In just over twenty days, Zhang Zhiyuan completed the filming of the movie.
After staying at home for a few days, he returned to the United States.
The preseason is about to begin, and the Clippers haven't even assembled their lineup yet.
Zhang Zhiyuan is not in a hurry, but others are worried for him.
The current players on the Clippers team include Zhang Zhiyuan, Maggette, Kaman, Al Thornton, DeAndre Jordan, Dragic, Livingston, Tony Allen, Tim Thomas, Smush Parker, Josh Powell
,Dandico,Quinton Ross...
During the period when Zhang Zhiyuan was playing in the Olympics, the Clippers had no other moves except to acquire Tony Allen.
Clippers fans, and even most fans across the United States, are worried about them. How will this lineup perform in the new season?
Apart from Zhang Zhiyuan, only Maggette and Kaman are similar.
Al Thornton, a second-year rookie.
How much strength can Livingston regain after suffering such a serious injury?
DeAndre Jordan, Dragic, two second-round picks.
Tony Allen played as a substitute for the Celtics for more than ten minutes per game last season.
Tim Thomas, a veteran who is about to retire...
The old are old, the young are small, the weak are weak.
On October 2, before the start of the preseason, the Clippers traded Dandy Kao and future draft picks for Antonio McDyess from the Pistons to supplement the power forward position.
Then, Zhang Zhiyuan instructed Chen Xiangwen that there was no need to trade anymore. This lineup was almost enough.
Chen Xiangwen had some doubts about this, but he did not object.
Anyway, he didn't expect to win the championship in the first year, it would be too difficult.
A rebuilt team will be considered successful if it can win the championship in the next three or four years.
Therefore, the Clippers have a lot of time.
The outside world was still speculating about what big move the Clippers were planning. As a result, the Clippers did not make any more trades until the start of the preseason.
Zhang Zhiyuan even accepted a media interview and expressed that he was satisfied with the current lineup.
"Are you going to play this season with this lineup?"
the reporter asked.
"Yes."
Zhang Zhiyuan.
"How many wins do you think this lineup can win?"
the reporter asked.
"At least 50 wins."
Zhang Zhiyuan.
"50? Or at least?"
The reporter immediately screamed.
In a season, there are about 10 teams that can win 50 games.
In other words, Zhang Zhiyuan believes that the strength of their lineup can already rank among the top ten in the league, which is a bit nonsense.
The next day, Zhang Zhiyuan's interview made headlines.
Many basketball commentators said that Zhang Zhiyuan was dazzled by past victories and became more arrogant.
In the first two seasons, most of them were praising Zhang Zhiyuan. The fans were naturally a little tired of watching Zhang Zhiyuan.
As a result, many people have changed their strategies this season and are preparing to become Zhang Hei.
It just so happened that Zhang Zhiyuan's arrogance gave them an opportunity, so naturally they would not be polite.
[The Clippers want to win 50 games in the new season. Is this an April Fool’s joke? 】
Zhang Zhiyuan said that he will win 50 games in the new season, which is typical of Zhang Zhiyuan's style. He has achieved many successes in the past, but this time, he may encounter Waterloo.
【Confidence or arrogance?】
Zhang Zhiyuan played on a strong team in the first two seasons. He may not understand how difficult it is to play on a weak team. As strong as Kobe, he can't make the playoffs without good helpers.
Zhang Zhiyuan said he wanted to win 50 games? I think he should find a way to advance to the playoffs.
[A Chinese consortium with deep pockets? Maybe they are the same type of people as Sterling.]
If the Clippers' lineup does not change, their entire team's salary for the new season will be 53 million, ranking last in the league. Even Sterling is not so stingy.
.......
On October 10th, the NBA preseason begins.
In the first game, the Clippers played against the Lakers in the same city.
Zhang Zhiyuan played 15 minutes and scored 20 points and 10 assists without using props.
His body has reached its peak, and with the addition of two attribute chains, he has reached a completely super giant level.
In terms of personal strength, the media is embarrassed to criticize him.
They can only discredit Zhang Zhiyuan's personality and express that Zhang Zhiyuan cannot lead the Clippers to rise.
The Clippers lost to the Lakers by 15 points in this game, but that doesn't mean anything. After all, it's just a preseason game.
But the media didn't care about this. They immediately started their bad-mouthing plan and detailed the Clippers' lineup problems.
On the 12th, the Clippers played against the Suns.
The Clippers lost even more miserably in this game. The media cheered and all the hidden secrets jumped out one after another.
The power of media opinion is powerful, and the rest of the Clippers are worried.
