127 Deal Coming

Zhang Jun made two free throws.

At this time, Artest had already calmed down and looked at Zhang Jun with a look like a gangster.

Zhang Jun didn't need to think about it to know that Artest would probably continue to use brutal or even rude defense against him in the future. To put it bluntly, he was just unconvinced.

But after all, it is twice the damage. Even if Zhang Jun is not Artest's opponent in terms of physical confrontation and strength, this double confrontation damage is probably not something ordinary people can resist.

really.

In the next round, Artest suddenly put his hands on Zhang Jun's waist. At the same time, he put his left hand on Zhang Jun's neck and squeezed back hard. His left foot was still fixed behind Zhang Jun's right leg.

I am afraid that this posture is not intended to knock Zhang Jun directly onto the court.

Zhang Jun was not afraid of him. He stretched out his right hand and slammed it in front of him. He directly swung away Artest's left hand and gained space to attack again.

This hit directly made Artest look ferocious, as if he was suffering from level 10 pain. At the same time, Zhang Jun had already received a pass from teammate Steve Blake.

Singles are back again.

Artest raised his head to fight, pressing Zhang Jun with his large chest muscles to prevent the opponent from making any moves easily.

Zhang Jun picked up the ball and raised his elbow to push Artest away. The latter seemed a little irritated and slammed his hands towards the basketball.

Although anyone with a discerning eye would think that Artest's movement was aimed at the ball, in fact, Artest's fist with his right hand clearly deviated from the trajectory.

He just hit Zhang Jun's ball holder. If this hit was real, Zhang Jun might not have to go off the field directly.

Of course, this action will definitely be called a foul.

But people like Artest, who played against defensive players in the 1990s, believe in foul rules on the court.

If the referee sees it, it's a foul. If he doesn't, it's a good defense.

If the referee hadn't seen this dirty defensive move, Artest would have had a high probability of intercepting Zhang Jun's ball.

Moreover, the two are now engaged in fierce physical confrontation. The physical confrontation is so severe that even the referee can hardly distinguish between reasonable confrontation and unreasonable confrontation.

"Suffer it!"

Artest successfully knocked the ball out of Zhang Jun's hands, but what he never expected was that Zhang Jun took the opportunity to change hands and regain control of the basketball.

"This guy's ball sense is too exaggerated."

After changing hands, Zhang Jun broke through directly to the basket. He was very fast. Although Artest is a very strong player on the defensive end, he is far from Zhang Jun's opponent in terms of speed.

boom!

Zhang Jun took one step from the free throw line, blasted the frame with both hands and swung around on the basketball stand. When he landed, he extended a finger and said.

"I like your defense."

There was an obvious palm print on Zhang Jun's outstretched hand. He deliberately showed it to the referees beside him to remind them that Artest should have been called for a foul in the round just now.

Artest looked very angry behind him with a little temper on his face.

"Zhang Jun's physical confrontation is not weak, at least considering his weight and body, it is simply surprising that he can have such a level of confrontation."

"But this does not mean that Zhang Jun's physical confrontation is as strong as Artest's. I think Artest himself knows this very well."

"But after all, Zhang Jun is an offensive player. The defender is limited by the rules and naturally has to pay attention to some physical strength during the confrontation. As long as Artest is sensible enough, he will not..."

Before Kenny Smith finished explaining, Artest had completely lost his mind on the court. How could a beast like him think about so many things in his brain.

"Who are you talking to?! You guys are nothing but shit!"

Artest ran up to Zhang Jun angrily, put his head on Zhang Jun's ear and started talking trash. The two of them happened to be about the same height, but physically, Artest looked like a Thanos. Likewise, Zhang Jun's weight is still too light.

Artest was very dissatisfied with the action Zhang Jun pointed out to him just now.

Zhang Jun raised his hands to show that he was innocent, but his words were completely unforgiving.

"That's right, that's right, I'm not a fart. You are a fart. There's no need to argue. I'll give this fart to you. After all, being a fart is very empty and lonely."

This is all such nonsense. Artest has never encountered a player who talks such rubbish on the court. He can only curse.

"Fuck you, you're the one who's fart."

Zhang Jun replied: "You can't guard me, Artest, are you the first small forward DPOY? You are too bad."

At this time, the two people had been separated by teammates and referees who came over.

When Luo Yin and Aldridge rushed over, they originally thought that if they were a step slower, Zhang Jun would probably be beaten into a fool by Artest and placed on the court.

