October 26.

As time comes on the 26th, today, the regular season opening match of the NBA 09 to 10 season officially started.

Today's Magic vs. Lakers season opening game will be broadcast live across the United States.

It can be said that after the league set the schedule, this game has been highly anticipated by fans, and everyone is waiting for the arrival of this game.

For fans, in addition to wanting to see the personal grievances of these two teams last season, the most important thing is that these two teams have many stars that fans like.

Among them, the Lakers, as a giant team in the league, can be said to have always been loved by people in the league. Even saying that it is a team growing in the spotlight is not an exaggeration.

Compared with the Lakers, the Magic's history is not long-term and it is definitely not a star-studded one.

But in the past two seasons, the Magic can definitely be regarded as the most bare-handed team in the league.

In addition to the Magic's championship last season, it is also because the number of stars in the Magic's team is simply tingling with scalp.

Even though Iverson is already in his twilight years of his career, for fans who like him, as long as Iverson can still play on the court, there will definitely be many people who support him.

Before the game started, the players on both sides warmed up before the game at their respective half. Looking around, the entire Staples Arena could be said to be full at this time.

In addition to the dense fans in the stands, there were countless reporters on both sides of the stadium. Many people were carrying cameras and continued to shoot this scene on the stadium.

If the Magic have won the love of fans completely with their personal strength in the past two seasons.

As one of the oldest teams in the league's history, the Lakers' support rate will always be so high because the Lakers will have some big-name stars joining most of the time.

In the past two seasons, Kobe's personal influence has gradually begun to expand, so for fans who like the Lakers, the two words Kobe can already represent everything.

However, it has to be said that the Lakers have had some twists and turns this season. During the offseason, the Lakers lost two major players, "Little Shark" Bynum and "Cobra" Ariza.

But in terms of strengthening the free market, the Lakers seem a bit unsatisfactory.

It’s not because the Lakers are reluctant to spend money, but because there are no players in the free market this year that are particularly suitable for the Lakers.

In addition, the Lakers are taking action late, so by the later stage, there are very few players who can be selected by the Lakers.

In fact, although the Lakers' boss is not a particularly rich presence in the league, at least in terms of team building, the Lakers can be said to be not at all ambiguous.

In addition, being in the Los Angeles area and being able to play around Kobe, these two points can greatly expose the players' personal presence.

Unfortunately, it is very easy to lose a champion puzzle, but it will become very difficult to introduce a champion puzzle.

Perhaps the best news for the Lakers this season is to sign the "Beast" Artest in the free market.

Although Ariza was poached by the Rockets in the free market, the Lakers took the initiative immediately and dug Artest from the Rockets.

In a sense, this can be regarded as a swap of players, or even a reinforcement on the front line.

After all, Artest during this period is far better than Ariza, both on the defensive and offensive ends.

Of course, this premise is that Artest's head is still clear.

However, even so, the Lakers' lineup has been further weakened this season, and the most important point is in the inside line.

Since Bynum completely broke up with the Lakers in the finals last season, it can be said that the entire Los Angeles now has no foothold at all.

While Bynum joined the Kings as soon as possible during the offseason, the Lakers have not signed a contract with the next person who can replace Bynum in the free market.

Because no matter what, although Bynum's personal personality is very unpleasant and his big mouth has offended many teammates, his personal strength is there.

In addition, Bynum has been working with Kobe Gasol for several seasons, so after Bynum left, it is undoubtedly a very difficult thing for the team to find an existence that can replace him immediately.

Finally, before the free market was closed, the Lakers were forced to sign inside veteran Kenny Thomas, who was 32 years old this year.

I plan to use Kenny Thomas' outstanding inside experience to try to make up for the shortcomings of the Lakers' inside.

As for whether the Lakers will still make some trades and reinforcements to the inside in the middle of the season, we don’t know this for the time being.

But if nothing unexpected happens, if the Lakers want to continue to compete for the championship in the middle of the season, then there will definitely be some changes in the inside trade.

After all, Kenny Thomas is already 32 years old and has greatly reduced his athletic ability, his biggest flaw is that his height is too short.

Although throughout his career, his height disadvantages have been compensated for in most cases by his outstanding weight and muscles.

But if you really meet a top center in the league like Yao Ming and Howard, then Kenny Thomas's disadvantage will become very huge.

As an inside center, Kenny Thomas is only two meters and one in height. Although he weighs 115 kilograms, he can ensure that he can withstand the opponent's crush in most cases.

But players like Ben Wallace and Rodman are rare players in history. Being at a disadvantage in height is a disadvantage, and there is no way to make up for this.

It can be said that in the regular season, Kenny Thomas can still use his strength and experience to fight as much as possible, but if he really wants to fight tough battles in the playoffs, then this point is definitely a flaw.

As the game is about to begin, both sides announced their starting lineups:

Magic:

Sujiu, Iverson, Carter, Marion, and Howard.