There was no way, Zhang Zhiyuan played more time in the game on the 14th, playing 28 minutes, scoring 3611 points, and leading the team to a 118-100 victory over the Warriors.
[Zhang could no longer sit still. He showed all his strength and regarded this game as a regular season. 】
[Can the Clippers go far with Zhang Zhiyuan alone?]
[After playing nearly 30 minutes in the preseason, Zhang may have forgotten the significance of the preseason.]
...
When these reports came out, Zhang Zhiyuan almost wanted to go out and have a confrontation with the media himself.
However, this was also a very short-lived thought. He quickly calmed down and ignored what the media said.
Anyway, he knows that he has not yet used his full strength, and he is confident that he will lead this Clippers team to achieve good results.
Because he knows that Livingston can fully recover, Dragic is also a qualified substitute, and McDyess is also an excellent blue-collar player.
Compared with the men's basketball team in the Olympics, this team's lineup is a little weaker at center, but its other positions are much better than the men's basketball team.
Zhang Zhiyuan can win the championship with the men's basketball team, let alone a team with a better lineup than the men's basketball team.
50 wins is Zhang Zhiyuan's conservative statement. In fact, he has a chance to win the championship this season, but it is just a bit difficult.
After all, the playoffs are 4 wins out of 7 games. He needs to spend a lot of hatred points to advance all the way, and he is worried that he will not save enough.
On the 16th, Zhang Zhiyuan stopped talking to the media and played only 18 minutes. The team lost again.
On the 18th, just as the media was waiting to see the joke, the Clippers won another victory.
By the end of the preseason on the 25th, the Clippers had a total of 3 wins and 5 losses, which was not particularly bad.
After the preseason, the Clippers laid off two temporary workers and reduced the number of players to 14, retaining one spot.
At this point, the Clippers' new season lineup has been officially determined.
Point guards Livingston, Dragic, Smushparker.
Shooting guards Zhang Zhiyuan and Tony Allen.
Small forwards Maggette, Powell, Quinton Ross.
Power forwards Al Thornton, McDyess, Tim Thomas.
Center Kaman, DeAndre Jordan, Aaron Williams.
The regular season officially starts on November 1st, and each team has five or six days of rest.
After each team determined its lineup, the media began to rank the strength of each team.
The number one team is actually the Los Angeles Lakers, with the media predicting 70 wins.
Although Zhang Zhiyuan is away from the team, Kobe is still there, and the Lakers also acquired Gasol, Tracy McGrady, Artest, and Odom to form the Big Five.
The gimmicks of the Big Three were scary enough, but the Lakers actually announced a Big Five.
Zhang Zhiyuan didn't know how much ridicule Kobe had to endure when this lineup failed to win the championship.
However, this set is indeed luxurious and can basically kill everyone in the regular season.
In second place is the Celtics, with the media predicting 65 wins.
Although they suffered a losing season, it was because they encountered the invincible Gemini combination, and their defeat was excusable.
In terms of strength, no one dares to say that the Big Three are not good.
Ranked third is the Magic. The media believes that Howard has reached his peak and the team is working well together. This season is the time for results.
Ranked fourth is the Hornets. They acquired James Posey from the Celtics in the offseason, which is considered a big reinforcement.
But Zhang Zhiyuan knew that Paul had a highlight season with the Hornets, and he would definitely not be able to do it this season.
As for why it didn't work, Zhang Zhiyuan doesn't remember. It was probably due to injury or something.
Fifth place is the Nuggets, who traded Iverson for Billups in the offseason.
Billups is indeed more suitable for Anthony than Iverson, and Anthony's spring is here.
Ranked sixth is the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers also had good news during the offseason. They first got rid of the big burden of Larry Hughes, and then acquired the quasi-star Mo Williams from the Bucks, and their strength has improved.
promote.
Zhang Zhiyuan even knew that the media underestimated this Cavaliers.
The original Cavaliers won 66 games in the regular season, ranking first in the league. Unfortunately, they lost to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Spurs, Suns, and Mavericks, these traditional strong teams, ranked 7-9.
Although they are still very strong, not many people are optimistic about them winning the championship. They already belong to the second-tier team.
The Clippers were ranked 18th. Those who didn't know better thought that the media was trying to save face for Zhang Zhiyuan. The 18th place team was at least a team that could compete in the playoffs.
But in fact, the main reason is that the media is afraid of Zhang Zhiyuan.
No matter how ridiculous they are when they are cheating, they know in their hearts that with Zhang Zhiyuan on the team, the lower limit is at least guaranteed.
