The Fifth Point Guard

On November 2, 2004, the NBA 04-05 regular season started three games.

The Kings face the Mavericks, the Rockets face the Pistons, and the Nuggets challenge the Lakers.

The Kings and Mavericks have been separated for a long time. The two sides have faced each other several times in the Western Conference playoffs in recent seasons, and they have already forged a hatred.

At the beginning of the new season, enemies meet and become extremely jealous.

Divac of the Kings went to the Lakers, and Doug Christie also failed to participate in this game due to injury.

But Brad Miller and Bobby Jackson stepped up.

On the bench, there are also players such as Matt Barnes, Maurice Evans, Darius Sangela, Greg Ostertag, etc. The overall strength is actually better than last season. Unabated.

After Nash left for Phoenix, the Mavericks decided on a team strategy with Nowitzki as the core.

With Nowitzki as the core and Finley as the veteran, the Mavericks also promoted young players such as Eric Dampier, Devin Harris, and Josh Howard.

The first meeting between the two teams ended with the Mavericks winning at home, with a score of 107-98.

Although he did not participate in the training camp organized by STO during this offseason, Nowitzki was not idle. He was sweating profusely in the training hall in Germany.

33 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, a 63.2% field goal percentage and a 100% three-point shooting percentage. Nowitzki, who played as the core in the first game, handed over a job that was beyond criticism. report card, and dwarfed Chris Webber's 21 points and 10 rebounds.

In the showdown between the Nuggets and the Lakers, what is concerning is the performance of Anthony and Kobe.

Both participated in the training camp organized by STO.

In the direct confrontation between the two sides, Anthony and Kobe have been competing with each other in terms of positioning and physical confrontation.

In the end, Anthony only shot 40.9% from the field and scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Kobe's shooting percentage was lower, only 35.7%, but he caused a lot of damage, making 14 of 15 free throws, scoring 25 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks, helping the Lakers win 89-78.

In addition to Anthony and Kobe, the Lakers' Chris Mihm also performed well.

Not everyone can fill the void left by O'Neal.

But Mihm proved himself to everyone with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks in the first game.

After this game, some media even called him the "White Shark".

The game between the Rockets and the Pistons, which has attracted much attention from the Chinese people, was held in Detroit.

Playing away against last season's championship team, McGrady's bitter host in the Eastern Conference, the Rockets had a very difficult time from the beginning of the game.

The Pistons' tight defense suffocated both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

Yao Ming had to fight against the double Wallace in the paint, and McGrady was also harassed by Prince and Hamilton in turns.

In the end, the Yao-Mai Rockets team had a bad start and lost to the Pistons 79-87.

McGrady scored the Rockets' highest 18 points, but made only 6 of 18 shots. Yao Ming contributed 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Obviously, the Rockets still need time to adjust after the major change.

It is worth mentioning that Yao Ming finally ushered in the first reliable substitute in his career, Dikembe Mutombo.

On the second day of the new season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were ranked fourth in winning odds by bookmakers, finally made their debut.

Their opponent seems to be deliberately arranged by the league, and it is Reggie Miller's former team, the Indiana Pacers.

The game was held in Indiana and was broadcast live by TNT.

Paul Silas spoke to Reggie Miller before heading to Indiana.

"Reggie, if you feel pressured or don't want to go, we won't force you. You can skip going there and just go to the next competition venue to meet us."

Silas obviously expressed his love for Miller, who had just come to the team, and was worried that the veteran would bear the pressure of the extreme performance of the home fans.

But Miller showed his professional side.

"No, Paul, I have to go with you because I'm a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers!"

Before the start of the Cavaliers and Pacers, two games ended first.

The Philadelphia 76ers, where Iverson played, narrowly defeated the Boston Celtics 98-95. Iverson shot nearly 60% from the field and scored 30 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

In an interview after the game, Iverson said bluntly: "Compared with the guys in the training camp, the players who defended me in this game are nothing!"

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In another game, the Wizards defeated the Grizzlies 103-91 away from home.

Arenas scored 34 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists, helping the team defeat the Grizzlies, a strong Western Conference team in the playoffs last season.

When Arenas faced the media, he said that the Wizards' goal for the new season is simple, to make the playoffs.

Before the game against the Pacers, Basketball Space finally refreshed its first mission of the new season.

{

Main mission: running in, running in, running in!

Mission statement: The Cavaliers have undergone a major overhaul in the new season, with more than half of the new faces coming in, which poses a serious test to the team's integration. Promoting the team to complete the run-in can help the team get on the right track as soon as possible and gain a good position on the championship track.

Mission requirements: Provide at least 10 assists and lead the team to win

Mission props: Nebula and Flowing Water

Main line reward: random growth (1cm)

Task status: waiting to be collected

}

Running-in is an unavoidable topic for a team that has undergone major lineup changes.

Take a look at the Rockets last day. With the powerful combination of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, the Rockets were still easily defeated by the Pistons. It took the Pistons five tigers 1-2 seasons to reach the height of last year's championship, and they The defeated Lakers F4 failed to successfully adjust throughout the season precisely due to various problems.

This shows the importance of team running-in.

The most important issue facing the Cavaliers now is team integration, especially how new players such as Miller, Gooden, Snow, and Varejao can quickly adapt to the Cavaliers and the team's tactics.

From the perspective of task requirements, the goal of winning has not changed, and the key to victory lies in assists.

The Cavaliers’ starting lineup for this game is:

Center: Ilgauskas, Power Forward: Gooden, Small Forward: James, Shooting Guard: Shentong, Point Guard: Wagner;

The Pacers' starting lineup is:

Center: Foster, power forward: O'Neal Jr., small forward: Artest, shooting guard: Jackson, point guard: Tinsley.

When Miller wore a Cavaliers jersey and walked out of the tunnel with the Cavaliers players, there was a mixture of boos and applause.

Reggie Miller remained unmoved. He warmed up on the court with a calm face and hit consecutive three-pointers from outside the three-point line, showing a good competitive state.