Chapter 477 Surprise and Shock

The opening game's 51 million viewership really boosted the morale of the league and the media.

But with the Cavaliers losing by a large margin, reports such as the Sonics' "announced the results of this season in advance" have caused all kinds of criticism against Lin Dong on the Internet across the United States, as well as various complaints against the league.

Frankly speaking, the pressure on the league has been quite high in the past two days. Stern feels that the NBA's ratings will definitely fall sharply in the future. I hope that other games can maintain 20 million, and the Sonics can maintain 30 million at home.

But what he didn't expect was that the next few games the next day...

Raptors vs. Knicks, 31 million viewership.

Warriors vs. Clippers, 29.59 million viewership.

76ers vs. Pistons, 35 million viewership.

Mavericks vs. Spurs, 36 million viewership.

And the Lakers vs. Nets, the ratings soared to 42 million.

The sudden wealth caught the league and Stern off guard.

What happened? How did this become popular?

If the opening game between the Supersonics and the Cavaliers had high ratings, it was because the foreshadowing was good before, but what happened to these games? According to the ratings of last year's regular season, except for the Supersonics, no game had more than 30 million, but now this is...

The league investigators found the answer on the Internet.

——The Cavaliers can't be counted on. Look at the Pistons. It feels like the Pistons are more restrained by the Supersonics. There is no chance to play against the Supersonics. Defense is still needed!

——The Cavaliers can't be counted on. The Mavericks and Spurs can be expected. It feels that the Spurs are very strong this year. The GDP combination has begun to show its power. Manu's performance as the sixth man is quite good. He actually abused the Mavericks by 19 points...

——The Cavaliers can't be counted on. It depends on the Lakers! The Big Four gathered together, and I feel that the rookie Andrew Bynum selected this year is also very good. He is 213 cm tall and nearly 130 kg. His physical fitness can easily beat Chandler! He can be a substitute for Yao Ming, or he can be pulled to the 4th position, and then let Odom go to the 3rd position, so that the Lakers will have no loopholes!

——Indeed, based on my 20 years of experience in watching basketball, the Lakers have a great chance!

——Lakers! Lakers! Lakers!

The league's top management finally solved the case in a state of astonishment.

Now the fans are scolding Lin Dong, but the more they scold, the more angry Lin Dong becomes. Black fire is also fire!

Needless to say, the fans watched the Supersonics game, that was directly hoping that the Supersonics would be slapped in the face, and they also started to watch the games of other strong teams, but it was not because they were fans of anyone, but because they wanted to evaluate which team could bring threats to the Supersonics. After watching the games of the strong teams, they would go to see the weak teams out of habit. Maybe there are potential stocks that the official media have not seen?

To put it bluntly, fans across the United States are now helping the other 29 NBA teams to come up with ideas and strategies, hoping to brainstorm and help them come up with a way and combination to defeat the Supersonics.

With such a national enthusiasm, it is hard for the NBA not to be popular...

Stern couldn't help laughing when listening to the discussions of the top executives, and he couldn't help but feel a little chill in his heart.

If before this, the Supersonics faced the entire league, then now, it seems that the Supersonics are forced to face the entire United States.

Good guy! Jordan has never been treated like this, and if the Supersonics really win the championship this season, then... I wonder what the ratings of the Supersonics' next game will be like?

On October 29, the Supersonics will face the Chicago Bulls at home.

On one side is the champion of last season, and on the other side is the weak team that was at the bottom of the Eastern Conference last season. The result of the game is no suspense, and it may not even be too interesting to watch. The league estimates that the highest ratings will be around 40 million.

But when the Supersonics were still warming up at home, the record was broken again.

45 million!

——I just want to see what it's like when the Sonics play against a weaker team.

——Can they win by 50 points? The Bulls should cheer up and don't be nailed to the pillar of shame!

——Hahaha, winning or losing is not important. What's important is that the Asian devil only scored 21 points in the last game. I bet he can only score 40 points in this game! That guy is old!

