Chapter 85 I don't want to be stereotyped, I just want to be unique

The next day, the Knicks flew to Philadelphia.

The Digital Team currently has 19 wins and 16 losses, having played three more games than the Knicks, with a winning rate of 54.3%, a little more than five wins than the Knicks, ranking sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Allen Iverson, the team's leader and one of the four great shooting guards, has won the league's scoring title for two consecutive seasons and has entered his peak period.

He is still in great form this season, but he averages four fewer shots per game than last season, so he lags behind McGrady in scoring.

They made it to the finals in 01, but were eliminated in the first round last season, so they traded Dikembe Mutombo to the Nets for power forward Keith Van Horn during the offseason, and they want to make another push this season.

Philadelphia really wants to beat the Knicks, a bottom-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, especially as it is a home game.

In the afternoon, the Digital Team was training. After training for a while, Iverson became too lazy to practice anymore and sat on the sidelines to rest under Larry Brown's rather dissatisfied look.

Osman, the team reporter, came to interview and asked, "Allen, the Knicks have won six games in a row recently, jumping from 11th to 9th in the Eastern Conference. They are in great momentum. Do you think we can beat them tomorrow night?"

Iverson said in a hoarse voice: "Well, I welcome the Knicks to visit Philadelphia. But in tomorrow night's game, I hope we are the winners, and I also believe that we must be the winners."

Osman asked again: "In the five games this month, the Knicks' rookie center Wolverine averaged 26.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, which is an All-Star performance. What do you think of his performance during this period? Do you think he has a chance to become an All-Star level center?"

"Wolverine?"

Iverson had naturally heard of this name. This name has been very popular in the past 20 days, especially after the violent incident involving Conseco half a month ago. There was no one in the league who didn't know this name, and he had no choice but to know it.

"Well, 26.2+9.6? Really?" he asked for confirmation.

Although he knew Wolverine's name and his deeds, he didn't care about this man.

Because this is the NBA, a basketball league, not a fighting league. No matter how good Wolverine is at fighting, it has nothing to do with him.

He wouldn't look down on Wolverine just because he's a good fighter, just like he wouldn't look down on villains like Oakley who are also good fighters.

Because he doesn't care, he doesn't know Wolverine's performance and data.

“Yes, the last five.” Osman nodded.

"Who are the opponents?" he asked.

Osman looked at the information in his hand and said, "He scored 23 points against the Spurs, 67 points against the Pacers in two games, 13 points against the Trail Blazers, and 28 points against the Magic. There are strong teams and weak teams."

Iverson thought for a moment and said, "The Pacers' two-game stats are useless. Their other three-pointers averaged 20 points, right? Not bad.

I heard that he is a person who relies on his talent to play basketball and has no skills. I think such a person’s career will not last long. Once he gets injured, he will…”

At this point, he made a straight-falling motion, then shrugged his shoulders and laughed: "There have been too many people like this in the league over the past few decades."

……

No. 10, Wachovia Center.

This arena, which opened in 96 and can accommodate people, is a symbol of the rise of the digital team, because the answer came to Philadelphia in this year.

After finishing his meal at a restaurant in the arena, He Zhongqiu and his teammates returned to the locker room, where some reporters were waiting outside to interview them.

"Wolverine, the answer is that you are not bad." said Osman, the reporter of the Digital Team.

"Allen Iverson?"

He Zhongqiu knew this name in China. Although CCTV mainly broadcast Jordan's games in those years, after he was released from the juvenile detention center in 2000, the four major shooting guards had become the leading figures in the NBA, and CCTV also often broadcast their games.

"What else did he say?" he asked with interest.

"He said that in the history of the league, there are many people like you who rely on their talents to play, but they have all..."

Having said that, Osman made a falling motion, then smiled without saying anything, just staring at He Zhongqiu to see his reaction.

This sentence is quite complicated, so Philip translated it.

"Do you mean that he ridiculed me?" He Zhongqiu asked indifferently.

"Uh... of course not."

