“One, Two!”

“One, Two, Three!”

“.”

The rhythmic shouts and the sound of sneakers rubbing against the floor continued to echo in the SkyDome Arena in Toronto.

Wearing a blue training suit, assistant coach Don Chaney, with his belly bulging, followed Clay Lee, running and jumping to the beat.

It was a simple dribbling exercise to get around obstacles, but Lee added some tricks.

The basketball currently used for training is specially made and heavier. In addition, Lee wears gloves, so he has to expend more effort if he wants to complete technical movements quickly.

Lee, who was doing basic exercises such as dribbling between the legs, changing direction in front of the body, dribbling between the legs, dribbling behind the back, and changing direction in front of the body, was not affected at all and completed these basic movements meticulously.

The sound of “bang bang” was frequently heard in the training hall. On the other side, the old guy who was stretching was already accustomed to these training programs.

“What an enviable talent. Playing basketball at the age of 5? I’ve already started to believe the nonsense spread by the New York media!”

Charles Oakley lay on the floor stretching his legs, sighed, and pouted at the flatterer Charlie Ward.

I felt a little jealous, even though Charlie Ward got the starting position tonight, thanks to his recent excellent training performance, he squeezed out Chris Childs who just joined the team.

But this flatterer knows that Lee’s shooting performance is better, and his style of play seems flashy but is actually quite stable.

The main reason he can get the starting position is that he is more suitable for these veterans and likes to pass the ball to Ewing.

“Lee, take a break, the coaching staff really should add some young people!”

Don Chaney stopped and asked Lee to take a rest. He said that he wanted to recruit young people, but he was reluctant to give up his position.

“I have to thank Old Mike for the custom-made training equipment. Donnie, it’s time to lose weight!”

Lee casually handed the ball to the rookie John Wallace and patted the assistant coach’s belly with a smile.

Unlike Thibodeau, this assistant coach usually prefers to explain some offensive routines.

“Don’t worry, Lee, you’ll get a chance to start, but you’ll have to stay on the bench for a while. That’s how Jeff sometimes does.”

Don made another promise. Lee smiled delightedly, but he was disdainful in his heart:

“The starters pass the ball to the old guys, and then stand outside the three-point line waiting for the ball?”

Seeing John Wallace’s envious look, Lee wanted to say “picture”, the current starters are all “big brothers” and have very little ball possession.

After stretching and warming up in the morning, the team had some problems before the tactical class in the afternoon began:

Charles Oakley had diarrhea.

The newbie Walter McCarty secretly showed a gloating smile, he was beaten badly by the old guy, and he was the happiest to see Oakley in trouble.

Jeff Van Gundy sighed helplessly. This was also due to his poor supervision. If it was Pat Riley, no one would dare to eat randomly:

“Buck, you go to the starting lineup tonight and pay attention to the protection of rebounds.”

After hearing what the coach said, Larry Johnson’s smile disappeared again. He knew that his son liked to play the power forward position the most, but he always kept him at the power forward position.

When Lee heard that 36-year-old veteran Buck Williams was starting, he couldn’t help but complain:

“This is really old and slow!”

The SkyDome was full that night. There are also many asian fans in Toronto. Lee’s arrival also helped the Raptors increase their attendance.

The game officially starts at 19:30. The Raptors just changed their head coach this year. Darnell Walker has a difficult task this year. If the team’s record is not ideal, he will be responsible for the team’s poor performance.

After a burst of shouting, both teams completed their appearance ceremonies. John Saunders, the home commentator of the Raptors, was a little disappointed after seeing the starting lineup:

“It looks like we have to wait a few minutes to see Marcus Camby’s debut!”

“The backcourt is still the familiar Damon Stoudemire and Doug Christie, the forwards are Puopeye Jones and Walter Williams, and the center is Zayn Tabak.”

Lee, who was warming up at the moment, looked at the Raptors players on the opposite side and felt that they were shorter than he had imagined.

Damon Stark was a rookie selected by the Raptors with the No. 7 pick last season, and he secured the starting position as soon as he joined the team.

The information showed that his height was 5 feet 10 inches, but Lee felt that the opponent was less than 1.78 meters tall.

