Chapter 66: Against the Suns
04-05赛季开幕日，小牛以90：118的比分大胜国王队，其中郑阳25投17中，狂砍42分。

No one expected the Mavericks to beat the Kings by so much, and no one expected Zheng Yang to score so many points.

No, the media have been saying all day that the Mavericks are terrible after they broke up during the offseason. Why do they look like a championship contender?
In the TNT studio, Barkley glanced at Kenny Smith and sighed.

"Why? Why won't you believe me?
Mr. Kenny Smith, you don't really think you know more about basketball than I do?
You don't even know how powerful Zheng is right now. Please stop comparing him to some unknown players. He should be compared with the best players in the league.

I have been saying for a long time that you have always been prejudiced against Zheng and you don't respect him at all.

Do you have to wait until he wins all the honors in the league before you are willing to acknowledge his strength?"

After he had a good laugh at what he had said, Barkley felt much better. He really had to thank Zheng Yang a lot, otherwise he wouldn't have had so many opportunities to scold others.

Kenny Smith, who was sitting opposite, wiped the saliva from his face silently. He finally understood the meaning of the sentence.

"Sometimes a choice will change the direction of your life!"

If he had chosen to become a "Zheng fan" last year, the one who would be drooling now would be this fat pig!
Damn, you fat pig, just wait for me, don’t give me a chance, otherwise I will make you taste my saliva.

You are really a villain who has succeeded!

And James, can you please stand up for me? I've been scolded so many times for you. Can you let me stand up for once?
……

After the game, Zheng Yang called Anthony after returning home. The other team also had a game today, and the opponent was the highly popular Los Angeles Lakers.

However, after the offseason trades, the Lakers no longer have the momentum they had last season. In the original history, they did not even make the playoffs this season.

Although it was related to Kobe's absence from more than a dozen regular season games due to injury, it was also closely related to the team's declining strength.

In this game, the Nuggets almost won the game with a score of 89:95.

Anthony made 23 of 14 shots and scored a game-high 32 points.

He called just to share his joy with Zheng Yang.

Scoring a few points is another matter. The key point is that Anthony felt that he was much stronger than last season, and the Lakers players who defended him alone had no way to deal with him.

That feeling is so great!

"Hey Zheng, let's continue to train together next offseason. I really feel that our championship club will be as famous as Jordan's breakfast club in the future."

Carmelo Anthony said excitedly.

"That's a good idea, but I won't be able to do it that early next year. After all, it will probably be around June 10th after the finals. Hahaha."

Zheng Yang pretended slightly, and Anthony on the other side silently rolled his eyes.

Among the three people in the championship club, he is currently the least likely to win the championship. Given the current situation of the Nuggets, he won’t be the last one to win the championship, right?
Thinking of Zheng Yang and Wade showing off in front of him with their championship rings, he wanted to punch them each.

No, this must not happen, at least not let Wade win the championship before me.

Otherwise, his position as the second in command would be unsettled.

Wade: You can sit in the second position, so why can't I?

……

Although the Mavericks sent away two All-Star players, Steve Nash and Antoine Walker, during the offseason, they will still be one of the championship contenders in the new season thanks to the team's good chemistry and Zheng's rapid progress.

I think other teams in the league should re-evaluate the strength of this team. ——Washington Sports Daily

I'm very happy to see that they still have such a perfect performance, especially Zheng, his progress is too fast, but he deserves it.

If you knew his training schedule you would feel the same way.

I often think of my days in Dallas, but I also like Phoenix. I like every member of the team. Please continue to support us, and we will play a perfect performance! ——Nash said with a smile when the media asked "What do you think of the Mavericks' first victory over the Kings?"

While everyone's attention was on James during the offseason, Zheng worked hard with Wade and Melo in a gym in Dallas for a summer.

According to Anthony, Zheng also gave their group a name - Champions Club, which means that anyone who joins this club will eventually win the championship.

The results of their training were reflected in today's game. Zheng scored 42 points against the Kings, while Melo scored 32 points against the Lakers.

Their strength is improving by leaps and bounds. What I mean is that we should not focus only on the "chosen one". The other players in 03 have performed well. - Barkley said in an interview.

After the NBA opening day games, this is basically what appeared in the newspapers the next day.

Zheng Yang didn't pay much attention to it. After all, those media kept repeating the same few sentences over and over again, which became boring after reading them too many times.

He has to get up early to catch a plane today. They have a back-to-back game today, and it's an away game against the Hornets.

But Zheng Yang’s lack of attention does not mean that the Chosen One far away in Cleveland does not pay attention.

LeBron James has always regarded Zheng Yang as his number one enemy. Yesterday was the opponent's first game of the new season. How could he not pay attention?

This 42-point scoring feast was indeed beyond his expectations, but James, who also spent the entire summer in the gym, did not think it was a big deal.

He is no worse than Zheng Yang now!
But when he saw that the media were all praising Zheng Yang, James became furious and even tore up the newspaper.

It’s just 42 points, he can do it!

……

The Hornets, whom the Mavericks will face tonight, are currently the bottom team in the Western Conference. The two teams are not at the same level at all, and the Mavericks can be said to have an easy win against them.

