So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 98 When the matter of "Dream Disciple" becomes more certain

Grant is also being interviewed by the media.

There were many reporters present today, but there were a few reporters surrounding him.

The situation is similar to when he was in Chicago. It's just that he's not as used to it as he used to be.

These rookies...

"What can I bring to this championship team? OK, man, I like your jokes, time will tell you the answer, but I can tell you first, that is the experience that this team has never had to defend a championship. Only the team did a big job last season, well, this is great, but they have never experienced defending the title. Soon they will find that defending the title is more difficult than winning the championship, but Par I did the right thing, I came to this team, we will successfully defend the title, we will!"

Meng Lang shouted there, "This is a new era," and Grant said, "The Magic will successfully defend their title because of his arrival."

Two ideas are colliding, but...

The outside world is paying more attention to the crazy remarks of the two of them.

However, no media dares to refute their "defending remarks" and "new era remarks."

The paper strength of this Magic team is indeed luxurious enough.

Moreover, the league seems to have entered a period of stagnation. Except for the Rockets, whose paper strength has increased, other championship teams have not made good reinforcements this summer. This is due to the retirement of the older generation of superstars, as well as the unstable environment between labor and management, and the unwillingness of big bosses to spend money.

In short, the 94-95 season was definitely a difficult season for the NBA.

If it weren't for this reason, the rumors of Michael Jordan's comeback would not make "Magic" Johnson kneel down directly.

Meng Lang has everything a "supernova" has, and the Magic are also full of talent. However, there is only one person who can stabilize so many bosses in the league. Even David Stern can't do it, and that is Michael -Jordan!

Meng Lang's remarks set off media discussions the next day.

ABC media reporters specifically contacted Jordan's agent David Falk. His answer is mind-boggling:

"In the era without Michael Jordan, does winning the championship count as the beginning of a new era? Time will tell everything!"

Meng Lang's counterattack was very timely. At least in this era, Falk's words were only published in the morning. In the afternoon, ESPN media gave Meng Lang's latest reply. This response speed is fast enough.

This shows how abundant Meng Lang's media resources are.

It can be said that there are more or less reporters at almost every time period of the 24 hours, like hungry wolves waiting for opportunities, waiting for the opportunity to interview Meng Lang. Because in such a world without Michael Jordan, the Magic and Meng Lang have become the biggest "hot searches" in the league!

Meng Lang answered this question at the launch of his second-generation signature shoe.

Ok……

In January this year, Meng Lang released his first pair of signature shoes. In just over half a year, his second pair of signature shoes went online immediately.

This is rare in Adidas, but this is Adidas's consistent attitude. Whoever sells more shoes and is more famous will enjoy the treatment of "his son". Originally, McGrady was given all kinds of preferential treatment in Adidas. Although Kevin Garnett and he were known as the "Adidas Five", McGrady got a lifetime contract with Adidas early. Adidas's attitude towards others was completely different from his. level.

In fact, Adidas representatives have already begun discussing contract renewal with Tai Lun, and have expressed their intention to give Meng Lang a "lifetime contract." Of course not the next contract extension, but after the end of the second contract.

Commonly known as "painting a big pie"!

But this is enough to show their unusual attitude towards Meng Lang. It is not worth making a fuss about releasing two signature shoes a year.

Meng Lang's second "signature shoe" is called "Champion's Heart".

The name naturally comes from Meng Lang’s classic quote after the end of Game 7 of the Finals:

Never underestimate a championship heart.

At this signature shoe launch event, Meng Lang responded to David Falk's remarks: "According to his logic, the 'three consecutive championships' established at the end of Magic Bird's career cannot be regarded as the true 'three consecutive championships. Crowned!"

Why couldn't you win even one playoff victory at the hands of "Big Bird" Bird?

Hearing these words, all the reporters at the scene were frightened.

A strange laugh came from Indiana.

Over the course of a summer, Meng Lang became more courageous!

If Meng Lang challenged Michael Jordan before because he was simply brave, then now, they can feel that Meng Lang has no "reverence" for Michael Jordan at all!

