Chapter 9 The 9th, 11th, 13th, and 15th

After the Raptors successively defeated the Bucks, Magic, Nuggets, and Clippers...

Even if they lost the last two games, the Raptors would at least tie the Bulls' NBA record for the best regular season record in history from the 96/97 season.

Therefore, in order to welcome this historic moment, Raptors owner Chad once again dug into his own pocket, preparing a grand celebration for the players and fans.

According to Chad's arrangement, during the Raptors' last home game of the season, which was also their regular season finale, the Air Canada Centre would not only distribute free commemorative T-shirts to the fans present, but each fan would also receive a special commemorative burger and a cup of commemorative cola customized by the team.

As for the players...

After the regular season, the players would go to a restaurant Chad had booked in advance for a dinner with the team's coaching staff and staff.

It is worth mentioning that, because the Raptors' last regular season game of the season happened to be against the Bulls...

Therefore, this game had long been labeled by ESPN as the "most heartbreaking backdrop in history."

I have to say, the league staff who arranged the schedule this year were simply stirring up trouble...

Because the current Bulls team was already so miserable...

But they still had to be whipped live by the Raptors in their last regular season game. How could the Bulls' players bear this?

In the words of American netizens, this wasn't a game at all, but a bunch of sharp knives stabbing the hearts of Bulls fans.

However...

Everyone was happy to see it happen.

After all, how could such a joyful thing as gloating be called "cruel"?

...

On the 16th, the Raptors had no game, and the whole team had a day off.

Su Feng, who rarely slacked off, not only seized the time to study with Britney, but also received a call from Yao from Philadelphia while preparing dinner that day.

"Oh? Your trial with the 76ers is over?"

Listening to Yao's slightly excited tone on the phone, Su Feng could roughly guess the results of Yao's trial with the 76ers.

"Yeah, they arranged for a few players to play one-on-one with me. I wasn't very comfortable at first, but I won as I played," Yao said with a smile.

Su Feng: "..."

Su Feng didn't know why, but he always felt that this Yao he was in contact with was a little different from the Yao in his memory...

Because Yao's tone now not only conveyed confidence, but also a hint of showing off.

Of course, in Su Feng's opinion, being confident wasn't a bad thing for young people.

Anyway, if he got too confident, there would be opportunities to teach him a lesson next season.

"Did they arrange for Theo Ratliff to play one-on-one with you?" Su Feng asked curiously.

"There seemed to be a pretty strong black big guy with that name, but he definitely couldn't beat me, because my one-on-one record today was all wins," Yao said with a chuckle on the phone.

Hiss————!

Not bad, Yao!

Although in Su Feng's original timeline, Ratliff was basically a free win against Yao, it should be noted that the strength of these two people now cannot be compared with their peak.

After all, the current Yao would not turn 20 until September 12th of this year...

And Ratliff was one of the warriors who followed Su Feng to "slay the dragon" back then.

"Can you tell me the process in detail?" Su Feng, who was a little curious about how Yao defeated Ratliff in a one-on-one, asked.

About ten minutes later, after Yao's description...

Su Feng, who had a general understanding of the process of the two's match...

Suddenly felt like he had accidentally broken some kind of monster seal.

Because he already knew that Yao would participate in the draft early this year, Su Feng specifically asked someone to bring back some of Yao's game tapes from Shanghai after entering March.

However, the intensity of CBA games ultimately couldn't allow Su Feng to understand Yao's specific strength through the "cranial calculation method."

However, from the videos, Su Feng also noticed some differences between Yao and when they parted last year.

For example, in Su Feng's view, the core strength of the current Yao was already comparable to the Yao in his memory who had just entered the NBA.

In Su Feng's previous life, whether it was Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian, the most direct improvement they gave people after landing in the NBA was in terms of core strength.

This had nothing to do with Yao, Yi, and their own talents, purely because the training in China at this time was hard but unscientific.