There was not much suspense during the game. The Mavericks firmly controlled the tempo of the game from the beginning, and the opponent was unable to cause any waves until the end of the game.

Zheng Yang only played for 35 minutes in this game, which may be a normal time or even too much for others, but for a player like Zheng Yang who often plays for 45 minutes, the word "only" can indeed be used.

全场他出手20次，命中14球，最终得到了32分9篮板2助攻的优秀数据。也就是郑阳没兴趣刷分，不然垃圾时间来两个铁血上篮还是能破40分的。

In the post-match interview, the reporter asked Zheng Yang this question.

"Zheng, in the game between the Cavaliers and the Pacers that just ended half an hour ago, although the Cavaliers lost to the Pacers in overtime, LeBron James made 26 of 13 shots and 12 of 10 free throws, scoring 38 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists.

In the post-match interview, he said he was looking forward to the match with you in half a month, and he said he would definitely score 30+ in that game.

What do you think about this? "

"Honestly, I don't care how many points he scores, I'm just telling you I'm going to win that game and I'm going to score more points than him."

Zheng Yang curled his lips and said, to be honest, with James' current strength, he really doesn't pose any threat to him.

In terms of scoring alone, Zheng Yang is currently not inferior to anyone in the league.

Since the other party wants to embarrass himself in front of the media again, he is willing to help him.

……

"In half a month you will know how powerful I am."

Looking at Zheng Yang's response published in the newspaper, James said viciously.

Although James has never been very likable, his strength has indeed been greatly enhanced after an offseason of training.

数据方面也从上一年的20.9分5.5篮板5.9助攻暴涨到了27.2分7.4篮板7.2助攻。

This is also the reason why he suddenly became so confident!

He has become stronger. According to the plot development in the novel, it is time for him to defeat the little boss Zheng Yang and start the next plot!

……

The game against James will be in half a month, and during this half-month schedule, the Mavericks' biggest enemy is the Phoenix Suns, which have emerged as a dark horse this season.

The two teams will play on November 11th, and before this game, the Suns had a record of 12 wins and 5 losses.

This was something no one expected. After all, in the past offseason, they sent away the aging Penny Hardaway, traded Marbury and Antonio McDyess to the New York Knicks, and fired their head coach Frank Johnson.

They just recruited Nash, a point guard who was over 30 years old, but the whole team underwent such a drastic change.

Although no one thought at that moment, this team would eventually win 62 games and lead the league.

But it still surprised everyone that a bottom-ranked team suddenly became a playoff team.

The performance of both teams in the new season exceeded the original imagination of fans and media. Nash of the Suns was a player of the Mavericks last season...

Such a competition is naturally full of highlights.

On the plane to Phoenix, Nelson explained to everyone the Suns' current lineup and playing style, so that everyone would have a general idea and be mentally prepared.

It can be seen that Nelson still attaches great importance to the Suns. After studying the videotapes of the opponent's previous games, he knows that the Suns will definitely make it to the playoffs this season and will most likely be in the top three in the Western Conference.

It is always beneficial to study the other party more.

"The Suns' current starting lineup from position one to position five is Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson, power forward Shawn Marion, and center Amar'e Stoudemire."

Among them, Joe Johnson was later called "Eagle King" and "Single Joe" by fans.

Shawn Marion's nickname is "Hacker", and his shooting posture is considered the ugliest by most fans.

As for Amar'e Stoudemire, Chinese fans prefer to call him Stoudemire.

"This starting lineup has very distinct playing style. In the past five games, their offensive efficiency is first in the league, while their defensive efficiency is last in the league.

In the starting lineup, except for power forward Shawn Marion who had good defense, the defense of other players was average, and it could even be said that there were defensive loopholes.

Their offense mainly relies on Steve and Amar's pick-and-roll and counterattack fast breaks.

Amar's impact under the basket is very strong, and Steve also has good shooting ability, so their pick-and-roll combination is very threatening offensively.

Steve's broad passing vision and Shawn Marion's athleticism make their counterattacks and fast breaks very fast.

Often their attack is over before the opposing players return to defend.

It is worth mentioning that the Suns are still a team that loves to shoot three-pointers. Their three-pointers account for 39.3% of their points, which is still the first in the league.

Although their starting lineup does not have any player with terrible scoring ability, the average points per game of all five of them is 15+.

This means that each of their players has a certain degree of offensive threat.

If we want to beat them, we have to slow down the tempo of the game as much as possible, while strengthening our defense and speeding up our retreat.

In tomorrow's game, Josh and Zheng will take turns defending Steve. Dirk, you must always pay attention to Stoudemire's movements and be ready to assist in defense at any time.

We need to sever the connection between this pair.

At the same time, everyone must return to defense as quickly as possible. I hope you run back to the half court to defend, rather than running back to prepare to serve after watching the opponent score a goal. "

Old Nelson shouted loudly and everyone nodded seriously.

Next, Nelson told everyone about the tactics the Suns often run, hoping that everyone would have an impression of them so that they would not be in a rush tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)