On January 3rd, the day came for the Eagles' second game of the new year.

Liu Mang arrived at the Ford Center Arena for training early in the morning. From 6:30 to 10:30, for four hours, he practiced Gary Payton's defensive training card for half a training day.

Emmanuel fell asleep on the chair while watching. He thought Liu Mang was going to practice some skills, but who knew that Liu Mang placed several chairs and ran around them irregularly, accelerating.

slow down……

Emmanuel can't leave yet. Liu Mang needs to be fed when he's hungry and needs water when he's thirsty.

The teammates came and were confused when they saw what Liu Mang was training. Prince stared at it for a while and asked uncertainly when Liu Mang was drinking water: "Ace, are you guarding the pick-and-roll?"

?”

"Well, I'll practice more so that I can use it against opponents who are strong in pick-and-rolls in the future." Liu Mang responded. Finally, someone understood!

"..." Prince did not continue speaking, but set up a few chairs and practiced on the opposite side of the half court where Liu Mang was contacting...

The main function of this training is to use various methods to bypass the pick-and-roll or squeeze through when encountering pick-and-rolls at various positions. It requires the body and mind to react naturally again and again, so the training is also extremely boring.

McGrady took a look and felt that it was so boring. It was so troublesome to practice defense. He chose to practice catching and shooting three-pointers.

From the ball-handling style at the beginning of the season, McGrady has now transformed into mainly catching and shooting, supplemented by holding the ball and attacking. The three-point shooting rate has increased from 36% in the first dozen games to the next dozen games.

Forty-two percent of the game, now his goal is to maintain his current stable three-point shooting.

By 10:30, the training time that Liu Mang had arranged with the coaching staff yesterday was over, and the Eagles held a game meeting about the Hornets at 11 o'clock.

Coach Kruger felt weird about Liu Mang's practice of fixing training time and intensity. He felt that Liu Mang had obsessive-compulsive disorder and there was always something weird about him.

The meeting about the Hornets was very simple. After playing the Lakers, the Eagles began to take a rest.

In November and December, the Eagles only had three back-to-backs in total, but there were three back-to-backs in one month in January, two in February, and four back-to-backs in March.

Rest is unavoidable. This is no longer the era in the 1980s and 1990s when Pat Riley took the lead in using players to death without caring about the future. This is mainly due to the fact that since the mid-1990s, when the salaries of stars have become higher and higher, the health issues of stars have become more serious.

Much attention.

Rasheed Wallace, Prince, and Mourning are not playing today. Granger, who has been training with the team since the end of December, finally got a chance to enter the roster.

Horry and Barry have also begun to assume rotation roles and are looking for a feel for the game. In the playoffs, these veterans will have to be used.

After the brief meeting, Liu Mang went to the lounge with his teammates. The team nutritionist had already prepared lunch.

"Oh... Danny, you can finally play. Boss, pass more passes to Danny!" After coming out of the conference room, David Lee was very excited, even more excited than Granger, who entered the 12-man roster.

All excited.

Liu Mang said "hmm" without directly agreeing or rejecting.

"Boss, you don't have to pass the ball to me. If I have a chance to play with you, I can just help you get rebounds. If I have a chance to pass it to me, I will try my best to make it!" Granger was very calm.

He was not dazzled by the chance to play and took it as his chance to make a comeback.

This surprised Liu Mang, such a calm rookie!

Comparing David Lee, a second-generation rich man who always has such lofty dreams, Granger is even more appreciated by Liu Mang. He is about to turn 23, which is also one of the factors that makes Granger mature.

But...it's a bit too cold...

"Danny Granger, ability evaluation 74, offense 72, defense 80, 79 three-pointers, 68 mid-range shots, 84 layups, 88 speed, 83 strength, 70 ball control, 66 passing... Injury tendency: extremely

high."

Liu Mang took a look at Granger. He was actually pretty good. He was a tall pitcher with good mobility and solid defense.

He has certain organizational skills, but his ball handling and passing are average. He cannot be expected to reach the league average level.

But for a rookie, it's already outstanding.

The key is that Granger adapted quickly to the adult basketball world. When he played in the Development League, his ability evaluation improved from 69 when he was drafted to 74. In the Development League, he used his core playing style and those who wanted to be appreciated by the NBA.

The players competed for rights and performance, and they did not give up just because they were sent to the Development League. They kept working hard and made great progress.

However, in Granger's ability evaluation given by the system, there is a very eye-catching "extremely high", which is a level higher than McGrady's. McGrady's serious injuries are mainly due to genetics and accidental injuries from teammates in the original time and space.

No, Granger is a real glass person.

…

…

At 7:10 p.m., players from both teams entered the Ford Center court after warm-up.

The fans at the scene were very enthusiastic and everyone cheered when they saw it.

First the Eagles players entered, then the Hornets players entered.

When the Hornets players entered the stadium and the lights were restored, Paul was ready to go over and say hello to the big guys, but to his surprise, the big guys from the Eagles were more enthusiastic than him!

Seeing Paul standing at 58 on his chest, Iguodala pulled up and put his arm around Paul's shoulders and said: "Oh, Chris, we left too early yesterday and I didn't even get to talk to you properly. We played really well yesterday.

Keep working hard today and let me see your outstanding performance!"

Paul responded in astonishment: "Thank you..."

Before Paul could finish his words, McGrady interrupted: "I heard that Ace is very optimistic about you. I came to watch your game yesterday. You are much better than Ace at that time. Come on, you will be even better than Ace."

powerful!"

"With Chris here, I have to defend more seriously. I don't want to be dunked by you." Kwame Brown also came forward.

Paul saw a bunch of big guys gathered around him, and when he heard what the big guys said, he didn’t know what to say. What was going on?

At this time, Prince actually spoke!

"Chris, it's such a pity. If I hadn't fought today, I would have taken precautions against death today..."

Before Prince could finish speaking, someone covered his mouth and pulled him aside.

Several members of the Eagles stared at Prince, saying, What are you talking about! How can you play with a child after scaring him... No, how can we appear so friendly?

Liu Mang finally said: "Chris, let me see your strength!"

After Liu Mang finished speaking, the group of Eagles players who had been surrounding Paul just now dispersed, leaving Paul with a confused look on his face.

Paul still doesn't understand what happened.

Paul received a call from James today. He heard that James said that he must adjust his mentality for today's game and not lose confidence no matter what happens. Paul was still very worried. When he went to greet Liu Mang and others just now, he was trembling.

But now, Paul feels that James is worrying too much!

What a great group of people!

The players in the same company are so friendly! Compared to the veterans who want to suppress him, Paul feels that the Eagles are all good people!

…

At 7:59, Liu Mang threw magnesium powder into the air. Tracy McGrady asked the referee to choose a ball that was slightly less energetic for a second or two. Players from both teams came to the court.

The Hawks sent out a lineup of Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady, Horry, Josh Smith, and Kwame Brown.

Horry is back as a multiple championship winner, and he still has some advantages when the team begins to take a break.

The Hornets sent out a lineup of Paul, Kirk Snead, Desmond Mason, David West, and P.J. Brown.

Kwame Brown defeated P.J. Brown on a jump ball and the Eagles scored first.

Liu Mang advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, and Paul defended him.

Paul is so excited now, facing off against Liu Mang!

A very good defense. Liu Mang felt an airtight feeling from Paul's defense, of course, from Paul's position and footwork.

Therefore, Liu Mang turned his body sideways and moved towards Paul.

When Paul saw Liu Mang approaching him, he immediately pressed towards Liu Mang and tried to steal. However, Paul immediately felt a violent impact from his chest to his chin!

Liu Mang suddenly lowered his center of gravity, swung the ball behind him with his right hand, and turned right quickly and with great impact!

Paul has good defensive awareness, good positioning, excellent defensive choices, and his small moves are beyond the concealment that ordinary rookies should have.

However, the current Paul is not the strong young man Pao Ge later, who was crushed by Liu Mang and turned around to break through!

Fortunately, the Hornets are aiming to win this season. Byron Scott, the master of court control, has arranged a targeted defense. Even if the opponent is the Hawks, Byron Scott also wants to give it a try.

Desmond Mason, a man with super physical fitness who once competed with Liu Mang for the slam dunk title, quickly came over from the sideline.

Liu Mang distributed the ball to the left sideline and passed it to the open Horry.

Horry caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...

Ironclad!

PJ Brown defended the defensive rebound.

Offensive and defensive transition, the Hornets attack.

Paul advanced to the frontcourt, but Liu Mang had it too easy just now. Paul had no choice but to hold on.

But on the offensive end, Paul is very confident!

Judging from Paul's research, in terms of speed, he felt that he was not inferior to Liu Mang. Once he reached the frontcourt, he immediately accelerated to break through!

Liu Mang's defensive awareness is much better now than last year. Coupled with the blocker's level 5 prediction bonus, Liu Mang quickly judged that Paul was about to break through and moved to Paul's breakthrough route.
To be continued...