James is in a good mood, although he was a little unhappy when the media selected Lian Dao as the league's number one active small forward.
But now, after defeating the Bulls again and proving his strength, James feels a lot more comfortable.
"Congratulations, LeBron, you won a big victory in the opening game. It seems that the Heat are still one of the strongest championship teams this season, but,"
The previous compliments were very helpful to James, but a turning word made James' heart tremble.
"However, Sickle got a triple-double in assists at Madison Square Garden, and they defeated the Dallas Mavericks, also known as a super team, and got off to a good start."
"What do you think of sickle's performance in the Christmas game? Do you think you can steal this season's MVP from sickle?"
After hearing Lian Dao's data, the smile on James' face disappeared.
In the first game against the Super Mavericks, he scored a 40 triple-double. Even the Heat didn't dare to say they could beat the Mavericks.
The twin interior towers composed of Nowitzki and Yao Ming are too threatening to players who like to finish at the basket, let alone a 40 triple-double.
I just got it here, but Lian Dao got a triple-double of 40. It seems that the opponent wants to defend the MVP title.
"He's doing great, but it's just the beginning of the season, isn't it?"
James' good mood was completely ruined. At this time, he no longer had the idea of staying for an interview, but left the court directly.
To be honest, James is feeling a little anxious now. He has not won a championship so far. If he is crushed by Lian Dao again in terms of honor, he will probably live in Lian Dao's shadow forever.
Although the Heat won the Christmas game, Lian Dao's pursuit made James feel the pressure.
James has won two regular season MVP awards, and he won them in two consecutive seasons. For any player, this is an amazing achievement.
Kobe is great enough, but so far, he has only won the regular season MVP once.
But if Lian Dao wins the regular season MVP again this season, it means that Lian Dao will completely crush the current James in terms of honor.
So the two most serious things before James are: completing the championship and winning the regular season MVP this season.
However, the fact is that Lian Dao did not consider regular season MVP at all.
The Knicks' new season hasn't even started yet, but Gallinari was injured for half the season. What Lian Dao just wants now is that they can stay healthy and reach the top four in the Eastern Conference.
The reason why he played so actively in the opening game was because it was his proposal battle. He lost just after completing the proposal. Lian Dao could even think of the headlines in the media the next day: "Proud in love, frustrated on the court!"
Lian Dao doesn’t want to be the laughing stock of the alliance!
Moreover, Gallinari's injury forced Lian Dao to put in more energy on the offensive end.
…
The regular season is still in full swing, and the Knicks' management is still actively looking for substitutes.
The schedule is too tight. Holiday's substitute Tony Douglas sprained his ankle in three consecutive away games against the Sacramento Kings. Fortunately, the condition is not particularly serious, but he will still miss about two to three weeks of games.
.
Therefore, the reality before the Knicks is that they must increase the depth of the rotation to ensure the health of the players.
Among the players he has come into contact with so far, there is a Chinese player who caught D'Antoni's attention: Jeremy Lin!
Jeremy Lin's speed and athletic ability are incredible. What impressed D'Antoni in particular was Jeremy Lin's speed. His first step was extremely fast, and his layup touch when breaking through to the basket was also good.
According to the data from the physical test at that time, Jeremy Lin's starting speed was kilometers/hour, while Wall's starting speed was kilometers/hour.
Wall was the No. 1 pick in the 10th draft, and Jeremy Lin was the undrafted pick in the 10th draft.
He is skilled in ball control. He is not afraid of physical confrontation and dares to commit fouls during fast breaks. He is able to use his body to score the ball. He also has good awareness on the off-ball end.
He knows how to use pick-and-rolls to get inside. On the defensive end, he has good lateral speed and wingspan, and can stand up and play a role at critical moments.
Looking at these advantages of Jeremy Lin, D'Antoni was a little puzzled. It stands to reason that such a player is not to mention a first-round lottery pick, but at least he can be at the end of the first round and early in the second round.
But then D'Antoni discovered Jeremy Lin's flaws.
