unfinished glory

Chapter 172 Opening Battle (1)

Chapter 172 Opening Battle ([-])

When the schedule of the 2008~2009 season was announced before, it became a hot news in the summer, and it has been discussed by fans until now.

The most overheated matchup at the time was Li Chongxiao's return to San Antonio. Fans wanted to see what kind of performance he could perform against his old club for the first time.

But as O'Neal moved to Houston before the regular season, the game between the Rockets' visit to Los Angeles and the defending champion Lakers became a new focus, and the attention instantly soared into the sky.

This game, which had been arranged long ago, even made the "arrangement theory" that the game was manipulated by the league rampant.The explosive point created by coincidence in the opening game has become another "iron proof" of the league's "recorded" game.

In fact, Stern did not know. When he heard the news, he was also very surprised.

Although Pat Riley has been quietly selling O'Neal since last season, the asking price is too high.Before the All-Star Game last season, an agreement was reached with the Suns, but the Heat wanted one more draft pick besides Sean Marion and Marcus Banks.

The Suns were not sure whether the exchanged lineup would be able to pass the Spurs level, and now they need a little more, and lost the desire to trade in an instant.

Stern once thought that O'Neal would return to the West, but he never thought it was the Rockets.Although the Sharks are a little old, the only chips that the Rockets can match are Tracy McGrady and Bynum.

McGrady's value is obviously higher, the Rockets can't give up, and Bynum is better than the Sharks in their old age in the long run.

But this deal was still reached, and what's more coincidentally, the regular season opener was actually arranged.In desperation, Stern could only cheerfully accept the fans' doubts, and asked the press officer to release the news that it was purely a coincidence.

"The superstar's revenge on his old club", "It seems that the alliance has known the inside story" and so on, the topicality of the opening game was already very high, and now it has skyrocketed.Stern even has some regrets, why not arrange the Grizzlies game against the Spurs for the next day.

O'Neal's first game after returning to the West was still against his old team. It was no less sensational than when he went to the Staples Center to participate in the Christmas game after traveling east.

In this game, he will witness his old enemy Kobe wear the championship ring in this arena where he has spent the most glorious career.

Staples' newly hoisted championship banner has nothing to do with him anymore.This also means that he has become the past of the Lakers.

People are also looking forward to Kobe's performance. After four years of ridicule from O'Neal, he finally has the results to prove himself.

There are too many stories to tell about the "OK Group" that created a dynasty and ended up blaming each other.

The brilliance of the other two superstars was also overshadowed by this pair of enemies.

Yao Ming and McGrady are also former teammates, but firstly, this is not in Houston, and there is no drama of Yao Ming returning home; secondly, the achievements of the "MM combination" are too low, and they even failed to pass the second round of the playoffs.

……

The time soon came to the opening game on October 10. Li Chongxiao returned to the AT&T Center to face his former owner, the Spurs.

The game was overshadowed by the Rockets vs. Lakers news at the same time.Li Chongxiao's status is not enough, and the sensation is not strong. Only fans who like him or Spurs fans will pay attention to this game.

Setting foot on the land of San Antonio again, Li Chongxiao was filled with emotion.He starts here, grows, shines and leaves, looking back, as a rival.

When getting off the bus, a little girl saw Li Chongxiao and shouted excitedly: "Look, Mom, it's Daye Li!"

Hearing this shout, Li Chongxiao stopped, and got ready to sign the little girl's autograph.

But the little girl's parents gave him a cold look, took their daughter and left.

Li Chongxiao's face changed suddenly, he felt a little bit of a bad premonition, this game is not so easy to play, and he is not so easy to live.

Li Chongxiao has been in the Spurs locker room for four years, but this is the first time he has sat in the visiting team's locker room.

The facilities of the Spurs home team's locker room rank last among the 30 teams in the NBA, not to mention the visiting team's locker room, which is even smaller and outdated.

Some teams like to play this way before a game, cluttering up the visiting team's locker room and blaming visiting opponents.This is also a manifestation of home court advantage.

Li Chongxiao was used to this kind of so-called psychological warfare after four years under Popovich.

When warming up, he took the initiative to go to the Spurs' bench and exchanged polite greetings with Popovich.

Then he walked out onto the field and clapped hands with his old teammates.He first "stealed" Parker's dribble, post-up Duncan, and later teased Ginobili's dwindling volume.

After playing around for a few rounds, Li Chongxiao returned to the visiting team's half and warmed up seriously.On the surface, he looks like he is laughing and joking, but in fact, the fire in his heart has been kindled long ago.

Mostly for the ex, whether he is dumped or actively abandoned, the man will show his strongest side, either make the other party regret it, or make the other party regret it very much.

Many seniors have accomplished this "feat" before, so Li Chongxiao naturally wants to go to the countryside to do as the Romans do, and follow the path of his predecessors.

This is also a drama that many fans love to see and enduring superstars return to their old places.

……

The Grizzlies adjusted their starting lineup according to the situation in the preseason. Gasol Jr., Gasol Jr., Battier, Li Chongxiao and Conley played.

The Spurs are Duncan, Matt Bonner, Bowen, Roger Mason and Parker.

At the beginning of the game, Gasol succeeded in jumping the ball, and the Grizzlies got the first chance to attack.

After Conley dribbled the ball past halftime, he hit the ball into Li Chongxiao's hands without accident, and the latter initiated the first attack.

Li Chongxiao took the ball to face Bowen's defense. This matchup has been experienced many times in previous training, but this is the first time in an official game.

Because of too many matchups, Bowen knew that the former apprentice in front of him had grown into a star at the same level as Kobe in terms of strength.

He didn't dare to ignore it, and kept an appropriate distance. He could quickly respond to Li Chongxiao's shot and oppress the opponent's breakthrough route.

As long as Li Chongxiao can't get up and face Duncan on the inside, his power will be reduced by three points.

Li Chongxiao also knew everything about Bo Wen, so naturally he would not attack rashly.He looked up at Gasol, who understood and pulled it out for a pick-and-roll.

Li Chongxiao faced Bonner in a misplaced position, and naturally he was relentless, bullying the opponent to move slowly, take a step sideways, and hit a three-pointer.

The Spurs' first shot was a relatively complicated tactical change. Duncan picked and rolled, Parker broke through, and saw that there was no chance, he went around again. It was passed to Mason at the top of the arc, and Bowen at the bottom corner. Duncan, singles Gasol Jr. threw the iron.

Gasol got the rebound, and after he stabilized, he handed it over to Conley to dribble the ball to the frontcourt.

Li Chongxiao took the ball again, this time he did not choose to play singles, but gave the ball to Gasol, who faced Bonner's defense and easily scored the ball.

Parker's breakthrough layup was interrupted, and Li Chongxiao dribbled the ball for a fast break, and staged a 360-degree dunk.

I don't know if it's because I feel that Li Chongxiao's goal is suspected of being provocative, or because I feel dissatisfied with the home team being beaten 7-0 at home, and the audience is a little restless.

The next goal for the Spurs was Duncan's self-shooting and self-snatching two points. Looking back, the Grizzlies scored a goal through the cooperation between the Gasol brothers.

Although at home, the Spurs' goals today seemed intermittent, with one goal and one goal.It can be seen that their lineup is not running well, and the offense was greatly discounted that year.

In contrast, the offense of the Grizzlies is much smoother. Even if the offensive efficiency of the next few shots has declined, it is still better than the Spurs.

After most of the game, the Grizzlies led the Spurs 25:12 away.Popovich called a timeout and rearranged the tactics.

(End of this chapter)