Lakers:

Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Kenny Thomas.

Seeing the starting lineup sent by the Lakers after the opening, Warcraft coach Stan Van Gundy couldn't help but feel happy.

Because this lineup is indeed as he guessed before the game, Zen Master Jackson really uses Kenny Thomas in the center position.

So after learning about this, Van Gundy obviously felt a little relieved, because no matter how strong Kenny Thomas was, he could not be more explosive than Howard.

What's more, Thomas is nearly 10 cm shorter than Howard!!!

If nothing unexpected happens, Howard will probably complete a thunderous run when facing Thomas, and at the worst, he can also treat rebounds as his pocket.

In fact, Jackson really can't blame this. Although Zen Master Jackson knew that using Kenny Thomas to compete with Howard would basically end up being beaten.

Even in rebounding, you may lose a lot.

But the key is that if Jackson doesn't have to face Howard, among the remaining players that the Lakers can use, whether it is Josh Powell, DJ Mbenga.

Their personal disadvantages can definitely be said to be more obvious, after all, Powell is too thin and Mbenga is too useless.

So, except to pin your hopes on Thomas, Jackson had no choice.

Jackson had thought about bringing Odom to the starter, because in this way, Gasol could compete with Howard on the court.

But let alone how long Gasol could be entangled with Howard at the low post, just saying that if Odom was promoted to the starting lineup, what would the Lakers' substitute lineup look like.

You know, the Lakers have only strengthened three players in this offseason, namely Artest, Kenny Thomas and "Second Generation of Forced King" Morrison.

After Artest perfectly replaced Ariza's position, Kenny Thomas barely took over the position of "Little Shark" Bynum.

Then there is only one Morrison who is not good at it. If Odom was not there, the Lakers' substitute lineup would basically not have to be played.

Especially when facing a team like the Magic with a very wide rotation, the period when the substitute lineup will become very important.

Otherwise, once Kobe and several main players go off the court to rest, the Lakers will face the risk of being thrown by the Magic bench.

After the game began, Howard and Kenny Thomas stood in the middle circle and prepared to jump the ball.

During the jump ball stage, it seemed a bit funny when these two people stood together. Although Thomas was very strong, when he stood with Howard, he was more like a large water tank with horizontal development.

Coupled with his big bald head that was reflective under the camera, Thomas looked a little funny when standing in front of Howard.

As the referee blew the whistle to the start of the game, Howard won the first wave of ball rights for the Magic without any suspense.

After spending halftime with the ball, Su Jiu looked at Fisher who was defending himself in front of him, and he was not under much pressure.

What's more, after four consecutive matches in last year's finals, Su Jiu is already well aware of Fisher's defensive ability.

Standing at a high position with the ball, Su Jiu found that after the opening, the Lakers defended the tactic of a man-to-man and did not show joint defense.

So after a little observation, Su Jiu immediately asked Howard, who was in the inside, for a pick-and-roll.

As for why it is not like Marion, which moves faster, calling pick-and-roll, because compared to Paul Gasol, Thomas, who is already 32 years old this year, is undoubtedly a more likely target.

After all, Thomas's only disadvantage in the inside line at his peak was his insufficient height, but at this moment, in addition to being insufficient height, Thomas's movement speed under his feet also began to become slow.

Seeing Howard lifting up and planning to carry out a pick-and-roll for Su Jiu, Fisher immediately put his whole body on Su Jiu.

After all, since the finals last year, not only Su Jiu is familiar with Fisher, but Fisher's offensive routines towards Su Jiu are also like a mirror.

Of course, the most important thing is that Su Jiu's lethality outside the three-point line is too great.

So before the game, Zen Master Jackson arranged to try not to let Su Jiu get the opportunity to take action easily outside the three-point line.

Even if he is allowed to break into the inside, try to defend against his three-pointer.

It can be said that Su Jiu has already defeated Zen Master Jackson's personal philosophy of letting go of the outside but not the inside with his outstanding three-point ability.

Zen Master Jackson didn't dare to let Su Jiu shoot from the outside.

Because when facing opportunities, Su Jiu dared to keep betting on his own feel, but Zen Master Jackson did not dare to bet on Su Jiu's feel.

Seeing the "Old Fish" Fisher being close to him, Su Jiu used Howard's pick-and-roll and rose up and rushed straight into the inside.

Faced with this situation, Zen Master Jackson obviously had expected it, so while Su Jiu broke through to the inside, Thomas, who had been defending Howard, immediately let go of his defense against Howard.

The whole person was tightly pressed against Su Jiu from the wing, and he refused to give Su Jiu a little chance to make a layup.

Since Howard has no threat to shoot at the middle distance, once Howard mentions the high position to perform pick-and-roll, Thomas can completely take two steps back.

In this case, Thomas's movement speed could barely keep up with Su Jiu.

At least if Su Jiu wants to make a layup forcibly at this position, he will inevitably be disturbed by Thomas.
To be continued...