After two days of rest, on the 8th, the Trail Blazers flew to New York in the East.
After playing this away game, the Trail Blazers will have 4 consecutive home games, namely the Jazz, Lakers, Grizzlies and 75ers. Except for the back-to-back game against the 75ers, which requires a trip to the East again, the remaining three games are all in the West.
Combat.
The next period of time should be regarded as a relatively loose game for the Trail Blazers. Therefore, Wang Zelin and his teammates want to get a good start against the Knicks.
The game on the night of the 8th will be broadcast live on TNT and Chaoting Channel.
Although the Knicks have been in a mess recently, they are located in the Big Apple after all, so there is no shortage of traffic.
In addition, the other team tonight is the menacing Portland Trail Blazers. This game has attracted great attention both on the other side of the ocean and in the United States.
In the United States, the pre-game media hype was extremely intense, with the New York media handling it the most. People who don’t know how strong the Knicks’ combat effectiveness is now.
The game starts at 7:30pm.
After getting off the plane, Wang Zelin did not go to the hotel with the team, but went to New York with his girlfriend Reina.
My own boss is quite open-minded and is not as rigid as the Magic boss back then, who did not allow players’ families to board chartered flights for away games.
Wandering from 10:30 to 13:30, the two of them had lunch outside. The pre-game meeting at 14:00 in the afternoon was about to begin. After Wang Zelin handed over the tickets Terry Stotts needed yesterday to Lena,
Check out the hotel.
After the meeting, there was training in the afternoon, and Wang Zelin would pick her up after the training.
Tristotz breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Zelin walking into the hotel door at the last moment, still in the same energetic state as before.
There is no other way, young people can just make a fire with firewood. I am really afraid that after Wang Zelin goes out, he will just do that during the day...
Fortunately, my worries are unnecessary.
There is no reason for him to worry so much. The players who entered the league after 2000 are very different from the players of the last century before 2000. At least in terms of mental development, the players of the last century were much better than the players of today.
Mainly because Qiu Yu entered the NBA after the 21st century. Very few people can endure the loneliness of 10 years in college. Most people choose to enter the NBA after one year of college, dreaming of becoming millionaires or multi-millionaires overnight.
dream.
Role players are better. Since their talent is relatively lacking, they need more college time to hone their skills, so there is no need to worry too much.
The core players are different. They are basically under 20 years old when they enter the league, and most of them are not very mature mentally. Therefore, today's NBA head coaches have another job - nanny.
After all, not everyone is like LeBron James. He who entered the league at the age of eighteen or nine is like a seasoned veteran in his early thirties... Ahem, don't get me wrong, I'm not praising his appearance, but praising his maturity.
If you meet some young core people with perverse personalities, tsk tsk tsk!
Terry Stotts couldn't help but secretly rejoice: Although Wang Hui fires map cannons from time to time, has his own ideas when playing, and has a lot of gossip...but he is indeed a good core player for the team.
Why did so many people feel sorry for Huang Manbaloi after his death?
On the one hand, it is because his talent is truly outstanding, and on the other hand, he showed excellent leadership style when he first entered the league, much like the core players who entered the NBA in the 1980s and 1990s.
That's why the coaches of each team spoke highly of him, and felt so sorry for him after he withered away.
…
After returning to the room and spending three minutes washing away the odor of sweat from his body, Wang Zelin and his teammates came to the hotel conference hall.
In fact, there is nothing to complain about. The Knicks are so bad now that they will give warmth to anyone they meet.
However, Tristos repeatedly emphasized at the meeting that he should not underestimate his opponents, and then poured chicken soup.
An hour later, the Trail Blazers came to the Knicks' home court, Madison Square Garden, for training and began preparing for the evening game.
By coincidence, when I arrived at the arena, I met Knicks players who had also come early to prepare for the game. Wang Zelin went up to say hello.
"Hey, isn't this Cameron? We haven't seen each other for a few days. What a shame!"
"..." Anthony rolled his eyes in displeasure, "Wang, that's enough. In Chinese terms, your current behavior is like a dog's mouth that cannot spit out ivory."
"Um, where did you learn the Chinese dialect? It sounds pretty good."
When I heard the Chinese dialect coming from Anthony's mouth, although the pronunciation was a bit strange, the content was still clear.
