Chapter 717
Chapter 717
The riots in Los Angeles do affect the hearts of countless people, but for the fans, the game is what they pay more attention to.
The Warriors were unexpectedly upset, and their exit in the first round was indeed the biggest upset in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, the biggest upset was the Knicks' 3:2 defeat of the Pistons.
In fact, this is not a surprise for the strength of the two teams this season. The strength of the two teams has been reversed this season.
Compared with the problematic Pistons, the Knicks have returned to the ranks of strong teams this season. The biggest contributor to this is the new coach Pat Riley.
After conflicting with the entire Lakers team, Riley left for Los Angeles. After a year of rest, he was invited back by the Knicks.
Although Riley has many problems, his coaching ability is definitely one of the best in the league, and he lives up to his title of "magic fortune teller".
In addition to Riley, the Knicks also have a new aid this season, that is, John Starks who added the old Warriors Buff.
Last season, Starks and the Warriors only signed a "1+1" contract, but faced with team options this season, the Warriors finally chose to give up the implementation.
Originally, it wasn't that Starks was not strong enough personally, but that he didn't get along well with his teammates, and he didn't integrate into the team for a whole season, which made the locker room a mess.
In the end, Frank made a decision and resolutely gave up Starks' remaining one-year contract. The reason why he did not choose to trade was mainly because Starks' performance this year was not outstanding, and it was even a side effect. , no team is interested at all.
This can be regarded as one of the few loss-making deals for Frank.
After being kicked out by the Warriors in the summer, after some interviews, Starks was finally spotted by Riley, who had just taken office, and took him under his command.
And Starks is also very competitive. This season, he served as the Knicks' No. 15.1 position, averaging [-] points per game, becoming the team's No. [-] scorer.
In addition, Ewing, as the core of the team, also continued to show his own superstar demeanor. It can be said that the reason why the Pistons lost in this round of the series was because of Ewing. Limit Ewing's performance.
As the core of the interior defense, Lambiel is 35 years old at this time, and he cannot compare with Ewing in terms of body and energy. Coupled with Mahon's departure, no one in the Pistons' interior can help Lambiel.
Even the Knicks, who are playing dirty, are completely worthy because of Oakley.
Most of the other series ended with strong teams 3:0, 3:1, and there were no series that looked intense.
Although the Lakers barely made it to the playoffs, they had no chance of winning against the Jazz. Such a traditionally strong team also followed in the footsteps of the Warriors and Pistons, and was eventually eliminated in the first round.
In this way, the teams that entered the second round, East: Bulls vs. Knicks, Cavaliers vs. Celtics, West: Trail Blazers vs. Spurs, Jazz vs. Sonics.
The entire second round has officially started, and it has already arrived in May.
On the university campus in May, with the end of this year's NCAA competition, the gymnasiums of various universities suddenly became quieter, but Stanford's university was different. Unshakable, the sound of slapping a basketball will sound on time.
Hu Weidong has been playing at Stanford University for a year. From distrust at the beginning to admiration later, it can be said that Hu Weidong spent a year not only conquering Stanford teammates, but also conquering Stanford University. Inside, alumni watching the game.
In particular, coach Montgomery thanked Li Weisi for his recommendation. At the beginning, he thought that Hu came in through the back door through Li Weisi, but soon Montgomery trained Hu as Li Weisi's second.
Of course, Hu is not Li. Let alone how big the gap is between the two, there is a big difference in the style of play alone.
Compared with Li Weisi, Hu's style of play is more like Jordan.
With Hu Weidong's performance, Stanford finally entered the top 32 of the NCAA again this year. Unfortunately, in the process of advancing from 32 to 16, it lost to the University of Louisiana led by O'Neill.
However, this made Montgomery very happy. Now he just regrets that Hu should not have come to Stanford so late. He is already 22 years old and he is too old. This is more conducive to his progress.
Finally, after Hu Weidong finished his last shooting practice, Montgomery came to Hu Weidong's side and said, "Take a rest, the current training will not be of great help to you to participate in the NBA trial training."
"Okay, coach, thank you!" Hu respected Coach Montgomery very much, and immediately stopped what he was doing, listening to the teachings humbly.
"Don't be so polite, you are too polite, that guy like West has never been so polite to me, let's go to the sidelines and talk!" Montgomery pointed to the chairs on the sidelines, and then walked over with Hu Weidong, sat down.
"West will he disrespect you?" Hu Weidong was surprised when he heard Montgomery's words.
"No, no, no, I'm just being rude, not disrespectful, although sometimes I feel that he will despise my IQ, but this is more like a joke among friends." Montgomery smiled, and first explained to Hu Weidong After a while, he continued: "To be honest, I like you very much, even better than I like West. Unfortunately, I can't keep you in school. I think it's a chance for you to participate in the NBA draft. Take good care of it!"
"Actually, coach, I think I still have a lot of shortcomings, and I'm really not ready to play in the NBA." Hu Weidong felt a little self-confident.
"Nobody enters the draft ready for everything, West wasn't, Jordan wasn't, and you certainly weren't. But you gotta have faith in you, honestly, compared to the rest of your countrymen, I bet , if there is really a Chinese person who can be selected this year, it must be you."
Hearing Montgomery's words, Hu Weidong subconsciously said modestly: "Why? My other teammates are also very good!"
"The difference is too far. Except for that Gong who has a slight possibility in terms of talent, the others are almost completely impossible." Montgomery said firmly.
In fact, although Montgomery's words were somewhat direct, they were all telling the truth.
Last year, after layers of selection, there were 5 young players who finally went to Milan. In addition to Hu Weidong who came to Stanford, Gong Xiaobin went to UCLA, Sun Jun went to Tulane University, and Shan Tao went to the University of Colorado.
As for Ma Jian, who is the weakest, at first he wanted to go to Wake Forest, but unfortunately he didn’t want it. Later, unexpectedly, he was valued by the coach of the University of Utah, Rick Majors, and finally successfully entered the University of Utah.
However, in the team, they can only be used as the starting lineup, and there is no one like Hu Weidong who is used as the core.
Just as Montgomery was about to continue persuading Hu Weidong, suddenly there was a burst of cheers from outside the gymnasium, and the sound resounded through the sky, startling both of them.
(End of this chapter)