50 wins may be a bit ridiculous, but there is still some hope of making the playoffs.
On the 26th, the Clippers held a press conference to introduce the team's goals and answer some reporters' questions.
Chen Xiangwen, Zhang Zhiyuan, Dunleavy, Maggette, and Kaman sat in front of the reporters.
"Manager Chen, your team's salary ranks last in the league. Is it because you have no money or are you reluctant to spend money?"
the reporter asked.
"We are not short of money and are willing to spend money, but the league does not allow us to increase Zhang Zhiyuan's salary."
Chen Xiangwen smiled.
"But you can continue to bring in stars."
The reporter reminded.
"We feel that the current lineup is already pretty good."
Chen Xiangwen said.
"Mike, what is your goal for the new season, and how many wins do you predict the team can win?"
The reporter turned to Dunleavy.
"The goal is to reach the Western Conference Finals and strive to win more than 50 games in the regular season."
Zhang Zhiyuan and Dunleavy have reached a consensus long ago, and naturally Dengleavy wants to keep the same tone as Zhang Zhiyuan.
Although he was also worried that this goal was too big and unattainable, at this time he could only bite the bullet and say this.
"Do you think it's possible?"
The reporter complained.
"Of course, Zhang Zhiyuan is a superstar who can change a team. He is the MVP and the best player in the league. Why should I not believe in such a player?"
Dunleavy asked rhetorically.
The reporter then turned to Maggette and Carman.
"Of course, I believe in Zhang. I have played against him, and it was a nightmare memory. But when he becomes your teammate, this will be my best memory."
Maggette said.
"You can always trust Zhang, he never talks empty words. He said he would win the championship with the Rockets, and then he won the championship. He said he would break the Bulls' record with the Lakers, and then he broke the record.
Now Zhang is just saying that he wants to win 50 games. In fact, even if Zhang now says that he wants to win the championship and put on a Superman suit to save the world, I believe it."
Kaman's flattery was even more flattering, and Zhang Zhiyuan was almost embarrassed.
After asking a few questions to others, we came to the highlight of the day.
"Zhang, what are your personal goals for this year?"
the reporter asked.
"MVP, scoring champion, this is the minimum standard. If possible, I will also strive for the assists champion, and by the way, I will average a triple-double per game."
Zhang Zhiyuan said.
"Walter?"
The reporter seriously suspected that he had heard wrongly.
They don't doubt the scoring champion, but MVP depends on the team's record. Don't expect it if the team's record is not ranked among the top four in the league, not to mention that Zhang Zhiyuan wants to win again, which is even more difficult.
Therefore, mvp is nonsense.
As for the assists king, if Zhang Zhiyuan strives for it with all his strength, no one doubts that he has this ability. But the problem is that Zhang Zhiyuan wants to be the scorer and assists king, so the difficulty will increase several times.
In the entire history of the NBA, only Archibald won it once in the 1972 season.
As for averaging a triple-double per game, the difficulty is similar.
If these goals are separated and there is only one, the difficulty is not too high. But put them all together, it is completely impossible.
"Are you sure?"
the reporter asked.
"certainly."
Zhang Zhiyuan smiled.
All the reporters were stunned. They originally wanted to ask about 50 wins, but at this time they found that it was completely unnecessary.
Compared with Zhang Zhiyuan's personal goal, 50% chance of winning is a hammer.
"Zhang, are you deliberately creating a stunt to attract attention to the team?"
A reporter questioned.
"Um...you think I need another gimmick?"
Zhang Zhiyuan asked rhetorically.
"I'm already looking forward to the new season."
The reporter said.
Of course, what he meant was that he expected Zhang Zhiyuan to be slapped in the face.
"Well, just a friendly reminder that you'd better buy a Clippers season ticket as soon as possible, because it will be more difficult to buy tickets for Clippers games in the future."
Zhang Zhiyuan smiled.
"..."
Everyone.
After the contents of the Clippers press conference were announced, the NBA was immediately in an uproar.
Fans who like Zhang Zhiyuan are looking forward to Zhang Zhiyuan completing these goals, while those who hate Zhang Zhiyuan are looking forward to Zhang Zhiyuan being slapped in the face.
For a time, Zhang Zhiyuan's attention overwhelmed all other players, and the Clippers' attention also soared.
Before the new season even started, the Clippers' season tickets had already been sold out, making the owners of more than a dozen other small-city teams cry.
On November 1, the NBA regular season officially begins.
There are only two games on this day, the Lakers vs. Clippers, and the Celtics vs. Cavaliers.