Tsk, can I tell you, is it to please the Chinese market and get Chinese fans to give me more All-Star votes?
After some pleasantries, there was a training ground just now to prepare for the battle.
To play against the Knicks, the Trail Blazers are very simple in preparation: just like the first game at the beginning of the season, splitting up Anthony and other teammates allows Anlube to let go. If he really fights hard to win tonight
Trail Blazers third youngster Terry Stotts also admitted it.
Perhaps because of a tacit understanding, well-known domestic media, such as Shouhu, Wangyi and other websites, all invariably put the words "Lu Bu versus the Three Heroes" in their headlines.
Almost everyone knows that if the Knicks want to win tonight, it depends on Anthony's performance tonight, including Anthony himself, who is also very aware of the situation tonight.
…
After the afternoon pre-match training, Wang Zelin and his teammates went to a restaurant booked by the team in advance for lunch.
Today I am lucky enough to be able to train at Madison Square Garden. In the past, the Knicks' training arena was at Tali Hall, which is nearly 50 kilometers away. It takes about an hour to drive one way.
Although it is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the environment is relatively quiet, and it is a good place to focus on training, but when it comes to the official competition, the one-hour drive is really a waste of time.
Wang Zelin knew a piece of gossip from his previous life. At that time, Durant chose to join the Nets instead of the Knicks because he felt that the Knicks’ training facility was too far away, while the Nets’ training facility was far away from the Madison Square Garden.
Very close, only 12 minutes by car.
well, let's get back to business.
At 19:00 sharp in the evening, the head coaches of both sides announced their shortlists.
The Blazers or the Fab Five will remain unchanged.
For the Knicks, point guard Raymond Felton, shooting guard Iman Shumpert, small forward Tim Hardaway II, power forward Carmelo Anthony, and center Andrea Bargnani.
Yes, you read that right, Anthony is playing the power forward position tonight.
It can only be said that the Knicks are indeed having a bad season this season. Although they won the New York Derby in the last game and refused to kneel for 10 consecutive games, their previous power forward Kenyon Martin only played half time before he was injured. He is expected to have to play again.
Be absent for a period of time.
Kenyon Martin's sudden injury worsened the situation for the Knicks, who were already low on available inside players.
In the away locker room, after learning the Knicks' roster, Wang Zelin couldn't help laughing and patted Aldridge next to him: "LaMarcus, let's see your performance tonight."
As for the Knicks' pair of insiders, with Anthony's weight and big butt, there is nothing wrong with playing power forward, but the problem is his defense...
As for the Italian center, Wang Zelin has become more and more comfortable playing.
Aldridge didn't bother to answer and continued to check the equipment.
19:30, Madison Square Garden, stars are shining.
In addition to the Angel City, the Big Apple is the favorite metropolis of Hollywood stars. The dazzling Broadway, Lincoln Center, Statue of Liberty and Wall Street are all enough to bring a large number of stars from all walks of life to gather here spontaneously.
"Anthony plays power forward? I'm very curious, how would he feel if he was out of position to defend the king?"
After getting the list, Yang Yiguai smiled.
"According to statistics, the Knicks' current interior defensive efficiency ranks fourth from the bottom in the league. There are not many teams worse than them. They are all those teams that have always been bad. Tonight they have to face the king, tsk.
Tsk tsk.”
As Wang Meng talked, he couldn't help but feel pity for the Knicks insider.
Yang Yi shook his head: "I can't help it. Who made Tyson Chandler injured? The Knicks lost the only barrier inside, and the rest are all crooked melons."
Live on TNT.
Buckley smiled and said: "Kenny, want to take a gamble?"
"Hmm? Don't tell me you want to bet on who wins and who loses."
Kenny Smith looked over with a suspicious look on his face.
What else is this guy trying to do?
"I'm not that superficial," Barkley shrugged and continued: "Let's bet on how many times Cameron will get hit tonight. If it's more than 3, I'll win. Anyway, if you win, the loser will be responsible for tonight's hit."
For late night snacks, the location wins.”
After looking at Barkley's bloated figure and touching his wallet, Kenneth Smith said: "If you want to add another one, I will come if you agree."
"OK!"
Buckley thought for a moment and nodded.
Anyway, Kenny Smith's appetite has never been as good as his own, so even if he loses, he won't be able to produce much blood.