Is this "super rookie" really not afraid that Michael Jordan will come back because of this and teach him a bloody lesson?

They admit that Meng Lang is a super rookie with strong momentum, but in terms of on-court performance, they have seen the invincible Michael Jordan during the "three consecutive championships". They know very well that there is still a gap between Meng Lang and such a being. They have no doubts about Jordan. After he comes back, he can teach Meng Lang a lesson about this matter.

But it was also at this time that they, who were familiar with Jordan's urine properties, suddenly discovered a bright spot:

If Meng Lang continues to taunt...

The probability of Jordan's comeback is really likely to become higher and higher!

Including the Chicago media, they were angry at Meng Lang's remarks, but they shouted silently in their hearts:

Don't stop, keep on, dream, increase the intensity, keep on, don't stop!

They felt inexplicably refreshed.

After the closed training camp began, Chuck Daly quickly encountered problems.

It's a pity that Yahoo was just established this year and there is no later "question and answer" system. Otherwise, he is likely to register a small account and then raise the biggest doubt in his mind recently:

If someone spent a summer studying Larry Bird's tapes, could he become another Larry Bird? (PS, I know this question is stupid, but... who really made me encounter such a thing!)

Last season, in order to increase Meng Lang's personal shooting threat and prevent opponents from double-teaming easily, Chuck Daly thought about letting Meng Lang act as a support point on the court. It's a pity that he failed in the end.

It can't be said that Meng Lang has no field of vision, but he can only say that he doesn't have much.

He can only do the next best thing and arrange tactical passes for him.

Fortunately, Meng Lang's vision was poor, but his passing was still good.

The passing tactic was realized, and the Rockets did not dare to double-team Meng Lang casually in the finals. One of the reasons was his tactical passing point.

With the addition of Grant this season, Chuck Daly has added several passing tactics specifically designed for Meng Lang on his offensive tactics board.

Grant does not have the ability to hold the ball, but he is a top "inside" expert. In the Bulls, Michael Jordan would even wait for him to move and pass a few balls to him in every game. If this kind of "inside cut" is used well, it can open up a lot of space for the entire Magic team on the court.

Space is not a very unfamiliar word.

It's just the limitations of the times and the development of basketball theory, and it's not time to discuss court space yet. The current NBA pays more attention to the ability of the first position to dribble the ball through the half court and pass the ball to the inside.

But there are also teams that pay attention to the importance of space, such as the Bulls who specialize in the "triangle offense".

Then they became a "three-peat" team.

After Meng Lang's three-pointer hit the league, many head coaches have realized that space on the court is also a magic weapon for winning.

Of course, this is limited to teams with top shooters on their team.

At the same time, we also need to get rid of some old stubbornness.

Just like Larry Brown.

Old Brown is an absolute "die-hard". You tell him "offense" and he emphasizes "defense". You tell him "three-pointers" and he emphasizes "defense". You tell him about space. There is still a special emphasis on "defense"!

Chuck Daly was never the old fogy Larry Brown was.

He was once an "innovator" in the league. The "New York Gang" created by Pat Riley in New York was, to a certain extent, derived from the "Bad Boys" of the Pistons.

In 93, they relied on space to win the championship. This year they have another player who can stretch the space. Can Chuck Daly make good use of it?

The only thing that worried him was whether Meng Lang's field of vision could reach this level.

Although they are all tactical points, once there are more tactics, the requirements for vision are still very high.

After all, there are only a few ways to initiate tactics. The key lies in coordination during movement. Giving the ball to more suitable players is a test of the vision of the supporting players.

As a result, in the team's first training match, Meng Lang used various transfer balls that impressed him to dispel his concerns.

He knew that Meng Lang found a lot of videos of Larry Bird in the summer.

But if this method works, then this league will already have a second assist player like "Big Bird".

It turns out...

not at all!

That set of passing skills belongs only to Larry Bird.

