manynovel Chapter 1136 The League is good at pulling off some crazy things, the new season begins!
Chapter 1136 The League is good at pulling off some crazy things, the new season begins!
"Look, the schedule is out!"
In early October, training camps for all teams were proceeding smoothly. In addition to more than ten players with formal contracts, the Lakers also gathered about ten players with non-guaranteed contracts, bringing the total number of players to more than 20 to train like crazy in the training camp.
Players with contracts hope their teams can defend their titles and rebuild their dynasties, while players without formal contracts are giving their all in the hope of staying with their teams.
As the defending champions, the Lakers have a pretty good training atmosphere.
Especially with an absolute king like Lin Tian in the league, no one on the team dares to be a troublemaker.
Who wouldn't dare do something like that if they're not ready to live?
On this day, just after everyone finished training and were resting in small groups on the floor and chairs, Durant excitedly walked towards them with a large sheet of paper covered in writing.
With the release of the NBA's new regular season schedule, regardless of the team's goals or team atmosphere, players always get excited and gather together to discuss it at this time of year.
They discussed their own schedules, who they would play in the opening game, whether there would be a Christmas game, how many back-to-back games there would be, and which day they would be playing an away game in a city they were particularly interested in, and so on.
Of course, we'll also discuss the schedules of the opponents we care about.
When you see someone you dislike having a terrible schedule with many back-to-back games, you can't help but feel genuinely happy.
"Sixteen back-to-back games, the fewest in the league." Durant, who had clearly already glanced at the team's schedule, said happily, "This is the perk of being a defending champion!"
"But look at our opponents in back-to-back games!" Kobe said sternly. "Of our 16 opponents in the second game of back-to-back games, 12 made the playoffs last season. That's a 75% probability, the highest in the entire league!"
"Looking at it this way, our back-to-back games are anything but easy; we'll face an even stronger opponent in the second game."
"And don't forget," Lin Tian continued, "there's the Grammys in January. We need to go out and play a nine-game road trip in 15 days. Nine away games in 15 days, including three back-to-back games, will definitely be the most hellish and nightmarish two weeks in the entire league."
"Well, apart from the Clippers, no other team has such a terrifying schedule."
"So, do you still think our schedule is easy?"
"Ah." Durant's happy smile vanished instantly. "What should we do?"
"What to do?" Lin Tian said with a smile, "Whoever comes to kill whom, that's it! What else can we do?"
"The tougher the schedule, the more exhilarating it will be when we win!" Kobe followed up, "This year, we're number one in the league, and the championship is ours too!"
"That's not what you said on Media Day," Lin Tian immediately exposed Kobe: "On Media Day you said the regular season championship wasn't important, only the NBA championship mattered."
"Who wants to fight me one-on-one?" Kobe, as always, chose to ignore Lin Tian's provocation.
They've been on the same team for a year now. Even if Kobe is still a honey badger and likes to challenge Lin Tian, he's already learned his lesson.
He's just stubborn, but not a masochist.
I don't know when it started, but Kobe has developed a completely new habit.
If Lin Tian bullies him, he will randomly pick a lucky teammate to bully.
No matter how much Kobe suffered at Lin Tian's hands, he would always find a lucky teammate to vent his anger on him.
"The opening game is against the Celtics?" After discussing the back-to-back games and the difficulty of the schedule, Lin Tian immediately discovered the most exciting point.
The Lakers and the Celtics have been rivals since the league's inception, going back and forth with each other for countless years.
Before the 70s, the Lakers were dominated by the Celtics, losing every Finals matchup. It wasn't until Magic Johnson joined the team that the Lakers gradually turned the tide and stopped being so badly beaten by the Celtics.
After Magic Johnson and Larry Bird retired, both teams consistently assembled top-tier rosters and remained championship contenders. However, for over 20 years after the 90s, each team only won one championship.
Well, the culprit is, of course, Lin Tian.
He himself has lost count of how many times he and his team have defeated the Celtics and Lakers in the playoffs.
Anyway, Lin Tian felt that he would beat up these two teams every now and then.
The Lakers, in particular, were thoroughly thrashed by Lin Tian in the Finals, earning them the title of "the team that has lost to Lin Tian the most times in the Finals".
Fortunately, the feud between Lin Tian and the Lakers has come to a satisfactory end.
Lakers: How are you going to pay me back for what you owe me here?!
Lin Tian: I'll pay with the championship!
Regardless of whether the Lakers and Celtics have met in the Finals in the past 20 years, or whether they have become the focus of public opinion and the team that fans pay the most attention to.
Whenever the Lakers and the Celtics face off, whether it's the regular season or the Finals, whether they're lottery teams, playoff teams, or top teams, it's guaranteed to attract a huge amount of fan attention and high viewership.
And this time, of course, is no exception!
The Lakers had just won the championship, and then they brought the Celtics to the frontcourt to watch the Lakers raise their championship banner.
This is something that Los Angeles residents find absolutely wonderful.
This is definitely a minotaur moment exclusive to Los Angeles residents.
The purest joy!
For the Celtics, if other teams raise their championship banners, that's fine too, but for the Lakers?
The players on the team would probably want to tear the Lakers' championship banner to shreds.
What's even more interesting is that the Celtics just acquired LeBron James, who lost to the Lakers in last year's Finals, finishing as runner-up.
The team just acquired veteran Garnett with a multi-million dollar annual salary, but he lost to the Lakers in the first round last year.
Not to mention the painful experiences of Duncan and others losing to Lin Tian multiple times in the playoffs.
It's definitely a mix of old and new grudges.
"It's not just the opening game," Lin Tian said, looking at the schedule. "We're going to Boston for Christmas, and I think we're going to have an unforgettable Christmas."
"Let's beat them as soon as possible, then we can go back to Los Angeles and spend Christmas with our families!" Kobe scoffed. "I hate playing away games on Christmas! They're just unlucky."
The Lakers' opening game against the Celtics and the Christmas Day game are definitely the two games that the Lakers players are most concerned about.
With various old and new grudges, plus the fact that the two teams were ranked first and second in the championship odds before the start of the season, this opening game and Christmas Day game was destined to attract extra attention.
"Alright, get back to training." After the players discussed for a while, Jackson walked over with a smile, clapped his hands, and said, "Now, let's give the Celtics a surprise! Let's make their newly formed team a joke!"
"Give them a good blow!"
The players raised their hands and cheered, and the Lakers' team atmosphere was as good as ever.
"We have to play the Lakers in the opening game." At the same time in Boston, James looked at the schedule his teammates handed him and couldn't help but sigh.
"We have to play against them eventually." Duncan was quite calm: "It doesn't make much difference whether we play them sooner or later."
"But we're not in top form right now," James said, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness. "Kevin won't be back until early December."
"No problem," Parker said. "We're all gathered here to give the Lakers a run for their money and make our way to the championship, right? So whether we have our full roster or not, we don't need to be afraid of them!"
……
New Jersey.
"Anthony isn't even in the Christmas Day game," Irving said, sitting in the center of the crowd with an air of superiority. "They're insulting you! Last year, when you weren't here, we still played in the Christmas Day game!"
"Let the league know they're wrong, let them know they're incredibly stupid!" Davis, his eyebrows joined together, waved his arms and shouted, "We're making the playoffs this year!"
"Great! We're in the playoffs!" Irving exclaimed, raising his arm. "We've had enough of this lottery game!"
Miami.
"When are we playing the Lakers?" Curry peered out from behind Cousins, but Cousins, oblivious to the fact that his height was blocking his teammates' view, simply replied, "We'll be playing the Mavericks in December."
"That bastard Michael trash-talked us a lot when he left, I'm going to teach him a lesson! Joe, you're going up against Michael, beat him to a pulp!"
Cousins is absolutely straightforward, and he has taken to heart all of Beasley's comments after he left. At this moment, Beasley is no different from his number one mortal enemy in his heart, and he must make him know what the consequences of being an ingrate.
"When do we play the Lakers?" Curry changed direction, trying to squeeze to the front to see the specific schedule.
Unfortunately, while they lack Cousins's robust and tall physique, they do have two forwards, Klay Thompson and Jason, working together.
"We have to play the Cavaliers and the Celtics in the first week of the season," Klay said worriedly. "This schedule is too unfriendly."
"Especially for the two of us, we'll be going up against James, Wade, and Anthony one after another," Jason sighed. "The pressure is immense. If we don't play well, I'll probably get booed by our fans."
"Not really," Clay said. "Our Miami fans are pretty enthusiastic, friendly, and very patient. The impatient one is our president. If we don't play well in these two games, Mr. Riley might really lose his temper."
"Fortunately, I never gave up on my defense, and I think I've improved quite a bit." Jason thought of Riley's godfather-like coldness and couldn't help but shudder.
"I practiced defense all summer too!" Klay laughed. "You weren't there last season, so you wouldn't know. Let me tell you, after last season ended, Mr. Riley practically grabbed me by the hair and called me a useless piece of trash."
He said his grandma could defend ten times better than me even with her eyes closed and one leg, and ordered me to practice my defense during the offseason.
"That's terrifying."
As Clay spoke, he shuddered with lingering fear, showing how genuinely terrified he was.
"Hey, when are we actually going to play the Lakers?" Curry's voice was once again drowned out by the murmur of the crowd...
"We'd better step up our game this year!" Wade stood in the center of the crowd in Cleveland, waving the schedule in his hand. "The East is much stronger this year than last year! Our opponents won't be plagued by injuries and infighting all the time, and our luck can't stay that good forever."
"This year, we must show our momentum and determination from the very beginning."
"First place in the East! Home-court advantage! These are things we're aiming for this year! Starting from week one! From week one, we'll go all out and seize the advantage!"
"Give it your all!" Anthony shouted, waving his arms beside him.
"For Z!" Gasol hugged Ilgauskas, who was still training with the team beside him, and shouted, "Z deserves a championship ring! He has given so much for us."
In Dallas, Howard clapped his hands loudly, gathering his teammates around him and drawing everyone's attention. He shouted, "Last year, Dallas fell short! They failed to make it to the Finals!"
"But this year, I'm back! We're back with a fresh start, and this year, we've won the championship!"
"I will lead you to countless victories, I will teach you how to win championships!"
As Howard roared, a sparse round of applause broke out in the arena. Howard frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the players' reaction.
"Dwight is right!" said another new recruit, Beasley. "I will take responsibility, I will not let you down, I will not let the team down! I know the team brought me in to fill the void left by James."
"I will prove that I am completely different from that coward who ran away after losing the game. I will bring my experience of leading the team in Miami here. I will continue to take on the responsibility of leadership. I will lead everyone together with Dwight."
"Let's go for the championship together!"
"Is this really going to work?" In the coach's office on the second floor, Nowitzki, who had just come out of Jason's office, couldn't help but frown. These few words were enough to prove the current atmosphere of the Mavericks.
Absolutely terrible.
The two new signings only thought about seizing power and becoming the leader, completely disregarding themselves as the team's soul for the past 10 years, while the team's role players responded in a scattered and inattentive manner.
This Mavericks team never seemed to be playing together from the start.
"Hopefully," Jason sighed. "I suggested that we shouldn't have Howard; he's a troublemaker, a disruptive element, and he'll affect our team chemistry. But the boss just wants big names, top stars, and he won't take my advice."
"Not only did he not adopt it, he went even further. I suspect that he may have reviewed elementary school math during the off-season and suddenly understood what it means for two negatives to make a positive."
"Then he suddenly brought in two troublemakers, two beasts who couldn't stay in their previous teams, whose positions were insecure, who were eliminated or abandoned—two of them! FUXX!"
……
"Let's all work hard this year." In Charlotte, Jordan looked at the players scattered around the team, and all his original bold words and morale-boosting speech were swallowed back down.
It's meaningless now.
The team's championship two years ago seemed to have exhausted all of Charlotte's luck, and since then, the Bobcats have been plagued by a crazy wave of injuries.
Last season, neither Rose nor Yao Ming played in the playoffs, as they were sidelined for the rest of the season early on.
This season, Rose is still in an 'indefinite absence' state, and no one knows when he will be able to return. The team doctor has long stated that they should be prepared for the entire season without Rose.
Yao Ming finally listened to the rules this year and didn't play in any FIBA games during the offseason, but injuries didn't spare him. He fractured his toe and will have to rest until at least January.
But that's not all.
Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer, two of the team's key players, were also absent from training camp.
Both of them also suffered injuries, although not serious. But in the Bobcats' current precarious situation, a series of injuries can easily lead to despair, and even make people wonder if the team is cursed by some ancient, mysterious force.
Otherwise, why are there so many injuries? Why is it so tragic?
At the start of last season, Jordan's goal was to win back-to-back championships. He felt that the lineup he had assembled... well, the lineup Lin Tian had built had the makings of a dynasty.
By this season, Jordan had even prepared for the possibility that the team would fail to make the playoffs and fall into the lottery again.
The wave of injuries is truly terrifying.
Jordan was so engrossed in studying the Bobcats' schedule for the new season that he didn't even bother to look at it.
Not important anymore.
The current Bobcats are probably just feeding the enemy team no matter who they play against.
Various scenarios unfolded in different training facilities and cities across the league, with players from each team taking this opportunity to demonstrate their determination and express their ambitions for the season to their teammates and in front of reporters.
As for how many people will be able to keep their word and achieve their goals and boasts from the beginning of the season, we'll only know at the end of the season.
Of course, the announcement of the new season's schedule was just a side event. During each team's month-long training camp, the impact of this event was at most a few tens of minutes of discussion for each team.
Then, continue training and continue competing!
The new season is just around the corner!
Of course, before the regular season begins, each team has to play their preseason games.
The Lakers are no exception. Because of their high popularity, the team has many All-Star players, and Lin Tian, the league's top player and face of the league, the Lakers were sent to China by the league this year to participate in the annual NBA China Games.
And Stern once again demonstrated his good habit of saving money. This time, the team that went to play the preseason games with the Lakers was the Sacramento Kings, a well-known weak team in the league with the fewest fans and the fewest big-name players.
The main point is that you have a lot of star players on your Lakers team, so pairing you with another strong team to play against would be a waste.
The other strong teams can simply go to Europe for some intense competition, or go to places like South America to gain some box office revenue and attention.
Anyway, with you, Lin Tian, in the Huaxia Tournament, whoever else goes will just be playing a supporting role to you, right?
Anyway, the fans are here to see you; who your opponent is doesn't matter at all.
The Lakers themselves certainly wouldn't do anything like complaining that their preseason opponents were too weak or that the Kings weren't good enough to play preseason games with them in China. They'd love to play a few more weak teams in the preseason so they can have an easy time.
Anyway, it's just the preseason.
Soon, as time flew by, training camp ended, and the players enjoyed their final rest before the season began. Then, the teams assembled, and the preseason games commenced! (End of Chapter)