The Raptors fielded a lineup of one big and four small players. Except for the starting center Tabak who was 2.11 meters tall, the forwards were all a little over 2 meters tall.

The Knicks had a classic start. After Patrick Ewing successfully got the jump ball, he ran to the frontcourt and quickly backed up in the low post on the left side.

The starting bootlicker Charlie Ward dribbled across half court and immediately made a high pass from the left wing outside the three-point line.

After Ewing received the ball, everyone moved away one by one. Larry Johnson stood near the elbow area on the right side of the free throw line, and veteran Buck Williams moved to the right side near the baseline.

Alan Houston began to move towards the top of the arc, and Charlie Ward cut in without the ball after receiving the pass and ran to the right corner.

The big center attacked from the low post, and the others moved out to support him.

Lee on the bench finally remembered where this strong sense of familiarity came from:

“This will be the Rockets’ tactics in the future.”

With a simple and rough low-post attack, Ewing put the ball in his right hand and played with his back to the basket, pushing the opponent into the paint area.

Then he turned towards the baseline and easily completed a hook shot by pushing his opponent away from the lower left side of the basket!

“Swish!” Two points were scored steadily under the basket.

The fans at the scene didn’t care. Perhaps they were tired of losing last season, so they didn’t react at all when Ewing scored.

The Raptors’ offense was relatively simple, with a pick-and-roll, and Damon Stoudemire accelerated with the ball in his left hand.

The Knicks’ defense immediately contracted, and Williams, who was near the left baseline, got an open opportunity, received the ball and made a jump shot, which he easily hit!

Lee, who was sitting on the bench, was completely relieved. This intensity was no different from the preseason.

The game was boring to watch. The Knicks had a slow pace, and the Raptors made a lot of mistakes and made random shots.

The most important thing is that Patrick Ewing’s playing style was not good. He made jump shots near the paint area on the left side and from the elbow area on the left side of the free throw line.

There was no violent dunk, at most he squeezed into the paint and drew

a foul.

Jeff Van Gundy stood on the sidelines and gave loud instructions. After seeing the opponent’s mistake, the bootlicker Charlie Ward slowed down and fell back to the ground. He turned around and called out to Lee angrily:

“Lee, get ready to play, and seize the opportunity of the opponent’s mistake!”

Lee, who was daydreaming on the bench, was a little surprised when he heard what Jeff Van Gundy said. He looked up and saw that only 6 minutes and 25 seconds had passed in the game:

“Okay, coach, I’m ready!”

After taking off his training suit, Lee stretched his body.

Tonight he chose a pair of hook-shaped AIR More Uptempo full-palm air cushion high-top sneakers, which is also a popular style recently.

Blue and white striped sneakers, long blue arm guards, and the Knicks’ slightly loose blue jersey. Before Lee even came on the court, fans were already cheering.

While the opponent’s center Tabak was shooting free throws, Jeff Van Gundy immediately replaced Charlie Ward. The flatterer was criticized as soon as he walked to the sidelines.

Amid the noise at the scene, Tabak missed his second free throw and Ewing grabbed the rebound.

Lee, who had just come on the court on the right wing outside the three-point line, received the ball, immediately released it with his right hand, and accelerated across half court.

At this time, most of the players on both teams were still in the previous slow-paced game. Damon Stoudemire was very fast and returned to the three-point line as soon as possible.

Just as he gained his footing, Damon Stoudemire saw Lee coming to the three point line, lowering his center of gravity and dribbling the ball. He thought he would stop there, but he did not expect Lee to immediately push the ball and change direction.

Caught off guard, Damon Stoudemire was passed by Lee in one step.

At this time, there was no one under the basket. Approaching the paint area, Lee immediately jumped up with both feet, swung the ball in the air, then grabbed the ball with his right hand and dunked it!

“Oh!!”

The powerful windmill dunk immediately ignited the atmosphere, and many fans cheered loudly. After landing, Lee quickly returned to defense and smiled at the Raptors:

“If you’re not aggressive in fast breaks, there’s something wrong with your brain!”

…

By the way, don’t forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me 🙂

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep