The Godfather of Basketball

The strength of the Nets has delighted the fans, and counting the Rockets combined by Harden and Paul in the West, and the Cavaliers who got Deron, at least 3 teams can have an impact on the Warriors in the new season.

The time came to October 18th, the league ushered in the opening game of the new season, and the Warriors sat at home to meet the challenge of the Nets.

The grievances of the finals, coupled with the changes of the Nets, made this game attract unprecedented attention.

Oracle Arena was packed, and the ratings of the nationally broadcast games reached their peak at the beginning of the season.

Before the start of the game, the championship award ceremony was held on the spot.

Durant got his second NBA championship ring in his career, and Oracle Arena also raised their fifth NBA flag. They now have as many championships as Houston.

The game started quickly. After the Nets supplemented George, the defensive strength of the entire forward line was greatly improved. The Warriors' outside firepower was obviously contained. However, the game lasted more than half a quarter, and the Nets still fell behind 8-16. Beat the Warriors by 8 points.

The Nets made a fast break. Irving and Butler made a cooperative error in the fast break. Butler slipped and missed the ball. George on the weak side had a chance to snatch it, but he didn't choose to do so. The ball went out of bounds. The Nets A turnover by the team.

In the position of the Nets, George missed a three-point shot at the top of the circle, and the ball bounced back directly. Yi Jianlian stuck Green, but George ran back after shooting, and the rebound was directly grabbed by Durant who rushed over. Down.

In the iconic two rounds, the Nets' defense was improving, but the offensive end was not played out.

After all, it is a team that has undergone a major change during the offseason. Whether it is Irving or George, the cooperation with teammates is still a little tacit.

Just relying on one preseason game is definitely not enough.

And George.

George's performance doesn't seem to be a problem, but sitting off the court can clearly feel that he is not doing his best.

He is unwilling to pounce the ball that has the opportunity to pounce, and he is not very enthusiastic about the second attack.

Tang Tian frowned slightly watching from the audience.

George is obviously keeping the beating.

George defended Durant to the basket and then withdrew his strength. The latter got up and dunked directly with one arm, igniting the enthusiasm of the entire Oracle Arena.

Tang Tian called Tucker up and asked him to replace George. This state seemed to be no big problem, but playing the Warriors was too fatal.

97 to 113, the Nets lost in the season opener.

Irving scored a Nets-high 22 points and 6 assists, Jokic had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, Butler had 17 points and Brogdon had 12 points.

George's debut performance was mediocre, scoring only 11 points and 6 rebounds on 4 of 14 shots.

At the press conference after the game, a reporter asked about George's performance. Tang Tian smiled and said, "Man, this is only the first game of the season. I'm not worried about Paul at all. He is the best player in the league. One, he will adjust quickly."

Just like what Tang Tian said, because it was the first game of the season, he didn't intend to talk to George, but rather to remind him with this kind of insinuation.

However, such rhetoric obviously does not satisfy the fans. They are looking forward to the Nets sniping the Warriors, but the current result disappoints them.

"Maybe only the Rockets can let us look forward to it."

"It turns out that twisted melons are not sweet, and George's mind is not in New York at all."

"The paper lineup of the Nets is completely useless. Tang shouldn't change the team's blood in the summer."

...

After the game against the Warriors, the Nets returned to Brooklyn and played two back-to-back games with the Wizards and Pistons after a 2-day break.

The Wizards and Pistons were both fringe teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, and this summer they have continued to strengthen their strengths and improved a lot.

However, there is still a gap compared with the Nets.

George's performance in these two games also picked up. He made 7 of 11 shots with 17 points and 6 rebounds against the Wizards, and made 10 of 18 shots against the Pistons to get the first 20+ in the Nets career.

It is also worth mentioning that Brogdon, who played well in the opening game, has improved significantly after a summer of training. He made more than 50% of his three-pointers in the three games. He scored 9 points against the Wizards and 15 points against the Pistons. squeezed into the rotation.

This surprised Tang Tian. After trading Gordon and Booker away in the summer, he originally reserved this rotation position for Mitchell.

But the teams under his rule are all competing for posts. If Mitchell can't compete with Brogdon in the end, it will be a matter of personal ability.

A wave of 2 consecutive victories at home made the doubting fans shut up a little bit.

After three days off, the Nets flew to Boston, where they challenged the Celtics.

The Celtics have a better record than the Nets, undefeated with 3 wins and 0 losses after the start of the game.

The entry of Stevens has completely transformed this team. In addition to Hayward's outstanding performance, the third-ranked pick Tatum has shown stability beyond his age, and he is a replica of Pierce.

This game is more critical for both sides.

The Celtics want to continue their winning streak, while the Nets hope to use a tough battle to respond to outside doubts.

Tang Tian also ushered in a head-to-head confrontation with his old subordinates.

After the two teams started playing, the situation was very stalemate.

The Celtics' defense is much better than the Nets'. Stevens' timeout is also very timely, and after the timeout, the Celtics can always successfully run out of tactics to score the ball.

Leaving aside the players, the two head coaches are staged a peak duel.

In the previous life, the Celtics acquired Irving and Hayward in the offseason and became a strong player in the Eastern Conference. However, the successive injuries of Hayward and Irving made the team's future uncertain, and Stevens became the savior. He made Tatum and Jaylen Brown two young players into the new core, and Rozier, who was discovered later, played even more bravely, showing his godfather level.

Now he has been an assistant coach under Tang Tian for a season, and his strength is even better than in his previous life.

Tang Tian originally planned to regard Stevens as his successor when he was in Thunderclap, but what happened later exceeded expectations, which indirectly created a lifelong enemy for himself.

The Nets played a wave of attacks in the second half of the second quarter, pulling the point difference to double digits, but the Celtics came back in the second half to catch up with the score through a defensive counterattack, and the two teams stalemate until the last moment.

At the critical moment, George's state became the winner of the game. A breakthrough goal was too random, which led to a mistake and Brown directly scored a fast break. An open three-pointer at a critical moment was missed, and finally the victory was handed over to Kyle. special team.

George's performance was cold again, scoring 12 points and 5 rebounds on 4 of 15 shots, and made 3 turnovers.

After the game, there were overwhelming doubts about George from the outside world, and Booker's average performance of 20+ per game for the Pacers also made New York fans question Tang Tian's gamble in the past summer.