Osman observed He Zhongqiu's expression. Although he wanted to make big news, he didn't want to bring disaster to Iverson and the Digital Team, so he quickly denied it.

"Then tell him that I appreciate his evaluation of me, and I wish him to win the championship this season," said He Zhongqiu.

"you?"

After hearing the second half of the sentence, Osman felt as sick as if he had eaten a piece of shit.

He is a team reporter and knows better than anyone that the Digital Team is obviously not as strong as in the 00/01 season in the past two seasons and does not have the strength to challenge for the championship at all. Wolverine's words are clearly a mockery of Iverson, the vengeful guy.

"I also wish you can make it to the playoffs this season," he said resentfully.

"Three grams of oil, we are working hard." He Zhongqiu laughed.

Osman is very depressed. The Knicks have the mid-range shooting king and the madman on the outside, and with Wolverine on the inside, the lineup has been strengthened. The strength inside and outside the lines is much more balanced than before. With the current momentum, it is really possible to make it to the playoffs.

Back in the locker room, Madman said in a teasing tone: "Wolverine, you better be careful later. The Answer will definitely rush in and attack you desperately. With your current level of defense, he will beat you."

As he listened to Philip's translation, He Zhongqiu's face darkened. After listening, he quickly asked, "Who is responsible for defending him on the outside?"

The madman and the king of CIC looked at each other and shook their heads.

"What do you mean?" He Zhongqiu asked.

Kurt Thomas laughed and said, "Iverson is now playing the No. 2 position, and either Alan or Latrell will defend him, but with Iverson's breakthrough speed, it will be difficult for both."

"We will play a three-two zone tonight, focusing on defending outside breakthrough jump shots, with Latrell defending Iverson." Don Cheney said at this time.

"That guy is really hard to defend."

The madman breathed a sigh of relief. The zone defense was good. He was confident that he could defend Iverson with two people guarding one.

Thibodeau then said to He Zhongqiu: "Wolverine, Iverson's offensive percentage at the basket this season is 28%, and his close-range shots are 7.7%, which adds up to 8.4 shots in the restricted area.

Add in the number of times he drew fouls while dribbling, and he averaged about 13 to 15 times a game.”

He Zhongqiu's scalp felt tingling. With so many breakthroughs, wouldn't the Knicks be riddled with them?

Thibodeau continued: “But his shooting percentage is average, 41.4% this season, 53.7% at the rim, which is not bad, 38% near two points.

If he breaks in, you need to protect the rim and try to force him to shoot outside the reasonable collision zone to reduce his shooting percentage. "

"OK." He nodded.

At this time, Don Cheney said excitedly: "Guys, I hope to beat the Digital Team tonight, so that our winning rate can exceed 50%. As long as the Magic and the Bucks lose tonight, we can rush to the seventh place in the Eastern Conference in one fell swoop."

Thibodeau said: "The Magic's opponent tonight is the Lakers, and the Bucks' opponent is the Pistons. They have almost no hope of winning."

“Seventh in the Eastern Conference.”

All the players were getting excited, after all, everyone wanted to play in the playoffs.

……

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
Digital Team: Derrick Coleman, Kenny Thomas, Keith Van Horn, Allen Iverson, Alex Snow
This game was broadcast live nationwide on TNT by the Digital Team, with the commentators being the duo of Barkley and Kenny Smith.

Many NBA TV broadcasts will invite a guest and three people to provide commentary. Today, the two of them invited their old teammate, super center Hakeem Olajuwon.

Dream retired from the Raptors after the end of last season. He is currently sitting at home, planning to find a second job. Barkley and the others have invited him to be a commentator many times.

The three old teammates sat together in a very good atmosphere. With Barkley's jokes, everyone was laughing and very relaxed.

"Hakeem, who are you looking at tonight?"

After the live broadcast began, Barkley smiled and said a few opening remarks, then asked.

"Neither team has a clear advantage. It depends on their performance on the field. Both teams have chances." Dameng said very maturely and without bias.