However, after hearing the two people's trash talk, Luo Yin and Aldridge decisively changed their minds.

"I guess Zhang Jun will still do it if he is beaten into a fool, but even if he is beaten into a fool, his mouth will still output."

"Hard till death."

Trail Blazers coaching bench.

Nate McMillan and Monty Williams looked at each other.

"It seems that my reminder is unnecessary."

"There are not many players who dare to challenge Artest, and there are almost no rookies. They can still keep up with each other. Zhang Jun made us look down on him."

The referee's fight was a wake-up call for the coaches on both sides. If the fight continued like this, they would blow the whistle.

Nate McMillan was quite accurate about these things, so he took the initiative to call a timeout.

In addition to reminding Zhang Jun to calm down and not give the referee a chance to blow the whistle easily, he also rearranged his offensive tactics.

Aldridge was replaced early, and Nate McMillan asked Zhang Jun to perform a pick-and-roll with Aldridge in every offensive round.

After all, Artest's defense is really strong. If Zhang Jun plays like this every round, it will be too tiring. Even if he can score, it will consume a lot of energy.

This is a very bad thing for the Blazers' rotation, which is already short of major generals.

Zhang Jun also understands that the Trail Blazers need him to lead the entire second team. If he is called for too many fouls by the referee or because of the fierce confrontation with Artest and both of them are called for technical fouls, that will be too much. Can't afford it.

The game continues on the court.

Artest rushed directly towards Zhang Jun. This guy was still stubborn. He just wanted to prevent Zhang Jun from confronting him, no matter what the referee thought or what the coach said.

If he wants to fight back, no one can stop him.

Zhang Jun didn't even bother to pay attention to this guy. How could anyone like being beaten so much?

So when Zhang Jun was playing a pick-and-roll with Aldridge on the court, Artest didn't even think about switching defenses, and his teammate Kenny Thomas was speechless.

"The Trail Blazers are playing a pick-and-roll, and you're too big to squeeze through, and you don't switch defenses, so what should I do?"

"I can't guard Aldridge in the pick-and-roll!"

Zhang Jun and Aldridge played a very efficient coordinated offense in this quarter. The two picked and broke, and Zhang Jun could accurately and timely pass the ball to the inside every time.

Aldrich made 6 of 10 shots from the field in a single quarter, helping the Trail Blazers lead 60:50 at the end of the half.

In the third quarter of the game, the Trail Blazers' third line blossomed. Zhang Jun, Luo Yin, and Aldridge teamed up to score 33:23 in this quarter.

The Kings are already 20 points behind.

This is also the first team to trail its opponent by 20 points at the end of three quarters since the start of the new season.

The Kings really aren't a playoff team, and they're not even close.

Only halfway through the fourth quarter, the game completely fell into garbage time, and the Sacramento Kings surrendered early.

Artest glanced at Zhang Jun, his unhappy mood dissipated without a care.

The surrounding Kings players couldn't help but tremble when they saw this scene.

"If Artest hadn't suffered so much from the Auburn Hills Palace incident, that little brat Zhang Jun would have been torn alive by Artest on the court."

........

The Trail Blazers, with 7 wins and 1 loss, continue to make great progress.

The November competition ends quickly.

The league headquarters announced the Player of the Month for the month. Zhang Jun of the Trail Blazers from the Western Conference averaged 30.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He shot 54% from the field and led the team to an 11-3 record. record, ranking second in the Western Conference.

In the Eastern Conference, LeBron James of the Cavaliers averaged 29.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game, shooting 53% from the field. He led the Cavaliers to a record of 10 wins and 4 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference.

After this month's games, all teams in the league, especially those ranked around eighth in their respective divisions, have to start thinking about strengthening the team.

The Trail Blazers' Zach Randolph has become a consideration for various teams.

After all, outstanding big men have always been a rarity in the league.

Steve Patterson did not choose to actively trade Randolph throughout November. In addition to the fact that the Trail Blazers' current record gave him such confidence, it was because he was well aware of Randolph's scarcity in the market.

The Trail Blazers were worth the wait.

The closer the season gets to the All-Star break, the greater the urgency for teams to make trades.

He finally waited for this moment.

The Lakers, Knicks, Cavaliers and Bobcats all have the idea of ​​acquiring Randolph.

Except for the fact that the Cavaliers are completely looking for bargains, they don't want to think of any core players, and they want to use Ben Wallace's garbage contract to exchange for Randolph, the Lakers, Knicks and Bobcats are all interested in acquiring any core players. Randolph's demands were fervent.