If he hadn't been afraid of dampening Meng Lang's enthusiasm, he would have really wanted to persuade Meng Lang to stop working so hard and think about developing his post-playing ability.

But the result...

In order to prevent him from overthinking, or that everyone happened to appear in Meng Lang's narrow field of vision in time for this game, he also specially observed two or three more games.

The final conclusion is:

This guy seems to have really developed the ability to support the passing game!

As the Magic's starting lineup has gotten better and better, even his passing has become more imaginative and just right.

Even Hardaway couldn't help but said: "Man, what did you do in the summer?"

"Penny" trained hard on three-pointers in the summer, and his three-point ability is much more stable than last season. At the same time, his core strength is more stable, which is a visible change in him. It's actually quite obvious.

At least compared to Shaquille O'Neal.

He is still the same at the basket, and his overall body shape tends to become "wider".

Shaq has never been a hard worker, there's no doubt about that.

His summer is always his happy time.

This is also what Kobe dislikes the most.

But during the closed training camp, Meng Lang was the player who changed the most. He became more comprehensive. Now he is more than just a pitcher.

The Magic's offense is now becoming smoother due to his increased passing ability!

It is also for this reason that Shaquille O'Neal suffered a little bit.

In order to better utilize the abilities of Hardaway and Meng Lang, Chuck Daly decided to let the entire team operate instead of Shaq squatting under the basket more often like last season.

Now he hopes that every interspersed run by the Magic will give the team the ability to change the opponent's defensive formation.

He feels that the Magic's current starting lineup is capable of doing this. You must know that Grant averaged 15.1 points per game in his highest season, Nick Anderson averaged 19.9 points per game, Hardaway scored 16.8 points in his rookie season, plus Meng Lang. Averaged about 20 points per game, and Shaq is the "scoring king". To be honest, even if they don't invest in defense, they can kill most teams in the league just by relying on offense.

With such offensive firepower, why not use Dao Ultimate?

In order for Shaquille O'Neal to move better, Chuck Daly naturally hopes that his "wide" body shape can return to last season, preferably back to his rookie season.

Ok……

The "Shark" should be the player with the fastest change in size in the league, growing a little every year until he reached the "Fat-Headed Shark" that many people are more impressed by when he was in the Lakers... In fact, it only took 8 years.

Ewing and David Robinson are also among the "four major centers", but their bodies have hardly changed much throughout their careers, even as they age. It can be seen that Shaq is really not diligent, he just relies on his talent to play.

Thinking about it more carefully, he also entered the "President's Hill" just by playing like this, which shows how awesome he is.

Of course, diligence is actually a kind of talent. Barkley went to the "Breakfast Club" once in the future, and then quit immediately. He said, "If I could be as diligent as Jordan, I would have dominated this league long ago." The talent of "hard worker" is also innate.

Shaquille O'Neal's complaints grew significantly louder.

However, the reason why he complained was not just because the team's requirements for him to lose weight became more stringent, but...

After the whole team's tactics started to work, the Magic team's style of play no longer centered on the inside line, but placed all tactical initiating points on the outside line.

With such a No. 1 position that can pass the ball, and a wing that can receive the ball during the pass, to be honest, Shaquille O'Neal also understands why Chuck Daly plays the way he does.

but……

He understands the logic, but he just doesn’t want to fight like this!

He wants the entire team to serve him. After all, this is basically how Michael Jordan won his first "three consecutive championships", using absolute personal strength. He believes he has the ability to be such a player. Therefore, he was a little slack during training. He used this method to vent his inner awkwardness.

Chuck Daly saw all this but said nothing.

The change of players' mentality requires a process. During this process, as long as Shaquille O'Neal does not change for the worse, he will give O'Neal a certain amount of time to digest this matter.

In fact, the tactics he plans to play are the same as those of the Bulls:

"Triangle Tactics"!

After Meng Lang gained the ability to support, he felt that the Magic could completely use this "tactic"!