——He's only 21... I bet the Asian devil can score 50 points!

——No matter how many points he gets, I'm here to see Barkley kiss the butt of "I'm going to kill you three thousand times"! That dog is fierce, I tell you...

——He's the champion of the dog fighting competition. That guy has bitten two Dogo Argentinos to death!

——Oh my God, Barkley won't be disfigured, right?

——Hahaha, I'm really looking forward to Barkley's next bet!

The game is not exciting enough, so let's make up for it with entertainment topics.

So what if they play against a weak team? ABC can make a living, and Barkley is willing to sacrifice...

The ratings broke through the 50 million mark as soon as they came up! When Barkley timidly approached the buttocks of the bulldog in the cage, the majestic "I'll kill you three thousand times" suddenly turned around and rushed up with the cage weighing 30 kilograms, making the cage buzz. The two big men almost couldn't hold it down, and directly frightened the giant Barkley to the ground with his lips white.

This generation of netizens is not too difficult to deal with... This generation of netizens is going to kill you!

When the owner teased the pit bull with beef jerky, and finally brought the huge red anus to the side of the cage, Barkley seized the opportunity to quickly kiss it. Feeling the fishy smell of the tumor, he bet that he didn't want to bet again in his life!

And the ratings rose steadily to 52 million when Barkley gave this dedicated kiss, breaking the previous peak of the Supersonics playing the Cavaliers.

Then... then since we're here and have seen the excitement, what's wrong with watching more games?

52.5 million, 53 million, and at halftime, the score difference of 75:52, especially Lin Dong's personal data of 39 points in the first half, plus the Internet was flooded with screenshots of Barkley being scared to the ground by the pit bull, attracted more people to come.

54 million! 55 million!

Playing against a weak team, when the final score was 138:98, the Supersonics managed to raise the national ratings to 55 million.

Great ratings, great championship, fans have a sense of wanting more, and the league also has a sigh of relief.

55 million regular season ratings... Even if the next game plummets, I will accept it!

But the fact is not.

On October 31, the Supersonics challenged the Orlando Magic away. Without Barkley's eye-catching topic, there were still 51 million ratings.

On November 3, the Supersonics played against the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 132:113, winning four consecutive victories at the start of this season, and also got 52 million ratings.

The topic of Supersonics and Lin Dong on the Internet continues to rise, and is about to reach a peak.

Because there will be a two-day break after the 3rd, and the next opponent will go to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to face another super battleship in the league this year - the Los Angeles Lakers!

——The Supersonics are finished, the real iron-blooded warriors are here!

——Compared to the Lakers, the Cavaliers are a bunch of soft eggs!

——We have the latest generation of super center Yao Ming! We have Kobe Bryant, the successor of Jordan! We have Nash, the best passer in the league! We have Odom, the most comprehensive in the league! We even have Bynum, the most surprising super talented rookie this year! And the core has been running in for a long time. We are not a paper-based strong team like the Cavaliers that is pieced together!

——See you at the Staples Center on November 5! Witness the Lakers' God-killing moment across the United States!

Before the war started, the Internet was full of calls about the Lakers. Everyone was looking forward to it with great excitement. The heat was unparalleled, and even overwhelmed the Super Bowl game, which was also in the regular season this year.

It can suppress the most popular sports in the United States in terms of popularity. Frankly speaking, even Stern himself did not dare to imagine this day, but now it has appeared alive, and it came so suddenly. ABC officially predicted that the game on the 5th may even exceed 60 million people in the United States!

All parties are analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams. Although through the previous few games, it can be seen that the Lakers' lineup is obviously more coordinated than the Cavaliers, it is quite smooth, and the performance of rookie Bynum in the previous few games is indeed much stronger than that of the Cavaliers' Varejao.

However, rookies are rookies. If anyone thinks that there is any flaw in the Lakers' lineup, it can only be Bynum.

The lesson of the Cavaliers is still in front of us. Can the Lakers definitely pass it?

Just when fans all over the United States were extremely worried, a heavy transfer deal appeared on the evening of the 3rd.

