Chapter 138： A glimpse of the dashing surprise of the preseason

"The genius of the basketball fanatic is on the left (

"There's no one left."

"This champion is worth all the money. It's hard to believe that we brought him here for only such a small price."

"Somebody out there says he's the savior of New York."

"I'm starting to believe now."

Time flies, it's already mid-September, and nearly 20 days have passed since the day of the report that shook the entire Knicks management.

But to this day, D'Antoni still remembers that day vividly.

As a rookie, fighting against three veterans by one person is still extremely unequal and extremely unfavorable.

None of the three were his enemies.

Shocked!

D'Antoni, who was watching the entire process from the sidelines, only felt this way. With such personal strength, it is no wonder that he was able to play like a duck in the water in the NCAA, and even a genius like Ross could only be defeated.

What shocked D'Antoni even more was the victory over them.

Zuo Li did not choose to beat the underdog or use his taunting skills, but roared at all the players:

"This is New York!"

"I'm here to win, do you know what people out there say about the Knicks, they say we're trash, they mock us as the only shame in New York, they say we make Madison Square Garden a basketball mic Shame on the Holy Land!"

"As someone who grew up on the streets of New York, I feel very ashamed. Losing is not terrible. The terrible thing is that you all seem to be used to losing, but I am not used to it! So, I am here to change all that."

"No matter why you play basketball, I know that you must be eager to win. Are you willing to be ridiculed by others all the time?"

"Go for it guys, the new season, whether it's for a big contract, for a lot of girls in a nightclub, for honor! Go for it!"

"The new history of New York, let's write it."

Listen, what a perfect inspiration, who doesn't love having someone on their team who can stand up and inspire at such a crucial moment.

D'Antoni, a 50-year-old man, listened with enthusiasm, not to mention the young men on the court.

Anyone who plays basketball has no blood in their hearts. Who can win and like to lose? The reason why people like the Knicks are like this is that they are just rotten. Anyway, they are scolded. go.

Zuo Li's remarks directly hit their hearts.

Especially the young people in the team, Ewing and Wilson Chandler were the first to respond, and David Lee also stepped up and gave Zuo Li a high five.

And Randolph didn't speak, and after a long time he said, "You are right."

And Zuo Li also took the initiative to hug Randolph, forget Eddie Curry and Richardson, Randolph is different, from the perspective of future development, Randolph, who turned his back in Memphis, played the peak of his career , This proves that he is capable. If he didn't play well before, he was nothing more than smashing himself. Just look at his current figure and know that he is a full 30 pounds heavier than the Grizzlies.

And Zuo Li's ability to conquer him means that he has another reliable helper, plus David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Jia who missed the exciting show because they haven't come yet. Mal Crawford, the new season, can look forward to it.

At this time, D'Antoni stood up again and talked about his outlook for the new season. He could feel the difference in the team. At least during training, everyone became more serious, which made D'Antoni's work very exciting. smoothly.

This was not all the surprises Zuo Li gave him. In the next 20 days of training, Zuo Li showed off his superhuman physique.

"His speed is too exaggerated!"

"Why is his power so great!"

"Unbelievable, he has solid footwork inside!"

"His shooting has also gotten better than in college!"

"It's just incredible."

The Knicks’ physical trainer, Mark Dober, used almost all the interjections in his life during the time he was training with Zuo Li.

Moreover, you must know that the Knicks have two dunk kings.

But Nate Robinson and Richardson were soon defeated by Zuoli's stunning performance, so Nate became Zuoli's second loyal dogleg.

Not only that, Zuo Li's diligence is also obvious to all. Daily practice is the norm, and Zuo Li is also the first to come, which makes many people feel embarrassed to leave.

In addition, although Zuo Li was very strong on the first day, he still took care of his teammates most of the time and had a good personality, so he quickly got along with them, especially Ewing and Nate. It has become the left and right guardian of the Knicks.

So everyone started to practice voluntarily...

This made the old staff of the Knicks dumbfounded. When they came one morning, they found that four people in the basketball hall were already training. They all thought they were going wrong.

We Knicks, when has the tradition of extra training, do you mean that New York nightclubs have closed down? !

This change made D'Antoni more trusting in Zuo Li. He was also diligent and diligent during this period, and developed a number of tactics around Zuo Li.

The team is also running in quickly. With Zuo Li joining in, the Knicks are even more powerful, and Zuo Li is also trying to adapt to the intensity of the NBA.

Fast forward to October, and the NBA is getting closer.

The Knicks arranged a few preseason games, and Zuoli didn’t play in the summer league, so everyone was looking forward to Zuoli’s preseason performance.

Finally On June 6th, the Knicks played against the Raptors at home, and Zuo Li finally ushered in his NBA debut!

For this match, New York TV even broadcast it live, just to see Zuo Li's appearance.

And Zuo Li lived up to expectations. The starting lineup was accompanied by Ewing Jr., Wilson Chandler, Duhon and Collins.

As for the Raptors, the core Boss didn't come, and everyone else was the main force last season.

But it's not important. All the people who came to the scene came to see Zuo Li, and Zuo Li used a big volleyball cap to show his power in the inside line at the beginning of the game.

Calderon obviously did not expect such a ball to be blocked.

What was even more unexpected was that Zuo Li's offensive end received Du Hong's ball, and a turn was a dunk.

The ball also lit up the entire Madison Gardens.

In the first half, Zuoli played 20 minutes, made 8 of 10 shots, scored 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists, with excellent data.

It's just that when everyone expected Zuo Li to continue his show in the second half, Zuo Li couldn't get on...

no more...

"Zuo Li, just play whatever you want in the preseason, your battlefield is in the regular season, you just look for your state in the preseason, it doesn't matter how you play, don't get hurt. When the game officially starts, we will Give them another surprise." D'Antoni said very solemnly, holding Zuo Li's waist the day before the preseason.

This is the first time Zuoli only played for 20 minutes.

After that, Zuo Li even played a game and took a break. Each game lasted for 20 minutes on average, and he didn't bring too much in a minute. The angry fans often greeted D'Antoni's relatives, but he remained unmoved. He got off work on time and became Zuo. A synonym for preseason.

But averaging 16.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 2.2 assists per game has made Zuo Li's glimpses in this preseason amazing enough.