Chapter 22 The First Battle (please follow up)
Compared with the Cavaliers, it is obvious that the game against the Lakers is the real focus, otherwise the league would not have arranged a game between the two teams on the first day of the season.

Before James and Zheng Yang grew up, their confrontation was more like children playing house.

But if you really want to see something exciting, you have to watch the high-definition and uncensored four-star Mavericks vs. Lakers F4.

However, due to off-court incidents, Kobe will miss this game, which makes this game less interesting.

On the evening of October 10, the Staples Center was filled with fans. Before going on the court, O'Neal, who was a little fatter than last season, glanced at the stands and saw that there were fewer fans wearing No. 28 jerseys, which made him feel immediately relieved.

To be honest, facing this incident with Kobe, his mood is very complicated. On the one hand, he does not want such a thing to happen. After all, the team will also face great pressure and the atmosphere in the locker room will also be a problem.

But on the other hand, when he felt the fans' attention was focused on him again, he was secretly delighted.

Little brother, you still want to snatch the position of boss from me!
Just wait!

The shark isn't too old to swim!

Of course, he never told anyone about this joy, but savored it alone every late night.

Malone and Payton didn't have as many ideas as he did. These two veterans who had just come to Los Angeles to play had only one thought in their minds, which was that it was really fun to play here.

It hasn’t been long since they arrived, but the exposure and endorsements they have received are more than in the previous two or three years combined.

It’s still better to have a big ball market!
If they could win a championship here, even if it was the third or fourth championship, the profit behind it would be enough for them to make a fortune before retiring.

It's really a double blessing to be able to fulfill the dream of winning the championship and make a fortune at the same time.

As for today's enemies, they didn't take them seriously at all.

Who are they?

The superstars in the league, when they were becoming famous in the NBA, those little kids were still watching them play.

Don’t listen to the media bragging about the four-star Mavericks. In Payton’s opinion, Nash is too thin, Nowitzki is too young, Finley is too slow, and Walker is too weak. These four people are not to be feared!
"Hey Payton, there's a rookie on the other side. I've seen him in the newspapers every day recently, and the media even said that he can enter the Hall of Fame with his eyes closed in the future.

Why don't you teach him a lesson?"

Fisher, the old fish who loves to watch fun, started to make trouble. Payton himself is a proud and arrogant person, and he immediately became unhappy when he heard this.

"That kid better pray he doesn't touch me, or he'll cry and tell the media he stole my basketball."

"Hahaha, I want to treat him to an iron elbow!"

Ma Long followed up by waving his big iron elbow in a show of force, saying how many heroes had been defeated by his iron elbow.

O'Neal glanced at Payton. To be honest, he didn't like this guy very much. Old Buss had lied to him. He said he would find him another helper, but he only found a guy who was older than his grandmother.

Can he help the team win?

The Sharks don't think so.

He just wanted to snatch a championship, but he always liked to point fingers at himself and fight for the right to speak in the locker room. He didn't respect himself at all.

If it weren't for the championship, the Sharks would really want to kick this guy in the ass.

On the sidelines, ESPN reporter Erin Angelus began reporting the game to the camera.

"As we all know, the Lakers and Mavericks are the two teams with the biggest moves in the league this offseason.

They called in Malone and Payton, and also called in Walker. Their goal was to win the championship.

In the absence of Kobe, both sides are still full of highlights.

As the first game of the season, who will get off to a good start? Let's wait and see."

With a whistle, today's game officially began.

The Mavericks sent out the same starting lineup from the previous preseason, with four-star Mavericks and Zheng Yang.

The Lakers have Payton, Fisher, Devin George, O'Neal, and Malone.

O'Neal, who is 2 meters tall, easily caught the ball in the jump ball. Feeling the vibration from the floor when he landed on the ground, Zheng Yang couldn't help but sigh that this guy's knees were really strong.

NBA is a sport for tall people, but the taller you are, the less likely you are to play better. Tall people are not only slow, but also very prone to injury.

The reason is that their knees cannot bear their weight and they are easily out for the season.

But the Big Shark is simply an outlier. He is 2 meters tall and weighs nearly 16 kilograms, but he can still run and jump. No wonder the league has to use the "Hack-a-Shaq Tactics", otherwise who can stop him?

After Payton grabbed the basketball, he dribbled across half court, but he did not launch an attack rashly. Instead, he waited for his teammates to get into position.

He had to admit that the aging of his team was indeed more serious and they could not compete with the opponent in offense. He should slow down the pace of the game and slowly grind out the position.

The Shark pushed his butt into the paint and directly pushed Nowitzki away. Seeing this, Payton threw the ball out, preparing to let O'Neal play one-on-one in the paint.

This is the Lakers' most effective tactic.

The person defending Payton was Nash, but with his height and wingspan, he was unable to intercept the pass.

Just as O'Neal was about to receive the ball and play a one-on-one game, an accident occurred. A figure suddenly attacked from the wing, jumped high, and snatched the ball away before O'Neal received it.

Then the figure began to dribble towards the opponent's basket.

Payton cursed "shit" and quickly returned to defense.

But how could the 36-year-old Payton possibly catch up with a young man who was only half his age?

Payton was a little dazed when he saw the young man in the No. 19 jersey making a windmill dunk with just a light leap.

Time flies by, and the 36-year-old Payton seems to see himself in his youth. At that time, he was just like now, standing aside and watching others dunking windmills in front of him.

2: 0!

Zheng Yang scored the first two points of his NBA career with a steal and a windmill dunk that showed off his physical talents.

It’s a pity that this is not at the Mavericks’ home court, otherwise the fans would definitely give warm applause to this perfect goal.

When Zheng Yang was about to return to defense, Payton, who was following behind him, deliberately bumped him with his shoulder as a provocation.

Payton is a jerk, even more so on the court. He will use all kinds of behaviors to provoke his opponents, including trash talk, small movements, and collisions like this.

He doesn't care what the fans think of him, and he doesn't care how much other players hate him, that's just how he is!

He has lived a bastard life since he was a child, and he is willing to become a bastard when he grows up!
When Zheng Yang was not angered, he just smiled and licked his lips.

"Hey Payton, your glove is leaking, you're getting too old to keep up with me, retire now!

You will never win a championship in your life!"

It’s just about changing the opponent’s mentality. He can do it too!

"Get lost! When you were still drinking milk, I was already an NBA superstar."

Payton passed the ball to George who received it, then followed Zheng Yang and shouted unhappily.

I have to say, Zheng Yang's trash talk really hit Payton's soft spot.

Age is Payton's number one enemy. No matter how glorious he was before, he has to admit that he is getting old and he can no longer keep up with these young people!
Zheng Yang burst into laughter.

“Yes, I’ve seen you being hung up and beaten by Michael since I was a child.

How many championships does he have? Six!

What about you? Haha, I can't remember clearly, Peyton, can you tell me?"

Anyone who played basketball in the 90s has been abused by Jordan, so using him as a comparison is absolutely heartbreaking. Sure enough, Payton began to grit his teeth in anger!
"Be quiet."

The referee on the sidelines shouted at them that if they didn't stop the two of them, a conflict would definitely break out.

Payton stopped talking trash, but he definitely won't stop.

He is not even afraid of God, so how could he be stepped on and shit on by a rookie?

This offense was still led by Payton, and he still chose to pass the ball to O'Neal. This time he was much more careful and did not let Zheng Yang steal the ball again.

O'Neal got the ball and pushed it with his butt. Nowitzki immediately took two steps back. The former jumped up and dunked the ball directly. The basket seemed to be shaky under his rage.

"This is Shaq!"

O'Neal shouted loudly. In 03, O'Neal's physical talent did not show any obvious decline. He was still the omnipotent big shark.

No matter who it is, it is impossible to stop him in the interior.

The reason why Nowitzki is called a "softie" is not only because of his playing style, but also because of his personality.

He is not like Payton, who is vindictive. After being hit by the opponent's star player, he will not take the initiative to ask for the ball and play an answer ball.

He only knows how to follow the tactics and execute the orders given by the coach.

Under Payton's close defense, Nash didn't find a good offensive opportunity, so after getting a screen, he passed the ball to Fat Monk in the left corner.

After receiving the ball, this guy actually took two steps outside and shot a three-pointer at the three-point line.

Don’t ask this guy why he likes shooting three-pointers so much. The answer is “there is no four-point shot in the league.”

The basketball hit the basket and bounced out. O'Neal and Nowitzki in the inside couldn't touch it at all. Malone's position was just right, but Zheng Yang had blocked his position in advance and grabbed the frontcourt rebound in front of him.

The talent that Zheng Yang has always shown to the world is his physical fitness and soft touch, but don't forget that he also has a talent, which is Rodman's rebounding sense.

Who is Rodman?

With a height of 2.01 meters, he ranked first in the league in rebounding for seven consecutive years, surpassing the top four centers.

Payton once had a famous trash talk: "I can drive a Ferrari just by defending."

The same can be said of "The Worm": "I can drive a Ferrari just by grabbing rebounds."