Therefore, as early as the summer when he met Yao, Su Feng had Mansias carefully select several experts in center training for Yao.

From the results of Yao's trial this time, Su Feng once again felt the horror of a "professional team."

"Is this the charm of a professional trainer?"

I have to say, "Krypton Warriors" were indeed terrifying.

Because although the current Yao didn't know how much money Su Feng had spent on him behind his back, the quality training he had enjoyed in the past two years...

Even Shaq couldn't compare.

"Oh, right, Brother Feng, there's something I hope you can help me consider."

On the phone, after boasting for half an hour, Yao finally remembered that he wasn't looking for Su Feng to brag today.

"Yeah, tell me." Hearing this, Su Feng immediately put down the kitchen knife he was using to chop bighead carp.

"After the trial today, the 76ers management told Bill that they wanted me to turn down trials with other teams," Yao said on the phone.

"Oh?"

Interesting, interesting.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, as long as the 76ers didn't perform too well in the last two regular season games, then it should be a foregone conclusion that they would get the first pick of the season.

In other words, the 76ers would get at least a top four pick in the first round of the 2000 draft, even if they were unlucky.

Combined with what Yao said, the 76ers were planning to make a heavy bet on this Yao.

"What did Bill say to you?" Su Feng asked curiously.

"Bill said, let me not rush to refuse, and don't rush to agree.

Because the NBA draft lottery results won't be out until the end of May at the earliest, he told me to continue training in Philadelphia until then," Yao replied on the phone.

Look, what is a professional agent?

To be honest, Bill Duffy's arrangement was very reasonable in Su Feng's opinion.

Even if the 76ers had decided to bet on Yao, Yao didn't need to entrust his entire future to the 76ers.

Therefore, Bill Duffy's Tai Chi move was wonderful.

"Yeah, that arrangement is very reasonable. You just need to focus on improving yourself next," Su Feng said to Yao after thinking deeply for a few minutes.

"Oh, right, Brother Feng, Iverson even treated me to dinner today.

But no matter how I look at it, I don't think he's 183 centimeters tall..."

At the end of his chat with Yao, Yao also complained to Su Feng about Iverson's height.

Su Feng: "..."

Honestly, after seeing this Yao so lively in this life...

Su Feng felt that he wouldn't need to worry about him much in the future.

And so...

After hanging up the phone with Yao, Su Feng turned around and immersed himself in studying after dinner.

...

On the 17th, in Toronto, the Raptors ushered in their second-to-last game of the regular season.

Because as long as they won against the Heat in this game, the Raptors would create a new NBA record for the best record in history, the entire Air Canada Centre was as lively as the New Year on this night.

However, since the Raptors' "celebration party" was arranged for the last game against the Bulls, the fans at the scene were obviously restraining their excitement.

Don't worry, don't worry, we'll celebrate to our heart's content when we play the Bulls!

As for whether the Bulls players would be so depressed that they would run into the player tunnel to cry?

What does that have to do with us?

It is worth mentioning that, at the scene, when DJ Martin introduced the players from both teams, John Davis always felt that there was a sinister gaze staring at him from the Heat's bench.

But...

Whenever Davis looked over according to his intuition, besides Pat Riley, who was smiling at him...

He couldn't see anything.

"It must be an illusion, right?" So, touching his forehead, Davis thought silently.

On the court, because it was the McCradys' turn to rest tonight, the Raptors boldly used the Nash-Old Curry combination, a defensive black hole duo, in their starting lineup.

"Just wait and see, Seth!

Tonight, with Uncle Vince not here, it won't be long before you know who has been carrying this Raptors team all along."

In the back row of the Raptors' bench, just as the players were stepping onto the court one after another, Stephen Curry suddenly waved his little fist and said to his younger brother, Seth Curry.

Of course, Stephen Curry's original words were definitely not like this, but the translated version was roughly like this.

Su Feng, who happened to hear these words, really wanted to beat Stephen Curry up at the time.