Well, after Grant came to this team, it was already destined that this team can play "triangle tactics", just because Meng Lang's support ability is not strong. If it really plays "triangle tactics", Meng Lang's offensive end The tactical position will be marginalized. Chuck Daly is not happy to see this situation. Therefore, this tactic was not considered at first. But now he has no worries, and he doesn't have to worry about Meng Lang being marginalized in the "triangular offense".

Moreover, even if he uses this tactic, Chuck Daly will not completely copy the Bulls' system. Rumors of Michael Jordan's comeback are getting more and more popular. To be honest, Chuck Daly has already regarded this as a matter of fact. Prepare for things that are about to happen but haven’t happened yet.

Therefore, it is impossible for him to turn the Magic into a "replica" of the Bulls to avoid encounters on the court. As the originator of the "triangle tactic", the opponent will make them play more calmly.

As an outstanding representative of the NBA's "attack the city from the bottom and attack the heart from the top", Chuck Daly will let the Magic have their own "triangle offensive tactics".

It's going to take some time, just enough time for Shaquille O'Neal to vent. Then when he comes up with such a system that opens up space for him, the sense of surprise will make him obediently devote himself to the offensive end.

Most of the Magic's looming internal crisis has been eliminated.

This is Chuck Daly's "slap and give a date" strategy.

This psychological routine is perfect for dealing with "little kids" like Shaquille O'Neal.

Time came to the beginning of October. The Magic put up posters of Shaquille O'Neal, Meng Lang and Hardaway. Pat also knew what "a bowl of water is equal". There were three advertising walls outside the Orlando Arena. , there are posters with different positions of these three people, each with a central position.

It's just that on the poster at the front entrance of the arena, the person standing in the middle is Meng Lang.

It's not just because Meng Lang won the Finals MVP last season.

And because Meng Lang's shoes are the best-selling, which is a symbol of popularity, they naturally have to put a poster with him standing in the middle at the front entrance of the arena.

In addition...

The league replaced their title after only 2 seasons.

"The place where miracles are born", a slogan shouted by Meng Lang in advance, became the new slogan of the NBA.

David Stern said: "There is no slogan more suitable for the NBA than this!"

Not only is it relevant, but it’s also full of style!

The media asked Meng Lang if he had any plans to charge creative fees from the league. Meng Lang said: "I am a very generous person!"

In fact, when David Stern used this sentence as the slogan of the NBA, the legend of Meng Lang's first championship greatly increased. It was not only "let 3 chase 4", but more importantly, whenever the league talks about this sentence in the future, The origin of the slogan, the media will mention Meng Lang's "Let 3 chase 4" again and again, thus making this series a household name!

You know, even Michael Jordan's 6 finals were not always so classic. In the end, what the media often talked about more was his "last shot."

That was the greatest scene for a legendary player to bid farewell.

If we follow this logic, then the "place of birth of miracles" will become the great beginning of Meng Lang's legendary story in the future. Instead of becoming "He, he is the second Magic. Like Magic, he won the Finals MVP in his rookie season!"

Such an image label cannot be measured by how much money, otherwise Meng Lang wouldn't be so "generous".

Grant was particularly unhappy during the makeup photo shoot.

When he was with the Bulls, he was outside the absolute core circle. Now that he is with the Magic, he is still outside the absolute core circle.    Then isn’t he here in vain?

Originally, he thought he could at least take a makeup photo with the three of them.

With nowhere to vent, he took his anger out on Monty.

"Rookie, put your chair away for me, I can hardly stretch my legs!"

Monty complied obediently, showing the frustration of a rookie to the fullest.

Meng Lang and the others were also in the locker room. Seeing this, Meng Lang said, "Monty, then move to the cabinet next to me. It happens to be empty!"

"Heh, isn't a second-year rookie a rookie?" Grant sneered.

Recently, he had a little friction with Meng Lang. Since the Magic lost one of their main players, Skiles, in the summer, Grant used his locker, which is a little away from the door and in the middle.

The closer to the door of the locker room, the larger the space. According to the "unspoken rules" of the locker room, these wardrobes often belong to the core of the team, which makes it easier for them to receive interviews.