Kenny Smith said: “The weakness of the Digital Team lies in its perimeter defense. Everyone knows Iverson’s defense. Van Horn plays as a small forward, and he definitely can’t defend against the madman. That leaves point guard Eric Snow.

In terms of outside offense, Iverson and Van Horn should be able to penetrate the Knicks. One has absolute speed that the opponent can't match, and the other has height on the outside. "

Having said this, he paused and let the other two take over the conversation.

Barkley continued, "Kenny, what you mean is that no one can defend anyone on the outside?" "Yes." Kenny Smith nodded.

Dream then said: "In terms of the interior, Derrick Coleman is 35 years old and can only play minutes per game. Now he is only good at attacking the basket, and his mid-range shooting efficiency is not enough. It is hard to say whether he can beat the Wolverines.

Kenny Thomas, who is 201 cm tall, is not tall enough to play power forward, but Kurt Thomas is pretty good at low-post defense.”

Speaking of Kenny Thomas, he was just traded from Mosaic to the Digital Team this season. When he entered the league in 99, Dream and the other two were still on the Mosaic team, and the three of them were teammates.

Barkley immediately followed up the topic and said: "Kenny Thomas is still good, with solid basic skills, a strong body, and good rebounding, but he can't defend against big men.

But Kurt Thomas is only that tall, so I think Kenny should be fine."

"When you talk about basic skills, I think of Wolverine," Kenny Smith said with a smile.

"Haha, his basic skills are really a mess. Even if no one is defending him, he will make mistakes if he dribbles more than three steps." Barkley joked.

"If we rank the basic skills of all the players in the league, I think Wolverine should be last," Kenny Smith continued to joke.

"Ha ha……"

After saying this, the three of them burst into laughter.

"Ah!"

In the visiting team's locker room, He Zhongqiu, who was practicing dribbling on the spot with a basketball, suddenly sneezed and the ball ran away.

In fact, his dribbling was not so bad before. Last year, when he was 56 meters away, his dribbling level was , which was barely close to the professional level.

This is very good for someone who has no professional training and has played very little. After growing taller, it dropped to level 50.

In today's NBA, the interior defense is very intense, so the basic dribbling skills are not enough, and it is easy to make mistakes when dribbling and attacking.

But no matter what, it is impossible, as Barkley said, that if there is no defender, dribbling more than three steps will result in a turnover.

"Hey, gentlemen, it's time." The staff member pushed the door and shouted.

"Guys, let's go."

Alan Houston immediately stood up and shouted.

Madman and others feel something is strange. Alan Houston has been quite proactive in the locker room recently, and is more like a locker room leader than before. Is this... stimulated by Wolverine?

They were actually happy to see this, because Wolverine often did some brainless things in the locker room, such as being keen on being an instructor, clamoring that the locker room should be managed in a militarized manner, and asking them to learn the five good ethics and four beauties from time to time. This bastard was not a good guy, and Alan Houston was more reliable.

When he arrived at the player tunnel, He Zhongqiu saw the real Iverson for the first time.

“So short!”

This is his first impression.

After coming on the field, the visiting team was booed.

He Zhongqiu has now become accustomed to the boos from away stadiums and has automatically filtered out some of the verbal abuse and uncivilized gestures from away fans.

At eight o'clock, the game started and he and Derrick Coleman jumped the ball.

When Coleman was young, he was extremely talented and could jump and run. He was the first and only person to dunk over a young Shark from the front, but he can't do that anymore.

He has been plagued by injuries and lack of training. His weight has increased from 104 kg in his peak to 125 kg now. He can no longer jump.

There is no one else in the NBA who can jump with a tonnage of 125 kilograms, except O'Neal and He Zhongqiu.

When O'Neal first entered the league, he weighed 125 kilograms and could jump to centimeters.

The Knicks attacked, He Zhongqiu entered the basket, Coleman did not defend him head on, but went around him and defended from the side.