The Lakers' current record is 8 wins and 7 losses, ranking eighth in the Western Conference. If they don't make changes, they will probably struggle back and forth on the edge of the playoffs like last season. Even if they are lucky enough to reach the playoffs, it will be nothing. It's a round trip.

They desperately want to find a suitable inside partner for Kobe.

The Knicks are in a special situation. This team's record is 5 wins and 9 losses. This record is a bit high even if it is placed in the Eastern Conference and wants to make the playoffs.

It's interesting to say that the Knicks are a team that never fails every year, but it is difficult to reach the playoffs every year. They have never thought about using draft picks to find treasures in the rookie conference and want to make money in the free market. It is not easy to attract big-name stars to join.

On the contrary, this team is the most active in the trade market every year. They will make a move wherever there is a possibility of a trade.

Then the media reporters in Apple City will immediately hype: The Knicks have finally found their future, and we have acquired a star with All-Star potential.

Even if the fans in that city know what the Knicks team does every year, they have already seen these tidbits and scandalous operations endlessly, but they don't care about this.

Fans in this city also like this kind of topic and heat the most.

Even some popular celebrities want to have a look.

It has to be said that the owner of the Knicks is very good at hyping up the popularity of Apple City, and it is quite profitable.

The Bobcats are another weird team. They can't get good players in the draft every year. They can only pick and choose in the free market. If a better one comes out, they can quickly take it, for fear of not being able to get it.

"If it weren't for the coaching staff and the team's need for players who can shoot inside, I'd probably really want to trade with the Bobcats."

"The trade request they gave was to use Nazr Mohammed as the main body, add a garbage contract and send a first-round draft pick from another team."

"This is a deal with a first-round pick. Although it's a pity that it's not the Bobcats' own pick, I guess I won't be able to find another one in the league."

“So, although dozens of teams have inquired about Zach Randolph’s price, only four teams sincerely want to get Zach Randolph, and among them, there are only a few who can actually trade with us. There are only three teams, and after further screening, only the Lakers and the Knicks are left.”

Such are the complexities and opportunities of trading in the NBA.

.........

At the beginning of December, the problem of insufficient internal rotation of the Trail Blazers gradually became apparent.

Because there is always one less rotating power forward, several other insiders have to play longer. Aldridge's average playing time has reached 38 minutes per game.

The Trail Blazers unsurprisingly faced a wave of injuries.

After all, there are such intensive games and a huge load of playing time. The Trail Blazers have a very firm goal for the record this season. Nate McMillan does not dare to take the initiative to rest players.

First, Aldridge missed one game due to knee strain, then Joel Przbilla missed three games with a wrist sprain, and then Travis Outlaw also missed one game because of a back injury.

In these games, the Trail Blazers' inside line was completely overwhelmed by their opponents. Even Zhang Jun played the power forward position for some time, but he was exhausted.

With his body weighing less than 100kg, he really can't withstand those big guys when he gets inside.

The Trail Blazers had 1 win and 3 losses, and their record of 11 wins and 7 losses also directly dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference.

Good guy, 11 wins and 7 losses is still a winning rate of over 60%, and in this terrifying Western Division, they fell directly behind to sixth place.

Steve Patterson paced anxiously back and forth in his office, and he had to expedite the Zach Randolph trade.

At the same time, the Grizzlies suddenly announced that Gasol would be traded, which directly disrupted the entire trading market.

Jerry West, the logo man who was the general manager of the Grizzlies at the time, gave a cryptic explanation in an interview.

"The main reason why Gasol was put on the trade shelf is that the other party did not listen to the management's arrangements."

This sentence also reminded all reporters of 2006.

At that time, Gasol ignored the obstruction of the Grizzlies management and insisted on returning to China to play games. As a result, he was injured in the international arena and missed 23 games in the new season.

As a result, the Grizzlies missed the playoffs early and had no choice but to completely mess up.

In fact, before putting Gasol on the trade shelf, Jerry West hesitantly asked the other party again: whether he would participate in this year's Olympics.

Gasol did not waver at all on this point, and even strongly expressed his desire to win glory for the country. I have to say that Spanish players really attach great importance to national honor.

However, this annoyed Jerry West and all the Grizzlies' management. Second-year player Rudy Gayin has averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and rookie Mike Conley also averages a stable game. With the data of 10 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists.

They made a decisive decision to trade and chose to strengthen Rudy Gayin and Mike Conley.