strokinit Chapter 275 The Beginning of the Regular Season
Chapter 275 The Beginning of the Regular Season
Chapter 275 The Beginning of the Regular Season
A few days later, the preseason of the new season officially started.
After the promulgation of the new rules, this is the first actual combat.
NBA officials want to go through the preseason to see if the expected effect is achieved.
But the result surprised David Stern and other high-level league leaders.
The expected smooth and entertaining game did not appear.
Frequent whistles interrupted the continuity of the game and made the game unspectacular.
Some players found that they could not adapt to the new rules at all and became unable to play.
For example, last season's best defensive player Artest.
He still restricts defenders according to his own defensive habits, and he graduated with six fouls before the end of the game.
Other perimeter defensive players also felt uncomfortable with the new rules, complaining online that the new rules were too anti-human.
Seeing that the new rules were counterproductive, Stern immediately made adjustments so that the referee's penalty scale would not be so strict.
After the players gradually adapt, they will fully implement the new rules.
"Hey! I'm doing it for your own good! Why don't you live up to it?!"
Stern hated iron but steel, and immediately summoned the top leaders of the alliance to further revise and implement the new rules.
At the same time, when most players complained about the new rules, the Raptors also started their preseason tour.
The Raptors will face the Clippers in their first preseason game.
This year's No. 4 pick Deron Williams and Li Xuan face off for the first time in the NBA, making this game quite interesting
Although it was just an insignificant preseason game, Deron played very seriously and had a very high desire to win.
He had waited too long for this day, and wanted to defeat Li Xuan very much.
But things backfired, Li Xuan let Delong understand that the younger brother is always the younger brother, and the gap between them cannot be narrowed at all.
After the game started, Delong, who had just entered the league, was blocked by Li Xuan.
Delong's proud body is not worth mentioning in front of Li Xuan.
The breakthrough couldn't squeeze Li Xuan away, he could only barely shoot, but the result was either blocked or hit with iron.
"I haven't seen him for a year, and the gap between me and him is so big?!"
Deron fell into confusion.
On the sidelines, Raptors head coach Carlisle covered his eyes, feeling a little uneasy.
"Is it really good to do this? He is still a kid who just entered the league!"
The assistant coach Sam Mitchell explained: "Deron and Lee have played against each other in college. They should understand each other. Deron should not be easily defeated."
Carlisle nodded and understood the relationship between Li Xuan and Delong, who was like an enemy or a friend. He no longer worried that Delong would lose his basketball dream and continued to watch the game.
On the court, Li Xuan hit a three-pointer in front of Delong, and said a golden classic in the NBA when he retreated.
"Rookie! Welcome to the NBA."
After hearing this, Delong gritted his teeth angrily, but there was nothing he could do when the gap in strength was too great.
"Li, one day I will defeat you!"
Delong looked at Li Xuan's leaving back, clasped his hands and swore secretly.
In the following games, after Li Xuan taught Delong a lesson, he was replaced for a rest within a few minutes of playing.
After all, this is a preseason game, and both sides focus on training newcomers and fine-tuning the lineup.
For the Clippers, Brand, the core player, didn't play for long, leaving playing time for Deron and other rookies to adapt to the intensity of the game.
After Li Xuan left the court, Delong finally found a sense of experience, and gradually found his lost basketball dream.
In the end, the Raptors still had the upper hand and had the last laugh, beating the Wizards 98-90.
After the game, according to the usual practice, the head coaches of both sides and some players will hug and shake hands.
Seeing that the Clippers had no acquaintances of his own, Li Xuan walked to the player tunnel with his teammates and returned to the locker room.
After the Raptors' first preseason game, industry insiders who followed the game gave their own opinions.
Kobe: "Lee's strength has improved after joining the Raptors. I am very much looking forward to playing against him."
James: "The strength of the Raptors with Lee is not what it used to be. If the Cavaliers want to make the playoffs, they are competitors."
Popovich: "Although the strength of the Raptors has improved, their strength cannot break out of the East, and they are not enough to threaten the Spurs."
"..."
In addition, ESPN ranked the strength of each team after the first round of the preseason.
The top three are: defending champion Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers.
The Toronto Raptors are ranked No. 15 and can compete for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Under the hype of the media, the Raptors players naturally saw the news.
"They really think highly of us. If they rank us so high, aren't they afraid that we will overturn?!" Li Xuan laughed at himself.
"This list is still real, but it is a bit high for us, with some malicious intentions." Bosh expressed his opinion.
Through normal training, he knows Li Xuan's strength well, and there is no problem in leading the Raptors to the playoffs.
But the outside world doesn't know their real situation. To rank them so high is simply to make enemies and let other teams step on them to become famous in one fell swoop.
Coach Carlisle also expressed his views.
"Don't care what the outside world thinks of us, do our own thing well, and then they will know our strength."
After Carlisle finished speaking, he waved his hand and asked the players to go to daily training.
In the next few preseason games, Carlisle focused on observing newcomers and grinding the team lineup.
Therefore, the main players such as Li Xuan did not play for a long time.
The outside world is also unable to assess the true strength of this Raptors team.
During this period, Li Xuan took the opportunity to complete the [Peak Showdown] mission.
In the Raptors, there are three players who will be selected as All-Stars in the future to meet the requirements of the task.
The three players are: Bosh, Iguodala, Chandler.
With Li Xuan's current strength, he won these three heads-up duels very easily, and the harvest is not bad.
The trophies are: skill experience card +30, rebound attribute improvement card +1, strength attribute improvement card +1, skill inside iron gate.
Skill: [Inside Iron Gate]
Level: LV1
Effect: In the restricted area, the ability to resist and interfere is slightly improved.
Li Xuan used the upgrade card to further improve his strength, and kept the skills in the inventory. He really didn't have any extra skill slots to install.
As time went by, the preseason was quickly over.
The Raptors scored 4 wins and 4 losses, and their performance was mediocre.
The industry insiders who had followed the Raptors before were disappointed, thinking that the Raptors were not worth mentioning, and no longer continued to pay attention.
After the preseason ended, all eyes were on the opening game of this season's NBA regular season.
Because the Raptors traded to Li Xuan this summer.
For the sake of the market, David Stern arranged for the Raptors to play the NBA opener without any suspense.
The opponent of the Raptors opener is the defending champion Dallas Mavericks.
This is undoubtedly a very attractive set of duels, and the opening match is imminent!
(End of this chapter)