. Because the outside line could not be opened, Mosaic shrank his defense. As long as he broke through, a discus would immediately form in the penalty area. Even if he was good at drilling, his efficiency was not high, and he made one of three shots in the first quarter. , There were two mistakes, one conceded and was stolen, and one pass was wrong after being double-teamed.

  The two sides replaced some of the main players and the bench lineup came on the court.

   On the Suns side, both Wang Tiejun and Kevin Johnson have come down. They are the absolute main force, and they will not be **** in the regular season.

  Wilkins went down too, Finley stayed on the court, playing the 3, and Horry.

On the   Mosaic team's side, Da Meng stayed on the court temporarily, Barkley and Drexler rested, the alien Sam Cassell and last season's main small forward Mario Eli.

   After the first quarter, at 32:27, the Suns were 5 points behind at home.

   In the second quarter, the lineup of the first quarter continued. The Suns did not rush to replace the main force because they fell behind, and they did not need a regular season.

   Westphal's coaching ability is getting better and better, and he won't appear so impatient because of a little problem.

   But Wang Tiejun still wants to win. The Mosaic team is so strong this season, he wants to compete for MVP, and Dameng is one of the strongest competitors.

   And beating the competition head-on, whether for an individual or a team, is the best way to prove yourself.

   In the fourth minute of the second quarter, after the Suns trailed by 9 points, he requested to play and was approved.

He partnered with veteran Tisdale on the inside. The veteran averaged 10 points and 3 rebounds stably last season, so even if his annual salary was more than three million, Colangelo Jr. did not trade him, because the inside line Need a stable bench, no one can replace his position for the time being.

   Outside, Horry is at the 3rd position, and the guard combination is Person and Perry.

  Mosaic team, the big dream went to rest, Barkley and Drexler played at the same time, the three giants took a rotation and rested, and the other three were still the original bench lineup.

"boom!"

  Wang Tiejun caught the ball, pushed Barkley and backup center Mark Bryant directly, dunked a ball, and caused Bryant's blocking foul, which resulted in a two plus one.

   "The players haven't adapted to the new rules. The backup center didn't jump up to defend just now." Zhang Lili said.

   "He can't guard against Lao K even when he jumps up. His shoe height is only 208 cm. His main position is power forward, and center is only part-time." Su Qun laughed.

Zhang Reasonably analyzed: "He is just a role player. Da Meng averaged nearly 40 minutes per game last season, and he can play very well. Mosaic doesn't need a real center backup, just let the role players top it, and it can save space. ."

   "The boss wants to save money?" Su Qun said strangely.

   "Haha, yes, it's just to save money, save as much as you can. Now it's much more difficult to find a good center than a good perimeter. The price is very high, and it's hard to find." Zhang Lili laughed.

   "The Suns' Tisdale is more than 3 million yuan, and the Suns are reluctant to trade." Su Qun said.

"brush!"

  Wang Tiejun made a penalty hit, and did not waste the opportunity to score two plus one.

   Looking back, Barkley singled against Tisdale, and under a few arches, he directly overturned the latter to the ground, another jumper, and hit a ball.

"Yo, Barkley is pretty accurate today? Two shots in the first quarter, this is the third offense, all hits, but too few shots, rarely asking for the ball, and not excited to play." Zhang Lili laughed.

   "No, Tisdale can't get up, hugging his left leg, hurt?" Su Qun said in surprise at this time.

   On the field, Wang Tiejun ran to Tisdale and saw him hugging his left knee, he quickly asked, "Wayman, is your knee hurt?"

   "No, old K, I hurt my left ankle." Tisdale said helplessly.

   Old Wang also smiled helplessly, and turned his head towards the bench to make a substitution gesture.

"It's really hurt, and the first substitute inside was injured at the beginning. The Suns' luck this season doesn't seem to be very good. But last year, there were constant injuries, and the Lightning took more than 20 games, so they should be able to survive." said the group.

On the bench of the Suns, Westphal can only pick up the generals among the dwarfs, Ben Wallace, David Wood, these two substitutes for the 4th position, choose one of the two, and the remaining one inside substitute Jock Ryan is a pure center and can't play the 4.

  David Wood is almost 32 years old. He is a veteran. He was a marginal person at his peak. He is still a marginal person now, so he chose Ben Wallace. This young man has some training value.

   "Stand up against Barkley's big ass, don't let him in the paint, then go grab the rebound, or set the offensive screen for Old K, that's your job."

When    came on the court, Westphal warned.

   "Got it, coach." Big Ben replied in a muffled voice.

   "I heard that Ben Wallace was competing with Ma Jian, and the Suns chose him in the end. I don't know if he is capable or not." Su Qun said.

   "I didn't perform much in the last game, and I didn't make any impression. Let's watch this game, I hope it will be useful." Zhang Lili said.

   (end of this chapter)