The Nets took the initiative to cut Doug Christie, and on the day he was cut, Christie returned to the place where his dream began-the Los Angeles Lakers with a veteran contract with an annual salary of 1.5 million!

Fans all over the United States were boiling at this moment.

Doug Christie, from 2000 to last year 2004, was selected to the second team of the league's best defense three times and the first team of the league's best defense once!

This is a super strong forward and guard defense expert, and he is also the kind of natural defensive type who "has a greater desire to defend than to attack" on the court!

But if you think he can only defend, you are wrong. Whether he is in the Raptors or the Nets, this guy is the kind of player who does not need a lot of ball rights, but can always contribute stable points in every game. In the past two years, he has developed an outside line to cooperate with Kidd, with a three-point shooting rate of 38.6%.

A super strong player on the defensive end, and a three-pointer from the outside, he even only needs an annual salary of 1.5 million!

This is simply a dream-like championship puzzle for the Lakers, and it just fills the vacancy of the Lakers at the small forward position.

What is a real strong team and an invincible lineup? The Cavaliers are shit, the Lakers are!

——The Lakers are completely invincible, and the Supersonics will die!

——I have already bought champagne for the evening of the 5th. I will open it as soon as the Supersonics lose!

——Guys! Coordinates: XXXX, Hacklem Tavern. As long as the Supersonics lose, I will treat everyone to a round!

——Watch the Asian devil fall from the altar!

…………November 4th, Seattle, God Arena.

"Move, move!" McMillan was loudly directing the players on the sidelines.

They were about to leave for Los Angeles in the afternoon. The Lakers' newly completed super lineup still put considerable pressure on the Supersonics.

Although Lin Dong, the backbone of the team, was still tepid and smiling, it did not mean that others were as relaxed as him.

Although it is only a regular season game, the whole world is watching now. If they really lose, the Sonics will probably encounter the most powerful wave of ridicule in history.

Judging from each other's lineups, this Lakers is enough to give the SuperSonics a headache.

Why is it easy to beat a knight?

That's because the Cavaliers have a huge loophole, and that's because most of the time, the Sonics are actually playing five against four.

But after welcoming the addition of Doug Christie, this Lakers team has almost no loopholes. Although not all of the five positions are historical giants, every one of them is at least in their prime. There are strong players with extremely rich experience. Even the youngest Yao Ming is already in his fifth year in the league.

With a perfect lineup, a mature mentality and rich experience, as well as a desire to win that is not lost to the Sonics, this Lakers is by no means comparable to the Cavaliers, who had problems everywhere before.

Everyone's heart is not relaxed, and they are all holding back their strength.

"Rukawa Kaede! The core of the rotation is moving, moving! Don't stare at one place, how can you integrate into the team on the defensive end like this! Do you want to become the team's biggest defensive hole!"

"Sakuragi! Don't pay too much attention to Rukawa Kaede. He will solve his problems by himself. As a teammate, you can only trust him, but don't think that you can help him solve it! Now even your defensive rhythm has been affected. It’s gone astray!”

Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head in embarrassment, while Rukawa Kaede held up his legs and kept breathing heavily. He had almost never rested in two consecutive intra-team games. It was almost 12 o'clock now, and it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He flew to Los Angeles, but the head coach has trained him to such an extent that it seems he is still not going to play in tomorrow's game.

Frankly speaking, Rukawa Kaede has no complaints about this.

McMillan's demands on him are now getting higher and higher, and Rukawa Kaede is extremely grateful.

Chance?

If it were the former Rukawa Kaede, he might think that giving playing time is giving him an opportunity.

But now he understands that if he is willing to train you and demand high standards from you, then he will truly give you a chance.

After all, he experienced the head coach's indifference to him when he was in the Hornets, and also experienced a season with low requirements and low performance... Sometimes people are really mean, and being scolded is something that makes him very happy. .

——The core of the rotation is flowing, following the ball, and it is regular!

While listening to McMillan's curse, he kept thinking about the loopholes in his defense just now.

