On May 17, 1999, the second round of the NBA playoffs officially began, and after the Spurs defeated the Timberwolves 3-1 in the first round, they welcomed their second opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, at their home Alamo Coliseum.

Two days ago, Meng Xu received two tickets for today's game from Duncan, to be precise, every Wake Forest player received a ticket from Duncan, this year is Duncan's second season in the Spurs, and it is also Duncan's first time in the second round of the playoffs, so the Wake Forest Devils Deacons team from the coach to the players each received a ticket for today's game.

NBA1998-1999 The regular season was cut back to just 50 games from 82 games per season due to collective bargaining, and the San Antonio Spurs had the best regular season record with a 37-13 record. Just when the playoffs were in full swing, the NBA's rookie training camp was about to open, Meng Xu signed up for this year's NBA draft, and when he was about to go to the rookie training camp, he received a ticket from Duncan, so he and He Hui came to the Alamo Coliseum, the home of the Spurs, to watch the Spurs' game against the Lakers. Originally, Meng Xu thought that He Hui didn't like basketball, but when Meng Xu took out the ticket and invited He Hui to watch the Spurs' game together, He Hui really agreed excitedly, and Meng Xu was a little confused.

When the Spurs players walked out of the tunnel one by one, they were greeted by earth-shattering cheers, especially when the team's signature players David Robinson and Tim Duncan played last, and the atmosphere reached its climax, with the cheers of nearly 20,000 spectators almost lifting the roof of the stadium.

"I want to step on this stage and be the brightest star." Meng Xu looked at Tim Duncan, who was waving to the audience, with envy on his face, and secretly sweared.

"Xiao Xu, what's wrong with you." As if sensing that Meng Xu was something abnormal, He Hui pulled Meng Xu's arm and asked.

"It's fine, just a little excited." After being silent for a long time, Meng Xu finally mustered up the courage to say to He Hui, "Sister Hui, I signed up for this year's draft, and I want to enter the NBA." ”

He Hui looked at Meng Xu with a surprised face, and after a long time, he finally spoke: "Xiao Xu, I know that your dream has always been to enter the NBA, so I will support you no matter what." ”

"Sister Hui, thank you." Meng Xu excitedly grabbed He Hui's hands and nodded incessantly. Since Meng Xu decided to participate in the NBA draft, he was most afraid of seeing He Hui, because Meng Xu didn't know how to tell her about it, for fear that she would oppose it and get angry.

"The game is on." He Hui broke free of Meng Xu's hands, and his face flushed slightly.

In the cheers of the home fans, the Spurs won the game 87-81 at home, but the deepest impression on Meng Xu was the big fat man of the Lakers, Shaq O'Neal, with such a huge body, but still flexible, it is incredible, and his destructive power is obvious to all, David Robinson and Tim Duncan can not completely limit him. According to Anna's words, this big fat man has officially entered the peak of his career since the beginning of this year, and at his peak he was a superstar with an overall strength of 98, and he is also one of the most dominant interior players in NBA history.

After the game, at the invitation of Popovich, Meng Xu visited the Spurs' locker room and team history showroom, and roughly had a certain understanding of this club, the Spurs are a team with a long history but lack of honor and heritage, the Spurs don't even have their own dedicated basketball hall, and the current home Alamo Stadium is a football field. After the visit, Meng Xu came to the Spurs' training hall and did a comprehensive physical test under the guidance of the staff.

Name: Meng Xu

Barefoot height: 6 shaku 5.61 inches (200cm)

Wearing shoes tall: 6 shaku 6.66 inches (203cm)

Weight: 170 lbs (77.1kg)

An armstroke: 7 shaku 2.17 inches (220cm)

Standing touch height: 8 shaku 9 inches (271.2cm)

Bench press: 200 lbs (91kg)

Body fat content: 7.1%

Hand length: 9.5 inches (24.1cm)

Hand width: 11 inches (27.9cm)

Three-quarters sprint: 2.9 seconds

Switchback run on all sides of the penalty area: 10.8 seconds

Vertical Bounce: 25.5 inches (65cm)

Run-up bounce: 30.7 inches (78cm)

"Greg, is this the rookie you've been talking about?" Spurs assistant coach Mike with a stack of physical measurements in his hand? Budenholzer said with some puzzlement: "This rookie's arm span is very good, as a player close to 6 feet 7 inches, he can reach less than 3 seconds in a three-quarter sprint, but his strength, bounce and explosiveness are simply poor, and the speed is not good, the important thing is that as an outside player, his shooting is very average"

"Mike, I think you should be holding him to the standard of a main player on the team, or even a star player. Mike, you know, we only have the last draft pick this year, if this player is talented, very good offensively and defensively, then he can be a lottery pick" Popovich sat at his desk, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the table: "Mike, tell me where our team needs the most reinforcements at the moment. ”

"Substitutes, our team's substitutions are the most important to strengthen, if we can have two qualified substitutes, then our squad tends to be perfect." The Spurs' bench lineup has always been the most criticized place, the Spurs' bench scoring has always been the last among the 29 teams in the league, and due to the lack of bench players, the Spurs can only beat David Robinson and Tim Duncan in the regular season.

"Well, yes, our team's interior benches have always been a weakness, David and Thiem don't get enough rest because of that, and they lack a sixth man, and these benches are so poor at scoring." Popovich looked at Mike? Budenholzer said with satisfaction: "Our team still lacks a qualified outside defender, whether it is Shaun, Mario or Avery, they are not good at defense, and outside defense has always been the weakness of our team, I have watched this Meng game, his single defense, anticipation, and steal ability are first-class among all NCAA players at the moment, and I think he can adapt to this role very well." ”

"Why don't I arrange a confrontation to test his defensive skills." Looking at Popovich's look of conviction, Mike? Budenholzer continued: "It just so happens that Sean and they are still practicing. ”

"Okay, you go and arrange it." Popovich picked up Mike? Budenholzer put the physical test data on his desk and began to look through it: "By the way, you asked Tim to come to my office, and by the way, tell Shaun that they just finished a game today, don't practice for too long, and pay attention to rest." ”