84. The Emperor returns
Almost every team in the league comes to Los Angeles and spends a few days in the bustling city, and it's human nature to be around.
But this time, the Cavaliers came to Los Angeles and didn't have a tour here. Coach Byron Scott has told the players that after a day off after the game against the Lakers, the team will be on a plane back to Cleveland.
This move made most of the players a little depressed, but no one complained about anything, because everyone knew that an important day was coming.
On the evening of Nov. 27, at the Stamp Center, the Cavaliers challenged the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant, the league's defending champion last season.
The game was a bit tough from the start, and Bryant and his Lakers showed unmatched strength in the game that the current Cavaliers can't achieve.
So, tonight's defeat for the Cavaliers is inevitable. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points in the game that night, and it was not Anthony Parker, who was also in the second position, who was responsible for defending him, but Wu Dawei in the third position.
A player almost equal to Michael Jordan made Wu feel a little powerless on the defensive end for the first time. He can still predict Kobe's thoughts on every attack, but every time he jumps up and tries to block, Kobe's back-back can always reach a heinous distance!
Of course, Wu Dawei's defense throughout the night was not in vain. Although Kobe Bryant's backward jumper made Wu Dawei feel powerless, whenever Kobe Bryant held the ball and tried to face Wu Dawei's single, Wu Dawei could always rely on his anticipation ability to disrupt Kobe's offense.
Although he scored 28 points, Kobe Bryant used up 20 of his team's shots. Although his backward shooting does make Wu Dawei helpless, when a big palm is stretched out in front of you, your vision will always be affected somewhat.
In addition to facing Kobe's offense on the defensive end, Wu Dawei was a little uncomfortable; On the offensive end, Wu Dawei also encountered some trouble. In charge of defending Wu Dawei is Ron Artest, the league's best defensive player ever.
A player who is about the same height as himself or even weighs more than himself, Artest's fierce aggressive defense made Wu Dawei very uncomfortable throughout the game. Even Artest's small actions annoyed Wu Dawei very much, and the two sparked three times and twice in the game that night, of course, not love.
In the end, the Cavaliers did not get a win in the final game of their road trip.
At 100:105, they lost to the Lakers by five points and could only return to Cleveland with a two-game losing streak.
Wu Dawei's performance in this game was the worst of the six away games, so he could even predict how the media who were watching him the next day would report on his unsatisfactory performance in this game.
But this time, Wu Dawei guessed wrong. When he boarded the plane to Cleveland with his teammates the next day, he didn't see or hear the media talk about his watch last night.
Almost every media network, newspaper, and magazine page is full of news about LeBron James and his upcoming return to Cleveland!
The return of Cleveland's former basketball emperor is far more newsworthy than a "big mouth" on the court. When Wu Dawei had such an idea in his heart, he couldn't help but feel a little inexplicably frustrated.
He doesn't understand why he has such weird thoughts, is it because the media has abused me thousands of times, and I treat the media like my first love?
Apparently not.
It's just that when a person often appears on the pages of newspapers, and suddenly one day all his news is replaced by another name that he used to use to confront him, there is always a gap in his heart. That person is more in the public's attention than himself. …,
On Nov. 28, the Cavaliers returned to Cleveland. When Wu Dawei and his teammates took the bus back to the quick loan center, he didn't notice anything unusual in the city on the way. The square in front of the Quick Loan Center was deserted because there was no competition, and there were not even a few reporters.
But Wu Dawei knew that it was just the quiet before the storm.
After getting off the bus, all the Cavaliers players did not immediately leave the arena in their cars parked in the parking lot of the Quicken Loan Center, but were called together by head coach Byron Scott, and in the locker room, Scott announced that he understood that the team's joint practice would begin.
Normally, the league will set aside a few days of rest for teams that have come away from a long road trip to adjust before continuing the long season. The team will also usually give the players a few days off before resuming training when they return to their home stadium.
But obviously, the next game is very important for the Cavaliers. Head coach Byron Scott may not have experienced the Cavaliers during the LeBron James era, but he also understands the current feud between the Clevelands and James. So, as the head coach of a team supported by Cleveland fans, Scott knew he needed to do something for the fans who had been supporting his team.
For example, to put your team in the best shape for LeBron James.
The Cavaliers' home game against the Miami Heat will be played on the evening of December 1. At that time, the eyes of the world will be on Cleveland, so the league has also prepared a national broadcast of the game. It was broadcast live on TN.t TV, so Charles Barkley was the first to arrive in Cleveland.
"Hey! GREAT! Barkley also arrived here on the day the Cavaliers returned to Cleveland. After he packed his luggage at the hotel, he called Wu Dawei, and after confirming that Wu Dawei had arrived home, he rushed to the hotel without stopping.
"Are you ready? Against LeBron James. After Barkley said hello to Wu Dawei, he sat down on the only sofa in Wu Dawei's room, and then asked straight to the point.
Wu Dawei raised his eyebrows, although his flamboyant personality does not mean that he is a very arrogant person.
Seeing this, Barkley laughed: "It seems that last night's game made you lose some confidence." ”
"Not really." Barkley's words reminded Wu of last night's game, where Bryant's step-back jumper kept in his mind. He said hardly, although Kobe did give himself some blows last night, Wu Dawei didn't think that his defense was very poor, and Kobe's shooting rate was only 8 of 20 shots, but the superstar whistle made him get a lot of free throws.
"Hmm~GOOD!" Barkley nodded approvingly, he didn't take Wu Dawei's words seriously, he just needed to know that Wu Dawei was still confident. In Barkley's view, nothing is a problem as long as you have faith.
This is also his basketball philosophy, otherwise you think that he is not even in a figure of 198 per game, how can he call the wind and rain in a place where there are many people on the inside. Because he believes that even if he is shorter than those stupid big guys, he will eventually pick up rebounds and dunks on top of their heads!
"So, do you want to go to the gym now? Maybe I can teach you some of James's methods! ”