During this period, the Nets successively signed several players with basic salary and unsecured contracts, and a total of 18 players participated in the preseason.

Throughout October, the Nets needed to play eight preseason games, with diverse games. In addition to the United States and Canada, they also visited Asia and Europe.

There is no way, in order to enhance the alliance's global influence, David Stern has also put in good intentions.

In these eight games, Chi Liang just went through the motions. He has proved himself that he only went through the motions in the preseason, and averaged less than ten minutes per game.

In addition, players with good strength such as Armstrong and Billups also did not gain much time.

The players with the most playing time are mainly rookies and team marginal players, which is also Coach Rivers' final inspection of them to determine the regular season lineup.

There are only 15 places in the regular season, and most of them have already confirmed the quota. No one wants to give up their hope. In order to obtain the quota, the competition is naturally fierce.

In these eight games, Coach Rivers gave rookies and marginalists plenty of playing time to examine their characteristics and strengths and leave useful players.

Evan Eschmeyer: 211 cm, 116 kg, average physical fitness, rough technology, poor shooting, and certain frame protection ability.

Mark Hendrickson: 206 cm, 100 kg, poor defense, insufficient countermeasures, and certain shooting ability.

Elliot Perry: 183 cm, 68 kg, very bad defense, but extremely fast, and excellent breakthrough ability.

Rucios Harris: 196 cm, 86 kg, bad offense with the ball, active defense, and certain running and shooting ability.

...

Compared with other marginal players, these four players have outstanding flaws, but they also have certain advantages. There is a great hope of being selected for the regular season roster.

In the preseason, the Nets' tactics are relatively simple, mainly pick-and-roll and fast breaks, but because the inside speed is slow, it is difficult to fight fast breaks.

In addition, when the main players or main substitutes come on the bench, the Nets play very well, especially in the team's backcourt, which always maintains abundant firepower.

Unfortunately, under the arrangement of Coach Rivers, the main players and main substitutes have little playing time. When the rookies and marginalists come on the field, the scene suddenly becomes a mess, especially the defense is messy and is asked by the opponent.

In order to compete for the regular season quota or guarantee contract, as long as they get the basketball, regardless of whether they have offensive ability or not, they only have the basket left in their eyes, which leads to their seldom passing the ball, and their cooperation will naturally be ruined.

In their eyes, as long as they get good data, there is a great possibility of leaving behind.

By October 15, due to the lack of playing time for the main players, the Nets' record was naturally poor, and they ended the preseason with a record of 3 wins and 5 losses.

Of course, other teams are not much better. All teams mainly arrange their troops and do not value preseason games.

The preseason is equivalent to a practice match, mainly focusing on running-in lineups and examining new players, and at the same time determining the regular season roster.

Perhaps because of Chi Liang, Cory Mageti has a lot of playing time. He is also the best player besides the main player. In eight preseason games, he averaged 16 points and 4 rebounds per game, showing good ready-to-match strength.

However, due to the poor preseason record, the media's evaluation of the Nets is polarized. Some believe that the Nets have a strong lineup, while others think that their inside line defects are very big. If Chi Liang and Cage are injured, the consequences will be unimaginable. In addition, the style of playing is no different from last season, and they rely too much on the performance of stars.

Therefore, when the official first-item strength list was released, the Nets were finally ranked 15th. Many experts believe that it is very suspense to get the Nets' playoff qualification.

In the first strength list, the Trail Blazers ranked first. With the support of Paul Allen, this year's Trail Blazers lineup is stronger than last year. With the upcoming Scott Pippen, the young and frivolous Rashid Wallace, Lithuanian White Tassabonis, "Big" Damon Stoudemire and other All-Star players, the lineup is strong.

The second place is the Lakers. Phil Jackson is not alone. He brought three assistant coaches, Jim Clemens, Frank Hambren and Tex Winter, as well as Ac Green, Ron Harper, John Sally and Brian Shaw all came to vote.

Of course, the most important thing is O'Neal, Kobe and Glen Rice can form a triangle offensive. With their joining, the Lakers have formed a lineup that combines old, middle-aged and young, and is balanced offense and defense, intending to avenge the previous shame and maintain the glory of Zijin.

The defending champion Spurs are ranked third. Even though David Robinson is one year older, the Spurs' Twin Towers are still the first inside combination in the league, and their deterrence is strong. Their biggest weakness is that their backcourt and substitutes are relatively mediocre. However, out of trust in the defending champion and the Spurs' Twin Towers, the official ranks the Spurs in the third place in the first round of strength.

The top three in this period are all Western teams. Even if the league tries hard to stop them, the situation of strong West and weak East will eventually appear.

The rankings behind are Pacers, Jazz, Suns, Heat, and Nuggets...

Among them, from the lineup, the Suns are strong, with the four giants composed of Hardaway, Kidd, Gugliotta and Clifford Robinson. The sixth substitute is Rodney Rodgers and rookie Sean Marion.

Clifford Robinson: The All-Star Power Forward is the famous Iron Man in the NBA and one of the players who play second-round picks. He can play inside and outside, balance both offense and defense, and his offense covers the outside of the three-point line. The biggest flaw is that he has never been outstanding in rebounding ability.

Before Nowitzki, he was the highest player in history to score more than 1,000 three-pointers.

The Nuggets, ranked eighth, have a pseudo-three giants composed of McDyce, Van Horn and Van Exel. The lineup is not very flawed and has strong competitiveness.

After the preseason, all teams began to rest, giving players time to rest, and they were also actively preparing for the regular season.

Among them, the Nets have three days off.

During these three days, the Nets' uniform team began to discuss and finally developed a regular season 15-man lineup.

Center: Michael Cage, Jim McIlvain, George Murraysan, Evan Eschmeyer

Power forward: Chi Liang, Jamil Faik

Small Forward: John Newman, Eric Williams, Cory Maggetti

Points: Kendal Gill, Corey Kiddles, Rucios Harris
Chapter completed!