Lin Dong and others have already sat on the sidelines to rest. There will be a game tomorrow, and the main players can't be too harsh.

Ding ding ding…

One of the pile of mobile phones placed on the bench seat suddenly rang.

Lin Dong took a look and saw that it was Sakuragi's mobile phone. It was still using the phone case from his and Haruko's wedding photo. The caller ID read 'Mom'.

Sakuragi is still playing on the court.

The two families were already very familiar with each other, so Lin Dong picked him up with a smile: "Aunt Aiko, Sakuragi is training, what's going on?"

"Uh-huh? My mother's phone number? What's the matter?" Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and looked over in his busy schedule.

But Lin Dong's expression suddenly condensed: "Which hospital?"

As soon as these words came out, Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression suddenly changed, and then the entire arena became quiet. The players on the court stopped moving, and everyone looked in the direction of Lin Dong.

Sakuragi’s mother’s phone number? What hospital? Who is in the hospital? Oh my God!

Sakuragi Hanamichi's heart suddenly tightened, and he almost fell to his knees in fear.

"Oh, okay, I'll ask him to come over right away!"

Lin Dong hung up the phone with a serious face, and at this moment, the expressions of everyone in the entire arena involuntarily became serious.

Sakuragi Hanamichi swallowed hard, her heart pounding with nervousness, and asked in a trembling voice: "Brother Gao, Gao Ren? Who went to the hospital? This, this..."

"It's Haruko." Lin Dong's serious expression almost made Sakuragi Hanamichi cry, but then his expression changed and turned into a laughing expression: "It's time to give birth! You are going to be a father. , hurry up and go! It’s at Alibo!”

Sakuragi Hanamichi was stunned for a moment, then her legs went weak, and she almost knelt on the ground: "Damn it, I was almost scared to death by you... Alibo is a confinement center, what kind of hospital is it!"

"I forgot. When I heard that I was about to give birth, I thought I was in the hospital." Lin Dong said with a smile: "Okay, okay, don't care about this little joke, hurry up! If you are late, you will miss the baby. The moment you are born, you will regret it for the rest of your life!”

Sakuragi Hanamichi patted her chest several times and took a breath, then the corners of her mouth opened involuntarily, and she said to herself: "I'm going to be a dad, I'm going to be a dad! Hahahahaha!" "

As he said that, he threw the basketball in his hand, laughed and ran out the door.

"Your mobile phone! Car keys!" Lin Dong caught up with him dumbfounded: "Forget it if you don't change clothes. I don't have the car keys with me. Why don't you walk over there?"

"Hahaha! I'm too excited!" Sakuragi Hanamichi was so excited that he ran back to pick up his mobile phone and car keys. Then he suddenly remembered: "Wait, aren't we taking a flight to Los Angeles at 3pm? I..."

"Go ahead, there are competitions every day, but you don't have children many times in your life." MacMillan smiled and pushed his back: "Hurry up and go see Haruko. Don't worry about the competition or anything like that. Spend two days with Haruko. , I’ll give you a rest!”

"But tomorrow we play the Lakers..."

"What, don't you believe us? The Sonics won't turn without you?" Payton cursed, "Who are you looking down on, nagging, get out of here!"

"It's just Yao Ming, I'll support him!" Chandler patted his chest, "Don't forget that I'm the real center of the Sonics!"

"Hahaha!" Lin Dong also said with a smile, "Just stay with Haruko and wait for our good news! By the way, tell Haruko that we'll go see her after the game, and my godson!"

Even Master and Brother Gaoren said so, Sakuragi Hanamichi finally stopped insisting and said proudly, "How can you be sure it's a godson? It's not like you're in my wife's belly, maybe it's a goddaughter?"

"Come on guys, if you lose and come back, you'll all hold my thighs in the future, hahaha!"

"Fuck, you're getting more and more arrogant, you dare to say this in front of Lin..."

"Get out of here, you're so proud of yourself!"

"Wait until we beat the Lakers, and then come back and beat you!"