But Coleman did not defend, he started to exert his strength, using his right elbow to push the opponent out of the reasonable collision zone, and he occupied the basket alone.

"Damn rookie!"

Coleman cursed inwardly, he didn't dare to fight back because he had serious injuries on his ankles, knees and thighs.

Ellis was holding the ball at the top of the arc, and Iverson was defending him. The Digital Team also played a three-two zone defense, and Snow rushed over on the right wing.

He broke through, took a step back, and then lobbed the ball towards the basket.

Under the basket, He Zhongqiu soared into the sky and grabbed the basketball with one hand.

"boom!"

The next moment, a one-handed slam dunk was followed by an extremely powerful sound of the basket exploding.

"alley-oop!"

Barkley shouted excitedly.

"Derrick Coleman can only watch the show from outside. He should have fouled. I heard that Wolverine's free throws are not as good as O'Neal." Dream shook his head.

Kenny Smith said: "The Wolverines and the outside air-oop show will happen at least twice a game. If the Knicks can find a point guard who is good at passing, such as Payton, Nash, and Kidd, this data will definitely increase significantly."

The Numbers offense was led by point guard Eric Snow.

Iverson is too fast. When he plays as a point guard, he can't control himself at all. He often plays against five players alone, and the team's tactics cannot be implemented at all.

Snow is Larry Brown's speed controller for Iverson. Many point guards who worked with Iverson could not gain his trust, but only Snow gained his trust, and he could make Iverson feel at ease playing as a shooting guard.

In 01, the Lakers defeated the Digital Team - in the finals to win the championship. Afterwards, Lakers assistant coach Winters said:
When Larry Brown controlled Iverson's personality performance, the Digital Team was very close to the championship. When Iverson was out of Larry Brown's control, he and his team were nothing.

When these words reached the ears of the strong-willed Iverson, things changed and the conflict between him and Larry Brown became increasingly serious.

Larry Brown himself was very dissatisfied with Iverson's attitude towards training and often complained in front of the media, which angered Iverson.

According to a media reporter, in a recent interview, Iverson lost his mind and cursed Larry Brown 22 times.

In other words, the relationship between Allen Iverson and Larry Brown is now incompatible, and they are just about to go their separate ways.

Therefore, when the offense and defense changed, Iverson no longer took over the ball after Snow pushed it to the frontcourt as he did before. Instead, he took over the ball in the backcourt and then rushed to the frontcourt like a wild horse.

He Zhongqiu's speed is level 70, which is faster than Kurt Thomas. When he returned to defense from the middle and crossed the center line, he had already surpassed Kurt Thomas and Van Horn who were returning to defense from the left wing.

Iverson broke into the restricted area from the left elbow area. Ellis was already one step behind, and He Zhongqiu rushed in from the top of the arc.

After receiving the ball, Iverson took two more steps and made a layup.

"Snapped!"

He Zhongqiu jumped up from behind, and his left hand was like an eagle's claw. He pressed the ball directly on the backboard, and grabbed the ball with his five fingers.

"Oh!"

The whole audience exclaimed in surprise.

"A block shot. Wolverine chased from the frontcourt to the backcourt and blocked the shot." Kenny Smith shouted excitedly.

Barkley laughed strangely: "Oh, look at his hands, the ball is so pitiful, it's almost broken by him. If it were someone else... who could stand it?"

"What was changed?" Da Meng asked curiously.

"Ha ha……"

Barkley and Kenny Smith laughed but avoided talking about it.

Ellis took the basketball and immediately started a counterattack. Finally, the madman drove the ball to the basket and made a fast break.

"Allen, let Eric have the ball."

On the sidelines, Larry Brown shouted in annoyance.

Iverson has complicated feelings towards Larry Brown. To him, Coach Brown is like a father, but too strict. He doesn't like Coach Brown's coaching style.

Coach Brown wanted to pattern him, make a mold, squeeze him into it, and cut off all the excess.

He can't stand this, it will make him lose his individuality, which is fatal to him, what he wants to do is to be unique.

(End of this chapter)