Seriously, why was this little brat so annoying?

Fortunately, Old Curry was by Su Feng's side at the time.

After smiling bitterly at Su Feng, Old Curry said to Su Feng, "Su, don't take what a child says to heart."

Su Feng: Dell, do I look like the kind of person who would get angry with a child?

Honestly, Su Feng always felt that Old Curry had a bit of a misunderstanding of him.

So, in order to avoid being misunderstood, Su Feng decisively added another entry to Stephen Curry on his little notebook.

Just as Su Feng adjusted his mood and prepared to walk towards the center of the court with Old Curry...

"Huh? Seth, you don't really think our dad can play the same role as Uncle Vince, do you?"

Su Feng: "..."

Old Curry: "..."

Honestly, after Stephen Curry made his new "grand speech," the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Fortunately, Su Feng was next to Old Curry at the time.

After smiling slightly at Old Curry, Su Feng patted Old Curry on the shoulder and said, "Dell, don't take what a child says to heart."

Heh...

Take it to heart?

After glaring at Stephen Curry fiercely, Old Dell felt that he needed to keep Stephen away from Carter in the future.

Because Stephen Curry's way of speaking now was clearly Carter II.

On the court, after this little interlude, don't mention it, Su Feng and Old Curry's performance after the opening was really predicted by Stephen Curry...

Ding dong dang li ge qiang qiang qiang!

Su Feng: "..."

Old Curry: "..."

Hiss————!

Toxic!

The basket was simply toxic tonight!

In the first quarter, all six of Su Feng and Old Curry's three-pointers were rejected by the basket.

Although McGrady's absence would have a certain impact on the Raptors' overall offense, to be fair, Su Feng and Old Curry's consecutive misses after the opening had nothing to do with McGrady's absence...

Because you can't blame Nash's pass for not being good enough when you miss an open shot, right?

"Steve, your passes were too hard today, remember to pay attention next time."

Before the start of the second quarter, Su Feng patted Nash on the shoulder and specifically reminded him.

Hearing this, although Nash was hesitant to speak, it eventually turned into, "Okay, I'll pay attention next, Su."

Tsk——!

Perfect!

As expected of my deputy!

"You attack mainly in the second quarter, I'm being targeted too much tonight," Su Feng whispered to Nash, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"But, then who will organize?" Nash asked doubtfully.

"Steve, do you remember what I told you before?" Looking at Nash's confused face, Su Feng suddenly changed the subject.

"What?" Nash asked, looking up at Su Feng's solemn expression.

"As a point guard, in addition to organizing and passing, he must also have a certain scoring ability.

Otherwise, if the opponent ignores him, then he can't pass the ball well.

Steve, in my opinion, if you open up to score, then your scoring ability is simply not below mine.

So, it's time to let people know that you're not just a point guard who can only pass the ball.

In terms of scoring ability, it's not an exaggeration to say that you are the number one point guard in my heart." Su Feng said seriously, patting Nash on the shoulder.

Listening to the encouragement from Su Feng, Nash felt that he was instantly filled with power.

At this moment, the sense of grievance that Su Feng had forced him to take the blame before instantly disappeared in Nash's heart.

In the second quarter, watching Riley send one black and hard player after another to deal with him, Su Feng immediately showed a Nike-like smile.

Riley, do you know this tactic?

On the court, using his powerful ability to create space as a guarantee, Su Feng continuously screened out direct offensive opportunities for Nash.

As a mature leader...

In fact, few people know that when Su Feng holds up four fingers, it often has another meaning.

That is, we are going to play four-on-one.

As for which one to protect?

"My God... Steve has gone crazy!"

On TNT, watching Nash show an amazing critical hit rate in the second quarter, Smith felt that the Earth could no longer stop the Raptors!

Because they could just pull someone up from the bench, and Smith felt that they were all superstars!

...

ps: The detailed outline for next season has already started to be made based on the previous outline. So, did everyone guess which team Yao will go to?