For example, Meng Lang's and Hardaway's wardrobes are connected together. Hardaway's wardrobe is opposite O'Neal, while Meng Lang's wardrobe is next to Hardaway's.

Next to Meng Lang, there was an empty closet. That position originally belonged to Anderson, but during the time when the two of them had a conflict, Anderson moved to another closet, causing this closet to become empty.

Grant wanted to move into this closet, but after the Magic team staff asked Meng Lang, Meng Lang hated Grant's arrogance when he entered the Magic team and naturally didn't want to be adjacent to his closet, so he refused.

During those two days, Grant saw that his face was not a face, and his nose was not a nose.

Meng Lang saw Grant's unknown anger today and knew exactly why he remembered this incident and deliberately disgusted him, so he asked Monty to move next to him.

Well, it was also to prevent this guy from moving here on his own initiative, which would make it even more disgusting.

Meng Lang glanced at him expressionlessly and said calmly: "Don't bring the Bulls' atmosphere to the Magic. This is a team for young people. Isn't it great to win three consecutive championships with Michael Jordan?" My grandma can win a championship even if she plays with Jordan!"

"Bitch, what did you say?"

Meng Lang's words were so sharp, and they were especially fatal to Grant, a man with high self-esteem. He always felt that without him in the Bulls, Jordan would definitely not be able to win the "three consecutive championships." At this moment, he was jumping around and swearing, looking like a "black-skinned shrew".

Meng Lang looked at him sarcastically: "What? Do you want to make a date in the octagonal cage?"

"Haha~"

Hardaway couldn't help laughing, and Meng Lang rolled his eyes at him.

Can you pay attention to such a serious occasion?

"Penny" was also innocent. He just thought of Grant's incontinence.

Others probably had the same idea, but they were more able to hold it in, so they didn't laugh out loud like Hardaway.

Grant triggered "Isolation and Helplessness", and what made him even more embarrassed was that he couldn't answer Meng Lang's words at all.

When Jordan was complaining after losing the ball, he dared to say to him, "If you have the ability, come to me and tell me." But now he really didn't dare to bite the bullet, even if he said to Meng Lang, "Come on, who cares?" Who are you afraid of!"

He is afraid of incontinence!

This man is a cruel person!

The conversation ended in Grant's silence.

When the afternoon training started, Monty came up to Meng Lang and said gratefully: "Thank you!"

He was also a famous figure in the NCAA, but when he came to the NBA, he was really worse than a dog. Meng Lang's helping hand warmed his heart.

"It's not a big deal, we are teammates and that's how it should be!"

Monty has memorized Meng Lang's words for many years, so much so that whenever the media asks him who is the best core in the league, he always spits out Meng Lang's name without hesitation.

"All Magic fans, listen, I hope all of you have more expectations for the Magic in the new season. This will be a better team than you imagined!" Chuck Daly said in the season Before the game starts, shout out to the Orlando fans.

This made the Magic fan meeting two days later particularly popular.

"Penny, penny, can you sign your name for me?"

"If I remember correctly, the time for autographs has passed, right?" Hardaway looked at the fans who appeared in the locker room, his somewhat indifferent eyes were very memorable. He seemed to have seen it somewhere. But he didn't wait for the fan to say anything. After asking, he immediately added, "I won't sign it, you can get out!"

His rejection made the fans' eyes shake violently. He did not expect that his idol would reject him, and reject him so rudely.

"No, that's not right! Boy, have you ever been on the news?"

But Hardaway's eyes stayed on the fan's face, and his eyes really looked familiar to him. After covering his head and thinking for a long time, he came up with the idea: "Dream's disciple? Are you the disciple of Dream? The guy who threatened to defeat him? Good boy, bring the poster and I'll sign it for you!"

"I don't...I'm..." When he heard "Dream Disciple", the fan was about to shake his head, but after hearing Hardaway's words, he changed his mind and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "Yes, it's me, I He is the disciple of Dream..., I will defeat him sooner or later!"

"Disciple of dream...", it took him a long time to say it. At the same time, a huge sense of shame arose in my heart. But he really wanted "Penny's" autograph, so he gritted his teeth and "admitted" it.

This fan is none other than Kobe Bryant.

Hardaway is his current favorite star, and his dream is to become a player like Hardaway.

"Good boy, I look forward to you kicking Dream's ass! And I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you!"

Heartwarming ending...

Kobe walked away in a hurry.

Meng Lang, who had finished the activity at this time, also returned to the locker room. He had just sat down in front of his closet and arranged his sneakers when Hardaway next to him suddenly laughed "hahaha".

"Did you take the wrong medicine?" Meng Lang subconsciously stayed away.

"No, I just thought of something funny!"

"..." Meng Lang looked at him with a "Come and ask me" look on his face. He didn't respond and continued to lower his head to straighten his shoelaces.

"Hahahahaha!"

"What!" Meng Lang was subdued, and finally turned around and asked.

"Your disciple just came to me to sign an autograph!"

"My disciple? Who?" Meng Lang didn't take it seriously at first, but at this moment, he suddenly remembered a rumor he heard before traveling through time, "Kobe?"

"It seems to be that name. Anyway, it's the high school student who threatened to beat you! I asked him if he was right, and he admitted it."

"Has he admitted that he is my disciple?"

"Hmm... But your disciple is actually a fan of mine. Man, it seems that your personality charm needs to be improved!" Hardaway was very embarrassed.

Meng Lang's mood was not affected. Instead, he said, "You can tell more about this matter to the media. It's best to be more detailed and let everyone know that there is a guy who claims to be a disciple of Dream and comes to you to ask for an autograph." Got it!"

"Say, of course I will say it!"

"OK, remember his name, his name is Kobe Bryant!" Meng Lang patted him on the shoulder and reminded him.

Hardaway finally discovered the clue: "Why are you more excited than me?"

It's a pity that Meng Lang didn't tell him the reason.

The future "historical second shooting guard" is now completely confirmed as a "dream disciple". Do you think Meng Lang can't be excited?

No, it can’t be said to be exciting, it should be said that the evil taste has reached the greatest degree of satisfaction!

Starting on October 10th, the Magic ushered in their preseason.

Chuck Daly was very satisfied with the performance of the Magic's starting lineup in training camp, so he almost only gave them an average of 8 to 10 minutes of playing time, basically letting them move around and then replacing them immediately.

Therefore, in the six preseason games, Meng Lang's data is nothing worth mentioning.

But even in this short time, he showed a little bit of his passing ability.

Many experts are analyzing his passing. Bill Walton believes that Meng Lang will have more presence on the offensive end in the new season: "Not only personal scoring, but also the ability to drive the whole team!"

Obviously he believes that these passes by Meng Lang are not accidental, but the result of his progress in the summer.

Media reporters are also making insinuations: "Man, will you take on more support and passing tasks in the new season?"

Meng Lang didn't mean to keep the mystery. He said directly: "All teams need to update their research on me. In the new season, they will find that the previous research has no restrictions on me at all!"

In the end, even though the Magic only had 4 wins and 2 losses in the preseason, they still ranked first on the major media's strength lists!

In the first game of the new season, the Magic sit at home to meet the challenge of the Wizards. At the same time, they will also welcome the "championship ring" on this night.

The media has announced the Magic's championship ring, a sapphire facet that represents the color of the city of Orlando and the color of the Magic's team logo. Then on the side of the ring, the golden "1" is also very conspicuous, which represents the first championship in the history of the Magic.

Overall, this championship ring is not amazing. But this is normal. Richard is not a very rich boss, and he is not that generous.

"ESPN" even mocked the Magic management: "This may be the simplest first championship ring in the history of an NBA team."

However, this did not affect the atmosphere at the Magic's home court that night.

Orlandoans packed the home arena, and with waves of cheers from the audience, the Magic's first championship banner in team history was raised to the sky above the arena.

This city has a "championship bloodline" from now on!

Meng Lang received the first championship ring of his career from David Stern.

"Man, I hope you have more experiences like this!" David Stern encouraged with a smile.

Meng Lang nodded and said, "Thank you, Mr. President!"

Hardaway had already put the ring on his finger. He said to Meng Lang: "Dream, I didn't expect that we would have our own championship ring so soon."

Meng Lang said: "You should have said this five months ago, not now!"

"Man, you're a little too calm!" A reporter from the Magic team watched Meng Lang coming down from the center of the stage and joked, "When Michael won the first championship in his career, he hugged and cried for a long time!"

Meng Lang said: "If it took me 8 years to win the championship, I would cry too!"

He has said this many times!

But every time, he felt great!

Especially after winning the championship, saying such words made him feel as if he was already ravaging Jordan.

To put it bluntly, he can't wait to play against Michael Jordan on the NBA stage.

At this critical moment, he will never be a spectator again!

Even if he still hasn't developed outstanding ball-holding ability. But now he has more decision-making ability at critical moments.

This is what I learned on the big stage.

Grant sat awkwardly on the bench. Except for him and Monty, everyone else on the Magic team walked to the center of the stage to receive their championship rings.

"Wait, Horace, next time we will receive the championship ring together!" Shaquille O'Neal showed his understanding, "With your experience in defending the championship, we will definitely win the championship this season. !”

Grant was obviously very impressed by this.

Meng Lang looked at him like this and wondered if it was necessary for the "Rant Law" to appear in advance.

It’s all rand anyway.

And compared with Durant, this "Rand" is obviously unclear about the situation.

The Wizards watched the entire process of the Magic receiving the championship ring. Apart from envy, they had no other emotions. Not to mention things like causing trouble. They're not at that stage yet.

Although they selected Juwan Howard with the fifth pick in the first round this summer, neither the media nor the Wizards' management believed that one Howard could complete the revival of the entire team.

Howard is strong, but not at that level yet.

Their goal in the new season is still the "number one pick"!

The league prepared such a weak team for the Magic as their opponent in the opening game, not wanting them to enjoy the night. But...

Skiles, who left the Magic in the summer, transferred to the Wizards.

This night, he could just receive the "championship ring" together.

This is a show of humanity from the alliance... what the hell!

The Magic faced a "back-to-back" schedule right from the start.

After playing the Wizards today, they have to go away to challenge the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow!

Two days, two games, interspersed with a "ring awarding" session.

Let’s put it this way…

"Special Forces" begins!

Obviously, the Magic's too luxurious paper lineup made David Stern start his "schedule targeting" to prevent the Magic from being too "outstanding".

Chuck Daly only said one thing at the beginning of tomorrow's game: "Please be serious and set the tone of this game right from the beginning!"

During the jump ball session, Howard came over to say hello to Meng Lang. They are teammates in the college student sparring group.

奇才队的首发阵容除了他跟一号位的斯凯尔斯以外，二号位是88年首轮第8顺位雷克斯-查普曼，三号位为“93一代首轮6号秀”卡尔波特-钱尼，剩下的五号位是同为“93一代次轮秀”身高2米31的乔治-穆雷桑。

This is a typical "Youth Army", but not every "Youth Army" is named "Magic".

In the jump ball session, with his taller height, Muresan helped the Wizards get the right to attack first.

Facing Hardaway, Scales did not give in at all, holding the ball and rushing in against Hardaway.

Hardaway did not directly confront, but took a step back. At this moment, Scales, who was rushing in, suddenly stepped back and shot a three-pointer. The ball dropped into the basket.

Skiles has always had something to say about the "little thing" that his starting position was replaced by Hardaway. He admitted that he was not as talented as Hardaway, but there was no competition at all, so he was asked to give up his starting position, which made him very uncomfortable.

Tonight he wants to prove something:

Hardaway is very good, but I am not bad either!

　The last day of 2023, brothers, see you in 2024!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)