Zheng Long: "Do you think Ku Mamba is joking with you?"

Ingram didn't understand what Zheng Long meant, but it didn't stop him from being in a good mood.

Because in the early morning arena, finally he and Zheng Long were not the only ones.

November 21st.

Game day arrived as scheduled.

Zheng Long took the bus with his teammates and arrived at the Staples Center, which he had not seen for a long time.

After a road trip, the cheers of fans welcoming the team bus outside the stadium can make you feel at home and excited.

The fans lining up outside the entire arena have formed a golden ocean.

They shouted in unison, winning six games in a row, awakening the dormant passion of the Los Angeles fans, and it was deafening outside the stadium.

Fortunately for Butler, scenes like this are not uncommon in Chicago. Bulls fans are among the most loyal to the entire NBA team.

But Jokic and Oladipo were different. They were surprised by this, especially Oladipo, who kept looking around with his head stretched out.

The Magic is considered a small ball market among all NBA teams, and those fans are far from so crazy.

“The fans in Los Angeles are so passionate!”

Oladipo couldn't help but excitedly share his feelings with JaVale McGee beside him.

Mikey was equally excited and giggled.

After being laid off by the Mavericks at the end of last season and thinking that his job was hopeless, he never expected that he would be approached by the Lakers and sign a one-year contract.

When the players came to the locker room, the excitement turned into surprise. The Lakers renovated the locker room and made it look brand new.

Everyone found a new locker with their own name brand. At this moment, the players felt that the Lakers valued them.

After a brief explanation, Walton hurried to the press conference.

His eyes were bloodshot. In the past week, he had been so busy that he could only sleep four hours a day.

Player analysis, tactical research, watching videos, organizing training, and endless meetings.

everything.

All for today.

In order to allow the "new Lakers" to achieve a good result in the first game.

Walton doesn't expect to win, but at least he has to explain to the board of directors and the fans.

I can only hope that these young guys will not fight for pizza, but for words!

The scene of the press conference.

Walton was surrounded by questions prepared by reporters and could not answer them all, even though some of the questions had already been answered during the players' signing ceremony.

But these reporters still threw it out, praying to pry some unofficial answers from Wharton.

"The adjustment in team personnel is a decision we made after careful consideration."

"Every player who left was outstanding and I'm very grateful for all their contributions to the team's six-game winning streak."

"Okay, that's it for today's press conference. I need to go back to the locker room to prepare for the game."

Finally, when the reporters raised their hands again, Wharton simply ended the interview.

It was then the Minnesota Timberwolves' head coach, Tom Thibodeau's turn, to have a chance to speak.

The former defensive coach of the Celtics during their championship-winning years and the head coach of the Bulls during Rose's tenure, he was laid off at home for a year.

This season, he became the head coach of this talented Timberwolves team. In the team's first 6 games, he led the team to a mediocre record of 3 wins and 3 losses.

A 50% winning rate, which is not optimistic for the Timberwolves, who hope to make the playoffs this season.

In the Western Conference, except for a few years, there is no winning rate above 50%. Want to enter the playoffs?

The Wild West, don’t get involved!

"Winning the game? That's always the team's goal."

"The rebuilt Lakers, in addition to Zheng Long, have All-Star players like Jimmy."

"I know Jimmy, he was my most trusted player, full of competitiveness!"

"Their strength has become stronger, but the team came to Los Angeles today just to take away the victory!"

The "young" Minnesota Timberwolves only joined the NBA in 1989, and it was not until the 1996-97 season that they entered the playoffs for the first time in team history.

With the Wolf King Kevin Garnett, they have entered the playoffs for eight consecutive years and entered the Western Conference Finals.

What followed was a long 12 consecutive years of ranking at the bottom.

Some fans even joked that the NBA should be allowed to join the relegation mechanism in the football league.

In this way, this terrible Wolves team will never be seen in the NBA.

Now, things are a little different.

As shown by Thibodeau's confidence.

Tonight, the Timberwolves' cubs are full of fighting spirit. Compared to the Lakers, this Timberwolves are no less young.

Among the starting lineup are Wiggins, LaVine, and Dieng, who entered the league in 2014, and Towns, who entered the league in 2015.

and talent.

Towns, the No. 1 pick, Wiggins, who was ranked second due to the emergence of Zheng Long but has No. 1 pick-level talent, and LaVine, who has won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for two consecutive years.

This is why the outside world has high expectations for this Timberwolves.

Their talents are almost overflowing.

Although, they ranked 13th in the Western Conference last season.

But the team has passed the blame to the head coach in exchange for Thibodeau.

"The players from both sides have already entered the stadium. Here are the starting lineups of both sides."

"Home court, Los Angeles Lakers, Oladipo, Zheng Long, Butler, Nance Jr., Jokic."

"Away, Minnesota Timberwolves, Rubio, LaVine, Wiggins, Dieng, Towns."

"The game is about to begin!"

Today, the entire Lakers management team was present, and Magic Johnson was sitting in the dugout with Walton.

Johnson was a little nervous and asked Walton.

"How confident are you in today's game?"

"Seventy percent."

Johnson was surprised, surprise flashed in his eyes, "So high?"

"I mean seven of them and three of us."

"."

Wharton smiled bitterly. He naturally had nothing to hide from Johnson.

The team has been conducting tactical training for several days.

All in all, it's a mess, and the existing tactics seem to be stumbling even during a complete run.

The preparation time was too hasty. Just to get the players familiar with each other, half a week was not enough.

Soon, Walton's statement was confirmed. After the kickoff, Oladipo collided with Larry Nance during the defense change, causing him to lose position.

Rubio was stunned for a moment. Normally three-pointers were not his regular offensive method, but with the sea in front of him, it seemed inappropriate not to take a shot, so he hit a three-pointer from the outside.

Lakers 0:3 Timberwolves.

Johnson covered his eyes and looked shamelessly.

On the court, Larry Nance kept apologizing to Oladipo, "I didn't expect you to run so fast, my, my, my."

Oladipo smiled back kindly.

Walton yelled from the sidelines, "Two idiots! We don't have time to act like a loving family on the court now!"

The duo awkwardly returned to the game.

During the Lakers' offensive round, Oladipo received the serve and accelerated to the frontcourt. His speed made the Lakers fans at the scene shine.

"This kid is good. He's full of energy."

Before Oladipo, Lakers fans were not satisfied with Russell, except for his draft position.

Now don't forget, Oladipo is also ranked second.

This is also Oladipo's motivation tonight. He replaced Russell as the Lakers' new starter and wanted to explain one thing.

There is also a gap between the top two.

After the ball passed half-court, Zheng Long did not take the ball into his hands like before.
To be continued...