Then how did he get so many rebounds?
In addition to his guard-like jumping ability, he also has a strong sense of rebounding.

This is a kind of talent that is hard to explain, but this talent can help you judge whether the ball can go in and where it will fly after it misses.

With this time difference, you can get into position in advance and grab rebounds.

When Zheng Yang was in high school, the scouts didn't pay much attention to his talent. He had a lot of rebounds at that time, but people always thought it was because his height and physical fitness crushed his peers.

It was not until he entered the NBA, a league full of tall players, that people discovered that Zheng Yang was still able to grab rebounds. This was the first time that people realized that the almost perfect rookie actually had some shining points.

"Oh my god, he is like something God created himself, he is so perfect!"

In the studio, Barkley, dressed in a suit and tie, noticed this advantage of Zheng Yang and said it exaggeratedly.

Although Kenny Smith was very sad in his heart, as an excellent "actor", he still had to play his role well.

So he said "disdainfully".

"If it was LeBron, he could have grabbed that rebound, I mean LeBron is the real genius, he can do everything that Zheng can do.

But the reverse is not necessarily true.”

Zheng Yang, who grabbed the offensive rebound, was blocking Malone behind him, with his body facing the basket.

The shark was right in front of him.

But Zheng Yang did not back down. He had long wanted to taste what shark meat tasted like.

He took a step forward and then jumped.

Malone was furious when a rebound was snatched away by a dwarf. He followed closely behind him and prepared to give him a hot pot that Malone had made himself.

O'Neal in front of him also felt provoked. You are a rookie, and you dare to play in the Sharks' penalty area?
Then let you taste the power of sharks!
He also jumped high, and at this moment Malone responded to him.

Two giants as strong as mountains, two NBA Hall of Fame players, are now sandwiching a rookie from the front and back, a rookie who is playing in the regular season for the first time.

If this ball goes in, this scene will definitely become a world-famous painting!
Can this ball go in?
The entire audience, everyone in front of the TV, now focused their attention on Zheng Yang.

He was seen jumping into the air, holding the basketball in his hands, as if he was going to dunk. But a shark that had fully jumped was not someone to be trifled with. Could a rookie dunk over him?
Just as the shark was about to slap the basketball, Zheng Yang retracted his hand. He did not choose to dunk, but to pull up.

Zheng Yang, who has extremely strong waist and abdominal strength, is able to perform all the movements that his predecessors have been able to do in the air without any support.

He has historical physical talent, but what makes him better than James is his flexibility and toughness.

This can be felt from the sensory experience. No matter what movements James makes when playing, there is a sense of heaviness, while Zheng Yang is very smooth.

This flexibility allows him to do movements such as pull-ups with greater ease.

So at this moment he was like a dancer in the air. The basketball flew out from under the Shark's armpit, hit the backboard, and bounced into the basket.

Malone behind him bumped into him, causing him to fall to the ground. The referee did not miss such an obvious foul and blew the whistle immediately afterwards.

It's a two plus one!

"Kenny, did you see that? He was dancing in the air just now. O'Neal and Malone couldn't defend him at all. He just entered the league and he has already adapted to the rhythm here.

Believe me, that shot will become a youth memory for countless fans.”

Barkley shouted in the studio, and Kenny Smith, who was sitting opposite him, was equally stunned.

Is this really a rookie?

How could a rookie score a two-plus-one so naturally with Malone and O'Neal blocking him?

Isn't this really God playing?
After a long silence, he said stubbornly.

"James...can also..."

But no one cared about his words anymore. The world-famous painting that Zheng Yang had just painted was being replayed on the big screen. Countless children in front of the TV remembered the name of No. 19 for the first time. His name was Zheng, and he was from the Mavericks!

Some people are even so excited that they have started simulating the pull rod in front of the TV!

Zheng Yang, who fell to the ground, was pulled up by Nash and Fat Monk. The latter was even more excited than him and bumped his chest against him, which is a common celebration action in the league.

“They can’t defend you!
You are awesome bro, was that God wearing number 19 just now? "

The fat monk shouted loudly, and Zheng Yang, who couldn't think of any celebration action for a moment, suddenly felt that the fat monk was much more pleasing to the eye.

No wonder those basketball stars like to have followers. At times like this, they don’t even need to say anything, and there will be people helping them to act cool.

It’s really good!

O'Neal and Malone both looked a little embarrassed. Being scored by a rookie in front of them really made them lose face.

Payton on the side glanced at them with an unhappy look on his face.

Are these two people useless? They can't even defend a rookie?

Of course, he didn't dare say this out loud, as he still wanted to win a championship with this team.

(End of this chapter)