Jeremy Lin has never had a good position since college. Playing point guard at Harvard is just the team's need.
He is not a very good organizer. He sometimes dribbles too high and gets intercepted. He rarely makes mid-range shots. His three-pointers are okay but he is not a pure shooter. Although his first step is quick, his singles ability is average.
During trial training and competitive matches, Jeremy Lin often showed a lack of confidence and would pass out opportunities when he was open.
Moreover, he has never played in a high-level league and lacks experience in major competitions.
The advantages are obvious, but the disadvantages are also very significant.
Just when D'Antoni was thinking about whether to keep him, Lian Dao saw Jeremy Lin. When he gave Downey advice before, he had forgotten about Jeremy Lin because the Knicks had no shortage of players at the No. 1 position.
"Mike, keep him. I'm quite optimistic about him. He just lacks opportunities to prove himself."
Lian Dao said to D'Antoni.
D'Antoni saw Lian Dao speaking and nodded in agreement.
D'Antoni is not going to go against Lian Dao just because of a substitute player quota.
Now that the Knicks only have 12 players, they still have room to sign 2-3 players, and D'Antoni also has a very good impression of Jeremy Lin.
"That's what I have in mind. I'll go find Donnie first."
D'Antoni said and walked to the general manager's office.
Lian Dao walked to the training ground.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "How about it, are you interested in a competition?" Lian Dao said in Chinese to Jeremy Lin.
Although Jeremy Lin doesn't speak Mandarin well, he can still understand Chinese.
Especially when he heard that he was familiar with Chinese, Jeremy Lin was stunned at first.
"There are not many players in the NBA who can speak Chinese, and the Knicks only..."
Jeremy Lin suddenly thought of a person. He turned around with some surprise and found that it was indeed Lian Dao.
"Lian Dao, it's really you. I'm so happy to see you. Can you sign your name for me?"
Jeremy Lin felt like a star-chasing boy at this moment, looking at Lian Dao expectantly.
"Of course! Where can I sign it?"
"Wait a minute, I'm going to get something!"
With that said, Jeremy Lin ran all the way to the bench on the sidelines, opened his backpack on the floor, took out a brand new pair of "LD-2", and took out a marker pen.
Lian Dao never expected that Jeremy Lin would be his fan in this life.
Taking the marker, Lian Dao wrote his signature in Chinese and English on the blank space of the sneakers.
"Awesome, Lian Dao, you are the pride of all Chinese Americans, and I have always regarded you as a role model!"
Jeremy Lin saw Lian Dao signing his name, which made him even more excited, and he carefully put the ball into his backpack.
"Then have you ever thought that one day you can become a role model for others?"
Lian Dao asked with a smile. You must know that Jeremy Lin's inspirational counterattack in the NBA in the previous life was regarded by many as a driving force for progress. A large number of Chinese fans even regarded Jeremy Lin as a role model.
"Ah? But I..."
Jeremy Lin touched his head somewhat unconfidently.
"Be confident. You just lack the opportunity to prove yourself. By the way, you haven't answered my question yet. Are you interested in a competition?"
Lian Dao asked again.
"Uh-huh!
"
Jeremy Lin nodded excitedly.
In the competition, Lian Dao did not use 1V1, but was preparing to play a training match. He wanted to know Jeremy Lin's performance in the team.
Lian Dao put himself and Jeremy Lin into the substitute lineup and started a red-blue confrontation with the main lineup.
On the first ball, after Lian Dao attracted the defense, he passed the ball to Jeremy Lin who was open on the outside.
Holiday realized that he missed someone and secretly yelled "No," but turned around and saw that Jeremy Lin hesitated, which gave Holiday time to return to defense.
When he wanted to shoot again, he missed the best opportunity to take action and could only pass the ball back to Lian Dao.
"Pay attention to seizing opportunities. If you don't dare to take action, what kind of basketball are you playing?"
Lian Dao chose to finish the ball by himself, but he expressed dissatisfaction with Jeremy Lin's performance just now, and his tone was very harsh.